Transformed into the leader of an esoteric sect in Japan

Kurosawa Shizuki took the magnificent robes of the Shadow Prince from Asakura. The clothes were so light that they were almost weightless, and they were incredibly smooth to hold in the palm of her hand. Wearing them would definitely be a very pleasant experience.

"So, you're willing to accept me too?" Just a moment ago they were discussing the dangerous Heavenly Sin Code, but the next moment Asakura leaned in with a grin, his restless hands reaching out towards Kurosawa Shizuki. "This outfit is really troublesome to put on, do you want me to help you?"

“I appreciate your kindness, but Ms. Asakura, we haven’t progressed to that stage yet. I need to change my clothes now, so please give me some personal space. Thank you.” Kurosawa Shizuki brushed aside Asakura’s hands and opened the dressing room door. She already knew the information she wanted and had the clothes in her hands; she had no interest in continuing any more dressing-up games with Asakura in this dark room!

"Hmph, Kurosawa, one day you'll be begging me to grant you pleasure." Asakura snorted coldly in dissatisfaction, but did not stubbornly stay inside any longer.

She walked out without looking back, her kimono fluttering gracefully behind her as she went. As she left, Asakura slammed the door shut behind her.

Kurosawa Shizuki looked at herself in the dressing mirror. Practice makes perfect. The last time she changed into that shrine maiden outfit, it was so troublesome. This time, she thought it would be more efficient.

After cautiously looking around to make sure there were no cameras or anything like that, she locked the door, drew the curtains, and began her difficult yet blissful journey of changing clothes.

Kurosawa Shizuki took off her mismatched clothes and put on a magnificent robe. The robe fluttered, moving as if it were alive. No, this was not Kurosawa Shizuki's illusion. Kurosawa Shizuki felt as if she had indeed come into contact with something living. As soon as she put it on, it felt inseparable from her body, clinging tightly to her delicate skin. It didn't feel like a piece of clothing, but rather like another layer of human skin on her body. The wide kimono moved without wind, and there wasn't a single wrinkle in sight.

Kurosawa Shizuki looked down at the strange patterns on the kimono of the Shadow Princess: a swirling deep sea, soaring crows, and a bottomless black moon. Looking at it for too long would make one feel mesmerized and disoriented, even having the illusion that one was about to fall into this ukiyo-e-like otherworld. However, she could now smell a faint, decaying scent on the robe, as if something had been dead for a very, very long time.

【The Crown Prince's Splendid Robe (Contaminated), Quality: Dark Blue】

The filthy fire of desire desecrated the black sun; some, draped in this body, indulged in unrestrained pleasure and depravity, and were thus eternally cursed by the gods.

Skin of the Spirit: The skin of a beautiful creature is peeled away with extremely gentle hands, the seamstress's hands skillful, not a trace of its essence leaking out. It can adapt to your body and change its form according to your thoughts.

Darkening: Through this magnificent attire, you can briefly darken yourself and infiltrate the shadow realm. As a dark matter life form, you are difficult for beings below the level of the Long-lived to observe.

The lust for pleasure: The tainted robes still retain the alluring scent of decadent pleasure; a single misstep could lead to tragedy repeating itself. You gain an allure boost and may periodically be awakened with a distorted craving for pleasure.

Unknown trait (Contaminated): This trait is temporarily disabled until the blasphemer is killed.

Asakura casually gifted her a piece of equipment of deep blue quality, which was ever-changing. However, the "desire for love" characteristic made Kurosawa Shizuki feel that something was wrong. Was Asakura really digging a pit for her to fall into?

Currently, this outfit is contaminated. According to Asakura, if Kurosawa Shizuki kills the former Yin Prince who desecrated this magnificent outfit, perhaps the filth on the outfit can be removed, allowing it to regain its original state. Kurosawa Shizuki suspects that the uncontaminated outfit might turn into purple equipment.

After changing my clothes, I temporarily put aside the strange unease in my heart, pushed open the door of the dressing room, and walked through the narrow, dark corridor. On both sides were posters of various eerie atmospheres from Parthia Bar—a man with metal nail clippers on his hands and a strange smile, a grand banquet in scarlet, and a group of strange-smiling gentlemen from the last century standing in front of some kind of corpse.

The long hem of the kimono trailed on the ground, making it very inconvenient for Kurosawa Shizuki to walk. It was as if she was carrying an incredibly heavy burden. She couldn't understand why the kimono, which felt almost weightless when held in her hands, felt so heavy when worn. It was as if... she was carrying some kind of extremely heavy living thing on her back.

The power of the dark matter seemed to become even more exhilarated under the influence of this kimono. Kurosawa Shizuki felt that the dense darkness beneath the wide hem of the kimono was a suitable area for the dark matter to inhabit and grow. Almost without her command, the dark matter would flow endlessly under the hem of the skirt. Kurosawa Shizuki's skirt did indeed hide a black beast.

As the power of the black matter flowed naturally throughout her body, Kurosawa Shizuki felt that the black matter seemed to be inseparable from this kimono, as if they had completely merged into one. The heaviness she felt when she first put it on disappeared again, and now it seemed to be weightless. Kurosawa Shizuki even felt that the kimono itself had become an extension of her body, and she could command it to change into various shapes at will, just like she could control the black matter.

So, with a thought from Kurosawa Shizuki, the elegant clothes of the Shadow Princess sometimes changed into the sailor uniform that Kurosawa Shizuki wore to school, then into another rather boyish suit, then into the uniform of a singer from an idol girl group, and then in the blink of an eye, into a magical girl outfit from an anime, red and white.

Kurosawa Shizuki felt that this trait alone was a tremendous surprise for her. Did this mean she wouldn't need to change clothes anymore? She could change into this peculiar, gorgeous outfit with a single thought, and it didn't even need washing. A quick sweep with the black essence would make it look brand new. This wasn't some fake clothing forcibly conjured with black essence; the materials felt completely different depending on the garment's form!

A mischievous impulse struck, and the flowing black matter coalesced into a magic wand inlaid with a ruby. Kurosawa Shizuki raised her left hand and waved the wand, muttering an embarrassing line under her breath:

"Black Sun, grant me strength!"

She chuckled and looked down at the little dress. She absolutely did not want anyone to see her dressed like this; she would only wear such embarrassing clothes secretly in private.

"Click." However, at the other end of the corridor, someone chuckled and raised their phone, taking a perfectly timed photo of Kurosawa Shizuki, capturing the silly, head-down grin of the magical girl.

"What are you doing!" Kurosawa Shizuki, extremely embarrassed and angry, lunged at the grinning Asakura, trying to snatch Asakura's phone, but Asakura nimbly dodged her.

Chapter 90 The One Who Takes the Head

"Relax, every girl longs for such a beautiful and ever-changing outfit. Everyone wants to play with it when they first get it, I understand. It's cosplay, after all. There's plenty of time in the future. I'll play with you no matter what you want me to cosplay." Asakura let out a pleasant laugh and took Kurosawa Shizuki's hand very naturally.

Asakura's words caused Kurosawa Shizuki to pause and ponder for a moment.

"You said it yourself! You took one picture of me today, and I'm going to take a dozen more of your pictures from now on!" Kurosawa Shizuki said fiercely. Actually, it was just a few pictures of her cosplaying as a magical girl, nothing too explicit, so it wasn't a big deal. That was the only way she could comfort herself. It seemed that she probably didn't have a chance to snatch the phone back from Asakura. At least in terms of fighting ability, she had no confidence that she could surpass Miss Asakura.

“You can take pictures however you want. If you’re willing, I can even send you a lot of private photos. Of course, absolutely no leaks allowed! Don’t worry, I will never share your photos with anyone.” Asakura whispered in Kurosawa Shizuki’s ear, and Kurosawa Shizuki’s face turned red again at the thought of all sorts of strange images.

“Let’s go. While you were changing, your unexpectedly intelligent shadow servant returned. She seems to have something to ask you.”

Kurosawa Shizuki followed Asakura back to the main hall of Parthia Bar, and unsurprisingly saw Nakamura Yukise already sitting at the bar, drinking whiskey alone and talking to Mr. Kurosaki. Kurosaki Jubei seemed to be comforting Nakamura.

Turning his head, Nakamura saw Kurosawa Shizuki walk out, and his eyes immediately lit up: "Saintess, this outfit suits you perfectly!"

"The two princes do seem like a perfect couple, as if the Order has returned to its most prosperous days," Kurosaki Jubei exclaimed sincerely.

"Stop bringing up 'back then'. All traces of Mihara must be erased," Asakura said coldly. "With the new Yin Princess, we will destroy everything that woman cherishes sooner or later."

Kurosawa Shizuki was actually quite curious about what grudge Asakura had against the former Shadow Princess, but she could clearly see that this was a landmine for Asakura, and it was best not to ask until Asakura trusted her to a certain extent.

“That’s for sure. There is no mercy under the dark sun. All debts will be settled.” Kurosaki nodded.

“That’s right, all traitors will be destroyed.” Nakamura looked somewhat disappointed.

“I completely agree with what you said. No one is more hateful than a traitor.” Kurosawa Shizuki also chimed in.

"Nakamura, have you finished dealing with your personal matters?" Kurosawa Shizuki looked at Nakamura Yukise curiously. Nakamura Yukise seemed to have undergone a very strange change compared to before, and her temperament was completely different. If she was like a fierce ghost that could go out of control at any time before, she now seemed to be more like the Nakamura Yukise that Kurosawa Shizuki remembered when they first met.

Her eyes became clearer and more innocent, and her smile became more genuine and natural. There was almost no trace of the stiffness and indifference that belonged to a Shadow Servant. Anyone who saw her would only regard her as an ordinary living person.

"It's less of a private matter and more of a farewell. I've made a complete break with my past." Nakamura reached into the black material behind him and pulled out a bloody object, the pungent smell of which hit him.

Hollow, cloudy eyes, a twisted, desperate expression, and blood that had long since drained from the cut, yet it was still clear that the person had only recently been severed.

Nakamura Yukise, with an innocent smile on her face, held the head of a man whose face still had a strange smile before he died. She showed the head to Kurosawa Shizuki, holding the head with its messy hair. Her expression was like that of a little girl showing her Christmas present to her best friends. Just seeing such a scene would make anyone feel uneasy.

She had just thought Nakamura had returned to normal, but now it seems he's going further and further astray!

"I killed my teacher because he betrayed us, Saintess, is that alright?" Nakamura asked Kurosawa Shizuki softly.

“Nishizawa, my old friend, I never imagined he would be corrupted by the Shindai-kai. It’s truly heartbreaking. If I had known it would come to this when he insisted on dragging you, Miss Nakamura, into the cult, I would have stopped him no matter what.” Kurosaki Jubei showed no sadness on his face, as if he had already guessed the identity of the traitor.

"It's all fate's arrangement, and I can only accept it calmly. Besides... having the opportunity to follow the Saintess Kurosawa is not necessarily a bad thing for me," Nakamura said calmly.

“Ha, he brought this on himself,” Asakura sneered disdainfully. “Those who betray the Order deserve no punishment more severe than the cruelest punishment.”

"Are you sure it was him who betrayed the cult, exposed our whereabouts, and led us to the ambush by the Divine Society?" Kurosawa Shizuki felt that Nakamura was becoming more and more creepy, inexplicably reminding her of the evil spirits in horror movies who indiscriminately sought revenge.

“That’s right, he admitted it himself, so I took his head off, and he didn’t object to it,” Nakamura Yukise looked at the head in her arms with an extremely affectionate expression. “Saintess, may I keep this head? I feel that my teacher still had many things he didn’t tell me in his final moments.”

"He was once your lover. Do with his body as you see fit." Kurosawa Shizuki didn't want to press Nakamura about what he had just done. Her intuition told her that it was probably something very cruel. Nakamura definitely didn't just pluck her beloved teacher's portrait like a wildflower by the roadside.

"Thank you so much, Saintess! I will definitely cherish my teacher!" Nakamura Yukise showed an incredibly bright smile. Kurosawa Shizuki saw that her hands, which were holding the head, produced countless black thorns from between her fingers, which spun and drilled into the features of the terrifying head. It seemed that Nakamura Yukise was using the black matter to corrode the head of her once most beloved teacher.

His head opened its eyes once more, his pupils filled with an intensely venomous light. His mouth was wide open as if he were a living person, trying to shout something, but he couldn't utter a sound.

Nakamura inserted the head into her chest, and the black matter that made up her body began to decompose the strange head on its own. She actually merged with the head of her dearest teacher.

[Your Shadow Servant, Nakamura Yukise, has awakened the trait: Decapitator. By fusing with the head of the dead, she can gain one of the deceased's traits or skills from their lifetime.]

Your Shadow Servant Nakamura Yukise has acquired the green equipment, Scholar's Head.

Scholar's Head: You can consume Life Force to enter a state of accelerated thinking, attempting to analyze enemies. There is a chance to randomly acquire one of the enemy's weaknesses or simulate one of the enemy's random abilities. The greater the difference in rank, the more Dark Matter is required. As the number of enemies analyzed increases, Scholar's Head may evolve. Limited to those with the Decapitation Blade trait.

Kurosawa Shizuki never expected such a pleasant surprise. Nakamura was bringing her more and more surprises, and she could even awaken her own special abilities. Could it be that she could eventually become your purple shadow servant? Just wearing the head of Nishizawa Taisei was enough to grant her such power. What kind of surprises would it bring if she wore the heads of witnesses or even immortals in the future? Her dear teacher's head was also a rare gem. It could analyze and imitate the power of enemies and even grow on its own. If it weren't for the fact that only Nakamura could wear it, Kurosawa Shizuki herself would want to try it out.

“It’s truly enviable, Kurosawa. I never expected that you would acquire such a promising Shadow Servant so soon after advancing to the fourth rank,” Asakura said, watching Nakamura Yukise with interest. His gaze seemed to make Nakamura quite uncomfortable. “The characteristics of Shadow Servants are often determined by their innate talents and abilities in life. This trait of usurping heads and seizing power even reminds me of a certain named figure of the Black Sun in mythology…”

"You flatter me, Your Highness. I am but an insignificant servant of the Saintess Kurosawa. How could I compare myself to those who bear the names? I am only trying my best to make myself more useful to the Saintess." Nakamura Yukise's attitude towards Asakura was neither humble nor arrogant, but somewhat distant. Kurosawa Shizuki could tell that Asakura seemed a little unhappy.

“Forget it, now that we’ve done what we needed to do, there’s no need to waste any more precious time here,” Yuki Asakura said listlessly. “Next, we’ll go and awaken my father, the King of Blazing Sun, and gather the power of the two princes and the Black Sun Apostle. It’s time to launch a full-scale war against the Age of Gods.”

P.S., I plan to delete a lot of content from the upcoming chapters on the club and the Cursed Paradise. If I keep writing at this pace, I might not even finish the first volume in two hundred chapters.

Chapter 91, Section 91: Awaken the King of Sunfire!

Twenty minutes later, Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki, transported by a private car arranged by Kurosaki Jubei, arrived outside an abandoned seafood factory in front of Heikyo Bay. The driver was still Nakamura Yukise, whose driving skills were becoming increasingly steady.

"What kind of being is the King of Sunfire we're going to meet next?" Kurosawa Shizuki remembered that in the original owner's strange map, there was indeed a fifth-state anomaly in this area, marked as "Blazing Sun Flame," which was restricted by the Black Sun Cult. She was to observe it carefully.

“You were a Saintess in the probationary period before, and you couldn’t access this level of information. Now that you are the only candidate for the Shadow Prince, this information can certainly be given to you,” Yuki Asakura said casually. “In Heikyo, in order to guard against some unstable factors, including Kirie, the Black Sun Cult has been secretly supporting a fifth-class apostle, the King of Blazing Sun, who was my father before his collapse.”

"Wait, if we're talking about the fifth rank, and you're his child, then he's also violated the 'Heavenly Sin'?" An immortal being who has given birth to offspring has certainly violated this forbidden rule.

“That’s right, my father offended the heavens, but he didn’t want to devour me, and I didn’t want to kill him either…” Asakura gazed at the raging waves, her pupils reflecting a sorrowful sea blue. “So the gods punished him, he lost his dignity and collapsed, and became the ‘King of Sunfire’.”

"Unless he actually eats me, or I kill him with my own hands, he will suffer the torment of the evil spirits forever and will never be able to escape his pain."

Kurosawa Shizuki didn't know what to say to comfort Asakura. Perhaps Asakura didn't need her comfort at all; he had already made up his mind to face this cruel reality.

"Lord Asakura, there's no need to grieve too much about this. Being granted the status of an apostle by the Black Sun may not necessarily be a bad thing for Mr. Akira. The flames of the Black Sun are both a painful punishment and a joyful blessing..." Kurosaki Jubei said softly.

"Ha, a delightful gift?" Asakura's eyes darkened. She turned to look at Kurosaki Jubei, the air around her seemingly boiling, a bloated, invisible mass flowing, the space itself distorting under the sunlight. "Uncle Kurosaki, would you be willing to disintegrate into darkness, completely abandoning mortal rationality, bearing the filth of the world, and being thrown into the deep sea, burning forever like Father? I can let you experience such a 'gift'!"

The invisible black matter of "Kagerou" quickly swirled around Kurosaki Jubei, lifting him into the air. Kurosawa Shizuki saw that Kurosaki Jubei's face was sickly red as he was pulled into the air by the invisible black matter, as if an invisible hand was tightly gripping his throat.

Under the scorching sun, his entire body began to turn charred black, as if an invisible fire was indeed burning him.

"Miko... I'm sorry, it was me... cough cough... I misspoke..." Kurosaki pleaded with difficulty, no longer showing any of his previous composure and elegance. Now his bartender's suit was burned and full of holes.

“You’ve hit the nail on the head. I never expected Mr. Kurosaki to be such a smooth talker.” Nakamura Yukise showed no sympathy for Kurosaki Jubei and laughed gleefully.

Asakura turned his head, snapped his fingers, and released Kagerou's restraints. Without even glancing behind him, Kurosaki Jubei, who had landed from mid-air, kneeling on the ground with his hands on the ground, panting heavily, having just escaped with his life.

He walked toward Kurosawa Shizuki, his expression growing increasingly grim: "I'll let you off this time, Uncle Kurosaki. But I advise you never to judge things you don't understand. There can be no happy 'Apostles' in this world. The achievement of any great feat is destined to be built upon countless pains and sacrifices, and the Apostles bear the most tragic sacrifices in the great feats."

“When a person is burned, they feel pain. Pain and despair are the source of our strength. Such a simple thing, yet some within the Order have already forgotten it. Controlled fire is like that, and you, Uncle Kurosaki, are no exception.” Asakura Yuki’s face was as cold and desolate as the twilight shining through the glass into the room.

"Is pain power?" Nakamura looked down at her palm, his expression somewhat dazed, deeply understanding Asakura's words.

"Are you alright? I feel like your current state... seems a bit off?" Kurosawa Shizuki noticed that Asakura was no longer as sunny and cheerful as before. Even the Yangyan Black Essence on her body was twisting and going out of control from time to time. As long as she thought of her father, Asakura seemed to become a different person.

“It’s alright. I just feel sad for my father sometimes. Perhaps your father was much happier than mine. He was able to die cleanly and peacefully, instead of burning like firewood for God forever. That’s a kind of happiness too…” Asakura forced a pale smile.

"Never judge things you don't understand. That's what you just said. You have no right to judge my family, Asakura." Kurosawa Shizuki should have had no feelings for her so-called "father" whom she had never met, but when she heard Asakura claim that her father was "happy," Kurosawa Shizuki inexplicably felt an urge to refute him. She herself didn't know why she wanted to refute him.

Moreover, according to Kurosawa Ai, their father simply went to meet their formidable enemy and "disappeared." What exactly happened to their father is perhaps only known to Kurosawa Ai and their enemy.

"Haha, that's right, you're right. We all have our own troubles, and we all have unhealable wounds hidden in our hearts. I was blinded by my own limited understanding." Asakura's laughter turned somewhat melancholic, and the ocean-like patterns on her royal robes flowed even more turbulently.

Asakura followed them toward the sea, with Kurosaki and Nakamura on either side of them.

There were already dozens of members of the Black Sun Cult, fully equipped and ready to go. They were all dressed in black with a sharp and imposing presence, spoke with efficiency and strength, and had bright eyes. With their hands behind their backs, they stood in perfect order on both sides of the road, forming two human walls. Their discipline was impeccable. In Kurosawa Shizuki's eyes, they looked more like a small army or a private army of some security company than members of the cult.

Kurosawa Shizuki could clearly see the panels of each cult member and discovered that all of them were second-tier Shadowless Beings, and all of them had mastered the basic techniques of using black matter. Almost one-third of the Shadowless Beings of the entire Black Sun Cult had been gathered here.

At the end of the human wall, Kurosawa Shizuki saw an unexpected acquaintance, one of the few third-tier lion-level fanatics in the cult, Sakata Shinji. As always, he wore his lion head and looked at Kurosawa Shizuki and Asakura Yuki with a rather fanatical gaze, kneeling on one knee: "Your Highness and Your Highness, I, Sakata Shinji, the Executive Director of the Heikyo Cult, have led the Shadowfire Legion of the cult to answer your call."

[Shinji Sakata, Third Tier 'Lion', dedicates his life to the sun, yearning to comprehend inexhaustible spirituality amidst endless rage. Secret Technique: Fanatical Prayer VI, Skills: Dark Spirit Body - Lion, Hand of Shadows...]

"Sakata, it's been a long time! You're still as passionate as ever!" Asakura smiled and waved to Sakata Shinji, as if they were acquaintances.

"For the great cause of Black Sun, my passion will never be extinguished, because only Black Sun can give us the inspiration to create truly healing works of art!" Shinji Sakata clenched his fist excitedly, and Shizuki Kurosawa had no doubt that he could easily smash an ordinary person's head with a single punch.