The Path to Godhood Begins from the Otherworld

Luo Shu pondered for a moment. "Oboro, who kidnapped your fiancé earlier, is essentially a clone. Considering she's unaware of her identity, I speculate that the idea of ​​kidnapping your fiancé was simply because the clone inherited memories of Oboro's hatred for you, or rather, for the Taimanin, and was acting under instructions from certain high-ranking officials within Nomad."

"Mr. Luo, do you think that the instructions that the clone Long received from the Nomad executives actually came from her original body?"

"That's very likely." Luo Shu pondered for a moment. "They're trying to lure the enemy away from their base, confuse the enemy, and defeat them one by one. I suspect Nomad had the clone Long kidnap your fiancé just to conceal their true intentions from the very beginning."

Jinghe Ashaji fell silent after hearing this, and then she quickly understood what Luo Shu's "real intention" was.

"It seems you've noticed." Luo Shu sighed as he saw a hint of surprise on Jinghe Ashaji's face. "From the very beginning, Nomad's goal by kidnapping your fiancé was to throw Li Zi off balance, forcing you to separate from your sister so he could defeat them one by one."

"It seems that Nomad's plan has succeeded." Jinghe Asaki laughed at herself, "But, Mr. Luo, I don't understand why Nomad would target me, a retired Taimanin from the Taimanin Squadron."

"You've retired?" Luo Shu was stunned. "When did it happen?"

"Probably when I met Kyousuke."

"Then why did you return to the Taimanin Squadron as captain?"

"Because my master told me that in recent years, demons have been making moves in secret again, and have already appeared in the Tokyo metropolitan area."

"Ms. Jinghe, have you never doubted it?"

"what?"

"Let me put it this way, apart from your master, no one else should know where to find your secluded address after retirement, right?"

"Mr. Luo, you mean my master..."

Jinghe Asaki suddenly thought of a possibility she had never imagined. She felt a chill running through her body and subconsciously retorted, "Impossible. My master never took the initiative to ask me to return to Taimanin."

"Listen to me." Luo Shu shrugged. "What I mean is, have you ever thought about the meaning of that strange transfer order your sister received?"

"There's a traitor in the upper echelons of headquarters." Jinghe Asaki felt a little embarrassed when she heard Luo Shu say that. She quickly gathered her thoughts and said, "I actually noticed this after I became the captain of the Taimanin Squadron again, but I haven't been able to find any clues about this traitor."

When Luo Shu heard Jinghe Ashaji say this, his face turned strange. "Miss Jinghe, did you not find it, or did you find it but don't want to believe it?"

Jinghe Ashaji realized at this moment that the purpose of Luo Shu's sarcastic words just now was to induce her to think.

She opened her mouth subconsciously wanting to refute, but found that deep down she seemed to have been mentally prepared.

"Well, let's put off the small talk until we rescue your sister."

Luo Shu knew that the seeds of suspicion had been planted in Jinghe Ashaji's heart, and all he had to do now was wait for them to take root and sprout.

"Ah."

Jinghe Ashaji was very confused, but she felt relieved when she heard that Luo Shu did not continue to talk about this topic.

"Let's split up and look for any manhole covers near this building. In other words, is there any trace of a barrier remaining anywhere?"

In order to avoid the information gap caused by cognitive differences, Luo Shu asked, "It's not possible that a Taimanin doesn't even know about barrier techniques, right?"

"I do know about barrier techniques." Jinghe Asaki was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then said, "In fact, there is communication between the Taimanin and the local exorcist group in Fuso."

"That's fine."

Luo Shu nodded when he heard this, "Let's split up and call each other after we find any clues."

"I didn't bring my phone." Jinghe Asaki was a little embarrassed when she heard that. Seeing Luo Shu's look of surprise, she quickly said, "I'm sorry. Although Taimanin usually carry communication equipment when performing missions, I'm acting on my own this time, so..."

"Did you bring the flare?"

Jinghe Asaji still shook her head.

"...Ms. Jinghe, you don't intend to tell me that you brought a knife with you on this private mission."

Jinghe Asaji's face flushed with embarrassment when she heard this.

"Alright." Luo Shu was speechless after seeing her like this, but after thinking it over, he decided to use the [Fantasy Exchange] and spent dozens of World Origin Points to exchange for an electronic signal gun for her. "This is an electronic signal gun. When you find a clue, use this thing, inject magic power into it, and then pull the trigger towards the sky to fire a special yellow signal flare. Of course, you can set the color yourself on the signal gun."

"I understand, Mr. Luo." Jinghe Ashaji looked at the magical props that Luo Shu took out as if by magic. Besides being full of curiosity, she was more filled with awe.

"Then let's do it." Luo Shu handed the electronic signal gun to Jinghe Ashaji, and then reminded her, "By the way, I have to remind you, when using this thing, don't inject too much magic power at once, otherwise the noise emitted by the signal flare may cause you to temporarily go deaf."

"understood."

Upon hearing this, Jinghe Ashaji silently took the electronic signal gun, then she watched Luo Shu fly high into the sky and quickly disappear from her sight.

Jinghe Ashaji silently clenched the cold gun handle in her hand, and a hint of bitterness flashed in her eyes.

Master, I hope the person who betrayed humanity is not you...

Chapter 25: The Mark Left by Jinghe Sakura

After activating the flight-specific CAD, Luo Shu quickly flew to a place where Jinghe Ashaji could not see him, and then activated [Light and Shadow Maze A] to blend himself into the environment.

He wouldn't really look for any clues.

Since he knew that there was a "sister connection" between the Jinghe sisters, he felt that Jinghe Ashaji was near the place where his sister disappeared, and he should be able to find clues soon.

More importantly, he had a hunch that if the clone Oboro kidnapped Sawaki Kyosuke in order to lure out Igawa Asaki, then the other party might kidnap Igawa Sakura just to go with the flow.

He didn't think that the person who kidnapped Igawa Sakura had planned it in advance.

If the other party really had planned it in advance, then the time when Igawa Sakura was kidnapped could only have been the night she received the transfer order from the Taimanin Headquarters in Aokigahara Forest. There was no reason for the other party to delay until now.

More importantly, the person who kidnapped Jinghe Sakura gave Luo Shu the feeling that he had noticed that Jinghe Ashaji was led away by the clone Long, and then accidentally discovered that Jinghe Sakura was alone outside, and finally chose to take sudden action.

Luo Shu speculated that the person who kidnapped Igawa Sakura and the clone Oboro were most likely from the same Nomad organization, but both parties might be unaware of each other's existence.

In other words, the party that kidnapped Igawa Sakura knew the action plan of the clone Oboro, but the clone Oboro was unaware of the existence of the other party.

Luo Shu had a strong premonition that regardless of whether the clone's action plan against Jinghe Ashaji was successful, the mysterious man who kidnapped Jinghe Sakura had most likely achieved a certain purpose when he successfully kidnapped Jinghe Sakura.

He combined the few memories related to Taimanin in his memory and soon understood the intention behind the clone Oboro kidnapping Sawaki Kyousuke. It could only be to obtain the Taimanin gene of the Igawa family in Igawa Asaki's body.

Considering that Ikawa Sakura and Ikawa Asaki are blood-related sisters, in a sense, getting Ikawa Sakura can also achieve this goal.

Luo Shu speculated that the clone Oboro was not aware of his own clone and that it was likely that the real Oboro was the Nomad executive who gave the clone Oboro the order to kidnap Kyosuke Sawaki.

If this is true, then the caution and cunningness of this original body should not be underestimated.

After all, the fact that Jinghe Sakura would follow Jinghe Asaji out of the Jinghe mansion was a variable that even Luo Shu had not expected.

He estimated that the people who kidnapped Jinghe Sakura would not have thought that the strategy of luring Jinghe Asha away to defeat them one by one could actually achieve the effect of buy one get one free.

Thinking of this, Luo Shu couldn't help but feel sympathy for Jinghe Ashaji.

However, if the "sister sense" is awakened, can she really rely on that kind of mysterious sense to successfully find clues?

If the person who kidnapped Sakura Igawa was not the original Oboro, or Nomad, but a third party, I'm afraid this matter would become very troublesome tonight.

While Luo Shu's thoughts were racing, he quickly changed direction under the cover of [Light and Shadow Maze A] and flew back to where Jinghe Ashaji was.

Fortunately, Jinghe Ashaji quickly found the clue.

When Luo Shu saw her decisively launch the flare, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He first left where Jinghe Ashaji was, made a circle, and spent a few more minutes before flying back to the location where Jinghe Ashaji had just launched the flare.

Jinghe Ashaji had been waiting at the alley entrance for a long time. When she saw Luo Shu falling from the sky, she waved to him.

Seeing this, Luo Shu didn't waste any time and quickly walked over to her side, following her into the dark and deep alley. "You found the clue so quickly?"

"Sakura left a mark." Jinghe Yinghua quickly brought Luo Shu to a manhole cover deep in the alley. She then pointed to the scratches on the wall nearby and asked, "Do you see the graffiti on the wall?"

Luo Shu looked where Jinghe Ashaji pointed, and soon saw the graffiti on the wall under the bright moonlight, and soon noticed some strange light.

"Is that fluorescent powder?"

"No, that's a mark used exclusively by Taimanin. Because the moonlight is just right now, it reveals a faint glow similar to that of a firefly. Otherwise, other than Taimanin, no one else would be able to detect the special magic left by this mark."

"Was this mark left by magic?"

"Yes." Jinghe Asaki's face was a little gloomy. "According to the Taimanin's operational code, this kind of mark will only be engraved when the Taimanin is in danger and cannot escape, and it will not last long."

"So, when your sister was attacked, she sensed something was wrong and ran to this place?"

"That should be the case." Jinghe Asaki sighed, "I just checked around and found many signs of fighting. Although they have been cleaned up, the marks left by some kunai on the walls are very easy to identify. Tracking is a compulsory course for Manin. Sakura deliberately chose to shoot the wall with kunai when encountering the enemy to leave me clues."

"Are you sure your sister disappeared in this place?"

"Yes. Judging from the terrible magic power on the mark, Sakura left this mark less than half an hour after we left the underground pipe."

"Then go down." Luo Shu looked around and found that this place had a train of thought. He pointed at the manhole cover and said, "I guess your sister didn't expect that she would choose a dead end and get stuck."

Jinghe Ashaji also noticed this, and when she heard Luo Shu say this, she could only smile bitterly.

"Yeah, my sister has been complaining to me about her bad luck."

"Wait, don't be in a hurry." Luo Shu looked at Jinghe Ashaji who was about to lift the manhole cover, but he suddenly stopped her and said, "Be careful of the trap."

Upon hearing this, Jinghe Ashaji subconsciously distanced herself from the manhole cover. She asked uneasily, "Mr. Luo, are you saying that the enemy will tamper with the manhole cover?"

"Yes, since he met your sister here, and considering that he had to worry about being discovered by Princess Alice's men, he either chose to leave through this manhole cover underground, or the other way around."

"So what should we do next? Separate our actions or..."

"No, there's no need to separate." Luo Shu took out the World Tree terminal phone, "I'll contact Princess Alice and ask her to send more people to block off the nearby blocks. We'll go down directly through the manhole cover."

After saying that, Luo Shu called Alice, briefly explained the current situation, and then walked to the manhole cover. After confirming that there was no danger, he lifted the cover.

Suddenly a strange stench came from the floor.

Luo Shu's brows immediately furrowed.

At this moment, Jinghe Ashaji suddenly said, "It's the stench of the demon's corpse."

Chapter 26: Part of Taimanin's Past

Luo Shu didn't expect that Jinghe Ashaji was so sensitive to smells.

That's not right. She shouldn't be a Taimanin who is famous for her sense of smell. How can she distinguish the stench of a demon's corpse?

"How did you smell it?"

"Mr. Luo, Taimanin are not actually native to this world."

Jinghe Asaki didn't know why she chose to suddenly self-destruct. "The current Taimanin is a branch of the human forces in the Demon Realm who chose to break away from the human forces in the Demon Realm after discovering the existence of this world."

"What?" Luo Shu was stunned when he heard this. "You said the origin of Taimanin isn't from this world?"

"Mr. Luo, the history of Taimanin in this world is only half a century."

Jinghe Ashaji thought for a moment and decided to tell Luo Shu part of the truth in order to avoid any accidents in the operation to save her sister.

For example, if the person who kidnapped his sister was the real Oboro, who had defected from the Taimanin and had intelligence about the Taimanin, and if he used that intelligence as a bargaining chip to induce Luo Shu to give up cooperation with him, then things might become uncertain.

At this time, Asaki Jinghe had calmed down from the shadow of her fiancé's death. She regained the wisdom that a Taimanin captain should have. After thinking it over again and again, she finally chose to eliminate the biggest variable that might affect her ability to save her sister in advance.

She had already lost the life of someone she cherished, and now the only person she cherished in the world was her sister. If something happened to her sister again...

Jinghe Ashaji could not accept such an ending.

Only when you lose something do you know how to cherish it.

Jinghe Ashaji knew that she understood this truth too late.

However, Luo Shu's appearance made her feel like a drowning person grabbing a life-saving straw while struggling.

As long as she could rescue her sister safely, sacrificing the interests of the Taimanin would not be unacceptable to her.

Of course, what prompted Jinghe Ashaji to disclose the information was Luo Shu's meaningful words just now.

When she thought about the possibility that her master might betray humanity, she had lost the last bit of sense of belonging to the Taimanin in her heart.

Even the fact that Asaki Igawa now always feels that she cannot retire peacefully is the result of deliberate manipulation by some high-ranking Taimanin officials.

And in the Taimanin Headquarters in Aokigahara Forest, there is only one person who has the ability to prevent him from retiring peacefully without his knowledge.

Luo Shu naturally didn't know about the complicated psychological activities in Jinghe Ashaji's heart at this time. When he heard this information, he suddenly thought of the space-time channel that Princess Alice had mentioned before, that is, the space-time node that appeared in Fuso in this world. It seemed that it was after the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Fuso.

"Is it after Fuso was attacked by two atomic bombs?"

"It seems that Princess Alice really trusts Mr. Luo." When Jinghe Asaji heard Luo Shu raise such a sharp question, she couldn't help but feel fortunate for her decision to confess the information about the Demon Ninja at this time.

However, this incident also made her realize that since Alice had already betrayed the Taimanin, it meant that she had other intentions behind spying on her and her sister.

Jinghe Asaki didn't know why the elf princess from another world targeted the Taimanin, or why she targeted herself and her sister.

However, from the fact that Luo Shu and Alice were cooperating and sharing intelligence, she knew that the two parties were clearly targeting the Taimanin organization, which was nominally under the jurisdiction of the Fuso government in this world.

Asaki Jinghe didn't know what value Taimanin had that was worthy of Luo Shu and Princess Alice's attention.

But she knew very well that as long as Luo Shu cared about Taimanin at this time, the information she provided about Taimanin would be valuable.