In Tokyo, I draw cards and become a big demon

The earthy smell rushed into my nose.

Nanjo Aimi smacked her lips, it was a familiar taste.

She remembered Shizuma Manfuyu's dream and had finished reminiscing about it, so she decided to just get back to work.

After all, people can look back, but they have to move forward and life has to go on.

She walked behind Kurosaki Akira and the other Onmyojis, coughed twice, and spoke loudly, "Those who still have work to do should get to work. The wave is coming, so don't let your guard down just because you've made preparations."

Everyone was about to respond, but her and Kurosaki Akira's phones rang at the same time.

The two looked at each other and answered the phone.

"Young Master Nanjo!"

"Young Master Kurosaki!"

The operator's anxious voice came from the other end of the line: "A large-scale disturbance has suddenly occurred in important areas such as transportation routes, schools, and hospitals throughout Arakawa District. Initial speculation is that the latent 'seed' of love and separation has been detonated."

Most of the people present showed expressions of astonishment, but Nanjo Aimi remained calm: "Kondo Daizu should have already activated Plan A."

The person on the other end of the line paused briefly before continuing, "Uh—yes! Everyone, all the information regarding [Love Separation, Seeds, and Heart Poison], including the detailed mission arrangements, has been uploaded to your phones!"

"Arakawa District has entered a state of complete martial law! This mission is codenamed [Red Tide]. I hope you can contain the red tide in time!"

"I wish you good luck in martial arts!"

After the call ended, the originally sad and silent atmosphere at the cemetery suddenly changed. Kurosaki Akira immediately said seriously, "Take care, Nanjo-kun!"

Nanjo Aimi glanced at her phone and nodded at him: "Well, take care."

After Kurosaki Akira and the other Onmyojis left, Nanjo Aimi called again: "Anything else you want to say?"

But this time, it was Kondo Tomoya's heavy voice that came.

"Nanjo minor species, the number of seeds and the range of influence are rapidly doubling and spreading, the situation is on the verge of collapse and corruption."

Because there were only four people left, Nanjo Aimi used the hands-free mode.

Except for Shizuma Manatsu who was still sobbing, the three of them were stunned.

Nanjo Aishi asked, "Wasn't the Starry Barrier set up a few days ago? Why can't the exact location of the seed be detected?"

"Sakata-kun has been specifically trapped. Without the guidance of the Tianwendao Onmyoji, the barrier won't take effect quickly." Kondo Tomoya's voice rose and fell. "I'm trying to rescue him."

Nanjo Aishi asked, "Where are the foreign players from other regions?"

"--Ai Bieli must have made an agreement with the other Eight Bitternesses and some great demons to start a riot at the same time, so no one is free to take action at the moment."

as expected.

Nanjo Aimi frowned slightly. "What about the Self-Defense Forces and the Armed Police? Doesn't Plan C allow them to use some force to suppress the unrest?"

There was a slight commotion coming from Kondo Tomoya's side, but it soon quieted down along with the sound of swords. "The soldiers and armed police that were arranged in advance didn't show up. Instead, some traffic police and criminal police were spontaneously maintaining order."

"An unexpected monster appeared?"

"No," Kondo Tomoya's voice trembled. "It's because the unrest came too suddenly, startling the government officials who weren't informed in advance."

"—They fled without a single one left when the unrest first began."

Nanjo Aimi's expression froze, unable to hide her astonishment.

Uesugi Tetsu could even hear the crisp sound of the special mobile phone being deformed by her squeezing.

"Everyone escaped? There must be one..."

"They all fled. The military and armed police are leaderless. No one dares to go out and kill the 'seeds' who look just like ordinary people. We don't have the authority to command them."

"Now! Phew—the number of people infected by the red tide is at least thirty or forty thousand. It's more than tenfold!"

Kondo Tomoya's voice was drowned out by the explosion and roar, and was not very clear:

"Young Master Nanjo, I'm asking for your opinion as usual. Should we wait until I rescue Young Master Sakata and then immediately counterattack and annihilate the Red Tide? Or should we try to gather as many civilians as possible and preserve our manpower while we wait for rescue?"

——It would be better to destroy such a world as soon as possible.

The black umbrella had unknowingly fallen to the ground. Nanjo Aimi pulled her hair in frustration, muttering frantically in her heart: "I clearly told them exactly what to do when the time comes... Why did they still run away!"

"Why can't you even do something as simple as this? Why why why why!"

"It's obvious that this problem can be easily solved..."

"What kind of garbage is sitting in the government right now? Normally, corruption is fine, but in this situation, even a sewer rat knows not to run away..."

Nanjo Aimi thought expressionlessly: "What on earth are we doing? Whose interests are we protecting? Does Manfuyu's death really have any meaning?"

"When the Red Tide ends and most of the people in Arakawa District are dead, those scum who escaped will pretend nothing happened and sit back in their seats..."

But everything she had experienced in these twenty-two years, the junior high and high school she attended, the convenience store where she worked, and the company she had worked for would all become ruins.

Her former classmates, teachers, colleagues, friends, superiors, juniors, and even this cemetery... everything will be swallowed up and disappeared by this increasingly severe red tide.

So does she have to forget all this and go to a new place to start a new life?

That's about enough.

"Young Master Nanjo?"

Kondo Tomoya's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Nanjo Aimi suddenly said, "I'll do it."

Kondo Tomoya paused: "What do you mean?"

"literal meaning."

"—Connect all the starry barriers to me. I will locate all the seeds, I will curb the red tide, I will exorcise the separation of love, I will quell this unrest, and I will chop off the heads of those idlers one by one! No matter where they escape to!"

Uesugi Tetsu could see that Nanjo Aimi's expressionless face became more and more angry, but her pupils became colder, like iron.

Nanjo Aimi said word by word: "This world needs to change!"

Twenty-two years of pent-up emotions burst forth, and the corporate life she had painstakingly adapted to was ripped apart. Nanjo Aimi practically roared, unquestionably uttering her final words:

"——If necessary, I will change it!!!"

The special mobile phone, as hard as steel, was crushed into a pile of scrap metal, and fell on the shadow spreading from under Nanjo Aimi's feet with sparks, and was swallowed up.

Nunu and Rihefang came out and stood there blankly. It was the first time they felt their usually calm and easy-going master showing such emotions, so they were frightened and at a loss.

The surging shadow turned into substance, gently embracing Nanjo Aimi from behind, her voice sad and caring: "Aimi, are you going to be a hero again?"

"Fuck heroes!"

Nanjo Aimi grinned and gritted her teeth, "Now I just want to kill the guy who killed Madoka, and then cut every one of those old idiots who are just sitting there doing nothing into pieces!"

"Elections, government, family... these things from the old days should all be swept into the dustbin of history!"

Nanjo Aimi gradually restrained the overflowing and exaggerated emotions on her face and became indifferent and rational again.

The spiritual energy that was far more turbulent than the sea tide rose from the ground and swept away the layers of dark clouds in the sky.

Uesugi Che saw her turn around, and saw the blue sky filling up those iron-colored eyes, with stars falling like rain across them.

He heard her say,

"To rule the new era, we don't need so many people."

"Their dreams will all be realized by me."

At this moment, a new task prompt popped up in front of Uesugi Tetsu's eyes——

[Special limited-time mission, "Red Tide" has begun! ]

The objectives of this mission are as follows:

[Goal 1: Together with Nanjo Aimi, we will curb the spread of the red tide.]

[Goal 2: Together with Nanjo Aimi, exorcise the Eight Sufferings and Love Separation.]

[Rewards for this limited-time mission will be distributed based on your participation and contribution! The higher your overall contribution, the richer the reward!]

He couldn't help but be stunned. This task suddenly appeared because of Nanjo Aimi's decision just now.

In other words, if Nanjo Aimi had not undergone the bizarre change just now, would the Arakawa District have been destroyed by both the love separation and the red tide?

Chapter 105: Love and Separation (53k)

This possibility is not small.

Rather... this is something that can be expected.

It is unimaginable that tens of thousands of "seeds" that cannot be identified by conventional means and can quickly infect others can cause harm when mixed in the vast sea of people.

What's more, the current Arakawa District can be said to be a huge emotional incubator.

The Honganji Cemetery is not far from the densely populated urban area, so even standing in the desolate cemetery, Uesugi Tetsu could hear the sounds of unrest coming from afar.

He was pondering what to do next when he saw the bright red [Evacuation Notice] pop up on his phone screen.

This should have been the notification that appeared on everyone's phone thirty minutes ago, when the unrest was just beginning to show signs of happening.

But it has only arrived now.

No one needs this kind of notification anymore.

Because just take a casual look at the street, you can see buildings engulfed in flames and people fleeing in panic like ants.

All over the place.

Crying, blood, screaming, and death took place one after another.

Uesugi Tetsu knew that he was unable to curb such a corrupt situation.

Even if he transformed into a three-tailed fox and White Prajna and was able to kill a hundred or even a thousand, this tiny loss would have no effect on Red Tide.

But can Nanjo-san do it?

The spiritual power that just emanated from her was indeed far greater than his own, but it did not give him the feeling of "this is a four-star".

——Nanjo Ai said that if one becomes a four-star comparable to the devil level before the wave comes, he will exude an unparalleled presence.

But she doesn't currently have one.

Obviously, Nanjo Aimi can only get three and a half stars at most.

If I give him three and a half stars, then I think Kondo Daisuke should be given the same rating.

But isn't he also trapped in the red tide now, making it difficult to even save people?

Uesugi Tetsu looked at Nanjo Aimi with hesitation, and met the latter's indifferent eyes for a moment.

Nanjo Aimi didn't say anything, but just looked at the skyline that had been dyed red.

The next moment, patches of deep blue magic light lit up in conjunction with each other.

The barrier rose, illuminating the dark sky above the entire Arakawa District.

Lilizi glanced at Nanjo Aimi with a puzzled look and said, "This is a starry barrier used to detect demons."

The scattered spiritual energy was sucked in like a whale by these suddenly appearing super-large barriers. No matter where the Onmyoji were in the Arakawa District, they all sensed this astonishing change and looked up in astonishment.

Then, a faint indignation and confusion arose in my heart.

——The duration of the Starry Barrier is very short, and it will become invalid after one use. It needs to be led by an Onmyoji who is proficient in astronomy to achieve the maximum effect.

——Whose bad idea was it to activate dozens of star barriers at the same time?

People on countless streets looked up, their eyes filled with confusion, fear, the red of flames and the blue of magic.

Uesugi Tetsu looked up and saw the sky lit up with Kikyo seals and spells that he could not understand for the time being. They stretched for thousands and tens of thousands of meters and still existed to the end of his sight.

He remained silent.

Nanjo Aimi...is it really necessary for one person to control such a barrier?

Although Uesugi Tetsu didn't know much about Yin-Yang magic and barriers, he knew that manipulating barriers required the consumption of spiritual energy.

How much spiritual power is needed to manipulate such a vast barrier and mark out tens of thousands of "seeds" on this basis?

Even if you drain ten Nanjo Aimi dry, you won't be able to do it.

"Kondo was quite straightforward and irresponsibly handed Arakawa Ward over to me."

Nanjo Aimi laughed happily and stretched out five fingers towards the azure sky.