I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

Kaga Kiyomitsu thought happily, "The Great Demon King suddenly looks better and more amiable in my eyes. Hmm... he's a decent match for Master, barely!"

But immediately, it fell into thought again.

"However, they still need to undergo our serious test!"

After clapping for a while, Kaga Kiyomitsu turned around in surprise and realized that he seemed to be the only one clapping in the whole world.

Huh, that's strange?

Isn't this a good thing?

Is this a good thing...?

In the audience, where silence and commotion intertwined, Motonobu Okabe was completely stunned.

That face.

that person.

That knife.

It is Che.

Even now, no matter how much Okabe Motonobu couldn't believe it, no matter how unwilling he was to believe it, he had no choice but to believe it...

The Uesugi Tetsuya standing before him was indeed Tetsuya.

The great Onmyoji she had met was Che.

After a brief moment of confusion, a whole host of emotions, including doubt, anger, and bewilderment, welled up in Okabe Motonobu's eyes.

why?

Why... it really is him?

It was someone on whom both he and his lord had placed high hopes, only to have those hopes dashed.

Che.

Who's watching me?

On the stage, Uesugi Tetsuya, feeling himself being locked onto by an unusually intense gaze, turned his head in surprise.

But after searching for a long time, he still couldn't find the owner of that gaze in the sea of ​​people.

Because Okabe Motonobu happened to be wearing sunglasses.

At that moment, Hozoin Inari, who was enjoying the milk candy that Chisa had shared, turned his head as if sensing something and asked Okabe Motonobu,

"Big sister Ogasawara, what's wrong?"

These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Okabe Motonobu's head in the dead of winter, bringing her back to her basic sanity.

After a long silence, Motonobu Okabe finally answered in a calm tone.

"nothing."

At that moment, Motonobu Okabe abruptly closed his eyes.

I...lost my composure.

I almost failed my lord's expectations.

—Nobody would believe it's nothing.

This rollercoaster-like emotional fluctuation is completely treating this humble monk like a blind and deaf person.

Hozoin Inri scoffed inwardly.

But he glanced at Chisa, whose face was full of excitement and innocence, and hesitated for a moment before shutting his mouth.

It would have been better if the person sitting next to him was an ordinary, unrelated spectator, or someone capable of protecting themselves.

A few seconds later, Motonobu Okabe added an explanation,

"I just felt that Uesugi Tetsu looked a bit like someone I used to know... but after looking closely, I realized that I was just mistaken."

Motonobu Okabe clenched his fists tightly, but tried his best to control the force so that his nails wouldn't pierce his skin.

……

"He's cured, what's next?"

Nanjo Ai patted Ririko all over to make sure it was her, then pointed at Uesugi Tetsuya and said...

"If you're not going to fight, then get off here quickly and stop wasting public resources."

Uesugi Tetsu nodded.

"Nanjo-nee is right, it's not good to steal too much of the limelight."

After saying that, he looked at Saito Ryuichi, who hadn't made a single move from beginning to end, and now no one dared to challenge him anymore.

The latter remained expressionless, only thinking to himself.

"That look from Uesugi Tetsuya means he doesn't want me to delay any longer."

There's no need to antagonize Uesugi Tetsuya; that was already certain before the seeding battle even began.

Looking at it now, he is even more of an ally that the Saito family has to try every means to win over.

Saito Ryuichi looked around again and found that all the faces were familiar enough to be recognized.

It's almost there.

Aside from Minamoto no Shizumizu and Kitada Kei, he had almost gathered all the information about himself.

However, since he couldn't beat Minamoto Shizumizu anyway, Uesugi Tetsu could at least test Kitada Kei's character for him first.

The key lies with Ririko.

Saito Ryu's expression darkened slightly.

Ririko Tokugawa, I had already analyzed her quite thoroughly, and my chances of winning were around 70-80%.

But in the blink of an eye, she actually reached the "other shore" of sword enlightenment in just one battle, and she was defeated without even having a chance to use her skills.

How outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!

The family's records also contain some information about this place, saying that those who can send a sword heart here are all famous swordsmen in history.

Although Saito Ryuichi knew nothing about swordsmanship, he still knew that Genji's eldest daughter, Genji Shinsui, had also reached this level.

Yes, it's that Source Water that, by simply passing by from the unseen heavens and wielding its sword energy, could easily slaughter an entire city of demons and splatter blood all over their faces.

Recalling the shock of that day, Saito Ryuichi still finds it hard to imagine that he is about to face a monster of this level.

Thinking about this, Saito Ryuichi became even more puzzled.

—What kind of useless people are in power in the Tokugawa family? They actually let this monster escape by his own hands, and even kicked him out of the family.

If it were me, I'd probably be too busy serving tea and water, asking about your well-being, and giving you massages and leg rubs every day...

After cursing the old Tokugawa family for being incompetent and short-sighted, Saito Ryuichi couldn't help but wonder how he should face Tokugawa Ririko.

Well, let's just take it one step at a time.

Saito Ryuichi got up and began his first challenge in this seeding battle.

"I challenge, ranked 12th, Flameflow."

In short, you should always pick the softest persimmons first.

"--pity."

Yuan Jingshui turned his gaze away from Ririko, who was sitting in the TOP4 seat and deep in thought, brainstorming.

It's a real shame that Tokugawa Ririko used up that one chance to challenge someone higher.

Because she had never fought against another swordsman whose mental cultivation had reached such a level.

Strength and such are actually secondary.

Only by sparring with a swordsman who truly surpasses oneself on the path of "sword" can one gain rewards that no other battle can match.

Amidst her regretful sighs, Saito Ryuichi, who possessed a wealth of information and was able to devise four, five, or six solutions, practically swept through the competition to secure a spot in the TOP 5.

Then, Ririko, who hadn't even managed to get her hands on Kaga Kiyomitsu, was inexplicably beheaded.

Yes, it's inexplicable.

Not only did Uesugi Tetsu not understand, but even Minamoto Shizumizu, who was also a highly skilled swordsman, and Kitada Kei subconsciously narrowed their eyes, unable to figure it out.

Even when he first entered the game, preparing to implement a steady long-range strategy, Saito Ryuichi had no idea how he died.

He felt a sudden bright light, then darkness, and then another bright light.

When Saito Ryuichi opened his eyes, he saw Nanjo Manami's face.

He hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

"Please note that the medical staff are requested to wait in the background..."

To everyone's surprise, Nanjo Manami actually said to him,

"The battle is over."

She helplessly spread her hands: "You lost, Saito."

"I lost?"

The head of the Saito family lowered his head and moved his ten undamaged fingers and the spiritual energy shield on them.

Lost?

Saito Ryuichi felt the surging spiritual energy filling his body, as well as the dense array of spell patterns engraved on his skin, waiting to be activated.

The battle hasn't even started yet, has it?

"Yeah, she was beheaded by Ririko." Nanjo Ai pointed with her thumb to the girl in the distance who could attract everyone's attention just by standing there.

Amidst the unbearable absurdity, Saito Ryuichi, who hadn't even had a chance to unleash his full power, took a deep breath, nodded, and spoke in polite language.

"I understand. Thank you for clearing up my doubts, Nanjo-sama."

"You're welcome. Actually, Saito, you've been very well prepared. It's just that Ririko doesn't play by the rules at all."

Nanjo Manami offered him a few more words of comfort.

The more he tried to comfort Saito Ryuichi, the greater his sense of frustration became.

He is actually capable of accepting failure.

It's acceptable to be slightly outmatched after a fierce battle, to be ambushed and killed by a new move, or even to become the "demon shattered by Yuan Xinshui's sword" that day.

But what's going on when you still think nothing has even started until you fail?

After being teleported back to his seat in the TOP5, Saito Ryuichi fell silent.

Perhaps I'll need to learn some Yin-Yang techniques about the dead and their souls in the future.

At least, before you die completely, you should figure out how you died.

It's so frustrating to die without understanding.

From his higher seat, Kitada Kei looked down after turning his gaze away from the ring and suddenly found himself shamefully feeling a sense of relief.

He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly in horror, then looked to both sides.

However, it was noticed that both Uesugi Tetsuya and Minamoto Shizumi couldn't help but show a slight sense of regret and pity in their expressions.

These subtle expressions, in Kitada Kei's eyes, formed an incredibly strong and stark contrast with his own thoughts and feelings.

He silently closed his eyes, and in his daily self-reflection, he firmly remembered this shameful sense of relief, and then slowly erased it little by little.

Kitada Kei sighed.

It turned out to be the case.

I'm still far from good enough.

So, it's only natural that I couldn't beat them both.

However, we should still give it a try.

How can you know the outcome if you don't try?

Amidst the wary silence of the lower-ranked players, Kitada Kei, who was in second place, suddenly spoke up.