I, Den-O, the Contract Urban Legend

"Look, there are several people tied to the tree ahead!"

Such a sentence suddenly popped up from the monster. Iwanaga Kotoko and Natsukawa Hanako immediately looked up and saw two unknown monsters and the demon god tied motionless to the tree. Especially the two monsters with bleeding heads, they looked a bit creepy, and no one knew whether they were alive or dead.

"Well, who are they?"

"I don't know, maybe it's a Kyoto monster."

Hanako Natsukawa breathed a sigh of relief and quickened her pace towards the inner hall. "Ignore them. They don't look friendly anyway. Let's continue on our way... I can sense the fear emanating from the inner hall growing stronger. We're running out of time."

……

Deep in the inner hall, the spirit cricket who was guarding the entrance to the Nue Pond looked at Ibaraki Douji who suddenly fell to the ground beside him with a look of shock, and for a moment he couldn't understand what was going on.

Recalling the scene a few seconds ago, Jing Mole Cricket only heard Ibaraki Douji groan, and when he turned around, he found that the other party had fallen down.

"Ibaraki, what's wrong with you? I didn't expect that someone like you who usually looks so stern could actually play such a joke. But don't forget that you are now a great youkai after being strengthened. How could you suddenly collapse with such strength?"

As he spoke, the clever mole cricket squatted down, stretched out his hands to grab the shoulders of Ibaraki Douji, who rolled his eyes, and shook him continuously.

"Hey, stop playing around. We're still on a mission. It would be bad if the enemy disturbed Lord Yuyuko of Nuechi!"

However, Ibaraki Douji still did not react. The mole cricket also vaguely smelled a hint of blood and began to realize that something was wrong. Its hand seemed to have touched something from Ibaraki Douji.

"Is this...blood?"

Before he could say anything more, a manhole cover appeared out of thin air from behind the cricket and slammed down on the back of his head.

Accompanied by a cry of pain, the mole cricket only felt a sharp pain. At this moment, it finally realized that this was not a joke, but a real enemy attack!

Despite this, the opponent did not seem to intend to give the Elf Cricket any chance to breathe, and the manhole cover fell down again. The Elf Cricket could no longer withstand such a heavy blow, and his eyes went black, and he fell beside Ibaraki Douji.

"Onii-chan, this thing is more useful than a pistol!"

"Inoue Ueya" looked at the blood-stained manhole cover in his hand as if he had got a new toy, but no matter how he looked at it, it was just an ordinary manhole cover that you see on the street every day, there was nothing special about it at all.

Just walking all the way in from the inner hall entrance, all the monsters blocking the way were knocked unconscious by this ordinary manhole cover. If it didn't work once, then just hit it a few more times. Even Ibaraki Douji and the mole cricket who had become great monsters could not escape.

[Well, after all, this manhole cover is only effective in certain situations.]

The modified props produced by the system always have some strange effects. The previous Nanba crutch had the effect that it would definitely break if it was hit by a knee, and this manhole cover is no exception.

"Prop: Yuko Kitajima's manhole cover"

"Effect: Grants a certain amount of bonus damage and damage reduction based on the opponent's strength. The stronger the target, the stronger the item's effect. The item cannot cause fatal damage. Using this item will cause the holder to gradually become yandere until they put the item down to break the state."

"Note: The item cannot be destroyed by external forces, but it has a durability value. The stronger the target, the higher the durability value. Once the durability reaches zero, the item will be directly damaged and cannot be repaired."

Well, it is a practical weapon in situations where you need to subdue the enemy, especially when combined with Mary's teleportation ability.

It's just that the effect of becoming stronger when facing a stronger opponent is a bit bad. Not to mention these two big monsters, when the manhole cover is used on weaker monsters, the scene is a bit bloody, and the side effects do not allow people to fight with this thing all the time, so it was kept in the system space by Inoue Ueya for a long time.

[In short, now I am only one step away from becoming a fox.]

Chapter 260: What version of the trolley problem is this?

While Inoue Ueya was still dealing with the elf crickets and Ibaraki Douji who were guarding the gate, Yuyuko, who was performing the reincarnation ritual in his body, was not feeling well.

Speaking of Yuyuko, she is indeed a monster, but her body is human, which is the effect of the reincarnation ritual.

The execution of the reincarnation ritual requires a huge amount of vitality and resentment. Trying to obtain these two things easily would undoubtedly trigger a war. Therefore, "Nue" deliberately set the ritual so that every time she reincarnates, she can transfer to some extraordinary people, giving Yuyuko more room to operate. Therefore, in the past, there have even been statements such as "the demon fox is born to bring disaster to the world."

The vitality of her body was constantly being drained by the technique, and her spirit was constantly being eroded by the resentment she had absorbed from the Nue Pool. Although these were not considered any harm to Yuyuko, who had integrated the power of the Demon God, facing this double pain that affected both her body and mind, her face could not help but turn pale.

"Harumi... just a little bit more. After a thousand years, we, mother and son, will soon meet again."

Although she felt very painful due to the influence of the reincarnation technique, Yuyuko's face was still filled with a happy smile because she knew it was all worth it.

After the reincarnation ritual in her body was completed, she could finally put an end to this thousand-year journey. She no longer needed to start any wars, nor did she need to waste her energy calculating against others.

"Perhaps I can return to my secluded days and live a peaceful and beautiful life, which wouldn't be bad..."

Regarding the matter of Yuyuko, the Skeleton Demon God had heard some things in the past from the Demon God who disappeared due to changes in history. The endless reincarnation, the never-ending battle, and the constant experience of life and death for a certain purpose were somewhat similar to the situation of the Demon God.

[After spending thousands of years trying to revive Nue and experiencing countless failures, have you ever thought of giving up?]

Hearing this, Yuyuko shook her head and replied with a smile, "Give up? I've never thought of that. Qingming is my only family. Since there's a possibility of his resurrection, I just want him to live."

During this period of time, the relationship between Yuyuko and the Skeleton Demon God has improved a lot. She had long given up the idea of ​​asking "Nue" to destroy the Demon God, and she also heard a lot about the current situation of the Demon God from the Skeleton. Although she didn't understand most of what he said, it was probably a question of his form of existence, a situation that monsters often encounter.

"Don't worry. I'll have Qingming recruit the Demon God into his fold. He's the best Onmyoji in the world. With his talent, he can definitely solve your problems. That's probably why you wanted to join, right?"

There was no room for doubt in Yuyuko's tone. She was quite clear about the strength of "Nue" as she had experienced many reincarnations due to the technique. She was even able to interfere with the cycle of life and death, let alone any problems.

【…】

To be honest, the Skeleton Demon God does not have a good impression of Yin-Yang magic. Judging from the strength displayed by the Hanakaiin family, those spells are nothing but tricks that are not worth mentioning in front of the Demon God. The only thing that can be said is Yuyuko's reincarnation technique. That kind of spell that can bring people back to life is a bit against the will of heaven, but whether "Nue" has the ability to rescue the Demon God from the curse of time is still a mystery.

In the original history, before the "Book of Shadows" blurred the concepts of life and death and completely destroyed the world, Nue was resurrected once. Although there was no intervention from the Demon God that time, Yuyuko still successfully activated the reincarnation ritual imprinted on her soul.

However, no one expected that the "Nue" would push Yuyuko into the sea of ​​fire in hell without saying a word shortly after her resurrection. The reason is unknown. It is said that she was completely swallowed by the flames and disappeared without a trace. Her fate can be imagined.

Well, who would care about such things? Anyway, "Nue" was successfully resurrected, and the contract between him and Yuyuko was completed, so her life or death is not important.

Besides, the Demon God provoked not only the Electric King of this world, but even the Demon God Electric King who was constantly traveling between different worlds had his eyes on them. I don’t know how those guys discovered them. This time the aura was hidden perfectly, it should be impossible to be exposed, right?

The Skeleton Demon God inside the Feathered Fox was silent for a moment before responding.

"Oh, is that so? I'm really looking forward to it."

However, Yuyuko and the Skeleton Demon God did not notice that there was an uninvited guest in the Nue Pond. Not long ago, Inoue Ueya was already standing at the door, eavesdropping on Yuyuko's mumbling.

A hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of "Inoue Ueya". This legendary monster who kills people without blinking actually has such a side?

"Onii-chan, should we just stop them now?"

[Let's put that aside for now. Why did the feathered fox in front of Mr. Inoue turn into a purple mosaic? ]

For some reason, Inoue Ueya's tone seemed to be vaguely mixed with a hint of disappointment, disbelief, and frustration. Just as he said, the possessed state only made him temporarily lose control of his body. His vision was theoretically still normal, but now there was a hint of purple in front of his eyes that blocked his sight.

"Well, you can't blame me. Yuyuko isn't wearing any clothes. Mary hasn't forgotten what Sadako-chan said. She once reminded us privately that if we encounter such a situation while possessed, we should deal with the scene that Onii-chan saw. Did Mary do something wrong?"

[…No, you did very well.]

After a moment's silence, Inoue Ueya still expressed his agreement with Mary's approach. Although he still felt a little sorry, he believed that not looking at what was inappropriate was in line with the gentlemanly code of the Inoue family.

Damn it, you’re really Sadako, even this is within your calculations!

"So, should we take action?"

Mary was confused again. The evil deeds that Yuyuko had done were real, but her efforts to resurrect her son were also real.

"If I interrupt Yuyuko now, all her efforts will be wasted. However, Nue will not be able to revive for the time being. But is this really okay?"

After a moment's thought, Inoue Ueya continued, "I once heard from Kotoko-chan about the Nue. If I don't take action, the resurrected Nue will cause trouble again. This will be a major crisis for Kyoto, and there might be casualties."

Hearing this, Inoue Ue also felt that this statement seemed a little familiar. He was silent for a while, as if he remembered something, and then he asked again.

[Hey, what kind of trolley problem is this?]

Chapter 261: Do it according to your ideas

Inoue Ueya already had an answer to Mary's question in his mind. Although he did not think that his approach was absolutely correct, if he had to choose, he thought he would still attack Yuyuko.

As a former "reader", Inoue Ueya knew the plot content almost as if he had a vision of the future. He could understand Yuyuko's position and thoughts to some extent. Even though the plot has changed now, what happened in the past will not change, and he cannot ignore the other party's evil deeds.

Looking back, what Yuyuko did was even worse than the Demon God. In order to resurrect the "Nue", she killed countless people in the past thousand years. In order to gather power, she even devoured human livers. How could Inoue Ueya, who showed no mercy to the Demon God, let go of such a dangerous monster?

but……

"Onii-chan? Can you say something?"

Facing Mary, Inoue Ue fell into a rare silence and did not respond for a long time.

If you think about it carefully, isn't this the same as directly telling a child that Santa Claus doesn't exist? It would be terrible if your thoughts had some strange psychological impact on Mary.

"Before I answer, I'd like to hear your thoughts first. Mary, are you going to just watch Yuyuko revive the Nue?"

Hearing this, "Inoue Ueya" looked up at the feathered fox in the Nue Pond, hesitated for a moment, and nodded with difficulty.

"Well, it's just like our home. There's Hanako who likes to stay at home, Sadako who's always nagging, Kotoko who often has to work overtime, Sachiko and Kuni who are like older sisters, and Onii-chan. I think everyone is indispensable to this family. For Kitsune Yuroko, the Nue is the most important family member, right? Although it might sound a bit exaggerated, I still don't want to stop her if possible..."

[I see, that's what you think.]

Inoue Ueya was originally a little hesitant about whether to resurrect "Nue" according to the original plot development. If that guy failed to resurrect and then found another time to make a comeback, it would be even more difficult for him to deal with it without the blessing of "Future Vision". He has not forgotten the tragic death of Nurarihyon. This guy "Nue" seems to be particularly fond of playing dirty tricks, and might even attack the people around him later.

It seems that interrupting Yuyuko's delivery now is not entirely a good thing.

【In that case, then do it according to your idea! 】

Rather than interrupting Yuyuko's reincarnation ritual now, Inoue Ueya would rather take this opportunity to completely defeat the newly resurrected Nue, so that he won't have to worry about so many things afterwards.

"Hey, is it really okay?"

Mary was a little surprised, as if she didn't expect Inoue Ueya to agree with her idea. After all, now was the best chance to defeat the enemy. If they missed the overwhelming advantage now, they might have to face a stronger enemy in the future. She knew clearly how excessive the idea she put forward was.

"Didn't we agree that you'd make the final call in this battle? However, if you sense the resurrected Nue's intention to attack humans and wreak havoc, you won't hesitate any longer. You'll have to strike when the time is right. Can you do it?"

Although the "Devil's Hammer" of the Hyakumonogatari Group had been recovered before, Inoue Ue did not expect that the Demon King would actually intervene in this incident.

In the last few battles, Inoue Ue also realized that the strength of these Kyoto monsters after being possessed by the Demon God had obviously increased by several levels, far exceeding the level of the original. If the "Nue" successfully mastered the power of the Demon God, it might be more troublesome than he imagined.

But Mary has her own ideas. Now I just need to trust her and give her advice when she needs help. That's enough.

"Yeah, I understand."

Well, "Nue" is the final villain of a story after all, and his ambition should not be underestimated. In any case, Inoue Ue does not think that the resurrected "Nue" will change his ways.

Suddenly, the feathered fox in the Nue Pond let out a scream, and a strange black aura emanated from her body. The strange patterns on her cheeks began to spread to all parts of her body.

"Ah ...

However, perhaps because Yuyuko became weak, or because of the stimulation of the reincarnation ritual, the power of the high-speed mother-in-law got out of control again. As if she had self-awareness, the "fear" in the urban legend actually broke away from Yuyuko's body at the last moment and actively merged into the reincarnation ritual.

As the power emanated from her body, the black water of the Nue Pond began to ripple with Yuyuko as the center. The water, carrying countless resentments, gradually gathered together and formed a black sphere under her.

However, the aura emitted by the black ball was not the "Nue" that Yuyuko was familiar with. That strange feeling was more like the "fear" she got from the powerful female assassin.

Yuyuko looked at the black sphere beneath him with a confused look on his face. What was going on now?

"Something's wrong, something's wrong with this situation..."

A weak voice came from Yuyuko's mouth. First, a large amount of her vitality was absorbed by the reincarnation technique, and then she lost the support of the high-speed mother-in-law. Her body became a little weak at this time.

But now there was no extra time for her to think. As the black ball absorbed more resentment, its size began to grow larger and larger. The "fear" of the huge black ball broke a big hole in the top of the Nue Pool and rose all the way up.

[Mary, stay alert and follow! ]

"Inoue Ueya" nodded, bent his legs slightly, and then jumped towards the hole.

At the same time, everyone was still moving towards the depths of the inner hall. From time to time, they could see fainted Kyoto monsters tied up on the side of the road, and the monsters all looked like they wanted to say something but stopped.

"Well, didn't the Agent come in stealthily? Why are there so many knocked-out monsters everywhere..."

"Well, if we can't be discovered, then we're sneaking around, right?"

In an instant, the ground of Ertiao City began to shake violently, and some monsters even lost their balance and fell to the ground.

“Is this an earthquake?”

Feeling the "fear" coming from afar, Natsukawa Hanako couldn't help but frown, and then said: "No, something is coming up from below!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a huge black ball overturned the floor of the inner hall of Er Tiao City, and then rose up with its remaining momentum, passing through the entire Er Tiao City until it reached mid-air.

Chapter 262: Hey, are you looking for me?

As the black ball rose, more than half of the inner palace of Ertiao City collapsed, and the building with hundreds of years of history turned into ruins in the blink of an eye.

The Kyoto monsters who were knocked unconscious by Inoue Ueya were still lying there. Most of them were buried alive by the falling rubble, and it was unknown whether they were alive or dead. Iwanaga Kotoko and her group who were in the inner hall were also affected by the black ball.

"Tsk, the exit is blocked..."

"Be careful, this side is about to collapse!"

Although the monsters wanted to evacuate from the inner hall, the speed of the collapse was beyond everyone's expectations, and it was obviously too late to escape.

Iwanaga Kotoko's lips curled up unconsciously. She smiled brightly and continued, "Haha, after waiting for so long, I've finally found the place where Sachiko needs to help!"