Chapter 22

In the end, Ghost Lantern gave in to his daughter's whining and allowed her to enter This Pill. But before that, he warned Night Fight that if Leaf didn't come out safely, he didn't want to live either.

"Gods don't even have the chance to become ghosts after they die."

"… Yes, yes, yes."

Jiazhou Qingguang bowed to Ghost Lantern calmly, then slightly bent over, took his little lord's hand, and turned to leave.

"Lord Ghost Lantern, they won't hurt Morus Bothriocephala."

Natsume didn't follow, but the Cat teacher didn't leave Leaf's side.

"If the mechanism's love is not reciprocated, humans may choose to dilute and bury that emotion due to rules and rationality. However, for the Death Gods who are similar to monsters, they would not care so much."

Ghost Lantern looked into This Pill with a cold gaze. He clenched and unclenched his mace several times, "They are born to submit to the strong. They worship power as the rule. Leaf is just a weak monster now."

"Maybe, but I have a feeling that those children won't do anything to her."

Neither side at the door could convince the other, so they could only quiet down and silently watch every movement inside the door.

Jiazhou Qingguang brought Leaf all the way to her original bedroom. His hand that held hers was cold and even trembling. Leaf couldn't bear it and held his hand even tighter.

"Qing Guang."

"Yes, I'm here. My lord, what are your orders?"

"Don't be afraid."

"… I can't lie to you. I'm sorry."

She couldn't say that she wasn't afraid against her will, but she refused to admit that she was a coward.

"Everything is changing. We might be able to find what we've lost. Thinking about it makes you feel more courageous, don't you think?"

"Hmm … Thank you."

Her words of comfort seemed to have worked. The murderous aura that had been lingering around the young man seemed to have dissipated a little. Even the air around him seemed to have relaxed. Night Fight and the fat cat that had clung onto his shoulder after taking two steps looked at each other. They both heaved a sigh of relief.

These swords were indeed different from before, but fortunately, they were still wholeheartedly loyal to their master.

"We're here."

They stopped in front of a Japanese sliding door. Jiazhou Qingguang let go of Leaf's hand, opened the door, and stood quietly in front of the door.

"Welcome home, my lord."

"I'm back."

The house was not very big, but it was clean and tidy. There were many books and scrolls scattered on the table in front of the window. It looked as if the owner of the house had only left for a moment and would return to continue reading.

In the middle of the house, there was a young girl with delicate features lying upright. She had the same long blonde hair as her, and her face was very similar. Although the eyes were closed, Leaf knew that when they opened, they would be as blue as her.

She walked forward silently. First, she reached out and touched the body's face. Then, she slid her hand down the cheeks and finally stopped at the chest.

There seemed to be a faint beat there.

She felt the beat and felt that the matter might not be so easy to solve.

"Can I still go back?"

After a moment of silence, she raised her head and looked at Night Fight.

Night Fight was probably the only one here who knew more about this.

"If you were just a Wandering Soul, you would be able to return easily. But it's clear that you've fused with the Snapdragon Grass."

Night Fight felt that her symptoms were similar to Hiwa's, but it was definitely more complicated than Hiwa's.

"This happened to me after I died, so if I die again now …"

Leaf hesitantly expressed her thoughts, but before she could finish, she was interrupted.

"My lord!

Absolutely not! "

"You can try."

Compared to Jiazhou Qingguang's agitation, Night Fight was much calmer. "But I think, if you try here, Ghost Lantern will dare to make This Pill a thing of the past."

"Hmm … What should I do? I want to get here."

She pointed at her head with her finger, referring to her memory.

"Think of a way slowly. Since you can come back from the dead in such a strange way, there must be a way to solve other problems. Perhaps the most important thing now is not this."

Night Fight gestured at the box next to the tatami with his chin. Leaf looked at it, and after staring for a while, she heard Jiazhou Qingguang's explanation.

"These are the rest of the swords. Because This Pill does not contain enough spiritual energy, only one sword per day can be turned into a Death God."

"My lord, you have been at death's door for so long. If your companions know that you are back, they will be very happy."

"Everyone misses you dearly."

Under Jiazhou Qingguang's eager gaze, Leaf opened the box. More than ten swords were neatly stacked together, one next to the other, as if they were trying to absorb energy from each other.

She solemnly picked up one of the swords, and slowly injected spiritual energy into it.

With the infusion of spiritual power, the layer of gray on the blade faded away like a whirlwind, and substantial pink petals even floated out. It was overflowing with light and brilliant colors, and was extremely beautiful to look at.

"Yo, General, I am Kendo … General!?

No!

General, she … you … this is, this is … "

Leaf saw that he was so frightened that he could not speak clearly. She pursed her lips, and reached out to pat his thigh.

"Kendo, don't worry. Wait for me to summon the other swords, and I will explain it to you, okay?"

Even after so many years, Kendo still remembered her comforting tone clearly.

But whether it was her voice or her appearance, she was clearly a little child, even more petite than his brothers.

But …

He looked behind the little girl, and the General's body was still lying there …

Almost crawling, Kendo ran to the tatami, knelt on the ground with a thump, and reached out to the girl's chest and under her nose.

Breathe!

Heartbeat!

"California!"

He suddenly turned his head and looked at Jiazhou Qingguang, who had been standing at the side all this time.

When California saw that the usually calm little knife had red eyes, she sighed helplessly, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Wait a minute, okay?

The Lord is still busy. "

"That is the Lord?!"

"Yes, that is the Lord, can't you feel it?

Although her spiritual power is very different from before, the origin is exactly the same. "

"…"

How could he not feel it? It was because he could feel it that he felt that all of this was too absurd.

Why did she become a child?

What was going on with this body?

Since she was still alive, why didn't she come back earlier?

Why didn't she ask Night Fight God for help back then?

… Why did she have to die in his arms?

One question after another coiled around Kendo's mind, and he could not get an answer for a long time. And just as he was about to collapse, a loud cry completely pulled him back to reality from the chaos.

It was the Five Tigers Retreat.

This child loved to cry the most, and was also the most sensitive.

Kendo looked at him crying in the little girl's arms, and did not have time to think about how bad the position was. His mind was now full of: The Five Tigers Retreat recognized the child as the Lord.

And with the appearance of the Five Tigers Retreat, the rest of the swords almost immediately recognized her identity.

The Lord had really returned.

Perhaps because she was a healing-type monster, she was still full of energy even after summoning so many swords at once.

They surrounded her in a circle, and their fanatical eyes scanned her inch by inch from top to bottom. Leaf suspected that if it were not for the fact that there was only one of her, and there were so many swords, she would probably have been held in the arms of one of the swords and would not let go.

It was impossible for them to fall into darkness. How could they let a treasure that they had lost and then found again be hurt?

At least in front of her, they had to maintain a positive side.

This was a rule that the group of knife spirits abided by without the slightest discussion.

Leaf hugged the little tiger that climbed into her arms unyieldingly under the death stares of the swords, and used a tender child's voice to tell the swords from beginning to end. Then, she asked about their situation.

The swords naturally picked the good things to say, and they finished in a few words, but their weak explanations were naturally refuted by Leaf.

"I don't want to listen to lies, and I don't need a group of servants who deceive the Lord."

Only then did the strange happiness in the room change, and become gloomy.

The murderous aura and resentment almost solidified in the room, but they all avoided Leaf, as they did not want her to feel anything strange.

"It's just … very lonely."

The one who spoke was Komusubi.

He sat behind Leaf, and before he spoke, he had been looking at the back of her fragile neck. And when he spoke, the owner of the back of her neck turned her head, and looked at him with her big clear eyes. Her gaze was lively, and her expression was indifferent.

"This place, after you left, has been empty, and urgently needs something to fill it."

Komusubi pointed to his chest and continued, "Everyone keeps accepting missions, wanting to obtain more spiritual power to survive, but every day, even though we have a human body, it seems like we can't feel a heartbeat. What is the meaning of living?"

"Slowly, this place becomes more and more numb, and only the tension of life and death can make it beat a little.

If you still don't appear, perhaps this place will really stop beating. "

"Master, you are always so good at picking the time, last time, and this time, you always appear suddenly when everyone is about to die, and then pull us back to the side of 'life'."

"This way …" He reached out and held the child's face in his palm, "We really can't leave you again."

"Don't disappear again, okay?"

"Then I might have to disappoint you."