The Demon's Menu-Chapter 1154: The Real Bait! (2)

Breathing still exists.

But consciousness is far from clear.

The shrapnel lodged in his body feels like a ticking clock counting down to death.

Even the lead Onmyoji with open eyes is no exception.

He surveys the devastation around him, whispering softly.

"The era has changed, the era has changed." ƒreewebɳovel.com

While muttering, blood drips from his mouth.

The lead Onmyoji’s eyes have lost nearly all their light.

Though the advent of ’gunpowder’ ended their reign, their power remains—such ’power’ gives them a trace of confidence, or perhaps arrogance.

Most Onmyoji share this blend of confidence and arrogance.

This lead Onmyoji is no exception.

But at this moment.

It seems he has only now realized that this so-called confidence and arrogance is merely a veil of shame.

A veil for a fallen era.

And now?

The last veil has been torn away.

Shredded to pieces.

Torn apart along with his faith and soul.

So, even as Jason approaches, the Onmyoji—who originally still had a trace of power to counterattack—does nothing, merely watching Jason draw closer, and then... laughs.

"What are we fighting for?"

"We’ve always been remnants of an outdated era."

"And now?"

"Profits go to someone else."

"Such bitterness."

The laughter is ugly, resembling crying.

Indeed!

Bitterness!

He had believed he understood this ’world’ and thought he had given ’gunpowder’ the attention it deserved.

But in reality?

His inner arrogance had long since tinted his view with prejudice.

His biases, his hubris, had long determined today’s outcome.

How bitter he feels!

If only he’d been more humble, would things have gone differently?

Could he have reversed it?

If the collaboration with ’Blossom Cherry’ had been more cautious, might he have truly succeeded?

The spiraling thoughts in his mind accelerate the blood loss from his mouth.

Looking at Jason standing before him, the Onmyoji speaks.

"Please grant us dignity."

"We don’t wish to die under ’gunpowder.’"

"Bring us to the River Styx with your sword."

The Onmyoji musters his strength to sit upright, trying to straighten his back, adjusting the half-destroyed hat still perched atop his head. This movement aggravates his injury—a shard of shrapnel embedded in his chest.

The agonizing pain makes him freeze in place, but he still completes the motion.

Then, he looks at Jason with pleading eyes.

He can feel death creeping closer.

But dying to ’gunpowder’ is not what he wants.

He wishes to preserve a final shred of dignity.

Not just a veil of shame.

Simply a stubborn obsession.

Swoosh!

Jason raises his blade swiftly.

The sharp edge, with a piercing sound, slices across the Onmyoji’s neck.

As blood sprays out, a sliver of relief surfaces in the Onmyoji’s eyes—a relief born from his personal obsession, false in Jason’s view.

Still, he convinces himself.

He has found release.

The Onmyoji’s lips tremble slightly.

No sound escapes.

But Jason can roughly discern the words from his lip movements.

Thank you.

Jason frowns and responds coldly.

"No need; I’ve been paid."

With these words, Jason collects the remaining artifacts from the body.

The lead Onmyoji’s lips curved into a faint smile, his eyes filled with an even greater sense of peace before collapsing lifelessly onto the ground.

No breath remained.

The other ten Onmyoji followed suit.

They chose the same end as their leader, embracing their deaths.

Jason, on the other hand, systematically ’claimed’ his compensation.

"Such a troublesome band of opponents."

This was Jason’s summation of the group of Onmyoji clearly used as actual ’bait.’

Then, firelight danced.

Everything was consumed by the [Charles Burning Technique].

The night wind blew past.

Sparks swirled upward alongside thick smoke.

Moments later, nothing remained.

Save for Jason holding a substantial haul of food.

"Still 21 items—10 more than initially calculated. Likely triggered automatic defensive mechanisms during the cluster-bomb explosions. Quite a shame."

Jason sighed softly.

Don’t misunderstand.

He’s merely lamenting fewer prey to hunt.

As for these Onmyoji used as ’bait’?

Just as Jason had said.

He took his compensation.

Nonetheless, Jason still harbored doubts.

First, why would the Hanakaiin Family do this?

Though he hadn’t been in this mirrored world long, Jason knew well that nurturing an Onmyoji was no easy feat. Talent, bloodlines, resources—all served as constraints.

Even the Hanakaiin Family, touted as one of the Four Great Onmyoji Families, wouldn’t casually sacrifice eleven Onmyoji without significant repercussions.

It would almost certainly leave them gravely weakened.

"In-fighting, perhaps?"

Jason speculated.

Narrowing down possibilities, only this theory seemed plausible.

Moreover, this in-fighting undoubtedly involved ’Blossom Cherry.’

"Deeper entanglements than I’d imagined?"

"If that’s the case..."

"Things are about to get interesting."

With some thought, Jason’s eyes narrowed slightly.

If his guess proved true, everything happening around him began to make sense.

Verifying this theory wouldn’t be difficult either.

In fact, he could confirm it shortly.

This also tied into Jason’s second point of confusion: the timing of ’Blossom Cherry’s cluster-bomb deployment.

Far too premature!

Logic dictated that it should have been launched while Jason and the Onmyoji fought in evenly matched combat, not fired in advance.

Although effective, its impact could have been maximized with precise timing.

"Another unexpected variable?"

"Did those hidden players intervene again?"

Jason pondered, striding boldly toward the grand ’Demon.’

No matter what transpired next, he wouldn’t shy away.

But first, he needed food.

Of course, necessary ’sanitation’ was essential.

Jason headed straight to the battered yet still-standing ’Polar Bear Café,’ fetched a case of strong liquor from Hui Lijing’s basement cellar.

Sanitize.

Roast.

When the grand ’Demon’ was fully cooked, Jason tore into it with a savage bite.

If the lesser ’Demons’ resembled spicy duck necks,

The grand ’Demon’ resembled a whole roasted duck.

A duck cooked to perfection.

Spicy, naturally.

The crispy exterior, tender interior, and juices bursting forth upon each bite carried a mild spice.

It bore some resemblance to an Orleans-style roast.

[Devour Demon (Grand. Fake)]

[Physical Strength, Stamina, and Wounds Restored in Excess!]

[Satiety +200]

[Satiety: 711]

[Excitement of Feast +1]

[Excitement of Feast: 16]

...

"Fake?"

"Not gravely injured?"

Jason stared at the text floating in view, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes. With this revelation, his earlier assumptions grew stronger.

Indeed, a truly pathetic piece of bait!

Jason silently reflected, his gaze shifting to the Excitement of Feast.

Each point of Excitement brought him immense satisfaction.

"16 points now."

"Getting closer, getting closer!"

As Jason savored the thought, he picked up the remaining food.

Judging by the aroma, these items wouldn’t yield Excitement of Feast. In fact, each piece wouldn’t significantly boost satiety, but their sheer quantity—21 pieces—felt like miniature delicacies to him.

Jason resumed his process: rinsing, sanitizing.

Meanwhile, in a high-rise ten kilometers from the district, a man was raging.

"What’s going on?"

"Why was the cluster-bomb fired without my order?"

"Damn it!"

"Are you all idiots?"

The man slammed the railing in fury, shouting into a handheld radio.

Yet the response on the other end left him bewildered.

"Sir, it was your order!"

"We launched it upon receiving your directive!"

The subordinate’s reply stunned the man.

Then...

The man turned and ran.

But it was too late.

A tall figure stood blocking his path.