Devil's Eye Reborn - Shadow Angel Awakens - Chapter 64

Chapter 64: Chapter 62: Come to Aokigahara Kikai
 

“Heh heh, surprising, isn’t it?” Cerberus smiled. “Despite centuries of war, the Demon Slayer Association eventually took control of Satan’s residence. The Satan’s Cult tried many times to reclaim it but failed.”

“But now, a mysterious Satan’s Cult leader has emerged and managed to take the ‘Ark’ without harm,” I said solemnly.

“Indeed. That’s why I took a risky move and sent a demon to infiltrate the Satan’s Cult,” Cerberus sighed. “But after months undercover, he suddenly lost contact, and his fate is unknown.”

Hearing Cerberus’s words, I responded with a simple “Hmm,” and didn’t pursue the topic further.

If the ‘Ark’ indeed contains ‘Hell’, as Kong ming said, whoever possesses ‘Hell’ becomes Satan, leaving me with almost no chance of becoming the King of Hell. But the Iron Mask Man has had the ‘Ark’ for months without any strange actions, suggesting he can move it but not open it. This makes the mission to rescue Daji my best chance to become the true Satan.

“Monk, let’s cooperate,” I said, smiling at Cerberus.

“Heh, cooperate?” Cerberus seemed slightly interested.

“Yes, if you find the Satan’s Cult’s Japanese branch and fight your way to the ‘Ark’, you still won’t be able to touch it. In the end, ‘Hell’ will still fall into the Satan’s Cult’s hands,” I analyzed with a smile.

Cerberus sneered, “We can’t touch it, but you think you can?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” I said, smiling but sincere. “But if the Satan’s Cult leader can move the ‘Ark’, as another reincarnation of Satan, I think I can too.”

“Heh, wouldn’t that benefit you? You could take the ‘Ark’ and flee,” Cerberus sneered.

“I’ll make a blood pact with you. If I manage to retrieve the ‘Ark’, I’ll hand it over to any member of the Demon Slayer Association, and we can decide its owner through a contest,” I said, biting my finger and squeezing a drop of blood onto the tea table. “And you must help me retrieve the ‘Ark’ with all your might. If either of us breaks the pact, we’ll be struck by lightning. How about it?”

Cerberus frowned, looking at the blood drop reflecting red light, contemplating the terms of the pact. He pondered for a moment, about to respond, when a weak demonic aura blew out the oil lamp on the tea table, plunging the hall into darkness. This was the residual energy from Yang Jian dissipating his power.

In the dim light, I heard Yang Jian’s weak voice, “Godfather, I found him. Third Brother… Third Brother is in Aokigahara…” With a thud, it seemed Yang Jian had collapsed.

“Bi yongnuo, let’s cooperate,” a surge of killing intent suddenly filled the air before me, accompanied by a faint scent of blood. In the darkness, I saw those wild green eyes staring at me, and Rahab said, “But you’d better pray to Satan that you don’t get struck by lightning and turned to charcoal.”

… …

Aokigahara Kikai, located northwest of Mount Fuji in Japan, is an untouched forest area with many original terrains and ecosystems, thus not overly developed. However, besides its high environmental value, the forest is also known for another reason: every year, many people enter the forest to end their lives. The number of suicides is so high that Japanese authorities regularly send people to collect the bodies, leading to numerous ghost stories and paranormal legends. Hence, Aokigahara Kikai is also known as the “Suicide Forest.” From a distance, the vast, deep green forest exudes a mysterious aura, sending a chill down one’s spine.

On this day, as the sky began to lighten, a man entered the forest, seeking to end his life.

“Ouch… damn it!”

The obese Naoto Suzuki clumsily got up from the ground, cursing loudly. He kicked the tree root that had tripped him, but only succeeded in hurting his own toes. “Ugh… even this damn tree is bullying me!” Naoto Suzuki collapsed to the ground, holding his head and sobbing. But when he noticed the smiling face of the Sailor Moon character on his T-shirt, his frustration instantly vanished. “Usagi, you’re the only one in this world who never leaves me,” Naoto Suzuki said, gently stroking the smooth face of Usagi Tsukino on his shirt, his expression affectionate but slightly dazed.

Naoto Suzuki, a quiet and introverted person, had always struggled with social interactions. In his twenty years of life, he had made very few friends. He felt lonely until he first saw the charming figure of Usagi Tsukino on TV. From that moment, his heart was captured by the sailor suit, and he no longer felt lonely. Over time, his room filled with Sailor Moon collectibles. Every time he looked at Usagi’s innocent face, his heart warmed.

At some point, he began to confide in those collectibles.

Although Usagi Tsukino couldn’t respond, Naoto Suzuki felt she was a living, breathing person.

However, Naoto’s parents were strongly opposed to their son’s obsession with toys. After many unsuccessful attempts to persuade him, they began to quarrel. Yesterday, during another heated argument, Naoto’s father finally lost his temper. While Naoto was bathing, his father angrily moved all his collectibles to the yard and burned them. When Naoto realized something was wrong, only a pile of stinking charred remains was left in the yard.

“You’re almost an adult. Stop being obsessed with these toys and wake up!” his father said coldly as he walked past the stunned Naoto.

Looking at the charred remains, Naoto felt an emptiness in his chest, even forgetting to cry.

Naoto woke up. He realized that his beloved had left him.

“Everything has turned to ashes,” Naoto said, staring blankly at his empty room, feeling life was no longer worth living. So, in the middle of the night, he secretly drove his father’s old car to Aokigahara Kikai. Besides the Sailor Moon T-shirt he was wearing, he also brought a small bottle of gasoline.

Just enough to set himself on fire.

“Usagi… why do they treat me like this? He’s my father! How could he not understand me and burn you like that… cough!” Naoto poured the gasoline over himself. Once fully soaked, he took out the lighter he had prepared. “Although… although I want to kill that old man, he’s still my father. Usagi, I’m useless. I can’t avenge you. All I can do is die in the fire like you!” With tears streaming down his face, Naoto raised the lighter, not knowing if his tears were from the gasoline fumes or his sorrow.

Naoto was terrified because he knew that once he was on fire, he wouldn’t die instantly. But he told himself: Usagi was burned alive too. How could he let her suffer alone and take the easy way out?

So, Naoto closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and pressed down hard!

Suddenly, Naoto felt his right hand go numb, and his wrist was in excruciating pain. He gritted his teeth, trying to endure it, but the pain stayed in his joint without spreading.

Feeling strange, Naoto opened his eyes slightly and saw that his right hand, holding the lighter, was in the grasp of a skinny man. The man was licking the blood from Naoto’s severed hand with a long tongue, enjoying it immensely. Naoto noticed the man held a blood-stained military knife in his other hand.

“Just in time. You almost ruined everything, fatso,” the man said, licking the blood and looking at Naoto with a sinister smile. “Fatso, do you really want to die?”

Naoto was stunned by the bizarre scene and didn’t know how to respond.

Seeing this, the man frowned and said, “Fatso, if you don’t answer my question immediately, I’ll cut you every second!” With that, a flash of silver appeared before Naoto, and his nose suddenly throbbed with pain.

“I’ll ask you again. Fatso, do you really want to die?” the man said, chewing on Naoto’s nose and smiling.