Reincarnated in a Shounen Manga - Chapter 264

Chapter 264 - I’ve Got Murder on My Mind

When I first met Wisteria and decided to help her, it was all about using her as a tool to further my goals. I wanted her as a backup when she became queen.

But here I am now, letting her lean on me, pretending not to notice her tears.

I never thought she cared about me this much. I knew she considered me a good friend, maybe something more, but never as someone she'd cry for or even think about taking a plunge for.

And that's a whole different problem I have no clue how to handle. Man, the only thing keeping this woman together is me and a ton of anime. It's a heavy load, knowing that if I go, I might take someone I care about with me.

Honestly, in some ways, my soul-sucking office job from my previous life might have been better. At least there, I knew nobody would give a damn if something happened to me.

Yet, despite the risks and the potential harm to her, warmth fills my chest when she cries for me.

Am I actually happy to see someone in tears? Man, this world has messed me up in so many ways.

"Anything new while I was away?" I ask, trying to distract her from all this crying.

"Well..." she hesitates at first, looking into my eyes as if trying to figure out if sharing this information will lead to a bloodbath. I respond with a friendly, reassuring smile, my way of saying it's all good.

Then she starts talking about the clans that attacked her and the Raion Clan Head's sketchy behavior. She doesn't have any proof, but she's pretty sure he's behind it.

Yeah, that sounds like something those rats would pull. The moment the Kuro Clan Head was out of the picture, that sleaze who had to sacrifice his twin daughter for protection and to keep the Clan's power... well, the Raion Clan Head took his shot and missed. Now he has to pay for that.

"Just... be careful, okay? The Raion Clan might be weakened, but they've been around forever."

"Don't worry," I say, my reassuring smile growing. I give her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "You know me. I usually handle these things with words and diplomacy."

With that, I get up, take off my jacket with a snap of my fingers, and my clothes turn to smoke, leaving me in a formal suit.

"Well, I've got some business to attend to... diplomatic business," I say, waving one last time at Wis before a cloud forms beneath my feet, and I fly off.

So, what's the deal with the Raion Clan? I mean, I could totally wipe them out and use them as a warning to others.

I glanced up at the clear blue sky, and my thoughts started wandering in directions I'd never have considered back in my old life. It was eye-opening. I should've let go of all those morals I brought from my last world ages ago. They were always holding me back.

I halted in a forest not far from the capital city and dissipated my cloud. As I began to descend, I gently landed on a thin tree branch, feeling like my body weighed zilch.

Flying was weird, man. It was like this emptiness in my gut like gravity had taken a coffee break.

The air carried a faint scent of leaves, and the grass rustled in the breeze. About two hundred meters to my left, there was a stag, and it seemed to be expecting a little one. The thing was pregnant.

I took a deep breath and tried to filter out all the noise. My senses were going haywire.

{Perfect Me}

I triggered my special power, and it instantly picked up on my intentions. Blood oozed from my fingertip, forming a super intricate teleportation circle. Now, teleportation isn't all fun and games. It chews up the life around you if you mess it up, and that forest turns into a wasteland in a jiffy. Even some innocent rabbits and badgers got caught in the crossfire.

Teleportation's one tricky art and it can even suck the life out of you if you're not careful.

But with Perfect Me, I didn't have to worry about losing my lifespan. The hard part was visualizing where I wanted to go. I hadn't actually seen the place, but I'd seen it in some manga. The ritual worked as long as it was a photo, right?

See, Ord, it runs on belief. So, my mindset had to shift to make the ritual work.

If it was the old me, this would've been impossible. But now? I had the perfect mindset for Ord.

I closed my eyes, took a quick breath, and cracked a smile.

Yeah, all these people? They were just characters in some manga, fakes in a made-up world. I should totally be able to teleport, no problem! I make the rules of this world!

In an instant, everything around me changed, and I found myself smack in the middle of a traditional Japanese meeting room.

Four old-timers and one silver-haired man with ice-blue peepers were seated at the head of the table.

That silver-haired guy? He was Anika's father, the leader of the Raion Clan, and the old geezers were the top dogs in the clan.

Quick as a flash, I put my blood manipulation skills to use. I shoved those old-timers' bodies away while keeping their butts glued to their chairs. The result? I ended up with a bloody mess on the floor, and only their lower halves stayed put.

The Raion Clan leader had eyes like saucers, and a spooky mist began swirling around him. It seemed he was gearing up to use his special ability, but he was slower than a snail.

In the blink of an eye, I was in his arms-length and gripping his face. We both vanished and reappeared back in the forest where I had teleported from. I dropped the guy like a sack of potatoes, and he gawked around like a lost puppy.

But he quickly composed himself and shot me a frosty glare. He reined in his mist, realizing his special ability wouldn't do anything against me. "You killed my clan members. Why?"

"Do you think I will go on a monologue about this like a two-bit villain?" I arched an eyebrow.

He chuckled. "No, it doesn't matter now. You're about to suffer from the rebound."

"Ah, yes, the strange creature you call the Clan's protector and sacrifice your kids to. It attacks someone who kills or attempts to hurt a member of the clan, the higher in the hierarchy in the clan the stronger the rebound," I shot back with a grin. Sadly, the Raion Clan head was poker-faced.

This time, ghostly mist started creeping around me. If I had seen this before, I would have had no idea what something like this could be. But dragons had a certain sense of enlightenment and connection to the world, allowing them to know certain things.

It was a Necro Hydra, a top-tier demon that poisons souls. Most Ord users can't even see it. That was one of its many powers.

On the demon scale, it was up there with the big shots. But why would a heavyweight like this work with a small-time clan? It was probably nursing some wounds and using your sacrifices as a way to heal itself. It was either that or some weird demon that for some reason liked the Raion Clan.

I wonder if the Raion Clan Head understands why this creature joined forces with them, or if he just accepted it because he was born into this complicated situation.

I believe Elders hold significant power in the clan, ranking just below the Clan Leader and the top dog themselves. Am I correct? I smiled as I waved my hand through the mist.

Suddenly, my arm went ice-cold, and I quickly pulled it away. It fell to the ground and rotted, like a scene from a zombie movie.

I smirked as my arm began to regenerate, resembling a freaky science experiment.

My new body felt strange, somewhere between human and dragon, similar to Sei's hybrid of human and fox demon. Perhaps it was more like Agon, whose body had adapted to withstand Yamata No Orochi's poison and was now mostly a demon.

"Would you rather sever your contract with the clan or fight me?" I asked. "Of course, breaking the contract would result in severe repercussions and potentially worsen your injuries, but at least you would avoid death."

I wasn't sure if the demon heard me, but it certainly wasn't inclined to let me off with just a warning.

Necro Hydras were a nuisance, but not unbeatable. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the power within me, attempting to release it. However, it felt like pushing a car with the brakes on no matter how hard I tried.

When Perfect Me activated, that strange power became my puppet. My body shone as I blessed myself with the Dragon's Blessing.

Suddenly, my senses sharpened, and my power tripled, or perhaps even more. My body had been upgraded by Carpy, granting me a lot of strength, but now it was off the charts.

Even the Raion Clan Leader appeared uneasy, with a nervous tic and sweat dripping down his face.

Was he beginning to feel uncomfortable? That simply wouldn't do.