Read Novel Full Vol 19 Prologue Part 1
Vol 19 Prologue Part 1
We’re finally back with Volume 19! It’s been a long ride, but we’re not done yet. Thanks to everyone who waited — your support means a lot. Hope you will enjoy this volume as well, cheers~
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Prologue Part 1
“──Listen, you are a man. So live like one.”
(Ah, this dream again.)
Yuzuki gazed blankly at the scene before her, realizing it was a recurring dream from her childhood.
Ever since she was old enough to understand, her father, Teruyoshi, had constantly told her to live like a man.
And there was a significant reason for this.
For many years, the Komyoin family had held significant influence within Japan’s underworld. However, during Teruyoshi’s reign as the family’s current head, they faced a major problem. Because of this, Yuzuki was forced to live as a man.
That major problem was… Yuzuki’s mother.
In truth, she was a succubus with immense power. She had skillfully concealed her abilities and approached Teruyoshi with the intent of using the Komyoin family.
Her plan succeeded, resulting in Yuzuki’s birth.
However, Yuzuki’s birth made Teruyoshi realize for the first time that his wife was a succubus because Yuzuki carried the blood of a succubus. This ultimately led him to exterminate Yuzuki’s mother.
Yet the fact that the head of the Komyoin family—a renowned demon exterminator—had failed to recognize his wife was a succubus and had succumbed to her seduction to father a child was scandalous.
Therefore, Yuzuki’s mother’s existence was to be completely concealed.
Furthermore, the newborn Yuzuki was female, and she had inherited her mother’s blood and possessed succubus powers. At first, Teruyoshi considered killing Yuzuki.
However, he reasoned that, by harnessing Yuzuki, who had inherited the irresistible allure that he himself could not resist, the Komyoin family could achieve even greater prosperity. And so, he decided to seal her succubus powers with his own technique, imprint a curse of obedience upon her, and make her his servant.
Nevertheless, Yuzuki strived earnestly to earn her father’s recognition and mastered the use of powers such as “spiritual power” and “exorcism” while her “demonic power” remained sealed. These efforts, combined with the talent granted by her succubus blood, made her one of the top-tier exorcists, even among modern exorcist lineages.
But… Teruyoshi’s treatment of her remained cold.
“Do you understand? You are to become the foundation for the Komyoin family’s advancement.”
Yuzuki had been told this repeatedly, like a curse.
(If… If I had been born into an ordinary family, what would have become of me?)
As she drifted through her dreams, Yuzuki imagined an impossible, different life.
＊＊＊
Somewhere in Japan,
A group of people wearing animal masks surrounded a table shrouded in darkness.
This was the headquarters of the Supernatural Underground Organization, an entity operating in the shadows of Japan.
“The plan has failed.”
The fox-masked man who had returned from the snowy mountains where Yuuya and the others had uttered these words amidst the chaos.
The other men reacted immediately.
“What? What do you mean?”
“Was there some flaw in the experiment?”
In response to their questions, the fox-masked man shook his head.
“No, the experiment itself succeeded. But… the mutated beings we awakened were eliminated by those special mutation agents.”
“What!?”
The men listening to the report murmured in unison.
Then, the dog-masked man calmly asked,
“What level of mutation did this experiment produce?”
“Level 4. That is, the highest level of mutation we can currently handle.”
“Nonsense. They dealt with a level 4 mutation?”
“Sure, someone at the bureau chief level would be powerful, but they shouldn’t have had that kind of strength. What on earth happened…?”
Unable to comprehend what was happening as everyone discussed it, the crow-faced man spoke up.
“I have one possible theory.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Actually, we received information that the Special Mutation Bureau made contact with another world.”
“What!?”
This astonishing information was something the organization could not ignore.
“Impossible! Are you saying that another organization besides ours has made contact with another world?”
“Its authenticity is unclear. Still, it’s not something we can completely dismiss.”
“Every time we observed spatial fluctuations, we should have erased any traces leading to another world. Above all, if new fluctuations occur, there’s no way we wouldn’t notice.”
“True. But we can’t say we’ve detected every single one. Before we acquired the technology to detect spatial fluctuations, it’s possible that they had already obtained traces of another world existing here, unknown to us.”
“Hmmm… Regardless, this is information we cannot overlook.”
“If they’ve acquired technology from another world, that would explain how they defeated a level 4 mutation.”
“If they’ve gained power comparable to ours, we need to deal with this urgently.”
As the men continued their serious discussion, the cat-faced man spoke up.
“Regarding the other world, there’s been progress in one of our experiments.”
“What is it?”
“──A method to summon the shadow of the other world.”
“!”
Hearing this, the men showed interest.
“I believe you were conducting experiments to summon powerful entities from the other world. Is that correct?”
“What is this ‘shadow’? Is it not a normal entity?”
Amidst the barrage of questions, the cat-faced man answered calmly.
“Indeed, we continue researching ways to summon monsters from the other world. But recently, whether or not something happened over there, the number of monsters we can contact has drastically decreased.”
“Previously, monsters from the other world were summoned in places unrelated to us. That monster was precisely one of the beings we were trying to summon. Are you saying such monsters are disappearing from the other world?”
“Indeed, that incident near the famous high school… Ousei Academy, right? The special mutation agents intervened back then, and the monster was defeated before we could even retrieve it. However, we did confirm the monster’s existence. As you said, it seems the population of those monsters has dwindled, making it increasingly difficult to catch them with our summoning techniques.”
“…Then our plan to summon countless monsters and make them our forces has also failed.”
The dog-faced man said this with obvious resentment.
But the cat-faced man shook his head.
“It’s too early to give up. Didn’t I mention it earlier? Summoning shadows.”
“Come to think of it…”
“Those shadows…how are they different from monsters?”
“Monsters from other worlds would be threatening if summoned in large numbers, but they’re only about level 2 mutation. However, the technique I discovered to summon shadows this time allows you to summon beings far beyond monsters.”
“Oh…!”
The others murmured their admiration at the cat-faced man’s words.
Then, the cat-faced man continued.
“However, note that only the shadow itself can be summoned, not the entity’s true form.”
“Hmm… What problems does it pose to be a shadow?”
“Well… First, as shadows, they lack self-awareness. Thus, while they excel at obeying our commands, they cannot fully replicate the original’s power. Even so, the power of the shadows we can currently summon might rival level three or four mutations.”
“Brilliant! In that case, it’s no problem at all that we can’t summon monsters!”
“No, that’s not entirely true. With our current technology, we can only summon three shadows simultaneously at most. More importantly, summoning monsters allowed us to mass-produce new ones automatically once power was channeled into the summoning circle. However, shadows require someone to continuously channel power into the circle to maintain the summoning state.”
“Hmm… Even with level 4 power, mass-producing them must be difficult.”
“Yes, but compared to the power of shadows, monsters are like a motley crew. Besides, as long as power keeps flowing into the summoning circle, it can recover immediately, even if it takes damage. I can confidently state that it will be more useful to us than summoning monsters.”
After the cat-faced man finished explaining, the others nodded.
Amidst this, the dog-faced man spoke up, his expression stern.
“For now, it’s gratifying that our experiment is progressing smoothly, but the Snow Mountain incident has made the folks with special mutations even more wary of us. Now then, what should we do?”
“About that, how about we target someone other than the special mutation personnel for once?”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
The crow-faced man asked the dog-faced man.
“Now that we’ve alerted them, they’ll be thoroughly prepared for us. That’s precisely why I thought we should strike at someone other than the special mutation agents.”
“Other than the special mutation agents… I see. You mean the members of the hidden noble houses.”
The hidden noble houses that the dog-faced man referred to were families like the Komyoin clan. These are lineages that have long fought on Japan’s hidden front lines against demons and the like.
The crow-faced man nodded at the dog-faced man’s words.
“Exactly. But we won’t just attack. We’ll show them our strength and draw them to our side. That way, we’ll gain allies too.”
“Hmm… I was just thinking about summoning a shadow to see if it can be used in combat. I’m in favor of that.”
The cat-faced man nodded at the crow-faced man.
Then, the others nodded as well.
“Indeed, it’s not a bad idea.”
“Then, where should we target? The Komyoin family, as expected?”
“No. Even though their power has waned, the Komyoin family is still formidable. The first target should be… yes, the Kagurazaka family would be best.”
Thus, the claws of the supernatural underground organization began to extend quietly yet surely.
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