Reincarnated in a Shounen Manga

Chapter 137: The Teacher & Escape

The energy released was so dense that it felt like I was drowning in concrete. Bugs exploded due to the pressure, birds fell from the sky mid-flight and splattered to the ground, and demons howled and screamed in pain in the distance. I was still quite far away from the castle, so I could only imagine what those closer to it must be feeling.

Carpy slammed to the ground immobile, while Anika was forced to one knee. Bets and Gem stumbled back, and their eyes rolled to the back of their heads; they were unconscious. The only ones standing unaffected by this were Agon and Sei. The latter had manifested a mirror above his head to absorb some of the pressure, and I didn't know how he had managed to do that with the blast being so lightning fast.

Agon, on the other hand, had a purple shadow around his eyes, and his pupils had turned yellow with a dark slit running through them. My heart almost stopped when I saw that, as it was a sign that Agon was using Yamata No Orochi's power, and this was a bad time to rampage, as it would draw the attention of Shuten Doji. Yet, strangely, he didn't seem angry at all and instead looked under control.

I was also about to fall down, but I activated Perfect Me for a split second, which removed all outside interference as my Ord was like a razor cutting through the pressure that touched my body. I didn't keep Perfect Me activated for long, and after turning it off, I roughly replicated what it had been doing. Although I wasn't doing it with the same mastery Perfect Me was, I still cut the pressure, which stopped it from affecting me as much.

"Shuten Doji sure has grown stronger than back in the day," Uwabami whistled. She was the only one amongst us who wasn't affected at all.

Now that I knew the general exact location of where the castle was, I could work with that. So I turned toward my team, grabbed Bets and Gem, lent Carpy some more Ord, and turned toward the others. "Let's get the hell away from here."

***

Carpy had sensed the power of Shuten Doji, but the pressure he had released was too fast for Carpy to react. He felt ashamed that he had been forced to slam to the ground like a common bug.

As they escaped, Carpy avoided looking Master Kon in the face. Instead, he noticed Sei looking at his own hand, as if surprised by what he had done. Carpy was also confused by Sei's sudden reaction, as he shouldn't have been able to create a mirror to absorb the pressure around him.

The only way Carpy could describe what he had felt from Sei was as if time itself had skipped for a second. One second Sei was standing there, and the next he had created a mirror.

Carpy was more concerned with his own weakness than with the reactions of others. He wanted to become stronger, and despite his disdain for Uwabami, he approached her and asked, "How can I become stronger?"

Uwabami stopped staring weirdly at Agon and turned toward Carpy. "How strong are we talking about here?"

Without questioning his ambition or laughing at him, Uwabami listened intently. "If you want to be a dragon, then you should go and ask the Dragon King to train you. Although I hate to admit it, I am the bottom of the barrel when it comes to Ultimate Class. Even Shuten Doji hired me to test whether humans could still seal demons of our power. I am just a sacrificial pawn, not important enough to those who are stronger than me."

Carpy was surprised by Uwabami's humility, as he saw her as the peak of absolute power being an Ultimate Class demon.

"Dragon King?" Carpy asked, confused. He wanted to buy some time to digest the information Uwabami had given him. If she was insecure about her power, he could use that to his advantage.

"You know, the pansy who cast a barrier over this side of the world two thousand years ago. He saved the humans and prevented any outside creatures from coming in," Uwabami explained, as if it were common knowledge. When Carpy didn't respond, she continued, "Master Orochi didn't care about any of that, so he let it happen. But I do remember the Dragon King coming and asking Master Orochi for help, which of course he refused. But he also told him he wouldn't intervene."

‘Did she just reveal some ancient secret lost to time for humans as if it was nothing?!’ Carpy was left speechless. He had to tell Master Kon about this!

"I don't know how to help you become a dragon, since even the weakest dragons are much stronger than me. But I will still try to teach you as best as I can," Uwabami said, giving Carpy a thumbs up and a smile. "I have always wanted to have a pupil! Master Orochi and others used to bully me, saying that I'm not mature, but look at me now!"

Carpy stared at her, not knowing how to respond. He realized Uwabami was quite talkative and tended to reveal too much. He noted not to reveal anything too important to her or she would go spilling it during one of her tantrums.

Carpy excused himself and went to Master Kon to explain everything he had heard.

"The Dragon King asked Yamata No Orochi for help? Huh, that's some nice trivia," Master Kon said, surprisingly unfazed by the revelation.

Then Master Kon went back to talking strategy with Bets, Anika, and Sei, while Gem and Agon played a game of rock-paper-scissors with a twist. The goal was to smash the other's hand.

Carpy glanced toward Master Kon, wondering if he should warn him about leaving Gem and Agon alone. They were still in enemy territory, and any corner could hide a demon trying to kill them.

"Okay, keep the plan in mind," Kon said as they finished their discussions and started running. Gem and Agon followed, with the latter nursing a red, swollen hand from their game.

Carpy wondered if they remembered they were still in enemy territory. Because they were, and danger lurked around every corner.

…

After traveling for a couple of hours, they stumbled upon an abandoned castle atop a hill. Its walls, made of rough-hewn stone, were weathered and scarred by centuries of exposure to the elements. Moss and ivy crept up the walls, clinging to the ancient stone like a living blanket. In some places, the moss was so thick that it seemed to swallow up entire sections of the wall. The castle looked as if it had grown out of the earth itself, a natural extension of the rugged landscape that surrounded it. josei

“There are three human presences in the castle,” Carpy warned the crew. Since they were in enemy territory, the humans inside were likely survivors from the last battle. The main cause of that was standing right next to them.

While others in the team might not have recognized Uwabami in her human form, Carpy didn’t blame them. He couldn't sense anything wrong with the Ultimate Class demon when she was in that form either. However, judging by Master Kon’s actions and hints, it was clear that she was an Ultimate Class demon. After observing her for a bit, it hadn't been hard for Carpy to figure out who she exactly was.

Now the question was whether Master Kon would decide to take Uwabami with him. Unlike demons, humans usually had complex abilities that represented an absolute form of ability through conditions. If someone amongst the people in there had a tracking ability, even if Uwabami had changed form, then they would be able to identify her.

As soon as they went inside, Carpy sensed something strange about one of the people. It felt like there were two people inside of one, but the feeling disappeared as soon as it came.

As they walked along, Carpy noticed that the castle walls were riddled with cracks, and the whole place seemed like it would fall down at any moment. The inside of the castle was as broken as the outside.

They arrived at the deepest part of the castle, an underground wine cellar where no light reached the place. That was where the three (or four?) people were hiding.

When they arrived at a wooden door, Agon pushed it open without a care in the world. Anika immediately slapped him on the back of his head and harshly whispered to him, "You idiot! Don't just open doors randomly! What if there was a trap?"

Agon rubbed his head and looked at her confused. "But there wasn't."

It seemed like those two were about to delve into a bickering fight when Master Kon stepped between them and pushed them aside. Even the usually angry Anika looked to the side and allowed herself to be pushed back.

Carpy sensed the blood rush to Anika's face and her heartbeat increased as soon as Master Kon touched her. As expected, even nagging women like her were intimidated by Master Kon.

"What are you doing here?" Master Kon's eyes widened as he seemed to recognize the people inside.