Chapter 108 - Food, Tourists.

Right after Kotone left the demon prison, Red and Xoz'gekal suddenly appear beside the unconscious Gentarou.

"Okay… I knew she didn't have it in her, but… Really? Broken limbs? That's it?" Xoz'gekal is half-disappointed, and half-pleased of Kotone's decision.

"Nah. It's more than that. She crippled him." Red says, brushing his spirit sense throughout Gentarou's body.

"Crippled? Superioris doctors can easily heal him." Xoz'gekal scoffs.

"No. What I meant is his superioris abilities are crippled. Fumio must have told her how… as an alternative." Red says, proud of Kotone's work. She has shattered the majority of Gentarou's meridians.

"A fate worse than death…" Xoz'gekal grins in glee. 

"Daring to ensl*ve our kind?" He adds as he kicks Gentarou's body. 

"I'm right here." Red chuckles.

"I-I... I didn't mean it like that. I feel like I can beat this bitch at my prime. You, master, are worthy to serve." Xoz'gekal says in panic.

"Relax…" Red pats Xoz'gekal's back, making the demon feel relieved.

"Now... If this involves only Kotone, this is a good outcome. But it involves me and others as well. I wish she had killed him." Red scratches his cheek.

"About that… The bet?" Xoz'gekal gloats.

"Yes, yes. You will have your own house on the hill the day after tomorrow." Red admits his loss in dismissal.

"Nice." Xoz'gekal pumps his fist.

"But it was kind of obvious that she didn't have it in her to kill. Why'd you still stupidly propose a bet? And you don't even get anything even if you've won." He asks Red.

"Isn't it just satisfying to win a bet against all odds? I want to feel like I've won the lottery. But hey, today's not the day." Red shrugs.

"True." Xoz'gekal shrugs.

"So… what now?" He asks.

"Now, the upside of this... is you get to feed." Red gestures Xoz'gekal to Gentarou.

"W-wha…" Xoz'gekal is stunned.

"Can I, really?" He asks in excitement.

"Yes. While my disciples benefitted from your flames, I haven't yet. It's not powerful enough." Red insists.

"Then, I'll gladly accept." Xoz'gekal kneels down, holds Gentarou's forehead and activates his demon core.

The next moment, grey-colored thick fog rushes out of the orifices of Gentarou's head. Xoz'gekal, as if yawning, opens his mouth as he takes a deep breath, making the glowing thick fog enter his being.

A few seconds later, Gentarou is no longer breathing, his heart stopped beating.

Xoz'gekal meanwhile, "Hhaaaa…" exhales in satisfaction.

"How was it?" Red asks in curiosity.

"Mmmmh… Tainted, powerful, and easy to absorb. Just how I like it." Gentarou licks his lips.

"After I'm done digesting in a few days, you won't be disappointed by my flames then." He promises to Red.

"Good." Red cannot wait.

"But for now… How do we deal with this body?"

<> 

Haneda Airport, Ota City, Tokyo

"- Well. I don't know about that. According to the recent chapters, they seem to be the most advanced. They also have a great manufacturing line." A man in his 30s, wearing a nice pair of office suit, frowns as he fixes his posture on the sofa, and grabs his coffee from the coffee table.

"True, senior. But I tell you, Germany is going to lose the war. Sure, they have great tanks and guns, but they only have so much resources." Another man, who is in his late 20s, and is similarly dressed, explains to his colleague.

"Okay. But they already invaded eight countries. They can use their resources. K.IWAI based the geology on the real world, right? France's iron reserves for example. They can use that." The older man argues.

"If you talk about resources, then the Allies have Russia, Australia, Canada, and the United States. Those countries can just make the war a war of attrition, and Germany will eventually lose. Making its allies in Europe collapse too. It won't take long before Imperial Japan falls." The younger man argues back.

"Okay. Okay. You're really into this manga, huh." The older man chuckles and gives up arguing.

"We have a lot of time to kill." The younger man shrugs.

"True. Hey, have you heard ab-" As the older man is about to bring up something, *knock**knock*  he is interrupted by a knock on the office door.

The office door opens ajar, and an office lady peeks in. Seeing the interested looks from the two men in the office, she enters.

"Good morning, Nori-san, Jotaro-san." The office lady greets the older man and the younger man, respectively.

"Yes, yes. What is it?" Nori asks with a hopeful look.

"A high-profile tourist?" Jotaro too, waits in anticipation.

Their reactions are understandable because only if they have work to do, will people like the office lady will enter their office.

"We're not sure. Please take a look at these first." The office lady approaches the couch and hands the two, two folders each.

Nori and Jotaro get to browsing immediately.

A few minutes later.

"Good morning, Mister Tabal. Miss Tabal." Nori greets Reynante and Marites in the Filipino Language as the two Filipinos enter their office.

"My name is Nori Haneda, and this is my partner, Jotaro Haneda."

"Good morning." Jotaro greets too, in the Filipino language.

"Ah. You two speak great Filipino." Marites compliments the two glorified airport security officers.

"It's not much, ma'am. We are thinker superiori, so learning languages come easy for us." Jotaro brushes the compliment aside.

"Ah. Please accept our condolences. Your father, Mr. Gener Tabal was quite the legend." Nori says.

"Thank you." Reynante and Marites nod, but they know that the man is just being courteous.

"Anyways. We have seen your passports and on behalf of the Haneda Clan, we are honored that you chose our country to be your first international destination in decades." Nori says.

His insinuation is obvious to Reynante and Marites.

"What can I say? Japan is a beautiful country. I'm curious to see what changed since my last visit 40 years ago." Reynante says, appearing honest.

"The Philippines too, has its slices of paradise scattered throughout its territory. Your hometown, Siquijor is a great example. The crystal-clear blue waters alone make me want to visit." Nori and Jotaro accept the answer and Jotaro returns a compliment.

"Excuse me, brother, gentlemen, can we move this along? I'm no longer young, and a five-hour flight was already a chore to me..." Marites meanwhile, loses her patience, already knowing that the men are about to start a meandering conversation, which is actually a security check in disguise.

"We are aware, that our presence here should be questioned because of our status. But I assure you, we are just here as tourists. This is our first time gathering our grandchildren for a trip like this." She gets to the point immediately.

"Well. I apologize for our inconsideration and the inconvenience." Nori winces, and bows his head slightly.

"With such a big group, it will be tough for you two. May we offer our assistance?" Jotaro is quick to bring out his hospitality.

"Tell me a random direction, ma'am. North? East? West? It's a good start." He then points at the huge map of Kanto Region behind him, and cautiously asks.

"From here, I'm thinking north. Are there any good places to stop by?" Marites is glad that the security officers are now more straightforward.

Jotaro tries his brows not to jump in interest.

"Of course. Let me make a quick call to one of our … experts." Nori pulls out his phone to delegate the task.

"Do you need interpreters? Drivers?" Jotaro asks.

"No. We're traveling with our own. But thank you." Reynante refuses.

A few minutes later.

"We officially welcome your family to Japan. I hope you enjoy your stay." Nori and Jotaro bid Marites and Reynante goodbye.

After the two Filipino elderlies' departure, Jotaro looks at Nori.

"Thinking what I'm thinking?" Jotaro asks.

"Am I a mind reader?" Nori frowns in confusion.

"Listen. First, relatively high members of Brotherhood of Adam. I overheard them talking about heading up north.

"Remember? I also asked the B-Class couple from Australia like how I asked the Tabals earlier; they're also heading up north. And finally, a decently known family from the Philippines, also heading up north. Don't you find something strange?" Jotaro asks.

"Uhhh… No. I don't. What can I say? Our tourism industry is booming. Besides. From here? There's nowhere else to go but up north. If they said east, then they would have landed at Narita Airport. If they said west, then they would have landed at Chofu Airport." Nori shakes his head.

"True… True…" Jotaro admits.

"But! … In your years of experience, when else did you receive people with these statuses in a span of a week?" He asks.

"…" Nori is stumped.

"You might be on to something there." He admits after pondering shortly.

"And what do you plan to do with this?" He asks.

"Our job's boring. If people like them arrive at our airport, then you're more than enough to handle that. Me on the other hand, will look into it more." Jotaro says.

"My goodness. I won't stop you. But be careful. They have guest rights." Nori shakes his head.

"Of course."

.

Meanwhile at a random SUV heading out of the airport.

"May I?" Reytnante asks Marites as he reaches his hand out to her.

"Here." Marites hands what looks like a spear head made of clay to Reynante.

"When's the last time it drifted?" He asks his sister as he caresses the wood fragment at the center of the spear head. The two decided to embed the wood fragment to something arrow-shaped for them to see the direction it is heading to, easier.

"When we were at the plane. I had to hold it down however." Marites says.

"Do you have an idea where it was pointing to?" Reynante asks.

"North. Northwest. Around that general direction. I'm not sure really. I didn't know which direction the plane was flying to. Let's just wait." Marites relays.

"I hope we're close… to... whatever the hell is happening." Reynante sighs.

"Uhuh. Maybe our tourist guise will not be a guise after all." Marties agrees. 

<>

Hinohara, Red's Gardens.

*slide*

*thud*

Fumio cautiously steps in Kotone's room and finds Kotone lying on her side, awake.

"Hey." Fumio greets.

"Hey there. I didn't see you as someone who would step into a woman's room." Kotone jokes.

Fumio chuckles.

"Well… It's been two days since, you know, that… and I haven't even seen you cultivate." He asks.

"Ah. Yeah… that." Kotone gets up.

"Look. I'm not gonna ask. But I'm worried. Are you alright?" Fumio asks.

"Yes…" Kotone nods, before "Well, no.", shaking her head.

"I might have screwed up." She says.

"Screwed up how?" Fumio asks.

"I let Gentarou live. I even showed him my real face…" Kotone sighs.

"Gosh, I'm so stupid. I'm gonna become a wanted criminal. You guys might be caught up in it." She grabs her hair in frustration.

"Y-you…" Fumio is about to admonish Kotone but catches himself.

"I wish I'd have killed Hideki too. But… didn't have it in me. I understand why you didn't." He sighs, empathizing.

"But… It's a clan head we're talking about. Did you tell boss?" He asks.

"Not yet. I can't find him. He can't be contacted either… What if he kicks me out?" Kotone asks in fear.

"Well. Did you look yourself up online?" Fumio asks.

"I can't bring myself to." Kotone shakes her head, afraid of what she might find.

"Did your brother call you?" Fumio asks.

"I missed two calls. I don't want to answer it. I don't want to know what he's going to say." Kotone explains.

"Okay… Boss said he values us, right? You also did the right thing. So he probably won't kick you out…" Fumio consoles Kotone.

"Do you think so?" Kotone asks.

"Yeah. But he'll probably lock you in this hill if you indeed become a wanted supervillain." Fumio says as he pulls out his phone. 

Kotone knows that Fumio is looking up her name.

So, she braces herself.