Hell’s Handbook - Chapter 304

304: Bloody Sakura Sword

The four members of Team Boning Knife continued their journey with depressed looks on their faces. Even though everyone knew that death was inevitable in such Challenges, they still needed some time to process it when someone actually died.

“I hope Situ and Bo Ya are fine,” said Kano Mai quietly.

Su Jin sighed and patted Chu Yi’s shoulders. Wu Chen had died in front of him and that had a great impact on the younger man. Moreover, Wu Chen had sacrificed himself so that Chu Yi would get the chance to live. That made Chu Yi feel even worse.

“Great envoy,” said one of the worshippers as he approached Su Jin with a deep frown, as though he had something important to say.

“You can go ahead and say whatever’s on your mind,” said Su Jin.

The worshipper nodded and said, “I’m not very certain, but I can sense that someone is following us right now. They appeared near our group at almost the same time as this other envoy.”

Chu Yi immediately shuddered violently and said, “It’s the clown. It’s the clown! I just knew he had discovered me! No wonder he didn’t kill me then – he wanted to use me as bait.”

Su Jin looked at the worshipper, but the worshipper shook his head. He said, “I don’t know what it is, but it’s definitely not the clown. If it were the clown, we’d be dead long ago. That guy isn’t the sort who likes playing cat and mouse games.”

“Then who could it be?” asked Su Jin.

The worshipper shook his head and said, “I don’t know, it’s just a feeling I have. There is a powerful force right next to us and once it reveals itself, we might not be able to handle it.”

Su Jin was surprised. “If we might not be able to handle it once it reveals itself, then… why is it remaining in the shadows? Waiting for a chance?”

“That’s possible. There are some formidable characters on the island that can unleash their maximum powers only if they’re in the right sort of place or at a certain time. That fellow might be waiting for a chance like that,” said the worshipper with a nod as he agreed with Su Jin’s analysis.

Su Jin started getting worried now. Since the other party dared to follow behind his team and the five worshippers, then they were definitely no weaklings. If they attacked, then even if his group could defeat them, they might lose some lives along the way.

“Jin, what should we do?” asked Kano Mai.

Su Jin paused to think, then said, “The best way is to split up. Even if the other party attacks, they can only target one group. The group they target is doomed for sure, but at least we can ensure more people survive. If we continue moving together, we might all come out alive, or we might all die together.”

“Then let’s move together! I don’t think anybody would agree to give up on anybody, so the first option is meaningless.” Ye Yun was more clear-headed on this matter.

Su Jin exchanged glances with the rest. Just like she said, after going through so much together, there was no way they would allow any of them to be bait or to sacrifice themselves.

“In that case, we’ll just have to huddle together and hope for the best,” said Su Jin with a resigned smile. They just wanted to get to the beach as soon as possible and meet with Situ Jin and Bo Ya.

As time ticked by, the enemy that the worshipper had identified did not appear. They remained safe until nightfall. They ran into a few monsters along the way, but the worshippers were able to protect them and nothing bad happened.

Once it was nighttime, they decided to stop walking for the day. Their journey in the daytime had been smooth because this section of the island was still similar to what the worshippers remembered of it, but nobody knew if the road ahead would suddenly be strange to them. If the road ahead was no longer the same, then travelling at night would be even more dangerous.

“The moon here looks so sinister. I can’t believe it’s a bloody red color,” said Chu Yi listlessly as he looked up at the sky.

“The moon?!” Su Jin was surprised to hear this and looked up as well. Just like what Chu Yi said, a full, blood-red moon hung high and bright in the sky.

“That’s… odd.” Su Jin felt something was amiss and immediately asked the worshippers, “Do blood moons appear in the night sky of the island?”

“No, the Island of Mistakes is cut off from all other universes and is shrouded in nothingness. There’s no outer space, so there’s no moon either,” replied the leader very confidently.

Su Jin’s pupils constricted as he laughed sadly. “If that’s the case, then that means we’ve walked into someone else’s territory.”

Immediately after he said that, the moon in the sky shifted slightly and a beam shot out from the moon. The five worshippers reacted quickly enough by letting out an angry roar. A black mist that resembled the Roar of the Demon Lord sprayed from their mouths and shattered the beam.

“Everyone, be careful,” Su Jin reminded his team. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked up at the sky, but the blood moon had disappeared. Instead, a man with blood-red arms fell from the sky with a blood-red sword in his hands.

“It’s the Bloody Sakura Sword!” The leader’s eyes flew open in shock. He immediately shouted at Su Jin, “Great envoy, run! We’ll hold the fort here!”

“Nobody’s going anywhere! Nobody! Su Jin, it’s time we… settled our feud.” The man had landed on the ground by this time, and Su Jin and Kano Mai had dismayed looks on their faces when they saw who it was. Like the saying goes, when there’s a cause, there’s an effect, and these things are a never-ending cycle. It seemed to ring true for the two of them right now.

“Miyamoto Tooru!” Su Jin took a deep breath and took a step forward. “Our matter has nothing to do with the rest of them, so let them leave!”

“Nothing to do with them? In my opinion, as long as they are connected to you, Su Jin, then they are connected to me as well. I’m going to kill all of you!” Miyamoto Tooru’s eyes were entirely red. It was more accurate to say that he was an evil spirit whom the Bloody Sakura Sword had given the power to seek revenge. He wasn’t really Miyamoto Tooru anymore.

“You’re also an owner, so why do you get to use an item?” asked Chu Yi when he saw the sword that Miyamoto Tooru was wielding.

“What do you think?” Miyamoto Tooru grinned. There was actually a bloody glow inside his mouth as well, and it made him look really creepy.

“That’s not an item. It’s something he got from the island itself.” Su Jin had seen Chimimoryo before, so he could guess where this sword had come from. And since the worshippers recognized it, it had to be something from the island.

“That’s right.” Miyamoto Tooru nodded slightly, then turned to look at Su Jin. He said in a frosty voice, “Su Jin! I was defeated by you back then, but I’d bet you never imagined that not only did I not die, but I also became a Handbook owner like you!”

“I am a little surprised.” Su Jin nodded honestly.

Miyamoto Tooru went on, “After I became an owner, I knew that… you were definitely an owner too. That way, the sort of terrifying strength and prowess you had would make perfect sense.”

Su Jin nodded again. As long as you weren’t a complete idiot, it was only normal for one to guess that he was definitely an owner. It was pretty obvious.

“But what really caught me by surprise is the fact that Miss Kano Mai, the queen of the Kano family, turned out to be a Handbook owner as well. Looks like it’s true that I was thinking too highly of myself back when I wanted to marry you,” said Miyamoto Tooru with a weird chuckle as he stared at Kano Mai with his blood-red eyes.

Kano Mai responded in an equally frosty voice, “I’m no longer part of the Kano family, so don’t call me the queen of the Kano family and things like that.”

Miyamoto Tooru shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. To him, both Su Jin and Kano Mai had to die today. They could speak as boldly as they liked now.

“I know that I’m now on the same playing field as both of you, and I believe that as long as our starting point is the same, I am no weaker than another and I will be able to seek revenge someday. You know something, Su Jin? I’ve been praying every day, praying that you don’t end up dying in some Challenge. Otherwise, all my hard work would have gone to waste!” Miyamoto Tooru glared nastily at Su Jin, as though he was about to skin Su Jin alive.

“So that’s why I’ve been feeling some discomfort recently. It’s because you’ve missed me so much.” Su Jin knew that Miyamoto Tooru wasn’t going to let any of his companions off, so he stopped trying to plead with him. Even if they had to die today, his team was going to die in glory.

“Shut your trap! Once I slaughter you, I’ll pull all your teeth out, turn them into a specimen and keep it in my room. They will become the best memories of the rest of my life.” Miyamoto Tooru scoffed disdainfully, then suddenly brandished the blood-red sword in his hands, sending a bright red beam toward Chu Yi.

Su Jin didn’t expect Miyamoto Tooru to be so despicable and launch a sneak attack on Chu Yi without any warning. Luckily, one of the Demon Lord’s worshippers was standing right next to Chu Yi. The worshipper opened his mouth to let out a roar and the black mist that spewed from his mouth shattered the beam.

“Looks like you’ve gained something from the island too!” snickered Miyamoto Tooru. He brandished the sword again, sending out beam after beam. The worshippers quickly got to work, letting out continuous roars to block the beams. Unfortunately, their roars were a little too slow and it was getting harder and harder to keep up with Miyamoto Tooru.

“Great envoy, run!! The five of us will not be able to hold up against the Bloody Sakura Sword’s host, so if you stay here, you’ll end up dying!” the leader yelled to Su Jin.

Su Jin didn’t have the time to hesitate. He yelled at the rest, “Split up! At least some of us will make it!”

There was no time to think of a better plan now. They were ordinary humans now, so if they dealt with the Bloody Sakura Sword as a group, it could kill them in one fell swoop. They had to run in different directions to ensure that at least some of them survived.

Su Jin felt terribly frustrated. He had been too naïve earlier on. From the moment the worshippers had sensed Miyamoto Tooru’s presence, they should have split up already. Even if everyone disagreed, he should have insisted that they do so. He was the leader of the team, so while the others could allow their emotions to affect their decisions, he shouldn’t.

His team members hesitated for a moment, but decided to listen to him in the end and ran in different directions.

But when Miyamoto Tooru saw them run in different directions, he didn’t get anxious at all. Instead, there was a strangely excited gleam flickering in his eyes.