Published at 13th of December 2025 8:51 am

Chapter 1337: Strange Feeling

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

"What is going on in your mind, child?" Lady Chiyo gently asked as she sipped tea from the ceramic cup.

Genshiro’s head hung low as he knelt before the elderly woman. He gazed at his reflection inside the teacup, only to find a stranger staring back at him.

"I just feel so... lost," he murmured.

"When the war began, I was confident. I was confident that we would win. I was confident that we would overcome the forces of evil. I was confident that justice would prevail. But after what I’ve witnessed... I don’t know anymore."

Lady Chiyo sighed. She had read all the reports. She knew very well the battle tactics the Heavenly Demon was applying. Although she hadn’t personally witnessed it, she could tell how deeply disturbing it was to those who’d seen it firsthand.

"This sort of psychological warfare," the elderly woman began. "I won’t say it’s new. It has been done before. But the Heavenly Demon especially excels at it because of how brutal his methods are. I can understand—"

"No!" Genshiro gritted his teeth, his eyes turning red. "You cannot understand! You were not there! Neither was the Patriarch! And nor were those Elders who berated me earlier today! It is easy to say words of comfort when you haven’t personally witnessed the horrors of this war."

Lady Chiyo turned silent. She was not only the Head Diviner of the clan, but also the eldest person within it. As such, she had vast experience. People flocked to her for moral support. She could be considered the pillar of the clan.

She knew what a young man like Genshiro was going through, so she chose to silently listen without interrupting him. She wanted the child to let it all out. She sipped from the teacup and listened.

"You don’t know what it feels like to see your brothers impaled on pikes," Genshiro spat, tears trickling down his face. "My brothers... people I grew up with... reduced to nothing more than corpses on a pike. Where’s the honor in dying like that? And you know what?"

His lips curled into a bitter smile, "I even saw a man alive while he was still impaled. Can you imagine the torment he must have gone through? And what I saw today..."

Genshiro wiped his tears and displayed a pitiful smile. "What do you think those people must have gone through when they had their eyes taken out? Their hearts and livers ripped out? Do you know? Because I don’t..."

"Then tell me, Genshiro," Lady Chiyo softly said. She took another sip from the cup, then continued, "Why did you bring those wagons back home? Do you know what your actions have caused? Surely, you must understand why the Patriarch, your uncle, is so mad at you."

"I know..." Genshiro gritted his teeth. "I know, damn it!"

"Then why did you do it?"

"Because I wanted Uncle to see it for himself!" Genshiro blurted out. "I wanted to see what Tensei’s actions have led to! That spoiled bastard, it’s all because of him! All this... this pain that my brothers had to go through at the moment of their death, it’s all because of Tensei! It’s all because of Uncle!"

A tense silence settled in the hall. At last, Lady Chiyo warned in a stern voice, "You cannot accuse the Patriarch like that. Do not say those words to anyone else, understood?"

"...I’m sorry." Genshiro lowered his head in shame.

Lady Chiyo deeply looked at Genshiro and sighed. "This is the Heavenly Demon’s doing. All those bloody messages displayed in our border outposts... it has gotten to your head. I’m afraid you’re not the only one either."

"Yes." Genshiro nodded, his voice strangely chilling. "It’s the Heavenly Demon’s doing, alright."

Lady Chiyo couldn’t help but frown a little. Genshiro’s voice sounded different to her. Suddenly, she noticed that the man hadn’t yet sipped on his tea.

A faint foreboding feeling welled up in her heart. She deeply observed the man sitting before her. He looked like Genshiro, spoke like Genshiro, and even behaved like Genshiro.

Yet, what was this strange feeling?

"Finally caught on, have you?" Genshiro’s lips curled into a wicked smile.

Lady Chiyo’s eyes narrowed. "You... who are you?"

"Genshiro" chuckled coldly.

"You Diviners are really a pain in the ass, you know? Some of my plans were seen through because of your annoying sight," he said as he slowly raised both his hands.

"Some of my men died too. Well, not that I care about those bandits anyway."

He cut a thin line on his forehead with his nails. Blood trickled down, but he paid no mind. Instead, he pressed his fingers into the cut and began to... peel.

The flesh came away like a wet, bloody cloth. With a sickening rip, the skin of Genshiro split open from head to chin. It loosened like a mask that had been worn for too long. He pulled further until he removed every inch of his flesh.

The skin once belonging to Genshiro fell to the ground. And from within that discarded shell, another man stepped forward.

It was a stranger, his cold eyes gleaming with malice. The blood-soaked remnants of Genshiro’s skin clung to his hands for a moment before he shook them off.

Then, with a swift hand seal, his body began to distort ever so slightly, and he grew a little taller, a little muscular, a little... demonic.

At last, the transformation stopped. Under Lady Chiyo’s horrified gaze, the man retrieved a red oni mask and put it on his face.

The imposter had finally revealed itself.

"What’s the matter?" The Heavenly Demon grinned under his mask. "Can’t use mana, eh?"

"You..." Lady Chiyo muttered in a trembling voice. "What have you done to Genshiro? Where is he?"

"He’s dead, of course." The Heavenly Demon shrugged.

He took a step forward and bent over.

Snap!

He shattered the amulet hanging from Lady Chiyo’s neck. Then, he broke the bracelets she was wearing on her wrists. These were defensive artifacts, which would have posed some problem to him had he not poisoned her.

Throughout the entire time, Lady Chiyo did not resist.

She could not resist.

The Heavenly Demon loomed over her. He then said in an even voice:

"Any last words?"

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