Chapter 68: Hino Umaba

I looked around and found myself standing in the middle of a densely populated street. Just moments ago, I was only focused on getting far away from the candy house, and now I had no idea where I was. Earlier, I had been speaking with such spirited resolve about sacrificing myself for others, as if I were some omnipotent savior, but now, I didn't even know where the gate to Heaven was located.

I’ve truly embarrassed myself to the core.

"Sonoko!" A sharp scream suddenly exploded through the crowd.

"Ah... a monster!"

"It’s a monster!"

"Help..."

In an instant, the surroundings fell into chaos. People shoved and trampled over one another; screams and cries for help rose from every direction.

I frowned slightly and spotted a vile-looking, massive beast in the crowd, very similar to the first one I had encountered.

It followed me this quickly? Are these demonic creatures really attracted by the dark power within me? Even though I’m wearing Albus's silver ring to evade Samael’s perception, I still can’t hide from the noses of these monsters!

"Sonoko, my Sonoko!..." The shouting became increasingly shrill.

Among the terrified, fleeing crowd, a woman with disheveled hair was particularly striking. She was screaming hoarsely, desperately trying to run toward the monster, but was pushed further and further away by the crowd eager to escape.

I finally noticed a stroller parked near the monster. Sitting in the small stroller was a fair, chubby infant. The little fellow had no concept of the impending danger and was actually reaching out with tiny pink hands, giggling at the snarling beast.

The monster had reached the stroller. It seemed interested in the little one inside, staring blankly for a moment without attacking, though foul-smelling saliva was already about to drip from its maw.

I had experienced that saliva before; it was stronger than acid.

"Ah... Sonoko..." The woman shrieked, looking as if she were about to faint.

At the critical moment, I leaped forward and narrowly pulled the stroller away. The saliva dripped onto the ground, bubbling into white foam with a hissing sound.

"Still laughing? One step later and there would have been a hole in your little face," I pinched the baby's cheek and smiled.

The little guy wasn't shy; a soft little hand grabbed my finger and stuffed it into his mouth to suck hard. I laughed in spite of myself—he must be hungry.

Seeing that he couldn't get anything out after a while, he wrinkled his nose and actually burst out crying with a loud "Wah!"

I was speechless. This kid certainly has a way of treating his savior...

Just as I was about to pinch that soft little face again, I suddenly felt a gust of foul, hot wind brush past my ear. I immediately pulled the stroller back ten paces in an instant. Snowy, who had been in my arms, sprang forth, transforming into the Nine-Tailed White Fox to lunge at the monster.

After securing the stroller in a safe spot by the side of the street, I turned back to watch Snowy locked in a fierce battle with the beast. The pedestrians had mostly dispersed, though a few death-defying journalists had arrived upon hearing the news. Without even time to set up their camcorders, they began snapping photos with their cameras.

Monster vs. Nine-Tailed White Fox—such sensational news was naturally not to be missed, but was it really worth risking their lives to film?

"Miss, are you a witness? Do you know where these monsters came from?"

"Miss, please tell us your thoughts at this moment..."

"Miss, did you give up on escaping just to save this child?"

"Miss, please talk to us..."

"Miss..."

Several microphones were thrust in front of me. I was exasperated. Did these people have no sense of crisis, or were they just too professional? These monsters didn't escape from a zoo; as ancient demonic creatures, they all came from beneath Samael's seal...

I noticed the scent of blood floating in the air and feared more monsters would appear. "Go quickly, it's dangerous here!"

Before I could finish, four or five grotesquely shaped monsters appeared before us, their only similarity being their massive size. A camera flash suddenly went off behind me, and the monsters immediately turned their gaze toward us. Startled, I turned and snatched the camera away. "Don't use the flash! Stop taking pictures and run!"

The monsters immediately discovered my presence and converged, staring at me with predatory eyes. I took a slight step back; it would be a lie to say I wasn't afraid. These beasts from the primordial era possessed staggering combat power.

While I was considering how to escape, one monster could no longer restrain itself and pounced at me. I stepped back and raised my left hand, a blast of flame striking it directly. Ordinary flames were useless against them, so I tried to gather all my strength—just as I had when breaking Samael's barrier—concentrating my total power into a single point for a decisive strike.

The monster retreated with a howl, but more monsters lunged forward.

"Run!" I swung a sword of light through the air to meet the monsters.

Fearing for the humans, I used every ounce of my strength to hold the creatures back, but I gradually felt my strength failing.

Suddenly, with a thunderous boom, a blinding light flashed before my eyes.

"Snowy! Snowy! Where are you!" Frowning, I waited for my eyes, stung by the intense light, to regain their vision. I was shocked to find that the place where I stood was actually the Great Hall of the Inquisition!

However, the surroundings were a mess; the cracked walls were mottled with moss, and a faint scent of blood still lingered in the air.

"Do you remember? This is all your masterpiece."

As I was looking around, a dainty and pretty voice suddenly rang out in the air. Though the voice was clear and bright, it was inexplicably hair-raising to hear.

"Hino Umaba?" I recognized that voice. It was Hino Umaba. What was she doing here?

"I’m so glad you still remember me," Hino Umaba laughed, though she didn't reveal herself.

"Did you bring me here? What is your objective?" I frowned slightly, following her voice forward.

Hino Umaba only let out a low laugh.

"Careful." A voice as cold as ice spoke, and I felt my hand being grasped.

Startled for a moment, I turned and saw a pair of frigid eyes.

In the darkness, a man with silver hair and white clothes stood behind me, holding my hand.

"Albus?" I was slightly relieved. At a time like this, the human-form Albus felt more reliable than pet Snowy.

"Look ahead," Albus said, his dark pupils as cold as unmelting ice.

I turned my head forward and gasped slightly. In the darkness were countless pairs of glowing green eyes. These were the monsters Samael mentioned he had sealed in ancient times. Was this... the stronghold of those monsters?

Then... the person who broke the seal...

My eyes widened as a woman dressed in fiery red slowly walked out of the darkness. Her thin red high heels tapped against the floor, creating a crisp, short, and rhythmic sound. Hino Umaba walked out with the arrogant posture of a queen.

The woman in red before me was no longer the reckless girl from before. The ancient demonic creatures were actually prostrating themselves at her feet in a submissive posture.

More importantly, I felt a dense dark aura emanating from her. Wasn't she an Exorcist? Why did I feel an aura similar to a monster coming from her?

"Surprised?" She smiled.

"She is no longer human," Albus's voice rang out, cold as ice.

I was shocked. How was that possible? As an elite Exorcist, how could she not be human...

"What do you want?" I looked at her and asked.

"Me?" She licked her lips, her posture demonic and alluring. "I want to do to you what you once did to Aurora-White."

She wants to... eat me? Occupy this body?

Albus took a step forward, shielding me behind him.

"So you are that Nine-Tailed White Fox who caused the tenth director of the Inquisition, Aurora-White, to bear a curse and fall into the Demon Realm?" Hino Umaba narrowed her eyes and looked at Albus.

Albus ignored her.

Hino Umaba didn't take offense and smiled. "Aurora-White was the tenth director of the Inquisition; she’s my predecessor, in a way. Rather than letting her physical body go to an outsider, it would be better to give it to me."

"Over my dead body," Albus's voice was devoid of emotion.

"Hino Umaba, I know you hate me for destroying the Inquisition, but I promise... I will receive the punishment I deserve." Holding onto Albus, I looked at Hino Umaba.

Hino Umaba remained silent, smiling.

"I admit I am guilty, I admit I am a demon, and I must go to atone before the Final Judgment. Let me leave."

Albus gave me a brief look.

Hino Umaba only sneered.

"If I don't go to Heaven to accept judgment, God will destroy the world on the day of the Final Judgment..." I said urgently.

"You care that much about your food?"

"Eh?"

"To you, shouldn't humans just be food?" Hino Umaba laughed.

"Aren't you human?! Are you going to watch the catastrophe of the apocalypse happen with your own eyes!"

"Human?" Hino Umaba smiled. "I abandoned that useless physical body long ago."

"You?"

"How tragic." Hino Umaba looked at me and suddenly shook her head with a light sigh. "You failed as a human, you failed as a vampire, and you failed as a queen. Why not let me eat you? I will replace you and become the greatest queen of the demon race."

She laughed loudly.

"Aren't you an Exorcist!"

"An Exorcist? The Inquisition has already been destroyed by you; where are there any Exorcists left?"

"You were clearly human... why have you become like this!"

"Every director of the Inquisition passes down a notebook, which records the locations where the ancient monsters were sealed..."

"You..." My eyes widened in disbelief.

"That's right, I’m the one who released these monsters," Hino Umaba looked at me and laughed. "They were right beneath the ground of the Inquisition, and I... have made a master-servant contract with them."

When the seas have turned to mulberry fields, it turns out... the Inquisition was built right on top of the seal of those monsters.

"You actually offered your body to demons." A flash of surprise flickered in Albus's normally calm eyes.

"Offered her body to demons?" I turned my head to look at him.

"She has already fed her physical body to those monsters. The one standing before you now is merely a vengeful spirit," Albus explained calmly.

"You mean... she... is already dead?" I looked back at Hino Umaba in disbelief.

"Dead? I am a phoenix rising from the ashes; I have obtained eternal life!" Hino Umaba smiled.

Hino Umaba, a gifted Exorcist, took over the position of Director of the Inquisition at the age of sixteen. It has been two years since then. She is the 265th director of the Inquisition and the youngest one in history.

Such a person... has ended up in this state.

"Eternal life? Does this kind of eternal life... have any meaning?" I looked at her, suddenly feeling a sense of sorrow.

"So, let me eat you." She looked at me, her face twisting. "Once I eat you, I can obtain a physical form!"

"Once I eat you, I can replace you!"

"It’s all because of you! Because of you, Cass died! He had been dead for five years and I had no idea, foolishly guarding an empty shell!"

She walked toward me step by step, carrying an air of cold slaughter.

"Do you know? The directors of the Inquisition are all appointed by the elders and trained from childhood. I had to face that harsh training every day since I was five years old. I escaped countless times, and every time I was caught back, I would be beaten until I was covered in wounds. Only Cass, only Cass would help me! Only Cass was good to me!"

"Every time I was beaten, he would help me apply medicine and tell me to endure. So I endured, until I grew up... I thought I could be with Cass forever, but because of you, it’s all because of you! Because of you, Cass was nailed to the cross! Because of you, Cass died!"

"Why was he so good to you? He liked you so much. As long as I eat you, I will be you!"

Hino Umaba approached step by step, her expression frenzied.

"Loving a demon is a sin," I looked at her and spoke softly. "You don't know how much I envied that you could be human..."

Cass pleaded guilty... he offered his body to Michael to help Michael destroy me...

That time, when the Inquisition invaded the Demon Realm, I told Cass that if the end was death, I would rather the person who killed me... be Cass.

If it were Cass, I could die.

If the end had to be helpless, then I would rather sleep forever in Cass's arms.

But now, even that has become a luxury. Cass passed away five years ago, and all I can do now is use my life to fulfill his only wish and repay the warmth he once gave me.

"Children, enjoy your feast." Hino Umaba smiled and clapped her hands. "Remember to leave that woman's body for me."