Chapter 666: Exposure: Shimizu Kazumi’s dark inner self
The white and red old man’s beard and hair swayed in the air as the crimson flames burning around him suddenly surged. The old man clasped his hands together, his fingertips emitting dazzling red light. Within the light, ancient flame runes could be faintly seen flowing. Accompanied by the old man’s movements, the flames in his palm suddenly split into thousands of thin fiery threads. Each fiery thread precisely wrapped around a strand of dark fire, like the most intricate net catching prey. These threads were as fine as hair, yet contained astonishing power, emitting a high-frequency hum in the air.
The giant flame serpent, vaguely formed by dark flames, struggled frantically but could not break free from the cage woven by the flames. The white and red old man, seeing the dark giant serpent still struggling under his suppression, couldn’t help but twitch his brow. He slightly adjusted the angle of his fingers, and the fiery threads changed their trajectory, compressing the dark fire bit by bit.
“Condense!”
The ten thousand fiery threads suddenly tightened, forcefully compressing the dark fire into a fist-sized black fireball. The fireball struggled violently, its surface constantly bulging with monstrous faces. The old man snorted coldly, and with a grab in the air, the fireball was instantly pulled by an invisible force towards the black lotus mark on Kazumi’s cheek.
The moment the fireball was about to touch the young girl’s skin, the fingertips of the old man’s left hand twisted and formed a seal. The originally violent flames instantly became as soft as water, transforming into layers of thin crimson light membranes covering Kazumi’s cheek. The instant the black fireball came into contact with the light membrane, a teeth-grinding “sizzle” sound was emitted, but it could not break through this seemingly fragile defense. The old man’s left hand slammed down, and the black fireball was forcefully pressed into the black lotus mark. As the last trace of dark fire was sealed, the flames burning on the white and red old man’s body instantly dissipated.
The temperature in the dome suddenly dropped, and the ensuing silence was as if the previous changes were all an illusion.
“Grandpa Hongmaru, Shin’ichi, Kazumi, what’s happening?”
Kazumi slowly opened her eyes, her black pupils regaining their clarity, though a trace of panic remained in her gaze. Her voice was a little hoarse as she subconsciously touched her neck. Hongmaru remained silent, his extremely sharp gaze never leaving the black-haired young girl before him.
“Little girl, your power awakening had a slight mishap, but it’s all resolved now,” the old man paused before continuing. “It seems your physique is indeed rather special.”
Shin’ichi finally couldn’t help but rush forward, but stopped abruptly three steps away from Kazumi. The young boy’s azure eyes were filled with worry, “Kazumi, are you alright? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
Kazumi gently shook her head, her black short hair swaying slightly with the movement. “I’m just a little… tired.” She looked down at her palm, feeling as if something new had appeared inside her body… As if she suddenly remembered something, she quickly looked up and said to the young girl, grandchild of the white and red old man next to her, bowing slightly, “Thank you for your care, Grandpa Hongmaru.”
The white and red old man did not respond to Kazumi at this moment. Instead, he walked to an old cabinet in the corner of the room and took out a small jade bottle from a hidden compartment. The bottle was wrapped with golden flame patterns, which flowed with a strange luster under the light.
“Emi,” he called to his granddaughter, “take this girl to the quiet room to rest and have her drink this. It will help stabilize her abilities.”
“Understood, Grandpa.” The white and red descendant Emi carefully took the jade bottle. As the heir of the white and red family, she was no stranger to the process of her grandfather imparting the flame seeds. She helped Kazumi up, her pink hair tassel gently brushing against the young girl’s cheek. “Let’s go, I’ll take you to my room to rest. Awakening your abilities consumes a lot of energy, you need plenty of rest now.”
Satō Shin’ichi unconsciously took two steps forward, “I’ll go too—”
“Stop.” Hongmaru’s voice was neither loud nor soft, but it made the young boy freeze in place. The old man meticulously tidied his sleeves, his broad palms gently smoothing out the wrinkles on his clothes. “Kid, we have some things to discuss.”
Kazumi looked back at Shin’ichi and nodded slightly, signaling that she was fine. Then, the backs of the white and red descendant Emi supporting the two girls disappeared at the end of the corridor. The light closing sound of the room door was especially clear in the silent room.
Hongmaru walked to the tea table and sat down. His palm swept across the tabletop, engulfing the scattered objects, which had been displaced by the previous energy outburst, in red energy. They were instantly restored to their original neat arrangement. “Sit,” he pointed to the seat opposite him, his voice devoid of emotion.
Shin’ichi hesitated for a moment before obediently sitting down. The boy’s golden bangs were wet with sweat, sticking to his forehead, making him look somewhat disheveled, but his eyes were still filled with a profound, unshakeable worry. “Grandpa Hongmaru, is Kazumi really okay?”
Hongmaru did not answer immediately but poured himself a cup of tea. The tea water boiled the moment it touched the bottom of the cup, and the steaming hot water blurred the old man’s sharp gaze. “That depends on how you define ‘okay’.” He took a sip of the strong tea. “Her abilities have indeed awakened successfully, but…”
“Young Shin’ichi, I remember your grades in the academy were quite good, you aren’t like Sister Sakura who sleeps in class every day, right?” The old man suddenly put down his tea cup, the collision of porcelain and the wooden tabletop making a crisp sound, but he asked an unrelated question.
“I… I’m doing alright. Sister Sakura just doesn’t pay much attention to theory classes, but her combat ability is first in the entire grade.” Satō Shin’ichi was a little flustered by the white and red old man’s question, especially when it involved his granddaughter’s matter. The young man stammered out this response.
“Then you should know the principle in ‘Ability Studies’ that the eight abilities are a reflection of a person’s personality and overall thought process, right?” The white and red old man waved his hand, unfazed by Satō Shin’ichi’s compliment to his granddaughter, and looked at the young man before him, asking.
“I know…” Shin’ichi nodded, but his body instantly straightened up at the old man’s latter words. His azure eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at the other party.
“Yes, it’s what you’re thinking,” the old man let out a breath and nodded in agreement. “The abilities awakened by my flames, although there are certain differences from the abilities awakened by oneself, generally follow this principle.”
“And the evil and darkness contained within the flames this little girl awakened, I’ve never seen anything like it, even when my most violent members of the ‘Flame Squad’ awakened their powers.”
“So…” The white and red old man suddenly slammed the table, and the air in the room seemed to freeze. The old man’s crimson beard and hair danced again, and his body erupted with suffocating power.
“Satō Shin’ichi!” Hongmaru’s voice boomed like thunder, making the cups on the table tremble. His crimson eyes stared fixedly at the young boy, as if every word he spoke carried scorching sparks.
“Do you truly understand the darkness in your little girlfriend’s heart?”
