Chapter 141

When Kazuma Hatori calmly stepped into the main hall of the "House of the Star Child," which was already half collapsed, carrying the body of [Riko Tennen], the remaining cultists inside were momentarily panicked, thinking that the enemy had broken in.

But then they realized that the Holy Son had returned with the dead Star Magma body—meaning that the Holy Son had accomplished the goal of preventing Lord Tianyuan from assimilating!

*Smack*

*Slap slap*

Clap clap clap.

From the first and second applause, enthusiastic applause erupted, as if celebrating the victory of this faith.

"We won!"

"The Holy Son has done it!"

"The Holy Son did not allow the Star Magma Body to assimilate with Lord Tianyuan!"

"Oh, our revered Lord Tianyuan has finally regained his pure body!"

"The enemies outside will surely be eliminated by His Holiness the Holy Son!"

"…………"

Amidst the shouts, more believers in white robes surrounded Hatori Kazuma and [Tenkai Riko], like countless swaying night grasses embracing a falling star.

They were celebrating the victory of the Panxing Church, praising the greatness of their founder and the Holy Son. The enthusiastic applause was like an endless rain, and a joyful atmosphere filled the still intact underground shelter.

Kazuma Hatake remained expressionless, his dark eyes half-closed, gazing in an unknown direction.

There are too many incandescent lights in this shelter; they are too bright and too glaring.

The clear blue sky is nowhere to be seen.

Even though Kazuma Hatori simply stood calmly in the center where the crowd had gathered, he didn't respond to the believers even once—in their view, this was also a matter of course that belonged to the indifferent divinity of the Holy Son.

High above, unique.

"Ichima?"

Someone called out the name of Kazuma Hatori, and he looked in the direction of the sound. It was Ayako Sakami, who was also wearing a white robe.

She pushed through the group of cultists surrounding Kazuma Hatake and came to his side.

"Um."

Kazuma Hatori's dark eyes finally found their focus. "Where's Director Sonoda?"

"The chairman has already taken refuge. The white-haired guy outside... is that Gojo Satoru? He was attacking another facility just now."

The Panxing Sect has many branches, and each branch has a variety of activity venues.

Even though there was only one branch of the "House of the Stars" in Tokyo, there were still several facilities scattered throughout the city. Gojo Satoru first randomly blew up another one before asking Sonoda Shigeru's "House of the Stars" headquarters through the highest-ranking person there.

"Is that Gojo Satoru here for revenge?"

Even though they had never met in person, Ayako Sakura had at least seen Gojo Satoru's appearance in magazines, record promotional posters, and various video clips.

His appearance caused a small disturbance among the believers.

"After all, we not only caused his mission to fail, but we also killed the Starmash. It's only natural that he'd seek revenge, right? You should be thankful that the sorcerer world has a rule that sorcerers can't attack ordinary people."

Kazuma Hatori spoke calmly, somewhat regretting that Shigeru Sonoda had already escaped.

However, it's not a big problem.

"Thank goodness..."

Upon hearing that the Starmash had indeed been successfully killed by Kazuma Hato, Ayako Sakami took a deep breath, then relaxed and revealed a relieved smile.

That's great! In this way, she can not only clear the patriarch's name, but also have a chance to become a member of the branch council!

"Since the chairman isn't here, you organize everyone to clear the rubble and help the wounded."

Kazuma Hatori then gave Ayako Sakami instructions.

"Also, please help me contact the patriarch."

………

Before the setting sun had completely disappeared, the [Cult Master] received a contact request from the [House of the Star Children].

It was quite surprising, as he had failed twice before and everyone thought this time would end in the same way.

In the end, it was not [Heaven and Curse] that successfully prevented the assimilation of the Heavenly Origin, but [Ten Directions Maha]?

Kaori Itadori smiled.

I want to praise you.

She spoke gently, letting her processed voice come from the phone, echoing in the conference room where only Ayako Sakami and Kazuma Hatori were present.

"As expected of the 'Holy Son' I appointed, you have exceeded my expectations quite well."

Upon hearing the highly feminine speech and the genderless, robotic voice, Ayako Sakura stared wide-eyed at the black-haired boy's profile—

Damn it, what he said before was actually true!

Kazuma Hatori didn't spare a single glance for Ayako Sakami, but instead responded in a deliberately respectful voice.

"Thank you for your praise. I have brought back the body of [Star Essence] Riko, which was witnessed by thousands of believers."

He paused for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was lower and more subdued, tinged with regret and resentment.

"I also killed Gojo Satoru, but he comprehended the Reversal Technique when he was on the verge of death, and not only did he almost manage to kill me, but he also chased me all the way to the Panxing Sect..."

Kazuma Hatori tried his best to bring out all the mediocre acting skills that he and Satoru had been taught in the filming of their single's music video.

Judging from Ayako's obvious belief in his story, he must have acted quite successfully.

"Reversal spell... [Six Eyes] is truly a monster, regardless of the era."

A soft laugh came from the phone. [The Pope] did not blame Kazuma Hato for his failure in killing Satoru Gojo.

Perhaps he himself had tried it, or perhaps he had been paying close attention to the movements at the [House of Star Children], and could deduce from the blood-stained and tattered clothes that he must have suffered a fatal injury.

"Where is that [Heaven and Curse] who was commissioned by the Panxing Cult?"

“He’s already dead. Gojo Satoru killed him.” Hato Kazuma replied without changing his expression. “Under the terrifying power of [Zi], he was almost completely reduced to ashes.”

He thought this "patriarch" valued Fuhesh highly, but he didn't expect that the other party was just asking casually and quickly brushed it off.

"In that case, Yi Zhen is truly a key contributor to the success of this plan. How should I reward you?"

The sound from the phone fluctuated slightly, as if testing Kazuma Hagoromo's thoughts.

"I hope you will grant me the right to operate the Panxing Sect."

After a moment's hesitation, Kazuma Hatori replied.

"The Panxing Sect's intervention in preventing the assimilation of Tianyuan is a major event that could shake the foundation of the sorcery world and will surely bring retribution—even if the sorcery world does not take action against ordinary groups, the Panxing Sect may still face the fate of being disbanded."

"As a sorcerer, I will also be branded as a cursed sorcerer and hunted down by the entire sorcery world."

"And since it's inconvenient for you to get involved, these worldly matters aren't worth your time."

Kazuma Hatori spoke with a firm and calm tone, elaborating on the possible aftermath of this major event.

"Therefore, I hope to obtain your permission to lead the Panxing Cult against the entire world of sorcery."

Ayako Sakami gasped, looking on in disbelief at Kazuma Hatori—as if she had heard a madman spouting nonsense.

However, if you follow his line of reasoning, his words do make some sense.

It would be absurd for the Panxing Sect to be able to continue developing peacefully without any repercussions after a major event that occurs only once every five hundred years was prevented by them.

There was no response from the other end of the phone for a long time.

Weighing the pros and cons, perhaps for this [cult leader], the Panxing Cult is merely one of the means to achieve his plan, a useful disposable pawn.

As long as the goal is achieved, there's nothing to regret about giving up.

But Kazuma Hatori is also gambling—based on some clues he's gleaned from his experience last week, this [cult leader's] goal is definitely not just to stop the Tengen assimilation.

So, will his pledge of allegiance, which he specially brought back [Tenchi Riko's] corpse, succeed...? It all comes down to this.

The meeting room was very soundproof. Even though there was noise from worshippers coming and going outside, it remained extremely quiet. Only the light bulbs hanging overhead made a slight buzzing sound from time to time due to unstable current.

"sure."

After a long while, the phone, which had been working so hard it was getting hot, finally responded.

"I'll leave it to you; teach this Panxing Sect."

[Kaori Itadori] smiled and spoke, thus finalizing Kazuma Hatori's future position in the Pansei Cult.

"You'd better do your best, Kazuma."

………

After returning to the college, Wu Tiao Wu and Xia Youjie wrote reports about their experiences according to their pre-arranged statements and submitted them.

The failure of [Tengen Assimilation] was attributed to the premeditated plan of the Panxing Sect. Its holy son, Yuqu Yizhen, infiltrated the world of sorcery in advance, gained the trust of the sorcery world, and successfully killed [Star Essence] at the critical moment of assimilation.

After much discussion among senior management, and after having Gojo Satoru, Natsuyu Suguru, and Ieiri Glasso give oral reports to the General Manager's Office, the following resolution was finally reached.

[1. Determine that Kazuma Hagoromo is a curse master and issue an arrest warrant; he may be executed on the spot.]

[Second, classify the non-magical religion—Panxing Cult—as a dangerous religious group and suppress it at the general societal level.]

[Third, conceal the consequences of the failed assimilation of the Heavenly Origin from the sorcery community, and publicly declare that the Heavenly Origin remains stable. Note: This must not be disclosed.]

"Phew, that's about it. There's still a little loose end to it, but it's no longer your concern."

Gojo Satoru leaned back, crossed his legs, and sat on the slightly old but very clean sofa.

He glanced to the side, then casually pulled a cushion into his arms, his posture extremely relaxed.

Xia Youjie sat quite upright on another single sofa, looking at Wujiao Wu with a helpless expression.

"Pay attention to etiquette, Wu."

He simply couldn't bring himself to act like he was at home when visiting someone else's house.

"Hey—what does it matter? We're all already pretty familiar with each other anyway."

Gojo Satoru tilted his head and spoke with a completely indifferent tone.

"Besides, we came here to put Tian Tian and Kuroi at ease—ah, do you think Megumi and Tsumiki would mind?"

—That's right, the place he and Kazuma found for Riko Tenn and Misato Kuroi was the Fushiguro family home in Saitama.

Since the Zenin family, one of the three great families, did not discover that Fushiguro Megumi was a direct descendant of the Zenin family, it means that the world of jutsu was unaware that such a child lived here.

For ordinary society, the Fushiguro family, located in a remote old residential area, is just one of countless insignificant households struggling to make a living in poverty.

It was the perfect place for Riko Tenn and Misato Kuroi, who needed to conceal their identities, to stay.

In addition, Gojo Satoru paid out of his own pocket a sum of money that would allow Kuroi Misato to take care of Tsumiki and Megumi's daily lives, and would also be enough to support her and Tennori Riko.

After all, the older Kuroi has extensive experience in raising children and is strong enough to deal with ordinary thugs. He can help take care of the siblings who are only five or six years old, so that they don't have to shoulder the responsibility of maintaining the family too early.

"No way, Hui and I would love to!"

Before Fushiguro Megumi, who habitually kept a straight face, could speak, Fushiguro Miki had already clapped her hands excitedly in response.

"We are so happy that Riko-neechan and Kuroi-san-auntie are willing to move in!"

Moreover, according to Aunt Kuroi, this was also what Satoru wanted her to do so, and to help take care of her and Megumi.

However, don't underestimate her. She has recorded these expenses in her diary, and she will pay them all back to Brother Wu when she is financially able to do so in the future!

Fushiguro Miki clenched her fist silently in her heart.

Moreover, after a moment of stunned silence, Hui also indicated that he would return it with her as well!

"Ah, I need to make up another fake identity for Tian Tian and Kuroi,"

Gojo Satoru looked at Tennariko, who was carefully picking up the yokan, and was slightly startled by her—the yokan she had finally managed to fork up slipped back into the dish with a plop.

"You probably still want to go to school, so remember to change your outfit with the ribbons and braids."

"Don't worry, don't worry, Kuroi already told me... no, I mean, he already told me!"

Riko patted her chest in relief, realizing that she had gradually begun to consciously change her self-reference to "[this concubine]" which she used to use with them.

She will completely abandon her identity as a [Star Essence Body] and continue living in this world as an ordinary, unremarkable girl.

"I can't go to my old school anymore, so I'll transfer to the nearby Urami Higashi Junior High School."

Seeing that Riko was still so energetic, Natsuyuki smiled.

"That's good. Wu and I will come to visit you often."

After he finished speaking, he noticed that the four people now living in the Fukuro family were taken aback and hesitated.

Xia Youjie asked in confusion, "Huh? What's wrong?"

Miki Fushiguro whispered, "Where's Kazuma-nii? Won't he come back? And won't he be able to be with Satoru-nii anymore?"

She looked extremely dejected.

After all, she didn't think Ichijin was a bad person at all, and she also hoped to see him often in the future.

Before Xia Youjie could answer, Wujiao Wu spoke first.

"Ichima will be back soon,"

His voice was firm and powerful, and his expression was as confident and proud as ever, showing his complete trust in Kazuma Hato.

"Because he promised me."