Natsume was sitting on Madara's furry back, looking at the boy who suddenly appeared in front of him.

The boy looked about the same age as him, with short dark navy blue hair that curled inwards. His well-proportioned body didn't look thick, and he didn't look like someone who had been well-trained. He was wearing a white shirt with a short down jacket on the outside. This combination was neither modern nor retro, but it suited him surprisingly well.

However, compared with his demonic power that was almost unconcealed, his appearance was secondary.

Ban, who only recognized the demonic power and not the appearance, slammed his claws heavily on the ground, causing a storm.

The tail of the boy's clothes flew up, and the hair on his forehead was blown up. He gently tied up a strand of hair. He did not retreat at all, and tried to make a friendly expression: "...I have no ill intentions, everyone."

"It's easy to say, but empty words are not trustworthy, kid."

Madara exhaled through his nose.

The strange boy called out Natsume the first thing he did, and it was obvious that he was targeting him.

The most coveted thing on Natsume is the Book of Friends left by Reiko. It is possible that this guy came here for the Book of Friends - this conclusion is very reasonable.

But the young man just sighed, then made a gesture of surrender and said helplessly: "...Okay, then how can I prove that I am not a bad person?"

The boy's expression and attitude were very sincere, however, in Madara's eyes, Kuen was surrounded by unrestrained power. After careful identification, he found that the other party was clearly a monster with a human body - otherwise, there was no way to explain this strange demonic power in him.

The suspicion level is rising sharply.

Madara: "You guys, are you possessing a human child? Then, you are even less trustworthy."

It is the nature of monsters that he would never think positively.

What's more, the chaotic and violent demonic power in him is the best proof.

Jiu Yuan frowned without noticing the problem, as if he was quite shocked: "Why... do you say that?"

Madara bared his teeth slightly, then lowered his head slightly. After the distance got closer, he realized that his previous judgment was too rough.

This body is clearly shared by the young man and the monster at the same time!

"I have no intention of harming Natsume-san. I just have something to ask him."

"Even if you don't want to do anything, your body is not under your control. Young man, can you guarantee that you can control the guy in your body? If not, get out of here."

Natsume noticed that Madara's attitude had changed, from addressing him as "the brat" to "this guy", and now to "the boy".

Moreover, the person he was talking to seemed to have changed, from talking to the monster in the boy's body to talking to the boy himself.

Kuen pursed his lips and looked towards Natsume with his blue eyes, as if hoping to see a turnaround in the latter.

However, Natsume already knew that if he could not deal with these things soberly, it would only bring disaster to the people around him.

Seeing determination in Natsume's eyes, Jiuyuan cast a last "disappointed" glance at them and walked away unwillingly.

When the boy's figure went away, Madara put Natsume down, and then with a "bang" he turned back into a round lucky cat, and lazily tickled himself with his hind legs.

Natsume asked softly, "...Teacher? Is this person possessed by a bad monster?"

"That may not be the case." The cat-like Ban yawned lazily, "It is also possible that he did something he shouldn't have done and invited the monster to possess him. He has a contractual relationship with the monster."

"If that's the case..."

Natsume understood what he meant, "If his body is completely taken over by that monster..."

"Yeah." Madara answered straightforwardly, "His soul will probably be completely digested by the monster as food."

What he didn't say was that, at the moment, he felt the monster had the upper hand.

Otherwise, how do we explain the powerful attack in the forest just now?

After listening to what the cat teacher said, Natsume looked in the direction where Kuen left, feeling empty.

(…Is my choice right?)

(Will he disappear...?)

Sensing Natsume's thoughts, Madara added: "However, things may not be what I think."

Natsume looked at the cat teacher who was licking his paw: "......?"

"That boy might have some special connection with the monster. The monster power is similar to him, but also somewhat contradictory. If it is a complicated relationship accumulated from the past, it would not be a good thing for us to intervene rashly." Madara said, "Just like human monster catchers and Onmyoji, there are many traditions and rituals left over from the old times. If outsiders intervene, they may mess things up and even harm the other party."

He was only 50% sure about what he said.

After all, he was unfamiliar with that demonic power and was quite sure that it was not the descendant of anyone he knew. However, he did not rule out the possibility that there might be something he did not know about. The above was nothing more than his personal guess.

"Wait."

"?"

"That guy might come looking for you."

…

…

Jiuyuan, who was told by Madara that he would "come again", was now surrounded by three skeleton hounds. He was lying on the soft grass somewhere in the forest, with his back against a big tree, reading his summoning scroll.

The dogs could even make "woop" sounds to attract his attention, and they were happily vying for his favor.

"It's clearly just a skeleton..." Jiuyuan patted the hard bone with his hand, and sure enough, it didn't feel very good.

He wants furry too...

"System, I have a question."

【System:? 】

"Aside from skeletons, are there no other species in this summoning book?"

[System: ...But, this is based on the story of Takiyasha-hime. After all, the Hungry Skeleton is very famous.]

"Can the sorcerer only use skeleton soldiers?"

It's white and a bit monotonous.

Realizing that the master was a little bit complaining, the system also whispered: [We asked Takiyasha herself, and her personal soldiers are basically all skeletons...]

Kuen: ...Okay, so you mean there really is no other type and I can give up now?

He ruffled his hair.

In order to make his performance more realistic, he took a dose of the cheapest demonic power enhancer, which lasted for about 2 hours. After taking it, his demonic power would increase to 1.5 times the normal level, so he would appear particularly violent and unruly. To outsiders, it would seem that his demonic power did not match his personality.

Because among these 1.5 parts of demonic power, only 1 part is his own, and the other 0.5 part is blank, so in Madara's eyes, part of his demonic power is coordinated, and the other part is like Kuen's own power but not like his, with a strange connection.

Judging from the reaction just now, the confusing effect has been thoroughly achieved.

[System: Master, are you leaving just like that? ]

"No, we'll go find Natsume-san later," Kuen said. "We need to give them some time to communicate among themselves, and they also need to use their imagination."

【System: Imagination?】

"'Having an evil monster take over my body and being cornered', 'having signed a contract with a monster and being forced to live in symbiosis'... Anyway, anything goes. There is no right answer."

[System: With nowhere else to go, he wanted to seek out the boy Yahara who could also see monsters and talk to him, but his path was blocked before he even saw him. Because the powers he was carrying were not his own, he felt hopeless and fell into self-doubt—]

【System: "Mingming, I also have no choice..."】

[System: "Although I cannot choose my own origin, just because I was forced to accept this power, should I be regarded as an enemy by others? I am clearly not such a person at all, why should I bear his karma?"]

Jiu Yuan was very annoyed: "...Alright, don't read aloud with such emotion next time."

Just when he thought it was about to end, the system said quietly:

【Darkness value +10.】

Jiuyuan: "..." Why do I feel like the system is becoming more and more dramatic and skilled.

The system somehow became more active than him and asked: [When are we going to look for Natsume-san? ]

Jiuyuan picked up his phone and checked the time. "After dinner."

Just enough time for Natsume to think about what to do next during dinner.

However, there was still about an hour left before dinner time, and he was too lazy to go anywhere else to kill time, so he planned to rest here for a while, have dinner, and then go find Natsume.

Jiuyuan took out the book "Dark Hero: Desperate Poem of Revenge" that he bought at the bookstore before getting on the bus, and planned to read it while leaning against a tree.

The hunting dogs beside him nudged his arms, and when they realized that Jiuyuan ignored them, they also lay down quietly.

But this posture was not very comfortable. Jiuyuan thought about it and stood up again.

"Just a little tweak."

He let Bashi sit down, and then he simply nestled in Bashi's arms and picked up the book again. After sitting for a few minutes, he still felt uncomfortable.

...There is nothing soft about the eight-foot body.

However, just when he was trying to adjust his posture, the hounds came up to him, and some even opened their mouths obediently and gently bit his fingers, as if they were expecting the other party to play with them.

Surrounded by this group of children, Hachisha reached out and hugged him out of habit, and Jiuyuan seemed to be restrained in them.

But this posture feels lazy and a bit sleepy.

He simply closed his eyes.

Suddenly, he felt someone approaching.

...Sorcerer? No, it seems not.

He felt that the man was carrying a shikigami, but it was somewhat different from the sorcerer's shikigami.

Is it a monster catcher?

But Jiuyuan still kept his eyes closed, pretending not to know.

The man was getting closer and closer. After sensing the power that was ready to be unleashed, Jiuyuan also became more alert. Fortunately, the effect of the medicine had not yet expired.

The next second, a silver spear flashed in the air, and Hachisha turned over while holding Jiuyuan.

The weapon had fallen where they had been sitting.

A middle-aged man in a kimono emerged from the bushes. He raised one hand, pointed at Hachishaku, and gave an order to his shikigami.

"Catch that monster!"

Jiuyuan looked at the demon hunter in confusion, then looked at Basha.

"Don't be afraid, young man, we will rescue you from the evil monster."

Jiuyuan: “…”

No, isn’t the information about this demon hunter keeping up with the times?

Didn’t he even read the big news a few days ago?