031. Progress Toward Igniting the Word Spirit: 4/4

"Damn it."

Nan-gumo Amatsuki was completely taken aback as he walked toward her. He had deliberately taken a detour to approach Misumi Hatsune from the front. Just moments ago at the ramen stall, he had caught a fleeting glimpse of her eyes. Although a mixture of black and purple dominated her irises, that single glance was enough for him to conclude: Misumi Hatsune was undoubtedly a hybrid.

There was no other explanation; her background was simply too much of a coincidence. Misumi Hatsune was the daughter of Toyokawa Sadaharu and a mother who had once served as the manager of the Toyokawa family’s villa. Given that Toyokawa Sadaharu was a son-in-law who had married into the Toyokawa family, he was likely a hybrid himself, and someone capable of serving as a manager for a hybrid family was almost certainly one as well. The probability of a child born to two hybrids not being a hybrid was virtually zero.

What puzzled Nan-gumo, however, was that his progress bar for igniting his Spirit had not reached one hundred percent. Recalling his encounters with Wakaba Mutsumi, Toyokawa Sakiko, and Nagasaki Soyo earlier that morning, he had initially assumed it was because he hadn't spoken to Misumi. So, he had intentionally circled around, planning to feign a chance encounter and follow up with classic lines like, "Actually, I'm a fan of yours," or "Could I get your autograph?" He figured this would allow him to lock eyes with her again and chat for a few moments, which might just be enough to ignite his Spirit.

But he never expected that just as he was about to put his plan into motion, he would see Misumi suddenly clutch her head and crouch down on the side of the path.

"What is going on?"

Confusion surged in Nan-gumo’s heart. Just as he prepared to step forward, he saw a black sun rising from Misumi’s body.

*Crackle!*

Nan-gumo stared directly at the black sun. It possessed no light; it was purely, deeply empty. Around its edges, a ring of dark red flames flickered and danced, outlining a sinister corona around the pitch-black orb. The flames at the edge of the corona churned violently, causing visible ripples in the surrounding space. Even the air was being shredded by this brutal energy, emitting a jarring, teeth-grinding distortion.

The shock in Nan-gumo’s heart was indescribable.

Misumi Hatsune tossed aside the colored contact lenses she had worn for her performance and slowly stood up. Her movements were stiff, as if controlled by invisible threads, and her eyes lacked any focus, yet a golden radiance had already ignited within them.

This was the power of the Dragon bloodline, an indescribable force erupting from within her, currently in an uncontrollable state. Under the suction of the black sun, dust and gravel from the ground were instantly swept into the air, drawn toward the darkness, and annihilated into nothingness in a heartbeat.

"Damn, this is the Spirit 'Black Sun'!"

Nan-gumo was almost unable to move under the immense pressure. "With the destructive power of 'Black Sun,' if she lets it fully erupt in this unconscious state of initial awakening, at least this entire street will be leveled."

"No way, a Spirit that explodes the moment it awakens? What kind of monster is this?" Nan-gumo screamed internally.

The next moment:

[You have witnessed the resurgence of Amaterasu (Pseudo), Free Skill Point +1]
[Current Spirit ignition progress (4/4)]
[Resurgence commencing...]

...

Meanwhile, Toyokawa Kiyotsugu was driving.

"Sigh."

He couldn't help but sigh at the thought of Misumi Hatsune. Ideally, he should have felt happy after successfully completing the day's tasks, but his heart felt heavy.

"Is honesty truly a virtue?"

*Hum—Whoosh!*

The vehicle accelerated. As he pondered, Toyokawa kept an eye on the road. Every hybrid had their preferred luxury car. Caesar had countless, including a Bugatti Veyron he once considered worthy of betting against Chu Zihang, though he later lost it to Lu Mingfei. The Japanese Division of the Committee usually preferred extended Hummers. For the Toyokawa family, the brand of choice was, of course, Maybach.

Unlike the Mercedes-Maybach S650 Pullman owned by the current head of the Toyokawa Group, Toyokawa Sadaharu, this Maybach looked slightly different from any model currently on the market—resembling a Maybach 62S, yet with subtle, distinct differences. The car was equipped with a 5.5-liter V12 turbocharged engine, capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in seconds. However, in a metropolis like Tokyo, there was no room for such a car to stretch its legs. It could not outrun time, it could not outrun fate, and it could not outrun rush-hour traffic.

The road today had become inexplicably congested, and he had no idea what had gone wrong ahead.

Toyokawa steadied the steering wheel as the expensive car crawled along in the sea of traffic. Suddenly, not far from where he was, an aura of extreme power began to rise.

"Someone actually dares to unleash a high-risk Spirit in Tokyo?"

"Wait, that location... isn't that where I just met Misumi Hatsune?"

Toyokawa felt his heart skip a beat. He rolled down the window and turned to look in that direction. He felt as though some terrifying, unspeakable entity was slowly taking shape...

...

"?"

Uesugi Eri, having just served a bowl of ramen to a new customer, felt a familiar aura. At first, he subconsciously assumed his brain was failing due to organ failure, but when the Spirit within him began to resonate, a long-unfelt shock surged in his heart.

"Someone has ignited a Spirit."

"And it's just like mine... Black Sun."

Uesugi, who had thought he had seen it all and nothing could surprise him anymore, was stunned.

"Damn it, when 'Black Sun' awakens, the hybrid is in an uncontrollable state!"

Uesugi immediately grasped the gravity of the situation. When he had awakened 'Black Sun' years ago, he had destroyed three whole streets. Now, someone else had awakened this forbidden Spirit; the destruction would undoubtedly be catastrophic.

"My street!"

Uesugi immediately stripped off his ramen-chef attire, ignoring the customer who had just sat down to order, and rushed toward the source of the energy. He had refused to sell this street to any corporation even for twelve billion dollars; there was no way he would stand by and watch a newly awakened hybrid destroy it.

Although he hadn't used his own Spirit for many years, as the previous generation's 'Shadow Emperor,' Uesugi had absolute confidence in his ability to suppress this hybrid who had just awakened 'Black Sun.'

...

At the same time, in front of the out-of-control Misumi Hatsune, Nan-gumo Amatsuki finally ignited his Spirit.