MM Racing Page 363
Page 363
"More importantly, we need to talk about the attack we just witnessed."
As the two walked toward the mansion, Aozaki Aoko kept glancing at Kuonji Yuzu's condition, her eyes filled with worry.
Upon entering the living room, she immediately grabbed a first-aid kit and forcefully pressed Kuonji Yuzu down to treat her wounds.
"Hiss—gently."
Kuonji Yuju frowned, but did not actually resist.
"Serves you right, who told you to be so stubborn all by yourself."
Aozaki Aoko's words were sharp, but her actions became even gentler.
So, what exactly happened? Was it that Aozaki Touko guy?
Kuonji Yuju shook his head.
"It's not her... This time the enemy is completely different."
She closed her eyes, recalling those blood-red eyes and that mysterious voice.
"They... the Shadow Legion, their power is peculiar, unlike ordinary familiars. And..."
"And what?"
"They seem...to be particularly interested in me."
Kuonji Yuju opened her eyes, her gaze filled with confusion.
"The voice said it was a greeting, implying that there would be a formal visit later."
Aozaki Aoko stopped bandaging and her expression turned serious.
“This doesn’t sound good. I’ve already contacted Shiraishikawa as you said, and he’s agreed to help with the investigation.”
"Thank you."
Kuonji Yuju nodded, then suddenly felt a pang of heart palpitation.
"Wait... I feel like I've forgotten something important..."
Aozaki Aoko tilted her head and looked at her.
"Are you sure it's not chaos caused by magic depletion?"
No...no.
Kuonji Yuju stood up and paced back and forth in the living room.
"It's something more specific... related to familiars..."
"A familiar?"
Aozaki Aoko thought for a moment.
"Hasn't the Bridge Giant already returned to the earth? Or is it...?"
Her eyes suddenly widened.
"Rosehound! Have you taken it back?"
Kuonji Yuju was struck dumb, frozen in place.
Her face turned deathly pale instantly, and her lips trembled.
"I...I didn't..."
"what?!"
Aozaki Aoko suddenly stood up.
"You actually forgot to recall the hunting dogs? In that kind of battle?!"
Kuonji Yuju's hands trembled involuntarily.
"The battle was too chaotic... I completely forgot about it..."
She frantically searched for the pendant on her chest.
"Can't get in touch with them...!"
Aozaki Aoko gasped.
"You mean... it might be..."
"0 was stolen by the enemy..."
Kuonji Yuju's voice was low and desperate.
"In that situation, if the enemy specifically targets..."
A terrifying silence fell between them. The Rosehound was not only a powerful familiar, but also contained an important magical secret passed down through the Kuonji family.
If it falls into enemy hands, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"calm down."
Aozaki Aoko was the first to break the silence.
"Perhaps it has just temporarily lost its way, or is hidden somewhere."
Kuonji Yuju shook her head, her eyes filled with self-reproach.
"No... I can feel it, the connection has been cut off. Someone did it on purpose."
She clenched her fists.
"This was my mistake... an unforgivable mistake."
Aozaki Aoko grabbed Kuonji Yuzu's shoulder.
"Now is not the time for self-blame! We need to act immediately and find it before the clues completely disappear!"
Shiraishikawa stood in the center of his newly purchased Japanese-style house, the hem of his black trench coat moving without any wind.
He extended his right hand, which was gloved with a 1.9-inch leather glove, his five fingers spread out and then slowly closed.
"This is the witch's familiar? It's much more docile than I imagined."
The white mist, bound by shadow, struggled above his palm, making a faint, glass-like sound.
Shiraishikawa squinted, a dark red halo swirling in his irises.
Three days ago, this fog was patrolling around the Kuonji family's mansion, but now it's like a cat with its claws clipped, writhing helplessly in his hands.
Dark shadows surged in from all directions, climbing up his arm.
Chapter 454 Unbelievable
The moment the shadow touched the white mist, the mist suddenly trembled violently, then stretched into thin threads, which were gradually swallowed up by the shadow.
Shiraishikawa could sense the familiar's struggle in the Shadow Kingdom—a place devoid of light and sound, filled only with eternal darkness.
"Let's stay there for now."
He snapped his fingers, and the white mist vanished into the shadows.
"I'll consider returning it to her once your owner learns to be polite."
The night wind suddenly became fierce, making the cherry trees in the courtyard rustle.
Shiraishikawa turned and walked towards the veranda, the sound of his wooden clogs on the bluestone slabs crisp yet somewhat jarring.
He just bought this century-old house last week for an unbelievably cheap price.
After the collapse of the bubble economy, Misaki City was like a wallet that had been emptied out, and even mansions with dry landscape gardens like this became dirt cheap.
"But things will soon be different."
He ran his fingers over the mottled, painted pillars, and where his fingertips touched, shadows spread out like vines.
"Once the ceremony is complete, this place will become the most valuable..."
Before he finished speaking, six shadowy ninjas suddenly rose from the ground in the courtyard.
They knelt on one knee, the red patterns on their masks flickering.
Shiraishikawa frowned. These guys were supposed to be keeping watch near the Kuonji Mansion, but they'd come back on their own.
"explain."
The temperature in his voice dropped sharply.
The leading ninja bowed his head and gestured, his movements so fast they were almost blurry.
Shiraishikawa's brows furrowed more and more, and then he suddenly burst out laughing.
Laughter echoed in the empty courtyard, startling a few night crows.
"You opened the entrance to the Shadow Kingdom right at the entrance of the mansion?"
He held his forehead.
"I sent you to conduct reconnaissance, not to carry out demolitions!"
The ninjas shrank back in humiliation, like a pack of large dogs that had done something wrong.
Shiraishikawa sighed, remembering that these guys weren't human after all, and he couldn't expect them to understand the concept of gradual progress.
From the day the Shadow General's mark appeared on the back of his hand, these creatures from the Shadow Dimension regarded him as an object of absolute obedience—sometimes being too absolute isn't a good thing.
"retreat."
He waved.
"Do not approach within a 500-meter radius of the mansion for the time being."
The ninjas, as if granted a pardon, immediately turned into black smoke and vanished.
Shiraishikawa walked to the edge of the courtyard, the moonlight casting a long shadow of him.
He gazed at the faint outline of European-style buildings on the distant hills, the Kuonji family's mansion, which looked like a moldy cream cake in the moonlight.
"The Fairy Tale Witch..."
He murmured to himself, and the mark under his glove suddenly felt hot. Ever since his chance encounter with the girl in the black dress at the library three days ago, the mark on the back of his hand had been reacting from time to time.
She was holding a stack of hardcover children's books, her long silver-gray hair almost transparent in the sunlight, and she looked like a ghost who had stepped out of a black and white photograph.