(MoD) Chapter 39: 10,000 Souls

Chapter 39: 10,000 Souls

“Welcome to the Crossing, Governor-General.” Takauji put on a welcoming smile, patting Azazel on the back as he gestured to the endless, barren expanse in front of them that was barely hanging onto its last traces of verdure. 

Azazel was left speechless, his expression still, and his demeanor making it clear that he was utterly astonished.

This was where more than 400,000 souls dwelt? A dead, forsaken wasteland without an inch of life to be seen? Where finding even a few scraps of food could be considered heaven-defying fortune? 

His mouth opened wide, his brain trying to formulate his sentence, but ultimately blanking as his tremendous intelligence started to contemplate the implication of the sight before him. 

Hades’ rule had gone on for quite some time now, and as Takauji had informed him, his lack of concern for how he handled his responsibility as the Monarch of the Netherworld was the root cause of all this desolation.

Therefore, it was within reason to assume that some of the souls here had been living under these conditions for centuries, if not millennia, especially if they were souls too weak to need any form of sustenance from the Crossing. 

In such a situation, one could only hope that they’d find a way to move on to the afterlife, a feat which was much harder for those who weren’t in a position to do so in the first place than you’d imagine. Simply asking for it wouldn’t suffice; you needed to force yourself into a state of religious inner peace with your guilt or lack of it for your mind to form the Heaven or Hell you were going to end up in.

“You seemed disappointed.” Takauji breathed a dry chuckle, pretending as if Azazel’s reaction was unwarranted for his amusement. 

“Takauji,” Azazel swallowed nervously. “You said that the Death figure gave this place to you, correct?” 

The newborn Death nodded calmly.

“Then, couldn’t he have like, fixed this place up a little for you before he left? If he wants you to become like him, then I don’t understand why he’d leave you on the brink of dying.” 

“What kind of question is that?” He let out a bout of bemused laughter, “If I, Death itself, can’t save myself from my own existence, then what use am I? My power would be better off in the hands of a goldfish if I were to let myself succumb to such a laughable fate.”

Azazel’s eyes widened, Takauji’s complete lack of self-pity leaving him at a temporary loss for words once more. 

He was dying for God’s sake! Just a while ago, he had been an unimaginably talented Magician with his life in no jeopardy whatsoever, and in such a short period, he had become Death, and been put on the brink of the word. Azazel expected him to at least show a little bit of frustration; such a behemothic task being placed on the shoulders of a seventeen-year-old human hardly seemed fair from his perspective.

Be that as it may, Death still chose Takauji for a reason. The young man Azazel was standing beside was the person he’d see when his time came, and the person who would be there for their world when it'd reached the end of its lifespan.

To fulfill such a role, there had to be something special about not just one’s body, but their mind, for them to handle the pressure.

Takauji sighed upon noticing Azazel’s apprehension, “I understand. This might all be a little overwhelming, even for you, but please be assured that I don’t plan on having you work for free. As a matter of fact, I plan on giving you the ability to study a field of research even you’d give an arm and a leg to get your hands on, especially taking into account the quality of the research you’ll be able to obtain.” 

Azazel pressed his lips together, ‘Idiot! It’s not the repayment I’m worried about! It’s you! You’re dying! You blasted fool!’ 

“Go on,” for some reason, Azazel just couldn’t seem to muster up the confidence to voice out his concern. As if something deep down inside him knew that it wouldn’t amount to anything.

“The soul,” Takauji said with a confident grin. “In exchange, I’m willing to allow Grigori to set up a permanent branch here where you’ll have as many test subjects to work on as you could ever want, on top of a healthy supply of soul fruit that can’t be found anywhere else.” 

It was true that the stronger souls in the Crossing required food to sustain themselves. However, they couldn’t just eat regular food; they needed to eat food that had been grown in the Crossing, food infused with spiritual energy from the River of Souls itself.

“Besides, it’s not like I’m asking you to provide the manpower for all the construction. All I need from you is the blueprints and construction materials. In exchange for giving me a one-time effort, I’m giving you a research bastion that’ll last you a lifetime.” 

Azazel grew suspicious, “You’re telling me you have the kind of muscle required for an entire kingdom on hand? Since when? You only just became Death, don’t tell me you’re planning on having your Grim Reapers fill in?” 

“Of course not, I’m not in a position to recruit that many Grim Reapers as I am now anyway.” 

Takauji snapped his fingers, resulting in the jaw-dropping sight of 10,000 of the weakest souls in the Crossing appearing out of nowhere, all arranged in neat ranks with expressionless faces that made them seem devoid of any sense of sentience and free will.

“These are all souls that don’t require any sustenance, and they’re completely powerless to resist the strength of my soul even in its meager condition.” 

“Takauji… Don’t tell me you’re planning on forcing all these people into labour? Even as a Fallen Angel, I find this a bit too tasteless for my stomach…” 

“No, they won’t be used as labour.” He shook his head with an eerie smirk on his face.

“Then?” 

“They’re my temporary sustenance,” he waved his Death Scythe, and in an instant, all 10,000 souls that had been standing in front of them disengaged into specks of light-blue soul dust.

[River of Souls — Current Spiritual Energy Content (1.2%).] 

“Ahhhhhh… Much better,” he breathed a relieved groan while stretching his neck from side to side.

For the river to be replenished, it needed to be filled with spiritual energy. According to Death, ensuring that people smoothly passed on and that the current residents were amiable was the primary way to accomplish that. However, that wasn’t the only method.

Souls could also be sacrificed to the river, the spiritual energy that made up their composition reduced and recycled into the stream’s depleted volume as a temporary lifeline.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

‘Did he just…?’ 

Azazel’s sclera immediately turned bloodshot in indignation, his analytical mind quickly comprehending what Takauji had just done. 

“Takauji! You—!” 

“What? They were already dead anyway, and it’s not like this place was all that pleasant; if anything, I’ve done them a service by ending them.” He silenced the Governor with a bone-chilling glare only Death’s warden was capable of mustering. “I’ve bought you about a month before I’ll need to sacrifice more of them to keep myself going. The sooner you get those blueprints done, with my input, of course, the sooner we can get this place up and running.” 

It didn’t take long for the Fallen Angel to pick up on Takauji’s true intention. 

He wasn’t just using the souls as a way to keep himself alive, and he was also using them as a way to pressure Azazel and taking advantage of the layered compassion that most definitely existed under the multiple millennia-old researcher’s surface to guarantee that Azazel would pour all his resources into the kingdom Takauji wanted.

“As much as I’d rather stay and discuss my initial ideas for the Crossing, I’ve still got some family matters to attend to. Hopefully, they’ll be dealt with by the time you’re finished renovating the house.” He tapped his Death Scythe, opening up the door between the Crossing and Earth. “Until we next meet,” he tipped his flat cap and stepped through the gate.

At this point, Azazel couldn’t help but question whether Death had picked the right person for the job. 

‘Even for you… to end that many people without a hint of hesitation… that just isn’t right…’

Sure, one could argue that they were just spirits. However, spirits could still feel and think just like any human, unless they turned into vengeful ones; by that definition, they were, without a doubt, sentient beings.

…

Ever since Takauji had entered the room where the tablet was stored with Tsuji’s guidance, the Ashikaga Manor had been filled with a substantial amount of apprehension.

It had only been half an hour since he had done so. However, a noticeable change had occurred within that short period.

When he initially stepped inside, the room had been swirling with more Dark Mana than Sona or any of them had ever felt before, enough to rival the gut-wrenching sensation that had been instilled in them when Kamigyo’s sky was bleached a pale gray upon Takauji’s arrival.

But a few minutes later, all the Dark Mana had disappeared, and even though the stone doors leading into the room had opened again, Takauji was nowhere to be seen. 

Sona had constantly been trying to reach out to him through their pact, but she just couldn’t seem to get any reception—as if Takauji had disappeared entirely from the face of the Earth. Furthering her concerns that something unfortunate had happened to him while he was exposed to such a fierce amount of Dark Mana.

“This seriously isn’t good…” Tsuji, in particular, was equally, if not more, stressed than Sona about the whole situation, as he paced back and forth around his office, his lips pressed together in sheer frustration. “The clan needs him! If something has gone wrong, then everything we’ve done up to this point will be rendered—” 

“Obsolete?” A familiar voice finished for him. 

“Grandson!” He turned around, experiencing a rush of delight and confusion simultaneously.

On the one hand, Takauji was back! Which meant he didn’t need to worry about a wrench being thrown in his plan at the last second.

On the other hand, where the hell had he come from? Tsuji was a Fourth Circle Magician! Surely he would’ve sensed a Second Circle Magician approaching beforehand, especially in his own home of all places!

“I apologize for the delay, as you can probably imagine, I was occupied with a rather pressing matter that required my undivided attention. However, fret not, everything’s been sorted out—or at least it will be soon enough.” Takauji walked up to Tsuji’s desk, sitting down in the chair opposite the Patriarch’s. “Now then, let’s talk.” 

The atmosphere around the Crossing’s new Monarch made it clear he was in the mood to get straight to business, although Tsuji didn’t yet know what he was referring to since he hadn’t disclosed any of his goals for Takauji just yet.

“Haha, what’s the rush? You seem to have only just undergone a drastic change, why not rest for a while—” 

“Tsuji,” the Patriarch’s complexion grew pale, his breathing quickening as sweat started to form on the surface of his skin, feeling as if the room’s temperature had dropped to the level of an arctic tundra. “Sit down.” 

His grandfather anxiously adjusted his collar, his mind instinctively recalling the sight of his eldest son, Takumi, collapsing onto the floor a short while ago, something which anyone with half a brain could deduce was Takauji’s doing.

Tsuji did as he instructed, watching as Takauji halfheartedly adjusted one of the pen holders on his desk before speaking.

“You know… For a Magician, sublety really doesn’t seem to be one of your strong suits.” 

“Pardon…?” 

“Miwa,” that was all he had to say for Tsuji to pick up on the fact that Takauji had already deduced what he was planning to do. “You want me to take over as heir in place of my uncle, and you’re planning to have Miwa serve as my bride to maintain our relationship with the Akahashi Clan since my mother and father have already cut ties with both of you.” 

While Tsuji wasn’t shocked that Takauji had deduced his plan for Miwa, the fact that he knew about him wanting him to become the new heir definitely caught him by surprise.

“Who told you about that?” 

“You did.” 

Tsuji raised an eyebrow, “I’m sorry… I’m afraid I don’t quite follow?” 

“I can hear each and every word that’s spoken here,” Takauji revealed without hesitation. “This place became my territory the moment I stepped foot on its soil, and now that I’m here, I think it’s only right that I make some… changes, for the sake of increasing its prestige.” 

“Changes…?” 

“Yeah, changes. I only want the best for my descendants after all.” 

━━━━

Whelp… here we go.