Chapter 280: Love and Kill

When Shōki first appeared, he wasn’t strong. Humans chased him off using ordinary Long Spears and Artillery.

During his escape, he met the Ghost Lord—a tiny demon from the demon clan who nearly got beaten to death by villagers with hoes and axes while stealing salted fish.

Shōki saved him and made him his underling.

The Ghost Lord became Shōki’s first follower, fleeing alongside him.

During their journey, they argued, laughed, shared dreams under the night sky, fought enemies together, and relied on each other.

Though their relationship was supposed to be hierarchical, they grew into close friends and brothers.

They gathered many monsters during their travels, eventually building the Iron Fortress in Hokkaido. Fighting side by side, they repelled human attacks and grew stronger.

Before long, they went from two hunted monsters to fearsome leaders of thousands, terrifying humans and securing their place in the human-ruled world.

Shōki and the Ghost Lord thought their joyful partnership would last forever.

But they were naive.

No group stays united forever—not humans, not monsters.

When outside threats faded, internal conflict began.

Their first clash was over the Iron Fortress’s future. Shōki never forgot the shame of being driven away by humans. He wanted to conquer all of Area 11 and wipe out humanity immediately.

The Ghost Lord argued for peaceful growth. The monsters were already exhausted from fighting humans, and Shōki’s plan would ruin everything they’d built.

They fought endlessly over this problem, never compromising.

Their second clash was Shōki’s cruelty.

He ate humans, using virgins as snacks. The Ghost Lord didn’t mind—monsters and humans were enemies.

But Shōki started torturing monsters too, horrifying even the most pervert ones.

Under his rule, some monsters even fled to the human side.

The third clash was broken trust.

The Ghost Lord was skilled and respected. Shōki, ruling through fear, had lost the monsters’ loyalty.

Afraid of being replaced, Shōki oppressed the Ghost Lord, turning brothers into rivals.

Finally, the Ghost Lord joined forces with Iron Fortress monsters. They poisoned Shōki’s drink and found the legendary Child-Cutting Ankan blade.

At Cloud Cliff’s peak, abandoned by all, Shōki died by the Child-Cutting Ankan’s Blade.

“I’ll return… and make you pay,” he vowed to the Ghost Lord before dying.

Shōki’s corpse sank into Heavenly Lake with the blade, vanishing forever.

Decades later, Shōki was reborn as the Ghost Lord’s second son, Ghost Takizawa.

As a child, he showed great promise without past memories, delighting the Ghost Lord, who thought he’d found a perfect heir.

But when Ghost Takizawa started looking and acting like Shōki, the Ghost Lord remembered the deathbed threat.

He realized Ghost Takizawa might be Shōki reborn. Instead of killing him, he sealed the boy’s power and ordered Tsukikage Hoshi to keep him under surveillance.

Shōki’s past life memories gradually awakened. After the Ghost Lord sealed his power, he immediately changed his personality and remained obedient for over a decade, deceiving everyone around him.

Years ago, the Ghost Lord returned severely wounded from an outing. His injuries kept recurring periodically, forcing him to recuperate in the Iron Fortress.

When the Ghost Lord’s old wounds flared up again, Ghost Takizawa secretly infiltrated Heavenly Lake. He discovered his past life’s skeleton buried in mud, along with Child-Cutting Ankan.

Using the sword’s power, he broke the Ghost Lord’s sealing spell and regained part of his strength.

Just last month, the Ghost Lord’s wounds resurfaced and he abruptly died. This frustrated Ghost Takizawa immensely – he’d prepared countless schemes for revenge, only to have his target perish before witnessing them.

“Wasn’t it you who wounded Father?” Oni Yuki suddenly demanded.

Years earlier when the Ghost Lord had lain unconscious from his injuries, he’d repeatedly muttered Shōki’s name before denying it upon waking. This made Oni Yuki believe Shōki had survived and ambushed her father. When the Ghost Lord eventually died from his wounds, she’d sworn vengeance against Shōki.

But Shōki had been masquerading as Ghost Takizawa within the Iron Fortress all along, proving someone else harmed the Ghost Lord.

Ghost Takizawa snapped out of his memories and smiled at Oni Yuki. “How could it be me? I’ve been your devoted second brother, constantly by your side these years.”

A chill ran through Oni Yuki. She’d never guarded against Ghost Takizawa – he could’ve killed her countless times.

“Then what’s your goal?” she pressed. “Will you kill me to reclaim your throne?”

“No no no.” Ghost Takizawa wagged a finger. “I’ve lost interest in the Iron Fortress. I stayed partly to watch you siblings destroy each other for the Ghost Lord’s entertainment. Pity he died before the show.”

Before Oni Yuki could respond, Uka Kaori cut in coldly: “So you’ve been targeting the Uka family? You commanded Otsutai. You orchestrated my daughter’s near-abduction by that vampire!”

Fang Cheng paused his silent observation, realizing Uka Kaori meant Heishi Youto who kidnapped Uka Mirai, not him. How was Heishi Youto connected to Shōki?

As Fang Cheng frowned in confusion, Uka Kaori continued urgently: “Someone lured away Mirai’s bodyguard – no fledgling vampire could catch her otherwise. And Otsutai sabotaging peace talks had Iron Fortress backing.”

She’d always suspected Oni Rasha, especially since Otsutai had been his subordinate before defecting. This suspicion fueled Oni Yuki’s resolve to confront Oni Rasha – sabotaging peace talks threatened the Iron Fortress’s future.

Now it appeared they’d wronged Oni Rasha. That brute lacked the cunning for such intricate conspiracies.