441 Just one more step! (1/2)

The Juumonji residence was destroyed, with a thick smell of blood permeating through the air. Numerous monsters and demons were devouring the Juumonji Mafia Group members.

A humongous monster with a bloody mist swirling around it kept continuously eating humans while spitting out bones and skulls.

Zankita wanted to angrily roar and fight when faced with this hellish scene. However, he was filled with a tremendous sense of fear, and his body felt weak as he shivered. He was unable to even crawl up from the ground.

The humongous monster devoured a familiar figure as it chewed and then spat something out.

The item it spat out landed near Zankita, rolling around several times before stopping.

This item was Hisashi's head.

”Wahhh!!!” Zankita shouted loudly and woke up from his nightmare.

”Damn it… I actually had such a dream…”

He rubbed his head that felt dizzy as he got up in a haze, intending to drink some water to clear his mind.

That's when he suddenly noticed that he was in an unfamiliar room.

A man in black Sakura Island clothing that he didn't recognize was sitting across from him.

This man had short gray-black hair and an unnaturally white face. His nose was high, and his eyes were small. He was smiling and sitting with incredibly proper posture.

”Welcome. Pleased to meet you,” the man greeted Zankita by lowering his head. ”My name is Shoushi Fukuyama. I happen to be a merchant of sorts.”

Zankita furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at this person.

”A merchant… What is this place?”

”This is my store. Please forgive it for being rather simple.” The man lifted his head. ”The current product that I'm selling is 'How to become stronger.' Would you happen to be interested?”

Zankita's eyebrows twitched upon hearing this.

”It would seem that you are indeed interested. How about negotiating about the price?” Shoushi indicated for Zankita to sit down with a hand gesture.

”…Who exactly are you?”

”As I already mentioned, I'm simply a merchant. I sell products and make trades. Apart from that, I'm nothing at all, and don't know anything else apart from how to make trades.”

Zankita stared at Shoushi.

Shoushi maintained his smile.

Several seconds later, Zankita walked over and sat down across from Shoushi in a cross-legged position.

”I'll kill you if you dare to trick me!”

”Heh heh, there's no need to worry about such a thing. I would never disrespect my customers like that.” Shoushi chuckled. ”As for 'How to become strong,' I can first tell you some keywords: 'Spirit World.'”

”Spirit World?” Zankita furrowed his eyebrows.

”…What do you want?”

”I want twenty percent of what you obtain in the Spirit World.”

Zankita fell silent.

”Perhaps you don't know what this entails, but it's not important. As long as you visit a Spirit World once, you'll understand that my asking price is reasonable.” Shoushi chuckled. ”If you still think it's an unreasonable price at that time, speak to me again.”

Something flashed in Zankita's eyes.

”If you don't agree, you shall forget about our conversation and never see me again. If you agree, I shall sign a fair contract with you, and you'll be able to meet me again whenever you wish.”

Shoushi continued to smile as he narrowed his eyes slightly and observed Zankita.

”It's our fate to have met here. Fate should be treasured. Please take advantage of this opportunity.”

Zankita fell silent for a long time.