Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Kurisu
Although Masao Yanagi logically knew that Shigure would be amazing, Masao still found him difficult to stomach. The more he looked at Shigure Tendo, the more he felt anger in his heart.
Unwillingness, jealousy, anger, and other such negative emotions swirled in Masao Yanagi’s heart. If it hadn’t been for the fact that so many others were around, he probably wouldn’t even have been able to control himself, attacking Shigure Tendo.
After everyone introduced themselves, Nobuhiko Kurosaki got to the main topic.
“There’s a faction that calls themselves the ‘Messengers’. They’re a new faction that split off from the former Soul World faction, and they’re highly dangerous. There’s concrete information that indicates this faction is intending to create a Spirit World at the Bloodwine Ritual tournament!”
Create a Spirit World!?
Everyone’s expressions flickered.
“Their plan is something like this: the Messengers’ members will first cast a special spell by making use of the ritual tournament’s contract, then cause sacrifices to appear during the tournament to strengthen the spell. Finally, they’ll create a Spirit World using the completed Bloodwine.
“They intend to create sacrifices during the ritual tournament by inciting and controlling lower-ranked factions’ tournament participants into killing tournament participants from the strongest factions—that would mean all of us who are currently sitting here are their primary targets.
“Simply speaking, this Messengers faction wants to kill everyone present to achieve their objective. They’re treating us as sacrifices.”
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
The Messengers wanted to treat the seven major Yin Yang Master families, the three major samurai families, the two major ninja factions, and the Himiki judging clan as nothing more than sacrifices?
Just how outrageously daring were they!!!
Just about everyone present was shocked by the news. They didn’t dare to believe that there would actually be such an insane faction.
If it hadn’t been for the fact that the descendant of the Kurosaki Family was telling all of them about this, they would have treated this as nothing more than a terrible joke.
“Just like everyone else, I think that this faction is insane.” Nobuhiko sighed. “Yet, the regrettable part is that it’s currently impossible to completely eliminate this insane faction. The even more regrettable part is, despite knowing all this information, the Bloodwine Ritual tournament is still going to continue as ‘normal’. That’s because the families or factions of everyone present here all want to see the creation of a new Spirit World…”
The atmosphere instantly became much heavier. Just about everyone sensed a chill in the air.
Some found all this difficult to believe. Some had grim expressions. Some were angry… Shigure was the only one who took all of this calmly.
“I feel the same as everyone else here. Yet, this is something that can’t be helped. As members of the major families, we must obey our families’ decisions,” Nobuhiko stated. “I believe that everyone here knows quite clearly just how valuable Spirit Worlds are. The huge potential benefits involved are worth us taking a risk here. And our families don’t intend for us to die here. This shall merely be a trial for us.
“Sacrifices are needed for the Spirit World’s creation, but the sacrifices don’t have to be us. Basically, we just have to kill off those who want to attack us, and make them into the sacrifices instead. We can take advantage of other tournament participants that can be used, although we must be careful that any tournament participant might be under the Messengers’ control.
“As long as we pass this trial, we’ll definitely be rewarded handsomely! For that purpose, we must ally and fight together as a team. The goal of our meeting here is for all of us present to create a ‘Survival Alliance’.”
Everyone fell silent once again.
“I don’t like the name Survival Alliance,” the heavy makeup girl with short red hair, Natsuki Shuurin, commented.
“I agree. That sounds like a team for the weak.” A muscular youth wearing a black jacket—Masashi Tokukawa—spoke up as well.
“Then what name does everyone prefer?”
“Do we really have to have a name?”
“Having a name will be useful to establish an alliance.”
“How about calling ourselves the ‘Bloodwar Alliance’?” A handsome youth who had long hair reaching his shoulders and wearing a yukata made such a recommendation.
This name sounded rather neutral and acceptable enough to everyone.
Nobody here wanted to waste time debating the name for their temporary alliance during the tournament. Everyone agreed to call themselves the Bloodwar Alliance.
During the group stage of the tournament, the Bloodwar Alliance members wouldn’t fight amongst themselves. Everyone present agreed to this.
There was also no problem with killing those who attacked them with intentions to sacrifice them for the creation of a Spirit World. Not a single person here was willing to be generous to those who wanted to kill them.
However, the young masters and ladies of the leading families had different opinions about fighting together and acting as one.
Nobuhiko Kurosaki wanted everyone here to move and act together, fighting as a team.
However, Natsuki Shuurin didn’t believe that the major families’ children would be able to cooperate. Without even regarding the grudges that the major families had against each other, a hastily assembled team with no preparations made beforehand would be no different from rabble.
The more important part was that there might even be a traitor among them!
“Didn’t you say that any tournament participant might be under the control of the Messengers? Perhaps someone among us is already with the Messengers and is just waiting to stab the others in the back, winning and surviving in the end while obtaining tremendous benefits.” Natsuki Shuurin glanced at everyone present.
Indeed, this also seemed possible.
The major families and factions had incredibly complex relationships with each other. Even those that were friendly with each other… or even within the same family, it would be common to see people betraying each other for the sake of personal benefits, not to mention opposing factions.
Not to mention, this was a tournament specifically designed for the up-and-coming Spiritual Ability users. But these children of the major families and factions were all considered the weaker ones or were in relatively worse situations—otherwise, they wouldn’t have joined this type of low-ranked tournament which would be considered beneath them. Winning, obtaining benefits, and changing their own fate was something that all of them tremendously desired!
Just how much guilt would they even feel for betraying some strangers from other factions that they barely even knew?
As for the consequences? It would be more than easy enough to get away as long as the traitor didn’t personally kill anyone from a major faction or family.
Although the tournament contract could limit the alliance members’ actions, the contract wasn’t absolute. The Messengers were an astonishing faction with the power to take advantage of the Bloodwine Ritual in creating a Spirit World! Who knew if their members might have a technique that could circumvent or break the contract magic? It would seem stranger if they weren’t able to.
So, all courses of action carried risks and hidden dangers.
Most of the major factions’ children present agreed with Natsuki Shuurin’s way of thinking. They didn’t think that forcibly making everyone present act as a team and move together was a wise idea.
Yet, if they didn’t act together and split up, it was possible that they would be assassinated by the divide and conquer strategy.
Everyone started debating over what they should do.
The debate soon escalated into an outright argument.
Underneath the argument was actually everyone’s anxiety.
Participating in the Bloodwine Ritual tournament wouldn’t actually have any danger to their lives—just about everyone present had this way of thinking originally.
Although it was possible that people might die, ‘I’m from a top-level faction, so I definitely won’t die’ was what all of them had thought.
None of them had resolved themselves to face death here. They only had the “resolution” that they absolutely wouldn’t die here.
But now, their “resolution” had taken a cruel blow.
Although nobody here retreated from the tournament due to various reasons, it couldn’t be helped that they were now all feeling anxious after learning that others were after their lives.
Shigure Tendo was the only one present whose expression hadn’t changed from start to finish.
After a long while arguing, Nobuhiko Kurosaki gave a loud sigh.
“Let’s decide things with a vote. I don’t think that either of acting together or splitting up are good options, to be honest, but we have to choose one… so I vote to act together, although it’s still not a good option. Even so, I think it’s better than splitting up and ending with us being assassinated while we’re alone. Still, the issue of possible traitors is a difficult problem. I can only try to ask everyone to trust each other as much as possible, and also watch each other with that as the foundation…”
There was no best option. There was only a bad option and an even worse option. In that case, logic dictated that the bad option should be chosen.
After the argument, these young masters and ladies somewhat calmed down and were able to think with greater logic and reason. They also agreed to act together.
Next was the issue of who would be leading… who would take the role of team leader?
This was a critical issue that would be more than enough to cause the collapse of their temporarily and hastily established team. Nobuhiko Kurosaki directly came up with two ideas: first, the team leader would only have the right to make recommendations to everyone else but not command anyone. Second, the team leader would be decided by random lots!
This caused another lively argument for a while.
But at the end of the argument, everyone finally decided to utilize the host Nobuhiko Kurosaki’s method. Otherwise, if this argument escalated any further, they would probably first start fighting amongst themselves.
Everyone drew a fair and random lot with no magical shenanigans involved. The end result was that Shigure Tendo was chosen as the team leader.
Everyone was rendered speechless.
Shigure looked at the lot that he had drawn, mulled things over, and then handed it back.
“I’ll let someone else be the leader,” he stated calmly.
Everyone was rendered speechless yet again.
At this moment, Keimi Umetani recalled something and whispered into Shigure’s ear.
Shigure nodded after hearing Keimi’s whispers and then spoke to everyone again. “In exchange for giving up my position as team leader, there’s a private matter that I hope to ask for everyone’s assistance in.”
“What is it?” Nobuhiko inquired.
“During this tournament, I need to kill a certain person… this person is the younger brother of our family’s enemy who killed my older brother. Father ordered me to kill him to take revenge for my dead older brother.” Shigure then paused for a moment.
“This person’s name is… Seiji Haruta.”
