CHAPTER 338: THE GATHERING

Kouhei and Yuuna slowly stepped into the wide, dimly lit chamber where the gathering was being held. The atmosphere was thick with the scent of incense, the flicker of torchlight casting long shadows across the polished stone floor. Conversations filled the air just moments ago, layered and heavy, but the instant Kouhei walked through the doorway, everything fell silent as if someone had cut the string holding it all together.

Dozens of heads turned toward him and Yuuna, their gazes sharp and probing. The weight of their stares pressed down on him, suffocating in its intensity.

"Is that him?" one voice whispered from the side, filled with doubt and curiosity.

"Yes. I saw him with my own eyes during the faction war," another muttered, his tone laced with both recognition and suspicion. "But he looks... different. I saw his transformation too. So this... this must be his human form?"

"But the Child of Anti-Prophecy was supposed to be human, wasn’t he?" a third questioned, disbelief echoing in their voice.

"I heard he was brought back using the same ritual the Primordial Succubus once used—the one that revives someone but twists them into a demon in return. If that’s true, then maybe right now, he’s not fully human anymore. Maybe he’s become something in between... a half-demon, half-human hybrid."

Murmurs rolled through the room like a spreading fire. Some eyes glittered with fear, others with intrigue, and a few with open hostility.

"Halflings aren’t that rare," another voice added, almost dismissively. "But he’s not a halfling, is he? He wasn’t born from the love of a human and a demon. He was born human... and turned into a demon. That makes him something different altogether."

Their words pricked against Kouhei’s skin like tiny needles. He forced himself to stay composed, his jaw tight with his breathing calm. He knew if he showed even a crack here—if he lost his composure for even a second—it would leave a scar on his first impression, something he couldn’t afford.

He straightened his back, scanning the room slowly with him taking in the crowd and marking possible prospects, like faces and names that could prove valuable to build connections with.

Then, his gaze landed on someone in particular.

Yuuna leaned in slightly, her voice low. "That’s the head of the Great House of Yoshida. He’s from the noble demon ogre clan."

Kouhei’s eyes lingered on the imposing man, his aura radiating quiet dominance.

"And that," Yuuna continued, nodding subtly toward a figure standing beside him, "is his daughter... Yoshida Azumi."

The daughter looked youthful and she was about their age—at least in terms of appearance. But Kouhei knew better. With the unnaturally long lifespans of their kind, she could very well be a century old, maybe even more.

Yuuna gave him a sly grin. "If you managed to seduce her, the whole Great House of Yoshida could be yours as well, Kouhei."

Kouhei coughed, flustered, his composure cracking for just a second. "I-I’m not going to seduce some Great House daughter just to make her family cooperate with me, you know?"

"Maybe not intentionally," Yuuna teased, her smile widening. "But you’ve got the look of someone who could pull it off without even trying."

Kouhei clicked his tongue and looked away, but he couldn’t deny the teasing made his chest tighten.

All around the room, he felt their gazes sticking to him with them being a mix of curious and judging stares, weighing him as though he were both a threat and an opportunity at once.

Eventually, he drifted closer to Kazuhiro, who stood tall and unwavering.

"Are you nervous, Kouhei-kun?" Kazuhiro asked, his sharp eyes cutting into him.

"Well... yeah," Kouhei admitted with a wry smile. "It’s my first time at something like this... much less a gathering of powerful demon clans. I stick out like a sore thumb. Everyone’s eyes are on me. Honestly, it feels like I’ve walked straight into a den of tigers, all just waiting to tear me apart."

Kazuhiro chuckled, his voice deep. "Get used to it? No. You can’t get used to it. But if you want connections, you have to come here again and again until you carve out your own place. That’s the only way."

Kouhei nodded slowly. It made sense. If he let his nerves choke him every time, he’d never be able to build anything here.

"It’s good I’m here with you, though," Kazuhiro continued, his tone steady. "I’ll help you with the connections you need. But listen—don’t ever speak about your real goal. Not yet. First, you build trust. You let them see you as someone worth dealing with. Don’t make the mistake of spitting everything out right away, like you did with me."

"...Alright," Kouhei muttered, nodding firmly.

Kazuhiro straightened, then coughed into his hand before his voice thundered across the hall, commanding silence.

"I thank all of you for coming here tonight. I know many of you were disappointed with what happened during the wedding ceremony. You might already have guessed the outcome, but for the sake of clarity—and for those who still have questions—we have decided to cancel the wedding, and now we will speak openly about the outcome of the faction war."

The room went dead quiet. All eyes shifted from Kouhei to Kazuhiro, waiting.

"We waited for Souichiro to wake," Kazuhiro continued. "And after that, we had a heart-to-heart. We realized that continuing with the marriage was impossible, and so we agreed to call it off."

Gasps echoed across the chamber, followed by an eruption of murmurs.

"Then what about the Great House of Sarushima? Will they no longer have successors?"

"Who will be the next head, then?"

The voices buzzed, filled not with concern for Souichiro or Yuuna, but for the fate of the Sarushima line itself.

Kazuhiro raised a hand, his voice steady, silencing them. "I understand your concerns about the future of the Great House of Sarushima. But rest assured—you have nothing to fear. The house remains in strong hands. I have no intention of stepping down. Even if I must lead for another thousand years, I will continue until one of my children—or perhaps even one of my grandchildren—is ready to take my place."

His gaze shifted, sharp and deliberate, toward Kouhei.

A chill crept through Kouhei’s chest, his spine stiffening. Was Kazuhiro implying what he thought he was? That if Yuuna bore him a child, their offspring could one day stand as the head of the Sarushima house?

Kazuhiro’s voice carried on, unshaken. "For now, I will personally handle the affairs of the Great House. My children are still young. A few hundred years is not enough for them to mature and take on such a burden. That is why, for the time being, I will allow them more time to grow before they step into such a role."

He turned his eyes toward both of his children.

"Now then," Kazuhiro’s voice rang out, calm yet commanding, "for the moment you’ve all been waiting for."

With that, he shifted his gaze to Kouhei. His hand—firm, steady, and full of authority—landed on Kouhei’s back, giving him a slight but deliberate push forward. The gesture was small, but in that moment, it felt heavy, as though pushing him not just toward the crowd, but toward the destiny waiting for him.

"As you may already know," Kazuhiro continued, his tone lowering with importance, "this person standing here before you... is the Child of Anti-Prophecy."

The reaction was immediate. A wave of murmurs broke out among the gathered guests, like a sudden gust of wind rustling through a forest. Their eyes flickered with curiosity, doubt, awe, and a hundred other emotions all at once. Heads turned, lips whispered, and the atmosphere shifted into one of tense excitement.

Meanwhile, Kouhei stood there, every whispered word hitting his ears like a weight he wasn’t prepared for. It was awkward, uncomfortable, almost suffocating to be the center of such attention. He could hear fragments of what people were saying, though he wished he couldn’t.

Kazuhiro pressed on, his voice carrying through the noise, pulling the attention back to him.

"He is the one destined to save Hell itself from the prophesied destruction brought upon us by Yesh. This is no longer something we need to doubt. His strength has already been shown to us. You all witnessed it—when he fought Souichiro and emerged victorious in the Faction War between them."

The whispers quieted down, their eyes sharpening, watching Kouhei more intently now.

"And not only that," Kazuhiro went on, "he granted strength to the members of his own faction, empowering them until they could stand against Souichiro’s army—an army far larger and far stronger. And yet, against all odds, they fought and they won. Through his wit, through his strength, and through the will he instilled in those around him, they overturned what should have been impossible."

The air seemed to thicken, the weight of his words pressing onto every guest in the room. Their eyes didn’t just glance at Kouhei anymore—they clung to him, analyzing, measuring, as well as trying to understand the boy who had already begun to shift the fate of Hell.

"With him among us," Kazuhiro declared, his tone swelling with conviction, "we won’t just survive the destruction that was foretold by Yesh—we will rise above it. He will guide us toward victory, not only to protect Hell, but to conquer against the Heavenside itself."

The hall fell silent for a beat, as if those words needed a moment to properly settle into the minds of everyone present.

Finally, Kazuhiro spread his hand slightly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "So now... as you have come here today to see him with your own eyes, I ask you to speak with him. Learn who he is. Understand the strength he carries, because this is someone who may very well be the one to shift the war in our favor. Which is why..." His voice softened, though it still carried a weight that demanded attention. "...form bonds with him. Bonds that will strengthen not just him, but all of us. Together, we will become powerful."

Then, his voice faded into silence.

For a brief moment, there was only stillness. Then, slowly at first, the sound of clapping began—soft, hesitant, but it grew louder, stronger, until the hall was filled with the thunder of applause. The guests stood, some smiling, some still hesitant, but all of them acknowledging the boy standing at the center of it all.

And Kouhei, caught in that storm of praise and attention, could do nothing but stand there.