Chapter 219: Faithful Gathering

Days passed and the situation began to worsen. In the first few days, you could feel the tension high.

One section of the city had power while the other was forced to suffer in darkness. At first, they could only bite their lips and sneer under their breath.

The vampires and the witches didn’t bother telling the rest of the population that their mana crystals were stolen. Instead, they kept it a secret.

I think the reason they didn’t tell the population was because they didn’t want to give any more importance to me.

If they did, then they would have a situation similar to the Valkyries. Some groups would see me as a terrorist while others would see me as the hero that came to liberate them.

I was already gaining enough popularity by destroying a section of the city upon my arrival and also killing Allucard; any more would risk their rule.

The people of this city were still afraid of the vampires and the witches, so they wouldn’t let their thoughts out that easily.

They needed someone to say what they couldn’t, and that’s where the kitsune came in.

In the days that followed, she let her thoughts about the vampires be even more known. More and more people began silently agreeing with her.

And with the added support, she managed to organize an event to gather people who secretly supported her.

She did a wonderful job of organizing everyone that even I needed Aphrodite’s help to find out where this event would be held.

She gathered everyone inside her bar, the minotaurs acting as security, checking everyone who entered. I came with Kumo, mainly to observe how things would turn out.

There were quite a few people packed inside the cramped building. I counted over 300, and these were just the ones brave enough to come.

The people present ranged from different races and different age ranges. There were a variety of people, so to speak.

We stood shoulder to shoulder, bumping against each other. I stood directly behind Kumo so she wasn’t affected by the crowd too much.

She held her head down, her heartbeat racing, and her face was bright red.

“She has amassed quite the influence,” she mumbled. If it wasn’t for my super hearing, I wouldn’t have caught what she said because of the rustling and bustling of the crowd.

“Indeed, she has. I made the right choice choosing her for this role.”

Kumo’s face brightened as if she didn’t expect me to answer, and she nodded happily.

“At least that kitsune can be good for something.” She joked. “Unlike the rest of my kind.”

“Have you met other kitsune?” I asked, feeling curious.

“Only a few. Some are mischievous and do anything to create mischief. While others are malevolent. Once they’ve bonded with a place, they would give their life to protect it.”

That does sound interesting. Maybe it was my greed talking, but having another yokai devoted to protecting Ryomen would make things easier whenever I left. Maybe I should try to win her over.

As if knowing what I was thinking, Kumo spoke again.

“Kitsune are easy. The ones that are malevolent only require appreciation. They long for it. Just a few praises and you’ll have them eating out of the palm of your hand. Back in the day, if you wanted one to protect your village, all you had to do was build a shrine and bring offerings to them.”

I nodded along, catching Kumo’s meaning. I rested my hand on the top of her head and gave her a kind smile.

“Thank you for the information. You did well.”

She smiled bashfully and nodded her head. Just then, the kitsune stepped onto the stage. Her three bright orange tails flowed gracefully behind her.

She immediately captured everyone’s attention with the aura she was giving off. Almost like a deity, I could see why people worshipped her in the past.

She was dressed in a white kimono, her hair tied in a bun. She walked with her head held high until she was on top of the stage.

She then stared into the crowd of people and began to speak.

“Thank you all for coming. I know you all are taking a great risk coming here, and so you have my thanks,” she bowed her head gracefully, and with these words and actions, she captured their hearts.

“Now the reason I have called you all here is to talk about the blatant injustice taking place in this city. The vampires and the witches have turned off our power supply, leaving us to fend for ourselves in the darkness. Because of this, that merciless gang of ghouls has started robbing and killing people at night. Most of us are afraid to walk at night. Our homes and businesses have been robbed. Our lives are in danger, and yet they couldn’t care less.”

Hearing these words, some started nodding their heads, some cheered, and others flew into rage.

Them not being able to express their anger freely caused their rage and anger to explode out of them.

These attacks weren’t actually because of the gang of ghouls. They were relatively silent.

These attacks were done by the ghouls under my control. I used them to stir the conflict even more by attacking people under the cover of darkness.

“It is time we take matters into our own hands and hold the vampires and the witches accountable for their actions. They took away the mana crystals that granted us our comfort. How long before they take away something else? With the outside world now in shambles, this place might be the only safe haven there is, so they are taking advantage of it. It is time we fight back and show them we won’t be bullied.”

The room immediately erupted in a frenzy. At this moment, they could express their anger freely without any restraint.

The walls reverberated from the shouts. Looking at their reactions, I couldn’t help but crack a smile. This was exactly what I wanted.

“It is time we fight for what we want!”

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