"Holy..." The swordsman gasped.

The other two beautiful women screamed and writhed. Their smooth skin grew fur and their face turned into the face of a fox.

"Despicably human! How dare you!"

Carter threw the blade back to Koji. "I’m still better with just fist."

The thick red aura blasted out again. This time it was even larger than before.

Carter bolted at a Yokai and punched at her stomach. She shot backward and went straight through the wall.

The other Yokai gulped.

Carter pointed her hand at the Yokai. Seija slithered out of her shirt, gliding through her hand and jumping at the Yokai.

Seija turned big in midair and bit the head off of the Fox Yokai. Mikoto had told it to not ’eat’ the monster so it didn’t swallow the Yokai.

"Sister!" The last one got up and cried out. It caught the bloodlust in Carter’s eyes so it turned around and dashed.

"Kill it." Carter whispered.

Seija rushed out of the shrine and caught the Yokai. She wrapped her big body around the fox hybrid and squeezed it to death.

The men hadn’t done anything. They didn’t have a chance to. The fight had just begun not long ago and it was already ended.

"So those are the famous Yokai!" Kento slapped his hand.

Carter put her hat down. The other men almost thought she was another Yokai because of how beautiful she was. But she’s different. Real and tangible.

"Sorry for disturbing your journey. They were going to kill you." Carter’s soft voice echoed.

It was hard to believe that this well-mannered lady just slaughtered those Yokais in seconds.

Carter squatted down and converted their corpses into shards.

[+1 Minor Yokai Shard (Awaken)]

"Woah! What was that? How did you make it disappear?" Kento asked.

"I am purifying their souls, making sure they would move on."

Another random excuse that Carter made up.

Koji took a deep breath. He looked at his blade and there was still one question lingered.

"How did you know my name?" Koji said.

[+2 Minor Yokai Shards (Awaken)]

Carter finished collecting the shards and turned to them. He smiled gently.

Or more precisely, she smiled gently.

"Do you believe in Fate?"

"Excuse me?"

Seija curled into a spot on the ground and allowed Carter to sit on her.

The white-haired girl placed two cards on the ground.

One wind and one fire. A journey and an act of violence.

"The card burned?!" A swordsman said.

"That one has a cyclone on it!" Kento said.

Carter flipped the wind card over. In it were all the men in this Shrine.

"I know your name, Koji. I also know your name, Kento. I also know the three of you, Kazuma, Tanaka, Satoshi.

I saw you all in my dreams."

If that sentence was spoken by a beautiful woman like the white-haired girl in a different situation, all of them would have been proud. But here, they could only feel the shivers running on their spines.

Then Carter flipped the second card. In it, were the image of all five men attacked by the Yokais. All three swordsmen died. Kento survived. Koji got injured.

They were surprised attacked by the Foxes.

"This can’t be..." Kento stopped being so playful and shared a serious tone. "You can read Fate."

"I do, Kento the Fighter."

Kento inhaled deeply. He felt like all his secrets were exposed in front of this woman.

"What do you want from us?" Satoshi said.

"Pay up! That’s what! I didn’t save you for nothing." Carter reached out his smooth skinny arm.

"Eh?" All the men dropped their jaws.

Awhile later.

Kento and Koji looked at the clear sky. The rain had stopped.

"Look at how much money we got, Seija!" The white-haired girl showed the green snake her new found fortune.

"Yes, Mikoto. It’s a lot." Seija said.

"The girl is kinda lovely." Kento looked back at her. "Even with all the powers she has."

Koji nodded, "Where are you headed, Kento the Fighter?"

Kento scratched his head and smiled, "Please don’t call me that. I’m just a regular Fighter. I’m going to Chuuchi Tournament."

"The thing that King Ryuja is hosting?"

"That’s the one. I’m hoping of getting some good positions at his court."

Koji stayed silent. From what he knew of Ryuja, it was best to stay away from that man as much as possible.

"Well then. Have a safe journey, Koji the Rider." Kento winked at him. "Try your best. You may have a chance with her."

Koji blushed, "What are you even saying?"

Kento rushed away on horseback.

"What’s chance?"

Carter’s voice came from behind and causes Kento to jump back in surprise.

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

"You’re going to Giyaku the False City, right?" Carter said.

"How do you... Ah, yes. You are a fortune teller. That’s right, I’m going to Giyaku."

"Want an advice that will save your life?"

"Is it going to cost money?"

The girl just snatched half of his savings. He had to ask first.

"This one’s free. If you want to survive, look for a black swordsman."

"Black swordsman... Hmmm?"

Carter held Seija in her arms and walked away. She disappeared without Koji even noticing.

Giyaku was a city full of Yokai. It was a Yokai Farming Field for Carter. He learned it from the cards and he had been heading there the last few days. The minor event last night showed up on the cards so Carter showed off his acting skill a little bit.

"I’ll need to do something alone, Seija. We’ll meet later."

"Are you going to be okay, Mikoto?" The Green Serpent looked at her with concern.

"Hey! I’m an Elite. I beat you up the first time we met."

"That’s true. But..."

Seija was afraid that she would get taken advantage of. She was strong and could be a real menace. But her heart was pure and it could easily be manipulate.

Carter petted the green snake. "Don’t worry now. I can call for your help any time. And you will be pulled to me immediately."

Seija nodded. "Okay. But don’t go too far, okay? The spell might not work if the distance is extended."

"I won’t."

Carter needed to get rid of Seija for the moment. Because he was going on a slaughter trip.

[ZENEROS BLACKBURN EQUIPPED]