In the end, the two factions needed to hear what Suzuka said to decide.

At that moment, she realized she couldn't let it be like that. First, however, she needed to choose. And she chose to be with the faction with a lot of supporters, the one who chose profit over civilians' safety.

She knew how the Family worked. And she knew which side was safer.

Fortunately, Hyobe, who was in favor of closing the hole, realized that and contacted Marcus, telling him the truth. The story after that was.. a bit blurry.

Everything happened so fast, and the details weren't known because Hyobe, Marcus' younger brother, couldn't monitor Suzuka. But he knew that Suzuka created many Talismans and hid them from the two factions, only telling Hyobe about it.

In the end, a few days after that, Suzuka went missing. She couldn't be found anywhere. Even when the elders of the Ashiya Family at that time used a tracking Talisman, they couldn't find her. They used a Special-grade Talisman, so it was impossible not to find her.

The hole in the sky also got closed. After a lot of debates and theories, they finally arrived at a conclusion.

"They concluded that your mother died when she went to close the portal herself. No human can survive inside the Astral Plane. Our bodies would be destroyed once we entered it. So it's natural if they thought so." Emily ended with a sad tone.historical

The last fireball that lit the dark alleyway puffed along with Emily's words. Kai went silent, and Marcus gritted his teeth, holding back his anger.

'Hole to Astral Plane. Missing. And then two factions.'

That was a lot of information to be taken in at once. But thanks to that, he had a picture in his mind. A theory was formed in his mind. But..

"So I just need to destroy half of the Ashiya Family." He said.

"What a terrifying thing my grandson said." Emily chuckled without feeling any fear or sign of stopping Kai. Why? Because.. "That's useless. The old geezer and people who sought profit have already been dealt with. Some of them managed to run away and become Vultures, but that's it."

Kai turned to his grandfather. The old man raised his eyebrows and said, "What? It's not me," and didn't say anything more.

If the ones who dealt with them weren't Marcus, then who?

"They destroyed themselves. Hyobe played a good part in it. As expected from my younger brother. But he's too soft. If it was me.."

The answer came from Marcus' mouth. That kind-looking old man was the cause of their destruction? It seemed like Kai needed to learn more to judge the character of people from the Supernatural World.

But at least he got a hint. And there was still a chance that something impossible would happen.

Maybe because he took a peek at it himself, he was sure that the chance of that happening was big. No living human could survive inside the Astral Plane. Maybe that was the case. Still, it would be different for a soul.

And in the Supernatural World, there existed something called Puppet Marionette. A puppet that could be used to host someone's Spirit Power, or maybe soul. He learned the term soul from Qianlong's lesson, and maybe.. Just maybe, it would be possible to do that.

"I see. So we can't do anything? Our hands are tied."

"That's it, brat." Marcus backed away from the wall and lowered his arms. "I am going back first. You two go catch up or something. Fuck. My mood is ruined after hearing the story again."

Spitting on the ground, Marcus walked out of the alleyway while rolling his sleeves. "I shouldn't hear it." He continued as he disappeared into the corner.

Kai wanted to laugh at his grandfather's childish behavior. But yeah. He needed to catch up to something with his grandmother too. However, it was still a bit hard to accept that he had a grandmother. One that looked like a young lady, at that.

"Umm.." For some reason, he became overly nervous. Was it because of the fact that his curiosity subsided, and his desire to destroy the people that didn't even exist again disappeared that he became like this?

No. It may be just because he didn't know how to act in front of his grandmother.

"Brat. Just act the way you are. And before you ask. Yes. I can also read mood and emotion, but in a different way than you. It seems that old fucker didn't know that. Hahahaha!"

A satisfying laughter escaped her mouth. Emily couldn't help but marvel. She had felt something. A surprise.

"You're surprised, aren't you? Anyone with Abe no Seimei's blood is able to do something like that. Well, I can only feel a subtle change and love to tease people to feel their change of emotion. However.."

The old woman approached Kai and stopped in front of him. Her expression was full of hope as she reached out her hand to Kai's shoulder.

"You know something, aren't you? Your emotion shifted when my story got into the part about the hole to the Astral Plane. You feel.. a bit relieved."

'She's too sensitive.' Kai let out a wry laugh.

How could all his grandparents be such a monster? In his dream, Marcus could fight that shadow by himself while protecting the young him. And then this new grandmother could feel his emotion and where he was even though she seemed to be blind.

"Now, brat. I won't tell Marcus, so can you tell me what made you relieved? Was it because your targets had disappeared? No, that's not it. It's related to my daughter-in-law, no?"

"Well, something like that."

There was no reason to hide it from someone who could read his emotions. Well, it would also be great if he could get her help. She seemed to be strong.

So he told her about his experience and his theory about body and soul. Because he had entered the Astral Plane once, although he didn't realize it at that time, he became sure that it was really the case.

Emily listened quietly. Her expression changed when Kai reached the part about his theory. Her jaw fell, and she touched her chin, deep in thought.

"That's.. Incomprehensible." She said after Kai finished his story. "But the fact that you are here right now can't be explained besides that. So that means.."

"Yes." Kai nodded at her and smiled. "I think my mother's soul is still alive in the Astral Plane. But I also don't know how long she is waiting there. Time is a funny thing, according to Abe no Seimei. So, I will try to give it a shot."

He clenched his fist as his smile grew into a grin. "I will try to find my mother's soul inside the Astral Plane. There is still hope."