Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 194: The Story of Sawada Tomohiko (1)

Kuroba Naoki took a sip of water and continued, "According to a widely circulated folk tale, it's mentioned that the elder sister of Shinmu Yoshiko also had a fondness for Sawada Tomohiko when they were children. Their relationship was quite good, but due to family traditions, Keiko Kanna's elder sister had to choose to become the head priestess of the Godless Shrine."

"But back to the main story, when Sawada Tomohiko left Ziwu City in search of mercenaries, the demon race had already begun to conquer most of Ziwu City's territory. Almost only the Godless Shrine remained untouched. After all, the Godless Shrine had been a centuries-old shrine, and it received the favor of the gods. Whenever the demon race set foot within the Godless Shrine's boundaries, they were annihilated, turned to ashes."

"However, a problem arose. Although the population of Ziwu City was not large, since other areas had been occupied by the demon race, all the people of Ziwu City crowded into the Godless Shrine. Soon, a food crisis emerged because the Godless Shrine had a tradition of having only the head priestess residing there. Consequently, the Godless Shrine had very little food reserves, and the refugees who came certainly didn't bring much food with them."

"After the food crisis, the situation at the Godless Shrine became tense and escalated into a standoff. On one side were the alliance of the Sawada Family, the Kanna Family, and some other Ziwu City families, who had the advantage in terms of weaponry. On the other side were the ordinary people of Ziwu City, who had the advantage in numbers."

"As the standoff began, the common people were pushed to the foothills of the Godless Shrine. However, hunger drove these desperate people to madness. The starving commoners began to attack the Godless Shrine, and internal problems also emerged on the side of the family forces. Sawada Family was too dominant, which made other families increasingly dissatisfied. They saw this as an opportunity to eliminate the Sawada Family and took up arms against them."

"Just when the Sawada Family was on the brink of collapse, Sawada Tomohiko finally returned with reinforcements. He personally wielded a great sword in battle, which was quite surprising since Sawada Tomohiko had never shown any martial skills before. After all, the Sawada Family intended to groom Sawada Tomohiko into an official, not a warrior."

"Next, as in those legendary stories, Sawada Tomohiko led the charge against the demon race, completely driving them out of Ziwu City. The Sawada Family seized the opportunity to eliminate the families that had revolted against them. Sawada Tomohiko, with a large sword in hand, personally carried out the executions."

"Here, I'd like to digress a bit and express my personal doubts. What exactly happened to Sawada Tomohiko during his journey to seek reinforcements that changed his character so drastically? Before leaving Ziwu City, Sawada Tomohiko could be described as a gentle and cultured person. However, upon his return, he had become a ruthless killing machine, responsible for the deaths of over four hundred people during the reckoning after defeating the demon race. There must be something mysterious behind this transformation."

"As for the story of Sawada Tomohiko seeking reinforcements, it's only his account of events. Sawada Tomohiko said that after leaving Ziwu City, he headed north to seek help from another city. On the way, he encountered a group of mercenaries and hired them immediately, then returned to Ziwu City with them."

"During their journey back to Ziwu City, Sawada Tomohiko's group took shelter in a dilapidated shrine due to heavy rain. They discovered that this shrine was dedicated to a deity that Sawada Tomohiko had never seen before, and he saw a name on the deity's statueSulu."

"Sulu?!" Hearing this, Liu Xing couldn't help but exclaim, looking astonished at Kuroba Naoki.

Liu Xing hadn't forgotten that he had encountered a deity named Sulu, or perhaps an incarnation of Cthulhu, during the Harvest Festival in the main hall.

Liu Xing's exclamation earned him angry glares from the readers around him, but they recognized Kuroba Naoki, the library curator sitting next to Liu Xing, so they held their tongues.

Kuroba Naoki, on the other hand, was intrigued by Liu Xing's knowledge of the name "Sulu" and took Liu Xing to his office, saying, "Liu Xing, do you know about this deity named Sulu? I've researched numerous records and found no information about this deity."

Liu Xing nodded and explained, "I actually learned about the existence of the deity Sulu just recently. I attended a festival in a small county town, and I discovered that they worshiped a strange deity in a Taoist temple. When I inquired, I found out that this deity was named Sulu and possessed the power to control the weather. Moreover, if anyone consumed offerings made to Sulu, they would instantly die of hunger!"

Listening to this, Kuroba Naoki nodded repeatedly and said with a smile, "I see. It seems that the deity you know as Sulu is the same one that Sawada Tomohiko encountered. Among the mercenaries he hired, someone ate the offerings meant for Sulu and turned into a dry corpse on the spot. I never thought that this deity called Sulu actually exists. I used to think it was a fabrication by Sawada Tomohiko."

Liu Xing nodded but decided not to disclose anything about the world within the mirror.

Kuroba Naoki continued, "Let's continue with the story. After seeing the cursed death of the mercenary due to Sulu, Sawada Tomohiko devoutly worshipped the deity named Sulu and offered sacrifices. Due to heavy rain, they had to spend the night at the shrine. While sleeping, Sawada Tomohiko had a dream of the deity named Sulu. After discussing various matters with Sawada Tomohiko, Sulu granted him a great sword and the power to wield it. This is how Sawada Tomohiko transformed from a powerless scholar into a Great Hero capable of slaying demons."

"After waking up, Sawada Tomohiko found the great sword by his side and returned to Ziwu City with the mercenaries. He easily defeated the demon race, and then, he believed that those who had betrayed his family didn't deserve to live. So, Sawada Tomohiko personally captured the people he considered 'despicable' and executed them. From that point on, the Sawada Family became the unshakeable leading family in Ziwu City."

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