--- Chapter 34 ---
"Dullahan."
Hayate sighed and watched the horizon with a complicated expression.
He reached Midori via Kaiju Creation and told her to observe the land where he sensed Dullahan.
'Do not confront Dullahan, and report to me immediately if you see him.' He instructed while seeing a faint green light fly away from here.
Cang Yue noticed Hayate's weird expression and asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm not okay," He replied jokingly.
"My stomach hurts."
"Eh?" Cang Yue stared in disbelief.
Hayate shook his head and pulled her into the Heavenly Sword Villa with him.
Since the disciple, who guarded the front gate, scanned their invitation, they could enter immediately.
Qin Wushang and Fen Juechen noticed the disciple didn't greet Cang Yue back but shook their heads because being high profile is never a good thing.
They followed Cang Yue and Hayate from behind and witnessed people staring at the couple.
'Well, their noble auras alone was enough to make people jealous.' Qin Wushang thought to himself.
'Especially him.' He stared at Hayate's strong-looking back
Hayate.
Even though Hayate wore baggy clothes, everyone could somewhat see his refined muscles under those fabrics.
Cang Yue hugged Hayate's arms while smiling at the ladies who thirstily were staring at her fiance. She knew what they were thinking about him.
It could be an instinctive behavior to protect her partner.
'Don't get an idea. Hayate is mine.' Cang Yue's eyes flashed with sharp sword intent.
Ling Yun was meditating in his room and opened his eyes because of Cang Yue's sword intent. "Hmm, where did this sharpness come from?" He mumbled in confusion.
Meanwhile, Cang Yue was unaware of her achievement in grasping the sword intent at a young age.
Hayate, Cang Yue, Fen Juechen, and Qin Wushang arrived at their assigned residence but somehow were greeted by a lovely young lady in a green robe.
"Welcome, master." The young lady greeted calmly.
The young lady is a few inches shorter than Hayate.
She possessed a pair of beautiful amethyst eyes and a creamy complexion, making her calm face look exquisite.
Hayate smiled wryly inside because Hong Guan instructed Little Ghost to greet him in such an appearance.
Yes, this lovely young lady in green robe is Little Ghost, who was in her second assignment as Hayate's maid. No one has seen her eyes before except him.
"Xiao Xun'er," Hayate called her name.
"Come here."
Little Ghost nodded and approached Hayate adorably, which caused Cang Yue to stare at her with a tender gaze.
"Where is my mom?" He patted Little Ghost's head gently.
"Mistress Guan was having tea with Heavenly Sword Villa's mistress." Little Ghost answered naturally.
"I see," Hayate responded because Hong Guan executed the plan smoothly. Her connection with Heavenly Sword Villa's mistress has deepened like what she had stated in the report.
Without a doubt, they could move to the next step now.
"Well, let's enter the residence first." Hayate walked into the normal-looking residence, but he could easily sense over a hundred Ghosts inside it.
Even the residences near them only have a few Ghosts to gather information. Hayate doesn't have a problem with having someone observing him silently, but these are too much.
He tapped Little Ghost's shoulder five times in weird order and tempo, which was a code to disperse the Ghost around them.
"I'll take a room in the back. Cang Yue, what about you?" He asked casually.
"Then, I'll take the room near yours." Cang Yue giggled a little.
"Very well, you two don't have a problem with it, right?" Hayate glanced at Fen Juechen and Qin Wushang, who nodded their heads in understanding.
--- Hayate's room ---
Hayate used Kaiju Creation again to check whether Dullahan's former connection was still there.
When Hayate connected to Kaiju Cores, he would feel several strings attached to Kaiju itself. One Kaiju usually was bound by more than 100 strings.
Regardless, it varied depending on Kaiju's strength and grades because Shah Long was attached to Hayate with more than one billion strings.
"I can barely feel anything." Hayate perceived a single frail string attached to Dullahan that conveyed two rough feelings.
Anger and Excitement.
Cang Yue knocked on the door and asked, "Hayate, did you fall asleep?"
"I'm here to say something."
"Enter, Cang Yue," Hayate answered and slowly rested his head on the small table.
"So, what do you want to say?"
"Well, It's weird..." Cang Yue's face blushed slightly.
She opened her mouth and awkwardly questioned, "Are there any ladies close to you in this tournament?"
"I'm not gonna dislike them or anything."
"I was just curious to know them personally, you know."
Hayate couldn't help but chuckle amusingly at her innocent remarks because Cang Yue was probably the most ordinary female close to him.
After all, He hasn't seen any weird behavior from her.
He shook his head and answered, "Don't worry, you'll meet them sooner than you imagined."
"Or maybe now." He added while seeing the floor covered with thin ice.
Cang Yue drew her sword and slashed the air behind her, cutting a block of ice into pieces.
A black-haired lady in a snowy robe stood in the hallway with a pair of emotionless eyes.
"Who are you..?" Xia Qingyue questioned coldly.
Cang Yue frowned and replied, "That was a rude greeting."
"Especially from you, a lady of Frozen Cloud Asgard."
She pointed her sword at Xia Qingyue and continued, "Since you're close to Hayate, I will give you the benefits of the doubt and loosen my sword."
"When you are deemed dangerous for him, I'll cut you into pieces."
"Is that a threat?" Xia Qingyue's palm shone with an icy light.
"No, that's a warning." Cang Yue returned while placing her sword back in the spatial ring.
She glanced at Hayate and sighed, "I don't know she is this violent."
"Neither do I." Hayate shrugged slightly.
Xia Qingyue walked past Cang Yue swiftly and hugged Hayate with an adorable expression.
"Big Brother~."
"I finally could meet you."
"Qingyue missed you so much."
Xia Qingyue rubbed her head on Hayate's chest like a kitten and purred softly. 'Ah, Big Brother's scent~.' She thought while closing her eyes.
Hayate patted her head and commented, "Aih, you're not a little girl anymore."
"Qingyue?"
He looked down and saw Xia Qingyue seem to be drunk on something. Her complexion is red as if she was consuming a strong liquor.
"Big brother, can you give me a kiss?" Xia Qingyue tilted her head.
Cang Yue stared in disbelief and said, "I'll walk around for a while."
"I won't meddle with your reunion."
"By the way, I'm not jealous."
'She's jealous.' Hayate thought while looking at Cang Yue.
'Aih, girls are mysterious creatures.'
'Even more mysterious than my Kaijus.'
"Mhhn." Xia Qingyue pushed her lips against Hayate's.
Hayate caressed Xia Qingyue's silky black hair and watched her melt into his embrace.
'You dare to kiss someone again!' Jasmine complained from the inner world.
'You Jerk, how dare you in front of this princess!' She continued furiously, but he countered by closing the view from the inner world.
"..." Jasmine stared at the blank space.
Hayate released Xia Qingyue and asked, "You want more?"
Xia Qingyue touched her lips gently and nodded her head excitedly. "Yes~!" She plunged on him.
Hayate gave Xia Qingyue the attention she wanted for so long and noticed she became calmer than before. It's a method to deal with Yandere, which was so effective.
Koyori never lost control when Hayate used this technique in his previous life. Of course, he couldn't let her become violent.
After a few moments of pampering, Xia Qingyue closed her eyes and fell asleep on Hayate's chest.
He placed her on his bed and walked out of the room, noticing the sun had become the moon.
"It's been an hour? Well, that was longer than I expected."
'Midori?' He contacted the Emerald Phoenix.
'Ciao!' Midori answered excitedly.
Hayate smiled and shared Midori's sense with himself, seeing the Wasteland of Death turned into a barren land filled with shadowy black flame.
He frowned and noticed a Headless Knight calmly sitting in the center of Wasteland. A shadow horse appeared and dragged some bones with a black chain to Dullahan.
A few characters bizarrely formed near Dullahan, which say, "I've been searching for you, Master." and "Come here, or I'll come to you." roughly.
"Those bones..." Hayate clenched his fist slightly.
"Ghosts."
"Ha..." He sighed while closing his eyes.
"Calm down, don't get too provoked by him."
Midori seemed able to hide from Dullahan's senses and monitored him for an hour without any problem.
Hayate commanded Midori to standby in the sky until Dullahan made a move. 'As I said before, don't confront him directly.' He said solemnly.
'Wait for my future commands.'
'Ciao!' Midori responded with a soft cry.
He sat on the edge of the hallway and stared at the moon with a complicated gaze. He tried his best to find a way to solve Dullahan.
However, Dullahan had exposed to Primal Chaos aura and grew into an unbearable monster.
That Kaiju isn't Hayate's masterpiece, but it's close to S-grade in his past life.
Since Hayate consumed Chaotic Devouring Ant's core, he obtained the disastrous Kaiju's ability, memory, and primordial energy.
He knew how potent Primordial energy was because Chaotic Devouring Ant merely F-Grade Kaiju in terms of strength when he sealed it inside his inner world.
Yes, it grew even more powerful than low S-Grade when they met again in the Dragon God's trial.
"Four years..."
"While I'm still using the mortal standard of this world."
"Dullahan at least reached the first stage of the Divine Way."
Hayate hasn't used Shah Long yet, which was beyond S-grade core and probably enabled him to tap the Divine Way forcibly.
It was a risky move, but he could win against anyone below Divine Origin Realm. He also could leap even higher with the "Forbidden Technique." which he never used.
"Coach Mei will be mad at me if I use this technique."
"She only said to use "Forbidden Technique." in life and death situations."
"I could also..." Hayate glanced at Jasmine in his inner world.
"No, I can't."
"Her body would be damaged by the Absolute Slaying Poison even more."
He rocked his brain with hundreds or maybe thousands of strategies to win against Dullahan.
After an hour, Hayate breathed in and out solemnly.
He sensed a chill presence near him and moved his gaze to the side, thinking it was Xia Qingyue.
"N-Nice to meet you, Master." Chu Yueli greeted him with a reddened face.
She bowed in front of him and added, "This slave is come to serve you again."
Hayate's expression hardened for a second and indifferently replied, "I'm not in the mood, Yueli..."
"Mhhn~." Chu Yueli moaned slightly.
She never thought Hayate's harsh reply would feel this good.
"T-Then, I'll come again in the morning." Chu Yueli said while giving Hayate a nervous look. Her bottom part has become damp by simply hearing his cold voice.
"What should I do..." Hayate massaged his forehead in frustration.
He decided to cultivate [Mystic Art of Body Cultivation] and entered a calm mental state.
Everything seems to be clear and more transparent.
He felt [Light Profound Strength] flowing inside his body and cleansed everything impure there.
"Light..."
"Hmm, Light?"
Hayate opened his eyes and raised his palm slightly. Light Profound Energy appeared and turned into many shapes.
"Li Suo."
"Miracle of Life's creator,"
"Devil feared her power over Light Profound Strength."
"It's the bane of the devil."
"Dullahan is a Kaiju of darkness."
"It's one of the best in that field," Hayate smirked because he might have found a way to win.
"No, This energy is too weak." He added while watching the white energy on his palm.
"I need to make it stronger."
"Stronger than A kaiju with Divine Origin Realm strength."
He wondered for a few seconds and said, "Well, I only have to make it happen."