Chapter 196: Nanaya, Tohno and Ryougi 

To live or to die? The answer is clear - to live.

Just as Shiki's switchblade was about to pass across Tohno's throat, and Tohno's straight blade was about to cut into Shiki's body, two silver bullets flew and struck the wrists of the two, causing the straight blade and switchblade to fly from their hands.

At the same time, the blades of the two short blades began to twist and contort.

Immediately after, two black cursed bullets struck the knees of the two, and before the magecraft within could take effect, an invisible pressure had already pushed them to the ground, rendering them immobile.

The silver bullets came from Shinji, the twisting force originated from Fujino, the cursed bullets were from Sakura's hand, and the oppressive magecraft was released by Touko - without anyone needing to prompt them, the four had acted swiftly to save the two.

"Shiki, Shiki, are you alright?" Mikiya cried as he ran towards them, though it was hard to tell from his voice exactly who he was calling out to.

Tohno was lying on the ground, limbs akimbo, rubbing his aching wrists and panting heavily.

"Ah, I'm fine, just a bit tired. Go check on that kid."

Shinji moved faster than Mikiya: "He's fine too, just overexerted himself and strained his eyes. A good rest will fix it."

The Magic Eye of Death Perception places a great burden on the user's brain. Shiki's body is special, and she had fully grasped death during her two years of unconsciousness, so she could withstand it. Tohno couldn't, his body and time in contact with death were not as extensive as Shiki's, so he couldn't sustain the Mystic Eye for long.

"That's good to hear. Matou, help me get his knife."

Shinji casually picked up the two short swords and handed them to Shiki. Shiki glanced at a certain ancient mark on the hilt of the blade, nodding thoughtfully.

"So it was Nanaya after all."

"Nanaya?" Mikiya blinked in slight confusion.

"Hmm, the Ryougi clan that I belong to and the Asakami clan that Fujino comes from are both ancient exorcist clans. Among the famous exorcist families, only the Nanaya clan's assassination techniques are stronger than the Ryougi clan's, and only the Nanaya bloodline can bring about such an enhancement. That 'flash-step' just now was likely the signature assassination art of the Nanaya."

Just before the final strike, Tohno used a momentary evasion technique, then swiftly returned, which was the trademark assassination art of the Nanaya House - utilizing high-speed movement along the walls, similar to the wall-jumping abilities described in wuxia novels.

"But the Nanaya clan was already wiped out eight years ago, wasn't it?" Mikiya wondered.

"Yes, perhaps he is the last survivor of the Nanaya clan, adopted by the Tohno family, which is why his surname changed to Tohno," Shiki said, struggling to sit up and staring at the face so similar to the man supporting her. "Speaking of which, Mikiya, how do you know so much about these exorcist families?"

"Ah, well, that came up a bit when I was investigating your family's background," Mikiya said, somewhat embarrassed as he scratched his cheek. It was no wonder he felt awkward, as they were currently using the dojo of the Ryougi clan, discussing matters behind their backs.

Yes, this was the Ryougi clan's property, located in Misaki City, not Tokyo. Ever since Touko agreed to help Tohno, he has been coming to Misaki Town for every vacation. To avoid worrying his family, Mikiya even went to the Tohno house to explain...well, the explanation didn't matter, as the Tohno family wasn't concerned once they saw Mikiya's face.

By the way, using the dojo was Shiki's idea, to train Tohno. In Shiki's words, since he is her younger brother, weakness is not allowed, and this younger brother turned out to be quite strong indeed.

"But how coincidental, Shiki from Ryougi, Fujino-san from Asakami, Shiki-kun from Nanaya, and the sick girl in the hospital, Kirie Fujou. All four great exorcist families gathered together. I wonder what kind of wondrous things might happen."

"Who knows," Shiki said, idly playing with the Tohno's blade.

Beside them, Shinji's expression was awkward.

Spoken without intention, heard with meaning. After having already changed the fates of Fujino and Kirie, Shinji entertained the idea of collecting the bloodlines of the four great exorcist families, to see if he could summon a dragon...Ahem, he's been watching too much "Dragon Ball", and has been subconsciously influenced by it.

The origins of the four major exorcism families are all different, and their bloodline characteristics are even more different. The so-called "Four" are just names given by some people. There are not many connections between the various families. If Shinji hadn't brought them together, Shiki, Male Shiki, Fujino, and Kirie would never have been able to get a chance to get to know each other.

"By the way, Shinji, about the Tohno family where Shiki-kun lives..."

"Stop—" Shinji raised his hand to interrupt Mikiya, "Let's change places. Sakura, you treat Shiki, and then practice body protection with Fujino. Since we borrowed this dojo, we can't waste it."

"Okay, brother/Shinji."

Nodding to the two of them, Shinji winked at Mikiya and Touko respectively, and walked out of the dojo.

"What did you find out again? Mikiya."

In the corridor outside the dojo, Shiki sat on the railing, deep in thought.

"Last time, you said that Shiki's family might have a problem, so I did a little research. The Nanaya family, or to be precise, the Tono family does have a problem."

"Tell me more about it."

"The head family of the Nanaya family is the Tono family. This family...may be the enemy of the exorcist family, a demon or a family related to 'demons'."

"Tohno, I seem to have heard someone in my family mention this surname. Well, it should be a clan mixed with inhuman blood. However, the family has not listed this clan as an enemy. It should be because the threat is not great, or it has not caused any harm."

After confirming this, doubts followed.

"But why would such a family adopt Shiki? The Nanaya family is a radical group among the demon exorcism families. It is said that the blood of Nanaya has a special urge to exorcise demons. When seeing inhuman beings, they will instinctively want to execute them. On the contrary, The blood of Nanaya will also give the clansmen the physical ability to fight against "demons". It can be said to be the most taboo existence for non-human (including mixed-blood) families. How can they be willing to adopt Nanaya's child? Even if they are willing to adopt, they are not afraid of Shiki's urge to exorcise demons breaking out?"

"Maybe it's the personal behavior of Shiki's adoptive parents." Mikiya speculated, "The Nanaya family and the Tohno family no longer have much blood connection. I think the inhuman blood is so thin that it shouldn't cause Shiki-kun an urge to exorcise demons."

"That's the only way to explain it... Touko, Matou, what do you think?"

"I don't know much about demons and exorcism, but you should know, Shinji—" Touko lit her cigarette and looked at Shinji.

Shinji leaned against the pillar and remained motionless, seemingly not hearing Touko's voice.

"Hey, don't be in a daze." Touko reached out and knocked on Shinji's forehead.

"Ah." Shinji finally woke up from a dream, "What's wrong?"

"Tell us about that kid's life experience. Don't say you don't know. The name you told me at the beginning was 'Shiki Tohno', not 'Shiki Nanaya'."

When Touko said this, Shiki and Mikiya also locked their eyes on Shinji's face.

Shinji scratched his head in distress: "I know, I know, but I don't know whether I should say it or not."

"Is it complicated?" Touko frowned.

"Well, it's very complicated. It's like a mess."

"That's even more important. Maybe we can figure it out."

"Okay." Shinji held his chin and thought for a while, then finally nodded, "Okay, but I have one request. Don't inform Shiki Tohno about this."

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