Third Person POV

"Master, another body had been discovered in Kabukichou alley." Karasu-Tengu reported.

Despite being in his day form, Rikuo still exudes his leadership aura as he sat on his Commander seat. He tilted his head towards Karasu-Tengu, his eyes widened with curiosity at his report.

 "Looks like we have a serial killer on the loose." Kurotabo noted.

"Or a work of an unrestrained yokai." Rikuo said as his eyes lingered on the report in his hands.

The four victims have all been murdered in a manner that is nearly identical, and all of these homicides have taken place within the span of a few short weeks. However, the fact that all of the victims had frost marks was the thing that really caught his attention.

'Frost marks...'

Rikuo's throat became tight. His territory is entirely devoid of snow yokai, save for his wife, Yuki-Onna. Yet he is quite sceptical that it was Tsurara's doing. If Yuki-Onna had killed someone, they would have perished from the cold. The victim, however, was killed with a blade—more particularly, a frosted blade. The only person he could think of that could conjure such a blade...

Rikuo was adamantly against the idea.

'It's impossible.'

Rikuo made the decision to keep the little truth a secret from his lower-ranking subordinates for the time being. It was necessary for him to conduct further investigation into this case without inciting dissension among the clan members.

Unbeknownst to them, a young navy black-haired boy was standing behind the translucent screen, listening in on their discussion. Just before the conversation ended, he was about to walk away from the conference room when his father's voice suddenly came to him. 

"Riei." The boy paused in his tracks and glanced at his father from the corner of his eyes.

"Where are you going?" Rikuo asked with a smile.

Taking in the sight of his father's human form for a few seconds, Riei turned his back against him and began walking away with his hands tucked into his pockets.

"Just out."

"You should bring Kurotabo and Aotabo with you. Things are getting quite dangerous in town lately." Just as Rikuo mentioned their names, Kurotabo and Aotabo spring up from behind him with a triumphant grin. They were proud to be assigned as their Young Master bodyguard. After all, it was a great honour to be bestowed on such a duty.

"Yes! The young master's safety and well-being shall be our top priority—"

"There's no need for that." Riei interjected leaving the two yokais with their mouths agape.

"I'll be fine on my own." Riei responded in a frigid manner.

"But—Master!"

"Things could get dangerous without any aide. It's been a long time since you've been out and about around the city. Are you sure you'll be fine?" Rikuo chimed in with his own thoughts but Riei just shrugged it off as he continued to walk away.

"I'm not a kid anymore. I can protect myself just fine."

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Being annoyed was an understatement. Who would have guessed that his stubbornness had been passed down to him from his father? Just when Riei persuaded his father that he did not require any protection from the clan, Rikuo still decided to deploy his two loyal assistants.

It wouldn't have been a problem if they were able to blend in with the masses and hide their presence from view. But to be that obvious in the midst of the crowd?  It didn't take a genius to figure out that it had all been them the entire time.

"Jeez...  at least conceal your demonic aura for once, I can sense them from over here." Riei grumbled to himself, pulling his hood over his face to keep his face hidden.

Just as he thought, even after five years, being in the presence of humans made him feel sick.  Perhaps it was because he had spent the majority of his time with demons and had refused to have any interaction with them. But when it came to reaching his goals, Riei realized it was necessary to venture outside of his comfort zone. Thus, he kept his discomfort to himself and try to walk among the crowds unnoticed. However, his plan had failed... quite miserably.

Someone accidentally bumped into him while he was deep in thought, but he had no intention of apologizing, instead, he continued walking forward as if nothing had occurred at all.

When the stranger suddenly grabbed his shoulder by force, he was frozen where he stood.

"Oi, apologize, you dumb brat! Look where you're going!" With a glowering expression, the stranger moved his face closer in an apparent attempt to intimidate him.

Kurotabo and Aotabo were alarmed by what they saw and prepared to take action against the person who threatened their Young Master. However, they were halted in their tracks as the atmosphere around the Young Master turned colder.

"Let me go..." Riei seized the hands that had grabbed him by the collar. That's when his bloodlust flared. "If you don't want to die, get your filthy hands off of me."

The man shivered in dread as Riei gave him the deadliest gaze he had ever given someone. Because of the pressure from his aura, the man was forced to completely kneel on the ground. That brief second was able to rendered that man  completely speechless.

"Oi, what's wrong?" His companion began heading towards him who was still shivering with dread.

Kurotabo and Aotabo were still in disbelief after what had transpired, and before they realized it, their young master had vanished.

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'Did I get them off of my trail?'

 From above the building, Riei cast a glimpse at his father's two faithful subordinates, all the while keeping his presence hidden. Knowing there was no way the two of them were going to be able to track him down, Riei turned on his heel and walked away.

'How easy. Well, it's to be expected. The Nurarihyon blood flows within me.' Riei stared at the palm of his hands for some time before clasping them together.

In the end, Riei made it to his destination after a few missteps and detours. So, there he was, walking down Kabukichou alley, the said crime scene. Fair enough, there were a few investigator there and the dead body had been taken to a different place.  

Riei kept his hands in his pockets as he peered at the scene. For a half-blooded yokai like him, sneaking and staying hidden was not a problem. Despite the fact that the deceased corpse had been taken from the scene of the murder, Riei was still able to sense the lingering presence of demonic energy. After giving it a closer look, he was able to recognize the energy, which only served to aggravate him.

Riei walked away from the scene of the crime into a deserted alley, where he called out. "Nobiagari."

In the blink of an eye, a shadowy figure materialized from the shadows and stood motionless behind the boy with black hair.

"Yes, Master?"

"Find out who's behind this." Riei gave the instruction, and the figure nodded before vanishing into the darkness once more.

Riei was alone in the dark area when he heard footsteps approaching from across the alley. He caught a glimpse of a group approaching from the side. Riei recognized their disguise almost immediately despite the fact that they appeared to be normal human. They were yokais clad in human skin.

"Well, well, look who we have here, if it isn't the Fourth heir of the Nura clan." One of them spoke, and Riei believed that he was the group's leader based on his tone.

"Who are you?" The furrow between his brows deepened as he locked his gaze on the newcomer. "What do you want?"

"You don't have to be so defensive, we're actually on your side." The leader chuckled. "We are from the Kyuso clan. A clan that was expelled by the Third Commander 23 years ago."

'Kyuso-clan, huh...'

"What does an exiled clan want from me?"

"We are here to pledge our allegiance to you. After all, our former leader was executed simply because he believed your father was unsuited for the role of Third Commander. However, we believe that you are the type of leader that the Kyuso clan is looking for. It's hard to think of anything better than having a leader who shares your anti-human sentiments." He extended his hand, but Riei simply responded with a scoff.

"Last time I checked, I didn't sign up to be anyone's leader. You can play your little game on your own, I'm not interested." He was about to walk away when his next remarks brought him to a complete stop.

"But we have something that you might be interested with... Like the ones responsible for you and your sister's abduction, five years ago." The rat-yokai gave a sly sneer.

With a cold expression on his face, Riei turned towards him. 

"Speak." 

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A/N

Hello guys, I know I've published this chapter before, but I just thought of a more solid plot. Hence, the sudden change of this chapter. I decided to reconstruct this story since I do feel like something was missing before. It's going to be quite a thriller at this point, so enjoy the ride.

(Just a scene I drew earlier this month.)

Kurotabō, called "the assassin and destruction monk", hides an arsenal of weapons beneath his clothes and is able to release them all or individually at will. 

Aotabō (青田坊, Aotabō) is called "the degenerate priest who wears the iron blue robe" and is the physically strongest yōkai in the Nura household. He wears a skull rosary that keeps his strength under control, removing the rosary increases his strength turning him into a Demon God (鬼神, Kishin).

The Nobiagari (のびあがり, Nobiagari) is a yōkai that can take many forms, most commonly in that of a priest or a living shadow. The Nobiagari is known for creeping up behind people and, as soon as they turn around, growing quickly to a great height. Nobiagari is one of Riei's trusted  aide which he kept a secret from his father and the rest of the clan.

The Kyūso Clan is composed of rat yōkai, many of which disguise themselves as humans to lure in unsuspecting prey. The clan has been expelled by Rikuo after burning their head to death. However, a new leader was elected.