Chapter 49: Here I Come, There I Go Again

On this day, people witnessed the light.

When missiles and artillery shells failed to work one after another, a giant stood tall upon the earth.

This time, the Statue of Acala was different from the previous ones.

It possessed four faces and four arms, took the form of a youth, and wore a wrathful expression as it sat cross-legged upon a stone seat. Its two right hands held a vajra pestle and a noose, while its two left hands held a jeweled club and a golden wheel.

Standing thirty zhang tall, it radiated the sacred light of Buddha.

It was truly majestic and solemnly adorned.

If many people in distant monster-infested cities could not see it, anyone who wasn't blind could clearly perceive this nearby Statue of Acala, and the radiating Buddhist light brought a sense of peace.

The suddenly descended Acala prompted many people to bow in worship.

"It's the Buddha! Look, it's the Buddha!"

"The deities have manifested in the world. Amitabha, Amitabha."

"Ugh, what kind of eyesight do you have? That's obviously Acala, alright."

"Why care so much? Hehe, bless us Buddha, bless us Buddha, let this humble one lie in bed and make a fortune."

Once there were enough people, the mood gradually started to stray.

At this moment, Dilu paid no heed to the situation behind him, solely reciting scriptures to make his dharma form even more concentrated.

Then, the Mingwang dharma form extended its four arms, and the ritual instruments in its hands radiated boundless Buddhist light.

"Clang!!"

Accompanied by a metallic ringing sound, the Buddhist light suddenly soared, spreading in a fan shape toward the constantly approaching demonic miasma. The shining Buddhist light collided, merged, and intertwined with the ominous demonic aura, locking into an even match for a moment.

Dilu clenched his teeth. He must not retreat now; if he retreated, the civilians behind him would suffer.

With this thought, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he forcefully slapped his palms together and pulled them apart.

A Buddhist staff of over ten meters in length materialized, flying into the air. Amidst the awestruck and dumbfounded gazes of countless people, it carved a skyline across the heavens.

It actually managed to reclaim a large portion of the sky from the hands of the Hundred Demons, forming a distinct boundary line.

Seeing this, various factions brightened up and hurriedly commanded their troops to launch an attack.

In an instant, the momentarily quiet artillery fire erupted once more, and mushroom clouds bloomed.

The horde of monsters reorganized their defense, but this time they saw it clearly—several monsters were knocked down!

It was effective!

By now, after the initial excitement and pious kowtowing, some people in the city were gradually realizing that something was wrong.

Right at this moment, someone in the crowd raised a smartphone.

"Um, is this live broadcast room right here with us?"

That scenery, those characteristics, the familiar crowded people, the Metropolitan Police Department, the distant gunfire and the thirty-plus-meter-tall Statue of Acala.

Along with the massive monsters captured by the livestream's drones, visible to anyone with eyes.

The crowd erupted into chaos.

Not everyone was a bloodthirsty spectator, cheering wildly in the face of such a terrifying scene.

Bloodthirsty viewers wanted explosive spectacles, but corporate slaves only wanted Yukichi Fukuzawa!

"Do not crowd! Everyone evacuate in an orderly fashion!" Sakura Nanami shouted through a megaphone, attempting to maintain order.

However, panic had already spread; even viewers who didn't know what was happening in the distance would be infected upon seeing the panicked expressions of those around them.

"Bastard! You salary thieves knew monsters were going to attack and didn't tell us!" A juvenile delinquent with red punk hair wore an angry expression, rushing forward to throw a punch at the newly recruited rookie in the Metropolitan Police Department.

"Bang!"

The moment the gunshot rang out, the world went quiet.

Sato Tsubasa held her handgun, not even glancing at the fallen, bleeding delinquent, and scolded with a cold face, "Now move out in my order! Otherwise, don't bother leaving either! You'll all stay behind as cannon fodder!"

"File complaints all you want; I report directly to the Superintendent General, and I'm also the one who took your emergency calls."

The crowd quieted down. Although there was still some disorder, it was much better than at the very beginning.

"Senior..." Sakura Nanami's legs were trembling.

Sato Tsubasa lit a cigarette, gazed at the giant Mingwang statue, and her eyes turned solemn.

"I wonder if this master can hold his ground."

...

Could he hold his ground?

He couldn't.

Dilu was well aware of the gap between himself and Tsuchigumo; that was a great yokai.

Beneath the enormous cloud of demonic miasma, Tsuchigumo paraded like a feudal lord. Those powerful weapons were basically blocked by the monsters, and the ones that weren't blocked merely fell and injured a few monsters.

It wasn't that they were exceptionally durable; they were simply sheltered by the great Lord Tsuchigumo. These human weapons could wound them, but could not truly kill them.

After all, this was an army he led—what kind of Night Parade of One Hundred Demons would it be without any monsters!

Dilu realized this as well.

"The only countermeasure now is to consume the demonic power of Tsuchigumo within the lesser monsters, and only then can we truly achieve a kill," Dilu muttered to himself.

"Master, let's cooperate."

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in his ear. Dilu looked back and saw Yamada Ryo's eyes brimming with anger.

"I will charge, and you will disperse that demonic miasma."

"You cannot withstand it."

"I can withstand it!"

Though startled that Yamada Ryo had appeared here, upon seeing his firm expression, Dilu's expression turned stern.

"If the endeavor becomes impossible, retreat immediately."

The two immediately prepared to act... or so it should have been.

"This lord has grown weary."

Suddenly, Tsuchigumo's voice was carried across all directions by billowing demonic power.

Both of their expressions shifted.

They watched as Tsuchigumo, protected in the center by the horde of monsters, raised its legs and plunged them into the ground!

The next second, the earth began to tremble, as if something was reshaping the continent.

Boom!

Boom!

Dozens-meter-tall earthen spikes suddenly rose from underground like scales, advancing layer by layer, crossing the Edogawa River and heading straight for the Edogawa Ward!

Dilu's expression changed drastically as Buddhist power surged. The four arms of the Statue of Acala extended forward, and in an instant, gravel flew everywhere. Massive boulders crashed down, crushing many people and sending flesh and blood flying.

The Statue of Acala withstood this blow, but before Dilu and Yamada Ryo could catch their breath,

a huge dark shadow plummeted from the sky.

Crack!

The Mingwang statue made cracking sounds like fragile porcelain, and then...

Boom!

Two figures were sent flying backward, one of them coughing up blood.

A giant spider-faced demon replaced their original position, radiating fierce might. The moment it landed in the city, the cloud of demonic miasma in the sky followed closely behind, dark clouds capping the peak, the low pressure making it hard for people to breathe.

"Minamoto no Raiko! I know you're awake, get your ass out here right now! Trying to fob me off with these weaklings? I'm going to eat every last person in this city!"

---

"How did he suddenly teleport into the city?!"

"Accelerate! He completed acceleration in an instant and used that attack to mask his movements; he was just playing with us the whole time!"

"Damn it, is this the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons? Even great yokai have become this powerful, or was he always this strong?"

In the operational command room at this moment, everyone's complexions had turned extremely ugly.

The power displayed by Tsuchigumo completely exceeded the limits of what they could handle.

With such terrifying power, did they really have to agree to America dropping a small nuclear bomb?

Unlike the panicked higher-ups, Director Hakuba seemed entirely out of place, muttering to himself.

"He mentioned Minamoto no Raiko just now..."