Chapter 54: I, Haku Hozuki, Am No Good Man-Em Tóquio, Provocando a Procissão dos Cem Demônios(Pássaro Escarlate nas Nuvens)

Yamata no Orochi.

The most notorious and widely known arch-fiend of the island nation.

Its power was so formidable that even Susanoo, universally famed as a reckless brawler, had to resort to plotting and strategy. Making that happen was harder than getting the populace of Neon to accept living in a three-dimensional reality.

"Though its physical form perished, its soul still lingers in Yomi. Such a magnificent soul must be causing quite a distress among the wandering spirits of the netherworld," the umbrella-holders sighed with emotion.

"Boom!"

The fissure of Yomi expanded gradually under the relentless battering of Yamata no Orochi from the far side. A terrifying aura surged outward along the cracks, sweeping across the city. Before this overwhelming presence, every sentient life form felt utterly insignificant.

"Boom!"

Another collision occurred. The force unleashed by this impact caused the glazed bottle emitting Buddhist light to begin shaking, its radiance flickering erratically.

"Boom!"

"Puff!" Taking the brunt of the third impact, the insufficiently cultivated Jiru was the first to spit a mouthful of blood, his face turning deathly pale.

"We cannot hold it back," Minamoto no Raiko furrowed his brows deeply.

Even a Yamata no Orochi reduced to a wandering soul in Yomi was far beyond anything they could suppress.

Judging by its divine rank, this was a true primordial deity!

The only reason it was labeled a mere demon by later generations was that Susanoo had schemed to slay it—after all, history is written by the victors.

"What do we do now? If Yamata no Orochi actually breaks through..." Miku felt an intense surge of panic.

Earth Spider alone was already that powerful, let alone Yamata no Orochi, a beast that even the God of Destruction had to use his wits to kill.

Just looking at that gigantic eye revealed its terrifying nature; if it were to roll around Tokyo, it would undoubtedly cause incomparable devastation!

Right in the midst of this anxiety—

"Whoosh!"

Countless streaks of fire suddenly erupted from all directions. They were missiles!

Costing hundreds of thousands each, these missiles were flung out without a care for expense at this very moment—a textbook definition of an attack that would send any logistics department's blood pressure soaring!

Previously, because both combatants were flashing and shifting across the city, it was impossible to lock onto a target. But now that the enemy was right there in the air, it was finally the turn of human weaponry to strike back!

Faced with these assaults, upon which the island nation and America had pinned their hopes, a skeletal, pale hand reached out from beneath the umbrella.

Those missiles, laden with such high expectations, froze completely in mid-air—a scene that would cause any scientist's blood pressure to skyrocket.

The thumb and index finger gently tapped together.

Bang!

Like fireworks, brilliant blossoms of light flashed across the dim, overcast sky.

It was a sight that filled onlookers with rage and despair.

The chuckling laughter of the umbrella-holder drifted down.

"To have achieved this much with mortal bodies, you can already take pride in yourselves. To prevent the return of Yamata no Orochi, even in Takamagahara, only a handful of deities could possibly pull it off."

Jiru and Minamoto no Raiko remained silent, focusing solely on channeling their dharma treasures in a desperate attempt to stop the Yomi fissure from expanding further.

The umbrella-holder was right. To deal with an arch-fiend like Yamata no Orochi, only those high and mighty deities possessed the capability.

As for the gods of the island nation's mythology, almost without exception, whatever power level they possessed at birth remained fixed thereafter; they were remarkably lazy and apathetic.

Expecting them to stand their ground against a terrifying arch-fiend like Yamata no Orochi for even a single exchange was already giving credit to ordinary diligent cultivation.

The real question, however, was: would the deities of Takamagahara actually intervene?

Neither of them could be certain.

Viewed purely from the perspective of faith, the nation's gods had no need for it whatsoever. Their strength depended entirely on themselves, and most of them possessed indolent personalities—their human traits far outweighed their divine ones.

Moreover, the world beneath their feet simply could not withstand a fierce battle between two powerful deities; it would break apart.

Back at the Metropolitan Police Department, everyone was grinding their teeth so hard they felt like breaking.

After several rapid fluctuations of emotion within his mind, Superintendent Hakuba forced a few words through his clenched teeth.

"Order America to prepare a tactical miniature nuclear weapon."

"Superintendent!"

"This is our final chance," Superintendent Hakuba cut them off, his expression solemn beyond compare.

"That umbrella-holder stopped our missile barrage with a mere wave of his hand. Aside from deploying a nuclear weapon, what other method do we currently have to stop him from releasing that horrifying demon we can see with a single glance?"

"The nuclear strike targets the umbrella-holder who opened the seal. What we need to do is notify Master Jiru and Lord Minamoto to evacuate quickly."

After all, this was the island nation.

The weapons they were allowed to carry and develop were monitored down to the finest detail. America above them would never allow them to possess a true decisive weapon. Under the circumstances, their only remaining option was to try a nuke.

At the very least, the nuclear blast would detonate within Taitō Ward, sparing the core areas of Tokyo. If they delayed any longer and that demon was fully unleashed, what awaited them would be a fiend far more terrifying than the Earth Spider.

Didn't they see how even Master Jiru and Lord Minamoto jointly channeling their dharma treasures to suppress the fissure had left their faces drained of color from the tremors?

Yokosuka Port.

"It should have been done this way from the start," Major General Tara smiled broadly.

Under his command, fighter jets armed with tactical miniature nuclear warheads stood ready for launch.

"B61-12 tactical miniature nuclear warhead."

"A yield of 1.5 kilotons, capable of eliminating unhoused personnel within 1.2 kilometers exposed outside rock formations, and destroying wooden structures within 600 meters of the explosion center..."

This was the most expensive nuclear weapon developed by America in the past decade or so: twenty-five million dollars per unit, one hundred million dollars for a set of four!

Designed to fit internally within the weapon bays of the F-35 fighter, it transformed the aircraft into a dual-capable platform for both conventional and nuclear strikes.

Although a margin of error within thirty meters existed, given the sheer destructive power of the blast, such a margin was like using a heavy cannon to swat a mosquito.

"Good luck, pal. I'm counting on you."

Watching the fighter jet take off on his screen, Major General Tara pinned high hopes on it.

The explosive force of the nuclear weapon was secondary; the truly fatal element was its radiation. Regardless of what kind of monster that flying entity in the sky happened to be, as long as it was a carbon-based life form, he refused to believe it could shrug off nuclear fallout!

The fighter jet sped toward Taitō Ward, and the four tactical miniature nuclear warheads, carrying the hopes of countless people, pierced through the air like sharp arrows under the gaze of the world, hurtling toward the enemy.

The umbrella-holder looked up, watching the incoming nukes with a hint of surprise.

Then, right before everyone's eyes... he stepped aside.

Seeing this unfold, everyone watching felt a surge of adrenaline—it was working!

Only the two individuals on the ground sensed that something was amiss.

The next second.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!

The undulating 'mountain range' formed by the Earth Spider's rampage began to shake violently.

A massive fissure burst open out of nowhere, spreading across the terrain in all directions, sending sand, stones, and debris flying in its wake.

Minamoto no Raiko leaped back to distance himself, while Jiru formed a hand seal to recall his dharma treasure, soaring into the air to evacuate.

This movement gave them ample vantage point to observe the situation.

The ground beneath them was violently undulating, roiling and churning endlessly. Looking closely, those were no mere waves—they were colossal roots!

Buildings spanning a radius of thousands of meters were completely swallowed by the earth as the roots thrashed about, leaving only a single shrine completely unscathed.

A giant wooden pillar burst forth from the earth, 'gently flicking' away the incoming tactical miniature nuclear warheads.

Boom!

The four nuclear warheads detonated instantly, vanishing into nothingness. By contrast, the giant wooden pillar, having retreated back beneath the earth, emerged completely unscathed!

Suddenly.

The dim heaven and earth welcomed a vibrant shade of green symbolizing life.

A small sapling broke through the soil, growing rapidly against the wind. In the blink of an eye, it towered into a colossal tree hundreds of meters tall. Most eye-catching of all was that this giant tree bore only a single golden-shimmering leaf at its very crown.

The leaf detached, and the giant tree withered at a visible rate, vanishing in a split second.

Meanwhile, that single leaf drifted slowly toward the center of the fissure, suddenly radiating the brilliance of life. It rapidly expanded, filling the void of the crack in an instant.

When the leaf fit the fissure with absolute perfection—

The skies cleared, and sunlight illuminated the earth.

After responding to the sunlight with a few pulses of golden light, the leaf gradually faded from view under everyone's watchful eyes, leaving no trace behind.

It left behind a flattened expanse of land spanning a thousand meters, alongside the most conspicuous, completely undamaged shrine. A pink-haired shrine maiden stood obediently at the entrance, seemingly waiting for guests to arrive.

"...The shrine! The helicopters! Where are the helicopters!?"

Meanwhile.

Mizuki Hakuto slowly stood up.

"It's time to go discuss 'gods' with the 'Inari God'."

Who said divine might always had to be displayed through combat? He, Mizuki Hakuto, was a friend to the gods.

Through this battle, the transcendent entered the eyes of the mortal world.

Everyone now knew that such a path leading straight to the heavens was open to be walked.

As for those who went to meet their grandfathers and grandmothers in this incident...

Mizuki Hakuto felt nothing at all.

He was a selfish person, and he had never labeled himself a good guy.

His purpose in coming to this world was singular.

To reach the true apex.

This world was very similar to his past life, but ultimately, it was not the same world.

Since they weren't people of the same world, where was he supposed to find so much sympathy?

This world was a place that devoured people.

An overflow of sympathy?

Perhaps he should go talk to capitalists and industrial entrepreneurs about improving employee benefits first.