Chapter 422: Nightfall Will Cover Half the Nation
What in the world was happening?
How had countless people ended up in such a terrible state?
Were they under a curse right now?
No, that wasn't it—this was a plague!
Because since ancient times, when the God of the Underworld descended, he would bring disease and spread death.
And what she saw now was too much, so much that it made Yuri tremble all over, her soul quaking.
After a brief daze, her pupils trembled even more violently.
Because she realized the ground was gone; the earth was submerged in corpses, and she stood atop a mountain of piled bodies.
How many people would it take to form such a massive mountain of corpses?
This was definitely not tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands—it had to be at least on the scale of millions.
"Sis, sis, sis!!!"
"Yuri, wake up!!!"
"Stop peering!!!"
In her daze, as if hearing someone chanting some words of power, Yuri returned from the world of the dead.
However—
"Yuri!!!"
Ena called out to her friend again, but there was no response.
What was going on? Her spirit seemed on the verge of breaking—had the god she peered at done something to her?
"Damn it, when she noticed Yuri's emotional instability, she should have immediately drawn her sword to sever Yuri's spiritual vision."
"Yuri"
Kaoru called out again, noticing her unfocused, vacant eyes gradually regaining awareness, which stirred some excitement within her.
"Yuri!"
"Sister!"
"Kaoru? Hikari?"
"Yes, it's us"
"Are you alright?"
"Me?"
Yuri's gaze was somewhat dazed at first, then gradually filled with terror.
"Quickly... we must stop this Heretic God—they're spreading a plague"
Her voice emerged hoarse and trembling violently from her lips, causing everyone who heard it to pale dramatically.
"So... so many people have died, the entire land is piled with corpses until nothing is visible anymore"
These words made Ena and Kaoru's faces turn ashen, fear coiling around their hearts like invisible tentacles.
They had no doubt Yuri was speaking the truth—this meant if they failed to stop the current Heretic God, the horrifying scenario she described would truly come to pass.
"Hmm? I understand"
The voice came from the driver's seat—Kaoru's subordinate named Touma Amakasu.
"What news? Mr. Amakasu"
"Not good. The dark curtain continues to spread. Though the pace has slowed somewhat, projections indicate it could cover half the country"
An terrifying silence instantly fell over the vehicle.
Did this mean at least half the nation would be covered by the plague?
Tens of millions infected? How many would die?
After a moment of silence—
"Ena! What exactly are you all doing?!!"
Kaoru's voice erupted from her lips with uncontrollable fury, her fists clenched so tightly it seemed she might throw a punch at any moment.
So why was she suddenly venting her anger at Ena?
"What's this about?"
For a moment, Ena was bewildered, confused as to why she was being subjected to this sudden outburst of rage.
"Do you think this is a coincidence? Your grandfather launches some plan, and immediately this situation occurs—do you really believe it's coincidental?"
This was the source of Kaoru's intense anger.
For a Heretic God to descend so abruptly and instantly cause such changes—something must have seriously provoked it.
"I... I don't know"
This time, Ena's response carried a hint of vulnerability, tinged with confusion.
Though she didn't understand the specifics of her grandfather's plans, the current changes did seem likely to be connected to them.
Could it be that Grandfather believed the newly born Campione should confront this God of the Underworld as their target?
The more powerful the Heretic God slain, the stronger the resulting Campione would be—thus granting greater power to protect this nation, right?
But during the slaying process, how many casualties would that Heretic God inflict upon this country?
Tens of thousands?
How could it possibly be that few?
After all, this night was spreading to cover nearly half the nation—likely causing casualties in the millions at minimum.
And was such a death toll worth it?
Using countless innocent lives to facilitate the birth of a Campione?
Was this truly right?
"You don't know?"
Kaoru's furious gaze gradually cooled as she looked over. Getting angry alone wouldn't help the situation now.
Pulling out her phone, she immediately contacted key national departments, instructing them to prepare for an imminent major natural disaster.
Fortunately, her phone remained unaffected and functional—otherwise, the situation would have become far more troublesome.
Moreover, what was this Heretic God's purpose in acting this way?
Logically, it shouldn't need to wait for plagues to erupt to create terrifying calamities.
For instance, vehicles losing power should have caused massive traffic accidents, yet strangely they all came to stable halts.
This clearly indicated the Heretic God was controlling the situation.
So, was this just the beginning of a warning?
If its anger couldn't be appeased, would it next transform this nation into the Netherworld?
Damn it!
What exactly was Ena's grandfather scheming?
That a Heretic God would act for humanity's benefit? She could never believe that—because it was a Heretic God, after all!
The Netherworld.
"...Lord Susanoo, was this within your plans?"
Princess Ruri asked coldly, addressing the kimono-clad man before her.
"More or less"
Though he said this, it had indeed unfolded differently than Susanoo anticipated.
"That's Athena, correct? Previously in London, now in Tokyo"
The monk spoke with a grave tone.
To leap so suddenly from the Western world to the East—what could her purpose be?
"Was our previous plan's failure also due to Athena's interference?"
Pandora had shared intelligence with them about entities attempting to interfere with the Campione ritual.
The previous God King and God of War had triggered the ritual, but no corresponding challenger appeared, preventing the ritual from proceeding.
Furthermore, no Authorities could be sensed from the God of War and the God King.
So, this time's plan is also to lure out the one who ruined their previous preparations.
"Alright, no need to be so tense. At worst, I'll make a trip to the mortal world," said Susanoo, draining the wine in his hand.
After all, going too far would leave a terrible mess.
"Hmm?"
"This is a test"
The night that had enveloped the mortal world was fading away. What did the Heretic God mean by this?
It was as if his earlier actions were purely meant to startle and intimidate.