Chapter 772: War Begins, The Power of the Demon Lord of Evil, Kaito Shirogane
On the empty streets of Underwood, the massive willow tree overhead still emitted a faint glow. But this enormous city was now desolate and desolate.
Only the occasional sound of explosions indicated that two individuals, staying out of the main conflict, were currently searching this massive metropolis for leftover Gifts and power.
The silver-haired young girl had appeared above the commercial street at some unknown time. Covering her mouth with a folding fan, she cast a condescending gaze in the direction of Hakumen and Madara Uchiha.
"Is this the result you wanted, Queen?"
[Shiroyasha], who once became the most terrifying Demon Lord under the name [Geocentric Theory], had actively accepted the Buddhist [Yaksha] Spirit Status due to a series of changes, continuously shrinking her Spirit Status and downgrading herself to a 4-Digit.
But regardless of her current digit, an entity like Shiroyasha, who had once reigned supreme over Little Garden, always possessed the right to converse with anyone.
"It's a bit too early to speak of results, Shiroyasha..."
The figure of the Halloween Queen quietly appeared. She looked at the center of the city, at that massive piece of parchment over a hundred meters in size, whose edges were now slowly beginning to burn.
The Gift she had bestowed upon this object was also reaching its limit. Even a medium crafted from the most precious materials struggled to bear the manifestation of so many high-tier entities within it.
Not to mention that now, even [Absolute Evil: Azi Dahaka], one of the [Final Trials of Humanity], had partially revived inside it.
That world was on the verge of collapse, and the fate of the hundreds of thousands of people dragged into it remained unknown.
Shiroyasha closed her fan, her eyes sharp. Although both were considered problem children, the Halloween Queen had never done anything this terrifying.
She didn't believe the Halloween Queen would truly sacrifice hundreds of thousands of lives just to guide the emergence of a new Demon Lord...
Or even a new [Final Trial of Humanity].
She preferred to believe that the Halloween Queen was anticipating something much more positive to be born from this calamity.
Shiroyasha thought of Izayoi Sakamaki. That boy harbored a power within him that even she couldn't see through clearly.
Like a hero naturally born from human history, specifically to resolve those entities appearing as Final Trials of Humanity.
[Final Trials of Humanity] must be overcome by humanity. It is a trial that neither Gods and Buddhas, nor Astral Spirits, nor Dragon Species can intervene in.
The two of them stared at the parchment, trying to see clearly what exactly would be born from it.
Would it be a hero who saves everything, or... a Demon Lord who destroys everything?
"Shh~"
Hakumen's movements suddenly froze. Her face turned as pale as paper. Looking at the two petite figures on the street hundreds of meters away, she felt her scalp almost prickling from the intense sense of danger.
Madara Uchiha frowned. With one Rinnegan and one Mangekyo Sharingan, he was confident he had already obtained power surpassing what he had in life. Furthermore, his current body was, in a sense, immortal.
This made Madara Uchiha's gaze towards others revert back to that aloof indifference.
His perceptiveness was far superior to Hakumen's. He had sensed the two girls the moment they appeared, but he didn't feel a significant threat from them.
Not to mention comparing them to that host of his, they were even far inferior to that arrogant white-haired guy.
The only thing arguably strange was that in Underwood's currently highly eerie environment, these two young girls were chatting as if no one else was around, seemingly completely disregarding all other dangers.
"What, are these two very strong?"
Madara Uchiha's voice was cold and hard, but this not-so-loud voice almost scared Hakumen out of her wits. She knew clearly that to entities of that level, there was no difference whether she hid or not, made a sound or not.
But the instinct of a "human" made her want to stay quiet.
"You old Uchiha fossil, be quiet!"
In her exasperation, Hakumen threw the respect she had just faked for Madara Uchiha entirely out the window.
"It's not a question of whether they're strong or not anymore. Those two could destroy our world with a wave of their hands..."
Madara Uchiha's eyes instantly focused...
ZZT!
Explosive lightning detonated. Reinhardt summoned the Crystal Wall again to block. Amidst his pale expression, the lightning dispersed against the Crystal Wall, spreading into the surrounding space.
A figure resembling a colossal mammoth stood before him, fully commanding the Authority of lightning.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed that on the other side, Brynhild's group was in a similar predicament, barely managing to block the Kings summoned by the Beast of Depravity.
The Authority of the Beast of Depravity strongly countered Sousuke. It inherently possessed the Authority of the [Anti-Savior], which was an extremely bad matchup for Sousuke, a Child of the Stars and a savior.
At the same time, the Domain of Depravity clashed with Sousuke's inclusive and open Spiritual Light.
Added to the fact that the Beast of Depravity could summon ten other King-level figures to do its bidding, the Azure Sky members only realized how difficult their previous plan was after intervening in the battle.
Fortunately, they had already arranged for the Professor to rally the Communities that had also been sucked into this world. This world shouldn't collapse instantaneously.
The 5-Digit powerhouses of those Communities weren't weak compared to the Heroic Spirits in the original plot.
[Full Counter]!
Brynhild instantly reflected a King's attack towards Ivan the Terrible, who was in front of Reinhardt. Reinhardt instantly retreated.
Subsequently, the phantom of the Virgo Gold Saint appeared behind him. A massive Buddha manifested, and the entire world seemed to fall into the Buddha's palm.
Various illusions appeared sequentially.
[Tenbu Horin]!
Reinhardt unleashed one of the strongest abilities he could mimic. Heaven and earth inverted, the Kings fell into the Buddha's palm, space began to lose its coordinates, and Authorities began to be weakened and even stripped away.
Sousuke seized this opportunity to break free from the Kings' entanglement. With a single step, he arrived in front of Beast-class Nero, who was riding the bizarre giant beast in the sky.
He threw a punch, and the weather instantly changed. The dark blue night sky warped instantly, as if the night sky itself was pressing down along with his punch. The ocean below also howled, the sea level surging upwards violently.
This was an attack from the world; the world also detested this Beast of Depravity.
The constantly giggling Beast of Depravity was violently struck by the punch. Amidst the wails of the strange beast, she plummeted towards the ocean below.
"Now! Quickly switch opponents with Izayoi Sakamaki!"
Reinhardt struggled to maintain Tenbu Horin. This ability placed too high a burden on him. But faced with this golden opportunity, he shouted loudly.
Unexpectedly, Sousuke shook his head. His hands seemed to grasp something invisible, squeezing fiercely.
"Ah!"
A voice that sounded like both pain and pleasure echoed from the ocean.
Screech~ BANG!
Reinhardt lost his hearing due to the sudden, explosive sound. His body, enhanced by divine power, actually went deaf just from the sheer impact. He turned his head.
He saw that the ocean to the west now resembled a doomsday scenario. Spatial rifts extended from the ocean into the sky.
Izayoi Sakamaki, fighting at full power, began to unleash attacks carrying the force to split mountains and cleave oceans. But no matter how strong his power became, the white Beast of Comparison he faced always remained slightly stronger than him.
One human and one beast were engaged in the most primal form of combat, every strike a head-on clash.
Izayoi Sakamaki had already realized that this opponent possessed some kind of Gift that made evasion and defense impossible for him. Therefore, his only option was to attack head-on.
But the opponent was always just a tiny bit stronger than him every time, making this battle exceptionally arduous.
BOOM!
Another clash. The ocean caved in once more, the seabed had already dropped hundreds of meters, and the tectonic plates were fractured, seawater continuously leaking downwards every second.
Reinhardt saw clearly that despite being at such a disadvantage, Izayoi Sakamaki's eyes were still full of excitement, and his power was even continuously rising.
The immense power of the Beast of Comparison was stimulating Izayoi Sakamaki to continuously elevate himself.
The strength of the human and the beast was rising alternately.
"This won't work... Izayoi Sakamaki in this state can't be reasoned with at all..."
BOOM!
At this moment, a terrifying explosion occurred hundreds of kilometers away. Golden light swept across the mountains like a giant spear piercing heaven and earth.
Hundreds of thousands of magical beasts were wiped out in an instant. Among them were magical beasts with 5-Digit strength, but all were cleared out in a single strike without any resistance.
The power of this strike also reached the level previously displayed by Mercenary Tao, Sousuke, and Izayoi Sakamaki.
The terrifying shockwave swept over, making Reinhardt realize that the Professor had likely found the other members of No Name.
After unsealing the weapon of Indra, Black Rabbit also possessed 4-Digit combat power, making her another powerhouse in this world capable of affecting the balance.
He felt slightly relieved. At a time like this, as long as they could maintain the balance...
[You have suffered the effects of the Authority of Special Unit: Archetype of Terminus and Genesis (Absolute Evil). Based on your identity as a viviparous species, you cannot be immune to this effect.]
[You will suffer a special attack modifier from Special Unit: Archetype of Terminus and Genesis (Absolute Evil).]
The space's interface prompt caused Reinhardt's expression to change. If he hadn't misunderstood, [Archetype of Terminus and Genesis] should be Mercenary Tao's Sovereign Monarch title.
The "Absolute Evil" tag indicated that the other party had truly merged with Azi Dahaka at this very moment.
Splash~
The white Sea of Life expanded at an even more exaggerated scale and a swifter speed, entering this battlefield in an instant.
Beneath the battlefield where the Beast of Depravity and Sousuke were, the white Sea of Life spread out. Wyverns were born from it one after another and began to indiscriminately attack everything.
The so-called Absolute [Evil] was to execute the truth of [Evil], carrying out absolute destruction.
This destruction contained no personal feelings, no likes or dislikes.
"What is that?!"
Gilgamesh watched the white wyverns emerge from the ocean and begin indiscriminately destroying everything with their breath attacks. The several people fighting alongside him shouted to Sandora, a Community leader who also commanded wyverns.
But Sandora merely took one look at those wyverns born from the ocean and shook her head, her face pale.
"The Demon Lord... has awakened... Those are the familiars of the world-destroying Demon Lord, Azi Dahaka..."
Defending against the endless magical beasts was already putting them under immense pressure. The addition of these white wyverns made Gilgamesh's expression grow colder and colder.
—
The arrogant King of Heroes wished to save his world, therefore, he drew his sword...
He pulled out a bizarre hilt that looked less like a sword and more like some sort of tool.
The sword with no blade, yet capable of tearing the entire world apart by rotating—[Ea: Sword of Rupture]—was finally drawn.
Crimson magical energy swirled. At this moment, Gilgamesh began to exude an intense presence.
But before he could swing that sword, he saw the white wyverns and black magical beasts crash into each other thunderously.
The two sides engaged in brutal slaughter. The black magical beasts were numerous, but the white wyverns were stronger. The white and black tides rapidly dissolved upon collision.
"Thy body bears the zenith of 'Evil.' But this is not the end. These three 'Beasts' are the original sin of humanity, symbols of 'Stagnation.' And we, 'Absolute Evil,' are the trial that exists to be 'Overcome'! Go, use our 'Evil' to devour those 'Stagnant' beasts!"
Azi Dahaka's voice echoed in Kaito Shirogane's ears. The two sat facing each other in the Sea of Consciousness, their minds linked together.
Kaito Shirogane listened to Azi Dahaka's words and shook his head.
"Good this, evil that, I have no interest in any of that... I'm just getting a bit impatient to hunt these rare beasts~"
On this battlefield, almost all the various powerhouses that Kaito Shirogane rarely encountered were gathered.
Izayoi Sakamaki, whose absolute power had already broken through the current ceiling for Reincarnators. The King of Miracles, Sousuke, whose Authority was so miraculous it operated on a completely different level than other Sovereign Monarchs. And those three Beasts born from twisted Human Order in the Fate universe.
Every single one of them could serve as the final boss of some secondary world. Every single one of them was an opponent the ordinary Kaito Shirogane would struggle to match.
But at this moment, Kaito Shirogane's condition was surprisingly good. No, describing it as "in good condition" could no longer capture his strength.
[Warning: Archetype of Terminus and Genesis (Absolute Evil) EX051, detected that you are currently in a special state. You will be unable to return to the Space.]
[Warning: In this state, you may face risks such as loss of existentiality, dissolution, etc.]
[Warning—]
The Space's warnings refreshed like a waterfall, but Kaito Shirogane only paid attention to the Demon Lord's Authorities he had briefly gained access to because a small portion of Azi Dahaka had awakened within his body.
[Body of Stars (Tier 13): Body composed of star-level matter, indestructible, defense solidified.]
[Infinite Regeneration (Tier 13): Incapable of being destroyed, power of infinite regeneration.]
[Infinite Energy (Tier 13): Spirit Status linked to human history; as long as human history continues, energy is infinite.]
[Another Cosmology: Avesta (?) (Unavailable, insufficient Demon Lord Authority)]
Hearing the demonic dragon's roar, Kaito Shirogane didn't even turn his head. He merely threw a hook punch at empty space.
Crack~ BOOM!
After the blazing white shockwave exploded in mid-air, the vacuum wave directly shattered, causing spiderweb-like cracks to appear in the space. The next moment, it shattered completely, and intense suction erupted from within, directly swallowing the demonic dragon's breath.
Kaito Shirogane's three heads simultaneously looked in three directions: the battlefield of the Beast of Comparison and Izayoi Sakamaki, the battlefield of the Beast of Depravity and Sousuke, and... the demonic dragon Tiamat, who was continuously emitting resentful roars at him.
"Let's start with you~"
Sousuke suddenly felt bone-chillingly cold, an unsolvable malice enveloping him in an instant. He turned his head, only to feel malice rushing at his face. The entirely pale, three-headed evil dragon had already appeared a foot in front of him.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Only now did the sound of the air exploding travel from dozens of kilometers away.
Sousuke raised his hand, but a hand was already pressing on his forehead.
"First one."
Bang!
Sousuke transformed into a streak of light and was blasted straight through the Earth's crust.