Chapter 443: The Heretic God Cloaked in Human Skin
From tens of thousands of meters high in the sky, one could see dark purple beams of light shooting up from Japan.
When these beams reached a certain quantity, they would trigger chain-reaction collapses.
Just like a floorboard that becomes extremely fragile after too many holes are drilled into it.
When the final straw that breaks the camel's back falls, the entire structure suddenly shatters.
At that moment, half the territory would be devoured by the Netherworld.
Then, just as the largest Netherworld portal was about to open in Kyoto...
[Recorded as Yamato Takeru in the Kojiki, referred to as Yamato Takeru in the Fudoki, originally named Ousu...]
Such voices rang out—not just one or two, but countless—making a figure dressed like an ancient general change expression.
The second myth he had woven was being unveiled.
He could sense that a Hime-Miko was reading his information.
Normally, he could directly intimidate her with his divine might, startling her spirit into interruption. The problem was he sensed another power blocking him.
And that power belonged to the one who had ruined his plans, forcing him to act prematurely, forcing an early birth.
Bastard!!!
Immediately abandoning the opening of the portal here, he needed to stop the other party from obtaining the origins of his second myth.
Otherwise, even destroying half the country—killing the 150 humans he controlled would be meaningless, as he could still infect the other half of humanity.
But he couldn't afford to destroy the entire nation, as doing so would destabilize his second myth regardless.
Moreover, destroying the entire nation would be meaningless. Besides this country, there were others, and there were still other humans.
He could not exterminate all of humanity.
Thus, this was the opponent's open scheme—forcing him to reveal himself, leaving him no choice but to appear!
In the next instant, he flew directly from the Netherworld to Mount Nikko.
As soon as he appeared, he received several slightly astonished gazes from the vicinity.
Ignoring the others, his sharp gaze fixed on a mass of black mist.
With a swing of his sword through the air, a dark space tore open—a passage to the Netherworld, a realm that belonged to him.
The darkness split and writhed as if something was about to spill out. In the next moment, a horde of demons surged forth, charging toward the black mist.
"One force subdues ten strategies, one strength overwhelms ten skills! One leg bears the weight of a thousand jun, one step stabilizes the universe!"
A sudden Word Spirit resounded.
Then, accompanied by two sounds—[Hmph!] and [Ha!]—two colossal Vajra figures materialized and smashed into the horde of demons, causing Susanoo's expression to darken.
This was Luo Hao's intervention. Through her Authority, she had manifested the forms of the Heng and Ha Generals, swiftly annihilating the demons that sought to breach the black mist.
Sensing that his mythology was leaking more severely, Susanoo—[Takeru]—decided to charge in personally.
The moment he rushed inside, his expression shifted abruptly.
He was losing control over his own body. At the same time, the surrounding scene made his face grow increasingly grim.
He stood on a stage, the protagonist of this performance.
However, the script had not yet begun, and the stage's backdrop was still under construction. Thus, he was frozen like a painting, akin to the opening frame of a movie that had yet to start playing.
He could not afford to wait for the opponent to finish "downloading" this movie.
In the next instant, he forcibly broke free from the stage, but eerily, another figure remained behind—as if he had shed a shell.
Suddenly sensing danger, he swiftly dodged as a silver light tore through the air, missing his eyeball by mere millimeters. He clearly saw what it was—a spear.
His pupils contracted, and he dodged again, but—
Thud—!
His arm was slashed open to the bone by a sharp blade—the same silver spear that had abruptly reversed its trajectory.
Thus, Susanoo recognized the spear—it was the Lance of Longinus.
After wounding him, the spear flew back to its owner—a golden-haired girl.
"What a pity. I almost blew your head off, new Campione, Godou Kusanagi."
A seemingly regretful sigh escaped Erica's lips as she narrowed her eyes, studying the young man.
"Or should I call you Susanoo? Takeru?"
Just moments ago, he had still been clad in Takeru's form.
Could it be that he had also acquired Takeru's Authority?
It was possible, but the feeling he gave her was too bizarre.
Erica had encountered other Campione before, but the aura emanating from this one was exceptionally strange.
At a glance, he seemed like a Campione, but upon closer perception, he gave off the vibe of a Heretic God.
Especially that expression and those eyes—they were completely unlike the Godou Kusanagi she had investigated.
That sinister, venomous depth resembled Susanoo far more. She doubted Godou Kusanagi could feign such a demeanor.
The being before them seemed more like a Heretic God clad in human skin.
Perhaps it was true—Godou Kusanagi had never truly slain Susanoo but had instead been possessed by him.
"How intriguing. I sense a divine Authority within you as well, yet you are no Campione. So there exists a new method for humans to obtain Authorities, is that not so? No wonder Pandora has remained so silent regarding my actions."
Susanoo finally understood that he had been used by that woman.
Correction—they had always been using each other. But only now did he fully comprehend why she had so calmly observed his schemes unfold.
It was all to force the mastermind capable of usurping divine Authorities to reveal themselves, was it not?
So, who was this god capable of usurpation? The Apocalypse Knight before him?
Regardless, his immediate priority was to slay the opponent.
Thus, Susanoo transformed into a bolt of lightning and charged forward.
"Hmph, how could I let you—"
Erica, blocking his path, intercepted him with her beloved sword.
"What!"
She stared in shock as her sword shattered like porcelain under his strike.
The violent force that destroyed her weapon struck her like an ordinary person being hit by a high-speed train, nearly plunging her consciousness into darkness instantly.
When she regained her senses, she stared blankly. She saw Susanoo, now unleashing his full power with frenzied intensity, his sword already piercing through the two figures locked in a kiss.
The blade had entered through the back of the shrine maiden's skull and emerged from the back of his head.
By all appearances, it was an instantly fatal blow.
Then, the impaled bodies began to crumble into sand—the very phenomenon of a Heretic God's death.
No!!!
Erica's face paled, but what she witnessed next allowed her to exhale in slight relief.
Susanoo had been a step too late.