On the plane, Seiya was eating breakfast and looking at his phone. Ena Seishuin, dressed in a flight attendant's uniform, was half-squatting beside him, detailing the events of the past six months.
"At the beginning of the year, the most ancient Demon King, Marquis Voban, slew the battle goddess Kali, wife of Shiva in Hindu mythology, in Southeast Asia."
"In March, the Witch Society attacked the Royal Factory led by the Prince of Swiftness. Just as the witches broke through to the London headquarters, the Greenwich Council of Sages set up an ambush for the Witch Queen in their home country of the United Kingdom, causing Guinevere to retreat in failure."
"In April, the unaffiliated and traveling Queen of the Demonic Grottoes, Madame Aisha, appeared in the Arakhath region of Israel in the Middle East. She stopped a conflict from escalating further, but her Authority interfered with over a million people, turning them into fanatical followers, which in turn triggered an even more terrifying turmoil."
Seiya tore a piece of youtiao and soaked it in his spicy soup. As he listened, a question suddenly occurred to him. "It seems all the so-called major events are related to Godslayers."
"Of course. That's because Godslayers are themselves an aggregation of the concepts of 'hero' and 'natural disaster.' Half of the secret world is divided among the seven Demon Kings. Mages who don't wish to submit to them can only go to Southeast Asia, Africa, and North America." Ena Seishuin smiled.
"And the biggest news happened in North America. The guardian saint of Los Angeles, John Pluto Smith, killed the Progenitor God Andre Rohan, leader of the society of political magi, the night before last."
The resolution of this long-standing rivalry with the foe who had been entrenched in North America for hundreds of years was the biggest news of the last six months. From that point on, the world's magi were utterly routed.
The words "the night before last" and "Pluto" made Seiya's chest ache faintly, because "the night before last" was the very day he had returned to the Godslayer world. Although it was just a name, hearing the word "Pluto" still sent a shudder through Seiya.
But it couldn't be him. Their genders were different.
Since the Progenitor God Andre Rohan had been defeated by Pluto, then according to the timeline, the next thing to happen should be the emergence of the strongest God of Steel in his normal state.
"And recently, the Five Prisons Holy Cult in the Western Continent seems to be making a move. Luo Hao's whereabouts are unknown, and her acting representative, Lu Yinghua, appeared at Narita Airport yesterday."
"It seems that Martial King wishes to compete with me." Seiya popped the last piece of youtiao into his mouth.
"But that's normal. According to law, the ownership of this Great Sage Equaling Heaven should belong to the Western Continent."
His gaze shifted downward, and he saw a complex of ancient buildings bathed in golden sunlight appear in his field of vision. They were about to arrive at their destination.
Back at the prefectural airport, a long, black luxury sedan had been waiting for some time.
A young man of about twenty-five stepped out of the passenger seat. He had a very masculine air, wore a tasteful suit that suited him well, and projected the image of a dashing and gentle fine young man. At this moment, he couldn't help but look up, waiting anxiously with each passing second.
It was only when a plain, unadorned airplane landed at the airport that he revealed a standard smile and trotted over to greet it.
"I am the head of the Kufatsuka, one of the Nine Great Families that guard the Nikko Saitengu, my name is Takehiko. It is a great honor to be in the presence of the Nikko Daigongen."
The moment he saw Seiya, the young man in the suit immediately responded in a respectful tone. It was like a line from a stage play. Although he found it a bit troublesome, Seiya had no choice but to speak.
"I dislike overly complicated etiquette. Lead the way."
The Sayanomiya and Seishuin families that Seiya knew, along with the Kufatsuka and Renjo families, were known as the Four Great Families. They were four clans that had been famous in the Japanese magical world since ancient times. This man was the young master leading the Kufatsuka family, and it was said he would one day inherit its leadership.
But Seiya's main impression of him was that he had managed to survive an encounter with the Heretic Nezha. Although the incarnation of Nezha and other gods were already at the end of their strength when they escaped, to have survived an encounter with that god of slaughter, one had to say he had some skill.
Upon hearing Seiya's command, the young Kufatsuka master instead showed a smile of relief. He scurried over to the driver's seat to act as chauffeur, and the black sedan began to drive towards Nikko Toshogu Shrine.
Nikko Toshogu Shrine is the mausoleum built to enshrine the deified Tokugawa Ieyasu—Tosho Daigongen. It's a common destination for school trips, a splendid and luxurious shrine. The standard route is to view the five-storied pagoda, climb the stone steps, pass through the torii gate, enter the hall of worship through the famous Yomeimon Gate, then proceed to the main hall, and finally enter the inner shrine.
It is also a sacred site of the Tendai sect, which suppresses the Rebel Steel. And the purpose of Seiya's trip was to meet this Hero God, one of the most famous worldwide, the God of Steel.
Kufatsuka Takehiko parked the car in front of a grove of green maple trees, where a Hime-Miko in red socks and a white robe had been waiting for a long time.
Yuri Mariya. Seiya was of course no stranger to her; after a year of recuperation, she had returned to normal. And standing beside her was a young Miko who looked no older than an elementary school student.
Seiya seemed a bit surprised to see such a young Hime-Miko at the shrine, and Ena Seishuin immediately explained.
"The shrine that the Kufatsuka family has guarded since the Edo period is in Nikko, Tochigi. The position of Hime-Miko serving this shrine has been vacant for a long time, supposedly because it requires a special aptitude. In fact, there is a Miko who possesses this aptitude. It is Yuri Mariya's younger sister, Hikari Mariya."
Although the Mariya family was not one of the Four Great Families, they were famous for consistently producing Hime-Miko of extremely high caliber.
Hikari Mariya was the young elementary-school-aged girl standing next to Yuri Mariya.
Ena Seishuin and Yuri Mariya were close friends. While explaining to Seiya, she patted the little girl's head and, as if by magic, produced a daifuku mochi from her hand.
Seiya said nothing, because from within Hikari Mariya... hmm, from her soul, he could feel a radiating fear. But in reality, the Hikari Mariya before him was just a well-behaved little girl. After receiving the pastry from Ena Seishuin, she even trotted over to snuggle up beside Seiya.
Seiya smiled, and then followed Kufatsuka Takehiko's lead to the main worship path.
In front of the Toshogu gate, flanked by cedar trees, the first torii gate was visible ahead. Going through it led to the Toshogu Shrine, to the right was Rinnoji Temple, and deep to the left was Futarasan Shrine.
Kufatsuka Takehiko took his leave, seemingly wanting to create an opportunity for the Mariya sisters and Seiya.
And the Mariya sisters also seemed eager to get closer to this Nikko Daigongen of Japan, but their journey felt more like a relationship between tourists and a tour guide.
However, halfway there, Yuri Mariya headed towards a simple building.
Speaking of the Toshogu Shrine, it was a luxurious space that cost the equivalent of tens of billions of modern yen to build, giving an impression of glittering gold and being filled with carvings and exquisite ornaments. But there stood a very small, unadorned house, a stark contrast to the five-storied pagoda and main gate they had seen so far. Yet, with quite a few tourists around, it was a surprisingly popular spot.
"This is the Shinkyusha... the Sacred Stable, the building most connected to the God of Steel at Toshogu Shrine."
Yuri introduced it like a dedicated tour guide. Shinkyusha. Seiya noticed two horses inside the enclosure.
So, 'kyusha' must mean stable.
"Onii-chan, look, there are monkeys there!" Hikari pointed energetically towards the building's wall.
On the part that would be the eaves of a normal house, monkeys were carved from one end to the other. It was a family of monkeys: a monkey with its eyes closed, a monkey with its mouth closed, a monkey covering its ears, a sitting monkey, a monkey looking at the sky, a monkey lying down—in total, more than a dozen monkeys were carved there.
"Yes, that is 'see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil'." Yuri smiled as she stroked her younger sister's head.
The three monkeys, each covering its eyes, mouth, and ears, are a famous carving at the shrine, also featured in the game Sekiro. Since ancient times, there has been a legend in Japan that monkeys can cure horses of diseases, which is why this stable is entirely decorated with monkeys.
Monkeys and a stable, within the East Asian cultural sphere, can only point to one deity.
"So this truly is the seat of the God of Steel," Seiya remarked with a sigh.
Even on a global scale, he is one of the most famous Hero Gods, possessing the attribute of a God of Steel who challenges authority—the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong.
"Your Majesty has a discerning eye. Although this is the shrine of Tosho Daigongen, the one served here is the strongest Rebel Steel." Yuri Mariya was all smiles.
"And the secret ritual to transform the Rebel Steel into a Guardian Sword of the Nation is of a level comparable to the Festival of the Lord of Mount Tai."
Tosho Daigongen, a name that differs by only one character from the Nikko Daigongen that Seiya holds.
A Buddhist sutra states: The World-Honored One's diamond body, through skillful means, manifests avatars, its reflections appearing in the ten directions.
Shinto was not ostracized after Buddhism was introduced to Japan, but was passed down through a process of 'Shinbutsu-shugo' (syncretism of gods and buddhas).
The eight million kami of Japan came to be seen as Gongen (avatars) of buddhas and bodhisattvas. Gods and buddhas were one and the same; some kami were considered incarnations of buddhas, and such gods were called 'Gongen'.
The so-called 'Honji Suijaku' refers to foreign gods and buddhas manifesting in Japan as localized incarnations suited to the country. Because the gods and buddhas had their own histories in their homelands, creating local manifestations was purely to build a popular base and better sway believers, having no necessary connection to the original deities. Hakusan Gongen, for example, is Kukurihime-no-kami, the mountain god of Mount Hakusan in Kaga, a god of matchmaking who connects the living and the dead, a god of rain, and also the progenitor of Japanese Miko, considered an incarnation of the Bodhisattva Guanyin.
And Tosho Daigongen is the deified Tokugawa Ieyasu, while Nikko Daigongen is the deified Seiya.
"As for how the noble houses tricked that God of Steel into coming to this shrine in the distant past, the records are lost. This secret ritual to suppress the Great Sage Equaling Heaven is divided into three parts. The first is to suppress him by channeling the power of Tosho Daigongen, then his divinity is bound using the Ritual of the Tamed Macaque, and the third part is known only to the Kufatsuka family."
At this time, the mages within the Toshogu Shrine were all well aware of the purpose of Nikko Daigongen's visit. No one could defy him, or rather, there was no way to refuse. Seiya, led by Yuri, arrived before a barrier.
At a signal from Seiya's gaze, Ena Seishuin retrieved the goshintai, which was a sword, and respectfully presented it to Seiya.
As per Yuri's instructions, Seiya made a small cut on his palm, and his blood dripped into the manger of the stable before them.
A faint golden ripple spread out, and then there was no further reaction.
But a flicker of joy appeared in Yuri's eyes. Following Yuri's lead, Seiya finally reached the hidden, profound depths. Before him were various stone monkeys, but without exception, none of them moved.
"I apologize, it seems the God of Steel is still sleeping today. You won't be able to meet him for now." Yuri Mariya bowed apologetically towards Seiya, revealing her fair white skin.
"But the period when the Ritual of the Tamed Macaque is weakest is approaching. Please, Your Majesty, adjourn to rest. We have already prepared a hotel."
Ena Seishuin wanted to speak several times, but in the end, with Seiya's consent, they returned to the southwest of Mt. Nikko.
Mt. Nikko, home to Toshogu Shrine, Futarasan Shrine, and Rinnoji Temple. It was still too early for the autumn colors, but as a holiday tourist destination, it was bustling with a considerable number of worshippers, though not yet a sea of people...
There were still many tourists of all ages—men and women, young and old, solo travelers, families, couples, and tour groups... in short, all kinds of people.
But to Seiya, all of this was just part of the scenery.
The starry sky replaced the day, and late at night, as Seiya stood in the hotel's infinity pool, gazing at the brightly lit city of Nikko below, the door to the room behind him was gently pushed open.
"Your Majesty, you are also awake late at night."
One foot stepped into the water. Clad only in a bath towel, Yuri Mariya, along with Hikari Mariya, appeared before Seiya. Submerging their bodies in the water, they slowly approached him.
Yuri pressed her snow-white, fruit-like bosom against Seiya's arm, her breath like orchids.
"Seiya-niichan, I want to do some adult things with you..." Hikari Mariya's words were cut short as a flash of golden light sealed her mouth.
At that moment, Yuri Mariya instinctively wanted to retreat, but Seiya grabbed her by the wrist, letting her bath towel fall.
But this splendid view did not sway Seiya's will. He looked at the Hime-Miko before him with a half-smile. "Although I'd love to follow up with an invitation to walk in the courtyard, I'm more interested in asking, why do you beings like this body so much?"
The author encountered a real-life wild boar charge this afternoon.
A 200-jin (100kg/220lbs) slightly chubby fairy from my complex had her cat leash delivery misdirected by the smart locker system, which sent the pickup code to my phone. I got the package, she called me, then the author went to give it to the delivery guy, but this woman just started chewing me out.
I've never been one to take crap, so I pointed at her and inquired about her esteemed mother and Bruce's past.
When she couldn't win the argument, she tried to get physical. I didn't indulge her and just held her down with a continuous Meteor Fist combo. She got desperate and tried to hit me with her slipper, scratching my cheek. My blood immediately started boiling, so I grabbed her by the hair and slapped her face hard.
Then she ironically sobered up and entered her second phase: calling the Uncle Policeman. At first, she twisted the facts, but I have a camera. After hearing what happened, the cop hinted that I should have been the one to call the police, but the result was just a muddy compromise, a mutual settlement. They told me to apologize first. I figured I got my hits in and wasn't at a loss, so I'd apologize. But then the woman refused to apologize.
In the evening, I noticed my index finger and thumb were swollen. Thinking back, I probably went too easy on her. But her HP bar is really thick, I didn't hold back and she could still go berserk. I just wonder if I'll see myself on the local Xiaohongshu.
Lastly, I just want to say that the social climate isn't great right now. If any of you brothers encounter this kind of unreasonable woman, as long as you ensure she provokes and attacks first, you can totally enter the comfort zone of a mutual brawl. Just be careful with your technique and don't cripple her, because in the end, it'll just be a muddy compromise anyway. And you can avoid being accused of rape.
______
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