Chapter 205: The Sacrifice of the Nine-Tailed Fox — Prelude to the True Crimson Dragon Emperor
The pride they once held in this beautiful land now felt like a cruel irony.
Disaster had struck without warning, and for the youkai who called this place home, the consequences could be catastrophic. This region was a renowned tourist haven, and the influx of visitors was the lifeblood of their economy. Any disruption here would ripple through their entire society.
"It's no accident," said Hakutsuki, his voice low and grim.
This was deliberate.
From the valley beneath the cable cars, thick fog surged upward, carrying with it eerie howls and the flickering silhouettes of monstrous forms. It was a calculated provocation. The chaos would force the youkai to respond swiftly, drawing their forces away from key locations.
Someone was making their move—and they were starting by fracturing Lady Yasaka's defenses.
Yasaka's expression darkened as she surveyed the scene. Just as Hakutsuki had warned, the Disaster Faction had arrived.
But something was wrong. The space around her felt… off. It resembled Kyoto, yet it wasn't. The air, the spiritual flow—it was all subtly different.
She reached out with her senses and felt nothing beyond this place. The connection to the outside world had been severed.
A decoy. A diversion. Somewhere else, a crisis had been engineered to draw away the youkai forces. It was a classic feint—sound in the east, strike in the west.
Now, she and her elite guard were trapped in this false Kyoto, isolated and surrounded.
She had already unleashed powerful attacks against the enclosing fog, but it held firm. If they wanted to escape, they would have to defeat the one who created this space.
"Stay alert!" Yasaka barked to her guards and fellow youkai. "Someone's approaching!"
The mist parted.
Figures emerged.
"You're with the Disaster Faction, aren't you?" Yasaka demanded.
The man at the front stepped forward, his presence commanding.
"Yes," he said. "We are the Hero Faction. And I am its leader—Cao Cao."
The name struck Yasaka like a thunderclap. Cao Cao—descendant of the legendary warlord from the Three Kingdoms era.
But it was the weapon in his hand that made her blood run cold.
"You're curious about this, aren't you?" he said, lifting the spear. "This is the Holy Spear of Twilight."
A murmur of fear rippled through the youkai ranks.
The Holy Spear of Twilight—reputed to be the first and strongest of all Sacred Gear. A weapon said to pierce even the divine.
"What is your goal?" Yasaka asked, already preparing her next spell.
Cao Cao smiled. "It's simple. The Kyoto you govern is more than a city—it's a massive spiritual apparatus, wrapped in ley lines and ancient power. And you, as a nine-tailed fox, are its living keystone."
As he spoke, the fog thinned further, revealing the surroundings in greater detail.
Yasaka's eyes widened.
She was still in Kyoto—or so it seemed.
No. Something was wrong.
"This isn't Kyoto," she whispered.
"It's a replica," Cao Cao confirmed. "A simulated Kyoto, built to siphon power from the real one."
Yasaka reached out with her senses again—and recoiled.
The fake Kyoto was absorbing the spiritual energy of the real one. And because she was present in this replica, the ley lines were confused, treating the false city as genuine.
Once the transfer was complete, and her power added as a sacrificial catalyst, the space would connect to the dimensional rift.
And from that rift… they would summon the True Crimson Dragon Emperor.
"You want to summon Great Red?" Yasaka asked, stunned.
"Our boss finds it inconvenient," Cao Cao replied. "She wants it gone."
Yasaka's breath caught.
"Ophis," she said.
"Correct. But she's not here," Cao Cao added casually.
So they intended to face Great Red without Ophis?
"You think you can defeat the True Crimson Dragon Emperor?" Yasaka asked.
"Don't worry," Cao Cao said. "We've prepared a trump card."
It was a weapon not easily obtained. But recent events—especially the looming threat of interdimensional invasion—had prompted Hades, god of the underworld, to authorize its use.
A sealed creature. One that fed on dragons.
Once Great Red was captured, Hades planned to study it, to forge an army capable of invading other worlds.
And Cao Cao welcomed the chaos.
In this world, he was shackled by laws and order. But in another realm—one plunged into war—he could fight freely, challenge powerful foes, and carve out his own legend.
Just like his ancestor.
Yasaka's unease deepened.
She didn't know what their trump card was, but she was certain it was real.
She had no choice.
Her spell was ready.
A colossal nine-tailed fox manifested behind her, its jaws glowing with searing flame. With a roar, it unleashed a pillar of fire toward the enemy.
"Impossible!" Yasaka gasped.
The blast, capable of annihilating even high-level demons, was effortlessly cleaved apart by Cao Cao's spear.
"Forgive me," he said. "But for the sake of our ambition, Princess Yasaka… you must be sacrificed."
The surrounding youkai surged forward, but the mist thickened again—and from within it, monsters emerged, encircling them.
Yasaka began preparing another spell.
But then, the spear glowed.
She flinched, expecting an attack.
Instead, a sphere of light appeared.
She didn't know what it was, but it felt wrong.
She moved to strike.
But the sphere activated.
"No—!" she cried.
She was trapped inside it. Her spell dissipated. Her power felt… stripped away.
She could only watch as her guards fought desperately, resisting the monsters.
And then the casualties began.
She was helpless.
There was only one option left—Hakutsuki's card.
But the sphere suppressed her magic. She couldn't channel enough energy to activate it.
Despair gripped her.
Until—
The card reacted.
Chapter 206: The God-Slaying Strike — Unleashed
No—it wasn't the card itself.
Yasaka realized a teleportation array had been inscribed onto its surface. It was activating.
A flash of light.
A figure appeared—so close their noses nearly touched, lips separated by mere centimeters.
Yasaka's cheeks flushed.
"Hmm? A magic-suppressed zone?" the newcomer murmured.
Then, in an instant, his body erupted with explosive force.
The sphere shattered.
The shockwave tore through the surroundings like a hurricane, leveling buildings and scattering debris.
Yasaka, still suspended midair, began to fall.
But he caught her—in a princess carry.
Her heart skipped.
"Cao Cao," said a silver-haired man nearby, "we've got trouble."
It was Siegfried, Hero Faction's vice-captain, a warrior bred from the genes of the original Siegfried.
The newcomer radiated danger. Siegfried could feel it in his bones.
"Interesting," Cao Cao said, his playful tone sharpening.
This man had shattered the seal with raw magic alone. That required divine-level power.
But even gods would feel the strain.
Yet this man showed no signs of fatigue.
"Balance Breaker," Cao Cao whispered.
His body transformed.
A radiant halo appeared behind him, and seven orbs floated around him—one more than before.
The ultimate form of Sacred Gear.
"Wheel Treasure—one of the Seven Heavenly Treasures," he intoned.
One orb vanished.
The battle had begun.