After the hearty dinner, Kawashima Toya checked the time. The Evil God's Banquet was about to begin.
"Time to go. Let's see just how terrifying this Evil God's Banquet really is."
"Terrifying enough that even the famous Abe no Seimei of the Heian era backed down."
Toya's eyes shifted to the clear azure of the Mystic Eyes. He picked up the Demon Sword Murasame and walked out of the Trash Fox Detective Agency.
Hanazono Yurine's slender, pale hand tightly gripped the struggling Jashin-chan's neck as she whispered softly, "Good luck."
It wasn't that she didn't want to help Toya; she simply couldn't.
Ancient texts contained very few records about Evil Gods, but what little existed was horrifying.
Evil Gods possessed terrifying mental pollution. Mere contact would lead to immediate corruption.
No matter how strong a person was, they were not immune.
If she rashly tried to help Toya and got mentally corrupted into a mad Minion...
She wouldn't be helping him; she would just be adding another powerful enemy to his list.
----
As the Evil God's Banquet drew near, the gazes of various supernatural races gathered on the location.
On the mountain peak where Toya had once saved Tohru.
Lucoa, a stunning beauty with an incredible figure and heterochromatic eyes, gazed in the direction of the Banquet.
Her slender, pale hand gently stroked the head of the green dragon, Tohru. "Easy now."
"Tohru, your injuries have just healed. Even if you want to repay his kindness, you have to wait until tomorrow morning."
"The Hero of this era—your savior—is preparing to resolve the Evil God's Banquet."
"If you go now, you won't be helping; you'll just be getting in the way."
"If you get corrupted, your savior will have to face a rampaging dragon on top of everything else."
The green dragon, Tohru, slowly closed her eyes, clearly understanding the gravity of the situation.
Lucoa smiled. "I wonder if an era that has lost almost all its mystical roots can still produce a miracle?"
----
Heaven.
A kindly old man with white hair—God—looked down at the human world and murmured, "My Flawed Savior, can you save the world?"
"So many angels up here are waiting for you to save the world so they can go down there and train properly."
As He spoke, the noisy chatter of countless little angels rang out around Him.
God's kindly demeanor cracked. He covered his ears in pain. "Savior, do your best! Beat those bastard Evil Gods senseless!"
"I can't take it anymore! Why are these little angels so noisy?!!"
"Once you save the world, I'm kicking them all down to Earth!"
----
Human World.
In the pitch-black night, Toya walked unhurriedly toward the abandoned town where the Tower of Holy Glory was located.
Under the moonlight, his clear azure Mystic Eyes were filled with aloof indifference, like a god walking the earth to cleanse it of filth.
"Don't fail me now, partner!" Toya gently stroked Murasame, feeling the sword's bloodthirsty excitement.
Ten minutes later, Toya stepped into the bizarre abandoned town.
The moment he crossed the boundary; it was as if he had entered another world.
The ruins and rubble underwent a terrifying transformation.
The ruined houses seemed to awaken, actually starting to writhe and pulse.
In the shadows, unknown entities skittered back and forth, whispering mad, piercing gibberish.
From somewhere unseen, bursts of exaggerated laughter rang out, mocking Toya's overconfidence.
"Looks like an Evil God has really descended." Toya's face remained calm. He showed not a shred of fear at the grotesque changes around him.
Even without the system's detection, he knew the entire ruined city had "awakened."
Under the influence of the Evil God's power, it had mutated into an anomaly.
Currently, the only fortunate thing was that the Evil God seemed to be restraining its influence for some reason.
Otherwise, the entire world would have instantly mutated, turning into a realm of madness and decay.
Nothing would have been spared.
Perhaps only those with protection from existences on par with the Evil Gods would be safe.
"You're in my way." Toya glanced coldly at a "living house" blocking his path.
Instantly, the Point of Death shattered.
The living house disintegrated into ash.
The moment Toya made his move, the atmosphere of the entire town shifted drastically.
Piercing, exaggerated laughter rang out louder than before, mocking Toya's stupidity.
Countless anomalies swarmed toward him in forms unimaginable to the human mind.
They could barely be called "weapons," but they were determined to tear Toya apart.
Without hesitation, Toya slashed.
If someone were watching from the sky, they would be speechless with shock.
This ruined city far exceeded the scale Toya had previously observed. Endless anomalies swarmed toward him like a flood.
In this tide of monsters, Toya's figure appeared incredibly small, insignificant as a grain of sand.
"No wonder Abe no Seimei didn't come. He'd rather burn through the spiritual reserves of the entire Heian era just to steal a sliver of divine power." Toya sighed.
"This Evil God's Banquet is a little too welcoming. So welcoming that no one can survive it."
"If I had known, I would have found a way to use Abe no Seimei's method to buy humanity a few more decades."
"No, I should say buy myself a few more decades."
Despite his cynical words, Toya's azure eyes showed no fluctuation. They remained as calm and indifferent as a frozen lake.
"Alright. Now you can fully release that bloodlust."
His soft whisper was quickly drowned out by the piercing, mocking laughter of the city.
At this moment, the last trace of emotion in Toya's eyes vanished, leaving only extreme coldness.
Any superfluous emotion would only slow down his blade.
Toya transformed into a machine that existed only to swing his sword and slaughter enemies.
Various mystical factions and powerful existences were watching the Evil God's Banquet from the shadows.
Although they didn't watch with their physical eyes, they couldn't avoid sensing the tremors of the battle.
All the high and mighty existences gasped, marveling at the sheer terror of the event.
Countless enemies swarmed in. Every one of Toya's slashes was a masterpiece of efficiency.
In this living city of ruins, there was no room for flashy tricks.
Even a grain of dust or sand was an enemy here.
He had no allies.
He only had the Teigu, Murasame, in his hand.
As a Teigu, it should have struggled against these grotesque anomalies.
It should have shattered long ago, yet it persisted.
For some reason, Toya wielded Murasame with unstoppable momentum.
The blade seemed to grow sharper and brighter with every kill.
In the center of the living ruins, a magnificent building stood quietly.
It was the Tower of Holy Glory.
Like the town surrounding it, it too had awakened.