Chapter 17: The Feng Shui of Tokyo Bay in This World is Terrible
The feng shui of Tokyo Bay in this world has probably been bad for the past few years.
Several years ago, some foreigners held a pointless ritual here and successfully summoned a god. The ending was that the foreigners were casually wiped out by the god they had provoked, and then that same god was stabbed right here. As part of the background scenery, Tokyo Bay suffered a massive flood.
But after only a few years, its bad luck seems to have prepared itself once again.
A holy spirit in the image of a monkey descended from the heavens, bringing a thunderstorm so intense that the sky became a forbidden zone. Additionally, a silver-haired girl came treading upon the sea; her steps brought a violent maritime storm, plunging the coastal areas of Tokyo Bay into disorder and chaos once more.
This place has practically become uninhabitable for anyone seeking peace of mind.
The only slight comfort for some was that they didn't even need to actively evacuate the crowds—no one could break through the storm to approach the location of the two holy spirits. Every scientific means humanity possessed to date was unable to observe them. The only thing useful was the spirit vision of the Hime-miko (Shrine Maiden), but the maiden specifically invited for the task nearly died of fright after seeing the figures of the two gods—if not for the monkey god in the sky seemingly being kind enough to help her offset the goddess's sharp gaze.
These two gods seemed to be in the middle of a fight.
After clarifying the situation through the Hime-miko, certain people possessed enough self-awareness to stop their useless chatter. The pros and cons of having a Campione in one's own country manifest in the same thing—though the time it takes varies, everyone eventually realizes that magic is magic, and gods are gods. When a god descends, the only job for the magic society is to lie low, assume a submissive posture, and handle the logistics.
Other than that, don't interfere and don't ask questions, or it will shorten your lifespan. No one likes someone coming to their door to offer unsolicited advice.
Compared to last time, the Japanese magic society was much more sensible this time, only silently handling the evacuation of nearby residents. No one appeared at Hinata Inn. If there was one thing they did related to the inn, it was ensuring the internet signal here remained okay. They did a decent job at that.
As one of the residents of the Tokyo Bay coastal area, Hikigaya Hachiman's original plan for the day was to be a shut-in. However, the lightning and thunder outside his window told him that this wasn't a scene one should see during the rainy season. Thus, he took a lap around the hallway, made sure all the windows were closed, and then ran to the shop to play a round of an online competitive game on the computer.
Because his hand speed and reflexes were superhuman, despite his game sense being the same mess as in his previous life, his results in competitive online games were quite respectable. It wasn't at all as laughable as when he played single-player RPGs.
After finishing the game and feeling refreshed, he finally officially stepped out—bringing along that ancient Wind God sword.
The onsen street was completely closed for business. If anyone were still running a shop in this hellish weather, Hikigaya Hachiman would definitely give them a Manseiya gift pack to show his admiration. A man who can soak in a hot spring while gods are fighting deserves respect.
By the time Hikigaya Hachiman walked onto the onsen street, the roofs of many shops had already been blown off. That was the better scenario; some houses were completely smashed to pieces. Driven by the gale, the rain raged across every inch of land. The original concrete road had been beaten into a muddy field, and the traces left by human activity were rapidly disappearing.
The water accumulating on the ground was whipped up by the wind and dashed around the streets, often surging several meters high, with lightning striking down from time to time.
Hikigaya Hachiman was the only creature resembling a human moving through this area without obstruction. All of this made him feel quite nostalgic. It was in this kind of hellish weather that he became a Campione. This weather is especially suitable for animal activity; the monkey in the sky could testify to that, and last time, it was a dog.
A Campione and a God are old enemies who can smell each other from a great distance. This setting remained valid for Hikigaya Hachiman. The proof was that as soon as the thunder and wind started outside the window, he had smelled the scent of an acquaintance in the wind and rain.
Although he didn't know how that monkey ended up fighting with Athena, it was quite consistent with the mythological settings of these two deities. As a reflection of the couvade (male child-bearing simulation) in myth, although the Great Sage Equaling Heaven didn't look like a Hero of Steel, he indeed represented patriarchy—a deity who slays and subdues dragons and snakes. This made him naturally incompatible with Athena, who represented matriarchy.
Ignoring the water and wind hitting him head-on, Hikigaya Hachiman soon reached Tokyo Bay and saw the two "acquaintances" facing off.
The fully armed Great Sage stepped on auspicious clouds, cruising in the sky and pouring down thunder and burning meteorites. Like Athena, he was also a god representing the brute force of nature. The "eyes like lightning" trait inherited from Wuzhiqi was a manifestation of his thunder god divinity, though Hikigaya Hachiman hadn't seen him use this move last time.
Athena, in her adolescent girl form, was raising a great wind at sea to blow away the incoming flying stones. Hikigaya Hachiman could testify to this—getting hit by those stones really hurt.
It looked like these two had just started their duel; otherwise, the scene wouldn't be this "empty." It's not that using natural forces implies slacking off or warming up, but both Campiones and Gods have preferences. It's just that a God's preferences are more abstract, while a Campione's are more concrete.
For example, on the surface, Athena was using her power as a goddess of the sea to control the maritime situation to generate impressive storm power, but it was more of her "wisdom" side—utilizing and conquering nature—that was playing a greater role. Similarly, the Great Sage was displaying his combative nature through his powers as a stone god and a thunder god.
On the surface, they really looked like they were having a lot of fun playing around, which inevitably made one suspect they were slacking. However, after watching for a short while, Hikigaya Hachiman noticed Athena reaching out to clutch her stomach several times.
She seemed to be injured.
After considering for a second, Hikigaya Hachiman decided he would first help Athena drive away the Great Sage, and then ask Athena what was going on.
To be honest, Hikigaya Hachiman didn't place much importance on the act of slaying gods to gain Authorities anymore, but that didn't mean he would remain indifferent while two deities had a blast fighting right at his doorstep. Therefore, Hikigaya Hachiman didn't feel like he was helping Athena; he was helping himself.
As for whether Athena would cooperate, it didn't matter at all. An injured Athena was certainly less of a threat than a perfectly healthy monkey. More importantly, in the previous battle, Sun Wukong was confirmed to be related to the King of the End.
To put it more crudely, choosing a side between a loli in stockings and a hairy monkey really wasn't a difficult task.
Having made his decision, Hikigaya Hachiman drew his sword from its scabbard. With one step, he crossed the gale and thunderstorm, delivering a horizontal slash toward the Great Sage.
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