"Should I be asking if you'd like something to drink?"
Having just woken up to find himself targeted by the biggest local top dog, the youth looked at his senior, who was dressed like a Kamen Rider, and asked with great interest.
"That won't be necessary."
The God-Slayer, who wore a mask of unknown material over her head and likely had a headache washing her leather suit after every battle, sat down on the sofa and spoke in a rich, magnetic baritone.
"It seems you aren't here for a friendly chat, then."
The youth with brilliant red eyes shrugged, poured a cup of tea for himself, and took a sip.
---o---
"You were the one who summoned the Heretical Skadi, weren't you?"
Lord Pluto, using the foreign equivalent of "Zhang San" as her alias, spoke to her compatriot whose appearance had been far too coincidental.
Though phrased as a question, her tone carried the weight of certainty.
By the looks of it, she must have found something out.
Li Zihan thought as he looked at the older, unmarried woman who had cornered him.
"Yes."
The youth, who had taken a Divine Spirit Summoning Ticket from the System but opted not to follow the rules and instead use it as a catalyst for a god summoning, gave an affirmative answer.
It was meant to be a gift for Sirin, but he hadn't expected Ana to run into it.
Under the circumstances, Li Zihan couldn't very well beat the Heretical Orca—ahem, the Heretical Skadi—half to death and then deliver her to Sirin.
Considering it an early gift, Li Zihan presented the sacrificial offering for the God-Slayer ritual to Ana after grievously wounding the Heretical Skadi.
I'll just summon another Heretical God for Sirin in a couple of days.
The youth clearly saw Heretical Gods as nothing more than prey and high-class gifts.
Unfortunately, after being used as a catalyst, the Divine Spirit Summoning Ticket's connection to the divine seemed to have vanished.
Li Zihan felt a pang of regret at this thought.
He had quite wanted to exploit this bug, repeatedly farming Heretical Gods to give each of the girls around him a God-Slayer buff.
One for Sirin, one for Seele, one for Bronya, one for Mei, one for Yae Sakura, one for Luna Kindred, and also Alice and Aoko...
...Where was he supposed to find so many Heretical Gods?
The youth sighed internally, feeling that he might have to spend a lot of time searching for them in the future.
But speaking of which, what could a Summoning Ticket with its divinity buff removed even summon?
Sima Yi?
The youth thought back to the Black Grail War, where he had inexplicably met Reines, who claimed to be his future wife.
Or perhaps, Sitonai?
After tossing a marriage contract to Reines to protect her from Lord El-Melloi's revenge for having his elbows chopped off, Li Zihan had a sudden whim. Using the pretext of an "existing marriage contract with Illya," he publicly offered protection to the Emiya household.
Kiritsugu Emiya had looked ecstatic at the time, so happy his whole body trembled as he drew his gun.
However, after recalling how a certain someone had used Karna's bow, Vijaya, to obliterate the Einzbern castle with a basic attack, he could only put the gun back in his pocket with a [bleep] expression on his face.
---o---
Vijaya, the Bow of Assured Victory.
Originally, it was a weapon forged by the Indian god of craftsmanship, Vishvakarma, for the god of destruction, Shiva.
It was later given by Shiva to Indra to vanquish the Asura King.
Afterward, it was passed to Karna's teacher, Parashurama, who used it to annihilate the Kshatriya caste twenty-one times. Finally, it was bestowed upon the Son of the Sun, Karna, becoming his trump card.
Legend has it that the string of this bow is abnormally tough and cannot be broken by any divine weapon.
Every time the bow is drawn, it fills with mantras, multiplying its power several times over.
Every time an arrow is loosed, it roars louder than thunder, releasing a flash of lightning that can blind and intimidate the enemy.
If a warrior holds this weapon, no other weapon—including Shiva's divine instrument, Pashupatastra—can harm them in the slightest.
By possessing Vijaya, Karna also earned the epithet "Wielder of the Bow of Victory."
---o---
Trying to face off against Vijaya—a weapon considered terrifying even among the divine instruments of India—with a small handgun loaded with Origin Bullets...
That sounded like asking to be used as an arrow by Vijaya itself, launched into the sky to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Kars.
However, the still-young Illya was quite happy about it.
After all, Li Zihan often played with her, was very handsome, and told lots of interesting stories.
What was so bad about marrying a super fun and handsome big brother?
The simple-minded little girl clearly didn't understand her old father's pain.
If I use the marriage contract as a catalyst, maybe I really could summon Sitonai, who uses Illya as a vessel.
The youth was deep in thought, trying to figure out who he could summon.
This continuous zoning out, right in front of her, was starting to seriously infuriate Lord Pluto.
On his very first day as a God-Slayer, this guy had provoked the King of the Far East, Kusanagi Godou, and tried to seize his territory. Now, he was summoning a Heretical God on her turf.
To do all this in less than three days... his level of wanton recklessness was exceptionally atrocious, even among God-Slayers.
"My compatriot, would you care to explain your reasons for summoning a god in my country and for declaring war on the King of the Far East?"
Looking at the man who had freely admitted to summoning a Heretical God in Los Angeles, Lord Pluto's voice grew grim.
"Relax. I didn't summon a Heretical God here while ignoring the lives of the people. I have the means to instantly transport my target and myself to the Pacific Ocean or an uninhabited area."
The youth shrugged. Thanks to the large quantity of Honkai energy crystals he had brought with him when leaving the Honkai world, he could frequently use his Herrscher authorities.
His words caused the expression under Annie's mask to soften slightly. Her public persona was, after all, very close to that of a superhero.
Li Zihan had indeed managed to cripple the Heretical Skadi in a single blow, kick her into the Pacific, and then have Ana finish the job.
If he had a complete relocation plan, then summoning a Heretical God in a city wasn't completely despicable.
After all, the other God-Slayers had done far worse things.
"In that case, could you continue by explaining the reason for the message you carved after slaying the Heretical Lugh?"
Having determined that the youth before her wasn't as malicious as she had imagined, Annie's tone softened a bit more.
But then, she couldn't help but bring up another matter.
An issue the Greenwich Sage Council had requested she handle.
Two God-Slayers might come to blows over a territorial dispute.
At the time she received the request, she felt she might not have the energy to deal with it, so she hadn't agreed.
But today, she had coincidentally run into one of the parties involved.
It wasn't her style not to ask.
"It's nothing. I just don't particularly like his surname."
The youth, whose primary interest was in fighting the god of the Far East, raised an eyebrow and replied.
Displeased with his surname?
Beneath her mask, Lord Pluto's brow furrowed even deeper.
What kind of reason was that?
She looked at the youth who claimed to dislike the King of the Far East's surname, waiting for an explanation.
"Have you forgotten what 'Kusanagi' symbolizes in the language of the Far East?"