Chapter 769: Calamity Begins, The Demon Lord Timeline
Sousuke took a step forward, his figure vanishing in an instant, but even with Kaito Shirogane activating the Manifestation of the Cosmic Heavenly Deity, his terrifyingly massive size did not restrict his speed.
Contrary to common sense, his agility stat was also unbelievably high due to a series of multipliers. If it weren't for the fact that the Manifestation of the Cosmic Heavenly Deity was akin to a temporary state that completely swapped his own 'Vessel' into a more terrifying form... otherwise, he probably could have unlocked a new threshold for the Limiter just by activating it.
Kaito Shirogane suddenly turned around. His extreme speed, combined with his terrifying size, instantly kicked up a new hurricane between heaven and earth. Countless humans who had just appeared in this world were blown away to who-knows-where by the gale before they could even react.
Blazing white smoke clouds exploded in the sky, forming spiraling smoke dragons. Various chaotic elements ran wild, causing the sky to display a brilliant, aurora-like spectrum of colors that stood out starkly in the night.
Kaito Shirogane threw a punch in the direction Sousuke had left. His movements were relaxed, yet an eerie kinetic force flowed over his fist.
Sousuke crossed tens of thousands of meters with just a single step. At this moment, he realized that Yoko had made her final choice; the conditions for the appearance of the new Demon Lord and the Great Calamity had been met.
A massive number of Underwood residents and other Communities had been dragged in together, and the other two 'Beasts' had been deployed simultaneously. The difficulty of this world had long surpassed the level of a 6-Star Gift Game.
This was a level that even ordinary 4-Digit entities would likely find difficult to resolve. Izayoi Sakamaki was found by 'Primate Murder'. This plot protagonist, possessing immense power, would face a terrifying enemy that was always slightly stronger than him, and the enemy's attacks heavily countered Izayoi Sakamaki, a human.
It was almost impossible to dodge, defend against, or be immune to.
As for Sousuke himself, he was being targeted by the 'Beast of Depravity', bearing true names such as the 'Great Whore of Babylon' and the 'Beast of Sodom'.
Sousuke's Concussive Pulse of the Spiritual Light, 'The One, The All', was a type with extremely strong 'penetration' and 'infection' capabilities.
Combined with the terrifying intensity of his Concussive Pulse, it could almost directly affect the scale of an entire nation. It was the reflection of his heart, which longed for mutual understanding among people.
His Spiritual Light would not directly weaken a person's combat ability or enhance his own.
But from another perspective, it was a highly unsolvable Spiritual Light. It would completely and openly instill Sousuke's will and thoughts into others.
It was a type similar to Conqueror's Haki, but much gentler and much more profound.
He had once used this ability in the Attack on Titan world, allowing the residents of Paradis Island to reach an understanding and sparking a new technological revolution.
Sousuke didn't deny that his Concussive Pulse of the Spiritual Light had a tendency to forcefully seize others' agreement and alter their free will.
But that wasn't based on power; it was based on the convictions of both sides.
If a frail child possessed an incredibly firm conviction, they could also be immune to his Spiritual Light. Conversely, even a guy powerful enough to easily tear the world apart would be influenced by him if their mind wasn't firm enough and they harbored doubts about themselves.
Just like Tiamat right now.
Crack!
The world twisted around Sousuke. In his turning pupils, he clearly saw that behind the massive figure throwing a punch, a raging tide seemed to be condensing.
That was the atmosphere being blasted out alongside Mercenary Tao's massive Cosmic Heavenly Deity body.
Sousuke's eyes were calm, a golden luster flickering within them. In his eyes, Mercenary Tao's punching motion at this moment was almost exactly identical to the punch he had thrown at him earlier.
Although their sizes, ability systems, attributes, Authorities, Stairways, and traits were completely different, at this very moment, that beast—which had vaguely shown the potential to destroy the world—threw the exact same punch as him.
What accompanied that fist wasn't simple material world elements like wind and atmosphere; it was a grand momentum, a blessing from the world.
A Child of the Stars is loved by the world, so when a punch is thrown, the world attacks alongside it.
But Mercenary Tao... on what basis could he do the same?!
Sousuke felt the surrounding heaven and earth seemingly solidify for a moment, giving him a feeling that it was unavoidable. But Sousuke merely swayed slightly, and everything returned to normal.
Boom!
But in that brief moment of being influenced by the grand momentum of heaven and earth, the terrifying punch had already arrived.
Having the terrifying experience of taking Mercenary Tao's 'Serious Punch' head-on earlier, Sousuke instead crossed his arms in front of him this time, taking a defensive stance.
Heaven and earth shuddered violently. It was hard for Sousuke to say whether that punch actually hit his body, but amidst the thunderous shaking of the world, the terrifying impact force directly penetrated everything indiscriminately.
'God-Slayer Fist'!
In this moment, Sousuke's flash of inspiration struck. He instantly understood the source of Mercenary Tao's ability: the special martial arts trait of Garou from the One-Punch Man world, the unique ability to mimic anything. However, an ordinary Reincarnator using it could absolutely never unleash such an attack without possessing the traits of a 'Child of the Stars'.
Hidden within Mercenary Tao was something even more special, transcending the essence of the 'Artificial Soul King'.
In that moment, Sousuke seemed to see the condescending smile of Sosuke Aizen behind Mercenary Tao; the other party was hiding a conspiracy he hadn't yet realized.
Rumble!
Amidst a terrifying commotion like a grand cosmic bell tolling, Sousuke transformed into a streak of light and was blasted directly away, his speed so fast it blew through hundreds of sonic boom clouds along the way.
But Kaito Shirogane could distinctly feel that the other party wasn't dead; in fact, the injuries weren't even as severe as the ones from the Serious Punch just now.
"Tsk, so this is the Supreme Three Kings? How truly troublesome..."
Blazing white flames of light burned fiercely on Kaito Shirogane's body, continuously radiating terrifying heat and vitality in all directions.
Kaito Shirogane's entire body was in agonizing pain, rendering him almost unable to move. He could no longer sustain the Manifestation of the Cosmic Heavenly Deity; this ability was not something he could control right now.
Furthermore, simultaneously activating the Eight-Fold Kaio-Ken and the Manifestation of the Cosmic Heavenly Deity placed such a high burden on him that he was only meant to have the strength for a single strike.
This was Kaito Shirogane's first time fighting one of the Supreme Three Kings, and he clearly touched upon the power of the tier they occupied. That profound fighting spirit drove him to unleash one more strike.
Where exactly lay the gap between the Supreme Three Kings and the current top-tier Reincarnators? What Kaito Shirogane was able to glimpse right now was that special kind of Authority!
Sousuke was almost completely merged with the world. This was no longer something a simple ability could encompass; most physical attacks couldn't affect him at all.
At this moment, a casual strike from Kaito Shirogane under the Manifestation of the Cosmic Heavenly Deity could sink a continent.
Not to mention using the God-Slayer Fist to mimic that punch combined with the force of heaven and earth. Almost any other Sovereign Monarch would be obliterated by this attack in a single hit. Unless they possessed extremely high-tier immortality and resurrection abilities, there was absolutely no chance of survival.
But Sousuke had practically ignored this strike.
This kind of person, in a sense, had surpassed the scope of being affected by ordinary abilities and existed in a state of invincibility...
But so what? No matter how invincible the ability, as long as the power was strong enough, it could ultimately be smashed with a single punch...
Whoosh!
The giant propping up heaven and earth ceased its movements. Flames instantly enveloped its entire body, and the body began to dissipate with the wind.
Sousuke, blown away by the strike, naturally adjusted his direction in mid-air. From the corner of his eye, he watched Mercenary Tao, who stood atop the world, beginning to turn into ash, and surprisingly felt a tinge of regret in his heart.
This guy... what a pity.
Mercenary Tao was indeed a beast, but as a beast, he was truly exceptional enough to make one feel a sense of cherishment.
If he chased power, he chased it to the absolute limit;
If he wanted to fight, he completely ignored even death.
For this kind of guy, the pain of torn flesh and the fear of a burning soul would probably only act like oil poured on fire, making his will to fight soar even higher.
The face of Yoko Ekaterina flashed through Sousuke's mind. If he had chosen someone like Mercenary Tao, could pure violence carry them through the destined end?!
The next moment, Sousuke erased that thought. If Mercenary Tao were to do it, who knows how many people would die. Only a pure 'humanist' like Yoko was the most ideal choice.
Whoosh~
As the giant propping up heaven and earth crumbled and disintegrated, no sound was produced. Only the superheated ash scattered to all corners of the world, along with that completely twisted and torn patch of heaven and earth.
Roar!
The demonic dragon, completely driven into the earth's core, reappeared. Its uncontainable anger was evident in its roar; even the sorrow of being abandoned by its own created offspring had faded considerably.
A massive, nearly severed wound appeared on Her colossal demonic dragon body, currently still repairing itself continuously.
She had truly been pierced through by that punch earlier.
It was just that even sustaining such an attack couldn't kill Her.
Further away, Reinhardt and the others floating in the sky were pale as paper, especially Reinhardt. He had forcefully mimicked the 'Crystal Wall' ability earlier to resist the impact of Mercenary Tao and Sousuke's clash.
He was heavily injured as a result.
Beside him, Brynhild, who had attempted to counter that power, was in a similarly poor state.
However, Brynhild's regenerative abilities were astonishing. At this moment, aside from the residual bloodstains on her visor, her condition had fully recovered.
She stood in front of Roman and Reinhardt, holding her shield with both hands, looking into the distance where a massive malice existed.
"What should we do? Do we eliminate the plot characters Mercenary Tao left behind first, or do we help the Guild Master deal with the 'Beast'?"
Mori-Summer regulated her breathing, her Concussive Pulse of the Spiritual Light unfurling once more. She hadn't expected that Mercenary Tao, with his full firepower, was already capable of fighting head-on with the Supreme Three Kings.
That kind of power shook her core.
She knew very well that it was a terrifying power capable of killing her outright...
In this moment, she felt a lot more agreement with the rumors circulating in the Eastern District of the Infinite Dimensions recently, claiming that Mercenary Tao and Yoko from the Western District would become the new Kings.
She originally thought it was impossible for other Sovereign Monarchs to reach Yoko's level, especially a newcomer like Mercenary Tao who had just joined the Space in the last cycle, possessing significant deficiencies in both Concussive Pulse of the Spiritual Light and Authorities.
But Mercenary Tao had demonstrated an entirely different path.
Absolute, complete crushing through sheer power...
Of course, this excessive squeezing of oneself to unleash power beyond limits certainly came with a price. Just like right now, in her perception, Mercenary Tao's presence had become extremely weak and flickering, like a candle in the wind.
As if it would extinguish at any moment.
At a time like this, they probably didn't even need to intervene. Any random 6-Digit magical beast could easily kill this monster that had just nearly punched through the entire world.
Screech!
A tyrannical slash appeared once more. That devastating magical energy and sword pressure completely disregarded the newly arrived participants continuously falling into this Gift Game.
Mori-Summer had no choice but to step forward, instantly drawing her demonic sword.
Screech!
A strike launched later but arriving first; the sword light spanned several kilometers, directly severing Artoria's attack.
At the same time, she lunged forward, crossing a thousand meters in mid-air with just a few steps, rushing towards Artoria and Satoru Gojo's position.
Reinhardt understood Mori-Summer's intention. Forcefully stabilizing his condition, he spoke, "Let Mori-Summer deal with Black Saber and Satoru Gojo. We need to find a way to contain the expansion of the Sea of Life first...
If this continues, an unprecedented great calamity will occur!"
Although he didn't know what had happened outside, it was clear that Yoko had completely abandoned her bottom line.
She was no longer just targeting Reincarnators; she was now attacking the people inside Underwood.
These people, forcefully dragged into the Gift Game, had all become Yoko's sacrifices.
She wanted to use this terrifying Gift Game, which would cause the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, to foster a timeline highlighting the terrifying destructive power of Reincarnators.
She even wanted to guide a timeline where Reincarnators ultimately caused large-scale destruction across different layers of this world.
Even though the power level of this world was unbelievably high, the control those 4-Digit, 3-Digit, and even higher-tier gods and buddhas had over the outer layers wasn't as strong as one might imagine.
Moreover, this world was simply too vast. This meant that a special group like Reincarnators, capable of rapid growth and practically possessing the Authority of 'Omniscience', did indeed possess the potential to destroy parts of the world.
Although this possibility could be eliminated as long as those 3-Digit and 2-Digit big shots intervened early...
But...
Thinking of this, Reinhardt suddenly realized that Yoko's true goal might not be to kill the top-tier combatants among the Reincarnators like Sousuke, Mercenary Tao, Mori-Summer, and himself.
Perhaps she... wanted to use this incident to force those big shots to descend and deal with the Infinite Dimensional Space and the Reincarnator group as a whole?!
If that was the case...
Reinhardt turned to look in the direction Sousuke was in. The golden Concussive Pulse of the Spiritual Light illuminated an entire patch of the sky, but an eerie female voice continuously emanated from there as well.
The demonic woman, riding atop an unusual beast with seven heads and ten horns, constantly radiated a power that induced depravity.
The two sides were clashing on a completely different level.
And Izayoi Sakamaki...
He turned to look at the ocean on the other side. The ocean at this moment was caved in like a massive basin. Standing on the ocean, Izayoi Sakamaki leapt fiercely upwards.
The ocean exploded thunderously. Izayoi Sakamaki's speed was unbelievably fast, but the next moment, the white Beast in the sky dove downwards in almost the exact same motion.
Boom!
The two clashed once, the terrifying shockwave directly tearing open the newly expanding Sea of Life.
[Archetype of Terminus and Genesis EX051, you have suffered existential damage]
[You have entered a near-death state]
[You have touched the Concept: World]
Kaito Shirogane felt as if he were continuously falling into an abyss. Down there, he clearly heard a certain calling.
That flag gleamed brilliantly, endlessly emanating the power of 'Absolute Good'.
Kaito Shirogane reached out his hand, the illusory stairway lighting up behind him.
Reversal... Good and Evil!