Chapter 458: Is Cheng Tian the Key Condition for Orochi's Revival?
In '96, Goenitz, the leader of the Orochi Hakkesshu and the master of the Raging Storm, had already physically eliminated a guardian of the Yata Mirror, one of the Sacred Treasures, by killing Kagura Chizuru's twin sister.
Although all three Sacred Treasures are used to seal Orochi, the Yata Mirror, primarily focused on defense, plays a major role. Its functional integrity is closely linked to the release of Orochi's seal.
Even though a low-probability event occurred—Kagura Maki's soul was preserved intact within the Sacred Treasure—it still inevitably led to a weakening of the Sacred Treasure's power. This caused the Orochi seal to initially fail, Orochi's will to partially awaken, and his ability to influence and guide other reincarnated Hakkesshu and bloodline inheritors scattered across the world.
Originally just ordinary members of an underground band, at most occasionally clashing with Iori over band philosophies, the three youths awakened due to this.
Among the Hell Band, the entity named Chris possessed the purest Orochi blood among all contemporary Hakkesshu, which passively made him a charging tool, absorbing scattered energy and negative human emotions.
Yes, the mission of the Hell Band trio was never to participate in some tedious King of Fighters tournament to achieve excellent results. Instead, it was to actively enter the fray to instigate brawls among fighters, thereby intensifying the negative emotions and energy emitted by both fighters and spectators, charging up for Orochi's revival.
However, what the trio didn't expect was that there would be a large-scale preliminary round before the main tournament, and the number of factions and teams fighting fiercely was countless. As a result, for the past few days, the entire city's sky has been constantly filled with the energy emitted from the brawls between fighters, so much that Chris couldn't absorb it all.
But this also led to Chris becoming picky about this scattered energy.
The result was that, without even entering the main tournament, the basic energy required to revive Orochi was already full... but completely contrary to the abundance of energy, very little negative emotion had been absorbed.
One must know that when Goenitz caused the massive, catastrophic disaster, the negative human emotions it evoked were also catastrophic. But this time, the audience was clearly problematic.
No matter the extent of the impact they suffered, everyone's emotions were almost positive, even bloodthirsty!
The vast majority were filled with the strange emotion of, "It's worth dying to witness a peerless battle."
This huge discrepancy in perception and emotion truly troubled the Hell Band's crucial needs, until... Cheng's substitute punched Athena Asamiya in the abdomen.
Good heavens, the immense surge of negative emotions — filled with "hatred," "anger," and even a good deal of "jealousy" — emitted by the fan base at that moment, made Chris stand at attention on the spot.
In an instant, Chris felt as if countless air pumps had been inserted into every conceivable orifice on his body, frantically pumping air inside. If his vessel, theoretically capable of enduring Orochi's descent, hadn't been incredibly resilient, he might have been blown apart in one go.
It proved that the audience was not without negative emotions; the Hell Band simply lacked the appropriate means to trigger them.
By then, the basic energy and emotions required for Orochi's revival were sufficient; more would only be icing on the cake.
So, after analyzing the match schedule and discovering that the Women Fighters Team was in the second match, they decisively left the main arena as a group, preparing to implement the second step of their plan—
The destruction or weakening of the Three Sacred Treasures.
According to current known intelligence, among the Three Sacred Treasures, only the physical Yata Mirror is enshrined in the shrine, while the Kusanagi Sword and Yasakani Magatama have almost never been seen in physical form.
The trio's goal was very clear: to attempt to seize or even destroy the Yata Mirror.
What helped them even more was that Kagura Chizuru, who was fighting Izayoi Sakuya, was severely wounded and fell to the ground. This inevitably weakened the power of the guardian priestess within the Yata Mirror, which was linked to her, further releasing more of Orochi's aura.
They, who originally didn't know the exact location of the shrine, could now find it by following the guidance of the aura.
They even stopped trying to conceal their tracks, appearing directly at the main entrance of the Kagura Corporation without even paparazzi following them. The corporation's guards, vaguely sensing something was amiss, also gathered immediately.
As one of the organizers, the official paparazzi's tracking and reporting should have been reported to Kagura Chizuru immediately. However, coincidentally, Kagura Chizuru had fallen into a coma due to excessive blood loss and could not receive the information, naturally unable to provide an immediate solution. The leaderless corporation could only act according to their usual contingency plans.
But these guards, who were quite formidable for ordinary people, were no match for the three Hakkesshu, even without the trio using their primal Orochi power.
Yashiro, who was 1.9 meters tall, the most muscular, and dressed in the most flamboyant way, unhesitatingly brought his elbow back and, facing the temporary defensive line constructed by the guard team's shields, decisively launched a rapid, lightning-fast thrusting punch—
Special Move: Final Impact!
The human wall of guards was instantly pierced, and living people flew everywhere like the contents of a torn and scattered garbage bag.
At the same time, a loud alarm, signifying external invasion, also rang out within the corporation.
And this meant that they had directly broken ties with the King of Fighters tournament and there was no turning back.
"Hey~~ An important message update, please look at the big screen."
The host at the main arena, currently on a temporary break, received a slip of paper. Thinking it was just a routine announcement of some sponsor advertisements, the host swallowed his tea and skillfully picked up the microphone to speak.
The big screen, which had been continuously looping promotion and team information, immediately flickered. Before the image even appeared, distinctly panicked human voices had already burst forth.
Then, the charging figures of the Hell Band trio and the twisted, fallen figures of the guard team lying by the roadside were projected onto the big screen.
"Let me see… The three contestants of the Hell Band have broken into the Kagura Corporation headquarters and launched a terrorist attack!?"
The host, only realizing what was happening after reading the contents of the note, had an expression of extreme surprise on his face.
The entire venue erupted in an uproar; most people had no idea what they were doing.
Meanwhile, Kyo Kusanagi, who was sitting quietly outside the infirmary, shot up when he heard the host's broadcast.
His experience in '96 immediately made him think of the four big words: "Heavenly Kings of the Orochi Clan"!
Moreover, the Hell Band was the team originally scheduled to fight them!
A scorching gale swept through, and Kyo Kusanagi's figure had already vanished down the corridor.
At the same time, Cheng, who was having a staring contest with the head maid, had released The World a little earlier, leaping up and disappearing from everyone's sight.