Chapter 461: Kagura Maki Also Suffers from Twin-Targeted Attacks
Eliminating evil souls and saving innocent souls—this is what Cheng Tian had done in previous dungeons, and he continued to do so here.
Kagura Maki, whose soul had been preserved after being killed by Goenitz, clearly fit the description of an "innocent soul," which immediately prompted Cheng Tian, who had initially planned to observe, to intervene.
As a being of similar Guardian Spirit nature, The World could physically interfere with Kagura Maki, allowing her, who had been dead for a full year, to experience a long-lost "sense of touch."
The surprise brought by this touch even surpassed the fact that she had been rescued, leaving Kagura Maki momentarily stunned and unable to react effectively.
It wasn't until the attacks from the three members of the New Faces Team collided below that she awoke as if from a dream, struggling to break free from The World's embrace.
She broke free, but the Yata Mirror itself remained in The World's hands. As a pure spirit, Kagura Maki, who could barely physically interfere with real objects, could not escape with the mirror on her own authority, only being forced to float within a meter of it.
"Who are you?"
Kagura Maki, who had been in a state of slumber, questioned The World with a slightly agitated tone.
Based on her instinctual perception of souls, she could confirm that The World held no pure malice towards her, unlike the three below; in fact, it seemed to be showing goodwill.
However, to continue fulfilling the Kagura family's duty, and due to a deep-seated fear akin to facing a natural enemy, she remained highly vigilant towards The World, who had saved her and prevented the mirror from shattering and her soul from perishing.
Yes, brothers, 911 has another job!
Due to the combined titles of "Goddess Conqueror" and "911," the twin goddess Fina initially held a considerable degree of aversion towards Cheng Tian.
Although Kagura Maki was not a goddess, she possessed a very pure twin attribute, and this fear, originating from the depths of her soul, as if facing a natural enemy, stemmed from Cheng Tian's title-derived special attack against twin-attribute units.
"Goddess Conqueror" worked on Athena Asamiya, and "911" worked on Kagura Maki.
The former had already been conquered in a physical sense, while the latter was in progress.
One can only say that what student Irene worried about was absolutely correct: once emotions beyond "nothingness" arise, whether it's hatred or fear, things can start to develop in strange directions... However, facing Kagura Maki's question, Cheng Tian, who was in a state of shared sensation with The World, did not immediately answer, but pointed his hand elsewhere.
Looking in the direction The World pointed, accompanied by the appearance of two dark skid marks, a roaring flame whirlwind revealed its true form.
Kyo Kusanagi, with a solemn and angry expression.
His solemnity came from realizing the re-emergence of the Heavenly Kings and the potential unsealing of Orochi.
His anger, however, stemmed from the fact that they chose to cause trouble at the home of his family's close friends while Chizuru Kagura was severely injured and unconscious.
Of course, The World's orange-gold humanoid figure floating in mid-air was also immediately noticed by Kyo Kusanagi, as was the divine artifact Yata Mirror held in its hands.
Kyo Kusanagi wasn't truly unintelligent for not graduating; he simply dedicated all his energy to martial arts training. So, after scanning from bottom to top and seeing the expressions and actions of the New Faces Team, he immediately deduced that it was The World, who had arrived at the scene before him, that had rescued the Yata Mirror from the shrine... Hmm?
Kyo Kusanagi, initially filled with rage, couldn't help but rub his eyes, because he seemed to have just seen a familiar figure beside The World, a figure who should currently be lying in the main arena's infirmary... Perhaps it was a backup left by Chizuru Kagura on the divine artifact?
Kyo Kusanagi couldn't help but scratch his head.
Even Chizuru Kagura herself didn't know that her sister's soul was preserved, so Kyo Kusanagi knew even less. Therefore, when he glimpsed Kagura Maki's figure, temporarily materialized as a soul through the power of the divine artifact, he instinctively assumed it might be a mirrored power Chizuru Kagura had left within the artifact.
The Three Sacred Treasures each have their own functions, and the Yata Mirror, which primarily reflects curses and creates mirror images, could theoretically achieve such a feat.
However, just as Kyo Kusanagi was about to speak and demand the important divine artifact, the purple azure flames and flashing lightning arrived as expected, and from afar, the sound of wooden clogs hitting the ground could be heard approaching.
The expressions of the New Faces Team were gloomy and unlucky, and most of their hatred was focused on The World.
Having watched the live broadcast and the first match, they naturally recognized this as contestant Cheng Tian's "summoned entity." But they had envisioned various scenarios where their plans would be thwarted, such as any member related to the Three Sacred Treasures possibly intervening at a crucial moment, but The World had never appeared in their calculations.
"Who the hell are you?" This sentence perfectly encapsulated their complex psychological state at the moment.
But soon their target shifted, because someone even better at attracting hatred appeared.
"Have you guys really become Orochi's dogs... How truly sad."
Iori Yagami, whose gaze first swept over the completely shattered shrine, now a ruin, before settling on the New Faces Team, showed a rare expression of regret.
Iori, whose main profession was actually a bassist, had numerous clashes of musical philosophy with the New Faces Team, but they were among the few with whom he had some extra acquaintance. The fact that they had become Orochi's dogs made Iori feel regret from the bottom of his heart.
Hearing Iori's words, Yashiro Nanakase shook his hand, a look of disdain replacing his expression.
"Hmph~ Among all humanity, only your Yagami family is the least qualified to say that."
Yashiro, who had already been exposed and thus stopped pretending, hit Iori's sore spot with a single sentence.
Iori Yagami's family's original surname was "Yasakani." It was only because their ancestor chose to betray his mission and defect to Orochi's side, changing their surname to "Yagami" to symbolize "worshipping Orochi as a god." From this perspective, the Yagami family indeed had the least right to call others dogs...
"What did you say!?"
Iori's eyes instantly sharpened, and azure flames began to re-condense in his palm.
"Hey, hey, hey! Iori, don't steal our opponents!"
Kyo Kusanagi quickly raised his hand to intervene. Although he had been charging, he had also heard about the changes in the match order from the organizers along the way. The New Faces Team was crucial to their advancement.
He wanted the championship, and he also wanted to eliminate Orochi's remnants.
"Tsk—"
Iori, who had also heard about the changes in the tournament rules, clicked his tongue, then crushed the azure flames in his palm.
At this moment, Goro Daimon finally arrived, standing with Benimaru Nikaido, whose body was charged with electricity from his toes to his head.
Three against three, the atmosphere grew tense.
Meanwhile, the main arena's large screen also displayed the scene of the shrine ruins, and the announcer passionately declared:
"All personnel have arrived! So, next up, Team Japan versus the New Faces Team, an unregulated, no-holds-barred deathmatch..."
"Ready~ GO!"