Chapter 238: Train to Tokyo
"Is this the right direction? The place where you said the remains of the primordial god of Japan fell after you defeated him back then?"
"Should be…"
"Should be?"
"I'm sorry. Actually, I don't know… This is your fault. You must take responsibility."
"…"
Altera displayed a stark contrast between her maiden persona and her warrior instinct. One moment she was apologizing softly, and the next, her expression turned stern as she grabbed Rowe, demanding a kiss as 'compensation'.
Having tasted the sweetness, she craved more.
Altera was being very proactive.
Rowe felt a strange numbness spreading through him… though he had to admit, he enjoyed the process to some extent.
But at the very least, he should have been allowed to finish his sentence, right?
They were still within the boundaries of Fuyuki City, but this was a secluded area in the suburbs, far removed from Miyama Town and the Shinto district. Lush greenery abounded, and the soft afternoon sun bathed the land in a golden hue.
Rowe moved his hand away from the firm, shapely curve of her waist, and the tension in the air—manifested as glistening threads of mana—snapped instantly.
Altera's face was flushed. Compared to her usual stoicism, this flustered expression made her seem even more charming.
"I'm sorry..."
"Forget it, let's keep going," Rowe exhaled, waving his hand as he pointed forward.
His gaze lowered, sweeping over Altera's slender arm, which was still tightly gripping his own.
Even with her maidenly softness, Altera had not given him any opening to escape.
However, Rowe didn't particularly want to escape right now.
Although Altera, as a Star Hunter, had only a fraction of her power remaining, her essence as the White Titan, 'Sefar', was still formidable. Staying by her side was enough to obscure his presence from other Servants for a short period.
Again, facing one problem was infinitely more manageable than facing multiple problems simultaneously.
Moreover, he was somewhat interested in the 'remains of the primordial god of Japan that Altera had mentioned.
After leaving the cave, Altera had quickly identified a destination for herself—or rather, for Rowe.
It was the resting place of a first-generation god of Japan, one of the opponents she had crushed when she was the scourge of civilizations, Sefar.
"Mm." Altera brushed a strand of pale short hair from her forehead, her exquisite face turning toward the continuous mountain ranges.
Her crimson lips parted, and she replied softly, "Actually... I can't quite remember clearly. That was a very, very long time ago."
An opponent from fourteen thousand years ago. Sefar had been dormant for too long, making it difficult to recall the specific details of every ant crushed beneath her feet.
In her fragmented memory, that primordial god of Japan was a Dragon God formed from the island nation's ley lines.
It had no specific name at the time.
It was simply called the 'Dragon God' or the 'Nine-Headed Dragon of Togakushi Mountain'.
After being defeated by Sefar, it fell among these mountains. Its consciousness entered an eternal slumber, and its massive divine corpse transformed into the foundation of the mountains and lands that spanned this long, narrow archipelago.
"After the corpse of the Nine-Headed Dragon of Togakushi fell, it decayed into countless Phantasmal Species and demonic races, initiating what later generations would call the Hyakki Yagyo—the Night Parade of One Hundred Yokai."
Sefar didn't know the specifics, and Altera didn't know the history, but Rowe could cross-reference her vague recollections with the modern human information sphere using his Skill, Wisdom of the Oldest Humans.
Fairies, spirits, and the Night Parade of One Hundred Yokai—this was a chaotic era inscribed upon the Human Order of this region.
"The great yokai directly derived from the Nine-Headed Dragon include the Demon God Orochi, the Oni King Shuten-douji of the Heian period, the original Tengu, and the Oni God of the Underworld, Otakemaru."
The corpse of the Nine-Headed Dragon was the origin of Japan's mystery.
Two of the Three Great Yokai of Japan, widely feared in later generations, originated directly from that dragon's remains.
"But these yokai are merely insignificant runoff from the Nine-Headed Dragon's corpse. Its true main body transformed into a Village of Fairies."
It was a concept similar to Avalon, or perhaps more akin to the Spirit Tomb of Albion—an extradimensional space existing in the texture between the World of Man and the Reverse Side of the World.
That was precisely Rowe and Altera's destination.
To enter the Fairy Village was to temporarily escape the Holy Grail War and gain a moment to catch their breath.
"And, I can always live with you there. Isn't that great, Rowe?" The maidenly Altera seemed quite pleased with this prospect.
Great?
Rowe's gaze swept over the fit young girl, whose torso was largely exposed by her daring Spirit Origin, and lingered for a moment on her moist crimson lips before he averted his eyes.
It was great, but also dangerous.
He had a distinct feeling he would be drained dry of mana...
"Why is it raining again?" Altera exclaimed in surprise.
Rowe looked up. This wasn't rain. The sky was bright and the sunlight clear, with no trace of dark clouds.
It was just water.
Water vapor rose from the earth, condensing into a thick mist that instantly swallowed their surroundings, obscuring their vision.
Then—
The soft, suffocating touch of fur enveloped his body, wrapping Rowe completely.
"Oh my, long time no see, Lord Rowe?" A voice, swaying with playful seduction, drifted through the mist. The silhouette of a beautiful enchantress flickered into existence.
Almost instantly, Altera's warrior instincts took over. She clenched her hand, and the crimson glow of the tri-colored Sword of Mars ignited.
Vwoom.
The photon blade swept out, colliding instantly with something whirling through the air.
The surrounding mist collapsed and dispersed under the force of the impact.
But the collision lasted only a microsecond. The attacker disengaged instantly, vanishing as if they had never been there.
Altera stood alone in the empty clearing.
Rowe was stolen.
Altera's Rowe.
Altera's 'bad guy'.
Right before her eyes, he was taken.
A chill froze her crimson eyes.
The wrath of the God of War—
"Rowe. Bad guy."
"Give Rowe back to me!"
Teardrop Photon Ray.
The Sword of Mars swept horizontally. The endlessly blooming energy surged and spread through the mountains and forests, disintegrating matter instantly.
When the light faded, trees were shattered and the ground had collapsed, revealing a massive, smoldering crater tens of meters in diameter.
Altera stood in the center, sword raised, eyes closed to sense the surroundings.
She perceived nothing.
However, the moment her power erupted, the shockwave rippled through Fuyuki City.
Atalanta, observing from a rooftop; Artoria, riding her armored steed through the sky; and Nero, who had commandeered the central stage of the city via Imperial Privilege—all of them sensed it simultaneously.
They felt the terrifying signature of the White Titan.
The awe-inspiring light of the scourge of Europe had manifested.
They rushed to the location immediately.
But what they found was only Altera, standing alone in the center of the devastation.
Her face was twisted in anger, staring towards the northwest.
Towards… the Greater Tokyo Area.
---
Bumping and swaying, the train sped along the tracks, passing through endless mountain forests as it headed northwest.
The train's headlights cut through the gathering dusk like predatory eyes.
As the afterglow of the setting sun bled across the horizon, Rowe opened his eyes. He looked up at the figure pressing him down into the seat.
He remained expressionless.
He was used to this.
"Should I get up now?"
"That won't do. It's a rare reunion; I still want to feel Lord Rowe's presence a bit longer, you know?"
"Are we that familiar?"
"Oh my, are you going to deny our relationship after we've done it?"
"By 'done it', do you mean the time I beat you into the ground? Tamamo-no-Mae?"
In the spacious, empty carriage—likely a private car reserved via magical hypnosis—a calm male voice and a clear, charming female voice echoed.
The identity of the figure currently pinning Rowe was, without a doubt, the Nine-Tailed Fox he had once defeated in the Divine Land.
She was the Golden White Face, now manifesting as a Servant with only three tails.
The 'person' who had wrapped him in her tails and abducted him.
Her orange-red hair was scattered in wild beauty, her golden eyes brimming with allure. Her dark blue robe hung loosely, revealing the creamy roundness of her shoulders. Her plump, shapely legs extended from the hem, straddling him directly.
They were face to face, her abdomen slightly arched forward—full, firm, and soft—in a posture of extreme intimacy.
Tamamo-no-Mae leaned down, her fair, delicate hand gently stroking his face.
Rowe remained stoic.
Why is this fox here?
"Don't be surprised why I'm here, my dear—" Tamamo-no-Mae leaned closer, her crimson lips brushing against Rowe's. Her breath, fragrant with a distinct mystical perfume, entered his mouth as she spoke. "Where you are, I am. Isn't that perfectly normal?"
Rowe didn't flinch. He countered with a single sentence.
"Aren't you afraid Consort Yu will get angry?"
The Wisdom of the Oldest Humans acted like a universal database. Things he didn't know personally, so long as they were inscribed upon the Human Order, he could retrieve.
In that instant, he accessed the details of Tamamo-no-Mae's manifestation in Japan and her uneasy 'alliance' with Consort Yu.
Rowe smiled.
With enough information, one could always grasp the opponent's weakness. He had always operated this way. In terms of strategy, information was the ultimate weapon.
"If you don't want to suffer Consort Yu's wrath, then you'd best get up." Rowe's gaze was calm, analytical. "Of course, you can also choose not to get up."
"But you know the consequences—hm?"
Rowe's words were cut short.
The fox's lips sealed his voice. Her tongue slipped past his defenses, entangling with his own in a deep, aggressive kiss.
Tamamo-no-Mae swayed her hips, grinding slightly against him.
Consequences?
*Do you think... you are still that absolute Heavenly Emperor?*
"No, you're not anymore, are you?" Breaking the kiss, Tamamo-no-Mae smiled, a glint of madness in her eyes. "Do you remember what I said?"
"I said I would turn you into a useless person—a useless husband who couldn't leave me, who belonged only to me!"
"I never forget my vows!"
"..."
It's over.
This fox is getting carried away again.
Unfortunately, Rowe couldn't effectively stop her right now.
"But the people around you are truly more terrifying than the last, aren't they?" Tamamo-no-Mae wrapped her arms around Rowe's neck, whispering tenderly into his ear. "Leaving Consort Yu and Ereshkigal aside, even that girl just now... her aura made my heart pound."
"Star Hunter Sefar," Rowe stated bluntly.
Tamamo-no-Mae's expression stiffened. "Oh my... so it was her."
Seeing her reaction, Rowe smiled internally.
In the distant past, the Golden White Face, one of the original Solar Deities had been defeated by Sefar before fleeing to the Divine Land.
Even if the current Altera was weakened, her inherent essence as the White Titan terrified Tamamo-no-Mae on a cellular level.
That was why she had fled immediately after snatching Rowe, without even showing her face.
Strictly speaking, a three-tailed Tamamo-no-Mae was not inferior to a Servant-level Altera. The nine-tailed original and the six-tailed main god forms were vastly superior, but even with three tails, she approached the level of a true Divine Spirit.
However, precisely because of this primordial trauma, Tamamo-no-Mae dared not engage Altera in battle.
"As expected of Lord Rowe. At a time like this, you can still calmly think of countermeasures?"
"If it were before, I might have just given up, you know?"
"But—"
"Compared to fearing them, it's far more appealing to take away your 'purity' right here and now!"
If Rowe was no longer 'pure' when the others arrived, Tamamo-no-Mae reasoned, she would have already won the most important battle.
There is a massive difference between first and second place.
"..."
Rowe vowed that if he ever had the chance to see Poseidon again, he would beat him within an inch of his life.
No. Even if there was no chance, he would create one.
However, no matter how helpless Rowe felt, he couldn't stop this train speeding toward Tokyo, which Tamamo-no-Mae had commandeered.
Nor could he stop her current actions.
Her tails formed a cage, blocking all movement. Her lips lowered again, her hands slipping inside his coat...
*Click.*
The train suddenly jolted, and Tamamo-no-Mae froze.
A knocking sound came from outside the sliding door of the compartment.
"Lady Tamamo-no-Mae—" A clear female voice reported from the corridor. "News has arrived from the Spiral Hall in the Divine Land. That Esteemed One has personally rushed over and has already arrived in Tokyo."
"Oh my. She came so fast, didn't she? I haven't even had my fun yet." Tamamo-no-Mae's golden eyes flickered.
She rolled her eyes playfully, as if a more interesting game had just occurred to her. "It seems she also has her own informants here in Japan."
She slowly rose, her body detaching from his.
"But it doesn't matter."
"Since she's here, it's more fun to play face-to-face!"
"Don't you think?"
Tamamo-no-Mae brushed her long sleeves. With a wave of her hand, a mask appeared in her palm.
She gently placed the mask over Rowe's face.
It instantly concealed his Magical Energy and aura completely.
Rowe let her do as she pleased... but his mind was racing.
'That Esteemed One from the Divine Land'... presumably, it can only be Consort Yu, the eternal True Ancestor who still reigns as Empress.
In the Divine Land, 'Taiyi'—Rowe—was technically the highest authority, but for two thousand years, he had remained hidden from the world.
Across the vast history of China, the one who consistently controlled the Mysteries and the texture of the land was the immensely powerful Consort Yu.
As for this fox...
Without a doubt, she was playing with fire.
I'll just quietly watch you dig your own grave, Rowe thought, a faint, elegant smile playing on his lips beneath the mask.
He was not flustered in the slightest.
.....
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