To temporarily unseal the Monkey God sealed within the Western Heavenly Palace using the spell of Keeper of the Horses, three conditions must be met.
First, the Divinity of the Dragon-Serpent, the natural nemesis of the Steel Hero, must manifest.
Second, one must possess the Dragon-Slaying Sword, currently held by the Kuhoutsuka Family, which can weaken the spell's power.
Third, a Hime-Miko with calamity-purging ability must wield the Dragon-Slaying Sword and use her Spiritual Power here to weaken the spell.
Calamity-purging is an extremely rare ability. There hasn't been a Hime-Miko possessing this power in Japan's magical world for nearly a century, which is why the Monkey God has remained imprisoned here for a hundred years. Besides the lack of necessary Dragon-Serpent blood, the Kuhoutsuka Family, guardians of the Western Heavenly Palace, have long failed to find a Hime-Miko with this power.
A Hime-Miko with this ability can eliminate magical and mystical power, purge disasters, erase or restore sorcery and magic that shouldn't exist in this world.
Thus, only someone who can skillfully use this power can serve as the Hime-Miko of the Western Heavenly Palace. Previously, a Hime-Miko possessing this ability would come here, accompany the Monkey God in play, and when necessary, wield the Dragon-Slaying Sword to release him to destroy Dragon-Serpents appearing in the mortal realm.
If these three conditions aren't met, not even a god or a Campione can release the Monkey God.
The spell of Keeper of the Horses is an extremely high-grade grand sorcery. The ones who formed it were denizens of the Netherworld led by Susanoo and others—those referred to as "the old men" by Sayanomiya Kaoru and Touma Amakasu, as well as "grandfather and his comrades" by Seishuin Ena—and also the elders behind the History Compilation Committee.
That is why the place imprisoning the Monkey God is in the Netherworld.
Thanks to this, even someone like Luo Hao, an unrivaled martial artist and master of Daoist arts, was powerless against it. A hundred years ago, she blew up the entire Tōshōgu Shrine but still failed to break the spell. Even now, she can only wait for an opportunity, for the moment of judgment to arrive.
Unfortunately, such a powerful spell was nothing but a minor matter to Kaiser.
"Boom!"
When the vast Magical Power transformed into pure white flames and shot into the sky, blowing apart the entire stable, Kaiser's figure was already suspended in midair above the space.
The pure white flames wrapped around his body, gradually forming flawless, immaculate armor, turning him into a Dragon of Stars with fully spread luminous wings.
Divine Dividing Balance Breaker — [White Dragon Emperor's Armor].
"You…"
The Monkey God looked up in astonishment at the immaculate White Dragon in midair.
"You, a Campione, actually bear the Divinity of the Dragon-Serpent?"
It must be said, this monkey's eyesight was indeed sharp. Even after becoming the seemingly harmless Keeper of the Horses, his Fiery Golden Eyes remained extraordinary. In an instant, he saw through Kaiser's true nature at this moment.
Perhaps even Kaiser himself had yet to realize—
After becoming a Campione and successively slaying five deities, repeatedly boosting his Magical Power fivefold, his Divine Dividing and Boosted Gear began to awaken Divinity like his Authorities.
This Divinity did not belong to the White Dragon Emperor or the Red Dragon Emperor, but to the core sealed within the Sacred Gears—the trait of the "Serpent."
It was originally the power of the Infinite Dragon God Ophis, though only about one-tenth of her true strength. As Kaiser grew stronger, this power grew stronger too, and now it was beginning to return to its source and manifest the Divinity of the Dragon God.
In this case, his two dragon-type Sacred Gears were no longer suited to be called Divine Dividing and Boosted Gear. They should now be called the Wings of the White Dragon God Emperor and the Gauntlet of the Red Dragon God Emperor!
The Monkey God saw this Divinity and was astonished.
But Kaiser paid him no heed.
He floated in midair, wings spread wide, as the blue jewel on his armor suddenly lit up, sending Dragon Pulses rippling outward.
"Divide!"
A deep voice echoed from the blue jewel, and the Dragon Pulses spread out like a ferocious tyrannosaur, biting into the power of the Keeper of the Horses spell permeating the space.
"Hmm?"
The Monkey God instantly sensed something was wrong.
"The spell's power… suddenly weakened!"
And it weakened by a full half.
"Divide!" "Divide!" "Divide!" "Divide!" "Divide!"...
Kaiser, suspended in midair, continued to activate the Divide ability, repeatedly weakening the power of the Keeper of the Horses spell at an astonishing rate.
Each weakening halved the power!
Each weakening caused the entire space to tremble!
By the time the Monkey God came back to his senses, he realized that the force binding him had dwindled to the faintest thread.
And he could no longer move.
Because with each weakening, part of his body would petrify. When the spell was reduced to almost nothing, his entire body had turned to stone—a stone filled with Spiritual Power.
"So that's how it is… I see…"
The voice from the petrified stone monkey was no longer astonished but filled with clarity, with realization, and gradually rising emotion.
"I am a warrior of steel, a god born beneath the stars to subjugate the Dragon-Serpent!"
"Monkey God?"
"No! I am the Great Sage Equal to Heaven—Sun Wukong!"
The ever-changing magical abilities were his trademark.
The Indestructible Diamond Body was the external manifestation of his "Steel" attribute.
He was born in Dongsheng Divine Continent, emerged on Flower-Fruit Mountain, known as the Handsome Monkey King. He learned the art of immortality at Mount Potalaka, tore apart the Book of Life and Death in the underworld, obtained the Ruyi Jingu Bang in the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace, declared himself Great Sage Equal to Heaven, fought a hundred thousand celestial soldiers, and caused chaos in the Celestial Court as the Victorious Fighting Buddha!
Though he bore the nature of a God of Steel, in essence, he was a Heretic God mingled with many Divinities beyond just that of the Sword God!
Heretic God — Sun Wukong… has descended!
"Haha! Ol' Sun is back!"
Though transformed into a motionless stone monkey, Sun Wukong's voice remained cheerful and carefree, yet it brimmed with power.
His entire body was stone, yet his eyes grew even brighter, as if flames truly burned within them—his sclera turned red, and his pupils blazed golden.
Fiery Golden Eyes—another of his symbols.
This was the legendary spiritual sight of the ancient Chinese myths, and its origin was him—awakened in the alchemical furnace of the Supreme Lord Laozi.
"Bang!"
In midair, Kaiser's pure white armor suddenly shattered into particles of light, vanishing completely, his wings also retracting into his body.
But in his hand appeared a pitch-black Divine Sword.
"Ame no Murakumo."
Kaiser calmly commanded:
"Absorb the remaining spell."
This rightful Divine Sword inherently possessed the ability to absorb Magical Power.
Using this ability, while it couldn't fully absorb the entire power of Keeper of the Horses's spell at its peak, now that only a wisp remained, it was enough to devour it completely.
The Divide ability could only keep halving—it couldn't erase.
Thus, to fully break the grand spell of Keeper of the Horses, Kaiser needed the power of Ame no Murakumo.
"Yes! The sword bestowed by my lord! Now is the time to strike!"
As the voice of Ame no Murakumo echoed in his mind, the pitch-black Divine Sword descended.
"Pshk!"
As if something truly severed, the final trace of Keeper of the Horses's spell left in the space was completely consumed by the sword.
"Incredible! You actually erased Keeper of the Horses's spell!"
The stone monkey's eyes glowed as he fixed his gaze on Kaiser, at last revealing the fighting spirit and battle intent one should show a Campione.
"But is this really okay? I've returned to my heretic form. I won't be so easygoing anymore, you know?"
The stone monkey spoke provocatively.
Kaiser descended from the air, landing before the monkey, looking at him.
"That's exactly what I want to see."
Kaiser met those Fiery Golden Eyes without a hint of fear, a slight smile lifting his lips as though he had finally seen what he had come for.
"This time, I didn't just come to release you—I came to fight the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who accompanied me and countless Chinese children through our childhood!"
Hearing this, Sun Wukong seemed to want to grin, but since even his mouth was petrified, he could only laugh through muffled sounds.
"Gutsy! As expected of the Demon Lord who dares to slay gods! Ol' Sun can't even remember the last time someone declared war on me head-on like this!"
"In that case, my fellow countryman Campione, wait a little longer!"
"When I emerge from this stone once more, it will be the day the Heretic Sun Wukong fully returns!"
"When that day comes, I'll find you and grant you the battle you desire!"
Leaving these words behind, the stone monkey closed his Fiery Golden Eyes and entered a slumber.
Being born from stone—this was an essential part of Sun Wukong's mythos.
He had been sealed here for too long. Even when occasionally released to subdue Dragon-Serpents, the Keeper of the Horses spell had never been fully broken.
Now, with the spell completely dispelled by Kaiser, in order to return to his heretic form and regain his full godly strength, reentering a state of stone and being reborn became a necessary ritual.
Sun Wukong's Divinity and godly power would, through this process—like steel being refined in fire—gradually return to him, allowing him to recover his peak form, or perhaps even become stronger.
This was also his response to Kaiser's challenge.
Thanks to his Fiery Golden Eyes, he could understand the power of this fellow countryman Campione more clearly than any other god Kaiser had faced.
Therefore, with the spell fully broken, now free to leave at any time, Sun Wukong chose instead to accumulate power and sharpen his sword to face Kaiser in a battle stronger than ever before.
Kaiser could already sense an immense Magical Power building within the stone monkey, burning like a fire in an alchemical furnace.
"I'll wait for you."
Understanding Sun Wukong's intent, Kaiser left those words behind, then turned and departed.
"Buzz—"
The space began to expand, the stable vanished, the square-shaped cavern widened, and a waterfall thundered down from above the cave mouth, sealing the entrance.
At this moment, the space seemed to transform into the legendary Water Curtain Cave of Flower-Fruit Mountain, recreating a mythological scene.
...
This day, for all of Mount Nikkō and even Nikkō City, was a day of great unrest.
As the Keeper of the Horses spell binding Sun Wukong was broken, and he returned to his stone monkey state to reclaim his heretic form and gather Divine Power, strange phenomena began to spread outward from the Western Heavenly Palace.
First was the Tōshōgu Shrine sharing the same domain, then the entire Mount Nikkō, and finally the surrounding regions—all began to experience abnormalities that continued to expand.
These phenomena were disasters accompanying the descent of a Heretic God into the world.
When the God of Fire descends, wildfires ignite.
When the Sea God descends, tidal waves rise.
When the God of War descends, conflict spreads across the world.
When the God of the Sky descends, storms and lightning blanket the heavens, swallowing the earth in tempests.
Sun Wukong is a Sword God of Steel and a monkey god born in simian form.
As he returned to his heretic state and descended again into the world, the resulting phenomenon caused the humans nearby to transform into monkeys one after another.
First, those worshipping at the Tōshōgu Shrine turned into monkeys, then people on Mount Nikkō followed, and finally those in the surrounding area began changing one after another—turning Mount Nikkō into a monkey-occupied city.
This phenomenon naturally drew immediate attention from those in the know.
"The monkey's seal was broken?"
"How could that be?"
"How was it broken so suddenly?"
In the Netherworld, in a storm-battered cabin, the elderly nobleman, the mage, and the princess with glazed eyes all looked up from the hearth in astonishment, staring at each other.
In the Sayanomiya villa, Sayanomiya Kaoru was speaking on the phone with a grave expression.
"Why was the Monkey God's seal broken?"
"Wasn't it a seal that hadn't budged in a hundred years?"
"What about the Kuhoutsuka Family? Contact them immediately! Demand an explanation!"
As she hung up, Touma Amakasu, standing behind her, finally spoke.
"What happened?"
To which Sayanomiya Kaoru could only respond with a wry smile.
"I wish I knew."