"Your Majesty."
In the front hall of the Shichio Shrine, Sayanomiya Kaoru, who had been quietly waiting, stood up and bowed in greeting to Kaiser, who was walking in through the door.
Behind her, Touma Amakasu was also present. Upon seeing Kaiser, he bowed as well but did not speak.
This time, he was merely accompanying Sayanomiya Kaoru, and naturally would not overstep.
Just like Mariya Yuri and Liliana Kranjčar, who were currently following behind Kaiser. They too remained silent, simply accompanying him quietly.
"This is our second meeting? Or third?" Kaiser casually sat down in front of Sayanomiya Kaoru and said with a smile.
"If it's a formal meeting, then this is the second time." Sayanomiya Kaoru also sat down with a smile after receiving Kaiser's permission and said, "Last time, when Marquis Voban descended, I only contacted Your Majesty over the phone."
Before that was the time when Kaiser became a Campione and first met Sayanomiya Kaoru in this Shichio Shrine.
"It doesn't seem like that long ago, does it?" Kaiser lifted the tea brewed personally by Mariya Yuri from the side and said leisurely while drinking, "Did you come this time because of the situation in Nikko City?"
"Your Majesty sees everything with great clarity." Sayanomiya Kaoru did not hide anything at all, nodding her head and saying, "The situation in Nikko City is getting worse and worse, and we are already at our wits' end."
"We have no choice but to come and ask Your Majesty for help, hoping that for the sake of the countless innocent people in this country, you will take action against the god."
In fact, Sayanomiya Kaoru originally felt there was no need to come seek help.
Because she knew this new king in front of her had an unusually strong interest in God-Slaying—otherwise, he wouldn't have had them provide information on Heretic Gods previously.
In her view, as long as this king learned of the Heretic God's manifestation in Nikko City, he would definitely rush over immediately to engage in battle.
For this, she had already made full preparations, sending many people to do everything possible to minimize the impact of the coming divine battle and prevent the disaster from spreading to cities around Nikko City.
Unexpectedly, several days had passed, yet this king had remained in the Shichio Shrine without stepping out of its grounds even once.
She did not believe this king would be unaware of a Heretic God's descent.
Even Liliana could perceive the appearance of a Heretic God in Nikko City—how could this king, as a Campione, an enemy fated to clash with Heretic Gods, possibly not detect a god's arrival?
Gods and Campiones are destined enemies. When they appear in the same place, they are bound to be drawn together by fate and ultimately confront each other.
Therefore, Sayanomiya Kaoru did not believe Kaiser was unaware of the Heretic God's descent.
But what was strange was that, despite likely already knowing, this king had not taken even a single step of action...
This made Sayanomiya Kaoru somewhat restless and left with no choice but to come and personally request assistance.
However, Kaiser merely cast a glance at Sayanomiya Kaoru that was half-smile, half-sneer.
"You all are helpless? I don't believe that." Kaiser swirled the teacup in his hand and said, "The Monkey God Lord of the Western Heaven Palace—that wasn't sealed and transformed from a Heretic God into a Guardian Sword of the Nation by the great sages behind you all?"
"They had the ability to seal that Heretic God, so do they not have the ability to deal with it now?"
As soon as those words came out, everyone present was shocked.
"You... you already know about the Monkey God Lord?"
Sayanomiya Kaoru looked extremely surprised.
"Ho?" Liliana was also quite astonished and couldn't help but say, "To think your side has such incredible people—not only able to seal a Heretic God, but even transform it into a guardian deity for the nation?"
This was indeed something to be astonished about.
Sealing Heretic Gods was not particularly rare.
Just like what Erica had considered back on Sardinia—while humans were generally powerless against Heretic Gods, if all conditions were met, and special divine tools or methods were used, sealing a Heretic God was possible.
For example, the witch of Sardinia once mentioned had a Prometheus Grimoire capable of seizing divine Authorities and weakening gods. That witch, after painstakingly meeting the conditions to activate the divine tool, successfully seized the god's power, weakened it, and sealed it—thus averting a crisis.
Examples like this exist all over the world. Otherwise, if humanity had no way to deal with Heretic Gods since ancient times, they would have been eradicated long ago.
Sometimes a God-Slaying monster appears; sometimes human wisdom seals the gods and averts crisis. Human history has developed this far under such circumstances without perishing midway.
And a country like this one, with great sages from history guarding it behind the scenes, is not without precedent either.
So yes, being able to seal a god is a commendable feat. But if it were just that, Liliana wouldn't be so surprised.
What truly shocked her was that someone could not only seal a god, but also utilize the god as a protector of the nation.
That's not something that can be done casually.
At least in Europe, Liliana had never heard of such a case.
Yet here in this far-eastern land, which Europeans viewed as a remote backwater, such an incredible thing had actually occurred—she was truly astonished.
Of course, this was also because Liliana did not know that behind this country was a group of Netherworld dwellers.
Among those beings, just one Susanoo had once been a Heretic God. Even now, having shed the Heretic form, he remained a bona fide god. Adding to that the presence of enlightened monks, demigods, and spirits—this combined strength could indeed be used to scheme against a Heretic God.
Kaiser understood this perfectly. Seeing Sayanomiya Kaoru's astonished look, he calmly said,
"Not long ago, I had a meeting with the Martial King of China."
Hearing this, Mariya Yuri and Liliana might not understand, but Sayanomiya Kaoru and Touma Amakasu immediately did.
"So that's it. You learned about this from her?" Sayanomiya Kaoru said helplessly, "I'd heard that she once blew up the entire Tōshō-gū a hundred years ago. I didn't expect that after a whole century, she's still holding onto that grudge."
Clearly, Sayanomiya Kaoru mistakenly believed that Luo Hao had told Kaiser everything.
She was even thinking that the unsealing of the Monkey God Lord might have been caused by that Martial King.
Otherwise, why would the binding curse on the Monkey King, which had held for centuries, suddenly fail now?
"That's not the point."
Kaiser naturally didn't know that in Sayanomiya Kaoru's mind, Luo Hao had already taken the blame for him.
He just looked at Sayanomiya Kaoru and said with a half-smile:
"What I mean is, since you people had the means to seal that monkey, now that it's broken free, you should deal with it yourselves."
"Aren't those old fogeys in the Netherworld quite capable?"
"Then let me see for myself."
Kaiser had long wanted to say this.
Weren't those old geezers in the Netherworld capable of sending a Hime-Miko with a divine blade to test him?
Weren't they capable of causing him trouble?
If you're so powerful that you could tame a Heretic Sun Wukong into a Guardian Sword of the Nation, turning him into a Monkey God Lord to slay dragons and serpents, now that he's broken free, why don't you come clean up your own mess?
Honestly, Kaiser was quite looking forward to it. If Susanoo really did come to the present world over this, he wouldn't mind sending him packing back home first.
He had released Sun Wukong so brazenly precisely to cause trouble for those old fogeys. Otherwise, with his current ability, he could have easily made the unsealing happen without impacting the outside world.
To say nothing else—both of them were in the Netherworld at the time. When Kaiser broke the seal, the corridor isolated from the rest of the Netherworld also opened. Kaiser could have led Sun Wukong deeper into the Netherworld. In that case, his magical power wouldn't have leaked out of the Western Heaven Palace and affected Nikko City.
But he just didn't want to do that. He wanted to see what the reactions of those old fogeys would be when someone disrupted their precious land.
Moreover, from what he knew of the original work, Kaiser knew clearly that the Heretic Sun Wukong had been lured to this land by those very old geezers, all to hide the greatest secret of the land—deliberately turning him into a Guardian Sword of the Nation to slay dragons and serpents. So the current disaster? Those old geezers brought it upon themselves.
The god they lured for their schemes, the god they deliberately sealed and used—now that he's broken free, they should come deal with it themselves!
If they had the audacity to treat another country's hero like a pet monkey, then let's see if they have the guts to come clean up the mess—or whether Kaiser will clean them up instead.
That's the game Kaiser was playing.
Sayanomiya Kaoru seemed to understand something from Kaiser's attitude, and a bitter smile appeared on her face.
"Those elders cannot freely leave the Netherworld, so we can't seek help from them."
This, at least, was true.
Why had those old folks secluded themselves in the Netherworld?
Because only in such a place could they continue to exist.
The present world is a realm of the living—it does not belong to gods, much less to those who surpass the limits of life and refuse to die.
If gods descend upon the present world, they become Heretic, gradually driven mad, losing their true selves and turning into so-called Heretic Gods.
Enlightened monks might attain higher realms and heights, but as long as they remain in the present world, their physical bodies will inevitably decay with time and rot away.
As for beings like spirits—there was no need to mention them. Being extraordinary entities, how could they last long in the present world?
Only the Netherworld, a realm where spirit outweighs the body and where life and immortality coexist, could free these beings from physical limitations and let them exist eternally.
Susanoo remained in the Netherworld precisely to escape his Heretic state. If he returned to the present world, he would become like Sun Wukong and Verethragna—even as a hero, a god of justice on the side of light, he would gradually lose his essence and rampage on earth.
The same held true for the others. Whether they couldn't leave the Netherworld or couldn't appear casually in the present world—if they did, who truly ruled this country? The ancient forces led by the Sayanomiya family? That would be uncertain.
Now that Heretic Sun Wukong had broken free, once he emerged, he would definitely return to the present world. Those old folks naturally couldn't take action lightly.
Because of that, Sayanomiya Kaoru had come to seek Kaiser's help.
"I thought they were so impressive," Kaiser said with some sarcasm, "Turns out they only bully the honest."
"No wonder the last time I slashed at them, they fled like cowards—didn't even dare to take back Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi. Turns out they're all silver-plated spearheads—flashy but hollow. That storm they summoned that day must've been their limit, huh?"
Sayanomiya Kaoru immediately shut her mouth, not daring to say another word.
The others likewise didn't dare even breathe loudly, fearing they'd say the wrong thing.
No matter which side you criticized—it would be a grave offense!
Seeing this, Kaiser said no more.
This was, after all, a matter between him and those old geezers. Sayanomiya Kaoru and the others were outsiders.
Forget Sayanomiya Kaoru—even the suffering citizens of Nikko City could be said to be mere collateral damage in the conflict between Kaiser and the old fogeys.
But… who told them to be the ones sheltered by those geezers?
You could say they were collateral damage, but not without reason.
"What's the situation in Nikko City now?"
Kaiser asked calmly.
"Nikko City's current situation isn't too bad—just that all the citizens have turned into monkeys. Aside from that, no other abnormalities have appeared." Sayanomiya Kaoru let out a sigh of relief and added quickly, "However, it seems there are major changes occurring on Mount Nikkō. According to those we sent to investigate, wild plants and animals are growing rapidly there, and the environment is gradually becoming primitive."
"The residents of Nikko City… after turning into monkeys, they all seem to be gathering toward that mountain."
"Now, Mount Nikkō is almost unrecognizable—the entire mountain has become a primitive monkey mountain."
Hearing this, Kaiser couldn't help but laugh.
"It's practically like Mount Huaguo."
Sun Wukong really was quite amusing. Just his manifestation had already turned the nearby people into his monkey subjects and transformed Mount Nikkō into Mount Huaguo. Was he trying to recreate his homeland here on earth?
"All right, you all can go back for now." Kaiser waved his hand and said, "As for Sun Wukong, I'll deal with it."
What else could Sayanomiya Kaoru do?
She could only nod and agree.