---o---
In that dim, empty space, the very sense of distance had become distorted.
It seemed unbelievably vast, yet at the same time, it felt oppressively narrow.
There was a simple reason for this: the world, which should have been quite spacious, was filled to the brim with dense magical energy that had condensed into mist and crystals.
And the source of it all was an unconscious high school student from the Far East.
Crucified against the wall, the student was a spitting image of Christ during the Passion.
If anyone knowledgeable were present, they would surely tremble from shock, rendered speechless.
That was—
The fool who slew the war god Verethragna, the King of the Far East.
Kusanagi Godou.
This God-Slayer, who should theoretically rule the entire Far East, now looked so haggard that it seemed he could breathe his last at any moment.
"Did I go too far?" the young man wondered aloud, looking at the God-Slayer who had yet to awaken.
"Hey, hey, hey, what in the world did you do to Kusanagi Godou?" the System's voice was laced with a strange tone, completely unable to comprehend what methods Li Zihan had used to keep a warrior as first-rate as Kusanagi Godou unconscious for so long.
"I probably just drained all his magical energy, leading to a state of extreme physical weakness," the boy stated calmly, describing a rather brutal procedure that involved drawing blood, infusing it with the Matou family's magecraft, and then transfusing it back into Kusanagi Godou.
A God-Slayer's body possessed an insanely high resistance to external magic, so much so that even a true god would feel like cursing.
However—
Their internal resistance to magic was clearly not as high.
Based on this vulnerability, Li Zihan had decisively employed the Matou family's magecraft, a technique he had almost forgotten.
The Matou family's signature magical attribute was "Absorption."
Magecraft utilizing this trait was characterized by "always returning the results to one's own body." This absorption principle could also be used to restrain others. Matou Zouken had used this attribute directly to prolong his own life by absorbing the life force of others.
Once this spell was introduced into Kusanagi Godou's body, his blood, now transformed into a magical tool, would continuously absorb his magical energy and transmit it to Li Zihan.
But since Li Zihan himself had no shortage of magical energy, he had modified the spell slightly, redirecting the flow of power into the surrounding environment, where a magic circle processed it into mana crystals.
The dense magical mist and gleaming crystals all around were the physical manifestation of Kusanagi Godou's power.
Having lost his magical energy, he had also lost the ability to use his Authorities and could not break free from his restraints.
If no one came to his rescue, Mr. Kusanagi would likely be imprisoned in this basement for all eternity, never to see the light of day again.
Li Zihan waved his hand, commanding the wind to sweep the solidified mana crystals into the shadow at his feet.
The quality of these crystals was frighteningly high; if taken to the Type-Moon world, they would undoubtedly be enough to drive many mages into a frenzy.
The next time I go back, I could try giving these to Reines or Illya as a gift.
The boy mused that both Reines and Illya would grow up to be incredibly cute girls.
In a way, this side of Li Zihan was cut from the exact same cloth as a certain Scum Maid who was always luring Luna Kindred with lollipops and blood bags.
"Speaking of which, why did you go to all this trouble to capture Kusanagi Godou?" the System asked, still unable to understand why he would expend so much effort to imprison him.
"He's a vessel for the spoils of war," the boy said casually, having gone to great lengths to transform the basement into a pocket dimension through magical means.
A vessel for the spoils of war?
The System was stunned, completely baffled by what this guy was planning.
"It's like taking a weapon from an enemy's corpse and making it your own to strengthen yourself. A God of Steel plunders the authority and power of those they defeat, converting it into their own."
"Plundering the power of others is standard practice for a God of Steel," the boy shrugged, feeling that an Authority like [The Persian Warlord] was an utter waste on Kusanagi Godou.
"So, as a distant relative of the Gods of Steel, why can't I do something similar?"
The Authority, [The Persian Warlord], was less a single power and more a composite of ten, making it absurdly strong.
However, this excessively powerful Authority came with significant restrictions.
Each incarnation could only be used once per day.
This limitation turned what should have been a god-tier skill into something rather unimpressive. With such a major drawback, if someone who knew the inner workings of the Authority were to plot against him or launch a sneak attack, he'd be beaten into a bloody pulp.
But—
If an Authority like this were in Li Zihan's hands, it would be a different story entirely.
Before a mage of time and space, did a time-based restriction even matter?
Bites the Dust (time reversal), King Crimson (time deletion), Made in Heaven (time acceleration)...
He could eliminate the skill's cooldown in an instant.
Feeling that [The Persian Warlord] was a perfect match for him, Li Zihan simply decided to lock Kusanagi Godou away.
Once he acquired an Authority that represented the "plundering" attribute of a God of Steel, he would strip [The Persian Warlord] right off of Kusanagi Godou.
The same logic could be applied to Cult Master Luo Hao and the Black Prince.
Li Zihan felt his future was bright. It seemed far more reliable to snatch Authorities from his fellow God-Slayers than to hunt Heretical Gods for uncertain gains.
They can't use them properly anyway. They might as well just hand them over to me.
For the first time in a while, the boy, who was actually quite sinister in some ways, remembered something.
Brother Fu, who had landed near that self-proclaimed Martial King, had been out of contact for some time now.
What is she up to?
Using the system to check her location, Li Zihan confirmed that the robust Fu Hua was still alive and kicking.
I should probably ask Kevin about this.
With a wisp of Honkai energy rising from his hand, the boy naturally began contacting Kevin, using the knowledge recorded in the core of the Void Archives.
Honkai energy was also known as Honkai Omnipotence.
Using Honkai energy, which possessed quantum entanglement properties, contacting a comrade was not difficult for the Previous Era, with its advanced Honkai civilization.
And then—
The projection of a certain white-haired big brother appeared before Li Zihan.
"You were looking for me?" the white-haired man asked, looking at the boy who had suddenly contacted him. He had been worrying himself sick trying to find a suitable planet for colonization.
"Do you know what Fu Hua is doing?" Li Zihan asked, genuinely curious as to what the High Immortal, whose chest was now on par with Sirin's thanks to her pectoral muscles, was up to on Mount Lu.
"Hua?"
The white-haired man frowned, seemingly unsure of what his old comrade was doing. After a long moment of thought, he finally spoke.
"It seems she's looking for a Heretical God."
"Looking for a Heretical God?"
Li Zihan was taken aback, never expecting that Brother Fu would be hunting a Heretical God.
"Apparently, she ran into a junior with no martial virtue, but her own strength hasn't recovered yet, so she can't subdue her."
Fuck.
Li Zihan thought.
The High Immortal has thrown down with Luo Hao.