Although Higashi is tiny.
It used to be rife with internal conflict. It was once divided by eight great families, similar to the situation in Siracusa today. It's just that Higashi's territory isn't as large as Siracusa's, so when the eight families fought back then, it gave off the comical impression of a village brawl. Even so, with Yan's help, Higashi's strength ranked high among the third-world countries of Terra.
If not for the civil war and the Bloodpeak Campaign, Higashi might even have qualified as a secondary power. But... that still couldn't hide the fact that Higashi was small.
After the brutal Bloodpeak Campaign.
The eight great families of Higashi were consolidated into two, becoming the current Kōgon faction and Kōgen faction.
Of course.
To people from other countries, nobody cared what Kō-whatever-gen you were. People from other countries only cared if you could release new 'special videos' faster—they were tired of the old actors—or if the new anime series could have some new tricks, can the light novels stop being about protagonists reincarnating in another world? The other worlds are getting full. And can your games stop being so expensive?
Since it was adorable Lisa's request, Lucas Reeve would naturally grant it. He summoned [Stardust] from Columbia, and the two boarded the aircraft and flew toward Higashi. Lucas Reeve had temporarily hit a bottleneck regarding [Stardust]'s power system. It seemed that conventional power had reached its technological peak. If he wanted a breakthrough in the power system, it would have to be a technological leap.
After all, [Stardust]'s flight speed was already comparable to the conventional fighter jets of his previous life. In overdrive, it could even match a supersonic fighter, though it couldn't maintain that speed for long with the current engine. But it was enough.
Lucas Reeve, Nian, and Zumama had considered this for a long time, but for now, they had no other solutions.
Although Lucas Reeve's forging talent was ridiculously high with the [Living Forge / Master Craftsman (Source: Ornn)] ability, forging and technology were, strictly speaking, two different things.
Er...
For a new breakthrough, he'd probably have to consult the Aegir. The Aegir's technology level is way, way higher than the land-dwellers.
In the span of nearly a year.
The situation in Siracusa has changed drastically.
With Raythean Industries' involvement, plus the annihilation of [Wolf Fang], the Sicily family was showing signs of taking control of all of Siracusa. The territory it controlled had grown from the initial 35% to the current 50%.
This meant that the Sicily family alone occupied half of Siracusa, while the other three families were left with the other half.
During this time, Lisa had also become a hunter in the shadows, continuously hunting down wicked people who had fallen into darkness.
Over time, her reputation in Siracusa is now no less than that of Vulpisfoglia.
"Oho! Mr. Reeve, we meet again! Long time no see!"
Inside [Stardust], Angelina greeted Lucas Reeve cheerfully, her beautiful eyes smiling into crescents. She wore pretty makeup, and the colorful nail polish on her hands was particularly eye-catching, looking just like a trendy, makeup-savvy high school girl.
After she stopped being a special messenger, Angelina returned home and came clean to her parents. Her parents didn't blame their daughter at all and felt terrible for what their good girl had been through all this time.
After living with her parents for a few months, Angelina tried to find Lisa and Lucas Reeve from memory. However, Lucas had already left their previous residence. Afterward, Angelina called Lisa's phone, and after a discussion, Angelina decided to team up with Lisa.
Angelina's Originium Arts are extremely flexible. Almost every time they infiltrated, struck a target, and escaped, it was thanks to Angelina's efforts.
"Long time no see."
On this trip to Higashi, there was another reason: Angelina's mother happened to be from Higashi, so Higashi was not unfamiliar territory for Angelina.
Of course, it wasn't just the three of them on this trip.
The 'loafing-around foursome' also came along: Nian, Skadi, Laurentina, and Surtr.
And of course.
The moment she heard they were going to Higashi, Magallan came along too.
To be honest.
Since the foursome had just met Magallan, they didn't know about her bizarre characteristic. If it were up to Lucas, he would one hundred percent forbid Magallan from accompanying them. However, by the time the aircraft arrived in Siracusa, Magallan was already on board. They couldn't just kick her off.
Besides, the team composition was completely different from before. With gods present to suppress it, they should be able to counteract Magallan's infectious bad luck.
Probably.
Maybe...
"Tsk, tsk..."
Laurentina couldn't help but shake her head and click her tongue. She sat in the aircraft seat, legs crossed, her two long, snow-white thighs wrapped around each other like pythons, slick and alluring under her black stockings. She folded her arms across her impressive chest and teased.
"As expected of Mr. Reeve, your 'Sea King' talent is truly strong. Everywhere you go, you have female confidantes, and every one of them is incredibly cute."
"You're better suited to be an Aegir than Skadi's captain."
Laurentina's silver tongue was much better than Skadi's. If it were Skadi, she'd probably just nod dumbly or pout dumbly.
"I figured that out long ago."
Magallan nodded. This was her first time riding in Lucas's aircraft, and she looked around curiously.
As for Nian, she was carrying a cinema-grade camera on her shoulder, worth over a million, and had another small camera fixed to her chest.
According to Nian, she was gathering material! Since they were going to Higashi, they'd start from Higashi. After all, although Higashi doesn't exactly persecute the Infected, it discriminates against them in various ways. No one will intentionally harm you if you're Infected, but you'll face all sorts of cold shoulders. No company will hire you, you might not even be allowed to buy things in a store. It's a kind of relentless, cold ostracism.
As for the purpose of going to Higashi, according to Lisa's explanation.
Her father is the Provisional Chief Priest of a large shrine in Higashi, basically the second-in-command. Shrines hold a very special status in Higashi. The largest is called a Imperial Shrine, of which there is only one in Higashi, enshrining the supreme god. Below the Imperial Shrine are several Grand Shrines, each enshrining different gods. For example, the one Lisa's father is at enshrines the nine-tailed fox. Below the Grand Shrines are the Shrines and the most common Shrines.
Even though the two factions are fighting fiercely, no one dares to provoke the shrines. The status of these shrines in Higashi is equivalent to a combination of Yan's Tianshi Fu, Ministry of Rites, and Sui Regulator Commission. And the Onmyōji within the shrines are equivalent to Yan's Celestial Masters.
In fact.
Onmyōji themselves are just an offshoot of Yan's Celestial Masters. The Yan Celestial Masters have a 'Spirit-Taming' branch, which gradually evolved into the new practice of Onmyōji after it spread to Higashi.
According to Lisa.
The statue of the god her father's shrine worships suddenly lit up. And according to the god's decree, it requires someone of pure nine-tailed fox bloodline to pass a trial, and they can then obtain a portion of the god's power.
The god hasn't shown its presence in many years. The last time was during the great demon invasion in Beijiang (Northern Frontier). Although Yan held back the demons, the Yōkai and evil spirits on Higashi's borders also suddenly grew stronger. Back then, ghosts know how many Onmyōji died to defeat the strongest evil spirit.
For the statue to show its presence again means that another great chaos is imminent.
Lisa's father asked Lucas to come back so his daughter could participate in the selection. Although Lisa's father didn't want to disturb his daughter's peaceful life, he didn't dare defy a request from the god.
"Er... this Higashi really isn't up to much." Nian muttered.
"I remember back during the Chaos in the Saibei, Yan fought desperately to block all the god-level demons. How did Higashi have such a hard time with the few little ones that got through?"
"Shh!"
Lucas Reeve told Nian not to say too much. After all, Lisa and Angelina were both from Higashi.
However, Angelina didn't mind. "It's fine."
Since Higashi is on the easternmost side of Yan, even departing from Siracusa, the distance was considerable. It took the aircraft a full six hours to reach the skies above Higashi.
Lisa's father's shrine is located in a large mobile city called Chiyoda City, which belongs to the southern Kōgen faction.
And because the mobile city is close to the northern demarcation line, war is inevitable. Whenever war breaks out, the Grand Shrines where Lisa's father works takes in innocent civilians. The Kōgon faction doesn't dare to touch the shrine. If it were just an ordinary Shrines, it might be a different story, but this is a Grand Shrine, second only to the Imperial Shrine, with a lofty status.
"Wow!! This is so... anime-like!"
The aircraft parked outside, and the group drove into the mobile city as usual.
As soon as they entered.
The overpowering aura of *nijigen* (2D) otaku culture hit them in the face. The vibe was overwhelming.
Basically, all the advertisements on the sides of the skyscrapers were for anime series and anime mobile games, with a large number of maid cafés mixed in here and there.
As a respectable person, Nian found this strange environment a bit much.
"I've always wondered something."
Nian nudged Lucas Reeve with her elbow and asked.
"Don't tell me people actually treat 'paper people' (2D characters) as their wives or husbands? I've been browsing the internet lately, and a lot of people are calling these paper people 'waifu' or 'husbando' or whatever. And... Dusk seems to be showing signs of this lately. Her phone wallpaper is starting to get very anime..."
"Er...."
Lucas Reeve fell silent for a moment. He didn't know what to say.
After all, in his previous life, he was definitely a member of the old-school anime fandom, even frequently counter-trolling in anti-anime forums. It was just that after crossing over, under the influence of his divinity, Lucas gradually lost interest in mortal things.
"Is it possible that... for ordinary people, they're paper people, but for Dusk... they're real, because Dusk can literally draw them to life?"
"Hiss...."
That makes sense!!
Nian took a deep breath, then whispered cautiously to Lucas.
"I'll tell you a secret, don't you dare tell Dusk."
"In the past, Dusk's painted world was very normal. Ink wash paintings, ancient Jiangnan style. But I peeked at her paintings recently... the common folk in her paintings who used to wear plain clothes all have 'new skins' now, and they're all weird... There's this muscular hunk with spiky golden hair that looks like a hedgehog. And, I remember, the two old men who used to play chess by the bridge in her painting have been replaced by two young guys with outrageous hairstyles playing cards..."
Lucas Reeve: "???"
He suddenly felt a desire to visit Dusk's painted world. He was suddenly a little excited.
Lisa's father's Grand Shrine wasn't located in the city center as one might expect. On the contrary, it was in a relatively remote area, already on the outskirts of the mobile city.
The shrine was imposing, and the main hall in the center was magnificent. It wasn't very tall, only one story, but it gave off a very grand and sacred feeling. It was built entirely of wood and tiles, without even using cement, constructed using the most ancient methods. The large red pillars were already peeling and faded, but no one had repaired them, maintaining their original rustic appearance.
As soon as they stepped through the main gate of the shrine.
Instantly.
A very, very faint divine aura, like a unique scent, wafted over them, and was sensed by Lucas Reeve and Nian.
The divine aura was very weak.
It couldn't even be called a Divine Fragment. If this was a Divine Fragment, it could only mean the original body was too weak. After all, the strength of a Divine Fragment is related to its size, but it's also highly related to the original body's power before death.
Take Sui, for example. Ancient and powerful.
The fragments split from Sui are ridiculously strong. Even Big Brother, Second Brother, and Ling's power is already unrivaled in Yan, second only to the Old Celestial Master. Even though they are fragments, they already possess power comparable to a complete, ordinary god. After all, their upper limit is so high, the fragments can't possibly be weak.
"This is kinda pathetic."
Nian was speechless.
And just as Lucas Reeve, Nian, and the others stepped into the shrine, this divine aura suddenly trembled.
Of course, it's not that the other party was weak, but that Nian and Lucas were too strong. She was a fragment of a Sui Beast, completely different from an ordinary divine fragment.