Kirara didn't know where she was or what exactly had happened. She had just gotten off work from her part-time job and was walking home, passing an intersection she didn't usually take. She was listening to music as she walked, completely isolated from the world.
When Kirara crossed the crosswalk and opened her eyes, the world had changed.
The street, which had been full of people, was suddenly completely empty the moment Kirara opened her eyes.
The vast city was empty, without a single soul. A bizarre, oppressive atmosphere descended, making Kirara, who had been timid since childhood, freeze in place.
She walked a long way and finally saw a little girl under a flickering streetlight, squatting with her back to her, seemingly looking at flowers. Having finally found another living person, Kirara, unaware of the situation, ran up to ask what was going on.
However... when Kirara simply asked, "Little girl, what are you doing?"
The little girl slowly turned around. The moment she turned, Kirara was so frightened she nearly fainted.
The little girl had no face.
Kirara took off running in terror. At the next intersection, she finally ran into several people. They seemed to be looking around in confusion, too. They must be real people...
"Hm?"
Everyone turned to look at the girl running over.
She's a pretty cute girl.
Almost as a conditioned reflex, everyone pushed Lucas Reeve to the very back, not letting him say a word.
Too dangerous.
They were starting to seriously distrust Lucas Reeve. Ever since Tsukimiyo, for some unknown reason, asked Lucas Reeve for his contact info, the girls had begun to re-evaluate his charm. He didn't even spare men.
"Little girl?"
Laurentina called out to her.
Because of this, Kirara finally let out a huge sigh of relief. She'd finally found living people!!
"An Aegir?"
Laurentina and Skadi were stunned. They were surprised to meet someone from their homeland in Higashi.
"Aegir?"
Kirara paused, then asked timidly, "You... you're Aegir too?"
"Mhm!"
Not expecting to meet a kinsman in Higashi, Laurentina immediately brightened up.
"I've only been on Terra for the past few years. What are you doing in Higashi?"
Kirara shook her head, saying nervously, "I'm sorry... I don't really know... My parents are Aegir... I've never been to Aegir..."
She seemed very bad at communicating with people.
When she spoke, she didn't dare make eye contact, her eyes always darting away. She blushed easily after just a few sentences. It reminded Lucas Reeve of the old Jessica.
"Ohh~ Got it. By the way, how'd you end up here?"
Kirara didn't know either. "I... I don't know... I just got off my part-time job... I crossed an intersection and suddenly it was like this. I just ran into a little girl with no face..."
"Look."
Laurentina pointed at the samurai under the flickering streetlight.
"See, we have a strange-play enthusiast over here too."
When Kirara saw the samurai with no face, she was terrified. As an ordinary person, she had no idea what was happening. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed she'd encounter such a strange supernatural phenomenon. She thought this stuff only happened in movies and games.
"What... what should we do... Big Sister...."
Maybe it was because they were both Aegir, or maybe it was because Laurentina herself was beautiful and naturally approachable.
After just a simple exchange.
Kirara had begun to rely on Laurentina.
"Go for a walk, of course."
Laurentina smiled slyly.
"It's not often we run into a supernatural event. We have to check it out."
Everyone: "???"
Kirara: "!!!"
"Um... Big Sister, aren't you guys scared?"
"Scared?"
Laurentina paused, then burst out laughing.
"I don't think... I'll be scared. These things should be scared of *me*."
Seeing Laurentina spouting nonsense at the poor girl and frightening her...
Skadi and Surtr weren't good with words, Nian was excitedly watching the show, and Angelina... seemed pretty scared herself. Magallan was angrily glaring at the samurai. There was only one person left who could hold a normal conversation.
"What's your name, little girl?"
Lucas Reeve emerged from the group, pushing the rambling Laurentina aside.
Lucas Reeve was handsome, bright, a typical sunny, athletic "big brother" type. Combined with his deep gaze and profound, ancient temperament, the collision of his appearance and his aura was striking.
Kirara stared... She couldn't help but look at Lucas Reeve's face a few extra times.
For some reason, she felt this big brother... was even more handsome than the male characters in the otome game she played...
"Ki... Kirara."
"Oh... Miss Ki-Kirara, hello. I'm Lucas Reeve."
Kirara: "???"
"I... My name is Kirara... Not Ki-Kirara..."
To say so much to a strange man in one breath...
Kirara's cute face was already beet red, as if she was short on oxygen.
"Hahaha~ Just kidding."
Afterward, Lucas Reeve, using his conversational skills combined with his naturally approachable face and tone, learned Kirara's story.
Her home wasn't in Chiyoda City, the "anime capital," but in a smaller, relatively cheaper Mobile City in the south. Although Higashi hadn't been peaceful these years, with its two factions often clashing, Kirara's hometown was in the far south, so the war had little to do with her. For the old Kirara, the biggest impact of the war was probably whether games or manga from the north could be delivered to the south.
She originally thought she would live a peaceful life forever, but because of a special reason... she was forced to leave her hometown to find a solution, and subsequently came to this big city.
In this big city, she lived a life of working during the day and staying up all night playing games, reading novels, and watching manga.
Her purpose in coming here was simple.
She had heard that in large Mobile Cities like this, there were drugs sold that could slightly inhibit Oripathy. Lucas Reeve knew this drug. It was a sales channel opened by Raythean Medica in cooperation with Higashi, which distributed the mass-producible 2.0 version of the Oripathy suppression medication.
As for the 11.0 version Lucas Reeve provided, which was the most effective version...
Raythean Industries prioritized providing it to the Reunion Movement and Hellagur's side. Only the surplus was sold elsewhere. After all, the 11.0 version required raw materials provided by Lucas Reeve to produce. Although Raythean Medica's research department tried to reverse-engineer it, they had no success. Moreover, the 11.0 version didn't seem mass-producible, so the research department continued with their original plan to develop version 3.0.
At this moment.
For the first time, Lucas Reeve felt so clearly that creating the Oripathy suppression medication was the right decision. Although version 2.0's effect was mediocre, even describable as "slight," it gave the Infected hope.
"I remember now!!"
Suddenly, Angelina, who was next to him, exclaimed again.
"?"
"I remember an urban legend!"
Angelina used to be just an ordinary high school girl, and urban legends hold a huge appeal for high school girls. Even Angelina knew many of them.
She even knew about ghost and god legends from other countries.
For example...
The evil gods and spirits among the Infected in Ursus.
And that very strange supernatural phenomenon that happened in Shangshu, Yan, a while ago. For ordinary people, it's still an unsolved mystery.
...
"Spill the details."
"There's a widespread urban legend in Chiyoda City. It says that the world of the dead has merged with Chiyoda. Some people who go out for a stroll late at night will inexplicably find that everyone around them has disappeared, and then they'll encounter all sorts of *yōkai*. The lucky ones escape; the unlucky ones might be trapped inside forever."
Just then.
The samurai, which had been standing under the flickering streetlight, suddenly moved. Like a statue abruptly coming to life, it was rather terrifying.
Because of this.
Kirara and Angelina were badly frightened. They both hid at the very back of the group. They were just ordinary girls, after all. Angelina was slightly better; having been a special messenger for a year, she had seen a lot, and she knew the power Lucas Reeve and the others possessed, so she wasn't *too* scared.
But Kirara was truly an ordinary person, and she was terrified.
"You guys think this is an evil spirit?"
"Not sure."
"But..."
Suddenly, Nian, who had been silent for a while, spoke up.
"If I'm not mistaken, this place should be a special world manifested by an Authority, similar to Dusk-bao's. It's just that Dusk-bao's Authority is much stronger. This one is just a simplified, neutered, and modified version."
"Hm? Then doesn't that mean there's a god here too?"
Magallan poked her head out and asked Nian.
"No."
Nian shook her head, certain.
"This world manifested by the Authority is just a fragmented, ownerless world. The master of this power should have perished long ago, which is why this Authority lingers over the city, occasionally affecting passersby with extremely bad luck. As for this thing inside..."
Nian frowned slightly at the samurai charging over with its rusty katana.
"These should just be low-level evil spirits without any intelligence. They can't even be called evil spirits. They're extremely weak."
"No wonder~"
Laurentina retorted, "Look, doesn't this samurai run like a clown? Limping, a bit bow-legged... it's never going to catch anyone like that."
"Don't say 'clown'..."
Magallan covered her face. Now, whenever the word "clown" was mentioned, she reflexively thought of herself.
"Speaking of which, I kinda want to strip this samurai's armor off and study what's going on with this evil spirit."
"Hey, hey, hey, isn't that a bit cruel? Evil spirits have dignity too! The Evil Spirit Protection Society expresses its strong condemnation."
The group chattered on, completely ignoring the evil spirit samurai charging at them with its rusty sword.
As for Kirara, she was completely dumbfounded.
She kind of wanted to run.
But...
Why were these people...
Still so calm!
It's such a terrifying evil spirit, aren't they scared?
Shouldn't a normal person's reaction be fear?
Finally, the evil spirit samurai reached the group, raised its rusty tetanus-sword, and slashed down at Nian, who was closest to the edge.
Oho...
It really knows how to pick 'em.
It even picks the strongest one. As expected of a samurai.
Nian didn't even look.
She flicked a finger casually.
*Clack!!*
The evil spirit's longsword collided with Nian's finger and instantly shattered.
The next second.
Nian's other finger lightly poked the evil spirit.
However.
The evil spirit couldn't even withstand Nian's impossibly light touch. It dissolved into particles of light and disappeared.
Holy...
That was just too... weak, wasn't it?
She poked the evil spirit to death with one finger.
Nian didn't even feel anything. Just a casual poke, without channeling much power, and it was gone?
Boring...
Nian instantly lost interest in this special world.
Suddenly.
All around them.
Many evil spirits of different shapes and sizes swarmed toward the group.
Kirara, terrified, quickly hid at the very back, grabbing the corner of Angelina's shirt.
"Sigh... let's get out of here. I don't want to play anymore..."
Lucas Reeve said.
This special "Authority" world didn't interest Lucas Reeve much. If there was a strong opponent, he might be interested, but a bunch of evil spirits that even ordinary people could kill... they had zero presence for him and his group.
"I think so too."
"Same."
"+1."
"Me too."
"I'll do it."
Suddenly.
Nian spoke up and walked to the front.
"I haven't truly fought in a long time. Decades? A century? Anyway, I remember the last time I fought was sparring with Dusk-bao. After so many years of not fighting, my body's gotten a little rusty."
After speaking.
A scorching flame ignited in Nian's eyes.
This was also the first time Lucas Reeve had seen Nian use her Authority.
Nian waved her hand, and a divine greatsword—its body shattered but held together by a special force—appeared in her hand as her personal weapon. Even just being summoned, the sharpness of the greatsword made this special world seem to teeter on the verge of collapse.
Behind Nian, the phantom of a colossal dragon, standing tall as the heavens, slowly appeared. Its boundless divine power made this special world tremble.
As for Kirara, she was staring wide-eyed, completely speechless.
Angelina and Magallan were the same.
Angelina knew everyone present was more or less a god, but she had never truly seen them in action.
However...
Nian's aura alone...
was enough to make Angelina suffocate. It was too strong. And the aura wasn't even directed at her; she was just being grazed by the edges of it, yet she felt an unbearable despair.
Is this the power of a god?
Nian made no flashy moves. She just swung the sword casually.
Instantly.
The invisible sword pressure instantly annihilated the countless evil spirits that were about to swarm them. This special world finally couldn't take it anymore and began to disintegrate.
Their vision blurred.
The surrounding scenery didn't change much; they were still at the same intersection. But now, cars were driving past on the road, indicating they had successfully left that special world.
At the same time.
A special red glow floated slowly in mid-air.
Nian tried to grab it, but the red glow dodged her hand. As if it had found its target, it shot directly into Lucas Reeve's hand.
"A fragmented Rule?"
Nian understood instantly.
No wonder this special world was inexplicably born. It was a fragmented Rule...
The previous master of this Rule had perished, but had used a special method to leave their Rule behind. This was an ownerless, fragmented Rule. However, this kind of Rule is useless to gods. After all, a god can only possess one Rule. Even one as powerful as Sui only has one. The Rules of Nian, Dusk, Ling, and the others are just derivations of Sui's great Rule. Sui's great Rule encompasses all twelve of their Rules.
A little strange.
Why would this Rule choose to land in Lucas Reeve's hand?
Doesn't Lucas Reeve already have a Rule?