While Sayegusa Kaoru and the members of the Seishi Hensan Iinkai were rushing toward West Heaven Palace, Izumi and Kanase Kanon had already entered the Netherworld—
The very place where the Monkey King's true body was sealed.
Within the depths of the palace, Izumi quickly found the sealed figure.
The moment he laid eyes on it, he scoffed openly.
"So this is the so-called Great Sage Equal to Heaven?"
"Reduced to livestock, locked up like a farm animal. How pathetic."
At his words, the monkey slowly opened its eyes.
Golden pupils locked onto Izumi and Kanon.
Its voice was calm—indifferent.
"I am no longer the Great Sage Equal to Heaven."
"At present, I am nothing more than a monkey."
"Godslayer… why have you come?"
"To send me back into myth?"
"Give it up. Even if you kill me now, you won't gain an Authority."
The monkey showed no fear.
In this state, even death would not grant a Godslayer anything.
And whether he could even be killed at all was another matter.
Otherwise, that heretic would have acted long ago.
Izumi looked at the utterly dispirited god and lost all interest in conversation.
Without another word, he extended his hand—
—and hurled Lulubreaker, piercing it straight into the monkey's body.
The instant the weapon struck—
The seal shattered.
A surge of power erupted from within.
The monkey's pupils constricted sharply.
"What… is this?"
"You broke my seal so easily?!"
Izumi ignored him and turned to Kanon.
"Kanon, step back."
"This is about to get violent."
Kanon nodded immediately.
She could already feel it—the divine curse energy of the Monkey God was rapidly recovering.
The Monkey King, incarnation of the Dragon's protection—
Bound by the greatest techniques of the Tendai monks, using sacred lands across Japan to channel divine power and bind him under the name of Tōshō Daigongen.
Ordinarily, releasing such a seal would require countless conditions.
But Izumi possessed projection magic and an anti-divinity weapon.
Rules were irrelevant.
Brute force was enough.
As the curse energy surged, the monkey's body slowly transformed into stone.
Seeing this, Izumi smiled faintly.
Then—
The Subspace Rift appeared.
With a single slash, Izumi cleaved the entire West Heaven Palace in two.
The moment the palace collapsed—
The seal was completely undone.
Izumi glanced at the stone monkey and spoke calmly.
"I'll be waiting outside."
"Don't disappoint me."
With that, he opened a gate from the Netherworld to reality and left with Kanon.
The monkey stared at Izumi's departing back for a long moment—
Then slowly closed its eyes.
The trinity of its power fully returned.
A resounding Words of Power echoed throughout the space.
[I am not the Monkey God Lord.]
[I am Heaven itself—one who stands equal to Heaven.]
[Born from stone, Monkey King of infinite transformations. I stole elixirs from the Heavenly Palace, drank celestial wine, devoured the Peaches of Immortality, wielded violence, committed evil, and defied the gods!]
[My surname is Sun. My name—Wukong.]
[I am the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!]
With those words—
The stone shell exploded.
From within emerged a monkey clad in chainmail armor, gripping the Ruyi Jingu Bang, radiating overwhelming presence.
"Hahahahaha!"
"I'm free—finally free!"
"At long last… your old Monkey King is free!"
"Child of ignorance—"
"You will regret this!"
With that declaration, Sun Wukong charged out of the Netherworld.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Not long after Izumi and Kanon returned to the real world—
Sun Wukong burst forth.
The moment he emerged, the entire land of Japan trembled.
An oppressive pressure blanketed the country, making countless people shiver in terror.
The mystic world was thrown into chaos.
"The Monkey King… has escaped!"
Sayegusa Kaoru's face turned deathly pale.
"It's over!"
"Evacuate everyone—now!"
She didn't hesitate for even a second.
A battle between Godslayers meant mass casualties.
Meanwhile, Izumi didn't spare a thought for evacuation.
The instant Wukong appeared—
He attacked.
The Subspace Rift tore through the air, slicing toward the Monkey King.
Wukong roared.
"Life and death are decreed by fate!"
"Come—take this, brat!"
The Ruyi Jingu Bang extended instantly, slamming into Izumi's attack.
BOOM—!
This time, the Subspace Rift did not sever the staff.
If it were that easy, it wouldn't be the Divine Needle that Stabilizes the Seas.
Still—
The force sent Wukong flying.
He smashed straight into the shrine below.
CRASH—!
The shrine was annihilated in an instant.
Izumi raised an eyebrow.
"Interesting."
"So the weapon is one with him."
A light chuckle escaped his lips.
Floating in midair, Izumi waved his hand.
Countless projected anti-divinity weapons manifested and rained down upon the ruins.
At that moment—
Another Words of Power rang out.
From within the blast zone, Wukong invoked his Authority.
[Fiery Golden Eyes, iron head, iron bones, bronze back and body. I consumed the Peaches of Immortality, drank celestial wine, swallowed elixirs, and was forged within the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Blades cannot cut me, axes cannot cleave me, lightning cannot harm me.]
Hearing this, Izumi snapped his fingers.
Snap.
BOOOOM—!
A colossal mushroom cloud erupted skyward.
Everything in the surrounding area was reduced to ash.
West Heaven Palace—once a tourist site—was obliterated.
The barriers shattered.
Those who had not evacuated in time were swallowed by the blast.
Kanon, her twelve wings spread wide, hovered in the sky and watched.
She glanced at the people consumed by flames below.
After a brief hesitation—
She did nothing.
For reasons she couldn't fully explain—
She felt no need to save them.
Sayegusa Kaoru arrived just in time to witness the devastation.
Tourists—caught in the shockwaves—dying instantly.
Her mind went blank.
This… is a Godslayer?
This level of destruction…
Fear seized her heart.
She ran toward Izumi desperately, trying to stop the battle.
At the center of the explosion—
A figure stood.
Sun Wukong, scorched black, yet still radiating majesty.
Though he had invoked his Authority in time—
The blast had still injured him.
Izumi clicked his tongue in fascination.
"So this is a Heretic God with the Authority of Steel."
"Pretty durable."
"But…"
"That's all."