Izumi regarded Susanoo-no-Mikoto's hatred with utter indifference.
So what if they hated him?
What were they going to do—cross worlds just to take revenge?
Compared to that frantic resentment, Sun Wukong appeared far more composed.
The Great Sage looked directly at Izumi, pride blazing in his eyes as he spoke calmly.
"This time… I, Sun Wukong, have lost."
"But don't let it go to your head."
"Next time, you won't be so lucky."
As his words fell, his body dissolved into a pillar of golden light, flowing straight into Izumi's chest.
The remaining gods of the Japanese pantheon shed tears of blood.
This time, they truly faced extinction.
Their land had been annihilated.
Their believers erased.
Their names doomed to be forgotten.
With the collapse of faith, their very existence would vanish from this world.
"Ha… hahaha!!"
A voice filled with boundless hatred echoed through the shattered sky.
"I curse you!"
"I curse you to die a miserable death!"
"I curse you to become the eternal enemy of all gods!"
It was Amaterasu Ōmikami, screaming her malediction with her final strength.
Izumi burst into laughter.
"Pathetic."
"As if I need you to curse me."
"Dying a horrible death? You're the one dying right now."
"And an enemy of the gods?" He sneered. "That's what a Godslayer already is."
"That curse of yours is completely meaningless."
His words struck like knives, piercing straight through their hearts.
Damn it.
That single thought echoed in the minds of the dying gods.
They no longer had the strength to retort.
One after another, they dissolved into radiant light, merging into Izumi's body.
Not only them—
Across the ruins of Japan, all the fallen gods followed suit, transforming into golden streams of divinity that surged toward him.
The same happened to Kanase Kanon.
She, too, had slain many gods.
A vast amount of power flowed into her body as well.
Yet instead of gaining Authorities, the restrictions binding her began to loosen. Her curse energy surged, purer and more powerful than before.
Izumi felt it most keenly.
As divine power flooded into him, his attributes skyrocketed.
His presence grew overwhelmingly vast.
When that pressure leaked outward, it resembled a king's dominion—reality itself responding to his will.
The already-fractured Japanese archipelago finally sank beneath the sea.
The world trembled.
Somewhere in the skies, a certain shut-in goddess who had been heading toward Japan was crushed by Izumi's aura before she even arrived—plummeting straight into the ocean.
Izumi knew it instantly.
He was breaking through.
Feeling the transformation within, excitement surged through him.
Finally.
Inside his body, new Authorities were being born.
A universe manifested within him.
His Inner World was no longer incomplete—it had become a fully realized realm.
At the same time, the power of the Unknown Self within him erupted.
Then—
At a certain moment, everything settled.
His aura withdrew completely, as though nothing had happened.
Yet his eyes had changed.
They now shone like twin galaxies, as if an entire cosmos lay within them.
Izumi opened the system interface.
Name: Izumi
Race: Human (Hourai-born), Pureblood Dragon, Godslayer
Endurance: EX
Strength: EX
Defense: EX
Agility: EX
Mana: EX
Luck: EX
Overall Rank: SSS (Four-digit… rising)
Special: Inner World
Authorities:
Creation of Objects
Space
Stars
Infinity
Eternity
Skills:
Dragon's Remnant Shadow
Aurora Pillar
Passive Skills:
Golden Rule
Thousand Tongues
Magic Immunity
Godslayer's Power
High-Speed Divine Words
Artifacts:
Spear That Shines at the End of All Things
Alchemical Materials Bundle
Stone of Time
Stone of Space
Vimana
Object Transfer Blessing Card
Gate of Traversal
Every stat—EX.
Several abilities had fully merged, evolving into Authorities.
Projection, Unlimited Blade Works, and Conceptual Destruction had fused into Creation of Objects.
The Second Magic and spatial dominion had unified into Space.
Stellar particles and astrology birthed Stars.
The Third Magic, combined with the Unknown Self, gave rise to Eternity, Infinity, and Magic Immunity.
Izumi took a moment to truly feel his power.
And was shaken.
SS+ and SSS were not remotely comparable.
Creation of Objects now allowed him to forge Noble Phantasms by hand—true originals.
Space encompassed all former spatial abilities. With world coordinates, he could traverse realms without even opening the Gate.
Stars granted dominion over celestial forces—meteors, constellations, cosmic energy.
Eternity was a passive Authority—an undying body and soul, though still vulnerable to repeated destruction far beyond his level.
Infinity granted limitless mana and strength, eerily reminiscent of Ophis.
At this point—
Izumi felt confident he could confront Great Red head-on.
His heart pounded.
The gains from this world were enormous.
"…But from here on, rapid growth will be difficult," he muttered.
"I'll have to focus on developing my Authorities."
"Borrowing external power will be nearly impossible…"
"Unless I go collect a few Sun Sovereignties or something."
Reaching this level meant brute-force growth was no longer viable.
Only refinement remained.
But Izumi didn't mind.
With eternity now his, time itself was no longer an enemy.
He smiled.
Just then, Kanon flew over, eyes sparkling.
She had witnessed his transformation firsthand.
"Izumi-sama… did you break through?"
"Congratulations!"
Izumi gently patted her head.
"Thank you."
"And now, it's time to leave."
"Some things in this world are starting to wake up."
Indeed, at the moment of his breakthrough, Izumi had sensed it—
Gods across the world stirring.
The world itself was beginning to reject him.
Destroying an entire divine system—and the nation that sustained it—was far too great a disturbance.
If he lingered, every god on the planet would descend personally.
Not that he was afraid.
But it was troublesome.
Was the world trying to force him into global annihilation or something?
Yeah—no thanks.
"Let's retreat for now."
With that, Izumi opened the Gate of Traversal, leaving behind a personal world coordinate.
Then, together with Kanon, he stepped through.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
As Izumi departed—
Across the globe, the awakening Heretic Gods seemed to sense something.
One by one, they returned to slumber.
And somewhere, countless people stared blankly at the place where Japan had once existed.
This…
This was far too terrifying.