Chapter 797: "King of Rats"
The twisted force field on the surface of Kaito Shirogane's body seemed to have no effect whatsoever. The bullet, carrying a terrifying intent of death and a curse, directly pierced his head.
The head of the overwhelmingly arrogant King of Monsters blew apart completely.
Kurushi's expression changed. The world abruptly changed color. Dark green spiritual pressure gathered like water, and the emerald Zanpakuto in her hand rapidly began to turn black.
"Ban—"
Pfft!
A figure appeared in front of her in a single step. Kurushi only felt an irresistible force, and the next moment, her right hand gripping her Zanpakuto was forcefully pushed back to her waist by the other party.
The Zanpakuto returned to its scabbard, and the Bankai was interrupted.
Kurushi's pupils trembled as she managed to shift her gaze from the fluttering white robe to those emerald eyes.
Yoko Ekaterina!
What kind of speed is this?!
Although Kurushi didn't say it, her Sonído speed ranked second among the Numbered of the Throne of Illusion and Reality, and her kinetic vision was something even the Tyrant couldn't match.
"You—"
Kurushi was about to speak, but a hand that seemed to grasp the entire world reached out from behind her, grabbing directly at Yoko's arm.
Yoko merely narrowed her eyes. A layer of intense divine light emanated from her body. Her terrifying presence and divine power transformed into something akin to a crystal wall. The Tyrant's outstretched right hand collided with that crystal wall.
Ash-black lightning instantly scattered wildly in all directions.
Hum~
A layer of golden lightning flared from Yoko's body, and then a massive energy, as if it had been suppressed in an extremely small space, erupted thunderously.
A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering Conqueror's Haki erupted directly from Yoko's body.
Kurushi crossed her arms in front of her. Her spiritual pressure collided with the Conqueror's Haki, and she was forced to slide backward uncontrollably.
The Tyrant also raised a single arm horizontally. That aura, more tumultuous than ocean waves, pushed him back as well.
The two retreated hundreds of meters. Scaled Fish watched coldly; he didn't get along with the Tyrant and Kurushi, so he didn't intervene immediately.
But sensing how terrifying Avalon's Yoko was at this moment, he also tightened his grip on his Zanpakuto.
This woman was hiding her strength...
Everyone knew Yoko of the West District was the pinnacle among Sovereign Monarchs, and for a long time, she had been implicitly considered the strongest Reincarnator below the Supreme Three Kings.
But there was inherently a gap in tiers between the Supreme Three Kings and the Sovereign Monarchs, and few knew exactly how large that gap was.
Therefore, Yoko's true strength had always remained a mystery.
Based on past combat records, a single Sovereign Monarch would find it difficult to even injure Yoko.
That was already a terrifyingly huge gap.
But looking at her today, Yoko was still hiding her strength.
At the very least, no one had ever said Yoko possessed such horrifyingly intense Conqueror's Haki. This wasn't an intensity that the Four Emperors from One Piece could compare to.
"Think calmly. Mercenary Tao is not an existence who would be killed by just some random nobody wielding a gun. Or is it... that your Throne of Illusion and Reality actually wants to provoke a war right now?"
Yoko's voice was unhurried. While everyone else was suspicious about the Saint of Killers' sudden attack and Mercenary Tao's body blowing up...
Yoko was the only one without the slightest emotional fluctuation.
Even An Zhiyuan, high in the sky, couldn't match her in this regard.
An Zhiyuan naturally knew Mercenary Tao couldn't be killed by this kind of attack, but his heart still skipped a beat at the sudden ambush.
Because matters related to Mercenary Tao were subject to interference, he couldn't divine them. Thus, he couldn't know the outcome of Mercenary Tao's battle today, let alone that the Saint of Killers would attack him.
What made him nervous was that Mercenary Tao had seemingly finally given up the idea of starting a war with Yoko right now. If he was enraged by the attack, the world would still be in imminent peril.
The timing of the Saint of Killers' attack was too coincidental...
There must be some underlying issue here.
As An Zhiyuan pondered, the cloud of blood mist had already recondensed.
The flesh and blood body finished growing completely in an instant, and even his hair returned to its original length.
Kaito Shirogane held a bullet between his fingers.
[You have suffered a special attack]
[Based on the difference in mental strength between both sides, you have obtained the following information:]
[You have suffered a special Authority attack from DD17714433. This attack is guaranteed to hit, guaranteed to ignore defense, and guaranteed to trigger instant death.]
[Based on the traits of the Blessing: Child of Miracles (Mythic), abilities possessing traits such as guaranteed hit cannot take effect on the Child of Miracles.]
[You have gained immunity to this attack.]
[The Third Star Particle erupted, causing devastating injuries to your body.]
Kaito Shirogane twisted the bullet between his fingers; special runes were inscribed upon it.
The scene of his head being blown apart by a gunshot was actually intentional on Kaito Shirogane's part. When the Third Star Particles became increasingly turbulent, he voluntarily blew up his own body. On one hand, it could accelerate the Physique of the Primordial Man's adaptation to this power.
On the other hand, he also wanted to observe that guy's reaction.
Kaito Shirogane noticed that the old man, who seemed to be in a completely different world from him, revealed a distinct smile when Yoko erupted with unprecedentedly terrifying Conqueror's Haki.
For this King of Destiny to reveal such an expression at this moment, Kaito Shirogane naturally linked that Saint of Killers with him.
The next moment, golden Ki soared into the sky, and a light beam instantly erased the distance between the two.
BOOM!
The old man's figure was instantly annihilated.
Kaito Shirogane, meanwhile, launched himself directly into the sky.
Because that Saint of Killers had attacked him, a connection had naturally formed between the two.
Kaito Shirogane activated the [Lock of Destiny] and almost immediately became aware of the other party's existence.
The golden Ki was like a brilliant light tearing across the sky. Several seconds later, a devastating shockwave erupted mid-air. Kurushi and the Tyrant were still in a standoff with Yoko, but Yoko revealed an enlightened smile.
She recalled Amatsu's words.
"Mr. Mercenary Tao can't be considered a beast. He's just... a bit difficult to get along with."
To prevent the world from being destroyed prematurely, Amatsu not only proactively sought various ideas to increase the world's strength but also voluntarily proposed letting her Lands Between serve as a buffer zone between the East and West Districts.
In the future, the various monsters, warriors, and Reincarnators under the Golden Order would become the best targets for Reincarnators from the East and West Districts to test and attack before turning on each other.
And the infinite Return to the Erdtree of the Golden Order would serve as compensation for those willing to become targets.
Yoko's smile lasted only a brief moment, so much so that Kurushi thought she was hallucinating. She then heard Yoko say, "Leave, everyone from the Throne of Illusion and Reality. I have seen the East District's King of Monsters. Your King of Souls' scheme will not be realized."
Yoko's eyes returned to firmness and calm. Mercenary Tao obliterating that avatar of the King of Destiny with a single finger showed her a sliver of hope.
The heaven-shaking Conqueror's Haki abruptly vanished as if nothing had happened. Yoko waved her hand, and the terrifying shockwave left by Mercenary Tao's takeoff was neutralized by an equally shocking wave.
She could release and retract her power at will; that was a manifestation of her Martial Arts Mastery also having entered Lv10.
Then, ignoring the contemplative look the Tyrant revealed, Yoko directly led her people away.
Mercenary Tao had indeed caused the deaths of many ordinary people here, but for the world's sake, a King of Monsters standing on the side of this world was necessary to fight those two anomalous Kings.
The reason Yoko disagreed with Sousuke's ideas was that she had actually long since guessed that neither the King of Souls nor the King of Destiny were Kings standing on the side of humanity.
And Sousuke's ideas were far too naive.
How could there be a happy ending achieved purely relying on abilities without paying any price?
Many said Yoko exuded the romantic glory of classicism.
But only Yoko herself knew that her heart had long hardened like iron for the ultimate grand victory, for the long-term survival of humanity.
Whatever price had to be paid, she could accept it.
For this, she could madly suppress her power and her very nature.
For this, she could sit back and watch Sousuke, who was both a mentor and a friend, die.
For this, she could let Mercenary Tao kill more ordinary people.
She only wanted humanity to achieve final victory!
She was merely a... Humanist!
On a coastal cliff somewhere in Northern Ireland, there was a wooden cabin facing the sun, yet heavy with moisture.
A square-jawed man, whose sideburns and beard were meticulously trimmed, gazed at the beautiful scenery outside the window and slowly lowered the revolver in his hand.
This revolver was longer than an ordinary one, and its grip appeared modified.
He thought for a few seconds, finally took out his phone, and made a call.
—
"Hello, Mom. It's me, Pochettino. Yes, I'm fine..."
The man's voice was steady, his tone unhurried. He quietly listened to his mother's rambling on the other end of the line.
He gradually dispelled his avatar, revealing short curly black hair and equally dark skin.
RUMBLE!
The sound of the ocean being torn open hundreds of miles away, and the impact of waves crashing against reefs, all fell upon his ears.
That was the sound of the Grim Reaper approaching.
When he first accepted the order to fire at Mercenary Tao, the man named Pochettino knew he was probably already on the Grim Reaper's list.
He paid close attention to the East District, which had always been the strongest among the four major districts. He knew of Mercenary Tao's fierce reputation far earlier than most Reincarnators in the West and North Districts.
But the gifts of destiny had their prices marked long ago. He needed that gift, and therefore, he had to pay this price.
BOOM!
The violent atmosphere instantly swept outside the wooden cabin, and the cabin was blown away directly.
The magic barrier outside flickered a few times, then shattered with a crack.
The barrier, capable of blocking ordinary Fierce-tier attacks, was torn apart merely by coming into contact with the distorted force field on the surface of Kaito Shirogane's body.
The gap between the two was immeasurably vast.
"It's nothing, it's nothing, Mom. The wind is picking up here..."
"Mom, don't do that job anymore. Take good care of yourself, and my younger siblings, and... although you will probably forget soon, I don't regret being born to you."
Kaito Shirogane stood in the air, looking down condescendingly at this Reincarnator who had used the special firearm, the [Saint of Killers], to attack him a second time from almost halfway across the globe.
Zzt~
Blue-white electricity continuously darted through the air.
Kaito Shirogane stood in the air. Within a radius of thousands of meters, everything was a sea of blue and white.
Pochettino was completely enveloped within it.
"Any last words, Pochettino?"
In just an instant, Kaito Shirogane read the man's thoughts. This man's longing for life and fear of death were very well hidden.
This guy was a competent Reincarnator, unlike the maggots he previously imagined who entirely relied on special weapons and hid in the shadows to launch sneak attacks.
And on the other party's body, those intricate threads of causality and destiny were almost completely tangled together at this moment, forming a dead knot.
This was also, in a sense, [Destined Death].
The other party's destiny ended here.
Pochettino nodded, then took out a USB drive.
"This is all the data I obtained regarding that King of Destiny, as well as the Chosen Ones he interacted with in the North District."
"This is the special weapon he bestowed upon me."
[ID DD17714433 has initiated a trade with you]
[You have obtained the Item: Spear of Death of the Saint of Killers (World's Rarity)]
[You have obtained S-Rank Singularity Point * 1, B-Rank Singularity Point * 2, Dimensional Points * 37,680]
Without the Saint of Killers enhancement, merely a man bestowed with this special weapon, he very cleanly transferred his resources one by one to Kaito Shirogane.
Kaito Shirogane put away the USB drive, although he knew the contents inside were highly likely useless.
Pochettino paused for a moment, then smiled bitterly and scratched his curly hair a few times.
"I know that with my abilities, I probably couldn't touch his true capabilities, but... but..."
The man's face twisted bit by bit, and the fear of impending extinction could no longer be suppressed. Tears and snot streamed down his face.
"But that was everything I could do!"
"I want to take revenge on him!"
The logic in Pochettino's mind rapidly became chaotic. Occasionally, scenes of him accepting the gift appeared, where he bore the pain of blaming everything on himself. Occasionally, scenes of his family living a better life appeared. He had protected the chaotic slum he came from.
No Reincarnator dared to operate in that area.
Kaito Shirogane lowered his eyelids, raised a finger, and pressed it against the space between the other party's eyebrows.
Scalding Ki pierced his skin in an instant. That bone-chilling sense of impending death quieted Pochettino's chaotic brain.
The next moment, with a pfft, Pochettino's head was pierced.
[You have killed DD17714433]
[Sin Point +1]
[You have touched—the Law of Causality]
[Crimson Great Sin: Omen of the Evil God (Tier 3) has met the requirements for advancement]
[Pay S-Rank Singularity Point * 1, Dimensional Points * 28,000 to initiate a special trial]
Those tangled lines of destiny shattered directly. A Crimson Drop Card fell straight into Kaito Shirogane's hand.
In front of Kaito Shirogane, the destiny line turned into a silver-white stream of data. Amidst its continuous flow, a somewhat familiar face was revealed.
It was a withered old man, previously obliterated by Kaito Shirogane's Dodon Ray.
"You see, the gifts of destiny always circulate endlessly. You killed this guy, yet the kind-hearted Pochettino still transferred his resources to you."
"And you, because of this, are once again drawn into that karma and destiny. Isn't it wonderful, Mercenary Tao? No, isn't it wonderful, King of Monsters~"
It was impossible to tell whether the King of Destiny's voice carried malice or praise.
But Kaito Shirogane merely smiled. His smile was equally radiant, showing absolutely no sign of being caught in a scheme.
He simply looked at his own hand. There, a faintly discernible silver-and-black interwoven thread entangled the King of Destiny.
"Hide well, King of Rats. The Lock of Destiny between us hasn't been undone yet~"
"Every time I see you, I will... kill you once, heh!"