On the topic of Divine Beasts, Magic Beasts and Demonic Beasts
Excerpts from the book: Phantasmal Beasts and Where to Find Them by Tsuchimikado Yakou, the Ten'nō no Onmyōji, King of the Illuminati Society and 13th Seat of the Knights of the Round Table, Head of the Department of Policies, and Mamiya Marika, 12th Seat of the Knights of the Round Table and Head of the Department of the Phantasmal Beasts and Chimeras
Phantasmal Species are those whose existence deviates from the standart original form of evolution by coming into contact with Magic or other forms of Supernatural Energies, which usually transform their fundamental existence.
It also included those whose existences are born from the thoughts of humans and those existences that ascend to a higher order as a consequence of longevity, like the Divine Beasts.
The term Phantasmal Beasts could be divided into three basic categories.
Already mentioned Divine Beasts, Magical Beasts, and Demonic Beasts.
The most basic and populous of the Phantasmal Beasts are the Magical Beasts. The Magical Beasts were once divided into two species, but after the Great Cataclysm, they became one, whether the natives of Terra or the natives of the Dungeons.
Overall, the Magical Beasts are either species of animals and insects that were influenced by high amounts of Mana, which evolved them into an entirely new race capable of using Magic, or one could classify them as magical monsters native to the alternate dimensions accessed through Gates.
Another classification that encompasses both the ones native to Terra and the ones native to the Otherworld is the term Magical Beast, which denotes the common designation for all creatures that do not fit into the ordinary biological classification of living beings and those that do not fall within the normal ecosystem. The term Beast is a Thaumaturgical term, and it does not necessarily mean quadrupedal mammals. They are true deviations from biology that cannot be explained by immature research or sudden mutations.
Although they generally appear to be mindless monsters, Magic Beasts are able to forge their own gear and can be as intelligent as humans, with some of them even able to speak human languages.
They also use the Runic Alphabet and have their own language, which is often referred to by humans as beast language or monster tongue. The last part was noted only as the latest observation and something discovered through arduous research in the most hostile regions of Terra, where no human foot had dared to enter.
Moving forward, another sub-category of the Phantasmal Beasts are the Divine Beasts.
They are a type of Divine Beings in the form of animals, known as the Divine Beasts, as they usually descend from the Mythos in a similar fashion to the Heretic Gods or Tombs. Though not exclusively limited to this, as they could also be born through worship when a powerful Magical Beast absorbs a lot of Faith and Worship, they could ascend to the status of the Divine Beast by obtaining Pseudo-Divine Status and Divine Properties.
This was noted to be a case of several extremely powerful Magical Beasts at S-Rank in Africa over the course of several years. Most of the Divine Beasts are varied in power, albeit many of them could reach A-Rank. As they are Divine Beings, they have very strong and powerful Magic Resistance toward the Mortal Magic, which makes them extremely hard to kill, even by more powerful foes in terms of raw power.
Another distinguishing factor from the average Magical Beasts is that Divine Beasts are far more intelligent on average compared to the Magical Beasts. While it has been observed that most of the Magical Beasts develop some degree of intellignece around D-Rank, and at the B-Rank, their intelligence is comparable to that of an average human. When it comes to the Divine Beasts, even the weakest of them is often much smarter than an average human.
The last sub-category of the Phantasmal Beasts is the Demonic Beasts. These ones are the most problematic out of all, because Demonic Beasts are either the Divine Beasts or Magical Beasts with the Demonic Attribute in their being. This makes them far more aggressive, destructive, and filled with bloodlust toward everything that lives and exists.
Fortunately, overall, the Demonic Beasts are very rare as it's not easy for one to be born, but once they are born, they are highly problematic to deal with. Depending on the strength of the Demonic Attribute in the concrete Demonic Beast, their rationality is rather low, sometimes non-existent, and they act only based on their instincts.
Those instincts, though, are usually directed toward causing as much destruction and death as possible. It has been observed that the Demonic Beasts have been proven to be extremely hostile to anything of the Light or Holy Attribute or toward the concept of civilization as a whole.
This is the general division of the Phantasmal Beasts who currently occupy approximately 60% of the entire planet, even after the enlargement that happened during the Great Cataclysm, as their sheer numbers are staggering.
Phantasmal Beasts are found in every piece of Terra, even in the territories that are under the control of the humans or humanoid species. Some of the most powerful among them rule their own territories, which are forbidden for anyone to enter, as only sure death awaits everyone except the most powerful.
Antarctica, South America, the Sahara Desert, Siberia, and Australia are just a few of the most famous forbidden zones to anyone, as till now only the Campiones have returned alive and unscathed. But putting Campione as an example is rather incorrect, as most Magical Beasts, even those most powerful ones, are not a threat to the Campione.
Yet, it is also undeniable that the Phantasmal Beasts also play an enormous role in the current society, and their usage is irreplaceable. Be it as a form of food because of the nutritious properties of the flesh of Magical Beast, or the fact that their parts are used for the Alchemy of all kinds, or their usage in combat, or harvesting them for Mana Crystals.
Chapter 2: On the topic of Divine Beasts, Magic Beasts, and Demonic Beasts from the Book: Phantasmal Beasts and Where to Find Them, by Tsuchimikado Yakou
***
"Very good. You were a worthy foe... Hero. I acknowledge you as a fellow God Killer and as the future kin. Hopefully, we shall meet in the Little Garden one day and have a rematch in my full power... this form is too restrictive."
At the same time Yakou heard those words, Aži Dahāka's body started disintegrating, and he lost consciousness as a weird feeling took over him. Instinctively, though, he knew that what was happening was something from which he could benefit...
Possibly.
At the same time, two powerful gazes from the outside Terra looked at this concrete location with distress and anticipation.
***
Astral Realm
The Astral Realm was the place where Pandora and her husband, Epimetheus, operated their experiment, as the purple-haired, elven-looking woman looked at the scene before her with a certain heaviness...
"Isn't this the perfect opportunity? Now he is an even better candidate to kill and usurp the King of the End, and we can start the Second Phase of the Plan."
The gigantic humanoid, dressed in black armor and a crowned helmet, stood as both of them looked at the man floating in the middle of the Great Circle of Usurpation.
"This is rather a dangerous approach, dear husband... I still want to go with the safer route."
Pandora said to her husband, as she wasn't really keen on conducting this experiment.
When the Aži Dahāka was summoned, it was Anomaly.
Anomalies among the Heretic Gods were exceptionally rare.
When Pandora and Epimetheus took residence in this world after the demise of their kin, Absolute Being, they expanded their omniscient power and created several restrictions on the world.
The most notable one was the restriction on the Heretic Gods.
All Heretic Gods that descended down from their Mythos were not really Gods in the true sense, as their Abilities, Parameters, and Divine Authorities were restricted to fit a specific required amount of power.
Then they created the Great Circle of Usurpation that would create Campiones and hope that one of the Campiones would break through the Limits so they could remove the restriction and push the experiment further.
Yet...
From time to time, the so-called Anomalies appeared.
Anomalies were 'Heretic Gods' that managed to defy those restrictions and descended from their myths in more powerful and complete forms compared to the standard Heretic Gods, and these Heretic Gods were incredibly close to their proper mythological forms.
Liek Aži Dahāka did right now.
His Divine Authority was in full, and even his Parameters were close to his true power.
Pandora and Epimetheus knew that if Aži Dahāka had more time on the Terra and used his Divine Authority of God Killer, he would have recovered his old power and quickly reached the realm of the King of the End.
Yet he was killed in a trap before he could do anything of that.
What neither of them really anticipated was the fact that Aži Dahāka, in his final moments, decided to fuse his Existence with the newest Campione through the Divine Authority that he specifically passed to him.
"It is, but we don't need to wait for the results... not to mention, some of 'Them' have already started moving and we can't delay this any longer. The Second Phase needs to start, and the appearance of the Last Embryo would be our trump card."
While Epimetheus agreed with his wife that this was dangerous, as the fundamental nature of the Last Embryo was dangerous even to some of the most powerful beings across the Dimensions in the entire Primordial Chaos, he also viewed this as an opportunity.
Chaosverse was a vast place, as it consisted of countless Dimensions. Some of those Dimensions were worthless and empty, some were probably as big as a smaller continent on Terra... and some were as big as the entire observable Universe and even beyond.
Some of the Dimensions within the Void were weak and didn't have anything or anyone powerful to protect them, while the others were full-powerful entities on standby.
The Last Embryos stood at the pinnacle of the Primordial Chaos, just below them and their Kin... even the Seeds of the Future Last Embryos had potential to reach such levels of power that beings like the Heretic Gods were no different than cannon fodder.
"You want him to initiate the Trial?! All of this smells of the interference of one of 'Them'! The fact that the True Avatar of Aži Dahāka appeared here from that place is no coincidence, Epimetheus."
Upon hearing his wife's question, he just nodded because he knew that this wasn't the Aži Dahāka from this world... this was the True Avatar of Aži Dahāka from another faraway place located in the center of Time and Space.
"There are plenty of worlds out there in this Dimension that could be used to initiate the Last Trial of Mankind. You should be aware that the benefits of winning the Trial would be something that could push him on the same level as Primordial Entities rather fast, depending on the said world, of course."
The Last Embryo.
The Last Trial of Mankind.
The Last Embryos are considered to be trials that represent the Trials that Civilization or Species has to overcome, or else face extinction.
They functioned like a natural mechanism of the entire Cosmos and were in charge of maintaining balance between the creation and destruction. Like neutral arbiters or just natural occurrences that would come and destroy worlds if there were too many of them, that would breach the fundamental balance of the Cosmos.
If the Last Embryo won the Trial, they would get the opportunity to harvest the entire world and turn the said world into their own resources, and increase their strength tremendously.
If the Last Embryo lost the Trial, they would just leave, as 99,99% worlds were not powerful enough to actually kill the Last Embryo, just to pass the Trial. Though if the Last Embryo perished during the Trial, then it would be used as nourishment for the world and its inhabitants.
Creating a perfect cycle.
"Not to mention, the fact that Little Garden has Observed this Dimension is already known, so it was only a matter of time until someone intervened in one way or another."
Epimetheus stated that he didn't take this as a big deal.
"If you say so... Hopefully this won't backfire on us... the last time Last Embryo went berserk it required several 2-Digits from the Little Garden to act and destroy the Embryo... Not to mention, this one would have the Aži Dahāka's Imprint... it could attract increased attention of The Miracle."
Pandora struggled for a bit, but in the end, went along with the suggestion of her husband, even though she had some reservations. She was rather careful, and even this entire experiment with the world that was left behind the Absolute Being was something that she carried with utmost precision and caution.
Especially now, that this entire thing reeked of the intervention of their kind when they let the True Avatar of Aži Dahāka from the Little Garden to appear here.
In the form of Heretic God.
Carrying the Seed of the Last Embryo.
Yet...
As Epimetheus said, this could also be an opportunity.
The Aži Dahāka in the Little Garden was a very powerful 2-Digit being, far more powerful than the Rulers or Monarchs created by the Absolute Being, and its Last Embryo Seed would be very useful to them.
Even though it was most probably a scheme from The Miracle.
Neither of the two had any fondness for The Miracle, because nobody knew what his agenda was. Among their kind, Miracle was the most mysterious and also one of the most powerful ones.
He, along with another two of their species, Eternal Dragon and King in the Yellow, created the place within the center of the Cosmos called Little Garden. Over the countless epochs, it became the center of the creation and reality, a place where the strongest powerhouses of the entire Cosmos gathered to carve out their own place in the hierarchy of existence.
But nobody really knew what his goal was in everything that he was doing, and right now, neither Pandora nor Epimetheus were fond of the current flow of events, but the benefits far outweighed the possible negatives.
Both of them were aware that this was their best chance to improve the whole thing and move the plan forward much faster, preparing for the inevitable arrival of their kin, who wanted to conquer the Dimension the Absolute had left behind.
"Ts... As if that old coot playing scholar isn't aware of what we are doing here... Don't forget that Little Garden is able to Observe 90% of Dimensions within the entire Primordial Chaos and Void. But you don't need to worry. He won't intervene directly, as it would go against his principle and modus operandi."
Epimetheus was far less patient than his wife and far more combative than his wife would ever be. Their kind rarely banded together, even rarely took something akin to a spouse... one could say that he and Pandora were certain anomalies among their kind.
He knew that if the Campione with the most potential to break the cycle became the Seed for the Last Embryo or the Future Last Embryo, then his chances of succeeding in killing the King of the End would be pushed to around 70%.
And they could start the Second Phase faster than initially scheduled. With the Second Phase, they could finally allow for the greater intervention and let them and creations of Absolute to clash for death.
From that...
Empimetheus also had some dealings with the Miracle and Eternal Dragon, who created the Little Garden, as their kind very rarely banded together. Right now, the Little Garden was probably the only place in the creation where they, the Itarims, could gather.
He knew how Miracle worked, even though his agenda and goals were rather mysterious to many, as the man was after something, but nobody could really tell what his goal was.
"Also, give him some Divine Authority unlocked that he could actually use. If we want to break the Cycle this time, we need to be more proactive. If you have chosen to do the same thing with the past Campiones, then they would have long ago killed King of the End and initiated the Second Phase."
He said to Pandora, as the True Avatar of the Aži Dahāka, that he had left enough power for the two Divine Authorities. He looked at his wife with suspicion because he didn't like that she was growing fond of these subjects and even developing an emotional attachment to them.
In fact, when Pandora prepared to use the Great Circle Of Usurpation, she realized that only two Divine Authorities could be passed to the Campione as if everything was already prepared by the Aži Dahāka.
"You are no fun husband."
She muttered as she activated the Great Circle Of Usurpation. Normally, it was Pandora who decided who would get what from killing the Heretic God, and she made it her rule that every Campione would get only one Divine Authority from killing the Heretic God.
One Divine Authority per kill.
This was a rule established by Pandora to motivate the Campiones to kill as many Heretic Gods as possible. The more Heretic Gods that they killed, the more Divine Authorities they obtained from them, and if they killed the same Heretic God more than once, they would get an upgrade to their Divine Authorities.
Most of the Divine Authorities that the Campiones obtained from slaying the Heretic God were incomplete or had severe restrictions imposed on them by Pandora through the Great Circle of Usurpation.
The only exception to this rule was if the Heretic God was powerful enough to pass more than one Divine Authority or a complete Divine Authority directly, or if Pandora decided to give the Campione more than one Divine Authority.
Like she did with the two latest Campiones.
One managed to obtain three Divine Authorities from Odin, or the fact that the 8th Campione obtained the Verethragna's "Ten Incarnations" after defeating him. However, some Incarnations are only effective under specific conditions, and all of them can only be used once per day.
"Fun or not... if we lose, then we have been spending thousands of years in this Dimension for nothing. And don't forget that Norn is also plotting something in this Dimension with the appearance of his prized Heirloom, which has bonded to the very same Campione that we are both looking at. I say that he is the perfect solution."
When it came to deciding their approach, Pandora and Empimetheus both chose different candidates for breaking the Cycle.
Pandora herself has been more favourable of the 8th Campione, Kusanagi Godou, to be the one who would defeat the King of the End and start the new Era, and be in charge of the fight against the Monarchs and Rulers, and later against their fellow kin when other Itarim make a move on this Dimension.
Pandora thought that Kusanagi Godou, as the only Campione with a pure heart and desire for peace, would be able to protect the world. Even now, after becoming Campione, he still simply wanted to have a normal life and everything related to that, which made Pandora look fondly at him compared to other Campiones.
Her husband, meanwhile, was clearly favouring the 7h Campione Tsuchimikado Yakou.
He thought that they would need someone with a strong mentality of a warrior and a Mage to lead Terra through what was to come, and if they were ot have a chance against the hordes of monsters and beasts that awaited them, then only someone of considerable wit and power would be able to lead them to glory.
Not to mention, Epimetheus was determined that their scheme would succeed, as both of them had invested heavily in it and had made enemies among many other Itarims. He wasn't going to bet everything on a barely boy Campione that hated dealing with Magic and Supernatural, refused to acknowledge his own status, power, rights, and duties.
He considered the approach of his wife somewhat naive, but it seemed that only time would tell who among the two of them was right in this one.
"Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment, wife. We are far above such matters, and those lesser beings are nothing more than just experiments for the grander stage in the Cosmos."
Empimetheus stated after a long time of silence in a heavy tone.
Everything that they were doing was just a game for the Itarims.
Mostly out of boredom and to find some entertainment.
Even their wars and fights were nothing more than just another aspect of that entertainment.
Heretic Gods, Campiones...
Nothing of this actually mattered in the greater scheme of things.
They were just experimental subjects to create better soldiers for them to serve as pawns on the battlefield when the next Outer War started.
It was a matter of their pride as Itarims?
In reality, they stood at the apex.
Everything was just a passing entertainment for them.
Even their Outer Wars were just a matter of pride... something to boast about in front of their kin...
"Yeah, yeah... You are constantly telling me that... No need to be that annoying."
Pandora replied, but she knew that she had developed an attachment to the Campiones that she viewed like her children... as they were in some sense, as they were a result of her power and efforts.
She knew that as Itarim, she was supposed to be far above concepts like that... be attached to a lesser being. Yet, at the same time, she was always rather odd among their kind in many ways.
"For your own good... when the Second Phase starts, many of them would die... and many new ones would rise. You should be best aware what the Second Phase will mean once the Great Circle finally becomes one with the fundamental reality of the Absolute's Dimension."
Epimetheus said that as he left Pandora alone with her thoughts, she pondered over the things that her husband said.
***
Terra, Former Mexico
[Error!]
[Error!]
[Error!]
[Rebooting!]
[Reboot Complete!]
[Conducting Analysis on the Host!]
[??? ??? ??? has inserted the Seed of the Last Embryo in Host.]
[Seed of the Last Embryo is in a Dormant State.]
[Host has been classified as Future Last Embryo.]
[Conditions for the Awakening have not been met.]
[Host has undergone Great Usurpation Ritual.]
[Host has obtained Divine Authority of God Killer from Heretic God Aži Dahāka.]
[Host has obtained Divine Authority of Khvarenah from Heretic God Aži Dahāka.]
[Heirloom Crow has assimilated part of the Divine Essence through the Great Circle Of Usurpation.]
[Heirloom Crow has obtained a new ability: Predation.]
[Heirloom Crow Awakening State: 29%.]
Tsuchimikado Yakou looked at the notifications that he was receiving from the interference of the Heirloom Crow, which was monitoring every single change in his body. His All-Seeing Eyes of God were activated subconsicously, as Yakou also observed the changes on his body more directly.
Yakou felt that something had definitely changed, because he was now clearly able to sense the presence of the Heirloom that had fused with his body and soul. It was a relatively indescribable feeling, in fact, and even though the Crow refused to communicate with him right now, he noticed that it was now in a state of awakening.
It seemed that the previous reason why it wasn't answering and ignoring his efforts for communication was due to the fact that it was still dormant.
Nevertheless, he now uses the System Ability of the Heirloom Crow to display his own Status Screen and observe the changes. He realized that this was much faster than discovering the Divine Authorities and their effects and limits, than spending hours experimenting with the newfound gains.
[Name: Tsuchimikado Yakou
Title: Ten'nō no Onmyōji
Classification: Onmyōji, Mage, Campione, Future Last Embryo
Age: 25
Race: Divine Being (Campione)
*
Parameters:
Strength - S+
Vitality - S+
Endurance - S+
Agility - S+
Mana - S+
Luck - A+
*
Class: S-Rank
Affiliation: Tsuchimikado Clan
Armaments: Gungnir
Heirloom: Crow (Grade: ???, Abilities: System, Avatar Manifestation, Predation) - Awakening: 29%
Relics: N/A
Inherent Onmyōdō Technique: Gram Demolition
Magic: Imperial-Style Onmyōdō (Fire, Lightning), Hermetic Magic
Uniqueness: All-Seeing Eyes of God, Immortality (Ageless), Seed of the Last Embryo, God Killer
Skills: Master Combatant, Master Strategist, Master Staffmanship, Master Spearman
Abilities: Magic Resistance (Mortal), Enhanced Spiritual Senses, Enhanced Reflexes, Increased Comprehension Capabilities, Enhanced Battle Instincts, Night Vision, Pain Tolerance,
Divine Authorities:
1st Heretic God - Odin
Steel Body - Embodyment of the living steel. All physical and magical attacks are lowered by 90%. Only applies to the attacks with no Anti-Steel properties. The effect is lowered on the Divine Authorities.
Gungnir: The Spear of Heaven - One can call up the Gungnir, the Spear of the God King of Aesir, Odin. Chant: "I call on thee, the Great Declaration of God, the Spear of Heaven, answer my call and destroy my enemies!"
* Great Declaration of God - One Sure Hit Kill
Mímir's Well - Allows the user to drink from the Well of Urd. As long as the user drinks from Mímir's Well, he will be able to comprehend and learn any knowledge he wants. Can be used only once per day.
2nd Heretic God - Quetzalcōātl
Piedra Del Sol: Solar Calendar Stone - Chant: "The past is here. The present is here. The future is here! Come winds, come lightning! When the morning star shines... let all know the Sun's light reaches every corner of the Earth! Piedra del Sol!"
3rd Heretic God - Aži Dahāka
Khvarenah: Halo of The Supreme Ruler - Chant: "The End Times have come and the World will End. I summon thee, the World Ending Flames of the Eschatology!". Summoning of world-ending flames, which condensed the triggering force of Eschatology, its manifestation is a Flame-type Divine Authority.
God Killer - God who kills other Gods. Able to assimilate part of the Divine Authorities, Abilities, Skills, Power, and Knowledge of the God killed. Able to ignore the Divine Protections of the Gods and has God-Slaying Properties.
Shikigami: Tsuchigumo (B-Rank)
Familiars: Huginn (White) and Munnin (Black)]
The two Divine Authorities that he obtained from the Aži Dahāka were the Divine Authority of Khvarenah and the Divine Authority of God Killer, which he considered an enormous win this time, because with these Divine Authorities, his combat prowess skyrocketed to new heights.
Previously, he only had two abilities that were able to unleash huge destructive prowess, which were the Divine Authority of Piedra Del Sol: Solar Calendar Stone and the Great Declaration of God of the Divine Authority of Gungnir: The Spear of Heaven.
But the Divine Authority of Khvarenah was something entirely different and something that he could use for a prolonged amount of time to continuously unleash huge waves of pure destruction toward his target.
His parameters remained unchanged, but Yakou was very satisfied with the Divine Authorities that he obtained from killing Aži Dahāka. The real win, though, was the Divine Authority of God Killer, because that one would allow him to bypass the Divine Protections and Resistances of the Divine Beings and assimilate part of their existence.
Which was pretty overpowered.
If he could use it to increase his base Parameters, then it would be even stronger.
Though what was troubling him were the very first sentences.
The Last Embryo.
[Seed of the Last Embryo - Seed of the Last Embryo.]
That was the only description that the Crow provided to Yakou, as he could only scratch his head in confusion. He didn't feel anything weird with his body, and even when he used the All-Seeing Eyes of God, he was able to sense the Seed of the Last Embryo in his body that was there.
It was doing nothing, nor was it doing anything to his body.
But right now, there wasn't time to be pondering over matters like this, as he looked around and saw that Huginn and Munnin were circling far above him. He knew that the fight between him and Aži Dahāka took several hours, and large swaths of land were destroyed in the clash.
He then looked at the new ability of his Heirloom Crow.
[Predation - Allows Host to manifest Dark Purple Aura to consume Relic upon close contact and increase the Grading of the Heirloom. The Heirloom could also obtain new Abilities through the usage of Predation on the other Relics and Heirlooms, and grow exponentially faster. Note: Could be used only with the Relics and Heirlooms that are of Similar or Equal Grade. The weaker the targeted Relic and Heirloom, the lesser the effect of the Predation.]
Now this was a pretty useful ability for his Heirloom, because this way, he would not only finish the Awakening of the Heirloom and finally see its Grade, but also to upgrade the Grade and obtain new abilities through the Heirloom.
For the Campiones, the Heirlooms provided little value in fact.
Unless the Campione was immensely fortunate to obtain a Heirloom that was extremely powerful and suited them well... like Marquise Voban and Martial Ruler Luo Hao did, as according to the rumors, both of them had Heirlooms that they used in combat and were immensely powerful.
For Yakou, using the Heirloom was another way to break through the Parameter Limits imposed on Campiones by the world... or Pandora?
Sometimes he didn't even know who to blame for this one.
"Master! Master! You are victorious!"
Huginn chirped as he landed down as the white-feathered raven trottled towards him.
"As expected from our glorious and unparalleled master!"
Muninn followed quickly after Huginn as two ravens showered Yakou with praises.
The two Divine Beasts were always like this.
If they were not chatting about non-sensical things or something, they were trying to kiss his ass... most probably because they want something from him.
"Give me a status report on what happened during the time that I was out and during my fight with Aži Dahāka."
He said as he knew that the ravens were monitoring the entire situation and the US Armed Forces that were fighting in the region right now.
When Yakou began fighting the Heretic God Aži Dahāka, Huginn and Muninn went to inform General Clark of this development, as they observed the duel between Campione and the Heretic God.
The duo of ravens then proceeded to inform Yakou about everything that was happening since he fought against Aži Dahāka.
"General Clark stopped the advance toward the deeper regions of Mexico."
Huginn flapped his white wings as he said.
"Captain Reed is leading the Enforcers and is clashing against Erigor and the cultists of the Order of the Ninth Demon, and another human, Colonel Hower, is cleaning out the remnants of Dark Mages in the area."
Munnin immediately joined Huginn, as two Divine Ravens began competing over who would report the things first. Yakou understood everything from their report and asked the Divine Ravens where Captain Reed and Colonel Hower went.
As they pointed out the location, Yakou mobilized his Mana and disappeared from the place and went after them.
***
Christopher Reed was in charge of another ten Enforcers from the Department of the Sealing Designation Enforcers of the Illuminati Society as they pursued the Erigor and the remnants of the Order of the Ninth Demon.
The problem was that Erigor and his cultists were slippery as heck, and it took about an hour to just locate them. Internet, luckily enough, Erigor was more powerful than the people gave him credit for.
He was already a peak Magister of Magic and was highly skilled in the Wind Magic and even dabbled in the more advanced form of Hermetic Magic, the Storm Magic, which was one of the stronger elemental Magics.
Yet Christopher Reed, despite the fact that he was one Rank below him in terms of parameters, Reed was able to fight against Erigor on equal grounds due to his mutated Fire Magic.
Not to mention, the Wind Magic and Storm Magic were rather poor matches for Reed's mutated Fire Magic, as Reed was pressing the Grandmaster of the Order of the Ninth Demon more and more while the rest of the Enforceres took apart the remaining cultists.
Though the Grandmaster of the Order of the Ninth Demon was pretty skilled at the usage of the Scythe and managed to combine his Magics with the weapon mastery very well. Even though Erigor had far more Mana than Reed, the Mutated Fire Magic was a terrifying thing.
Because as the two Mages were clashing, Erigor's scythe was being melted away as Reed activated his Spiritual Body Manifestation and transformed into a one-eyed humanoid monster with flaming light orange hair.
Spiritual Body Manifestation was an extremely powerful transformation ability that allowed high-ranking beings to reveal their true form, unleashing a tremendous surge of Mana and raw power.
Campiones and beings at the S-Rank could naturally execute the Spiritual Body Manifestation as it was a relatively base skill. Below that Rank, it was mostly up to the opportunity and talent; sometimes, one needed to be born with a special constitution or mutated Magic.
Like Christopher Reed right now with his mutated Fire Magic that allowed him to enter his Spiritual Body Manifestation as he rushed at the Erigor, who was raising both of his hands in defence as he conjured several miniature tornadoes.
Unfortunately for the Grandmaster of the Order of the Ninth Demon, the wind tornadoes were shattered by the Flame Spiritual Body Manifestation in one hit. Physically, both Reed and Erigor were on the same level; both lingered around D-Rank, but what separated them was the amount of Mana.
Yet with the Spiritual Body Manifestation that Christopher Reed used, the tables have turned, and Erigor could only search for the way out and how to escape from the current predicament.
Aside from the fact that there was none.
He used the last resort items when he realized that the Heretic God Summoning Ritual didn't go according to plan, and it summoned the Heretic God that wanted to destroy anyone and everyone around him.
So Erigor was awihtout any means to escape the Enfrocders of the Illuminati Society in front of him. Which was pretty troublesome, because while he was more powerful in terms of Mana, he knew that due to the Flame Spiritual Body Manifestation, he was losing.
And he was losing pretty fast.
The power boost from the Spiritual Body Manifestation was enough to allow someone to fight above his raw power rather easily.
Normally, people with unique skills like Spiritual Body Manifestation were rare, because one needed to be born with it or be a heaven-defying genius to possess something that only beings on the level of Heretic Gods and Campiones could do.
Yet, Erigor felt that he was pretty unlucky as he encountered someone who was born with unnaturally mutated Flame Magic that allowed him to execute the Spiritual Body Manifestation at this level.
Which was rather shocking by itself.
Nevertheless, Erigor's scythe was compeltely melted after several more moments of the fight, which left Erigor without his prized weapon. Erigor lost the most effective means of defense against the Flame Spiritual Body Manifestation.
With one decisive punch, Enfocer Captain Reed broke through Erigor's Wind Wall in one hit, as the scorching hot flames that he cast burned half of Erigor's face in a single moment of the man's carelessness.
In a split second, Erigor fell onto the ground, as Reed then delivered a finishing blow and burned the man to a crisp. While he considered taking him prisoner, in the end, it was safer and easier to just kill him.
Not to mention, people like Erigor were very dangerous to hold captive. Many of them had some tricks up their sleeves and required special preparations for the imprisonment and transportation.
Something that they lacked right now.
In the end, Erigor was still Magister of Magic.
People like him were rarely captured alive...
Nevertheless, now that he was dead, there was nothing to worry about, as the mission assigned to them by their Campione was complete, and the last remnants of the Order of the Ninth Demon perished under the combined might of Sealing Designation Enforcers and Mage-Knights of the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps.
When he killed Erigor, he exited the Spiritual Body Manifestation state, as he returned to his normal state and went to fight Colonel Hower, who was overseeing the battlefield from the hill nearby.
Most of the battles have already ended, as the Dark Mages under the command of Erigor were killed, or some more fortunate ones managed to escape during all that chaos.
Unfortunately for the escaped Dark Mages, they would soon be caught by the defensive net of the Autonomous Magitek Turrets placed around the entire perimeter, which were set to maximum output to kill the people who attempted to escape from the battlefield.
The operation went pretty well, as they had low casualties and managed to kill all their targets. Among the Enforcers that he brought to the battlefield from the Department of the Sealign Designation Enforcers, Reed found only some injuries, but fortunately, no deaths.
When it came to the Enfocers, all of them were precious to them. For the Illuminati Society, it took a considerable amount of resources to cultivate even a single Enforcer, so they were not put into combat lightly, and their deployments were always very carefully planned and thought through.
Like the deployment of the Mage-Knight Blzaer Corps.
For the United States, whose pool of Magical Talents was rather small compared to the other Magic Associations, they tended to be more careful about this topic than the others. Many other Magic Associations had many families and Bloodlines that produced people with strong Magic Aptitude and had no shortage of powerful Mages and Knights.
"It's done?"
Colonel Hower asked when he saw Enforcer Captain Christopher Reed appear in his tent, which most probably meant that the Dark Mages had been exterminated.
"Yes. Erigor with the rest of the Cultists from the Order of the Ninth Demon are dead. On your end?"
While Enforcers from the Sealing Designation Enforcers were dealing with the people of the Order of the Ninth Demon, Colonel Hower and his Division from the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps were cleaning some of the Dark Mages, ragtag people, and mercenaries that were working for the Order.
"We are now hunting for the remnants of the mercenaries and their goons, but not many of them are Mages or Knights."
Colonel Hower was in overall charge of the military operations, while Enforcer Captain Reed only dealt with the Dark Mages of the Order of the Ninth Demon. Now, the only thing that everyone rather nervously awaited was the result of the battle between Campione and the Heretic God.
Both of them really hoped that His Majesty would win, because if not, they would be left with the enraged Evil Heretic God that would destroy everything in his path. Just think about that, made both men raise Erigor again from the dead so they could kill him once again.
The fact that the bastard managed to conduct a Heretic God Summoning Ritual and outright summoned Evil Heretic God, was something that remained here even after his death, and it was now their problem.
Fortunately, they had Campione on their side.
Yet, both Colonel Hower and Enforcer Captain Reed were partially skeptical.
They knew that the newwest Campione was young, and they could only pray that he would be able to kill or even just defeat the Evil Heretic God that was summoned through the rite.
The Evil Heretic Gods were much stronger and more dangerous than the average Heretic Gods, as most of them were obsessed with destruction and slaughter. Meaning in the single combat, they were far more powerful opponents.
And with their innate need to destroy things and kill people, they were feared far more than your average Heretic God. Because sometimes the Heretic Gods could be reasoned with if one was lucky, or some Heretic Gods were relatively quiet and had done nothing.
But the Evil Heretic Gods?
Only Doom.
"If not for the appearance of the Heretic God, we wouldn't be forced to halt the march onto the Murtia. We were already preparing for the direction of Mexico City, but now most of our forces are tied to the north of the former republic."
The newly established Republic of Murtia controlled approximately 40% of the entire territory of the former Mexico. When it came to the north, they controlled most of the region, except for some areas like Sinaloa that were out of their control.
Their territory ended with the borders of Mexico City, as their republic wasn't in control of anything beyond the former capital of Mexico. With the Erigor's attack on Mexico City causing huge losses to the Murtia's military, many of the Wallprd on the north were emboldened to act against the Murtia and carve out their own piece of land.
"Well, apparently, according to the latest report that arrived two minutes ago, the fight between them has ended, as the Magic Waves have ceased."
It was clear that the fight between Campione and Heretic God had ended. And seeing that there was no Evil Heretic God wreaking havoc all around, made it evident that it was most probably that their Campione had won.
It didn't take long for them to sense a powerful Magical signature appearing, a very familiar one that belonged to the 7th Campione Tsuchimikado Yakou. Sensing the Magical signature of their Campione, they sighed in relief, brucaising if their Campione won, it meant they could continue the siege on the Murtia and the rest of the local Warlords.
"My King!"
Both of them greeted Tsuchimikado Yakou, who entered the command tent, as he was in relatively battered condition, but overall, he seemed to be alright and without life-threatening injuries.
Due to the Divine Authority of Body of Steel, Yakou had a much higher threshold for severe injuries, and everything compressed to the other Champions as this Divine Authority was something that increased his chances during the life and death fight.
"The Heretic God is dead, you can continue the advance. I will be unavailable... I need to recuperate from the injuries."
Yakou stated as desptie everything, he was still pretty much beaten as fuck and needed to heal from the injuries. Aži Dahāka did a number on him, even though none of the injuries that he suffered at the hands of the Heretic God were life-threatening.
Fortunately enough.
What was rather unfortunate was that most of the important operations would need to be postponed until he was compeltely recuperated or at least in a state where he managed to heal from the most serious injuries.
Murtia still had one extremely powerful Grand Knight in the form of Generalissimo Hermán Gonzáles, who was holding vigil within Mexico City. Though he knew that he would be alright within one or two days, as the regenerative capabilities of Campiones were pretty strong.
"As you command, we will arrange everything. Even then, General Clark would never order an attack on the places with the Grand Knights without the supervision of another equally strong person."
Colonel Hower stated that he knew that General Clark would change the military plans either way, because he knew that the current US forces would need a lot of manpower to bring down someone at that level.
The fact that Reed was able to take down Erigor was mainly due to luck and the fact that the Grandmaster of the Order of the Ninth Demon was already weakened from activating the escape Relic and expending a lot of his Mana during the Heretic God Summoning Ritual.
Afterwards, he was pretty unlucky to run into someone like Christopher Reed, who used Spiritual Body Manifestation to finish him off. If Erigor was at his full power, then it would require more than that to put him to eternal rest, in fact.
"Excellent. I will meet with Keira personally to talk with her. Also, did you finish the remnants of the cultists and their Dark Mages?"
As Yakou prepared to leave, he remembered that there was also the topic of the remnants of Erigor's forces that needed to be exterminated. Most of them were too dangerous to be left alive, and they needed to be exterminated to the last one, because they would regroup with the rest of the hostiles and be a problem for a later date.
"Erigor has fallen at my hands, and the rest of the Dark Mages were killed by the Enforcers. Some who managed to survive were taken as prisoners. Other hostiles were cleared by the troops from the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps under the command of Colonel Hower."
Enforcer Captain Christopher Reed answered while Yakou just nodded and departed back to the main command center, where Keira Clark was located.
***
Because the Fort Mirador was compeltely destroyed, or rather, destroyed beyond use to the US Military, they needed to create their own forward base from which they could coordinate their military operations.
Right now, they were using the new series of the land-cruisers as the forward base.
The concept of the land-cruisers was created with the invention of Magitek Engineering, as the G-1 was one hell of a monstrosity of steel and power, that was over 90 meters in length and around 50 meters or so in height.
Several hundred troops of the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps were running around the entire base, because they were constructing the fortifications on the hill where they were around the G-1 Base.
They all wore the standard combat armor of the Blazer Corps.
The Mage-Knight Blazer Corps Combat Armour was considered to be the most advanced in the world. The armour consists of a Gray Jumpsuit, a Flak Vest, two Pauldrons, and a Helmet. The helmet was the most technologically advanced part of the armour, incorporating a communicator, gas mask, and a highly sophisticated combat sensor suite.
Everything was created with the most advanced Magitek Engineering, and every single trooper of the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps was armed in the Combat Armor.
Yakou arrived at the place after one hour, as he was running through northern Mexico at a fast pace, until he reached his destination. Yakou passed through the ranks of troops pretty fast, as he used a disillusionment spell on himself because he didn't want to be seen.
He already sent one of his Ravens to notify Keira that he would be coming to the base for the briefing and to rest. He didn't need to notify everyone of his location, as he wanted it kept secret.
Mainly because of the enemies down south, he wanted them to think that he was still on the frontlines, or rather, he wanted them to be on the edge, as they would be unsure of his location, which would inevitably lead them to be nervous and agitated.
Then they would be angry and make mistakes.
And mistakes were good for them.
Keira was within the uppermost part of the G-1 Base named "USLC Thunder Eagle", which was the best quarters of the entire Land Cruiser. The USLC Thunder Eagle was big enough to accommodate a few luxurious quarters, aside from being manned by around several hundred people.
A lot of them were troops permanently stationed at the Land Cruiser, while the rest were Engineers assigned to the USLC Thunder Eagle. Of course, even the Engineers were the Cobmat Engineers, as they were elite soldiers first and engineers second.
The USLC Thunder Eagle was the first United States Land Cruiser that was constructed by the Department of Defense and Illuminati Society, but certainly it won't be the last. Just the firepower of one Land Cruiser was stronger and more powerful than the whole artillery division.
"You look really terrible... even worse than before."
Keira remarked as Yakou appeared in her quarters slash office out of nowhere. She already knew that he was coming, as Huginn was sitting on the top of the bookshelf where he had made a provisional perch for himself and eating pieces of dried meat.
"Well, try fighting Heretic God for once, and then you will see the result."
He retorted, which caused Keira to narrow her eyes slightly at him. The past month or so, he was becoming rather sarcastic, especially since the moment he killed that man from the Renjou Family...
And sometimes too moody.
"No need to be snarky again. The aftermath of your clash with that Evil Heretic God were felt even here."
The fight between Campione and Heretic God could rearrange the entire continent if the Divine Authorities on both sides were too destructive and focused on the area of effect. One of the reasons why Siberia was notoriously so cold in certain parts was that, many centuries ago, Campione and Heretic God fought there.
Both of them had Divine Authorities related to the Ice and Frost... since then, in certain parts of Siberia, even powerful Mages and Knights could easily freeze to death if they were not careful enough.
"It was more powerful and special than the ordinary ones..."
Yakou wanted to say something more, but in the end, refrained from doing so as he just sat down on the sofa in Keira's office slash personal living quarters, as the room served for the dual purpose.
"You were given pretty nice quarters here..."
He observed that the place was the most spacious and very fancy.
"Captain's quarters and other places for the officers are not that bad either. Most of the new vehicles are built with more comfort for the crew operating them... especially for the commanding officers."
Keira commented nonchalantly, as during the past decade or so, the accommodations across various military facilities, installations, vehicles, ships, and planes had gotten much better compared to what it was in the past.
Now, there was actually some interest in keeping the crew and servicemen in more comfort than in the past, and the technological capabilities were certainly allowing for such an approach, unlike in the past.
"Sooooo... how powerful that Heretic God was? That overgrown turkey boasted that 'It wasn't anything in front of the glorious might of his Master', may I cite him directly."
Even she herself was pretty curious about the might of the Evil Heretic God, because well... every single Heretic God and their appearance was a huge thing that could change the global chessboard.
And as the time went on, more and more Heretic Gods were descending one after another.
So every single Heretic God that descended was a big deal.
"Ts... more powerful than it should be. Those idiots somehow ended up summoning Aži Dahāka... one of the most powerful and evil of the Evil Gods in general across the mythologies, and due to everything that is happening across the former Mexico, it grew more powerful than your average Heretic God."
Yakou explained about the Heretic God that the cultists from the Order of the Ninth Demon managed to summon. And Keira, as someone who was rather well-versed in the Magical matters, actually understood the gravity of the situation.
For the Heretic Gods like that, they were extremely troublesome to deal with.
There were several cases across recorded history, when the Evil Heretic Gods that descended down from their mythos, managed to actually kill Campione. For a moment, as she listened to him talking about Aži Dahāka and his power, Yakou suddenly noticed that she was looking at him in a weird way.
A weird way that he was actually familiar with, rather too much.
From Marie...
She had that same kind of look....
Like a predator looking at its prey.
"Certainly, if Aži Dahāka regained more of its power than with his strongest Divine Authority, he would be able to destroy objects of the same size as our Moon... perhaps even bigger? Even though those people from the Order of the Ninth Demon were mad, the design of their Heretic God Summoning Ritual was actually ingenious and something that was never seen before, as they managed to actually summon Heretic Gods stronger than they should be..."
Yakou tried to ignore the look that Keira was giving him, as he could guess what was going on in her head. If there was one huge downside in his opinion to not constantly using Occlumency and Mind Arts on his person, then it would be that he usually noticed things that he tended to overlook before.
Much to his dismay, most of the time.
"Did you at least obtain some useful Divine Authorities from that lizard?"
She asked as he held back his need to laugh, because only she would call Aži Dahāka a lizard... Keira was always pretty straightforward and said what she wanted. She certainly wasn't one for the nice and fancy talk that was for sure.
"Yes... If not, then I would be tempted to raise Erigor from the dead just to kill him over and over, again and again."
Yakou was indeed rather greatly angry at the former Grandmaster of the Order of the Ninth Demon because of the stunt he had pulled. It was rather a piece of luck that Aži Dahāka was defeated in the end, or else, the situation would be far more grave for everyone involved or not.
Nobody wanted to have Evil Heretic God rampaging through the world.
Especially one that could actually grow stronger through the killing of other Heretic Gods and Campiones due to his Divine Authority of God Killer.
"How are our forces and the current situation? I heard from Colonel Hower that most of the troops have halted their advance due to my fight with Aži Dahāka."
Yakou asked about the current situation, but only when a minute of awkward silence passed did she recover from her deep thought and answer his question.
"Yes, because fighting deep in the hostile territory while here is possibly of attack from the Evil Heretic God would be foolish. Overall, we have secured several forts and points of interest and suffered minimal losses. Fortunately enough, after the Erigor's raid on Mexico City, a lot of people got ambitious here in the north, seeing that Generalissimo Gonzáles had deployed a lot of troops to defend his newly conquered capital. Now that you are here, we will resume the march onto several big cities and target the Murtia first, other warlords and subjects as second."
Keira explained professionally, as she was right now in her element.
The war was something that she lived for. She thrived in the war as much as he thrived in the research of Magic. For Keira Clark, the war and batlle was her lifeblood annd she was excellent in it.
Even though for some, she was too obsessed with the wars. Yakou knew that some of the wars that had happened in the past years were engineered by her through sabotage, corruption, and other subversive actions.
"If nothing unforeseen like the appearance of the Heretic God happens, I predict that we will take over the entire former territory of Mexico in two or three months."
According to her predictions, as long as most of the strongest resistance was destroyed, the rest of them would quell soon enough. Right now, she has already established communication with the remnants of the Mexican Armed Forces that were fighting against the Warlords and other elements, and they were planning a pincer strategy on several of the Warlords.
The only semblance of threat was the Republic of Murtia, as they were the most organized and, to this day, they possess most of the heavy firepower that they seized from the former Mexican Armed Forces, and they still have most Dark Mages, including the Grand Knight in the form of their Generallissimo.
"That's good... now then, if you allow me, I will borrow the shower and your quarters for a bit... Also, tell someone to bring me some new clothes..."
He motioned at his own clothes that were half-destroyed from the fight with Aži Dahāka, as he was still bleeding from some parts, and he was pretty dirty from the time when Aži Dahāka used him as his personal punching bag.
Yakou already used some healing spells and potions to take care of the most superficial wounds on his body, and some of the broken bones were being regrown at a visible speed...
Perhaps he would be healed completely much faster than anticipated.
"Second door."
Keira's personal quarters within the USLC Thunder Eagle were huge, as they contained a personal office, a big bedroom, and even a bathroom for further luxury and privacy. Of course, these quarters were used by the Field Commander who was commanding the overall operations of the war.
Under normal circumstances, they would be empty, as the Captain of the Land Cruiser had their own separate quarters. As Keira observed Yakou taking a shower, she suddenly had an interesting idea pop up.
***
Taking a shower took longer for Yakou as he was expending his Mana to speed up his regeneration when he took a long bath. He was rather surprised that Keira had even bathed in his bathroom, which was a welcome plus for him.
During the time he spent in Bath, he accelerated his healing to the maximum and managed to patch most of his cracked ribs and broken bones at a visible rate. He was rather fortunate, because he was proficient in the healing spells, as they were something desperately needed in his previous line of work.
With that, coupled with an outrageous amount of Mana he had and his natural regeneration as Campione, he was mostly alright within half an hour. Aside from some finishing touches and exhaustion that would be solved in a few hours, he was as good as new.
As he stepped up from the bath, he noticed that since he became Campione, his body had gotten more muscular, and he looked more toned than previously. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he noticed that he was like a sculpture of a Greek God.
Much to his enjoyment.
Another bonus of becoming a Campione was that, even his manhood grew larger...
Which was rather a problem on his part, because he was already pretty gifted in that area, now he was too big that it was a problem for him to have sex with normal women who were not Mages and Knights.
As he stepped out of the bath, he noticed there was only a towel in there, so he hoped Keira had ordered someone to bring him a uniform or some clothes, since his secondary ones were back home in Charlottesville.
When he stepped out of his bathroom covered in a towel, he was rather surprised... or not surprised with the sight before him.
The entire room was dimly lit up and there was a familiar figure of General Clark waiting for him. This time, she wasn't wearing her uniform anymore; instead, she wore black lingerie, revealing her toned body as she slowly strode toward him.
He couldn't deny that she was very attractive. While her breasts were not really big, nor was she actually breathtakingly beautiful like Eve Rockefeller or Momobami Kirari, she had a much different charm.
Was it the charm of the warrior woman?
Yakou noticed how well fit she was, because she had the perfect combination of muscle and beauty on her body. It seemed that she was taking great care of herself during the training...
"You know, I am not like that blonde stuck-up bitch and don't really need all these fancy dates and courting or other shit. I take what I want directly and with force if necessary..."
He would be lying if he told that he didn't find this rather arousing. He knew how Keira operated... one didn't need to be a genius to figure her out, as she only cared about strength and power.
She was a firm believer in the saying "might makes right".
'Of course she would do the same thing as Marie... well, my first with Marie wasn't really fully consensual or something along those lines, as I am sure that she spiked those drinks before I woke up bound on her bed.'
For several seconds, they looked into each other's eyes before Keira leaned over and kissed him with passion and aggression mixed in one. His hands traced down as he cupped her butt, which was incredibly firm from the training.
'Fuck it... with Marie it ended good...'
He thought as he let himself be pushed onto the sofa by Keira as they proceeded to have some adult fun.