Currently, as the most powerful individual on the Compiling Committee, she felt a heavy burden on her shoulders.
"What's wrong? Why did you suddenly come to find me?"
Kaido scrutinized the young woman's current attire from head to toe; beneath her business skirt, a pair of straight, jade-like legs, clad in black stockings, extended. It seemed she had taken his advice seriously and was no longer wearing men's clothes.
"If you're here to ask me for money to rebuild Nikko Mountain, I have none." Kaido said with a mocking smile.
*The entire country is yours now, and you still have the nerve to say you're broke?* Sayanomiya Kaoru complained inwardly, but humbly said, "Naturally, the reconstruction and repair costs don't have to be borne by the King, but while clearing the battlefield, we recovered something that might interest you."
"What is it?"
"The immortal Serpent God, the incarnation of Leviathan: Angela."
The Ancestral Goddess Angela was originally a disobedient serpent used by Luo Hao to unlock Sun Wukong's Bima Wen seal. As a Serpent Goddess who had fallen and become an Ancestral God, she was neither the best nor the worst. Therefore, her presence among the continuously appearing Disobedient Gods was somewhat faint; the only evidence of her appearance was likely the pool of water formed by the heavy rain that fell in the large crater opened on Nikko Mountain.
And after dealing with the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Kaido's attention had been entirely focused on Luo Hao and the thought of returning home to rest, completely overlooking the dying Angela who had landed in the deep waters accumulated by the heavy rain.
"How is she now?"
"Since the opponent is an Ancestral Goddess, we didn't dare to act rashly. We simply set up barriers and defensive spells around her to prevent her from suddenly awakening and causing trouble," Sayanomiya Kaoru explained. When she discovered Leviathan, she initially wanted to capture her directly, but after considering the danger of an Ancestral God, she abandoned that plan.
The Ancestral Goddess Angela was the witch who controlled the evil sorcerer society, the "King of Flies." She was later defeated by an American Godslayer and subsequently captured by the Ancestral Goddess Guinevere. Knowing that Luo Hao was going to release the Steel Hero sealed in the Nikko Toshogu Shrine, Guinevere offered Angela as a sacrifice to Luo Hao. The Last King was Guinevere's long-sought target, but because there were so many Steel Gods in the world, she had always adopted a wide-net approach.
Although Guinevere did not appear during this trip to the Nikko Toshogu Shrine, she must have been closely monitoring the situation there.
However, resolving the problem of Angela was the top priority at the moment.
"Let's sit down and eat together first. Then we'll go see her later."
"Yes." Sayanomiya Kaoru nodded.
---
After breakfast, everyone headed back to Nikko Mountain. However, compared to their initial solemnity and concern, the girls' moods were now significantly better.
Kaido sat in the front seat, listening to the girls chat in the back while closing his eyes to rest. Soon, familiar road signs appeared.
Currently, the scenic area of Nikko Mountain remains under strict lockdown, and this alert will continue until reconstruction is complete or until Kaido's order. Yesterday's battle was officially explained as an earthquake, and the uninformed public continued their peaceful, oblivious lives.
"Hiss... It's going to cost a lot of money to rebuild all this, isn't it?" Kaido looked at the dozen mountain peaks ruined by him and Luo Hao, and sighed from the passenger seat.
*You know that too, huh? Just last night, calculating the reconstruction costs took us almost all night.* Even many terrains, like Nikko Mountain, have undergone permanent changes. In cases of less severe damage, they are simply backfilled with earth for repair. In craters dozens or hundreds of meters deep, complete restoration is impossible with current technology. Therefore, they had to divert water to create artificial lakes. Once reconstruction is complete, Nikko Mountain might turn into Nikko Lake.
Sayanomiya Kaoru complained inwardly, but her words transformed into a normal tone when they reached her lips. "We're almost there."
The defenses on the road were much stronger, with many sorcerers patrolling nearby. Kaido even felt the fluctuations of magical power and heard battle cries. Just by listening, he knew it must be intense and very exciting.
"Are you holding a martial arts competition here?"
"No..." Sayanomiya Kaoru was speechless, then explained earnestly.
The Monkey King of Nikko Toshogu Shrine was originally used to suppress Japan's Ghost Gate. Now, with the seal broken, the previously closed Ghost Gate has also opened, and since midnight last night, small imps have been escaping non-stop. The young girl sighed. "My sorcerers are fighting them."
"Ghosts actually exist? I thought they were all fake." Kaido exclaimed, showing a curious expression.
It was strange to say. He could accept Heretic Gods, but he still held common fantasies about demons and ghosts. However, he also knew that the so-called ghosts were simply a general term for "demons and monsters," and what came out of the Ghost Gate were not truly ghosts in the literal sense, but monsters formed by the convergence of madness, evil thoughts, magical power, and beliefs. Especially in Japan, where it is said there are "eight million gods," aside from the orthodox deities of Takamagahara, ninety-nine percent of the other gods are yokai.
"That's a bit interesting. Can you handle those yokai?"
Sayanomiya Kaoru caught the implicit meaning in his words and quickly said, "The ghosts that came out of the Ghost Gate are not powerful; there's no need to trouble His Majesty. We, your subordinates, can take care of them."
*It's a joke.* After the battle on Nikko Mountain, everyone had a deeper understanding of the Godslayer's ferocity. If anyone dared to let Kaido fight, it wouldn't be long before the entire Japanese continent sank into the sea.
"Then do as you wish." Seeing that Kaido had no intention of continuing the matter, Sayanomiya Kaoru couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
---
Soon, everyone arrived at the base of what was originally Nikko Mountain. There was a giant artificial lake, its shimmering waters rippling under the gentle sunlight.
"The Ancestral Goddess Angela is asleep at the bottom of the lake," Sayanomiya Kaoru said.
Kaido didn't speak; after getting out of the car, he walked to the lakeside. His instincts as a Godslayer allowed him to sense the power of a Heretic God sleeping at the bottom of the lake.
*After sleeping for so long, it's time to wake up.* Kaido decided to wake her in a slightly more forceful way.
In his right hand was a ball of light formed by converging magical power, which he then casually tossed into the lake. At first, everything was calm, but a few seconds later, the immense lake began to boil like water on a stove.
Although it wasn't the power of an Authority, it was quite suitable as an alarm clock.
Beneath the boiling lake surface, a huge white figure quickly swam.
"I smell the scent of a damn Godslayer." With a splash, a silvery snake body, about fifty meters long, suddenly emerged from the water, its spray and water curtain soaking everything around it. However, Kaido had already protected himself with magical power, so he wasn't drenched.
"It is you, indeed, the Godslayer whom Luo Hao, the Eastern Cult Master, considers his younger brother!" Leviathan's massive, majestic form and the divine power emanating from her transformed into an invisible pressure, making Sayanomiya Kaoru feel as if she could barely breathe.
"Be good, I don't like people talking to me so loudly." Kaido looked at Angela, who was suspended in the sky, supported by her snake body, but covered in countless scars and bloodstains, and said with a smile. However, with the start of his laughter, an even greater magical power pressed down on Leviathan.
The immense magical power pressed the Serpent God Leviathan downwards, preventing her from raising her head. Her head, suspended in the sky, was forcibly pressed to the same level as Kaido.
"This way of speaking feels much better," the black-haired youth said with a smile, freely admiring Leviathan's elegant snake body. The huge divine serpent glowed with silver-white sacred light in the sky; although it was a terrifying serpent, its exquisite posture was truly captivating.
*He wondered what it would feel like to be wrapped around her?* Suddenly, a completely unprincipled thought appeared in Kaido's mind.
*Damn Godslayer! Don't... don't think you can make me surrender! I am the Heretic God, Leviathan...!* Angela let out an angry roar at Kaido, opening her gaping maw as if to devour him.
The next second, the magical power transformed into an invisible headbutt, a sudden attack that left Angela dizzy and disoriented, taking a long time to recover.
*Damn it! Damn you, Godslayer! Do whatever you want to me, kill me or torture me, but don't humiliate me like this! Does it mean only this can satisfy your filthy self-esteem?* Although Angela emerged from the water again, her golden eyes, large as searchlights, glared fiercely at Kaido.
"If I really wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead." Kaido scoffed, "Lower your arrogant posture, Angela, if you continue to be so rude, I'll catch you and make snake soup."
"Why don't you kill me, Godslayer?!" Angela roared, but her emotions had calmed down somewhat.
*What good would it do to kill you? You're just a disobedient serpent, the incarnation of the Ancestral God. Even if I killed you, I wouldn't gain any Authority.*
Kaido shook his head and chuckled, "I consider myself a refined and gentle person. You and I have no grievances, so why would I waste time and energy fighting with you?"
The Ancestral Goddess Angela, due to her hatred for Godslayers and this world, abandoned her immortal Ancestral Goddess body and transformed into a dragon serpent, and was willing to be used by Luo Hao to release the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. However, she was not following the "Last King of Steel"; instead, she wanted to witness the fight between the Godslayer and the Last King of Steel with her own eyes.
As someone who had fallen from an ancient goddess to a dragon serpent, Angela hated both precisely because of the transition from a matriarchal to a patriarchal society.
*Don't be so hypocritical! You're surely thinking about how to abuse and torment me!* Angela felt the "steel" attribute in this magical power, and her gaze towards Kaido became even more disgusted.
*Bingo! Abusing pretty girls is one of my hobbies.* Kaido snapped his fingers.
"But no matter what, you're a goddess, so before being a woman, the identity of a goddess holds more value."
*Give up! No matter what tricks you use, I will never surrender to a Godslayer! Never!* Angela looked at Kaido as if she was ready to die. When she shed blood and broke the seal, she had already embraced the idea of facing death. If she didn't even fear death, would she fear the Godslayer's harsh torture?
"If you say that, it becomes a little difficult. I originally wanted to catch you and use you as a vase." Kaido observed the thick snake body; if he could subdue her, he wouldn't need any means of transportation to go out in the future. How cool would it be to go shopping on a goddess?
"Don't even think about it!" Angela's voice became sharp and distorted.
"Oh, God of Disobedience, Leviathan, please set aside your anger. This foreign Rakshasa Lord is not what you imagine." At that moment, a clear, melodious female voice, like an oriole's, came from afar.
The space rippled, and white light particles converged into a girl dressed in a kimono wearing a twelve-layered ancient princess robe.
"Crystal Pupil, where did you run off to all day yesterday?"
What came into view was a beautiful, as if carved, young girl, the Crystal Pupil Princess, who had appeared from the Underworld.