Chapter 43: The Enigmatic Convergence

In a divine realm tavern, "Steel Dragon" Ryujin Tetsu sat alone, sipping his drink. Lately, he seemed quite content as he had been dating Seraphina Frostwind, the girlfriend of Snow Sky-Dog. He was pleased firstly because Seraphina Frostwind was a very beautiful girl. Ryujin Tetsu was a deity belonging to the dragon clan, a clan with members in all three worlds, especially the world of the gods and the world of youkai. Due to the widespread distribution of this clan, it was very complex across the three worlds. Because this clan was so powerful and widespread across all three worlds, those who ruled in all three different worlds sought the support of this clan. Now, the youkai in the youkai world were busily preparing for rebellion, gearing up for war against the world of the gods. If that youkai managed to draw the dragon clan into the rebellion, the throne of the Lord of the Gods could be shaken. Therefore, even the Lord of the Gods had to respect, even fear a little the power and importance of this clan. If the predictions of Snow Sky-Dog's master became true, then Snow Sky-Dog would become the only deity granted the privilege of marriage. But Ryujin Tetsu could marry anytime he wanted without needing any privilege because his dragon clan was not governed by any powerful deity regarding marriage. This was clearly stated in the laws of heaven since all three worlds were formed and in their primitive stages. This freedom allowed Ryujin Tetsu to pursue a girlfriend without fear of any prohibition, yet many women who interacted with him did not like his behavior and attitude towards women, despite Ryujin Tetsu's handsome appearance and noble status in the world of the gods. Seraphina Frostwind was also one of the women who did not have a favorable impression of Ryujin Tetsu. She both hated and feared the gaze that revealed his base and dark desires, as it roamed over her body. But perhaps Ryujin Tetsu truly loved Seraphina Frostwind, even though he knew that Seraphina Frostwind loved Snow Sky-Dog. Initially, Ryujin Tetsu approached Seraphina Frostwind only to seek revenge on Snow Sky-Dog. He saw Seraphina Frostwind as a sacrifice, a pawn for his cruel and cowardly revenge plan; he did not truly love Seraphina Frostwind. But after Seraphina Frostwind reluctantly agreed to date him a few times, Ryujin Tetsu truly wanted to possess Seraphina Frostwind for himself, even though Seraphina Frostwind loved only one person, Snow Sky-Dog. Seraphina Frostwind was too beautiful for Ryujin Tetsu to abandon his dark ambitions! Every time he saw Seraphina Frostwind's beautiful figure, depraved desires stirred in Ryujin Tetsu's twisted mind. He truly loved Seraphina Frostwind, but it was a love devoid of purity! Secondly, he was pleased because he stood before the best opportunity to revenge on Snow Sky-Dog; he would steal Snow Sky-Dog's lover, and he eagerly awaited seeing Snow Sky-Dog suffer. Thirdly, he felt pleased because Seraphina Frostwind was about to reveal to him the location of the third magical item, among the eight most powerful magical items in all three worlds. This magical item was called the "Umbrella of Life and Death". If the "Gem of the Four Souls" was a magical item capable of enhancing magical power for the user by providing an extremely large energy source for the user's soul; then the "Umbrella of Life and Death" was an even more terrifying and gruesome magical item. The "Umbrella of Life and Death" could absorb the souls of all living beings in the three worlds; except for the souls of the most powerful gods like the Water Ancestor of the Gods, Snow Sky-Dog's master. When the soul was sucked into this umbrella, the user of this umbrella could fully absorb the power of the soul sucked into the umbrella, and then the person whose soul was sucked would truly die and even could not go to the World of the Dead (a secondary world of the youkai world). Of course, if Ryujin Tetsu possessed this third magical item, he would never give it to the Water Ancestor of the Gods, even if it went against the rules of this academy! Then, defeating him would be very difficult for Snow Sky-Dog, Kurogami Masayuki, and Mizuchi Haruka, which was almost impossible! Even if Snow Sky-Dog had a new specific magical power, a magical power belonging to the "fire" element, if the wretch Ryujin Tetsu owned the "Umbrella of Life and Death", he would still be difficult to defeat. The more he thought about these three reasons, the more Ryujin Tetsu showed joy, drinking continuously, from one glass to another without getting drunk. If he were not a member of the dragon clan, if he were not the "Steel Dragon", he might have died from the high alcohol content he drank whenever he wanted, regardless of his mood!

"Hello cousin, I've come to visit you!"

Ryujin Tetsu glanced towards the voice, turns out it was his cousin who came to visit him. This person acted very mysteriously. This person was a stranger and made Snow Sky-Dog and his two close friends feel unsafe in the academy's restaurant yesterday.

"What brings you to me, cousin?"

"I came to visit you and to tell you something you want to hear."

"What is it, cousin?" Ryujin Tetsu replied to his cousin, but his hand still held the glass of wine.

"Your enemy has become extremely powerful yesterday!"

"What? Who is that?"

"Snow Sky-Dog? That demigod youkai has acquired a new form, a new type of magical power, and he has a new name!"

"Tell me about it, cousin, in order," Ryujin Tetsu demanded.

"His new form is very cool, half of his body is ice, and the other half on the other side is extremely fire. The new magical power he possesses is fire, and that magical power counteracts your unique magical power, cousin! He has a new name, what is it, ah... it's The Ice Fire Celestial Canine!"

"What? Is that so? The news you bring doesn't make me happy, cousin!" Ryujin Tetsu said so but he kept pouring wine into the glass to drink. "I must quickly find the 'Umbrella of Life and Death', then all the power of that demigod with mixed blood between god and youkai will be mine!"

Ryujin Tetsu's cousin smiled gently, his eyes flickering with the spark of interest.

"Don't worry, cousin. I have brought some other interesting information from reliable sources."

Ryujin Tetsu observed his cousin, his attention emanating from his own eyes. "Tell me!"

His cousin said:

"A god is hiding in the world of youkai, where no one dares to approach. He has kept an important secret, something that could change the world. Rumor has it that the secret is related to the most powerful magical item we have ever known."

Ryujin Tetsu spoke sternly.

"So we need to find this god and get information from him."

His cousin nodded. "Exactly! And we need to do that before Snow Sky-Dog and his allies become too powerful. Otherwise, the consequences could be unpredictable."

"Hold on, cousin! If I'm not mistaken, Seraphina Frostwind is the only human girl who knows about the location of those magical items! Why now another god in the world of youkai knows about the location of those magical items?"

"Oh! Cousin, Seraphina Frostwind is the only human girl who knows information about the location of the 8 magical items, but she is not the only god who knows information about those magical items!"

Ryujin Tetsu tightened his grip on the wine glass, showing determination.

"Go back home, cousin! I will continue to search for the 'Umbrella of Life and Death'. We cannot let Snow Sky-Dog become a threat to all three worlds."

His cousin nodded and left, leaving Ryujin Tetsu with a new, more sinister plot than ever before. As he looked out the door, the sunlight began to shine through the window, but in Ryujin Tetsu's heart, a thick darkness still lingered. The battle was not over, and the story had not yet come to an end.