Chapter 182: Unscathed

Aleph's abilities were powerful on their own, but their superimposition brought them to a new level. 

Ratio technique that could affect even concepts, as seen from its effects on intangible curses.

No Second Strike, Li Shuwen's technique that gathers everything into a single point.

Albion's passive destruction factor that penetrates everything.

Yamato that could cut through anything.

Lastly, his insane cursed energy reserves.

"Five percent… It's good enough."

Aleph's current thought speed was enough to control his cursed energy utilization with zero waste. The sub-skills brought by Great Sage and the new Unique Skill, [Investigator], superimposed together and increased his thought speed absurdly.

The latter also has a sub-skill that was different from [Great Sage]. Though, the most surprising event was how Great Sage reacted to Investigator.

{Announcement: Unique Skill Investigator has been detected. Parsing information… Establishing connection…}

Just like that, Aleph controlled it through Great Sage—a perfect fit, he must say. He has a vague feeling that Investigator required something, just like Great Sage, but that requirement was removed when it went under the latter.

The world became dark blue in his eyes. It was empty at first. Streaks of translucent and blurry lights started appearing. They flashed through him, conveying the information he wanted one-by-one.

In Aleph's eyes, the general history of this world was revealed. Investigator allowed him to see past events that existed in space and time. It was akin to a search engine. With the correct keywords and specific filters, he could 'view' what happened in a place.

An entire minute later, he opened his eyes. He heaved a sigh as he sheathed Yamato back.

"Five hundred years…"

Aleph did not know much detailed information regarding Izumo. Everything he knew came from his foreknowledge. Even so, that knowledge was more than enough to look for the major events in the last five hundred years.

From the First Sovereign (equivalent of First Herrscher), up until the Seventh Sovereign (Seventh Herrscher), he saw all seven fights. All of these occurred in the span of five hundred years, and as such, Izumo has a breathing time compared to Earth. It allowed them to have enough time to progress their civilization drastically.

From being on the same level as Earth, their cities have a 'barrier' fueled by Divine Power (i.e., equivalent to Honkai Energy).

Nevertheless, it wasn't enough in the face of the Seventh Sovereign, the Flamebringer.

'Cities similar to science-fiction books… then the absurd scaling of their enemies compared to ours.'

Aleph wasn't deterred by his findings. He was still confident with his strength that could single-handedly cause a month's worth of temporary peace.

"I should go and greet her. The Mei of this world."

*****

Izumo experienced unimaginable changes over the past five hundred years. From the rule of major countries, it shifted to twelve families. The governments of various countries still exist. It was just that they were now influenced by the families behind them.

Unsurprisingly, the majority of these families were the ones who made outstanding contributions against the Kami born out of Takamagahara (Divine Realm). As for the rest, they were the ones who replaced the prior families who lost power and influence.

Out of the twelve, only six possessed the power to fight against a Kami (equivalent to a Herrscher). These high-end combat powers separated the families into the upper and lower class.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

A lone figure of a girl walked the desolate streets. She wore a white kimono tied by a hakama. It was the usual mourning outfit their people wear. Splashes of black and red blood made the once pure white kimono gruesome.

She passed by corpses every now and then. They either belonged to ordinary people or the soldiers who possessed divine power.

Ironically, despite the difference of their strengths, both the ordinary and the unordinary ended up dying all the same.

"That was…"

Holding a purple eastern blade akin to a nodachi, she stared at the 'giant' that fell silent. Its height of more than a hundred meters made the entire city look like a sand castle.

Its humanoid features could still be seen at a glance. However, its overall appearance had been deformed to the point it looked like a mix of an ogre made up of black-red sticky fluids. The flames inside its body pulsated every now and then, exemplifying the absurd power it possessed.

Such a being fell silent as it stared at the night sky. Both it and the girl had a momentary ceasefire.

The latter held the blade's handle tighter. The warm sensation it gave to the girl was the only memory of her deceased father… as well as the ancestral weapon inherited from their ancestors four hundred years ago.

To the people of Izumo, they called it an Edict Edge—the blade that represents an emperor's authority.

It was exactly this weapon that their people gained the ability to fight these sovereigns—to become a giant themselves.

'Such power… was it from the second? No, it doesn't work like that.'

The girl woke up from her thoughts. The abominable giant's gaze turned back to her. The huge flaming sword it held began emitting deadly flames. Simultaneously, the girl reacted by projecting a huge blade on her own. The blade's tip faced sidewards as she readied to deflect the incoming blow.

Divine power flowed into her blade, constructing a huge blade that spanned more than fifty meters. The electricity from the blade pierced through dozens of buildings at once. Be it steel or concrete, they were all disintegrated.

Just as their anticipated clash occurred, something appeared right under their senses. Its… no, 'his' existence was significant enough to cause both the Kami and the girl to tense up.

Upon a closer look, it was a tall young man who wore a dark blue kimono. His aesthetics made it clear for the girl that he came from Izumo's side.

'This—!'

It was too late to stop anything. The Kami did not care about the young man, but she did. In a panic, she tried her best to reduce her blade's output. Her mind went full throttle to analyze everything.

That was when she encountered the third shocking thing as of today.

"I could see what you did, but there's no need to."

Perception does not equate to actual speed. Thought speed was faster compared to movement speed. At the girl's level, it was fast enough for her to perceive a frozen time.

Yet, the young man in front of her managed to move as fast as her thoughts..!

Bam-!

Buzz-!

Flames and thunder intersected at the young man's position. It created an extremely loud sonic boom across the city. The ground shook. More buildings collapsed due to the sheer impact it caused. The roads cracked apart as the deeper soil layers revealed themselves.

A huge dust cloud emerged from the sky.

Amidst them all, the abominable giant and the girl were surprised to see the young man standing still. No amount of damage went through his clothes. The ground he stood on was already destroyed; his feet floated midair.

The young man who carried zero weapons withstood their attacks!

"It's rude not to pay back the favor, no?" His sharp and loud voice rang across the city. "And of course, I am talking about you, big and ugly."

"..."

The purple haired girl became speechless.