The Dimensional Gates and their Categories across the Great Dark Beyond Realms
"The portals that connect our world to the other dimension are called... "'Gates'. And beyond these gates are Dungeons, Tombs and Otherworlds." - Author Unknown
The Dimensional Gates are a method of travel, transportation, and many other things, as the usages of the Dimensional Gates seemed to be sometimes endless. Across the Great Dark Beyond, there are several types of Dimensional Gates depending on what they are connected to.
The most common types of Gates are the Dungeon Gate, Tomb Gate, and Otherworld Gate.
The origin of the Dimensional Gates as a means of travel or connection is largely unknown, but many scholars and historians attribute it to one of the Itarims who is well-versed in the Spatial Laws and Space Magic, because only someone on that level could have created such an ingenious method of travel.
The modern Dimensional Gates could be created by powerful Magicians or beings, though it is noted that the creation of Dimensional Gates is no easy matter. One would need to be at least around the 4th-Digit to have the necessary Magic Reserves and also high enough mastery over the Spatial Magic or understanding of the Spatial Laws.
The more usual usage of the Dimensional Gates is to connect Place A with Place B, in the most simple terms, but not limited to this solely. There are many other usages of the Dimensional Gates...
It has been recorded that in most extreme cases, Super Large Dimensional Gates were used to move entire Planets to the Little Garden during the times when civilizations across the Great Dark Beyond Realms were shifting.
1st - Dungeon Gate
These Gates are distinct blue portals that appear in a range of settings seemingly at random, from highways to abandoned areas and even high schools. They remain open until the Dungeon boss inside is defeated. If not addressed within a few days, a Dungeon Break will occur, releasing the Magical Beasts from within into the world.
Dungeon Gates are considered to be one of the more common types of Gates that are appearing across the Great Dark Beyond and are leading to the Dungeon. Dungeons are pocket dimensions that exist outside of the standart Cosmology of the Great Dark Beyond Realms and can be connected to only through the Dungeon Gate.
Dungeon Gates are divided into two distinct types. First is the Standart Gate Type and second is the Red Gate Type. Red Gates only occur in B-Rank or higher-ranked Dungeons that would need at least Saints to clear out. At first, it is indistinguishable from a Dungeon, but once a certain number of people step in, it will turn into a Red Gate, blocking the entrance and exit from both sides and no longer emitting mana waves. What lies beyond a red gate isn't a standart Dungeon.
These Dungeons are special, as they are far bigger and usually are created by mighty beings, usually powerful 3rd-Digit Entities, as a form of their Legacy Grounds or are some Trial Grounds of such beings for their entertainment or other goals. The Red Gate Mechanism is something that most Mages fear due to its unpredictability and danger.
2nd - Tomb Gate
Contrary to the Dungeon Gate, there isn't much to say about the Tomb Gates, as they connect to the Tombs. Tomb Gates are a distinct creation of one of Itarims, known by his Title "The Majesty" and are spread acorss the entire Great Dark Beyond Realms.
The Tomb Gates could thus be encountered anywhere in the Great Dark Beyond Realms, and they by themselves were not considered to be that dangerous. Though it was generally agreed that their danger was different from the danger encountered in the Dungeon.
The dangers of the Tombs lay in the countless lethal traps and deadly puzzles that lay ahead, not the Magical Beasts or Monsters that inhabited the Dungeons. The Tomb Gates were generally considered safe to enter, as long as one possessed the Tomb Key.
Without the Tomb Key, which opened the mechanisms of the Tomb Gate, it wasn't possible to leave the Tomb, contrary to the Dungeons, which could be exited and entered freely, as only a fraction of them needed the Dungeon Key.
3rd - Otherworld Gate
The last, most common type of Dimensional Gates is the Otherworld Gate. Contrary to the Dungeon Gate and Tomb Gate, this type of Dimensional Gate isn't connected to the Pocket Dimension, but instead to another whole world or planet.
Otherworld Gates are harder to come across than the Dungeon Gates and Tomb Gates. At the same time, they are far harder to find in their natural form, which means that approximatley 80% of the so far documented Otherworld Gates were made by powerful Magicians and entities across the Great Dark Beyond Realms.
It seemed like the worlds were instinctively rejecting the formation of the Otherworld Gate, which, from a certain perspective, was logical. Every planet was a living organism... the World's Consciousness was usually rejecting the formation of the Otherworld Gates due to the danger that the activated Otherworld Gate could and in many cases would represent.
The Otherworld Gates are also being used by the worlds to invade each other, because traversing the Great Dark Beyond Realms in more traditional means is far more dangerous due to beings that inhabit the cold depths of the Void.
-
Aside from this division of the Dimensional Gates, one may find even other types of Dimensional Gates that are not that widespread or common, like the Dungeon Gates, Tomb Gates, or Otherworld Gates.
It's very well known that nobody has really scoured the entirety of the Great Dark Beyond Realms or even the Observed Areas of the Little Garden. The dangers of the Void are too big even for many high Digits to freely wander through the Void, and those who have the power to do so are lacking the motivation or interest to do so.
- Excerpt from the Book: The Gates and their Categories across the Great Dark Beyond,written by the Scholars of Soremburg, Date Unknown, Little Garden
***
United States of Federal Americas, Virginia, Charlottesville, Numengard Estate, 3rd December 2020
Life in the Numengard Estate was calm as it always was, with everyone doing their assigned tasks as they should. Kirari was spending most of her time lazing around or resting, because her date of birth would be soon enough.
Somewhere around the middle of December.
The security around the estate became even tighter, as the Illuminati Society sent even more Enforcers to stand on guard. Mostly because their Campione was away and everyone was becoming more and more paranoid about everything.
Eve Rockefeller was becoming almost permanently resistant to the Numengard Estate, as she was often visiting Yakou when he was home or Kirari, even right now. Despite the fact that the two of them were often competing against each other, they were often seeking each other's company.
For many reasons, actually.
They were always scheming something together, and both of them actually appreciated having intellectual equals... especially when it came to scheming and plotting. Yakou would say that they put together would be an absolute menace to anyone, whom they chose as their target.
Like right now, both women were sitting in the drawing room and enjoying the afternoon tea.
"So, how are things going with the Department of the Treasury? With the aftermath of the Culling Game and all things that are happening in Asia, I guess you have a lot of work to do."
Kirari drank her tea with a satisfied expression because just around ten minutes earlier, she had her pet-slave pleasure her and Eve. Her little slave was getting very good at pleasuring her, mainly because she was getting used to it a lot.
"Not much less than usual... a lot of things were already predetermined with the Dainippon Bank and Katahara Family. Right now, the most problematic thing is how the meeting between Yakou and the 2nd Campione would go."
Right now, the situation in the Department of the Treasury of the Illuminati Society wasn't much different from before. Eve was smart enough ot predict the direct economic aftermath of the Culling Game, and she worked on the said aftermath with the Daninippon Bank and Katahara Family.
So the situation wasn't that stressful or taxing.
Per their agreement, the Katahara Family would take over the assets of the History Compilation Committee within the Empire of Japan, while the Illuminati Society would take over some assets overseas.
For example, the Militech International Armaments, which was a weapon manufacturing corporation in the ownership of the Tsuchimikado Clan, took over all ventures of the affiliates of the History Compilation Committee that were related to the military-industrial complex.
Of course, when she was speaking about Company Takeover, it literally meant that some members of the Enforcers walked in and took over everything in exchange for the people keeping their lives.
In the end, most of the people who managed to survive through the Culling Games were killed during the Culling Game, or those who were outside of Japan were in the process of being killed off.
One could say that everybody in question got obscenely rich, and even the Militech International Armaments, which wasn't doing anything, was now worth several billions.... though it wasn't like the mundane money had any value to the Campione.
As it had to the Tsuchimikado Clan itself when the Campione himself wasn't taken into question. However, they knew that Yakou wanted the Militech to focus primarily on manufacturing the CADs in the future, once the devices could be mass-produced.
Everyone was aware that the Casting Assistant Devices were going to be hit on the supernatural side of the world.
"Though I think everything will depend on the meeting between Yakou and Luo Hao."
Eve added as she drank her tea, because a lot of things would depend on the results of the meeting between Yakou and Luo Hao. She knew that basically the entire foreign relationship between the United States of Federal Americas and the Huaxia Republic would depend on what Yakou and Luo Hao would speak about.
Nothing less, nothing more.
She knew that Luo Hao had the final word in the Huaxia Republic, contrary to the United States of Federal Americas, where Tsuchimikado Yakou only occasionally said something but, overall, didn't really participate in the governing aspect of the nation.
"What is that man thinking? Challenging Luo Hao to duel?"
Even though Kirari wouldn't really say out loud, she was rather worried about him because Luo Hao was considered the second most powerful Campione in terms of raw power... but when it came to the skills, she was in the first place.
"Someone like Luo Hao won't listen to a word. She would only listen to someone whom she accepts as an equal, and that is a rather feat, because she isn't even considering her fellow Campiones as equals... at least not all of them."
Eve knew that Luo Hao was even more problematic to deal with than Marquise, as the Martial Ruler only judged someone based on their martial prowess. Nothing less and nothing more... if one wasn't powerful enough to catch her attention...
That was the reason why, among the already existing Campiones, not including the new Campiones like 7th Campione and 8th Campione, she acknowledged only Sasha Dejanstahl Voban and Salvatore Doni.
The rest were of no interest to her, and with some she had outright hostile relationships...
Apparently, she loathed Alexander Gascoigne because she often called him a thief and a ruffian. However, most of these pieces of information were just rumors, because nobody close to the Luo Hao could actually confirm the things with 100% if they were indeed true.
"Well, I just hope that he will return home in one piece to witness the birth of his firstborn son."
Kirari said as she wasn't far from giving birth, and she wanted Yakou's present. In the end, it would be a huge matter, as the first descendant of Campione would be born in several centuries, and what's more, that descendant would be male.
Which only increased the gravity of the entire matter.
For the lineages in the high societies, be it in the mundane side of the world or the supernatural side of the world, male descendants were more preferred compared to the female ones. This was specifically true for the supernatural side of the world, because males could be more prolific with their genome and have more children throughout their lives than females.
"He will for sure... he is far more cunning than to be killed by someone like Luo Hao..."
Eve believed that everything would be alright, because... she knew that Yakou was one of hell's scheming bastard. If he really dared to challenge Luo Hao to a duel, then he must be sure of his victory, or rather, his survival in good shape.
Luo Hao was no easy opponent, and when it came to combat, there was no one who would dare to call himself more skilled in front of her.
"Did you know that Keira sent me a message that she captured a new sex slave for the household?"
Eve decided to change the topic to something else, because she didn't want to cause her more stress... especially not now in her current condition, where it could be rather dangerous.
"I saw the message in the group chat... she is pretty, but she would be defiant... breaking her would be fun."
Kirari also noted in their group chat that Keira managed to capture the rising star of the Drawn Sword Guild, Tawata Kanae... a very beautiful woman in her opinion, though it was clear that she was pretty stubborn.
Though that made breaking them a lot of fun.
Soon enough, the Mamiya Mother-Daughter duo would arrive at the Numengard Estate pretty soon. Both of them decided to move to the USFA and live there, but they won't be members of the Illuminati Society.
The Mamiya Conglomerate's existence was deeply entwined with the Kengan Association for many years, and they were holding enormous wealth and estates in the Empire of Japan.
Even Kirari, who originally wanted to join the entire Momobami Clan to the Illuminati Society, decided that only the Main House of the Momobami Clan would become members of the Illuminati Society while the rest would remain in Japan.
"She even resisted heavily upon her capture and even during the transport... I heard that the perverted duo were rather eager to taste her first and Keira joined them."
Eve was obviously speaking about Mamiya Marika and Mamiya Marie, who were rather eager to play with their newfound toy. And because Kanae Tawata was a rather powerful Martial Artist, there wasn't the possibility that she would break soon enough.
Either physically or mentally.
"And you told me that I was being depraved."
Kirari said with a grin, as she knew of the Mamiyas that would now become their sisters-in-law. They were far more depraved and morally empty than Kirari could ever be and she absolutely loved it.
"Well... who would have expected that someone like them existed... it seems that you learn something new every day, as they say."
They all had a group chat together... all of Yakou's romantic partners, meaning Kirari, Eve, Keira, and Mamiya Duo. Surprisingly or not, aside from his romantic partner, Katagiri Aira was also added to the group, due to Yakou's fondness for the Head Maid of the Mamiya Household.
At the same time, it was actually good that someone they trusted was within their group who could handle more menial tasks for them. Things that neither of them would later entrust to the ordinary servants for one reason or another.
Mostly the things of an intimate character.
"Have you already thought of a name for the baby?"
Soon enough, their decision turned to the inevitable topic of the future child that would be born soon. Both Eve and Kirari noticed that Yakou was rather eager for the child to be born, though they both knew that he would miss sex with his pregnant lover.
Still, the fact that he would have an heir was something that filled Yakou with pride, as he could start passing his Legacy to his Heir and ensure the continuation of the Main Lineage of the Tsuchimikado Clan.
That would also be also changed, though.
As they wouldn't be just an ordinary Onmyōji Clan, but rather a Clan descended from the Campione himself. Such things were rare and were always a mark of a new Era and new rising factions that would dominate the entire continent if developed properly.
Many wondered that it was a shame that the Blandeli Family didn't have more descendants from the Campione, or else their power would have been far higher than anyone could have imagined.
"Satoru... his name will be Tsuchimikado Satoru... through the Heavens and Earth, he alone will be the Honored One. The first descendant of the Campione born in many centuries and one who became the strongest mortal."
Both Yakoou and Kirari have already chosen a name for their son, who will soon be born.
The name 'Satoru' (さとる, サトル) is a masculine Japanese given name derived from the Japanese verb meaning "to know" or "understand". Satoru can be written using different kanji characters, which mean (悟る) "be spiritually awakened" or "attain higher perception".
Other name meanings include but are not limited to "enlightenment" (悟), "wisdom" (智), and "philosophy" (哲).
Their son would become the strongest "mortal" of the entire era...
"A good name... for either scholar or unparalleled genius."
Even though Eve carried a strong competitive streak against Kirari, she actually sincerely hoped that it would be the second possibility. In the end, Kirari was already the wife of Campione, even though they lacked any formal ceremony, and Eve would too end with Yakou.
They would all be members of the Tsuchimikado Clan.
And she understood that internal unity and strength were everything for the Clan.
Infighting among various branches of the family only led to decay and destruction.
Or literally virtually inherent in the internal structures that were constantly at odds with each other, and stronger internal pressure would destroy them.
Like was the state of the Momobami Clan.
The various branches of the Momobami Clan were fighting against each other like mad dogs, and they hated each other to the core. They would do everything that they could to obtain an advantage against their fellow clansmen, as it usually resulted in a lot of mess and death.
From a certain perspective, it was nothing short of a miracle that the Momobami Clan managed to survive despite everything.
Though as Eve observed half-naked Miroslava Honebami, who was being degraded and sexually humiliated on the daily standart, she knew that Kirari probably won this generation's strife of the Momobami Clan.
Eve heard that there was a lot of dissent toward the current head of the Momobami Clan... many of the Branch Families were openly conspiring against Kirari after she was named as the Clan Head by her dying grandmother.
And many perceived her as weak, or her decision was detrimental to the Clan.
Yet it was likely heaven's will that she got entangled with the Campione and had a child with the said Campione, which essentially secured her power and allowed her to do everything that she wanted.
Many within the Illuminati Society knew that, because Yakou personally ordered Thomas André and Christopher Reed to help Kirari with the purge in the Momobami Clan, a lot of people died at their hands.
Which wasn't anything surprising, on the other hand.
'Well... at least she could pleasure me well enough...'
Eve thought as she looked at the piercings that Kirari gave the girl, who was already slowly accustomed to her daily routine... though Eve doubted that she would be able to hold it in when the Mamiyas arrived.
"Though I wonder who would be the next one to have his child..."
Kirari looked at the Rockefeller Heiress with a mischievous streak in her eyes because she knew that Yakou and Eve didn't even sleep together.
"I am taking it slowly... Do you know that someone wants that kind of traditional courtship?"
The Rockefeller Heiress knew exactly what Kirari was hinting with her eyes and look, but she wasn't one who was easily annoyed or flustered by anything. Eve was highly resistant to things like that, because it was needed in the highest echelons of society.
"Booooring."
The Clan Head of Momobami Clan stuck out her tongue in a provocative way, as Eve's eyebrows twitched a bit, but she didn't say anything. She initially wanted to call her slut for getting pregnant at fifteen or sixteen, but then realized that it wouldn't mean anything to Kirari.
Even more so, many would consider it an utmost honor to have a child with Campione regardless of the age of the other party.
"Well, if I were a betting person and I am a betting person, I would bet my chips that the next one would be one of the Mamiyas... both of them are sexually insatiable, and they want to get pregnant just for the new fetishes that they could enjoy."
In truth, Kirari was surprised that Marika didn't get herself or her mother pregnant by herself some time ago... judging by the number of dickpicks that the green-haired futanari girl was sending to their chat group.
If she could use genetic engineering to give herself a cock, she should handle something like that easily.
"It seems highly possible."
Eve actually agreed with the possibility... well, she actually hoped that it would be either of them and not Keira... she knew that if Keira got to bear Yakou's child first before her, then it would be something that she would throw to her face for the end of times.
They were rivals sicne childhood, and this would be the ultimate defeat on her side.
It was already a pretty huge defeat that Keira got him first... but then again, Eve knew that she was a brute who didn't care about any conventions or norms...
Nothing.
"Do you want to go play some poker? There are not many people who dare to play with me here..."
Within the Numengard Estate, the number of people who would play some games with her was almost equal to zero... only her fellow future sister wives would play with her, or some high-ranking members of the Illuminati Society when they came to visit.
But Yakou forbade her from playing for money or anything of monetary value...
Not like she was listening to him most of the time.
When he wasn't looking, she would often play for money... and no less than three times it created scenes and problems. For Yakou, it was a rather simple request... he didn't want the mother of his child to scam money out of his guests in the estate.
That was a big no-no.
"Alright, but I am not betting anything in."
***
Gobi Desert, Huaxia Republic, 5th December 2020
Yakou was tired.
More tired than he ever was as he sat on the ground and looked at the 2nd Campione, who was sitting in front of him. This was probably the most lengthy and tiring fight that he ever had against anyone, including the Heretic Gods that he had slain.
Luo Hao was the most skilled and technical fighter that he had ever encountered. He realized that his spearmanship had increased tremendously after the spar against her, which was a good thing because he was able to cover for the weakness of his.
He wasn't really that good with his spear, even though he was better than most. For him, the rope stemmed from his overhelming physical prowess and rather mediocre skills in his eyes, which created a discrepancy between the raw power and skill.
Or in other words, he couldn't properly utilize his raw power and make it his advantage when using the spear. But this has changed since they started the fight with Luo Hao, because the 2nd Campione was in the same position, yet she was able to do everything that he couldn't with an effortless look.
It was pretty fortunate that he used the Divine Authority of Mímir's Well before the duel started, so he would obtain increased comprehension during the fight. He planned to make full use of the fighting with Martial Ruler so he could learn from her.
And the plan has worked.
"It was a rather good fight."
Luo Hao said after some time, when she dusted off her clothes, as the female Campione was in a rather good mood. Their fight was brutal and destroyed large parts of the Gobi Desert where they were fighting.
She was also tired from the fight, because it was very surprising for her that the man in front of her could actually keep up with her during their fight. She didn't expect that a newbie Campione would be able to do so.
Though she noted that even though Tsuchimikado Yakou was Campione for barely a few months, he managed to slay three Heretic Gods in rather short succession, which was an impressive feat.
Regardless of the point of view.
"It could be said the same about you."
Yakou too thought that the fight between them was good and splendid. Amid their duel, they stopped fighting with their more destructive abilities. Neither of them wanted to cause huge amounts of destruction, which they could have done if they had wanted to.
Both Luo Hao and Yakou possessed enormously powerful Divine Authorities that could be used for widespread destruction that could affect most of the Euro-Asian Continent, but that wasn't their goal.
And Yakou noticed that the longer he was fighting with Luo Hao, the better he got at his spearmaship, so he utilized this opportunity to the maximum and used it for further learning.
"So now that we have our fight, shall we speak?"
Yakou asked when he noticed that Luo Hao seemed more approachable than before... most probably because of the fight, she had calmed down. He knew that the reason behind that was that he had proved his strength to her.
Even though he wouldn't really dare to mention it out loud, she was very similar to the Marquise Voban in this aspect. He was sure that if he compared her to Voban, she would attempt to skin him alive, because neither of the two held any positive emotions for each other.
And here he was...
Attempting to get them to some kind of alliance, because USFA already had one with the Lost Domain, and Yakou dared to think he had a rather solid relationship with the oldest Campione right now.
Yakou didn't know what exactly the Marquise obtained from his fight with the Sun Wukong during the attack on the headquarters of the History Compilation Committee, but he was sure that it was something very good.
The old man was in an excellent mood ever since then, so it must have been something very useful and powerful at the same time. Yakou knew that Voban had wanted to obtain the Divine Authority of Body of Steel for a long time, and the last time he almost had it, but wild Salvatore Doni appeared and stole the kill right under his nose.
It was highly possible that the old man managed to obtain that Divine Authority, but who really knew? He didn't say a word about it to Yakou, and Yakou himself was tactful enough not to ask about certain things, like what Divine Authority he obtained after slaying a Heretic God.
Among the Campiones, their Divine Authorities and their exact capabilities or abilities were something that they never spoke about. If one were to learn the extent of the Divine Authority of the Campione, it meant that they could discover the potential weakness of the Campione themselves.
So most Campiones were pretty secretive about their Divine Authorities to the point where they would never even say their names to the other people.
"This Daoist is willing to listen to little brother."
He tried to show his annoyance with the fact that she called him "little brother", though from her perspective, it wasn't really an incorrect term. Despite being Campione, Yakou was more than two centuries younger than Luo Hao.
"Well then, we have a lot of things to speak about... starting with the status of the Empire of Japan and the relationship between the Huaxia Republic and the United States of Federal Americas."
Yakou said as Luo Hao's eyes narrowed as she heard that, which was partially a signal for him to continue speaking. Now that he had proven his strength, Luo Hao was at least willing to listen to him... otherwise, she wouldn't even be speaking to Yakou right now.
Like the Martial Arts all around the world, Luo Hao preferred to use her fist first and then talk as second.
"I want to propose that the Huaxia Federation become another party in the alliance between the USFA and Lost Domain established by old man Voban."
The alliance between the Huaxia Republic and USFA had already been prepared by President Gray and Chancellor Lu, but it couldn't go through because Luo Hao didn't give the agreement to the Huaxians.
And then there was still the topic of Japan. That was a rather sore spot of the Huaxia, as both nations had a long-standing historical rivalry that was actually pretty hostile, and they were constantly fighting for many centuries.
Be it the mundane side of the Huaxia and Japan or their supernatural sides.
"We can agree on something."
Luo Hao said after some time of consideration, because she accepted that Yakou's proposal made some sense. She could see that if their nations allied together, they would create the strongest geopolitical block in the world.
Which was good for them and their future development.
Luo Hao was deeply troubled about the things that were currently happening in the world, and it reminded her of a very ancient prophecy that she once heard from a powerful seer, more than two centuries ago.
That one day...
Pandora's System would collapse, and the entire world would enter a new era.
An era where only the strongest would survive.
For a very long time, it wasn't anything, just a prophecy... the prophecy that may never come.
But now?
Even she saw the warning signs that were appearing all over the world over the past years, and everything started suddenly making sense. The rising Mana in the air that was becoming denser and denser, Heretic Gods were considerably stronger compared to centuries or two ago, and the number of Tombs that were descending was at least ten times more than in the past.
Everything was pointing to one sole outcome, and the outcome wasn't looking that good for them, as even someone as strong as her could fall during the turbulent times that would be coming soon enough.
"Excellent... what about meeting in Tokyo in the next few days? The empire of Japan will retain its own independence and avoid assimilation into the Huaxia. In exchange, the USFA will help Huaxia to expand its territory across the entire mainland Asia and parts of Southeast Asia."
Luo Hao just nodded, barely registering what Yakou was saying, because she wasn't really that interested in that. If not for the Voban doing some kind of building attempts with his bunch of Vampire and Werewolf followers, she wouldn't be annoying mortals with this.
Though she had to admit that it was actually entertaining to a certain degree.
"This Luo Hao wants to fight you sometimes in the future, younger brother... There are not many people who could keep up with my pace."
For Luo Hao, this was probably the highest level of compliment that she had ever given to someone, and Yakou knew it. He also preferred to have more spars with her, because he could benefit immensely from fighting with someone like her.
"It would be an honor for me too."
Yakou said that having direct access to Luo Hao as her sparring partner was an invaluable thing for him. He noticed the results of the spar, after he used the Divine Authority of Mímir's Well, were staggering, and his mastery over the arts of spear had improved exponentially.
He planned to repeat this as much as possible, because he knew that sparring with Luo Hao would elevate his combat skills to an entirely new level. If Sasha Dejanstahl Voban was considered the most powerful of the Campiones, then Luo Hoa was undoubtedly the most skilled fighter among the Campiones.
In sheer skill, she could be matched only in swordsmanship by Salvatore Doni, and it was really probable that the younger Campione eclipsed her, as he was the most powerful swordsman the world had ever seen in many centuries.
The King of Swords wasn't a sobriquet that was given to him just on a whim.
Nevertheless, Luo Hao leaned more toward unarmed close-quarter combat than using weapons on the battlefield.
"Your subordinates will tell you how to contact me... I will be staying in Japan for the next few days, until the agreement between the Huaxia Republic and the United States of Federal Americas is sealed on paper. During that time, I guess we can have at least one spar, if you wish."
He planned to remain in the Empire of Japan for a few days at least before he returned home. He already pushed the return trip several times, because there was always something that he needed to oversee.
And when he returned home, he had a lot of work to do... especially because he needed to start the research on the Ritual of the First Manas that he obtained from Athena when he helped her to recover her full power.
Something that he realized only much later.
Despite being the Goddess of Strategy and Wisdom, she could easily pass for one related to the Cunning and Deception. Nevertheless, Yakou didn't hear about her sicne the attack on the Headquarters of the History Compilation Committee, and it seemed that Athena had vanished into thin air.
At this tempo, he would arrive at the USFA together with Mamiya Marie and Mamiya Marika, who were also moving to the Numengard Estate to live together with him. He was starting to have a headache just thinking about the chaos that so many women in one place would create.
In times like these, he really preferred his more emotionless self... those times seemed to be much easier than this. Just by thinking about it, he really wanted to raise that accursed Renjou Patriarch from the dead so he could kill him one more time.
"I wanted to ask... should I call you Elder Sister or Big Sis? Your Majesty?"
Yakou asked because, in fact, he didn't really know how she wanted to be addressed, and he really hoped that she wouldn't choose something stupid that would be...
"Elder Sisters has a nice ring to it... Don't you think, Younger Brother?"
She looked at him with that kind of mischievous streak in her eyes, as he just nodded.
"Then did the Elder Sister bring with her the Key?"
The Key Yakou was talking about was nothing other than the Gate Key to the Inherent Onmyōdō Technique Twelve Divine Shikigami Contract Gates that unlocked the 11th Gate, the Dark Devilgod Tiger.
Among the Gate Keys that ended up scattered across Asia, the one that was most problematic to obtain was the 11th Gate Key, as it ended up in the hands of his fellow Campione, Martial Luo Hao.
Yakou knew that Luo Hao was surely aware of how important this was to him and what the Twelve Divine Shikigami Contract Gates Technique meant to the Tsuchimikado Clan, and that without even a single Gate Key, one wouldn't be able to master their Inherent Onmyōdō Technique.
"Now can this younger brother request the Elder Sister to return thee Gate Key?"
He grit his teeth as he asked once more, seeing that Luo Hao was actually grinning at him, instead of saying something or anything. He knew that the accursed woman was actually enjoying this entire drama.
"Here. Let them not say that this Luo Hao doesn't adhere to her word."
She then threw him the key-like object, which was the 11th Gate Key.
"Though this Daoist is rather interested in the famous Inherent Onmyōdō Technique of the Tsuchimikado Clan, the Twelve Divine Shikigami Contract Gates Technique. Would the Younger Brother be kind and show this Luo Hao the process of unsealing?"
He looked at her and then at the 11th Gate Key and then once again at Luo Hao with a rather defeated sigh. In the end, she gave him the 11th Gate Key without much problem, because she could have created an entire drama around it.
Instead, she passed it to him after one spar.
Which was actually pretty good in Yakou's opinion.
"As you wish."
In the end, he realized that she would watch or pester him until she obtained what she wanted...
So he gave up and decided to unseal the Gate Key right now, so she would leave him alone for the time being. It was clear that she was bored and wanted to annoy him or whatever, and Yakou saw that.
Not to mention, the unelaborate process for the Gate Keys wasn't really any secret... especially not to the Campione who wouldn't really even care about that, and Yakou actually knew that Luo Hao's character prevented her from leaking this information to the outsiders.
Despite everything, she was actually an honorable person who genuinely respected those whom she deemed to be worthy of her respect.
"The process of unsealing the Gates is a relatively simple matter for the Direct Lineage of the Tsuchimikado Clan. The Gate Key instinctively knows who is using it and if the user is worthy, you need just to insert some of your Magic into the Gate Key and..."
Yakou just grasped the Key and activated the Magic that he inserted into the Key, which then floated in front of him.
A locked golden gate appeared in front of him.
The Gate was tall, around five meters, ornamental, and depicting images of tigers, and it had several Kanji Symbols on it. The Key that he held then floated toward the keyhole as it slowly entered, after which the Gate opened.
A hulking figure, a Shikikami, exited the Gate.
It was a black giant tiger, pure black all over, without a speck of any other color. It was no less than eight meters long, bulging with muscle, maybe weighing more than several tons.
The 'King' mark on his forehead was also black, but a different shade of black from its fur, a black as gloomy as mist. Its red eyes brimmed with viciousness, but the most peculiar feature was its tail. The tail was much longer compared to ordinary tiger-type Yōkai; it greatly resembled a scorpion's tail, formed from countless bone joints with a giant hook attached that is oriented upward, and it glints with a cold light.
"This is the 11th of the Twelve Divine Shikigami of the Tsuchimikado Clan... the Dark Devilgod Tiger."
Yakou muttered as he then used All-Seeing Eyes of God to display the Status Screen of the Shikigami through the interface of Crow's System Ability.
[Name: Shen Hu
Title: Demon God Tiger, Fallen White Tiger, Scourge of the Yōkai
Classification: Shikigami
Age: 3,000+
Race: Dark Devilgod Tiger
*
Parameters:
Strength - B++
Vitality - B++
Endurance - B+++
Agility - B++
Mana - B++
Luck - B
*
Class: B
Affiliation: Tsuchimikado Clan, Tsuchimikado Yakou - Shikigami
Armaments: N/A
Magic: Imperial-Style Onmyōdō (Evil, Darkness, Space, Time, Thunder, Wind)
Uniqueness: Heavenly Elemental Change, Evil Devour
Skills: Scourge of the Yōkai, Evil God Protection, Light Blades, Dark Devilgod Thunder, Darkness Domain
Abilities: Osore (Darkness, Space, Time, Thunder, Wind), Hatsu, Shapeshift, Enhanced Spiritual Senses, Enhanced Reflexes, Enhanced Battle Instincts, Night Vision, Pain Tolerance]
Everything was as it should be according to the records about the Shikigamis of the Twelve Divine Shikigami Contract Gates Technique. Though Yakou noticed that Shen Hu was stronger than it was supposed to be...
At least in terms of Parameters, he was stronger, as he also checked some new abilities of the Dark Devilgod Tiger. Yakou suspected that the Dark Devilgod Tiger must have evolved a bit after entering into the contract with him.
Most probably, the presence of Campione and his Mana with Divine properties must have influenced the Shikigami in one way or another, to the point where the Dark Devilgod Tiger got stronger like other Shikigamis that Yakou contracted.
[Heavenly Jewel Change - The Dark Devilgod Tiger possesses a perfect circle of Elemental Change consisting of the Evil Element, Darkness Element, Space Element, Time Element, Thunder Element, and Wind Element, which created perfect equilibrium for the Dark Devilgod Tiger. It allows him to use all of these Elements in various forms, be it on an individual basis or fused together without risk of side effects or self-injuries.]
[Evil Devour - Due to the Dark Devilgod Tiger possessing extremely difficult cultivation progress, it is innately associated with the evil attribute and conducts devouring of the Mana, Chi, and other Energy Sources to advance its own strength.]
[Scourge of the Yōkai - The Dark Devilgod Tiger is considered the ultimate scourge of its fellow Yōkai species. They are feeding on the existence of the other Yōkai, and they are most powerful when they are fighting against other Yōkai or someone of the Yōkai Heritage.]
[Evil God Protection - It allows the Dark Devilgod Tiger to harness Evil God's Aura to create an Absolute Defensive Barrier around him to protect him from any possible attack. Could also place Ward of the Evil God, which allows the Dark Devilgod Tiger to harness Negative Energies in the enviroment to bolster its own capabilities during the active time of Evil God Protection.]
[Dark Devilgod Thunder - This is one of the Dark Devilgod Tiger's one hundred percent formidable abilities, called Dark Devilgod Thunder. Fusing its Devil Power and Evil Power into one, and then instantly exploding in terrifying might. It was a Wind-, Thunder-, and Evil-attributed area attack.]
[Darkness Domain - Allows the Dark Devilgod Tiger to create a Domain of pure Darkness, which tremendously enhances its abilities and parameters. Everything within a diameter of several hundred meters would be turned into the Darkness Domain.]
The abilities and skills of the Dark Devilgod Tiger were really overpowered. Especially the Scourge of the Yōkai was nothing short of overpowered, and Evil Devour was something that even he considered to be a pretty broken skill.
One could say that the skills and abilities of the Dark Devilgod Tiger were only a bit short of those of Mahoraga. Among the Twelve Divine Shikigami, only the Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga could rival the Dark Devilgod Tiger in specs.
"That Shikigami of yours is... reeking sheer Evil."
Luo Hao commented from the side as she observed the newest Shikigami that Yakou unlocked. She wasn't oblivious to the strong Evil Aura that the Shikigami was giving off to the point where it was pretty ominous even for the Campione like her.
"According to the legends... the Dark Devilgod Tigers are a Yōkai species whose ancestor devoured the Evil Heretic God and assimilated its power. It's unknown if it's really true or where the ancestor of the Dark Devilgod Tigers went, but there should be something true about every legend."
Yakou read the apparent origins of the Dark Devilgod Tigers as the Tsuchimikado Clan possessed rather extensive records about every single species of the Yōkai. It was rather common for the Onmyōji Clans, as they tended to possess extensive libraries about the Yōkai.
For the Onmyōji, it was almost obligatory to be as knowledgeable about the various species of Yōkai as it was to be proficient in Magic. There were countless Yōkai species out there and one needed to memorize all of them at least on some fundamental level.
In ancient legends, it is a mutation that occurred as an Evil God descended on the White Tiger, turning the White Tiger's Light and Holy Attributes into Darkness and Evil Attributes, producing black wings of corruption, as well as a scorpion-tail-like Evil God Hook.
White Tiger was considered as one of the most prestigious Yōkai or Magical Beast... An ancestor of the White Tigers, Byakko was the Divine Beast of the Nakiri Clan of the Onmyōji.
The Dark Devilgod Tiger possesses an extremely overbearing talent. However, it doesn't mature through cultivation, training, or maturing, and its progress is extremely difficult. It can quickly gain strength only by devouring other living lifeforms that contain Manas or Chi.
He himself didn't know it was true...
Till today.
Because there was some unmistakable of the Divine Origin about the Dark Devilgod Tiger when he saw its Status Screen with his Heirloom. And his All-Seeing Eyes of God were also picking up a strong influence of the Divine coming from the Shikigami Yōkai in front of them.
Despite everything, Shen Hu, as the Shikigami in question, looked at the two humans in front of him, wondering which one of them was his Master as he gave them a soft roar, signaling that he was hungry.
"It seems that it's hungry... can Shikigami even get hungry?"
Luo Hao commented from the side as she came to the "terrifying looking tiger" and started petting its head like it was the most natural thing in the entire world.
"Shikigami are just beings that we Onmyōji contract... most commonly they are Yōkai, but they could also be other species... Overall, of course, they can get hungry as they are still living beings that require some degree of sustenance."
Yakou looked a bit perplexed at the sight before him, when he noticed that Luo Hao was actually petting the Dark Devilgod Tiger like it was a common housecat.
"And where are they staying when they are not with you?"
He didn't know why this entire conversation turned this change... toward the Shikigamis and Onmyōji, but Yakou answered nevertheless. He didn't know if she really didn't know that information, or knew and was just teasing, or she forgot it...
Yakou noticed that he couldn't really keep reading Luo Hao.
Which was rather troublesome for him.
"Did you see that Gate which appeared when I unleashed it? It's the entrance of the special pocket dimensions which is made by a very powerful Magic Lord for the Shikigami of ours... other Onmyōji who don't have anything like that or Summoners are usually depending on some piece of equipment, or they are leaving their Shikigamis slash Summons home or in a safe location from which they could summon them. Sometimes, you can create a two-way summon mark, so when you don't need your Shikigami, you can send it back to the location from where it was summoned."
This piece of information wasn't anything that was considered to be secret, as any Onmyōji or Mage with Contracted Summon would know of this as well. What Yakou was telling Luo Hao was just some random common knowledge that any half-baked Mage or Onmyōji should know.
At least in his personal opinion.
"And where are you keeping yours?"
His eyes narrowed at Luo Hao, who was enjoying petting the Dark Devilgod Tiger, as the tiger itself didn't understand what was happening and why the woman who was petting him like a cat didn't care for him.
This was the first time in its very long life that someone was treating it like some cute toy.
But at the same time, Shen Hu sensed the overwhelming power that was in Luo Hao, so he wisely decided to let himself be treated as a housecat. The Shikigami could sense that the woman in front of him was no weaker than his Master, and Shen Hu knew that both of them were Campiones.
The pinnacle of the world.
The Shikigami of the Twelve Divine Shikigami were with the Tsuchimikado Clan for more than two millennia... not all of them, but some of them even remembered Abe no Seimei, the founder of the Tsuchimikado Clan.
And they knew the terror of the Campiones to the point where several Patriarchs of the Tsuchimikado Clan were doing everything they could to become Campione by themselves.
But alas...
It seemed that fate wasn't on their side.
"Usually around the estate in Charlottesville... for many Summoners, the pocket dimensions are boring as there is not much to do in them."
Yakou didn't really like to keep his Shikigami in the pocket dimension because it was redundant... not to mention, within the records of the Tsuchimikado Clan, there were notes for the users of the Twelve Divine Shikigami Contract Gates Technique.
Yakou planned to let his Shikigami roam the Numengard Estate, though it would be pretty problematic with some of them, but he guessed that wouldn't be his problem. He would just give it to the staff, and they would figure it out.
In the end, his estate was big enough to accommodate them all easily.
"Well then, now that you saw how the Shikigamis are unleashed and used, perhaps it is time to part our ways?"
Yakou asked because Luo Hao didn't seem like she wanted to cut their meeting short. He noticed that she actually enjoyed cuddling with the Shen Hu, the Dark Devilgod Tiger, for whatever reason.
"Hmph! This Daoist expects that Young Brother will summon some more of your Shikigami next time to play."
Luo Hao stopped scratching the Dark Devilgod Tiger behind its ear, as she stood up and spoke to Yakou. The 7th Campione just nodded, before something else came to his mind, when he remembered it at the last moment.
"As you wish. Though I have a small request for the Eldest Sister, if she is willing to grant me this one."
Yakou said carefully because he knew that this would either make Luo Hao angry or she would wave her hand and consider it not worth even mentioning... unfortunately, when Campiones were taken into account, it was nigh impossible to predict their next moves or what they would say.
Much to his dismay.
"I am in a good mood right now, so speak."
That wasn't that hard to see as Yakou quickly formatted his request... not really for him though.
"I was wondering if Elder Sister may give me some of your methods on the Transition Chi-based Martial Arts to Mana-based Martial Arts."
This wasn't something he wanted for himself, but for Keira, who had learned many Martial Arts but couldn't really use them to their full potential because she lacked access to her Chi and could use only Magic.
Though when he thought over it, Yakou realized that he could probably do the same thing as Keira and utilize some Martial Arts that he wanted to learn and use them with Mana instead.
Even though some efficiency may be lost, it would all depend on his own talent and ability to adjust to the Mana-based Martial Arts. Yakou learned a bunch of Martial Arts, but he never really considered them as an important part of his active arsenal.
Now though...
It could possibly change.
"For you or for someone else?"
Luo Hao asked because he noted that Yakou wasn't certainly a Martial Artist as he didn't use even a single one during their combat. He was skilled in close-quarter combat, which meant that he was trained by someone who was at least a Martial Grandmaster or Martial Saint, but he wasn't using any particular style.
"Both. One of my wives wants to use your notes to Transite the Chi-based Martial Arts to the Mana-based Martial Arts."
Luo Hao looked at him for several moments, before she gave him a slow nod. In the end, for her, it wasn't really anything that much important. For Luo Hao, it was of far less value than some of the Martial Arts that she created, and she didn't really have a problem sharing it.
"I will bring you the copied scrolls to the next meeting... hopefully you will get stronger and spar with me using Martial Arts only in the future."
He almost involuntarily shuddered at the thought of using Martial Arts only when fighting Luo Hao, but gave her a nod of agreement nevertheless. He also made a mental note to persuade Keira to wear some frilly outfit during the night, because he paid a really high price to get her the methods.
He understood that there were some variations of it.
Certainly, Luo Hao wasn't the sole person who wanted to create methods to Transition the Chi-based Martial Arts to the Mana-based Martial Arts, but she was the only one in the world who created a perfect method.
One that was flawless and without side effects.
"But you can't share it with anyone else... I will bring you the one advanced method and some scrolls on the General Principles on the Transition of the Chi-based Martial Arts to the Mana-based Martial Arts... you will need to figure the rest by yourself."
Yakou understood that most probably the entire process of Transitioning Chi-based Martial Arts to the Mana-based Martial Arts was a highly individual matter. Which meant that if someone wanted to achieve that, they couldn't use someone else's method to the 100% of the method.
"That would be more than enough."
He believed that the Divine Authority of Mímir's Well would be more than enough to determine the precise method after he had learned and mastered all the information that Luo Hao would pass to him.
Yakou then thanked the Martial Ruler once more before they decided that it was time to part their ways.
***
Katahara Mansion, Tokyo, 6th December 2020
"So this is what has happened. There would be a meeting between Tyler and someone from the High Council of Huaxia in Tokyo... ideally, it should be done in the upcoming days so I can leave and return home."
Yakou said in the drawing room of the Katahara Mansion, and said everything that happened after his duel with Luo Hao to Katahara Metsudō. They needed to organize the meeting between the Vice President of the United States of Federal Americas and whoever the High Council of Huaxia Republic would send in a few days.
Mainly because Yakou insisted that the meeting would take place during the time that he was still in Tokyo. He would personally oversee the meeting and signing of the agreement, before meeting once more with Luo Hao after everything was done.
He owned her one spar and wanted to get the scrolls from her.
He was sure that Keira would be utterly delighted to get her hands on something like that, as it would increase her combat prowess tremendously. Even he planned to take some Martial Arts and transition them to the Mana so he could use them in the single combat.
Yakou was aware that, despite his preference for fighting with Magic and ending his enemies before they could even approach him, he admitted that it was good to have other plans in his arsenal.
In the case he was cornered by someone like Luo Hao or a powerful Heretic God, he would at least have a very efficient way of fighting back. If the Martial Art he would be using was powerful enough, he could easily injure or even kill his opponent with it.
Like Luo Hao, who elevated her Martial Arts to the level of Divine Authorities, where they were not losing to the Divine Authorities when it came to raw power. Yakou was, for example, working hard on the same thing, but with his Onmyōdō instead of the Martial Arts that Luo Hao possessed.
The start was already pretty good, because even if the most weakest spell was cast with the Mana of Campione that contained Divine Attributes, its power would be devastating. He knew that firsthand, because he was slowly retrofitting all of the Onmyōdō Spells to work on his new Mana.
And the results were very good.
"That's actually better than initially predicted. Even though there are still some uncertainties, it's the best outcome that we can get. I will relay the news to the Prime Minister and Emperor about this... though I guess that they would be distressed to hear that they would need to arrange the meeting between USFA and Huaxia in a few days."
Katahara Metsudō was rather amused by the entire situation, because meetings on this level were usually planned for entire weeks and sometimes even entire months. Especially in today's chaotic geopolitical setup, he could imagine that when the Americans announced the visit, it would create a mess on the stock markets.
Something that he made a mental note to take advantage of.
"They will need to make peace with it. Though it makes me wonder... did they attempt to contact the 8th one?"
Yakou asked about this one particular matter, because the topic of the 8th Campione was something that weighed on Yakou for a long time. Since the fight with the boy Campione, Yakou noticed something weird about him.
He didn't really know what was weird about him, but when he was hit by that weird golden energy that almost killed him, Yakou realized that Kusanagi Godou was dangerous and that he wasn't just a normal Campione.
"Nah... the Government sent someone to him several days ago, but it didn't really go well, and the boy ignored them. As was expected... currently, he is still attending that high school of his, and aside from sheltering that girl from the Seeishuin Family, there isn't much to report about him."
There wasn't much to report on the Kusanagi Godou, aside from the fact that the boy was still protecting that girl from the Seeishuin Family, but aside from that... there wasn't much to report because he was just repeating his routine.
"Then just leave him under observation if anything else... who knows what he will do next if anything..."
Yakou was still wary of the 8th Campione, just to be sure, and decided to be as distant from the boy Campione as possible in case something happened.
"Do you want to be present during the meeting, old man?"
The 7th Campione asked because he predicted that the old man would want to be present during the meeting. Katahara Metsudō just nodded, as he found it rather entertaining that he would be there; perhaps he could take advantage of the entire situation and make some profit out of it.
"It would be funny to see the governmental pencilpushers squirm."
Certainly...
Katahara Metsudō was, right now, the most powerful person in the entire Empire of Japan, far more than the Prime Minister or Emperor.
"Well then, the might of the Kengan Association has reached the peak after the Culling Game, and we started expanding into the rest of Southeast Asia."
Hearing what Katahara Metsudō said made Yakou raise his eyebrows because Southeast Asia was a territory that the Huaxia wanted to conquer.
"Are you going to start international affairs? You know that the Huaxia is interested in Southeast Asia and wants to expand its territory there?"
This was something that both of them knew, yet despite that, Kengan Association started expanding into their ranks and took over various underground, criminal, and martial arts elements across the entire region.
"I know... but while the Huaxians are interested in the territory, I am only interested in the Martial Arts factions and criminal enterprises to expand the influence, not the direct rule... well, they will need to learn to live with it."
Katahara Metsudō then explained the concrete steps of the Kengan Association, which was specifically targeting the Martial Arts factions across the entire Southeast Asia, together with the major criminal organizations.
That would be later taken over by the Momobami Clan, who were also interested in that.
Yakou knew that the topic of the Empire of Japan and the Empire of Korea would be a major part of the negotiations with the Huaxia Federation.
Both were antions that the Federation wanted to assimilate, and both were pretty powerful, to remain independent for the time being or ideally forward.