Rays of annihilation flared from her pink apricot eyes.
The two deities standing before her were blasted away on the spot, vomiting blood as they flew backward.
Golden blood sprayed across the starry sky.
But it didn't end there.
Tiamat possessed the power to create monsters.
After requesting Lin Qing'er's aid,
her power became even stranger.
The blood drifting through the air turned into terrifying monsters before it could fall, swooping down to attack the world below.
God had said to destroy this world.
Then no living thing could be left behind.
Killing raged everywhere.
Liu Che's believers had been cultivated over time,
layer by layer of organization,
their faith unshakably firm.
By contrast, the golden-armored creation god's believers came by plunder—most of them were purchased.
You could even "buy" stars,
or purchase them from others.
The results were now plain.
Even when many of their own fell, they dragged others down to die together.
Like a flock of madmen.
In their hearts,
death was nothing but loyalty to God,
and they would be reborn in the flames.
Watching his battered believers, Liu Che smiled faintly and tapped his fingers inward.
A thousand sparks bloomed.
The fallen believers rose once more.
"Roar… God has raised us again—kill!"
"Don't fear death! Slaughter every last enemy!"
…
In an instant, Tanjirou, Orochimaru, Rin Tohsaka and other priests appeared one after another,
taking command of their respective forces
and reaping an even more terrifying harvest.
"God, what about the divine star here?"
Lin Qing'er frowned at a planet on which no living creatures remained.
"Destroy the planet. Take the star core."
"Yes."
A wash of turquoise divine power struck the divine star.
Brilliant fireworks burst.
Mercy to the enemy
is cruelty to yourself.
All believers understood this truth.
They might not know the reason for a god-war,
but they knew in their hearts:
if the Eternal God failed, they would face this same annihilation.
Who would dare not fight with everything they had?
After confirming that the enemy's ten titled gods were all eliminated, Liu Che gave the order for Kaguya and the others to withdraw slowly.
The rest was left to the priests and believers.
Miaoshan returned to him and asked, "God, why not kill them all in one go?"
"There's no need. This world has no resistance left. The remaining enemies are perfect for training."
A god-war must be controlled to a degree.
And this place was an excellent trial ground.
No god, no true divine consciousness to command—
the world had completely declined.
…
In the God-World,
news of Liu Che's defeat of Kyle Morris, the golden creation god,
had become the hottest topic.
Both Liu Che's identity and his strength
were being dug into relentlessly.
But Chihuang Flowing Flame blocked on one side, and on the other, Liu Che's triple-law shielding stood firm.
Even with a supreme artifact, you couldn't trace him through time.
"This Liu Che's Law of Time is truly hateful."
"I'm saying there's no way to track his background—or his location…"
"Don't say that out loud. You're green-eyed—careful he doesn't come copy your whole household!"
"What am I afraid of? The Golden God System's deities are hunting Liu Che right now! When would he have time to come after us…"
"Really? The Chihuang Flowing Flame God System also gave notice that Kyle Morris made the first move. A creation god striking at a main god—heh… say it out loud and tell me it isn't embarrassing."
A high-tier god striking down toward a lower tier—
and getting counter-killed.
Too awkward to speak of.
But precisely for that reason, people were eager to watch.
After all, in the God-World
there hadn't been a major battle in years.
Though the Golden God System's creation god wasn't particularly strong, he was still a person, with a master who was some magnate in the upper realm.
Besides that topic,
there were countless speculations about Liu Che's identity.
If he had only a single law,
it wouldn't be outrageous.
Such talent existed.
But three laws made one think.
Was some big figure in the upper realm backing Liu Che's cultivation?
In the face of the Golden God System's wanted order,
aside from a few lone rangers who chose to hunt, none of the other great forces dared intervene.
Including the deities who had once stolen books with Xiao Luan—
the same held true.
…
In the world of Inuyasha,
Xiao Feng knelt devoutly before the shrine, murmuring prayers.
Before long, a sky-light fell.
Kikyo's figure appeared before her.
Sensing the familiar aura,
Xiao Feng opened her eyes and smiled sweetly. "Sister!"
"Mm. How have you been lately? I hear you've been openly naughty in the Myriad Worlds chat group."
"No… nothing."
Xiao Feng, of course, didn't dare admit it.
She knew
that if she confessed, she was liable to be spanked.
Fortunately, Kikyo wasn't serious.
Just a casual remark.
It was morning; the streets of Maple City bustled.
Few noticed Kikyo's appearance.
The temple where the two stood
was the city's most solemn place; within a kilometer's radius, none but ordained attendants might approach.
Those wishing to worship God could go to other shrines.
"By the way, Sister, why did you descend in such a hurry this time? Didn't God say there's a war?"
Kikyo looked out over the renewed city, a faraway look in her eyes.
She remembered when this place had been a declining little village.
In the blink of an eye,
it had grown into a city of two hundred thousand.
At her sister's question, Kikyo smiled. "How great is God's power—exacting and tireless. The priests are tempering themselves in the god-war. I have another task and needed to return."
Xiao Feng nodded.
Having seen the suppressed god, she understood that God had won the battle.
She hadn't expected it to be so simple.
It seemed she had to work harder, too.
"Sister, what task is it—can I help?"
"No. Only I can do this one."
Kikyo's expression turned a little strange.
She didn't want to tell Xiao Feng.
The latter nodded and obediently asked no more.
Kikyo then walked the city. Along the way, she passed a half-demon in a fire-red coat; the two crossed paths.
Neither spoke.
Only after Kikyo had gone
did Inuyasha whirl and mutter to himself, "That woman is terrifying—she doesn't give off any scent at all. Must be the same power as the chief priest."
As a half-demon,
he had originally hated humans.
But after a savage beating from his brother, he'd been dumped in Maple Village.
Er Gouzi had gradually straightened out.
Especially after seeing humans and monsters living in peace, his mother's and his own bitter past naturally came to mind…
Just two months ago,
he'd passed the exam and become a city resident.
Thanks to excellent combat power, he'd been included as one of the fighters.
His pay was good now.
Though still not up to Sesshomaru's level, he was one of those racing to catch up.
…
Kikyo walked toward a place remembered from the past—
where the Time Tree once stood.
Since Maple City had been established,
the woods had been cut back one after another, but this site remained as a memorial.
The guardian believers saw Kikyo's robes
and dropped to their knees at once.
"Greetings, Lady Official."
"Mm. You've worked hard."
In general, aside from Xiao Feng, only senior female officials wore white robes.
And Kikyo was veiled.
Though her face could not be clearly seen,
no one in the city would dare wear such garb lightly.
After a little while,
Kikyo came to the Bone-Eater's Well. She gazed at the deserted mouth and whispered, "Ah… for God's sake, I'll go to that era."
She drew out a branch from the Tree of Ages and a handful of the Natural Tooth.
History had long since been rewritten.
The two eras' space-times were different.
If she wanted to go to the time and space where Kagome lived,
she needed a medium.
And this was why Liu Che had chosen Kikyo.
He would have her go to the original era and bring Kagome back.
Of course, it would be best to bring Sango as well.
"Open, Way of Time."
Kikyo gripped the Natural Tooth, poured in her divine power, and slashed it into the Bone-Eater's Well.
A black road through time and space
opened before her.
Within it were forks to several eras.
Kikyo would have to distinguish them one by one—patient work.
She wandered within for a while
and found the path of time.
To be precise,
Kikyo stood outside the space-time tunnel; the road ahead led five hundred years later.
Another led fifty years ahead.
The two tunnels were linked by a strange force.
"So that's it?"
Kikyo smiled faintly, flicked the Natural Tooth in her hand,
broke this space-time tunnel,
and stepped in.
At that moment, Maple Village was in an uproar.
The villagers' faces were clouded with anger.
A young girl in a short skirt had been tied on the ground by ropes.
Her face was flushed with fury.
She kept shouting.
"What are you doing! Let me go…"
"Do you know kidnapping is illegal!"
"Assholes…"
…
Kagome was completely dumbfounded.
After staying in a basement for a while, she'd been dragged out by a monster.
And then—
a crowd surrounded her and tied her up.
No, why did these people's clothes look like that?
"You went into the Forbidden Forest and dare claim you're in the right? Monster, are you?"
"Wait—her face…"
Granny Kaede stared at Kagome's face and froze.
She was identical to her sister.
Could she be her sister's reincarnation?
As the village's most respected elder, Granny Kaede had only to speak, and the rest fell silent.
Outside the village,
Kikyo looked at Xiao Feng's aging face and felt an inexplicable sourness.
If she hadn't chosen to join the faith—
this was likely how the two sisters would have ended.