Chapter 814: The Slaughter Begins
"Ah! What is this?!"
A shrill, bloodcurdling scream echoed from deep within the white fog. The crew members piloting the helicopter shuddered reflexively. The three crew members exchanged glances, all instinctively wanting to turn the craft around and head back.
Although their mission parameters stated that those dangerous monsters were confined strictly to the island, several clearly capable Gourmet Hunters had met their doom almost the second they set foot ashore.
The sheer lethality of the place made all three of them desperate to flee.
"No rush, gentlemen. I still have thirteen minutes before I can disembark. Only then may you leave."
Kaito Shirogane sat leisurely in the cabin. Seeing right through the minds of these three ordinary men, he pointed this out with sinister amusement.
Due to the Machina Court's underhanded tampering, he had been penalized thirty minutes of hunting time for the first-stage mission.
Meanwhile, he telepathically instructed Satoru Gojo to systematically trigger the Cursed Spirits and Yin Spirits planted across various distant cities, specifically targeting extremely dense metropolitan hubs.
The sheer terror generated would not only incite widespread pandemonium, but also drastically fuel the cursed energy and strength of the spirits.
By keeping these fires burning, Son Goku would be thoroughly occupied and unable to return anytime soon.
Kaito Shirogane lightly drummed his fingers against his arm, watching the three crew members exchange anxious looks. In their minds, they were already brainstorming ways to switch off the helicopter's monitoring devices and cut contestant Mercenary Tao's penalty short early, anything to get him off the craft and onto the island.
"I advise you against doing anything superfluous. You might not realize it, but I hold a deep respect for rules."
Kaito Shirogane spoke at that exact moment, instantly cutting off their frantic scheming, even though he truly was pressed for time.
There was an inevitable limit to how long Satoru Gojo and Madara Uchiha could delay Son Goku.
If the chaos and destruction dragged on too long, even someone as pure and straightforward as Son Goku would eventually deduce that a hidden hand was pulling the strings.
Once that happened, the situation would rapidly spiral out of control.
After all, being targeted by a plot character of that caliber—one capable of unrestricted Instant Transmission across this world—would result in a fate far more gruesome than that of the Reincarnators who were actively hunted down by Saitama in the B711 world.
Nevertheless, Kaito Shirogane patiently waited out the full thirty-minute penalty inside the helicopter before casually leaping out of the cabin.
[World's Number One Gourmet Tournament: Mission Stage 1 Initiated]
[Please commence hunting on the Immortal Island, Penglai. When the hunting duration concludes, the contestant with the highest accumulated prey points will pass this stage.]
[Current Hunting Points: 0]
[Hunting Duration Remaining: 7 hours, 30 minutes]
Kaito Shirogane hovered effortlessly mid-air, the magnetic field of this entire oceanic region already firmly under his command.
Behind him, the helicopter roared and retreated at full throttle, vanishing cleanly from Kaito Shirogane's perception the moment it crossed a specific spatial node.
Kaito Shirogane gauged the distance and chose not to tamper with that node just yet. Unlike Son Goku, he lacked the ability to execute cross-dimensional Instant Transmission regardless of distance; if he were inadvertently cast out of this unique phase space, there was a real risk he might not be able to return.
Hum!
With a slight shift of Kaito Shirogane's will, the ocean surface caved inward, and colossal waves surged violently. Floating effortlessly in mid-air, he drifted toward the so-called Immortal Island of Penglai. Below him, the sea swelled into a raging deluge, wave after wave crashing forward toward the shores of Penglai.
Compared to when he first stepped into the Firmament Celestial Dynasty, Kaito Shirogane was now hundreds of times stronger. Facing this dense white fog capable of blinding ordinary senses and disrupting his Mantra Network, he was no longer at a loss.
A barrier mechanism like this, which served as an insurmountable wall to ordinary Reincarnators, was nothing more than a minor parlor trick to an apex powerhouse whose strength had reached his realm.
Magnetic Field Rotation: 500,000 Horsepower!
Between heaven and earth, an invisible cataclysmic force surged forth. Thunderclaps detonated across the skies as howling gales screamed.
Within a split second, storm clouds gathered directly above Kaito Shirogane, forming a colossal funnel that spiraled downward like an apocalyptic tornado.
Resembling a walking natural disaster, Kaito Shirogane bore down upon the Immortal Island of Penglai with this cataclysm in tow.
Those so-called Gourmet Hunters had shrieked and gone silent almost immediately after entering the mist, meaning this island was either swarming with lethal entities, or the island itself was the enemy!
BOOM!
Towering tsunamis slammed violently into the island's coastline, submerging the beaches in a heartbeat as torrential seawater flooded inland.
Simultaneously, the immense tempest in the sky descended upon the island, the swirling vortex of gale-force winds sucking the thick white mists up into the sky.
The true topography of the island, previously obscured by the heavy fog, was laid completely bare.
It was an island resembling a titanic mountain peak, protruding high in the center and tapering toward the coast, entirely blanketed by unnaturally lush, primeval vegetation.
The air was heavy with thick moisture and blowing mountain winds, laced with a bizarre, intoxicating fragrance.
Yet despite Kaito Shirogane's earth-shattering entrance, the interior of the island remained dead silent.
His Mantra Network blanketed the entire territory, blue-white arcs of electricity crackling through the air. In an instant, several distinct presences were caught within the island's depths.
Those were the involuntary gasps of entities whose surface Taoist Qi had violently clashed and rubbed against the electric tendrils of his Mantra Network.
Kaito Shirogane's eyes shifted. Taking a single step, his figure vanished and reappeared deep within the interior of Penglai.
An elderly Taoist with white hair, a flowing white beard, and a yellow robe stood before a corpse. The corpse appeared to have decayed for decades, with only scraps of putrid flesh clinging to deformed, moss-covered bones.
"Was that disturbance just now caused by you, Fellow Daoist?"
The old Taoist spoke calmly, waving his hand toward the corpse. The earth rose naturally, burying the skeletal remains beneath the soil. He wore an expression of boundless compassion, as though he were merely a traveling hermit laying past wanderers to rest.
Such sanctimonious posturing might fool native plot characters, but against Reincarnators who saw the fundamental truth of these worlds, it was utterly useless.
Seeing Kaito Shirogane merely staring at him with a mockery-laced gaze, the old Taoist attempted to strike another philosophical pose, only for Kaito Shirogane to step forward, materializing right before his eyes.
The Taoist's pupils shrank to pinpricks. Before his nervous system could even register the movement, a hand clamped firmly down upon his skull, followed instantly by a terrifying eruption of force.
Splattered!
Beneath Kaito Shirogane's right palm, a blazing white burst of kinetic force detonated. While his hand remained frozen in place, the old Taoist's head was hammered downward by a burst of internal inch-force, pulverized along with his neck and chest cavity. The mangled slurry of flesh and bone drove straight down through the torso and slammed deep into the earth.
The ground bulged slightly, then settled back into silence.
No kill notification popped up on the interface. Looking around at the ancient trees with their sprawling, knotted root systems, Kaito Shirogane knew that the so-called Tensens of the Hell's Paradise realm were merely twisted monsters.
Yet, based on the original narrative's setting and scale, creatures of this tier were not only entirely unworthy of being hunted by either him or Son Goku, but they likely could not even generate Gourmet Energy.
How delicious could abominations born from mutated plant life really be, even with the world's Gourmet Energy amplification?
Therefore, what the tournament truly wanted him to hunt had to be something else on this island!
As Kaito Shirogane pondered, his right hand suddenly spread wide. An immense gravitational pull warped the air, tearing open the earth as he clamped down on several colossal, serpent-thick roots.
Letting out a sinister laugh, Kaito Shirogane shot straight into the sky. The Qilin Armor manifested across his skin, bringing forth peerless, tyrannical brute force.
Amidst the violent shaking of the entire landmass, Kaito Shirogane ascended hundreds of meters into the air, yanking the gargantuan root system straight out of the island's core.
Rumble! Crash!
The entire island convulsed violently, as if a colossal ancient beast were finally stirring from its slumber.
Across the island, several figures burst forward with Taoist Qi, soaring toward Kaito Shirogane from every direction.
Kaito Shirogane didn't even spare them a glance as his Magnetic Field Rotation unleashed its might.
[World-Shaking Thunder Roar]!
"Hah!"
BOOM!
A cataclysmic detonation exploded mid-air. Before the oncoming "immortals" could even get close to Kaito Shirogane, they were entirely consumed by the blinding light and incinerating heat.
"I, Lady Crimson, hereby formally propose an alliance to you. Before the Door of this world is seized, I hope both of our sides can cooperate fully to ensure the Machina Court does not take it first."
Lady Crimson and Yoko stood beside the corpse of a beast hundreds of meters long. Several Sons of God were expanding their divine domains nearby to shield against potential surveillance from the mechanical faction.
Monarch-tier units of the Machina Court were predominantly capable of commanding legions of microscopic nanobots, monitoring the entire world's developments from angles imperceptible to ordinary lifeforms.
In terms of intelligence gathering and strategic mobility, they held an unmatched advantage over any other faction.
Because they were essentially digital consciousnesses, their overall combat strength relied almost entirely on their physical chassis and available resources.
Given sufficient resources, those Monarchs could easily replicate multiple identical chassis and deploy them across different battlefields simultaneously.
At critical junctures, they could descend upon any theater of war at a moment's notice, or even deploy multiple Monarch-grade chassis at once to overwhelm opponents with numbers.
Having realized that a [Door] existed within this world, Lady Crimson now understood the paramount importance of this unique dimension.
Therefore, for the Void Paradise—which had currently fallen to the absolute bottom of the rankings—choosing to ally with the second-place Infinite Dimensional Space was the most logical course of action.
Lady Crimson's innate divine pride refused to let her admit that she was simply terrified of death, driving her natural inclination to seek an alliance with a formidable enemy.
Yoko saw through Lady Crimson's intentions in an instant. Without exposing her, she sheathed Caliburn and asked calmly, "A [Door]?"
Yoko had also pondered why the Space had deployed both her and Mercenary Tao into this world at the same time.
If it were solely based on the strength of the enemies currently present, deploying either her or Mercenary Tao alone would have been more than enough to ensure the Reincarnators did not suffer a catastrophic rout.
Though the power displayed by the Void Paradise and Machina Court was formidable, it still lacked an absolute, dominating force that governed everything.
Given the right opportunity, either she or Mercenary Tao possessed the strength to cleanly execute those Monarchs and True Gods.
"Reincarnators of your generation are still too young. Because of your predecessors' total collapse in the previous Dimensional War, most historical records were wiped out, so it's natural you wouldn't know."
"A so-called [Door] is an extraordinary privilege capable of bridging the multiverse. As long as one holds it, they can distort space within a world to link directly to other realities."
"To the major Spaces, this is practically equivalent to linking their storage vaults directly to fertile harvesting grounds of endless resources. It is an irresistible temptation."
"Almost every time a [Door] manifests, it triggers an all-out scramble among every Space, sparking the bloodiest phases of a Dimensional War."
Lady Crimson laid bare these classified cosmic secrets. She frowned, looking at the golden, rhythmic ripples in the air, feeling a strange sensation within herself.
Yet standing beside this woman, as long as she didn't project open hostility, there was a deeply peculiar sense of security.
It was the strange feeling that one could entrust everything to her, and she would naturally lead the way to absolute victory.
"This [Door] cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of Ultron and Ouranos."
Lady Crimson emphasized her point. Yoko offered no immediate response, merely gazing across the massive expanse of Skull Island. Enhanced by this world's Gourmet Energy and Gourmet Cells, the native beasts of this island had undergone an astronomical surge in power.
If that were the case... what would happen if that [Door] were opened directly into the real world?
Introducing elements from diverse realities to ignite a global spiritual revival—could that elevate humanity's evolution enough to avert total extinction?
Or would the world simply be invaded all the faster, plummeting into total annihilation the moment people like her and Mercenary Tao fell?
Even Yoko could not foresee that outcome; it was a future that even Amatsu's foresight could not penetrate.
In Yoko's mind, several faces surfaced once more: the King of Destiny who perpetually wore the guise of Brunestud, the King of Souls Sosuke Aizen, and concepts that lacked physical form altogether.
The so-called Fatalism and the Law of Causality.
The crises facing their world were simply too vast, stemming both from within the Space and from the multiverse beyond.
Yoko's expression remained tranquil. She buried everything deep within her body, practicing a specialized Art of Concealed Blades, hiding her absolute sharpest sword.
It had to remain sheathed until the perfect moment, when it would draw blood and cleave down every single obstacle standing before humanity's survival.
No matter who or what that enemy might be.
Until that ultimate enemy revealed themselves, she had to endure.
"Lady Crimson, you want to kill Ouranos, don't you?"
Yoko spoke, abandoning any further inquiry regarding the [Door], shifting the conversation directly onto that mysterious True God who had remained idle until now.
From Lady Crimson's subtle mentions of this Sky God, Yoko had keenly deduced that a deep, venomous rift existed between Lady Crimson and Ouranos.
And that rift would serve as her catalyst to eradicate every hostile force.
"Give me his intelligence. You know very well how this first-stage mission truly works. The key has nothing to do with hunting some rare or delicious ingredient."
"The only thing that matters is directly eliminating the opposition."
Lady Crimson naturally understood this as well. The so-called hunting points were entirely irrelevant. In essence, the first stage was simply designed to produce a single victor from each group.
As long as an individual was the sole survivor of their assigned group, they would advance as the victor, regardless of how wretched the ingredient in their hands was.
This was the true calculation behind Lady Crimson's decision to approach Yoko.
Seeing that Yoko had laid the truth bare, Lady Crimson hesitated no longer. Since Ouranos was actively scheming to sacrifice her, she might as well trade him away as her bargaining chip.
Yoko watched this exchange with cold detachment, her emerald eyes seeing through the greed and selfishness of these so-called gods, which differed not a whit from mortal humans.
So this is all your gods amount to.
Yoko then deposited a crest into her team inventory space—a prearranged signal.
On an island far away, a colossal magic circle was fully primed. Fenrir stood at the center, clutching a matching crest in his hand.
[Spend B-Rank Singularity Point * 1, Dimensional Points * 8,000 to initiate the Heroic Spirit Summoning Ritual?]
[Summoning Special Unit: Heaven's Pilgrimage...]
High above that island, torrential streams of data flashed wildly through Ultron's optical sensors as he suddenly sensed a mortal crisis approaching.
BOOM!