[Inazuma – The Path to Mt. Yougou]
Kikyo's decision to leave the Feudal Era brought a smile to Su Han's face.
That very day, he assigned Baiwen to escort her to the Grand Narukami Shrine.
Stepping through the portal at the Araumi base, the legendary priestess found herself in Teyvat.
As they walked up the winding path of Mt. Yougou, Kikyo stopped. The air was filled with drifting pink petals from the Sacred Sakura. The sky was clear, and the spiritual energy in the air was so dense it felt like a warm blanket.
"I didn't expect this world to be so... beautiful," Kikyo murmured, her dark eyes reflecting the falling blossoms.
In the Warring States era, there was no time for beauty. Every day was a battle against bloodshed, famine, and demons. Even when she rested, the commoners looked at her with a mix of awe and fear, treating her as a weapon rather than a person.
But here?
As they passed through the lower shrines, the citizens of Inazuma bowed respectfully.
Kikyo wore the emblem of the Grand Narukami Shrine on her waist, marking her as a Miko under Lady Saiguu. In Inazuma, that commanded more respect than a samurai's badge.
"Hello, Miss Priestess!" A little girl ran up to her, holding out a skewer. "Have a grilled Lavender Melon!"
Kikyo blinked, taking the skewer hesitantly. "Thank you, little one."
"Hehe! My mom says the shrine maidens are the kindest people," the girl beamed. "When I grow up, I want to be a Miko too, just like Lady Saiguu and Lady Yae!"
Watching the child run back to her mother, a warmth spread through Kikyo's chest—a feeling she hadn't experienced since she was a child herself.
This world is wonderful, she thought, taking a bite of the melon. Priestesses are loved, not feared. I will protect this place.
[Feudal Era – The Western Lands]
Meanwhile, an envoy had arrived at the borders of the Dog Demon Empire.
Kaedehara Kazuha stood calmly, holding a letter.
A three-meter-tall demon guard sneered at him. "Are you crazy, human? Do you know where you are? This is the Western Lands! The Kingdom of Demons!"
"And?" Kazuha asked mildly.
"We don't eat humans here because of the old Lord's treaty," the demon growled. "But that doesn't mean we won't crush you if you trespass. Get lost!"
The Shogunate soldiers behind Kazuha gripped their weapons, angered by the disrespect.
Kazuha didn't argue. He simply drew the Freedom-Sworn.
He swung the blade once.
Whoosh.
A terrifying wave of Anemo energy, coated in invisible Haki, tore through the earth. A trench hundreds of meters long split the ground, completely bypassing the guards but knocking them flat on their backs with the sheer wind pressure.
"Let's go find your ruler," Kazuha said, stepping over the stunned demon.
For the next thirty minutes, Kazuha's group walked toward the palace. They were ambushed six times by elite demon patrols. Kazuha defeated all of them without breaking a sweat.
Finally, two winged demons landed in front of the palace gates.
"Insolent human!" one hissed. "Why do you disrespect the Western Lands?!"
"I never said I was from a human nation," Kazuha replied smoothly. "Listen well. We are the servants of the Electro Archon. Speak to us with the respect befitting our station. If our God is angered, this entire country will be erased with a single slash."
The winged demons recoiled. "Gods? Impossible. There are no Gods in this world."
"Ignorance," Kazuha shook his head. "Our God is not from your world. And to the one hiding in the palace watching me... are you going to come out, or shall I force my way in?"
His Observation Haki had locked onto a powerful presence spying on him through a magical mirror.
[Inside the Palace]
Inukimi (Sesshomaru's Mother) dropped her scrying mirror in shock.
He sensed me? Through the mirror?!
She had watched the young swordsman defeat her elites effortlessly. His swordsmanship had no flaws, and his aura was completely alien—not demonic, not holy, but something terrifyingly dense.
She stood up, her extravagant robes flowing behind her.
Five minutes later, she floated out of the palace gates, meeting Kazuha face-to-face.
"I am the Lord of the Western Lands," Inukimi said, her tone regal but cautious. "What business does a servant of a 'God' have here?"
Kazuha pulled out Su Han's letter and offered it to her.
"A formal invitation from my Lord. He wishes for the Western Lands to join Inazuma and serve under the Electro Archon."
The demons behind Inukimi erupted in fury. "Insolence! You want us to be dogs for some foreign Lord?!"
Inukimi raised a hand, silencing them. She opened the letter.
As she read, her golden eyes widened.
The letter didn't contain threats of war. It contained a terrifying truth about their world.
The Age of Mappo (The Decline of Magic).
The letter detailed how the spiritual energy of this world was finite and constantly leaking. In five hundred years, there would be no energy left. Demons would lose their power, wither away, and become mere myths in a human-dominated world. It was an inevitable extinction.
But the letter offered an alternative: Teyvat. A world where elemental energy was eternal, where Gods walked the earth, and where demons could thrive forever.
A world of endless energy... Inukimi's hands trembled slightly.
She was an ancient demon. She had felt the slow decay of the world's energy herself. If what this letter said was true, staying here was a death sentence for her entire race.
"May I meet your Lord?" Inukimi asked, her voice losing its haughty edge.
"Of course," Kazuha nodded. "He anticipated you would want to see our world for yourself."
"Wait here. I must prepare." Inukimi turned to her generals. "Guard the palace. Do not provoke them."
"My Lady, you can't go alone!"
"Silence!" Inukimi snapped. "This is a matter of survival. I must go."
Her idiot son, Sesshomaru, was off chasing a rusty sword. She had to secure the future of their clan.
[Multiverse Mission Chat Group]
Kazuha: "@Su Han. Master, the Lord of the Western Lands is coming to meet you. The letter worked."
Hu Tao: "That easy?! He just conquered an army of 100,000 demons with a piece of paper?"
Keqing: "Information is the sharpest weapon. Su Han knows the fatal flaw of their world. I'm not surprised."
Yae Miko: "Indeed. Our Lord is quite terrifying when he uses his brain."
Xiangling: "Eh? Miko-neechan? You're chatting? You haven't spoken in days!"
Yae Miko: "Hmph. I finally mastered that cursed Hakushin Secret Art. With the energy from the Moonlight Maples, I broke through the bottleneck. The arousal doesn't control me anymore; I control it. My Charm magic is now ten times stronger. Watch your backs, girls~"
Su Han: "You girls don't understand the despair of the Mappo Age. Imagine if Teyvat suddenly lost all elemental energy. No Visions. No Adepti. Just normal humans. That is the future of the Western Lands. Inukimi is smart. She knows Teyvat is her only lifeboat."
Ayaka: "That sounds terrifying... a world without elements."
Ningguang: "Enough chatting. The System refreshes tomorrow. Don't assume the next mission will be a 10-man carry job. The difficulty might spike, or the team size might shrink. If you've been slacking, you won't survive."
The Tianquan's words sobered the group. The honeymoon phase of the Sky City was over. It was time to prepare for war.
100+ chapters are available now and daily updates! @patreon.com/Zefyrus