Record of Ragnarok
Though the gods knew Cirrus wanted to challenge the general, they never expected this battle to come so soon.
After witnessing the general's fight against Phantylia, none of them believed Cirrus had even the slightest chance of winning… But the mere thought of seeing the divine sovereign take action again made the gods' expressions light up with excitement in unison.
A calm set of footsteps sounded from outside.
As the sound faded, the VIP door was slowly pushed open. A lazy, drawling voice—utterly familiar to all the gods—drifted in from the doorway.
"What? Thinking about me?"
"…A room full of self-proclaimed 'gods' who aren't even acknowledged by any Aeon… Well, that saves me some trouble."
The man's words instantly drew every god's gaze.
And then…
The atmosphere froze to absolute zero.
Jing Yuan's figure stood backlit in the doorway. The lion head on his golden shoulder armor seemed to come alive in the shadows, blood-red sunset light flowing between its fangs.
"Arbiter-General of the Seat of Divine Foresight, Jing Yuan."
He stepped slowly into the lounge, each footfall feeling like it landed directly on the gods' hearts. His gaze swept over them, the same faint, indifferent smile still on his lips.
"…You all seem quite tense?"
His voice was warm and smooth like jade, carrying even more of that effortless nonchalance than it did on the screen. But in the gods' ears, it exploded no less violently than muffled thunder.
Only dead silence answered him.
After who knows how long, one god finally couldn't take it anymore and broke the suffocating atmosphere first.
"…J-Jing Yuan, how are you here?"
In his shock and fear, Shiva could barely get the words out coherently. His four arms froze midair, the third eye on his forehead twitching wildly—though he saw no divine sovereign behind Jing Yuan, that calm, unhurried presence… It was him! The real one!
If Jing Yuan appeared on the screen about to fight, it would undoubtedly be a thrilling visual feast for the gods. But if the man himself showed up in the arena's VIP lounge, it wasn't a thrill—it was terror.
Ares, closest to Jing Yuan, no longer cared about appearances. The burly, muscular god flinched backward like a startled cat, nimbly hiding behind old man Zeus and only peeking out one head, nervously watching the situation unfold.
No god dared speak again. In this suffocating atmosphere, only Hades quietly tried to shuffle backward, attempting to put a relatively safe distance between himself and Jing Yuan—everyone had seen his skills; severing his head with that formation blade in an instant wouldn't be difficult. Before things came to blows, he at least wanted some reaction time.
"Jing Yuan… this, this isn't a place for fighting."
Trying to stay calm, Susanoo took a deep breath. Though he too attempted to keep distance from Jing Yuan, his body felt nailed in place—he couldn't move a single finger, let alone take a step.
"If we must fight, let's go to the arena—"
"Loki." Zeus's hoarse voice echoed through the room, cutting Susanoo off. Almost simultaneously, the smile vanished from "Jing Yuan's" face. "Stop impersonating the general. This joke isn't funny."
"Tch, boring old man."
"Jing Yuan" curled his lip. Under everyone's stares, he dissolved into a wisp of black smoke. From the smoke emerged a green-haired youth in his early twenties.
Loki's mouth curved slightly as he tilted his head to survey the gods. "Relax, everyone. Weren't you all looking forward to seeing General Jing Yuan appear? So why, when the 'Jing Yuan' you've been longing for shows up right beside you, are you suddenly unhappy?"
"I…!" Shiva wanted to argue, but he realized that under the instinctive terror gripping his body, any explanation would be pale and useless.
Fear was fear.
As one of the three great main gods of India, Shiva instantly felt a wave of shame and humiliation flood his heart.
"Looks like you're all really afraid of Emanators. If you're genuinely terrified from the bottom of your hearts, why don't you esteemed 'gods' just convert to the Hunt? Who knows—He might take a liking to you since you come with your own built-in followers~"
——
[Upon arriving at the Seat of Divine Foresight, Huohuo recounted the supernatural events in Fyxestroll Garden and Cirrus's demand.]
[After listening, Jing Yuan found it somewhat amusing: "I originally thought the tales of the previous general clashing with spirits were just made-up stories. I never expected the real party would come seeking revenge—though landing on my head feels a bit unfair."]
["It's time for you to step up as our secret weapon!"]
[Jing Yuan chuckled, looking at Stelle with playful interest: "Looks like Stelle is dead set on making me repay the favor."]
[General Teng Xiao was a senior Jing Yuan respected. Carrying on his legacy, he wouldn't sit idly by. Since the other party specifically demanded to see him, he might as well go meet them.]
[The group arrived at Cirrus's location. The moment they met, she immediately became wary and hurriedly asked Jing Yuan's identity.]
[Jing Yuan didn't hide it: "Heliobus, weren't you obsessed with settling the battle from back then with the general? I came at your invitation."]
["…You're the current general?"]
[At that, Cirrus's eyes widened. She carefully sized Jing Yuan up and down, then huffed in great dissatisfaction: "Why do you look like you just rolled out of bed? You seem super weak. Where's Teng Xiao? How did he choose someone like this to succeed him? Though… having the Xianzhou people hold a martial tournament to pick a new general isn't realistic either…"]
["So then, General Jing Yuan—how about we settle this once and for all right here in Fyxestroll Garden?! If I win, you let me go free—"]
[Jing Yuan shook his head: "I only said I came at your invitation. I never agreed to fight you."]
[This unexpected answer completely threw Cirrus off. She stared blankly for a moment before snapping back: "…What? You're not fighting? You're not fighting?!"]
["Don't misunderstand. I did come because of the battle from back then… but you still don't qualify."]
[Jing Yuan's reply was light and casual, yet it stabbed Cirrus straight through the heart like a knife. She was so furious her back teeth nearly shattered, and the ghostly flames behind her began to swell.]
["…Looks like she's completely broken."]
["You—said—what—!!"]
——
One Piece
"Pfft—!" Nami couldn't hold back her laughter. "Hahahaha, this little ghost is getting completely underestimated!"
"It's more than just underestimation…" Robin elegantly sipped her red tea and gently shook her head. "A thousand years of obsession, only for the other side to not even have the interest to take it seriously. Truly quite pitiful."
"If it knew that in the battle against Phantylia, General Jing Yuan and Dan Heng were the main forces, I wonder what kind of expression it would make?"
"Expression? What expression could it possibly have? It'd probably fly straight out of the Nether Envoy's body and desperately try to possess Jing Yuan, right?"
Sanji exhaled a smoke ring thoughtfully. "Though the success rate would probably be tiny, if it succeeded it wouldn't need to go through all this trouble challenging the general… It would be the general itself, with a battle record far surpassing its senior Blazing Prairie."
["…Looks like she's completely broken."]
["You—said—what—!!"]