Crimson Lords.
They were terrifying life forms from another world, featured in the anime Shakugan no Shana.
They fed on the very concept of existence, capable of effortlessly devouring human beings.
Those consumed by them would have their existence forgotten by the world, as if they had never existed at all.
Luo Shu couldn't fathom how Megumi Kato had accidentally encountered a deceased Crimson Lord and been splashed by its blood.
During the initial divination, due to their shallow connection, he'd only discerned through the Mysticism Encyclopaedia that Megumi had come into contact with the blood of some powerful creature.
But now, with Megumi's verbal permission and Luo Shu being in her room surrounded by personal belongings, their mystical connection had deepened, allowing him to see a much clearer vision.
This revelation left him with an overwhelming urge to complain.
While he'd known that after the Abyss Descent, any bizarre species appearing in this world shouldn't be surprising, the emergence of a Crimson Lord still shocked him.
'Please don't let Super Saiyans, the Pantheon of the Miniature Garden, or Cthulhu Evil Gods start popping up in the coming days. The world can't handle that.'
After mentally complaining for a moment, Luo Shu cleared his throat and explained Megumi's situation to her curious face:
"When you were little, probably as an infant, you accidentally came into contact with the blood of a special species called Crimson Denizens, inheriting some of their basic abilities."
"And their fundamental ability involves manipulating the very concept of existence."
"Let me give you an example."
Luo Shu raised his hand and directly grasped Megumi's. Her hand felt soft and slightly cool, but that wasn't his focus right now - he was more concerned with the state of her identity.
—Calamity Absorption!
Luo Shu activated his ability, absorbing the misfortune of her fading presence.
Originally, he thought symptoms like low presence shouldn't be absorbable, but this time he succeeded effortlessly.
'Apparently, having one's existence erased due to indirect Crimson Denizen influence also counted as calamity for humans...' As Luo Shu pondered this, he looked up and saw Megumi blinking repeatedly.
"Something in your eye? Dust or something~?" Luo Shu asked curiously.
At this moment, Megumi maintained a straight face with great effort and asked:
"Director, holding my hand isn't called an 'example'."
"You're giving an example, so why are you still holding my hand?"
Luo Shu seemed to hear Megumi Kato's questioning tone.
'Oh, the Calamity of low presence... even if absorbed, there wouldn't be any visible effects on the surface...' Realising this, Luo Shu calmly replied:
"My ability allows me to conceptually absorb the suffering others experience. Just now, I was absorbing the calamity of your excessively low presence."
"Oh!!" Megumi wore an expression that said, 'The Director is working hard to cover his lies; I should play along.'
Luo Shu's lips twitched slightly before he casually reached out and grabbed the cushion on Megumi's bed, which appeared to be a plush toy called Hamtaro.
"The calamities I absorb can be transferred to other objects."
Bestowing calamities upon inanimate objects was an ability Luo Shu gained after being promoted to Calamity Priest.
And now, he was bestowing the calamity upon the Hamtaro in his hand.
Megumi only felt her vision blur before her long-used cushion simply vanished from Luo Shu's grasp.
Instantly, Megumi froze.
Meanwhile, Luo Shu sat calmly on Megumi's bed and said with a smile:
"Since you're someone affected by the Power of Existence, you should still retain memories of the cushion. If you want to test this, you'd better ask your family."
Hearing this, Megumi thought for a moment before decisively taking out her phone and calling her elder sister:
"Sis, do you remember where we put that Hamtaro plush we bought together at the shrine festival last New Year's? I can't find it."
After she spoke, a confused female voice came through the phone:
"The plush we bought together at the festival? No... didn't you say you didn't want one? So I only bought one for myself at the time!"
"Oh, is that so? Then I must have remembered wrong. Sorry."
Megumi calmly ended the call before staring blankly at Luo Shu.
Just as Luo Shu thought the girl was too shocked to react, Megumi suddenly said:
"Director... can I have Hamtaro back?"
Having suddenly lost the plush she'd hugged for a year, Megumi still wanted to recover it. Of course, if impossible, she'd have to let it go - after all, she was the one who asked Luo Shu for help.
"Possible."
With a flick of Luo Shu's hand, the plush reappeared in his grasp. He handed it to Megumi, who quickly took it and hugged it tightly, savouring the feeling of recovering what was lost.
Then, Luo Shu frowned and said seriously:
"Just now, when I used Existence Erasure, I didn't push this power to its limits to make the plush completely disappear. That's why recovery was possible."
"Hmm... currently, Existence Erasure seems far too dangerous - practically an instant-death ability. Moreover, the backlash is severe, affecting one's own existence. So, unless absolutely necessary, I wouldn't recommend using it casually."
Directly erasing someone's existence would trigger terrifying chain reactions.
A person's existence in this world creates multifaceted influences.
The people they've met, objects they've touched, events they've changed, things they've affected - all these would trigger collapse-like reactions when that person's existence disappears.
"In some ways, this power could be called forbidden power."
'Of course, it still wouldn't work against a Demigod, since conceptual attacks are something Demigods inherently master...' Luo Shu mentally added.
Even so, Megumi Kato now possessed a means to guarantee death for anything below Demigod level.
Thinking this, Luo Shu couldn't help but look at Megumi with a strange expression.
'Hmm... extremely low presence, capable of infiltrating anywhere unnoticed, while also wielding terrifying instant-death abilities.'
'So you're the Grand Assassin, eh? Megumi!'
At that moment, Megumi Kato, hugging a plush toy, asked in confusion:
"So, my consistently low presence is because I can't control this so-called Power of Existence?"
"Pretty much." Luo Shu silently mourned for that unknown Crimson Lord for a few seconds.
It seemed the being had tried to descend into this world but, being too powerful, got stuck in the dimensional rift and perished, inadvertently benefiting Megumi instead.
That experience deserved a big "TRAGIC" stamp.
A naturally powerful being wielding conceptual power and immortality - by all rights, it should have qualified as a Demigod - yet it ended up dead just like that. Truly tragic.
Then Megumi hesitated before asking quietly:
"So... how do I learn to control this power?"
"From what we currently..." Luo Shu had only spoken three words when he suddenly turned towards the door.
Seeing this, Megumi seemed to realise something, but before she could call out, there was a loud clatter.
A very lightly dressed girl burst through the door, shouting:
"Megumi! I just remembered - wasn't that Hamtaro you asked about always on your bedside table?!"
Silence instantly fell upon the scene...