Is this my kind?
Can I call him my fellow man?
Even if, at this moment, not a shred of empathy for a fellow creature can rise in my heart?
Questioning himself repeatedly, Sū ěr felt as if he were looking at the carcass of a sparrow, or the carcass of an ox or sheep. No matter what, he couldn't link it to himself; he felt no fear.
The revulsion, nausea, and even the killing intent he felt were simply because the monster before him violated his aesthetics—a pure repulsion toward this form of twisted flesh. But it stopped there.
It was like seeing a cockroach sneak into one's home, or a bird eating a caterpillar, or a spider sucking the fluids from its prey...
"Initially, he took this medicine to make himself less 'pure'... as long as the god was not 'godly' enough, the curse would be dispersed," Hoderi voice continued to echo in Sū ěr ear. "When he saw that this theory had a sufficiently obvious effect on my third brother, Father couldn't wait to start consuming it."
"The curse of Oyamatsumi was dispersed by the humans mixed into Father's body, and he relaxed quite a bit because of it." Recalling happy memories, Hoderi voice became lighter, but it soon fell silent again. "Unfortunately, those happy days didn't last long. I don't know if Oyamatsumi noticed Father's actions, but the situation quickly took a turn for the worse."
"The curse was devouring Father's life, so he consumed the blood-medicine even more furiously, even if all he got was a very brief moment of peace after eating... Father's wisdom also began to vanish," Hoderi voice grew increasingly sorrowful. "The humans he swallowed seemed to be reborn within Father's body, and his divine form transformed along with it."
"To avoid the wrath of Grandmother Amaterasu, Father led us to dig downward, never daring to see the sunlight again. As time passed, the periods when Father could maintain his sanity grew fewer and fewer... most of the time, he is this ugly shape you see now," Hoderi sighed repeatedly.
"And so?" Though it was a question, Yuuka Kazami's face shone with a tangible excitement. She had likely guessed the reason Hoderi had brought them here, and she was thrilled by the enemy she was about to face.
That was a true god. Even if the bloodline had been tainted, it was still a god, not a degraded, crossbred Shinjin. Was this not the powerful foe she had yearned for—the one she had specifically followed Sū ěr all this way for?
"Ah, yes," Hoderi, the Oni who seemed unable to muster energy for anything, sighed and spoke frankly. "Can I request that you send my father back to Takamagahara? I simply cannot do it myself."
"And what do we get in return?" Finally reaching this point, Yukari inquired with great interest.
"At the very least, the service of my branch of the Oni. In Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, no god or youkai can ignore such a force. How about it?" Hoderi laid out all his chips with complete transparency.
"Service, is it~" For Yukari, such a condition was naturally sufficient. While repeating the words, she fixed her gaze on Sū ěr.
Yukari naturally hadn't forgotten who held the real decision-making power here.
As for Sū ěr... Sū ěr was uninterested. He now understood why Hoderi had said things were meaningless, and why the Oni always wore an expression of indifference.
The ruler of Yamato was already dead.
Whether it was good or bad for the remaining humans and various youkai living on this land, no one knew. But for Sū ěr, he truly felt a deep sense of boredom at this moment.
He was indeed an outsider.
"He will die," Sū ěr said, his voice crystal clear as he calmly raised his right hand, palm hovering in the air. "Simply because this form of existence violates my values and makes me feel sick... it will be for no other reason than that."
He wasn't explaining himself to anyone; it was a simple declaration.
The Sū ěr of the past was so weak he likely couldn't have bested a Dhampir child. Even his final victory in the Great War was inseparable from the people who faced death without flinching, and the help of allies who harbored goodwill—and, of course, his lover, the world's greatest genius, Think.
Sū ěr needed her help and couldn't function without it. Think herself was satisfied with this reliance. Unfortunately, the fact that this had become the tacit understanding between Sū ěr and Think in the previous world was now completely reversed in this world. Naturally, this was difficult for the Dhampir—whose pride was higher than the heavens—to accept.
How could she be weaker than Sū ěr? If she were weaker than him, how could she protect him?
That wasn't the way of a genius at all.
However, reality wouldn't change because of Think will, as evidenced by the earth—the entire subterranean world—which now trembled before the shocked eyes of the youkai.
His experience as the One True God, though brief, had left Sū ěr with a substantial legacy. Even if it was less than a drop in the ocean compared to the full power of the One True God, it was enough for Sū ěr.
And this power was not complex; on the contrary, it was blunt and direct to the extreme—he was this world.
At least, a corner of this world.
Wherever Sū ěr set foot, the mysteries of the world would open to him. Even if his current brain and soul couldn't comprehend these mysteries—and he even had to block them out as meaningless humming for safety's sake—he could still influence his surroundings simply by the strength of his will. This was the most superficial way to use it.
And for Sū ěr, who had gone through all of that, a strong and firm will was the thing he lacked least.
Because of this, a tiny corner of the world—this lightless subterranean realm—leaped within his palm.
A fine, continuous vibration made their eardrums itch. Dark sand and dust began to fall from the ceiling of the underground. Even the ugly monster noticed this; it raised its countless faces to watch everything above with curiosity, only to find that its favorite food had rolled onto the ground because of the shaking.
Emitting a shrill howl, the monster extended its tentacles of flesh to gather those twisted spheres of meat toward itself.