"I simply wish for your mother to offer us a little assistance," Cao Cao said, tapping the ground with his spear.
"Aaaargh!" At that same moment, Yasaka—the Nine-Tailed Fox who had been standing silently—let out a pained cry. A blinding light erupted, making her human form turn translucent before twisting and reshaping in just a few breaths.
"Rrrrraaaaagh!" A massive golden fox appeared before everyone's eyes, letting out a fearsome roar.
"Mother!" Tears welled up in Kuzuha's eyes as she tried to run to her mother, but Yoru pulled her back.
The colossal Nine-Tails lunged at them, and when she landed, the ground around her collapsed, buildings crumbling under the sweeping force of her tails.
"So this is your goal? Controlling the Nine-Tails so you can summon the True Red Dragon God Emperor?" Yoru asked after patting Kuzuha's head in reassurance, turning his gaze toward Cao Cao.
"Oh? How did you know I intended to summon the True Red Dragon God Emperor?" Cao Cao sounded genuinely surprised, studying Yoru with interest.
"A guess. The Hero Faction's goal is dragon slaying, isn't it? And what could be a better target than the True Red Dragon God Emperor?"
"Hahaha… That's quite the statement. If I could, I truly would like to try slaying the True Red Dragon God Emperor."
"You're not wrong. Kyoto itself is surrounded by powerful ley lines and functions as a massive ritual device. The so-called 'famous landmarks' are all power nodes, rich in spiritual, youkai, and magical energy. The ancient Onmyouji who built this capital intended to forge the city into a massive source of power."
He then pointed toward the massive Nine-Tails.
"This dimension exists in the gap between worlds, infinitely close yet infinitely far from Kyoto. The power of the ley lines also flows here. Among youkai, the Nine-Tails is one of the highest-ranked beings, classified at the Dragon King level. Kyoto and the Nine-Tails are deeply intertwined. That is why this plan can only work here."
Cao Cao exhaled, then revealed his shocking intent.
"By using the combined power of Kyoto and the Nine-Tails, we can summon the True Red Dragon God Emperor in this space. Normally, using multiple Dragon Kings would make the summoning easier, but forcibly capturing several Dragon Kings is impossible even for gods or demons. That's why I'm substituting with the power of the capital and the Nine-Tails."
"I see. So rather than summoning, it's more accurate to say you're luring Great Red out. If something were to damage the Dimensional Gap it guards, it would have no choice but to come investigate—whether or not it cares about worldly affairs—because it's protecting its 'home'. Is that right?"
Azazel's eyes widened at Yoru's deduction.
"Exactly. Both Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God, and the True Red Dragon God Emperor treasure that place as their true home. If it's damaged, even beings of their level won't ignore it."
"Then what's your real goal in bringing Great Red here? Planning to use it to destroy this world? Plunge it into chaos?" Azazel's tone was sharp—he never believed Yoru's earlier theory that Cao Cao just wanted to try dragon slaying. To him, the Hero Faction, as part of the Khaos Brigade, surely intended to use Great Red's power for something world-shattering.
At Azazel's words, everyone's expressions hardened. Throwing the world into chaos was beyond dangerous—such a goal would shake the foundations of every divine pantheon.
"No, no, nothing so boring as destruction. That would be too dull. We just capture it first and then decide what to do with it. There's so much unknown about its existence—just investigating it would yield plenty of results. For example, seeing how much of an effect the Dragon Eater could have on the True Red Dragon God Emperor. Well, in any case, this is just an experiment to see if we can summon such a powerful being."
Azazel let out a breath of relief at that answer, but Yoru caught the most important part.
"Dragon Eater? Interesting. So such a thing exists in this world?"
"Indeed. As the name suggests, it's a being that devours the power of all Dragon Kings and Dragon Gods!"
Cao Cao spoke with pride, his tone filled with unwavering confidence in the Dragon Eater's power.
"Now I'm really looking forward to seeing this Dragon Eater's strength," Yoru replied.
Cao Cao's Holy Spear erupted with terrifying power, raw killing intent flooding toward Yoru's group. At the same time, a pitch-black sword appeared in Yoru's hand, and an equally overwhelming aura burst from him. In an instant, a vacuum formed between the two.
Floating ice spears surrounded Yoru, frigid air spreading from the center of their standoff.
As Yoru and Cao Cao faced off, the others tensed, but then a strange mist suddenly spread again—Absolute Demise's fog blanketing the battlefield and cutting off everyone's vision.
"I truly look forward to a proper fight with you, but unfortunately, now isn't the time. Business comes first."
Hidden within the mist, Cao Cao spoke again, striking the ground with his spear. At once, the Nine-Tails shone with an even stronger light.
"Channel the power into the Nine-Tails' node. Prepare to summon the True Red Dragon God Emperor."
"Understood."
At his command, his subordinates activated countless magic circles, glowing with multicolored runes and symbols. Beneath the Nine-Tails, a massive magic array large enough to encompass her entire body appeared.
"Rrrrrrrraaaaaaghhhh!" The Nine-Tails' dark golden pupils dilated, her eyes blazing with murderous light, every golden hair on her body standing on end.
"Now we'll see if Great Red takes the bait—this city's energy as the lure. Conveniently, there's more than one Dragon King-level being here, which makes things even better."
As he said this, Cao Cao's gaze swept over both Azazel and Yoru.
"Azazel, you have a Dragon King with you. And you, Yoru—you also carry a powerful Dragon King within you, don't you?"
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