Report on the 'Relationship between Campiones and their Domains in context to the current Geopolitical Situation in the Aftermath of the 2nd United States of America's Age of Expansion'.
Report Written By: Jacob Edward III. Grey, 45th President of the United States of America, Future 1st President of the Unified States of Federal Americas, 2nd Seat of the Knights of the Round Table and Head of the Department of Policies of the Illuminati Society
*Simplified version of the report would be delivered to the High-Ranking Members of the Illuminati Society
Report is being sent to the: Knights of the Round Table and Executives of the Illuminati Society.
This report is being written at the end of the Year 2020, when the remaining operations in the former territory of Mexico are nearing the end. This operation has been classified as an astonishing success, and most of the territory of former Mexico has been conquered very easily with fewer losses than anticipated.
With the upcoming months, my administration will start negotiations with the states of Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama about their integration into the concept that we termed 'Unified States of Federal Americas', establishing the very first Supernation that would stretch from Alaska right down to the borders of Colombia.
With the integration of Canada, the USFA would become the greatest and strongest nation in the world as we speak, and in control of several strategic locations and resources.
With the Age of Expansion ending, the USFA would focus most of its resources into the development of the CADs and Blazer Devices. As members of the Round Table and Executives of our Society are aware, the rising amount of Mana in the world represents the coming of the new age.
Something that we need to prepare for and be in charge of.
Due to this, our Magic Association has managed to establish a preliminary alliance with several other organizations, which is attributed to His Majesty Tsuchimikado Yakou, who personally secured one directly and another one indirectly.
The first one established is with the Lost Dynasty, which is under the rule of Marquise Voban. The population of the Lost Dynasty consists primarily of the non-human species, such as Werewolves and Vampires, with some minor human population. The Lost Dynasty is currently occupying large swaths of Siberia, as the entire domain is located under the frozen lands of Siberia.
On the other hand, the Illuminati Society also managed to establish contact with the Holy Cult of Five Mountains of the Martial Realm. As everyone is aware, the People's Republic of China has secured the continual support from the Holy Cult of Five Mountains, as Lu Yinghua, the grandson of the current Chairman of the CCP, was accepted as a personal disciple of the Martial Ruler.
Chairman Lu Yinghan agreed to the political ceasefire between the United States and China, which also means that China would be able to focus more of its military power on Japan, which will give the History Compilation Committee a lot of work. It would prevent them from focusing on scheming against the Society.
Obviously, we need to be as wary of the Campiones with whom we have very negative relationships, either due to the recent moves of the Society and the United States, or from the fact that His Majesty Tsuchimikado is a member of the Society.
Among the list of the hostile Campiones, the one at the top of the list would certainly be the 8th Campione Kusanagi Godou due to his affiliation with the History Compilation Committee and the fact that we are allied to the Marquise Voban. Considering the "Culling Game Incident" that took place in Tokyo and the intervention of His Majesty Tsuchimikado, we can be considered as life and death enemies.
Another Campione that we are considering to be hostile is certainly John Pluto Smith, but some of our analysis says that this is just an assumption. The fact that John Pluto Smith disappeared from the United States and resurfaced in France one month later is a testament that 5th Campione isn't that hostile against the 7th Campione and our Society, as some predict.
The relationship toward the Black Prince Alec, is unknown, though considering the fact that the 4th Campione ignored pleas of the British Royal Family and Witenagemot when we started the process of annexing Canada, it could be concluded that the 4th Campione doesn't care about politics and things that happen in the world.
Aside from these, the relationship toward the other Campiones Madam Aisha the Holy Maiden and Lord Salvatore Doni the King of Swords could be considered as neutral or non-existent. However, it was noted that in the long-term, neither of these two Campiones could be considered as a threat to our plans.
Overall, the Axis of the Illuminati Society, the Holy Cult of Five Mountains, and the Lost Dynasty is a historic monument. Never in the past was there something like an alliance of multiple Campiones and their factions.
Never before has anything like this happened, and hopefully in the future, this Axis could become an actual alliance between our three factions. If such a thing happened successfully, it would make us the strongest faction in the entire world.
By their nature, the Campiones rarely ally together, and most of the time, they are either acting on a neutral basis or are enemies with each other. The fact that His Majesty Tsuchimikado actually earned the friendship of Marquise Voban and even allied with him on more than one occasion is something that broke this unspoken truth.
His Majesty Tsuchimikado is still, to our knowledge, the sole Campione in the past thousand years, who helped another Campione kill the Heretic God. As His Majesty strives ot acheive Synergy between Divine Authorities, he doesn't have a problem helping other Campiones to kill the Heretic God.
Currently, the Illuminati Society and the United States of America should focus on fostering the new Axis and the Alliance between the Campiones, which should be our first and foremost priority, aside from consolidating power.
Summary of the "Report on the Relationship between Campiones and their Domains in context to the current Geopolitical Situation in the Aftermath of the 2nd United States of America's Age of Expansion" written by Jacob Edward III. Grey,
45th President of the United States of America
1st President of the Unified States of Federal Americas
2nd Seat of the Knights of the Round Table and Head of the Department of Policies of the Illuminati Society.
***
Former Territory of Mexico, G-1 Base of the United States Military, Next Morning
When Yakou woke up the next morning, the first thing that he noticed was that he was sleeping in a foreign bedroom that certainly wasn't a standart military accommodation. Only several moments later, he remembered that he was currently at the G-Base USLC Thunder Bird and was within Keira's quarters.
When he thought over it, he looked to the side, noticing that the ever fearsome and warmongering General Keira Clark was peacefully sleeping with her head lying on his chest.
Well, it seemed that they spent almost the entire night having sex until Keira was thoroughly satisfied with the outcome. He had to admit, that out of all the women that he had been with, Keira's stamina was really out of the charts.
He seriously wondered whether it was a natural thing or due to her being the Grand Knight and her cognitive abilities far above those of regular people. Nevertheless, it was clear that Keira was insatiated... and extremely thirsty.
Considering the fact that she was... far stronger than most of the men, and her attitude wasn't most pleasant because Even's nickname for her "Fem T-Rex" was really apt in this scenario.
It was only expected that there wouldn't be many suitors or anything like that for Keira, even despite her beauty and social status. Her personality... it seemed... was a massive turnoff for the most.
Whatever.
One's loss is another's gain.
He continued lying in the bed for several more moments, as he didn't want to wake Keira up.
It seemed that she was pretty much tired... the strenuous activity that they spent doing last night for many hours straight was something that put a huge toll on her body, and then there was the overall tiredness from being in charge of the entire Operation Cactusfall.
"You are already up?"
Yakou asked Keira when he noticed that Keira was already awake. He predicted that she would like to sleep longer, but considering all the facts, it seemed that she woke up as usual, even if a bit later.
She was a pretty morning bird, because she always trained pretty hard in the morning. Yakou suspected that if she wasn't a Mage, then she would probably be an excellent Martial Artist if she could control her Chi.
Unfortunately, the Chi and Mana didn't really mix that well. Obviously, it wasn't an absolute rule, because Yakou saw a few people who managed to mix Mana and Chi, or access Chi despite being Mages, without the severe negative side effects of using both Sources in their bodies.
"You know that I am always getting up early for the training."
She stood from the bed, and when she looked around, she realized that they had made a mess around her chambers... but at least it was fun, and Keira was pretty much satisfied with the entire thing that had happened today.
For several hours straight.
Keira's stamina was no joke, as Yakou could see that when it came to the physical attributes, she was no weaker than some Grandmaster Martial Artists that he knew. Keira Clark was never really good at studying Magic or using it...
Due to her stamina, they went all out all night, which was pretty pleasurable, but now, it was time to return to their duties. Keira decided to skip today's morning training, because it was already past her usual time for the training, as well as the fact that she was still feeling pretty sore.
Nevertheless, the first thing the two of them were going to do was take a shower... obviously together, even though nothing happened during the show as the pair just cleared themselves.
"You have something to eat, or it's just the rations?"
He hoped for the first possibility, because the military rations were not really the best-tasting things around. While the practicality and nutritional value of the military rations were unquestionable, their taste and texture had a lot to improve.
Really, a lot of things to improve.
"I already sent a notice to bring us some breakfast."
Obviously, someone like her had a certain degree of luxury even on the Land Cruiser, and a custom-made breakfast was one of them. It wasn't any starlight food or Michelin-star restaurant quality, but it was still much better than the MREs used as rations for troops across all branches of service.
"Thank the god... last time I ate MRE I almost threw up."
He thanked Pandora, as Keira actually laughed at that because she found it pretty funny.
"Some are bad... some are edible... and some are utterly disgusting. One of the perks of being a commanding officer is that you get better food and all of the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps get real food... not that dogshit thing. Even my cat's food looks better than some of the MREs..."
Keira, as someone who spent her whole life in the military, had her own share of experiences with eating military rations, and most of them were not really pleasant.
"Well, now that we are finished with the waking-up procedures, I wanted to ask about how we will define our relationship?"
Yakou started the conversation that he considered essential for further functioning between them. While Keira yesterday initiated the entire thing and they had passionate sex for several hours straight, there wasn't really time for talking.
And he also wanted to see what she expected from their relationship or from whatever the situation that they were in. He personally wasn't keen on having just a pure sexual relationship with someone with whom he often worked together and would work together in the future.
Keira's eyes suddenly sharpened as she looked at him and once again took the typical military posture that she was adopting on a daily basis.
"Long-term stable relationship, occasional dates, and a lot of sex."
It was simple, straightforward, and in a certain sense even blunt enough to be considered scandalous... but he wouldn't have expected anything less from Keira.
Well, this was already a good enough answer as it matched pretty well with his own requirements and needs. He didn't want to have any casual sex with anyone anymore... it wasn't that much of a problem when he wasn't Campione, primarily because of the Occultumency dealing with all of the shit.
Nowadays, he realized that he couldn't really have intercourse on a just casual basis.
What wasn't a problem before turned out to be rather a nightmare currently.
"That seems to be doable... though, on the side note, I should warn you that Eve and I agreed to the courting."
As soon as he said that, Keira's right eyebrow twitched several times. If there was something she hated, or better said, someone, she loathed, it was Eve Rockefeller, as they had never liked each other since their younger years.
She wasn't that fond of the idea of sharing her man with that blonde, stuck-up bitch, but after a moment of consideration, she just nodded and accepted it as reality.
"Let's go and eat..."
Soon enough, they brought them their breakfast, which was rather a simple thing, truth to be told.
Yet, certainly it was better than the MREs...
***
Later today, there was a meeting of the War Council, and everyone in the end decided to push for Mexico City and end the war as soon as possible. With the Erigor and his bunch of mad cultists being dead, there were practically no external threats that could endanger their advance.
With him gone, only a small number of the power Mages and Knights remained within the Murtia Republic, and with the Campione advancing together with their forces, there was basically nothing to fear.
Right now, securing the entire territory of the former Mexico was of utmost importance.
Considering all things, Keira decided on the final push against the remnants of the Warlords and anyone else. She took into consideration that they had Campione on their side, and Yakou told her that he was already mostly healed, so he joined the war efforts.
They managed to contact the remnants of the Mexican Military and coordinate a strike against the Warlords to retake the rest of the territory. She was already pretty impatient about the entire thing to the point where she prepared the final push to be extremely destructive and brutal.
According to the information, the Generalissimo Gonzáles tried to hire some mercenaries, and he was partially successful. The information gathered by the CIA stated that they managed to hire a good number of Martial Artists, but there was a slight problem.
It was rather ironic that Gonzáles wanted to hire Mutaba Gizenda, also known as The Genocider, someone with whom Yakou was personally acquainted. The man was a mercenary Martial Grandmaster who was stronger than most and operated in Africa for most of the time.
He was known to specialize in combat against Mages and Knights, or in a fight against a large number of enemies.
Muteba served as a mercenary during several African conflicts, including one of the Ivorian Civil Wars, and lost his vision during one of these conflicts. Muteba was also hired by the Sierra Leone government to control the stage of a coup d'etat by a rebel force. Challenging the heavily armed rebel force, unarmed and by himself, Muteba massacred their army without taking a single shot.
Most Mages and Knights wouldn't usually go out to massacre groups of normal humans, but the Martial Artists generally didn't really have a problem with that, so in the supernatural world, most of the high-profile Mercenaries were actually Martial Artists.
Obviously, when Gonzáles tried to hire Muteba, the mercenary contacted Yakou, as he still had his contact information, and they cooked up some plot against the Murtia.
"Now, during the attack, upon my signal, Muteba will act and assassinate the operators of Wards and let us enter the city."
Yakou stated that the plan he created was pretty straightforward, but also a very effective one.
Even though it would damage the man's reputation as a mercenary a bit, Yakou said that he would take the hit if it came to it. In the end, when Campiones are involved, the mortals could only bow their heads as was told.
But for the old comrade, he could provide some help.
Once the entire war has ended, he would need to start working on creating better methods for the members of the Illuminati in reaching the C-Rank in terms of their Mana, which corresponds to the Grand Knight and Magister Level.
With him as the Campione and the loot of information obtained, he knew that it would take him a few weeks until he created a viable method that could be used.
"As was expected, once the news of the Campione on the battlefield started spreading, many of the previous targets disappeared. Our channels are telling us that most are heading to Southern America or straight to Africa."
Keira presented the latest intelligence to the assembled officers, and, truthfully, nobody was really surprised by this development.
The rats always fled the ship first, and some of the more intelligent ones already realized that this was a lost cause. When one considers the amount of firepower the US deployed on the front lines, it was clear they were not playing around.
And that they want to hold onto the land.
All things considered, it wasn't worth risking their lives, so many rogues and criminals who previously travelled to the former Mexico were now jumping off and running either to South America or to Africa.
It wasn't that much surprising.
"Are we to shoot the ones escaping? Or at least the ones using sea?"
Most of Mexico's naval forces were destroyed because, when the civilian government collapsed, the United States ordered a preliminary strike against their ships and destroyed approximately 90% of their naval forces and also of their Air Forces.
So the Warlords and other entities were left only with the land forces that were relatively intact, as the United States Military didn't target the installations of the army.
"No. They are not the priority; it would only disrupt us from the greater goal."
Even though she wanted to redirect some forces toward that goal, she knew that it would only divide their already stretched-thin lines even more.
"But once the offensive on the capital starts, you will be tasked with sinking every ship that is leaving the vicinity of Murtia's Capital. We cannot risk that some of their leadership would try to escape from the country and slip by."
Any one of their highest leaders must be captured alive, preferably as they were the remnants of the Oración Seis. They could be aware of some information about the association and perhaps even some of the treasures that the Illuminati Society missed or perhaps wasn't even aware of.
"I will personally take care of Gonzáles when he appears and also do the opening attack on the city."
Most of the forces of the Murtia Republic were concentrated in Mexico City. Before the attack on the city began, Yakou planned to sneak an attack on them and cause a great commotion to divert attention.
Achieving their supreme leader would do the job wonderfully.
***
Japan, Tokyo, Around the Same Time
While the United States was waging war in Mexico, other members of the Illuminati Society were dispatched to Tokyo to handle some more delicate matters that required more subtlety than brute force.
Within the luxurious car, Eve Rockefeller was sitting with her usual neutral expression, and across her was Tsuchimikado Yasazumi. Both of them were sent here per the orders of Yakou, who told them to come here and handle some matters.
"We are already here."
Suddenly, their car stopped in front of one of the city's most significant buildings.
Dainippon Bank.
Largest private bank in Japan and one of the largest ones across the entirety of Asia, as well as one of the richest ones. Eve was aware of them because their financial interests were spread across the world, and over the past fifty years, they had risen to become one of the top financial institutions in the world.
Under the leadership of a single person.
Katahara Metsudō.
Director of Dainippon Bank and also its sole owner, current Chairman of the Kengan Association. As someone who had access to some of the best information in the world, she knew that the Kengan Association was a place for Martial Artists to fight on behalf of various corporations and companies to settle disputes between them.
Martial Artists were individuals who mastered Martial Arts and could manipulate their Chi, or Life Force, giving them significantly enhanced physical capabilities. She knew that across the Martial Artists, there were many who would be able to stand on the same level as Magisters, Grand Knights, or even Magic Saints.
The only downside of the Martial Arts was that most of them, like 99%, lacked the capabilities to unleash the same level of destruction as their Magic Counterparts, but on the other hand, they could withstand such attacks with ease.
Something that Eve learned was that every Power System had its own advantages and disadvantages. Eve remembered that according to Yakou, the basic fundamental Attributes of a person could be divided into: Strength, Vitality, Endurance, Agility, and Energy Source.
All were pretty self-explanatory, while the Energy Source was either Mana for Mages and Knights, Chi for the Martial Artists, or anything else. She knew that while Mages focused almost solely on the Mana aspect of things, Martial Artists focused primarily on the physical attributes and strengthening their bodies to the extreme.
Another great advantage of the Martial Arts was that, if a person had enough talent, they could experience explosive growth in a short span of time. There were many cases where people needed only a few years to reach power comparable to that of a Grand Knight.
For some, it took only around a decade or two to reach the level of Martial Saint, which was the same as the Magic Saint. Yet, the discrepancies of the Martial Arts were also more than clear...
Aside from lacking the greater destructive prowess and skills, they were also not really suited to dealing with the more Spiritual or Supernatural Aspects of the world; they lacked the understanding and proper defenses against such attacks.
Another huge disadvantage was that they were inherently vulnerable to the Magics that targeted Soul and Spirit, as only a few of the strongest or most esoteric martial arts could withstand such attacks. Then almost all Martial Artists couldn't use their Chi Externally, but only on an Internal basis, which they used to strengthen their bodies to the extreme.
Currently, approximately 90% of the Martial Artists were congregated in Asia, many had ties with the Holy Cult of the Five Mountains. Since the Holy Cult of the Five Mountains was the holy land of the Martial Artists, as it had Campione, it was filled with countless powerful Martial Artists.
When it came to this, they were readily one, if not the most powerful, faction in the world.
It was due to Luo Hao that the Martial Artists rose in status, and it was also her own contribution to the world that she created many methods for the Martial Artists to control their own Chi.
Most of the modern techniques that Martial Artists use to control their Chi or to create their own Martial Arts originated from Luo Hao. That was also the reason why they were thriving so much in Asia.
"Welcome to the Dainippon Bank."
As they exited the car, they were welcomed by the rows of men wearing black suits and black ties. Everyone could see that they were all Martial Artists, as the weakest of them gave off an aura of a proper Knight; some were even stronger than that.
Though when Eve looked at the man who was welcoming them, she immediately knew that he was Martial Saint as the overhelming aura of his person was something that couldn't be hidden at all.
It was a rather impressive setup, but not anything out of the ordinary. When it came to the lower ranks, there were always plenty of them. Even the Illuminati Society had thousands of people at the F-Rank or E-Rank.
It wasn't actually that much surprising.
Martial Artists had it easier, as it was pretty easy for someone to cultivate them up to the E-Rank in terms of Yakou's grading that the Society adopted. For them to cross into the D-Rank or sometimes even to advance within the E-Rank itself, often required no small amount of talent and dedication.
"We are honored by the Chairman Katahara for such a warm welcome, Mr. Kanoh."
Tsuchimikado Yasazumi took it from Even, as technically speaking, he was in charge of the diplomatic mission, while she would take care of the business side of the mission. So, she was absolutely okey to let someone else to handle the thing.
Though Even was surprised to see Kanoh Agito personally welcoming them.
She knew of them.
Or rather, it was a better question to ask who didn't?
Every Saint was like a walking nuclear warhead and a closely monitored person.
Martial Saints were far more common than the Magic Saints. Yet the number of the Martial Saints possessing the same kind of destructive prowess as the Magic Saints was far too small.
Though it didn't mean that they were weaker.
One could say that Martial Saints were purely offensive-oriented, while the Magic Saints were extremely versatile and could do much more than just attack and kill people.
Kanoh Agito, Fifth Fang of Metsudō and affiliated fighter of the Dainippon Bank in the Kengan Association.
He was pretty famous, or rather infamous, across the supernatural world, because he severely injured one of the Magic Saints of the History Compilation Committee many years ago when they tried to take over the Kengan Association.
According to intelligence, the History Compilation Committee paid a considerable price to heal their Magic Saint from a near-death state. Since then, the History Compilation Committee was highly wary of the Martial Artists on whom they had looked down previously.
Because the Mages and Knights viewed themselves as special, as one needed to have Magic Affinity to learn Magic that was passed through the bloodline, no matter how small, they tended to be pretty arrogant about it.
From a certain point of view, it was understandable because Mana was more powerful than Chi and could achieve everything that Chi could do and even better.
Contrary to Mana, anyone could learn the Martial Arts and how to use their Chi.
So most of the Mages looked down on the Martial Artists... until one of them didn't crack their skull open.
Grades and Ranks were not absolute. Not everything was about the raw power, amount of Mana, Chi, or how strong one's physical body was. There were a lot of variables... There were countless cases where someone weak killed someone far, far stronger.
Many forgot that one of the Campiones, the 2nd Campione Luo Hao, was also a Martial Artist at heart, and she was a Martial Lord before she became Campione, as she saw it as the only way to advance her Martial Arts beyond what should have been possible.
"The Chairman is waiting on the top floor. I will escort you."
As the Fifth Fang of the Metsudō, he was also one of the person's bodyguards of the Katahara Metsudō and handled a lot of work for him. Tsuchimikado Yasazumi was well-acquainted with the Katahara Metsudō, as the Kengan Association became one of the few safe places for the surviving Clansmen of his to survive.
As the Association had a lot of Martial Artists who were more than enough to contend against the History Compilation Committee, and the Committee itself didn't want to use their trump cards, they could hold back even if they had proof of their existence.
Katahara Metsudō, meanwhile, wanted to expand his influence even against the areas of influence of the History Compilation Committee. He knew that, given the current state of the Cold War, the organization wouldn't go to all-out war against them.
There was a general rule in a fight between a Mage and a Martial Artist on the same level.
If the Mage failed to take out the Martial Artist first, either through ambush, surprise attack, or something else, then the one that had a higher probability of winning was the Martial Artist.
Especially if they forced Mage or Knight into the close-quarter combat.
Approximately 99% sucked at close combat, and even most of the Knights would struggle to keep up with the Martial Artists if both of them were on the same level of power, in hand-to-hand combat.
Soon enough, the trio consisting of Kanoh Agito, Tsuchimikado Yasazumi, and Even Rockefeller arrived at the top floor of the headquarters of the Dainippon Bank.
The office of the Chairman was rather simple, there were not many decorations, and the entire office was rahter... frugal?
Yet it was also made in the traditional Japanese style, and everything was made from the best materials possible. The few things that were there as decorations
Katahara Metsudō was a distinguished old man with sharply defined facial features, pronounced wrinkles, long white hair that fell past his neck, piercing eyes, thick white eyebrows, a thick white moustache, and a short, thick beard that split down the middle.
He was wearing traditional high-class Japanese robes as he sat in the middle of the office.
"Katahara-sama, I have brought the guests."
The old man suddenly opened his eyes, looked at the newcomers, and recognized someone.
"Yasazumi? Where is that brat nephew of yours? Still out there playing the King and causing chaos?"
Katahara Metsudō was actually much more well acquainted with Tsuchimikado Yasazumi and, what many people did not know, even more so with Tsuchimikado Yakou.
"Yes, and he sends over his regret of not being able to come personally, but you should be aware that in the current situation, it's impossible. He sent us in his place, and we also brought gifts from him."
Even Eve raised her brow, because this was entirely new information. From the talk just now, it was clear that the Yakou and Katahara Metsudō knew each other. And their relationship must be pretty close when he referred to Campione as "brat".
"Tell him to come personally next time! At least he would get into the fight with the 8th, and it wouldn't be so boring here anymore... but even the gifts are good, so what did you bring?"
As the old man said that, Kanoh Agito presented a chest, sealed it for Metsudō as Yasazumi, then opened it with a simple spell. Within the chest, there were several items, but the most notable was the glass bottle that was in a sort of metal container.
"What's this little thing?"
He lifted the bottle that contained blood-red liquid. Old man Katahara knew that it wasn't anything dangerous, as his Relic didn't warn him. Even though he wasn't Mage or anything, he still possessed Relic.
It was the ring that he was wearing, and this Relic's abilities were rather interesting.
It allowed one to sense Malice of any kind targeted toward the user and also had basic defensive capabilities for the user. When equipped, it also made it much harder to Curse the user or to use Divination to divine something about the user.
It was something that he obtained through sheer luck.
"That's one of the Alchemical Potions whose purpose is to prolong life and cure ailments. It's a gift from Yakou as thanks for everything that you have done for him."
And again his luck struck again.
Metsudō was a kamikaze pilot in World War II, and one of the few who survived his attack. Having been lucky enough to survive, he resolved to see just how far his luck could take him.
Through sheer luck, he managed to rise from nothing to the biggest black market distributor in the Kanto Region by the end of the war at age 25.
Not long after that, he obtained membership of the Kengan Association for the company that he founded, Katahara Distribution, Inc., which was the company he represented when he eventually called for a tournament for the chairmanship of the Kengan Association.
Over time, he took over Dainippon Bank, either through schemes, brute force, money, and Kengan Matches, becoming the sole owner of the entire Dainippon Bank, which is now worth several hundred billion dollars.
"What a filial brat..."
When Yakou's parents died, and he started living alone, it wasn't long before he was found by Katahara Metsudō. The old man had a rather weird habit of picking up orphans and adopting them as his Bodyguards.
Yet, Katahara Metsudō was also someone who paid his debts, and his debt to the Tsuchimikado Clan still existed, so he paid it by taking care of Yakou until he was old enough to start doing mercenary work.
Because of Katahara's standing and position, no Mage would work with him.
Mostly because of the fear of the History Compilation Committee, which was in a hostile relationship toward the Kengan Association, and also because of their disdain for the Martial Artists.
When Yakou grew up, he helped at the Kengan Association, and he often had a lot of jobs for the old man. He also learned how to fight from Kanoh Agito, but unfortunately for Yakou, he never took his training in the Martial Arts too seriously, as his talent in that area wasn't really the best one.
In fact, it was pretty ordinary, one could say.
"Oya? There is even a letter here..."
In the chest, aside from the potion that was personally brewed by John Georg Faust, there were other items. There was a set of defensive Relics that Yakou entrusted to his uncle and Eve to have them delivered to old man Katahara, then there were a few books, mainly ones about the development of the Magic and Chi together, and some other things.
Yakou also wrote a letter to the Metsudō personally.
"Hey there, you old fossil,
Now, if you are reading this, it means that Eve and Uncle Yasazumi managed to reach Japan safely and brought you the things... I am sorry that I couldn't arrive personally, but with the History Complication Committee obtaining support of Campione and having him as their backround, it's not the best time for me to arrive.
You should have noticed that the Momobami Clan has pledged itself to the Illuminati Society, so I think that you can use this to stir some trouble. Soon enough, the History Compilation Committee would have much greater problems on hand as Voban would arrive in Japan during the upcoming months.
Once that happens, we all plan to act. You can notify all those who are discontent with the current situation to act as well... Also, if you are interested, I can arrange for Mage on the level of Magister to be stationed with you all the time until we solve this.
PS. If you run into trouble, you can use my name to intimidate them.
PPS. I know that I promised to be present during that Event that would be taking place, and I will try to make it in time... well, Ganryu Island is rather far from the mainland of the Committee, but still close enough to give them a good fright.
- Tsuchimikado Yakou, the always filial grandson."
Katahara Metsudō read the letter as he laughed, because things were finally getting more and more interesting. Well, it seemed that this year's Kengan Annihilation Tournament would be even more interesting.
And then...
If Voban came to Japan, then it was for the Hime Mikos, and almost all Hime Mikos in Japan were in the hands of the History Compilation Committee. Which meant that there would most probably be a massive conflict between Marquise Voban and the Committee.
While there were some Hime Mikos in the Onmyōji Clans like the Nakiri Clan and Souma Clan, everyone knew that Voban wouldn't waste his time searching for the secluded clans like them.
So it was more than evident that he would be going for the History Compilation Committee as the first choice.
Which was good.
"Tell the boy that I am eager for the next meeting. Now, what other business do you have with me? I don't think that you brought the Head of Department of Finance within your Association just to give me gifts."
Katahara looked at Eve Rockefeller, who sat there without saying a single word.
"Come on, girl, try sake..."
Kataha then said, his English heavily accented as he passed her cup of sake.
"Thank you."
Eve answered in perfect Japanese as she took the cup of sake and drank it.
It was a very good sake, clearly one of the best, but that was expected from someone like the chairman of the Dainippon Bank.
"For your question, we are coordinating efforts to strike at the industries owned by the main families of the History Compilation Committee. Obviously, the only influence of the Society in Japan is limited only to the Momobami Clan, and they alone are not enough to attack the very heart of the industries belonging to our enemies."
Most of the active and passive assets of the corporations and industries belonging to the Renjou Family, Kouhatsuka Family, Seishuuin Family, and Sayanomiya Family were located in Japan.
Only a small part was located in Europe, the United States, and the rest of Asia. Obviously, what was outside of Japan could be targeted by the Illuminati Society pretty easily, with the financial power of the Rockefeller Family.
The assets of the Rockefeller Family in Asia, in general, were not the greatest, so they would need local help. Momobami Clan, while being one of the largest Clans in Japan and owning tons of companies and industries, was alone not enough to do what they wanted to do.
Dainippon Bank, on the other hand?
Certainly.
Everything was actually Eve's plan, as Yakou didn't really care about this aspect of his plan, because he wanted to solve it with brute force when there was time.
She, on the other hand, created a rather elaborate plan that would allow her to make a move against all companies and corporations that were under the control of the Four Families of the History Compilation Committee.
Now, the only problem she had with her plan was convincing Katahara Metsudō to act, because she found it most problematic. Fortunately enough, it seemed that Tsuchimikado Yasazumu, Yakou's uncle, could handle the introduction.
She even prepared a very elaborate speech and negotiation tactics when it came to convincing Katahara to agree with her proposal.
And then it seemed that he knew Yakou very well.
"So you want my help in attacking the brat's enemies...?"
He stroked his beard before he nodded his head.
"Well, if it's for him, then I agree, lass. But I have to warn you that it would be a rather risky endeavor, so I hope that you have some really comprehensive plan for that."
Suddenly, the old man's smile twisted into a maniacal grin, because there was nothing better than a good challenge. And challenging the History Complication Committee was something that was certainly a worthy challenge.
If successful, he could spread his influence over the Magic side of things and assimilate the remnants of their Mages and Knights into his forces. Right now, the Katahara Family had only a few Mages and Knights in their service among the Bodyguards.
The Bodyguards were Katahara Metsudō's personal army. They were the Chairman's shield, and together with the Fang of Metsudō, they form half of the force that keeps Metsudō in power.
They also served as a pool from which Metsudō will choose his next Fang.
The Bodyguards were a massive institution serving as a personal army, numbering around 500, and were originally orphans adopted by the Katahara Family after genetic screening identified people with the highest aptitude for the Martial Arts or Magic.
They are divided into eleven squads, each of which is led by a captain. Rank-and-file Bodyguards were usually tasked with security detail; in the tournament, they also provided surveillance to ensure compliance with the rules.
Each of the Bodyguards can easily match an average Kengan fighter in combat, though the more powerful fighters can hold their own against them. Still, it was pretty impressive that someone managed to cultivate the force like this, as it required a tremendous amount of resources, meticulous planning, and time.
"That's given, here please look at this."
Eve already came prepared, and everything she wanted to say was already written in the file container she passed to the Katahara Metsudō. The old man was pretty excited because they were not only targeting the History Compilation Committee but also the internal traitors of the Kengan Association.
Contrary to him, Kanoh Agito, who was in the back, wasn't that pleased that his Lord was once again going to do something as dangerous as targeting the History Compilation Committee.
Lord Katahara was always showing little regard for his own safety, much to the consternation of his Bodyguards. And he also absolutely relishes challenge, as evidenced by his changes to the tournament rules that put himself at a disadvantage.
"It's solid, even though it has some flaws that could be exploited..."
Soon enough, the two of them started working on the plan, as Katahara Metsudō pointed out several flaws in Eve's plans. He had to admit that the Rockefeller girl was pretty talented and smart in this area, which was pretty rare these days, but she still lacked in the experience side of things a bit.
In the end, they worked through the plan for some time, until the old man was satisfied with the result and could already see money forming before him. If successful, Dainippon Bank would be able to swallow many of the most important corporations and industries in the entire country at a low price.
"Now we are done... well, girl, it would be a pretty challenging task, but if we succeed, the victory would be more than sweet."
Within the landscape of Japan, there were actually not many people or factions that he could challenge, as most were either too weak or dead. The History Compilation Committee was the only faction that could provide a challenge.
But even with his boldness and faith in his luck, he didn't think he could overcome them, as they had their Trump Cards. He knew that they had the support of the Heretic God, as he had learned from Yakou, and that the History Compilation Committee had managed to seal another Heretic God, which was almost public knowledge.
Not to mention, they had two Magic Saints.
These were extremely problematic to deal with.
While Kanoh Agito fought one of them and managed to cripple the opponent, it was purely due to luck, as the opponent severely underestimated what the Martial Saint could do.
Most Mages had too many tricks up their sleeves and could cast a variety of Magics to employ against their opponents, which was a great deal of versatility. And because Martial Artists couldn't use their Chi Externally in almost all cases, they couldn't defend against spells that specifically targeted their Mind, created Illusions, or other things.
Among the Martial Artists, Kanoh Agito knew only a few who had learned to use their Chi Externally, and most, if not all, of those methods couldn't be replicated. One could also go and try to join the Holy Cult of the Five Mountains...
If they became an Elder, they would get tutelage on it from the Martial Ruler personally.
"We will succeed... So... when do you plan to hold the Kengan Annihilation Tournament?"
Eve asked as she continued in full scheming mode for the time being. She was given full power by Yakou to decide on his behalf, because even though he chose to ignore the History Compilation Committee, that didn't mean he had forgotten about them.
Instead, he sent Eve, who was much better at scheming than he was, to handle the things because she was the best suited for the task.
***
In the end, Mexico City fell within two hours, after the Generalissimo Hermán Gonzáles was assassinated by the Campione Tuschimikado Yakou, and their strongest forces, consisting of Mages, Knights, and some Martial Artists, perished in the attacks.
Once this piece of news spread among the remnants of the warlords and anyone who had survived till now, there was a massive exodus of various personalities who had taken up residence in this warzone.
Nobody wanted to face the full power of the US Military, especially the one that was backed by the Campione.
That would be a pretty foolish thing to do. So those who could started leaving the ship before the fight even began, and when Keira's forces attacked Mexico City, many of the experts of the Murtia Republic had already deserted.
Aside from that, the rest of the conquest was rather anticlimactic because nothing significant really happened. With their charge, it didn't take them long to recreate everything that once belonged to Mexico when it existed.
After the completion of the assault, Yakou decided that he would remain in Mexico City until the major points of resistance toward the military were clear. In case they needed his help, but with how things were progressing right now, it wouldn't take that long.
He was playing with the CAD that he was given for the observation, and he had to admit that they were pretty interesting things. The concept of CADs was something that existed thousands of years ago, just another different name.
Casting Assistant Devices, Wands, Foci, Staff... everything was the same.
"Even though the combination is not perfect... they indeed managed to combine Magic and Technology to create a marvel of Magical Engineering... and in such a short time."
Yakou actually admired the concept of the CADs and even the Blazer Devices that were currently in development. In fact, he was even invited to participate in the research on the Blazer Devices, as input from Campione would be invaluable.
He decided that he would participate in the development of the Blazer Devices, as he found the concept pretty intriguing in his humble opinion. The Blazer Devices were a rather ambitious project to create even more advanced kinds of CADs... the ones that would be bound to the very Souls of the Mages who used them.
According to the predictions, if successfully bonded, the Mage could quickly reach the standards of the Great Knight in terms of Mana and even have a good shot at reaching the Grand Knight and Magister of Magic.
Unfortunately, anything that was related to the Souls was highly problematic and required a delicate touch and preferably someone very powerful who could do the miracles. Yakou, with his Divine Authority of Mímir's Well, could comprehend lore that would take decades in a few weeks.
Suddenly, his eyes opened slightly because he felt a very familiar, uncanny feeling that he had already felt three times in his life.
He instantly summoned the Divine Authority of Gungnir: The Spear of Heaven, as he looked extremely vigilant. Right now, as he obtained the Divine Authorities from the Aži Dahāka, he didn't really fear any potential confrontation with the Heretic Gods.
The Divine Authority of Khvarenah: Halo of The Supreme Ruler was something that wasn't short of overpowering and gave him an edge when it came to the destructive capabilities and powerful Divine Authorities that could actually do a lot of damage.
Which was something that he previously lacked.
"You can sense me? Interesting..."
He heard a female voice, and soon a person appeared in front of him. She looks like a cute girl in her early teens with short silver hair and violet eyes, dressed in a school uniform with a knit cap on her head.
Despite this, he was far more than confident that this was Heretic God.
Because his instincts were going haywire and urging him to attack the Heretic God in front of him. Given the clothing and, literally, nothing else on her person that could provide a lead, he couldn't tell who the Heretic Goddess was.
"I am here not to fight..."
She said, but that didn't cause Yakou to do anything, aside from looking at her even more suspiciously, because it was pretty hard to believe, in fact.
"That's not really something that one would believe... especially if it was Heretic God saying that to Campione, so I must apologize for being rude."
Yakou didn't have even the slightest intention of lowering his weapon, because he was still pretty much wary of the Heretic Goddess that looked like a kid. Even though she looked like that, it didn't make her any less dangerous, as he activated the All-Seeing Eyes of God that were now bolstered by the power of the Heirloom Crow.
[Name: Athena
Classification: Heretic God
Age: ???
Race: Divine Being (Heretic God)
*
Parameters:
Strength - A
Vitality - A
Endurance - A
Agility - A
Magical Energy - A
*
Magic: ???
Uniqueness: ??? (Weakened to the level of Divine Ancestor)
Divine Authorities:
- Memories of the Void
- Divine Spear of Doru
- ??? (Fragmental)
- ??? (Fragmental)
- Divine Shield: Aegis (Incomplete)]
The fact that it was Athena was rather surprising, but what was even more surprising was how weak she appeared to be. He was sure that she wasn't aware that he was aware of her weak need state...
Well... in the world, there were actually not many things that could bring down the Heretic Gods to the point where their Dimensions were drastically lowered. He could imagine that if someone on the limits of humanity killed here...
It would be an instant ticket to becoming Campione.
Yet...
Even the Sains, be it Magic Saints or Martial Saints, would never dare to take someone like her, even in the weakened state, head-on. The disparity in the parameters was still huge and she still had some of her Divine Authorities and special abilities even in the weakened state.
Still, Athena, often given the epithet Pallas, was an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicrafts who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva.
Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of various cities across Greece, particularly the city of Athens, from which she most likely received her name. The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens was dedicated to her. Her major symbols included owls, olive trees, snakes, and the Gorgoneion.
Goddess of wisdom, civilization, mathematics, strategy, defensive warfare, crafts, the arts, skills, intelligence, and brilliance.
He knew that if the Heretic God was like that, there was no way that she would reveal to him without an elaborate plan that was most probably far more complicated than he could ever imagine.
"Ts... Campiones... always so combative. Nevertheless, I want to seek cooperation with you, young God Slayer."
Yakou, hearing that, raised his right eyebrow in confusion, because hearing that she wanted to cooperate with him was...
Suspicious?
Yes, that was the world.
"Shouldn't you at least introduce yourself if you seek my cooperation, Heretic Goddess? It's rather rude to barge in and demand cooperation straight away."
From her behavior, he confirmed that she was extremely careful not to tell anyone that she was in a heavily weakened state. If he were to guess and he was good at the guessing games, she wanted to enlist his help in restoring her powers.
It meant she must have conducted extensive research on him, and the retrieval itself must have been pretty dangerous. Among the other Campiones, he was probably the only one who would actually listen to her.
Others would attack her at the first opportunity to obtain more Divine Authorities, while some would probably ignore her to stay out of trouble.
"That won't do... what you use that knowledge to attack me at a later date... even the names have power, and for us Heretic Gods, keeping the name secret is another form of power."
The child-like Heretic Goddess stated as she looked at the Campione in front of her, who just grinned.
"As expected... well, what do you want to say?"
Obviously, he wasn't going to reveal that he knew a lot about her, which was his trump card, as both of them wanted to keep the other person in check.
"Item. I need to retrieve an Item from someone."
Now this was getting interesting as Yakou looked at Athena, while Athena looked at him.
Both of them were ready to enter combat the moment something went downhill.
"What Item? From whom? And what do I get out of it?"
He wasn't really against the idea of working together with the Heretic Goddess as long as he obtained some benefits from their cooperation, which was of paramount importance to him.
If she didn't put something on the table, he wasn't interested in fighting.
"Grimoire in the hands of the 8th Campione or one of his lovers. I am not aware of its exact location, but it's in Japan, and it's close to the 8th Campione. Among all other Campiones, you are the only one that would be open to working with me, according to my calculations."
As she said that, he nodded his head as he slowly relaxed his stance, but still remained combat-ready in the case of conflict.
"You want my help in fighting Campione?"
He probed as she gave him a subtle nod.
"When Voban fights him... we act. He will come for the Hime Mikos and grab the items. I have a connection to it, so I can vaguely sense it."
He seriously considered what she was saying, as he had already crafted several schemes in his head, and all of them depended on the fact that Voban would come to Japan for the Hime Mikos.
So Yakou planned a rather straightforward thing.
Came to an agreement with Voban without Athena's knowledge about the help and distraction of the Committee and their forces. At the same time, he would also come to an agreement with Athena about the item that she wanted without Voban's knowledge.
Marquise Voban was someone who was absolutely obsessed with fighting and killing new Heretic Gods.
There was no way he would pass up the opportunity to hunt and kill Athena.
And obviously, Athena, aware of the oldest Campione's personality, would do everything to avoid him like a plague.
"And if the item is in the possession of the 8th Campione personally?"
Yakou asked, as the best-case scenario would be if the item wasn't on Kusanagi Godou's person, because that would mean that Athena could come and take what she wanted without any ruckus or fighting.
"... Then we need to create an opportunity, but according to my observation, he shouldn't have the item on his person. Most probably, it's stored at his house or with someone else. For various purposes, I don't want to fight against two Campiones."
Obviously, hearing that made Yakou want to scoff at the reasoning, but he knew that the true reason was that she was tremendously weakened to the point where even a newly advanced Campione would be able to defeat her.
While it was unknown to what extent she could use her Divine Authroitirs and Magic, but it was grue that she was far weaker than Campione and confronting one would result in death.
That was also the reason why she chose him to contact.
Voban and Luo Hao were absolutely out of question. They would just attack her to obtain another Divine Authority to their arsenal.
Black Prince Alec and Doni were an enigma... There was a possibility that they would attack or just outright ignore her.
The rest of the Campiones would refuse to even listen for various reasons, but those ones were not really important, as the result was the same.
"You still didn't answer my question about reward.... surely you don't think that you can just exploit my hostile relationship with the History Compilation Committee and by extension the 8th Campione."
Yakou stated as he pondered if she wanted to manipulate him into this or anything else.
"What do you want as payment for your services in helping me?"
She asked as Yakou pondered something before reaching a quick conclusion.
"Your understanding of the Divinity."
She frowned heavily as he said that, because that was out of the question for her.
"Absolutely not. I can offer all knowledge on Hermetic Magic that I have."
Seeing her reaction to his request made him ponder over the next counterofficer, because there was no way that he would be satisfied with just her knowledge of the Hermetic Magic.
"Add to it, a complete version of the Ritual of First Manas, and we are in agreement. Someone of your status should be able to have it, am I not wrong?"
Athena visibly grimaced because she thought that her overreaction to his first request revealed some hints about her identity, and she wasn't really entirely wrong. By overreacting, she confirmed that he had information on Divinity, which was something that was available only to the God Kings and other entities.
If she had such knowledge, then having something like the Ritual of First Manas would be creative enough for her to know.
"Don't be that fast to refuse... You should be aware that right now I am the only Campione that would be open to even thinking of working with the Heretic God.... much less said about the other things. And Ritual of First Manas is entirely useless to you."
The reason why Yakou wanted the ritual was pretty simple.
Many scholars across the millennia pondered.
Where did the Magic come from, and how were humans capable of using it?
The Magic was tied to the Bloodline.
But humans were not inherently Magical creatures, as they didn't have Magic in their Blood, and Mana was just a foreign energy. And yet... despite that, the humans became Mages and Knights.
Many theorists theorized that humans must have conducted a mystic ritual in which they sacrificed the Magic Creatures or Magic Beasts to the Gods through a Sacrificial Ritual, and thereby obtained the Magic of the creature.
Thus, the first generation of the Mages was born. Through the selective breeding, the first Magic Lineages were formed and created, and the Genome carrying the Mage DNA was spread across humanity.
Sometimes... people were lucky as they were able to become 1st-Generation Mages by awakening Mana as they had some very distant relative who was a Mage. But such cases were rare by all logical standards.
Yakou heard about the ritual, or rather, he read about it in his Grimoire, even though the Tsuchimiakod Clan Grimoire lacked the concrete information aside from the name.
Ritual of the First Manas.
There were countless variations of the Ritual.
Yet, he needed to obtain the Ritual at any cost.
The problem was...
It was one of the things that was lost in the passage of time.
Most compies were destroyed over time; some were destroyed by the Mage Lineages, which feared they would lead to the creation of more Mages or that their enemies would get their hands on them.
Many reasons.
But someone like Athena?
The former God Queen and Elder Goddess?
He grinned, already knowing her answer, as she looked at him with a sigh.