Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 523 Genji Shura
Dreams are soft blades, battles are hard bones;
The fragrance of flowers can be intoxicating, and even bloodshed can be transformed into poetry.

In the Tokyo night, Genji writes his dreams, and Shura writes his monument.

—From "The Hidden Chapters of the Flower Garden"

A glass corridor spans the belly of the research tower, like a transparent artery, connecting the experimental areas on both sides.

The red police lights spun in the ceiling box, their beams rolling across the wall like layers of cooled blood.

The air was filled with the smells of medicine, ozone, and cold metal.

When Xiao Jinyan stepped into the corridor, he saw a mess of things being put away.

Xiao Lianyin stood in front of the control panel, the fox flames wrapping around her from her feet to her waist in a thin layer, like an elegant cloak.

Her shoe tip pried open the corpse of a female Onmyoji on the ground, which was emitting blue smoke, and the sleeve of her clothes rolled up with a black edge on the ground.

"Slow and sluggish."

She didn't look up, her voice was indifferent.

Jin Yan smiled slightly, took two steps closer, and glanced at the recycling bin on the other side.

She lifted a blue fox shikigami by its ears, its tail twitching twice in protest.

Lianyin twisted her wrist and threw it into the slot. She slammed the door shut and locked it with a "snap." The foxfire bit a ring of charred color along the metal edge.

"How dare a mere fox demon be so presumptuous in front of the Fox Lord of Tushan?"

She made it sound like a casual explanation, or perhaps just stating a fact.

Jin Yan raised an eyebrow: "Sis, the way you're talking makes it sound like you're cleaning up small fry."

Lianyin was too lazy to reply, and slid her fingertips across the control panel to open a light screen.

The explosion-proof cabinet at the end of the corridor unlocks automatically, and a plutonium-Pu element device emerges inside the glass cover.

It was not a regular metal block, but rather an irregular heart: purple and deep blue light pulsed alternately inside, and eight runes surrounded the outer layer, resembling an ancient ritual object.

Lianyin input authorization, the robotic arm extended, steadily picked it up, and placed it into a void shell container.

A layer of mist appeared on the inner wall of the container, as if isolating this "heartbeat" from reality.

"It's done."

She fastened the container back to her waist, turned back and smiled at Jin Yan, "Let's go."

Just as Jin Yan was about to respond, he heard a whispered voice in his ear.

He tilted his head and tapped his earlobe with his fingertip: "Once you have one, set off to meet them."

A light, metallic clinking sound came from the other side, mixed with Lilia's laughter: "We're done too. One troublemaker took a little longer."

Then Calvino's steady voice rang out: "All mechanical guards destroyed, target sealed, prepare to disengage."

Another line has been connected—the Fate Master.

His voice was as calm as the cold light of the corridor: "...There are only two of you? There are four of us here."

Jin Yan raised an eyebrow: "Would you like to change it?"

"They probably won't be happy about it," Si Ming said calmly.

Si Ming stood in the center of a gray corridor, hands in his pockets, surrounded by four Yin-Yang Masters.

The leader's lips curled into a completely emotionless smile: "Lord Haruhisa, by order of the Hideyuki family head: Kill him here."

"It's true, people are afraid of becoming famous, just like pigs are afraid of getting fat." Si Ming muttered to himself, as if he were telling a joke to someone, or as if he were offering incense to someone.

Immediately afterward, he lowered his voice, turned to Nobuna, and said, "Protect the stuff—let's clear the way first."

Suddenly, the roaring metallic sound of the industrial elevator abruptly stopped in mid-air.

It's as if someone has severed reality with a single stroke.

What rolled down from the ceiling was not dust, but a ukiyo-e scroll painting.

The scroll was gently unfurled, and the ribs of the paper fan parted the air, revealing pictures of flowers, birds, cherry blossoms, ancient halls, and vermilion corridors, one after another, in every corner of the space.

The corridor is divided into unfolding "pages," each with its own unique scenery.

Si Ming and Xin Nai stood in the center.

In an instant, space split in two, and the fan ribs of the scroll closed between them.

Si Ming looked up and saw only a section of eaves and incense powder scattered on the ground at the end of his vision; Xin Nai's side was blocked by the firelight.

"Bam—"

A burst of flames created a shockwave. Two Onmyoji emerged from the flames, one of them clad in a white hunting robe, standing between the fire lines, shielding the other: "The front is now in your hands."

Xin Nai let out a low shout, drew his sword and slashed away the talisman, his anger mixed with a smile: "Alright, perfect for warming up."

The wall of fire rose, engulfing her figure.

Si Ming's side only has two enemies left.

One's steps were steady as a drumbeat, the other's breath was gentle and charming as a flower.

The former stopped, the latter raised his sleeve.

A strange fragrance wafted from her sleeve—not the scent of blood, not pollen, but a sweet, overly soft aroma.

As the fragrant mist unfolded layer by layer, the cherry blossoms and paper lanterns in the scene lit up one by one, and the air seemed to glow with a pink light.

"first meet."

The woman smiled, her voice like a hot spring flowing over a stone wall, carrying a comforting warmth.

"Kakaiin-in, Shizugozen".

She raised her sleeve in a gesture of respect, and when she looked up, a different kind of smile appeared on her lips, and with a flick of her eye, her charm suddenly shifted.

The smile transformed from elegance into a dangerous allure, like a meticulously rehearsed play.

The God of Fate was too lazy to answer and glanced around.

The corridor disappeared, replaced by an elegant "cherry blossom garden"—with lanterns, a zither table, an incense burner, and paper doors.

A wisp of red smoke floated above the incense burner, its shadow twisting and coalescing into a face—

A man's face.

The face contorted and struggled in the smoke.

His eyes pleaded, his lips parted slightly, and his voice was hoarse: "Let me go... I will love you, I will!..."

Si Ming raised an eyebrow.

Shizuka walked slowly to the incense burner, dipped her finger in the air with a drop of red ink, and gently wiped her fingertip on the man's lips.

"Love?" She chuckled softly, her voice half pity and half coldness. "See, you're still lying to me, aren't you?"

The man's lips trembled, and blood slid down the corner of his mouth, turning into ink stains that flowed back into the incense burner.

She turned around, her face beaming with a smile.

"That's how men are. They don't understand love when they're awake, but they learn to serve after they're dead."

“Excuse me,” Si Ming interjected, hands in his pockets, his tone casual, “I prefer people who are alive.”

Shizuka Gozen's smile didn't falter; she simply waved her paper fan lightly and said, "Then let's see—how many sentences you can utter."

A paper fan is gently waved.

A second layer of light shone into her world.

That was the silvery moonlight—silently, pouring down from the sky at the end of the painting.

"Fallen Light - Princess Kaguya".

The moonlight, like water, gently flowed into her domain.

A silvery Kaguya emerged from the light, her veil half-draped, her toes not touching the ground.

Her gaze swept over Si Ming, cold yet gentle, as if she wanted to uproot a part of him.

In an instant, a vision flashed through Siming's mind:
Someone is calling softly under the lamp—

"My lord, don't go."

The voice was so real, so intimate, as if it could gently pat his heart through his sternum.

Si Ming lightly shifted his toes, and the mirror light rippled along his feet—the illusion was shattered.

"This illusion," he chuckled, "is so fake that it makes me sleepy?"

Jing Yuqian's lips pressed down. Before she could speak again, a rumble came from behind Si Ming—

Boom! !

The entire Eisei Garden suddenly trembled.

The ground cracked open, and crimson light shot out from the cracks.

A strong aroma of alcohol mingled with the smell of rust, as if some enormous thing had been unsealed.

A giant arm extends from the crack.

Red skin, blue veins like snakes, and nails shinier than a knife.

It burst open the crack, carrying the blood moon on its back, and crawled out from underground.

A giant demon six meters tall, with a red face, five horns, fifteen eyes, short, messy hair, and blood vapor swirling around its shoulders.

It raised its head and roared, causing the air to explode.

Shuten-dōji swung his spiked club, and with a deafening roar, swept it horizontally—

boom--! ! !
A huge crater was blown out of the entire corridor. Paper lanterns, cherry blossoms, and incense powder were all swept up in the blast and twisted into a blood-red vortex.

Smoke filled the air.

Shizuka Gozen raised her hand to cover her face, a hint of pleasure flashing in her eyes: "See, the dream of flower and bird ukiyo-e is so fragile."

The smoke and dust cleared.

Dust settled in the center of the giant crater—

A figure stood on Shuten-dōji's shoulder.

Sima Ming.

He had his hands in his pockets, his toes lightly touching the horn of his head, his gaze calm.

"Princess Kaguya, Shuten-dōji..."

He uttered a sentence softly, as if surveying the scenery of a battlefield.

He tilted his head, smiled slightly, and spoke in a lazy voice as if he had just woken up from a dream.

“This story is so boring.” Princess Kaguya’s gaze sharpened, and Shizuka Gozen’s smile froze on her lips.

She suddenly realized—

The man in front of her wasn't involved in her dream at all.

Meanwhile, the flames that had been burning on Shuten-dōji's spiked club were gradually dying out.

The air grew cold, and the moonlight was swallowed by lies.

The God of Fate looked up, and destiny flowed in his eyes.

"The Tale of Genji—"

He said in a low voice, "The story should end here."

Shuten-dōji's roar shook the entire painting.

It was a low-frequency vibration that tore through the air, like countless pieces of iron colliding in blood.

Its blood-red flames surged, and the scorching fire waves swept up the paper lanterns, incense powder, and moonlight.

In those scorching flames—

A figure stepped over the bones, each step raising ashes.

He was draped in a blood-stained battle robe, his long hair was as black as ink, and the shadows of the two horns on his head were pressed against the ground.

He is like a mountain forged from vengeful spirits.

"Asura Group Leader".

He spoke, his voice deep and resonant like metal.

"Kakaiin-no-Yumu-no-Tsukami - By order of His Highness Abe, I will slay the enemy and erect a tomb."

He raised his hand.

The blood-red lines on his arm lit up, and he pointed a finger at the ground.

The ground of the entire painting cracked open, with narrow fissures spreading out like a spider web.

--"boom!"

A surge of blood erupted, lifting up the gray-white heads.

One head after another was piled up, and in the blink of an eye, it formed a hill.

Blue ghost flames ignited in the eye sockets of those heads, and when the wind blew, thousands upon thousands of "ghost lanterns" swayed together.

Tanba First Tomb, now open.

Yuwuzun turned around and looked at the void expressionlessly: "Ibaraki."

The gate to the underworld split open, and a gust of cold wind swept out.

A tall shadow stepped out from the crevice, its right arm covered in black ghost patterns, and half of its face hidden in the shadow of the helmet's corner.

"My lord, may I borrow your sword?"

Ibaraki-dōji's voice was rough, both respectful and violent.

Yu Wuzun smiled slightly and drew his sword.

The blade reflected the firelight, and countless ghostly images appeared on its tip.

"Give me the wrath of ten thousand demons."

They stood side by side atop the Blood Tomb.

The wind gradually died down, leaving only the deep rhythm of war drums.

Two against one.

Shizuka Gozen, suspended in mid-air, spread her sleeves, and the scroll of flowers and birds slowly unfolded.

She dipped her finger into a brush and sketched a picture of a hundred birds facing the sun.

Flowers bloom, birds sing.

Then—it exploded.

Fireworks burst forth, bird shadows transformed into blades, slashing down layer upon layer from the sky.

The Blood Blade of the Imperial Warrior is pressing in head-on.

The trajectory of his sword strikes left afterimages, each strike resembling a red arc of electricity.

The air was cleaved into a vacuum, and blood and light mingled into a river.

Shuten-dōji roared, swung his spiked club, and the impact was as heavy as a mountain collapsing.

Ibaraki-doji took a step, and the aura of the Ghost Gate formed a circle, sealing off any escape route.

This was a complete encirclement and annihilation.

However, the God of Fate in the center still stood with his hands behind his back.

He seemed to be simply looking at the battlefield, as if he were solving a math problem.

"Place a piece on the chessboard."

--Snapped.

The sound was so faint it was almost drowned out by the flames.

But the next second, the entire world's center of gravity shifted.

The ground transformed into a chessboard.

Each blood-red stone brick was re-marked, the black and white grid spreading like ripples on water.

An illusory chessboard unfolds.

The black soldier rises from hell and collides with the flock of birds in the painting of flowers and birds;
The white knight emerged from the light, burst through the gates of hell, and severed a rift in space with a single sword stroke.

The paper fan corridor from The Tale of Genji is being "gnawed" away, one panel at a time.
The cherry blossoms in the painting fell, the pages tore into pieces, leaving only a straight path extending outwards.

Yu Wuzun narrowed his eyes.

He smiled, his tone calm: "Excellent magic. It's a pity—those who do not serve Your Highness are all rebels."

He raised his knife.

His blood energy surged like flames, and ghost lanterns lit up one by one, extending from beneath his feet.

The crimson threads of Asura climbed up his arm and locked into the bone crevices of his shoulder.

The demon heads in the tomb roared in unison.

The signs of a blazing fire have already been ignited.

The painting hangs in mid-air, half-closed.

Her voice returned to its gentle tone—the kind of tender, wifely tone.

"His Highness said that the Kingdom of God lacks a wise head."

She looked down at Si Ming, a smile playing on her lips.

"Sir, how about... you offer it to me?"

Si Ming raised his head, the shadow of the mask obscuring his eyes.

"The Kingdom of Gods?" he repeated softly, his voice full of weariness.

"Your divine kingdom—"

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the sky above the blood-soaked mound, the ghost lantern, and the flower thunder.

"It's probably just a mirage."

That one short sentence froze the air.

Jing Yuqian's smile cracked, and Yu Wuzun's gaze turned slightly cold.

He gave a low shout: "Shuten!"

The Ghost King roared, and a thousand ghost lamps exploded into streams of fire at the same time.

Ibaraki-dōji swung his arm down, and a bloody wind swept across the sky.

—The whole world is on fire.

The chessboard reflected the flames, its black and white squares shimmering and intersecting.

Flames devour rules, and rules then devour flames.

Si Ming raised one hand, and the corners of his mouth behind the mask turned up slightly.

On the chessboard, new shadows begin to move—

Every pawn, every square, is a "mirror" he has laid out.

A flash of light in the mirror, and illusion and reality overlap.

The straight line on the chessboard, like an unsheathed sword, is aimed directly at Yu Wuzun.

--boom!

The clash between the blood and the mirror light plunged the entire area into chaos.

The "paper scraps" in the air danced like flower petals, cherry blossoms, blood flowers, and sparks all mixed together.

In the distance, the sound of a blade ringing out could be heard.

That's Nobuna's katana.

Immediately afterwards, the foxfire exploded, illuminating half of the corridor.

Si Ming's lips curled into a smile.

"The road is clear."

Shizuka Gozen was still in mid-air, her fragrant powder swirling in her sleeves, her voice both gentle and icy:

"The night is still long, sir."

The chessboard lights up again.

Between black and white, fire and flowers collide once again.

— Beneath the Tokyo Tower, dreams and demons are written simultaneously.

Kings write their dreams, war gods inscribe their monuments;
Where the chess piece lands, it's not a path, it's a grave.

—The Night Battle of Tokyo Tower

(End of this chapter)