Why can't humans do it too?

Perhaps from the very beginning, his choice to make Izumo a new foothold for the Oni was a mistake, but who could have foreseen so many deaths?

Unable to judge his own right or wrong, Hizo knew only that he could no longer bear to see any more demons perish on this battlefield. He was calling out the ability he had awakened after being forcibly transformed into a demon by his father. His muscular body was gradually dissolving, turning into a phantom shadow, just like the form he had taken when he first ambushed Tamamo-no-Mae.

The shadow stretched across the ground like vines, and whether the remaining ghosts liked it or not, they were passively swallowed by the shadow formed by the fire, eventually converging into a dark river that flowed into the distance.

Kenjiro did intend to stop him, but no matter how many times he had mentally rehearsed the actions to stop Hiei, he found that his limbs were unable to move, simply because that faceless shadow was coldly watching him.

And this shadow is also dissipating.

No, to be more precise, it vanished into the wind, chasing after that shadowy river, disappearing completely in just a few breaths.

Whether or not the black fox who called himself Tamamo-no-Mae really glared at him before disappearing, Takeminakata no longer cared about that at this moment. He only knew that he had survived—survived in this battlefield full of variables!

Straightening his back to its absolute limit, to the point where his spine ached slightly, Takeminakata slowly raised his right arm under the gaze of all the gods and monsters still remaining on this battlefield. He knew that it wasn't just these guys who had temporarily stopped fighting due to the sudden change, but also those who had been hiding in the shadows and watching him since the start of the war.

Taking a deep breath, Takemikazuchi roared with all his might, tensing every muscle.

"Izumo Province—Victory is assured!!!"

"...Victory is certain!!!"

Finally, a few voices responded to him, then spread like lightning until the entire battlefield was filled with a tidal wave of shouts, drowning out the last echoes of the Yamato Kingdom.

In 632, the Yamato Kingdom, established by the mandate of Amaterasu, will come to an end.

Satisfied, Takeminakata looked around at everything and watched as the yokai belonging to the nine-tailed fox were hunted down and cut down amidst the frenzied shouts of the Izumo army. He knew that he had fulfilled the obsession that had existed in the hearts of every Izumo god since the establishment of Yamato Kingdom hundreds of years ago—to return Ashihara no Naka de to Izumo.

He is the hero of Izumo, he is the god of war of Izumo!

Yes, God of War!

Takemikado's eyes lit up.

"I am—the War God of Izumo! Takeminakata!!!" With a roar that shook the earth, Takeminakata strode forward, grabbed a monster with his only remaining right arm, slammed it to the ground, and then stomped on it, completely annihilating its life force.

"God of War! God of War! God of War!"

The echoes of response from the battlefield made Takemikaze narrow his eyes with great satisfaction.

"...The Yamato Kingdom is finished," sighed a demonic figure watching the battlefield from afar.

“Another era has begun, haha, is this the benefit of living a long life?” a similarly aged voice answered the previous one.

"Is it good?"

"Maybe... After all, nobody knows what the situation will be like in Takamagahara..."

"……that's true."

This brief conversation ended there. As the words fell, the old monsters who had been watching for several days also left the battlefield. After all, with Tamamo-no-Mae's sudden death, the deaths of the remaining monsters on the battlefield who were willing to fight to the death for Yamato, or rather, willing to fight to the death for Tamamo-no-Mae, were already a foregone conclusion.

The war has ended.

The continuation of the Yamato Kingdom thus came to an end.

Everyone is uncertain about what the future holds, except for the gods and monsters who have just won their victory; their hearts are filled with joy.

There's no need to clean up the battlefield. This battlefield, which has buried countless monsters' flesh and bones, will gradually be digested by the world itself over a long period of time. Whether new monsters are born or ordinary wild beasts and flowers are born, it's all just part of the cycle of this world.

Tate Minakata ran his fingers over the soil where Tamamo-no-Mae's golden blood had dripped, and he stood up in disappointment. The blood, which contained the power of the sun, was contaminated the moment it fell to the ground. Rather than bringing new power, it turned into new poison, and poison... will never be lacking.

"Let's go, target: Yamato!" No longer dwelling on this trivial matter, Takemikazuchi turned around and announced, eliciting cheers.

It's time to enjoy the fruits of victory.

The benefit of going through a life-or-death battle together is that the barriers between gods and demons in the Izumo army have been greatly reduced. At least they are not as clearly divided as when they first set out. For the entire Izumo Kingdom, they now have only one identity—heroes.

Everyone, including Takeminakata himself, was on their way to Yamato, fantasizing about the rewards they would receive upon their return, until Takeminakata suddenly received a message from the gods ahead.

"An acquaintance? My person?"

He asked three questions in surprise, having no idea what the connection was between these three things. Was it a person or an acquaintance? He couldn't recall any human being he knew well.

However, he no longer needed to rack his brains to figure it out on his own, because the person who claimed to be familiar with him had already come to him without needing anyone's guidance.

His beautiful hair, though appearing white, possessed a golden sheen. Even a scar running from top to bottom over his right eye couldn't conceal his exquisite features. He exuded an indescribable aura that Takemikazuchi couldn't accurately describe. The only certainty was that this was no ordinary person... or perhaps a demon? A god?

He really didn't know this guy, so why did he call himself a person?

"Hello, my name is Suer."

The platinum-blonde-haired man smiled kindly.

"I'm here to kill you."

These were the last words Takemikazuchi heard. All that remained in his eyes were two intersecting golden arcs of light hurtling towards him, just like the one the fox had slashed.

Jianyu Mingfang died.

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Stance

The newly appointed Izumo War God perished in front of this army on an unnamed mountain path. Without any resistance or struggle, he fell to the ground and became a corpse in the blink of an eye. Many gods and monsters even thought he was joking and playing a trick on everyone.

No one believed that this powerful god would die so helplessly.

It wasn't until several seconds after the mysterious platinum-blonde-haired man vanished into thin air that someone finally realized something was wrong. The two arcs of light dissipated into the air after passing through Takeminakata, without causing any collateral damage. Even the scattered wounds and broken surfaces were charred due to the instantaneous high temperature. There was no smell of blood, only a faint smell of burning and the aroma of meat, making everything seem even more dramatic.

Finally, one of the gods that Takeminakata was usually close to tentatively called out a few times, but received no response, so he let out a fearful cry. They finally realized what was happening here, and the entire army was thrown into chaos. But this was none of the concern of Sur, who had already left.

"Do you derive pleasure from inflicting catastrophic punishments upon them, watching them flee in terror, or desperately try to survive by revealing their most shameful side?"

Suer, who had just returned, saw a certain banshee kneeling on the bamboo corridor, asking questions in the most respectful tone. Although he knew she probably didn't mean it that way, he felt that Yakumo Yukari's words were full of sarcasm.

"...I just feel that if I let that kind of guy live, I'll feel uncomfortable just thinking about it later. There's no need to make such a big deal out of it, right?" Sul walked past Yakumo Yukari to the door of the bamboo house, speechless. He found that the house servant who had returned had already happily opened the door and then jumped onto his shoulder. "Come in first."

“Respect is no substitute for obedience,” Yakumo Yukari said without any hint of humility, following Su Er into the bamboo house.

"Tell me about it? What happened? Ah, thank you," Sul asked directly, too lazy to probe in subtle terms, about the reason for Yakumo Yukari's sudden change of attitude. He then thanked the servant girl who brought him the tea.

"It's just that I've developed a slight longing for the world as you see it."

"speak English."

"I want to know what your purpose is."

"There's no choice but to go through all that trouble," Yukari Yakumo said frankly.

"Purpose?" Suer repeated, somewhat puzzled. "I don't have any purpose. It's all just to make myself happy."

"Ah~, that's fine. But this is the only answer I'm most afraid of hearing." Having already guessed what Sue might say, Yukari Yakumo sighed without any surprise. "You must have some awareness of the power you possess, right?"

“Very strong, at least so far we haven’t found any particularly difficult enemies,” Sull nodded and answered without any modesty.

“Yes, even those old monsters who are particularly troublesome in my eyes probably wouldn’t be able to run away in front of you. Your strength is beyond doubt.” Yakumo Yukari sighed more and more heavily, not sparing her praise. “That’s precisely why your every move is so easy for a little monster like me to figure out. After all, no monster wants to die without knowing why, just because some more powerful monster turned over in its sleep… Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“She’s looking down on your intelligence,” Xin Ke said, stroking her chin as she floated out from Su Er’s body.

"Then she's finished," he said without hesitation, judging the blonde banshee. Of course, this was just a joke; Sue already understood what Yakumo Yukari meant.

This ambitious banshee simply wanted to figure out his and Xin Ke's positions in order to prevent herself from unknowingly running into Su Er's bottom line and dying. Su Er, with his immense power, was someone she had to care about and win over... Even if she couldn't win him over, she had to ensure that their goals wouldn't conflict.

So what is his stance? And what exactly does he want to achieve?

Suer suddenly fell silent.

He had never seriously considered this question before, so much so that even he couldn't give an answer immediately.

No longer needing to shoulder the fate of tens of thousands of people in the entire settlement, no longer needing to struggle for survival, and no longer needing to live cautiously under the feet of others, fearing being trampled to death by the feet of giants, although Xin Ke did not have any aversion to this kind of life, Su Er himself knew that he was like a kite with a broken string, having lost the rope that bound him.

It's not so bad, at least Suer doesn't feel lost or feel the need to set a lofty goal for himself in order to survive.

For him and Xinke, this world was more like a place to relax and take a vacation after a fierce battle that had exhausted them. It was like opening a travelogue that they had not yet read, and every new and interesting thing they saw made them feel very interested.

Well, it might not be that interesting. At least based on what Suer is experiencing now, there are more things that make him feel disgusted and uncomfortable. This primitive era is simply a moral vacuum, and Suer has been restraining himself from getting involved, whether it is this world full of demons or those... humans.

Even Suer himself couldn't admit that he was a human being of his own kind, not even in terms of willpower alone.

Unable to convince himself to fight for these animals that are more like monkeys than humans, Sull couldn't muster any empathy. Moreover, he was incredibly pragmatic, just like when he faced Riku. If he couldn't get enough in return, even Riku couldn't persuade him to do anything, and he was even persuaded by him instead.

He was indeed looking forward to it, but what he was looking forward to was this world tens of thousands of years from now.

Mythology—Sull suddenly realized this. From the very beginning, when he learned that a god named Amaterasu existed in this world, he knew that this was the era of mythology.

Given this, could he perhaps try to leave his mark on such an era?

From now to the future, from ancient times to the present, and then one afternoon countless years later, flipping through children's textbooks to see how they describe the era he lives in now... or the history that has passed through his hands.

Once this thought appeared, it could no longer be suppressed. Suer even showed an excited and expectant smile. After all, isn't shaping history exactly what humans excel at?

Gods can do it, monsters can do it, so naturally I can too.

Chapter Fifty-Eight: The Future of Humanity

After giving Yakumo Yukari a meaningful smile, he chased the blonde banshee out of the bamboo house. Suer was certain that he had left her ample room for imagination, enough to keep the blonde banshee from getting a good night's sleep for a while.

Just as when he had found a way to bring down those arrogant races, Suer was full of energy. The sense of accomplishment from personally participating in history and watching the world become more complex was truly something to aspire to.

After such a thought arose, he was already somewhat impatient, but unfortunately time would not speed things up for him. That future filled with skyscrapers would have to wait until those beings who, like Suer, were called humans, evolved further, both physically and mentally—in this world filled with gods and monsters?

"What? You changed your mind?" Xin Ke raised an eyebrow and asked when she saw Su Er, who had been walking around the room with his hands behind his back and an excited expression, suddenly stop.

It wasn't just the sudden loss of his smile, but also the sense of confusion and unease that came from the bottom of his heart. What was this guy thinking about this time?

Unable to directly perceive Suer's thoughts, Xin Ke could only sense the emotions of this man with whom she shared a spiritual connection. She relied more on her understanding of Suer, gained through long-term interaction, to discern his intentions, but even she couldn't predict the sudden thoughts that might arise in this man's mind.