Tokyo: Starting with the Shrine Maiden

Aya Aizawa and Haruhiko appeared deep inside the hall below.

On the high platform, a scepter is quietly planted in the ground.

The scepter is over a meter long and has a bluish-green color, which gleams faintly in the water.

Its top is a circle, but not a simple ring.

Instead, two mermaids are joined head to tail, serving together the central gem-shaped cavity.

Aya Aizawa stepped forward, reached out, and grabbed the scepter.

Just then, the scepter trembled slightly, and an invisible wave swept towards her.

She quickly withdrew her hand and drew her sword to block.

A clear voice sounded.

Then came a tremendous force that forced her to slide backward.

Aya Aizawa frowned, remembering what the merman had said before: only pure mermen could use it.

It's probably not just that; even if it's not used, no one else can get close to it.

"Haruhiko, you give it a try."

Aya Aizawa turned to look at Haruhiko.

The Autumn Water Inheritance is a spell used by the merfolk.

The fact that Haruhiko was able to learn it shows that he is exceptional.

Let him try it; it might work.

Haruhiko nodded upon hearing this, his eyes showing eagerness.

As a player, there are no racial restrictions.

He stepped forward, grasped the Three Goddess Scepters, and then a surge of information flooded in.

Five thousand words.

Chapter 145 Family Meeting

A game notification sounded.

A panel that only he could see appeared before Haruhiko's eyes.

【Name: The Scepter of the Three Goddesses】

[Status: Incomplete.]

[Rank: Fifth Rank]

[Skills: Queen of the Isohime, Raging Waves, Goddess's Protection.]

[Note: The Tide Gem, a treasure of the Merfolk, is currently equivalent to a Tier 3 spiritual artifact due to the lack of its core.]

[King of the Isokhime: Third Tier, consumes 1000 points of spiritual energy to transform into the King of the Isokhime, possessing absolute dominion over the merfolk.]

[Raging Waves: Tier 3, consumes 1000 points of spiritual energy to summon a small tsunami, advancing to Tier 4 in the sea.]

[Goddess's Protection: Third Tier. Consumes 1000 points of spiritual energy to gain the protection of the three ocean goddesses. Summons the goddesses' shields in front of you and advances to the fourth tier in the sea.]

It's worth mentioning these three skills, as they are inherent to the Three Goddess Scepters and are instant-cast spells that require no chanting.

Haruhiko subconsciously looked at the top of the Three Goddess Scepters.

There is a hollow there.

I initially thought it was a design flaw, but it turns out a gemstone was genuinely missing.

Is it on the mermaid princess?

Haruhiko suddenly thought of Chiyome.

Could the artifact she's referring to be this Tide Gem?

"You really were able to pick it up."

Aya Aizawa's face lit up with surprise, but she quickly composed herself and said, "Let's get out of here quickly."

"Ah."

Haruhiko responded and, holding the Three Goddess Scepters, followed Aya Aizawa away.

The commotion caused by his previous explosive talisman was so great that a third of the underground hall had collapsed.

Fortunately, it was nothing to Aizawa Aya, who was at the fourth level.

There was a bang.

She smashed open a new passage.

The two people successfully reached the ground.

Meanwhile, buildings not far away collapsed all at once, taking several seconds to fill the underground hall.

"This will be a real problem if we try to salvage it."

Seeing this, Ayaka Aizawa twitched the corners of her mouth, her tone somewhat troubled.

Haruhiko was about to speak when he was interrupted.

It was Takeda Gen's scream.

"He has lost the Three Goddess Scepters and has no source of psychic energy. He is probably already on the verge of collapse."

Aya Aizawa patted Haruhiko on the shoulder and said, "Let's go take a look."

Takeda Gen was already at his last gasp.

She was more interested in knowing if he had anything of value.

He was a great figure from a thousand years ago, after all.

Haruhiko nodded and walked towards the center of the battlefield.

As they drew closer, the noise diminished.

He looked up and saw that Takeda Gen was in a much more miserable state than before.

The samurai armor he wore was tattered and had lost its protective function.

The skin, which was originally covered with scales, had now lost most of its scales, revealing charred flesh and blood.

"Who are you?!"

For the first time, Gen Takeda's dark eyes left Chiyome and landed on Haruhiko's face.

His tone was full of disbelief.

He was only able to use the Three Goddess Scepters because of the order he had forced the Mermaid Queen to give him.

Even so, it can only be indirectly controlled using magic arrays.

To say it was driven by something is not quite accurate.

In his hands, the Three Goddess Scepters were merely a source of spiritual energy.

Its own functions are unusable.

Why was Haruhiko able to pick it up?

Chiyo and Aizawa Kaoru had only slightly less doubt than he did.

Is he really human?

"asshole!"

Before Haruhiko could answer, Gen Takeda unleashed all his spiritual energy.

In an instant, the ruins turned gloomy.

His body began to tremble violently.

"Self-destruction?"

Aizawa Kaoru's expression changed drastically, and he immediately swung his long sword.

In front of her, spiritual energy was compressed at high speed, and several sword energies were released in an instant, spinning towards Takeda Gen.

The next second, the blade energy was enveloped by the black airflow, and a fierce collision ensued between the two.

Chiyo's reaction was quick as well.

She clasped her hands together loosely.

Psychic energy surged in her palm.

After a brief pause, it transformed into a long sword and flew straight out.

It appears ordinary, but everything in its path is annihilated.

The black airflow retreated rapidly.