Coreal
patreon
[Crossover] Ch 167: A New Empire
🕑 Added 2025-07-27 17:17:20 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
Inside a room veined with black markings and pulsing with a strange magical energy, Ryo Yagami stood with Aya Tokoyogi in the center. Aya wore a ruffled bathrobe that gave her a fashionable look. The two of them were busy recording various data.
"So all this time… it's basically a world-rewriting spell?"
If the world were a computer, then the Black Bible was like a chunk of executable code.
Its ability to nullify magic? At its core, it was simply installing a kind of 'no-magic' plugin into the world's system—almost like a cheat engine.
Of course, powerful as it was, the Black Bible still had its limits. As far as they could tell.
"And it can't change the caster either? I see... This spell must've evolved from The Cleansing, right?"
Aya glanced up from the inscription she was studying, pausing as she looked at Ryo's excited face. After a beat, she spoke quietly.
"Most grimoires in this world were created by ancient humans. They were tools designed specifically to counter divine beings—used by humans, beastmen, and other 'lower races' to resist the devas."
"And the Black Bible was one such artifact, built based on the principles of The Cleansing."
Ryo sighed with a trace of regret. "It's a shame."
Different worlds ran on different systems. The logic that governed this world might not work in Little Garden. The underlying code that formed each reality simply wasn't compatible.
And even if it were, rewriting a massive system like Little Garden would require a completely absurd amount of power.
Maybe at least a triple-digit being? But if someone had that level of power already, they could rewrite reality on their own.
Triple-digits were called 'Omnipotent Beings' for a reason—and not as a joke.
"Which means… we'll have to go micro with it. Instead of rewriting the whole world, we could embed the rewrite mechanism directly into the body—into their atoms—and suppress their magic on a personal level. Kind of like erasing perception or cutting off magic flow. It'd save a ton of power…"
He paused, then suddenly made a face.
"Wait a second... Isn't that basically Virgo Shaka's Tenbu Hōrin?"
Shaka's most powerful move. A move that traps the opponent into a matrix of illusions and destroys him through five stages. Each stage obliterates one of the opponent's five human senses cumulatively. And then their sixth, seventh, and eighth, cutting off their entire cosmos, reducing Shaka's victims to living corpses.
Following that logic…
---
Aya, meanwhile, had no clue what he was talking about. Virgo Shaka? Tenbu… what? She stared at Ryo, completely baffled.
But Ryo didn't seem the least bit interested in explaining himself. And Aya didn't particularly care to ask either.
Instead, she focused on memorizing every single rune and detail of the Black Bible's inscription as Ryo activated it—mentally recording all of it.
After going over it three times and confirming she had it locked in, a small, satisfied smile touched her lips.
That's when Ryo suddenly slapped his forehead, raised a finger, and without even looking—pointed it directly at Aya.
Aya blinked. Before she could respond, a burst of light flashed and disappeared.
She looked at Ryo's hand, confused.
"…What did you just do?"
Then it hit her. Her expression instantly changed.
"My magic—it's gone! How?!"
Panicked, she looked down at the floor, searching for any signs of the Black Bible being activated.
But…
"…It didn't trigger? Then how—?"
"If you embed the effect directly into someone's cells," Ryo muttered, "you can forcibly shut down their magic… but you'd have to inject it at the speed of light, cell by cell. Honestly, kind of a hassle."
Aya's elegant, composed expression completely cracked.
"You used me as your lab rat?!"
"Ah, don't take it like that. It's a misunderstanding," Ryo said, turning to her with an unapologetic grin.
"I just remembered I forgot to embed a command in your soul that prevents you from casting Black Bible on Itogami Island. That's all."
"And my magic?" she snapped, grinding her teeth.
This bastard definitely did it on purpose!
"Oops, my bad. Got it mixed up." Ryo scratched his head and raised his finger again.
The next instant, Aya's vision went completely dark.
"Oops! Sorry, sorry. Messed it up again."
His voice sounded light, even cheerful, but to Aya it was like nails on a chalkboard.
"Oh, right—that last one was the cosmos-sealing variant. But it looks like it only shut off your vision this time."
He sighed to himself.
"Guess if you want to seal a specific power, you really have to understand how that power forms in the first place…"
A moment later, Aya's magic and vision returned.
Ryo stepped forward and clasped her hands in both of his, grinning brightly.
"Thanks for your help, Aya. It's really a blessing having someone like you around."
Aya stared at him, deadpan, as he held her hands like they were lifelong friends.
"…Natsuki really does have the worst taste in men."
The implication: Only someone with utterly broken judgment would choose this guy.
"Wait—why are you suddenly dragging Natsuki into this?"
Ryo looked genuinely confused, then guessed, "Ah… is this because I stopped you from using magic earlier?"
"I mean, that was just a mistake, don't you think?"
Aya scoffed coldly. "Cut the act. If you want to experiment on someone, just say so."
"Oh ho~" Ryo let go of her hands, wearing a devilish grin.
"Well, in that case—I won't hold back anymore."
The last thing Aya saw was golden light flaring at Ryo's fingertip.
It sparkled like sunlight—but to her, it felt like the deepest abyss, a suffocating blackness that threatened to swallow her whole.
"—Tenbu Hōrin!"
— — —
Outside the Keystone Gate.
A young man in a long coat and black-rimmed glasses—Meiga Itogami—stood before the massive doors, gazing up at the looming structure with a long sigh.
"The descendant of Itogami Island's founders, offering the island to someone else… What a twisted sense of humor my boss has."
He turned his head slightly to look behind him.
A high school girl stood there with braided hair, round glasses, and a thick reference book tucked under one arm. In her other hand was a long, unusual spear.
She calmly pushed up her glasses and said, "For the upcoming takeover of Itogami Island, I'll be serving as your assistant."
"…It's you. Never thought you'd end up one of the Three Saints."
Meiga gave a nostalgic yet bitter smile.
"I was thrown in the prison barrier for killing Lion King agents, and now I'm working with the Lion King Organization? What a joke."
The girl—Koyomi Shizuka—said nothing. She simply tossed the spear to him.
Meiga caught it effortlessly, then ran a hand along the barrel with a smirk.
"Demon-Purging Twin Spear Type Zero: Hell Wolf. You sure you want to give me this?"
"You made it in the first place," she replied evenly. "And without it, your combat potential is… subpar."
Meiga let out a sharp laugh.
"So even your enemies are just pawns now, huh? That guy really has you all thoroughly tamed."
"The Fourth Primogenitor, Ryo Yagami, is… a very special case," Koyomi said with calm certainty.
"Hah." Meiga snorted.
Then Koyomi added quietly, "With his power… maybe he could even pull someone back from Heaven. Someone who ascended after becoming an Angel."
Meiga froze.
That memory—of the woman he loved, the one whose Schneewalzer backfired and turned her into an angel faux before she vanished—hit him like a punch to the gut.
"…What does Ryo want?"
"For now?" Koyomi answered, "He wants Itogami Island—as the core of his Empire."
"…And you are planning to help him for no reason?" Meiga asked with a smirk.
Koyomi didn't respond.
"Whatever!"
Meiga's eyes glinted like a hungry wolf's as he growled. "Schedule the press conference. I'll take care of the obstacles tonight."
Koyomi pushed up her glasses and nodded silently.
---
The next day, news of Itogami Island's declaration of independence spread across the globe.
.
.
.
