Afterward Report on the New Geopolitical Situation and Impending Conflict between Campiones and its effect on the World.
Report Written By: Sir Paolo Blandelli, the Diavolo Rosso, Grandmaster of the Knight Order of the Copper-Black Cross and Patriarch of the Blandelli Family
Report is being sent to the: Seven Sisters, Witenagemot, Royal Arsenal, Prague Association...
The new age was marked by the birth of the two successors, who were born only a few months apart. First was His Majesty, Ten'nō no Onmyōji Tsuchimikado Yakou, in the event known as the "Washington Incident", and then it was another Japanese by the name of Kusanagi Godou who slew the Persian Heretic God Verethragna, the God of War, during the "Sardinian Incident".
Rarely are more than one Campiones born in such a short succession. If coupled with King of Swords, Lord Salvatore Doni, John Pluto Smith, and Black Prince Alec, five Campiones were born in the past sixty years, which is an alarming number.
First, allow me to say something about my own impression of Kusanagi Godou. Compared to his fellow Japanese Campione, His Majesty Tsuchimikado Yakou... Kusanagi Godou was not aware of the Supernatural Side of the World when he became Campione, and to my knowledge, he doesn't want to have anything to do with the Supernatural World.
As far as I am aware, once he had returned to Japan, the History Compilation Committee managed to successfully obtain his patronage, most probably through the means of subterfuge and subtle manipulation.
Which is rather daring in my personal opinion, but apparently, the lack of experience or knowledge of the Supernatural has yielded benefits for the History Compilation Committee. To my personal knowledge, the representatives of the History Compilation Committee didn't inform His Majesty Kusnagi about the ongoing hostility between their Magic Association and that of His Majesty Tsuchimikado Yakou.
We could safely conclude that the latest Campione of Japan is gullible and rather naive. Despite his newfound status as Campione, he is still adhering to conventional societal norms like going to school, studying, or attending club activities. It has been noted that he doesn't want to have anything to do with Magic or the Supernatural World generally.
Our analysts have concluded that the chances of the Japanese Campione participating in the Supernatural World are extremely low until pushed, and even then, it's almost guaranteed that he would still adhere to the societal norms of the non-magical.s
Even though the History Compilation Committee managed to obtain the patronage of Campione, it is unknown how the newest Campione would react to the assault of Ten'nō no Onmyōji Tsuchimikado Yakou.
Still, with the emergence of Kusanagi Godou and his patronage of the History Compilation Committee, he managed to save the Japanese Magic Association from a certain extinction, as the actions of Ten'nō no Onmyōji, who killed the messenger of the History Compilation Committee, told more than enough about his stance on their Magic Association.
Right now, the current geopolitical situation is very fragile due to the expansionist policies of the USA that are being sabotaged by the Illuminati Society. President Jacob Grey started the process of annexing Canada as the 51st State of the Union, and General Keira Klark of the Magic Corps Regiment started a campaign against the Cartels, Dark Guilds, and Oración Seis.
The conflict between the USA and Mexico is on the verge of war, but it seems that the USA and Illuminati Society managed to exploit the overhelming corruption and non-existent authority of the Mexican Government, which is controlled by cartels, to stay out of the conflict as long as possible.
Still, the operation of the US Military and CIA in the territory of Mexico is increasing at a fast pace, and their hits on the cartels are becoming more and more evident, often dragging into the fight governmental forces that are on the payroll of cartels.
In the summary, even though we European Magic Associations are detached from the happenings in the ordinary human world, it seems that we won't be able to maintain this separation for a long time.
The efforts of several people to pit John Pluto Smith and Tsuchimikado Yakou against each other have failed as John Pluto Smith isn't interested in politics even a bit. With the active participation of Campione in matters of the Magic Association, something that wasn't seen in many centuries, has bolstered the influence and power of the Illuminati Society and the United States of America several-fold.
I predict that within one year, the entire Canada would be annexed by the USA as a new State and their Magic Association subjugated and assimilated by the Illuminati Society. We can then expect the United States to turn its sights on Mexico and the Caribbean as the next areas of expansion.
On the side of the mundane, these moves would certainly result in the dissolution of NATO, because President Grey has shown a desire to annex Greenland for the USA, and Campione, backing them, wants to annex Iceland.
Within the next several years, we can anticipate times of turmoil and war. Not only in Europe, but also in the Balkans, as Marquise Voban has already started making moves and sent his minions across the Balkans and Russia. We have also noted down the fact that the Chinese Government has constructed the Holy Cult of Luo Hao.
Summary of the report of the "Report on the New Geopolitical Situation and Impending Conflict between Campiones and its effect on the World" written by Sir Paolo Blandelli, the Diavolo Rosso, Grandmaster of the Knight Order of the Copper-Black Cross and Patriarch of the Blandelli Family
***
Temple of the Feathered Serpent, Teotihuacan, Mexico
The Temple of the Feathered Serpent is the third-largest pyramid at Teotihuacan, a pre-Columbian site in central Mexico. This pre-Columbian city rose around the first or second century BCE, and its occupation prolonged through to the 600s or 700s.
The intelligence of the Illuminati Society and the CIA said that the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, also known as the Tomb of the Feathered Serpent in Teotihuacan, served as one of the primary headquarters for the Oración Seis.
Not only them, but there were also a few other Dark Mage Guilds under their command, as well as several cartels that were under the control of the Dark Mage Guilds. For the past month, the tensions between the United States of America and Mexico have been growing at a staggering pace.
Right now, there are already several thousand troops operating on the border between the USA and Mexico, with more and more elite forces being deployed to combat the cartels that were transporting a staggering amount of drugs to the USA.
What was worse for the cartels and also the entire drug business in the USA, the Illuminati Society started sending Mages to hunt for the non-magical criminals, which was considered a bit of taboo.
Normally, this was something that only the Magic Associations that were backed by powerful Campiones or Campiones that really, really supported the said Magic Association could afford to do.
And yet, the Knights of the Round Table agreed on that unanimously, and with the decree, right now, the Mages of the Society were helping the local law enforcement forces in quelling down the gangs, criminal organizations, drug dealers, and other low elements of the city with extreme brutality.
Obviously, this created a lot of unrest within America, but seeing that there was little to no political criticism from Congress, and the National Guard was swiftly deployed, most of the protests died down very quickly.
It was clear that President Grey wouldn't let anyone to threaten his legacy. Not to mention the political shitshow, because aside from a few isolationist fanatics on the right and some liberal extremists on the left, there was no criticism.
Something that was bugging a lot of people.
Yakou often chucked at that, because it seemed that the charm of Campione was already working at 100%. It was something that he noticed, that either he created more fear or reverence in people, just from his status as Campione alone.
The Campione in question then turned his sight to the area of the Temple of the Feathered Serpent as he imagined how many problems this was going to cause for the USA Government at a later date.
Right now, the entire area of the Temple of the Feathered Serpent was turned into a battlefield between the Magic Corps Regiment of the United States Army and the Oración Seis and its affiliated parties.
"It seemed that the situation had turned a bit out of hand."
The Temple of the Feathered Serpent was one of the most iconic and sacred places in Mexico... and right now, most of it was destroyed in the battle between the Mexican Corps Regiment of the US Army and Oración Seis.
A large part of the cultural site was already destroyed by the battle, but at least, the forces of the Oración Seis were being exterminated by the US Army. Yakou was maintaining a huge Bounded Field around the entire area and preventing anyone from escaping.
The goal of General Clark was to exterminate the entirety of the Oración Seis and their followers. However, their presence within the Temple of the Feathered Serpent was maximally suspicious, because this place was said to be the burial ground of Quetzalcōātl, the Feathered Serpent.
A Heretic God.
"That's not our problem... In the end, Oración Seis and its Dark Guilds are the sole Magic Associations and organizations in the entire Central and South America, and they are supporting most of the governments down there. Still, the situation with Mexico is special due to its proximity to the US and other reasons... in the end, especially with the Grey's Sentinel Militarization Act in Congress, some meager Mexico won't be any problem for the US. And they, too, know that we have Campione on our side, so unless they want to get wiped off the map, they would remain silent."
Eve Rockefeller, who was standing next to Yakou in their command tent, said as she knew that they were just speeding up the inevitable. She knew that from the moment Grey became President of the United States, he would be doing some really questionable things.
But after the Illuminati obtained Campione?
From a certain point of view, everything went to shit.
One could say that this prompted the warhawks in the Government to behave unhinged, especially when they realized that Campione was actually sharing their view on many things and was actively supporting them.
Even right now, there was massive political infighting in both Democratic and Republican parties, though... it was also evident that some politicians who disagreed with how things were progressing and had something in their brains either remained silent or just resigned.
Those who did not...
They were taken care of.
Slowly but steadily, the warhawks were becoming increasingly influential and popular.
Even though most of the media in the USA won't admit it outright, the destruction of many gangs and other criminal organizations in the US initiated by President Grey had a tremendous approval rate, of more than 80% of US citizens.
"Whatever... tell Keira that I am going to join the fight and kill their leader. I want to wrap this entire mess already... It's hot here and the sun is very strong."
Even though the weather wasn't really a concern to him with his physical capabilities, even before he was Campione, as that could be resolved with a bit of Magic, it was still rather uncomfortable to be told.
He wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible, preferably back to the library to study the Magics that the Illuminati Society managed to gather in their very extensive collection of lore across the entire world.
***
Keira Clark was one of the Grand Knights of the Illuminati Society and also someone who created the Magic Corps Regiment, or the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps of the US Military, single-handedly.
It was a pain in the ass to build from scratch, and for many, it seemed like a total mission impossible. She achieved something that many thought was impossible to achieve.
Put together 5,000 men and women with aptitude for Magic and cultivate all of them to the E-Rank, costing the US tens of billions of dollars, and this wasn't even counting the resources that the Illuminati itself were investing in the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps.
Seeing the effect of the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps was something that filled Keira Clark with pride, as they were crushing the opposition in the form of the Dark Mage Guild Alliance and Mexican Cartels that were congregating here.
The hardest thing was the complete overhaul of the training, as the primary focus wasn't on shooting and using guns, but on the cold weapons, because they were far more usable for the Magic Usage.
Most of the Mages and Knights could maintain a protective barrier of Magic around their bodies, which is more than enough to stop the gunfire from the guns. One would need heavy firepower to kill the Mage or Knight in one go.
But things didn't work that way.
The moment the barrier stopped the bullet, the Mage would already activate his combat and defensive spells and be in full combat mode, which would make it almost nigh impossible for normal humans to kill trained Mages and Knights.
There were only two solid options.
Deception and overhelming firepower.
Yakou appeared on the battlefield, as he ignored most of the fighting and went to the place where the leaders of the Oración Seis were located. As he strode through the battlefield, he occasionally unleashed some spells that targeted the Dark Mages of the Oración Seis.
The might of the Campione was something that no mortal could resist.
"Imperial-Style Onmyōdo: Flame Judgement!"
Imperial-Style Onmyōdo was something that was originally created by the Tsuchimikado Clan during World War II, Tsuchimikado Yakou the First gathered various styles of the Onmyōdo and merged them together to create the Imperial-Style Onmyōdo..
In the split of a moment, overwhelming Magical Power descended on the battlefield and created several huge swords above the battlefield that, in the split second, descended onto the places where there was the biggest congregation of the Oración Seis's members.
In particular, large swaths of the area exploded into a violent inferno as everyone perished in the strike, with Yakou killing more than a hundred members of Oración Seis and also disposing of several Great Knights and Great Mages of the Oración Seis and their affiliated Dark Guilds.
Seeing this, Keira Clark, as the General of the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps, ordered to advance onto the forces of Oración Seis swiftly, that were right now in complete disarray, because everyone now realized that they were being attacked by Campione.
She knew that once Yakou joined the battlefield, not only would their fight be instantly won, but at the same time, they would be able to mitigate the losses and lower the casualties to a minimum, which was something that would be greatly welcomed by the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps.
Every single soldier in the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps was priceless to the United States, because even fighting these five thousand soldiers that were part of the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps was something that was done with all the power that the United States could exert.
As the General in command of the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps, Keira Clark's strength was exceptional even among the Grand Knights of the different Magic Associations and Knight Orders.
Not to mention, she was a total battle maniac who was obsessed with fighting and training, so she was constantly doing something to get stronger. She was also pretty dangerous in combat because, in terms of combat prowess, she was one of the strongest members of their Magic Association.
Unfortunately for the Illuminati Society, the number of Grand Knights and Magisters of Magic could be counted on one hand.
Currently, the entire Magic Association consists of only two Grand Knights and one Magister of Magic, along with one pseudo Magic Saint, Thomas Andrew.
Namely: Jacob Grey and Keira Clark.
Aside from them, they had one Magister of Magic in the form of Johan Georg Faus.
Even though this number may seem a lot to some, in reality, it was a pretty low number compared to the old Magic Associations across the world or millennia-old Knight Orders that withstood the passage of time.
In the end, the Illuminati Society was something only around 250 years old, so it was understandable that it wouldn't have such a deep foundation to cultivate top-notch powerhouses easily.
Meanwhile, Keira Clark rallied the troops to push against the forces of Oración Seis. Yakou entered the main Temple of the Feathrered Serpent, or how it was also called, the Tomb of the Feathered Serpent.
The name Tomb wasn't random.
The Tomb was what it was.
Tomb.
The Tomb was like a dungeon from the fantasy novels. They were magical places that were steeped in Magic, and many were materialized from the mythos and legends that appeared in the world.
As Yakou entered the central chamber of the Tomb of the Feathered Serpent, ignoring the traps and everything that was attempting to kill him, he suddenly encountered an enormous wave of Magic Power that was on a similar level to his own.
Hidden deep within the underground areas of the Tomb of the Feathered Serpent, beneath the roots of obsidian-crowned temples, lay an ancient underground ritual chamber, carved directly into volcanic stone and lit only by the flicker of sacred flame.
The air was heavy with incense, burning copal, and the lingering scent of iron-rich blood, because the blood of the deceased Mages and other goons of the Oración Seis was being redirected here by some Spell.
Yakou instinctively knew what was happening here.
Heretic God Summoning Ritual.
The Heretic Gods could descend from their Myths in two ways.
One was in a more natural way, where they would just break through their confidence in their myths and descend on their own. The second was to conduct a specific ritual that would summon the Heretic Gods down to earth.
Something that many Campiones were doing, because it was much easier than waiting for the Heretic Gods to descend on their own. And in this way, they could also control to a great degree which Heretic God would descend.
Which was another added value.
The chamber's walls were adorned with intricate glyphs and depictions of Gods with serpentine eyes and jaguar fangs... beings of creation and destruction, time and sacrifice.
At the chamber's heart stands the Divine Altar, an immense black basalt structure shaped like a stepped pyramid in miniature, echoing the grand ziggurats above.
Its surface is slick with blood, flowing through finely carved channels that spiral downward like a labyrinth. These grooves pulse faintly with a dull red light, as if alive, absorbing the sacred essence of every offering made upon it.
Skulls lined its base, each inlaid with jade and gold, their empty sockets watching eternally.
Above the altar floated a stone disc suspended by unseen force, etched with the calendar of stars and bound by ancient glyphs of soul-binding. With every ritual, the altar draws not only the blood of the sacrificed but also their souls, funneling them through ethereal veins etched into the stone and feeding them to the hungry God.
The spirits scream in silence, their essence woven into the chamber's atmosphere, empowering the high priests who conduct the rites.
All around, niches in the walls house statues of forgotten deities... Serpent Gods coiled around the sun, skeletal lords holding obsidian blades, and sky demons feasting on hearts.
Their eyes gleam in the firelight, as if awake and watching, ever hungry for more.
When Yakou looked at the Divine Altar, in front of the Divine Altar, there was a man standing.
The man had neat, slicked-back silver hair that reached his shoulders, dark eyes, and dark skin. He had unique markings on his face that take the shape of straight black lines, which functioned like some ritualistic tattoos, but Yakou could also feel some kind of Magic from them.
He was slightly taller and more muscular than most people. He wore navy blue baggy pants with grey fur coiling around them and black boots that reached up to his knees. He was also shirtless while wearing a white coat with a black furry collar and holding a stave with a skull on the top of it.
Yakou knew that it was the leader of the Oración Seis who was simply called Zero.
Real name unknown.
Very powerful Magister of Magic, probably one of the few that was already reaching very close to the realm of the Magic Saints.
The very own limit of humanity without outside help.
It was rather admirable, and some time ago, it would have been a realm of power where Yakou could only look up to. But in front of the Campione, this power was nothing as Yakou appeared in a flash in front of Zero and with one kick, he sent the man crashing into the wall as, leaving him half-dead.
The disparity in the physical capabilities between Campiones and mortals was tremendous, but it seemed that it was already late, as the Heretic God Summoning Ritual was already being activated.
The descent of the Heretic God has already started, and judging by the place where they were right now, it was clear which Heretic God was being summoned to the Tomb of the Feathered Serpent.
Quetzalcōātl.
Quetzalcōātl, the Feathered Serpent, was a deity in Aztec culture and literature.
Among the Aztecs, he was related to wind, Venus, the Sun, merchants, arts, crafts, knowledge, and learning. He was also the patron god of the Aztec priesthood. He was one of several important Gods in the Aztec Pantheon, along with the Gods Tlaloc, Tezcatlipoca, and Huitzilopochtli.
'Dammit... If I had to guess, this was all along Zero's plan. Gather as many Mages and Knights as possible in one place, let them kill themselves, and then use Sacrificial Ritual to refine their Blood, Magic, and Souls into the fuel that was used to activate and maintain the Heretic God Summoning Formation and summon the Quetzalcōātl... just the reason is missing...'
Yakou realized what the most apparent goal of the Oración Seis was, but he still didn't understand the reason. Why exactly they were doing this, because he was sure that they had something to gain.
As he looked at the Zero, the leader of the Oración Seis, who was right now in the process of dying, due to the internal injuries that he had suffered from Yakou's kick, it was clear that getting anything out of him would be useless.
Yakou suspected that the Oración Seis wanted to obtain the power of the Heretic God for their own purposes. Most probably, they would pledge their allegiance to the Heretic God or obtain some deal from the Heretic God.
Not like it was the brightest idea around as the Heretic Gods were not the most trustworthy beings around.
But it seemed that the Oración Seis wanted to do something that only Heretic God would allow them to do, or they wanted to obtain backing on the same level as the Illuminati Society, fearing that they would be their target now that the USA obtained backing of Campione.
Active backing of Campione is needed to add on top of that.
Yakou didn't waste any time as he sent a telepathic message to Keira Clark and Eve Rockefeller, telling them what was happening in the Tomb of the Feathered Serpent... especially the news that the leader of the Oración Seis had already activated the Heretic God Summoning Formation here.
Just as he finished telling them that they needed to retreat, an enormous amount of Magic Power burst out of the Heretic God Summoning Formation as the Heretic God was already descending, and it was more than evident what it was.
Its serpentine body coils gracefully through a mountainous landscape, covered in shimmering green scales with vivid streaks of violet running along its sides. The creature's vibrant wings resemble those of a tropical bird, adorned with an explosion of colors ranging from emerald and sapphire to fiery reds and oranges.
Its head is fierce and expressive, shaped like that of a bird of prey, with piercing purple eyes and a curved beak-like snout, from which a forked tongue flickers menacingly.
A flamboyant crest of feather-like appendages crowns its head and runs along its spine, glowing with a fiery gradient of red, orange, and purple. Its powerful wings, feathered and wide, are outstretched in mid-flight, slicing through the clouds as it soars above snow-capped peaks.
Quetzalcōātl radiated the Divine Power that was natural for the Heretic Gods, while also giving off a rather awe-inspiring function of avian elegance and draconic might.
It was a pretty weird creature.
Obviously, the Heretic God registered Yakou almost instantly the moment it descended from its mythos. The power of the Quetzalcōātl was overhelming, much higher than Yakou's in terms of the raw power, but what was problematic, at least from the initial gaze, was that he could see that the Quetzalcōātl didn't possess much sentience.
Which was pretty ironic, because Quetzalcōātl was also worshipped as the God of Wisdom, but it seemed that due to the nature of the Heretic God Summoning Ritual created by the Oración Seis, Quetzalcōātl was overwhelmed by the bloodlust and lost his sanity.
Which could be both good and bad.
Depending on the point of view.
"Well... let's get over it..."
Yakou muttered as he outstretched his right hand and started activating his Divine Authority.
"I call on thee, the Great Declaration of God, the Spear of Heaven, answer my call and destroy my enemies!"
Gungnir: The Spear of Heaven, one of the Divine Authorities that he usurped from Odin, as the golden runic spear appeared in his right hand. Intently enough, the Quetzalcōātl noticed the Spear of Heaven that Yakou was gripping and looked at the weapon with great wariness.
At the same time, Yakou's muscles tensed visibly as he prepared for the inevitable combat, as he disappeared from the view of Quetzalcōātl and appeared in front of the Feathered Serpent, holding The Spear of Heaven.
Yakou was in a rather precarious position with the Divine Authorities that he had obtained from Odin.
While the Steel Body was something that was tremenodulsly coveted by the Campiones, because it made Campione even more unkillable and resistant than it was, but Gungir didn't have some overwhelming destructive prowess.
Divine Authority of Gungnir: The Spear of Heaven was something that allowed him to summon the Spear of Heaven, which was already an incredibly powerful Divine Artifact, and use it in a fight.
At the same time, in gaming terms, he lacked something akin to ultimate ability that would allow Yakou to insta-kill an enemy. Nevertheless, the Quetzalcōātl in front of him was another ticked to the additional Divine Authority.
Compared to the Campiones that had multiple Authorities, Yakou lacked the overwhelming power that would be able to overcome the defenses of the Campiones or Heretic Gods in the split of a second.
He hacked with the Gungnir, targeting the head of the Quetzalcōātl as he aimed to kill the Heretic God as soon as possible, but it was futile. Despite the fact that the Heretic God was totally enraged, the instincts of the Heretic God were still as sharp as his own spear, so the Quetzalcōātl dodged the spear strike in the split of a second.
Which wasn't really that much surprising.
Though at the same time, it was more than annoying that the Heretic God managed to dodge the strike, and the fight had evolved into an entirely different direction. Yakou considered using some Magic against the Heretic God, but he decided that using Magic idly was useless.
Heretic Gods, like Campiones, had the Magic Resistance against any and all Mortla Realm Magic Spells of all kinds. They were two vastly different lifeforms, so it would be an entirely useless thing to do so...
But it didn't mean that everything was lost.
The only thing that he needed to achieve with his Magic was to contain the Feathery Serpent Heretic God for a few moments before he would land a lethal hit on the Heretic God and be done with it.
Though it seemed that the Quetzalcōātl wouldn't be giving him the opportunity in the near future, as the huge Feathered Serpent opened its huge mouth and shot a beam of energy toward Yakou.
The power behind the energy beam was tremendous, as it melted stone and ground alike, creating a molten inferno on the ground. Yakou knew that this must be one of the abilities of Quetzalcōātl, as this was a manifestation of its title as the God of Sun.
Or rather...
One of the Sun Deities of the Aztecs.
Yakou used his superior speed as he dodged the sun beams of Quetzalcōātl, while he prepared one of his specific spells.
The biggest advantage of the Campione was that, as long as they put some time into the study of Magic, they could easily elevate their Magic to be able to hurt even the High-Level Divine Beasts and Divine Ancestors.
If they were patient enough, then even developing their Magic to be able to hurt Heretic Gods and other Campiones wasn't really out of the question.
His very own Onmyōdo Innate Spell.
Gram Demolition, also called Magic Dismantling, is a Magic Spell that demolishes the record of Magic (Gram).
Gram Demolition is a heavyweight Counter Magic that utilized compressed Magic Particles to forcibly disperse all accompanying Activation Sequences and Magic Sequences, as well as anything with traces of Magic Particles recorded on it. The compressed Magic Particles themselves travel through the physical realm as opposed to the Information Dimension.
Though it is called Onmyōdo, it is simply a cannonball of Magic Particles in a very particular way that has neither structure nor a Magic Ritual to modify an event, so it is not affected by Zone Interference.
One could say that this was the prized possession of the Tsuchimikado Clan, and even though it was still a Mortal Magic, it was ridiculously overpowered from a certain point of view.
Since Yakou became Campione, his understanding of Magic depended tremendously, especially due to another Divine Authority that he had obtained from killing Odin, Mímir's Well, and with that, the strength of the Gram Demolition also skyrocketed.
To the point where Yakou dared to use it against the Magic Spells of the Heretic God.
Even though...
This was the first time that he would be using the upgraded Grand Demolition in real combat.
Not to mention, he was going straight against the Heretic God.
Nevertheless, Yakou used the Gungnir as his foci, basically the Magic Amplifier, as there was nothing better than the manifestation of Divine Authority to amplify the effect of their Magic as he used the Gram Demolition on the sun beams of Quetzalcōātl.
In the split of a second, several of the sun beams that Quetzalcōātl released at Yakou instantly crashed into themselves as they were destroyed from the inside due to the effect of the Gram Demolition.
***
Outside of the Tomb of the Feathered Serpent
Outside of the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, upon receiving Yakou's message, the soldiers of the Knight-Mage Regiment started retreating from the Temple of the Feathered Serpent.
Once General Clark got the message about the appearance of the Heretic God in the depths of the Tomb, it was clear that they needed to leave the victim and let the Campione handle the Heretic God.
Mortals cannot go against the Gods.
Such were the rules of the world.
Keira Clark knew that even if she possessed physical capabilities on the level of Campione and even their reserves of Magic Power, she would still lose in a few exchanges, as she lacked one of the most essential aspects of being the Campione.
Magic Resistance toward any and all mortal Magic.
Which was something that was rendering the Mortals powerless against the might of Campione, because theoretically, even if the mortal possessed Magic on a greater level than the Campione, it would still be useless.
When the titans were fighting, it was far better just to stand by and wait for the result.
Participation in this could easily and effortlessly lead to their death.
Since the Illuminati Society obtained the backing of the Campione, everything was on the right track as the Magic Association was developing at a staggering speed. Their biggest weakness, that they didn't have much depth compared to the real old Magic Associations, didn't matter anymore.
Just the presence of Campione alone was to change many things.
On top of that, the Campione backing the Society was very active and even participated as one of the members of the leadership. Something that she seriously doubted happened before.
Still, the present operation could be considered a massive success.
The Oración Seis and their alliance of the Dark Mage Guilds have been annihilated by the Mage-Knight Legion, and together with them, a good number of the Mexican Cartels have also fallen.
Poor fellows were being used as cannon fodder by Oración Seis, and they were sending them to their deaths.
'Even the field tests of the CADs and Blazer Devices have gone rather smoothly... with enough data, we can perfect the technology and increase the power of the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps by leaps and bounds. With this, even in one-to-one confrontation, our Mage-Knights won't be inferior to Mages and Knights of other Magic Associations.'
For the Illuminati Society and also the United States as a whole, this operation was also a test for the new type of engineering marvel that they had created. The United States of America to cover up for their weakness in the power of their Mages created a rather ingenious invention.
They tried to merge the technology with Magic.
And there were two prototypes that Keira Clark and Mage-Knight Blazer Corps were testing on the field against the Oración Seis and Dark Mages.
The first was CAD, or in the entire name, Casting Assistant Device, which was something like a Spell Processor. It is a machine researched & developed using Magical Engineering Technology.
This device incorporates synthetic materials, artificially manufactured Neurons, that convert Magic Signals into electric signals, using the Magic Power from a Sepll Sequence to produce a collection of electronic Magic, the Activation Sequence.
CADs allow the processing of all the necessary components for Magic in a single moment. In detail, these devices help accelerate the invocation of Magic, as well as provide stability.
CADs replace traditional tools such as spell chants, talismans, magic staves, tomes, hand seals, magic circles, and other conventional methods of invoking Magic.
The USA was working on the creation of the CADs for many years, because the existence of CAD would cover the gap between the Illuminati Mage-Knights and the deep-rooted Magic Association.
Though what was even more terrifying, though, with the advent of Campione in the USA, one could expect that the Illuminati Society would soon enough start assimilating knowledge from the older and more powerful Associations, which would essentially erase the weakness of a weaker magical foundation.
Aside from the development of the CAD, the US was working in parallel on the Blazer Devices. Standard CADs were not suitable for use as weapons, and in America, everything was repurposed for military purposes.
The concept of the CADs wasn't an exception, so they came with the weaponized version of the CADs. When it came to weaponization of the CADs, it was a project that was personally headed by Faust, as the ancient Mage and Alchemist created the Blazer Devices.
In essence, they were CADs, but at the sme time they were not.
Keira didn't know the details, not because they were unavailable, but because she didn't fully understand them, as she had managed to grasp approximately half of how they worked and how they were created.
The Blazer Devices took the shape of swords, spears, bows, and practically any other weapon that one could think of. This was the first time that the Blazer Devices were tested in real combat, and it was a phenomenal success.
Contrary to the traditional distinction between Mages and Knights, the United States and Illuminati Society wanted to merge those two together to create the Mage Knights, and the Blazer Device was the bridge between Knights, focusing on close-range combat, and Mages, who focused on casting complicated Spells.
Doing it through the traditional way would be very hard, as the concept of the Mage Knights wasn't anything new in the Supernatural World.
But the USA didn't want to do it in the traditional way; instead, they bridged the gap through the Magical Engineering and Alchemy in the form of Blazer Devices.
"How are the operations in the other areas going?"
Keira asked the blonde-haired woman next to her, who was observing everything with a bored expression as they together awaited the Campione and Heretic God to destroy everything around them.
"Most of the bases belonging to the Oración Seis are being raided and there is basically no resistance. It seemed that most of their strongest Mages and Knights are being deployed right now at this place."
Eve Rockefeller wasn't much of a fighter herself; she leaned more towards the administration and coordination between the various branches and operations of the Illuminati Society.
Just as they were about to continue their talk, suddenly the entire Tomb of the Feathered Serpent exploded into a violent explosion, while the ground shook.
"Mexicans won't be that happy..."
Keira stated as she noticed that one of the most important historical sites in all of Mexico was now destroyed... not many things could survive when the Heretic God was blasted through it, as in this case.
"Evacuate! Evacuate! Flee for your lives! Move on, woman!"
One of Yakou's ravens, the white one, shouted at the two of them as both ravens were circling in the skies with panicked expressions. Even though these ravens tended to act though, something that both Keira and Eve noticed, they were just cowards.
When Yakou was around, they were bossing around everyone, even the members of the Knights of the Round Table, but once he wasn't in sight...
Often, their personalities turned around as their own combat prowess wasn't anything noteworthy.
One good hit and they would be down.
***
Meanwhile, the two women were talking, Yakou gripped the Gungnir: The Spear of Heaven as he attempted to stab the Quetzalcōātl in the neck, but the Heretic God was relatively fast and agile.
Fortunately enough, with the addition of his Innate Spell, Gram Demolition, he managed to negate most of the annoying energy beams that the Quetzalcōātl was shooting at him, though his happiness was short-lived.
Despite everything, Yakou didn't have enough time and, most importantly, enough knowledge to competently convert the Gram Demolition into the Spell that would work on anything with the properties of the Divine.
Once Quetzalcōātl started using more and more power, Yakou was being pushed back, but fortunately, due to his Divine Authority of Body of Steel, he managed to withstand the intense attacks by the Heretic God.
'Even though Gungnir: The Spear of Heaven is powerful for the combat, it lacks the ultimate killing move... that only leaves the possibility of killing the Heretic God in a more old-fashioned way through direct combat and targeting its weaknesses...'
Even though Yakou obtained three Divine Authorities from killing Odin, he didn't have any Divine Authority that would create something akin to "Ultimate Ability" that could unleash tremendous destructive prowess like many other Divine Authorities of different Campiones that could kill Heretic God instantly.
Obviously, those Divine Authorities needed to be cast in perfect time to achieve the desired effect, but at the same time, they were capable of achieving such a feat.
Which was something that Yakou lacked.
Even though he obtained Divine Authority of Gungnir: The Spear of Heaven, it didn't have the ability like that, and it was basically just an "ordinary" spear that was extremely durable and capable of injuring Gods, but that was it.
Maybe if Odin descended once more and he managed to kill him again, he could obtain the "Ultimate Ability" of Gungnir, but for that... time would tell.
Right now, Yakou was focused more than anything on killing the Heretic God Quetzalcōātl in front of him. Quetzalcōātl has already proved to be a pain in the ass, as the Heretic God was much bigger than Yakou was, and even despite that, he was still fast and agile.
Even with Yakou's speed and strength as Campione, it was rather problematic to land a solid hit on the Heretic God, which was constantly avoiding his hits and often counterattacking with devastating attacks.
The entire area of the Temple of the Feathered Serpent was already destroyed, and everything was in shambles. Because Yakou couldn't fly, unfortunately, he was still confined to the ground, as the Quetzalcōātl had the advantage of flight.
Noticing it, Yakou decided that he needed to deprive his enemy of his biggest advantage and shoot him down from the skies. It would be rather a challenging task, because it needed to be done with Gungnir: The Spear of Heaven, because Mortal Magic was ineffective on the Heretic Gods as it was on the Campiones.
But... even though the Mortal Magic couldn't be used to bring the Quetzalcōātl down, it could be used to bind the Heretic God for a few moments. In the split of a moment, he took out several talismans that were an inherent part of the Onmyōdo as he cast the Binding Spell.
Most Spells within the Onmyōdo are graded on a scale from 1 to 99. The Spells of the latter are the most powerful and the most difficult to perform. To use Onmyōdo, an Onmyōji must recite the specific incantation for the Spell, which is often long and requires a few seconds to speak.
Some Onmyōji are so skilled that they are able to cast high-level Spells by simply naming them. The power of a spell relies on the power of the user, as even a low-level spell can be utterly devastating when utilized by a high-class Onmyōji.
Obviously, Yakou as Campione directly bypassed this, and he could just use the Onmyōdo as much as he wished without the lengthy incarnations that were a pain in the ass as well as risk, because he could be attacked during the reciting of the incarnations.
"Onmyōdo: Bakudō Order! Rank 96! Kyūjūrokkei Kakafūmetsu!"
The Spell that Yakou cast instantly created a Magic Seal that pierced the target's wings from the sides out with several cross-shaped beams of light, which merged into a single, vaguely star-shaped barrier, with the target sealed inside.
Obviously, as this was just essentially a Mortal Level Onmyōdo Spell, albeit one cast by Campione and powered up by the Divine Magic Power of the Campione, the effect already took place, but Yakou knew that it would last only for a few moments.
Yakiu used the window of opportunity in a split second, as he kicked on the ground, generating the impact that he used to power up his jump as he landed on the back of the Quetzalcōātl, and with the Gungnir, he slashed at the arteries in the wings of the Heretic God.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
The creature would have left some shriek of pain if it weren't currently being led by the Kyūjūrokkei Kakafūmetsu, but as he was preparing for another strike with Gungnir, the seal started cracking.
It was obvious that the Spell won't last long, and it wasn't even needed, as Quetzalcōātl was already falling down.
With the three strikes, Yakou managed to injure the wings of Quetzalcōātl so severely that the Heretic God wasn't capable of using them in flight anymore, as the enormous dragon-serpent-like creature crashed on the ground.
As it fell, the miniature earthquake that it generated destroyed all surrounding buildings that remained, as the entire area was officially turned into rubble. Even the troops of the US Military that were nearby needed to use their Blazer Devices to withstand the shockwaves of the earthquake from crashing Quetzalcōātl.
Now that the Heretic God was deprived of the flight and was even injured, the playing field became more even.
***
"That must have hurt..."
On top of a nearby hill, where the American troops of the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps had relocated, Keira Clark and Eve Rockefeller observed the battle from a safe distance.
"The Heretic God that His Majesty is fighting is Quetzalcōātl... not only is it the Heretic God with all things considered, but it's also Dragon-type, meaning its regeneration capabilities are more powerful compared to the other Heretic Gods. If the fight is prolonged, the injuries on its wings would be healed rather fast."
Even though Eve Rockefeller wasn't a frontline figure like Keira, she was far more knowledgeable than 99% members of the Illuminati Society. When it came to the Lore and Hermetics, she belonged to the most educated members of the Society.
She was aware that the Quetzalcōātl was a tricky Heretic God to deal with due to the dragon-part and aspect, which was giving it high regeneration capabilities. However, it seemed that His Majesty was already aware of that.
"What was that Spell? It looked rather powerful..."
The General of the Mage-Knight Blazer Corps asked as both women looked at the battlefield.
"That was part of the Onmyōdo, namely Bakudō. After the creation of the Imperial-Style Onmyōdo, all Onmyōdo Spells are divided between Bakudō, Hadō and Kaidō. It seems that after becoming a Campione, His Majesty could use all of them, probably another added effect of his Divine Authority."
Bakudō were supplementary spells that could immobilize an enemy or have an effect besides a direct strike. They may seem subtle, but these spells can give their users a tactical advantage when used properly. These are a broad category of defensive spells that block/repel attacks or freeze enemies in place.
Hadō, which could also be translated as Path of Destruction or Way of Destruction, was considered a set of offensive spells that inflict direct damage to the enemy. Their effectiveness differs depending on the user. It is said that the effectiveness of the higher-ranked spells is beyond imagination.
Lastly, there was Kaidō, also known as Healing Onmyōdo or Healing Spiritual Arts. These spells do not have known names, numbers, or incantations to cast, and simply heal the target. As the user holds their hands above the patient's wounds, their palms glow with green spiritual energy to facilitate healing.
"Well, it seems that the strategy was more than effective... look."
General Clark pointed at the second Campione of the United States of America, who was standing on the head of Quetzalcōātl as he stabbed the Divine Spear into the head of the Heretic God, essentially killiíng his opponent.
Now, the only thing that remained for Tscuhimikado Yakou was to claim a Divine Authority from a deceased Heretic God.
***
"Dammit... this was closer than I would have liked."
Even though Yakou had some luck in binding down Quetzalcōātl with the Bakudō for a very short span of time, the Heretic God was very powerful. Even when the Quetzalcōātl was fighting on the ground, it was highly problematic to deal with.
The regeneration that Quetzalcōātl obtained from his Dragon-like aspect was something that gave him a headache, and if not for the piece of luck that he had when he managed to stab the Quetzalcōātl into the underbelly, which allowed him to once again climb onto the Quetzalcōātl's head and finish it off...
He really suspected that if he was a tad slower, then he would be either forced to flee or he would be severely injured, which wasn't an ideal scenario considering the precarious state of the United States right now.
Yakou admitted that he was rather lucky to have managed to get out relatively unscathed from the fight; otherwise, this could have ended in a much different way. He admitted that he underestimated Quetzalcōātl a bit, because he didn't think that the regeneration capabilities of the Quetzalcōātl would be this powerful.
The Heretic God was more powerful than he gave them credit for.
He was feeling pretty angry with himself right now, because he had been careless during the fight and had grown more confident in his newfound status as Campione than he should have.
"I wonder what Divine Authority that woman will give me..."
Because this was his second time slaying a Heretic God, he wouldn't fall unconscious the moment he killed the Heretic God. Instead, he would meet with Pnadora during the time that he went to sleep.
Pandora was giving the Divine Authorities to the Campiones through the Circle Of Usurpation, and only she decided what Divine Authority Campione would receive from her through the Circle Of Usurpation.
Circle of Usurpations is a Divine Tool to plunder authority from the corpse of a dead God. This Divine Tool is something that reproduces the attributes of the Gods of Seel.
The Divine Tool can only be activated by a particular condition, which is that you must offer a sacrifice of the life of the God that was killed by your own strength. The Divine Tool was originally located under seven holy precincts and nine realms of the dead and was found by Epimetheus.
The corpse of the Quetzalcōātl started disintegrating soon after Yakou killed the Heretic God, as he then dispersed the Divine Authority of Gungnir: The Spear of Heaven. He looked at the recently deceased Heretic God, as this was already his second kill that he managed to strike.
Hopefully, he would obtain some powerful Divine Authority from the Heretic God.
Now, the last thing that remained was their original goal, which was to deal with the Oración Seis, but it seemed that during the time that he was fighting with the Heretic God, the remnants of the Oración Seis and their goons were taken care of.
***
The following weeks after the mess in Teotihuacan, Mexico, the situation was growing more and more tense. Obviously, the presence of the American troops in Mexico couldn't be hidden for long, nor could their involvement in the massive strike against the Cartels and criminal organizations around the borders.
Coupled with the mass deportations from the US of illegal immigrants, many were affiliated with the criminal elements in Southern America, creating a new wave of tensions on the continent.
What was thought surprising, even though the Mexican Government was aware that the Americans were hitting targets and carrying out an unsanctioned military operation on their sovereign ground, they kept silent.
In the Supernatural World, the reason behind the silence was clear as day, contrary to the non-Supernatural World. Not only did the Oración Seis support Cartels, but many Dark Mage Guilds were also directly supporting the Mexican Government to a huge degree.
Now, the only things that they could do were to remain silent and do nothing.
If not for the process of annexation of Canada that was right now in the process, many suspected that President Grey would have long ago launched a full-out assault on the Mexican Cartels to destroy them and their drug business in the United States.
Though even that was just a matter of time.
Now that the Oración Seis was out of question and the Illuminati Society basically took over their hold and influence, there was nothing that could stop the US Military from attacking their targets.
Currently, the most important thing for the US was to finalize the unification with Canada, so that Canada could become the 51st State of the Union and interconnect with Alaska.
Yakou had already heard during the meetings of the Knights of the Round that some within the Society and the US Administration also wanted to take Mexico, or at least, attack the country and dispose of all Cartels and governmental officials or people connected to the Cartels.
Nevertheless, right now, the United States is also launching a massive campaign that involves procedures to cure drug addiction. Obviously, it was developed with the help of Alchemy as curing drug addiction wasn't anything serious for the Achemists and Mages to tackle.
Coupled with the modern pharmacy, soon enough, the US Government and a few corporations developed special treatment procedures. All of them were obviously covered by the US Government, mostly from the money and other things that were seized from the Oración Seis, Dark Mage Guilds, and Cartels.
This wealth was estimated to be in the several hundreds of billions.
Many hundreds of billions.
This money would be used to solve the problem of the demand for the drugs.
Otherwise, if the demand for the drugs prevailed, then someone else would fill the place of the supplier of the drugs instead of the Cartels. So, President Grey initiated two things at the same time.
The first operation was a series of military actions that were directly aimed at the Cartels, Gangs, and various organizations selling, dealing, and distributing drugs. Another was aimed at the people using the abusive substances and providing them free treatment for the addiction and problems related to it.
After the attack on the Oración Seis, which resulted in the fight against the Heretic God Quetzalcōātl, Yakou spent most of his time in the headquarters of the Illuminati Society, training in the new Divine Authority that he had obtained from slaying another Heretic God.
Divine Authority of Piedra Del Sol: Solar Calendar Stone.
This Divine Authority obtained from Quetzalcōātl allowed Yakou to summon the manifestation of the Sun's Divinity of Quetzalcōātl in the form of a miniature Sun, which has devastating destructive prowess.
Even in the weakest state, it was capable of destroying an enormous amount of landscape.
The Divine Authority of Piedra Del Sol: Solar Calendar Stone was very powerful, and its destructive prowess was enough to kill even the Heretic God or Campione if used correctly or if used when exploiting the weakness of the opponent.
Yakou still needed a lot of training with the newest Divine Authority before he could use the Divine Authority of Piedra Del Sol: Solar Calendar Stone in the real battle. Though, at least right now, he obtained a trump card that could serve as his finishing move against opponents with powerful defenses.
What was a bit disappointing was the fact that when he noticed that neither of his "Basic Stats" had changed. Due to the Divine Authority of Steel Body, his physical parameters were not at the S-Rank as it was usual for all Campiones and Heretic Gods, but instead on the S+ Rank.
This was putting him on average against the other Campiones and Heretic Gods that didn't have anything like the Divine Authority of Steel Body or its variation. At the same time, though, Yakou was constantly searching for a way to break through this limitation.
From the lore that he understood, he knew that there were Campiones in the past who broke through the traditional constraints of the Campione. The easiest way would be to do so through the Circle Of Usurpation, but that wasn't really possible as the Circle Of Usurpation was under the control of Pandora.
So Yakou searched for another way.
He suspected that there was a possibility of breaking the limits by obtaining another Divine Authority that would be able to increase his Physical Dimensions, but that would also depend on Pandora's mood.
Preferably, he wanted a method that was outside of Pandora's jurisdiction.
Yakou was sure that there existed something that was above the realm of the Campione.
Pandora and a few other beings were a testament to that...
That the power realm of Campione could be just a starting point in the journey of true absolute power.
Then there were other headaches that Yakou was dealing with...
Two of them at that, and one was a bigger pain in the ass than the other one.
The first one was the migration of the Tsuchimikado Clansmen, who managed to survive the purge carried out by the History Compilation Committee, to the United States of America.
Right now, approximately twenty members of the Tsuchimikado Clan have arrived, but unfortunately, not many are members of the Main Lineage. Still, it seemed that the purge was very efficient because from the Main Lineage, only Yakou's parents managed to survive... though not for long.
Only one was.
Technically.
His distant uncle, Tsuchimikado Yasazumi.
The entire Tsuchimikado Clan was divided into the Main Lineage and Branch Houses.
The Main Lineage of the Tsuchimikado Clan was divided into the Main Family and Collateral House, which were related to the Main Family. Tsuchimikado Yasazumi was a reclusive Onmyōji who lived a rather isolated life even before the purge.
Most of the members of the Tsuchimikado Clan who survived were from the Branch Houses, distant relatives who were often too obscure, and their connection to the real core of the Tsuchimikado Clan wasn't really strong, nor was their bloodline strong in this regard.
Still, the fact that several clansmen of the Tsuchimikado Clan survived meant that the clan could be rebuilt, albeit as part of the Illuminati Society. Still, Yakou thought, that it was for the best that way.
In the end, the primary reason why the Tsuchimikado Clan was annihilated in the first place was that it grew too powerful, and sometimes even elephants could be devoured by the ants if there were too many of them.
This was the case with his family.
And on the matters of the clansmen, who were at least progressing rather smoothly, because everyone was accommodating rather well in the USA, the matter with Kirari Momobami, who was pregnant with his child, was another matter altogether.
The woman was beyond stubborn and refused to leave Japan, which was creating even more problems for him.
What made the situation worse was the fact that it was soon enough known that the Momobami Family had managed to become part of the Illuminati Society, which resulted in friction between them and the History Compilation Committee, as the families behind the Magic Associations were becoming very wary.
Yakou guessed that when he killed the messenger from the History Compilation Committee, he gave them frights for their very own lives. Retrospectively, he admitted that it wasn't the best choice, but since becoming Campione, he was getting more and more influenced by his emotions than he would have liked.
Though this was a problem that was common for all Campiones, not just for him.
Still, fortunately enough, Thomas Andre was acting as her personal bodyguard, but that was only a temporary solution. It was obvious that someone like the Knight of the Round Table couldn't act as bodyguard for her all the time.
And they would need to find a more permanent solution to the matter.
The easiest one would be to destroy the entire History Compilation Committee.
But that would also be rather problematic as it would take some time to catch all rats...
There were too many of them and Yakou knew that right now... in he situation the USA was, creating another conflict wasn't really the best decision. Especially with a nation that was like one of the closest allies to the United States.
Considering the significant influence the History Compilation Committee wielded in the country, he needed a different kind of solution. The best one would be if Kirari was open to relocating at least her own person to the United States.
Just as he was training in his private area at the headquarters of the Illuminati Society, he suddenly sensed that someone was in the room. Which was rather surprising, because he always gave out strict orders not to be disrupted during the time when he was training.
Yet, here she stood.
Even Rockefeller was clearly distressed, as she wanted to tell him something very important.
"What has happened so seriously that you are disturbing me during the training?"
The main reason why he explicitly forbade anyone from disrupting him was due to the fact that he was training his Divine Authorities, which could be dangerous.
"We got a message that approximately one hour ago, another Campione was born. A person of Japanese origin named Kusanagi Godou on the Island of Sardinia."
This message...