Chapter 33 – The First Authority
Hikigaya sat back on the rock, closed his eyes, and slowly calmed his overly excited body.
Although he had only been a God-Slayer for just over a week and once again encountered divine power, he had finally understood what kind of power he had usurped from Set—this was an unexpected gain.
It wasn't the power of a storm, as he had originally thought.
It should be an ability derived from Set's essence as the Lord of Power.
As a god born from the ancient personification of typhoons, Set symbolized cutting, chaos, and violence. This power extended into his image as the god of might and war. As a god of war, his mythology further expanded as Ancient Egypt warred with Asian nations, incorporating local war deities into their beliefs.
For example, an ancient Asian war goddess became his wife, symbolizing that the Egyptians had conquered and subjugated the enemies who worshipped her.
And Hikigaya's authority had a similar function.
It was an authority targeted at divine powers, with its effectiveness depending on how much he understood the target's power. At first glance, it seemed similar to Kusanagi Godou's Golden Sword, but in reality, it was completely different. This authority disrupted and severed the enemy's power, and erased all effects produced by that power. The scene looked almost like time reversing.
If the opponent tore open the earth, then the earth would close again. If the opponent summoned storms, the clouds would disperse and the sky would return to calm.
It did not directly harm the enemy, so unlike Kusanagi Godou who could rend a god's divinity to near sealing or even killing them, Hikigaya's authority could not do that.
The similarity, however, was that in order to achieve such results, he also needed to understand the enemy's power; otherwise, he could only interfere with it.
Of course, it wasn't without advantages. Aside from the need for knowledge, it had no other limitations. It could be used through any method, as long as it was his own power—including any other authorities he might possess.
For now, since Hikigaya had no other authorities, the only means by which he could use this ability was his own body—or more precisely, his magical energy.
Of course, he could also inject his magical energy into weapons to diversify how he used this authority.
No matter what, Hikigaya felt that practicing martial arts had become even more necessary...
After a while, once he had finished resting, Hikigaya opened his eyes and first saw five disheveled, nearly-dead-looking Yomi Disciples.
This surprised him a little.
"Oh? You guys aren't dead?"
"..." The disciples showed pained expressions.
If it were before, they might have voiced some complaints—but after what had just happened, they truly had none.
They had really almost died just now.
Even if it was only an incomplete, not-yet-awakened god, in the clash between god and God-Slayer, even a martial artist of the "One Shadow Nine Fists" level wouldn't dare say for sure they could survive if caught in the crossfire.
And they were only at disciple level—separated by an entire tier from even the weakest expert-level practitioners. That they survived could only be chalked up to pure luck.
Because just before they were about to die, Hikigaya had won the battle and erased all the effects of Osiris's divine power on the surroundings.
The latter was especially important—it was the key to their survival.
In Yomi, power is the top brand and the source of everything—this belief was ingrained in the bones of all Yomi Martial Artists.
So their transition from respect to obedience toward Hikigaya was only natural.
What the disciples were pained about was how to report this in writing later.
Speech was a technical skill—an important part of master-disciple communication.
"If you're not dead, don't look so gloomy." Hikigaya jumped down from the rock and looked around. "Hmm, looks like we don't even need to clean up."
The master from earlier had been completely obliterated in the battle with Osiris—not even ashes remained. That part was outside the scope of Hikigaya's "erasure."
"Hope no one noticed this place," he muttered and began heading back with the Yomi Disciples.
But he was well aware that despite keeping away from where they originally disembarked, the impact of the battle on the environment was too massive—it would likely be noticed. However, ordinary people should only hear the noise or feel the tremors, without being able to see what actually happened.
After all, they were in a rugged, sparsely populated mountainous area.
Anyone who could observe it wouldn't be ordinary—and thus didn't need to be worried about.
Since they were now his people, Hikigaya didn't bully them on the way back. He maintained a consistent pace with them.
When they emerged from the forest, they saw many people gathered there.
"Big brother!"
Komachi ran over, shouting, her face full of worry.
"Didn't I tell you? Your big brother is really strong now. If I disappear, I'm definitely off practicing martial arts."
Hikigaya patted his little sister's head, spouting what even he felt was nonsense.
But as long as Komachi believed it, that was enough.
"So it's true what they say on TV—people who practice martial arts like living in the mountains."
Having seen her brother demonstrate impressive martial arts, Komachi couldn't help but believe it—though she still felt something was off.
Then her eyes landed on the people behind Hikigaya.
Huh? There's a super beautiful, curvaceous big sister!
Could it be that this idiot brother was actually out on a date?
Wait, there are also some big brothers too!
While she suspiciously examined the Yomi Disciples, little did she know—they were also carefully examining her.
The disciples almost instantly identified Hikigaya Komachi in their minds as an important person.
Of course, Komachi had no idea about this.
And Hikigaya wouldn't let her know either. In his mind, Komachi only needed to live a carefree life.
That had originally been his own dream, though now it was impossible for him. So he wanted to let his sister live that life instead.
He couldn't go back anymore, and this family was also where he projected his feelings for the home he once had.
As for the behavior of the Yomi Disciples behind him, he knew exactly what they were doing—but didn't interfere. This was something he couldn't wish for more.
"By the way, what are you all doing gathered here?" Hikigaya asked as he looked around.
"Because there were strange sounds coming from the mountains, everyone was curious," Komachi replied loudly, now relieved that her brother had returned. "It seemed like it was coming from your direction, big brother."
"Really? I didn't notice. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention," Hikigaya smiled and dropped the subject.
Since he wouldn't talk about it, the Yomi Disciples behind him certainly wouldn't.
Things that shouldn't be spoken of—even if people thought you were an idiot—should never be uttered. This was a basic sense all those in Yomi possessed.