Everything is Anime! Chapter 98: Aftermath (Patreon)

That very day, the entire mystic side of the world fell into turmoil.

Compared to the sudden uproar in New Delhi, the events in Sardinia spread even further. Sardinia, unlike mainland Italy, had plenty of small, loosely affiliated magic associations that weren’t part of any grand alliance, so there was effectively no information lockdown.

The fact that Hikaru had killed two Heretic Gods in one day—actually four when looking at the specifics—was extraordinary, even by the standards of global god-slaying history.

After all, a mortal killing any single god is already a miracle. Slaying four within a single day was a miracle among miracles.

At first, most people doubted the accuracy of these reports. The moment a mortal becomes a Campione, it’s only the beginning; they need time to grow comfortable with their newfound Authorities before they can deploy them effectively.

While the number of Authorities a Campione possesses doesn’t necessarily determine their might, battle experience—especially mastery of those Authorities and knowledge of how to adapt them in advanced combat—gives veteran Campiones a clear edge over any newcomer.

If you compared the reputed Marquis Voban to this “Seventh King,” at least ninety percent of observers would argue Voban would have the upper hand if it came to a showdown. Even Voban couldn’t kill four gods in one day—so how could a rookie manage it?

Hence, many sorcerers and magic associations dismissed it as a false rumor. Sure, the New King might have slain a Heretic God on Sardinia, but “four gods” was undoubtedly an exaggeration.

Maybe those who’d witnessed the battle—scared witless—mistook a god’s avatars for additional gods, leading to the confusion.

Then the Greenwich Assembly released its chillingly precise intel, and everyone fell silent.

Currently the most respected and neutral intelligence agency, the Greenwich Assembly hadn’t started out as some official entity but rather an “eccentric gossip club” of sorcerers, occultists, scientists, clergy, nobles, and millionaires who shared oddities and mystical news. Over time, it evolved into a serious intelligence network.

In these past two days, New Delhi and Sardinia both erupted into chaos, and the Assembly promptly reached out to local experts for on-the-ground verification.

They eventually confirmed that within the span of twenty-four hours, the “New King” first slew two Heretic Gods in New Delhi, then took a plane to Sardinia, refused all local magic associations’ welcomes, rushed straight onto the island, and slew another two Heretic Gods.

In the midst of the Council’s senior members—mostly gray-haired academics—there was a strikingly beautiful woman who seemed out of place.

She had a slender figure, platinum-blond hair, and snow-pale skin, appearing no older than twenty. Yet she was the world’s most outstanding witch, with magic energy so vast that she could project her consciousness beyond her body and travel the world like the wind.

The downside: an ordinary human frame can’t handle such immense power, so she spent most of her days bedridden. Even now, at the Council’s headquarters, what people saw was only her astral form.

After the New Delhi news broke, Princess Alice’s astral self had rushed to the Council and convened a meeting. Before she could settle in, more shocking news arrived from Sardinia.

“This New King… if he was quiet before, he’s made one spectacular debut—four Heretic Gods in twenty-four hours. If I heard that at first, I wouldn’t have believed it either.”

It wasn’t impossible, but it was like going to a corner store, buying a cheap lottery ticket, and winning the grand prize. The odds existed but were infinitesimally small.

“All right,” she said, “given the intel at hand, let’s analyze the Seventh King’s Authorities and give them names.”

One of the gods in New Delhi had been fairly easy to guess. India had a reputation for boasting about its so-called arcane treasures—or using others’ wonders for clout—so information about that sealed Vishnu variant was no real secret in the mystic circles.

“Based on available info, the greatest likelihood is that one of the New King’s Authorities is ten incarnations stolen from Vishnu. But the King hasn’t demonstrated many powers yet, so we can’t be absolutely sure.”

“As for the other three Authorities, we need further investigation…”

“By the way, we’ve heard from the Bronze Black Cross that this Seventh god-slayer doesn’t wish to be called ‘king.’ So what do we call him?”

Historically, each Campione ended up with a unique title:

The Marquis Voban, often referred to as the “Balkan's King,” thanks to powers involving summoning wolves and turning into a werewolf.

Luo Hao of the East, dubbed the “Martial Arts King,” having already been a top martial master.

Salvatore Doni, “King of Swords,” who adores blades above all else.

The Mysterious Queen of Caves with her chaotic time-space power, the Black Prince Alec with Godspeed, John Pluto Smith the Underworld King… Each had a distinctive moniker featuring “King.”

But if this New King doesn’t want to be addressed as “king,” how should they proceed? Simply ignoring his wishes wasn’t an option.

They were in a bind, and one of the chatterers in the conference sighed, “How about just calling him ‘the Handsome King’…”

“…”

Beyond the Assembly, other magic associations that got wind of this “Seventh Campione” news were uneasy.

Especially those in Japan’s History Compilation Committee. After all, they’d just learned that India’s sealed “Vishnu” had been killed by Hikaru, so they wondered if they ought to put more layers of wards on Palace.

If word of the Monkey God Lord leaked, who could guarantee the Seventh King wouldn’t pop over to cause trouble? They already had their hands full dealing with that other eastern Campione. Another one? Unthinkable.

And if the newcomer did arrive, how would they cope?

After racking their brains, they came up with just one plan:

Use one tiger to chase away another wolf.