SCIAW: Chapter 118/119

Chapter 118: All Are Paths to Demigods

For men, the greatest pursuit is power; for women, the greatest pursuit is immortality/eternal youth.

"When any form of power reaches its peak, it naturally moves toward immortality."

Ren paused for a moment, then glanced at the girls present with a slightly amused expression.

"Didn't I mention this before?"

"…"

Kaguya fell silent for a moment before giving a slight nod.

"Yes, you did."

"At the very first club meeting, Amamiya-san brought up the topic of immortality."

"You also said that the club would eventually move in that direction."

Ren recalled saying something along those lines back then.

"We just never connected that idea with the concept of immortality."

After all, everyone knows that immortality and longevity are fundamentally different.

To Kaguya, the notion of true immortality had always seemed distant, so far removed from her reality that she never gave it much thought.

"Well, now it's time to start working toward it."

"When any form of power reaches a certain level, it begins to reshape the body itself."

"As lifespan increases, the natural decay that weakens the body slows down in response to the growth of one's power until, eventually, one attains immortality."

Ren stopped here and glanced at the group before continuing, "And I think the one most likely to achieve immortality first is Ran."

"Me?"

Ran, startled by the sudden mention of her name, pointed to herself in disbelief.

"Yes."

Ren nodded.

"The body ages due to natural decay, a process rooted in the flesh itself."

"And the power you've obtained works by transforming the body from the inside out."

"So, from the moment your body began its transformation, your aging process started to slow down."

"Of course, true immortality will still take a long time, but your progression will definitely outpace Sanzenin and Shinomiya."

Ran's ability, Imperial Sakura Fang, alters her body through the nutrients she consumes, strengthening her power, reaction speed, explosive force, and endurance while slowing the natural decline of her body.

"Sanzenin, on the other hand, has an Anemo Vision."

"That Vision is an external magical organ that allows her to absorb external energy and convert it into Anemo power."

"But ultimately, it remains an external power."

"The Vision will undoubtedly grow stronger over time, but the direction of its growth might depend heavily on the contents of the diary."

"Until then, it's best to focus on training elemental control with as much precision as possible."

"After all, the God of Wind once started with nothing but a single breath of mist."

Elemental abilities have immense growth potential. If Sanzenin could overcome the inherent limitations of the Vision, she might very well reach the level of a demigod one day.

"The same goes for Miss Maria."

"The true form of the Rock God is a thousand-meter-long stone dragon, once revered as a War God."

"Your Vision is of the Geo element, power drawn from the earth itself."

"Miss Maria, you should work hard to develop your abilities."

"The Geo element embodies stability, structure, and resilience."

"With it, you can summon stone to crush your enemies, or create an unbreakable shield to protect yourself and others."

"A solid, unyielding rock always gives people a sense of security."

In Ren's eyes, Maria's role as a maid made her an ideal wielder of a Geo Vision.

"The God of Wind…"

Nagi could still feel the untapped potential of the power she had obtained, there was still a long road ahead.

But this was a good start.

If she wanted to see her mother again, growing stronger was a necessary condition.

Of course, her greatest reliance in achieving that goal remained the diary.

"But Maria really is a good match for the god of war, huh?" Nagi said suddenly.

Maria was momentarily speechless.

"Please don't pair an ordinary girl like me with a title as grand as the God of War," she replied, sounding half-exasperated.

"If anyone here fits that title, it's definitely Miss Hinagiku."

Nagi immediately agreed, wholeheartedly.

Hinagiku Katsura was undoubtedly a God of War in every sense.


---

"Then there's Shinomiya-san," Ren said, his gaze shifting toward her.

He left the rest unsaid, but Kaguya immediately understood.

"I know," she responded softly. "The ultimate power of the Ice-Ice Fruit."

The Ice-Ice Fruit had already given her considerable strength, and she had no doubts about its potential.

Its clarity and power left her with little confusion about the path ahead. However, bringing that power to its peak would require time, patience, and effort.

"Shinomiya-san, the two weaknesses of the Ice-Ice Fruit that I mentioned before aren't entirely unfounded," Ren explained. "But those vulnerabilities might only apply to certain stories."

"I'm not sure if the ocean in the real world contains the same elements."

"You might want to test it when the opportunity arises."

"Yes."

Kaguya nodded slightly, already considering the best way to conduct that experiment.

By now, the tension that had lingered over the group had mostly dissipated.

Ren checked the clock hanging on the wall.

Before he knew it, it was already 7:23 in the evening.

Past dinnertime, he realized.

"Are you all still hungry?" he asked.

"Hungry…"

The girls exchanged glances. The answer was obvious: yes.

The nausea from earlier had left them drained, and that lingering emptiness in their stomachs had become increasingly difficult to ignore.

"Honestly, I've been starving for a while now," Kaguya admitted.

"But I don't think I can eat anything just yet…"

Ran touched her stomach with a grimace.

"If I eat now, I'll definitely throw up again," she said with complete confidence.

The others silently nodded in agreement.

"Mr. Amamiya, dinner is actually ready."

Maria's voice broke the silence.

"No meat, though—just vegetables."

At that moment, everyone immediately understood why. After witnessing that grotesque scene earlier, the mere thought of eating meat was… unsettling.

Ren glanced around the room before slowly standing up.

"Then I'll go eat first," he said casually.

"You all should try to eat something, though. It'll be a long night if you go to bed hungry."

_____
Chapter 119: Eternal Darkness

In the end, the girls remained hungry but didn't eat.

The lingering nausea made it impossible for them to stomach anything.

Yesterday's events had also left an impression on Amamiya Ren, though not to the same degree. As long as he avoided meat, he didn't feel the urge to vomit while eating.

So, in the end, he was quite satisfied with last night's vegetarian dinner.

The next morning, he woke up early as usual.

But today, he didn't go for a run.

Yesterday's morning jog had only been a pretense to gather intelligence; it wasn't as though Ren had developed a morning exercise habit during his vacation.

After waking up, he soaked in the hot spring for a while, washed up, and got dressed.

Once he finished his morning routine, he headed to check on the action teams stationed near the danger zone of the hotel.

Not all the team members were on duty, some remained on guard while others rested.

That arrangement was perfectly reasonable.

After all, if everyone remained on high alert through the night, they would've been too exhausted to stay sharp by the time morning arrived. Splitting the shifts ensured they maintained their vigilance.

After confirming the situation, Ren made his way to the hotel entrance, where Sato Miwako had been stationed.

When he arrived, he found the heroic policewoman slumped against the wall, fast asleep in an uncharacteristically unkempt manner.

Seeing this, Ren quietly returned to his room, retrieved an extra blanket from the bed, and spread it out on the ground. Then, using the power of the Gray Fog, he carefully transferred Sato Miwako onto the makeshift bed and covered her with the quilt.

With that done, he left without a word.

He strolled through the empty main hall and sat down in one of the chairs.

The next wave of officers from the Metropolitan Police Department should arrive soon, he thought.

The bodies found in the drug lab couldn't be handed over to ordinary officers, they would need professional forensic specialists to handle the situation.

The presence of drug dealers actively researching new substances also required experienced narcotics officers to join the investigation.

Aside from the front-line special forces, most of the officers here will likely leave with us.

Tsukikage Island wasn't a large place. The only detective stationed here year-round was an old veteran, and the island lacked proper facilities to store bodies, let alone perform autopsies.

The bodies would have to be transported to Tokyo.

Moving that many corpses is no small task.

The interrogation of the captured drug dealers likely wouldn't yield much in just a single night. Besides, Tsukikage Island was only a small piece of the puzzle, just a stepping stone.

The real danger remained in Tokyo.

If we want to dismantle the drug network that's spread across Tokyo, we'll have to dig deeper into what these arrested dealers know.

As his thoughts drifted along, something suddenly came to mind.

The lottery.

The contents of yesterday's diary had been unusually eventful.

While Ren didn't fully understand the diary's evaluation criteria, he could feel that yesterday's events had been far more intense than usual, perhaps twice as much so.

Maybe… this time, I can draw a Sequence 8 potion.

With that hope in mind, Ren summoned the diary and initiated the lottery.

The massive roulette wheel spun rapidly, the needle circling faster and faster.

Eventually, it slowed and came to a stop.

The pointer landed on a single phrase.

[Lord of Mysteries].

The result wasn't particularly surprising.

His path had already been set, it was only a matter of what he might draw along the way.

[Obtained Source: River of Eternal Darkness]

"??????"

Seeing the message, Ren instinctively froze. A giant question mark seemed to appear above his head.

But after a moment of disbelief, he quickly processed what had happened.

I actually drew a second source…

"Did yesterday's diary really have such a big impact?"

The diary's lottery mechanism prioritized significant emotional impact. The greater the psychological shock on the diary readers, the better the rewards drawn from it.

He still remembered how, when he first obtained Sefirah Castle, he self-destructed to lure Shinomiya and the others into investigating him.

That exposure combined with the ripple effect on those who read the diary, triggered the most significant change in his life.

But for yesterday's events to cause the same effect as that first time…

Ren furrowed his brow and recalled the reactions of Kaguya, Nagi, and Ran.

Yesterday had ripped open the darkest corner of the ordinary world for them to witness—a corner filled with horror, despair, and filth. And beyond that, it showed them that the supernatural world was no less terrifying.

The shock of that revelation had undoubtedly shaken their worldview to its core.

Come to think of it, I wasn't immune to that impact either.

Even he had never experienced such a grotesque, visceral scene before.

"…Yeah, it really was a lot."

The emotional shock, the psychological distress, it had affected everyone involved.

And given how fate seemed to influence the diary's mechanisms, maybe it wasn't so surprising that he'd received such a significant reward.

And it wasn't just those three who were affected.

What if the diary also registered the reactions of the other girls?

If that were the case, then it might explain how he had drawn another source so quickly.

But if the diary acknowledges the emotional impact of others as well… does that mean a second wave of diary holders might soon appear?

The possibility intrigued him.

If more diary holders emerged, he would prefer to select candidates from the girls who had accompanied him to Tsukikage Island. After all, they were already somewhat familiar with the mysterious side of the world.

Still… let's leave that for later.

Ren shook his head, dismissing the thought for now.

Instead of continuing to sit in the living room, he returned to his room.

There, he used the Door pathway's abilities to block the door and seal off any potential intrusions.

Once everything was secure, he sat down, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes.

Focus.

A sensation of falling immediately followed.

"Plop!"

It felt like his entire body had been submerged in water.

Ren opened his eyes, but the world around him was pitch-black, an abyss of shadow without any discernible color.

He realized he was floating within a river, though he felt no discomfort.

I can still breathe normally…

As he slowly adjusted to the darkness, faint glimmers of light became visible. An inexplicable glow filtered down from above, causing the surrounding water to shimmer softly.

The river surged beneath him, pushing his body upward.

The invisible current lifted him until he broke through the surface.

There, beyond the river, he saw a familiar sight.

A majestic castle stood on the riverbank, its walls adorned with a faint, starlike radiance. The castle gates were wide open, as though waiting for him to step inside.

Sefirah Castle…

"The river flowing before Sefirah Castle… is actually the River of Eternal Darkness?"

The realization struck him like a thunderclap.

Had his own actions caused this shift?

At that moment, he could feel an unfamiliar resonance, a new connection between the Sefirahs.

If the Evernight Goddess from the other world saw this scene, she would probably lose her mind.