From God of Lies to Lord of All Worlds

Chapter 284: Wish Power Is Born, and Thus Deities and Spirits Manifest

The night in Kyoto was as peaceful and serene as ever—though, of course, this was merely the facade presented to the cameras.

In reality, how could there be any true peace in a country where even gangs could be legalized?

In a dark, narrow alleyway, an old man covered in the foul stench of the sewers slowly crawled out. He glanced around before slowly making his way in a specific direction.

Behind him, he left a trail of footprints steeped in putrid stench and bitter resentment!

The Wish Power lingering in the air seemed to have found an outlet, surging violently toward him. It gradually materialized into tangible energy, beginning to mutate the old man into something else entirely!

His body twisted and contorted. The foul-smelling fluids concentrated in the center of his torso, and his once-human form gradually grew bizarre and grotesque!

His arms morphed into wings, his feet turned into talons, and feathers sprouted across his flesh. Yet, the exposed portion of his chest still retained the distinct shape of human ribs!

In this eerily unpredictable state, his head sharpened, taking on the shape of a beast's skull, yet it still bore a human face. Amidst the overflowing resentment, an entity of the underworld was born!

His body, which had been standing on the ground, took to the air with a powerful flap of his wings. He soared into the night sky, flying toward a predetermined target.

"Caw!" A piercing shriek tore through the sky, violently jolting many slumbering residents awake!They looked up, only to see the silhouette of a massive bird leaving an eerie trail across the heavens.

"What is that thing?" many wondered in astonishment. Since when were there birds this large in the Kyoto area?

Meanwhile, an even greater number of reporters and independent media personnel reacted like rats catching the scent of blood. Throwing on their coats, they scrambled toward the direction the bird was heading.

These keen-nosed opportunists practically hallucinated a golden ladder of promotion and success descending right before their eyes!

On the other side of the city, Sano Ichiki, the newly appointed Deputy Chief of the Kyoto Police Department, was relaxing in his new house, comfortably chatting on the phone with an old friend.

Naturally, their conversation revolved around the unresolved incident in Saitama Prefecture.

"You guys still haven't filled that sinkhole? And it's getting even bigger?"

"Fill it? Why would we fill it! This is a matter of public interest! It represents money! As long as that pit remains open, and as long as that old geezer isn't pulled out, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare will have to keep sending funds!"

"It has been three months. Everyone knows he is dead by now, right? You shouldn't push it too far..."

"Dead? As long as a corpse isn't dug out, it counts as a missing person! We can keep dragging this out! It would be a crime not to make this money! Besides, you were the one who came up with this plan in the first place, Sano. Now that you can't get a cut, you want it resolved?"

"Bastard! How dare you say that at a time like this!"

Sano Ichiki hung up the phone in frustration. Sure enough, the political arena was a place where bonds dissolved the moment one stepped down.

That old bastard used to be his subordinate, happily dividing the spoils alongside him. But the moment Sano left and the other man took power, he immediately began a reckoning against Sano's former influence.

If a few of his remaining loyalists hadn't texted him to complain, Sano Ichiki wouldn't have even known how far that old bastard was pushing things!

Now, the man wasn't even bothering to give him any face. He was truly... audacious!

'Does he really think that just because I moved to Kyoto, I have lost control over Saitama?' he sneered internally. 'Hmph! As if! The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism owes me a massive favor!'

Sano Ichiki's departure from Saitama was, of course, him taking the blame. He had shouldered the blame for the road collapse and the ineffective rescue efforts!

But everyone in the know understood that after he took the fall, publicly apologized, and gave the populace an explanation, the ones who conveniently faded into the background were the true masterminds: the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism!

Who knew how much money those corrupt officials had embezzled, resulting in such a massive sinkhole appearing on a major road? Commissioner Sato was throwing his weight around behind the scenes, too!

"Caw!" Just at that moment, a furious and ear-piercing screech reached Sano Ichiki's ears, causing him to stand up in indignation.

"Who is screaming? How rude! This is the heart of Kyoto. Many high-ranking officials live here!"

He was already irritated, and now someone was causing a disturbance. Sano Ichiki decided to go out and teach the culprit a lesson!

Sano Ichiki was not the first person to voice his complaints. In the dead of night, many people had heard that grating screech.

Numerous residents had already poked their heads out of windows or stepped into their yards, trying to see who was making such a racket.

Sano Ichiki naturally joined them. The villa district was suddenly illuminated by dozens of switched-on lights, casting beams into the night that revealed a glimpse of the creature lurking in the darkness.

That fleeting image showed a bird flapping its wings as it approached, accompanied by the spine-chilling cry and a trail of shadowy gloom!

With the help of the lights, they finally got a clear look at the approaching monsters!

It was a monstrous bird, roughly the size of a grown man. It possessed a pointed head reminiscent of a crane, yet it was far more gargantuan. Its face bore a ferocious and horrifying human visage, glaring down at everyone present! It was the Yokai Onmoraki.

"Ah!" Screams of fear erupted from several women. They stared in absolute terror at the monster as it descended upon their neighborhood and spread its massive wings!

The creature's appearance was genuinely terrifying, especially its razor-sharp talons, which glinted with a cold, metallic luster under the streetlights!

For some inexplicable reason, Sano Ichiki had a sinking feeling that this monster was coming straight for him.

Overcome by fear, he turned and hurried back toward his bedroom. He had a pistol in there—his service weapon, and the source of his faith in his own safety.

With a gun in hand, he would at least feel much safer.

However, the monster before him had no intention of letting him escape. It abruptly landed right in front of him, touching down under the shocked gazes of the surrounding crowd.

Then, it opened its beak and spoke. "Sano Ichiki... I heard your name! Right before my death!"

The monster's face was rigid and wooden, resembling a sorrowful old man. This realization filled Sano Ichiki with an even deeper sense of dread!

"I... I have never heard of you! You have the wrong person!" he stammered.

"I do not make mistakes. Three months ago, you were stationed in Saitama Prefecture as the director of road traffic. You were the one who directed my rescue operation!" the monster declared, revealing its origins.

"Officer Sano Ichiki, care to explain why, just as I was about to crawl out of my car, you deliberately ordered an excavator to strike the ground, causing a secondary collapse?"

The question delivered by that ferocious and terrifying monster's face was disturbingly apathetic, but the words themselves sent cold sweat pouring down Sano Ichiki's back!

What could he say? Could he admit that it was all part of the Ministry of Transportation's plan, ordering him to delay the rescue to buy them time to react?

Did he not know that once the man was saved, Saitama Prefecture would no longer shoulder the blame?

But if the victim had survived, the public's focus would have immediately shifted to investigating the collapsed road. The entire infrastructure department would have faced severe backlash. Therefore, the higher-ups had approached him and ordered him to stall.

The reputation of a single prefecture was, of course, far less important than that of a national ministry. Thus, a critical rescue operation was stalled for over three months through their tacit understanding. Even now, three months later, the corpse had not been recovered, and they were still using the loophole of missing rather than dead to manipulate the situation!

However, Sano Ichiki could never have predicted that a dead man would turn into a monster!

'I have indirectly killed over a hundred people in my lifetime, but nothing like this has ever happened!' he screamed internally. 'He really turned into a vengeful spirit to seek revenge?'

He was gripped by terror, yet he did not dare speak the truth. All he could do was stand there, frozen!

The surrounding Kyoto officials were all awake now, their eyes fixed on him. Many of them even had their cell phones raised, recording the entire encounter!

If he blurted out the dark secrets behind their under-the-table deals, his life and career would be completely ruined.

One of the unspoken rules of the political sphere was: you can do it, but you can never speak of it!

Speaking of it meant committing political suicide. As a result, the conversation between man and monster ground to an awkward, suffocating halt.

Of course, the bystanders weren't exactly empty-handed. As photos were snapped and uploaded online, countless people received the shocking news, bearing witness to the ferocious and terrifying nature of the monster!

The Kyoto Police Department dispatched all available officers immediately, terrified that even a second's delay might spark an uncontrollable crisis!

But such external developments did nothing to alleviate Sano Ichiki's panic. He hastily tried to cover his tracks. "That was just a simple engineering accident! You know how it is, unforeseen accidents happen all the time during construction rescues!"

"Is that so?" Two clusters of blue flames ignited on the monster's elderly face. Glowing like ethereal ghost fire, the flames replaced his eyeballs, rendering his voice exceedingly chilling and dreadful!

Although his tone was flat, how could a Yokai forged purely from bitter resentment be limited to just a few words?

Blue fire spewed from its beak, drawing a flaming circle on the ground that perfectly trapped Sano Ichiki inside.

"You cannot deceive me, Officer! I am no longer human. Do you think I don't know exactly what goes on in your mind?"

The frigid words spilled from the creature's beak like a prayer of the Apocalypse, plunging Sano Ichiki straight into the abyss of Hell!