Chapter 174

Of course, Takumi couldn't be hit by a mere broom, and Kikyo just wanted to drive them away. Otherwise, she would have directly used spiritual power to exorcise the demon.

Snap!

Raising his hand, Takumi grabbed Kikyo's wrist. She was stunned. She didn't expect that the other party would dare fight back without dodging or running away, and still fight back in front of the shrine. Her eyes instantly filled with anger.

Powerful spiritual energy emerged from her body, a light cyan glow appearing around her shrine maiden uniform. She swung her other hand at Takumi's face.

Although the slap, imbued with spiritual power, wouldn't hurt him, it would still be enough to expel him from the shrine.

Takumi raised his hand and caught her other wrist, saying playfully, "Is this really the strength of a shrine maiden who serves the 'Lord God of Heaven'? Though your spiritual power is impressive, it is still far from the level of an immortal.

"Is it possible that the god you worship has never given you any favor? That's too stingy, don't you think?"

Kikyo gritted her teeth. She couldn't use her spiritual power effectively against him. This man was no ordinary person, nor an ordinary Onmyoji.

But hearing him continue to be disrespectful to the god she served made her even angrier.

"Although the Lord God of Heaven has not granted me any favors, nor has He recognized me as His shrine maiden, He is the god who created all things in the world. Every being should be in awe of Him."

"You rude person, leave the shrine immediately, or else—"

Before she could finish, Takumi pulled Kikyo into his arms, wrapping an arm around her waist with a smile. "Haha, what you said is very admirable, but only a few people in this world think like you.

"I like you."

Kikyo's face changed drastically. She was being molested by a rude person in front of the shrine of the 'Lord God of Heaven.' This was an extreme blasphemy against the deity she revered.

But before she could react, the anger and panic in her heart suddenly subsided. She felt an unimaginable peace wash over her.

The 'rude person' in her eyes now appeared enveloped by an aura of supremacy, with a 'divine wheel' slowly rotating behind him.

God—though she had never seen Him, nor known Him—she understood now. She knew that He was divine.

Of course, this was only when the gods chose to reveal themselves as such.

Takumi looked at the stunned Kikyo, gently raising her chin with his fingers, and said playfully, "Haha, I won't tease you anymore, my shrine maiden. Your words have pleased me. I now acknowledge you as my shrine maiden."

He revealed only the faintest aura of being the 'Eternal Throne,' enough to suggest divinity without causing overwhelming phenomena.

Kikyo snapped back to her senses, her face instantly filled with guilt and worry. If Takumi hadn't been holding her, she would have knelt down.

"Lord God of Heaven, I didn't recognize you, and I even committed blasphemy against you. I..."

Before Kikyo could finish, Takumi leaned down and kissed her on the lips. Kikyo's eyes widened in shock. She thought she would be punished, but instead, she was kissed by the god she served.

A kiss from a god possesses magical power, let alone a kiss from Heaven.

In fact, it was a blessing. Even if Takumi granted her no power, his aura alone would make everything in Kikyo's life go smoothly, as if she were a child of fortune.

Istaru watched with great interest, realizing that her master had come here for a reason—this human girl.

In the 'memory of the world' granted to her by her master, this girl held the status of a 'heroine.'

Istaru pondered and then understood.

The master, possessing human emotions, also had a human-like desire to collect.

Was this human girl another of the master's chosen collections?

Ten minutes later.

Takumi let go of the girl who showed no resistance at all.

The red and white shrine maiden uniform was slightly disheveled, her delicate face flushed, and her eyes a little dazed. Apart from kissing and holding her, Takumi hadn't done anything else.

"My shrine maiden, you need not feel guilty. What you did pleased me, and I have given you my blessing."

With that, he pulled Kikyo into the divine circle.

"Grow well until you are worthy to ascend to the throne of Amaterasu."

After saying this, Takumi's figure slowly disappeared from Kikyo's sight. Losing the embrace of the god, Kikyo collapsed onto the ground.

As the divine presence faded, Kikyo's heart began pounding again, processing all that had just happened.

She gently touched her beating heart, feeling as though she was in a dream.

Touched her lips.

She had just come to clean the shrine of the 'Lord God of Heaven,' as she always did, but today, the god she served had come to her in mortal form.

The Lord God of Heaven had acknowledged her as His shrine maiden and given her favor.

The 'Blueprint of the Gods' emerged in her mind.

The voice of the Lord God echoed in her ears.

"The Lord of Amaterasu... Can I truly fulfill the expectations of the Lord of Heaven?"

Kikyo looked at the throne of 'Amaterasu Omikami' in the 'Blueprint of the Gods.'

Her expression gradually grew resolute, with a hint of melancholy within her determination.

Since the 'Lord God of Heaven's Palace' had shown her such favor, she couldn't fail the deity who had acknowledged her under any circumstances.

Takumi returned to the original timeline.

The timeline Kikyo resided in was during the period when the world of Inuyasha had not yet been annexed.

After all, 'time' was a cycle confined within the world and did not concern itself with anything beyond.

This was why Takumi found time to be particularly fascinating.

When the world of Inuyasha was annexed, its timeline would merge with that of Teyvat, ultimately converging into a single river of time.

Naturally, everything he had changed would become 'fixed fate,' unchanged even after the annexation of the 'Inuyasha World.'

After all, he was the 'Eternal Throne' of two worlds, unique within the multiverse.

Moreover, as the 'Eternal Throne,' any god holding authority was equally unique.

'Authority' was singular in each world. Authorities could only be merged, not duplicated. There were only so many 'rules' in existence.

The rules of time do not allow for taking the authority of another and traveling back to create duplicates.

Takumi looked towards Kyoto. "The world of Teyvat has embedded enough nails in the world of Inuyasha."

"It's time for the final act to conclude."

He couldn't wait to annex the 'Inuyasha World.'

Once the annexation of the 'Inuyasha World' was complete, Teyvat would truly become a world with perfect rules.

At that point, the first stage of world evolution would be complete.

The second stage would involve continuously annexing other worlds and strengthening the rules.

Evolving from a 'single-level world' into a 'multi-level world.'

In short, a 'multi-level world' involves creating a 'parallel world' within the existing world.

The most well-known example is the 'Type-Moon Universe,' which contains countless 'parallel worlds.'