Fatalism

Bai Cangshu had seen sights beyond compare, but even he was stunned by what lay before him.

It was as if a giant outside Earth had thrust a finger down at the surface out of thin air. The enormous finger piercing the atmosphere burned fiercely, while devastating air pressure slammed down upon his body.

If Tatsumaki had not intervened, before that finger struck the ground, the surface of Z-City and the surrounding desert would have been destroyed first by that unmatched pressure.

The will of the deity above Bai Cangshu was also violently shaken at this moment.

Clearly, Eternal Destiny’s true power far exceeded Its expectations.

Like a meteor striking Earth, the terrifying shockwave and flames that covered dozens of kilometers made Bai Cangshu feel as though he were seeing a burning curtain unfurl above the city.

BOOM!

Amid the violent impact, Bai Cangshu’s consciousness suddenly returned.

The next moment, Bai Cangshu opened his eyes and realized that his head had regenerated.

Bai Cangshu blinked. The scene of the Spirit World entered his mind through his eyes, and he saw Saitama maintaining the pose of having thrown a punch.

The massive black shadow ahead shattered with a bang.

Shigeo Kageyama was dead?!

The golden crown atop Bai Cangshu’s head was still glowing. At this very moment, he still possessed the ability known as Divine Thought. So long as he wished it, he could communicate with that Outer God at any time and receive an infusion of divine power.

Especially now that the Outer God had successfully descended into this world, Bai Cangshu, the Outer God Patriarch, felt incomparably fulfilled and could receive responses and blessings at any time.

He raised his hand, but then immediately realized something.

The World Main Storyline had not been completed. The Spirit World Evil Lord had not been killed.

Sure enough, the pitch-black phantom gradually dispersed. Shigeo Kageyama stood where he was with his head lowered, blood streaming from his forehead and dyeing his face red in an instant.

Saitama lowered his fist and blinked at the boy who had suddenly appeared, somewhat curious.

"You are…?"

Shigeo Kageyama suddenly raised his head. His eyes were utterly blank. Behind him, a black-and-white world flowed rapidly, as though countless scenes were playing behind him. The flow grew faster and faster until black and white melted together.

The world became chaos.

Shigeo Kageyama raised his head and happened to see Bai Cangshu, wearing a crown, and Saitama, whose cape had been somewhat torn, standing within the Spirit World.

He raised a hand.

"I won’t accept… a world like that!"

BOOM!

With a push of both hands, Bai Cangshu felt as if he had instantly fallen into a giant spring. The world turned into viscous liquid, then flung him away.

Saitama was faster than Bai Cangshu. He did not resist, merely watching Shigeo Kageyama, unable to understand why the other man radiated such despair.

BANG!

Saitama vanished from the Spirit World in an instant. Within a few hundredths of a second, he had left Bai Cangshu’s Mantra perception, and within the next second or two, he disappeared from Divine Thought’s perception as well.

This was…

As he and Saitama were about to be separated by Shigeo Kageyama, Bai Cangshu realized that, given the current situation, things would likely unfold exactly as Eternal Destiny expected.

An idea flashed through his mind. He instantly raised his hand, golden qi intertwining with white divine power before releasing a piercing shriek the next moment.

Screee!

The Ki Blast tore through the air. Shigeo Kageyama did not move, allowing the beam of intertwined gold and white light to shoot past his ear.

Following the entrance to the Spirit World that Saitama had punched through earlier, it roared into the horizon.

Then Shigeo Kageyama raised both hands as if grasping an entire world, closing them around Bai Cangshu.

"So long as I kill you…"

Shigeo Kageyama clenched both hands, and Bai Cangshu felt himself restrained by immense force.

Trait: Wind Demon activation failed. You are unable to move.

Activating Wind Demon had no effect. Although Bai Cangshu was currently in Eighth-Order Instant and should theoretically have needed only a light tap on the ground for his body to enter extreme speed and vanish from anyone’s sight.

But the entire Spirit World had become a cage.

Bai Cangshu felt the world distort. The next moment, he was dragged through the air to Shigeo Kageyama’s side.

The boy still held his hands as though gripping something. From this close, Bai Cangshu could clearly see the bloody tears sliding down his face.

He did not want to kill anyone, yet he had no choice but to kill.

Bai Cangshu remained calm even now, though his scalp had begun to prickle and that rare premonition of mortal danger had appeared.

Shigeo Kageyama truly wanted to kill him now… and… he could do it.

"You can foresee the future, can’t you?"

Crack!

An enormous force descended.

Cracks began appearing across the Cocoon of Greed covering Bai Cangshu’s body, as though it would shatter outright the very next second.

"Then you should know that if you kill me now, that person’s ambitions will be completely fulfilled."

"If you kill me, Saitama will come back and kill you."

"In an instant, this world will lose two of its greatest heroes, while he will gain a monster capable of destroying the world."

Crack!

The Cocoon of Greed split open, and immense force seeped into Bai Cangshu’s body. White light began to glow over his body as the god, seeing Bai Cangshu as God’s Favored, attempted to help him.

But Shigeo Kageyama raised his head and looked into the sky. Then the Spirit World twisted violently, and the white light was swiftly obscured.

Hah, what a disappointment, Inari Ōkami…

Bai Cangshu was frighteningly calm. Even as he negotiated with Shigeo Kageyama, he still had the spare attention to mock Inari Ōkami inwardly.

The other party had indeed shattered some of his illusions about so-called gods. In terms of combat power in this world, It probably could not even rank among the top five.

"Do you not care what will become of your divine kingdom after you die?!"

Bai Cangshu continued speaking. Only then did Shigeo Kageyama’s hand pause.

Clearly, he cared.

He cared deeply about the many dead souls of Seasoning City, as well as the spirits belonging to Ritsu Kageyama.

Seeing this, Bai Cangshu remained calm for less than two seconds before the corner of his mouth curled into a smile that was anything but kind. He spoke first.

"Leave it to me, Shigeo Kageyama…"

Shigeo Kageyama raised his head and looked at Bai Cangshu, seemingly hesitating.

"Give me your divine kingdom, give me all those spirits!"

Crack—bang!

The terrifying force instantly shattered the Cocoon of Greed completely. Bai Cangshu’s flesh was crushed flat in an instant, bones piercing through muscle and skin as blood sprayed everywhere within a radius of more than ten meters.

And that force continued. Shigeo Kageyama seemed to understand very clearly that the way to kill Bai Cangshu was to strip every last trace of vitality from his body…

Therefore, he continued inflicting massive damage upon Bai Cangshu’s cells.

Using Perfect Individual, Bai Cangshu began altering the structure of his chest cavity and mouth. He moved the useless flesh aside, doing his best to keep it from affecting his heart, lungs, and vocal cords.

"Since you saw that scene, then you should understand that it is the future!"

"If you could change the future, Seasoning City would not have been destroyed."

"Think carefully. Who exactly caused all of this…"

"And what must you do to lead this world toward its best possible ending?"

Splat!

Shigeo Kageyama squeezed again.

But the next moment, emerald-green psychic power erupted from outside the Spirit World and instantly seized both Shigeo Kageyama and Bai Cangshu.

As though he could not sense Tatsumaki’s rescue at all, Bai Cangshu continued staring at Shigeo Kageyama and said,

"Since even you think you cannot break that fate, why not place your bet on fate’s side instead!"

"Heh, I am Fatalism itself, Spirit World Evil Lord."