Now that Izumo was no longer under the close influence of the Shadow of IX, the curses of Nihility in Izumo did not erupt as intensely as they had in the past.
Occasionally, a few people would still fall and become oni, but fortunately, because of the oni incident at the hot spring, Lucian had already made arrangements in advance and was able to suppress them in time, restoring them to normal.
Naturally, this act further elevated Lucian's reputation to its highest point, making him the only god and the sole object of belief in the hearts of Izumo's people, as well as the sole authority figure.
In the end, to eliminate any future threats, Lucian decided to use Godly Bandage directly to restore over ten million people in Izumo, erasing the curses of Nihility they had accumulated since birth.
Nihility enveloped the entire cosmos, and Self-Annihilators could arise anywhere, but at least now, the people of Izumo were no longer turning into oni and were no different from normal humans.
However, there was another problem—the twelve Sentinels wielded by the twelve guardians.
As mentioned before, even though these Sentinels granted various divine-like abilities, they inherently contained the power of Nihility, so to use their powers, one had to endure the curses of Nihility.
Of course, the current guardians didn't really care about that since, with Lucian around, even if they turned into oni, he could save them with the Godly Bandage, so they were not afraid to use the Sentinels.
Besides, Izumo's development still required the power of the Sentinels, so abandoning them was not possible for the moment.
In Lucian's plan, Kyuusyou's Truth could observe the laws and structure of all things and could even recreate miracles, which in turn helped Izumo learn knowledge and technology from other civilizations and revive them locally.
Sirin's Sky could manipulate space, setting up defensive barriers and facilitating the transportation of goods.
Mei's Howl could control electromagnetism.
Wendy's Mist could manipulate the weather.
Ana's Frost could create ice and snow.
Bianka's Fate could cause plants to bloom across barren ground.
Himiko's Flare could control fire.
Azta's Root could manipulate rocks and land.
All these abilities were essential for transforming Izumo's environment, providing energy, and enhancing its infrastructure and agricultural capabilities.
Senti's Thought could control people's hearts, create illusions, and even discern the future, which not only made her specialize in gathering intelligence and distinguishing truth from lies but also allowed her to moonlight as a psychologist.
Theresa's Bind could create cages that weaken all energies, rendering anyone powerless, just like normal humans, which made her fit to be the enforcer of Izumo.
Sakura's Maw could cause decay and aging, and after devouring a living being, it could assume their appearance and abilities, making it indistinguishable from the real one.
In many eyes, all these abilities were clearly incredibly convenient for external conquests, yet Lucian chose to use them solely for infrastructure purposes to create a better life for the people of Izumo.
Why?
Simple.
'Conquering other planets and civilizations is useless when inside the script, so the top priority is improving the quality of life with Mei.'
With this thought in mind, Lucian decided to focus solely on Mei.
As a result, Izumo's development became incredibly fast, and in just ten years, its technology had even reached the spacefaring era. During this time, some ill-intentioned individuals from outside Izumo attempted to invade and conquer it, only to be struck down by asteroids influenced by Lucian's Law of Calamity.
With the development of their civilization, the guardians also came to realize that the powers of the Sentinels had significant limitations and could no longer keep up with the times.
In the end, Lucian proposed merging the twelve Sentinels and forging a new one.
He remembered that in the original story, Izumo had fused the twelve Sentinels, creating two powerful Sentinels: 'Origin' and 'End.'
Origin became Mei's possession, while End, which gathered the potent power of Nihility within itself, gave birth to the white-haired oni known as 'Hakuhatsu Ki,' who was later slain by her.
Ultimately, Mei became the sole survivor of Izumo, wielding a Sentinel she still carried as Acheron, known as 'Naught,' which was far more powerful than the current twelve Sentinels.
===
Inside an empty workshop of his house, Lucian gathered the twelve Sentinels, broke them into two pieces, and then wrapped each piece with the Godly Bandage.
A few moments later, as the bandages unraveled, they were restored to their original forms, signifying that his attempt to duplicate them had been a success.
Yes, duplication.
Now, he had twelve identical sets of Sentinels, making the original twelve Sentinels become twenty-four in total.
Needless to say, this proved how miraculous the Godly Bandage was.
And so, after returning twelve Sentinels to the twelve guardians, Lucian went back to the workshop and stood alone before a high-tech furnace, planning to personally forge Origin and End to avoid any accidents, since, from what he knew, when they were forged, a powerful white-haired oni would be born.
If a fight suddenly broke out, it would likely destroy large parts of the city.
For that reason, considering that only he could suppress such a powerful being without causing damage, Lucian decided to forge the two Sentinels with his own hands.
"I'm curious to see what the white-haired oni looks like..." Lucian muttered with anticipation, then chuckled. "If I'm not wrong, he should be Kevin's variant, like Phainon, right? Is he gonna rush at me, shouting about saving the world or something?"
Not wasting time any longer, Lucian threw the duplicated twelve Sentinels into the furnace and began the forging process using Izumo's ancient methods.
A few moments later, with the support of the power of Abundance and Elation, the twelve Sentinels began to merge, causing the power of Nihility within them to crackle as it constantly devoured the Path energy he released.
"No wonder Izumo had to sacrifice so many talented people to make these twelve..." Lucian muttered thoughtfully, his golden eyes reflecting the blazing forge fire. "I can't even imagine how many died to make Origin and End..."
Evidently, it was only because of his abundant energy supply that this safe method, without any sacrifice, was possible. Without it, his only choice would have been to use the same method that had been used in the original story.
===
Several hours later, when the twelve Sentinels inside the forge finally fused completely into one, tremendous energy suddenly surged out.
*Whoosh!*
A blazing ball of light came into being, then split into two balls of light that floated toward Lucian, gradually dimming and revealing an object within each ball.
One was a white-purple Japanese longsword, elegant and beautiful—its hilt bore a Japanese character that read 'Origin.'
As for the other, it was a black greatsword, menacing and emanating a destructive aura—its hilt bore a Japanese character that read 'End.'
Seeing the two strongest Sentinels, second only to Naught, Lucian narrowed his eyes, and then...
*Hummm—*
Before Lucian could even react, the surrounding space suddenly trembled.
He could feel a sense of restraint over his body, but fortunately, his body was strong enough that this minor debuff did not have much of an impact on him.
In the next moment, under his wary gaze, a dark figure emerged from the shadow of End. It had no face and no clothes, yet it possessed female features and two glowing golden horns rising from its forehead.
Just as Lucian was about to speak, long, white hair began to grow from the dark figure's head, pure and snow-white.
'What the hell? Wasn't the white-haired oni supposed to be Kevin's variant? Why is it a woman?'
Lucian was slightly confused as he gazed at the dark figure's female body and beautiful, long hair, both of which seemed out of place with its overall appearance.
'Where did things go wrong?'
As Lucian wondered and began to lose himself in his own thoughts, the dark figure suddenly grabbed End and slowly walked toward him.
Seeing this, Lucian was about to act and subdue the dark figure, but before he could, the dark figure pointed the blade to the ground, then kneeled in front of him like a devout follower, or perhaps a loyal servant.
"Master..."
Hearing the rasped, feminine voice from the dark figure, Lucian decisively halted his raised hand, not striking down.
"...If you called me that, guess I can't bring myself to kill you."
Even though this dark, mysterious figure was clearly a powerful being, seemingly close to an Emanator, it actually called him 'Master.'
Was it because he was End's creator?
Anyone who called him 'Master' couldn't be an enemy, right?
Moreover, his passive conceptual ability, Law of Calamity, had not triggered, which indicated that the dark figure bore no ill intent toward him.
Lucian himself had no idea which step had gone wrong, causing the wielder of End to regard him as its master.
"Well, whatever..."
Lucian sighed helplessly and gave up thinking, but soon his expression turned serious.
"From now on, you'll follow me."
In the end, after a brief moment of consideration, he decided to recruit this new 'worker.'
However, since the dark figure's appearance was unsettling, he quickly wrapped it with the Godly Bandage, intending to restore its form into a human one.
A few seconds later, the bandage loosened, revealing a youthful and delicate woman who appeared to be around the same age as Mei, with fair skin, a beautiful body, golden eyes, long legs, a pair of beautiful breasts, and long, white hair that flowed freely down to her thighs.
However, when he saw her face, Lucian couldn't help but freeze for a moment before narrowing his eyes and taking a closer look.
To his surprise, the more he looked, the more familiar her face seemed.
'Why does this woman have Kiana's face...?' Lucian thought in amazement. 'Did I just create Kiana's variant?'
If that were the case, then he truly had hit an unexpected jackpot.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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