"Cao Cao, what do we do now?"
Sun Wukong hadn't wasted any time. He sent a single, golden monkey clone to intercept Cao Cao and the shattered remnants of the Hero Faction, who had fled halfway across the globe to a hidden safehouse. When the monkey relayed Indra's final decision, Cao Cao and his lieutenants were left completely speechless.
Finn had agreed to let them live, and he wouldn't actively hunt them. But his mercy came with two absolute, non-negotiable requirements.
First, they were ordered to wipe out the Five Principal Clans of Japan and permanently make enemies of the Shinto Pantheon.
Second, they must never, under any circumstances, appear in front of Finn again. If he ever saw them, he would kill them on sight.
Despite the sheer absurdity of the first order, just hearing the second condition made every surviving member sag in overwhelming relief.
None of them had slept a single wink since their disastrous ambush in Hong Kong. Every time they closed their eyes, they saw the horrifying image of their comrades being casually butchered by an invisible, unstoppable monster. They lived in constant, shivering paranoia, terrified that Finn was watching them from the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. No matter how many dimensional portals Georg opened, it felt impossible to escape him.
Their paranoia wasn't entirely unfounded. Because Finn's Manager had optimized his cross-universal skill set, he theoretically possessed the Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God). The absolute, terrifying truth was that if Finn ever made physical contact with them and marked them with his demonic energy, they could never escape. He could teleport to their exact location across space and time instantly.
While they were deeply grateful that Sun Wukong had successfully brokered a ceasefire, the crushing reality of their situation slowly dawned on them.
They hadn't just survived. They had become Finn Balam's attack dogs.
Or rather, Cao Cao was the only one intelligent enough to fully realize this. He couldn't help but laugh out loud at the bitter, crushing irony. He wielded the True Longinus, the absolute pinnacle of human potential and the ultimate God-killing weapon. He was supposed to be the savior of humanity. Yet, in the end, he was nothing but a disposable pawn currently on the leash of a young Devil.
"What about the massive bounty he put on our heads?" one of the members asked nervously.
While Cao Cao didn't mind slaughtering the Five Principal Clans or angering the Shinto Gods to survive, the global bounty was a massive problem. They were now the targets of every greedy mercenary, rogue Devil, and Fallen Angel on the planet. Cao Cao didn't fear them, but many of his younger followers would struggle to constantly kill other humans just to survive the endless waves of bounty hunters.
"If you are so pathetically weak that you need to beg a God to save you from a handful of greedy humans, you might as well kill yourselves right now. You have no value," the golden monkey clone snorted in disdain. Having delivered Indra's message, the clone burst into a puff of golden smoke, leaving them alone.
Cao Cao stared at the empty space where the monkey had been, his jaw clenching tight.
Was he really so cowardly that he feared a group of human mercenaries?
In the ancient texts, the Biblical God had repeatedly slaughtered humans—sending floods, plagues, and earthquakes to punish them. As the wielder of the True Longinus, a weapon stained with divine blood, why should Cao Cao hesitate to do the same?
"..."
Cao Cao took a slow, deep breath, stabilizing his fractured pride.
Why had he so easily accepted becoming Finn's target practice in the first place? Because he believed his divine backers, Indra and Wukong, made him untouchable. But what happens when the backer realizes the prey is too dangerous? The pawn gets sacrificed.
"Cao Cao?" Georg asked, staring at his leader with deep concern.
Cao Cao opened his eyes. The fear was gone, replaced by a cold, hardened resolve. "Pack everything. We are leaving for Japan immediately. For now, we will execute the Five Principal Clans. According to the bounty boards, Finn has placed a massive reward on their heads as well. If we're going to act as his executioners, we might as well claim the money to fund our survival."
"...Are you serious?" Siegfried asked, cradling his freshly healed, yet weakened wrist.
"I am," Cao Cao replied smoothly.
Deep down, Cao Cao felt incredibly hollow, but he had to admit one absolute truth: Finn Balam was a terrifyingly brilliant monster.
Did Finn possess a heart? Did he understand love or hate? Cao Cao honestly didn't know. If Cao Cao had been in Finn's position, he would have let rage consume him and hunted the Hero Faction to the ends of the Earth. But Finn? Finn had simply sat down with Indra and Sun Wukong, negotiated a massive profit, and turned his would-be assassins into his personal hit squad.
Cao Cao could physically feel the invisible chain wrapped tightly around his neck. Finn held the leash, and there was absolutely nothing Cao Cao could do about it.
If I had just chosen a different target...
But Cao Cao couldn't blame Finn. Finn had the political weight to negotiate directly with the King of Gods. Cao Cao could only redirect all of his suffocating frustration and humiliation toward the people who had originally contracted the hit: The Five Principal Clans.
"Let's kill them all! We'll slaughter the clans, claim the bounties, and secure our future!" Cao Cao roared to his faction.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH!!!"
The Hero Faction roared back. Their eyes were completely bloodshot, filled with a crazed, desperate mixture of killing intent and greed. Compared to the absolute terror of facing Finn, slaughtering the corrupt Japanese Omnyoji seemed like a vacation!
Meanwhile, deep in the Underworld, within the hidden headquarters of Grigori (the Fallen Angel organization).
"Please help her, Azazel," Tobio Ikuse pleaded, bowing deeply.
"You really bring me nothing but massive headaches, Tobio," Azazel sighed, rubbing his temples in exasperation.
Azazel, the Governor-General of the Fallen Angels, looked down at the young man. He had recruited Tobio back when the boy was just a high school student. Tobio had grown into a top-tier fighter, wielding the legendary Longinus Canis Lykaon (The Slash Dog). But right now, Azazel was far more interested in the young, desperate woman standing nervously beside Tobio.
She bore a striking resemblance to Akeno Himejima.
It was Suzaku Himejima, Akeno's cousin and the niece of Shuri Himejima. She was the newly appointed, highly overwhelmed head of the Himejima Clan.
Why was the head of a major Shinto clan begging for help in the headquarters of the Fallen Angels? Because she knew that if she didn't beg for Azazel's protection immediately, her entire clan would be driven to violent extinction within the week.
Finn's retaliation was ruthless, yet perfect. He hadn't set foot in Japan. He hadn't fired a single spell. Instead, he simply manipulated the entire supernatural underground with invisible strings woven entirely out of money.
With the astronomical bounties placed on them, every mercenary on the planet now looked at the Himejima Clan like walking gold mines. The other four Principal Clans were also under siege, causing the political situation in Japan to utterly collapse. The other clans refused to help the Himejima, loudly blaming their arrogance for provoking a high-ranking Devil in the first place.
As the clan head, Suzaku technically should have gone directly to Akeno to beg for mercy. But how could she?
In the original timeline, Suzaku only managed to bridge the gap with Akeno because Akeno had softened under Issei Hyoudou's influence and reconciled with her father, Baraqiel.
But in this timeline? After the Himejima Clan had brutally murdered Shuri (Akeno's mother) and dispatched assassins to butcher a starving, orphaned Akeno in Tokyo? How could Suzaku possibly ask for forgiveness? Finn had saved Akeno, and Akeno belonged entirely to him now.
Fortunately for Suzaku, she was a beautiful woman, and she had secured the absolute loyalty of her lover, Tobio Ikuse, a top executive in Grigori. If she hadn't been sleeping with Tobio, she wouldn't have even made it past Grigori's front gate.
"You do realize exactly whose daughter Akeno Himejima is, right?" Azazel asked, his voice losing all traces of its usual laid-back amusement.
Azazel was not a kind man. Why on earth would he help the clan that had murdered his best friend's wife?
Tobio might be a top fighter, but Baraqiel? Baraqiel was Azazel's brother-in-arms, his oldest comrade, and the Vice Governor of Grigori. Azazel knew perfectly well how much silent agony Baraqiel had endured after Shuri's murder to maintain political peace.
When Azazel heard that Finn Balam was utterly destroying the Himejima Clan through economic warfare, he hadn't cared. In fact, he had laughed out loud, genuinely thrilled that Baraqiel's estranged daughter had found such a ruthlessly competent, terrifyingly protective lover.
Azazel and Baraqiel had actually met Finn briefly years ago. After Finn had rescued Akeno, Azazel needed to ensure the young Devil heir wouldn't mistreat the girl. Since Grigori had utterly failed to protect Akeno from the Himejima assassins, they had no right to demand her back. Seeing Finn's absolute devotion, they had quietly stepped away and watched them from a distance, as Akeno found her happiness.
So, why would Azazel ever help the Himejima Clan now? He was genuinely enjoying the show.
Watching Azazel's cold, mocking smirk, Suzaku's heart sank into absolute despair, and Tobio gritted his teeth in sheer helplessness.
"Can't you do something, Azazel? Please," Tobio begged.
"....." Azazel remained perfectly silent, his expression unreadable, but at that moment, a certain young man, who somehow overheard their conversation, stepped forward, and asked, "Can you help them, Azazel?"
"..."
Azazel looked at this young man speechlessly.
However, watching the exchange from the shadows of the meeting room, a certain high-ranking Fallen Angel sneered in disgust. Seeing Azazel casually entertain a group of desperate human kids instead of preparing for war deeply offended him.
Kokabiel snorted contemptuously and turned on his heel, walking away. He had finally made his decision. He was going to take matters into his own hands and plunge this stagnant world back into the glorious chaos of war.