Kryptonians: Man of Steel

Chapter 1570 Jade-Faced Golden-Haired Nine-Tailed Fox Tamamo-no-Mae
The gaze shifts to the British Isles, where dark purple spots of light, representing coldness and bloodshed, flicker simultaneously in the Scottish Highlands and the outskirts of London.

Luther's senses picked up the suppressed howls from the deep cellar of the castle, and the huge wolf shadow that swept across the wilderness under the moonlight tore open the throat of the sheepdog.

In an inconspicuous corner of The Times' online edition, a brief news item carried a chilling tone: "Mysterious deaths of livestock in the Highlands have surged, with experts suspecting a new strain of rabies. Meanwhile, several 'wild animal attacks' occurred in East London last night, with victims bearing unusual double-hole wounds on their necks."

The tabloids, with their keen sense of smell, went straight for the sensational headline: "The Night-Walking Aristocracy Returns? Vampires and Werewolves Cast Shadows Over Britain!"

Deep in the African rainforest, the beat of drums and chants pierce the dense forest, and primitive totem poles gleam eerily in the light of campfires; in the ancient ruins shrouded in mist in the Andes Mountains of South America, the eyes of stone statues seem to be shedding tears of blood... The nerves of the world are being repeatedly whipped and ravaged by these supernatural fears.

The cornerstones of human civilization are being gradually eroded and dismantled by these mind-bending entities.

Luther basked in the global panic that he had ignited and that had now spread like wildfire.

With the revival of spiritual energy, how can we favor one over the other?
What he wanted was for the entire world to fall into chaos and trembling as it restructured its rules.

All beings equally struggle, adapt, or... perish in fear.

This was his original intention in directing this grand drama.

"Kyuubi..."

Luther uttered those two words softly, then refocused his gaze on the television screen.

The signal seemed to have recovered somewhat, and the program switched to the news channel's studio.

The experts were pale-faced and stammered as they tried to explain the shattering of the Sessho-seki with flimsy scientific reasons such as geological activity and explosions of special gases, but the panic in their eyes completely betrayed them.

The director then cut to a clearer clip, filmed by nearby villagers using their mobile phones.

The dust and smoke were being slowly dispersed and settled by an invisible force.

In the charred core area where the Killing Stone once stood, the air twisted and rippled eerily, like asphalt under high temperatures.

A chilling aura, a mixture of extreme resentment and allure, emanated from the screen.

Immediately following, instead of the smoke and dust from the explosion, wisps of pure, almost eerie, milky-white mist seeped and rose from the depths of the earth at the epicenter of the blast.

They did not spread randomly, but rather, like living threads, they began to weave and outline slowly and steadily in mid-air with an ancient and mysterious rhythm...

The white smoke grew thicker and thicker, and condensed faster and faster.

Gradually, a blurry yet heart-stopping outline appeared.

It was an extremely graceful and exquisitely sculpted female figure, possessing a bewitching charm that transcended time and was beyond the reach of this mortal world.

Around the figure, several more solid and enormous pillars of white smoke danced, extended, and stretched...

One, two, three… When the ninth, enormous fox tail, composed purely of smoke yet possessing a weighty, tangible quality, unfolded behind that alluring figure like the feathers of a peacock spreading its tail, or like nine pale, towering waves blotting out the sky—

She was no longer wearing the elaborate and heavy twelve-layered kimono from the Heian period, but a modern long dress that she could conjure at will with her demonic power—the fabric was like silk, the off-shoulder design outlined the elegant lines of her shoulders and neck, and the skirt flowed like the night, shimmering with an eerie light under the reflection of the purplish-black demonic flames.

Her face was an exquisite blend of the uncanny and the alluring, defying human description. Every line of her features was meticulously sculpted, so perfect it transcended ordinary imagination.

Her ankle-length hair wasn't the pure gold of legend, but rather a deep, inky black with a molten gold-like sheen, as if perfectly blending the deepest night with the most intense fire. The hair moved without wind, each strand crackling with tiny, leaping purplish-black electric sparks.

The entire studio fell into a deathly silence.

The host's mouth was agape as the cue card slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a soft thud.

The geologist's eyes were wide open, and he made strange gurgling sounds in his throat, as if an invisible hand was choking him.

A nine-tailed fox with a jade-like face and golden fur.

Tamamo-mae.

Regarding Tamamo-no-Mae, fragments of legends from the distant East rapidly pieced together in his mind: a nine-tailed fox spirit born from the ruins of the fallen Shang Dynasty, who transformed into Su Daji and brought down a dynasty, then fled to Japan, taking the name Tamamo-no-Mae, using her stunning beauty and cunning sorcery to bewitch Emperor Toba, absorb dragon energy, and wreak havoc in the palace...

Its true form was eventually exposed, and only after countless Onmyoji and high monks paid a terrible price was its demonic core barely sealed in the Sessho-seki of Nasuno.

For over a thousand years, nothing has grown around the Killing Stone, and birds and beasts have vanished, turning it into a cursed dead land.

That name, which once existed only in yellowed pages and terrifying legends, is now, through the cold screen of modern technology, clearly and undeniably imprinted into the soul of every witness!

This is not movie special effects, nor is it an urban legend; this is a bloody, living reality!
Luther picked up his teacup, his fingertips gently tracing the warm, smooth porcelain surface.

He naturally knew far more about the background of this "Tamamo-no-Mae" than those mortals who were overwhelmed by fear.

"Jade-faced and golden-haired, a beauty that could topple kingdoms..."

The playful smile on Luther's lips deepened. "He's a pretty good character."

He was well aware, of course, that the so-called Sessho-seki sealing points were scattered across the island nation at no fewer than ten locations, some genuine and some fake, and had long been a gimmick to attract tourists.

The true core has always been deep within Mount Nasu.

So what if it's fake?
If Luther says it's true, then it must be true.

The resurrection of the nine-tailed fox spirit Tamamo-no-Mae is the perfect fuel to ignite the flames of fear in Japan and the world.

As for whether she was truly Su Daji who crossed the sea to the east... the legend itself is full of dramatic tension, isn't it?

The authenticity of the symbol was not important to him; what mattered was the terrifying power it carried, enough to tear the era apart.

"Whether it's Su Daji or Tamamo-no-Mae..."

Luther muttered to himself, as if he were appraising a newly acquired, exciting toy.

"A fox spirit legend spanning a thousand years, stirring up a catastrophic disaster for a nation... This role is certainly substantial enough. As one of the important 'protagonists' in this grand drama of spiritual energy revival, it couldn't be more suitable."

He needs that kind of presence.

These colossal beings, emerging from myths and nightmares, are needed to utterly shatter the old world order, drag humanity from the arrogance of technological civilization, and throw it into the cold jungle where the strong prey on the weak and gods and demons dance together.

(End of this chapter)