Fate's Choice: Livestream at the Start Summoning Billions of Ravens

Tokyo, Chiyoda Ward, late at night.

The atmosphere in the central security monitoring room of Yasukuni Shrine was somewhat relaxed.

The security captain on duty, Kenta Sato, was drinking hot tea and chatting casually with his colleagues about last night's baseball game.

On the screen wall, dozens of high-definition cameras capture every corner of the shrine.

Business as usual.

Suddenly, a young security guard pointed to one of the screens, his tone uncertain.

"Captain, look at the main gate... what's going on with that person?"

Kenta Sato turned his gaze over.

On the screen, a young man dressed in a gorgeous kimono and sporting striking red hair strolled leisurely through the closed torii gate.

He walked slowly, his posture like that of a nobleman taking a stroll late at night.

But this is the Yasukuni Shrine!

And it's closed time now!

"Baka! How did he get in?"

Kenta Sato suddenly stood up, spilling tea all over the floor.

"Neither the infrared sensor nor the pressure sensor at the door triggered an alarm!"

"Has the system been hacked? Or...is it a ghost?"

There's no time to think about these strange questions.

A piercing alarm instantly resounded throughout the entire God Community domain, and red warning lights flashed wildly in every corner.

"Level One Alert! All squads, take note! An unidentified individual has broken in through the front gate! Repeat, through the front gate!"

"Immediately proceed to the plaza in front of the temple to intercept them! Authorization granted for the use of non-lethal weapons!"

Kenta Sato roared into the walkie-talkie, issuing orders.

In less than two minutes, seven or eight patrol cars roared in from different directions, their blinding headlights completely enveloping the red-haired youth.

More than 30 security personnel armed with riot shields and batons quickly formed a perimeter, and the dark muzzles of stun guns were pointed at the youths in the circle.

"Stop! Hands up! Kneel down immediately!"

"You're surrounded! Don't make any unnecessary movements!"

Warnings blared incessantly, creating an extremely tense atmosphere.

However, the red-haired youth, Shuten-dōji, ignored all of this.

He didn't even stop walking.

Under the illumination of dozens of bright lights, a mocking smile slowly appeared on his handsome, almost otherworldly face.

"What a noisy bug."

Shuten-dōji spoke softly in fluent Japanese.

Kenta Sato felt a chill run down his spine from those seemingly casual words.

Without further hesitation, he issued the final command into the walkie-talkie.

"Fire!"

The instant the command is issued.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Several high-voltage currents and tear gas canisters were fired at Shuten-dōji from different angles.

A bizarre scene unfolded.

Everything aimed at him, whether electric current or physical projectiles, stopped abruptly in mid-air as if it had hit an invisible wall when it came within about a meter of his body.

Immediately afterwards, the metal bullets and plastic casings began to twist and melt at a visible speed, turning into drops of red-hot molten iron and charred liquid, which dripped to the ground with a "sizzling" sound.

Everyone was stunned by this sight that defied the laws of physics.

Shuten-dōji's smile grew increasingly frenzied.

He raised his hand and snapped his fingers lightly.

"Smack."

A crisp sound.

next second.

A dark red shockwave silently spread outwards from him.

Wherever the shockwave passed, security guards wielding riot shields and sturdy patrol vehicles instantly lost all color, turning into grayish-white powder.

Then, a night breeze blew by.

More than 30 security personnel and seven or eight cars, along with their last screams, were completely reduced to ashes and vanished into the air.

The whole world is peaceful now.

Shuten-dōji looked around with satisfaction and continued walking towards the main building at the heart of the shrine—the worship hall.

He walked to the bottom of the stone steps in front of the worship hall and stopped.

Then, he slowly bent down and gently placed his fair and slender right hand on the granite ground beneath his feet.

"Buzz—"

A deep tremor came from deep underground.

Centered on his palm, a huge, intricate, and eerily beautiful dark red magic circle instantly spread across the ground.

Countless twisted runes flowed within the magic circle, as if they were alive.

The edges of the magic circle expanded rapidly, soon enveloping the entire worship hall, along with the main hall behind it.

The temperature in the air began to rise sharply.

A strong, pungent odor, a mixture of sulfur and blood, suddenly appeared, making one want to vomit.

From the patterns of the magic circle, countless black shadows, like vengeful spirits, began to seep out. They emitted silent shrieks and surged madly toward the beams, pillars, and foundation stones of the worship hall.

At this moment, the area around the shrine was already in complete chaos.

Countless passersby and nearby residents, drawn by the sirens and the earlier commotion, all raised their phones to capture the terrifying scene.

In their footage, the sky above the Yasukuni Shrine was shrouded in an ominous dark red halo.

Just then.

"Boom!"

A gigantic, mountain-sized ghost hand, made of pure dark energy, burst forth from the center of the magic circle!

That hand was covered with hideous bone spurs and strange patterns, its five fingers spread wide, carrying unparalleled strength, and it grabbed the entire worship hall.

"Click—click—"

The wooden structure groaned under the strain.

The next second, this building, which symbolized countless controversies and hatred, was crushed into pieces like a fragile toy model by a giant ghostly hand!

However, before the fragments could even hit the ground...

"call!"

Dark red flames, seemingly from hell, erupted from the demon's hand, instantly engulfing all the remaining building debris.

A towering pillar of fire shot up from the ground, turning the Tokyo night sky into an eerie blood red.

Shuten-dōji slowly rose into the air, hovering above the raging flames.

He opened his arms wide, like a demon king embracing the whole world, and spoke in a clear and loud voice to all the trembling, fearful, and excited cameras below.

His voice was broadcast to every corner of the world through countless live streaming rooms.

"Listen up, mortals of this world."

"My true name is Shuten-dōji."

"Class: Berserker."

Shuten-dōji paused, his golden beastly eyes filled with arrogance and bloodthirsty pleasure.

"From this moment on, the Holy Grail War officially begins!"

"The seven chosen Masters will form contracts with us seven Servants."

"Fight and battle on this land until only one group remains!"

"The ultimate victor will hold aloft the omnipotent wish-granting machine—the Holy Grail—and grant any wish!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the whole world seemed to be put on pause.

Shuten-dōji let out a maniacal laugh, the sound echoing through the blood-red night sky.

"Hahahahaha!"

"The other six good-for-nothings, and your Master hiding in the gutter!"

"Watch closely! This is my declaration!"

"Come on! Come and please me!"

Amidst the maniacal laughter, Shuten-dōji's entire body suddenly disintegrated, transforming into billions of black butterflies.

The storm of butterflies circled once before disappearing completely into the towering flames.

All that remains are ruins razed to the ground and countless stunned faces around the world.

……

At the same time.

A penthouse apartment in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.

Jiang Ming sat on the sofa, with dozens of virtual screens floating in the air in front of him.

Each screen displays a live broadcast of the Yasukuni Shrine from a different angle.

[Emotional Value +120,488]

[Emotional Value +256,771]

[Emotional Value +301,999]

……

On the system panel, the emotion value numbers are jumping wildly at an unprecedented and terrifying speed.

[Current Emotional Value Balance: 14,570,000]

Jiang Ming picked up the red wine on the table and took a small sip.

After one night, breaking 20 million should not be a problem.

……

Kyoto, China, Ninth Bureau Command Center, a conference room.

Chen Jianguo sat in the main seat, his brows furrowed into a deep frown. In front of him were more than a dozen top experts from various fields such as physics, information science, and sociology.

On the other side of the conference table, Jiang Ming's Mirror 1 was idly twirling a pen.

"Gentlemen, regarding target 'A-002' who appeared in Shanghai, also known as the so-called 'White-Clad Sword Immortal,' our current analysis is..."

A military representative is giving a presentation, pointing to a PowerPoint slide on a large screen.

Sudden.

"Bang!"

The conference room door was suddenly kicked open.

A young operations staff officer rushed in, his face pale, forgetting to even call out a report, carrying a laptop in his hand.

"Director Chen! Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened in Japan!"

Chen Jianguo's sharp gaze swept over them.

"What's the panic! Explain yourself!"

"You...you should see for yourself!"

The operations staff hurriedly connected the laptop to the projector.

The next second, the image on the main screen in the conference room switched.

What appeared was a live recording of Shuten-dōji hovering above the towering flames, announcing the start of the "Holy Grail War" to the world.

"...My true name is Shuten-dōji..."

"...The Holy Grail War has officially begun!"

A demonic declaration echoed through the meeting room.

On the screen, the image of Yasukuni Shrine reduced to a sea of ​​fire and ruins was clearly visible to everyone.

The entire command center fell into a suffocating silence.

All the experts, including Chen Jianguo, stared wide-eyed, their bodies stiff as they looked at the images on the screen, their minds blank.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ming, who was sitting in the corner, leaned forward slightly.

He watched the arrogant red-haired demon king on the screen with great interest, a barely perceptible smile curving his lips.