The Demon King's army descended upon Gensokyo with two objectives. The first, naturally, was to eliminate Lin Luo. As one of the Three Kings, Lin Luo possessed a Core Codex, the very essence of unlimited potential. In the Demon King's eyes, Lin Luo posed a greater threat than the Shadow King; so long as Lin Luo remained, the Demon King's claim to the First Walker position would always be precarious, though an early exit from the conflict remained a distinct possibility.

The second objective was the Host. The World Heart within the Host could make him infinitely stronger; gaining more would allow him to progress further in the God War. These two goals were fundamentally aligned.

Upon arriving in Gensokyo, he sensed the presence of six Hosts, yet he sought only one. The moment he touched down, his target became crystal clear, unswayable by any other **; that Host was none other than Kaguya Houraisan!

This wasn't due to any particular affection for Kaguya, but simply because she was a Host with a one-hundred-percent compatibility rating.

Compatibility wasn't merely about the degree of integration; it served a far more crucial function: unlocking the World Heart’s seal. Generally, a Host could only break the World Heart's seal after forming a contract with Lin Luo and achieving certain milestones through specific events. However, there was one exception: a Host who started with perfect one-hundred-percent compatibility from the very beginning!

This meant that from the moment Kaguya was possessed, the seal on the Eternal Heart was already broken... she was a Novice.

Being possessed by a World Heart inherently signified infinite potential, and a Novice could unleash all of that potential in the shortest possible time. Furthermore, the unsealed World Heart became an additional source of power for them, the two mutually reinforcing each other, yielding exponentially greater results. Their future could only be described as limitless.

Of course, the Hosts weren't the only beings possessing infinite potential. Take Gensokyo, for instance; there were certainly individuals whose potential surpassed that of Kaguya, Reimu, or Sakuya. But there were only so many World Hearts available, and if the attributes didn't align, even greater potential was useless.

While the benefits listed above applied to the Host, the role of a Novice was far more significant for a Walker... After absorbing a regular Host’s World Heart, the seal remained intact. To truly harness the World Heart's power, Walkers had to shatter the seal using their own abilities—a feat ten times more difficult than comprehending Rule Force.

However, with a Host like Kaguya, whose seal was broken from the start, the Walker who obtained that World Heart had effectively bypassed the need to break it. In other words, the Walker could immediately access the World Heart’s true power, requiring only time for refinement rather than arduous effort to crack the seal.

Among the six Hosts in Gensokyo, five had one-hundred-percent compatibility, and three were Novices. But two of those Novices had already signed contracts. For the Demon King, this rendered them indistinguishable from ordinary Hosts; even acquiring their World Hearts would mean obtaining sealed versions, making their allure far less potent than Kaguya's.

Thus, the instant the Demon King descended upon this world, he launched a full-scale war, simultaneously using a Fifth-Dimensional Barrier to secure control over the world's influence, while deploying Fifth-Dimensional Space and clones to engage Lin Luo. Everything served one singular purpose... buying time!

From the outset, he knew Gensokyo's strength was such that even he needed to tread cautiously. He never intended to win this total war. The dozens of Earth-Rank experts, the numerous peak Spirit-Rank experts, and the endless stream of grunts—all these forces were merely tools to stall for time... Victory or defeat was irrelevant; losing was immaterial; the annihilation of them all meant nothing. They were just hired muscle, easily resummoned after being wiped out. All he required was that no reinforcements reach him while he dealt with Kaguya. That would be enough!

So, the instant the plan activated, he led several trusted lieutenants directly toward the Eientei.

However, before they even reached Eientei, the moment they entered the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, the Demon King was met with a formidable interception... the Mountains and Seas Scroll laid by Eirin Yagokoro!

This Scroll, once unleashed, was capable of annihilating early-stage Earth-Rank experts. Even with the Demon King leading the charge, the element of surprise cost him dearly; the very first wave of attack instantly obliterated three Earth-Rank experts. Then, Eirin Yagokoro and the Demon King became locked in a deadly stalemate—one deep within the Bamboo Forest, the other outside—one pouring all her energy into manipulating the Scroll to hold the enemy back, the other exerting every ounce of skill to break the Scroll. They countered each other with relentless intensity.

After obliterating several Earth-Rank experts, Eirin perceived the enemy's immense power. After his inner circle was decimated, the Demon King understood that the Host he sought to eliminate would not be taken down easily. Their open contest devolved into a clandestine struggle... Yet, the Demon King's time was finite. Facing the Mountain and Seas Scroll alone, he realized his accompanying forces were already suffering heavy losses. To linger further would be catastrophic. Therefore, he was forced to deploy his ultimate skill.

...

Inside Eientei, Eirin, sensing that the Mountain and Seas Scroll had fallen silent, stood in the courtyard, her brow deeply furrowed. Given the enemy's intense assault just now, coupled with Gensokyo’s general war, it was unlikely the enemy would simply give up and retreat. So why the sudden quiet?

"Strange. What sort of trick are they playing?" Eirin felt a prickle of unease. Perhaps this enemy wasn't on the level of Yukari Yakumo, nor comparable to the Reimu Hakurei during the Imperishable Night incident, but the feeling she experienced was dangerously potent—a crisis unlike any before, making her realize that a single misstep could lead to lifelong regret.

At this moment, no one else was in Eientei besides her. Reisen Inaba had been dispatched to the Bamboo Forest to draw enemy fire, while Kaguya was safely cloistered on the False Moon of Eternity under Eirin’s direct arrangement. Eirin was confident the enemy couldn't breach the False Moon under her protection, but then why this feeling?

"What is this anxiety?" The increasing stillness only heightened Eirin’s tension. By all rights, given her experience, such nerves should never surface. As the Mind of the Moon, rationality was her defining trait—if not omnipotent, then at least supremely capable.

"Worry clouds the mind, perhaps?" Eirin murmured to herself. Perhaps she knew: these millennia spent on Earth had subconsciously transformed Kaguya into a child in her eyes. No mother could remain perfectly calm when her child faced imminent doom...

"No!" Realizing this, Eirin’s gaze sharpened, an unprecedented resolve settling on her face. "I must maintain absolute clarity, or I cannot protect the Princess! No matter what, I must...!!"

Just then, she felt a chilling draft pass right beside her—a cold that pierced to the bone!

"Is that you!" Eirin’s expression fractured. Without hesitation, she spun and loosed an arrow.

No aim, no preparation required; her archery had reached the level where the arrow moved as her intent dictated. The moment it flew, the shaft streaked like a falling star, striking precisely at the knee of a rapidly passing shadow. With a resounding boom, the shadow was violently hurled backward... Clad in black demonic armor and wielding a pitch-black spear, it was the Demon King himself.

Although Eirin's strike repelled the Demon King, he was unharmed; in fact, the arrow shattered. Though reinforced by magic, it wasn't a treasure, and under the full force of two peak experts clashing, breakage was inevitable.

"How did you get in here?!" Eirin was somewhat astonished. The Mountain and Seas Scroll encompassed everything above and below heaven; even Yukari Yakumo’s boundary manipulation would struggle to force passage. How had he succeeded?

"Damn it!" Seeing his cover blown, the Demon King cursed and immediately charged Eirin with his spear. The black demonic weapon tore through space, its sharp passage sounding like a demon lord’s roar.

Eirin casually dropped her bow, pressed forward into the void, and conjured a miniature black hole... Though surprised, she didn't expect an answer. Since he was a Walker, possessing such abilities was not entirely unexpected... just not the kind of development she hoped for.

The Demon King was pressed for time and unleashed his full power in this thrust. Eirin, bound to protect Kaguya, certainly couldn't hold back either. The peak collision of two top-tier experts shook the heavens and earth.

The moment the spear tip met the black hole, space immediately erupted in chaos... Centered on the point of contact, countless fissures spread outwards. The invisible space seemed to shatter like glass, pieces falling away. The black hole began to rage, spatial storms howled, and even the earth beneath them vibrated violently. The two forces mutually suppressed each other, neither yielding an inch.

"Ah!" In the end, Eirin gained the upper hand. The black hole pressed forward, and with a cry of agony, half of the Demon King's body was sucked in. But before Eirin could celebrate, a black shadow wormed out of his body and shot toward Eientei.

Eirin’s face changed, and she sprang to pursue, but the instant she moved, she felt an immense force restraining her. Instinctively turning back, she saw the Demon King's face contorted in a wicked grin; his hand was clamped onto her leg.

"This is bad!"

Regardless of Eirin’s distress, the Demon King, having abandoned a clone, burst into Eientei with maximum speed, forcibly breaching the Eternal Corridor, finally spotting Kaguya seated upon the crimson moon.

"How could this be? Master..." Reisen was utterly shocked. Her instinct to save her mistress drove her to attack the Demon King immediately.

But the Demon King didn't even glance at her, completely ignoring her assault. He vaulted forward, spear raised, and stabbed directly toward Kaguya’s heart. Kaguya, however, seemed frozen, utterly motionless.

"Success!" Seeing this, the Demon King felt immense joy. But before his demonic spear could connect, he suddenly saw a bloody hand emerge from Kaguya’s chest. Then, with a crackling sound, black flames engulfed Kaguya’s body. Amidst her expression of agony, her form instantly incinerated to ash.

"You..." Seeing the owner of that hand, the Demon King could barely believe his eyes, for it was none other than... Lin Luo?!