There is, of course, another era: the near-future era in which Gensokyo now finds itself. Speaking of Gensokyo, it didn't actually exist from the beginning.

Before it was sealed off from the human world, people referred to it as "the remote borderland in the eastern country, far from human society." Because many yōkai lived in this place, those who accidentally wandered in would be captured and eaten, causing people to fear the area, with ordinary folk daring not to approach. Naturally, some people did move into Gensokyo to hunt yōkai, such as shrine maidens.

Then, as time passed and the human population surged due to civilizational development, the yōkai Sages believed that if humans continued to increase, the balance of Gensokyo would collapse. Thus, they established the "Boundary of Illusion and Reality," inviting yōkai from the outside world into Gensokyo to restore equilibrium.

However, because most yōkai migrated to Gensokyo, very few yōkai survived in human society, and for a long time, they remained in seclusion. Coupled with the Boundary of Illusion and Reality, all these factors combined directly led to...

With the advancement of technological civilization, humanity began to develop toward the material in an extremely pronounced way, gradually starting to doubt spiritual civilization and consequently rejecting non-scientific matters as superstition. Inevitably, people stopped believing in the existence of demons, ghosts, and monsters, and of course, deities.

Whether yōkai or deities, their powers were immense, capable of feats humans could not perform. Yet, they relied on humans to survive in human society, for they shared one thing in common...

the need for human faith! The difference was that the faith required by deities was human reverence, while the faith required by yōkai was human fear.

But to acquire this faith, there was a prerequisite—belief! People believed in the existence of deities and thus offered reverence; people believed in the existence of yōkai and thus felt fear.

But if people ceased to believe in their existence, how could any other emotion arise? Take the oni (demons), for example.

Their very purpose was to raid and cause destruction in human society. If people feared them, they would happily comply.

But if people didn't believe they existed and felt no fear toward them, they would lose all motivation and become listless. And the deities—without human faith, their power would not only wane, but their very existence could vanish...

countless abandoned shrines were the best evidence of this. In such a society, where was there room for yōkai and deities to survive?

Therefore, under the guidance of the Yōkai Sages, the remaining yōkai began to journey to Gensokyo, for there were still humans there who believed in the existence of yōkai. Deities, too, would only reveal themselves within Gensokyo, as only there could they gain human faith.

Subsequently, the Great Sage of the Yōkai within Gensokyo and the human shrine maidens together established a powerful barrier, completely isolating Gensokyo from the outside world, allowing the majority of yōkai and a small number of humans to live there peacefully. From that point on, human society would never again hear or see tales of Gensokyo.

This was the first collaboration between yōkai and humans, as both sides understood that the balance of Gensokyo was essential. Yōkai required eating humans to achieve their balance, while humans required exterminating yōkai to achieve theirs.

Only in this way could the yōkai and humans of Gensokyo continue to survive... Over time, however, the frequent hunting of humans by yōkai no longer occurred in modern Gensokyo; some yōkai even engaged in friendly exchanges with humans.

Of course, some yōkai still ate people, and humans would periodically carry out exterminations against the yōkai. This is the history of Gensokyo's development, an era that could be called the Gensokyo Era.

So... what should the era before Gensokyo's development, before even the Yōkai Sages existed, be called?

If one were forced to say, it would require tracing back to a time long, long ago, when the masters of society were not humans, but a world dominated by countless demons and monsters—that would be... the Age of Raging Demons!

When Nanana battled Reverse Causality, although she had taken precautions beforehand that would not endanger the safety of the entire world, her unrestrained fighting still caused immense destruction to the space she occupied... countless spatial rifts, dimensional fluctuations, and spacetime gaps were born from it.

Then Nanana perished, her body turning into the Tome of Contracts composed of fiery particles, and she entered a spacetime rift. The terminus of this spacetime rift was precisely that Age of Raging Demons.

…… In a tranquil, secluded grove, a bonfire crackled on the grass, roasting a rabbit, with two girls sitting beside it. They appeared to be around ** years old, clad in simple cloth garments.

One had long, beautiful golden hair, while the other sported short, light green hair. Although their attire seemed rustic, suggesting a rather miserable existence, it could not conceal their innate beauty.

A moment later, as a fragrant aroma rose from the rabbit on the spit, the green-haired girl let out a cheer. Ignoring the still-burning fire, she reached out to snatch the cooked rabbit.

"Careful, there's still fire," the blonde girl quickly warned. "What does it matter?

This little bit of fire can't hurt me anyway," the green-haired girl replied dismissively. However, she eventually retracted her hand, extinguished the fire first, and then pulled off a leg of the roast rabbit.

"Mmm, delicious," the green-haired girl bit into it impatiently, letting out a sigh of satisfaction. But then, as if remembering something, her brow furrowed, and she said with a slight pout, "Those guys actually called me a herbivore; how infuriating!

I clearly eat meat, alright!" The blonde girl let out a soft chuckle and said, "They probably didn't mean it in that way when they said herbivore." "I don't care what they meant. Interpreted literally, a herbivore is one who eats grass!

Those blockheads with dwindling IQs—how could I possibly eat grass!" the green-haired girl declared with disdain. The blonde girl smiled again, "You're still angry about that?

It’s been so long?" "I'm not angry, just annoyed. You know, those guys call themselves geniuses and always look down on others—born idiots!" the green-haired girl said fiercely.

The blonde girl sighed helplessly, "You are angry." The green-haired girl instantly choked up, then waved her hand vigorously, "Forget it, forget it, let's not mention that. They’re just a bunch of defeated opponents, not worth my anger.

Let's talk about happy things." The blonde girl asked, "What happy things?" The green-haired girl replied as a matter of course, "Tell me whatever you think is happy; why ask?" The blonde girl tilted her head, thinking for a moment. After a pause, she asked cautiously, "I had a dream last night.

In the dream, I had endless beautiful clothes. That made me happy; does that count?" The green-haired girl pinched her chin and smacked her lips, "It counts, I suppose, but why do I feel like it has absolutely no meaning?

Also, you really love pretty clothes, dreaming about them." "Of course! Don't you think beautiful clothes look amazing?" When this topic came up, the blonde girl immediately became excited.

However, the green-haired girl was quite scornful, turning her head to say, "Hmph. Forget it.

We aren't like those shameless human women; what good is looking pretty?" "But don't you know that pretty clothes are a girl's romance?" the blonde girl countered. "Who told you that?" "I heard it in a dream." "...You sure know how to dream," the green-haired girl's mouth twitched slightly, and then she said, "But I don't like romance.

If you really want to talk about it, I prefer cool, sharp clothes." "Cool, sharp clothes?" The blonde girl paused. "Yes...

Huh?!" The green-haired girl nodded, about to speak, when her expression suddenly changed. She leaped up from the ground and grabbed the blonde girl, darting toward a large tree nearby, hiding among the dense foliage.

"What happened?" Although the blonde girl was somewhat confused, they had been together for a long time, and she knew her friend had likely sensed something, so she quickly whispered. The green-haired girl said in a low voice, "I just sensed a powerful yōki approaching.

There must be another yōkai coming this way... Never mind anything else, let's mask our auras for now." "Okay," the blonde girl replied, then closed her eyes and activated her ability.

Instantly, both their auras completely vanished. They remained still in the tree, holding their breath and focusing their senses.

Rustle, rustle, rustle! Only the sound of the breeze brushing against the leaves remained in the entire forest.

About five or six minutes later, a footstep suddenly sounded not far away, startling the two girls hiding in the tree. "Yukari, did you feel that?" the green-haired girl asked her companion, trying desperately to keep her voice down.

A flicker of panic and unease crossed her eyes. Similarly, the blonde girl, called Yukari, also had a trace of dread on her face, whispering back, "I felt it.

Such strong yōki. I'm afraid the two of us combined couldn't defeat this yōkai." "Not just strong; its yōki is filled with violent energy.

Be careful. Increase the concealment; try not to let it find us," the green-haired girl cautioned.

Yukari nodded, though her mind was racing: what race of yōkai possessed such violent energy? This question was soon answered.

As the footsteps grew nearer, they peered down through the gaps in the leaves and finally saw the form of the approaching creature... It was a massive figure, over two meters tall, with a human body but topped with a wolf's head on its neck.

Damn, a werewolf! Seeing the creature's appearance, the faces of both girls changed drastically.

They looked at each other, realizing the creature also seemed filled with the same terror as them. It was common knowledge that there were many yōkai races.

The most powerful among them were the Oni clan and the Vampires. The former were kings of close combat, possessing immense strength, capable of shifting mountains with a mere movement, and almost no yōkai could match them in melee.

The latter were the kings of the night; as long as it was dark, a Vampire's power would be greatly enhanced, even granting them immortality. Even Oni would not easily engage a Vampire in combat at night.

However, while these two races were the most powerful, they were not the most frightening. Vampires rarely appeared and were highly devoted to etiquette, making them nobility among yōkai; generally, they would not bully the weak.

Oni, on the other hand, loved to drink. If one accidentally encountered one and there was no prior enmity, offering a drink would often result in the Oni generously befriending you.

Thus, all yōkai respected these two races but did not feel fear toward them... provided one did not make an enemy of them.

Then came the third most powerful yōkai race—the Werewolves. These were truly the most terrifying.

Because they were not only powerful, being the only ones capable of standing against the Oni in close combat, but like Vampires, their strength also amplified during the night. Most terrifyingly...

they were not as easy to befriend as the Oni or Vampires. They were inherently brutal and bloodthirsty.

Upon encountering yōkai of other races, if the other party wasn't exceptionally strong, the Werewolves would 100% rush in to fight. Furthermore, Werewolves especially enjoyed bullying the weak.

The only yōkai Werewolves dared not provoke were Vampires and the Oni clan. Vampires possessed powers that countered them, and the Oni were not only individually strong but the entire clan was extremely united...

Angering one Oni meant angering the entire clan. But apart from these two races, Werewolves dared to fight any other yōkai, and their methods were extremely savage.

They were feared by almost every yōkai except the Oni and Vampires. Generally, a weak yōkai encountering a Werewolf faced only one outcome: certain death.

"We ran into a Werewolf. This race is too terrifying.

Yukari, you must not slacken; absolutely do not let it discover our presence, or we are finished!" Before the Werewolf got too close, the green-haired girl immediately issued a low warning. "I understand, Youka," Yukari nodded heavily.

In truth, even without the warning, she had already pushed her masking ability to the limit, as the Werewolf was a yōkai they absolutely could not contend with right now. A moment later, the Werewolf walked directly beneath the tree where they were hiding.

Looking at the still-smoking fire and the hot roast rabbit, the Werewolf’s eyes lit up, and it suddenly snapped its head up. Although the dense foliage completely obscured their figures, and although Yukari’s ability completely masked their auras, that single glance sent shivers down their spines, nearly causing them to fall from the tree.