Beneath the lead-grey sky, the land lay barren and desolate.
In some hidden place unknown to all, Dead Zero sheathed the Night Blade in her hand and looked up at the patch of white light overhead, which was growing ever dimmer.
Beside her, the corpses of hundreds of huge, savage, grotesque monsters carpeted the ground.
Clearly, a fierce battle had taken place here earlier.
Amid the unceasing roars, the last ray of projected light overhead finally vanished. Yet deeper within, the rippling blood-red glow blazed brighter than ever.
Throughout the entire process, Dead Zero did not move.
After glancing at the now-useless communication device in her hand, Dead Zero withdrew her gaze, turned around, and walked deeper inside without looking back.
"What is it now?"
Bai Zhi looked helplessly at Calamity Reimu. He had only just closed his eyes to rest when she shook him awake.
"Xiaoqiu sent a message."
Calamity Reimu shook a small box in her hand, her expression grave.
"...Just a message?"
Bai Zhi frowned slightly and sat up from the sofa.
"That's right. Xiaoqiu said she discovered a Secret Realm that seems to be related to the Four Directions Gods, who vanished from the Shan Hai Realm long ago. Since the chance to enter that Secret Realm is limited, she can't come back for the time being."
Rubbing her forehead, Calamity Reimu looked as though she had quite the headache.
"Of course. I knew it'd turn out like this."
"The Four Directions Gods..."
For some reason, Bai Zhi's expression became rather strange.
Ever since he had deduced the origins of that Mechanical City, the secret of the Inverted Pyramid had become more or less irrelevant. Whatever secret the Inverted Pyramid concealed, it could not possibly be separate from the Mechanical City.
That was precisely why he