Revealed

From the moment Shiraishi Wataru landed, his travel itinerary inevitably slid toward a certain abyss.

Well, in truth, this was exactly what he wanted.

A trip without a romantic encounter just felt like something was missing.

Every time he tried to struggle his way out of the abyss, the towering Himalayas stood squarely in his path.

"Is this the 'honey trap'? How terrifying—please, have more of it."

Having finally climbed out of the mountain range, Shiraishi Wataru stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, admiring the scenery outside.

In reality, there wasn't much to see other than that patch of Central Park.

However, as a place he had visited in his past life while embodying Spider-Man in a video game, he still held a bit of sentiment for it.

"Honey, what are you looking at?"

Jennifer hugged him from behind and asked softly.

"Just caught a glimpse of New York's friendly neighborhood hero."

"Haha, Spider-Man can't save New York."

Shiraishi Wataru was incensed; he would not allow anyone to speak ill of Spider-Man in his presence!

Thus, after a bout of wrestling, Jennifer admitted her ignorance and used her own mouth to persuade Shiraishi Wataru to calm his temper.

Naturally, it was another dawdling, lazy day.

"This is the legendary Hell's Kitchen. It's much better now because housing prices have risen, and the cost of living has gone up, so many locals couldn't afford it and moved away. Still, don't wander around casually at night; they don't pick specific days to commit robberies."

Following Jennifer, his dedicated full-time tour guide, Shiraishi Wataru's understanding of New York had shifted from the level of movies and games to reality.

"Are you really not going back home?"

"Ha, that trash family of mine—an alcoholic father, a mother who's 'gone straight,' a drug-addicted brother, and robberies happening in the neighborhood every single day. If I stay there, my life is ruined. I'm already eighteen, I don't need a guardian, and I worked hard to become an exchange student. Don't even think about ditching me now."

Jennifer's description of her family composition was enough to make a dog shake its head. Her greatest wish was to break free from this quagmire, which was also why she had gotten close to Shiraishi Wataru so quickly.

Realistic, yet not off-putting.

"Guide Jennifer, could you take me to see the St. John the Divine Cathedral?"

"Ahem, very well, dear traveler, please follow me."

The St. John the Divine Cathedral didn't feel as ornate to Shiraishi Wataru as St. Patrick's Cathedral, but it possessed a much richer historical and cultural atmosphere, though he didn't know which one was actually older.

Jennifer didn't know much about it either; she had to check her phone and look at signs before she could explain things to Shiraishi Wataru.

They walked all the way to the small garden on the side, where a tall statue stood in the center.

"This is the Peace Fountain, though it looks like it hasn't been turned on in a long time. The statue on top depicts the scene of the Archangel Michael defeating Satan."

Listening to Jennifer's explanation and staring at the angel statue before him, the vague plan in Shiraishi Wataru's mind gradually took shape.

After leaving the cathedral, they went to the notorious South Bronx and Harlem, where he witnessed the "locals" actively committing crimes to help the police lose weight, as well as some others crouching on the street corner as if selecting their next target.

This place truly needed superheroes.

Perhaps a dozen would be enough.

Spider-Man, who couldn't even kill a person, probably didn't have much of a future.

Here's a joke: How do you describe heavy rain without writing the word "rain"?

Answer: Spider-Man and Batman are beating up a criminal together.

Stop fighting already! You guys won't be able to kill anyone like that!

After a day of wandering, Shiraishi Wataru finally accompanied the dedicated Jennifer through the mall, had dinner, and bought her some clothes and cosmetics.

Finally, they returned to the Carlton Hotel.

When the night was deep and quiet, Shiraishi Wataru snuck into Central Park.

The park was not peaceful at this hour, scattered with homeless people and gang members.

He grabbed two gang members to use as hosts, manipulated one of them to the side of the Michael statue in the St. John the Divine Cathedral garden, and after studying the posture and shape of Michael, his body gradually changed. Before long, he looked exactly like the statue.

He then snapped the connection point of the original statue, stored it in the void, and his parasite stood in its place, looking entirely natural.

This was because he had been using his Alienation ability a lot lately, making him quite proficient. Originally, this ability was mainly for transformation, but he had managed to find all sorts of creative uses for it.

Next was the other parasite, which took on the appearance of The Faker and appeared abruptly on Liberty Island. Looking up at the towering Statue of Liberty, The Faker revealed his signature, eerie smile.

With a flicker, he seemed to draw something on the ground around the museum at the base of the statue. A moment later, under the cover of night, The Faker left Liberty Island without a sound.

The next day, the sun rose as usual, and for many, it was another day full of hope.

However, the people who boarded the island today to see the statue discovered that the ground seemed to be painted with some strange patterns.

"Which bastard's performance art is this again!"

"It would be hard to draw such a large pattern overnight."

"Maybe it's a promotion for some event. Just wait and see."

On Liberty Island, tourists pointed at the patterns on the ground; some cared, some didn't. Only the relevant staff frowned, turning to check the surveillance footage to see which bastard had come to cause trouble last night.

Across from Liberty Island, in the southwest direction of Manhattan, The Faker floated in the air, gazing at the Statue of Liberty from afar.

A faint intuition told him from the very first glance at the statue that issuing a Demon Declaration against the Statue of Liberty would absolutely succeed. As a world beacon, this statue had won countless admiration as a symbol, yet at the same time, it had accumulated countless hatreds.

Years of uninterrupted foreign wars meant that every bullet fired by the soldiers had been gathering malice for the goddess.

Once the declaration was issued, it would surely be the most powerful demon Shiraishi Wataru had ever faced; he might not even have much of a chance of defeating this demon in a one-on-one fight.

However, he didn't have to be the one to clean up the mess anyway—if he couldn't win, he would just run! Shiraishi Wataru didn't believe that even a nuclear carpet bombing couldn't take it down.

Moreover, most importantly, he did not feel a threat of being "unable to resist."

In other words, the process might be somewhat tortuous, but this demon would ultimately not be a match for humanity, nor could it pose a lethal threat to him.

"The transformation time for such a massive demon seems to be quite long. Then, I hereby declare—Statue of Liberty, your body is named a goddess, but in reality, you are a devil. The torch held high burns with the blood of millions of families; the shattered chains are the moral constraints you have abandoned. With the malice of hundreds of millions of living beings gathered here, I pass judgment."

"--Demon, manifest!"

The declaration was complete.

There was no backlash, nor was there any movement; aside from a surge of stamina being drained from his body out of thin air, it seemed as if nothing had happened.

But Shiraishi Wataru could feel an ominous aura condensing, and the familiar scent of a demon faintly emerged.

In New York, the originally clear sky seemed, for some reason, to have dimmed a little.

Thanks to "Shushan Feiwujin Yihuang Liangqiannian" for the tip.

Thanks to "Author Keep It Up" for the tip.

Thanks to "lijing383" for the tip.