Pristira, the Watergate City.
Higashino Makoto stood atop the city's tallest tower, his golden eyes gazing down at the city divided by the canal below.
The water gate in the distance was faintly visible in the twilight, and the huge sluice gate cast long shadows under the setting sun.
Higashino Makoto stretched out his hand, and a thick book floated in his palm.
The Tome of Wisdom.
Echidna's legacy... no, since she has been resurrected, it can't be called a legacy.
Moreover, Echidna explicitly stated that it was fine not to return the book, so it could actually be considered her own.
Although he doesn't intend to hold onto it for long.
The Arrogant Witch Factor is currently the only unclaimed Witch Factor.
However, according to the Tome of Wisdom, after the death of the previous Archbishop of Pride, the Witch Factor came to this place, the city where Typhon died, for various reasons.
"Arrogance factor."
He murmured the name, his finger lightly tracing the cover of the book.
The pages turned automatically, making a soft rustling sound.
The dense text flows across the pages like a living river.
The words leaped, flickered, and rearranged on the pages.
Higashino Makoto's gaze swept over the words.
"The Pride Factor slumbers beneath the Priestella..."
He closed the book, his golden eyes gazing at the city below.
"Watergate City... the place where the arrogant witch Typhon died. Did they use Typhon's remains as a sealing vessel?"
He put the Tome of Wisdom into his backpack and jumped from the top of the tower.
His body traced an arc in the air, his dark robe fluttering in the wind.
He landed on the bank of a canal without making a sound and continued walking along the canal.
About fifteen minutes later, a huge water gate appeared in front of him.
The water gate is about 20 meters high and 10 meters wide, and is made of thick, black boulders.
Its surface was covered with moss, and water droplets seeped from the crevices, giving it a dull luster in the setting sun.
The sluice gates were tightly closed, and the sound of flowing water could be heard from the gaps between the gates—deep, slow, like some kind of ancient breath.
Higashino Makoto walked to the water gate, raised his hand, and gently pressed it against the Wall of Stone.
"High-Tier Item Appraisal".
Magical light surged from his palm, seeped into the Wall of Stone, and flowed along the ancient patterns.
A few seconds later, the information was returned.
There is a magical seal inside the water gate.
It appears to have been set up forty years ago; the seal was very strong, but it has loosened.
It's not because of time, but because the element of arrogance itself is eroding the seal; it wants to break free.
Are you getting anxious?
Higashino Makoto's lips curled up slightly.
He withdrew his hand and strode towards the water gate.
Then, his body merged into the Wall of Stone, like a drop of water merging into the ocean.
The Wall of Stone flowed over his skin, cool, moist, and carrying an ancient, weighty feel.
The next second, he found himself in a strange space.
All around was thick, almost tangible darkness.
The air was damp and cold, carrying a smell that was both metallic and bloody.
Water seeped down from above, dripping onto the ground with a rhythmic pattering sound.
Higashino Makoto raised his hand, and a golden light appeared in his palm, illuminating the entire space.
This is a huge underground space.
It is about 20 meters high, 30 meters wide, and 500 meters long. The four walls are black rock, and the surface is covered with runes.
Just as recorded in the Tome of Wisdom.
In the center of the space, there is a stone platform.
The stone platform is about two meters high and three meters in diameter, and is made of white jade.
Its surface is as smooth as a mirror, gleaming with a soft luster in the golden light.
A ball of light floated on the stone platform.
A purple-gold light.
It was about the size of a fist, irregularly shaped, and resembled a collection of some kind of liquid.
It rotates slowly, and with each rotation it emits a subtle, heart-beat-like pulsation.
The arrogant Witch Factor.
Higashino Makoto walked to the stone platform, his golden eyes fixed on the ball of light.
The moment he approached, its spinning speed increased.
The pulse quickened, the light intensified, like a hunting dog finally catching the scent of its master.
What's going on?
"Higashino Makoto," he said in a low voice.
The light did not answer. But as he spoke, it suddenly flickered.
Like the excitement of a child finally hearing their mother's voice.
Higashino Makoto stared at it, remaining silent for a long time.
Then he reached out his hand.
The moment my fingertips touched that ball of light.
The world has changed.
From his feet to the horizon, from the earth to the sky, from the past to the future, everything unfolds within his perception.
Those distorted spatial patterns, those fractured temporal layers, those unseen rules hidden beneath reality—
All abnormal forces appeared to him as transparent, severable threads.
"This is... arrogance?"
His voice was very soft.
The light flowed through his palms, seeped into his skin, and permeated his soul.
The Witch Factor found its home within him, like a river that had been lost for four hundred years finally flowing into the sea.
Higashino Makoto closed his eyes.
Information flooded my mind like a tidal wave.
Authority of Pride correspond to Venus.
Its name is --
"Garden".
The Garden is divided into two parts:
"The Fall of the Morning Star" expands its domain with itself as the center.
Authority and protections within the area are nullified, as if those powers had never existed.
Its essence is to sever the connection between the existence "in the Garden" and the world. Without the support of the world, the so-called "Authority" and "protection" will naturally become ineffective.
"The Judgment of the Evening Star" considers the Garden its own territory.
It allows the use of powers that can only be used in small worlds: "Door and Key," "Peace," "Weighing Good and Evil," "Judgment of Sin," and "The Tree of Life."
He can Judgment the guilty.
It can judge good and evil.
It can force Peace.
You can open doors leading to anywhere within the Garden area, or you can close all the doors.
It can allow life to grow and change.
Higashino Makoto opened his eyes, his reflection showing the dissipating purple-gold light.
"Arrogant..."
He repeated the word in a low voice, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Interesting."
He looked down at his hands.
The palm was still glowing, with a purplish-gold light flowing beneath the skin, as if some long-dormant power was awakening.
He could sense those blessings, those Authority, those unseen anomalies that clung to everyone.
It's like the kind of vision gained in the world of Demon Slayer, but clearer, more comprehensive, and deeper.
He can disable all protections, Authority, and all anomalies whenever he wants.
Furthermore, because their connection to the world has been severed, they cannot even restore their magic within it.