Anime Multiverse: Building a Pantheon from Scratch

"How can that be? There's a security lock at the entrance," Mira Tsubakihara murmured, covering her mouth with one hand. Her voice was low and filled with panic. In that moment, she finally understood why Luo Shu had pressed the elevator button for the fourth floor.

The elevator floor display in the lobby showed which floor it had stopped on. Clearly, the stalker had seen it halt at the fourth floor and assumed that was their destination—so he had followed them up via the stairs. Luo Shu's deliberate misdirection had bought them a sliver of time and space to maneuver.

"Let's go. We're heading up to the fifth floor," Luo Shu said quietly. At the same time, he manipulated the wind element around the staircase below to disperse sound—an invisible barrier to prevent their movements from being heard.

"I'm wearing heels," Mira whispered urgently, finally regaining some composure. Running in heels would make a racket—enough to alert the man just one floor below.

"Hold on to me," Luo Shu said simply. There was no time to explain the soundproofing spell, and so, without further ado, he wrapped an arm around Mira's waist. She instinctively adjusted her position, and in one swift motion, he lifted her into a princess carry.

Thanks to the physical enhancements granted by his awakened abilities, Luo Shu ascended the stairs to the fifth floor in silence and with ease, holding Mira in his arms. Once they reached the hallway, he stopped in front of apartment 501.

"Is there an empty unit on this floor?" he asked.

Still clutching his neck and resting her cheek on his shoulder, Mira quickly replied, "Unit 503 isn't rented out yet. I have the keys in my bag."

Without hesitation, Luo Shu stepped in front of 503 and reached into her bag. He found a large bunch of keys—every unit in the building had a corresponding one.

He blinked and glanced at Mira.

She averted her eyes a little guiltily and muttered, "I own the entire building… I just let the agency handle the rentals."

Wait—so when I paid five months' rent upfront, totalling a hundred thousand yen as a thank-you fee, it all went to her?

Suppressing the urge to sigh, Luo Shu quickly located the key to 503, opened the door, and stepped inside with Mira. He locked the door behind them. As he crossed to the balcony, he opened his school bag while explaining his next move.

"You stay here. I'll go down through the emergency fire exit on the balcony and deal with this guy."

He needed to figure out what this man was up to. Given that his own face had already been seen, retaliation was a very real concern.

"Wait, that's too dangerous…" Mira began, but her voice trailed off as she saw Luo Shu pull out a sleek black handgun from his bag, followed by an extra magazine which he slipped into his pocket with practiced ease.

She stared, speechless.

Luo Shu paused at the balcony door, looked back at her, and asked, "What danger?"

"..." Mira hesitated, then lowered her voice. "Please don't… kill anyone. But… if it really comes to that, I'll help you clean it up."

That earnest response made Luo Shu want to laugh, but he simply quipped, "I didn't bring my badge today."

Not that it mattered. The real reason he didn't have it was that Mika was still processing the documents for it.

"Eh? Oh! I see!" Mira blinked in sudden understanding, visibly relaxing. Though she was still unsure when her neighbor's kid became a full-on police officer, she chose to believe him—given the current circumstances, she had little choice.

Luo Shu reached the balcony and pulled open the emergency fire escape hatch in the floor. He extended the collapsible ladder hanging from it. Japanese apartment buildings were thoughtful like that—each balcony came equipped with an emergency ladder to the floor below. Of course, because of potential break-ins from neighbors above, the balcony windows were usually kept locked.

Gripping the handle of his bag with his teeth, Luo Shu climbed swiftly down the ladder and entered Unit 403's balcony. He tugged at the glass door—it was, unsurprisingly, locked.

"Whew…" he exhaled and moved on without hesitation, opening the next emergency hatch and descending to 303.

This time, he didn't even try the door. He simply smashed the glass.

Why the confidence?

Because 303 was his own apartment.

Ignoring the empty cup noodles on the glass table, Luo Shu placed his bag down and took out the suit uniform, quickly changing clothes. According to Chisato Nishikigi, this outfit's defensive capability was better than the latest bulletproof vests and could even resist a degree of supernatural attacks.

"System, link my apartment's study room to the Astronomy Club's pocket dimension. Set the trigger as turning the doorknob three times," he instructed mentally.

This was his contingency plan in case of emergency. Something about the stalker had felt… off—like a faint trace of danger lingering in the air.

[Notice: 100 points deducted. Remaining points: 14,983.]

Relieved at the system's confirmation, Luo Shu skipped the tie, grabbed his handgun, and headed out the door. He climbed the stairs swiftly and silently to the fourth floor.

At the stairwell corner, he stopped, cautiously peering into the corridor.

Just as expected, the man in the black mask was now knocking on the door to Unit 405, then moving toward the far end—Unit 406.

Luo Shu mentally prepared 5 points for emergency teleportation back to the pocket dimension and stepped into the hallway. He raised his gun.

"Freeze. Police."

The masked man froze mid-stride.

"Turn around. Let me see your face."

Luo Shu aimed at centre —never the head. Too risky. He pictured the man as a target on a shooting range, keeping steady.

The man slowly raised both hands and turned his head. When he saw Luo Shu dressed differently, he visibly hesitated.

"Hands on your head. Get down. Now."

The man said nothing.

"I repeat—hands on your head, and squat down!" Luo Shu barked, brows furrowed.

Still no response.

Then, suddenly, the man turned and bolted forward.

Luo Shu's instincts screamed danger. The unease that had gnawed at him before surged to the surface. Without a second thought, he pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The bullet struck the man's left leg. Blood splattered, and he let out a muffled groan. Staggering, he used his right foot to push off hard—and leapt over the balcony railing.

Caught off guard, Luo Shu stared in shock, then lunged forward to look over the edge.

But just as he reached the railing, every alarm in his body went off. His instincts flared like wildfire. In his mind's eye, he saw a monstrous claw rising from below.

"Shit—!"

He leapt back on reflex, landing half a meter away, stumbling slightly but catching his balance.

A split-second later, a long, slender claw—like that of a beast—slashed upward from below, sharp as blades, slicing through the air in a motion like a drawn sword, a gleaming arc of death.

The masked man had been clinging to the balcony edge all along, waiting for Luo Shu to approach so he could rip his throat open.

"You son of a…"

Still rattled by the brush with death, Luo Shu fired again without hesitation—Bang! Bang!

Blood exploded from the man's chest, right over the heart. He looked stunned, eyes wide as he lost his grip and plummeted.

Luo Shu stepped to the railing and leaned over. Down below, the man had crashed onto the garage pavement beside the building, his body sprawled in a growing pool of blood. He twitched unnaturally, his wide eyes frozen in a dead stare—locked on Luo Shu above.

His lips twitched at the grim sight. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself.

Screams from the street below rang out—clearly triggered by the gunshots and the body hitting the pavement.

Luo Shu glanced toward the road and saw a patrol officer frozen stiff, still holding onto his bicycle, staring up at him in complete shock.

Without a word, Luo Shu pulled out his specially issued contact phone and dialled Mika's number.