Anime Multiverse: Building a Pantheon from Scratch

"Congratulations on encountering the Abyss..." Luo Shu repeated those words a few times, frowning slightly before asking, "So when all three fires show abnormalities, does it mean we've encountered an Abyssal artifact?"

"Not necessarily—or rather, it's not always an artifact," Natsuki replied calmly as she closed her thermos and leaned against the podium. "It could be that you were influenced or controlled by an Abyssal item. Or perhaps you've stepped into a place tainted by Abyssal energy or even come under attack by an Abyssal creature. Any of these situations could cause all three fires to react abnormally."

"When a large number of ordinary people exhibit simultaneous abnormalities in their three fires, that's practically the clearest sign that an Abyss is starting to descend."

She paused before continuing, "And such occurrences have been growing more frequent in recent years. That's precisely why the SDS was founded."

Glancing at Luo Shu, she added pointedly, "You brought these two girls here to learn so they'd have a bit of power to protect themselves, didn't you?"

Luo Shu didn't deny it. After all, that was exactly the conclusion he had wanted her to draw.

"To avoid monsters or objects that come from the Abyss—or just weird and dangerous things in general—learning the basics of spiritual sight and how to observe the states of essence, energy, and spirit is the best way to detect danger," she explained. That was the reasoning behind making this their very first lesson.

With a warning tone, she added, "And just so you know, in this world, most normal people can only inflict damage to the red fire. Some ability users are the same. Those who can hurt the blue fire are usually strong—very strong. As for the yellow fire… well, that one's a favorite among all kinds of supernatural beings."

"Um..." Kasumigaoka Utaha raised her hand with a slightly awkward look, recalling something from a few days ago. "When you say supernatural beings, do you mean…"

"Exactly what you think," Natsuki said with a half-smile. "Ghosts, demons, yokai... things like that. To them, the life force of humans—or any living being—is nothing short of nourishment."

She gave Kasumigaoka a teasing look and added, "Of course, some powerful non-human entities can damage the blue fire as well. Those aren't your average threats. You'd need top-tier experts to deal with them."

"There's also a special case," she said, her voice dropping slightly. "It only occurs in males—and all three fires shake at once."

That made Luo Shu and Kasumigaoka both tense. Only Eriri looked confused, blinking blankly before stepping right into the pitfall: "Huh? What kind of situation is that? Why would it only happen to guys? Doesn't it happen to women too?"

"Of course it does," Natsuki said blandly. "For men, it happens during ejaculation."

"As for women... well, that would occur during certain procedures in an OB-GYN operating room. That's the version of the three-fire disturbance that only happens to females."

"!!!"

If Eriri had been drinking something, she would've spit it all out on the spot.

"W-Wait! How can you just say something like that so casually?!"

Face burning red, Eriri slapped the table in embarrassment and frustration.

"I'm 24," Natsuki replied coolly, casting her a look that resembled how an adult might view a flustered child. "In this country, that's usually old enough to be a mother. Talking about this is completely normal."

"B-But, but still…"

Eriri was now stumbling over her words, but Natsuki simply waved her off without concern. "Alright, that's enough about the three fires. Using spiritual sight, whether on yourself or others, can let you easily determine someone's current state."

She glanced at Luo Shu for a moment, then addressed all three of them. "Let me teach you another method to identify danger."

She pointed at the yellow flame on her right shoulder. "Normally, a person's yellow fire is always burning. If someone is extremely fatigued, their yellow fire may start flickering—like it's pulsing. And if it can flicker, it can also become still."

As she spoke, the yellow flame on her shoulder went from burning strongly to flickering, and then finally stilled—becoming a motionless, glowing mass in the shape of a flame.

Natsuki narrowed her eyes slightly and said meaningfully, "In modern society, it's rare to see such a stable flame."

"A stable yellow fire indicates stable life force. That's a marker unique to warlocks."

She looked directly at Kasumigaoka and Eriri. "Among you three, aside from Luo Shu, if you encounter someone whose yellow fire isn't moving at all—run. Just run."

A steady yellow fire meant their life force was completely under control. In other words, they'd already awakened their abilities. Or, to flip it, only someone with stable yellow fire could awaken abilities.

So, if you saw someone with an unmoving yellow fire on their right shoulder, chances are you were looking at a warlock.

After issuing this warning, Natsuki looked back at Luo Shu and added, "The same applies to the blue fire. Those with stable spirit flames are even more dangerous. But since people who've mastered the 'divine flame' can disguise their three fires, it's usually much harder to detect any abnormalities in them."

As she said this, the flames on her head and shoulders instantly became perfectly steady, as if they'd been digitally rendered and pasted on.

Seeing this, Luo Shu narrowed his eyes. He looked up at his own three fires. After two or three seconds, he finally saw one of the flames flicker slightly.

"This method is pretty convenient!"

"But that aside, Natsuki-chan, how many people actually know how to use this technique?"

"This is my personal invention," Natsuki replied nonchalantly, sipping from her thermos with her eyes half-open. "And again—don't add '-chan' when addressing your teacher."

"But you're not that old, right? And didn't you say before that you'd be acting in a student role anyway…"

Clink clink clink—

Suddenly, the clattering of metal echoed through the room. Chains had materialized out of nowhere, wrapping around Luo Shu's wrists and ankles.

Natsuki gritted her teeth, visibly annoyed. "That was the government's mistake. They assumed I was a student just from a photo. Hmph. If you ask me, every single official in Kyoto's personnel department should be fired."

After hearing that, Luo Shu promptly shut his mouth.

So, it was a bureaucratic error? No wonder she's so pissed off.

"Pfft!"

Eriri couldn't hold back her laughter. Her shoulders shook as she tried to suppress it. "Sorry! I didn't mean to, it's just—ha, I didn't think you'd end up in the same situation as me. Wait, no—I really am a student. Ah... wait..."

"Sawamura-san," Kasumigaoka quickly warned, glancing nervously at Natsuki's darkening expression. "Maybe you should stop talking now."

Eriri looked up at Natsuki's increasingly stormy expression and immediately clamped her hands over her mouth.

In a cold tone, Natsuki said, "Your homework is to practice spiritual sight without relying on the essential oil. The bottle on your desk is your only tool. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll be inspecting your progress."

She then fixed Eriri with a flat, unreadable look. "I expect all three of you to be ready to hand in your assignments."

Homework? And it's obviously aimed at me?! Is it too late to apologize on my knees right now...? Eriri thought, despair flooding her face.

Having successfully laid a small trap for the trio, Natsuki suddenly turned to Luo Shu and said, "Luo Shu, come with me to Lycoris after class."

Surprised, Luo Shu blinked but nodded. "Okay."