Anime Multiverse: Building a Pantheon from Scratch

A fiery bloom rose into the air above a residential house roughly one kilometre from the apartment complex.

It was the flash from a mortar round, launched moments after Ryoko Yakushiji gave the order to fire. The mortar unit, which had been waiting in position for some time, coldly carried out the command—indifferent to the fact that their barrage would engulf both the enemy and their own comrades.

The mortar used by the team was the L-16 model, firing 81mm shells with an effective range of 5,850 meters. With nine men operating three mortars—three per unit—their theoretical rate of fire was 15 rounds per minute, per mortar.

And in just under a minute, even as some soldiers hesitated with guilt, they launched a total of 43 shells, raining them down upon the road in front of the apartment.

A sudden sense of foreboding surged through Sharon as she instinctively raised her head—an intense warning rising from the northeast sky. At the same time, faint yet distinct white dots began flickering intermittently across the night sky.

And then, as if the world had slowed to half speed, everything around her seemed to grind down, motion and time stretching sluggishly.

It was happening again… that strange feeling...

As an observer trapped in her own body, Sharon recognized those glowing lines.

Or rather, she had seen them repeatedly during the past ten minutes—whenever Luo Shu took control of her body. Now she was beginning to understand some of the truth behind this peculiar vision.

Those white dots... they marked the optimal strike points.

Whenever Luo Shu fired at those dots, the results were almost always surprising and precise—like hitting a sniper rifle without injuring the sniper himself or shooting a bullet in midair and deflecting it.

Such absurdly advanced maneuvers—things Sharon wouldn't even dream of attempting with a firearm—were executed effortlessly by the man sharing her body.

Beyond the white dots, there were also brilliant red lines drawn across this unusual field of view.

Through personal experience, Sharon had come to understand that those red lines represented bullet trajectories.

By simply avoiding the red threads, it became almost trivial to dodge incoming fire.

This was how Luo Shu had managed to maneuver through a crossfire web of machine gun bullets with such ease earlier.

Within this strange perspective, other strange colors and phenomena would occasionally flash, though Sharon couldn't grasp their meaning—Luo Shu hadn't performed any actions related to them yet.

For now, she understood only this much:

White dots marked optimal strike points. Red lines marked bullet paths.

As for the rest, Sharon didn't yet know. But even just with this—Sharon understood.

The man inhabiting her body... was a complete and utter monster.

She could clearly sense that all of these strange indicators were being projected into her mind in a way designed to suit her understanding.

For someone like her, gaining this perspective came with the price of needing to decipher the meaning behind each color and pattern.

But for Luo Shu...

He rarely even saw any of this chaotic information. He simply acted on pure intuition.

His decisions—his choices—were so fast that they occurred at the very limit of human reflexes.

He didn't even need to think. He could instantly, instinctively, and unerringly make the best possible move, where Sharon might hesitate for minutes over a single action.

In truth, even now, Sharon was beginning to doubt—

Was the vision she just experienced really something a human could see?

Or... could it be the perspective of a god—the very vision of fate itself?

And as Sharon's thoughts spiraled into awe and disbelief, Luo Shu, still in control of her body, casually raised her weapon and fired into the northeastern sky—without even glancing up.

His instincts told him where to aim. His combat ability allowed him to execute the ideal action without effort.

A string of rapid shots followed—an unfamiliar yet seamless burst of fire.

And with it... over forty mortar shells exploded mid-air like a grand fireworks display.

Normally, bullets cannot detonate mortar shells. Mortars are built tough—their casings are designed to withstand impacts, and bullets lack the necessary power or precision to strike the tiny detonator inside.

Even if a bullet managed to penetrate the casing, without hitting the detonator directly, there would be no explosion.

In other words, in normal conditions, it was impossible to shoot down a mortar shell mid-air.

But Luo Shu possessed a power beyond common sense—

—Wind Element Manipulation.

By enveloping the bullets in concentrated wind element, he could guide them with surgical precision to strike the detonators inside the shells—piercing the casing and triggering the explosions.

The result was exactly what now lit up the sky—explosions blooming like flowers in the night.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Orange-red flames blazed against the heavens.

"Pretty, isn't it?"

Luo Shu looked up at the sky with a faint, amused smile. Then he casually reloaded another magazine into the assault rifle and began walking toward the parking lot.

Behind sandbag cover, the SDS soldiers stood silent, weapons lowered. None dared fire a shot. They only watched as he walked away.

"Chief let's go. I'll provide cover."

From the parking lot, Kirika Tachibana raised a hand, stopping Inoue Takina, who was ready to move.

"Don't act rashly," she said, shaking her head.

With that, Kirika took out her cigarette pack again, lit one, and watched silently as Sharon approached. "What do we call you?" she asked calmly.

"Sharon," Luo Shu replied with a smile. Then he turned and walked over to a parked black Lexus. With a casual slap, he shattered the window, opened the door, and slipped inside.

He tore open the panel under the steering wheel, exposing the wires inside. Ground wire, ignition wire, starter wire—he connected all three together.

Vrrmm—the dashboard lit up. The car started without a key.

Before hitting the accelerator, Luo Shu glanced out at the SDS members watching him with wary eyes. He looked toward Chisato Nishikigi and Inoue Takina, a sly grin on his face.

"You let me go once. So, this time, I'll return the favor."

With that, he stepped on the gas. The black Lexus smashed through the parking lot's barrier and vanished down the road.

Back in the lot, Kirika Tachibana quietly took a drag of her cigarette, blew out a ring of smoke, and said flatly:

"Mission complete. Everyone, fall back."

Inoue Takina opened her mouth, unsure of what to say—until a smack landed on her shoulder. Chisato grinned.

"Hey, Takina. Since we survived getting spared by that monster nun, let's go celebrate with some grilled meat. Top-grade Kobe beef. Let's bring Luo Shu and Mika too."

Takina blinked in surprise, then awkwardly replied, "...Sure."

With her answer, Chisato turned to Kirika. "What about you, boss? Wanna come?"

"I'll pass," Kirika replied, taking another puff. After a short silence, she added, "You all go ahead. I need to write up the report from tonight."

"Eh... alright." Chisato didn't press. She seemed to realize Kirika needed some time to cool off.

Inside the van, Mizuki Nakahara—who had been frozen in fear moments earlier—sighed half enviously, half helplessly.

"Man, I wish I had Chisato's nerves of steel…"

She took a deep breath, then exclaimed, "Let's go pick up Luo Shu and Mika. I was practically drooling from that instant ramen smell earlier!"

"Exactly! Let's move, move, move!"

Meanwhile, back at the precinct command office—

Ryoko Yakushiji stood there, face grim, glaring at Maki Shiro.

"That monster—where is she now?"

"How long until our emergency reinforcement squad arrives?"

"Stop asking."

Maki Shiro looked her in the eyes, his tone flat and calm.

"She's heading here."