The Mechanical Giant

Deep within the sea, upon the ghost ship, the Miko Kikyo gazed at the ten-meter-tall stone statue before her and couldn't help but murmur.

"Statues that have existed on this seabed... since who knows when?"

"Indeed. Within the Sea Nation, even the eldest, Lord Uminari, has no knowledge of the origin of these statues. The people of the Sea Nation have been accustomed to these strange objects since birth," Kujira said from the other side.

"Because these statues are incredibly sturdy and impervious to weapons, they cannot be processed, so they serve no real purpose. However, they are also harmless. They have been left here for years without ever turning into spirits or yokai, so over time, no one paid them much mind," Uminari added to his previous words.

"Exactly. Only children like to swim and climb all over these things," Otakemaru said dismissively. From their words, it seemed the people of the Sea Nation truly didn't care much for these bizarre stone statues.

After hearing the yokai of the Sea Nation speak, Kikyo remained standing in place without a word, staring intently at the towering figure. Seeing her expression, Uminari couldn't help but speak up with concern.

"Divine Messenger, surely these statues aren't the cause of the Sea Nation's decline..."

Kikyo did not respond directly to Uminari's words. Instead, she took flight, drifting from the ghost ship to the side of the tall stone statue to observe the massive object up close.

At the same time, on the surface of the sea directly above them, Miketsu sat within her flying ship, using Kikyo's perception to carefully probe the statue's condition.

The sense of affinity emanating from this statue was familiar to her.

'As I thought...' Through Kikyo, Miketsu carefully felt the stone statue deep beneath the sea. The condition of the statue was exactly as she had expected, and Miketsu couldn't help but let a slight smile play across her lips.

Now, only the final step of verification remained...

'Lady Uka, what should I do now?'

Kikyo's prayer surfaced in Miketsu's mind. Deep in the sea, she was waiting for her first instruction. Miketsu responded to her directly.

"Place your hand upon that statue..."

Deep under the sea, following Miketsu's words, Kikyo placed her hand on the uneven surface of the stone statue. Then, Miketsu, aboard the ship, took out the crystal containing a trace of her ancient god power and began to release her divine power through Kikyo.

Suddenly, faint, nearly imperceptible wisps of pitch-black aura began to seep from Kikyo's body. Sensing this aura, which was different from the divine power she was used to, Kikyo was momentarily stunned.

Is this also... Lady Uka's aura?

Rumble!

Suddenly, the stone statue Kikyo was touching began to vibrate. A dull sound rippled out through the water. Seeing this, the yokai of the Sea Nation aboard the ghost ship were all startled.

"What... the sea rock martial statue is... reacting?" the elder sea yokai Uminari said in shock. As the eldest among them, this was the first time he had ever seen these statues undergo such a strange change.

"These broken rocks... they actually hid some kind of secret?" On the other side, Otakemaru's jaw dropped in astonishment as he watched the statue he had often played on as a child begin to move.

Under their astonished gazes, the vibration of the sea rock martial statue grew more intense. Amidst the shaking, the encrustations on its surface began to peel away, and cracks started to appear in the stone shell beneath.

"The martial statue that was impervious to blades is actually cracking... what on earth is..." Kujira murmured. Any yokai of the Sea Nation knew how sturdy these statues were, yet now it was splitting apart on its own.

The cracks on the sea rock martial statue rapidly spread across its entire body. As the cracks deepened and widened, the stone shell slowly fell away, revealing its true form to everyone.

"This... this is..."

When the stone shell had completely fallen off, an entirely different sight was revealed. The originally rough stone statue had vanished, replaced by a mechanical metal giant.

Heavy armor covered various parts of its body, and thick mechanical structures were visible at the joints and connections. A sturdy, massive helmet covered it from the top of its head to its neck, leaving only the eyes exposed. In its hand, it gripped a giant metal spear, which was densely engraved with countless incantations.

It wasn't just the weapon; the giant's entire body bore obvious traces of sorcery. On the metal giant's armor, one could clearly see a large character engraved in seal script... Qin.

Having shed the accumulation of time, the true form of the sea rock martial statue was revealed once more. The yokai of the Sea Nation looked at this massive iron giant, unsure of what expression to make.

"This... this is a metal puppet... such a massive puppet... is this the true form of the sea rock martial statue?" Uminari said, stunned by the scene. Otakemaru was simply frozen in place, his eyes filled with longing as he looked at the iron giant's silhouette.

"Whoa, incredible. Can this big iron guy... move?"

Uminari gulped down several mouthfuls of water through his gills to calm his shocked heart. He looked toward Kikyo and asked.

"Divine Messenger... you were able to reveal the true form of this sea rock martial statue. Do you know what it truly is? Does this have something to do with the Sea Nation's decline?" Uminari asked Kikyo fervently. Seeing that Kikyo had actually uncovered the secret of the sea rock martial statue, Uminari suddenly felt that she might truly be able to save the Sea Nation.

Hearing Uminari's words, Kikyo, still floating in the sea, did not turn around. She continued to stroke the metal giant before her and spoke calmly with her back to them.

"This... this is a super weapon created by a certain proud emperor using the full strength of his nation. To conquer a powerful enemy, almost all of them were eventually lost here..." Kikyo said slowly as she looked at the ancient war machine. Her tone had become different from before; to observe the object more closely, Miketsu's will had now possessed her body.

"A proud... emperor?" Uminari repeated "Kikyo's" words, not seemingly understanding the full meaning.

"The emperor who once ruled the western empire and proclaimed himself the start of ten thousand generations. A thousand years ago, he excavated a sacred object from Mount Li that my ancestors had guarded for generations. He gathered the strength of a hundred schools and hundreds of thousands of laborers to forge that sacred object into a powerful steel army. His purpose was to slay the evil god of the sea that was terrorizing the East Sea."

Using Kikyo's body, Miketsu murmured as she stroked the iron armor. She knew very well what the sacred object the First Emperor had excavated was—it was her own remains. Miketsu's remains had been used by the First Emperor to forge a steel army! It was ultimately used to subjugate the Sea God in the East Sea! And that so-called Sea God was almost certainly an ancient god that was nearly finished resurrecting...