Magician in Type-Moon

Page 337

And the demon mask that Xuexin was wearing at that moment emitted such a sound.

"とうとうたらりたらりら"

This is a folk song performed on a certain TV program.

One of the oldest Noh plays, created during the Heian period, adapted from Buddhist songs.

Performed by Noh musicians, but it is not "Noh" itself. It is treated merely as a ritual.

One theory suggests that it was created based on the Dharani Song.

In any case, this was certainly not for entertainment, but was used as a ritual before the gods.

Matou Ike had made thorough preparations before arriving at the Yoruichi residence.

He also knows a lot about traditional Japanese rituals.

So he followed Xuexin's rhythm and began to chant.

"Born into this world, existing in this world."

"It has also existed here for a thousand years."

Correspondingly, the earth and atmosphere were shaking.

shake.

shake.

As the shaking continued, the world began to deviate.

A bounded field, as some call it.

The highest level of magic, known as the "pinnacle of magic," implies a manipulation of the established order. What is happening right now is remarkably similar to this kind of magic.

That sound shook everything.

The enormous wings that unfolded from the center of the ceremony also trembled.

Feathers falling from the enormous wings turned into cracks upon touching the ground.

As the heavens collapsed, the waters of the underworld were now flowing through the cracks into the void, somewhere unknown.

Matouchi didn't stop to watch. He narrowed his eyes slightly and swam upstream against the rushing, turbid current. The shadows beneath his feet transformed into stepping stones, barely creating a path for climbing through the surging white muddy water.

In the blink of an eye, the wind tore at his clothes, and the sea of ​​clouds surged like waves, but he had already broken through the layers of water and reached the top of the clouds.

however--

The place was deserted; there was no expected opponent, nor Wuzhiqi's provocative and cunning smile. The gale swept away the remaining feathers, and the clouds under the night sky were slowly calming down, with only the lingering turbid current flowing silently.

"Ran?"

His gaze pierced through the void, observing the flow of the surroundings, but he found no trace of Wuzhiqi.

The immortal from the mountain court seemed to have vanished cleanly and decisively, like a deliberately orchestrated storm.

After failing to find anything, Matou Ike flashed away, his figure disappearing as if merging into the void, only to reappear in front of Yoruichi Yukinobu the next instant.

The clouds and turbid currents had not yet completely subsided, and the eerie winds still swirled around, as if recounting the lingering echoes of Wuzhiqi's departure.

It's not that the grand magic jointly unleashed by Matouchi and Yejie Xuexin couldn't eliminate the Weak Water that Wuzhiqi had encountered.

It was done intentionally.

They created a vortex barrier formed by the intermingling of two powers, making it impossible for outsiders to get in.

“Tell me about it.” Matou Ike looked at him. “That ramen maker named Genma has already told me.”

Ye Jiexue did not respond immediately, but remained silent for a moment before slightly raising her eyes, her gaze like a solitary lamp piercing through the night.

"Although I don't know why my brother trusts you, it's so good that you've come."

Wearing the demon mask, Xuexin muttered to himself.

“My mother isn’t here, nor are Zhen and Yi’s wife. I was prepared to exclude many things for this ceremony. However, once the ceremony begins, it seems unnecessary.”

"I suggest you get straight to the point." Matou Ike's time is tight, and he can't afford to waste too much time.

Ye Jie Xuexin slightly turned his head, withdrawing his gaze from the hazy night sky and resting it on Matou Chi again. The corners of his mouth beneath the mask seemed to curve slightly, revealing a barely perceptible smile, like some kind of light mockery, or perhaps self-mockery.

"You're quite impatient," he said in a deep voice. "Since you want the key point, then I'll give it to you."

He pulled a ghost mask from his pocket.

He handed it to Matou Ike.

This is the "Ōki no Takami" mask that Matouike did not receive from Genma.

Matou Ike took the mask, somewhat surprised.

It's not because of this mask.

To his surprise, Xuexin turned around and saw the inside of her suit jacket.

The suit was torn, and the bandages covering his body also broke, exposing his skin.

The condition of that skin was extremely harsh.

The area from the left armpit to the chest was rotting, with numerous pustules at its center.

The boundary between the rotten muscle and flesh was so blurred that it could only be seen as a disgusting lump of meat.

The white spots that appeared on the reddish-black skin looked like countless maggots.

Even in this state, no one has noticed the stench because, unlike the right hand which was stripped of its divine body, the inside of the bandage has been inscribed with some kind of magic.

Even now, despite the distance, the stench still assaults the nostrils.

A foul stench emanated from the animal, one that was hard to believe came from a living person.

"My body was already failing. Although I underwent a gradual body transplant, my right hand is the most normal part of my body."

“It’s because of the divine body’s rejection reaction, right?” Matou Ike replied.

Genma also said that.

Although Xuexin was full of talent, he lacked the aptitude to receive a divine body.

But how long will it take before the divine body is transplanted again?

It is said that the barrier plum tree that was initially intended to be transplanted to Akira failed. Before that, how much pain did Yoru no Yukino endure?

"You should already know about the ceremony that the Night Raiders family is currently holding, right?"

"Of course, isn't it just the story of the White Rabbit in Inaba?"

The second half of the story that was not told before.

The white rabbit was skinned by a shark.

The white rabbit encountered eighty gods who taught it to bathe in the sea and then dry itself in the wind at a high place, but instead it caused it to suffer from excruciating pain all over its body!

The deceitful rabbit was fooled this time. Before the tormented rabbit, another new god appeared.

This god carrying a large bag saw through the lies of the eighty gods.

This deity is none other than the Great Lord of the Nation—Ōki no Kami.

The Ōkuninushi god who helped the white rabbit was envied by his own brother and was crushed to death by a red-hot boulder.

In order to revive the deceased Okuninushi, Okuninushi's mother brought two goddesses of shells.

They scraped off the goddess's body to make medicine.

Wearing the ghost mask, Xuexin laughed.

The muffled sound was like the groan of a wounded wild animal.

"That's right, the White Rabbit of Inaba was like that too. The white rabbit whose skin was eaten by a shark was restored thanks to the wisdom of the god Ōkuninushi. My mother followed that legend and wanted me to be restored. After all, in a family of magicians, only the one who represents everything..."

Matouchi understood what Ye Jiexuexin was saying.

The path of the demon must be inherited.

Just like Tokiomi Tohsaka when he was faced with a choice.

The unbroken will of humankind.

In a sense, it is a blessing.

In a sense, it's a curse.

To save himself, he killed his children.

Or perhaps, they kill their grandchildren to help their children.

"So your daughter Akira became a victim, right?"

"Well, I thought that after she fell into your hands, she would no longer suffer like this, but the people of the Wandering Sea sent her that cursed body."

This refers to Bai Ruolong.

Whether it's the youth's body or what the youth devours, it's the perfect vessel for this ritual.

As a symbol of the goddess of shells, she resurrected the god of night.

He then used his power to heal Ye Jiexuexin.

It's like they're just messing around.

"But I don't crave that kind of thing."

Xuexin whispered.

Matou Ike's gaze sharpened slightly, her eyebrows raised, and she asked with a half-smile, "So you deceived your own mother and your family? And now you're trying to deceive me?"

His tone carried a hint of scrutiny, "The intelligence that Gan Ye has, you gave it to him, didn't you? So that I would focus my attention on your Night Robbery Clan?"

Xuexin did not refute, but instead lowered her eyes slightly, as if recalling or organizing her words.

“Eight years ago, the commotion in Guanbuzi City was enormous,” he said softly, a hint of weariness in his voice. “It’s hard to ignore what happened there.”

Matouchi listened quietly without interrupting.

“My mother, as the priestess of the Night Raiders family, was terrified by the divinity emanating from there, so she sent me to investigate the situation there.”

Xuexin continued, her voice carrying a certain ethereal quality, "Coincidentally, our distant relatives, the Liangyi family, live there. It won't be difficult for us to obtain some information related to that matter."