Magician in Type-Moon

Page 331

He looked up, his eyes unreadable. "—In your script, am I, the Master, the protagonist or just cannon fodder?"

"Who knows? Maybe it's you, maybe it's someone else... Why don't you guess for yourself?"

.........

"Little Lord."

Hazel seemed to find her silent owner a little strange, so she asked again.

"What should we do next, young master?"

For Xuexin, Zhen was a loyal subject.

He served the family when his elder brother, Genma, was still alive, and now he is loyal to Yukinobu. He was also the first person to teach him swordsmanship.

In a sense, he was more important than Xuexin.

......No

If we're only asking about the physical form of Nightfall, perhaps we don't need a group of sorcerers like myself or Hazel.

The definition of the Night Raiders as a yakuza family that relies on gambling profits and protection fees to run their business is closer to their true nature.

For a long time, illegal activities were merely a means to maintain secrecy, but now the nature of the organization has undergone a tremendous change.

"Let his wife do it."

Xuexin said this.

Something slipped and crawled out from between the trees.

It was a snake with black scales.

The black snake, with its long tongue extended, rested on Xuexin's shoulder, seemingly whispering.

"The patriarch is calling me. The other side has fallen into the trap; we can begin our operation."

Meanwhile, Matou Ike was walking upstream along the river ahead of the other members of the Yorukai family, in front of Kamigori.

Lanterns floated by on the river.

Matouike had witnessed a similar scene at a festival she had attended before.

This custom is prevalent in Asia and is probably a way to comfort the souls of the deceased, such as ancestors.

However, this river was not as brightly colored as the ones we had seen before; instead, it was filled with lanterns as black as torii gates.

Black lanterns drifted by one after another.

It was as if jet-black blood was flowing through the mountains.

And it is shrouded in countless mysteries.

The air here is too thick and viscous.

The magic circuit will malfunction if you breathe even once.

It's so unusual, it's comparable to the underground world of London.

Matouchi made this assessment before looking at the destination the group was heading towards.

The source of mountains and rivers.

The mystery of mountains and forests holds immense significance.

“My wife,” Zhen called out.

The black lanterns were moving around over there.

The woman was dressed in black and wore a mask.

Strangely, she also covered her eyes with a black cloth.

Women who were already nearly blind seem to be able to become more perceptive through this method.

She glanced almost imperceptibly toward Matou Pond.

Their gazes met and then looked away.

"What's wrong, Ah Zhen?"

she asked.

Her beautiful voice still retained a hint of childishness.

"Can we begin? Can we still play it?"

"Of course no problem."

Before his wife nodded, she was already prepared.

What he held in his hand was a pipa (a Chinese lute).

The woman used a plectrum to touch the strings of the instrument.

A beautiful melody then began to play, and at the same time, something black appeared all around.

It's a black piece of paper.

It was quickly folded up and transformed into another form.

It is very similar to the techniques called shikigami in Onmyōdō, but this technique has also been inherited by other magic systems.

The same applies to the Night Calamity.

This is a woman's specialty.

Matou Ike followed the example of the Yoruichi family and began to form the curse seal.

Zhen raised her fair hand.

With a crisp "snap," the hands made a clean, decisive sound.

It's not about using sight or other senses, but about using the more core parts to feel.

Matou Ike felt himself, Hazel, and the remaining members of Night Raid connect together in that instant.

The whole person is like a magic circuit.

Different in size.

The order is different.

To reproduce the power of God through magic.

The magic that permeates the mountains and fields drives the magical circuits of everyone in this realm. In order to absorb the mystery of the letter, everyone has become a simple organ.

“Fly!”

His wife began to sing.

At her command, the paper crane took flight.

They either flew into the twilight sky or rode on black lanterns flowing through the mountains and rivers.

"A Noble Phantasm? A Heroic Spirit? What a nice name. I'm so jealous, so envious. They're completely different from us people from the borderlands; they're high and mighty..."

His wife chuckled and moved her fingers.

The pipa played again.

Could elegant melodies create countless terrifying things? Dozens of origami pieces of various shapes flew out from around her.

"I'm so envious I'm going crazy..."

The origami cranes that leaped off the cliff used their magic to unleash something else.

Like an insect.

Like glare.

Like miasma.

That is something that only those with inspiration, like magicians, can see.

On the gaseous surface, strange eyes are darting about.

"...What is this? A demon?" Matou Ike murmured, sensing the changes around him.

It squeaked and squeaked.

It groaned and hissed.

The mouth, like floating bubbles, repeatedly rose and fell on the surface, making a crunching sound.

It's like an instrument in a symphony orchestra that plays continuously with the conductor.

Not just the eyes and mouth.

Sometimes they also grow horn-like protrusions and wing-like organs.

Such an existence has no definite form.

Because they can take on various forms depending on the imagination of those around them and the nature of the land. In Western cultures, such beings are sometimes named demons, holy spirits, angels, and the like.

Neither of these claims is true; they are all merely temporary names given to the directional nature of a certain energy.

That existence grew ever larger.

Like a cloud.

An alien darkness enveloped everyone—no, it enveloped the entire mountain.

Matou Ike understood.

This is the entrance, the true entrance to this place called Mount Kuchisuke.

The alternate name of Ōki no Kami is Yūsō no Ōkami.

He is the god who rules over the land of the dead and the underworld. Therefore, if the land under his rule is even slightly disturbed, miasma will surge forth.

Just like the entrance to the underworld.

"So this is the Starry Realm. Luckily I got this mask, otherwise I really wouldn't have known what to do..."

Matou Ike pressed down on the mask on his face, blending into it.