Book Eater

Chapter 358: Lust’s Apocalypse (2)

[Despite becoming a transcendent, the genes inside me still obeyed her orders. Despite my will, my fingers were paralyzed and my voice trapped in my mouth. As a result, I fought with sixty percent of my powers sealed, and my brothers died in front of me.]

It was too high a price for one mistake. Seimei had realized that a transcendent wasn’t invincible and then lost his life. The genius of a century had gotten defeated and killed by his own inexperience and arrogance. If Seimei had used all his forces at the time, the outcome might’ve changed.

[Hahat.]

However, he laughed instead of complaining.

[Well, these are just the complaints of a loser. All my bad luck and the result are things I need to bear. Now, this Seimei will lead you to victory in the unfinished battle.]

“What does that mean?”

[I will help you. It looks like you are quite likable.]

Seimei finally said he would cooperate with Theo. Although it was a joke, it was true that he liked Theo. An existence that was quite distant from humans was fickle. Even if Theo was the only candidate, Seimei would rather bury his heritage forever instead of passing it to unworthy hands.

[You might’ve realized it when listening to my story, but victory can’t be guaranteed when fighting alone. My mother kept more than me in her womb.]

“Then what would you advise?”

[Go to Japan to meet my descendants and ask for their help. Put your hands on my inheritance. It will make your unfinished power more complete.]

Theo nodded. “Can you tell me more?”

[My inheritance are the Heavenly Sword, the Eight Mirrors, and the Eight Jade Magatamas. The power of the three magic objects should accept a transcendent person.]

Even the clouds in the distant sky could be a sword, while the mirrors could bounce back even the power of a god, and the magatamas could create clones. Seimei had invaded the capital with his treasures, but he had sent them back before he died.

... Amazing. I would have regretted it if I didn’t hear about them.

Theo couldn’t help feeling awe when he heard about the powers of the three treasures. The Heavenly Sword, Eight Mirrors, and Eight Jade Magatamas would double his magic power. The mirrors which reflected the power of the enemy and the magatamas which made clones were both worthy items. Furthermore, there was no reason not to use the Heavenly Sword. According to legend, it was a sword of water made from Yamato no Orochi’s body.

[There are still a few yokai left in Japan. The leader of the Oni, the three-legged crow, and the Tsuchigumo will be helpful in this fight.]

Theo frowned. “I don’t know if they will follow me.”

[I will teach you to link to their souls. It isn’t difficult, so you will learn it right away.]

This was more than expected. Theo heard Seimei’s explanation and decided to stop by Japan. Even Seimei had failed to destroy the capital... So, in order for the more inexperienced Theo to take down Lust, he needed to mobilize all the strength he could.

As for the choice between Japan and Hyungkang Castle, the scale tilted sharply to one side.

“I will go to Japan first.”

If Tae Rang was speaking the truth about their defenses, then Hyungkang Castle was safe for the moment. It was important to secure Seimei’s legacy as soon as possible, rather than checking on the safety of the two tower masters. Theo made his decision.

***

“I will be away for a few days.”

There was an immediate uproar at Theo’s words. He had gathered Lee Seol, Lee Joonyoung, Aquilo and Tae Rang and informed them. Tae Rang looked like the sky had collapsed, and both of the Lees were quite surprised. It hadn’t even been half a day, so they weren’t expecting him to leave. Only Aquilo seemed to be calm.

He turned to her. “Aquilo.”

She gazed into his eyes. “Speak, boy.”

“Go to Hyungkang Castle ahead of me. Pass my words to the two Tower Masters and tell them to wait for my return.”

“Hrm,” Aquilo made a vague sound like she wasn’t interested. “I don’t like this. I came here to follow you, but you want to act separately?”

Theo grimaced. “I’m sorry but I have something to solve as soon as possible.”

Aquilo might be quite affectionate to him, but her nature was essentially cruel. The evil dragon of the east sea had been notorious for thousands of years, and she didn’t have a reason to help the people of this land other than the fact that it was what Theo wanted.

Aquilo pondered for a moment before reaching out a finger and pressing it against his lips. “Okay, I’ll think of it as one of the two debts. Do you agree?”

There had once been a time when they had negotiated a deal, but now their positions had changed quite a bit. It wouldn’t be a big burden to owe her this much. Thus, Theo nodded without giving it much thought. It was a mistake because he didn’t know Aquilo's ulterior motive, a dragon who had been indulging in pleasure for over a thousand years.

Temptation isn’t much different from disarming someone.

Loosening a helmet, casting aside armor, and removing a belt… Seduction as analogous to being disarmed was rather appropriate. Sometimes, it was effective to break down the person with a fatal temptation, but she shouldn’t approach Theo with this method.

It will be easier to embrace me after becoming accustomed to my temperature and scent. The next kiss will lead to the next, and then, one night… huhu.

Like a snake slowly squeezing its prey, she would draw him into a relationship and situation that he couldn’t escape from. Aquilo bowed her head so that Theo couldn’t see the desire in her eyes. It was irritating for her to act so mildly.

Moments later, Tae Rang recovered his spirit and opened his mouth, “B-But great one... The barrier is stronger and harder thanks to your grace, but there are still many factors that make the safety of this village unstable. Please reconsider just once.”

“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that,” Theo spoke without hesitation and clapped once.

Clap.

The air in the front yard flashed, and several massive objects landed with a thud. The smallest of them was five meters tall while the largest was eight meters tall. They were the various combat golems that Theo had placed in his laboratory. Paragranum’s power had been borrowed to finish renovating the golems, which were now monsters with the raw power of a magician or aura user. There were twelve battle golems, so they should be enough during a siege.

“This should be enough. They can use both aura and magic, so they can deal with any monster.”

The daoist peered at them in amazement. “O-Ohhh...! The giant soul soldiers from old times...!”

Theo finished, “Additionally, support troops will be coming in a week, so you don’t have to worry about the area near the Baekun Mountains.”

If the White Tower Master led the battle, they could easily defeat thirty thousand monsters. Theo looked very confident as he made his way out. He would have to leave the ward to teleport.

“Theo!” Lee Seol shouted to him from a distance. “Don't worry! I’m not a child who will just be protected anymore!”

It seemed she was still a young child.

“Hahaha.”

Theo laughed as he waved to her, left the translucent barrier and rose to the sky. Given the unusual physical ability of the monsters, he had to rise two hundred meters in order to be safe. Theo closed his eyes in the serene night.

Can I use it on the East Continent?

He rubbed the token he had received from Clipeus, the golden gate. With this authority, Theo could read any spatial coordinates in the material world and ‘twist’ them. It was literally a power to protect this world. This power didn’t distinguish between the East Continent and West Continent.

Kiiing!

A radiant light burst out as the coordinates were engraved in Theo’s head. It was the location of Seimei’s heritage, the holy place of the onmyōjis in the capital of Japan, Tsuchimikado Castle.

「 Transition. 」

Theo’s body slipped through space, but right in the middle, an unidentified pressure caught him!

“―Eh?”

『 Someone is trying to pass through my territory? You don’t know your place, human! Pay for your sin with your flesh! 』

A thunderous yell jerked him out of the space transfer before Theo could even grasp the situation. There was no time to look back as several gusts of wind flew toward him.

Kwaaaaang!?

Theo was struck by the huge storm and plummeted to the ground. He wasn’t injured since the defense spells had automatically activated, but the surprise attack itself was a threat. Theo’s eyes lit up as he dropped into a combat stance. That attack had some substance to it. It had been a gust of wind, but also a physical blow.

『 You aren’t normal to survive my fist! 』

The enemy finally revealed itself to Theo. Surprisingly, it wasn’t human. The being had one leg, two arms, and seemed to be a monster that had a cow and dragon’s attributes in its blue body. Its glowing eyes radiated a strong presence, and Theo could feel an unknown strength.

[A one-legged wind demon! I have never seen one before.]

But Seimei seemed to know what this monster was.

“One-legged wind demon? What is that?”

[They resemble a cow and a dragon and deal with either wind and lightning depending on their birth. It is a wind demon if it controls the wind and rain, and a lightning demon if it controls wind and lightning.]

“Can I think of it as on the level of the yokai?”

[It is a different race from the yokai but... Well, there isn’t a big difference when looking at just attack power. You can easily defeat it.]

That was all he needed. Theo raised a finger to the wind demon observing him from the sky. It might not be a human species, but it should still have old memories in its subconscious. It would know that this action was insulting.

Unsurprisingly, it responded to the provocation,

『 You! How long can you survive?! 』

In less than a few seconds, a giant whirlwind formed around the wind demon’s body and fell to the surface. It was a destructive power that could break down huge walls in one strike!

... All sense of human identity from back then has disappeared.

Theo laughed bitterly. The power of this whirlwind probably surpassed magic of the 7th Circle. As it used a power that couldn’t be used by the human body, it became a monster of the wind. The insight of a transcendent allowed Theo to see things he didn’t want to see. This wind demon had eaten more than ten thousand humans and other wind demons.

“I’ll kill you.”

Its sense of space and dominance over an area were nothing before a true transcendent.

Forced Harmonization - Phase 2.

The transcendent stepped forward and cast a strange fire

Extinguishing Flames Image, Mode SURTR.

The flames of Muspelheim wrapped around Theo to create a giant of fire. It was time to show the wind demon exactly who it had picked a fight with.