Magician in Type-Moon

Page 219

Zoroastrianism flourished for such a long time, so their beliefs must have some merit.

"And then, what's the connection between that church and Xiao An?"

Asagami Fujino suddenly spoke up, bringing the conversation back on track.

"The core doctrine of Zoroastrianism is dualism, which holds that the world is a battlefield of struggle between two fundamental gods of good and evil."

"The benevolent god is called Ahura Mazda, the Lord of Wisdom, who represents light, truth, and goodness. The malevolent god is called Angela Manu, who represents darkness, lies, and evil."

......

He is certainly not a real demon.

He was just an ordinary young man from a village who had neither committed any crimes nor achieved any great deeds, and he transformed into a heroic spirit.

He was merely someone chosen as a human sacrifice because of a certain religious practice in the village, a trivial decision, and his existence would soon be forgotten.

The teachings are those used to judge evil.

In villages, teachings are needed so that people can endure daily suffering and poverty.

"The reason our lives cannot get better is entirely because of evil."

An unsolvable problem.

In the hearts of those who cannot be saved, a need arises for necessary evil—human sacrifice—in order to resolve this entanglement.

He was chosen as "the evil that threatens the villagers' kindness," "the culprit that makes everything go wrong," and "a certain existence that can be unconditionally belittled." He was imprisoned on the mountaintop and pushed into a living hell.

Having experienced every kind of suffering that humans can endure, he died as a matter of course.

But the hatred for this entanglement burned within the rocky prison, and he became a nameless ghost.

Looking out over human life, human ugliness, and human joy.

Like a sage, he contemplates the "daily life he has never had."

......

"Fou, fuou, fuoufuou!! (You bastard, you've exposed all my secrets, how am I supposed to live in this world now?!)"

"So this guy... if that's all there is to it, then it really doesn't have anything to do with demons, but this scent is really quite noticeable."

Hansa scratched his head, unsure of what to say.

This man's inner self is actually just like a child's.

After hearing this, Asagami Fujino simply hugged him even tighter.

She didn't understand what despair was in this situation, because she couldn't feel that emotion.

She racked her brains but could only come up with one answer: "This child is the complete opposite of me."

Those who have experienced all kinds of pain and those who cannot feel pain probably can't really understand each other's feelings, right?

Matou Ike ignored what the two were thinking and simply asked Hansa:

"So, is it possible to cooperate now, Father?"

"...Well, if your goal is also to eliminate that newly born Twenty-Seventh Ancestor of the Dead Disciples...we can establish some necessary communication."

Hansa replied somewhat awkwardly.

Matou Ike asked nonchalantly:

"Of course, to what extent do you have intelligence? Have you confirmed which Blood Ring that guy corresponds to?"

"This has indeed been confirmed, it is..."

Chapter 282 Fruit

"fruit?"

Matou Ike repeated it with some disbelief.

Matou Ike originally thought that Beelzebub, the god of gluttony, would become the new Twenty-Seven Dead Apostles, just like Michael Roya Fadanyan.

A new principle, the Blood Ring, was formed.

Unexpectedly, it directly took the original precepts that already existed in this world.

"But doesn't the fruit's principle inherently have a holder?" Matou Ike asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Yes, the seats of the Fruit Principle are not vacant, but the original holder, Anashu, died 800 years ago after being defeated by Arcueid Brunstad, the successor of the second seat."

Hansa was still trapped in the spider web, but he still shrugged vigorously, as if he would be uncomfortable if he didn't make some movement.

"Even now, you're still hiding information?" Matou Ike looked at Hansa, somewhat speechless.

The performance was so clumsy, like a newbie at a card table who, even though his hand has been figured out, still tries to make a big show of it.

"What I said was the truth, and I even included information about the Twenty-Seven Ancestors of the Second Seat Dead Apostle. Do you magicians know more about this than my Holy Church?"

Hansa stubbornly insisted.

“But I’m not asking about the original holder, but about the successor to the seventh seat—Fu Hailin.” Matou Ike was too lazy to continue arguing and directly exposed the fact that Hansa was trying to hide.

Fuhai Forest is also known as the Thinking Forest.

They will attack and prey on forest animals.

Originally a blood-sucking species of blood-sucking plant.

It possesses the will to think, can move on its own, and is almost a bloodthirsty forest of fantasy.

Legend has it that a bright red fruit will grow on a large tree in the center of the forest every few hundred years.

This fruit is a crystal formed from the blood absorbed by the Fuhailin.

After eating it, one can achieve immortality and eternal youth.

Even the twenty-seventh ancestor of the Dead Disciples could greatly suppress his blood-sucking urges after eating it.

This is information that only those at the higher levels in the mystical realm can possess.

Because the holder of the Fruit Principle exists in this world in a form that is neither human nor animal.

Instead, it takes the form of an otherworldly forest, or rather, this thing can already be considered a manifestation of mystery.

"You've really gone deep into the study of Dead Apostles, haven't you? Do you want to transform into one of those things too?"

Hansa squinted at Matou Ike, even though he had just said that word himself.

—"The Successor"

This is a special product of the VIII tier of Dead Apostles.

The twenty-seven Dead Apostles recognized as their successors, a vampire with exceptional talent.

They could be considered princes and princesses.

But without this information, one would probably only think of him as something like a magician's apprentice.

This special class of people is only known among the upper echelons of the church and has not been leaked.

But Matou Ike explicitly pointed it out, which means...

Before Hansa could finish thinking, Matouchi answered:

"In my view, turning into a Dead Apostle is just a last-ditch effort by those who lack talent to fulfill a wish that can never be fulfilled; it's a last resort."

"Hmph, that sounds nice, but your association's magicians have done it all before, and many more talented than you have used this method, haven't they?"

Hansa snorted coldly, dissatisfied with the answer.

The miracle of "immortality" is a mystery that belongs exclusively to God, but now it has been stolen by these magicians, which is one of the reasons why the two can never coexist harmoniously.

"Do as you please, but you still haven't answered the question about the Fuhai Forest? I remember your church goes on a campaign against it every fifty years, right?"

Ignoring Hansa's protest, Matou Ike continued to ask.

"Besides, it's only been less than forty years since your last campaign against Fuhailin. Surely you didn't manage to capture the Blood Ring of the Principle back then?"

"You know a lot, don't you? I'm starting to suspect you might have an informant within the church," Hansa retorted, continuing:

“You’re absolutely right. The last campaign was over thirty years ago, but the result was the same as always: our people failed to destroy it.”

Matou Ike nodded, a thought flashing through his mind; thirty years was just a guess.

It was deduced by working backward from the point when Xier successfully defeated Fuhailin.

At present, Hier is probably just a seven-year-old girl growing up in a small village in the French countryside. Her real name is Alessia, and she is the daughter of an ordinary baker. She is quite good at making pastries and dreams of becoming a cake chef.

By the time she grows into an agent capable of handling the burial of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors of the Dead, it will be at least five years from now.

If Fuhailin was not successfully defeated by this monster, it would mean that the infinitely reincarnated Akasha Serpent is still lurking within her.

She has not yet become a high-ranking representative of the church.

This is a good condition that can be used to negotiate with the church.

Upon hearing that it belonged to the seventh seat "Fruit" principle, Matou Ike was quite surprised, thinking that the timeline had been thrown into chaos.

"Since your attack failed, but you still managed to pinpoint the location of this Blood Ring of Principle, it means you obtained intelligence from other sources. Tell me, Father Hansa."

"This is a church secret. Why should I tell you? Isn't it enough that you just need to know that the original commandment possessed by this newly born Twenty-Seventh Dead Apostle is 'Fruit'?"

Hansa blinked his last remaining human eye, as if to say, "What can you do to me if I don't talk?"

Matou Ike had no objection to this; the exchange of information is a two-way street, and he understood this principle.

However, the power of the "fruit" is special, and it can even be said to be the nemesis of magicians.

After all, within the range of Fu Hai Lin, magicians cannot use "Mana".

This means that many of the great magic tricks he learned from Medea are basically unusable when facing this kind of thing.

Now that he has become that person's target, he needs more information to break through this limitation and fight against his opponent.

Having made up his mind, Matou Ike slowly said:

"Want to get something out of me? I can exchange it for information about another of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostles."

"The Matou family has information on magicians at the level of the Twenty-Seventh Ancestor of the Dead Apostles? That's probably common knowledge in our church. Tell me, if you offer a high enough price, you might be able to get what you want."

Hansa said with a hint of sarcasm, but he was only doing it on purpose; the pursuit of profit always has to be maximized.