Chapter 450

He was a man covered in numerous masks that appeared to be crying, laughing, or angry from different angles, with his right hand in a cast and slinged in place—Ye Jie Xue Xin, the 'special son' of the Four Great Exorcist Families, a distant relative of the Two Elements, Rishi, and the Yagiri Yagai Yukinobu.

"Could it be that the Holy Grail has recorded even my trivial matters?"

His voice was honest and polite, but deep down it was filled with pressure.

For Novia, he understood that this was a uniquely human pressure rooted in Violence.

Short hair, tightly closed lips, and a strong physique visible even through Suit —all these left a deep impression. But the most striking feature was the slanted cut between his eyebrows; the wound appeared quite old, with faint pigmentation deposited on his skin.

As Alexander VI walked along, listening to the distant sound of Drone flying by and stepping on the pebbles beneath his feet, he raised his gaze.

"Master, you're just like me, aren't you?"

"That's natural, Borgia. As Servant with the best compatibility, you and I are naturally the same."

"Then what kind of justice is it that you killed your entire clan, your wife and children, and claimed that your Servant killed them?"

Alexander VI spoke frankly and without any reservations, saying, "I am willing to sacrifice everything for the Church, even the Future of my descendants, and give up my seat to record my 'shameless' existence."

"The reason is simple: I don't want to be 'special' anymore."

Yagai Yukinobu took half a step forward, and dozens of dolls turned their heads in unison. "Little girl, do you know Borgia? I am the only person in the Yagai who wears a white Suit, because it represents the ' Inaba White Rabbit, whom Yagiri Ōkuninushi-no-Mikoto."

The identity of Ōkuninushi varies in different mythologies. In the Chronicles of Japan, he is the son of Susanoo-no-Mikoto, while in the Shinsen Shōjiroku Kojiki, he is the Sixth of Susanoo-no-Mikoto and the son of the goddess of winter clothes. His principal wife Suseri-hime, is Susanoo-no-Mikoto's daughter in the Chronicles of Japan, that is, his half-sister.

However, Ōkuninushi's first wife was Yagami-hime, the heroine of the story "The White Rabbit of Kojiki" from the Kojiki, but they did not marry because of Suseri-hime 'Suseri-hime Jealousy.

Because the white rabbit prophesied that Ōkuninushi would marry Yagami-hime, and Yagami-hime only wished to be Ōkuninushi's wife, she angered his eighty brothers, who killed him twice. He was resurrected both times by his mother's help and had to flee to Susanoo-no-Mikoto's Ne no Kuni. There, he fell in love at first sight with Suseri-hime and, with Susanoo-no-Mikoto's assistance, successfully became the lord of Izumo.

Later, although Ōkuninushi married his first wife, Yagami-hime, as promised, she feared Suseri-hime's jealousy and hung their newborn son on a tree branch before returning to Inaba. Therefore, the son was named Kinamata-gami, also known as Mii-no-Kami.

"I've always been special. I was born in the summer, but it snowed heavily. At the age of six, I walked in the air and was regarded as Rishi Present World. The swordsmanship from the Four Great Exorcist Families has reached its peak in my hands. I am the most Perfection 'vessel' for the Divine Body in thousands of years."

The scar between Yagai Yukinobu's eyebrows was slightly crooked.

In the dim afternoon sunlight, it looked just like a mimicking lizard.

"When I grew up, I became special too. I fell in love at first sight with an ordinary woman, and we had two lovely daughters together."

"Thinking back carefully, was it love at first sight for me? Or was it because I felt that being with her would allow me to escape being 'special' and become ordinary? I don't know. Anyway, she's already dead, before she planned to divorce me."

The man with the cast in his leg didn't mean to belittle his wife; he was simply stating a fact.

"You're lying when you say your two daughters died at the hands of Servant."

Novia lifted Erice's small, delicate hand. "Your first daughter, Yagiri Ume, died because she couldn't bear the Divine Body of your family. Your wife couldn't accept this and went insane, which is why she decided to divorce you and take your second daughter Akira."

Although he is now in another world, Yagai Yukinobu of the Fr World still did something similar to what he did in the Second Great Adventure: he did not hesitate to deceive everyone in order to abandon his 'special' status.

"... You know very well, don't you? The kid who came with Borgia —no, I should say you invited him, since we've been living separate lives for so many years, which is why he's been labeled a patient in the therapy room."

Yagai Yukinobu said this and laughed.

"My wife is an ordinary person, and I want to become like her. I've been thinking about how to achieve that. The Answer is simple: just become less special. Because the wife I fell in love with at first sight is the most ordinary person I know, someone who wouldn't stand out in a crowd. So, as long as I'm with her, I believe I can become like her."

"That's why I can endure the pain of Divine Body. No matter how much it hurts, it doesn't matter as long as I can laugh like her. In fact, I can laugh occasionally too."

After only a few seconds of silence, Novia spoke, "But in your view, it's still a failure, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Under their gazes, Yagai Yukinobu continued in an incredibly clear voice, "Mei, as my daughter, had a rejection reaction to the Divine Body and exploded on the spot, dying right before my eyes. How strange! She was clearly my child, the child of the person I loved, the child on whom I placed so much hope, yet she wasn't any more special than me. Isn't this the biggest joke ever?"

Upon hearing this, Alexander VI asked, "So you slaughtered your entire clan back then, Master?"

"Pretty much. At that time, the Holy Grail War was sweeping the globe, and there was one in my Izumo region as well. So I used my family's Divine Body, Ōkuninushi, as a medium to summon the chief Ōkuninushi. After all, in a way, Divine Body are the same as your Western Magic Crest."

Yagai Yukinobu raised the plaster cast on her right hand and said happily.

Magecraft is someone whose family and individual are both bound by Magecraft.

The longer and more distinguished Magecraft Lineage, the more helplessly it will be bound by its constraints. Magic Crest are a symbol of this curse. No matter how many generations or dozens of generations have passed, the research results that ancestors have solidified step by step will be recorded on Magic Crest.

Those who inherit the engraving can make full use of these records and capabilities at will.

In return, once you establish a connection with the genealogy imprinted at this moment, your life will be altered.

The same applies to the Divine Body Inheritance in traditional Japan Magecraft.

"The Ōkuninushi was very kind to me, a gentle person, and the power of the Supreme God was invincible in the Holy Grail War. Naturally, we became the victors of the Izumo region. But at that time, I was thinking, what's the point of winning? Even if I win, won't I still be the same? Will winning change anything? Can the Holy Grail of the Izumo region change my special status? Should I go to other regions to continue the war? What if I lose? No, wait, I'm still so special. The victory that so many people dream of was so easily obtained by me--"

Yagai Yukinobu's tone suddenly became devoid of emotion.

"It just so happened that I saw 'something about the Future's at that moment."

"Some... Future?"

"Yes, after everything ended like this, my wife chose not to raise Akira anymore and wanted a divorce. After all, she's just an ordinary person, so of course she couldn't tolerate the strange phenomena constantly happening around the child. Since that's the case, I thought I'd just kill her. Anyway, to me, she was just a tool to become 'ordinary'... Was that scene something the Holy Grail told me? Or was it some kind of special ability that allowed me to see Parallel World? It doesn't matter anymore, it's all in the past."

Alexander VI's Was Scepter struck the ground with a hollow echo, "So, Master, you chose to become Godslaying and then became a butcher?"

"It has become ordinary."

Yagai Yukinobu suddenly laughed.

The setting sun cast long shadows on the countless masks he wore, transforming them into countless Claws that pierced the rusty Hill behind the Yagiri Mansion, formed by the wreckage of Drone piled up in the courtyard.

"Have you ever seen a god die? When His Spirit Core shatters, it makes a clear, chiming sound, more beautiful than the sound of Mei taking her last breath in front of me. Hahaha, that's to be expected, since Mei died under the influence of His Divine Body."

Then, the thirty-year-old man pulled a yellowed baby tooth from his bag. "When Akira was losing her baby teeth, she always liked to throw them onto the roof, saying that this would make her grow new teeth as strong as steel... But now her tooth is buried in the backyard, becoming a growing tree in the Yagai."

The deathly silence lasted for twelve seconds.

"Fifteen years ago, when I pierced the core of the Okuninushi, I saw the dawn of New Era —when all humanity becomes the Holy Grail, everyone can summon Servant, Magecraft loses all its mystery, and everyone lives in the same environment. Isn't this the most ordinary era for me, Yagai Yukinobu?!"

"That's right, I did so much. I killed the Ōkuninushi, destroyed his wishes, I killed my entire clan, I killed my mother, I killed my wife and children, all to ensure the smooth arrival of the long-awaited New Era..."

Yagai Yukinobu's smile twisted into a grimace, "I just wanted to—"

With a weathered look, Yagai Yukinobu put on a 'Demon's Wail' mask Inheritance down from his family.

As its name suggests, this is a mask belonging to the demon. When Yagai Yukinobu, she will fight with movements similar to a rabbit. Because demons are beings that stand between humans and nature, this mask can also connect Yukinobu's Od with the Od of Mount Yagiri.

At the same time, Yagai Yukinobu also knows the "Self-Suggestion Transformation" sword technique of the Ryougi Family, which allows him to suppress his opponents with a peculiar Spider- like posture.

"It has become no longer 'special'."

This is both a comedy and a tragedy.

The story of someone brimming with Magecraft talent yearning for the 'ordinary' that is so far removed from their own existence is a common one.

This is the psychological illness that led to Alexander VI 'Master Yagai Yukinobu.

"Then, it would have been better to betray the Ōkuninushi; why kill the entire clan?"

The words that came from Erice's mouth were not Novia's reply, but the girl's words that had finally burst forth after listening for so long.

This is natural. For a child who has lost her parents at such a young age, it must be difficult to accept such a strange thing, as well as a strange pleasure and Wrath. Novia could feel Erice's stomach spasming. This was not fear, but the joy of the sealed divinity within the girl's body at this act.

The Tokyo memories that the girl had forcibly forgotten by her father with the Waters of Forgetfulness were stirring again. He could clearly feel the pale arms of countless Wicked Spirit surrounding the girl climbing toward her body, each finger entwined with a filthy aura.

This is natural, since Izanami in Japan mythology is said to devour filth to maintain the balance of the Yomi. Therefore, Erice, as Izanami's daughter, naturally has the adaptability to use herself as a vessel. However, it can also be said that... the Evil Spirit that surround her all day long are filth.

"Little girl, that's a curse from God."

Yagai Yukinobu's voice suddenly softened, as if she were telling her deceased daughter a bedtime story.

"When Ōkuninushi's Spirit Core shattered, the entire Izumo's Earth Veins groaned. The Faith that had been accumulating since the Jomon era, the hatred from years of being bullied by my brothers, the resentment of the Great Serpent no Yamata no Orochi that Susanoo-no-Mikoto shattered, the lament of the Kinamata god abandoned on a tree branch—all of it flowed into my body with the Od that erupted from his body, which is why I hopelessly killed my family."

The light of Twilight streamed down through the gaps in the bare branches, cutting out shimmering spots of light on Yagai Yukinobu's full-body mask. The mask, hanging on his body, swayed gently in the breeze, making a soft, bone-grinding sound.

"That's only natural, so this must be the curse that the Ōkuninushi has placed on me."

The ground cracked open with spiderweb-like fissures, and withered tree roots bulged out like blood vessels. Countless pale arms slowly rose from the cracks and were picked up by the scarecrows.

"Mei's, Akira's, Mother's, the Yagiri."

The man gently stroked the hands with his left hand. "I wanted them to see the moon of the New Era, so I cut off all their hands when they died and buried them under the house."

Seeing his reaction, Alexander VI frowned slightly and picked up his Was Scepter: "Master, what do you intend to do?"

"Article 1 of the Heroic Spirit Control Act: Summoned Heroic Spirit shall not harm humans, or cause harm to the summoning human through inaction."

Yagai Yukinobu gently raised a finger, "Borgia, you can't possibly lay a hand on me."

The Servant of the New Era have the support of laws governing Artificial Intelligence that existed in the past. However, this was mainly driven by human survivors who witnessed the massacre of Heroic Spirit during the Holy Grail War. Their 'Anti-Servant Movement' became the popular basis for the 'Heroic Spirit Control Act'.

Moreover, generally speaking, even the best Magecraft among humans cannot resist and win against Servant, so it is only one-sided. And because it is the best compatibility, there will be no conflict Servant and Master, so it can be said to be a very good rule.

However, now, Ye Yagai Yukinobu is using it to suppress Alexander VI.

"Reason."

Alexander VI asked, completely baffled as to why the Master before him would suddenly confront Erice in front of him.

Is it merely because his actions were exposed? Absolutely not. Time heals all wounds. Even if he were to inform others now, what difference would it make? Ye Yagai Yukinobu was already outside the City; how could the New Humanity within the City possibly demand the Holy Grail attack him for this?

That's absolutely impossible. After all, some evil Servant have done far worse things than Yagai Yukinobu killing his entire family.

"Because--"

As the plaster cast on Yagai Yukinobu's right hand fell away like snowflakes, it revealed a rotten, withered right hand emitting a strong stench.

"The power of the Ōkuninushi reacted to this guy."

Under the dim yellow light, it had the texture of decaying tree roots, and dark red fluorescence flowed under the withered and wrinkled skin, as if the Shrine's Earth Veins had been directly grafted onto the human Flesh. This was the hand of the man who had been transplanted with Divine Body in the past, and now it was truly manifested as the 'Hand of God', filled with the Od of Ōkuninushi.

In this Hand of God, Yagai Yukinobu drew the Muramasa Blade, an Inheritance of the Yagai, and Erice at Erise, who was possessed by Novia.

"So tell me, brat, is the Servant you possess Susa-no-O, or Suseri-hime? Or perhaps the Yamata no Orochi's Resentment, who shares the same fate as Ōkuninushi? Or maybe Takemikazuchi, who stole Kunitsukami no Tsukuyomi? Or is it one of those eighty brothers, or a collection of concepts?"

In Japan mythology, Ninigi-no-Mikoto, who received a command from Amaterasu, descended from Takamagahara to Ashihara no Kuni. Upon his arrival, Amaterasu bestowed upon him the Three Sacred Treasures and made a pact with him to rule Japan for generations. This is known as the Heavenly Descent Edict. During this process, the one who exerted the greatest power was Takemikazuchi.

Takemikazuchi, wielding the Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, questioned Ōkuninushi Ōkuninushi had repeatedly disobeyed Amaterasu's orders. Okuninushi, in turn, shifted the blame to his two sons, Kotoshironushi and Takeminakata. Only after Takemikazuchi subdued the two gods did Ōkuninushi relinquish the country to Amaterasu.

To some extent, this also reflects the fact that the Kunitsukami was no match for the Amatsukami, and thus lost everything.

This is to be expected, since the Ōkuninushi of Kunitsukami at the time, Ōkuninushi, was Susanoo-no-Mikoto's son-in-law, so it would be strange if he could defeat him.

In fact, Alexander VI really wanted to tell the Yagai Yukinobu that this Erice was a well-known Servant person on the Marseille, and it was impossible for her to have Servant. However, she was currently restricted by the law to the point that she couldn't even speak.

As for Novia, he now understood why Yagai Yukinobu had suddenly attacked.

Since he is not any of these gods, it is highly likely that he is related to Typhon, the Greece Primordial Dragons, who is the origin of the Ōkuninushi lineage of Ōkuninushi, who is a Great Serpent and Yamata no Orochi in one body. From another perspective, he is related to Typhon and can be considered an ancestor of Ōkuninushi, who is on par with Typhon.

Novia, realizing this, couldn't help but smile.

Then, Erice, also smiled.

"I don't know any of these guys you're talking about. I'm just a fictional Demon King."

Chapter 471 A World Where Suicide Is Impossible.

The air made a crisp sound like shattering glass.

The image of Yagai Yukinobu was reflected in the pupils Erice the silver-haired Erise.

The man wearing the Demon's Wail mask had two protruding horns on his forehead, and his eyes were like crescent moons pointing upwards.

Without bending the knees, but only using the power of the ankles, one can leap into the air with a thud.

As night fell, countless tiny Od flowed through the Mount Yagiri. The mountain was almost physically filled with dense Od, which could be easily detected by the naked eye if New Humanity and Servant in the City paid close attention.

"To the eight directions and four corners, I pray to the Water Serpent (Kuchinawa God)."

Yagai Yukinobu murmured, and as if in Ritual, Od gathered behind him, unfurling enormous white wings.

This is because the essence of his personal Od and the Greater Source of the world's Od have become indistinguishable, in other words, he has become one with the mountain.

Far East Magecraft emphasizes breathing techniques, seeking enlightenment through breathing, achieving oneness with heaven and earth through breathing, and even shaking the gods through breathing.

It is a group Magecraft Formula that rivals the Authority ancient gods, and it compresses the incantation to the limit. In Western Magecraft terms, it is a spell consisting of only a small section, making it a unique skill that rivals the High-Speed Divine Words Skill of Servant.

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

There are subtle vibrations in the sound.

This is a special vibration from the Yagai as they transmit their words to the Deity.

The God of Black, the God of Serpents, the Ōnamuchi-no-Kami, the Ōkuninushi-no-Mikoto.

According to the tradition of Yagiri, the gods are not called by their names, but the gods' power is engraved in the hearts of all the family members. It is for this reason that the Divine Body bestow their blessings upon the people of Yagiri. Compared to the Clock Tower, large-scale Magecraft requires complex Ritual to be performed, but Yagiri's Magecraft can be activated in this pure form.

"We too have existed here for a thousand years."

Correspondingly, the earth and atmosphere are shaking.