Divine Right of Various Anime and Manga

Aiwass possessed emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, but Roy always felt a deep-seated strangeness when facing her—as if beneath the angel's surface emotions lay something fundamentally different from human sentiment.

Her voice sounded distant, like the crackling static from an old television with a poor signal. According to Aiwass, this was because her words were difficult for humans to comprehend, hence this distortion phenomenon.

"...The one residing in Laura Stuart's body is the Great Demon Kolozun. He is the demon symbolizing '333.' Ten years ago, he failed in his attempt to seize Aleister's body and somehow ended up in London, England."

Aiwass's speech was always unclear, as if she were trying to translate some arcane, incomprehensible truths into ordinary English, making it sound extremely awkward.

"Great Demon Kolozun? Since you're called the Holy Guardian Angel, is Kolozun an existence similar to yours?"

Roy frowned. If the demon residing in Laura's body was on par with Aiwass, this would be very troublesome. He never expected the demon to have such a grand origin.

He found it amusing how interesting the two siblings were—one followed by a great angel, the other hosting a great demon within her body.

"You can think of Kolozun as a fallen angel. He is indeed an existence similar to me... Beings like us live in a higher phase of XXXX, able to appear in the Material World only as 'spirits.' As 'spirits,' we cannot exert much influence on the Material World; we need a physical medium to do so. That's why Kolozun wanted to seize Aleister and now Laura's body. Without a medium, he is merely a 'spirit' that can only observe."

Part of Aiwass's words was automatically filtered out. Roy knew it wasn't that Aiwass intentionally omitted them, but that when she spoke that term aloud, Roy's human brain couldn't comprehend it, and his mind automatically blocked it out.

"I don't want to know Kolozun's origin. I just want to ask you, Aiwass, what must I do to expel that demon's 'spirit' from Laura's body?"

Roy cut off Aiwass's lengthy explanation and asked the most critical question for him.

"You can't."

Aiwass answered decisively.

"Then who can?"

"Aleister Crowley might be able to."

"Where is Aleister now? I'll go find him!"

This time, Aiwass did not answer Roy. The Holy Guardian Angel, a "Secret Chief" from a higher phase, gave Roy a strange smile. "...Roy, let me ask you—is Laura Stuart truly your sister?"

"What do you mean?"

Hearing Aiwass's words and seeing her eerie smile, Roy was startled.

Just as he was about to press further, Aiwass's radiant angelic form faded away before him.

Roy knew that unless Aiwass herself was willing, he couldn't force more information out of her.

"Ha..."

Roy exhaled the turbid air from his chest. He clenched his fist and walked to a full-length mirror.

He knew it was because he was too weak, lacking sufficient power, that he was so passive. If he possessed great strength and abundant knowledge, he could try to expel the demon from Laura's body himself. If he had such power and knowledge, he wouldn't need to rely on anyone else to seek the truth.

"Power, knowledge..."

Roy murmured. He had never craved power and knowledge so desperately.

Standing before the mirror, Roy looked at his reflection. Though this body was only fifteen, it was already close to 1.8 meters tall. He had neat silver short hair and a beautiful, androgynous face that made it hard to tell his gender when he stood silently. Yes, it was a countenance that could only be described as beautiful.

Roy knew his hair and features were likely inherited from Aleister Crowley. Even though he had never met the man called 'father,' Roy knew Aleister was a charismatic male with silver long hair and an androgynous beauty.

Regardless, compared to his appearance before transmigrating, he was now many times more handsome.

"If I'd looked like this in the past, I probably wouldn't have lacked girlfriends, right?"

Roy laughed self-deprecatingly, then turned his gaze to his own eyes in the mirror.

They were pitch-black pupils—the only mark he inherited from his past self. For within those dark eyes were two pupils each, the legendary sign of a sage—Double Pupils!

According to Chinese historical records, there were eight people with double pupils, such as Cangjie, Yu Shun, Chong'er, and Xiang Yu. Before transmigrating, Roy was also named Roy, but with the surname Luo and given name Yi, not the single name he had now.

The former Roy was originally from Jiangsu, the land of the ancient Chu State. Born with double pupils, he was often ridiculed by other children. Only when he grew up and read many history books did he learn that 'double pupils' were a sign of a sage, and he even proudly thought he was the reincarnation of the Hegemon-King of Western Chu.

Until one day, Roy went to an eye hospital. The ophthalmologist's words—"Double pupils are actually a fusion deformity of the pupils, an early sign of cataracts"—crushed his delusions of being the Hegemon-King of Western Chu.

In the rest of his life, he had nothing to do with the Hegemon-King. Had you ever seen a Hegemon-King who ended up as a photographer, occasionally using his skills to take 'benefit' photos of girls?

Thinking of those amusing past events, Roy couldn't help but laugh.

But soon, he restrained his emotions and looked again at his silver hair.

What color was this body's mother's hair? He couldn't seem to remember... He inherited Aleister's silver hair; did Laura's golden hair come from their mother's hair color?

Was Laura Stuart really his sister?

Recalling Aiwass's words, a faint fear rose in Roy's heart.

If Laura wasn't his sister, then who was she? Who was this girl who had shared hardships with him for so many years, always calling him 'Brother' with a sweet smile, occasionally acting like a silly airhead that he would tease?

Roy suddenly punched the wall beside him. Pain shot through the nerve endings in his hand, stimulating his brain. Fresh blood trickled down the wall through his fingers.

"No, Laura is my sister—that cute, beautiful sister. No matter who she is, nothing can deny that she is my sister!"

Roy said firmly, without any hesitation.

Chapter 4: The Book of Secrets

"Brother, your hand?"

Fresh blood flowed down the mottled wall. The sweet, pure voice from behind snapped Roy back to awareness. His stern face softened into a gentle smile as he quickly turned around and said, "...Sorry, I scared you, Laura! I got a bit agitated by the contents of that book, and before I knew it, this happened."

Roy gestured with his chin toward the "Book of 777" on the table.

As an older brother, he couldn't pass his worries onto his sister. That was just the kind of person he was—someone who perfectly fulfilled the duties of his role.

That was a grimoire original of extreme toxicity, practically a record of the 'essence of an evil god.' Foolish people who saw the surface occult knowledge recorded in it would be fine, but the more intelligent a person was, the deeper they could dig into Aleister's thoughts within the book, and thus the more they would be corroded by that deep, terrifying poison.

"Aleister Crowley..."

Laura Stuart saw the author's name on the cover. A shadow passed over her pure, ocean-blue eyes, and even her sweet, beautiful voice turned low. "...Brother, you'd better not read something written by trash like him. You'll be poisoned by it."

Ever since she was little, Laura's tone carried a deep resentment whenever she mentioned 'Aleister.' Back then, Roy thought Laura hated Aleister for abandoning them as siblings, leaving them helpless and alone. But after hearing what Aiwass said, Roy felt there was a deeper meaning to Laura's hatred of Aleister.

"Ah, oh no, Brother, your hand is still bleeding..."

The somewhat airheaded maiden seemed to snap back to reality only then. Seeing the blood still slowly flowing from Roy's hand, she hurriedly fumbled around to find a roll of gauze.

World War I had just ended, and military supplies like this that could be used on the front lines were actually easy to find in London. Laura found scissors and carefully cut a piece of gauze, gently and attentively wrapping it around Roy's right hand.

Roy lowered his head. The faint, orchid-like fragrance of the maiden filled his nostrils. He watched Laura's gorgeous golden hair scatter messily on the floor, her delicate face serious and focused. Her slender hands were like warm jade as she carefully wrapped the gauze around his wound. But—

"Laura, I advise you to hold onto your kindness and never take up any job related to nursing."

Roy looked helplessly at his hand, now bloated from the wrapping. He felt like after all that gauze, even his arteries had been strangled. How could this possibly stop the bleeding?

If this were on the front lines, soldiers wouldn't die fighting the enemy—they'd be strangled to death by Laura's gauze.

"Huh, huh? Is my technique really that bad? But someone taught me..."

Laura's eyes darted away, unable to meet Roy's gaze. A faint blush crept onto her delicate cheeks. She looked guilty, her silly, awkward smile making her seem like a dumb goose.

"Who taught you how to bandage?"

"Sister Ella from the Puritan Church nearby."

"I trust Sister Ella's bandaging skills. She shouldn't have taught you to do it like this."

Roy glanced again at his strangely wrapped right hand and said teasingly.

"Is my bandaging really that bad? Brother, you're not joking, are you?"

Laura opened her mouth slightly, a look of surprise on her face.

Roy rolled his eyes directly. He had to admit, his sister Laura Stuart could be a real airhead sometimes—so clueless she didn't even realize it.

"The bread's going to get cold. Once it's cold and hard, it won't taste good. I'll go get it."

Maybe embarrassed by Roy's expression, Laura lifted her long skirt and stood up to fetch their dinner. But because she had been kneeling too long, her blood circulation was poor. As she stood, she accidentally stepped on her own hair, which was almost as long as she was tall. Her footing faltered, and if Roy hadn't caught her, she would have taken a flat fall.

Watching Laura scurry into the cramped kitchen like a silly, adorable fool, Roy couldn't help but smile.

This was the sister he had lived with for over a decade—a sister who, aside from her impossibly beautiful face, was nearly useless. She seemed incapable of doing any work. Maybe the only thing she could do was put on her cute, lovely smile and act adorable.

Dinner began in that warm atmosphere at the old table. Calling Laura 'useless' wasn't a malicious insult, because she really couldn't do many things well. For example, this simple dinner she made was just average—the homemade jam was a bit too sour. Roy could barely swallow it.

But he wouldn't complain. This wasn't the 21st century. In this war-just-ended London, two poor children being able to eat a little jam was already a blessing. Over a decade of hard life had taught Roy to be frugal.

After dinner, Laura went to clean up. Though she was diligent, it was another flurry of chaos. Roy didn't dare let her touch plates or bowls—if she accidentally broke them, they'd probably have to eat with their hands for a long time.

During the leisure time after dinner, Roy walked to the bookshelf and randomly pulled out a book.

As if remembering something, he asked the busy Laura, "...Any news today?"

Laura, who had bumped her knee while wiping the table and was wincing in pain, heard Roy's question. She thought for a moment and said, "...Sister Ella said the countries at war seem to be having a meeting."

Because the siblings had received a lot of care from the church when they were young, they were decent believers. Whenever they had free time, they would go to the church to do volunteer work and help others.

"Paris, huh..."

Roy muttered to himself.

At this moment, Roy was already thinking about whether he should find a way to move to North America. If there was one safe place in the first half of the 20th century, it was probably there. Other countries were more or less involved in wars.

But there were still over ten years until the war started. By then, he might have become a powerful magician, strong enough to protect himself and his sister during the war. So Roy wasn't in a hurry.

He read the book in his hand for a while longer, then closed it and flipped to the cover to see the author's name—Aleister Crowley.

This book wasn't a grimoire. It was a full-on erotic novel.

In Roy's limited memories, Aleister Crowley was a final big boss standing behind layers of curtains, as if playing with the whole world in the palm of his hand. But in reality, Aleister Crowley was a deeply repressed middle-aged man—calling him 'lecherous' wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Aleister's life was a mess. He had many lovers, loved telling strange jokes, and moved freely among women.

But Aleister had no respect or sense of sanctity for 'love.' In this room, there were still letters Aleister had written to Roy's mother. From the fragments of those letters, one could tell that the reason Aleister thought this way was because he was too handsome.

That's right. Aleister was so handsome that he could easily win women's hearts with his looks alone. To him, getting women was as simple as eating or drinking. That's why he didn't care about women at all—he didn't even know he had an illegitimate child.

(Note: I didn't make this up. This is how Aleister is in the original work.)

"This pathetic, hateful world that judges by looks!!"

Roy lamented. Before his transmigration, even finding a girlfriend was incredibly hard for him. He was really bitter now.

But after looking at himself in the mirror, the lemon seed planted in Roy's heart quickly turned from sour to sweet. Having inherited Aleister's excellent genes, he didn't need to be jealous anymore.

"Even Aleister has the limitations of his era. What garbage are these novels? They can't compare to the Chinese web novels I've read. Even if I wrote one now, it'd be better than his."

Roy shook his head and stuffed the book back onto the shelf. Aleister loved writing strange little stories, but he really wasn't good at it. No publisher was willing to take a loss on them, so in the end, Aleister had to fund the publication himself.

Straightening his mood, Roy returned to his workbench. He took a deep breath and pulled out a book from the very bottom of the desk.

This book was a true forbidden text—a book feared by all religious magicians.

Roy looked at the name on the cover—

The Book of Law (Law of the Thelema).

Chapter 5: Aleister Crowley

Many believe that The Book of Law was written by Aleister Crowley, but in truth, this book was dictated by Aiwass to Aleister, who merely recorded it. Therefore, the knowledge recorded in The Book of Law does not belong to Aleister at all, but to the Holy Guardian Angel, Aiwass.

Aside from The Book of 777, known only to a very few, Aleister's true achievement was The Book of Thoth.

Using his knowledge of Egyptian mythology, Judaism, Hebrew symbols, the I Ching, alchemy, astrology, and numerology, Aleister created a new set of tarot cards for himself—the Thoth Tarot—and The Book of Thoth records his understanding of this deck.

The Thoth Tarot can be called the most classic tarot deck in the world, holding a great position in occult studies and serving as an important tool for cultivation.

Now, Aiwass appeared behind Roy in a 'plural' form. If Roy wished, he could also transcribe The Book of Law through Aiwass's dictation.

"Hasn't The Book of Law already been written by Aleister Crowley? If I write another The Book of Law, would it conflict with Aleister's The Book of Law in terms of the original canon?"

Roy sat before a desk, toying with a quill in his hand as he opened the The Book of Law before him.

This copy of The Book of Law was three-quarters complete, with only a quarter still blank. For a grimoire, before it is finished, it is merely an ordinary book recording words; but once the grimoire is fully completed, an incredible demonic nature surges forth.

"A Demonic Path Canon is merely a medium for a magician to record the knowledge of a lifetime. If someone else copies a grimoire, because they cannot understand the knowledge within, the new book they replicate is just an ordinary object. But if it is the original author of the grimoire, as long as they possess the ability, they can write two identical Demonic Path Canons."

Aiwass's voice was still as harsh as ever, like a distorted tape recorder, but Roy understood her meaning.

That is to say, if someone else copied the contents of The Book of Law verbatim, it would hold no magical power. But if a new The Book of Law were dictated personally by Aiwass, then two copies of The Book of Law would exist in this world.

Aiwass was inherently a "Secret Chief" with the ability to create two identical Demonic Path Canons.

"I understand. Then let's continue the transcription now. Today, let us complete The Book of Law."

As Roy's words fell, Aiwass, manifesting behind him, dissolved into streams of light and vanished. Then Roy's gaze turned hollow and vacant, as if his body were being controlled by another.

His slender hand gripped the quill, moving across the paper of its own accord, while his lips stirred as though a 'spirit' were manipulating his body, transmitting to him "only the necessary parts of necessary knowledge" through oral dictation.

"..."