Shortly after the battle ended, Yamato Dynasty Imperial Family's reinforcements finally arrived.
The team was led by a middle-aged man with gray temples wearing luxurious armor. He was Princess Matsumoto's uncle and a powerful and powerful figure in the Imperial Family.
When he stepped into this messy battlefield, he immediately saw the cold corpse of Zure not far away, as well as the prisoners who were tied up and obviously belonged to the general's camp.
"This is..."
The middle-aged man's pupils shrank slightly, and then his eyes turned to the only young man standing in the field - Ian. His eyes lit up instantly, which was the greed of a hunter when he discovered his prey.
"Hey kid, what's going on here?"
He strode forward, with the arrogance of having held a high position for a long time in his tone, "I am Commander Imperial Guard, and now I order you..."
However, Ian didn't even turn his head, as if it was just a fly buzzing in his ears, he ignored him and turned around to leave.
"I'm talking to you!"
The middle-aged man felt that his majesty had been challenged, became furious, and was about to reach out to grab Ian's shoulder.
Just at this moment.
Ian stopped abruptly, turned his head, and a real chill instantly erupted in his originally calm eyes.
"..."
No words, just a look.
The middle-aged man's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, and his whole body seemed to fall into a thousand-year ice cave in an instant. At that moment, he felt that he was not facing a young man, but an ancient ferocious beast covered in human skin. The killing intent that penetrated his soul made every cell in his body scream and escape.
Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
He even had the illusion that if he stretched his hand forward one more inch, his head would immediately move.
"..."
The middle-aged man swallowed, closed his mouth wisely, turned around and ran towards the unconscious Princess Matsumoto, pretending to check the injury.
Looking at the other party's embarrassed back, Ian looked away and sneered in his heart.
He is very aware of the urinary nature of these Imperial Family members. The so-called "inquiry about the situation" is just an excuse. Their real purpose is to take this opportunity to bring him back to the palace. In name, it is to "protect" or "assist in the investigation", but in fact it is to brainwash him or Mind Control and make him completely become Imperial Family's lackey.
Ian did not give them any chance to attack. After confirming that the scene was handled, they returned to the college with the large group.
However, the aftermath of this battle has just begun.
Yin-Yang Guardian Hall
General Yin Yang - Arata Seimei, is currently walking on the stairs to the top with a gloomy face.
He was exuding a rage that seemed to choose and devour anyone. The samurai and onmyoji he met along the way didn't even dare to raise their heads to look at him, and all gave way to him.
"Bang!"
He pushed open the door of the top-floor shrine.
The goddess still sat there quietly, as if isolated from the world.
Arata Seimei walked behind her, suppressing his anger and saying nothing. The whole room fell into a deathly silence, and this suffocating silence lasted for ten full minutes.
Finally, the goddess spoke first, her tone still as indifferent as water. "This time, I can't help you."
Hearing these words, the veins on Arata Seimei's forehead popped out instantly, and his voice was hoarse as if it had been polished by sandpaper. "Can't help? Have you forgotten our contract?!"
"That's your problem, Arata."
The goddess turned around, and there was no wave in her eyes that seemed to see everything in the world, "You are greedy, reckless, and don't trust anyone. But when things go wrong, you naturally expect me to wipe your ass. Sorry, I can't do it this time."
"You..."
Arata Seimei's fists hidden under his sleeves were clenched tightly, and his nails were almost embedded in his palms. He wished he could kill right now and tear the superior woman in front of him into pieces.
But he endured it.
"Hmph!"
In the end, he just snorted coldly, threw up his sleeves and left.
When the furious figure completely disappeared at the end of the corridor, the goddess withdrew her gaze. She took out two photos from her arms, one was of Ian, and the other was of the witch with a special physique - Miko.
"With these two key figures, I may be able to find my brother's soul in that world."
The goddess stared at the photo, with a trace of imperceptible madness and persistence in her eyes.
She took out a special talisman and injected it with spiritual power. The air was slightly distorted, and a holographic image of a playing little boy emerged.
Looking at the boy in the image, the goddess's cold face finally melted, revealing a smile that was extremely gentle and doting.
"Wait for me... No matter what the cost, I will definitely save you."
She whispered to herself. Now that the chess piece Arata Seimei is useless, she needs to find new allies to complete her goal.
Maybe, the boy named Ian would be a good choice.
Arata Seimei had just walked down the stairs after leaving the shrine when an origami bird landed lightly in his hand.
Asuka opened its mouth and came out with an emotionless voice. "His Majesty the Emperor has summoned me."
"Click."
Arata Seimei crushed the paper bird with an expressionless expression.
He walked out of the hall and formed a seal with his hands.
[Shikigami Summon·Three-Legged Red Crow]
"Boom!"
A huge red crow appeared out of thin air, its wings spread out to cover the sky and the sun. Arata Seimei jumped on the crow's back, turning into a red light and heading straight towards the palace.
After arriving at the palace, he put away Shikigami and strode into the main hall.
At this time, the atmosphere on the Golden Throne Hall was solemn.
The young emperor - a man in his early thirties with a feminine face - was sitting on the dragon throne. Beside him, several family heads from other Imperial Family clans had been waiting for a long time.
Seeing Arata Seimei come in, the emperor just glanced at him lightly, and then raised his hand.
A chamberlain immediately stepped forward, unfolded the imperial edict in his hand, and read loudly:
"By the grace of heaven, the emperor issued an edict: In view of the recent turbulent situation, after Imperial Council deliberation and decision, the position of [Three Heavenly Guardians] will be established in Hall of Discipline from now on, directly under the command of General Yin Yang, to assist in the management of military affairs..."
Listening to Diadem's grand decree, Arata Seimei's face turned extremely ugly.
What "assist in management"? This is clearly decentralization!
These cunning old foxes used this Zure incident as an excuse to forcefully insert three nails into the general's head. The so-called "Three Heavenly Guardians" must be someone from other Imperial Family families.
What's even more disgusting is that this position is classified as "temporary".
This means that as long as the Arata family is still sitting in the position of general, these three supervisors will always exist; and once the Imperial Family family regains the position of general, they can revoke this position at any time and resume dictatorship.
This is a conspiracy.
According to this decree, Arata Seimei clearly realized that not only would his rule become in name only, but even after the end of his lifetime, the Arata family would be completely cleansed, and there would be no possibility of ever getting involved in power.
At that moment, the thought of rebellion flashed through his mind.
But when he saw the half-smiling expressions of the Imperial Family family heads around him, he quickly calmed down.
"They're forcing me to do something."
Arata Seimei is like a bright mirror in his heart. If he turns against her now, these people will immediately use this as an excuse to unite all the families and uproot the Arata family.
"Huh..."
He took a deep breath and forced down the humiliation in his heart. The battle was not over yet. As long as Yin-Yang Guardian Hall's middle and lower-level power was still in his hands, as long as he acted fast enough, there was still a chance for a comeback.
"My lord, take the order."
Arata Seimei bowed and saluted, his voice was terrifyingly calm.
The emperor on the dragon throne frowned slightly, seeming a little disappointed that Arata Seimei was so tolerant, but he didn't say anything more and just waved his hand to signal his retreat.
College, student dormitory.
Ian calmed the shocked classmates as if nothing was wrong, and then returned to his single dormitory.
The moment he closed the door, the gentleness on his face disappeared instantly.
With a wave of his hand, several barriers that blocked detection and sound Silencio covered the entire room.
Ian summoned the pitch-black Grimoire, and the pages of the book turned.
[Dream Magic·Nightmare Summoning]
"Where is this?"
Princess Matsumoto opened his eyes blankly.
Her last memory was that she fell into coma after fighting a monster and was sent back to the palace to receive medical treatment. But at this moment, she found herself standing on a huge white bed suspended in endless Void.
Surrounded by a pure white world, there is no sky, no earth, only endless emptiness.
She looked around in panic, and her eyes finally locked on a figure not far away.
He was a man with black hair and blue eyes, with deep features and breathtakingly handsome features, especially those eyes that were like the purest sapphires, exuding a soul-stirring magic power.
"Westerners?"
Princess Matsumoto instantly became alert and assumed a fighting stance, "Who are you?"
"Don't be nervous, Your Highness Princess."
Ian smiled slightly, no longer pretending to be a Land of the Sun boy, "I'm not looking for you. Call out the soul of Yakou Emperor (Emperor Yakou), I have something to ask him."
"What are you talking about? I don't know Yakou..."
"It seems you won't shed tears until you see the coffin."
Ian was too lazy to talk nonsense and lightly hooked his finger.
"Buzz--"
A transparent Cosmic Cube body barrier instantly enveloped Princess Matsumoto. Immediately afterwards, the barrier began to shrink at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Kakaka..."
The space was squeezed, making a heart-wrenching sound.
"Ah!"
Princess Matsumoto screamed in pain. She was forced to curl up and tried to use her arms to push away the approaching wall, but the force was not something she could resist. She was about to be crushed into a ball of flesh.
Less than half a minute.
An old and powerful aura suddenly burst out from the princess' body.
In the distortion of light and shadow, the shadow of an old man with a long white beard and dressed in ancient imperial clothes emerged. He looked at Ian helplessly and stroked his beard.
It is Yamato Dynasty's founding emperor--Yakou.
"Is this your true face? It seems that Reincarnation Magic has caused a lot of damage to your soul." Ian looked at the old man up and down with a joking tone.
Yakou Emperor frowned and asked majestically, "Who are you? What do you want to do?"
"It's very simple."
Ian hit the Snap, which stopped the contraction of the barrier, but did not lift it. "Tell me, what is hidden behind the gate under the academy? As the strongest person who once ruled this continent, you cannot possibly not know."
Yakou was silent for a moment and shook his head. "I'm sorry to disappoint you. Even I don't know what is behind it. That door is a secret that Yamato Clan has guarded for thousands of years."
"Really?"
Ian's eyes turned cold, and the barrier that had stopped shrinking began to squeeze again!
"Ah!!" Princess Matsumoto's scream sounded again, and her bones made an overwhelming crunching sound.
"I know that your soul is now attached to her. If her body and soul collapse, you won't survive. So, don't waste my time." Ian's voice was as cold as a knife, "Old man, my patience is limited."
Seeing the descendant whom he usually loved so much being squeezed and curled up like a shrimp, about to turn into ketchup, Yakou finally gave in.
"Okay! Stop! I said!"
Ian waved his hand to pause the magic.
Yakou Emperor took a deep breath, seemed to be sorting out his thoughts, and spoke slowly after a moment:
"I'm not lying. That door is indeed a secret that Yamato Clan has guarded for thousands of years. Legend has it that it can only be opened by collecting special tokens. After I inherited the throne, I learned that the tokens that opened the door were scattered in the hands of different nobles across the continent."
"So, you launched Unification War just to snatch these tokens?" Ian immediately grasped the key point.
"That's right."
Yakou flashed a trace of fanatical memories in his eyes, "I have heard from my father since I was a child that there is an unimaginable secret hidden behind that door - it may be related to 'eternal life'. I am eager to get it."
"What's the result? Did you succeed?"
"It both succeeded and failed."
Yakou sighed, "When I conquered the entire continent, collected all the tokens from the surrendered nobles, and finally opened the door... I found that it was not the elixir of immortality, but what you Westerners call - Grimoire."
"I've already guessed this."
Ian did not show surprise, "What I want to know is, why is there Grimoire there? What is its function?"
Yakou Emperor looked at Ian in surprise, seemingly surprised by his intelligence network, but he did not ask any more questions, but dropped a bombshell in a deep voice:
"That Grimoire... it is the core of the entire Mental World. It is also the fundamental reason for the existence of Mental World."