Chapter 211: Japan (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 211: Japan (4)
She seemed to be gravely mistaken.
As far as I knew, the Yatagarasu was a sacred, three-legged crow from Japanese mythology—in other words, the Three-legged Crow.
But Flapper, the bird sitting on my shoulder, had two legs.
He was just an ordinary black falcon.
They were different species entirely.
“No, this is Flapper.”
I corrected her to clear up the misunderstanding.
“…”
But Rin showed no sign of hearing me.
Her teary eyes remained fixed on Flapper.
There’s no way.
“Look, he has two feet.”
To present my evidence, I grabbed the two feet of the creature perched majestically on my shoulder.
– Chirp.
Flapper whined, telling me to stop.
But despite my desperate explanation, Rin simply shook her head slowly.
She took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped away the tears welling in her eyes.
“That’s not it…”
“What’s not…?”
“The three legs… are merely a symbol.”
She slowly continued.
“The form of the Three-legged Crow was just a medium our ancestor, Lady Iano, used to explain His greatness.”
“It holds the symbolic meaning of a being that connects Heaven, Earth, and Man.”
It had a meaning like that?
I had no idea.
She caught her breath and looked at Flapper again.
“The one whom Lady Iano served… Lord Yatagarasu is not bound to any specific form. It is recorded in our secret traditions that he can descend in the form of any black bird.”
Her gaze turned back to me.
“And his most essential power… is the ability to devour Demonic Force. Exactly as you said, Mr. Jung Hae-in. Therefore… there is no doubt that he is the Yatagarasu we have awaited for hundreds of years.”
“…”
So, the bird that devours Demonic Force is the Yatagarasu…
Hearing her confident words, I searched through my memories of the original story.
I’m only human, so I can’t remember everything.
Even if I tried to write it all down, I might have missed something.
Considering the period when Iano was active, she was a figure from that chaotic era when the Evil God fought a life-or-death battle against humanity.
Even back then, though Fragments had not yet imbued human powers, they were scattered throughout the natural world, aiding in the battle against the Evil God.
If I assume that a black bird that devoured Demonic Force, imbued with the power of a Fragment, existed in nature back then and fought alongside Iano…
…then her claim might not be entirely baseless.
Of course, there’s no way the Flapper I have now is the Yatagarasu.
But it’s possible they share the same origin.
“Is there any other reason you think so?”
“Yes.”
I was still unconvinced, so I asked if she had any other proof.
“Ahem, ahem…”
But instead of starting her explanation, she suddenly began to clear her throat with a few coughs.
And then.
“♫~ ♫♬♬.”
She closed her eyes gently and began to hum a somewhat mournful tune.
And to that song…
– …Chirp?
Flapper, who had been sitting quietly on my shoulder, reacted by tilting his head.
He seemed to be listening intently to Rin's humming, then lightly hopped off my shoulder.
He began hopping around Rin in circles.
He even flapped his wings as if excited.
What is this?
As if enchanted, Flapper danced excitedly to Rin's song for a while.
And so, the short but deeply resonant song came to an end.
“…That is all.”
Rin stopped humming and returned to her usual calm expression.
“What was that just now?”
“It is part of a song passed down orally by our ancestor, Lady Iano. A melody that… Lord Yatagarasu was said to have enjoyed listening to in the past.”
She met the eyes of Flapper, who had come up to her feet and was looking up at her with bright, clear eyes.
Then, she smiled, a happy, gentle smile.
“…Yes. It seems so.”
With evidence like this, I had nothing to say.
I had to accept it as fact.
He wasn't particularly fond of people.
For him to dance beside her like this…
I nodded my head in understanding.
Only then did Rin stand up.
She quietly closed the sliding door to the garden, which had been disturbed by the splash of water moments before, and then closed the tatami door to the hallway I had entered from.
Her house was now completely sealed.
“…Now, I’ll be counting on you.”
Rin led me deeper into the room, to a spot where a thick, soft futon was laid out.
It seemed to be Rin's bedroom.
Standing before the futon, she once again knelt before me and bowed so deeply her forehead touched the floor.
It was an expression of trust.
I nodded in return.
– Ssk…
After paying her respects, she rose without hesitation and lay down on the neatly spread futon.
Then, without a moment's pause, she lifted her skirt, baring her lower abdomen.
On her white skin, a black tattoo looked ominous.
“Don’t worry too much.”
I said in the gentlest voice I could muster to reassure her.
It would probably go well.
I had run through several simulations while sitting in the garden.
I'd concluded that letting Flapper touch her directly would be risky.
Devouring Demonic Force was good, but indiscriminately sucking up everything without any control was another matter.
Because a human's power isn't guaranteed to be 100 percent pure goodness.
It seemed best if I acted as a filter.
Therefore, I had to become the link—and the filter—between the two of them.
I placed a hand on Flapper's small head.
As if sensing my intent, he quietly closed his eyes.
And with my other hand…
…I slowly placed it on Rin's lower abdomen, right over the spot where the black curse was engraved.
– Press…
I closed my eyes and began to draw out the power within me.
– Vwooom…
I received Flapper's power into my hand.
And just like that, I refined it and transferred it to her lower abdomen.
A vibration emanated from the center of my body.
The mana in the air stirred, and the light in the room was drawn toward Rin's body.
Like a black hole.
Her surroundings grew darker, the shadows deepening.
A black aura rose from Flapper's body and swirled around the room.
The ritual had begun.
Now, I had to find it.
The source of the Demonic Force rooted deep within Rin's body.
The source of the curse.
I focused on her Mental World.
Her world was dark and maze-like.
The roots of the source had grown into a great tree over hundreds of years, passed down through her ancestors.
A tangle of complex strands.
I severed the black, sticky strands one by one.
Normally, they would have reattached the moment I cut them, but…
– Nom, nom, nom…
…beside me was Flapper, eyes closed, opening and closing his beak as he greedily devoured the energy.
He probably felt like he was at a buffet.
After madly hacking away at the branches like that…
…I finally reached the source of the curse.
Without hesitation, I stabbed the black core with the fingers of my consciousness.
– Poke.
“Uwaaah?!”
But at that very moment, Rin, who had been lying still, convulsed violently as if she'd been hit with a taser, her abdomen squirming.
“?!”
Startled, I looked down at her.
This time, I had only half-connected to her Mental World to avoid repeating my past mistake, so I could see her condition.
“Are you all right?”
I asked Rin, flustered.
“Hah… Yes… I’m… all right…?”
Rin's eyes were wide as she stared down at her lower abdomen, which was still trembling intermittently.
She panted, gasping for breath.
“If it hurts, please tell me.”
After checking on her, I urged her.
Then I slowly directed my consciousness back toward the source.
My palm was still on her lower abdomen.
“…Ah… Nnh…”
The moment my consciousness touched the core, her body flinched and trembled once more.
She said this much was okay.
I tuned out her cries and focused.
– Flap, flap.
Just then, Flapper flapped his wings in excitement.
Perhaps he found the core of the curse quite tasty.
He sent a powerful intention to me.
‘More!’
He wanted more.
I complied with his demand.
I tightened my grip on the fingers plunged into the curse's core.
I clenched them.
And began to pull with all my might.
“Hnng…! Aah! Ah…”
In response, Rin's pained cries grew more intense.
She gripped the futon sheet with both hands, twisting her hips.
This couldn't go on. I had to finish this as quickly as possible.
The longer this dragged on, the more Rin would suffer.
‘Can you eat it faster?’
I asked him.
Flapper sent back a sign of understanding.
I hesitated no longer.
I began to frantically grab and tear at the curse's core with the hand of my consciousness.
– Grip, grip, grip.
Each time I applied strong pressure with both my physical hand and my hand in the Mental World…
…pieces of the curse's core were torn away and absorbed by Flapper.
“Uwaah! Ah! Aht!”
“Hut! Hut… Hnngh!”
“Hah… Hah…”
Rin's body was now out of control.
She thrashed about, convulsing, her breaths coming in ragged gasps.
I forced myself to look away, focusing only on uprooting the curse's core.
As I tore away at it relentlessly, the source of the curse began to run dry.
Through the gaps, a faint, clear energy that had been obscured by the curse came into view.
It was Rin's original life force.
“It's almost over!”
I said, soothing the nearly exhausted woman.
I focused all my remaining concentration for the final push.
– Ggrriiiip…
Channeling Flapper's power, I forcefully pulled out the last root.
“—————!!”
Rin let out a long, sharp cry and clung to my hand, but…
…it was already over.
– Crack!
With the sound of the ancient, cursed tree that had lived for hundreds of years in the Mental World bursting apart…
– Ssssss…
At the same time, in reality, on Rin's lower abdomen beneath my palm…
…the black tattoo that had been drawn there slowly scattered and vanished.
Only clear, white skin remained.
This was the moment the curse that had been passed down for hundreds of years, tormenting her, finally ended.
“It's… over.”
I looked at Rin and gave a smile of relief.
My whole body was drenched in sweat. It hadn't been a long time, but the life-or-death struggle in the Mental World had consumed a great deal of my mental energy as well.
“…”
But Rin didn't seem to be in any condition to answer.
Lying on the futon, she was panting, her body trembling faintly.
“…Thank… you… nngh…!”
Despite this, Rin tried to convey her thanks, attempting to raise her upper body with trembling arms.
But at that moment, the muscles in her lower abdomen squirmed and spasmed powerfully again.
With a short cry, Rin was forced back down onto the futon.
It seemed her body hadn't adjusted yet.
“You did well.”
I sat beside her and gently brushed aside the bangs that were stuck to her sweat-drenched forehead.
Her skin was as hot as a ball of fire.
“Let's live a long, long life.”
I said with a smile, looking into her eyes.
Because we had severed the fate of an early death that had been her family's destiny.
With all her remaining strength, Rin managed to grasp my hand.
Her hand was trembling faintly, but her desperate grip was strong.
She couldn't say anything, her eyes welling with tears.
She gave a faint smile.
