Magician in Type-Moon

Page 192

“Araya, it seems you’ve already figured out the meaning of your surname…” Aozaki Touko looked at the man in front of her. Although it was pointless to say more, she still wanted to confirm with him.

"Yes, Araya...Araya...Alaya, what similar words! After failing to open the path to the root so many times, how could I not have thought of this?"

Araya Sōren sighed and murmured as if in a dream:

"It's like a curse. Your enemy is the mind of primates, the humanity that is hard to save, but your surname is the same as the name of your greatest enemy. It's a paradoxical spiral."

Orange snorted coldly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Araya Sōren's sentiments.

"So you conspired with the evil god to commit a massacre in Guanbuzi City and created these bizarre things like the Dead Apostles, just to test the extent to which the Counter Force interfered with this world?"

Aozaki Touko stared coldly at the man in front of her. Since last year, the world has undergone tremendous changes.

As the concentration of magic power increases, various mysteries continue to emerge. Even things like magical beasts and phantom beasts, which are rarely seen for decades, are appearing much more frequently than before.

While others are still gleefully profiting from this change, this guy in front of me has already begun to look for the greatest impact of the world's transformation.

—The suppression is weakened.

If those magicians who seek the root of all things could obtain this information, wouldn't they be laughing in their sleep every night?

Araya Souren remained silent for a moment, ignoring the cold look Aozaki Touko gave him, and said calmly:

"Isn't this enough?"

"That's definitely not enough. You're hiding other reasons, aren't you? I didn't expect you to start lying too."

Orange was still referring to Dead Apostles, but not just any Dead Apostles.

To test the state of Alaya consciousness, there is absolutely no need to create dead beings; one can simply search in Europe to find existing dead beings.

There's a lot of that kind of stuff anyway.

The purpose behind creating Dead Apostles, especially those who have reached the level of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors of Dead Apostles, cannot be so simple.

Aozaki Touko's words struck a chord with Araya Sōren, leaving him somewhat silent.

But Orange glanced at him with obvious disdain, then tossed aside the cigarette he was holding and said:

"Although it has been confirmed that the power of the restraint has been weakened, it still has the ability to intervene in the world, which is why you colluded with the evil god to create the Dead Apostle who possesses the Blood Ring of the Principle."

"This is something that even the Counter Force cannot ignore. Compared to letting a magician reach the Root, eliminating a Dead Apostle Twenty-Seven Ancestor Dead Apostle who can definitively deny human history, the relative importance of these two factors is not even a consideration for the Counter Force."

She paused for a moment before continuing:

"After all, there were still magicians who could reach the source in the past, though few were there. It's just that as the mystery has gradually faded, it has become increasingly difficult to do this."

"But a newly born Death Apostle Twenty-Seven Ancestor can indeed influence the degree to which the Restraining Force intervenes in the world."

At this point, Orange clapped her hands, as if applauding.

Yes, she was indeed clapping. Although the two were on opposing sides, she didn't dislike the magician who had been reduced to a concept.

"The reason you rushed here without stopping after feeling that my boys had broken through the cage that imprisoned your pawn is to try and take that head."

"Although the concentration of Idea Blood inside that head was pitifully low, that thing was like a detonator."

"As long as you detonate that thing at the crucial moment, a newly born Death Apostle Twenty-Seven Ancestor will appear, buying you time to unlock the source."

"Find an opportunity in the time when the two ideas contradict each other and tend to be in equilibrium."

"As expected of you, Araya!"

Chapter 247 That’s it!

"Aozaki, your talent is still as..." Araya Souren began, then stopped, seemingly realizing he was rambling, "There's something I want to ask you, even though it's pointless..."

"The ultimate goal of magicians is to reach the truth. It's not some mundane goal like wanting to know the meaning of human existence. They simply yearn to know what form pure truth takes."

"The collective of people with this idea is the magician. This group of people makes themselves transparent, only retaining their own identity—and never receiving anything in return. In this world, they are called magicians."

“In that academy, you are the only one who doesn’t belong to the group. I pursue the archetype of the soul, you pursue the archetype of the body, and I’m sure that you will be the one who arrives first.”

"So, you, the magician named Aozaki Touko, after receiving this news, will you still give up on finding the root cause?"

Araya Sōren shifted his gaze from the damaged surroundings to Tōko, and said emotionlessly, seemingly bored, though his eyes burned with anger.

"Indeed, there are those who have reached the Root. Because there are those who have reached it, they can know its essence. The magic that has remained to this day is what those who once reached it left behind."

"But—those who went to that side never came back."

"The magicians who left no name in the past and history vanished the moment they arrived. Is that world so wonderful, or is it a world you can never return to once you've been there? I don't know, since I've never tried to go there."

"Forget it, it's impossible in either case. Modern magicians cannot create something that reaches the Root Vortex—that is, the new order, the new magic system."

"In my opinion, you're just delusional. Araya, admit it: we chose to become magicians, these transcendent beings, precisely because we're weaker than everyone else."

As if declaring the end of the long conversation, Miss Orange shrugged.

As Miss Orange spoke these words in a calm tone, her eyes were sharper than ever before.

His amber eyes flickered as if they were burning with flames.

“I see. I understand. You have fallen.” Araya Sōren nodded and put the old photograph in his pocket.

Seeing Araya Sōren's actions, Orange realized that he was mentally and physically prepared to kill her today.

But she still wanted to ask one question.

"Araya, you took things from my place without permission, do you think you can take me for granted?"

Contrary to her tone of disgust, Miss Orange gave a dry laugh.

That was the look of pleasure at the existence of someone who was in the way.

“Well, although I didn’t intend to be your enemy here at first, Aruba insisted, so I had no choice but to come here with the intention of killing you.”

"...The path to the Root has been obtained. A few more steps and my wish will be fulfilled. Anyone who dares to stand in my way will be regarded as a restraining force. Aozaki, you are just a human being after all!"

Without even twitching his eyebrows, Araya Sōren asserted.

"Is that all it is..." Orange murmured.

A strange glint flashed in his pupils.

The next moment——

The black cat, which had been suppressed in place by the Buddha's relics and unable to move—

It suddenly started moving.

The stiffness just now was all an act; the black cat pounced on Araya, who had his back turned to it.

"what!"

Araya showed a hint of surprise and quickly turned around, then without pausing—opened her outstretched palm and clenched it tightly again.

A buzzing vibration was generated all around.

"I am not afraid!"

The air changed.

The black cat's body suddenly stopped.

"King Kong!"

Araya Sōren raised a hand into the air and spoke to the black cat.

Orange stared at the lines that had appeared on the floor.

"Viper!"

Around Araya Sōren, all flow gradually ceased.

The various phenomena of atmospheric flow were sealed off.

Aozaki Touko saw it.

Three circular patterns extend from Araya Sōren's feet.

The three rings guarding the magician resemble a pattern depicting the orbits of planets.

Three slender rings overlap each other.

It floats between the ground and the air.

The moment the black cat stepped onto the outermost line of the circle, its momentum was taken away.

Orange has already seen through Araya's creation of a triple barrier centered on herself.

Not afraid, Vajra, Snake and Scorpion, Wearing the Sky, Top Sutra, King Manifestation.

Centered on himself, he constructed layer upon layer of defense networks, weaving an invisible web like a spider, distributed across the ground and in space.

The moment a living being comes into contact with the lines that form the circle, its energy is instantly drained, as if the engine of its life has been shut down.

Araya's barrier is both wondrous and deadly; its interweaving of two-dimensional and three-dimensional elements makes it a concealed and undetectable means of attack.

Generally speaking, barriers are mostly used for protection, but Araya uses them as a weapon of attack.

His techniques are flawless in battle, especially in close combat, where he is as ruthless and precise as an invincible monster.

In close combat, Araya Sōren is practically invincible.

But conversely, this is the only move Araya Sōren has.

Neither Orange nor Araya had originally learned Aruba's magic, which could directly destroy the material world.

However, the runes that Orange learned have offensive capabilities. Ancient script is a powerful inscription that creates textual effects by being inscribed on a target.

If runes symbolizing fire are engraved on Araya's body, Araya's body will burn.

However, the drawback is that the text must be written directly on the paper; pasting the text on it from a distance is ineffective against magicians.

Indirect magical influences will bounce off the body of a magician who directly circulates magical energy within their body.

Since their school days, neither of them has been interested in attack magic; Touko only makes dolls, and Araya is only interested in collecting death.

Therefore, Araya's only way to get rid of Orange is through hand-to-hand combat.

Araya Sōren moved.

A hand rose from under the black coat.

"Su!"