Chapter 33: 35
FIRST:READ THE OBSERVATIONS AT THE END
IF POSSIBLE GIVE YOUR OPINION ON THE 2ND AND 3RD OBSERVATIONS
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"Tell me more about the Himejima Massacre." Nero continues to ask.
"To understand the Himejima clan massacre, I must first tell you about the five principal clans in Japan. The five clans are Nakiri, Himejima, Shinra, Doumon and Kushihashi. They are all powerful clans of mystics linked to the Shinto gods and have served them for generations and are well known for purifying evil spirits." When the god finishes speaking, he notices the curiosity in the young devil's eyes and waits for the question.
"What does they classify as an evil spirit?"
"As the name implies, they are beings of an evil nature that can harm human life. I know what you want to ask, and no they don't classify fallen angels and devils as evil spirits." Buddha then he mumbles in a low voice. "Even though some of fhem secretly do."
"What is their relationship with other factions or mythologies?" Nero asks.
"The members from the five clans obviously have a fervent faith and strict worship in Shintoism. As for the other divine pantheons, they are completely intolerant. If one of their descendants follows another belief them that person is classified as a heretic and must he banned or executed from their clan." Buddha comments the last part with nostalgia.
"What about fallen angels, angels, devils, youkai, and mages?" Nero questioned thinking about the beings most connected to the experience of his own biblical pantheon.
"Well, they are generally wary of Grigori, who claim to protect and aid the advancement of humans potential with sacred gear, by suspicions of fallen angels plotting something against them."
"Understandable, who would totally trust in beings way older than themselves, especially when those beings are know for having commited sins."
"I agree, but their misstrust is not exclusive to the crows. Even those pacifist doves are considered menace to them. The angels belonging to Heaven have a neutral relationship, the clans do not offend them but neither do they actively seek to improve the relationship because they belong to another religion."
"What about the devils?" Nero asks.
"The relationship with bats on the other hand is more peculiar, they keep their distance from the most influential devils but if one of their descendants becomes a reincarnated devil they declare that person as excluded from the clan. Basically, they tolerate devils as long as your species doesn't interfere in their affairs."
"Aren't you being a little offensive with the crows, doves and bats thing? Shouldn't you be like a pacifist god?"
"Do you think I care? I just destroy most part of the mountain fighting against Śakra, do I look like a pacifist to you?" Buda asks with a deadpan face.
"It seems that religions are deceiving, no wonder considering how they portray all devils." Nero tries to avert the topic.
"Moving on, the relationship with youkai is normally neutral, but some youkai hate certain members of this clan who used to attack their race claiming they were evil spirits. Finally, for humans, I can say they are also wary of Grauzauberer's mages."
"They seem pretty isolated from the supernatural world, but they must be quite strong" This statement made by Nero attracted the attention of Buddha who promptly questioned him.
"Why do you believe that?" Buddha asks with interest.
"They only have good connections with the Shintoists, and therefore would need considerable power to remain important in the region even with the support of their guardian gods." Nero expounds his ideas and immediately notices an increase in the Buddha's previously relaxed interest in conversation.
"You are indeed correct. Each of these clans is related to one of the five elements, also know as the five phases, and the strongest member of each clan has one of the five sacred beasts. The holder of the sacred beast must change his name to the same as the beast in his honor."
"Do you know what the elements and beasts of each clan are?" Nero asks and Buddha nods.
"The first information you need to know is that the strongest family is the clan Nakiri which is connected to the earth element and the Yellow Dragon, so their host must be named Ouryuu."
"Fine. Anything else about them?"
"The current Ouryuu is considered the strongest in history and his younger sister is the possessor of a sacred gear, but I don't know which gear she have." Buddha states.
"I will keep in mind to try to not mess with the dragon guy. How about the next family?"
"There is clan Himejima who is connected to the fire element and the Vermilion Bird, so their host must be named Suzaku. The former host was extremely old and they have already chosen a girl who recently became Suzaku Himejima."
"Isn't Himejima the clan who had the problem?" Nero aks curiously. Buddha sighs with the boy's enthusiasm for the topic.
"Yeah, the shinto thunder priestess Shuri Himejima was killed by members of her own family for the so called crime of having a relationship with a fallen angel and a child who was half breed." Buddha speaks with slight disdain when mentioning the Himejima clan's reasons. "Calm down, I will tell you more about the incident later."
"Understant. How about the Shinra?"
"The Shinra is connected to the metal element and the White Tiger, so the host must be named Byakko. There is not many informations about them, but I know the current Byakko is a young lady."
"Okay. And the other two?" Nero asks.
"Doumon is connected to the water element and the Black Tortoise, so the host must be named Genbu. While Kushihashi is connected to the wood element and the Azure Dragon, so the host must be named Seiryuu."
"Can you tell any relevant information about them?"
"No, they are more recluse than Nakiri and Himejima." Buddha adds.
"Are these guardian beasts some kind of sacred gear?" Nero expresses his thought by muttering aloud by accident.
"No, the five sacred beasts are the original beasts that, through a ritual, have their souls fused to the human body of their hosts. It is different from a sacred gear that holds the soul of some living being granting power to the user, after all the beasts hosts are able to manifest the sacred beast outside themselves."
"There is no connection with the sacred gears created by... you know who?" Nero insist.
"No. It is actually widely known that there are four sacred gears that rival the five guardian beasts, they are known as: Four Fiends." Buddha tries to give as much information as possible to satisfy the boy's curiosity.
"Even though it's a different type of power, the members from those clans shouldn't hate sacred gears' users, right?"
"On the contrary, since sacred gears are items that came from christian's god they are considered heresy, so any descendants who possess them is isolated or banned from their families." Buddha gives a sad smile.
"Hell, who would have thought that humans could be as intolerant as the devils of the Old Devil King faction." Nero laughs at the humans' cruel actions after he speaks in an ironic tone.
"In fact, they are so blind to their old beliefs that they despise descendants who possess sacred gear or use magic not originating from the Shinto religion or the five elements." Buddha informs.
"How do you know that?" Nero is curious about the amount of information accumulated by a non-Shinto god.
"It's quite simple, some of the people in these clans follow or followed Buddhism and used Buddhist magic, and I listened to their prayers." Buddha again expresses a nostalgic look.
"Who were these people?" Nero asks.
"There are three people. The first was a faithful follower of my religion and the other two are followers of Shintoism who incorporated Buddhist techniques into their fighting styles. The first is already dead, her name was Ageha Himejima she lost much of her vitality creating a Buddhist seal to hide a sacred gear inside her grandson, after that both her and her grandson left the Himejima family. The other two, oddly enough, are the current possessors of two of the sacred beasts, Ouryuu and Suzaku."
"Fine, but how is this related to the Himejima family massacre? You just said the priestess was killed for her relationships but not how or why." Nero tries to bring the subject back to the main focus.
"Keep patience young Lucifer, all will be fine in due time." Buddha yawns relaxed and continues. "You need to know that as well as intolerance towards sacred gear or other religions, the Himejima family is also extremely intolerant of hybrids with other races."
"Yeah, you said she was in a relationship with a fallen angel. So who was the guy?" Nero asks.
"It was a fallen angel, one of Grigori's cadres, Barachiel of the holy lightning. Apparently on one of his missions he was injured and on his recovery he was treated by the priestess Shuri Himejima, after a long time they developed a relationship and had a daughter."
"Look, I don't mean to criticize the strength of the humans from these five families, but how the fuck did they won against a high-ranking fallen angel."
"They didn't win. Apparently the incident occurred while Baraquiel was away and Suzaku Himejima was undergoing the ritual of inheriting the sacred beast. In the meantime, a group was designated to eliminate the offspring of Baraquiel and Shuri, in addition to executing Shuri for having betrayed the clan. " Buddha seriously narrates the event.
"So, what was the result?" Nero asks to confirm the results he already knows.
"Shuri Himejima was killed and her daughter, Akeno Himejima, was banished from the clan after escaping. I never had much interest in looking into this case, so I don't know the current condition of the girl."
"I see, so basically from the two stories I learned that: the Great King faction is hiding something and Japan's five main clans are a bunch of cowards." Nero mocks the events while he remembers his situation with Rizevim.
"You're not wrong about the Cleria Belial incident, but you shouldn't generalize about Japan's clans. The new generation of heirs, especially the hosts of holy beasts, are trying to change the backward customs of the clans to prevent incidents like this from happening again."
"Even if they're trying to change why should I be friendly to people who act against their own family? If they attack each other internally, who can say against a devil like me."
"Even so, you must act cordially, because they are regarded as the most knowledgeable in japananese faction. The only Japanese faction that is matched in information gathering are the youkai." Buddha explain in a serious tone.
"I understand."
Nero then stop talking while he silently reflects on the incidents trying to draw more connections or understand something that might reveal some secret in them, especially about the first case.
Then Buddha interrupts his momment with a question.
"Wouldn't you like to know more of any information? This is the time to ask before we train."
The question immediately took Nero out of his focus, surprising him a bit.
"Ah yes, could you tell me what the list of the top 10 strongest beings is? The god Indra commented something about you having a strength worthy of the top 10."
"The current one or the old one?" Buddha tilts his head confused by the multiple answers possible.
"Both." Nero say and Buddha starts his lesson.
"First, as it is publicly known, the most powerful being of all is the Great Red, however, because he does not fight with anyone, he is not usually included in lists. He's like the top 0, the one above all."
"Fine, but what would the list be without including Great Red?"
"The list formerly consisted of:
1. Ophis, the Dragon God of Infinity, or Trihexa, the Beast of the Apocalypse
2. Trimurti, composed of Shiva, the Hindu God of Destruction; Brahma, the Hindu God of Creation; and Vishnu, the Hindu God of Protection
3. Yahweh, the God of the Bible
4. Śakra, the Heavenly Emperor and Hindu God of War and Thunder
5. The two Heavenly Dragons. Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon of Domination, and Albion Gwiber, the White Dragon of Supremacy
6. Thor, the Norse God of Thunder and the Slayer of Jöttuns
7. Typhon, the King of Monsters, or Fenrir, the God-Devouring Wolf
8. Hades, the Greek God of the Underworld
9. Aten, the Disk of the Sun in ancient Egyptian mythology.
10. Lugh, the Irish God of Sun and Light"
When Buddha finishes listing he notices that Nero wants to ask something but ignores the boy and continues talking.
"But currently some of the beings disappeared either because they were killed or sealed and some new ones appeared to occupy certain positions. The new list would be:
1. Ophis, the Dragon God of Infinity
2. Trimurti, composed of Shiva, the Hindu God of Destruction; Brahma, the Hindu God of Creation; and Vishnu, the Hindu God of Protection
3. Śakra, the Heavenly Emperor and Hindu God of War and Thunder
4. Thor, the Norse God of Thunder and the Slayer of Jöttuns
5. Typhon, the King of Monsters, or Fenrir, God-Devouring Wolf
6. Hades, the Greek God of the Underworld
7. Super Devils. Sirzechs Lucifer, the Crimson Satan of Destruction; Ajuka Beelzebub, the Satan who controls Laws; and Rizevim Livan Lucifer, the Son of the Morning Star
8. Aten, the Disk of the Sun in ancient Egyptian mythology.
9. Lugh, the Irish God of Sun and Light
10. Susanoo, the Shinto God of Seas and Storms"
"Oh before I forget, some can claim that Śakra is superior to the other two members of Trimurti except for Shiva, which may be true but we don't know since they are pacifist. Other controverse point is the super devils, we list them on the top 10 but we never saw their full power against a strong member of another faction to make a proper evaluation so they are on the lower part of the list."
"Why is the ruler of the angels not on the current list?" Nero gets confused with the new list, and asks his biggest concern ignoring the two facts listed by the god.
"The angels hid it for quite some time to avoid wars or invasions from other pantheons, but nowadays it is an open secret that everyone knows and pretends not to know about the fact that the God of the Bible is dead." Buddha nonchalantly comments on the greatest secret of the biblical pantheon as if it were nothing.
"God is dead?" Nero speaks the sacred term thinking of the figure and is immediately afflicted with pain, but he ignores it curious about the truth.
"Yes, he is already dead. Died a long time ago."
"How he died?"
"Apparently during the Bible's War of the Three Factions he fought exhaustedly against the original four satans causing both sides to perish in combat. He was tired of having sealed the two celestial dragons in sacred gears and the Trihexa in some hidden place."
"That's pretty surprising, but it does justice to the fact that he was the prime being of my pantheon." Nero nods in apreciation recognizing the efforts of his great-great-grandfather.
"Correct, in general primordial beings of each pantheon are the strongest, they are often the first god-kings of their pantheons, and with each subsequent generation their strength declines. The best example is the Trimurti, those three are the only ones left among the primordials."
"I understand. But as far as I know you are the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha. If I am not being too intrusive, where does your strength fall if we consider the list?"
"I could probably compete with Aten for eighth place. I may be the first of the Buddhist pantheon, but I was also a human who ascended to the ranks of the gods. Normally I wouldn't be able to match primordials like Trimurti, Yahweh, Ymir, Chaos, and the others." Buddha humbly explains while talking about the older beings.
"But you were fighting very well against Śakra and he himself said that you were guarding something."
"I was pushing my body to its limits and Śakra wasn't fighting with the urge to kill me, he just wanted to have a good fight. As for what I didn't use... this is not the time to talk about it, but I could face or seal beings more powerful than me if I used it." Buddha smiles mysteriously.
...
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Observation:
1. This chapter clearly was not completed, I just posted the version that was already written before. Read the 4th observation for the reason.
2. I don't remember if there is any quote about the process of transferring the guardian beasts of the five clans, but I would like to ask if anyone remembers somewhere saying whether the ritual is done after the previous bearer dies or they transfer it to the next fittest?
3. By the way, In addition to the theme of sacred beasts in the second observation, I would like to ask if you agree with the top 10 lists for when you rewrite. And besides, I would like to ask something about the DxD timeline: was the beginning of DxD(Issei and Raynare date) in 2010 or 2018?
4. I know this chapter and the previous have to much talking, but I posted it now just to get your opinion on the 2nd observation. Since I will rewrite the story from the beggining, then I will also try to change these last ones. So I would like to ask, should I keep the information giving chapters or just dilute the informations when they become more relevant? (Ex.:The Himejima incident can be explained when he need to meet someone from the five clans, like in Slash/Dog arc)
5. I will start to rewrite from the beginning and change the name of the chapter rewritten to: Chapter number(Rewrite) or maybe give a title to the chapter.
6. This chapter was just to write something random to try to liven it up, see you next time with the rewrites. Bye bye.
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