Chương 249: Chapter 249: Relics and Magic Crest (Part 1)
The night was dark, and the wind howled—a perfect time for murder and arson.
Unfortunately, at this moment, the intended victims were already dead, and the fire had long been extinguished. The group responsible for the killings and arson had left the crime scene and returned to their hideout, or rather, their stronghold.
The wounded were rushed into the workshop for emergency treatment.
The exhausted "culprits" found their respective places to rest after a night of hard work.
In the end, only one mastermind remained, hiding in the warehouse, counting the spoils.
"A volume of the Six realm's secret bounded field magecraft."
"And an annotation by Souren Araya."
The former condensed 1,400 years of Japanese Buddhist heritage, while the latter gathered the insights of Araya's two hundred years of practice.
"The value of these two scrolls can rival the magical spells left by the old geezer. They are unique treasures, reaching the pinnacle in their respective fields. Hehe, to come up with such a strategy in that situation, I truly admire my brain."
Shinji, holding the scrolls in one hand, laughed so hard that saliva dripped down. He looked foolish no matter how you looked at him.
After laughing enough, he released the two scrolls and took out a tube-like object from a special hidden compartment in his waist pouch. It was a finger bone. The bone's surface was warm and emitted a jade-like luster, shining brightly in the dark warehouse.
Gripping the bone with his hand, a refreshing power seeped into Shinji's body through his skin, instantly making him feel more energized. The excited emotions in his inner self also calmed down considerably.
A calm state of mind, nurturing the spirit—this short finger bone had such a miraculous effect.
This was the biggest spoil of war that Shinji had gained tonight—a relic left by a Buddhist sage after their nirvana.
Relics, originating from the Sanskrit language, are the general term for the remains of a person's body after their death, particularly in India. In Buddhism, the hair, bones, ashes, and other remains left by monks after death are all referred to as relics. Relics are naturally obtained through the meritorious cultivation of precepts, meditation, and wisdom during the monk's lifetime. They are considered sacred objects in Buddhism, and each relic possesses incredible power. The immense power of Araya's lineage crest and this relic are closely related.
Unlike bounded field magecraft that require extensive study, this relic can provide Shinji with a significant boost in power within a short period. With the protection of the Buddhist relic, even if Lorelei inherits the Magic Crest from Barthomeloi and experiences a tremendous increase in strength, Shinji has the confidence to contend with her.
"Hehe, I won't lose to you so easily, Lorelei."
Shinji tightly grasped the relic in his palm, as if he had seized hold of the future.
In the instant when the light of the relic was covered by his hand, the lights in the warehouse suddenly turned on.
Of course, the lights didn't turn on by themselves; they were switched on by someone. The puppeteer with orange long hair and the pure white Winter Saintess entered the warehouse.
"Ah, you're here. Why didn't you turn on the lights?" Touko was startled.
"I was studying the relic left by Koya's lineage crest. It emits its light." Shinji opened his hand and placed the relic directly into Touko's hand.
The fatigue on Touko's face quickly eased. "It's a really good thing. I've heard rumors that Buddhist relics can be seen as another form of magic crest, and now it seems that it might be true."
"Is that so?" Curiously, Justeaze, who was born in the Einzbern family, had little knowledge of the mysteries of the East.
"Feel it for yourself." Touko handed the relic to Justeaze.
"This is...!" Justeaze quickly sensed its extraordinary nature.
Touko explained, "A magic crest is the stabilized crystallization of a magus' knowledge and achievements. It is the solidification of mysteries. In this sense, the relic, which carries the wisdom and insights of Buddhist sages, is the same. When Araya buried the relic within his own body to strengthen himself, it was like a magus inheriting a magic crest from the previous generation. Of course, this has much greater limitations compared to inheriting a magic crest."
"Why is that?" Justeaze asked.
"The issue of compatibility and rejection. The transplantation of magic crests is similar to organ transplantation. The success rate is much higher between relatives compared to unrelated individuals, and the resulting rejection reactions are also much milder. Although the lack of blood relation doesn't necessarily mean a mismatch, the probability is like finding a needle in a haystack. That's one of the reasons why the entire magecraft world values blood ties."
"But why doesn't it work with relics?"
"Because, except in Japan, monks cannot marry, let alone have children."
Shinji had already guessed the reason when Touko mentioned the issue of rejection.
"Perhaps it's precisely because of the strict rules and precepts that relics possess the ability to function independently even without being implanted in a person's body. Although the effect is far inferior to when it is implanted, it can still be seen as an advantage compared to magic crests that must be implanted. In that sense, Araya's relic is not inferior to Alba's magic crest."
"What? Alba's magic crest?"
Shinji didn't react immediately to Touko's words.
"Yeah," Touko looked at Shinji with some curiosity. "Don't tell me you thought Alba and I both don't have magic crests. He is the famous direct descendant of Agrippa, and the Cornelius family's history is no less impressive than certain noble lineages."
As soon as she said that, Shinji's expression changed immediately. The greedy, burning gaze almost restored warmth to Alba's cold body.
"So... that's why you wanted to bring his body back?"
"What else would I do?"
"I thought you did it out of consideration for a former classmate, to give him a proper burial."
"I'm not that kind-hearted. I just don't want to waste such good material. Removing the crest, feeding the familiar with the body—a magus' body is the highest-grade bait for magical creatures."
Touko let out a cold laugh. Even without taking off her glasses, she exuded an icy and abyssal aura. This was the true nature of Grand Magus Touko Aozaki, the "Scarred Red," who had once caused a bloodbath and instilled fear in many magus.
However, this chilling aura didn't affect Shinji and Justeaze. The former enjoyed Touko's unabashed attitude, while the latter was simply naive.
"What do you plan to do with Alba's magic crest? Like what you did back then—oh, Alba is already dead, so that method is no longer applicable."
Shinji mentioned a dark history that many people were unwilling to talk about.
After the color assessment, Touko was labeled as "red," and many people despised her for it, calling her the "Dirty Red." Some of these people were directly killed by Touko, while others were imprisoned by her and then had their magic crests removed through some means. This was done without harming the lives of the magus or severing their connection to the crests, resulting in the creation of a Mystic Code similar to familiars (guardian beasts).
Since then, no one dared to mention this forbidden name in front of Touko, and the forbidden name took on a new meaning—bringing suffering and pain to enemies.
PS: The Mystic Code(Familiar) made by Touko using magic crests has already been destroyed by Aoko.
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