Published at 5th of December 2024 1:52 am

Chapter 2441: The False Holy Grail

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"Great Ancestor, I am honored to be called by your divine grace."

Matsuo first kneeled before the Great Ancestor and lowered his head, touching the floor with

it.

He looked at Frank and Harumi, asking them to do the same.

The two looked at one another and only kneeled a bit.

"Fufu, there's no reason to kneel, dear, come here." Said the Great Ancestor. "I've known you since you were a mischievous little child, Matsuo. You have truly grown a lot. But you're also our most talented member, and the future of the clan might one day belong to you."

"T-Thanks..." Matsuo muttered, feeling embarrassed.

The trio walked forward and sat down in front of the Ancestor. There weren't any seats though, they had to sit down over the carpet.

"I've heard everything that happened, it seems you went through a lot of hardships," she sighed. "I'm really... surprised, to be honest. The Domain was indeed reported to be Corrupted and that's why I sent you there, as a trial. But I never sensed a presence that surpassed the given danger level of that Corrupted Domain to begin with. It was as if it was never there until you entered and then reached the last floor."

"So that's what happened..." Frank nodded. "Excuse me, Great Ancestor, but does this mean that someone else placed the Vengeful Demonic Spirit of Koga Saburo there after we entered?"

"Yes, most likely, or... he moved there," said the Great Ancestor. "I heard that you had a small conversation with him, what did you learn, Frank?"

"Well, he said he came here, and that his master was... "the most beautiful snake goddess" or something," said Frank. "I honestly don't know what he meant with that, as I am quite ignorant regarding the mythology of Japan, I'm afraid... But he said his master wanted us to suffer..."

"T-To suffer?"

"What sort of being is that?"

"So they had no other motives such as stealing information or your valuable objects?"

"Hmm..."

The Elders finally spoke, reacting to what Frank had said, there were many enemies across Japan that the Amaterasu Clan had been dealing with for hundreds of years, but they always had more motives than just "wanting to make someone suffer".

"I see..." the Great Ancestor nodded, her eyes shining like small stars. "To think that someone as ancient as Koga Saburo could be summoned as a Vengeful Spirit, a Demon. His tales did say something about that, but I never imagined that a fragment of him lingered within the World's Records."

"I still don't get why someone like he could even be summoned to begin with..." said Matsuo. "Is there some sort of explanation, Great Ancestor?"

"In this world, there are special rituals that magicians do. Usually, they're mostly performed by Wester Magicians. Where, by using a catalyst, they can temporarily summon a spirit created by the manifestation of a character, be it mythological, historical, or even fictional, into reality. All of this is recorded within the World's Records, Gaia's very Soul." She said. "In the past, this ritual was once used to perform what was called a Holy Spirit War, where seven or more magicians would create a special Holy Artifact that imitates the Divine Holy Grail, usually a fragment or merely a fake copy of it, which would allow them to summon these Spirits to fight."

"W-What? Such a thing is real?" wondered Frank, recalling some popular series of fiction or anime that used similar principles.

"Yes," nodded the Great Ancestor. "So far, based in what I've learned, there hasn't been any of such reports though. For the last fifty years, there hasn't been any new Holy Spirit Wars, and I hope they never happen again..."

"But what was the ultimate goal of this?" wondered Matsuo.

"Each time one of these Spirits perished, the imitation of the Holy Grail would gain this Spirit's powerful Mythical, Heroic, or Historical Soul Records, which would fill it up a bit. Once five or more of these beings were defeated or slain, this Grail would be filled, gaining tremendous magical powers capable of twisting or reshaping reality, generating a wish, any wish." She said. "But it is dangerous. As these are simple imitations, they can often be damaged in battle, or perform differently. Most of the time, the Wish was never granted as originally desired, and it would be given in a twisted way, sometimes completely killing the wisher in the process."

"L-Like a Monkey Paw..." muttered Frank. "Hah... Whoever is behind this, are they trying to make a Wish then?"

"I don't know... I had not detected the creation of this artifact," the Great Ancestor said. "It is of such level of power that several western magician families would have to work together to recreate it. Something I doubt they can afford while also hiding its presence. We would have already been told of this too, based in international laws and treaties within the underworld..."

"So they have no relation, then?" wondered Harumi, finally speaking.

"Hmm... to summon such spirits, a catalyst of a similar quality is required, however," said the Great Ancestor. "Perhaps something similar is being created, Spirits born from Myths, History, or Fiction recorded within Humanity and the World's History aren't things any magician or summoner would ever be able to summon without proper catalysts and also an imitation of the Holy Grail."

The elders nodded, agreeing with her words.

"This can only mean one thing then, Great Ancestor."

"Yes... someone is starting a ritual without us knowing, in secret!"

"Could it be one of our many enemies?"

"But if that were the case, why target the kids and not another Spirit then?"

"I was thinking the same thing," nodded the Great Ancestor. "Is strange why they are targeting those that aren't participants of the battle royale, there's no point to it... Right? Hm, for now, we'll spread more members of our clan across the city and even the outskirts. We need to be alert at all times if something like this happens again. Mythical Spirits aren't beings that should be allowed to wander the world on their own..."

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