[Despite becoming a transcendent, the genes inside me obeyed her orders. Unlike my will, my fingers were paralyzed and my voice trapped in my mouth. As a result, I fought with 60% of my powers sealed, and my brothers died.]
It was too high a price for one mistake. Seimei had realized that a transcendent wasn't invincible and then lost his life. The genius of a century had gotten defeated and killed by his own inexperience and arrogance. If Seimei had used all his forces at the time, the outcome might've changed.
[Hahat.] However, he laughed instead of complaining. [Well, these are just the complaints of a loser. All my bad luck and the result are things I need to bear. Now, this Seimei will lead you to victory in the unfinished battle.
"What does that mean?"
[I will help you. It looks like you are quite likable.]
Seimei finally said he would cooperate with Theodore. Although it was a joke, it was true that he liked Theodore. An existence that was quite distant from humans was fickle. Even if Theodore was the only candidate, Seimei would bury the heritage forever if he didn't like the person.
[You might've realized it when listening to my story, but victory can't be guaranteed when fighting alone. My mother kept more than me in her womb.]
"Then how should I move?"
[Go to Japan to meet my descendants and ask for their help. Put your hands on my inheritance. It will make your unfinished power more complete.]
Theodore nodded and opened his mouth, "Can you tell me more?"
[They are the Heavenly Sword, the Eight Mirrors, and the Eight Jade Magatamas. The power of the three magic objects should accept a transcendent person.]
Even the clouds in the distant sky could be a sword, while the mirrors could bounce back even the power of a god, and the magatamas could create clones. Seimei had invaded the capital with his treasures, but he had sent them back before he died.
'...Amazing. I would've regretted it if I didn't hear about them.' Theodore couldn't help feeling in awe when he heard about the powers of the three treasures.
The Heavenly Sword, Eight Mirrors, and Eight Jade Magatamas would increase his magic power by more than double. The mirrors which reflected the power of the enemy and the magatamas which made clones were both worthy items. Furthermore, there was no reason not to use the Heavenly Sword. According to the tradition, it was possible for Yamato no Orochi to make a sword of water from his body.
[In Japan, there are a few youkai left. The leader of the Oni, the three-legged crow, and the Tsuchigumo will be helpful in this fight.]
"I don't know if they will follow my words."
[I will teach you to link to their souls. It isn't difficult, so you will learn it right away.]
This was more than expected. Theodore heard Seimei's explanation and decided to stop by Japan. Even Seimei had failed to destroy the capital... So, in order for the more inexperienced Theodore to take down Lust, he needed to mobilize all the unused power.
Between Japan and Hyungkang Castle, the scale tilted sharply to one side.
"I will go to the East Continent first."
If Tae Rang's words were true, then the defense of Hyungkang Castle was like an iron wall. It was important to secure Seimei's legacy as soon as possible, rather than checking on the safety of the two tower masters. Theodore made his decision.
* * *
"I will be away for a few days." There was an uproar at Theodore's words.
He had gathered together Lee Seol, Lee Joonyoung, Aquilo and Tae Rang to tell them that. Tae Rang looked like the sky had collapsed, and both of the Lees were quite surprised. It hadn't even been half a day, so they weren't expecting him to leave. Only Aquilo listened to his words in a calm manner.
"Aquilo."
"Speak, Boy."
"Go to Hyungkang Castle ahead of me. Convey my words to the two tower masters and tell them to wait for my return."
"Hrm," Aquilo made a vague sound like she wasn't interested. "I don't like this. I came here to follow you, but you want to act separately?"
"I'm sorry but I have something to solve as soon as possible."
Aquilo might be quite affectionate to him, but her nature was essentially one that was cruel. The evil dragon of the east sea—her name had been notorious for thousands of years, and apart from liking Theodore, she didn't have a reason to help the people of this land.
Aquilo pondered for a moment before reaching out a finger and pressing it against his lips. "Okay, I'll think of it as one of the two debts. Do you agree?"
There had once been a time when they would make an exchange, but now their positions had changed quite a bit. It wouldn't be a big burden to owe her this much. Thus, Theodore nodded without giving it much thought. It was a mistake because he didn't know the ulterior motive of Aquilo, a dragon who had been indulging in pleasure for over a thousand years.
'The temptation isn't much different from being unarmed.'
Loosening the helmet, removing the armor, and taking off the belt around the waist... The analogy of being disarmed was really appropriate in that the other person's alertness was gone. Sometimes, it was effective to break down the person with a fatal temptation, but she shouldn't approach Theodore with this method.
'It will be easier to embrace me after becoming accustomed to my body temperature and smell. The next kiss will lead to one night and then… huhu.'
Like a snake slowly squeezing its prey, she would draw him into a relationship and situation that he couldn't escape from. Aquilo bowed her head so that Theodore couldn't see the desire in her eyes. It was irritating and discordant for her to act so mildly.
Shortly after that, Tae Rang recovered his spirit and opened his mouth, "B-But Great One... The barrier is stronger and harder thanks to your grace, but there are still many factors that make the safety of this village unstable. Please reconsider just once."
"Ah, you don't need to worry about this," Theodore spoke without hesitation and clapped once. Clap.
Simultaneously, the air in the front yard flashed, and several massive objects appeared.
The smallest of them was five meters tall while the largest was eight meters tall. They were the various combat golems that Theodore had placed in his laboratory. Paragranum's power had been borrowed to finish renovating the golems, which were now monsters with the raw power of a magician or aura user.
There were 12 battle golems, so they should be enough during a siege.
"This should be enough. They can use aura and magic, so they can deal with any type of monsters."
"O-Ohhh...! The giant soul soldiers from old times...!"
"Additionally, support troops will be coming in a week, so you don't have to worry about the area near the Baekun Mountains."
If the White Tower Master led the battle, they could easily defeat 30,000 monsters. Theodore held a deep confidence in his expression as he moved slowly. He would move outside the barrier to carry out the space movement.
"Theo!" Lee Seol shouted to him from a distance. "Don't worry! I'm not a child who will just be protected anymore!"
It seemed she was still a young child.
"Haha," Theodore laughed as he waved to her, left the translucent barrier and rose to the sky.
Given the unusual physical ability of the monsters, he had to rise to 200 meters in order to be safe. Theodore closed his eyes in the serene night. 'Can I use it on the East Continent?'
The token he had received from Clipeus, the golden gate... With this authority, Theodore could read the spatial coordinates of the whole material world and 'twist' them. It was literally a power to protect this world. This power didn't distinguish between the East Continent and West Continent.
Kiiing! A radiant light burst out as the coordinates were engraved in Theodore's head. The place where Seimei left his heritage, the holy place of the onmyōjis in the capital of Japan—it was the precise spatial coordinates of Tsuchimikado Castle.
「 Transition. 」 Theodore's body moved at this one word.
"―Eh?" During the space jump, an unidentified pressure caught him!
『 Someone is trying to pass through my territory. You don't know your place, Human! Pay for your sin with your flesh! 』 There came a thunderous yell before Theodore could even grasp the situation.
There was no time to look back as several gusts of wind flew toward him.
Kwaaaaang! Theodore was struck by the huge storm and fell to the ground. There wasn't any big damage because the defense spells were properly deployed, but the surprise attack itself was a threat. Theodore's eyes lit up as he became combat ready. There was substance in the previous attack. It wasn't just wind that delivered a shock wave but a physical blow.
『 You aren't normal to survive my force! 』 There was a soft voice.
Then Theodore looked at the enemy. The being that had surprised him was far from a human.
They had one leg and two arms. The being also had two glowing eyes which emitted a strong sense of oppression and an unknown power that flowed from its bluish body. It seemed to be a monster that combined the cow and dragon in one body.
[A one-legged wind demon! I have never seen one before.] Seimei seemed to know what this monster was.
"One-legged wind demon? What is that?"
[They resemble a cow and a dragon and deal with wind and lightning depending on their birth. It is a wind demon if it controls the wind and rain, and a lightning demon if it controls wind and lightning.]
"Can I think of it as on the level of the youkai?"
[It is a different race from the youkai but... Well, there isn't a big difference when looking at just attack power. You can easily defeat it.]
It was enough. Theodore raised a finger to the wind demon observing him from the sky. It might be from a species other than human, but there should be old memories in its subconscious. It would know that this action was insulting.
Unsurprisingly, it responded to the provocation, 『 You! How long can you survive? 』
In less than a few seconds, a giant whirlwind was created around the wind demon's body and fell to the surface. It was a destructive power that could break down huge walls in one strike!
'...All sense of human identity from back then has disappeared.' Theodore laughed bitterly in front of the wind demon.
The power of this whirlwind probably surpassed magic of the 7th circle. As a power that couldn't be used by the human body, it became a monster of the wind. The insight of a transcendent allowed Theodore to see things he didn't want to see. From humans to other wind demons, the number of people this wind demon had eaten reached more than 10,000.
"I'll kill you."
Its sense of space and dominance over an area were nothing. Before a true transcendent, this whirlwind was just a remnant.
Forced Harmonization—Phase 2.
The transcendent stepped forward and cast a strange fire—Extinguishing Flames Image, Mode "SURT."
Theodore became a crimson fire man as the flames he summoned from Muspelheim surrounded his body. It was time to show the wind demon who it was facing.