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IBHJ Chapter 954
🕑 Added 2024-08-26 02:28:07 +0000 UTCWaking this youth and contacting Waver might provide some clues about the Lord of Salvation. What started as a simple act of kindness had suddenly taken on a much greater significance due to the youth's third eye.
He carried the youth outside, then turned to Artoria and said, "Artie, our feast will have to wait. I'm going to Morrigan's. Why don't you head home first?"
She shook her head and looked at him seriously. "I'll go too. This concerns Chaldea's enemy. I also want to know more."
He nodded, and together with Artoria, they hurried towards Morrigan's dwelling.
After Shirou and Artoria left, Grandma Enos stepped out onto her porch. She leaned against the doorframe, her weathered hand gripping it for support as she watched the pair disappear down the road.
"A divine eye..." she murmured, her gaze distant. "No wonder that boy carries such sorrow in his soul..."
...
The exact location of Venus's secret realm remained a mystery, but she had left a teleportation gate for Shirou hidden within one of the pyramid ruins in the old Holy City. As he stepped through, the world around him shimmered and shifted. In an instant, he found himself back in Venus's domain.
"Welcome back, Master," a calm voice greeted them.
He turned, then blinked in surprise. There stood Aqua, but not as he'd last seen her. She was dressed in an elaborate bunny girl outfit, complete with ears and a fluffy tail.
"Aqua?" Shirou's brow furrowed. "What's with the... costume?"
"Miss Venus said I was good at welcoming guests, so she dressed me like this and told me to wait here."
A pause, then a hint of emotion crept into her voice, and her eyes held a trace of resentment as she looked at him. "Master, how much longer do I have to stay here?"
"Isn't it nice here?"
"It is very nice, but I've come to understand that wherever Miss Venus is, I'm not, and I'll never be, doing well," Aqua said calmly.
"Let's not talk about that now. Where's Morrigan?"
She pointed to a nearby forest. "She's in there, helping Ayaka and Kiara level up."
"Alright, thanks, Aqua."
He nodded, then carried the three-eyed youth towards the dense forest. Artoria gave Aqua a polite nod before following.
Aqua stared after their retreating figures, her gaze unfocused. Only then did the realization hit her, causing her shoulders to slump. "Oh," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "Master still hasn't mentioned when he'll take me away."
Shirou, carrying the youth, hurried into the forest. Soon he saw Ayaka and Kiara in the midst of battle, with Morgan dozing behind them, providing support buffs.
"Oh? Mr. Shirou and Miss Knight?" Kiara was the first to notice, sheathing her sword to greet them. Ayaka followed suit. He nodded to them both before looking at Morrigan.
The greetings had woken Morrigan up. She looked at him sourly. "Well, well, if it isn't the impure man who plays with women's bodies!"
Shirou's face fell. "Sis..."
He inwardly cursed Gilgamesh. That big-mouthed jerk had spread the news so far and wide that everyone in Chaldea knew by now, Morgan included.
"Can you help me with something, sis?"
Morrigan puffed out her cheeks and turned away. "No."
"Please," he insisted, gently setting down the three-eyed youth. "Remove the spell on this child."
She was about to refuse again, but after a glance at the boy, her eyes locked onto his third eye like a wolf spotting Little Red Riding Hood.
"Shirou, this is incredible! Is this magical material just for me?" Her eyes lit up as she gazed at him, hands clasped to her chest in excitement.
She darted in front of the youth, her gaze glued to the boy's third eye. With trembling fingers, she reached out to caress it, as if touching a priceless treasure.
"I thought it was just a legend," she breathed. "There were rumors of one in the Wandering Sea, but we could never get in. I never dreamed I'd see one with my own eyes!"
Her voice grew feverish. "I can't help myself. Where's my knife? My Golden Blade? I need to extract this eye right now."
Morrigan's eyes flashed a predatory green as she stared at the third eye on the youth's forehead, her expression like that of a wolf eyeing its prey.
Three-eyed people hold a place in ancient legends across various civilizations on Earth. For pure magi, the more mysterious the material, the more it piques their interest, regardless if they are modern practitioners or those from the Age of Gods.
The third eye of three-eyed people is known by many as the Eye of Wisdom, Divine Eye, or God's Eye. From a modern mystical perspective, it's top-tier Phantasmal Species material, akin to the giant dragon remains beneath the Clock Tower.
Furthermore, the third eye of three-eyed people features prominently in various regional mythologies, its mystical nature and allure to magi undeniable.
In truth, the only known existing third eye of a three-eyed person is preserved in the Wandering Sea, so it's no wonder Morrigan is so eager to dissect this three-eyed youth. Though well-versed in various regional mystical systems, she still harbors a keen enthusiasm for legendary objects. Not to mention that the true identity of three-eyed people ties them to remnants of the past, further fueling her fascination.
Morrigan had never encountered a three-eyed person before, so her interest was understandable.
But Shirou put a stop to her eagerness. This three-eyed youth might be connected to the Lord of Salvation, so he couldn't allow Morrigan to dissect him. The fact that she even used the word "dissect" was alarming enough. How did she conduct her magecraft research, anyway?
"Come on, can't I just take a tiny piece? Even a sliver of the cornea would do," Morrigan pleaded, her voice a mix of desperation and fascination. It was unusual for anything to captivate her like this, and she wasn't about to let go without a fight.
"No." He cut her off with a firm shake of his head. "Help him remove the spell, sis."
"Fine, fine," she grumbled, dragging her feet as she approached the three-eyed youth. As she studied him, her eyes widened, and a soft gasp escaped her lips.
"What's wrong?" he asked, tension creeping into his voice.
She scrutinized the youth a few more times before meeting her brother's gaze. "This isn't a spell he's under. It's a curse, one born from divine authority."
"Divine authority?"
"Simply put, it's Age of Gods magecraft. That's the kind of mystery born from humans receiving blessings from the gods. Both Merlin and I also had it. But after you defeated Vortigern, the Age of Gods on this planet completely vanished, and all the Age of Gods magi went into hiding in the Wandering Sea, cutting themselves off from the world."
Morrigan continued, pointing at the three-eyed youth. "What he's under seems to be a unique Age of Gods spiritual pressure from South America. Spiritual pressure magecraft usually comes from the authority of gods who rule over death. It can separate the soul from the body, making them out of sync. Basically, it splits the mind from the body. But in theory, this kind of magecraft shouldn't be used on living people."
"What do you mean?"
When it came to matters of magecraft, no one knew more than Morrigan.
She coughed. "When Morgan le Fay was young, her father King Uther sent her to a convent to study magecraft. The magi who founded the convent were heretical Age of Gods magi who had been kicked out of the Wandering Sea. I remember Morgan le Fay's first teacher once said that the Age of Gods spiritual pressure was given by the Death God to priests who served him, to help them capture souls that didn't want to go to the underworld. That's why I said it's not meant for the living, and it shouldn't affect them."
"You mean he's already dead?" he asked.
Morrigan shook her head. "From this wavelength and the body's vitality, that's impossible. Plus, since arriving at this Connection Point, I've noticed the Age of Gods here has completely faded, and the concepts of 'heaven' and 'underworld' are gone. What I find strange is this - if all the gods have vanished, why would the authority of the Death God still linger?"
"Can you remove it?" he asked again.
Morrigan pursed her lips, considering. "It's possible, but incredibly risky," she said slowly. "We're dealing with the soul here, and the concept of the 'death god'. One tiny slip-up could lead to errors." Her gaze drifted back to the youth's third eye, a glimmer of desire in her expression. "Now, if I had a divine eye to work with, that would make things much smoother."
He nudged Artoria forward with a sly smile. "I bet sister Morgan would love to show off her helpful side to her dear little sister."
Morrigan: "..."
Her identity was already out in the open, there was nothing she could do about that. But for Shirou to use the sister that the witch Morgan le Fay owed the most to as leverage...
Shameless!
Artoria looked at Morrigan seriously. "Sis, you can do it!"
"Don't say that to me with Shirou's face..." Morrigan wailed listlessly.
She was already regretting coming to this connection point. Wouldn't it have been better to be a washed-up e-sports loser back in Chaldea? Morrigan sighed and dragged her listless body over to start working on the curse.
