413 Mystical connection" (1/2)
”That's not it~” a lazy-sounding female voice spoke up in his mind.
Seiji paused for a moment out of surprise at suddenly hearing this voice. It took him a few seconds to recall who this was.
This was his newly bonded spirit!
Apart from saying a few words when she was summoned for him, this mysterious female spirit had always been ”sleeping” at all other times. He recalled that Natsuya had guessed that she was...
”Tamamo-no-Mae?”
”Hmm? You believe that I'm that nine-tailed golden fox?” The female spirit chuckled lightly. ”That's not it, either~”
”If you're not Tamamo-no-Mae, then just who…”
”My name is unimportant. What's important right now is this beautiful young lady, right?”
Seiji fell silent at this.
”You believed that this spider must have some sort of intimate connection with this young lady, which is why killing that spider caused her to become like this… Heehee, although the result indeed makes things appear like what you surmised, things actually aren't what you inferred them to be.”
”You know something?”
”I only know what I know, and I can't guarantee that I'm one hundred percent accurate. Even so, would you still like to hear what I know?”
”…Please.”
”That spider is the materialization of the 'mystical connection' that this young lady possesses. If she faces off against it by herself and defeats it, she should be able to awaken to certain powers,” the female spirit explained. ”However, she didn't do so, as she requested assistance from you, and you answered her call for help and slew the spider for her sake. Although you were able to defeat the materialization of the mystical connection in this manner, she was unable to receive her own mystical connection's recognition. So, the mystical connection judged that she still lost and gave her a punishment that caused her to become like this.”
Seiji didn't know what to say to all this as he processed it.
”Did you not understand my explanation?”
”Well… I understand the gist of what you said, but there's various parts that I don't understand.” Seiji sighed. ”May I ask some questions?”
”Go ahead.”
”First, what is a 'mystical connection?'”
”You can understand it as some type of fate involving a human and a demon or spirit and so on, which is why it's also called a connection.”
”Could you go into more detail about this?”
”Actually, I don't know much about it, either, so I don't know how to explain.”
”…Alright then, my second question. Why would Yukari's own mystical connection transform into a spider and attack her?”
”Because it was awakened.”
”Awakened?”
Something flashed in Seiji's eyes.
”How are mystical connections awakened?”
”I don't know the answer to this question.”
”…You said that Yukari's facing a trial type mystical connection, and if she defeats this spider, she can awaken to certain powers. Are you referring to Spiritual Abilities?”
”Indeed.”
”If she loses—if the mystical connection judges that she lost, she's punished like this… is there a way to cure her?”
”This is a punishment handed out by the mystical connection. If you want her to recover, you can try negotiating with its main body.”
”Main body… where would that be?”
”If you would like, I can help you open up a path to reach the mystical connection's main body. However, meeting it could be quite dangerous.”
”There's a possibility of… death?”
”Yes. If you aren't careful, your soul might sink forevermore into the depths of the darkness.”
Seiji looked at the face of Yukari who was in his arms and felt how cold she was. He came to an instantenous decision.
”I'd like to go. Please assist me in doing so!”
”You've resolved yourself so quickly… Heehee, I like men like you.” The female spirit chuckled lightly.
After that, Seiji received a mental message from her and learned what he needed to do.
He gently placed Yukari onto the ground and put his right hand on her forehead and left hand on her stomach as he utilized his Mana and uttered an incantation.
”Physical body in the realm of Yang, and soul in the realm of Yin…
”Qi in the current world, breath of the mystical world…
”The five elements move in harmony, the six great divisions in the wheel of karma…”
As Seiji muttered the incantation, Yukari's body gradually lit up with a red light, and complex blood-red runes appeared on her body and floated in midair.