Book Eater

Chapter 162: Delicacy from the East (3)

The system responded to his permission.

[User’s intention has been confirmed; object name ‘Abe no Seimei’ will be called. Checking the communication connection... Success, object name ‘Abe no Seimei’ has approved the two-way communication.]

[He will temporarily be synchronized with the user’s consciousness.]

The voice disappeared as darkness ate away at Theo’s vision. Theo looked around with a sense of déjà vu as he realized this was the same space he’d been given the quests in on the Pirate Archipelago. Perhaps, this was the only space where he could converse with the authors.

As before, light particles gathered in front of him. Abe no Seimei... This was an existence who couldn’t be handled even with Gluttony’s 4th seal released.

It’s hard to tell just based on silhouette.

Theo looked nervously at the figure who was forming from light. He estimated a height of 170 cm, but he couldn’t quite tell gender yet. The eyes seemed male, but the jaw seemed to have a feminine slant to it.

Abe no Seimei was dressed in long flowing white robes that were trimmed with crimson, with sleeves that went down to his thighs. His long hair flowed down and over his shoulders under the strange hat he wore. Theo had never seen this kind of attire in his life.

Ping-

The moment Seimei fully materialized, an unfamiliar dizziness filled Theo’s mind. Seimei had pale white skin and bright golden eyes, and apart from cultural differences, he truly was beautiful. However, Theo felt an inexplicable sense of hostility.

“Urgh.” Theo gritted his teeth as he suppressed his rising desire to attack.

Seimei’s eyes widened in surprise. “Ho, an interesting power is protecting you.”

It was obvious that something was triggering this hostility. As Theo stared at Seimei, he tried to suppress his boiling magic power. “You are Abe no Seimei?”

“That’s right,” the onmyōji, Abe no Seimei nodded as he opened the fan in his hand. “I’m the 2nd generation onmyōji head, originally Tsuchimikado Abe. I am Onmyōji Seimei.”

Theo growled, “I don’t understand what that means.”

“Hrmm, so you’re the type who can’t read the room. In this situation, it is reasonable to agree enthusiastically.”

“I don’t know who you are, but I don’t like feeling like this. Can you explain?” Theo couldn’t even think about the atmosphere thanks to the hostility he felt.

However, Seimei calmly countered. “I was just playing a small trick. The hostility isn’t coming from me but from yourself.”

Theo frowned. “Myself?”

“To be exact, it is coming from your neck.”

My neck??

Theo reached up to touch his neck and was surprised to feel a chill emanating from the now shining mark Aquilo had left. Theo had never seen it act like that before. However, Seimei seemed to understand what was going on.

He smiled. “Dragon of the west, a strong proprietary feeling. A female?”

Dragon blood gave one a powerful resistance magic. Theo’s own magic power wasn’t affected, but it was conscious of any magic from the outside. However, Aquilo's blood mark was reacting to more than that. It was practically bristling at Seimei’s presence.

Theo concentrated on the mark on his neck.

I know you are helping me, but just relax.

Now that he knew what the source was, he could suppress it. He glanced up at Seimei. The man truly had the charm of a woman. At the same time, it wasn’t like Ellenoa’s natural charm, but a charm that appealed to both men and women. Perhaps it was the topic, but Seimei’s face almost looked like a fox.

Theo asked warily, “Was that why you called me?”

“No, that was just a prank,” Seimei spoke as his fan rose to cover his mouth. “The real test will begin now. This is why I called you. If you fail to live up to my expectations, I won’t be able to give you the Art of Onmyōdō.”

“What is the reason for the test?”

“I already learned once that there’s nothing more dangerous than giving power to an unqualified person.” Seimei’s playful attitude disappeared as his eyes narrowed.

As Gluttony had said, Seimei had almost reached the pinnacle of a mortal existence, so his pressure weighed heavily on Theo’s shoulder. It was definitely higher than when Theo had faced one of the Seven Swords of the Empire.

The great onmyōji declared in a majestic voice, “If you really want my Art of Onmyōdō, you must first get the recognition of this Seimei.”

A fragment of a soul in the original book is going to test him?

Theo was dumbfounded, but Seimei’s words did make sense. Gluttony’s power of preying on original books was an ability which defied comprehension and could reproduce spells without any errors. As a person who had made a name for himself in his era, it was natural for Seimei to want to test the person desiring that knowledge.

“Is it an art that you have to be careful about transferring?” Theo asked cautiously.

“Huh? It isn’t really that dangerous of a technique,” Seimei answered.

Theo was surprised, but Seimei fanned his face and continued. “Well, your words aren’t entirely wrong. I don’t know about others, but it’s extremely dangerous in your hands.”

“... What do you mean?”

“As per the name, the Art of Onmyōdō is a method of harmonizing yin and yang. Therefore, the harmonious power will be amplified in accordance with the power of the opposing forces.” Seimei pointed his fan at Theo. “I don’t know how you obtained them, but there are two enormous types of forces twisting in your body. Namely, a flame of extinction that burns the heavens and the earth and the blood of a sea dragon. If you can properly control them using the Art of Onmyōdō... you could destroy a kingdom at a whim.”

Indeed, Theo couldn’t deny it. After all, that spar with Baek Jongmyung had already proven the power of the two opposing forces joining together. If Theo could threaten a sword master with an incomplete version while still at the 6th Circle, what would happen once he reached the 7th Circle and completed it? It might evolve into a spell which could literally destroy a mountain.

What if the person who acquired such a spell was evil? No, even if they weren’t an evil person, it was still risky. This was an ability that could tip every scale one way or another.

Seimei gazed at him with a measuring gaze. “Now, what will you do? Will you accept this test?”

Should he accept it now or postpone it? Theo pondered the choice, and by extension, the two roads ahead of him. He could wait until he released Gluttony’s 5th seal, ignore Seimei’s test, and force the synchro. Of course, there was also the quest, and his relationship with Seimei would become a mess.

... Backing off isn’t a good choice either.

His intuition had evolved as he passed through crisis after crisis. He had meant what he had said to Baek Dongil. He would never reach his goal if he stuck to a comfortable road or took a shortcut. This was also true if he backed away. The trial wouldn’t wait for the challenger, and there was no law that the opportunity would always be there.

So, Theo believed in himself and stepped forward. “The test, let’s start it straight away.”

“-Ohu.” Seimei smiled, as he folded his fan and rested it on his lips. “Young men truly are excellent at recognizing opportunities! I thought you would step back here.”

“There is no need for flattery.”

“Huh, is that so? Are you pouting?”

Theo could easily tell that Seimei was keeping his guard up. Perhaps it was due to the twin powers inside him, or perhaps he had other reasons. Either way, being straightforward was the best option. He would take Seimei’s test, since it was meaningless to step back against the already vigilant Seimei.

Seimei’s playfulness vanished again as he said, “Good. Then let the wind bring the trials!”

Wuuong-

A breeze picked up in the darkness. This was a spiritual world created by Gluttony where the laws of physics didn’t exist, so the wind was indeed an unnatural phenomenon.

Color sprouted in the pitch black space like flowers, and a ridge appeared beneath his feet. Pink petals rubbed against Theo’s cheeks, and the sun appeared in the new sky. It was hard to imagine this was just an illusion.

This… Is this a landscape Seimei created?

Seimei’s voice entered the nervous Theo’s ears

「This Abe no Seimei is most interested in judging people according to the virtue of ‘Heaven, Earth, and Human.’」

“Heaven, Earth and Human...?”

「The heavens, the earth, and people. You will know the meaning when you take my test.」

Seimei then started the test with a loud and dignified voice.

「Chapter 1, I will start with the ‘Human’ test.」

A system message popped up.

[You have accepted the request of object name ‘Abe no Seimei.’ The difficulty of this stage is quite high. If you fail or give up along the way, you can’t challenge it again.]

[Test of ‘Heaven, Earth, and Human: Human chapter’ will start in 30 seconds.]

[Success Reward: Skill ‘Art of Onmyōdō’, Seimei’s recognition, and you can see some information related to ????.]

[Failure Fee: Failure to acquire the skill ‘Art of Onmyōdō’, Seimei’s quest is not available.]

[Test of ‘Heaven, Earth, and Human: Human chapter’ is starting.]