Annihilation Route, Xiao Jing Park, third time.
Seiji tried to converse with Voidfire again, but he was unable to get any more information out of him. All he knew was that the Yasakani no Magatama was a fake.
Based on the literal meaning of the story, Voidfire went to steal the Magatama, only to discover that the Magatama was fake.
Was this fake magatama something that Soul Society had prepared in order to confuse their enemies? Or … was there something wrong with the magatama itself?
If it was the latter, then the destruction that followed seemed understandable.
The more Seiji thought about it, the more he felt that way.
Logically speaking, Voidfire's failure meant that Soul Society had successfully defended the Realm of Cherry Blossoms. Yet, even though Soul Society had clearly successfully defended the Realm of Cherry Blossoms, Soul Society still ended up destroying the Realm of Cherry Blossoms, which seemed rather strange … Perhaps there was a problem with the God Equipment used to seal the Realm of Cherry Blossoms, or perhaps someone had intentionally created a problem with the Realm of Cherry Blossoms.
If that was really the case, then that meant that the main culprit behind the destruction of Soul Society was actually Soul Society!
Of course, it was also possible that Voidfire was simply trying to shirk responsibility. But was he really the one who caused such a tremendous tragedy? Soul Society wasn't at fault at all?
Seiji didn't think so. In his eyes, Soul Society's cruel plan to sacrifice thousands of ordinary people was already a mistake.
There was something wrong with Soul Society.
There was something wrong with the Yasakani no Magatama.
If there was a problem with this Divine Artifact, it meant that there was a problem with the seven great families — the seven great families that jointly managed the Three Divine Artifacts!
Of course, it might not be all of them, but only a few or one of them.
Seiji then recalled what Kanzaki, who was also a member of the Messengers, had told him during the Bloodwine Ritual tournament …
"… The Haruta family, as well as the other aristocratic families, have never regarded their own crimes as crimes, and have never cared about how many people have suffered because of them …"
Thinking back to Akira Mitarai, who wasn't even a member of one of the Seven Great Families, had been able to commit such cruel acts without being punished for such a long time. What about the people of the Seven Great Families?
When reviving the dead from the Bloodwine Ritual, he had seen the memories of the dead and seen the evil within them. Although he could not remember the exact details, he still had a vague impression of it.
The evil actions of Spiritual Ability users were truly akin to demons at times.
He was thinking too far ahead.
Seiji came back to his senses.
Currently, there was only one sentence that Seiji knew. It was impossible to come to a conclusion based on that. Seiji could only say that it was highly likely that Soul Society — the Seven Great Families — had been hiding something. And, it was precisely this secret regarding the Divine Artifact that led to Soul Society's destruction. Or, at the very least, it was an important reason why Soul Society was destroyed.
"A replica of the Bloodwine Ritual incident …?" Seiji murmured, "Human nature is a repeater … I really can't laugh at this."
After trying his best to restrain his negative emotions, he calmly thought about what to do next.
After thinking about it, he immediately dialed the number.
"Sister Yui, I have something important to tell you …"
…
"Where did this information come from?"
A sharp glint flashed in Yui's eyes after she heard Seiji's explanation.
"Don't look into it. Just trust me." Seiji met her gaze with a resolute expression. "There's probably a problem with the Yasakani no Magatama. Sacrificing ordinary people to locate the Realm of Cherry Blossoms is only the surface of the plan. Beneath the surface, there's a great conspiracy of one or more of the seven great families!"
Yui remained silent.
At such a critical juncture, she originally didn't want to spend any more time meeting with Seiji. However, Seiji was abnormally adamant, which was why she had no choice but to come out. She never expected to hear such information.
Just what did her idiot younger brother do after their last meeting?
"If you don't tell me where your information came from, it's impossible for me to determine the veracity of this information," Yui stated coldly. Yui spoke in a cold tone. "There are always conspiracy theories popping up all the time, every minute, and every second. And, what you're saying is the simplest and most laughable of all."
"So what? Just because it's simple and laughable doesn't mean that it's definitely fake. Sometimes, reality is far more simple and laughable than conspiracy theories, "Seiji stated adamantly.
"That's why I want you to tell me where your information came from!"
'I want to believe you, but I can't possibly believe you just like that.'
Yui sent such a message with her eyes.
Seiji sighed inwardly as he looked at her face.
He knew that forcing her to believe him would be too much. However, if he told her about his ability like this, things might get even worse in the future.
After actually relaxing his restraints, using his ability, and witnessing Voidfire's reaction, Seiji understood even more that his time traveling ability was far too powerful and easy to use. It was no different from a curse. Just knowing about it would affect him.
From a negative perspective, Seiji didn't want to expose himself. But from a positive perspective, he didn't want anyone else to bear this burden with him.
Perhaps this was arrogance, selfishness, or even conceit. But, this was how he felt.
"This information came from my Awakened ability … that's all I can say," Seiji spoke in a heavy tone.
Something flashed in Yui's eyes.
She seemed to understand, but then she thought of even more as her expression became rather complex.
"Is this ability very powerful?"
Seiji had a subtle feeling when he heard the tone in which Yui asked this.
"Yes … it's very powerful," he answered.
"Then you need to carefully control it. Don't be confused or devoured by it," Yui said while looking directly into his eyes.
Seiji sensed that there was something hidden within this.
"Sister Yui, have you thought of what my ability is?" Seiji couldn't help but ask.
Yui fell silent before she retracted her gaze.
"No matter what it is, the more powerful the ability, the easier it is for people to get lost," she spoke in a soft voice. "You need to control it well … Seiji, protect yourself and maintain your current self."
"… Just what do you know?" Seiji looked directly at her. He felt that he was incredibly close to some deep secret.
"That's all I can say." Yui didn't look at him. Instead, she used the exact same words as he did earlier.
There was then a period of silence.
"I believe your information," Yui finally spoke up after a period of silence. "I'll try to investigate … Is there anything else you want to say?"
"Yes." Seiji was still looking directly at her. "The Messengers are planning to attack Soul Society and steal the Yasakani no Magatama. The leader of this operation is codenamed 'Voidfire'."
Yui's gaze sharpened upon hearing this.
"This is information that you obtained using that ability as well?"
"Yes, and I confirmed it through Itsuki Kamitani." Seiji paused for a moment. "I'd like to tell him that there's a problem with the Yasakani no Magatama as an exchange. What do you think?"
"… Up to you." Yui didn't object.
Actually, Seiji had intended to tell Voidfire first before telling Kamitani.
This was obviously impossible to convince the Messengers to cancel their attack. However, it would at least cause some interference, or perhaps change Voidfire's actions to a certain degree.
At any rate, Seiji had to do whatever he could in order to avoid destruction.
"Is there anything else?"
"Yes. You must be careful when investigating inside information, Sister."
It was doubtlessly highly dangerous to investigate a secret plot from the seven major families. Even if Yui was a genius from the Haruta Family, the risk wouldn't be any lower. In fact, it might even be more dangerous.
If the Haruta Family was a part of this plot, then … what would happen?
Seiji was rather worried.
"If you need me, feel free to call for me," he told her. "Although I might not be able to help, I'll definitely be of some use."
This was obviously a contradiction.
However, Yui seemed to understand what he meant. Something flashed in her eyes as she looked at him.
"I will … Seiji."
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