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Last Embryo Volume 6 Interlude Part 1

Interlude

Meanwhile, around the same time.

Lamia Draculea, a blonde Vampire girl who saw Asuka dragging everyone away back to the village of the natives popped hear head out from between the strands of the tall grass she was using to hide her presence and observe the situation and how it developed.

「. . . Hey, James? Do you really think it is a good idea to let Asuka go like that? Was right now not the most opportune moment for us to steal her Holy Sword away from her?」

『I think it would be best for us to wait for a little while longer as now it is still too early, my cute Lady. If the Holy Sword that Miss Kudou Asuka is wielding really is the legendary 『Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi』 from the legends of the Far East, then there is quite a big possibility that even if we took possession of it it now, we would not have been able to wield it properly ourselves.』

A gentleman’s voice explained to Lamia from beyond the other side of the black phone’s receiver, causing Lamia to grumble with dissatisfaction, because what James essentially meant by that is that without securing the cooperation of Kudou Asuka for themselves, Lamia will never be able to achieve her goal.

「This is going to be such a nuisance. . .」

『You think so? I am sure that if only you explained to her why exactly do you need her blade, then she would offer to help you right away without asking too many questions. . .』

「No, that is not what I meant. I know that I could do that, but going down that route is only going to place me in Asuka’s debt, and it is exactly that that I do not like. Making debts with someone who you are going to kill later anyway is just something that does not sit right with me.」

As Lamia was sulking, James smiled with a bitter smile at the other side of the receiver.

『How sincere of you, my Lady. If it were up to me, I would have killed the ones whom I have been using right after they have served their purpose and be done with them then and there.』

「If I have done that, then I would not be able to face mother or aunt Leticia and look them in the eyes. I know that killing you enemies is a part of the cycle of life and the fight for survival, but killing someone after forgetting about the debt of gratitude that you had with them is a monstrous act. . . and if I became 「The Enemy of The World」 because of it, then it would have worsened mother’s reputation even further, and that. . .that is something that I do not wish to see happening no matter what.」

『Fufu, understood. It is precisely because you are the way you are that I adore you so much.』

Such an open declaration of affection made Lamia blush in an instant, and her heart went all aflutter as her breathing got much faster and much more erratic, to the point where she had to deliberately put the receiver away from herself for a bit to calm herself down with a series of deep inhales and exhales.

「. . . More importantly, James. The way I see it, 『Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi』 might as well be an 「Astra」, but what do you think about it?」

『Hmm. . . . 』

Lamia had no way to see it, but she was sure that on the other side of the phone James was crossing his arms on his chest while trying to ponder the question that she just asked him.

「Astras」: weapons, technologies and concepts that were brought into existence for the sole purpose of humanity avoiding the fate of ultimate destruction of their species, whose origins are also said to be directly related to the myth about the global migration of the Aryan race. However, in Japan, a country located in the Far East region of the Outer World and has a language that is not a part of the Proto-Indo-European family of languages, 「Astras」are probably not known as such a symbol, if they are known there at all.

『A Star Cauldron and a Holy Sword, huh? Now that is certainly an interesting and strange story. If nothing else, then I am sure that the appearance of a Star Cauldron in that country was not a mere coincidence, but rather a settled matter, or a done deal if you prefer to call it as such, because even if more than enough blood was being spilled anywhere else in the world, then the Far East was the only region where the giant cauldron has been confirmed to appear.』

But in reality, what appeared instead was a sword. If only they could figure out the exact meaning of why such a thing happened, then it might be possible for them to use their findings to convince Kudou Asuka to help them more easily.

「Come on now, James! Let us put our brains together and figure this out! If there is anyone who can solve that mystery, then that someone definitely has to be you, the strongest Game Maker, am I right?! In fact, I am positive that you will be able to slove it right away even without my help!」

『Fufu, it fills my heart with joy to be hearing such words of high praise from you, my Lady. Now, let us think about it for a moment, exactly like you said.』

James took a moment to ignite the tobacco inside of his favorite meershaum pipe, took a deep breath of the tobacco smoke and then spoke calmly to Lamia, who was beginning to get more than a little impatient.

『『Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi』 . . . the most famous sacred sword of legends known throughout the lands of the Far East that connects mythology with historical facts. Initially a weapon found by Susanoo, God of the Sea who slew the Eight Headed Serpent, Yamata-no-Orochi, it later became one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan along with Yata no Kagami and Yasakani no Magatama and was passed down from one emperor to another as a symbol of absolute power in a land where the mystical and mundane worlds merge and collide with one another and the national prestige continues to be inherited by a single line or rulers even today in the modern times. What does that tell us? Two pieces of information, presumably: that in order to use that sword properly and utilize its full power in the way that it was originally intended, you have to be either a member of he Japanese bloodline of emperors or a personification of a nationwide prestige. I think that this sword’s extraordinary ability to sever the Divinity and folklore from whatever is being cut by it might stem exactly from those qualities.』

「I also heard the stories about that sword. Initially known as 『Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi』, 「The Heavenly Gathering of Clouds」that Susanoo found after he cut off Yamata-no-Orochi’s eight heads and tails after he got each of the heads so drunk on sake that they have fallen asleep, and I also know that later it got renamed to 『Kusanagi no Tsurugi』, 「The Grass Cutter」. I already saw with m own eyes how its power, capable of cutting the folklore away from whoever it slashes and even nullify their Gifts, but its power was even more than I ever could have imagined.」

『Hmm. . . so the sword did appear from within the Eight Headed Dragon, huh? Rumor has it that Yamata-no-Orochi was one of the Demon Lords who terrorized humans and Gods alike because he was one of the 「God Slayers」, but maybe he secretly had something more than that going on for him?』