The Battle of Tokyo Bay ended with a tragic victory for Yamata no Orochi.
Gen Chisei, the 74th head of the family, officially announced the betrayal of Tachibana Masamune and ordered Miyamoto Shigo and his group at the Iwaryu Institute to investigate the "Well of Bones" mentioned by Kazama Ruri.
Inside the most expensive room of the Genji private hospital, Gen Chisei and Sakura entered.
Chu Zihang and Caesar, after sustaining serious injuries, were transferred here for emergency treatment. Fortunately, both were hybrids, so their recovery speed was quick.
"How's the situation now?" Caesar immediately asked when he saw them enter.
Gen Chisei sat on a chair in the room, lighting a thin Seven Stars cigarette. His ancient sword was placed beside him.
Without raising his eyes, he said in a calm voice, "Not good. Herzog has found what he wanted. Something we all don't want to see is about to happen."
From his tone, Chu Zihang seemed to sense something. He frowned and asked, "You mean... the White King?"
"No, perhaps even worse." Gen Chisei flicked off the ash and continued, "According to the current intel, Herzog plans to use the Holy Relics and Royal Blood to steal the divine power of the 'White King' and make himself the new 'White King.' When that happens, Japan might be destroyed by him."
Caesar raised an eyebrow, shocked by Herzog's bold plan. His expression became more serious. "If he had a different identity, I'd actually admire this guy's persistence. Hiding for decades for a plan, and even sitting in boss's seat in the end."
Gen Chisei's eyelids twitched, but he pretended not to hear the sarcasm in his words. "This is a matter of Yamata no Orochi."
"At this point, are you still stubborn enough to think you can solve this alone?" Chu Zihang shook his head. "Since we learned about the White King, this is no longer just your Japan branch's problem. It's a matter for Cassell and the whole world."
"Let me guess, you're hesitating whether to kill us to keep us quiet?"
Though Caesar was seriously injured, his words carried no restraint, his eyes filled with provocation. "If you kill us, you can hide Japan's biggest secret, right?"
Gen Chisei slightly raised his eyelids, glancing at them before sneering. "Don't worry, I'm not that stupid. One of you is the heir to the Gattuso family, and the other has an S-Rank bloodline. Even if I kill you, do you think Principal Hilbert won't know the secret we're trying to hide?"
"Besides..." Gen Chisei sighed, looking a bit weary as he rubbed his forehead. "Right now, with just our power, we don't have the confidence to stop Herzog."
"Is that so?"
Caesar looked at him in surprise.
"Yes, that's right."
Gen Chisei nodded and said, "I'm here to seek cooperation. Compared to the consequences of exposing secrets, stopping Herzog is the most important thing."
"It seems we agree on this point," Caesar said, clearly not surprised by the situation. Cooperation was the best way to handle things. He spoke calmly, "We need to report everything here to Cassell College. Do you agree?"
"No need to trouble yourselves."
Gen Chisei put out his cigarette and said, "While you were unconscious, I had Kaguya organize all the information and report it to EVA at Cassell's headquarters."
"Looks like the situation really is serious," Caesar frowned. From what he knew of Gen Chisei, he wouldn't have made such a decision unless things were extremely dangerous.
"You were unconscious for twelve hours," Gen Chisei's face was hard as he coldly continued, "During that time, we kept searching for Herzog. But just half an hour ago, an unexplained volcanic eruption was detected in Mount Fuji. I've already sent Miyamoto Shio from the Lava Flow Institute to investigate. We should have news soon."
Just as they mentioned it, the door opened and Miyamoto Shio entered, holding a report. He looked around, his face heavy with concern. "I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
"Bad news," Caesar said, even while lying on the bed. He lit a Hoshiko snow cigar, filling the room with smoke. He said lightly, "I prefer to hear the bad news first, that way I won't be too disappointed when I hear the good news."
Miyamoto Shio looked at Gen Chisei, seemingly waiting for his response.
"Go ahead," Gen Chisei nodded slightly.
"At least for now, our goal with Cassell is the same: to stop Herzog's plan," Gen Chisei said.
"The bad news is, the situation at the Well of Bones is exactly as we expected," Miyamoto Shio handed over the report. "Just now, we confirmed that magma and underground water have intersected in the Akagi River. The magma is flowing out from a nearby active volcano on Mount Fuji. The magma has provided enough nutrients for the Dragon's growth and has heated the underground water to high temperatures. Recently, Mount Fuji has been unstable due to elemental disturbances caused by the Dragon's growth. All signs point to the Well of Bones being there."
"Although it's called a 'well,' it's actually not a vertical shaft but horizontal underground, right?" Chu Zihang frowned and said.
"That's right. In the myths passed down by Yamata no Orochi, we call it the 'Cave of the Corpses.'"
Gen Chisei took out a thin Seven Star cigarette, lit it, and silently took a puff. "It seems Herzog plans to awaken the 'God' that sleeps in the Cave of the Corpses."
"Do you mean the god is still alive?" Caesar raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"Alive, but not necessarily a god," Miyamoto Shio sighed and said, "Think about it. In the ten thousand years since its death, no high priest has chanted prayers or mantras for it. The accumulated resentment, if released, would probably destroy all of Japan—and maybe the whole world."
"Whether it's still alive or not, this time... we must kill it."
Gen Chisei finished smoking his cigarette in a few puffs, casually throwing it on the ground and crushing it with his shoe. He said quietly, "Whether it's the dragon corpse or a god (dragon), it's just a cruel joke played by the White King on us. He granted us his blood, but that bloodline has created generations of unstable Hybrids called Oni. This cruel fate must be cut off."
"Are you really determined?" Miyamoto Shio looked at Gen Chisei and asked, "Once this war begins, there will be much bloodshed, family head."
"Miyamoto family head, our enemy isn't Herzog, but our own fate."
Gen Chisei said solemnly, "We must end the White King's ghost that haunts our fate. No matter how much blood is shed, it's worth it. Even if everyone in this generation dies, at least the next will have a slightly happier life. Otherwise, our family and Japan will always be like a mansion built on quicksand."
"What about the good news?"
Chu Zihang asked, "Didn't you just say there's some good news?"
Miyamoto Shio glanced at him and said, "The good news is, your principal, Hilbert, will arrive in Japan this afternoon, riding Sleipnir."
The one hailed as the greatest 'Dragon Slayer,' after several decades, is finally returning to Japan?
Gen Chisei fell silent. He hadn't lived through that era, but the name 'Hilbert'—any hybrid would know the weight it carried.
The anger-honed sword, sharpened for decades, is finally going to strike the 'Dragon King.'
The massive machinery shook the night sky over the Takamagahara area, waking up flocks of birds that circled above, too scared to land.
The ground and trees within a several-kilometer radius trembled in unison, and the high-frequency noise above 170 decibels forced every construction worker to wear noise-canceling headphones, or the sound would destroy their eardrums.
A giant, cannon-shaped device moved along a track, its massive, super-hard alloy drill bit spinning at high speed, causing the hard rock layers in front to crumble away, with stone debris flying like a sandstorm.
Miyamoto Shio stood in red water up to his knees, watching the tunnel being drilled by the shield machine behind the massive excavator. He anxiously asked, "Sonar detection, how far are we from Akagi River?"
The closer they got to Akagi River, the more careful they had to be.
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