Illimitable Until Death

Chapter 775: IUD-Chapter 771 Thatʼs Enough

“Gemstone…”

Fang Li’s eyes sparkled with realization.

He had long suspected that the Irokane possessed a Gemstone.

After all, that would be the only logical explanation.

Although the Scarlet Blazing God stated that “Irokane is one and all, all is one,” and that all the Hihi’irokane ultimately stemmed from the existence of the Scarlet Blazing God, even if they were scattered around the world, it didn’t make sense for the Hihi’irokane to have been in a dispersed state from the very beginning.

Thus, Fang Li had speculated that initially, there was only one piece of Hihi’irokane.

That piece was the Gemstone of Hihi’irokane.

And that Gemstone was located within Hotogi Shrine.

Therefore, when the consciousness of the Scarlet Blazing God was stimulated and awakened, it was only Hotogi Shrine that experienced a change.

Because only the Gemstone of Hihi’irokane had the power to trigger such a profound effect on Hotogi Shrine when stimulated.

“The Hihi’irokane was first discovered in an age over a century ago.”

Shirayuki spoke softly, explaining to Fang Li.

“It fell from the sky like a meteor, landing on the earth.”

“It was discovered by the Level 5 (Esper) Ability Users living nearby.”

“The Level 5 (Esper) Ability Users recognized that this meteor had extraordinary mysterious power, so they regarded it as a divine being that had fallen from heaven, treating it as an object of faith and managing it accordingly.”

That was the origin of Hotogi Shrine.

In other words, the history of the Hotogi Shrine can be traced back to ancient times.

“However, after two hundred years, the contemporary Head Miko of Hotogi Shrine attempted to use the extraordinary power of the Hihi’irokane to dominate the world.

As a result, with the support of the immense power of the Hihi’irokane, that Miko nearly subdued the entire Far East island nation.”

At this point, Shirayuki lifted her head to look at Fang Li.

“Li-kun should know about that Miko, right?”

Fang Li nodded.

In the two hundred years after the Common Era, precisely during the 2nd and 3rd centuries.

And during that period, if there was a Miko who almost subdued the entire island country, Fang Li only knew of one.

She was the queen of the Yamatai kingdom during Japan’s Yayoi period, recorded in the *Records of the Three Kingdoms – Wei Zhi – Wa Ren Zhuan*.

She was an ancient female ruler shrouded in mystery and the founder of ancient Japanese religious practices, eventually being revered as a king, effectively ruling over the entire island nation at that time.

Her name was— Himiko.

Shirayuki was a descendant of Himiko.

“Himiko suddenly fell ill and died while attempting to dominate the world, making the future generations of Hotogi Mikos aware of the dangers posed by the Hihi’irokane,” Shirayuki continued her explanation.

“Thus, from that moment on, the Hotogi Miko decided to fulfill their mission of protection, preventing the overly powerful and dangerous abilities of the Hihi’irokane from threatening the world and preserving the peace of the world.”

From that time onward, the Hihi’irokane was sealed away within the Hotogi Shrine.

“However, not all Mikos were able to uphold the mission of protection.”

Shirayuki’s voice began to lower.

“Like Himiko, there were several instances throughout the long ages where Mikos attempted to exploit the power of the Hihi’irokane.”

These Mikos, in their attempts to utilize the power of the Hihi’irokane without being discovered by Hotogi Shrine, resorted to cutting off a portion of the Gemstone of Hihi’irokane to use its power in this manner.

Thus, the Hihi’irokane emerged in this way.

Hidan was one of them.

And using monkeys as test subjects, embedding the Hihi’irokane within their bodies in an attempt to create an artificial Scarlet Blazing God was also one of the primary culprits behind the outflow of Hihi’irokane.

Even the Hihi’irokane held by Oda Nobunaga was one that had flowed out from Hotogi Shrine in the past.

As for the Gemstone of Hihi’irokane, it had always been sealed within Hotogi Shrine.

Precisely because of this deep connection between Hotogi Shrine and Hihi’irokane, every incident involving Irokane throughout history has been linked to Hotogi Shrine.

Perhaps, like the Hihi’irokane, the Ririirokane and the Ryuu Irokane also only possess one Gemstone; it’s just unknown whether they have been cut off and exiled.

The Ririirokane protected by Reki’s Ulus tribe is likely a Gemstone as well.

This is why Shirayuki knows so much about Reki.

“I am the Head Miko of this generation of Hotogi Shrine, responsible for managing the Gemstone of Hihi’irokane, a Miko tasked with protecting the world from the Scarlet Blazing God— Himiko.”

A sense of mission began to emerge in Shirayuki’s voice.

“I was born into this world to fulfill the duty of Hotogi’s guardianship.”

This was the mission that had been destined for Shirayuki since birth.

“In the past, the Gemstone of Hihi’irokane sealed within Hotogi Shrine suddenly experienced a change.

Several Mikos performed divination and oracle readings, concluding that a boy with a Sacred Mark on his back was the cause.

Years later, we deduced that this person would attend Tokyo Butei High School, alongside the appearance of a girl who inherited the exiled Hihi’irokane.

Therefore, I was sent by Hotogi to attend Butei High.”

Shirayuki, as if unable to look at Fang Li, painfully admitted this.

“Li-kun, you are right.”

“I did intentionally get close to you.”

“For the sake of my mission.”

The moment these words left Shirayuki’s lips, Fang Li felt it.

Shirayuki’s hands tightly holding onto him were trembling.

It was fear.

It was terror.

“Li-kun, I am a bad woman.” Shirayuki asked, with a resigned tone, “Will you… hate me because of this?”

The anxiety and timidity within her were palpable, clear to anyone who could hear.

In such a situation, Fang Li only said one line.

“I just want to ask you one question.” Fang Li looked at Shirayuki and asked, “Did you become friends with me for this purpose?”

“Of… of course not!” Shirayuki quickly replied.

“At first, I approached you for that reason, but from that night onward, you became the most important person in my heart.”

That night referred to the night in the amusement park.

“That night, Li-kun told me that I wouldn’t be alone anymore.”

Shirayuki spoke in the gentlest tone she had ever used.

“From that moment on, I couldn’t be without you, Li-kun.”

Hearing this, Fang Li smiled.

He smiled very calmly as he spoke.

“That’s enough.”

These were the words that best expressed Fang Li’s feelings.

Upon realizing the true meaning of this phrase, Shirayuki seemed to have a thousand words to say, but they all turned into a single sob.

Until Fang Li’s voice broke the silence.

“Alright.”

“We’ve arrived.”

(End Of The Chapter)