Chapter 474: yata no kagami

Meanwhile, the Omiya Family.

Unlike the heavily guarded, modern-tech-filled manor of the Kujo Family, the ancestral residence of the Omiya Family was a sprawling complex of ancient architecture.

With flying eaves, bucket arches, and dark tile-covered roofs, every beam and pillar exuded the sediment of centuries of time.

The thin morning mist had yet to disperse, shrouding the ancient courtyard and adding a solemn chill.

On the bluestone path leading to the core shrine of the Family, dozens of figures stood quietly on both sides.

They were all dressed in traditional black haori, with solemn expressions and utter silence.

These people were all core members of the Omiya Family, and every single one of them was a bigwig who could cause a tremor in a region just by stamping their foot in Sakura Country.

Yet at this moment, the pride and power on their faces had vanished completely, leaving only an unshakeable worry and heaviness.

At the very front of the procession, the current head of the Omiya Family, Omiya Hideki, stood with his hands behind his back.

He gazed at the distant, tightly closed crimson shrine gates, his brows tightly furrowed, and the bloodshot veins in his eyes clearly visible.

Clearly, he had not slept all night.

Just at this moment, at the end of the distant path, a figure slowly walked over.

That was an old man.

He was dressed in a simple grey kimono, wore wooden geta, and walked with a calm, unhurried pace.

His full head of white hair was tied back with a simple wooden hairpin, and his face was covered in the ravages of time, but his eyes remained deep and bright, as if they could pierce through people's hearts.

It was none other than the spiritual painter, Soma Kosuke, who had slipped away from the SS-Rank Expert Qin Ze a short while ago.

Seeing him appear, a slight commotion arose among the previously dead-silent crowd.

On everyone's face, expressions of heartfelt awe were revealed.

When Soma Kosuke walked closer.

The Omiya Family members on both sides, without exception, bowed together at a ninety-degree angle.

"Teacher Soma!"

The neat and uniform greeting carried boundless reverence.

Soma Kosuke's footsteps did not stop; he merely nodded slightly as an acknowledgment.

He walked straight to the very front of the procession and stopped in front of Omiya Hideki.

"Thud!"

Omiya Hideki, this head of the Family who wielded half of Sakura Country, unexpectedly knelt down on both knees without hesitation and heavily kowtowed to Soma Kosuke.

His voice carried irrepressible trembling and guilt.

"Teacher, I have failed you!"

"It is my incompetence that not only failed to stop Kujo Koji's madness, but also put you in mortal danger—"

By the end, he was already weeping incoherently.

Soma Kosuke looked at the head of the Family kneeling before him, blaming himself like a child who had made a mistake, and let out a soft sigh.

He bent down and used his calloused hands to help Omiya Hideki up.

"The Family head need not be like this."

His voice was gentle and powerful, carrying a soothing strength.

"Kujo Koji has lost his mind; this is not your fault."

"This old life of mine was originally saved from the battlefield by your grandfather back then."

Soma Kosuke's gaze crossed Omiya Hideki's shoulders, looking toward the ancient shrine, his eyes turning distant and firm.

"I am already of advanced age, and being able to do something more for the Omiya Family before I die will not betray your grandfather's grace of knowing me back then."

Having said that, he no longer looked at Omiya Hideki, instead turning to the crimson shrine gates.

He slowly raised his arm and pointed at that door.

"Open the shrine."

"Invite out the Divine Artifact."

Omiya Hideki's body trembled, a trace of resolve flashing in his eyes.

He nodded heavily toward the two Elders standing in attendance behind him.

With solemn expressions, the two Elders each took out an antique key from their bosoms, walked to the front of the shrine gates, and inserted them into the keyholes.

"Creak—"

Accompanied by a teeth-aching, heavy sound as if from ancient times.

That huge door leaf, sealed for who knows how many years and crafted from a single piece of millennium-old sacred wood, began to slowly open to both sides.

An icy, boundless, and sacred aura rushed over their faces from the crack of the door.

Everyone present involuntarily held their breath, their eyes filled with awe.

The scene inside the shrine was revealed before everyone's eyes.

There were no luxurious decorations here, only a main hall that was empty to the point of being crude.

At the end of the hall, three huge statues standing over ten meters tall stood side by side.

The statues were carved in the likeness of three majestic ancient deities clad in armor, holding different weapons, looking down upon the tiny beings entering the hall, radiating a heart-palpitating Divine Might.

And directly in front of the three huge statues.

An antique jade piece resembling a curved hook was quietly suspended in mid-air.

Its entire body presented a warm, milky white color, without any patterns or carvings, and its shape was simple to the extreme.

It did not emit any astonishing energy fluctuations, nor did it have any brilliant luster.

It just suspended quietly like that, resembling an ordinary antique.

Yet everyone's gaze, the moment they saw it, became incomparably devout and fervent.

This was the Divine Artifact of Sakura Country.

It was the ultimate trump card used by the Omiya Family to resist all disasters.

yata no kagami!

Inside the shrine, it was empty and dead silent.

The three huge statues cast silent shadows in the dimness, silently looking down upon the intruder.

Soma Kosuke stood before that suspended jade piece.

Quietly gazing at the yata no kagami.

There was not the slightest bit of excitement on his face.

Those eyes that had witnessed a hundred years of storms were as calm as a withered well.

For a long time.

As if he had finally made up his mind, he slowly extended that wrinkled, withered hand.

And grabbed that magatama.

Outside the door, all members of the Omiya Family seemed to sense something at the exact same time.

An indescribable sorrow choked everyone's throats.

Some older clan Elders could no longer control themselves and fell to their knees, their faces streaming with tears.

Inside the shrine.

The moment he grasped the magatama, Soma Kosuke's body trembled violently.

He let out a muffled grunt, and his already aged face withered further at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Vitality was rapidly draining from his body.

Soma Kosuke gritted his teeth and tightly tucked the icy magatama into his bosom.

He turned around.

Just with the action of turning around, his entire body staggered, almost falling.

"Teacher Soma!"

The crowd at the door could no longer restrain themselves, and cries rang out into a chorus.

Everyone knelt down, and wailing echoed in the ancient courtyard.

Soma Kosuke supported himself against the door frame, steadying his posture.

He looked at the people kneeling on the ground, crying incoherently, and on that withered face, he forced out a smile uglier than crying.

"What are you crying for."

His voice was terribly hoarse, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing against each other.

"This old bones of mine isn't dead yet."

Taking slow and heavy steps, step by step, he walked to the shrine entrance.

He looked at Omiya Hideki, who was kneeling at the very front and crying like a tearful mess.

"After I leave, remember to water the cherry blossom tree in my yard often."

"Take good care of it for me."

Omiya Hideki knelt on the ground without saying a word, only kowtowing with all his strength, tears having long blurred his vision.

Soma Kosuke ignored his sadness, simply continuing to give instructions on his own.

"In my bedroom, there are still some paintings left."

"Find a few trustworthy people to pack them up and seal them with special scrolls."

"Remember, unless it is the final moment of life or death for the Family, do not open them under any circumstances."

"At a critical moment, it might be able to save some people's lives."

He spoke sentence by sentence, as if giving his dying words.

As he spoke, Soma Kosuke suddenly paused.

He stood frozen in place, his gaze somewhat dazed.

"I… where was I talking just now?"

He tried hard to recall, but his mind was blank; those words that had just been on the lips were forgotten clean in a blink.

He gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

"I'm getting old and can't remember things."

He simply stopped talking more.

Raising his steps, he prepared to leave.

Just after taking two steps, he suddenly stopped again.

The old man was silent for a moment before speaking again.

This time, his voice was very soft, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"If I am defeated…"

"Then find a way to take the people of the Omiya Family and leave Sakura Country."

"Go as far as possible and never come back again."

After finishing these last words, Soma Kosuke had no more reluctance.

He suddenly raised his head, gazing at the gray sky, and a brilliant light burst forth from his eyes for the last time in his life.

The next second.

His entire person soared into the sky, transforming into a stream of light that instantly vanished into the horizon.

Leaving behind only the cries and wails filling the courtyard, lingering for a long time.