Chapter 199: The Serpent of Akasha 

Touko knew that she had changed.

Her former self used to live in solitude, almost without any friends, only pursuing things that interested her. If there was no interest, no amount of high rewards would persuade her to accept. But if something caught her interest, she would go all out to promote it, even if it meant working for free.

However, things were different now.

The once solitary Touko had unconsciously gathered a group of individuals with distinct personalities around her: Shinji, Sakura, Fujino, Mikiya, Shiki, Kirie, and Tohno Shiki.

Perhaps it all started three and a half years ago, with that encounter. Her life had become increasingly rich since then, with more and more ties binding her, but at the same time, she felt her dreams drifting further away.

Touko had dreams. Initially, it was to inherit the family business and become the Fourth Magus. After breaking away from her family, she found a new dream at the Clock Tower—to live like an immortal.

That's why she always kept to herself, never staying in one place for too long, never getting too deeply involved with anyone, like a passing breeze. Because once there were too many attachments, she couldn't walk away anymore. To be unable to transcend the mundane world meant she was not immortal.

"I should have left you all earlier."

Amidst the hazy smoke, Touko sighed softly.

"You can't leave. You still haven't repaid your debts."

Shinji exhaled, not allowing the smoke to obstruct his view of Touko.

"I regret it," Touko closed her eyes.

"It's not too late to regret now. Speaking of which..." Shinji's lips curved into a smile. "Do you regret it? If you're determined to leave, no one can stop you."

A rare trace of dishevelment appeared on Touko's face. "Can't you occasionally let me be?"

"As you wish, my lady," Shinji slightly bowed. "Then, my lady, would you like to hear my perspective on immortals?"

"I'm all ears."

"The character 'immortal' is written like this," Shinji formed the character "Fairy" in the air as if drawing a rune. "The radical for 'person' combined with the radical for 'mountain.' To understand this character, we need to focus on the relationship between people and mountains. When one goes up the mountain to cultivate, they disregard matters below the mountain. However, cultivation doesn't instantly lead to becoming immortal. To achieve immortality, one must come down from the mountain and engage with the world, both cultivating oneself and helping others. As the ancients said, there is no place in life where one doesn't cultivate. In my opinion, being fixated solely on the mountain is bound to fall short."

"That's sophistry," Touko shook her head. "The person on the left, the mountain on the right, isn't that symbolizing a person going up the mountain?"

"Touko, are you happy with your life? If you're not happy, you can leave anytime, and I won't stop you."

"Why are we still talking about this at this point?" Touko chuckled self-deprecatingly. "If I'm not happy, then I don't need to worry about it."

"Well, that's fine. In life, it's most important to be content," Shinji said.

"You've said so much just to bind me to your pirate ship," Touko glared at Shinji teasingly.

Shinji touched his nose. "You're the free wind, no one can bind you. But please don't forget, this is a sailing ship that moves with the wind. Are you willing to be its driving force?"

"You make it sound so nice. I reluctantly agree, Captain," Touko found herself unable to resist Shinji more and more. "But I want to remind you if I find you becoming an obstacle for me..."

"To kill or to torture, I'll obey your wishes," Shinji's voice was resolute and firm.

"Remember what you said today," Touko said and turned to leave.

"Wait, about the matter concerning the Tohno family..."

"You don't need to worry about it, I'll handle it."

"Huh?" Shinji was taken aback. "No, you don't have to go through all this trouble for me..."

"You're being presumptuous," Touko snorted lightly.

"What is it?"

"Dolls are imitations of humans, and the peculiarities of humans are my research subjects. Mystic eyes, psychic powers, half-blooded individuals—I want to recreate the miracles of the Creator with my own hands. For that, I need a large amount of materials, and the Tohno family is a treasure trove to me."

When discussing dolls, Tohno's expression was fervent, and her entire being exuded a captivating and awe-inspiring aura, which made Shinji's heart flutter while also causing some concern.

"You're not going to dissect them, are you?"

"No need for that. They are fundamentally humans, and there are no significant differences in their basic structures. I only need to draw a few tubes of blood, take a bit of subcutaneous tissue, and have them cooperate with me in a few experiments. It won't cause any harm to their bodies, I assure you as a 'Grand' puppeteer. Now, can you be at ease?"

"It's still not acceptable."

"Do you not trust me?" Touko's complexion turned cold.

"It's not that I don't trust you, but I'm worried about your safety. Recently, I received an unverified piece of information that the members of the Holy Church seem to have their eye on the Tohno family."

"Those religious fanatics?"

Most magus have no favorable opinions of the Holy Church, which publicly denies the existence of magecraft while privately seeking to control all things mystical. Touko was no exception.

"What are they after?"

"It's said that they're hunting down an ancient apostle named Michael Roa Valdamjong."

"The Serpent of Akasha! The Infinite Reincarnator!" Touko's expression finally changed.

The individual in question is a special Dead Apostle. While his power may not be the strongest among vampires, he is certainly the most difficult to eliminate. His ability, just like his title "Infinite Reincarnator," allows him to transfer his soul to another human body when his physical form is destroyed.

"So you're saying there might be a reincarnation of Roa within the Tohno family?" 

Shinji nodded.

Roa is the main boss character in the story of "Tsukihime." The complexity arises from the fact that "Tsukihime" has five different storylines, with a total of nine possible endings. Depending on the specific storyline, Roa's reincarnation target could be either SHIKI Tohno or Ceil.

As Shinji pondered how to further warn Touko, she suddenly took off her glasses, and her entire demeanor turned icy and menacing.

"This is truly good news, the best news I've heard today if it's true."

"Huh?" Shinji was dumbfounded.

This reaction seemed off. What could make Touko so excited about someone whom even the Church finds troublesome, to the point where she needed to suppress it with an icy demeanor?

"What's the matter? Don't you understand?"

"I don't understand."

"The Executor of the Church hasn't appeared, which means Roa's soul hasn't revived yet. If I remember correctly, he was a powerful magus from the Middle Ages who turned into a Dead Apostle. The soul of a dormant magus, do you not grasp what that signifies?"

As Touko explained, each reincarnation requires a portion of Roa's power. Therefore, after reincarnation, Roa falls into a deep slumber. Over time, his soul gradually revives, erodes, and assimilates the host body, ultimately replacing it as the new Roa.

Roa has reincarnated in this manner seventeen times, living for thousands of years. The knowledge he has accumulated is like a treasure trove for magus. Touko wants to open the doors to this treasure trove and obtain its riches before Roa's soul fully revives. After all, the mysterious world offers countless ways to gather information.

The question is...

"How will you find this treasure trove? And what will you do if you can't open its doors?"

Touko already has answers to these two questions.

"Shiki's eyes are excellent at perceiving the intangible. Once Roa's reincarnation appears, they won't escape her gaze."

"If I can't open the doors to the treasure trove before his revival, I will have Shiki kill him. Infinite reincarnation doesn't mean he cannot die. With Shiki around, killing him would be effortless."

Shinji is truly impressed. Touko is indeed Touko, as she has thought of everything.

Shiki and Shiki Tohno have different focuses with their eyes. Shiki Tohno is skilled at killing tangible entities, while Shiki Ryougi excels at killing invisible things such as diseases, barriers, concepts, and ghosts.

It's not an exaggeration to say that Shiki Ryougi is Roa's nemesis.

P.S.: In "Kara no Kyoukai," Shiki Ryougi has killed the doppelganger of Kirie and the ghost of the girl who jumped off a building. She has also killed the appendicitis of Fujino and the future seen by Lio Shirazumi. Additionally, she has destroyed the Bounded Field of Souren Araya. It is widely acknowledged that Shiki is adept at slaying intangible beings.

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