Internal Report of the History Compilation Committee on the Illuminati Society, 7th Campione and situation with the 8th Campione
Report Written By: Amakasu Touma, Executive Vice-Chairman of the History Compilation Committee
Report is being sent to: Patriarchs of the Seishuuin Family, Kuhoutsuka Family, Renjou Family, Sayanomiya Family, Executive-Level Members of the History Compilation Committee, Grand Knights and Magisters of the History Compilation Committee...
* Simplified Version of the report would be delivered to the Witenagemot
As was initially predicted, the United States of America launched a surprise attack on the Mexican Cartels and deployed their Mage-Knight Blazer Corps, headed by General Keira Clark, against the Dark Mage Guild Coalition led by the Oración Seis.
It was also noted that 7th Campione personally joined the fight, which goes completely against the common knowledge that was known about the Campiones. The notion that the Campione would be personally attacking mortals is something that we haven't seen for many, many centuries.
This greatly increases the danger of Tsuchimikado Yakou and puts him on the same pedestal as Marquise Voban, who also doesn't have qualms about attacking and massacring mortals to achieve his goals.
During the fight against the Oración Seis and their forces in the Teotihuacan, at the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, Heretic God of unknown origin descended and was later slain by Ten'nō no Onmyōji Tsuchimikado Yakou.
The forces of the Oración Seis were completely annihilated by the US Military, which was later presented by President Grey in the nationwide speech as a staggering success.
Meanwhile, the annexation of Canada has begun, and according to all information gathered, His Majesty Black Prince Alec refused to even answer the pleas of the Royal Arsenal, the Witenagemot, and the British Royal Family, and Canada would soon become the 51st State of the Union.
In the conclusion, it was confirmed that despite being Campione, His Majesty Tsuchimikado Yakou doesn't have the usual loftiness of the Campiones and he doesn't have a problem attacking mortals. This represents a grave threat to the History Compilation Committee due to the history between the Committee and the Tsuchimikado Clan.
On the other side, the contact with the 8th Campione, also of Japanese origin, Kusanagi Godou, was established. As was predicted, His Majesty was, or is, an ordinary High School student with no prior knowledge of the Supernatural, who doesn't really understand this world, and even the Heretic God that he killed was solely due to luck that was on his side.
It was worth noting that it didn't take a lot of convincing for His Majesty to become Patron of the History Compilation Committee, which is something that would hopefully protect us from the all-out war with the Illuminati Society and the 7th Campione behind it. On this note, it is still unknown whether 8th Campione would actually act on our behalf, given his strong reluctance to have anything to do with the Supernatural World.
I would strongly recommend sending someone to the side of 8th Campione to influence his perception of the matters. As much as I was able to gather, the young man is rather naive in his thinking and gullible, which works rather well for the interests of the Committee. At the same time, he also has a rather strong sense of justice.
In this regard, I would strongly recommend portraying 7th Campione on the same level as Marquise Voban, which would prompt 8th Campione to be more likely to fight on our behalf as a force of Good.
It has been noted that this character flaw of the 8th Campione could be exploited by the Committee to obtain some sort of cooperation and backing against the attack of the 7th Campion, which could be termed as imminent and dangerous.
As the previous attempts at the reconciliation have failed and the 7th Campione personally decapitated the messenger of the History Compilation Committee, we need to search for alternatives against the Campion, which doesn't include unleashing Sun Wukong or summoning Susanno.
Summary of the "Internal Report of the History Compilation Committee on the Illuminati Society, 7th Campione and situation with the 8th Campione" written by Amakusa Touma, Executive Vice-Chairman of the History Compilation Committee
***
United States of America, Washington D.C., Headquarters of the Illuminati Society
A situation like this was almost on the border of being called unprecedented.
Consecutive births of two Campiones, one after another, in such a short span of time, was an event like never seen before. First, it was His Majesty Tsuchimikado Yakou, born on US soil, and now another Campione has been born in Italy.
Both of them were of Japanese origin, though...
It was a really interesting twist of fate, because Campiones were very rare, and having two Campiones being born in the same nation was something that was totally unheard of in the first place.
Which made this situation even more peculiar.
"Have we obtained information on the newest Campione yet?"
Several days have passed since the birth of the 8th Campione by the name Kusanagi Godou, and most of the Magic Associations were scrambling by. Right now, everyone was fearing that the newest Campione would turn out to be like Ten'nō no Onmyōji, who was actively meddling in the mortal affairs and breaking the balance in the world.
Desturction of the Oración Seis and their Dark Guilds Alliance was a testament to the personality of the northwest Campione, who was doing what he wanted. What wasn't really different from the other Campiones, but contrary to them, all other Campiones found it way beneath their status to fight against mortals and normal people.
Something that observers noted was that 7th Campione Tsuchimikado Yakou completely lacked.
When the USA started attacking the cartels and their forces, 7th Campione even attacked ordinary non-magical humans with the forces of the United States Army, which made him the first Campione to attack and kill normal non-magical humans in this way.
While some Mages and people in the Magic Associations took this as just a quirk of the Campione, those who could see behind the veil realized that the newest Campione lacked the typical mindset and arrogance of the Campiones and Heretic Gods.
If there was a goal, he would do everything to achieve the goal and fulfill the mission.
"Yes, we have, 4th Seat."
The members of the Knights of the Round Table gathered for the meeting, and everyone was present, including 6th Seat, Thomas Andre, who was present via holo-projection, even though he was currently in Japan guarding Kirari Momobami.
Thomas Andre was one of the few Magic Saints among the humans. He wasn't the strongest one out there, as there were stronger Magic Saints than him, but he was still a geniue Magic Saint and not many Mage Associations had Magic Saints in their ranks.
"According to everything that we gathered, 7th Campione is 17 years old, ordinary backround, and probably as mundane as it could get. From what we managed to gather from our spies, right now, 7th Campione has returned to Japan, and what is rather interesting... he is rejecting anything related to the Supernatural World and doesn't want to have anything to do with it. Even as we are speaking, he is still attending school..."
As the 1st Seat of the Round Table, Johan Georg Faust read the report, and everyone wore incredulous expressions as they heard the report. This was very weird behavior even for the Campione, and probably the first time that the Campione is denying the existence of the Supernatural itself.
"Well... the problem is... even though the newest Campione is disinterested in the Supernatural World and insists on continuing his normal life as a mundane teenager, he is rather gullible and naive to the point where the History Complication Committee managed to rather subtly manipulate him against the Illuminati Society. It is confirmed that the Committee is actively working to turn the newest Campione against us, especially against His Majesty Tsuchimikado."
This wasn't really that much of a surprise, and anyone with half a brain would think of a similar or precisely the same strategy. It was rather a good strategy from a certain point of view, but also extremely dangerous.
It wasn't like this wasn't executed before.
There were several occasions when the Magic Associations thought themselves to be several steps ahead and tried to manipulate a Campione.
Usually...
It didn't really end that well.
Most commonly, it led to the complete downfall of the Magic Association and their extinction when the Campione got pissed and just killed and destroyed everything in their path.
So...
No.
Yakou already thought that the History Compilation Committee would do something like that.
They were in a very tough spot.
And it was clear that someone with the mindset of Kusanagi Godou won't join them because, apparently, he didn't want to have anything to do with the Supernatural World, but they managed to exploit one huge flaw in his personality.
According to the analysis of the History Committee, the young Campione had a very strong moral compass and sense of justice. Everything that the History Compilation Committee needed was to paint Yakou as a merciless murderer and a person who committed atrocities on defenseless people.
And it worked rather splendidly.
With this being done, even though the 8th Campione refused to join them, he still agreed to protect the History Compilation Committee if they were under attack from Tsuchimikado Yakou.
This also made the possibility of Yakou going to Japan almost zero.
It would lead to a fight.
Despite everything, the last thing that he wanted right now was to fight against another Campione. Their kind was much harder to kill than the Heretic Gods, and Yakou didn't know what Divine Authority the newest Campione managed to inherit or what God he slayed.
While there were reports that shortly after his ascension, the 8th Campione fought against Lord Salvatore Doni and managed to get a draw out of him. Which was certainly disturbing enough for Yakou, which meant one of two things.
Either the Divine Authority that Kusanagi Godou obtained from the God that he slew was very powerful, powerful enough ot overpower even Campione with decades of experience, several Divine Authorities, and a master swordsman.
Or the Divine Authority that he obtained from the God that he slayed was one that gave him multiple abilities in a similar manner, like Odin gave Yakou three Divine Authorities of Steel Body, Gungnir: The Spear of Heaven, and Mímir's Well.
"We just leave them be... if I don't go to Japan personally, I don't think that their Campione would act, and right now we have more pressing matters to solve."
Yakou stated that he wasn't really concerned about the support of Kusanagi Godou for the History Compilation Committee. Even though there were some matters that he wanted to take care of in Japan, he knew that he just needed to wait.
Either he would wait until he was more powerful and confident in killing another Campione, or he would wait until someone created such a huge mess that would attract the attention of the Campione, and if Yakou made a move during that time, Kusanagi Godou would be preoccupied with that.
Yakou planned to kill the Monkey King Sun Wukong, and also Susannoo...
The two trump cards of the History Compilation Committee.
Without them, he was sure that the destruction of the Magic Association was just a matter of time.
And he already heard rumors that Marquis Voban was searching for the Priestesses and Hime-Mikos to participate in the Heretic God Summoning Ritual, and the country that had the highest concentration of the Hime-Mikos was Japan...
Not only them, but Japan, China, and Korea.
Unfortunately for Marquis Voban, China and Korea were under the rule of the Holy Cult of Five Mountains and its Campione. Yakou planned to enter Japan secretly when Marquise Voban would be wreaking havoc there and do his thing.
Until then...
It was not his concern.
As Yakou voiced his thoughts on the matter, the Knights of the Round Table stopped thinking too deeply about the matter. Illuminati Society didn't have plans to expand their influence to Japan, aside from what was already done through the Association of the Momobami Clan with the Association.
In the end, due to the relationship between His Majesty Tsuchimikado Yakou and Kirari Momobami, the Momobami Clan managed to join the Illuminati Society and even got one of the Executive Positions within the Association.
Obviously, their influence within the Society was rather low and abysmal, because mundane money had only such a high value. In the Magic World, what was truly valuable was personal power and strength, which was something that the Momobami Clan clearly lacked.
As they were just an ordinary, mundane Clan.
Even though it controlled the criminal underworld of Japan, that was secondary. Yet, due to the fact that their Clan Leader had a child with Campione, their position was rather delicate.
Nobody would dare to say no to them, just based on the fear of Campione and Yakou, who became rather infamous in the Magic Society, because he was meddling too much in mortal affairs and didn't shy from killing the same mortals if they wanted.
Something that wasn't very usual behavior among the Campiones, as this was primarily seen in Marquis Voban.
The old man didn't care about his status, and if he was angry, he killed as many mortals as he wanted. That was the main reason why he was so feared, because he was basically someone who had no bottom line and behaved like a true tyrant in every sense.
"Then we will put the matters in Japan on hold and resume an observation stance. Right now, we have more pressing matters on hand, which are assimilation of Canada and the last clean-out operations in Mexico."
Jacob Grey stated that their efforts in Canada were going rather smoothly. When the local Magic Associations realized that Campione was on their side, they decided to stop supporting the British Royal Family in this matter, and without it...
Canada would be destined to leave the Commonwealth.
The territory of the United States would grow by a huge margin, and Grey's ambition of creating the very first Superstate after the USSR would be fulfilled. He termed it the U.S.N.A. or the United States of North America.
He even wanted to conquer and assimilate the territory of Mexico and the Caribbean, as it would be, because it would put the entire North American Continent under a single unified government and create the most powerful and largest superstate that the world has ever seen.
Which seemed like a rather good idea.
Most of the members in the Illuminati Society agreed that Mexico was overrun by cartels, and now, after the destruction of the Oración Seis and their Dark Guilds Alliance, the situation in Mexico was hell on earth.
Intensely enough, practically on the second day after the news got released that some of the biggest cartels and their Magical backers got destroyed, everyone turned their weapons on each other, and vicious infighting started.
"The latest reports from the CIA are rather disturbing. It seems... that several Mages of the Oración Seis that survived, took control over the largest and strongest cartels in the country and... they are planning to secede from the Mexican government."
Everyone went silent for some time, because if the government of Mexico dissolved and the country went to civil war with multiple factions fighting against each other, then the US would have a valid reason to intervene and send the full might of the US Military and annex the entire country.
Most members of the Knights of the Round Table were not opposed to it, because it would mean their Society would grow stronger once again. The stronger the United States were, the better it was for the Illuminati Society.
"We should wait... according to the reports, half of the Mexican army joined the cartels in one way or another, and entire military bases went rogue... Based on the information, in two months, various factions would overwhelm the federal government in Mexico City. Right now, 17 states of 31 have become territories of the cartels and remnants of Oración Seis. The disturbing thing is... even though there are some conflicts between the biggest cartels and Mages, they are primarily targeting the remaining federal forces."
This was a rather peculiar situation because it seemed that the "rebel" forces had decided to first deal with the Federal Government of Mexico and their loyal troops before fighting among themselves over who would become the sovereign of the country.
What Eve Rockefeller stated made a lot of sense, and if the government were no more, it would be a more favourable situation for the United States.
"Then it's agreed... I want to bolster the defenses around the borders, and I am sure that Congress will agree with the partial mobilization due to the border situation. The first thing we would need to solve would be to stop the refugees from entering our country."
During the term of President Grey, border security was at an all-time high, but due to the incoming conflict in Mexico, it was clear they would need to deploy the National Guard and the Army to the border.
"Next on the topic is the sorting of the books and lore obtained from the Oración Seis and their affiliates. How is the progress with that one?"
This aspect was entrusted to the Dairenji Shidou, who was heading the Department of Lore and Hermetics within the Illuminati Society. The Department of the Lore and Hermetics was currently especially busy because of all the things that were extracted from the Oración Seis.
Originally, the Department of Lore and Hermetics didn't have a lot to do.
All other Departments of the Illuminati Society were far busier and had more things to do aside from the Department of Lore and Hermetics, which was just studying ancient books and records.
"We are categorizing everything, but the amount of lore that we obtained from the Oración Seis is massive... like really, really massive and it would take us whole weeks to go through everything, but we can conclude tthat the number of Grimoires and Magic Tomes obtained from the ashes of Oración Seis and their affiliates would expand our own library by at least another 150%... and there is also something more important to report to the Table."
Everyone was pretty much satisfied hearing that, because more lore of their society, the better in the long run for the development of their Mage Organization.
"Stop speaking in riddles, Dairenji..."
Several members were already losing their patience, as Dairenji Shirou was always speaking in riddles and never giving out a definitive answer. The man was sometimes beyond annoying, to be honest, and not many had the patience with him at all.
"We have found something within the vaults of the Oración Seis, and it's something weird... From the initial analysis, it looks like a Relic, but it's fully sentient, contrary to the other kinds of Relics that we found, which showcased only rudimentary degrees of sentience."
Relics were very rare and all of them contained a certain degree of sentience, even if the said sentience wasn't that much high in the first place. Yet, to find a Relic that was fully sentient was something that didn't happen in recent history, and now, everyone was intrigued by such information.
Another thing that was bothering people present was the question that popped up in everyone's minds.
How the hell did Oración Seis get their hands on something like that?
It was something that was unexplained for the time being, because not even some of the oldest Mage Associations had something like that, and even Campiones would seek such a Relic with great interest.
It was said that Marquis Voban's personal weapon was such a Relic as it was of Divine Origin and a geniue God-Slaying Weapon.
One of its kind.
But that is primarily because of luck.
Tsuchimikado Yakou's Divine Authority of Gungnir: The Spear of Heaven, worked on the same premise as that.
"Were you able to establish contact?"
1st Seat Johan Georg Faust asked as Dairenji Shidou nodded.
Yes... But the results are not really anything worth mentioning. The Relic showed power comparable to Divine Ancestors or High-Level Divine Beasts, and it's not keen on talking or doing anything. Most of the time, it will just sleep on its perch or fly around."
Saying that caused everyone to look at the Dairenji Shidou in confusion and dread.
Mixed.
"For further clarification, seeing the confusion of everyone included, the Relic has the appearance of a crow and its name is also Crow."
Now it was getting a bit weirder, but not that much actually, in fact.
"If the Relic is so powerful as you speak, then I will speak with the Relic with myself."
Yakou said as he would meet with the Relic by himself. If the Relic was as powerful as the Dairenji Shidou spoke of, then he would meet with the Relic by himself. Divine Acnestos and High-Level Divine Beasts were graded as the A-Ranked beings, while he, as Campione, had most of his parameters in the S-Rank.
Not just any ordinary S-Rank, because due to the Steel Body, he was S+-Rank, meaning that he was stronger and more durable than the average S-Rank. Approximately two times truth to be told, that much he was stronger compared to the ordinary S-Rank.
If one had sole + in their Parameter, then it meant twice as strong.
If one had two + in their Parameter, then it meant five times as strong.
If one had three + in their Parameter, then it meant ten times stronger and basically approaching the next Rank most of the time. Though in the higher Ranks, the disparity between the various ranks was tremendous, but still, power was power.
"That would probably be for the best. We cannot certainly handle such power without suffering high losses if the Relic turns out to be totally hostile outright and attacks us."
Everyone agreed with their Campione-taking approach, because, well, it wasn't like the Mage Associations didn't have their own means of dealing with the A-Ranked individuals like the Divine Ancestors and High-Level Divine Beasts, or entities of the same level if it came to that.
But the price often far outweighed the benefits that they would obtain from something like that. They would most usually use most of their reserves, their Relics, and sacrifice the lives of countless Mages and Knights in the endeavors.
Including the highest-ranked combatants in the entire Association.
This was one of the reasons why the presence of Campione was so important for the Mage Association, because the chances that the Association of any kind would encounter a threat that would cost them or a threat that they could not handle at all were not really that low.
And that time was the time when the Campiones would usually step it.
Like Yakou would do it right now.
"Well then, if there isn't anything else, the meeting has ended."
With that being said, the meeting of the Knights of the Round Table has ended after the 3rd Seat, Eve Rockefeller, who was head of the Department of the Treasury, gave a lengthy lecture on the state of the treasury after they robbed the Oración Seis and their affiliates.
It seemed that the Oración Seis and Dark Guild Alliance were pretty rich, as the Society obtained an abundance of Gold, rare and precious gems, metals, and other things.
***
United States of America, Virginia, Charlottesville, Several Days Later, Undisclosed Location
As the King of the Illuminati Society, Yakou was obviously given his own dwelling that was located in the small town of Charlottesville. It was an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities.
At the outskirts of the city, at the private property that was surrounded by tall walls and guarded by the members of the Enforcers from the Department of Combat and some troops of the Mage Knight Regiment, was a mansion.
It appeared as a grand, historic estate with a distinctly British or New England architectural style. The exterior was built of warm, reddish-brown stone, giving it an aged and dignified look.
Its symmetrical facade featured tall arched windows, steep slate roofs, and decorative chimneys rising above the tree line, with ivy crept along parts of the walls, adding to the sense of timelessness.
The mansion was surrounded by manicured lawns and gardens, with a long gravel driveway leading up to the front entrance, a wide staircase that ascended to a pair of heavy wooden doors framed by stone columns. Large trees dot the grounds, and the atmosphere feels peaceful, almost too quiet for a place that was home to the Campione right now.
Inside, the mansion retains an old-world elegance, with high ceilings, chandeliers, wood-paneled halls, and staircases lined with portraits of past figures. Primarily, the portraits of the previous Seats of the Round Table, several of which belonged to the presidents of the United States who were also members of the Illuminati, and some other important people in the history of Society and the USA.
Yakou sat in the middle of the drawing room within the mansion as he looked at the man who was rather similar to him in appearance, albeit much older, gloomy, and who had glasses.
Tsuchimikado Yasazumi.
The current Patriarch of the Tsuchimikado Clan.
And he was here representing the remnants of the Clan that have, over the past months, one by one arrived at the United States and waited for the audience with the Campione Tsuchimikado Yakou.
All remnants of the Tsuchimikado Clan were called here by Huginn and Munnin, Yakou's two familiars that searched for them across the entirety of Japan and Asia, or the rest of the world, and informed them that they were to relocate to the United States by the order of Campione.
Yasazumi was one of the Yakou's distant relatives, but both of them belonged to the main branch of the Tsuchimikado Clan, whose members survived the purges by the Seishuuin Family and Kuhoutsuka Family.
Because the Clan was too big, there were many members who escaped and hid across Japan. Obviously, the foundation of the Tsuchimikado Clan was much deeper and longer than that of the four families that created the History Compilation Committee.
They had plenty of places where they were hiding and safehouses that were created for this specific purpose.
Unfortunately, despite that, the number of people who arrived in the USA after hearing Huginn and Munnin's summons was low. There were only a few tens of people, barely making it more than thirty...
It was pretty sad to see from the Clan that once had more than a thousand members spread across all of Japan.
"It's a much lower number than I had anticipated in truth..."
In fact, Yakou anticipated that more people bearing the Tsuchimikado Clan would have survived the purge... but on the other hand, one needed to be grateful for what they had and work with it.
"Times were hard... the Main Branch is reduced to three of us, while the rest are from the Side Branch."
From the Main Branch of the Tsuchimikado Clan, technically speaking, only Tsuchimikado Yakou and Tsuchimikado Yasazumi were considered members of the Main Line of the Clan, as Yasazumi's wife, Tsuchimikado Yuuko, was originally from the Wakasugi Clan.
An old branch family of the Tsuchimikado Clan.
The Wakasugi Family had stayed out of things. They chose to keep a distance from the central powers and meticulously guard ancestral seats. In the end, although they were fortunate enough to avoid the chaos of the Pacific War and the attack by the History Compilation Committee, they were overwhelmed by the waves of the era and gradually declined without the wider protection of the Main Branch.
"Well, that is now in the past... All Clansmen could join the Illuminati Society, and by basics, they would get immediately started as the Middle-Ranking members, while the more powerful Mages and Knights would be directly promoted to the High-Ranking Members and Executives for those who reached the level of Grand Knight or Magister."
Yakou said as he didn't bat an eye even for a second as he conducted an enormous act of nepotism. Well, he was Campione of the Magic Association; basically, his words were the law itself, and what he said became reality.
Not to mention, Yakou seriously doubted that anyone would be strictly against, because the Tsuchimikado Bloodline, aside from producing Campione, was one of the most powerful Magical Lineages in the known world.
Inclusion of the Tsuchimikado Clan into the Illuminati Society would certainly bolster their combat capabilities by a great degree, and in a few generations, when the Clan recovered a bit, they would start producing really powerful Mages and Knights.
For a Magic Association like theirs, the lack of Magical Bloodlines was something that could not be solved in a short span of time and would take some time and development.
"Won't that cause problems?"
Tsuchimikado Yasazumi asked, but soon enough realized that it was a pretty stupid question.
"Who would dare to raise any dissent toward the decision of a Devil King?"
The words of Campione were absolute, and they were above the law.
"That's good... we can recover here in safety and increase our numbers over time. Though... do you plan to act against the Committee? The rumors are already flying around that the Committee managed to get the support of the 8th Campione somehow in case such a thing happens."
For Tsuchimikado Yasazumi, the vengeance against the Seishuuin Family and Kuhoutsuka Family wasn't really that important, like the rejuvenation of the Clan.
Initiating a war against the Seishuuin Family and the Kuhoutsuka Family would mean waging war on the entire History Compilation Committee, which, in turn, would mean the destruction of any and all relationships between Japan and the United States.
"In the future... now, I have other things to entertain them... but firstly, Uncle, do you have means of contacting the rest of the Principal Clans?"
In ancient Japan and the world of Onmyōji, there were several highly distinguished families that dominated the Onmyōdō for centuries and were constantly clashing against the Hermetic Magic Users, like the Four Families of the History Compilation Committee.
Tsuchimikado Clan, Souma Clan, Nakiri Clan, and Dairenji Clan were among the first ones.
First among the equals.
Unfortunately, the Onmyōji Clans were disconnected from politics, aside from the Tsuchimikado Clan, which worked either well or badly for them, depending on the point of view.
Dairenji Clan declined to the point where only two members remained, Dairenji Shidou and his daughter, who could barely walk as she was a baby, Dairenji Suzuka.
The Souma Clan and the Nakiri Clan were secluded since the events of World War II.
And the Tsuchimikado Clan, which was deeply ingrained in Imperial Japan, was destroyed by the combined forces of the History Compilation Committee after the end of World War II in their attempt to usurp power.
"Through Shikigamis, I may be able to contact the Souma Clan and Nakiri Clan."
Yakou grinned when he heard that.
"Excellent... then sent them a message that they have my full support if they want to... let's say regain their former standing within the country."
His plan to deal with them was on several fronts.
The first phase consisted of causing domestic troubles and weakening their hold on the government of Japan. Something that was already happening due to the influence of the Momobami Clan, which reminded him that he really needed to get Kirari here.
Even though she would protest... loudly at that, he actually pretty liked her, and she bore his child.
The second phase was more long-term, as he ordered Jacob Grey to send a message through the secured lines to Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party Lu Yinghan that the United States would not act on behalf of Japan as long as the History Compilation Committee is in power and they could do what they want.
Aside from being chairman of the CCP, Lu Yinghan was also Patriarch of the Lu Family, which held a prominent position within the Holy Cult of the Five Mountains and Martial Realm, the personal domain of 2nd Campione, Martial Ruler Luo Hao.
The third phase was just waiting until Marquise Voban made a move to obtain some of their Hime Mikos to summon Heretic Gods to slay.
Basically, he would let the others do the work on his behalf, as there was no need to act personally.
"Is there anything else that you want to discuss with me?"
Yakou asked, as his Uncle shook his head and stood up from the leather sofa where he had been sitting.
"Not that was everything. I will go and organize the Clansmen so they can start settling down."
When Tsuchimikado Yasazumi left, Yakou could return back to study. Currently, he was learning the Hermetic Magics, which was something that he had never really learned during his life.
Getting hands on the Magic Tomes and Grimoires that were teaching the Hermetic Magic was pretty hard for the rogue Mages and Kngiths like he was previously. Now that he obtained acess to the library of the Illuminati Society, which was bolstered by the books looted from the Dark Guilds and Oración Seis.
He was using the Divine Authority of Mímir's Wellto bolster his comprehensive capabilities to increase his learning speed. With the Divine Authority of Mímir's Well, he was able to comprehend and learn almost all the basics of the Hermetic Magic System.
Something that the ordinary Mages and Knights spent more than a decade to learn, because there was just too much to learn. Even then, most of the Mages wouldn't really learning all of this, because it was too problematic and partially useless.
But Yakou wanted to learn everything.
He wanted to comprehend everything.
For him, the Magic was another form of power, and he wanted to master the Magic completely.
In Yakou's opinion, for Campione, Magic could be one of their strongest weapons and sharpest swords, because of the ridiculous talent they obtained, how much Magic Power they had, and on top of that, they also possessed the Magic Resistance.
With the Divine Authority of Mímir's Well, learning Magic wasn't a hard or lengthy process, and even though Yakou felt that many of the Spells that he learned, he would never use, he learned them either way.
Primarily because nobody really knew where the things could come in handy, and he always had a certain need for knowledge and a need to know everything.
The mansion was mainly quiet as it was devoid of any other people aside from Yakou, because there were no servants or anyone else within the entire mansion. Because the mansion was so big, when it was entirely empty, it was rather creepy to a certain degree, but it would take some time for the Association to send in some servants.
Everyone needed to be absolutely properly screened and approved.
Because this was the home of the Campione, every single servant needed to be top-notch in terms of skills and experience; they needed to be absolutely loyal to the Illuminati Society, and they also needed to have a high amount of representativeness in them due to the visitors that would usually consist of people from the highest echelons of society.
At the same time, it took a significant amount of stress and courage to work around Campione.
The only person who was present was Yakou's Shikigami / Butler, whom he managed to unseal after he ascended to the position of Campione. The power of the Shikigami was restored to the peak of the B-Rank, meaning that it was already on par with the strongest Magic Saints.
And it was no wonder, because Tsuchigumo was one of the most fearsome Yokai in Japan's history before it was sealed and contracted by Abe no Semei to serve as the retainer of the Tsuchimikado Clan.
Yakou had some contracts with these Shikigami, but he never really dared to use them or unsleal them, because of various reasons. Primarily because it was too dangerous for him as he wasn't strong enough, and at the same time, if they appeared and were spotted, it would paint a huge target on him.
So he could use these ancestral Shikigamis only after he ascended to the Campione as he unleashed them one by one. However, the process was rather lengthy, because nobody used these Shikigamis for more than seventy years or so.
Since World War II ended.
Every single unsealing required rahter complex Onmyōdō Rituals that were very complicated and needed several rare magical resources to complete the ritual. Even for the Illuminati Society, it took around a month and so to gather everything that Yakou needed for the Onmyōdō Ritual to unseal Tsuchigumo.
***
United States of America, Virginia, Charlottesville, Around the Same Time
A caravan of three cars that were dispatched from the Washington D.C. were heading to the estate of the newest Campione, bringing the first batch of servants to the manor. Some would stay there permanently, and some would be there only temporarily.
Though the temporarily staying staff was only one person, the head chef who would take care of the kitchen until someone more suitable was found. The Association wanted to assign a chef, but they found that all those who were trustworthy were not that skilled, so, contrary to their expectations, they were forced to choose outsiders.
Someone who wasn't aware of the Magic at all, but his cooking skills were top-notch, and the person had a superb reputation either way, and it was only temporary.
Yukihira Jōichirō was a world-renowned chef who attended to the most prestigious Tōtsuki Tea Ceremony and Cooking Academy, which was currently touring through America's best restaurants.
Occasionally, he would take a job as a private chef for some rich people who paid far more for his services than it was actually worth. Like this time, when he was hired to be a private chef for some rich person near Charlottesville.
If this offer didn't come from the World Gourmet Organization, he would have thought that it was a scam, because the entire offer was really sketchy and required tons of Non-Disclosure Agreements and other things to sign.
But the money that they were offering was...
Staggeringly high.
250,000 dollars per month.
In cash.
Without taxes.
Hard cash.
And this was without any other benefits and bonuses.
"We are arriving at the premises of the estate, Mr. Yukihira."
His driver said as Jōichirō nodded.
Yukihira Jōichirō had long, brown hair that was swept back, save for a single group of bangs that hung over his face down to his chin. Even when cooking, all of his hair was tied back except for that one strand. His eyes were sharper, and a more serious feeling in them.
His body was well-toned and, as he generally wore form-fitting shirts and pants, he looked generally well-toned. Though this time, he wore a white chef's uniform as he was expected to start working immediately when arriving at the estate.
Apparently, the owner of the estate would be hosting someone for lunch, and it needed to be upheld to the highest standards. Even the car that was sent for him was a Rolls-Royce Phantom, as they soon enough arrived at the entrance to the estate.
Though when they arrived, the cars stopped as Jōichirō heard someone shouting and calling for inspection. When he looked around from the window, he saw that they were standing in front of massive walls, and the entire area was swarming with heavily armed soldiers.
'Well... the weird gets even weirder.'
Jōichirō thought as he maintained the serious facade.
"Don't worry, Mr. Yukihira, this is a very standart procedure. The soldiers will conduct checks on everyone who is entering the area of the estate. We would undergo one more check when entering the mansion itself... the security here was taken very seriously."
The driver said as everything was just a routine. And as the driver said, the control was relatively swift, even though it took around ten minutes until they were cleared to go, as the heavy metal gate opened and let them in.
It didn't take them long to arrive at the main building, which was a rather grand estate... one that could probably house a few hundred people, in fact. Jōichirō noticed that the area was extremely heavily guarded and the security at this place was even higher than that of White House.
He knew because he was there once.
At the entrance to the mansion, there was one person standing, wearing the Butler uniform. It was a rather imposing man with long red hair, burly like a bodybuilder, but the most notable feature about him was the fact that he wore an Oni Mask that covered his entire face.
'Not weird at all...'
In the end, he decided to ignore it because, as he learned, the rich people were weird as hell and had their quirks. Yukihira Jōichirō stepped outside of the car, as the man in the butler uniform scrutinized him as he giving him a single nod.
"Welcome, Mr. Yukihira. Please follow me straight to the kitchens."
The butler in the Oni Mask stated as he led the new head chef across the mansion, straight to the kitchens.
"For the time being, you will be there only with two other chefs who will act as your assistants. The rest of the personnel would arrive tomorrow."
Everything was pretty much a straightforward exchange, as the Yukihira Jōichirō noticed that the bulter didn't speak a lot, nor did he even provide his name. In his mind, the man in the Oni Mask looked more like a Yakuza Boss than a butler, but whatever.
"As per the agreement, you work when the Master is hungry or when there is time to serve food. Master Yakou usually has an early breakfast, lunch is sometimes skipped, but dinner is always served and must be the best among the servings as well as the biggest. If there is anything else, you will be notified by a servant. Aside from that, you are free to do what you want, as long as the standards in the kitchens are upheld to the highest standards."
Jōichirō was rather surprised to be given much more freedom than he had anticipated, and he could even do whatever he wanted during his free time.
As long as the Master Yakou, which was a Japanese name, the person living there was most probably Japanese, which was interesting, as long as he was taken care of, nobody would care what he was doing.
He was even allowed to use the ingredients and resources to polish his own recipes and everything, which was something that he was eager for, because he could practically order anything with no limit on price.
Which was...
Something that not many people would do.
The benefits, coupled with the far more generous salary, were more than enough for Jōichirō not to ask unnecessary questions about the things that he didn't need to know. One thing he learned, moving in the high echelons of society as a private chef, was to care only about food and to be blind and deaf to everything else.
And it worked pretty well so far.
***
Library of the Numengard Estate
Numbengard, which was the official name of the Yakou's estate, had a very extensive library, in fact. The name was rather ironic because the word "Numen" was a Latin term for "Divinity", "Divine Presence" or "Divine Will". The suffix "-gard" comes from the Norse "Garðr", meaning "Enclosure" or "Walled Town".
Which was oddly fitting for the place where Campione was dwelling, as the Campiones were basically Divine Beings on the same level as Heretic Gods in a certain sense. Tsuchigumo was playing his part as the butler of the Numengard Estate, which was a rather entertaining thought.
Especially because he was still wearing his Oni Mask even when he was in his human form, as that was something that he would never really part with. For being like him, his Oni Mask was his pride and everything, so he was there, with it covering his face and creeping out the people.
Either way, all the people who were in the Estate were aware of the Supernatural, so it wasn't that much of a big problem. Today, he would have lunch with Eve Rockefeller, who decided to visit him, because the Heiress of the Rockefeller Family was one of the few people who wasn't constantly on tiptoe around him.
Not to mention, most of the Illuminati Society was filled with people who were as old as they were boring, or with a bunch of ass-kissers, which was rather annoying. Nevertheless, at least most of the people who were members of the Round Table were rather easy to talk with.
What Yakou wanted from joining the Magic Association wasn't a bunch of followers that would behave like a typical "Yes Men". When he thought over it, both Eve Rockefeller and Momobami Kirari were pretty similar to each other.
Both of them were equally manipulative, psychotic, cruel, obsessive, and something that "normal" people would term as bad people. But on the other hand, at least there was fun with them.
When Yakou was still working as a bodyguard for the Momobami Clan, aside from having affairs with his boss because Kirari was into handsome older men, as there was around an eight-year age gap, as she was still seventeen, when she was bored, they would often go out and bully ordinary people for fun.
Kirari was especially keen on making the so-called professional gamblers or rich people cry when they realized that they lost their entire fortune or ended up on the streets, and Yakou, on the other hand, greatly enjoyed it when their arrogance destroyed them.
It was certainly poetic.
He remembered that head of the Honebami Family, Igor Yevgenevich Jovanovich, stated that two of them were "match made in hell" and it was pretty fitting. Well, certainly they were, and their relationship was pretty weird in all aspects, to the point that Kirari became pregnant with his child.
She took the gamble.
Or she was just scheming.
In this regard, Yakou was rather unsure, because if someone told him that she wanted to get pregnant with his progeny, then he would have certainly believed them. Kirari was a very ambitious woman, more ambitious than her predecessors, and despite her young age, she was not to be underestimated.
She wanted to elevate the Momobami Clan to the true Magic Lineage, but that was something that was a very hard thing to do, even for the people in her position, because Mages, and especially those from the established Magic Lineages, looked down on the ordinary people rather too much.
So Kirari was in luck.
If this was her aim, then she obtained far more, as she obtained the direct blood of Campione. Even though the child was conceived before Yakou became Campione, when he ascended, his direct blood descendants got "Bloodline Upgrade" in layman's terms, as the Divine Ascension to the Campione also elevated their Lineage to the appropriate level.
If he suspected something, it was either the work of Pandora directly or a side effect of the Great Circle of Usurpation.
One of the greatest disadvantages of being the Campione was the inability of the Campione to increase their raw strength of their Parameters. Due to the Great Circle of Usurpation, they were directly elevated to the S-Rank and matched the power of Heretic Gods, but no matter how many Heretic Gods they killed, their power wouldn't increase.
Unless they obtained specific Divine Authority, like Steel Body, which was able to increase the dimensions of their parameters, it was capped at that. Even though Yakou only became Campione recently, he was already searching for a way to break through the limits.
Because he didn't believe that this was the end.
Maybe this was just the beginning of an entirely new and different path.
His two Familiars, Huginn and Munnin, were sitting in their perch and quietly observing Yakou reading his tomes for the first time in the few hours that two of them were actually silent.
Which he took as a minor blessing because they usually won't shut up and were talking bullshit. Previously, they spent around one hour talking about who was better at pecking the humans and riling them up.
Fortunately, right now they were tired and were silent, or they would soon take a nap. Even though these were basically Divine Beasts, they lacked combat prowess, which was rather... shameful, and they were pretty lazy.
Yakou estimated that their real combat prowess was something around E-Rank.
Which was...
Beyond pitiful, as any trained Mage or Knight could basically go and deal with them rather easily.
One would have expected more from the Divine Beasts that were accompanying Odin.
Nevertheless, they were still pretty useful, and Yakou actually hoped that one day they could develop their powers and be at least stronger. Right now, aside from some rudimentary tasks, scouting and carrying out reconnaissance, they were not really that useful.
Especially when it came to the direct combat.
'Hermetic Magic is entirely different from the Onmyōdō, but its use is undeniable. Due to the Divine Authority of Mímir's Well, I was able to comprehend most of the basics, even though the attacking spells and other things are virtually useless on the level of Champions and anyone at or above A-Rank. Still, that doesn't mean that they cannot be adjusted for my own usage...'
Yakou pondered about the methods by which he could convert the Magic Spells for his own use.
He was in a perfect position to actually adjust the Spells in a more refined manner than just casting the same spell with the Magical Power of Campione. Which was the most common way for the Campiones to use Magic if they ever used it.
Which was pretty rare, as all of them were mostly using only their Divine Authorities.
Many of the Campiones across the generations viewed the concept of using Magic as beneath them and weaker.
Well, that was a rather wrong assumption, but Yakou could guess the reason because when he tried to cast even a very basic Onmyōdō Spell, he found out that while they were inherently powerful due to his Magic Power and its attributes, the things tended to go haywire.
This was because, be it the Onmyōdō, Hermetic Magic, Witchcraft, Daoist Arts, or any other type of Magic in the first place, wasn't designed to be used with such power and Magic Attribute.
And because nobody bothered to create the version of the Spells that could be effectively used by the beings at the A-Rank and above, for them, if they were not using Magic actively or didn't repurpose it, Magic became useless.
For most of the part.
Suddenly, both Huginn and Munnin woke up and started flapping their wings, as Yakou heard footsteps behind him. When he turned around, he saw his Shikigami, Tsuchigumo, in his butler outfit and overall human form.
Tsuchigumo as butler was rather entertaining thought, but the Shikigami Yokai was rahter skilled in that, and Yakou promised him that he would let him some really powerful opponents if he behaved.
"Lady Rockefeller has arrived, Master Yakou."
When Yakou turned to the clock, he noticed that it was already time for lunch soon enough, but Even arrived a bit earlier. Nevertheless, he already spent a lot of time covered in books, so it was time to socialize a bit.
Perhaps, even if he had to stretch his body, he would go to the south to hunt down some rogue Dark Mages causing problems at the southern border.
Or to search for a new Heretic God to hunt and kill, having more Divine Authorities never hurt, though Yakou would have preferred to have Divine Authorities that were supplementing each other in some way.
"Bring her to the drawing room. I will be there shortly."
Tsuchigumo gave just a subtle nod as he then left to carry out the orders of his Master.
Afterwards, Yakou carefully closed the Magic Tomes and Grimoires, while he cast a few spells over the entire library as he basically erected several Wards in this place to prevent anyone from even entering.
Before that, Huginn and Munnin flew out of their perch and sat on his shoulders comfortably, as he went to the drawing room. The two ravens liked it very much when they were being carried out, especially when it was their master who carried them, because they looked extra arrogant and puffy about that.
***
Drawing Room, Numengard Estate
When Eve Rockefeller arrived at the place, she noticed that it didn't look very bad, and most probably the Estate was older than half of the United States. Though if there was one thing that was seriously lacking in here, it was the lack of Magical Defenses.
Though that was something His Majesty would take care of personally.
Once he finished his studies in the Hermetic Magic, which were progressing at a staggering speed with the help of his Divine Authority obtained from Odin, he would even upgrade the defensive Wards around the Headquarters of the Illuminati Society.
By his words alone, he believed that the barriers would then be strong enough to withstand the power of Campiones and Heretic Gods for some time at least. Which would be a tremendous boon for any Magic Association.
"You are here earlier, Eve..."
Yakou said when he noticed a short-haired blonde woman who was sitting in the drawing room like she owned the entire place. Which was something that he wouldn't even bother to comment on, as Eve had her quirks.
Mildly said.
"I was getting bored and my brother was getting on my nerves lately... and father too, albeit for different reasons."
He just nodded as he knew that Eve's younger brother was a pain in the ass. Or rather, he was the epitome of being a spoiled brat who was just enjoying the wealth and money of the Rockefeller Family.
Well, that was the reason why Eve was to inherit the entire Rockefeller Family instead of Austin. Unbeknownst to Yakou, during the past month, Eve was pretty often arguing because her father was constantly nagging her about arranged marriage, or was hoping that she would try to seduce Yakou.
Once again, among the current Campiones, Yakou was the only one who was interested in the opposite sex and procreation, because most Campiones were disinterested in that or were too old for that.
Having the blood of the Campione was too tempting for anyone.
"I heard that the remnants of the Tsuchimikado Clan arrived in the US."
In the high society of the USA, this was rahter a large topic, because it was clear that the Tsuchimikado Clan would be rebuilding here in the United States. So, many people who were affiliated with the Illuminati Society were already pondering how to take advantage of the fact.
Most, or probably almost all, members of the Clan would never marry someone who wasn't of Japanese origin, and even then, there were strict requirements for the Onmyōji Lineages.
So the local elites that were predominantly white could wave any marriages bye-bye.
"Fewer than I had thought, but I guess it's better than nothing... so, tell me what your brother has done this time to annoy you?"
Yakou met Eve's younger brother, Austin, only once, and the impression wasn't the best one around. Though, on the other hand, he never really spoke with him, only saw him from a distance at one of the banquets, because well...
Someone like him wasn't even qualified to stand in front of Campione, much less speak with one.
And Eve didn't want them to speak.
After he observed her brother, it wasn't any wonder, though.
"Don't even speak about that fool. He was supposed to go to Brazil and close a treaty with the local Mage Association about the exchange of resources and secure their help in the fight against Cartels."
This was something that Yakou partially knew, well... he knew that someone from the Society was supposed to go to Brazil and get into contact with the biggest Mage Association there and close a treaty with them.
During the meeting of the Round Table, they didn't select a person who would do it.
And somehow... and unfortunately enough, it fell on Austin Rockefeller.
"I take that the things didn't go according to the plan?"
At Yakou's rhetorical question, Eve just nodded.
"That idiot got into conflict with the President of the local Association and was kicked out of Brazil. I need to go there personally and technically make amends and flex our might a bit."
Well, this was certainly problematic.
Eve Rockefeller was someone Yakou considered a friend in some sense, and they usually spent a lot of time together. It seemed that she didn't really have many things to do, and she was also very interested in the Magical Studies.
Despite her appearance, she was a rather enthusiastic Magic Scholar and strived to improve her Magic as much as possible. It fell into her wider philosophy in the pursuit of power of any kind, Magic was obviously one of the best ways to obtain power.
"Well, that's rather unfortunate... should I go with you? Even though I like reading books as much as any nerd, I would welcome some change of scenery."
Yakou said this was probably the longest time he had ever spent locked in one place, because he never really stayed in one place for so long. Previously, when he was taking various odd jobs, he was on the constant move, and he needed some action.
"That would certainly be appreciated, thank you."
Over the weeks, even learned that Yakou, despite being the Campione, was a rather pleasant person to talk with. Though he was also sometimes easily angered when it came to specific issues, he also greatly appreciated her bluntness with him.
As someone who grew up a lot in the criminal underworld, where things were much simpler, one of the reasons why Eve and Yakou got along with each other was mainly because she didn't pretend anything in front of him.
"Who had the idea to send your brother there?"
Something that even Yakou was a bit curious about, because it was an idiotic idea.
"My father... he thought that it couldn't really get easier and there was almost nothing to mess up."
She almost wanted to scoff, but at the same time, she understood the sentiment, because one would be searching for an easier task...
It was almost mission impossible.
"There is also a good thing about this?"
Yakou said as she turned her head at him with an annoyed expression, because she couldn't see anything positive in this thing.
"I was never in Brazil, for starters."
At least it would be an interesting trip, and in truth, he had only a short time until Kirari would be moving into his mansion. Obviously, she would be moving into the manor to live with him, as he wouldn't leave the mother of his child without his personal oversight for the entire time.
Not to mention, he was already missing her a bit.
It was more fun with her around.
She was a rather entertaining person.
"Shall we go to eat? They sent me a head chef, and according to George Holton, it's someone world-renowned as he arranged it personally."