Chapter 8: The Hidden Truth
There may be no creature more complex than humans in this world. They constantly create new things, only to later hide or even destroy once-popular things for various reasons. As civilization has developed to the modern era, many things that are absurd to ordinary people and dismissed as delusions still exist in very secretive forms, unnoticed by the vast majority.
For example, jujutsu practitioners, magicians, and "fangshu" (occult technique) masters—although they are called by different names—are essentially the same group.
Then there are martial artists. Compared to the former, this group is less secretive, but their true nature is still hidden.
The Knights Templar, officially known as the "Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon," was a group of magicians who laid the foundation for the magical society of Europe. They are renowned in the world of the occult, and their successors are considered aristocrats in the European magical world.
However, they are not the oldest organization of mystical power in the Mediterranean region.
If the foundation of Europe's magical society was built by the Templars, then the Templars' magical knowledge came from an even more ancient era.
The priests of the Ancient Egyptian Empire were the elite of their time.
Although they were divided into many sects due to worshiping different deities and residing in different temples, their spellcasting systems are undeniably significant in the formation of modern magic. These priests from the era of the Ancient Egyptian Empire are considered the true founders of today's Western magical society.
In modern times, the country known as Japan is welcoming yet another night.
Tokyo Bay, located in the southern part of Honshu, Japan, was formerly known as Edo Bay. It is enclosed by the Bōsō and Miura peninsulas. Important cities along the northwestern shore of the bay include Tokyo, Yokohama, and Kawasaki. To the west lies Yokosuka, to the east Chiba, and to the south, it connects to the Pacific Ocean via the Uraga Channel.
A group of people is landing on the eastern shore, in Chiba, in a way incomprehensible to ordinary people.
One by one, people wrapped in heavy robes walk out of the water and stand on the shore.
"What a filthy country," one of them remarked after surveying the surroundings. He is the leader of the group.
They are descendants of the ancient Egyptian priests. In this age of rampant materialism, where the glory of the Egyptian gods has long faded, they still maintain many traditions of their ancestors and worship the same deities.
For the sake of continuation, sects that were once at odds have now been forced to unite. After all, being ancient doesn't mean living well. Compared to the descendants of the Knights Templar, the descendants of the priests have had a much tougher life.
In the end, Egyptians were never a people who easily accepted outsiders.
To the ancient Egyptians, the Nile was civilization—the only light in the world. Beyond the Nile was only darkness and savagery. People living outside were ignorant and greedy, constantly eyeing the wealth of the Egyptian Empire.
To the descendants of the ancient Egyptian priests, this belief remains valid.
Outlanders were either blasphemers deserving death or pitiful unbelievers. They could never understand the greatness of the gods, and the divine glory would never shine upon them. There was no difference between their lives and deaths—they weren't even qualified to enter Duat (the realm of the dead).
"Let's go. Make it quick," said the leader coldly, looking at the dazzling, illusion-filled buildings not far away. The place was filled with a discomforting atmosphere, and he didn't want to stay another second.
Their branch had guarded many alleged burial sites of Osiris, including Djedu (Busiris), for generations. But they were not worshippers of Osiris.
They were worshippers of Set.
During the 19th Dynasty, the Ancient Egyptian Empire reached its peak in military power. The influence of the warrior nobility also expanded to its historical maximum. Almost all the warrior nobles became Set's followers, including the famous Pharaoh Ramesses the Great. However, after the 19th Dynasty, Egypt declined rapidly. Set, as a god of war, was re-characterized as a protector of outlanders. Egyptians believed that the empire's military defeats stemmed from this shift.
Hostile priests and the Pharaoh, who had long wanted to suppress the now-weakened warrior nobility, didn't let this chance slip by. From then on, the worship of Set declined in Egypt. Once a widely venerated major god, Set became known as an evil or demonic deity.
In that dark era, many of Set's priests were even forced to convert to Horus. Cruel incidents occurred.
One particular worshipper of Set was forcibly buried in one of Osiris's tombs by the Pharaoh. The Horus sect set up certain artifacts there to ensure this person could never enter Duat. Among those items was something that the Set worshippers had been trying to retrieve for hundreds of years.
To revive the glory of their god, the best method is to display divine might. The current priest descendants lack that power, but if they obtain that item, they could achieve it—by summoning a heretic god and then killing it. Ancient priests had done so before and succeeded.
The heretic god is not a deity from myth. The descendants of the priests are well aware of this crucial distinction and understand the power of such entities. Though they are not as strong as their ancestors, they still want to attempt it.
Back in the 19th century, there was once an ordinary man—a beggar, even—who actually achieved the feat of killing a god. Today, he is the oldest demon king in the world. Everyone who doubted the existence of a "god-slayer" or tried to resist that power paid with their lives.
Starting with that person and through over two centuries, there are now six demon kings in the world. The difference is, no one within the world of the occult dares question the existence of a "god-slayer" anymore. This is all thanks to—or the evil deeds of—that old demon king.
This, in turn, proves how powerful a god-slayer can be. If such power can be obtained, the priesthood's situation would undoubtedly improve. After losing a mighty kingdom and the worship of believers, the descendants of the priests have gradually dwindled over the ages. By modern times, they are in an extremely perilous state.
Though comparatively, the ordinary citizens of Chiba Prefecture may be in even more danger at this moment.
When the priestly descendants, dressed in eye-catching robes by modern standards, appeared on the streets, they immediately drew curious glances.
If this was in China or Europa, they might have been subjected to brutal public scrutiny. Considering that country possesses the world's largest magical power system, perhaps it wouldn't be just regular citizens watching them.
But in Japan, things seemed more restrained. At least, the Set worshippers hadn't yet detected the presence of any peers.
Of course, nothing like "What are you looking at?" "Looking at you, what of it?" "Wanna try looking again?"—followed by someone's untimely death—had occurred.
Still, constantly being stared at like pandas on a city street wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. The group's leader soon became displeased—though he hadn't been happy in a long time anyway.
"There are too many unrelated people around. Let's ask some locals for information first."
He stopped, looked around, and then spotted a group of people and started walking toward them.