Chapter 456: The Greatness of a True God
Chapter 456: The Greatness of a True God
“My lord, the prime minister, and the emperor’s family have arrived.”
Ise Grand Shrine was the most famous and oldest shrine in Japan. It could be called the spiritual pillar of the Japanese people. In the past, it had been closed to foreigners until after World War II. Unlike other shrines in Japan, the security detail here was extremely heavy, signifying its political significance to the Japanese people.
Ise Grand Shrine was divided into the outer shrine and inner shrine regions. The outer shrine enshrined Toyouke Omikami, the Shinto deity, and guardian of food, housing, and clothing, while the inner shrine enshrined Amaterasu Omikami. Generally, people who visited the Ise Grand Shrine could only visit the outer shrine. The inner shrine was only open to specific people during festivals for worship.
In front of the inner shrine, Louie, who was playing the role of chief priest Abe, was dressed in Heian period clothing. He wore a black headpiece and a kimono that made him look like an onmyouji.
He kneeled on a cushion and bowed his head slightly. His withered body made him look like a fallen tree, but anyone who stood beside him could feel the great life force from him, making him look even more divine.
“Have you brought everything?”
His voice was hoarse like scraping iron that could make one’s scalp tingle, but the majesty and solemnity could also be felt.
“Everything is ready, sir!”
The prime minister and the emperor stepped forward. Both of them bowed in deep respect.
“Then place them on the table in front of you.”
The chief priest did not turn around and only looked at the divine throne in front of him as he spoke.
The Japanese prime minister and the emperor looked at each other, then they stepped forward and put down a wooden three-layered box wrapped in three layers of cloth. After carefully unwrapping the cloth, they carefully took out the contents of the box.
The Emperor was holding one of the three sacred weapons that had been preserved in the imperial palace of Japan, the Yasakani no Magatama. On the other hand the Prime Minister was holding the Kusanagi no Tsurugi that had been kept by the Atsuta Shrine not long ago.
The Kusanagi no Tsurugi, Yasakani no Magatama, and the Yata no Kagami were the three famous imperial regalia of Japan, and now they were all placed in front of the chief priest.
Naturally, these items were probably forgeries, and the real ones had already been lost in history. These were made by the descendants based off of the original.
“Where are the other things?”
As the priest’s words fell, four more old men came forward. All of them were chief priests of other large shrines in Japan. All of them were ordinary people who were interested in the ritual of a true supernatural being. As a result, they spent a lot of effort to be able to gain this chance to observe.
“Sir, these are the items that you need. Hinoki wood from the Ise Grand Shrine’s forest, branches from the Yamataka Jindai Zakura tree, snow from the summit of Mt. Fuji, and spirit stones from Mount Osore.”
The four old men respectfully presented the objects in their hands. These four locations were famous throughout Japan. Ise Grand Shrine was the spiritual symbol of Japan. The Yamataka Jindai Zakura tree was the oldest sakura tree in Japan. Mt. Fuji is a world famous mountain and could be called a symbol of Japan. Mount Osore was the mountain known to be the closest to the Yellow Springs.
These four locations were in many ways related to gods and demons, so when the chief priest Abe ordered the Japanese government to seek these things, it made the religious occult scholars in Japan take notes and accept the information for granted.
In truth, these four ‘holy objects’ were just random things that Louie found from reading about Japanese legends on the internet. It was enough if they could fool the Japanese.
“Very well, put them under the imperial regalia.”
The four old men hurriedly bent forward and carefully placed the ‘holy objects’ under the sacred regalias. Among which was the snow from the summit of Mt. Fuji which was placed in a small freezer.
“The sacrificial artifacts for Amaterasu Omikami have been prepared. Originally, the ritual to call forth Amaterasu Omikami was very complicated, but it’s not necessary anymore as long as we have a bloodline member.”
Shinto priest Abe slowly stood up from the futon and looked at the Emperor’s family. Finally, his gaze landed on the Imperial Princess.
“Princess Aiko, are you ready?”
Beside the emperor was a young girl of seventeen or eighteen years old.
This was Japanese Imperial Princess Aiko. In the past, she had suffered from cyberbullying for being fat and becoming anorexic. Although she had indeed thinned down and looked beautiful now, her self-esteem was at an all-time low.
“Aiko, Aiko…”
The Emperor saw that his daughter did not respond. He anxiously shook his daughter’s shoulder.
Fearing that Aiko’s behavior would make the chief priest angry, the emperor hurriedly said, “Chief priest, I am afraid that Aiko is not capable of completing this sacrifice. Do you think it is possible to change to someone else? Will Kako work?”
“You are the emperor, and your daughter Princess Aiko is the one who has the purest bloodline. The rumor that the emperor of Japan is the descendant of Amaterasu Omikami is not true. How could Amaterasu Omikami leave behind a mortal bloodline? Nonetheless, as the ages passed this legend somehow transformed into reality.”
“Therefore, I need the Emperor’s bloodline and not the imperial bloodline. Princess Kako is your brother’s child, and unless you are willing to cede the throne to him, the only one who can be part of the ritual is Princess Aiko.”
The words of the chief priest made the emperor shut his mouth. He had inherited the throne with difficulty not long ago. How could he just give up now? Just looking at the Crown Prince of England, who had been bearing that title for so long and still had no hope of becoming King of England made him wary.
“Aiko, quickly go over! Lord chief priest is waiting for you.”
The emperor gave his daughter a strong push. His face already showed displeasure. If this sacrifice failed because of this issue, as the emperor, he would not be able to escape the blame. There would definitely be complaints within the imperial family and it was even likely that he would have to pass the throne to his younger brother.
If it was in the old days, this kind of thing would never happen, but in this era of supernatural beings, this kind of thing could really happen. The lineage of the emperor that was claimed to be the descendants of Amaterasu has already been pulled up into the chariot by the chief priest as the main force against Western civilization.
In accordance with the Japanese tradition of allegiance to the emperor, Japan had already turned hostile to the West thanks to Louie.
This was the power of a true god. Without any excessive display of greatness, they just need to show a miracle and a few words to make a country, a civilization pledge their loyalty to him.
I have no excuses for the late chapters. I’m sorry.