Upon hearing this, Kokomi immediately grew tense, gripping Lin Mo's arm tightly as she whispered, "Lin Mo... I want to know... what words Lord Orobashi left behind during that final battle." Lin Mo glanced sideways at Kokomi.
He knew that for Kokomi, as well as for the descendants of the people of Enkanomiya, their faith and reverence for Orobashi were etched into their very bones. Because without Orobashi, there would be no Watatsumi Island as it is today. No Sangonomiya Shrine as it stands today.
Seeing the eager anticipation on Kokomi's face, Ei couldn't help but ask curiously, "Did Orobashi not leave any divine oracle before setting out to battle?"
"No..." Kokomi replied dejectedly. "According to historical records, before his departure, Lord Orobashi only shed the coral from his body, leaving behind the coral that represented seeds and hope... on Watatsumi Island..."
"So that's how it was..." Ei nodded thoughtfully. "I remember when I first saw Orobashi, his body was covered in massive coral growths, but during that final battle... there was none."
"Lin Mo... can you tell me what Lord Orobashi's final words were?" Kokomi asked again, her eyes filled with hope.
Looking into Kokomi's expectant eyes, Lin Mo smiled gently, stroking her hair as he said softly, "Since you wish to know... it's no trouble to tell you... That battle all those years ago..."
As Lin Mo began his tale, images from his perspective of that long-ago battle gradually formed in the minds of his listeners.
Fierce sea winds howled, dark clouds churned violently. This was the commotion stirred by a deity setting out to war.
A figure with black wings sprouting from his back flew alone toward Yashiori Island, landing before the great serpent.
"Orobashi, this ends here," Lin Mo declared, arms crossed, his eyes showing not a trace of fear.
"Oh... it's you." The great serpent merely lifted its head slightly, not considering Lin Mo a significant threat, speaking indifferently: "My journey here is not for conquest, nor for slaughter."
"Guardian of Narukami Island, there is no need for you to perish here. Return and have the deity of Narukami Island come personally to stop me."
"Not for conquest or slaughter?" Lin Mo couldn't help but question. "Then why are you marching toward Narukami Island?"
"If I said I came merely to die, would you believe me?" the serpent rumbled lowly.
"What do you think?" Naturally, Lin Mo did not believe it.
The serpent offered no explanation, instead saying in a low voice, "I hope that after my death, you and your companions... will not harm my people."
"Hmm? Why does this genuinely feel like a resolve to march to one's death?" Lin Mo couldn't help but feel puzzled. Thinking it over carefully, it indeed seemed possible.
Although the people of Watatsumi Island lived in hardship due to scarce resources... Orobashi wouldn't have decided to attack Narukami Island simply because his people pleaded with him. After all, Ei and the power of the three great clans were formidable. Orobashi, a loser of the Archon War, should have known his own limitations.
If his people were starving, Orobashi, as a deity, could have simply raided the seas—how much seafood could that yield? So Lin Mo was also very curious about Orobashi's true purpose for this journey.
"Tengu, will you promise me not to harm my people?" Orobashi asked again.
Lin Mo did not answer that question, instead asking in return, "Why attack Narukami Island?"
"This is... a transaction between me and the Heavenly Principles." "I must die to quell the wrath of the Heavenly Principles." Orobashi's words only deepened Lin Mo's confusion. "Why?"
"Because... my people originate from the deep-sea realm of Enkanomiya." "These children, for survival, once used a power despised by the envoys of the Heavenly Principles."
"Originally, the Heavenly Principles intended to personally annihilate all of Enkanomiya." "I begged desperately, offering my life in exchange for the Heavenly Principles' mercy, sparing the people of Enkanomiya from calamity."
Listening to Orobashi's account, Lin Mo felt his words held a high degree of credibility. Though he had never met the Heavenly Principles, Lin Mo knew this deity held an extreme aversion to the power of the ley lines. In the eyes of the Heavenly Principles, ley line power originated from beyond this world, a force not under her control. Any faction using this power was to be eradicated. So it was understandable that the Heavenly Principles would target the people of Enkanomiya whom Orobashi had brought to the surface.
But what puzzled Lin Mo was this: if Orobashi had bought peace with his life, why then choose to attack Narukami Island in this manner?
"You must be wondering," Orobashi seemed to perceive the doubt in Lin Mo's eyes, "why I go to such great lengths to attack Narukami Island?"
"Why?" Lin Mo asked instinctively.
"Coincidentally, my people have been pleading with me lately, begging for the resources of the land." "If I die on this expeditionary march... it would be a matter of course."
"But... if I tell my people I willingly go to my death to buy their survival from the Heavenly Principles..." "My people would surely continue to delve into the power of the ley lines, vainly hoping to one day assault Celestia itself, dreaming of avenging me."
"They... are all good children... They shouldn't... face such a formidable enemy for my sake..." Orobashi's voice carried unmistakable, profound sorrow.
"Aren't you afraid your people might study ley line power to attack Narukami Island to avenge you?" Lin Mo couldn't help but ask.
"I have left behind seeds of hope," Orobashi said with a note of solace. "I created the lineage of the Divine Priestesses to govern my people." "They will ensure the people remember that I died in battle during the expedition due to insufficient strength."
"Perhaps the people will still harbor hatred toward Narukami Island." "But... I believe." "As long as they do not know I died in a pact with the Heavenly Principles to protect them..." "Hatred will eventually fade with time."
Lin Mo nodded inwardly. Indeed. Rather than letting generations carry hatred fueled by guilt, it was better to let the people believe their deity fell on the battlefield of a righteous campaign, defeated by superior force.
"The deity of Narukami Island seeks no conflict with the world," Lin Mo said calmly. "I promise you, as long as your people do not commit transgressions, the leaders of Narukami Island will not willingly harm your people."
"That... is good." A trace of relief colored the great serpent's voice as he said plainly, "Tengu, step aside. Let your deity come to meet me."
"No." "I will halt your advance here," Lin Mo stated flatly. "You have your transaction, I have my duty. For reasons I cannot disclose, I must stop you here."
"Even if it costs my life," Orobashi's voice grew resolute, "I will crush you without hesitation for the sake of my people. Are you certain you still wish to stand in my path?"
"Come," Lin Mo said simply. Raising his Thundering Pulse bow signaled his resolve to face death.
Orobashi had his transaction. Lin Mo, too, had his mission.
...
"And that... was Orobashi's final testament," Lin Mo concluded his tale, omitting only the very last exchange.
"Lord Orobashi..." By now, Kokomi's eyes were glistening with tears. A secret buried for millennia was finally unraveled at this moment. She finally understood.
Why the mission of successive Divine Priestesses was only to govern the people of Watatsumi Island, yet there were never any plans for revenge against Narukami Island. And why they constantly admonished the people, preventing them from deeply studying the history and technology of Enkanomiya—fearing they might take up the weapon of ley lines again and invite national destruction.
It turned out... she and all the Divine Priestesses before her were the final hope Orobashi left for his people. As long as Watatsumi Island remained independent from Inazuma, the people, though living in some hardship, could preserve the embers of hope.
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T/N:
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