Fantasy Library.

Chapter 537 will all come to an end here.
At Lena's invitation, everyone entered her room and sat down on the tatami mats.

Shinatoso is a completely Japanese-style inn; both the staff rooms and guest rooms are Japanese-style rooms with tatami mats.

Lena had previously expressed her curiosity about this kind of room, and seemed quite satisfied after moving in. When Aize and the others entered the room, there were some messy bedding in one corner, indicating that Lena had just crawled out of it.

"Well……"

After inviting everyone to sit down, Lena still looked very uncomfortable, with a bad complexion. She would occasionally press her temples, and she looked like she was in a lot of pain.

"what happened to you?"

Asahi Yoshino offered a casual remark of concern.

"Are you feeling unwell?"

Hitachi Mako also offered her greetings.

"Hmm..." Lena didn't try to be brave. She nodded a little embarrassedly and said, "I don't know why, but I've had a headache and tinnitus since the beginning. It's very uncomfortable."

Hearing Lena's words, Cong Yu looked at Aize with a sense of unease.

"Is it because of the influence of proxy?"

Cong Yu's speech made Asagi Yoshino and Hitachi Mako both look at Aize.

“Very likely.” Aize looked at Reina for a while, then said, “Reina carries the aura of the fragment of the Hōdai. This not only allows her to see you, but also, like Yoshino and the Tsurugi, she can receive the signal fluctuations emitted by the Hōdai and be affected by them.”

Under the influence of the saga, Yoshino Asatake became a puppet being manipulated, and the evil spirits were born one by one from the fragments, following the signal fluctuations to come to her door.

Lena's aura was very chaotic. Aize felt that she must have been affected by the signal fluctuations emitted by the phalanx, which was why she was acting so strangely.

"Aura? Substitution? Signal fluctuation?" Lena herself looked completely bewildered and asked, "What is that? Is it some new Japanese?"

Upon hearing this, Aize did not answer Lena's question, but instead took out the token he was carrying.

"Lena, do you have any transparent stone fragments that look like this?"

Aize presented the token to Reina.

"This is……"

Lena stared blankly at the token for a moment, then remembered something and took out a bag from her chest that could be used to store amulets.

"Gu..."

The small action seemed to have caused great harm, causing Asagi Yoshino, Hitachi Mako, and Murasame to unconsciously make strange noises.

Unaware of this, Lena opened the bag and poured out a transparent stone fragment.

"Is it this one?"

Lena showed the fragment in her palm.

Upon seeing this, everyone was overjoyed and stood up.

"That's right! That's it!"

"Fragments of a vessel..."

"The last fragment is indeed here."

Asahi Yoshino, Hitachi Mako, and Murasame all spoke up with some joy.

"How did you get this, Lena?"

Aize also breathed a sigh of relief and asked a question.

“This was given to me by my grandfather, who in turn received it from my great-grandfather,” Lena answered truthfully. “I’ve mentioned it before, haven’t I? My ancestor once lived in Suizhi, and this is what he received from there.”

"After that, this thing was passed down in my family from generation to generation until it came into my hands."

"I've always carried it with me as a talisman. Is it something really important?"

According to Lena, this fragment of the scepter was probably obtained by her ancestor many years ago and taken away from Suizhi, to a foreign country.

Now, after many years, this fragment has finally returned to Suiori with Reina, giving everyone a sense of destiny.

"Yoshino."

Aize looked at Asagi Yoshino and gave her a knowing look.

He was asking Yoshino Asagi if she could reveal the curse to Reina.

After thinking for a moment, Yoshino Asagi decided to tell the truth.

There was no way around it; this was a talisman passed down through generations of Lena's family, given to her by her grandfather, so it must have a very important meaning.

If they need to get this fragment from Lena, they have to tell her a certain part of the truth.

So, Yoshino Asagi began to give a brief account, telling Reina about her family's curse, the origin of the harem, and its importance.

"...This can't be a joke, right?"

Lena naturally found it hard to believe such a surreal thing, and thus stared blankly with an incredulous expression.

"I'm not kidding."

Cong Yu immediately performed a levitation act in front of Lena, making Lena's eyes widen, cover her mouth, and almost cry out in surprise.

"Could it be... Could it be that Murami-chan is really a ghost?!"

Lena looked terrified.

"N-no, I'm not a ghost! How rude of me!"

Cong Yu was once again caught off guard.

“I know this is hard for you to believe, but it’s all true.” Hitachi Mako chimed in, “Rena-san must have heard of the legend of Hoori, right? The gods bestowed the sacred sword upon Hoori, but no one has ever been able to gain the sacred sword’s approval and pull it from the rock.”

"It wasn't until Lord Aize arrived that the Divine Sword was finally drawn."

"You must have heard this rumor, Lena-san, right?"

The story of Aize drawing the Divine Sword had already spread throughout Suizhi. Even though Lena had only been in Suizhi for a short time, she should have heard some of the rumors.

“This is the Divine Sword.” Aize took off the Murasame sword from beside him and placed it in front of Reina, saying, “This sword has a spirit. If you don’t believe me, I can have it greet you.”

The existence of the true spirit of Murakumaru is unknown even to Murakumaru, the manager of the divine sword, which shows how taciturn it is.

But if it were Aize, he could easily get Congyu Maru to give him face and say hello to Reina.

"And this one, it's part of the fragment in your hand. Once the two come into contact, they will merge and become whole again. If you'd like, you can try it too."

Aize placed the missing piece of the token in front of Lena as well.

With these two incredible phenomena as evidence, Lena should also choose to believe what they and the others say, right?

“…No, that’s not necessary.”

Lena looked at Muramaru and Yoshiro in front of her, and remained silent for a long time before finally speaking.

"Although it's a bit unbelievable, since it's what you guys said, I'm willing to believe it."

Lena didn't want to doubt her friend, so she chose to believe him.

Besides, the other party had no reason to deceive her, did they?

The fragment of her family heirloom, though meant to be a talisman, was nothing precious and worthless. Why would her friend lie so much to get it?

only……

"To break that curse, is it really necessary to hand this over to you?"

Lena held the fragment of the token, a hint of hesitation visibly on her face.

This was, after all, something passed down to her by her grandfather; though not precious, it held extraordinary significance.

It would be impossible not to hesitate before giving it away. "I'm sorry," Yoshino Asagi said apologetically, "I know this is a very impolite request, but it's really important to us."

"I will find a way to make it up to you."

"So, could you please give us this fragment?"

As she spoke, Yoshino bowed her head in a pleading gesture.

"Please, Lena-san."

The same applies to Hitachi Mako.

Aize and Cong Yu stared intently at Reina, their silence speaking volumes.

"...Please raise your head."

Lena remained silent for a long time before finally smiling and saying something.

“This is indeed a very important thing. Under other circumstances, I would never have given it up.”

However, given that it concerned the safety of the land of Suizhi and the fate of her friend's family, Lena simply couldn't refuse outright.

therefore……

“I am willing to give it to you,” Lena said gently. “Being able to help my friends and this land, that is perhaps the meaning of why I brought it here.”

"In that case, let's not talk about compensation anymore."

"Okay?"

Lena's gentle words brought smiles to everyone's faces.

"Thank you so much, Rena-san."

Asatake Yoshino and Hitachi Mako both spoke up, their faces filled with emotion.

"You are welcome."

After she came to her senses, Lena became as cheerful as ever, her smile genuine, but it was quickly replaced by a hint of pain.

"We shouldn't delay, let's get the Hyodai back into one body as soon as possible." Aize said immediately when he saw this. "Once it's back into one body, the Hyodai will stop releasing signal fluctuations, and Reina will stop having headaches and tinnitus."

Aize then picked up the token from the ground, took the last fragment from Rena's hand, and handed it over.

"Zheng!"

A blinding flash of light appeared again.

This time, the light was not only much stronger, but it also lasted for a very long time.

Although Aize unconsciously closed his eyes while holding the heirloom, he could clearly feel the heirloom in his hand getting warm, and he could vaguely feel a joy, peace and tranquility.

When the bright light faded and everyone opened their eyes, the last fragment had disappeared and merged into the vessel.

Inside was a pearl with white mist drifting around it, and the last bit of the gap completely disappeared.

Finally, it was restored to its complete state.

"Success!"

Asahi Yoshino, Hitachi Mako, Murakumo and the others were overjoyed.

"They've truly become one."

Lena was filled with surprise and curiosity.

Aize twirled the orb in his hand, played with it curiously for a while, and then looked at Lena.

"How are you? Are you still feeling uncomfortable?"

Upon hearing Aize's words, Lena was first taken aback, then became even more surprised.

"Huh? It seems like the headaches and tinnitus really won't happen anymore!"

Lena's complexion visibly improved, and her usual lively and cheerful spirit returned, filling her face with a radiant smile.

"finally……"

Asagi Yoshino kept staring at the token in Aizawa's hand, her emotions very complicated.

"Will the curse be lifted then?"

Hitachi Mako's voice became cheerful.

“No, there’s still one last step missing.” Cong Yu shook his head and said, “Although the items have been collected, the spirit of the dog god inside has not yet found peace.”

"Next, we need to devoutly enshrine the spirit in the shrine, pray and make offerings every day, so that the spirit of the dog god can rest in peace. Only then will the resentment that is the source of the curse gradually dissipate and the curse be lifted."

"This is a task that will take a long time to complete."

That being said, the lifting of the curse is still a foreseeable future, no longer just a pipe dream like before.

Even if it takes more time, in other words, it only takes a little longer for the curse to be completely lifted.

This is undoubtedly the end.

“Let’s go.” Aize said decisively, “Take Pingdai back and hand it over to Mr. Anqing.”

Whether it's offering sacrifices or praying, these are the areas of expertise for the shrine priest, Asahi Ansei.

Surely Asahi Yasuharu would be pleased with this too?

After all, the curse that had been tormenting the Asabu family and causing his wife's untimely death would finally be lifted by him, someone who had previously been completely helpless. This was a comfort to Asabu Yasuharu himself.

"Are you already heading back?" Lena sensed something in the air and said, "Then I won't keep you any longer. I wish you success."

Everyone naturally thanked Lena profusely, only to be met with a magnanimous smile in return.

Not long after, the group left Shinato-sou and headed towards Kenji Shrine.

…………

Kenshi Shrine, inner hall.

Under the devout prayers of Chao Wuanqing and the watchful eyes of the crowd, the tablet was solemnly enshrined before the giant rock and placed on a small altar, radiating a soft glow.

"In this way, the prayer and offering are completed."

Dressed in the robes of a deity, Chao Wu Anqing smiled with relief and addressed the crowd.

“From now on, I will pray every day, and with Yoshino’s offering dance, I believe that the spirit of the dog god in Hirō will soon be appeased and its resentment will be resolved.”

Asatake Anharu's expression was just like Asatake Yoshino's when she first saw the complete Hekiro: joy, sorrow, sadness, and relief—a very complex mix.

“From now on, no more evil spirits will appear in Hoori. Once the spirit of the dog god within the Hōshiro is at peace and the curse is completely lifted, the power of the Hōshiro will be transformed into a protective force, becoming a divine power that guards the land of Hoori.”

Cong Yu's voice reached everyone's ears.

"By then, the land of Suizhi will no longer be filthy."

Upon hearing this, everyone had a feeling.

It feels like the vicious competition between the eldest and second sons of the Asabu family, which originated hundreds of years ago, has finally come to a complete end, hundreds of years later.

At the same time, the battles fought by the Asabu family and the protection they have always provided will finally come to an end.

Everything will come to an end here, and no one will ever again suffer the harm caused by that struggle hundreds of years ago.

Those who understood this all looked at the tablet enshrined on the altar, speechless for a long time.

Aize stared intently at Pingdai, remaining silent for a very long time...

(End of this chapter)