Don't use Type-Moon references in Oregairu!

16. Is it really just laziness?

Listening to Aki Tomoya's words, old John felt a strange sense of fear, but mostly he was delighted.

For many, his early life as an ordinary person was unremarkable: he traveled all over the world, investigating local customs and traditions, writing one academic paper after another, and publishing a few books that were only of interest to people in the field.

During his research, he became fascinated by strange and bizarre legends and gradually developed a hobby—reading niche Cthulhu mythos novels.

He fantasized about the figures of those great supreme beings, while looking down on the protagonists in the novel.

During a field investigation, he was caught up in a terrorist incident and unexpectedly obtained an unnamed egg made entirely of an unknown, hard, golden metal.

Perhaps it was because his physique was too compatible, or perhaps it was because his usual wild thoughts had an effect, that he successfully absorbed it.

John was fortunate; his talent allowed him to witness fragments of 'truth' through an inexplicable connection with this object.

However, he was also unfortunate.

Whether the "truth" witnessed is real or not, even such fragments are beyond the comprehension of an ordinary person.

A vast amount of fragmented information was forcefully poured into his mind amidst his screams. Perhaps it was his past fascination with H.P. Lovecraft, or perhaps there truly was such a mysteriously great supreme being, but the boundless information twisted and transformed in his mind into the blurry shadows of billions of radiant spheres, which then flashed by in an instant.

And so, from that day on, folklorist John Spencer died.

And then John the Elder, who was God’s agent, was born, wanting his God to appear.

Based on his memories, he wrote manuscripts about the different Great Old Ones and gave them to those he felt were worthy of their glory.

And Aki Tomoya is the biggest surprise he's had in recent years.

Therefore, he was overjoyed by Aki Tomoya's condition. He tapped his cane, beaming with delight: "This is wonderful, wonderful! How could you obtain such power? I remember the Seven Chapters of the Mysterious Monarch's Secret Scripture didn't mention..."

"Praise of the King in Yellow; ghoul cult doctrines and conversion rituals; the summoning and control of the Celestials, or rather, the interstellar Pegasus; the summoning of the Earth Dragons; and content concerning the Deep Ones, time and space, hounds, dreamscapes, crawling chaos, and many supreme deities... Is this what you're trying to say?"

Old John gripped his cane tightly, his mind in turmoil: "Have you... understood all of this?"

"Tsk... Foolish, foolish, foolish! I thought you, as a senior who serves God, should have some insight, but you are so worthless! How, how, how... lazy!" Aki Tomoya shouted loudly from his not-so-tall body. He used his fingers to forcefully scratch his cheeks, breaking the skin and leaving bloody marks, which was extremely creepy.

But within seconds, the scars on his face healed rapidly.

Old John's face darkened, and he stared intently at Aki Tomoya: "Aren't you being a bit too rude?"

His body emitted a murky silver light, the ground beneath his feet was decaying inch by inch, and the walls around him were rapidly covered with strange and ugly vines. The entire alley seemed to be shrouded in a low-pressure atmosphere.

However, Aki Tomoya ignored his overwhelming power and leaned back as if he were being lifted into the air by something invisible.

An exaggerated smile, almost reaching his ears, bloomed on Aki Tomoya's face: "As expected, as expected, as expected, you're nothing more than a printing press for magic books by our sovereign... The spells you use are all standard templates—without even the slightest modification."

Old John's face was expressionless, but the veins on his hand gripping his cane were bulging, revealing his inner turmoil.

"Hahahaha, do you know what I'm using right now? It's 'Star Essence'!" Aki Tomoya laughed wildly, filled with joy. "Originally, it was just an invisible monster that came from space and lived by sucking blood, but now I can control it like my own two fingers."

"Huh? This seems interesting. From now on, I'll call this 'The Invisible Hand'!" Aki Tomoya suddenly realized. He paced back and forth in the air as if he were standing on solid ground, seemingly losing interest in Old John.

"So, Mr. Tomoya Aki, what exactly do you mean?" Old John asked, pausing between each word.

He desperately wanted to know the answer; it seemed that Aki Tomoya had indeed obtained abilities from the Seven Chapters of the Mysterious Monarch's Secret Scripture that were completely unrecorded within it.

Aki Tomoya looked at old John with pity, his expression filled with disappointment and disappointment: "Who is my master?"

"The One who unifies all things, the ruler of time and space, the possessor and creator of all wisdom and knowledge, and all things are always connected to Him."

"Isn't that settled?" Aki Tomoya clapped his hands, full of confusion. "Since that's the case, the Seven Chapters of the Mysterious Lord's Secret Scripture is also under my master's control, and all things are contained within it. Isn't it only natural that I read the Seven Chapters of the Mysterious Lord's Secret Scripture and finally obtained this 'Invisible Hand' that fits my personal aesthetic?"

Aki Tomoya sighed heavily: "No wonder our lord has been so slow to be born into this world. Oh, old John..."

He slightly curled his right hand into a trumpet shape, placed it to his ear, and seemed to be listening to something.

Old John felt a chill run down his spine as he heard him say, “Ha ha, is that so? I hear your heart’s desire—'I' am the one most favored by our Lord. 'I' am the chosen one. Oh, 'Actually, our Lord doesn’t exist; he was only created because of me.' Hmph, such blasphemous thoughts, how utterly lazy!”

How is that possible? Mind reading?

Old John walked a few hundred meters away, watching Aki Tomoya warily. He nodded and said to Old John, "These are minor matters. The main thing is that you are very close to the person of God, but not as close as I am, so I can roughly know what you are thinking. Be more diligent, and if you surpass me, I won't be able to know what you are thinking."

Is it true, or does he actually have that ability?

Old John tapped his cane, his mind far from calm: "I came to find you because I wanted to know if you were behind the recent events?"

Although the incident had not yet fully unfolded, Old John had already sensed something was amiss, and through unorthodox methods, he also obtained information about the incident.

It's almost a foregone conclusion that creators will come here and die suddenly.

Once things progressed to this point, it would attract attention from all sides. That's why he wanted to come and take the fledgling away. However, he never expected to be lectured by the younger generation.

After thinking for a moment, he still advised Aki Tomoya: "Stop, Aki Tomoya, the outside is full of Special Affairs Bureau people!"

17. This old man doesn't seem very bright; he's not as good as us...

"Do you harbor hatred for those people? Or do you simply want to use your power to show off your strength in front of these people who embarrass you?" Old John earnestly advised, "There's absolutely no need for that. We are now completely different humans from them. Showing off our strength and beauty in front of ants is not something to be happy about..."

"You, you, you! You really are... incredibly lazy!"

Aki Tomoya's body slid several meters through the air, as if boneless, and then bent backwards, staring at Old John with his head down: "Didn't you...didn't you notice what I was using?"

"Hmm, it should be a curse, right?" Old John wasn't sure, as there are many different ways to cast a curse in myths and legends all over the world.

Furthermore, the influence of the materials used in creating the curses resulted in a wide variety of methods. It was impossible for him to understand the true nature of the curse without being able to discern the other party's aura.

"...Senior, I'm very disappointed in you. It's heartbreaking that you didn't even bother to investigate the situation of those people." Aki Tomoya's pupils had shrunk considerably, with the whites of his eyes making up most of his eyes.

His eyes were no longer as warm as before; instead, they had a sinister and unsettling quality, filled with a frenzied intensity.

Old John awkwardly looked away, equally bewildered. What did the other person mean?

"Ah, senior. Could it be that the thing you said you found so inspiring that day was a lie?" Aki Tomoya sighed deeply.

John was a little confused. What was he talking about? Oh, was he talking about those folk museums?

It was very helpful. After he went to Fukuoka, he learned about the situation and bought relevant information from Seven Deadly Sins. He felt that he had gained a lot.

After that, he was able to capture some excellent offerings through blood sacrifices and try to draw the power of the gods down through brainwashing.

Even Aki Tomoya himself couldn't bear to watch Old John's foolish performance.

He finally spoke normally. "The curse I placed on them comes from our great God. It stems from the thirst for knowledge and the ever-exploding drive of inspiration that comes from the side of Yog-Sothoth."

"So you were wrong just now. Not only will I not harm them, but I will cherish them even more."

Aki Tomoya chuckled, his laughter filled with a twisted blessing and longing: "How could I have any ill intentions? What evil thoughts could a follower of my Lord have? On the contrary, I want to share God's glory with everyone, so that everyone can receive God's love."

Old John suddenly realized: "So you wanted more people to feel the glory of our Lord, but that's unnecessary. The people we're targeting should be the elite. What use are these ordinary people who don't even have supernatural abilities?"

Aki Tomo didn't answer him either; he felt that continuing to talk to Old John would be pointless.

It seems that he has basically misinterpreted everything I said to him at the folk museum.

Aki Tomoya was deeply worried—in this world, even the earliest believers are so stubborn, so foolish and lazy, who else can shoulder the great responsibility of summoning our Lord?

It has to be me!

Old John saw that he didn't answer, so he didn't press the matter further.

After all, he wouldn't care if the other party wasn't just impulsively trying to use their abilities to commit pointless killings or attracting attention for personal gain.

The other party probably had a plan.

He was a genius who could comprehend extraordinary abilities simply by reading through the "Seven Chapters of the Mysterious Monarch's Secret Scripture" and understanding the aura of the materials that had been filtered through countless hands.

However, Old John spoke up again: "Do you know that your childhood friend, Eriri Sawamura, has used her family's connections to bring in some people to investigate the incident?"

“Eri Sawamura? That girl, she’s barely passable as a creator, yet she doesn’t want to receive love from our Lord? Ah, I’m so sad…” Tomoya Aki covered his face with his hands and sighed, “Let them go, it was just an experiment, and I’ve already gotten the result I wanted.”

He shook his head indifferently: "Come to think of it, I seem to have done some foolish things before I fully comprehended the glory of my Lord. Perhaps the gifts left behind will give them something to do. Interesting, what an interesting game."

Aki Tomoya had completely lost interest in continuing the conversation with old John. He half-squatted in the air in a comical pose, and then quickly flew outwards.

The air around him blurred, completely obscuring him, and he disappeared into the air.

Old John called out loudly, "Aki Tomoya, my companion! I don't know what you're going to do next, but if you need anything, come to Waseda University to find me anytime. I'm a visiting professor there. Just mention my name and someone will take you in."

He received no reply, but Old John didn't care. After all, this wasn't the first time he'd seen someone whose personality had become strange after studying abilities from the Cthulhu Mythos.

Honestly, only someone as mature and steady as me can tolerate this group of strange guys.

"Well then, let me observe you all carefully from now on. Sawamura Spencer Eriri, the younger generation of this family? Perhaps I can figure out what Aki Tomoya is really up to?"

--------

"Achoo!" Eriri Sawamura sneezed loudly. She was still wearing her unkempt green tracksuit, but her hair was simply combed.

Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at the sky, slightly puzzled: "It's early May now, it shouldn't be cold..."

Eriri rubbed her nose and waved her hand, "Don't worry about these things. Tomoya's house is just ahead."

Fujimaru Ritsuka looked around and saw that it was an ordinary Japanese detached house, no different from the surroundings.

He was about to press the doorbell when, unexpectedly, Eriri Sawamura pulled out her keys and opened the door with practiced ease.

?

Kasumigaoka Utaha covered her mouth, looking shocked: "Sawamura-kun, didn't you say you were just ordinary childhood friends? You even have a key, how can you call it ordinary?"

Eriri Sawamura sighed, "Uncle Aki and Auntie Aki are currently on a business trip and haven't been able to come back for a while since they found out about this. My mother asked someone to get the key so it would be easier to investigate."

Eriri pushed open the door, took off her shoes in the entryway, changed into indoor shoes, said softly "Excuse me," and went in first.

Then Fujimaru Ritsuka grabbed her collar and gestured for her to go first: "Something's not right. Let me go in first."

18. The tentacles taste delicious!

Aki Tomoya's house wasn't large; from the entrance, it looked like an ordinary house. But Fujimaru Ritsuka sensed something was amiss.

There's too much dust and too many stains.

Based on the timeline, Eriri and Aki Tomoya encountered a further incident around Golden Week. Aki Tomoya subsequently disappeared, but less than 10 days have passed since the incident.

However, Fujimaru Ritsuka noticed that thick cobwebs had accumulated in some corners of the ceiling, dust had settled in the corners of the shoe cabinet in the entryway, and suspicious rust stains had been left on the walls of the hallway leading to the living room.