Chapter :-77 Interlude-2 Journey To India

1705, Japan, Kyushu port…..

"Do you really don't want me to come with you….? At least take one of the elders with you…"

A beautiful lady in her early twenties spoke in a worried tone. She wore Purple Yukata and black Obi, a hand fan within her left palm and a purple pendant hanging from her neck. She had silver-white hair, green eyes and exquisitely good looking body. Freya was currently standing in front of her brother who was boarding a ship to India.

"Kiyohime and the others have their responsibility, plus with my strength, you don't need to worry about me. I am faster when I am alone."

A white-haired man with ocean blue eyes and a sharp face, wearing a white coat and a purple-pendant around his neck spoke to Freya so to assure her of his safety. Henrik was going to travel to India through the ocean as going through Korea then China and finally India wasn't exactly a holiday route.

While studying the spell-work over the coffin of his siblings, Henrik came to know that the Spirits used different types of lock-mechanisms on every single coffin meaning that a single spell couldn't break all the seals, rather different spells were needed to perform the unsealing ritual. The seal over Rebekah's coffin was very complicated and hard to dispel, he needed more knowledge or years of research to make a spell which could unseal the coffin.

He didn't have much patience left in him after he waited for so many years to regain his weakened magic only to find that the spirits played balls on him, so he decided to visit India and gain knowledge which could enable him to skip the required years of research and directly get to the unsealing part.

It hasn't been many years since Freya and Henrik moved to Tokyo and stuff was still pending so Henrik asked Freya to handle the matters in the city while he travelled to the ancient country.

Kiyohime handled the Gerard family while the others had their jobs. Amakusa Shirou was busy establishing a giant [Devil's trap] to keep demons and Yokai's out of the country, Gracia Gerard was helping him in his task.

Honda Tadakatsu guarded Freya as her bodyguard as well as her advisor since he was well versed in management and paperwork, much to her irritation. Whenever she was out in the open or in a meeting he would help her in making choices which were best for the country, call Henrik paranoid but he didn't want any problem to worry his sister who had zero interest in such stuff.

Tachibana Muneshige became the trainer for young Gerard family members, teaching them martial arts, hand-to-hand combat, espionage skills, weapon mastery, information gathering, survival skills, torture skills, loyalty towards the main family, etc.

Sasaki Kojiro and Miyamoto Musashi opened a joint Dojo for sword-arts, exclusive to Gerard family members while also managing the business, trade, food supplies, etc. They also opened martial arts Dojo all over the country, appointing Gerard family members to teach whoever joined the Dojo, so that if they found students with exceptional talent, they could recruit them within the clan, though their standards were very high.

Nubi or Nobunaga became the Commander of the Main Gerard family forces controlled the army with excellent passion and pride, teaching battle-tactics, formations, weapon-disarmament, withstanding torture and pain, etc.

Sarutobi Sasuke became the Commander of the Assassination unit created by him personally under Henrik's order. Infiltration, assassination, seduction, Ninjutsu, hardened will, loyalty, ruthlessness, tracking, covering tracks, placing traps, destroying evidence, poisoning skills, disguise, etc were taught within the unit, it was Henrik's shadow and his scythe, answerable only to the Mikaelson family whereas Sasuke was answerable to Henrik himself.

A few hundred assassins were the total manpower under Sasuke's control.

Everyone had their job and Henrik's job was to free his siblings from the spirit's curse.

"It may take me a few years to learn the ancient magic, I well call you whenever I can…..take care sister."

"You too little brother…"

Henrik gave Freya a tight hug and stepped on to the ship, the naval command belonged to Henrik himself, the strongest force of the country was its navy thanks to the efforts Henrik put in to build something so huge.

Henrik's destination was [Bay of Bengal]. It is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman Islands of India and Myanmar and the Nicobar Islands of India.

He wanted to enter Delhi and enact his plan, Henrik knew that civil wars were a common thing in India. He knew exactly how to gain the knowledge he was after. After some months of travel, Henrik finally arrived at the port situated in Bengal. He looked around and observed the new land, people of all kinds and faith roamed the place and the whole place was just…..loud as if someone had turned up the volume.

He stayed within the city for some time, enjoyed the scenery and food before he got ready to leave for Delhi, just before leaving he also visited the City Library to find more about the ancient land. The spirituality within the city or rather all of India was very high, even higher than Japan but only the locals seemed to be able to harness its power.

Along the way, he visited many places, ruled by Kings similar to a shogun but much more authoritative and powerful. He was able to gather many ancient texts and records to gain a deep insight on the condition within the country, Kings fought each other for resources or to expand their influence while 5-kingdoms within the country had powerful a Quasi-God mage to protect the land.

The Quasi-God Mage was equivalent to a Second-generation God from the Shinto region, they had the power to sink continents if ever truly pushed so far but without a proper reason which followed Dharma (Way of the Truth), they couldn't invoke their powers and Henrik was dead set on exploiting this loophole.

Henrik's plan was to convince Khan, an Immortal Mage commanding equivalent power to a Quasi-God Mage, to join in on his initiative to unite the country and its people.

Khan was an orphan born in Prayagraj, a grandmaster took him in as his disciple and taught him all he could, Khan was a prodigy, he absorbed everything like a sponge and mastered the divine-ways, becoming immortal and very powerful.

Khan left his hometown after his teacher died while facing a heavenly tribulation, he headed towards Delhi, the capital of the country and established a school for teaching ancient arts to orphans and gifted children, he wasn't associated with any force and had great insight, wanting the best for the country and the future of the country.

After a few months, he finally reached the capital of the country, a hood draped over his face, he walked straight towards the [Martial School for Orphans and Gifted children], casting a simple cloaking spell over himself, he directly entered the place and headed towards the Headmaster's room.

Khan was a neutral force and a very powerful one at that so no one tried to create trouble for him, especially after his noble work at creating a school for everyone. Security around the school was pretty tight but Henrik's witchcraft was something unknown to this world and as they say, you can't protect yourself from the unknown.

On his way, he saw many things that amazed him. Hundreds of students wearing a red sweater and brown pants stood in a large stadium and practised magic with absolute focus and interest. Children from all kinds of background and pasts mingled together and learned from each other.

Training to become a Mage was serious stuff in Japan and those who learned magic were all extremely encased and disciplined whereas here, in India. Kids acted like kids, not some cold-blooded killer or psychopaths, they were enjoying their lives and were happy.

"It is quite something isn't it?"

A voice was heard beside Henrik who had already disabled his cloaking-spell and continued to observe the kids. A middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses observed him with curiosity and caution, though he was very confident in his abilities, judging by the fact that he couldn't sense Henrik's strength, he wasn't sure his he could protect his students and fight at the same time.

The middle-aged man was wearing a yellow coat, he had short black hair, black-eyes and a healthy physique. He had a ring around his left-hand middle finger, probably a storage device.

"It is, from where I come from, Mages are only seen as tools but this is truly eye-opening for me."

Henrik turned towards the middle-aged man and spoke in a steady tone.

"Let's talk in your office….."

"Sure…"

Henrik followed the man within the head-office, both of them took a seat facing each other and started with the introductions.

"I am Khan, the headmaster of [Martial School for Orphans and Gifted]…."

"I am Henrik Mikaelson, a citizen of Japan, I have back to India to gain knowledge and have a proposal for you."

"Japanese…? You don't look like one."

"My family originated in England but relocated to Japan a millennium ago, though we never mated outside the clan, therefore, we retained our original genes."

"Hmm….well, what is this proposal you wanted to take about?"

"I will be frank with you Khan, I have come to India to gain knowledge on the ancient magic of all kinds for personal reasons but India is very divided which make it very hard for me to have access to the old arts."

"So I have come to propose a Federal, Union of States system for governing the country and uniting the different kingdoms."

"Go on…."

"Think about it, your students belong to different kingdoms and serve under different banners, they learn from you and gain strength but ultimately they would have to use that power against each other, Kings within the country frequently attack each other and they would have no choice but to slaughter each other."

"This is not just a problem with your school but to every other school out there…."

"Did you teach them to kill their fellow students in cold blood, to slaughter brothers and sisters just because some crazy King wants to expand his territory rather than advancing what he currently has."

"This system I propose is balanced and beneficial to everyone if it were to be enacted in India the situation within the country would improve for the better and all fonts will be united."

"...."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Help me find 28-capable rulers or individuals who are both strong and enough open-minded to accept my proposal. This is a chance to end all the conflict once and for all."

"What would you get out of it?"

"I want nothing more than knowledge, once the country is united I want to learn every magic to have ever existed in the country."

"Why choose me? I may be strong but I am a neutral force and I also don't have much influence over the country."

"Simple, you are neutral force and will think for the benefit of the country, you are both strong and open-minded, calm and patient, you are proper qualities to become a leader who will lead the country to greatness."

"I am no leader, I am just a teacher..…"

"And I am not asking you to rule, rather be the prime minister of the country and work for the betterment of the country."

"..."

"I will see what I can do. There are a few young princes in my school who will grow into fine Kings, let me discuss this topic with them and see their response."

"Very well, after 2-years I will return till then I expect you to be able to convince them to join in on the plan."

After saying so, Henrik stood up from his seat and started walking towards the door but stopped for a second after hearing Khan's words.

"What will you be doing during all this time?"

"Try to find some capable talents and explore…."

"Okay.…"

"Namaste…." (Sign of respect)

Henrik stayed in the capital for weeks, exploring the different food and culture along with ancient languages and spells. After that, he left the capital and travelled all over India. During his travel he visited many kingdoms and interacted with many people, gathering their experience and views about the world.

He even learned the different languages used in the different regions of the country, making it easier to talk and ask for directions. All this time, Henrik fed on criminals locked within the prison so to avoid trouble and gaining the attention of the Gods of the country which was truly hard as there were 330 million Gods in Hinduism alone, not to begin that many religions coexisted within the country.

He was on a mission to gain knowledge and free his sister not to create trouble for himself and waste his precious time. Also, he was rather speechless after experiencing the might of Indian food for the first time; he decided to also learn the different dishes to pass time since he had nothing else to do.

So he spends the rest of the two years travelling from one place to another, looking out for potential candidates for his 'cause' and sending them to Delhi, to meet with Khan and pass his test before finally becoming a member of his 'System'.

After two years, Henrik returned to Delhi and once again visited the [Martial School of Orphans and Gifted]. Standing at the entrance of the school, Henrik could feel the intense energy rolling off the building. The real reason why Henrik gave Khan two years to recruit people was to give him time to once again reach the peak of his power.

It had been decades since last Khan engaged in any kind of battle, therefore, his body required some time to reach the peak of power, the power that granted him the title of 'Immortal Mage' and it looked like two years were indeed enough for Khan to sharpen his blade.

He quietly entered the building and headed towards the Head-office, last time where he and Khan talked about creating a proper system. Just as he crossed the battleground, a spear appeared out of nowhere and attacked Henrik's exposed back.

Henrik wore a black robe, unlike the white one he wore the last time he visited the city. His purple-pendant tucked within his clothes while a Japanese hand fan appeared in his palm. Even without turned around, he waved his palm backwards and send a blast of [Force] by waving the hand fan lightly.

The powerful energy pushed the spear far away while Henrik's body was surrounded by tiny yellow dots, though these small dots weren't to be taken lightly. Henrik had compressed a lot of Amaterasu's Divinity into tiny orbs which expanded upon contacting with any physical entity.

Henrik named the technique [Explosive orbs:-Tiny], a perfect technique which was as effective in attack as it was in defence.

ᒥ....Do you sense anyone Amaterasu?....ᒧ

ᒥ....No…the attacker must be using some kind of artefact to hide....ᒧ

ᒥ....Hmm…..he must expose himself while attacking, I will be able to restrain his used [Force]....ᒧ

ᒥ....Yeah, using strong spells within a school full of students is not a good idea at all....ᒧ

Henrik and Amaterasu's relationship had taken a turn for the better, she had finally accepted him as her friend who is a just a 'little' paranoid but there is good in his heart. She started talking to him after Japan had finally entered a peaceful period, after she synchronization with her master.

Henrik was pleasantly surprised by the fact that Amaterasu wasn't as foolish as she seemed rather she had lots of knowledge and was very smart. Being as busy as he was, Henrik finally got a person to talk to other than his sister, overall he was quite happy with the situation.

Henrik used his [Force advanced technique: -En] to create a dome of Force around his body to act as radar, if a person entered Henrik's dome they would be detected by him no matter if the other party was using an artefact or not.

After doing so he also created a small sphere in his palm filled with terrifying [Force], when physical contact was established with any object, the sphere would expand and engulf the thing within itself, The terrible [Force] within the sphere would disintegrate everything it touched, only a few things could survive the power of the sphere.

The idea behind this move was inspired by the big brother of this move, [Force:-Destruction].

Henrik's plane was simple, he knew that Khan was surely watching this fight, therefore, he would force him to appear before Henrik otherwise, the person attacking Henrik would be killed the second he tried to attack him.

ᒥ....Come out Khan, I don't have time for this silly stuff....ᒧ

The spear materialized behind Henrik and closed in on his back, but just before the spear could enter the dome created by Henrik, a firm handheld the spear mid-air completely stopping it in its track. Space seemed to tear as a middle-aged man exited the private space he tore opened to watch the battle.

Another figure materialized beside the middle-aged man, a young man wearing a red sweater and brown pants. He had black eyes and black hair and wore a golden chain across his neck.

"Guru Khan, why did you stop me? I wouldn't have hurt the cloaked man with the spear."

"Shishya Rudra, I didn't have any intention to stopping the fight but Henrik is perhaps not in the mood of having fun if you had entered the dome he created using his energy it would have spelt the end of you. Be careful next time…."

(A/N:-Guru means teacher while Shishya means disciple.)

Leaving behind the dumbstruck Rudra, Khan walked toward Henrik and said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"You would have killed him if I didn't interfere….."

Henrik remained unfazed by Khan's annoyance and said in a plain tone.

"I knew you were watching this conflict thus I decided not to waste any time and directly force you to come out of your hiding."

"*Sigh*….Let's talk in the office."

Henrik followed after Khan and entered the head-office, once again they sat facing each other and discussed their plan and their chances of success.

Later that year, Henrik and Khan together with 28-Kings consisting of new, old, veteran, etc declared war on the other kingdoms, the country descended into chaos as the different kingdoms fought for power, Henrik and Khan defeated the 5-Quasi-God Mages since the opponent couldn't use their full power as Henrik and Khan's intentions were pure and beneficial for the whole country.

The state of war maintained within the country for 5-years before Henrik and Khan along with the other 28-Kings emerged victories in uniting the country through their joint efforts. A new, federal system was established within India with Khan as the first prime-minister of united India.

Henrik was honoured as a forever friend of the Indian government and the country itself, his name and origin were listed down in the historical records of India but his face was seen by none, only Khan knew how Henrik looked. Due to Henrik being the second person to contribute the most to the creation of new India, the land blessed him with the ability to draw power from the Indian land and spirituality giving him enough juice to free two of his siblings if he successfully created the required spell.

Finally, Khan arranged for all kinds of magic that were ever taught in the country and gives it to Henrik so that he could gain all the knowledge he wanted. It took him 3-years to absorb all the knowledge and master it even though he was blessed by the root itself.

Khan made Henrik swore on his soul that he would never teach the knowledge he learned in India to anyone, the passing of knowledge to other was a tradition which only teachers were allowed to do and Henrik was no teacher nor would he ever be.

Henrik agreed and thanked Khan for his help, Khan also performed a ceremony to officially make Henrik his sworn brother and gifted him with a meteoroid from which he himself made his weapon, [All destroying Scimitar].

He once again expressed his gratitude and headed back to Japan after saying his goodbyes to Khan.

He had a sister to visit.

And another to free from the coffin.