"Why does Adonai have to be so full of mountains and trees?"
The familiar voice of Kono could be heard, his three partners walking slightly ahead of him.
It had now been two days since "Team Ganbaru" had embarked on their journey throughout the southwest region of Adonai. During their travels, they made the occasional stop at small, practically nameless villages with the sole purpose of selling or trading goods.
Along with their occasional stops, they'd make subtle reports to Lord Phoenix through what appeared to be Genso-Kyu's. However, these orbs of magic weren't used as weapons, but rather for long-distance communication.
"Because Shanti is nothing but sand and Zebulun has ground plainer than a clear sky." A feminine voice replied to Kono's earlier question in vexation. The owner of the voice was none other than the brown-haired Yui.
"I'd much rather be in that land of sand over this pathetic nation. The only value left to it is its history. We're only here to collect the remnants of that history." Another voice emerged, belonging to the veil-wearing man named Ren.
"Hey! I originated here! This place isn't so bad. Just corrupt laws and legislatures, I suppose." Kono sounded his opinion, quickly directing his gaze toward Ren with a smug smirk. "But at least this nation didn't create its laws out of a hierarchy."
Yui turned to face Kono as she cast a look of anger. "Watch what you say, Fox. Shanti has itself in order. Hierarchy or not, we aren't on the verge of civil war twenty-four seven."
"Tone it down, guys. We've already broken into enough fights since we started—we don't need anymore." Touma, the most reliable member of Team Ganbaru, is the one to prevent most of the physical and mental aggression that may occur between members.
True to Touma's words, brawls have been created out of hate between Team Ganbaru. Most of that hate, however, was directed toward Kono.
—Flashback—
"Say it to my face, Fox!"
Using his Aura Printed tails that emerged from his tail bone, swinging from tree to tree, Kono fled as an enraged Yui chased him through the forest.
*A Few Minutes Ago…*
Just a few mere minutes prior to the chase, Team Ganbaru had been resting at a small concession, eating the food that they had ordered. But, upon their feasting, the fox-like member of the group made a considerably bad comment.
"I wonder if Lord Phoenix has some type of physical mutation regarding his face, so he made everyone else hide theirs."
Ren and Touma gave a side glance at Kono, only to immediately watch as Yui practically launched out of her seat, towering over the fox-like blondie. A scowl marred her face as her hand began to glow a dangerous yellow hue.
"What did you say!?" Yui hollered hotly, her eyes becoming flaming orbs of malice.
Popping the food out of his mouth childishly, Kono peered upward at the angry brunette towering over him. A curious glint gleamed in his eyes as he raised one of his brows in perplexity.
"I said, "I wonder if Lord Phoenix has some kind of—""
"I heard what you said, moron! How dare you denigrate the great name of Lord Phoenix in such a colloquial manner!?" Yui, once again, hollered, but her words grew louder with each word that spewed from her lips.
With a sigh, Kono wiped beads of sweat from his forehead. "Okay, you're going to have to relax on the vocabulary, Girl. And it was a serious question—if it could even be considered one, that is."
A vein began to protrude from Yui's head, indicating her rising anger. Suddenly, the yellow hue in her palm began to take shape of a long animal, representing a snake.
The yellow snake falling from her palm then rushed toward Kono in haste, prompting the fox-like male to jump out of his seat, flipping through the air and landing back on the ground swiftly.
Yui didn't retract her arm. "That damn aura of yours and its flexibility…" The brown-haired woman growled.
"What?" Kono questioned slyly, grinning toothily at his female partner. "Upset that I'm faster than your aura?"
Touma and Ren, who were still eating in their seats, sagged their shoulders slightly at hearing the insulting words that Kono and Yui had thrown at each other.
Ren rested his head on his hand, closing his eyes gently. "Just let them resolve this on their own."
After a few moments of silence, Touma spoke up.
"I'm not sure if that's a good idea."
After those words, Touma and Ren patiently waited for the aggression to die, only to watch as it quickly escalated into a chase.
"Get back here, you damn Fox!" Yui yelled, lunging after Kono with snakes leaving her palms.
Kono, who was dashing away and swiftly maneuvering around the branches of nearby trees, didn't stop. What he did instead was crane his head to the side and say, "You need to be kept on a leash!"
Yui became even more irate as a result of this.
—Flashback End—
"Not my fault she got so mad." Kono quickly expressed, folding his arms over his chest.
None of the members of Team Ganbaru spoke after that, leaving Kono to sit in his own silence.
Kono huffed.
"Fine, did Lord Phoenix give us any information regarding where we are? Y'know, since he can detect us or whatever his strange power is."
Yui grounded her teeth. "If you keep–"
"Lord Phoenix had apparently gained intel on the recent events of this place. Allegedly, a huge battle took place not too far from here in a village. The name of the village is Ryakudatsu, and it has supposedly been in ruin since then." Touma answered hastily, hoping to avert any more future clashes between Kono and Yui.
Kono put his hands into his black legging pockets, looking up at the sky. "Man. Back when I grew up here, Adonai wasn't nearly as bad as this."
"Well, we aren't here to make it any better at the moment, either," Ren claimed, his eyes not daring to deviate from the path ahead.
Silence ensued throughout the group once more, leaving the four to contemplate their next actions, mostly pertaining to their mission. Ryakudatsu was most likely not a good place to visit, especially since it had just been put into near ruin. However, neighboring villages might just work.
"Are there any other villages, Touma?" Yui asked, glancing at her stoic teammate with a scar below his eyebrow.
"Lord Phoenix was only able to discover villages that are around two-hundred-fifty kilometers further from Ryakudatsu. However, that doesn't mean we can't go scout those said villages." Touma revealed, looking back at his group.
Ren perked up at those words. "Which ones should we go for?"
Touma became silent, dwelling in contemplation as he continued to walk with his group. After roughly a minute, the scarred man broke himself from his stupor.
"One of them is a village named Asahi, but, much like Ryakudatsu—it's also in ruin. But, a village named Buraun might work." Touma explained, his eyes flickering back and forth as he discussed the villages. "Has a heavy population, semi-functional society, as well as a decently high ranking according to locals and travelers…"
Kono eyed Touma suspiciously. "How would Lord Phoenix know any of this?"
Touma turned back to look at Kono. "When we first started making attempts at traveling to Adonai, we had a locator deployed here, searching the nation for possible locations to set up base, as we have now. But, since we lost them sixteen years ago, we got new ones. And with them, we were able to navigate the lands of Adonai."
Kono merely shrugged. "It seems like we're just stealing a dead man's treasure."
"Treasure that never belonged to him in the first place," Yui grumbled, glaring at Kono from the corner of her eye.
Kono clicked his tongue at Yui's reply. "Come on. The man killed every god that ever touched this land, and he was practically alone as well. His army was also known as the strongest in history. I believe that the man earned what soon became rightfully his."
"Reiwa Takuetsu was a tyrant, and that's all there is to it!" Yui forcefully shut the argument down.
Sighing, Ren turned to Touma. It had been a long walk, especially with Kono and Yui always bickering at each other. It was more of a hassle than they originally thought.
"So, where are we heading to first?" Ren asked, hoping to redirect his members' thoughts to the main plan.
Touma closed his eyes, inhaling silently, then reopening them shortly after.
"Buraun. We'll head to Buraun and inform Lord Phoenix of our findings."
XXX
Uh-oh! They're heading for Buraun! That's the last thing the village needs! What will happen once they arrive? Stay tuned to find out! Also, this chapter was mainly focused on explaining where they're heading. The conversation was more or less to help you guys familiarize yourself with Team Ganabaru! (The name still sticks, huh?)
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_