"…"
Shuku was the only one who remained completely silent, as he, the young leaders, Lilac and Nuru walked through the snow, to Kōmon-shi.
It turns out that I was the only one who was able to talk with him…
Lucas Von Tristus… spoke to me about the "Golden Fruit", and how it is interwoven with all who wield the Mark of Destiny. Is the Mark of Destiny related to the reason why that giant, Duran, called us Destined Ones?
But, Lucas somehow also knew that Duran was with us, and told me to tell him nothing about it to him. And so, we just departed from each other, and Seiji held onto the Luminous Branch, as Duran said he had no more use for it otherwise. Could there be something dangerous about him?
"…I'm not sure," Shuku muttered,
"What I am sure about though, we'll meet him again. But, for now, I'll just focus on the fact that we're almost there to Komon-shi."
The chilly breeze directed the ambience in the air, and there was a pale fog that hung over everything all around. But, there was an unnatural feeling around, that spoke of death nearby.
A corpse. Naked, and lying straight ahead of them. And, standing above the naked corpse was a man in silk robes, with a bloodstained katana in his hand. Shuku didn't know if he was right, but it seemed like the man had robbed the clothes off of the dead body.
"Passerbys. Don't think much of this."
Kyōji grinned. Ever since young, he had a nasty habit of sometimes picking on those who he thought deserved it since he knew he wouldn't get into much trouble for doing so. And, the guy in front of them seemed like a perfect victim to satisfy his tendencies.
"HA! What would you do if we were?!" Kyōji asked, right up in the man's face, and the man looked severely displeased.
Shuku couldn't tell if the fellow was going to do anything about the nuisance up in his face, since he didn't answer back, but then, he perceived a hint of bloodthirst just a second before it happened, and with swift movement, the fellow cleanly sliced almost entirely through Kyōji's shoulder.
"Gah!" Both Nuru and Hinote yelled at the same time, caught off-guard.
"…" Kyōji's grin slowly widened, "…Thank you!"
Kyōji, with inhuman strength, kicked the man through the abdomen, slaughtering him, and then turned his focus on the twenty-or-so swordsmen that had started to surround them. It seemed like Kōmon-shi, similar to the many other cities and villages in the region, had big concerns with bandits and rogues all over the area, even despite the supposed assistance of groups like the Resistance Hunters.
And, this was just one of those bandit gangs.
"…Wait, is he excited?" Lilac asked, referring to Kyōji, who had a bigger smile on his face than ever.
"…Just let him have his fun," Bōshi said while sighing. Just after he said that Kyōji rushed towards them in an explosive bout of exhilaration, and it turned into a bloodbath.
•••
"Phew… the hanging scent of blood in the air is getting pretty exhausting to smell." Nuru lamented.
They had run into at least two more bandit gangs after this, and Kyōji had stained himself with blood far too many times to count.
"Walking with someone so bloodthirsty is so exhausting," Rei murmured, "He doesn't even realize that he's covered in so much blood too. What an idiot."
Kyōji whistled, and remained purposely oblivious to the insult, while Shuku noticed something strange within the corner of his eye, it was like a lamp, that was strung up in the air, and just as he did, he noticed that his footsteps sounded different too like he wasn't walking on snow, but rather…
"Guys, look at the ground! What is that?!" Hinote yelled and gasped, gaping at the ground in total surprise.
They didn't notice it at first due to the fog, but the snow, past this point, had melted considerably, and underneath that snow were strangely shaped things made of hard material. Bricks. Unbeknownst to the young leaders, they were now in the middle of a street. And, this street was located in…
"The city of Kōmon-shi!" Nuru declared, "Look! The grand buildings all around, the dragon lamps hung up in the air to light up the streets, the businessmen and women walking across the streets in a hurry! Woah!"
The sky was still dim, and it was barely even morning, but now they could gradually start to admire the magnificent city of Kōmon-shi. Carriages wandered past, carried away by horses, and furnished houses were lined up across the streets in a very orderly fashion. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before, except for Nuru and Lilac.
"Shouldn't we spend some time here before travelling to Yǒng Guó?" Lilac proposed, to which the others agreed instantly.
"That's a great idea!" Hinote declared, rushing forward with haste, "Let's go!"
•••
Shuku and the others first entered a clothing shop and examined the very finest silk clothing alongside strikingly beautiful shoes made of fine leather. Then, they entered a Winehouse, which allowed them to drink a very special "Apple Wine", except for Hinote and Rei, who just didn't want to drink.
They all had an equally fun time, and Shuku felt a feeling that he had never felt before. He ignored it at first, but it began to affect him severely, to the point that he couldn't ignore it. It was unfamiliar. Yet, he knew that he had heard of such an emotion before.
"…It's strange."
And then…
"Gee… it's almost midday already!" Nuru spoke, extremely satisfied, "But, I've had so much fun already, what other places should we go to?"
"Oh, right, I think we should go to the…"
For some reason, Hinote's voice cut off there. To Shuku's confusion, he turned around, only to see that nobody was there anymore, not Nuru or Hinote, not Kyōji, not even Seiji and that instead, he felt a figure spying on him.
"Who… who are you?!" Shuku yelled, quickly summoning his blade.
"Your eyes never get any less frightening," A voice replied calmly, "…Just relax."
The figure stepped out into the shadows, and revealed himself as Sparrow, who was wielding a strange small mirror in his hands alongside his broadsword.
"I am Sparrow, the one whom you met before. And, this is just a temporal world."
"What?"
"I temporarily sent us into a separate mirror world inside this Divine Item, which is one of the only ones us Resistance Hunters have, in which we can talk peacefully-"
"…Send me back," Shuku interrupted, "Or else, you'll regret it."
"No… you won't want to head back yet. Especially since I have something important to reveal to you."
"I don't care."
"You will."
Shuku rushed towards him and aimed for his neck.
"I won't."
But before he could strike, separate mirror shards condensed out of nothing and protected him, providing him with total invulnerability within the mirror world.
"This is the greatest thing about this Divine Item. It provides an invulnerability effect to the owner of the mirror. Unfortunately, however, the duration of stay in the mirror world is short, too short."
"…What is it?"
"Hah, I knew you'd come along!" Sparrow grinned, "Anyway, I first wanted to salute you for listening to my forewarning about Fols City because we set it alight not that long ago. But, that giant was nowhere to be found as we did so…"
"But, aside from that… I wanted to talk to you about a cult that has remained around these lands for a long time. The Phoenix Cult."
"The Pheonix Cult? What does another cult have to do with me?"
"It is because they have been spying on you. And, well, so have I when I have the time to since you are the only lead I have to him at the moment. So, I just wanted to warn you, just in case they act soon."
"…That's all?" Shuku asked, "Is the Phoenix Cult so terrible for you, of all the people around, to have to warn me? I may not be fully strong enough to handle a lot of things by myself, but I can most certainly handle my own."
"Ha, you don't understand. They are a cult that is devoted to strife and the wings of fire. They once even worshipped Doomsday, as mad as that sounds. I don't know what you did to them, but they are crazy."
"…The Phoenix Cult, huh?" Shuku muttered, "I'm not sure what I did to them, but I will destroy them all if they dare to do anything to me."