To get to how the Brave Adventurers ended up in that position, we first see them trudge through a heavy downpour on the way to Wellgrove.
"Sheesh… This is a lot of rain." Fulgore said.
"Yes. It is as heavy…as the day I met Ritsu." Hikari said. "His father was killed by Ku soldiers when he was young. Now it is just him and his sister Mikka. Their family were lowborns, so life has never been easy for them. It was the day Ritsu was to be appointed as a retainer."
"Tch… Typical snobs. Always talking down on those less fortunate than them." David said. "Makes me sick that these are the kinds of people Mugen wants in his conquest."
"All the more reason to disrupt this shipment." Leopardmon said. "We can start by finding that merchant that Kazan told us about. Azuma, I believe he said his name was."
The Brave Adventurers and Hikari soon arrived in Wellgrove as the rain let up. The first and probably best place to find Azuma was in Wellgrove's tavern, and their guess was proven correct. Hikari offered up payment, and Azuma was willing to talk.
"...Thank you, thank you! Any small business you can afford me is much appreciated." Azuma said. "...I sense greatness stirring within all of you. I suppose Kazan wouldn't have thrown his lot in with you otherwise. What is it he always says? 'An eagle can take the measure of man and mead alike from afar.'. Now, as for the matter of this…transaction. A little bird told me it will take place deep within the forest out of sight from prying eyes. Even so, these weapons are vital to Ku's plans, and will likely be heavily guarded. Go with caution."
"We will. Many thanks for the advice." Hikari said.
"About these weapons… I have been thinking…" David said as he looked at the Bracelet of the Three Houses. "Is it just me, or does having this on have gotten me better at handling axes, lances and bows?"
"So, you've noticed. I expect no less." Dimitri said as he appeared with Edelgard and Claude. "You're not at that level yet, David, however, you have noticed one of our powers. As you continue to fight in battles with us, our bond grows stronger. The higher our bond, the more of our power you can borrow."
"As you and your friends do that, you will be able to do many different things with us." Edelgard said. "Like you said, we will grant you proficiency with the types of weapons we specialize in."
"Or, if you're lucky, you can inherit some of our skills in battle." Claude added. "But let's see, in terms of weapons… I'd say if you get far enough with us at first, you'll be able to get more handy with axes. Get far enough, and you'll do the same with lances and bows. Pretty neat, huh?"
"Yeah. That sounds really cool!" David said.
"Then perhaps, I may also suggest taking a few weapons off that shipment. You'll never know when they may come in handy." Revali said.
"Probably. I'd imagine they won't be anything special, though." David said.
"Perhaps not. But it's still better than nothing." Claude said.
The group made their way through the Secret Forest as they spotted the supply compound and several Ku soldiers including Ritsu being led by an older man in dark grey armor as he conversed with the arms merchant and paid him the funds.
"Of course Ritsu would be the one escorting the buyer…" Law said.
"That man… He's got a powerful aura to him." David said.
"I know him… General Rou. To think he'd take Mugen's side after being by my father's side for so long." Hikari said.
"Well, we have to stop this shipment, so we're going to have to fight." Tsumugi said.
"Yes." Hikari said as the soldiers took notice of the group as they approached.
"Hold it, General." David said.
"Prince Hikari and his band of mercenaries?!" one of the Ku soldiers asked.
"Those weapons are coming with us." Tsumugi said. "We will give you one chance to leave now, and we may spare your lives."
"Shirogane speaks wisely. We won't shed blood if we can avoid it. I must set an example for the future of my home. Leave this place now and you'll keep your lives." Hikari said.
"Hikari…" Ritsu said darkly, as three of the soldiers drew their blades.
"They say you're a traitor…" One of the soldiers said. "His Majesty has put a pretty big price on your heads."
"That tyrant is no king." Alphen said.
"We gave you a chance to walk away. You only have yourselves to blame for what happens next." David said.
The soldiers gave it their all, but they were simply no match for Hikari and the Brave Adventurers, being brought low within moments.
"Gah… Curses…!" the last conscious soldier said before collapsing.
"Enough. You're no match for us." Hikari said.
"...Hikari." Ritsu growled.
"Ritsu…" Hikari said.
"I see you yet live, my prince." General Rou said.
"Leave the weapons here and go." Hikari said.
"Grr… You've come all this way just to snatch glory from my hands again?!" Ritsu asked in anger. "Fine. I'll repay the debt I owe you." he said as he drew his sword.
"We're not here to steal anything. We're doing this to usher in a king that Ku can be proud of." Shionne said.
"There will be no quarter this time, Ritsu. No one will keep me from guiding Ku to the future I envision. A future without bloodshed." Hikari said as he and the others had their weapons ready.
"A fine dream. I suppose you don't even need that sword, right Hikari?" Ritsu said accusingly. "Your blade seems more like an instrument of death than of peace."
"Ku is the product of an endless cycle of war. It was built upon a mountain of sacrifices. So long as Mugen is king, nothing will change." Hikari rebutted. "My sword, and my friends' own, shall sever that vicious cycle."
"It seems you've chosen your path, my prince. But you chose wrong. You and your charges should have followed Lord Mugen." General Rou said.
"General Rou. Hikari told us that you were liked and well-respected during the previous king's reign." Alphamon said.
"That does not matter. My allegiance is to the kingdom, whosoever may wear the crown." Rou said. "And we are here by direct order of His Majesty. We cannot simply abandon our duty. If you mean to take these weapons from us, then it will have to be by force. But be prepared to find out…why they call me the Wild Bull of Ku! Better men than all of you have crumpled before my charge!" he said as he drew two swords.
"I never wanted to cross swords with you, who served my father so faithfully. But if you insist on baring steel…" Hikari said as the sun soon rose, the new day dawning as Hikari challenged General Rou. During the fight, the group noticed something happening within Hikari.
"Hikari… now that we've actually been able to fight beside you like this for a while, we've started to notice. You're holding back the demonic side of you, who's begging to be let out, right?" Alphen asked.
"You… You all knew?" Hikari asked.
"Yes. Ever since that general spouted it out 3 years ago. Don't you remember?" David asked.
"Nothing ever gets by you, I see. Yes. I'm sure you all know but we of Ku possess a latent power that grows stronger…at the cost of our humanity." Hikari said. "Keep an eye on me as we fight General Rou. I don't want to endanger your lives if the shadow completely takes over."
"Don't worry, Hikari. It won't. We won't let it." Tsumugi said.
"Thank you, my friends. Now, stand ready! General Rou comes!" Hikari said.
"Brace yourselves, Prince Hikari and company! I am General Rou, The Wild Bull of Ku! I shall skewer you all upon my horns!" General Rou said as he began his attack.
Wild Bull of Ku
General Rou
"Got a lock on him. He's weak to lance, bow and lightning attacks." Miu said as she brought out her Arrow Legion.
"Even your construct stands no chance against the wild bull's mighty charge!" General Rou said.
"How about you wait and see before making assumptions!" Miu said, sending the Arrow Legion out.
Rou swung his swords at the Legion, but it dodged his attacks and kept its distance. It responded by firing some energy arrows into the air which rained down on the Wild Bull, peppering him in a volley.
"Here's somethin' for ya! Slow Shot!" Miu commanded as the Arrow Legion fired a large arrow into the air, which came down on Rou and imprisoned him in a large bubble of slowed time, hampering his movements. "Himiko, Rinwell, Genis, you're up!"
"Let's go, guys! Arcthunder!" Himiko said, blasting Rou with the powerful lighting spell.
"You ready, Rinwell? You think you're able to cast that spell?" Genis asked.
"Yeah." Rinwell said.
"From the land of the living, we call upon thee in the land of the dead to unleash thy fury of thunder!" Genis chanted.
"Full Power!" Rinwell said.
"Indignation!" The two shouted as a large lightning bolt crashed on Rou.
"Argh…!" General Rou said, shocked by the lightning, but standing his ground. "Rrrr… I'm not finished yet!"
"He's a tough bastard…!" Law said.
Hikari prepared to strike, and at that moment he suddenly heard a voice in his year.
"Hikari, stop lying to yourself… you don't want to let those weaklings just incapacitate him. You want to kill him…you want to be bathed in this weakling's blood." it was his own voice, but it was more demented and sadistic. "Allow me to help with that, hehehehe.."
"What… is this?!" Hikari asked as Shadows Hold activated on its own. Seeing as he had no choice, he drew his sword. "Everyone, out of the way!"
"Hikari? What are you doing?" David asked. "No… Don't tell me that blood the general was talking about is acting up right now!"
Hikari dashed past the Brave Adventurers, who stepped aside so that they wouldn't be in his way as he targeted General Rou.
"Tenretsuzan!" Hikari called, dealing a single rising slash that felled the Wild Bull, but just barely held back enough to keep him alive.
"Are you okay, Hikari?!" Rinwell asked, the Brave Adventurers coming to his side.
"Stay back…for your sakes…" Hikari breathed. At that moment, the Brave Adventurers could've sworn they saw another Hikari at the original's side, this one drenched in shadow with glowing red eyes.
"Now, Hikari… finish it. Paint the woods red!" His dark self laughed.
"Hikari, stop!" David said as he clasped Hikari's sword hand. With this, Hikari was able to stop himself by his own will.
Dark Hikari chided. "How much longer will you deny your true nature? How much longer must I tolerate this farce?"
"Shut up… Stop acting like you know him!" David said.
"Go…AWAY!" Hikari yelled, cutting down his inner demon.
"...You okay, Hikari?" David asked as he rubbed his wrist from the recoil.
"Y-yes, I am fine. Thanks." Hikari said.
Ritsu made to attack before Shionne held him at gunpoint.
"Don't even think about it." Shionne said.
"Sheathe your sword, Captain Ritsu." General Rou said. "We have failed in our objective. The supply compound is lost."
"General Rou…" David said.
"The weapons are now yours. Do with them as you wish." General Rou said.
"What?! General, you… You can't be serious!" Ritsu said.
"Fall back, Captain Ritsu!" General Rou said. "That is an order." he said before leaving as Ritsu began to follow before stopping.
"Hikari… You will never be king. I'll see to it personally." Ritsu said. "I'll be waiting for your homecoming." he said before he left.
"Are you alright, Hikari?" Sachiko asked.
"Yes, I am fine. But… I don't know what is happening to me." Hikari said.
"It's a lot like my Ice Reaper transformations. It's starting to dwindle away at your humanity." David said. "I'm able to control mine now, but… I long shudder the day I end up losing control."
"Quit worrying about that, will ya?" Miu asked. "You remember what you made Cheetah promise you back at Underworld, right?"
"Yes. That if you were to lose control of your power, we will be there to stop you and bring you down to Earth." Sectonia said. "Same goes for you, Hikari. So don't worry. The dark blood of your clan will not consume you. Not as long as we are around."
"Thank you my friends. Now what to do with all these weapons?" HIkai asked.
"Y'know, I think this was also part of Kazan's plan. We stopped the shipment, so the best thing to do is to bring this haul to Ryu to supply the troops, right?" Law asked.
"Yes Law, I do believe that was what Kazan had in mind. Sometimes it feels like I'm just another piece in his games…" Hikari said.
"Thankfully, we are able to secure a route to Ryu. So, we shouldn't have much trouble bringing them." Crusadermon said.
It wasn't long before the group came back to Ryu and met with Kazan.
"Welcome, my friends. And well done on procuring those weapons." Kazan said.
"Procuring? You made us into bandits. But I suppose I shouldn't complain, given the results. How have your preparations gone while we were away?" Hikai asked before he noticed Kazan smiling. "I know that smile…"
"Before us is a foe mightier than any we've faced before. A man of my profession does feel…stimulated by such a challenge." Kazan said.
"Famous last words." Sachiko said.
"Oh, there's no need to be so tense." Kazan said, pulling out a gourd and cup. "Let's have a toast, eh? Tonight, we drink!"
"The drinks will have to wait. We've only just begun, after all." David said.
"If you insist, my good man. Well then, I believe Prince Hikari wanted to find our old friend Rai Mei." Kazan said.
"Rai Mei… oh, she was the blonde haired woman with the spear, wasn't she?" Kaito asked.
"That's right. We were on our way to Stormhail to meet with her before we took this detour." David said.
"Speaking of which, Dave. How do those weapons feel on you?" Mayumi asked, noticing a standard axe, lance and bow on his person.
"Are you perhaps preparing to gain proficiencies with those weapons, so you equipped them when the time comes?" Dimirti asked.
"Perhaps. These are standard weapons, but they're a start." David said.
"An interesting endeavor. Perhaps you will need all your skills for the battle ahead." Kazan said. "But for now, you must sail east to Stormhail so that you all may find Rai Mei. The late Lord Jigo entrusted Clan Mei with stewardship over an outpost on the eastern continent there."
"Understood. We will go immediately." David said. "When next we meet, it will be at the decisive battle."
And so, Hikari and the Brave Adventuerers headed for the port.
"So Hikari, do you think Rai Mei will heed your summons after three years?" Rinwell asked.
"I am sure of it. Clan Mei and Clan Ku have always had a close relation to one another." Hikari said.
"Sounds like a very dependable ally to have." David said.
"Indeed. You saw how dutiful she was at the battle to claim Ku three years ago. She was faithful then. I'm sure she will be faithful now. However…" Hikari said. "Though I expect this to be an easy task, I can't shake the feeling that with Mugen in power, things may stir up between our clans…"
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to her." Tsumugi said.
"You're correct, Tsumugi. Our next destination awaits us across the sea." Hikari siad. "Deep within the snow covered Winterlands."
"Yeah. Cause right now…" David said as they entered the port as he and two other figures stood on a barrel. "We're all going to Stormhail!" they said at the same time, before stopping to finally notice each other. "EH?! YOU?!" the three leaders said in surprise.
And so, all three leaders who did not think they would meet, ended up colliding in the same port. A joint trip to a desired location...Stormhail.