Deluge of Simplicity

by Kchlu

During his training for the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, Goku somehow found himself dropped into the world of Teyvat. Upon realizing his situation, he now seeks to find a way back home, yet he could not help but be entangled in the matters of this new world, courtesy of a certain priestess.

12. What's Left Behind

What's Left Behind

Smoke arose from the impact of the lightning, obscuring the sight of the person who was the target of the unnatural phenomenon that had transpired out of nowhere.

"Goku!" Kazuha yelled out in an uncharacteristic panic, having just realized what he had done.

The man who had just fallen was in a dazed stupor, his mind still not quite up to speed with what just occurred as he looked on at an equally surprised Kazuha.

Behind the young samurai, Heizou kept a cool head, but his actions implied otherwise, notably due to the quickness in his footsteps.

Having shaken off his initial shock, Kazuha took a step forward approaching to gain a closer look at the scene, but could not due to the still arising smoke still being present. With the aid of the incessant downpour, it wasn't long before they could all see for themselves what had become of Goku's fate.

Defying the normal, Goku was the one who sprung out from the smoke, looking as enthusiastic as ever, almost as if what had just transpired had no apparent effect on him.

The only difference with the martial artist between now and before was that pieces of his loose clothes were now singed, most probably due to the aftermath of the lightning bolt.

That, and the small sparks still lingering around him.

"Phew, that sure stung a bit," Goku remarked casually before giving them his usual smile.

"Goku, you appear to be…fine?" Kazuha questioned.

"Hmm? You mean this?" Goku asked, pointing towards his now scorched clothes, "It ain't like I haven't been hit by lightning before. Plus, it's nothing compared to Raiden's lightning."

He wasn't exaggerating either. Regular lightning hurt, sure, but Raiden's lightning was in another league of their own. If he couldn't even withstand a natural phenomenon such as this, then there was no chance he was able to endure any of her techniques.

Kazuha did not seem to agree, "Regardless, I must extend my apologies to you Goku, I didn't foresee such an outcome from my...meddling."

"What are you talking about Kazuha, you don't need to apologize for what just happened ya know? Heck, I should have sensed that someone was behind me when I did that. The fact I didn't mean I still got a long way to go."

Truly, the road of constantly bettering oneself was a long one, which was something that life had reminded him time and time again.

"Plus, you probably would have saved the guy without me doing anything anyway. Maybe I shouldn't have jumped in like that?" Goku said awkwardly, scratching his right check.

He was quickly reminded that he should not have done that, given the remaining sparks of lightning still lingering in his body.

"Gagh!" Goku blurted out in mild pain, his tongue sticking out as a result.

"Well now, besides a small case of light shock it seems your body is as sturdy as ever," Heizou commented, joining into the conversation.

Although his tone was as steady as ever, his now slowed footsteps did imply that the Doushin was relieved to see Goku came out of the incident just fine.

Kazuha continued on despite the reasoning, "Still, it was because of my actions that pushed you in harm's way. There must be something I can do to atone myself."

Goku waved him off, "It's fine it's fine...but if you really want to apologize, you mind having a spar with me later Kazuha?"

"A spar?"

Goku nodded, "Yeah! With the way you moved just now I'm sure it would be a good fight."

Right then and there, Kazuha looked directly towards Goku, specifically in his eyes to see what belied them.

It took only but an instant for Kazuha to find that there was no bloodlust, nor resentment of any kind in them. Rather, there was only a desire made out of pure excitement, a look that Kazuha had rarely ever seen.

Maybe, just maybe...

Kazuha held an inaudible gasp that he did not realize, before easing into a comfortable nod, "Very well, then I'll mention it no more."

"With that out of the way, are you alright, good sir?" Heizou asked, with the rest of them turning to face the man that was saved mere moments ago.

For the man who had just been spared the fate of being struck down by the heaven themselves, all he could muster up in response was a curt reply.

"I'm...fine."

As the unknown man stood back up, Kazuha addressed him calmly, "Mhm. It is fortunate you were not caught in the aftermath of the blast. While my friend had come out mostly unscathed, I have an inkling that anyone else would have met a much more...unfortunate fate."

"Just because he saved me doesn't make you less guilty of destroying the ward," the man snapped back in irritation.

Despite the animosity, Kazuha felt the need to clarify, "There seems to be a misunderstanding. I can assure you that we had nothing to do with the destruction of this stone lantern."

"Quite right, it was simply bad timing that you saw us at the scene when you did," Heizou added.

The man looked between the three, scrutinizing their character one by one…deliberating on his options, before letting out a tired sigh.

"Fine. I'll give you guys the benefit of the doubt. The name's Kaji, and I'm one of the miners that live on this here island."

"Well now, that certainly explains a lot. Since you appear to be here for the same thing as we do, what exactly can you tell us about this stone pillar?"

Kaji shook his head, "It's not just a stone pillar, it's a ward, and there are multiple of them placed on this island. Judging by this abnormal weather, I would bet that all of them have been destroyed, which means the Tatarigami is rampant once more."

"I believe I heard of it before. These wards are the very same ones that keep the Tatarigami at bay, correct?" Kazuha questioned, having just now recalled the history behind Yashiori Island.

Kaji nodded. In turn, both Kazuha and Heizou wore grim expressions, knowing that the current situation was anything but good tidings.

Goku was the only among them who did not understand what meaning the term held, "Uh, what's a origami?"

Kaji found it strange that someone did not know of the existence of the curse, unless they were an outsider of course.

Kazuha was the one who decided to explain it to Goku, "I suppose the easiest way to describe it would be that it is a curse."

"Eh!? A curse?" Goku shouted, surprise evident in the tone of his voice.

"Yes, one that was created from Orobashi's death all those years ago. It was one so severe that the Shogun herself personally intervened to resolve it. Are you perhaps telling us that these wards are..." Kazuha trailed off, only for Kaji to talk once more.

"Yes, it is only thanks to our great Ogosho's wards that the curse never became too dangerous for those of us that live here, and why we're able to work safely as miners in the first place. "

Kaji then formed a fist, shaking it angrily at the air as he continued on, "And now...Krgh! If it weren't you who are the culprits, then who could be stupid enough to do such a thing?"

All of them did not have an answer for the man, but one thing was for certain, something had to be done about this.

"We are just as clueless as you are, which is why we are here to discover the truth for ourselves," Heizou.

The man blinked, not quite trusting what he had just heard, "You are?"

With a confident grin plastered across his face, Heizou continued on, "That's why I believe it would benefit all of us if you could indulge any and all information you have in regards to these wards."

Kaji wore a thoughtful look, organizing his thoughts carefully as he did not fully trust these strangers.

"Hey, don't forget about me now!" a young man said, almost screaming as he joined the four.

It was the Resistance member that had joined the three, though none of them knew how to address him, since his name remained unknown.

It was a matter that Heizou intended to rectify, "Oh, you certainly took your time...hmm, we still haven't established your name have we?"

"Like I said before, my name is way too embarrassing for me to tell other people," the young man said, nervously shaking his head.

"Then what do we call you? I find it hard to believe that your fellow comrades are able to coordinate with you in battle without a name of some sort."

"Of course! Just call me K-Kuhaku, that's what everyone else refers to me as."

Strange.

No matter how hard Kazuha searched through his memories, he could not recall anyone with such a name in all his time helping the Resistance. What's more, his appearance certainly did not match up with the name that was usually given to those that were born in Inazuma.

Then again, they were many individuals he did not recognize either, so it wasn't completely implausible to say the least.

Still, there was something about what Kuhaku said that did not sit well with him.

Meanwhile, Heizou showed no outward hint of awkwardness as he addressed the young man, "Very well, Kuhaka it is."

With the matter of his name decided, Kuhaku had one thing that was on his mind, "So...what's with the atmosphere? Wasn't the man saved just now, so shouldn't we be happy about that?"

Surprisingly, it was Goku who spoke up, "We are! It's just that I didn't expect this bad feeling I was having all day to be a curse of all things."

Without any further explanation of the sort, Kuhaku had already comprehended the issue they were discussing, "You mean the seal has been broken?"

As Goku attempted to get Kuhaku caught up with the situation, Kazuha decided to focus his attention on Heizou who was discussing the matter further with Kaji, most probably in regards to their next course of action.

"It depends on how broken the seal is, but it shouldn't be totally impossible to fix them...probably," Kaji stated, his eyes slightly shifting to the side at the last part of his sentence.

"I see...so what if I say that the stone lantern is merely missing components of some sort for it to be complete, would you say it is still possible for it to work as well as before?"

Kaji rubbed his chin, "I'll have to see the damages first. Even then, it's not like I'm an expert on them."

"Compared to the rest of us, you might as well be considered one. Anyhow, shall we take a look?"

Agreeing to the suggestion, the two then begun walking towards the stone pillar. With only the three of them remaining, Kazuha felt that they too should follow suit as his attention returned to the conversation that Goku was holding with Kuhaku.

"To think that someone would be so wicked that they would disturb the wards. If they're already destroyed, then that means we're too late to stop it." Kuhaku said pessimistically.

Goku tilted his head to the side, befuddled, "Why's that?"

"Well, weren't the wards made by the Shogun? What hope do we have to recreate something that only a god can do," Kuhaku reasoned.

"That may be true, but If we cannot do this, then how would we be able to brave the lightning's glow?" Kazuha chimed in.

Goku agreed with Kazuha, "Yeah, just because Raiden was the one who did it doesn't mean nobody else can't. Plus, I got a good feeling we can fix this by ourselves."

"You do know what you're saying right? I need to repeat this again, but the Shogun is a God. There's no hope in trying to compare us mortals to a being like that."

Goku blinked, not quite understanding Kuhaku's particular line of reasoning, "Ain't you guys going to face her sooner or later? There ain't no point in thinking whether or not you can do it or not, you just gotta."

Even with Goku's limited understanding, he was sure that this fighting with the Shogunate would lead into a confrontation with the Shogun in the future.

Knowing the Shogun however, Goku also felt there was an equal chance she would ignore them unless she declared them an enemy of Eternity.

Like she did with him.

"Goku is right. We mustn't think like that, surely there is something we are able to do. That said, I believe it is time we join Heizou and Kaji, as they have already begun their investigation on the stone pillar's condition."

Kuhaku nodded, though somewhat reluctantly while Goku didn't give a second thought on the matter they were just discussing as he headed off without any sort of convincing .

As the three arrived at the scene, they saw Heizou who was crouching at the bottom of the ward, with Kaji looking at the Doushin with full attention.

Heizou snapped his fingers as he stood right back up, "As I thought, it would appear that this will be easier than I thought."

"Really?" Kaji asked, bewildered at the statement.

"Did you not tell me earlier that the damages were not severe enough to hamper it permanently?" Heizou asked, eyeing the man.

Kaji nodded, "I did. Some parts might be missing but I think it's still doable to fix it back to how it was before."

"And pray tell, what exactly are we missing again? It's best to repeat it for the three that just arrived," Heizou said, gesturing to the others.

An exasperated sigh escaped Kaji's breath, "Haah…like I told you before, I don't know what to call them, but one looks like a purple crystal while the other one is shaped like a pearl."

"That certainly helps in our search for objects that are so distinct, but you forgot one little, yet important detail," Heizou stated, hinting at something else.

Kaji was stumped, not knowing what the Doushin was getting at, "What are you—Oh right, now I remember. They were always lit up, with sparks constantly flying off."

"And that—is how we'll find them, and with only a single attempt at that!" Heizou declared, his voice filled with certainty.

"Huh? How does that help?" Kuhaku voiced out.

It was Kazuha who answered instead, "I believe he is referring to the traces of elemental energy left by these components we need to find."

"Very astute, as expected of you Kazuha. It just so happens that we have two Vision wielders in this little group of ours. Following this train of logic, it would be a cinch for us to track them down easily, no?"

Goku was amazed at the new piece of information, "Wow, you guys can sense energy too?"

"Yes, though our way of doing so is different from yours Goku. While you sense for life, we see trails of elemental energy lingering in the air," Kazuha explained concisely.

"I wonder if I can do that?" Goku asked nobody in particular, before shutting both his eyes, concentrating fully on sensing ki.

Despite his efforts, He could not feel anything at all, except for the overbearing amount of dark aura that was now enveloping the entire island.

If Goku really tried, he could still somewhat sense ki, but it was overshadowed by the more prominent aura, to the point that it was better to use his other senses instead.

As useful as ki sensing was, he was starting to see the flaws that existed using such a technique as time went on,; something he had thought was unquestionably strong in the sense that the need of seeing using his eyes was no longer needed.

Guessed he shouldn't try and rely on it too much before it became a habit, because there might be cases where it would be a detriment to him instead of a benefit.

"Judging by that expression of yours, I take it it didn't go as well as you expected."

Goku gave an awkward laugh in response, of which Heizou did not mind at all as he turned to Kazuha instead.

"I've already used my elemental sight to find their whereabouts. While mine isn't too shabby, I would take a guess that you have a better sense for it, don't you Kazuha?"

"I would not know, but I will attempt it all the same. After all, it is better to have reassurance that it is indeed the item that we are searching for."

After saying so, Kazuha closed both his eyes, only to reopen them moments later, his Vision lighting up as a result.

There was a slight shift in the winds, something that not only Heizou noticed, but Goku was able to as well.

Kuhaku and Kaji looked at one another, shrugging as they could not tell what was going on. Meanwhile, Goku continued scrutinizing the whole process, taking in every little detail despite there being nothing extraordinary from an outsider's point of view.

The light of Vision then dimmed down as Kazuha spoke, "I can see it. With the way it trails along from the ward to a nearby location, It's clear that this is where they had been relocated."

Heizou agreed with the direction Kazuha was pointing at, "Conveniently, both the trails lead to the same location, which makes it very obvious where it is once you look at the scene, even without a Vision."

At that particular statement, all of them turned to see what Heizou was implying, and upon doing so, quickly realized what he meant.

Right below the hill they were standing on were various broken walls located across a plain. When seen from a certain angle, it formed the shape of a ruin, but whatever it originally was held no significance to what it was now. There were also other objects of interest, specifically the many pillar-shaped mounds that were situated in place.

What caught their eyes were not the scattered pieces of ruin nor the mounds, but the gigantic dome of water right at the center of it all, its size not only eye-catching, but also puzzling due to its sudden existence.

The flowing water spiraled in of itself, obscuring those who wished to view what lay inside the dome, yet the speed of its rotation was also a clear message to those who dared to see within.

Danger.

Despite the scene before him, Goku did not feel deterred in the slightest, merely excitement as he turned to others, "What are we standing here for? Let's head over there!"

His voice was what snapped them out of their thoughts. Before any one of them could utter a word in, Goku had already jumped from the small hill they were on, running straight towards the dome as he left them behind.

"I suggest we follow Goku's lead, as we might possibly cooperate with one another if we are to solve this issue in front of us," Kazuha said.

"Quite. Why don't you join him first then Kazuha, Kuhaku and I will be inspecting this mound that is floating near us, not to mention the similar looking ones in the area as well. My intuition is telling me that those might be the key to overcoming the challenge ahead of us."

Unlike the two vision wielders cool demeanor, Kuhaku was at a complete loss at what to do as he simply nodded along, "I don't really get all this, but if you need any sort of help I'll try my best to do so."

The three then began taking steps to move, albeit at a much slower pace compared to Goku who had already reached their destination...that was, until a certain someone stopped them in their tracks.

"Wait!" Kaji yelled, reaching a hand towards them.

Heizou was quick to respond, as if he expected this, "Yes?"

"Mind if I join you? Not just for this one, but for the rest of the wards on the island. I just...wanna see for myself whether or not you guys are really going to fix this whole mess."

Kazuha caught on to his true intention, "That is your decision. I cannot say for the others, but I will not hinder you in any way. This is your home after all, you are only ensuring that it remains as such."

Heizou was much more direct, "I would be rather thankful if you join us. After all, you are the local here, so any and all further information that you might recall would be appreciated if you come along."

Kuhaku shrank from the ongoing stares, as they were obviously waiting for his input on the situation, "What are you all staring at me for? I'm just here to make sure mister Heizou doesn't cause any trouble for the Resistance."

"And there you have it," Heizou concluded succinctly.

Kaji had no further comment to add as he followed along the three in order to catch up to Goku, who by this point, was standing before the hydro dome in, unmoving.

---

Goku stared at the wall of hydro in front of him, quietly observing each and every movement that it made.

It reminded him of a river, but one much more intense seeing that he could feel the breeze generated from the speed of its rotation, which was why he put his right hand forward, until it had physical contact with the spiraling water.

Upon doing so, he felt the immediate consequences as the palm of his hand received the brunt of the force.

It was akin to a shredder, cutting everything in its way, where little to no resistance would result in the loss of one's hand if they were not careful enough.

For one Son Goku, it was nothing but a light sensation of pain as he pulled his hand back, only to then inspect the damages.

There were mild cuts riddled across his palm, none to the extent that he was bleeding, but if his hand did remain there any longer, then he might not have gotten off so easily.

It informed Goku that the intensity of the water's flow was not to be underestimated.

Having assessed the situation, Goku breathed in slowly before pulling back the very same hand.

...only for him to punch straight at the air.

Invisible ki flew from his right fist, its trajectory directly straight at the location of the water dome.

A giant splash of water was dispersed from the outside of the dome as it collided with the barrier, leaving a fist-sized hole in it.

Much to Goku's disappointment, this moment did not last as the empty hole was quickly covered up by the rushing waters. Before long, it was no longer visible, as if nothing had occurred at all despite his technique earlier.

Still, Goku was not discouraged, "If that doesn't work, then I'll just have to try something else."

Kamehameha would be a no go, because there was a possibility that he would destroy the water dome outright, including the missing parts they were looking for.

Trying to maintain and at the same time adjust the intensity of the Kamehameha would be too exhausting as well, seeing that his ki capacity wasn't the greatest at the moment, especially after using Heizou's technique when they were sailing from Watatsumi Island to Yashiori Island.

That really left one other option for him to try...

"It seems you are pondering on a matter, yet you give off the air that the answer is already within your grasp, Goku," Kazuha commented, having just arrived at the same spot Goku was standing on.

"Kinda, but I ain't really sure until I try it out…where's everyone else Kazuha?" Goku asked, unsurprised at the young samurai's arrival.

Kazuha nodded at the others' general location, leading Goku's eyes to see that Heizou and the others were standing around some sort of tall stone monument.

Now that he thought about it, Goku noticed that it was not only the stone monument here either, as there were many other similar ones as well in the area they were in.

"Heizou believed that the mounds placed near this area are the key to disperse this hydro barrier that is preventing us from entering."

Goku could not help but give Kazuha a confused look at the statement, "Eeh, but he doesn't have to bother with anything like that. All I have to do is hit it with something strong enough to completely destroy it."

Just then, a purple orb flew right above them, soaring through the air until it hit an empty spot near their location, causing electric currents to spread out in a small area before dissipating into nothingness.

It was apparent to both Goku and Kazuha that the orb originated from Heizou's action, who was waving at them cheerfully, his usual smile accompanying him while Kuhaku and Kaji were panicking at the result.

Goku stared blankly at Heizou for a moment before getting back to Kazuha, "I guess that can work, but I wanna figure a way to do it by myself, ya know?"

"Unfortunately, I truly don't...why is it you wish to do so on your own, Goku?"

Call him curious, but despite Goku's simple yet blunt demeanor, Kazuha found him curiouser and curiouser with every successive interaction.

"Cause it's good training! It's not everyday ya get to see something like a huge ball of water, so I'm excited to see if I can figure a way to break it with everything that I learnt up until now. So, if you guys help then it means I'm cheating doesn't it?"

"So that is how you view this matter..."

Despite all the excitement Goku exuded, the young samurai noticed something interesting. It was minute, but Kazuha's ears were able to pick up a speck of disappointment at Goku's last words.

So, Goku had his own pride as a warrior as well, something that a certain someone he once knew could relate to.

"Alright, I got just the thing to make this work," Goku declared confidently.

The martial artist then lowered his upper body, shifting his footing ever so slightly as he positioned himself into a stance. Kazuha's eyes were entirely focused on Goku, intrigued on what Goku's next action might entail.

Twisting his right wrist, Goku then connected it with a right hook onto the water dome.

Though there was a loud noise that rang out from the impact, the water dome was merely rattled as it remained standing, even with the strength in Goku's punch.

Kazuha would have questioned what the aim of Goku's action was, but the answer was revealed in the form of a gust of wind that began gathering around his fist, until it solidified itself to clash against the outer shell of the hydro dome.

The scene before Kazuha was a peculiar sight, with strong winds blowing from Goku's technique, one might expect Goku's own wind to expand until it rivaled the water dome's size.

This was not what happened, rather it was the dome that somehow became even larger than before, something that Kazuha believed not even Goku himself saw coming.

The confusion on Goku's face said it all, but the expression did not last, for it changed right after a realization settled in the martial artist's mind.

"Ooh, I get it now. I shouldn't be going along with the flow, but against it."

It was only after what occurred, that Kazuha understood what Goku meant by that statement.

---

"See? Insert a bit of force and it operates as I expected, though I will confess I didn't predict a ball of electro energy being released so easily," Heizou said admittedly.

"That almost hit Mister Kazuha and Goku," Kuhaku blurted out nervously.

"Oh, they're more than capable of sensing a projectile coming at them from this distance," Kazuha said casually, not a hint of concern in his tone of voice.

Kaji gave him a look, one that screamed regret for his recent choice, "I don't know what's going on with you people, but just from the few minutes I've interacted with you, I can say I trust you the least out of all of them."

Heizou shrugged, "Harsh. Here I am just doing my job, investigating the cause and trying to solve the obstacle at the same time...no wonder so many of my associates want to rise up in rank, so to speak. Getting back to the topic at hand, I would take a gander that this mound here is the trigger, and the other similar shaped objects around the area are what guides the projectile."

"Hmm, why do you say that?" Kuhaku asked.

At that, Heizou gave a smirk,"Simple. Look at the top of the mound, now compare it to the others. Don't you think that the one we have is the only one different from the others?"

It was true. The one they were standing nearby was in the shape of a crescent, where the electro energy was being generated in what would have been an empty space, while the other ones looked like mirrors of some kind.

"I can talk away all I want, but the best way to prove my observations is to simply test them out," Heizou said as he slowly turned the top of the mound to a specific angle.

Right after that, he delivered a fierce kick to the mound, with the resulting force causing it to spit out another ball of electro, only this time it was at one of the mirrors.

The moment it got in contact with them, the electro ball was reflected towards another direction altogether, with the projectile landing in a different location in comparison to the one before.

Kuhaku nodded in understanding, "Oh, I get it now. So we just move the other mirrors until we get the projectile to hit at the right angle."

"Got it in one. Of course, it'll take us time to adjust them until we get just the right setup but it shouldn't be too hard, given all the tools that's already laid out for us."

Right after Heizou's explanation, all three of them had the pleasure of being splashed by a body of water.

All three of them blinked, not knowing the cause of such an occurrence. It didn't matter too much considering they were already standing under the rain, but it did cause all three to turn to the direction that it came from.

Heizou let out a chuckle upon taking a single glance at the scene, "Well, I'll be. It seems Goku beat us to the punch already. I can't say I'm upset about it either, because it certainly requires less effort than what I was originally planning on."

At the center of the former ruins, one Son Goku was standing right in front of an empty space, an empty space that was where the hydro drome was originally situated, and what was revealed was an empty area just beneath the ground.

Coupled with the strong yet sudden gust of wind that had just come towards their direction, Heizou did not need to see for himself to understand what had just transpired in order for the hydro dome to completely disappear.

"That guy...doesn't have a Vision right?" Kaji couldn't help but question, bewildered.

"He does not, which makes him interesting, don't you think? Now then, how about we join them in retrieving those missing parts?"

A bit stupefied, Kaji nodded anyway while Kuhaku was strangely quiet. Nonetheless, the three began moving down the hill to reconvene with Goku and Kazuha.

---

As Goku jumped down to grab ahold of the floating orb, Kazuha was still thinking back on Goku's action just before the water drome was completely and utterly destroyed.

The way the martial artist reached such a solution as well was not one that Kazuha believed he could reach on his own. As soon as Goku realized his initial mistake, he was able to quickly turn the situation around.

At the start, Goku's own wind held the same direction and rotation as the intensive water current. To correct that mistake, Goku exerted the same amount of force as the rotation of the waters, only this time the wind was in a completely opposite direction.

This was essentially how the martial artist was able to destroy it utterly down to its last drop, by directly opposing it with his own strength to the point that it completely overpowered the force that held the water dome structurally.

Truly, Kazuha was beginning to understand Her Excellency's interest in Son Goku.

Any further pondering was halted as Goku returned from his retrieval of the items they were looking for, "Hey, Kazuha! Are these the things we're looking for?"

What was presented before the young samurai were two items in each of Goku's hands, one gem and another a pearl, both glowed with a purple hue.

There was no mistaking it.

"It is, but are you certain you want to hold them like that Goku? I can feel the electro energy radiating from them, and judging from the way it vibrates, I don't think it quite agrees with your way of handling."

"You mean these things? Don't worry about it, I've taken way worse you know," Goku reassured him.

Kazuha believed him, despite having limited knowledge of Goku's battle history.

A familiar voice then came into the scene, "And I would like to say we are grateful for that Goku, though you could give a bit of the spotlight for others to show off a bit before deciding to solve the problem in one fell swoop."

"Sorry Heizou, but I couldn't wait that long, you know?" Goku reasoned, though it was obvious to the Doushin that he was going to do it with or without his input.

Heizou was amused, to say the least, "I'll accept that apology, if you would do me the honors of putting those components back onto the ward."

"I can do that," Goku said cheerfully.

After saying so, Kaji, who was behind Heizou walked towards Goku with the utmost focus, saying nothing as he inspected the two objects in Goku's hand.

The man then let out a gruff, which seemed to be acknowledgement that he was indeed holding the correct components.

Goku took his weird affirmation in stride as they all began walking back towards the ward.

---

"Yeowch!" Goku uttered in pain at the sudden yet intense shock from the object he was holding on.

Heizou, who was standing beside him let out a hum, "Hmm, a little more to the right Goku."

"Here? Gekh!"

"Maybe to the right?" Kuhaku added in from the sides.

"Krgh!"

Kaji shook his head as he commented from behind all three, "No no, it's up, because it wants to be exactly in the middle. If you move it just the slightest bit then it won't be able to hold itself up."

This scene had repeated more times than Goku could count, with him trying to slowly adjust the right position for putting the orb-like pearl in the Hibukuro, which was the upper section of the stone lantern.

The other component, which was the gem, had already been placed in its proper place, where it was perfectly embedded into the structure. The struggle was with the pearl where there was no perfectly shaped space for them to put into, rather only empty air where they have to correctly guess the exact coordinates.

Even after several minutes, he and the others were no closer to figuring the exact position of where the pearl should be placed.

As Heizou, Kaji and Kuhaku continued to make guesswork, with Goku following their suggestions, it was only Kazuha who had been silent ever since they gathered back at the ward.

That soon changed, as Kazuha walked up the stone lantern, before pointing to a specific location.

"...Goku, place it here," Kazuha stated decisively.

The martial artist did as was instructed, and to the surprise of all of them sans Kazuha, the orb lighted up, slowly intensifying until electro energy radiated outwardly, with electric currents flowing within the stone lantern.

The pieces of rubbles that were scattered around the foot of the pillar began to levitate, until it pieced themselves into the stone pillar.

It was only when the light shined brighter than ever did it become a confirmation that the ward was whole again.

"This is it! It's fixed!" Kaji shouted in excitement for the first time since they met him.

"How did you figure it out, Kazuha?" Heizou asked, curious of the method that Kazuha utilized.

"I merely felt the flow of the energy within the pillar," Kazuha said simply.

"That would do it. Though I did the same, you've already proven you are more acute in this aspect," the young Doushin complimented.

Kazuha said nothing in response.

Heizou then turned to Kaji, "Since we're done here. Where would our next destination be, my good man?"

"I am not your good man," Kaji responded, annoyed, "But if I remember it right, the closest one would be the ward near Serpent's Head."

"Serpent's Head?"

"It's the location where Lord Orobashi was slain," Kuhaku stated.

Now that certainly held Goku's attention.

---

Goku took in the scenery before him as he continued to walk with the rest of the group, not knowing how he should think based on what he was seeing with his own two eyes.

From where he was standing, he could see the long stretches of bones, all connecting from one part to another, at a size that was more than tens of times bigger than of his own. Then, his eyes finally settled on the gigantic skeleton that presumably formed Orobashi's head.

It was strange to him, for he did not know Orobashi personally, just the story that was described by Kokomi.

Yet, Goku could not help comparing the Serpent God to the Kami of his world.

Was this what would happen if Kami died? Would his parting gift be a curse that would spread out, causing more trouble as it went on?

Probably not, but Goku didn't really know. Before all this, he never really questioned much in regards to the role of a God, or what would happen if they were gone. All Kami ever emphasized was his training, and how paramount it was that he vanquished Piccolo.

It probably didn't make sense, but he at least hoped that Orobashi went out with no regrets in his last moments, as ridiculous as it sounded.

"Your expression speaks a thousand words, Goku. Are you conflicted upon seeing the remains of a God?" Kazuha chimed, having noticed Goku being less exuberant than usual.

"Don't know, I just feel kinda bad for Orobashi, dying like this. I get the feeling he wouldn't like the whole curse thing running around again either."

"Death has always been sudden, it is an aspect that none of us can predict, not even the Gods I fear. As for the Tatarigami, I have no insight on whether or not it was a choice made by Lord Orobashi in his last moments, as we are merely witness to the consequences after his passing."

No one uttered a word, not even Heizou who usually would have a comment about the situation.

Goku broke the silence as he had a question lingering in his mind with regards to his new friend, "Hey Kazuha, you're not part of the Resistance Kokomi takes care of right?"

"Technically, no. I'm more akin to a mercenary that willingly helps them out whenever it suits my needs."

Though the young samurai said that he had always been at the forefront of the battlefield alongside his friend Gorou, each strike of his blade meant to oppose the Shogunate that threatened to take their Visions away.

"Why do you fight them then?" Goku asked, interested in Kazuha's reason for fighting.

There was an air of melancholy as Kazuha began his explanation, "If you would believe it...I did not at the beginning. Rather, I was hesitating on my involvement to oppose the Vision Hunt Decree. Seeing as I was fleeing from pursuing officers that were after my Vision, I did not want to envision what it might entail if they knew I resisted."

At the beginning of the Vision Hunt Decree, tt was a struggle for someone as high-profile as he was, what with being the last heir of the Kaedahara Clan. Being constantly chased down by officers that aimed to confiscate his Vision.

He had even met some who had more…insidious intentions.

"What changed then?"

At this, Kazuha let out an unknowing smile as he continued on, "I had a friend, a very near and dear one at that. Unlike me who was reluctant to act on one's desire, he was the one who stood up and issued a challenge against one of the enforcers before the throne of the Raiden Shogun."

"A throne? You mean the one that was in Raiden's room?" Goku asked, recalling his memory of the scene.

Kazuha nodded, "Yes, and it is an important detail."

Goku did not think much of it at the time, as his only focus was on the battle between the two of them. That, and the fact he brought down the wall during his fight with Raiden.

"Why's that?"

"That is due to a certain rule that is absolute and eternal in the eyes of the Electro Archon; those who are defeated there will be executed by the Raiden Shogun herself."

Even Goku could tell what occurred just from the solemn expression Kazuha held as he spoke, "I guessed he didn't win huh?"

It was clear that whatever incident that ensued, Kazuha's friend did not come out of it in one piece. Rather, it was most probably where his final moments were.

"Indeed, it was a loss, and at the same time, not quite. Ever since he heard of its existence, he always held the desire to come face to face with the Musou no Hitotachi and withstanding its strike," Unexpectedly, Kazuha's smile returned before speaking once more, "Though he is now lost to living, it was his hope that burnt so bright that made me realize that I cannot simply allow it to be extinguished. That is why I fight, and the reason I oppose the Vision Hunt Decree."

"You're a lot better than I was about it, that's for sure," Goku praised.

This not only caught Kazuha's attention, but the rest of them as well.

"What do you mean?"

Goku looked up to the sky, the rain falling even now as he began, "Well, it was when I was fighting at a tournament two years ago. Right after it was finished, my best friend was murdered by someone…when I lifted his body, all I felt was how cold it was…how lifeless. After that, I was angry at the monster for doing such a cruel thing and chased after him right away without thinking of anything else."

The image of an angered Goku was one none of them could imagine easily, but Kazuha asked regardless, "You let your anger control you?"

"Yeah...looking back on it, my master was right in that I shouldn't have rushed out like that, but all I could think about at the time was that I had to avenge my friend's death. There was no way I would let a monster like that get away so easily."

"Then, what happened?"

"I met him, and when I did…all he did was mock my best friend when he realized who he just killed—he taunted me, saying how weak he was…it made me furious," Goku unknowingly tightened his fist at the memory, "Then I lost, because I was too caught up in my anger to realize I didn't have a lot of energy left, since I just had a big fight with someone really strong."

Unlike Kazuha's previous expression, Goku bore one that did not hint at any sign of failure, "Judging by your explanation, I would take it you eventually prevail, correct?"

"Yup, I had a rematch and I finished him off without a way for him to return," Goku stated simply.

The implication was not lost on any of them, most of all Kazuha who had dealt with such a thing for a period of time now.

"Revenge, it is something I might have thought of when my dear friend passed away. In that regard, I can understand why you did such a thing. Tell me Goku, how did it feel after it was done?"

Now that was a line of thinking Goku never delved into, not because he never tried, moreso at the time, his concerns and issues only magnified after that particular fight.

In fact, this issue had not been resolved yet, considering Piccolo was still very much alive back in his own world, reincarnation or not.

It took a while for Goku to reflect back on that moment, but the answer came out in the end as he responded, "Relief, I guess...but kinda empty at the same time."

Maybe he would become enraged again if someone important to him was gone once more, repeating the same mistake he had done in the past. Despite all the meditations and training he received at the lookout giving him a more...finer insight into the nature of life, he could not deny that it was still a possibility.

"I see."

For Kazuha, his eyes held no judgment on Goku's action, nor how he felt, there was only acceptance.

"Bah, you can talk all you want but if it wasn't for people like you, then this stupid civil war would be over already."

It was Kaji who voiced out his disagreement, interrupting the moment, "What gives you the right to make Yashiori Island your base, my home of all places. If it weren't for you, then my family would be able to live here in peace."

Kazuha did not flinch from the man's outburst, having expected such a reaction, "First and foremost, I extend my sincerest apologies to you Kaji, alongside the many innocents that have been dragged unnecessarily into this conflict. It is also why I will not seek forgiveness for what I have done or will do in the future.

"So what? You think this makes things right!?" Kaji yelled out angrily.

Kazuha shook his head calmly, "No, I do not. The moment I decided to tread on this path I have already accepted whatever fate has in store for me. After all, what I and the Resistance are attempting to do is most certainly not the eternity that the Raiden Shogun seeks. However, I have no intention of bending to the Vision Hunt Decree, as not only is it my desire, but others as well that wished for its abolishment. To do so now would extinguish that ray of hope that my dear friend had shined through for many that day."

Kaji was silenced, his frustration still present but he was unable to refute the young samurai either.

Believing that he was needed, Heizou joined in to calm the situation down, "You know, I might not agree with the Resistance's method but I do understand why out of all places in Inazuma, Yashiori Island was picked."

"And why's that?" a low growl threatened to escape Kaji's lip, his anger about to burst.

"It's merely a matter of geography, along with the many advantages that it brings with it," Heizou explained factually.

Kaji was almost in disbelief upon hearing such reasoning, "Just because of that!?"

"That is simply the nature of war. Wins there may be, but losses just as many if not more. It is the leader's role to maximize their chances of winning in the battlefield, and locations for camps are one of the important aspects of warfare. That said, no matter how competent a leader might be, there will always be losses on both sides," Heizou then turned towards Kazuha, facing him as he spoke, "Or do you have another insight into how the leader of the Resistance operates?"

"No, I do not. Her Excellency's thoughts are beyond even my understanding," Kazuha answered, denying his assumption.

"Yeah, Kokomi is pretty confusing at times but..." Goku trailed off before staring Kaji in the eyes, "After this whole curse thing is fixed, you won't need to worry about it anymore."

The sheer confidence Goku exuded caught even the still vexed Kaji off-guard, "What makes you so sure? There's no end to this damn war in sight."

"Cause I'll make sure it does."

There was no hesitance, nor any hint of doubt in his voice. To Goku, it was already a sure-fire matter, no matter how stacked the odds were against his favour.

If he did, then he wouldn't be Son Goku after all.

"Given what you plan to do, I am not surprised that you would say that. After all, you are the one and only person who had withstood the Musou no Hitotachi head-on, and lived to tell the tale."

Given Heizou already possessed this piece of knowledge, Kazuha felt no need to hide it as he brought this topic to the forefront. The others however…

"Wait what!?"

"That's impossible!"

Not so much.

Sounds of disbelief could be heard from both Kaji and Kuhaku, yet Goku could only focus on Kazuha's words.

Kazuha pressed on with his words, "Allow me to get to the heart of the matter, Goku, what you have done can be considered to be a first in the history of Inazuma. Truthfully, the importance of this event cannot be understated."

Goku couldn't quite believe that, since he was sure there were way more people who challenged her, as any good fighter would desire to do so, "It can't be that important...I mean, there's no way someone else didn't do it before, right Heizou?"

Having been addressed, Heizou answered, "No, Kazuha's right. In fact, the public would gossip like wildfire if they knew of this incident because it is just that hot of a topic. You need to understand Goku, the name Musou no Hitotachi itself brings an innumerable amount of infamy by itself, it's why the technique is revered so highly among the people."

Kazuha nodded in agreement, silently thanking Heizou as he carried on, "There will be a ripple effect once words spread of your survival. Before long, everyone will possess this bit of knowledge sooner or later."

Goku felt the need to correct them, "...but I didn't withstand Raiden's technique. Sure, I survived but it wasn't because I did it by myself or anything."

"That maybe so, but it is an achievement that will be lauded regardless, especially among the Resistance, just like how my dear friend once was," Kazuha then stared the martial artist squarely in the eyes, "Goku, you are the one who has braved the lightning's glow. This in turn, effectively makes you the hope that will inspire others into opposing the will of the Shogun herself. "

"No way."

It was firm, yet there was no frustration or anger in his words as he refuted Kazuha's claim.

"I don't know about being this hope, but it isn't gonna be me. I just want to do what I think is right and right now, I want to stop this whole decree thing that's happening in Inazuma."

In a way, Kazuha's words reminded Goku of Kami's, emphasizing that his actions somehow brought about change to a degree that he could never imagine.

But those were never his intentions, not even when he was fighting Piccolo Daimao.

He had always been simply following whatever he thought felt right to him, nothing more and nothing less.

That was why…

"And to do that, I'll figure out a way to beat Raiden's technique."

It was an absurd proclamation, but only to Kaji and Kuhaku. For Kazuha and Heizou, they had already expected such an answer given Goku's previous statement on wanting to fight the Shogun once more.

No one that spirited intended to fight a deity with the desire to lose.

"I am wrong then Goku, you...are unlike my dear friend," Kazuha admitted, now finally noticing the differences, something of which was privy to only him and no one else.

"Course not, he's him and I'm me. Ain't nothing more to it than that."

What a simple reasoning, but Kazuha could not find himself disagreeing with them.

"Now that this enlightening topic has concluded...Kazuha, do you sense something out of place here?" Heizou questioned, his expression turning serious at the very last sentence as he came to a halt, urging them to do the same.

Kazuha did not understand what the Doushin meant, until his ears picked up a strange noise...a noise that belonged to a creature that should not exist here.

"Ooh, I can sense it too. Guess we were too focused on talking to notice huh?" Goku remarked, looking in the same direction that the two Vision bearers were.

The only ones left in the dark were Kaji and Kuhaku, who were confused about what they were talking about.

None of them could see the creature from this distance, not helped by the rain considerably obscuring their line of sight.

Then, the three felt it.

The being was no longer rooted in their position, but instead heading towards them at great speed.

"Kuhaku, Kaji, calm yourself for what is about to happen," Heizou instructed.

The two didn't have the time to respond, as the creature had already arrived in their general location.

"Below!" Goku shouted aloud.

With quick thinking, Heizou grabbed Kaji and Kuhaku respectively by their collars as he moved away from their position. Meanwhile, Kazuha was prepared to unsheathe his sword at a moment's notice.

The ground beneath them crackled as the pieces of the land were launched upward, a hole now present for a split second before the creature revealed itself by jumping towards them.

Goku, having anticipated the surprise attack, smoothly got out of its attack range before jumping into the air, following the creature's line of trajectory.

Kazuha, who had intended to cut it down the moment it became visible, was forced to forsake that venture as his blade was used to guard against the creature's tail that had swung in his direction, sending him backwards.

Once the monster reached the peak of its jump, Goku took the opportunity to spin-kick its abdomen the moment it was about to fall back again.

The ensuing action was able to push the creature dozens of paces away from them, as well as throwing it off-balance in the process when it landed on the ground.

Having averted the sudden attack, they were given a temporary respite, as well as being presented a chance to clearly see what they were up against.

Kuhaku was the first to react at the opponent they were facing, "Is t-that a gigantic s-scorpion!?"

It was not the Resistance member who was showing fear at the sight in front of him, but Kaji too felt the same thing as he took a step backwards, "I've...never seen anything like this, in all my life living on this island."

It was indeed a scorpion, but one that was several times bigger than any of them, its claws sharp enough enough to cut them in half. What was more alarming than its size however, was the dark aura that was lingering around them, almost akin to a miasma that refused to go away.

Unnatural, that was what they all felt.

"This is an issue, we can't quite fix the ward if there's a monster sized scorpion prowling about," Heizou stated, his thoughts not just on the current issue, but on the other one as well.

"Then we will simply have to either drive it off, or cut it down on where it stands," Kazuha asserted, his blade at the ready.

"It's up again!" Kuhaku alerted.

Everyone readied themselves as the scorpion regained its balance, and upon relocating their position, immediately sprinting towards them at full speed.

While they prepared for the worst, It was Goku who gave them a simple reassurance as he now stood in front of them, "Don't worry, I'll handle this on my own while you guys take care of the ward."

Not that Goku did not think the others couldn't beat it on their own. He already knew Heizou was plenty capable on his own, and just from seeing Kazuha's stance he could also tell the young samurai was no stranger to combat.

The reason he wanted to do this by himself was because I really need to get a bit of exercise in. Ever since he had awakened, his body still felt stiff beyond reason, even with all the training he did with practicing the technique Heizou taught him, so a fight should get him back feeling better than ever.

Besides, fighting something new always excited him to no end.

Before any one of them could give their opinion on the matter, the martial artist already rushed off to meet with the monster head on.

Upon noticing the movement of one of its prey, the gigantic scorpion reeled in both of its claws, waiting for the moment to strike as the two came into blows.

The monster striked from both sides the moment he was within its range, with Goku countering by holding out both his hands, stopping its claws in its tracks.

With its claws rendered useless by its prey, the monster scorpion went for another option through swinging its tail, with the stinger at the forefront now coming down upon Goku, where both of his arms were preoccupied with the claws.

Mere moments before being hit by it, Goku lifted both his legs up, pushing himself off the ground thanks to his arms using the claws as anchors, before unleashing a drop kick at full strength.

This proved to be effective, as it was more than sufficient to push the monster off of him just like before, but this time Goku had a specific direction in mind.

The area in front of the Serpent's Head.

As the monster crashed onto the aforementioned location, Goku gave the group a confident grin before heading to continue his fight with the monster.

With Goku leaving their peripheral vision, Heizou was the first to speak up among them, with a plan already in mind, "I don't see much use in persuading him out of this, so I believe we best do as Goku suggested while he takes his time with his new...challenger."

Kazuha spoke up, having sensed something in the surrounding, "Heizou, you are able to locate the ward near us correct?"

"Of course. Even if I couldn't, we have our local expert here that will make sure to know that we are on the right track."

Kaji, who had just heard the particular comment, gave the Doushin an irritated look, while Kazuha let out a sigh of relief.

"Then I shall leave it to you. I can sense one of the components right underneath us, so I shall journey alone while you lead Kaji and Kuhaku to the ward."

Heizou activated his Vision as he tried to find the elemental trail that Kazuha saw, but came up short, "I can't say I feel the same thing as you do, but I do trust your keen senses, so feel free to do so and reconvene with us once you're done."

"I will."

With nothing more to say, Kazuha headed off to the group's left, only to stop at the foot of the cliff.

The young samurai studied the ground only for a moment, before identifying something was amiss as he let out a flurry of cuts downwards, causing pieces of metal to be sent flying upwards, revealing a square-sized hole for Kazuha to enter.

With little to no hesitation, Kazuha jumped down the gap, leaving the three on their own.

"Huh, I didn't even know there was a gap there," Kaji muttered to himself.

This did not escape Heizou's notice, "It was probably obscured by the natural foliage, so one might not notice it without stumbling upon it unintentionally...well, except for Kazuha that is."

After hearing the casualness in Heizou's voice and seeing for himself what they were capable of, Kaji was struggling with handling the differences between a normal person and Vision wielders.

"Is this why the Vision Hunt Decree was enacted?"

It was a question that no one answered, as Kuhaku was looking at the ground in silence while Heizou was more focused on what they should be doing.

"Let's not dally then. While I have confidence in Goku's strength and Kazuha's perceptiveness, I would like to finish our own roles before they finish with theirs. That way, we can have a bit of a rest before they come back," Heizou reasoned.

"Shouldn't we be helping them after we're done?"

"Now, why ever would we do that?" Heizou said, clearly jesting from the tone of his voice.

---

Goku stared down his opponent that held an appearance that was outwardly different compared to earlier. For starters, not only was the miasma still persisting out of its body, but there was now a layer of electric current coating it.

That was not the only thing, as electro energy also flowed erratically in and out of its claws, as well as its stinger that was poised to strike him when given the chance.

With the way it was cautiously observing him, Goku could tell that the monster was treating him less like prey, and more of an actual opponent, which worked just fine for Goku since he wanted it to show him everything that it was capable of.

Then, something unexpected occurred.

Lightning descended from above, but just as it was about one of the empty spaces around them, it curved slightly towards the monster, hitting it directly.

Though it was obvious that the lightning did not hurt the monster in any noticeable way, Goku found this little detail interesting and reminded himself to take note of it if it ever happened again.

It was a clue to a question he had been deliberating on, and he felt that this fight would definitely enlighten him on the matter, perhaps even allow him to find the answer he was seeking.

Besides, this wasn't going to be that easy of a fight considering how low his ki capacity was at this point. He could probably exert a single ki technique at most, and it was best to save his strength for now.

Perhaps using his new technique so much after just recovering wasn't the best idea.

Still, he was confident in his chances of winning, even when only relying almost solely on his physical strength.

It kinda reminded him of older times, of the days where he hunted wild animals in the mountains before a certain encounter that set him off on a journey for the dragon balls, which made Goku wonder how similar the taste of this monster would be to a regular scorpion…

His thoughts were disrupted as his opponent sprung into action, spinning itself on the same spot.

Goku initially found this strange, until he noticed the increasing number of stingers floating right above it, each one of them coated in electro energy.

It didn't take long for him to figure out what it was trying to do the moment the scorpion stopped spinning, and moments later those very same stingers flew towards him at a considerable speed.

A more cautious fighter would have backed away, but with the way they were moving, Goku knew he could dodge them just fine, and immediately ran forward.

While the stingers were numerous, Goku evaded each and every one of them as they flew past him, coming out completely unscathed as he came into close combat with the scorpion.

Upon sensing Goku's current whereabouts, the monster scorpion responded by doing something that Goku did not expect.

Instead of attacking him directly, it plugged its tail into the ground, electro energy surging as spikes of electro now surrounded him horizontally.

It could have worked, if it had timed its attack better.

Upon arriving at just a hand's reach from the radius of the explosion, Goku backflipped over it, before diving back downwards as he delivered a straight punch towards its head.

The gigantic scorpion was unable to react in time as Goku's fist connected, creating a crack in its exoskeleton.

The monster staggered, becoming dizzy yet at the same time, enraged at the culprit for daring to attack it in this manner as it swung its claw wildly.

Goku, having fought wild beasts so many times already, foresaw this coming as he calmly sidestepped its claws, not a hint of panic in his movements as he did so.

Frustrated at its inability to hit Goku after several attempts, the scorpion spun itself once more, only this time extending its tail all the way in the hopes of hitting Goku with the radius of the swing.

It succeeded, its tail having struck Goku, until it began squirming as it sensed the horrible situation it was in upon realizing it was unable to freely move.

This was due to the fact that Goku had not been tossed aside by its tail swing. Rather, he remained rooted onto the ground, with both his feet only skidding the ground the tiniest amount of steps.

Letting out a confident grin, Goku then grabbed ahold of the monster's tail tightly before lifting it from the ground.

Holding the monster's entire weight by himself, it its best wriggle out of Goku's hold, even trying to electrocute the martial artist judging by the lighting up of the stinger, but he shrugged it off as Goku had other plans in store for his opponent.

"ORRAH!" Goku yelled out as he begun spinning it in a circular motion.

This carried on for a while, with Goku continually swinging its tail around while the scorpion was left helpless in his grasp.

It finally ended when Goku released his hold. In doing so, caused the scorpion to be flung to the left jaw of Serpent's Head.

As rubble fell onto the giant scorpion due to the sudden collision, Goku checked both his opponent's condition and his body's condition after performing such a move.

For the monster, it was apparently still alive considering it was slowly shifting about, most probably still recovering from being thrown around so much.

As for himself, it seemed like he had not overextended himself by lifting such a huge monster, informing him that his physical strength was no doubt returning back to him rather quickly, despite his use of them being lacking in the past two weeks.

He could follow it up with another attack on his opponent, but felt that there was no need to as he still had yet to confirm something he really wanted the answer to.

With most of the stiffness in his body gone, he can more than hold out a while in a battle if it came down to it.

His train of thought was challenged as Goku saw the black miasma burst out from the consecrated beast, the intensity of its darkened aura so thick that Goku could almost see nothing but a ball of darkness.

Not only that, violet sparks of light complemented its new aura as it intensified as well, striking out in all sorts of directions before finally settling itself into the black miasma.

Goku had no clue on what this black miasma was, even when he and the others first saw it firsthand.

One thing was clear; there was no room for doubt that this black miasma was what granted the scorpion its newfound power.

Just then, lightning fell from the skies above, hitting the monster exactly just as the sound of thunder roared in the rain.

Instead of being mildly bothered like the last time, the lightning strike somehow empowered it even more, evident by the rise of intensity in the electro energy coursing through its body.

Goku should have been worried about the sudden increase of strength, but he was far too focused on something else to give it more than a second thought.

"That's it! I figured it out!" Goku said excitedly, shouting for no one to hear.

One second had not even passed after Goku finished declaring such a thing, that the beast had already launched its next assault.

---

"Strange, it has the same issue as the last ward."

What Heizou meant by his words was that the two components they had found last time...was the exact same things that were missing for this new stone lantern they were at.

The three were currently standing in front of the second ward, scrutinizing and identifying the issues as best as they could. No matter how thorough their investigation was however, Heizou could only come to one conclusion at what he found.

This was deliberate.

"Oh, and what's this?" Heizou said as he noticed a piece of paper that was on the ground beside the stone lantern.

As he turned to the front of the note, Kaji and Kuhaku joined him, both standing right behind Heizou as they too took a glance at the wet paper.

"The writing is muddied due to the rain, but something so trivial cannot escape my notice. If it were, then I would need to resign as a Doushin," Heizou commented before turning his attention back to the paper, "Anywho, let's take a look shall we..."

Silence reigned in as the three stood silently under the downpour, too focused on reading the note that even the drizzled rain did not bother them.

"What..does it say?"

Kaji could sort of make out what was written on the note, but the words he could identify did not give him a good impression of a certain group, which was why he needed confirmation from Heizou.

Then, and only then would he allow his anger to explode.

"According to this note, it seems that the Resistance had a hand in destroying the stone lanterns, all in what I can assume to be an attempt to revive their deity," Heizou surmised, his eyes never leaving the note he was holding.

Kaji could hold back his emotions no longer, "I knew it! I knew it was those idiots. If it weren't for them, then the Tatarigami wouldn't have been unseal!"

"Maybe it's some sort of mistake, it has to be," Kuhaku said unconvincingly.

The miner then turned to Kuhaku, "And one of them is standing right here," Kaji said angrily as he grabbed Kuhaku by the shirt, glaring at the young man.

The sole Resistance member cowered in fear, "B-but, I didn't have any idea of something like this happening at all!"

"Kuhaku is right, as the last bit of this note says that neither the Divine Priestess nor the lowest-ranking of the members have any ideas of it."

This certainly tracked, given that the Divine Priestess herself had not been on Yashiori Island for two weeks according to Goku's statement, and it must have been a small, yet selective group, given the fact that they did not bother leaving such sensitive information to the lower ranks.

This group wanted to keep this a secret, even amongst their own allies.

Why was that?

There was one clue that was the key to all this, as Heizou directed a question, "Kuhaku, do you know of anyone called Nathan?"

The young man flinched at the Doushin's question, before nodding slowly, "Well, I have heard of him before, but he's in another division entirely. All I heard from word of mouth is that he's a person from Monstandt. Why did you ask, is he mentioned in that note?"

"Yes, and his participation was not a small one, considering he was the one who informed this particular group on how to revive their God, which evidently was not what happened."

It couldn't have just been simple blind fanaticism. There was something more at play here, he just couldn't quite pin it down yet.

"Instead, they brought about the Tatarigami. When I find this Nathan, I'm going to wring his neck for telling those idiots at the Resistance to break the wards," Kaji remarked, his anger still prevalent.

Another crime scene wasn't on Heizou's agenda, "Let's not go that far. Besides, I intend to track him down by the end of this, as I have many questions for this person myself. Once I've ascertained his past intentions, and if they turned out to be malicious...then I will hunt him down to the end of Teyvat if I must."

The statement sent shivers to Kaji's spine, even if they weren't directly towards him, as in the short time that he knew of the Doushin, Heizou had never acted with such seriousness before.

It was a reminder that despite his nonchalant attitude, Shikanoin Heizou was still very much a Vision-wielder working under the Tenryou Commission.

"With Kazuha already searching for one of the components on his own, it's safe to say that the one in this direction would be the one we should be looking for," Heizou said, returning back to his usual demeanour as he beckoned the other two.

Kaji originally would have wanted to shout and yelled in anger at Kuhaku some more so that he was able to vent out his frustrations, but the desire died out after seeing a glimpse of Heizou's true feelings on the matter.

He needed to get rid of those thoughts, he should only think about them until after the wards were restored.

---

What laid before Heizou sure seemed like deja vu, quite a recent one at that.

As he and the other two stood atop the cliff, they noticed a very familiar sight that was below them.

Hydro dome.

Heizou didn't even need his elemental Vision to know that the component they were looking for was within the hydro dome, eventhough it was what led them to this direction in the first place.

What's more, mounds were scattered across the area at different levels of elevation, some near to their location and some far.

It would be amusing if it weren't for the fact that it was a deliberate choice made by a group of people who did not want anyone to know of this incident.

"How are we supposed to destroy the dome with those mounds separated so far away from each other?" Kuhaku questioned.

"You're too quick to throw in the towels Kuhaku. There's always more than one way to solve a puzzle."

After declaring as such, Heizou's Vision lighted up, and what accompanied was a small gust of wind surrounding him, before motioning into a kick. A ball of anemo energy solidified the moment Heizou's feet took off the ground, shooting it into the air.

The projectile flew into one of the many mounds situated in the area, but just as it was about to connect, it quickly swerved to the right, causing it to narrowly miss its target as it hit the nearby cliff..

"Looks like I'll need a bit more practice, considering the strong winds we're experiencing right now. Still, I think you get the idea right?" Heizou said, gesturing towards the location he just hit.

Kuhaku was the one who corrected him, "It hit, mister Heizou. I saw the mirror at the top get pushed down, which was what you were aiming for right?"

The Doushin stared at the Resistance member for a moment, only to give a friendly smirk moments later, "Correctly guessed, Kuhaku. I have to say, I didn't expect you to realize my other intention in that demonstration so easily."

There was a certain level of... gauging that came from Heizou. Whether or not Kuhaku realized it, he did not say as he simply responded to Heizou in a somewhat confident manner, "I'm not as observant as mister Kazuha, but my job includes a lot of looking at things in the distance, so my eyesight is pretty decent."

Kazuha nodded at the explanation, "Then I'll take your word for it. With a bit of finesse, we'll be done before we know it."

"Hey...why don't you just do the same thing like that guy before. Destroying the dome with your own Vision wouldn't be too different from how he did it right?" Kaji cut in.

Now that certainly was a question, one that Heizou happily explained, "Attempting the same thing as Goku? Perhaps it is possible for me to break it on my own, but I'm not much of a fan of brute-forcing it like he did. This is a much more complicated, yet interesting way of doing it."

Besides, Heizou suspected that the reason Goku succeeded in completely destroying the water dome was not just because the martial artist was utilizing his technique, but a combination of understanding and possessing the required power to neutralize the water from reforming back after being destroyed

"Fine, just don't complain to me when it fails," Kaji mumbled.

Though it was said in an annoyed tone, Heizou knew that there wasn't much bite to it as he gave off a playful smirk.

"If that happens, you have my full permission to rub it in my face."

---

Kazuha sheathed his sword skilfully as the sound of falling pieces of metal echoed throughout the tunnel he was in, until silence finally returned, with nothing but the noise of his lone footsteps accompanying it.

He had just finished off a few interesting...monsters so to speak, one of the mechanical kind. As to whether or not they were a threat, the scraps of metal behind him spoke for themselves.

It was nothing he couldn't handle, as he continued on his search for one of the missing components.

To think something like this existed underneath Yashiori Island. Not only that, it also escaped everyone's notice, even those that had lived here for all their lives.

He would be surprised, but he had already encountered similar situations in his own travels.

Kazuha stopped in his tracks upon reaching the end of the path, with flowing water pouring out from the wall.

What Kazuha found being drenched however, was a peculiar gem that was etched onto the floor, glowing erratically as it continually radiated small bursts of electro energy.

Having found his objective, Kazuha approached it slowly yet carefully as he extended his hand outward, before snatching it up quickly just as the energy was about to explode.

Fortunately, Kazuha was able to avoid the explosion just in time, as the spot that originally held the gem no longer emitted any sort of electro energy.

That did not mean he was unharmed however, owing it to the gem he currently held in his hand dispersing small bits of electro electric current.

Though the pain was noticeable, Kazuha had no time to relax, not only so that he would be able to deliver the item in question back to the group, but also to help Goku in his battle. While the martial artist had insisted that he was capable of fighting the consecrated beast by himself, that did not stop Kazuha from providing assistance if needed.

That, and he wanted to see Goku's combat prowess upfront.

Regardless of how it will go, he had something he wanted to entrust to Goku, believing that he might just be the one. The fight was more of a reassurance, if nothing else.

"I disagree with Goku, this is more strenuous than he implied," Kazuha said, looking at the stone in his hand.

---

"HAH!"

Goku let out a battle shout as his left fist connected with his opponent's own strike, neither of the two yielding from the confrontation as both tried to dominate the other with pure strength.

The resulting force created yet another small crater beneath them, adding one of many that had been made in the last few minutes.

Before, it was clear cut that his strength dwarfs that of the scorpion, but now it was actually matching him somewhat evenly in that department.

Goku had to admit, he underestimated the amount of strength the monster had gathered just because of the increased intensity of the black miasma. This was not even mentioning the random trails of electro energy firing at him from time to time that he had to look out for while fighting it in close combat.

Strengthened or not, there was still one aspect of battle the monster could not keep up with him in.

Speed.

As the beast swiped with its other claw, it was met with nothing but a blurred image of Goku sticking his tongue out.

Using its senses, the scorpion was able to locate Goku's new whereabouts, but it was too late as Goku had already positioned himself just below the scorpion's head.

With nothing but his right fist, Goku struck the consecrated beast in its abdomen, letting loose with everything he had as it was launched high up into the air, to the point that it reached the height of the top of Serpent's head.

No good.

Even putting all his strength in that blow, the layered aura protecting it was too thick for him to finish the job properly. Goku also doubted a fall from such a height would do it either.

The martial artist needed something less blunt like his fists, and something sharp...like a sword or something.

He had no time to dwell on what-ifs as he needed to follow up the attack with another one. Goku did so by launching himself into the air, catching up to the beast that was only now beginning to fall.

The scorpion, having rarely been air-borned even with its monstrous power, was predictably moving about restlessly.

As Goku was about to unleash another kick to slam it back onto the ground, something unexpected occurred, catching Goku completely off guard.

A sudden burst of electro energy discharged from its body, firing off towards every direction in a desperate move to harm the martial artist. Unable to do anything, Goku had no choice but to take it head on, the attack blasting him away from the beast as he fell back to the location he was just at.

Meanwhile, the resulting force propelled the scorpion onto the top of the head instead, giving it a softer descent in comparison to Goku.

Though he was hit by its lightning, Goku was able to maneuver himself back just fine as he landed back on the ground, both his feet firmly planted on the ground.

As he looked back up, he saw the violet light dimming ever so slightly, indicating that his opponent was exhausted after unleashing such an attack. With time to think, Goku thought it was best to plan his next attack.

His plan was immediately thrown away as someone else walked into the scene.

"It would seem your battle is not over yet."

Realizing it was a familiar voice, Goku gave a casual response, "Hey Kazuha, what are you doing here?"

"I've just completed my task, so I returned here to see if you require any assistance," Kazuha explained coolly, though Goku noticed that his body was poised for fighting.

"I can probably do it myself but the aura that thing has sure is annoying...hey Kazuha, how sharp is your sword?" Goku asked, an idea suddenly forming as he saw the blade in the young samurai's hand.

Displaying his sword for Goku to see, Kazuha then begun elaborating on it, "My sword is a common one, but I do take good care of it to ensure its sharpness is to my expectation. Are you perhaps in need of it?"

Goku folded both his arms across his chest as he gave an answer, "Yeah, it would be easier if you're the one to cut it down, compared to me hitting it over and over again."

Kazuha was the one to offer his help, but he would be lying if he wasn't expecting the opposite answer, "Here I thought you would reject my offer, given your previous insistence on fighting alone."

"Sure, but fighting a wild animal ain't really that fun compared to fighting real people. Plus, I already got what I wanted from this fight, so I just wanna have a meal now."

Kazuha did not understand what Goku meant by that last statement, but nodded nonetheless.

"Then you have my blade. What is our course of action?"

"I'll get back up there and throw it back down to you, so you just gotta get ready to hit it with everything you got, Kazuha. I bet it's resting right now because it spent so much energy fighting me," Goku explained.

A simple, yet effective method.

It suited the martial artist, Kazuha believed.

"Oh yeah, don't worry about getting hit by the lightning, I got a way to remove them for ya...hmm, Kazuha, you mind having me hold that thing for you?"

What Goku was referring to was the gem in his hand, where tiny sparks were still flying off even now.

Kazuha found his request odd, "Is there a specific reason for it?"

"Yup, it's gonna help me with testing something out."

Right after a detailed explanation was only followed by one that had none at all. Despite that, Kazuha found himself not bothered by this particular fact.

"Very well, though I advise caution, for we have no more than one needed to fix the ward," Kazuha said as he handed it to Goku.

Goku gave him a confident nod, "It'll be fine, trust me. Alright then, now that we got everything let's end this!"

The martial artist then got right back into it as he soared upwards, leaving Kazuha by himself who had started his preparations, both his eyes closed as he now focused all his senses on his surroundings, sensing even the smallest of movements while waiting for the decisive moment.

---

"If my prediction is correct, then there is only one thing to do. Kaji, would you do the honors?" Heizou asked politely.

"No thanks. Who knows what would happen if I do that," Kaji remarked, rolling his eyes.

"Suit yourself, I just thought you might have been bored with all this waiting around," Heizou said, giving a half-hearted shrug before standing just a step beside the mound.

With a quick left hook, causing the pillar to activate, indicated by its glow as it spat out a ball of electro energy towards the other mounds in the area.

As the electro ball gets reflected by one of the mirrors, not only was its trajectory changed, but its velocity as well. This process repeated itself several times, until the electro ball was finally in a direct course towards the water dome.

Unlike its initial speed, the one it was currently traveling at was several times faster, to the point that not even after one second after it had been reflected by the mirror, the projectile had already reached its final destination.

Upon coming into contact with the hydro dome, sparks flew wildly as the water quickly got chipped away by the force of the projectile, with the electro ball lingering at the surface area for only but a moment...

Then, it all dispersed, both the electro ball and the hydro dome.

What was revealed within the former water dome was a small hill, and what floated atop of it was a violet orb.

There was no mistaking that what they now saw was what they had been after.

"And there we have it. I say it's a job well done, don't you think gentlemen?" Heizou said as his usual confident smirk returned.

"Fine, I'll admit that your way of doing things did the job, but only this time," Kaji said begrudgingly, though he was inwardly relieved that everything went smoothly.

"Now we just nab it and see if Goku and Kazuha are done with their part."

If he was right, then those two should be wrapping things up on their end.

"Uh, how exactly are we gonna get down there, and then back up quick enough without hurting ourselves?" Kuhaku questioned, but no answer came as the other two did not give a response.

---

Upon reaching the top of Serpent's head, Goku was greeted by the sight of an unmoving giant scorpion.

One would assume that it had already perished from the overuse of its electro energy, but Goku thought otherwise as it was betrayed by its twitching legs, indicating that it was merely taking a rest.

Let's change that shall we?

The moment Goku took a step forward, the huge monster got back up upon sensing his presence, coating its body with electro energy, as well as the thick yet dark miasma accompanying it.

This in no way deterred Goku, who simply rushed forward.

Instead of attacking him from afar like before, the beast instead readied its claw as well as its tail, ready to strike the moment he got close.

Frankly, Goku thought it was a mistake.

What it should have done was continually barrage him with those electro stingers, given the fact that he was standing on a small area, meaning less space for him to move around. If it did that, then it would have a much better chance of actually hitting him.

Having hunted many animals in the past, Goku knew how they behaved on a fundamental level. It may have learnt from their earlier battle, but the monster was unable to understand why the circumstances now were different compared to before, and it will bring about its downfall.

It wasn't that animals couldn't adapt, it was simply that their thought patterns were far too simple to ever be considered as troublesome in a battle.

Once one got accustomed to a beast's way of thinking, then they were far less dangerous than they appeared to be, even if their strength was in abundance.

Neither jumping nor dodging to the side, Goku skidded off the ground, sliding right under it as he dodged the swiping claws as well as the tail that had stabbed itself into the ground, just missing its target.

Once Goku positioned himself behind the consecrated beast, there was only one course of action that needed to be done.

The martial artist leapt lightly before releasing a fierce roundhouse kick onto his opponent, the blow so strong that it was able to push the beast forward until it had no ground to stand on as it finally fell off Serpent's Head.

Of course, the beast did not take this lying down as it tried to cling towards any sort of foothold by stabbing its tail into one of Orobashi's Fangs...

Only for it to bounce off due to the fang's unexpected toughness, hastening its descent even faster.

Goku was just about to intervene by himself if the monster somehow stopped its fall, but it thankfully wasn't able to in the end after seeing what occurred earlier. Satisfied that the plan was going as expected, there was only one thing left for him to do.

---

Kazuha grabbed ahold of the handle of his sword tightly, having sensed the sudden shift of movement in the air.

Time passed as he saw nothing but darkness, but was able to identify his surroundings regardless due to the scent of the rain and the noise of his surroundings.

One...two...three...

It was only then and there that Kaedahara Kazuha opened both his eyes once more, as he leapt into the air, blade at the ready.

What he was greeted by was the sight of the consecrated beast, wiggling about helplessly despite its monstrous size, which gave Kazuha the perfect window to strike it down.

Realizing the precarious position it was in, the monster began gathering a high concentration of electro energy around its body, looking as if it were about to detonate on anything or anyone that dared approach it.

Kazuha was about to power through the attack as he knew a chance like this would not come easily, but quickly realized there was no need to when he saw the electro energy weakened considerably as it continued to fall.

No, that was not the right term...it was more so that it was being attracted by something else as electric current flowed upward to one specific individual in particular.

At the top of Serpent's Head stood Son Goku, with both his hands firmly clasped together. What was surprising to Kazuha was not his stance, but the fact that there was lightning dancing around the palm of his hands, one that the martial artist was in control of.

If one were to take a closer look, they would also be able to see a familiar gem placed right between the palm of his hands, emanating small bursts of electro energy among the flashes of lightning that was surrounding both of Goku's hands.

What's more, Goku's technique seemed to be absorbing the electro energy from the consecrated beast, effectively weakening it to the point that the thick aura that once protected it had become nothing but thin paper.

Strangely, even the intensity of the miasma had lessened. The reason was unknown to him, but Kazuha would not dwell on such a fortunate turn of event

Wind surrounded his blade as he began to unsheathe his sword, the pull of the wind so strong that it had swayed the scorpion to falled towards him with little to no resistance.

Once it was within range, the still struggling scorpion swung its tail wildly, its survival instinct kicking in as it knew that it had been corned.

Unfortunately for Kazuha, he could not have a clean hit against the giant scorpion due to the current circumstance, with its tail flailing about in a wild manner.

He will make do, regardless.

The first slash.

The scorpion hissed in pain upon losing its tail, for it had been severed and cut cleanly by Kazuha's blade, so much so that the separated tail was flung upwards instead of following the monster's descent.

The young samurai was not done however, for there was more to come.

Anemo energy surged as Kazuha swung his blade once more, this time aiming at the monster's abdomen.

The second slash.

It hissed in pain as his blade cut through its flesh, yet it did not mark the end of the consecrated beast, for Kazuha felt the wound he had just inflicted was not deep enough to end it entirely.

Knowing that it was not over, the best thing he could do now was to reposition himself for another attack, and he already had a location in mind.

As wind swirled around him, Kazuha proceeded to stab his blade into the monster's head, before gusts of wind blew out of the tip of the sword, elevating himself higher than the consecrated beast.

With a loud thud, the beast was sent slamming to the ground while Kazuha was aiming his blade at the correct angle just as he was about to fall.

Despite the damage it had received thus far, the beast was still able to move about despite the difficulty it was in doing so, presumably to escape his next attack.

It wasn't impossible to hit a moving target from this height, but it was no guarantee either with his limited maneuverability in the air.

Just as he considered changing his plans, a certain someone was determined to ensure that he stuck with it.

"Kazuha!"

The ever booming voice alerted him of Goku's presence as the martial artist descended from above, joining him in the air.

Kazuha did not understand Goku's intention at first, but it did not take long for realization to set in the moment the martial artist kicked the severed tail towards the scorpion, its stinger at the forefront of the fall.

Right after the beast moved a few steps forward, it was suddenly rendered immobile as the tail end of its body was nailed by its former tail, firmly holding it in place as it struggled to escape.

Kazuha silently thanked Goku as he readied his blade, his vision lit up for the last time in this battle as the wind slowly gathered around him. That was not all, as not only was the intensity of the wind increased, but Kazuha's action also swirled a portion of electro energy emanating from Goku's person towards his direction.

With his blade now dyed in a thin layer of deep violet, Kazuha steadied his breathing as he prepared for the final attack.

Then, he plunged downwards.

It was like lightning itself had descended from above, and as the blade struck the giant scorpion in its heart, the combined force of the wind, as well as the scattering of the electro energy blanketed the land for briefest of moments.

The aftermath was apparent, as the once desperate sound of a creature wanting to live remained no longer, its life extinguished for it was far too dangerous to be left alive. It was only when the scorpion became absolutely still, did Kazuha remove his blade from the body.

"Now that that's done, how about we go back to the others so we can all have a meal? I don't know about you Kazuha, but I'm starving right now," Goku commented as he landed just beside the monster's corpse.

To make his point, Goku's stomach growled at a sound level that the young samurai did not think was possible.

"Yes, though it might be a bit difficult to hunt given the current weather. We also have to fix the ward before anything else," Kazuha said reasonably.

"I get fixing the ward, but why would we need to hunt?" Goku questioned innocently.

It took only but a second for Kazuha to comprehend what Goku meant, noticing that the martial artist was staring at the corpse of the felled beast, very hungrily at that.

Kazuha...did not know how to respond to that.

Instead, he chose to observe Goku's appearance...more specifically, he was observing the gem that had been shaking about unsteadily, as if lightning itself was about to burst forth from within.

Noticing Kazuha's line of sight, Goku let out a laugh, "Ehehe, looks like it got stronger after absorbing both my technique and the energy from that monster."

"About that...may I know how you figured out the technique you employed would work as expected?"

"Easy, it's how I'm going to beat Raiden's technique," Goku declared simply, grinning from ear to ear.

Kazuha's eyes widened in surprise, for that was certainly not the answer he was expecting.

After uttering such a statement, did Goku suddenly remembered a small little detail, "Wait, if this thing has so much energy right now...doesn't that mean—"

Not one second had even passed since Goku uttered that question, did the weather itself answer in the form of a lightning bolt heading straight towards him.

---

Two individuals stood silently as they faced one another, not a single word exchanged between them as both wore grim expressions upon their faces.

It wasn't until one of them began to speak did their expression change to one of anger and disbelief, "Masanori, after everything we went through, even after exchanging an oath to be brothers in all but blood, you would betray me now?"

The other man shook his head, denying his friend's claim, "I'm not betraying you Kenji, I'm doing what's right! After knowing what the Shogunate has done to the people, I know I'm fighting for the wrong side...and I know deep down, you feel the same thing."

The man swiped his arm, denying such a claim, "Nonsense, we are a part of the Shogun's Army, and what our Almighty Shogun decrees we must follow to our very end...but it seems you have forgotten that, traitor."

"I refuse to be a part of the Shogunate any longer."

At his response, Kenji had only one thing in his mind, "Then I will cut you down right now, right here!'

"And I'll ensure that does not become reality, for both of our sakes," Masanori returned back, preparing his weapon.

Only the clanging sounds of metal could be heard afterwards, and would only be silenced once one among the two emerged victorious.

---

AN:

At the time of this writing, this chapter currently has the highest number of words. Yeah, that's about it. I mean, it's not like a long chapter like this one is gonna be a normal occurrence or anything, I hope. I like to think I write a chapter based on how fitting it is to end it at a certain point. I know that I could have cut this chapter in half, but I also really did not want to dedicate an entire chapter to fighting a consecrated scorpion (Yes, its size is described to be bigger than the in-game one, alongside a very noticeable-ish buff) because it already receives enough of my…attention on them in spiral abyss, especially the consecrated fanged beast.

On a mostly unrelated note, I recently just played both Octopath Traveler 1 (beaten the superboss) and 2 (have not attempted the superboss). Gotta say, I was not expecting to like it as much as I did, so much so that when I was writing this chapter, I kept relating Kazuha with Hikari (Warrior with a gentle demeanour) and Heizou with Temenos (Doushin/Inquisitor while doing detective stuff). I know they aren't the same characters, but it kinda helps me in characterizing them a bit clearer, though I'm probably just speaking nonsense and imagining the whole thing, perhaps I might be making them worse and I don't realize it. Anyway, probably gonna be the first and last time I mention this series on this fic so all I got to say is shoutout to Castti for ending up being my favourite character out of them all!

Extra Extra Note: Someone in the reviews asked whether or not I have a discord server, and all I can say is, I don't and I have no intention of having one either, so sorry in advance and in the present if you were expecting otherwise.