"Not dead? I regret not checking thoroughly last time. But if I see him again, I'll make sure he disappears from this world without a trace."
With that, Senba Gari picked up a wooden stick and swung it at the corpse's head. Phantom also began attacking the corpse's head. After its head was smashed, the corpse fell and did not get back up. As they continued their assault, fewer and fewer corpses remained active. When the last one fell, Senba Gari's expression was calm.
"Phantom, even though these villagers are already dead, we have to carry the burden of their deaths."
"Master, I understand how you feel. I'll do my best to find him."
"Let's go."
With that, he set off on Phantom.
"Master, including this one, there are three villages in the surrounding area. Where should we look?"
"Yeah, we have to hurry. I hope the villages haven't been attacked."
Senba Gari sped up and headed toward the villages. When they reached the second one, it was just as silent as the first. Were they too late? "Phantom, let's deal with this quickly and move on to the next village." Just like the first village, its residents had turned into living corpses. Senba Gari looked at a corpse over a meter tall, lying at his feet. He could almost see the child who had been happily running around the village yesterday. His expression grew ever calmer, but the trickle of blood from his hand revealed the mounting fury within him.
"Phantom, let's go to the next one."
He mounted Phantom and headed for the last village. Blue flames burst from Phantom's exhaust pipe as it raced toward their destination.
"Help! Somebody, please save me!"
"Yuxiu! Wake up! It's Mom!"
"Mom... Mom. Waaah..."
When Senba Gari arrived, this was the hellish scene that met his eyes. The monster from before hovered in midair, catching villagers with its tentacles. As its right-hand claws pierced into their heads, its victims' bodies quickly shriveled up, collapsing motionless onto the ground. Then the eyes of the already-shriveled corpses suddenly opened, glowing red as they rose and attacked the remaining villagers. Nearly half of the villagers still alive had blood-red eyes and looked crazed and terrified. They kept destroying anything nearby they could, or attacking themselves. Only a small number of people frantically ran for the exits. The villagers who couldn't bring themselves to abandon their families were hurt and killed by the very relatives they had once loved.
"Damn it, Phantom, save them! Manifest! Transform!"
"Armor Manifestation—Armed—Garuda"
As the mechanical voice rang out, Divine's fiery wings spread behind him, and he flew toward the monster. At the same time, flames shot from the wings, striking the corpses' heads. Phantom raised the laser sword in its right hand and attacked the corpses, while firing chains from its left hand to restrain the frenzied villagers. And so the battle began.
The monster swung its tentacles, streaks of black wind coiling around them as they lashed at Divine. Divine flew upward to dodge, then kicked the monster. It drifted back only a short distance, easily absorbing the force of the blow.
"Are you stronger than last time? That won't change the fact that I'm going to defeat you."
The monster hovered in midair and looked at Divine, then seemed to realize something.
"Oh, you actually found this place. I suppose those two lairs have been discovered. Ithaqua really is useless."
"You can talk? So you've gained intelligence. Then what are you? What's your purpose?"
"My name is Hastur. I am a great being who commands the wind. I will cleanse this world of its corruption and bring purity to it."
As Hastur spoke, gusts of black wind formed around them. The howling wind sounded like a sinister laugh.
"Hastur, huh? But your idea of cleansing is just destruction. It suits your aura, at least. Now die!"
"Weapon Manifestation—Flame Feather Blade"
A ball of flame appeared in Divine's hand. It changed shape, and the Flame Feather Blade took form.
"Those who cannot be understood should simply disappear."
Hastur lashed out with its tentacles and charged at Divine with its claws. Divine swung the blade to block the tentacles, then kicked at the claws Hastur had swung toward him, neutralizing its attack. He immediately turned and slashed across Hastur's abdomen, forcing it back as he gained some distance and flew higher. Flames shot from the wings on his back and raced toward Hastur. Hastur gathered the black wind and scattered the flames before charging at Divine again. Divine took out a finisher card and inserted it into the slot.
"Weapon Finisher—Charge—Exploding Phoenix Flame Feather"
Flames blazed along the feather patterns on the Flame Feather Blade, gathering in midair into the shape of a giant blade. Divine raised the flaming greatsword and charged at Hastur. As he swung at it, black wind surged from Hastur's body, and it transformed into wind that swept past Divine. Hastur re-formed behind him, grabbed his leg, swung him in a circle through the air, then hurled him to the ground. The earth shook with a crash, and a deep crater formed where he hit.
"Damn it, the gap between us is pretty big."
Divine struggled up from the crater and wiped his left forearm. A faint glow appeared, and the Beast Soul Bracelet materialized on his arm. He pulled the Garuda card from the Beast Soul Driver and inserted it into the slot on the bracelet.
"Awakening—Soul of Flame Feather"
"Ahhhhh!"
Divine threw his head back and roared. A column of fire appeared around him, followed by a piercing bird cry that rang through the sky. When the flames faded, the awakened, beast-transformed Garuda stood in his place. Its wild eyes stared viciously at Hastur. Then it sprang forward and flew toward him.
Heart of Moving Forward (7) (submitted by reader Yuan Yi Xin Fei)
(Weather's tip: I can't be bothered to give a tip.)
With Divine appearing in his awakened state, a new battle began. Divine, wreathed in flames, charged Hastur, who was wrapped in black wind. When they collided, the sky erupted in a tremendous explosion and a flash of fire. Flames swept through the storm, and the storm scattered the flames. Their eagle talons and claws clashed, sending sparks flying as they fought like beasts. Hastur whipped up a storm, a hurricane coiling around him as his tentacles repeatedly struck down blades of wind. Divine spread his wings and sent out roaring flames. They charged at each other again and again, crossing paths and separating. On their next pass, Divine let out a long cry, then spun around, gathering flames into a fireball as he charged at Hastur. Hastur brought its tentacles together into a cone and surged forward through the hurricane like a drill. Their collision resounded with a tremendous boom, and two balls of fire fell to the ground.
"That's enough for today. But my cleansing will come, sooner or later. You can't stop it."
With that, Hastur turned into wind and vanished.
As the flames faded, Divine reverted to Senba Gari. He struggled to his feet, barely able to support himself.
"Damn it! Why did he get so strong? No, I have to defeat him, or else..."
With that, Senba Gari collapsed and passed out.
When Senba Gari woke up, several villagers were gathered around him.
"Are you all right, young man? Thank you for saving us."
"I'm fine! Wait, what about everyone else?"
The people around him fell silent.
"What happened?"
"Master, the villagers who turned into Ithaqua were destroyed. They're preparing to bury them all together. But the villagers driven mad by that monster have all taken their own lives."
"What?!"
Senba Gari's pupils contracted at the reply. He looked around and saw the surviving villagers carrying corpses or embracing their dead loved ones as they wept. The destroyed houses and belongings all around them bore witness to the monster's crimes. Senba Gari walked among them, taking it all in. The more he saw, the angrier he became. He clenched his fist and punched the wall beside him.
"Damn it!!!!"
With a roar, Senba Gari shed tears, his eyes filled with guilt and anger.
"If only... if only I'd realized sooner."
As the bodies were gathered together, the funeral began, and Senba Gari helped. The villagers lowered torches, and the deceased were swallowed by flames. The people around them prayed that they would find peace in the next life, free from suffering. Senba Gari walked up to the pyre and bowed three times to the dead. When he stood, his eyes were filled with resolve.
"I'm sorry. This is all I can do, but I'll carry your grudge for you. I won't let him harm anyone else. May you rest in peace."
Just then, an elderly villager came over to Senba Gari.
"Young man, thank you for saving us! And thank you for paying your respects to their departed loved ones! Thank you!"
"Sir, I'm sorry. If only I'd gotten here sooner..."
"Young man, don't blame yourself. There's only so much a person can do, especially against a monster that vicious. The fact that we're alive is the greatest gift heaven could give us. And from the way you wield your power, you must have something more important to do, don't you?"
"Yeah. Don't worry, sir. I won't let that monster go. I'll avenge the villagers!"
"Good. Be careful, young man. That monster is incredibly powerful, so don't let your guard down. May heaven keep you safe."
With that, he looked back toward the pyre, longing and sadness in his eyes.
After saying goodbye to the villagers, Senba Gari set off for home.
"Hastur, huh? There won't be a next time. I'll have to get that idiot Geki to help."
In an open clearing, a howling hurricane took the shape of Hastur. Marks left by the flames still scarred its body. As more and more wind gathered, its wounds visibly healed. The wind then transformed into a yellow robe, which settled over its wrinkled body.
"Interesting. If I hadn't held back my power, he might actually have destroyed me."
Several lumps of flesh emerged from its body and fell to the ground. Whirlwinds gathered around them, and the flesh began to multiply and grow. Before long, several strange monsters had appeared.
"Ithaqua, Lloigor, Zhar, go cleanse the corruption."
At Hastur's words, the monsters vanished. Some turned into wind, others burrowed into the earth, and others flew off into the sky. Hastur disappeared as well.
In a dense forest, Takai Geki sat cross-legged on the ground.
"Your biggest weakness is control. Both your attacks and the force you use to restrain your opponents are too loose. You'll only get beaten and suppressed like that, and it'll be easy for your enemies to escape. First, calm yourself and use your senses to detect the elements in the air around you. Then observe how they move."
Cirno sat in a tree and spoke to Takai Geki, who was meditating. As he listened, he thought back over his last two failures, then followed Cirno's instructions and tried to sense his surroundings. But all he felt was the cool breeze against his skin. Nothing else changed. After a long while, Takai Geki opened his eyes.
"I can't sense anything. This is hard. Ow! Why'd you hit me?"
Cirno lowered the branch in her hand and looked at him disdainfully.
"Did you think an idiot like you would learn that quickly? Focus and try to sense the elements. Start by feeling that they're there, then use the power you already have to try."
After listening, Takai Geki closed his eyes again and summoned the Dual Beast Soul Driver into his hands. As he focused on connecting with the device and resonating with the beast soul within him, strange colors began to appear in his mind. Bright, gentle specks of light drifted through the air—red, yellow, green, blue. Layers of color swirled around him, forming a beautiful, peaceful scene.
"I can see them, the elements. They're beautiful."
"This isn't the time to marvel at them. Watch how they move and change, then try to communicate with them. Make them change according to your will."
Takai Geki watched each element carefully. The red element was warm and lively: fire. The blue one was calm and pure: water. The yellow one gave off a sense of solidity: earth. The green one was nimble and vibrant with life: wood... The elements intertwined and flowed, dancing joyfully to form the fundamental shape of nature. Takai Geki reached out to touch them, trying to communicate and gather them in his palm. As specks of light settled onto his hand, it began to glow faintly. The light was gentle and warm, like a mother nature's loving caress. But when Takai Geki trembled, the light scattered.
"Looks like you failed. You were too impatient."
"Not bad. You're making progress."
Takai Geki smiled at Cirno. Just then, his phone rang.
"Idiot Geki, where are you? I need to talk to you about something urgent."
"Really? I need to talk to you too. Meet me at our usual place."
With that, Takai Geki hung up.
"Who was that?"
Cirno asked curiously.
"My companion. Someone just like me."
"Oh? Then let's go. I'd like to see someone just like my idiot servant."
With that, she took the lead and flew into the air.
"Wait, we shouldn't fly there. It'll attract too much attention. And can you hide your wings?"
Takai Geki stopped Cirno and spoke with some embarrassment.
"Asshole Shou, over here!"
When Senba Gari arrived at a restaurant, Takai Geki waved to him from the entrance.
"Phew. Idiot Geki, I found a serious problem. If we don't deal with it soon, things are going to get really bad. Who's this?"
With that, Senba Gari looked at Cirno.
"I'm this guy's master, Cirno!"
With that, she proudly puffed out her chest. As her chest lifted slightly, Senba Gari blushed.
"Hello!"
Cirno had long blue hair that fell down her back, and a blue bow behind her head accentuated her youthful energy. Red-rimmed glasses gave her a gentle air, and her eyes shone with intelligence. Her blue-and-white dress and black stockings made her look as cute as a girl next door.
"Idiot Geki, how did you end up as her servant?"
Senba Gari quietly asked Takai Geki.
"She's the one who hurt me that time. But she's not a bad person, and with me around, she'll be fine. Besides, she can turn into this adorable little girl! Heh heh heh (*ˉ﹃ˉ)."
"That last part is your real reason, isn't it? Idiot Geki, you'd better watch yourself. Otherwise, you'll get into trouble."
"Don't worry, nothing's going to happen."
"What are you two whispering about?"
Before you continue