Chaos reeked in the shrine. It dawned on his mind. What was happening? What caused this havoc?

The shrine maiden danced elegantly, evading every projectile thrown at her. When she found the opportunity, she gave the opposing threats no room to counter.

“Attack Skill: Fantasy Shine!”

She glowed brightly. Both Yuuki and Miharu groaned in pain at the mere presence of the shrine maiden’s ability. It forced the trickster to create himself a portal to hide behind. He invited Miharu to avoid further pain.

The enemies fell from the skies, their wings rendered useless, and their desire to fight withered.

Kotaro observed the winged creatures, fascinated by their bird-like appearances.

“I wouldn’t come any closer,” warned Riku. She approached the weakened foes. “State your business attacking the shrine.”

Their faces distorted, fueled by anger. Hatred clouded any signs of logic.

From the skies, another of those winged creatures dropped to his knees. This one appeared more human than his avian companions, and he carried four wings.

He raised his head and cupped his fist with respect. “Greetings, I should apologize for not watching my tengu brothers. Their hatred for you lingers.”

“You should put them on a leash next time, Hayato Yaarashi,” Riku retorted.

He swallowed his pride for his tengu kins. Fighting her would be foolish. “I have originally been sent here to give you a message.”

She remained indifferent. “Still playing the messenger?”

Unfazed, he continued the report. “Sylvan Supreme Joe wishes to meet the outsider in person.”

“So he can kill Kotaro, himself?”

“I cannot—”

“Kill the outsider! Kill the outsider!” exclaimed the tengus.

“Silence!” Hayato roared.

Kotaro frowned at their comments, but Noel assured him with a touch on the shoulder. Their clouded anger was temporary.

“Leave, Hayato. And tell Joe that if he wants Kotaro, he must go through me to do so.”

“Riku, it’s best to turn in the outsider. If you declare another incident, you not only bring destruction to Sylvia but create enemies among the Infernians,” Hayato warned.

“So he plans to sell Sylvia’s rights to Infernia? That justifies my reason to revoke his title as Sylvan Supreme.”

The warning wasn’t enough, but it couldn’t be helped. She was fighting for her people. “Then I’ll see you at Shiro Enma.”

“It will not be pleasant, Hayato…”

The four-winged tengu stood up with the rest of his brothers, and they soared to the skies. Riku sighed in distress.

“It has finally come to this…”

Riku turned to Kotaro. “So you decided to come back…”

“News spread like wildfire here in Densetsu. You are now the center of attention. The Sylvan Supreme sees you as a threat, and the Infernians want to experiment on you.”

He had made his choice. There was no turning back. Answers of the past lingered in this world, and he yearned to search for them.

Yuuki snapped his fingers. Rifts opened from the shrine, easily transporting whoever came across them. Yesterday’s crew took this opportunity and accessed the portals.

“This is the first time you have summoned us in such an urgent time.” First came the vampire and her maid. Between her fingers, she pulled an envelope. “Your handwriting is terrible. Victoria had a hard time reading it. You should learn a thing or two from her.”

“You praise me too much, mistress…”

“What? It’s true, though!”

The oni rested his arm around the trickster’s shoulder. “Yuuki-boy, why’d you run away? You don’t want to drink with me anymore?”

Another portal emerged below, and Yuuki dropped into it.

“And he’s gone again…”

The black-and-white magician tipped her hat and grinned. “You decided to come back, huh?”

She approached the outsider, extending her hand to him. They shook hands. Energy surged through his arms, the same feeling he felt when Riku did the same.

“It’s not much, but it’ll help you.”

Never seen entities perceived into his sight. Wisp-like flames resided in everyone.

“Is this reiki energy?”

Melissa nodded. “That’s right! It should help you in the future.”

The shrine maiden began taking to the skies, accompanied by the vampire and her maid. Noel followed them from behind whereas Fuuko vanished into his mist.

“Looks like everyone is leaving.”

The black-and-white magician sat on her hovering broom.

“Wait, what about you, Miharu?” Kotaro asked.

The Legend hid her face under the paper fan. “As a Legend, I am bound by the rules. I cannot participate in this quarrel. Instead, my retainer will take my place. He will arrive shortly.”

Kotaro joined the magician, and they accelerated into the skies. The initial burst of speed startled him—he held Melissa close to his clutches, overwhelmed by the achieved heights and elevation.

Miharu watched their silhouettes disappear into the horizons. Briefly alone, the trickster returned from his portal.

“Running away from your problems, like always…” Miharu remarked. “One way or the other, he will discover the truth. It’s only a matter of time until it is revealed.”

“It’s sad…” she added, “after he finds out, you two are bounded by fate to fight.”

“That’s a good theory, but we will never know what kind of future awaits for us all.”

They glanced at each other, and the silent tension grew more intense. Yuuki lost the staring contest. “Joe is blinded by fear and hatred. He’s just a puppet for the main culprit.”

“Changing the subject, are we?” She drew closer to the trickster. “You think this is the same culprit responsible for killing the Dragon Legend, Draco?”

He could hide it all he wanted, but Miharu saw through his facade. Anger was slowly seething in him, ready to erupt.

“To top all that, the culprit has his eyes on Ko—”

He choked her head clean. That would prove to be pointless.

Death meant nothing for Miharu when she was already dead to begin with. Her headless body rushed to recover her decapitated head.

“Hey, that was mean! I was trying to talk to you!” she whimpered.

“I’m sorry, but aren’t you the ghost princess?”

She snorted loudly, her brows furrowed, and her arms flailed. “I’m just as important as you! I help the dead reincarnate.”

Annoyed, he disappeared into his portals once more. This would only fuel her anger.

“Yuuki Nohara! You big meanie! I hate you so much!”