Everyone gathered at the Kamisato Estate, thinking about what to do next.
"I think we should first focus our combat strength..."
"Right now, the combat forces we’ve got under clear eerie control include Sayu and Arataki Itto. Their eerie-triggering rules are relatively well-understood..."
"As for Arataki Itto, it’s pretty easy to trigger—just feed him beans," Aether said.
"But for Sayu... are we really going to have her fall asleep right on the battlefield? And then rely on enemy attacks to wake her up, triggering the eerie corruption so she attacks them?"
"In theory, that’s possible—but it’s way too unstable..." Su Yuan said worriedly.
"What if Sayu just gets killed in her sleep?"
"So, everything still needs to be carefully planned out..."
"At the very least, for now, Dottore has vanished, and Raiden Ei, though she’s lost the puppet body of the Shogun, is at least able to act on her own again..."
Su Yuan then looked over at Kazuha, who was unconscious and lying on the side, and said:
"So what’s Kazuha’s situation exactly? He hasn’t shown a single sign of movement..."
"Yeah, it really doesn’t make sense. If he’s fighting with the Shogun puppet for control of the body, there should be some sign of a struggle..." Paimon said, also confused.
"Could it be that this young one perished alongside the Shogun puppet’s consciousness?" Ioroi spoke up.
"If not for the fact that he still has breath and a heartbeat, I would’ve thought he was already dead."
"Ei, can you check what’s going on?" Su Yuan asked the Raiden Ei within him.
"Alright." Raiden Ei spoke, then promptly shifted her consciousness into Kazuha’s body.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Kazuha slowly opened his eyes and stood up from the ground.
"I am Raiden Ei..." Kazuha said.
"This is truly strange—Kazuha’s body right now feels like an empty shell..."
"There’s neither the Shogun puppet’s consciousness nor his own within it..."
"Ah—no way, did Kazuha really perish together with the Shogun puppet?" Paimon couldn’t believe it.
"That’s probably not the case..." Raiden Ei continued, speaking through Kazuha’s body.
"If their minds had fought intensely and perished together, there should have been some trace left behind..."
"Kazuha’s body right now feels more like... both his and the Shogun puppet’s consciousnesses were extracted by something else..."
"So, you’re saying... their consciousness—their souls—were taken away by someone using some special method?"
Su Yuan fell into thought, recalling the scene at the time.
It didn’t seem like anyone had approached Kazuha’s body... so how could their consciousnesses suddenly vanish?
"Speaking of which, I’ve been meaning to ask you all—where is Yae Miko?" Raiden Ei asked.
"With something this major happening in Inazuma, even if I was caught up in unforeseen circumstances, why hasn’t she made a single move?"
"We actually went to the Grand Narukami Shrine to look for Yae Miko right at the beginning..." Su Yuan said.
"But we didn’t find any sign of her at the shrine—only a pink-haired little fox that really loves fried tofu..."
"We’re not exactly sure what’s going on, but it’s probably safe to say that fox was Yae Miko."
"Miko turned back into a fox?" Raiden Ei asked with visible confusion.
"Yes," Su Yuan nodded and said, "At first, I thought that the appearance of these departed individuals in Inazuma, and Miko turning back into a fox, was due to some kind of time reversal..."
"Just like how the Shogun puppet believed Dottore’s lies and built the so-called Statue of a Thousand Arms and a Hundred Eyes, seeking the power of the time-governing Archon, Istaroth, in pursuit of that so-called true eternity..."
"And Yae Miko turned back into a little fox because she was affected by the power of this time reversal..."
"But now, looking at it, something as unreasonable as turning back time couldn’t possibly be that easily achieved. The so-called resurrection, the so-called eternity, all of it is just a smokescreen Dottore created!"
"That does seem to be the case," Raiden Ei nodded using Kazuha’s body.
"In that case, there’s only one possibility left—Yae Miko turning into her current form isn’t because of some time-reversal effect..."
"Rather, it’s because her power and cultivation were completely exhausted, causing her to lose her consciousness and rendering her unable to maintain human form, reverting instead to her original appearance as a fox..."
"As for why this happened, it’s possible her power was taken from her by someone else, or perhaps she went through a fierce battle that drained her entirely..."
"But either way, this isn’t good news for us..."
"With Inazuma in its current state, and without her by my side to advise me, I can’t help but feel like something important is missing..."
"But regardless, I’ll temporarily borrow Kazuha’s body for now. I’ll first head to the Grand Narukami Shrine to check on that little fox, and then return to Tenshukaku to take charge of the situation..."
In a clinic somewhere in Inazuma, Kuki Shinobu expressed her gratitude to the doctor, then turned to Arataki Itto and said:
"Boss, your arm has been reattached."
"Oh? It’s all fixed already? Thanks, doc! Thanks, Shinobu..." The effects of the anesthetic hadn’t fully worn off yet, and Arataki Itto spoke in a dazed voice.
"Shinobu, I’m so hungry right now. Hurry up and take me to get something to eat..."
"Once I’ve had a good meal, your main man here will be back to full strength, and then I can go regroup with the Traveler and the others!"
"Seriously, I can’t let that flying lavender melon look down on me!!!"
"Sigh... Boss, even now, you’re still arguing with Paimon..." Kuki Shinobu let out a sigh, clearly a bit exasperated.
Then, Kuki Shinobu took Arataki Itto and headed toward the Kamisato Estate.
As they passed through Inazuma City, they noticed that a ramen shop was actually open!
And judging by the signboard, it even seemed to be a new place...
"That’s really unusual. At a time in Inazuma, with all the shops closed, someone’s actually opening a new restaurant?" Kuki Shinobu said, a bit puzzled.
"Shinobu, this ramen smells amazing! I want this one!" Arataki Itto jumped up excitedly, just like a little kid.
Seeing Itto , Shinobu could only go along with it and turned to the shop owner:
"One bowl of ramen, please!"
"And also—don’t add anything related to beans. My boss is an oni, and he’s allergic to them."
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