Chapter 59 – Ariyani, the Ishvara of Woods

WHEN THE BLINDING LIGHT SUBSIDED, Daisuke found himself lying on a nice, relaxing patch of grass. It was so comfortable that he never wanted to ever get up again. He was looking at the bluest sky he has ever seen and the flowing clouds made the scenery even more serene.

“Isn't this place great? Right, guys?” Daisuke looked around and saw that no one else was around.

Daisuke stood up and realized that there were no tall blancipresses around either. He tried to recall what he was doing outside. He looked at his arms and remembered that he had mana bruises that Brunnhilde was trying to heal.

He tried to use his power but nothing happened. In fact, he could not feel his mana at all. He could also not feel the pain from the mana bruises.

Maybe he’s just dreaming. Maybe it’s just the effect of the runic circle.

The wind blew and it was as refreshing as the winds at the Eastern Beach of Maria Island. It made him want to lie down again.

But wait, he felt the wind. He pinched himself and it hurt. He touched the ground and felt the blades of the grass, he could even smell them.

“Oooookaaaay,” Daisuke started to panic.

Daisuke walked aimlessly, but it was just an endless field of grass and hills on the horizon. He walked, ran even, for an hour, at least that's how it felt for him, but there was nothing else.

From time to time, the clouds would block the sunlight. But it was not particularly hot. Thanks to the continuous breeze, he was being refreshed.

Daisuke lay down again. He stayed like that for hours. Weird, even the sun was just at the same spot. When did the sun even get there?

His stomach started to growl. Great, he could feel hunger. Where will he get food though?

He stood up and for the first time, he saw something different, and hurriedly went towards it.

Daisuke suddenly saw a single coconut tree that was abundant with coconuts. He quickly scaled up the tree and managed to pick a bunch of it. With his bare hands, he actually managed to open the coconuts. He first drank the water inside then opened it up fully and ate the flesh.

For some reason, it was the best coconut he ever had. He actually finished all the coconuts in that single tree. His empty stomach made him forget his peculiar circumstance for a while. Now that he was full, he’s back in wondering what in the world was going on.

And then a surge of mana occurred.

Daisuke jolted and looked in the direction where the surge came from. Not too far, he heard a wailing infant. He went towards it and saw the infant, covered in what seemed to be the skin of a certain fruit, floating on a mirage.

He picked up the infant and tried to calm it down. As soon as the baby stopped wailing though, another surge of mana occurred. He protected the infant from the surge, but when he checked on the infant he was carrying, the infant has already vanished.

Daisuke looked for the source of the second surge.

As he looked behind him, he saw the Shrine of Maria. The elven council was all lined up together, and at the shrine itself was a kid with ash-gray skin and hexagonal patterns, and all around the shrine were various plants and trees.

Another surge of mana occurred and the next thing he saw was himself fighting Siegfried back at Colosseum Empire. He tried to save Siegfried from himself, but before he could intervene, another stronger surge of mana occurred that almost knocked him back.

The image of himself and Siegfried disappeared, and what he saw next on the grassy field were the shadowy Diabolia and himself naked, sporting an ash-gray skin, hexagonal patterns all over his body, and trees on his back, arms, and legs.

He witnessed that version of him shoot an orb of green energy towards the Diabolia that exploded and killed it.

Daisuke then winced as he felt a sharp pain in his arms. Was it the cause of his mana bruises? He could not recall that event. After getting burnt, the next thing he remembered was waking up outside the castle where snow was falling.

Really? That’s the next thing you remembered? A weird voice, or voices, said. Almost as if multiple people were speaking the same thing all at the same time, all in a different tones. And in different languages?

Daisuke looked around and saw no one. The sharp pain in his arms subsided. “W-Who…Who’s there?”

No one answered.

Daisuke tried to pick his memory for anything that could help him. Then, it occurred to him. The voices he heard sounded familiar.

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Warmer...

Daisuke remembered the voice telling him that it felt great pain.

A little warmer...

Daisuke remembered the voice calling him a weakling.

Hot! Hot!

Daisuke remembered that the voice told him that it will do the fighting. “It’s you. From the Arcanas Kingdom.”

Red Hot!

“Who are you?!” Daisuke looked around as he shouted.

Daisuke waited for a response, but the voices didn't respond. He asked a few times again, asking who the voices were, and where they were, but he got nothing.

“Hey! I got no time for this! Just send me back to Shiromori!” he yelled, but no voices answered.

Daisuke looked around. He was completely alone, or so he thought.

He shouted again. “Show yourself!”

An earthquake occurred and the sun quickly moved from its position, making it appear nearer to the horizon. Once the earthquake subsided, Daisuke felt strange mana, almost too familiar. As he looked back, a shadowy figure slowly rose from his own shadow.

The shadowy figure started to appear just like Daisuke and spoke in his voice, I am you.

“Wha-What do you mean you are...me?”

It pointed at itself, then at Daisuke. We are one.

“S-Seriously…who are you?” Daisuke was backing away, shaking his head.

It grew more in size and Daisuke felt terrified as it released a surge of mana that was pushing him back. Daisuke could barely stand his ground when different kinds of plants—from the small grasses to the tallest trees—emerged as the surge of mana continued, making him lose his ground and got blown away.

Soon, the shadowy figure was around 60 to 70 feet tall and the once grassy field turned into a dense forest. Its skin became ash-gray with pitch-black hexagonal patterns all over. Despite its height, it looked malnourished and it looked like it could barely stand up.

The giant humanoid sat down and stared at the sun as if it was being mesmerized by the sunset.

“Yamato. What is it doing?” asked a woman wearing a uniquely wide hat, a brightly-colored cloak, and wielding a wooden staff.

Daisuke, who was blown away and was facing flat on the ground, slowly stood up and looked at the people behind him who were walking toward the giant. He tried to talk to the four people, but the man named Yamato just continued to walk and phase through him.

It was then that he noticed the white-haired man. He tried to recall where he saw him before.

“It must have been totally corrupted now. It's now just moving with instinct,” replied the man named Yamato. He looked like he was in his thirties, has white spiky hair, and was wearing a white haori over a black garment. On the back of his haori was an insignia that looked like a bird—a peacock.

“Ariyani fought hard. But the corruption of the Rakshasas took a toll on him in the end,” said another man as he scratched the beard that made him look intimidating. He stood a bit taller than Yamato, was walking barefoot, and was only wearing white training pants and a black belt. On his back was a strange elephant tattoo.

“Shall we...” the woman's voice broke. She took a deep breath and continued. “Shall we begin the curse, Yamato?” Several runic circles started to float and surrounded her. Daisuke didn't notice earlier that the cloak the woman was wearing had some sort of insignia of an eagle resembling a sun embroidered on it.

And the name "Yamato". Of course! He remembered now. Miyazaki Yamato, is one of the four heroes of Ishvaranomachy.

Ariyani reacted and glared below to the four people and once again released a surge of mana.

Daisuke barely managed to hang on to not get blown away again, but the four people effortlessly stood their ground.

“Miyuki, prepare the curse. Fukushima, guard Miyuki for anything. Kagekatsu, you’re with me.” Yamato ordered the three other people.

Miyuki focused on four runic circles as if she was chanting four high-grade magic that was even more advanced than the one Brunnhilde created on her own. And she was doing them all at once and alone.

Fukushima was a person inside a bizarre mechanical suit. The pauldron-like part of his suit had a howling wolf-like creature, arching its long tail that made it resemble a crescent moon. He summoned four drones that created energy shields…no, not just any energy...they were pure mana shields.

Kagekatsu shouted and blue blazing flame surrounded him. No, it wasn’t flame. Pure mana perhaps? The man named Kagekatsu was engulfed in blazing pure mana. His hair also turned spiky blue.

Yamato activated his power and a peacock-like tail appeared on his back with twelve distinct 'eyes', each radiating with intense mana of different color. Daisuke could even feel something familiar with those eyes. One of the eyes resembled the energy he felt whenever he was using his own power.

Ariyani finally stood up, raised his right fist, and performed a downward punch towards the quartet.

“Watch out!!” Daisuke yelled.

The fist of Ariyani went straight to Kagekatsu who caught it with his bare hand. The sheer force of Ariyani's punch carved a massive crater and destroyed many trees, but Kagekatsu still looked unharmed.

Ariyani tried to take his fists back, but Kagekatsu was gripping a part of the fist with his left hand tight.

Kagekatsu smirked. “My turn.”

He released a punch with his right fist towards a finger of Ariyani. His punch sent a ripple of a shockwave that destroyed Ariyani's whole right arm in an instant.

Ariyani howled in pain, sending a frenzy of roots everywhere. Kagekatsu did not even bother to protect himself as the roots burned almost instantaneously within a certain proximity from him. Yamato flew upwards avoiding the roots while Fukushima and Miyuki were both safe inside the former’s pure mana shield.

Daisuke didn’t notice it at first, but the man named Yamato has a sword—a katana.

Yamato unsheathed his katana and let mana from one of the twelve eyes engulf it. The katana turned into a giant flaming sword, and with one slash, Yamato sliced Ariyani into two and burned it in the process.

The frenzied roots halted and Fukushima canceled the mana shield. A beam of mana laser beam shoots out from the drones and from Fukushima’s mechanical suit that cleared the roots in front of them. Miyuki followed up by sending the four runic circles on top of Ariyani. The circles expanded several times their size that covered Ariyani.

“Forgive us, Ariyani, but this is your father’s order,” said the teary Miyuki.

“We hope you escape this cycle soon,” said Yamato from up above.

Fukushima opened his helmet, revealing his young-looking face. “Until we meet again, Ariyani.”

Kagekatsu retracted his mana. “Say 'Hi' to Pashapura-sensei for me!”

“He’s not dying, you big dummy!” scolded Miyuki.

“Oh, right…”

Daisuke could have sworn that Ariyani made a subtle smile and that tears came out of its eyes. The four runic circles' light became more intense that Daisuke had to cover his eyes.

I am you.

We are one.

“I am…Ariyani’s avatar. We are Ariyani.”

Daisuke was standing at the center of the treehouse in Shiromori. He opened his eyes, left the treehouse, and jumped down to the forest floor.

Inside the treehouse, Brunnhilde was still sleeping and Raijin was sitting in the corner, looking all terrified.