Everything happened so quickly. Somnia had been trying to make sense of what the Oni had been telling her. Zakaria had been eaten by his own men? They were spotted by the Wild Men and they almost got overpowered? They moved like a unit, more so than they already had been?

Before she could get any clear answer, the Wild Men who’d been standing in the crater began to screech and howl. The Myths gathered unnatural amounts of aura, twitching as they slowly approached Somnia and her allies. General Denk was the first to arrive at the rim of the crater. The Wild Man General looked terrified as he struggled to stand upright.

“G-God Queen Somnia…!”

Those words may as well have been the signal to the Wild Men’s onslaught. They came from all directions; the crater ahead of them and the forest behind them, each of them moving like trained soldiers as they approached the crew.

What should I do? Should I still try to intimidate them? Should I kill them?

Those thoughts occurred to her, but only one of them truly stuck.

Is this my fault?

It was ultimately her decision to spare the Wild Men that led to this moment. Would killing them have been better for them than leaving them to this? Allowing them to become total puppets to whoever was doing this to them? Who was she to have made this decision?

Everything you do won’t always work out…

Of course. Maybe she had made a mistake in sparing the Wild Men. Maybe she hadn’t. In either case, standing in the middle of a battlefield wasn’t going to bring her the reassurance she craved. She chose to lead the Wild Men against Zelos. Their target no longer existed, but their leader was still here, standing right in front of them. Somnia took a deep breath and channeled as much confidence as she could muster into her voice.

“Wild Men!” Somnia shouted.

General Denk, who’d been charging aura in his fists, turned to face her. The other Wild Men, who’d been engaged in fights with the others, also turned to face her. Strangely, they continued to fight on par with the others even though Somnia gained their attention.

“Are you not strong? Are you not proud? In my brief experience with you all, I have been told all about your pride and determination. Surely I wasn’t misinformed? The proud, invincible Wild Men – the sole species capable of obtaining perfection – would not allow any outsider to manipulate them so freely, would they? I intended to rally you all to rise against the man who would lead you to your death. The target may have changed, but the purpose has not! Return to yourselves, Wild Men. We have a new opponent to kill!”

Somnia hated how much she sounded like her mother, but she didn’t have time to fuss over it. As long as her words reached the Wild Men, she’d consider it a victory. Thankfully, it had. One by one, the Wild Men began to fight harder and harder against whatever shackles were held over them. Most of them were unsuccessful, but the fact that they heard her showed that this control could be broken. General Denk, unfortunately, wasn’t as lucky as the others. He’d finished charging aura and shot two waves of Wind-Attuned Aura at Somnia. She deflected them easily enough, but she still needed to figure out a way to free him.

Luckily, Rui had an answer. He knocked General Denk out cold with a buffed neck-chop. It wasn’t a permanent solution, but it gave them time to think. She turned to face Rui and give him a grateful nod, but paused when she saw his face. Somnia had never seen that look on Rui’s face. He looked… scared. Like a frightened child. There was more to it than that, though. There was palpable fury in his eyes, and even the faint hints of excitement in his face.

And that was when everything clicked. Somnia knew of Rui’s past. What he’d been forced to do, to his mother and to innocents across Bukimiburgh. He spoke constantly about one of the Horsemen and his ability to force Rui to do terrible things against his will.

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“Knock the corrupted ones out,” Rui said. His eyes went wide as if he’d just realized who we were facing. “It won’t stop Zelos from controlling them, but it’ll make it harder. He likes to control Rogues who don’t fight against him.”

”Zelos?!” Archie called as he plunged a Wraith Strike into a Wild Man’s chest. Despite how painful it looked, it didn’t kill the Myth. “Isn’t that the Horseman you were talking about?!”

“Yes,” Rui said, clenching his fist. “It is.”

In the distance, Yugo fought alongside the Doujis and the Oni who’d been incapacitating the largest number of Wild Men. The others were about to join them but were stopped when every single Wild Man in the vicinity suddenly froze. A few moments later, they stood straight as their eyes turned a full glowing white. To Somnia’s horror, they began to speak in unison, their voices sounding like nails on a chalkboard.

“Gather every human in Oni Prefecture to the ruins of the Wild Man Colony. Do this, Shuten Douji, and your home will be spared and your people will be unharmed. Refuse this or fight against me, and Oni Village will be destroyed. You have three hours.”

“Fight against you,” Shuten Douji asked. “If you know my name, then you know my legacy. I have killed better men for far less.” Shuten Douji appeared before General Denk in a blink, aura surging around him as he held his massive spike club over his shoulder. “You have one more try. Speak to me properly, child, or learn just how I became the King of the Oni.”

Neither the possessed General Denk nor the other Wild Men moved a centimeter. “Forgive me, Shuten Douji. This is my first interaction with true royalty. I have much to learn. I wish to purge your land of all humans inhabiting it, so that you may rule only the superior Rogues under you. This will be a quick process, and I would appreciate your cooperation.”

Shuten Douji stared into General Denk’s eyes for a long time. No one said anything for a long, tense moment. The silence finally broke when Shuten Douji burst into laughter. He turned to Rui. “This is the guy you were talking about? Zelos?”

“He is,” Rui answered, his voice carrying hints of Fallen Star. Somnia wasn’t sure why Rui was so quiet, despite his constant talking about wanting to kill him. The air had changed around him just as it had when he’d killed General Viard, but Rui had remained otherwise quiet. Yugo had been just as quiet, standing completely still as he stared uncomfortably at Rui of all people. That was notable, Somnia felt. She wasn’t sure why she knew that, but she knew that was important. As she considered that, Shuten Douji continued to goad Zelos.

“There weren’t any ‘Horsemen’ in my era, so you’re gonna have to catch me up one of these days.” He turned back to General Denk. “I don’t see much. Anyone can make threats. Anyone can hide behind some Myth. I don’t make deals with anyone. There’s a reason I allowed Futakuchi-Onna to exist for as long as she did. There’s a reason I haven’t turned Yugo to paste. They piss me off, but they’re strong enough to demand my respect.” He took another step closer to General Denk. “All I see in you is a coward, and I don’t allow cowards in my home.”

General Denk looked down, letting out a pained sigh. “How unfortunate. I had assumed age would have brought you wisdom.” General Denk’s eyes flickered. When he spoke again his voice overlapped with that of an unfamiliar male voice. “When you revive, remember this day as the one where you learn how unremarkable you are. Understand this, Shuten Douji: No matter how strong you think you are, someone stronger exists.”

The light flickered from the Wild Men’s eyes as every single one of them fell to the ground. They weren’t dead, thankfully, but they’d clearly been drained of their energy. Not that any of them had time to celebrate that minor victory.

“S-Shuten!” Ibaraki cried, his right eye suddenly glowing green.

Yugo was at his side faster than anyone else. Ibaraki’s hands were raised into the sky and Yugo fought harder than Somnia had ever seen to bring them down. They must’ve known something she didn’t because the moment Shuten Douji reached his brother he did the exact same thing.

“Fight against it!” Shuten Douji tried. “You are an Oni! You are strong enough to overcome one weak man!”

“I… am an Oni!” Ibaraki roared as his left eye turned green.

Just like earlier, everything happened so quickly. Ibaraki overpowered Yugo and his brother, raising his hands into the sky as he gathered an unreal amount of aura into his body. Ibaraki screamed the whole time, fighting against Zelos’ control well enough that one of his eyes lost the glow they’d associated with his control. Still, Ibaraki was forced to bring his hands crashing down to the ground.

Nothing happened for a long while. Ibaraki continued to roar and scream. Rui stared down at Ibaraki as if in a brand new light. Archie looked between everyone trying to understand what was happening. Yugo, Shuten Douji, and the rest of the Oni, meanwhile, were focused on the forest behind him – in the direction of the ear-splitting boom. In the direction of Oni Village.