Roshi, Yamato, Mira, and Isaiah had arrived, turning the tide of the current battle in their favor. Mira had arrived just in time, and though it wasn't clear what she had done, she managed to stop Zero’s water bullet from killing Kayomi. Roshi had freed Kayomi from his restraints, Yamato had freed Kato, and Isaiah held a dagger to Zero’s throat.
Isaiah: (to Zero) Back off if you wanna live, you creep.
Zero: Oh? (smiles) You've got a foul mouth, boy. I'd like to see you try.
Isaiah didn’t have the chance to attack Zero, as Lorra, seeing the developing situation, became infuriated when she saw Isaiah holding a dagger to Zero’s throat.
Lorra: [BLACK: FOREST EMERGENCE, ROSE THORNS]
Lorra fired her rose thorns at Isaiah, attempting to kill him. But Isaiah acted quickly.
Isaiah: [BLACK: SHADOWSMITH TECHNIQUE, SWORD]
As Isaiah spoke, a sword emerged from his shadow, and he began deflecting all the thorns Lorra sent his way. Zero took this opportunity to leap and create distance between himself and Isaiah. He then regrouped with Lorra, Jokita, and Arou.
Lorra: (concerned) Are you okay, Zero?
Zero: I’m fine. (looks at Isaiah) Quite the technique you’ve got there. Not to mention the rest of them who just showed up. I can tell they have interesting shadow techniques. But… (glances at Mira) her energy feels different. She must be...
Mira Hashido, daughter of Ervin Hashido, was born with two shadow techniques. The first was the hereditary "SHADOW BEAST MANIPULATION TECHNIQUE" of the Hashido Clan, and the second, which developed from her childhood experiences, was "THE NULLIFICATION TECHNIQUE." This second technique nullifies any and all techniques that get close to her or anyone she’s close to. She had arrived just in time to prevent Zero’s water bullet from reaching Kayomi’s head, nullifying it with her ability.
Isaiah Gushman’s shadow technique was called the "SHADOWSMITH TECHNIQUE," which allowed him to create weapons from his shadow energy. The Gushman Clan had originally forged weapons for the Shadows during the early stages of the war. Unlike other members of his clan, however, Isaiah was limited to creating only swords and daggers.
Roshi and Yamato, being brothers, shared a lightning technique inspired by an ancient tale of a lightning deity from their home country of Lumina. Unlike Jason Enderby’s lightning powers, theirs were influenced by the tale told to them by their family before they moved to Haiwa.
Roshi then regrouped with the others after freeing Kayomi from his restraints.
Kayomi: Took you guys long enough. What kept you?
Roshi: NOT EVERYONE HAS GOOD SENSORY SKILLS LIKE YOU SO IT WAS HARD TRYING TO TRACK YOU. (to Kato) ARE YOU OKAY, YOUNG BLOOD!?
Kato: Yeah I am.
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Yamato: Of course you’re okay. I just saved your life.
Kato: That’s true.
Mira: (laughs)
Roshi: WE CAN CHIT-CHAT LATER. RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE AN ENEMY IN FRONT OF US. I CAN’T BELIEVE AROU IS ACTUALLY ONE OF THEM.
Kayomi: Surprised me too. But we’ll talk about that later. We have to stop them from trying to take Kato’s god eye.
Mira: (surprised) God eye!?
Isaiah: (to Kato) You awakened it?
Yamato: That’s insane.
Roshi: EYES FORWARD, EVERYONE. THEY’RE ABOUT TO MAKE A MOVE.
Meanwhile, Zero had regrouped with Lorra, Jokita, and Arou. After analyzing the situation, he decided to take action.
Jokita: So what do we do Zero? Retreat? They outnumber us now.
Zero: That’s true. Retreating would be a good choice. But… I want to push Kato Hamura some more.
Lorra: Push? (to herself) This isn’t like Zero. He never gets like this with anyone. Is he that desperate to take Kato Hamura right now?
Lorra received no answer, as both sides prepared for battle. Just as they began to approach each other, Giles’s flying shadow monster dropped from the ceiling of the abandoned house, with Giles and Dylan on its back. This shocked everyone, including the Kaimi Daja, who hadn’t expected Giles to show up.
Jokita: What is it, Giles!? Why are you here!?
Giles: We have to move NOW! Ervin Hashido will be here soon to take us all down!
Roshi: What?
Kato: Mr Ervin?
Mira: Dad!?
Zero: For real!?
Giles: YES! FOR REAL! WE HAVE TO MOVE NOW. IF YOU HAVEN’T TAKEN THE KID, WE CAN GET HIM ANOTHER TIME! NOW WE HAVE TO MOVE!
Zero: (sighs) Well, this is a mess. (to Kato) Guess we’ll finish this another time, Kato Hamura. When we meet again, be ready to kill me, because I will be ready to kill you.
Kato: TSK!!!!
Roshi: YOU’RE NOT GETTING AWAY!
Roshi activated his technique in an attempt to stop Zero and the others from escaping. But before he could do so...
Zero: [WATER MANIPULATION: OVERFLOWING STREAM]
Zero summoned a massive body of flowing water from both of his hands, pushing Roshi and the others back. The water flooded the house, filling every space and corner it could find, eventually reaching the building’s foundation. As a result, the house began to collapse. By the time the house crumbled, Giles had already taken Zero, Lorra, Jokita, and Arou with him and flown away.
Minutes later, Ervin arrived, only to find a collapsed house. As he was about to question where everyone had gone, Mira’s shadow beast, Gaya, which resembled an eagle, emerged from beneath the rubble. Underneath its wing were Kato and the others.
Ervin: (calls out) HEY! You guys okay!?
Mira: Dad!
Kayomi: We’re fine.
Roshi: But you did take your time to get here.
Ervin: (scratches his head) My bad. So I guess you’re gonna fill me in with everything that happened here?
Kayomi: Right.
Kato and Kayomi then explained everything to the group—from when Arou revealed himself as a member of the Kaimi Daja to when Kato subconsciously awakened the god eye in battle. The information shocked everyone.
Ervin: I see.
Yamato: So Arou always hated us?
Mira: And it’s all because there was no one to relate to him.
Isaiah: We should try and think for ourselves? What does he take us for?
Mira: (to Ervin) How did you find out Arou was part of the Kaimi Daja, Dad?
Ervin: Oh yeah. They attacked me on my way to the hospital to meet up with Kato in an attempt to buy time to take him. I defeated them and accessed one of their member’s memories. I saw Arou and everything they’d been planning up until today. Arou had been a member for a year and was recruited to watch me and predict my movements. This was long before we met Kato. Afterward, they assigned him to watch me and, when the time came, kidnap Kato.
Kato: (feels down)
Ervin: Kato?
Kato: What is it?
Ervin: You said you awakened the god eye and copied two other techniques? Which one’s did you copy?
Kato: Mr. Kayomi’s hardening technique and Arou’s cloning technique.
Yamato: WOAH!!!!!! That’s amazing Kato!!!
Kato: (nervous) You think so?
Ervin: (to everyone) I bet we all have a lot of questions, but we need to rest first. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. For now, let’s get back to the estate and clear our heads. Let’s go.
Ervin led everyone out of the rubble and out of the forest to his car, which he had parked at the entrance. As Ervin drove, Kato was lost in thought, reflecting on everything that had happened. Zero’s words replayed in his head:
“I’ve sat back and let others find different ways to CHANGE this world but it never ended well. More people ended up dying as a result. (a memory of a boy in the midst of a destroyed neighborhood flashed in his mind) The conclusion I got from that is that no matter what path you decide to take, there will always be death and pretending that you can stay clean through it is BULLSHIT”
“We’re gonna fulfill our goals and if you want to stop me, YOU’LL HAVE TO KILL ME KATO HAMURA”
Kato also thought about his friendship with Arou and how his betrayal had hurt him. Arou was the one who taught him hand-to-hand combat and seemed to care for him more than anyone else—aside from Mira, of course. Yet, Kato had learned that Arou was partly responsible for his mother being in a coma. At that mome
nt, Takimo flashed in Kato’s mind because, in a way, Arou reminded him of Takimo.
Kato: (to himself) Takimo. What are you doing right now?