“What are you doing?~” Asked by a girl behind the sliding door, with a very soft and cute tone. She’s wearing a white miko clothes, as she poking her head into the room, curiously.

“I’m preparing to go somewhere, I have a field trip tomorrow.” Said Hikari as she tidied her room and packed the necessary things to bring during the trip.

“Oh cool! Where are we going?” Yukari jumps around, excitedly.

Hikari let out a little laugh, “Not you, you’re staying here.”

“Eeeeeh! Why, I’ve been doing nothing but studying Onmyo Arts these days. I wanna go somewhere, I wanna eat something!” Yukari lies on the floor, wiggling as if she’s a little kid.

“No, we had a deal. Right now you’re the Contractor of one of the Divine Beast, please behave like one. And you will not go anywhere until you master the basics of self defense. Our enemy, the Yokai factions might target you while you’re still a novice.”

“But there’s too many, I need a break.” She grabbed Hikari’s leg and showed her cute teary eyes, as if begging.

Hikari can’t help but sighed. Her personality was very different from the first time she met her. And she only acts casual like this in front of her only. When her father is around, she becomes more respectful and elegant.

“Alright, okay. Take this,” Hikari took a few papers from her drawers. “Practice this, and if you manage to do it. I will let you roam around… ONLY if you go out with me. Understood?”

Yukari jumps up and salutes. “Understood mam!”

*Bonk!

Hikari rolls that paper and hits her on the head, “You address me wrong again, how should you address me again?”

“Uh… yes, senior sister…”

“Personally, I don’t really care about formalities like this, but once you’re in Kyoto. There’s many exorcists that really follow this senior based hierarchy and want to be respected by juniors. So that’s why I’m drilling this into you. With the hope that you may not be alienated by them once you’re there.”

Yukari stood in silence, realizing that all her strict training up until now is for the basic provision of knowledge for not anyone but herself. “I understand, thank you very much, senior sister.”

“Good, now try memorizing this.” Hikari unrolled the paper and showed her a drawing of a diagram that looked like a magic circle.

Yukari was enchanted by it and couldn't stop looking at it, then she began to ponder as she observed it.

“This drawing is a diagram of a Talisman Array, once you learn it you’ll—” Hikari paused, realizing that Yukari didn't even pay attention to what she just said. “Uh, Yukari?”

“Ah sorry, I just feel like I have seen this drawing before… But where?” Yukari taps her forehead, trying to remember something.

Hikari tilted her head, “Have you seen something like this before?

“Yes… and no, I have seen it but it was slightly different…” Her eyes widened, “Oh I got it! This looks similar to the line mark around this house.”

Hikari was astonished and impressed, “Oh wow, how did you know that?” To her knowledge, this is the first time she showed her array diagram, and never even mentioned the array around her house.

“Hehe, after practicing on sensing spiritual energy, I became more sensitive to it. Yesterday I got bored and strolled around the house. I felt a strange fluctuation of spiritual energy here, and accidentally noticed a strange line mark around the house. So, what is this?”

“This is a diagram for deploying a barrier array, once you draw the line and connect it with three or more protection talisman paper, you get this.”

“Ohh, so it’s like linking three basic protection spells to unlock a raid-level barrier!”

‘Eh… What? Spell? Raid? Level?’ Hikari tilted her head in confusion, trying to understand the new word she just heard. Hikari lets out a dry cough and regains her composure.

“The point is, you need at least three talismans. Let’s try it out first.”

She took her outside, to the backyards and brought a pocket full of talisman paper. As she took three slips from it, placing it on the ground and began drawing the line with a stick. Hikari draws a triangular shaped array and draws a circle on each edge of the diagram.

Each paper talisman was located on that three circle at the edge. Then she starts chanting and it doesn’t take a long time before she finishes and is illuminated by light and then flashes before their eyes.

A small triangular barrier was formed. Hikari glances at her junior. “Try touching it.”

Yukari slowly touches the barrier and amazed, no matter how much force she puts on it, her hand can’t bypass the barrier she made. As if there’s a transparent triangular shaped glass there.

“Oooh~ Amazing!” Yukari plays with it and starts to poke harder, measuring the extent of its defense.

“The three circles at the edge where I place the spiritual papers are called the Catalyst, it acts like the core of Formation Array. Whereas the item you use to draw is called an array medium.”

Hikari handed her the sticks and asked her to try it. “Here, try drawing one.”

Yukari, who was not so great at drawing, tried it out. But her line appeared to be crooked and uneven. “Kuh… this is not easy.”

A smile formed on Hikari’s face, “This is very good for your first time, you’ll get used to it soon.”

“Wait, do I have to memorize this drawing and all its lines and symbols??”

Hikari raised her eyebrow, confused by the obvious question “Well, of course. Isn’t that natural?”

“But it’s too much! Just look at how big this is.”

Hikari grinned, “Well, if you think this is hard, then you still have a long way to go. I guess you don’t want to go out and play.”

Once her freedom was endangered, she showed an unyielding spirit to learn.

Hikari sighed, though she couldn't help but smile. “This array is the very base of our Onmyouji arts, with it we can use it to protect not just yourself but your teammates too.

“Right,” Yukari continued to draw her array until it was completed. Then she tried poking it, but it retained the same hardness as the one Hikari made until…

Poke–poke–poke

Her defensive array got pierced with the wooden stick she used to poke it. “Ah it broke!”

Hikari nod, “The proportion of arrays reflects the extent of its use, a poorly drawn array will perform worse than its counterparts.”

“I see! So it's like a poorly drawn magic circle can affect the attack power.”

‘M..magic circle? Attack power?’ And again Hikari fails to understand her.

Yukari waved the wooden stick around and wondered. “Does drawing the… What was it?”

“Array medium?”

“Yes! Can drawing the array medium can only be used with a stick?”

“Good question, the answer is no.” She took something from her back pocket. It was a brush and a chalk. “Right now you’re drawing on the ground, thus a stick is enough. But once you’re facing different terrain and weather, such as rocky terrain or during heavy rain. You won’t be able to draw an array on the ground.”

Hikari took a paper and laid it on the ground, “Ink can be used to draw arrays on all sorts of hard places, like rock or trees. But it's inconvenient as you need to carry Ink and a brush. We normally used to write paper talismans, but Onmyouji rarely writes talismans during missions, we usually prepare it before we depart. That’s why Ink is normally used for writing talismans and for practice at the Academy.”

“Chalk is another alternative and performs better than Ink, you can draw arrays on the ceiling and all sorts of tricky places. But once it rains, chalk will easily disappear.”

Yukari attentively writes her notes, “So rain is the only problem right? Then is the array completely useless during rain?”

“It doesn’t have to be a drawing, sometimes we carve it.” Hikari took a wide stone from her backyards and chanted some mantra, directing her spiritual energy to her finger. She flawlessly carved the stone surface with her finger.

“You noticed this symbol?” After finished drawing, she showed Yukari about the symbol she drew.”

“Umm.. it's similar to the explosion talisman you taught me the other day…”

“Right, now watch this…” She threw the stone near her array and detonated it. Yukari jumped in shock.

Her array was destroyed. “Senior, please warm me before you do that!” She’s pouting angrily at her senior sister, and Hkari just giggles at her.

“Don’t worry, I have set the firepower to the lowest. So? Do you understand what just happened?”

“You use spiritual energy to carve a hard surface and use it like a paper talisman?”

“Correct, our Onmyo Arts consist of using a catalyst and a prayer in a form of chant. It is a form of ritual, paper talisman isn't necessary, but we often use it because it's easy to carry and practical.”

“I see… So is that all the array medium you can use? Ink, Chalk, and array carving…”

“There’s one more, you can use blood. It is extremely effective as it was using the user's blood that was full of spiritual energy. But…” Hikari’s expression darkened all of a sudden.”

After a brief pause she continues, “Ritual and prayer are supposed to be clean and holy, using blood feels like we perform a sacrificial ritual. I don’t particularly like it… That’s the reason why there're so many forbidden forms that use blood, it compensates the user from the cost of spiritual energy when activating it. Please promise that you stay away from this method… And only use it during life and death situations…”

Her gentle nature disappeared, and instead the one Yukari saw in her is a firm person full of determination, as if this is the only thing she does not tolerate.

Yukari felt nervous, she just nodded without saying anything.

“Thank you…”

Yukari's eyes wandered around the backyard and landed on the leftovers of the barrier array made by Hikari.

“Ah… it broke. Does connecting more paper talismans in the array make any difference?

Yukari's sudden question lifted up her mood that was suddenly down.

“Of course it's different, didn’t I mention that you need at least three paper talismans to create a triangle barrier. Once you connect four, it will turn into a square or rectangle array, then pentagon, Hexagon, Heptagon, and so on.” She took the stick and drew several diagrams on the ground.

The more talismans you add, the stronger the array becomes, but there’s a trade-off. The spiritual energy consumption increases significantly, and the diagram itself gets larger and more complex.”

“I see… So the array around the house is a… rectangle array? But the line is pretty different from what you drew.”

“Well, that’s because it’s not a regular array. What you’re looking at is a compound array, a more advanced formation that combines multiple types of arrays to create a single one with diverse functions.”

“Whoah, finally a high–level array! So the basic one is combining three low level defense talismans, but this compound can mix offensive talismans with barriers and perhaps healing talismans?”

“Eh, I’m surprised you caught on so quickly. But, sorry to disappoint—you won’t find any talisman or arrays that’s capable of healing. What we do have are purification arrays, which can cleanse wounds caused by yokai attacks. But instant healing? That sort of Divine thing is what only gods can achieve.”

“No recovery items huh? That's troublesome…”

“Sadly no, that’s why the Onmyouji way of fighting is more defensive rather than offensive. We had to resort to various methods to protect ourselves, such as using barriers, or attacks that restrict or seal our opponents.”

“Hmm… but Senior sister. I have been strolling around the house for a few days, but I have yet to see any paper talisman that connects to the compound array you speak of.”

“Come with me,” She took her to the corner of the house and pointed at a giant wooden log beneath a small bamboo plant, “See that? That log column came from a five hundred years old Cherry Blossom Tree. But not just any cherry blossom you’d find anywhere, this is a unique kind and often called Divine Sakura, back then.”

As they walked closer, a sweet scent of Sakura stormed their sense of smell. Yukari was astonished, from afar it barely had any smell. But once you walk closer, around one meter radius of it, the smell was very strong, stronger than any perfume she had ever smelled.

Hikari walked closer and touched the giant wooden log.

“This wood has spiritual energy inside, making it the best Catalyst for any array.”

“Oooh a high-grade material for crafting arrays.” Unconsciously her tongue was out as she had fun writing her notes.

“…Hey, I was wondering since the other day, what do you mean by… Level? Raid? Crafting?”

Hikari was very confused with her words, even though she still barely understood her, the way she speaks feels foreign.

Yukari noticed her senior was confused with the gaming terms she used. “Ah I’m sorry… I usually change the terms you said for easier understanding.”

“Well, it's okay if it helps you understand faster, but I hope you can tone it down once you’re in Kyoto.”

“I’ll try…”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

After letting her finish writing down her note, Hikari told her to check the back of the wooden log. Yukari tilted her head and glanced at the back, she couldn't help but be amazed. It was carved with various symbols, just like when she’s carving the stone. But this time the scale of writing was very far compared to a single character she wrote before.

“Woah, this is a lot of symbols, did you make this Senior sister?”

Hikari chuckled and nodded. “If you use talisman paper as the catalyst, it would become a Talisman Array. Since this array doesn’t use it as the catalyst, it is called Sigil Array. The wooden log has been turned into a Sigil. Same as the other corners, I use various materials to make sigil.”

Yukari excitedly runs around the house, at the other corner there’s a giant stone slab, at first she thought it was a decorative stone with a symbol written on it, but never had she expected that it’s one of the catalysts. She glanced at another corner and found a hollowed dead tree that had been charred black on the inside.

“That is another sigil base, coming from an old tree that has been struck by lightning, a Thunderstruck wood.”

“So it's not just one type of material… Does using this material to make the array have an additional bonus?”

“Additional bonus?? Ah, are you trying to say ‘does this make an array stronger’? Of course it does.”

“When you’re creating a sigil by carving a defensive mantra, depending on the material used, it can either make the barrier stronger or has the ability to restore itself over time. Carving a sigil and using it as a catalyst will create something even stronger than using a paper talisman, but…”

“Using talisman paper is more handy, As it is light and can be used anywhere. Unlike sigil which is immovable once you set the array… is that correct senior sister?” Yukari slowly understands how arrays work, she then followed it up with another question.

“So, what kinds of inscriptions did you write on each corner, senior sister?”

“I use four Kinds of sigil on each corner of the house. Each sigil has been carved with different types of Inscriptions, first is a barrier, but not like the usual barrier, where it will block your path like an invisible wall. This barrier won't do anything to you, unless you have Malevolent energy or negative energy, like what a Yokai has. Once you force your way in, this barrier will drain a huge chunk of your spiritual energy, and its self regenerating barrier too, so once it is hit with powerful attack and Shattered apart, it can form itself with time.”

“Amazing, like a Mana Burn.” Yukari buried herself in her note book again, writing all the details like creating a strategy guide.

“Then there's a warning inscription, it warns me when there's a Yokai that bypasses my barrier. This inscription is similar to the one I used in Tokyo to locate you, but it's less complicated than that one. The downside is that this inscription only warns you, and does not detect the source of it once the Yokai was inside, I can’t monitor it in real time either.”

“An inscription that only works as an alarm? That seems like a weak inscription…” Yukari replied.

Hikari smiles, “But it has its advantages too. This inscription not only warns me of incoming Yokai, but it also weakens the one that triggers it, without alerting the Yokai itself…”

“No way! So that inscription has a defense reducing debuff too!? I have to note this.”

At this point, Hikari has no idea what her junior is talking about. She just let her say random stuff and continue her explanation, with a hope that she actually learned something.

“The third one is a Purifying inscription; it constantly clears any negative energy in the surrounding. Yokai, being full of negative energy in his body, are bound to be hurt. Akin to being burned alive.”

Yukari scratches her head with her pencil, “Does this inscription affect things other than Yokai?” ask her.

“No, just for Yokai.”

“But…” Yukari touched her chest, “Wasn't Genbu, the Divine Beast I contracted, similar to a Yokai?”

Hikari shakes her head, “Although they are classified as spiritual entities similar to Yokai, they're a Divine Beast and do not carry any negative energy, they also side with humans too, so their Classification is slightly different than what you had thought. ”

“I see… then what about the last inscription?

Hikari points at the corner they just visited.

“The last one is the inscription on that Stone slab. I just recently studied it and am having a really hard time connecting it with the current Sigil Array.”

“Why? Was it difficult? Isn't it just drawing the lines and placing the sigil inside a specific location?”

Hikari sighed, “It's… far more complicated than you thought. Regular arrays normally use three inscriptions of the same kinds to amplify its power, as it won’t clash with each other. But that will not work for compound arrays, you have three different kinds of inscription with three different kinds of spiritual wave that needs to be arranged until it flows harmoniously.”

Hikari drew three circles with each symbol representing Barrier, seal, and purify.

“Let's start with three, this represents barrier inscription, sealing inscription and purifying inscription, just like the one I used.”

“Barrier inscription is the usual protective Shield from outside attack. Sealing inscriptions have many variations, but I'll use the movement slowing effects, and the last one is Purifying inscription, just like I explained earlier.”

Hikari continued her explanation while connecting the line of three circles.

"If you aimlessly connect the three, there will be multiple outcomes, depending on the diagram you drew. It can either be an Array with protective Shield inside, and once a Yokai barges inside, they will be assaulted by a Purifying inscription as well as sealing inscription that slows down their movement. You understand this part?”

Yukari nodded, then Hikari scribbled the ground in a random pattern.

“But the Array can also turn into a mess, the Purifying and sealing inscription will only be applied only on the barrier. Meaning, once the Yokai bypass the barrier, they won't feel anything. Because the Purifying and seal will only be applied when the Yokai is touching the barrier.”

Yukari closed her mouth as she pondered, “...I have never thought of that… Arrays are more complicated than I thought.”

Hikari patted her head, “Once you practice enough of it, you'll get the hang of it eventually.”

“So… the last inscription, what was it?”

“Nothing much. It's a seal type inscription that restricts Yokai from freely using Spiritual energy within the barrier.”

“So, it is something like Mana Jamming…”

“Oh, and it also has sealing effects, the longer a Yokai stays, their spiritual pool will be slowly blocked, making it unable to use spiritual energy.” adds Hikari, casually.

‘Scary! That's way too Scary! She just combined several sigils with ease!'

Yukari pondering all the things she learned in a small voice only she can hear.

“Sigil with a self-regenerating barrier and mana burn effect, a sigil with alert and defense reducing debuff function, a sigil that deals Damage overtime and even a sigil that acts as jamming while also can Silence or disarm you… my senior sister is really scary!"

Yukari trembles, imagining herself as a Yokai that accidentally got caught in this trap, isn't that like… instant death?

“T… then, what would happen to those who got their spiritual pool blocked??”

“Who knows? As long as the seal remains… That Yokai can never use any spiritual energy.”

As the outside getting darker, they both got inside, but throughout the week, Yukari has never once disobeyed her senior sister again.

----------------------------------------

The world turns upside down. When he realized what's happening, Ryohei had already found himself submerged, instantly standing up, surfacing himself. Fortunately, the river is too shallow to completely drown him. Once Ryohei stood up, the water barely reached his waist.

In a pitch dusk glow of evening that slowly turns into darkness, Ryohei turns frantic. As his eyes darted around wildly, trying to find the one that attacked him

Before him, a head slowly emerged from the water. Two glowing green eyes pierced the darkness, locking onto him.

Its current size was unknown, and its ability was unknown too, they stared at each other silently, being aware of making any sudden moves.

The head submerged and a burst of water moving forward, heading towards him, Ryohei panicked as he tried to escape. But he barely moved, as half of his body was submerged.

Before he could react, a shadow exploded from the river, lunging straight at him. Instinctively, Ryohei raised his left arm to block the attack. Pain seared through him as the beak clamped onto his forearm.

“Gh!!”

*Krrrt! Krrrt!

Ryohei gritted his teeth, groaning as the creature’s bite grew stronger. With the moonlight reflecting off its slick body, he got a closer look. It had a hooked beak filled with serrated teeth, a flat bald spot on its head surrounded by wiry hair, black claws with webbed fingers, and scaly skin glistening with moss and river slime. Its back was covered by a mossy turtle shell.

“A Kappa...” he muttered, as his eyes widened and fear creeped in.

Fighting through the pain, Ryohei instinctively pointed two fingers toward the creature’s glowing eye. Transforming it into sickles and stabbed with all his might—

Or so he had thought…

*Crack!

His fingers snapped as his attack missed the mark and struck the creature’s hardened scales.

“Gah!”

Ryohei winced, he ignored the pain of his broken finger and cuffs it into a fist and swung again. Hoping that it would hurt him.

But the Kappa didn't even budge.

Ryohei forgot the fact that right now… he was no more than a regular human.

He doesn't have any superhuman strength nor be able to transform his hands to use as a weapon.

Kappa's bite continues to get stronger, tightening… until.

*SNAP!

Ryohei’s broken left arm hung limp, the bones shattered under the crushing force of the Kappa’s bite. He screamed in agony, and desperately threw a barrage of punches towards the creature’s head with his right hand. But all those attacks barely did any damage to it.

Until his fists sliding off its slimy, moss-covered skin. And landed on the creature’s bald, caved-in head.

*Thunk!

The Kappa recoiled and flinched, releasing its hold on his arm.

Ryohei, who was still confused by what was happening, did not waste a single moment and immediately ran towards the riverbanks. His injured arm throbbing, his legs pushing through the water with all the strength he could muster.

But before he could reach safety, a jet of water struck him from behind with the force of a cannon, sending him sprawling face-first onto the rocky shore.

Blood trickled down his forehead, mixing with the river water. Dizzy and disoriented, Ryohei struggled to push himself up, wiping blood from his eyes. The Kappa moved with unnatural speed, its claws digging into his leg, dragging him back into the deeper part of the river.

“Get off me!”

Ryohei thrashed, but the Kappa’s grip was ironclad. After pulling him back to deeper water the Kappa lunges at him once again, this time aiming for his throat.

“GRAAAH!”

With a desperate roar, Ryohei shoves a palm sized rock onto its beak. Before he got dragged by the Kappa just now, he managed to grab a rock on the riverbanks.

The creature reeled back, thrashing as it tried to dislodge the stone wedged in its mouth, but it was stuck with its beak and teeth.

Seizing the moment, Ryohei pulled both legs up and delivered a forceful dropkick to its face. The impact sent the Kappa stumbling back into the water, but pain shot through Ryohei’s legs from the effort.

He was out of options.

‘Damn it! Come on!’ Throughout the fight, Ryohei keep trying to transform, but he still didn't feel any trace of spiritual energy.

‘I can't transform, and my attack barely did any damage to it! What should I do!?’

As he desperately scanned his surroundings, his eyes caught a flicker of light bobbing toward the river in the distance.

“A light... someone’s patrolling this area!”

A glimmer of hope reignited in him. He raised his arms, screaming for help.

“HEL—BRFFH!”

Ryohei who was interrupted when he screamed.

He was tackled into the water. The kappa ignores the stone that was stuck in its mouth as it claws wrapped around his neck. Choking him and forcing him to stay submerged in water. Not allowing him to scream for help.

Water rushed into his mouth as he struggled for air, his hands desperately fumbling at the riverbed. His fingers found another rock.

Thonk!

He swung the rock into the Kappa’s bald head with every ounce of strength he had left. The creature screamed, its grip loosening as it staggered back. Ryohei broke the surface, gasping for air, coughing up water.

Ryohei once again ran towards the riverbanks once more, but the Kappa wasn’t done. It slashed at his back, leaving deep claw marks as Ryohei crawled towards the riverbank. He grabbed another stone and hurled it, shouting, “Stay back!” The rock bounced harmlessly off the Kappa’s shell.

The creature lunged again and managed to choke and drown him again. The kappa felt frustrated, if only the stone didn't stuck inside his mouth, he could've ended this fast.

All the human prey he attacked so far panicked as they were submerged in water. Making it an extremely easy hunt. Its current prey however, despite being in danger, he barely panicked and still managed to retaliate and almost escape. Once he was on land, Kappa might not be able to catch up with his speed. So, its best course of action is to keep him from going to land!

Ryohei struggles once more, but this time, The kappa uses one hand to choke Ryohei and the other hand grasps tightly to his right arm. Since the Kappa had already broken his left hand, it doesn’t pose any threat to it.

The calm river water shakes from Ryohei's struggle as air bubbles keep popping up from the river... Until the struggles stopped

The river became calm, no air bubbles had appeared anymore.

The kappa let out a sinister grin as he finally killed his prey, he used his left hand to help him spit the stone that was stuck inside his mouth. And then raised the corpse of his prey out of the water.

The body limps, dangling around with the wind. The kappa smiles in satisfaction, the prey this time is very big. When was the last time he ate a human? a month? a year? forgot how long, the point is... he's going to have a hearty meal tonight.

As the kappa scans his prey and admires how big his prey is, then the kappa notices something… In his hands, he gripped something... A shiny thing inside his hands.

Curious, he took a closer look.

Is that stone?? Kappa thought

Suddenly the ‘corpse’ that The Kappa thought had died, just moved. With a firm grip of stones on both hands, Ryohei mustered every ounce of strength he got and bashed them against the Kappa's head from both sides.

*CRACK!

The kappa screamed in pain, as it held his head. Its grip on Ryohei finally released as it stumbled back.

Ryohei gasped for air, coughing and staggering towards the riverbank, his vision blurring. His body screamed in pain, but his mind focused on one thing : survival. He needs to get away from the river, the further the better.

“Kraaaaaaachk!!” Kappa screamed, as bulges appeared on its face, it raised both hands to the sky and swung it forward. A moment after that was hectic. The calm river suddenly burst with waves, Kappa commanded the water to burst forth like a wave, moving towards Ryohei and flooding all the riverbanks.

“This damn fish just won’t give up! Let me go, you bastard!”

The wave blasted Ryohei, as he was thrown and slammed its back into a rocky area on the riverbanks. Kappa came out of the water and started sprinting towards Ryohei. As the kappa bear its claws forward, Ryohei managed to catch it.

‘Damn it, it hurts!’

His arm trembled from holding the Kappa’s arm, in terms of strength he was far from out strength a Yokai. His mind raced as his breath started to get heavier.

A familiar feeling he missed starting to come back, a feeling of terror of being at the edge of life and death.

Ryohei can’t help but to put on a sour face, despite being in dire situation, he was disgusted at himself for feeling excited at his heartbeat going uncontrollable.

A feeling that makes him feel alive.

But in this situation, he was about to meet his end. He already used all his cards, from pretending to die, and up to a sneak attack. He has no backup plans nor any more alternative way out of this.

‘Damn it!’

His arms slowly gave out, and Kappa’s claw slowly approached and sank into Ryohei's neck. Their face were getting closer and closer, Ryohei could clearly see the Kappa grinned.

In that desperate time, he can only trust his instinct, just like during his fight against Koropokkuru. Relying on pure luck and thought.

Ryohei closed his eyes, took a deep breath. Then…

“RAISEN!! HIKAGE!! I’M HERE!!!”

The voice echoed until it completely disappeared, The Kappa in front of him let out a snicker. As if mocking one last howl of a dead prey.

Ryohei still held on until the very last second, he believed that even if both of them roamed around, it wouldn’t be that far from the area. And he trusts their connection as Kamaitachi.

A night breeze blows and suddenly it's getting fiercer into a raging storm. From above a streak flash blasted at high speed and cleaved the Kappa's left forehead straight to its eye.

The Kappa screamed as blood splatter, a moment later Ryohei found himself in between Raisen and Hikage locked their eyes on that Kappa and their back fur turned spiky, as if expressing their furiousness.

The Kappa instantly realize there’s no chance of winning against them, with a grumble the jump back into the river and disappear.

Ryohei was exhausted, his whole body was hurt and once he realized he was safe, he relaxed and then immediately blacked out.