The small boat sent to pick them up arrived over forty minutes late. Fortunately, Bai Luo's skills were exceptional—had it been an ordinary person, they would have been killed by the Kairagi long before the Resistance's boat arrived.
"Apologies, sirs. Some issues came up, causing quite the delay."
The boatman was just an ordinary fisherman, his rough skin likely the result of years of wind and sun exposure at sea. The small boat was filled with fishing tools, suggesting he had been temporarily assigned to this task.
Grabbing the towel around his neck, he wiped the sweat from his face and quickly cleared the boat's clutter, making space for the two in the covered stern.
"It's no trouble. Asking you to come fetch us in this weather must have been difficult."
Since Bai Luo was in a vacation mindset anyway, he wasn't in a hurry.
The Resistance was surely more anxious than he was, right?
"It's not just the weather—it's all because of that Tatarigami."
After pushing the boat away from shore, the fisherman sighed.
But it wasn't just the Tatarigami. Since these were people hired by the Resistance to pick up, and Teppei was also wearing Resistance attire, there were some things he didn't dare say outright.
The war had been going on for some time now. Due to the clashes between the Shogunate's forces and the Resistance, Tatarasuna had suffered explosions, forcing miners and residents to flee for their lives.
Yashiori Island became one of their destinations for refuge.
But they didn't realize that, because the wards had been destroyed, the situation on Yashiori Island might be even worse than at the Mikage Furnace.
As more and more refugees flooded into their village, food supplies dwindled. The village chief had even begun attempting to buy grain from pirates.
Unwilling to collude with pirates like the chief, the fisherman had instead tied himself to the Resistance, occasionally doing odd jobs for them in exchange for enough supplies to survive.
As the boat left Watatsumi Island's waters, the sea gradually grew restless.
Once they entered the range of the dark clouds, the surroundings became visibly oppressive at a rapid pace.
Even Teppei, who usually wore a smile, now curled up in a corner of the covered stern, clutching his standard-issue tachi and warily scanning the area.
The fisherman, however, seemed long accustomed to these conditions. After donning his straw raincoat and hat, he continued rowing forward.
Before long, amidst the drizzling rain, the silhouette of a sizable ruin emerged on the sea. Though dilapidated, the remnants of its former grandeur were still discernible amidst the wreckage and vines creeping over the ancient stones.
"That's Fort Mumei, also known as the Realm of No Light. Even my grandfather's generation couldn't tell its full history. It's been abandoned for ages—some say it was destroyed during the eastern campaign of the... the great serpent, Orobashi."
Noticing Bai Luo's gaze on the ruins, the fisherman lowered his voice to explain. Since he'd already been paid, he figured he might as well be professional.
Besides, he needed to justify why he'd been so late.
But before he could offer his explanation, Bai Luo spoke first.
"Wouldn't it be faster to go through Fort Mumei? Why take such a detour?"
Bai Luo had been observing the fisherman the entire trip. As they sailed, the man frequently checked the water's surface and adjusted their course.
This suggested he wasn't following the usual route but had instead chosen an unfamiliar path. That wasn't a good sign—only well-traveled routes were confirmed free of dangerous currents and reefs, ensuring safety.
What the fisherman was doing now was practically suicidal.
"You don't understand, sir. Fort Mumei was also one of the sites where the Tatarigami wards were enshrined. Normally, passing through there would indeed be faster and safer. But after the wards were destroyed, it became no place for humans. I had to scout for a long time to find this new route—that's why I was so late."
This was also one of the reasons the Resistance had sent a fisherman to fetch them.
The new route was still being charted, and aside from the Fatui's ships, the only ones capable of navigating these waters were local fishermen familiar with the area.
"Is that so?"
Bai Luo gazed thoughtfully in that direction.
The fisherman wasn't lying—he could sense the danger there himself.
"Hm?"
While observing, he suddenly felt as though someone else was watching him.
No... that didn't feel like a person!
His hand instinctively rested on his reverse-blade sword, ready to draw.
A sword.
That's right—what was observing him from the ruins wasn't a person, nor even a living thing, but a sword.
After switching to the profession of Himura Kenshin, his sensitivity to anything sword-related had sharpened. He couldn't be mistaken.
Inside, there was a [Sword] watching him.
"Aside from the Tatarigami wards, is there anything else in there?"
Keeping his hand on the hilt, Bai Luo asked quietly—as if afraid of startling the [Sword] in the ruins.
"Probably some monsters? Right after the Tatarigami's eruption, a few brave souls ventured inside, but none ever returned. Now, aside from monsters, no one dares enter anymore."
Unaware of Bai Luo's unease, the fisherman explained everything.
After being so late, he naturally wanted to make it clear that the delay wasn't intentional—there had been genuine reasons.
Monsters?
Don't tell me it's a Kairagi in there.
Actually, Bai Luo faintly recalled something from his past life about Fort Mumei—a sword-wielding monster, possibly a Kairagi?
Unfortunately, it was just a side quest, and a tedious, drawn-out one at that. He'd done it once and never paid attention again, so his memory was hazy.
"A sword..."
Bai Luo decided that after meeting up with the Resistance, he'd first test whether the so-called Tatarigami could affect him. If not, he'd explore these ruins.
Eager to obtain [Elucidator], he wondered if the sword inside could give him a pleasant surprise.
Clang—
Just as Bai Luo was lost in thought, a sword's resonance seemed to echo between heaven and earth.
Within that resonance, Bai Luo sensed despair, resentment, and madness.
Vaguely, he saw a demonic figure brandishing a blade, roaring at him.
The demon was grotesque, its face twisted into an expression so horrifying that merely looking at it seemed to bring death.
Whoosh—
Two streaks of sword light formed an X-shape, sending a massive wave surging toward the rickety fishing boat.
The sword beams were infused with elemental energy—the first with Anemo, the second with Cryo.
The wind whipped up the waves, while the ice froze them solid. The combination of the two elements formed a bizarre icy path across the sea.
"The—the Tatarigami is angry!"
The fisherman was just an ordinary man—he'd never seen anything like this. If not for Teppei's quick reflexes inside the stern, he would have fallen straight into the sea.
"Twin Dragons Flash!"
Bai Luo's speed more than doubled. Stepping off the boat's edge, he leapt into the air, his sword shattering the two near-simultaneous slashes.
Boom—
The Anemo and Cryo energies exploded, forming a massive ice platform on the sea's surface.
Landing steadily on the platform, Bai Luo turned his gaze toward the end of the icy path.