Chapter 9 Episode 10: Vessel of God 3

Things start off this time in the snowy mountains as someone is running is running away in the middle of a blizzard, breathing heavily as he goes. That turns out to be Horkeukamui as he is attacked by a hidden armored figure.

Despite being specialized for fighting in snowy climates Kamui is easily toyed with and steadily cornered by his opponent, who taunts him over how badly he’s holding up. Kamui then makes a desperate attempt to fight back and invokes his NP. The figure laughs at him for trying it again.

Kamui kicks as hard as he can with his blizzard kick, but his opponent counters by invoking amnion and his mother’s divine protection to scatter the power of ice across the lands of Kitezh. The blizzard is dispelled and turns to wind, cancelling the attack.

Kamui figures out that his opponent used their artifact to counter him, but he demands to know how they can read him so well as to read him before he executed his move. The figure answers by revealing themselves to look for all the world like Kamui Alter, saying he is him.

The figure names himself the Werewolf Prince Volkh Vseslav, saying he is the future the world cut off from him and his Shadow. He also says he’s his best outcome. Kamui is taken aback by the statement, and Vseslav continues by saying he came to a conclusion one day, one that Kamui will also come to.

That conclusion is that “it is wrong to burden a single orphan with being a hero, make them a cornerstone of the world, and then sacrifice them.” Kamui casts his head down in sorrow, as if wanting to turn away from reality. However there is more to Vseslav’s conclusion. “Therefore, ALL children should become heroes, then cornerstones of the precious world, and sacrifices.”

Vseslav readies his sword and points it at Kamui. He then quotes stuff out of the Tale of Igor’s Campaign. “On the threshing floor they lay down life and winnow souls from bodies. The Nemiga’s bloody banks were sown with evil, sown with the bones of the sons of Rus.” The shadows of children are summoned, which shocks Kamui as he seems to recognize them.

Vseslav laughs at the recognition and tells him to remember. Kamui asks how they can be there since he implies they are all dead. Vseslav calls Kamui half of his body and accuses him of sacrificing innocent children to the world and says the time for karmic retribution has come.

Kamui attempts to reach for his sword but hesitates for a moment. His scream of grief is swallowed up as the shadow children surround him and overwhelm him. After the battle is over, Vseslav puts away his hammer (I don’t know why it says that) in his shield when a man he thinks of as an ally calls out to him.

The new man compliments him for a job well done, and Vseslav responds politely like he’s his superior, thanking him for that. He also calls the guy someone he looks up to, the Kitezh World Representative, and names him as Perun. Perun laughs as he says it’s his name and for some reason says it’s the name of the lord of lightning who was defeated in the land of Kitezh.

Anyways Perun says everything starts from his ability. That is, the ability to invade (and/or ravish) anything similar to how lightning scatters. For example, infringing upon general ideas, ravaging worlds, and take pure faith, memories, and even other thunder lords’ artifacts. He laughs savagely as Vseslav looks at him without a shred of doubt.

Vseslav asks how Perun is doing. Perun talks about trespassing on religious faith and forgetting about the ones you really do look up to, then says it’s best that Vseslav serves him. He declares loudly that they will be the ones to invade, desecrate, and take the distorted Tokyo and the strange and ugly stitched-together world.

Perun calls together the conquerors, the raiders, and the overthrowers of order. He calls themselves the Invaders, saying they will spread the Great War that spans the worlds and raid the hell out of Tokyo soon enough.

Temujin turns out to be there with him and calls Perun his ally while warning him that looking ahead all the time could cause him to trip over something in the present. After Perun notes his presence, Temujin says the one he’s looking for is over there in the shadows peeking at them. He draws an arrow, and Shinya asks Cupid to fire as he realizes he’s been spotted.

Both shots collide with each other midair, and the resulting explosion destroys both of them. Perun laughs as he calls Shinya Olympus’s backup World Representative. Shinya has previously managed to seriously hurt Perun in a previous loop, but Perun says it’s not going to play out the same way this time.

According to Perun the legitimate World Representatives of Olympus is the bloodline of Cronos. Their highest ranking member is Zeus, only Perun has the same class and concept as him and beat him to the punch to Tokyo. He also has a shoulder pad artifact created by Hephaestus (which looks to be Pelop’s replacement ivory shoulder) able to protect against any calamity.

Perun threatens to violate Shinya one day, but Temujin calls dibs. Perun thinks that’s funny and suggests making a contest out of it to decide who gets him. He stops thinking about that for a second to talk about why he was summoned to Tokyo. That would be the Kitezh exile Veles, his archenemy, poet, and corpse. He’s looking for you, the one carrying Veles’ memories, and he declares that he’ll get you this time.

Over where Shinya is, he decides to leave since there’s nothing else he can do. He says he needs to meet up with Kalki and Taromaiti, and then he wonders where you are and how you’re doing.

Scene then shifts to the Ikebukuro underground as Snow informs Claude that messengers from the Summoners have arrived. Claude permits them in, and narration says Snow leads whoever it is to a certain room down there. Claude greets them, and Garm says he’s glad Moritaka is okay. He also asks where everyone else is, particularly you.

Moritaka is glad Garm is alright and says you’re doing fine. He does note the Berserkers’ current status and asks if the Summoners are the only ones to not attack them. Claude admits that to be the case, saying that the members have been taken down because of information being obtained and their weaknesses exploited. He’s really feeling the pressure from how badly the guild has been pushed.

Garm says he guards Claude, but the other members have gone somewhere. Snow says the three of them are the only ones there, and that contact with Kamui is still out. All the Berserkers can do now is stall tactics, which isn’t much help either.

Moritaka feels bad about how things have gotten for them, especially as the Summoners have been mostly left alone. He does ask how it’s possible Claude can hide where the enemies can’t get to him, then asks if it has to do with being asked to bring Shuuichi along.

Narration brings up Shuuichi’s last name Togo for the first time as he stands there essentially dead on his feet while Moritaka looks over at him. Claude says it’s a simple matter and says the Wisemen guildmaster once made a request like that. That request was “make a safe house within the Ikebukuro Underground Labyrinth that not even any genius could guess at. Make it random so that even if details of their activities and mentalities were known, it couldn’t be predicted.”

Moritaka doesn’t understand all of it, but he is surprised at the thought going into the maze. Claude then comments about how you’re an alluring trophy, and Moritaka has to ask if he really means you. Claude corrects himself to say that it’s the memories hidden inside you that’s so attractive. He guesses the World Representatives only see you as a vessel.

Back to the situation at hand, Claude says that Ikebukuro is pretty much done for. However, according to the blueprints there should still be a secret room down there they never reached before. This should be the doing of the former Wisemen guildmaster, and Claude guesses there might be something in there that can turn things around. That’s why Moritaka and Shuuichi were called over here.

Moritaka agrees to help, saying the guilds should band together to overcome their hardships. Shuuichi however can’t bring himself to care, to Moritaka’s shock. Since Duo ditched him Shuuichi doesn’t see a point in living on. Claude is shocked too, then asks if Shuuichi depends on his blood ties. He is the vice guildmaster, which he then says is why he was never more than Duo’s tool.

Moritaka tries to snap Shuuichi out of it asking how long he’ll stay a fool. Shuuichi brushes him off, and Moritaka is upset at being told he’s not involved with things since he bled and sweated with him in the dojo. He knows how hard Shuuichi trained for Duo’s sake. Moritaka points out that he’s still alive, and that he can still talk with him again here as he thinks of Shino.

Scene then shifts to your side as you think about the battle with Musashi and sort through everything that happened. You remember that Solomon was in the middle of saying something, so you pull out your phone and try to summon him.

Despite all the conditions being met, nothing happens for once. You attempt to try again a few more times, each attempt ending in failure. You wonder why it is he won’t appear, and after countless tries a summoning circle appears.

Solomon doesn’t appear from the circle. Instead, it’s a sword artifact. It’s the same one as before, the one with the crack in it. You are surprised by this, then start remembering something Musashi said. There’s a flashback as Musashi talks about how Solomon is a part of you, and you wonder if the sword being damaged has done something to Solomon as you call his name.

You continue trying to summon him, the taps of your phone filling the workshop. Suddenly a large explosion goes off outside, and you stand up holding your sword as you wonder what happened. As smoke blows in through the door, several men charge in in lockstep.

The dialogue box initially describes the new mobs as wrestlers, despite looking more like jaguar kemonomimi stripper soldiers, who sound off with a really loud countdown in Spanish followed by an Olé. Narration even notes their showing up is a bit of a non sequitur. You either gawk at this sudden turn of events, wonder if they’re with the Crafters, or roll with it and give an olé of your own.

The wrestler mobs declare it’s time for a good old fashioned lucha libre and call out their luchador’s tope suicida. They aim their artifacts at you, which is a stretching wad of rubber that wraps you up. You yell about this ambush, ask if it’s rubber that’s stuck to you, and ask if they’re trying to pin you down.

The wrestlers immediately bumrush you with perfectly coordinated attacks as kicks and chops go flying in the air. You freak out for a second before noting they don’t actually hurt much and ask if they aren’t seriously attacking you.

Narration says that in an instant the workshop has turned into a lively lucha libre ring. You then comment in surprise about the numbers against you, their midair maneuvers, and how you can’t use your sword. The mobs ask if you think lucha libre is cool and declare the start of round two.

They shoot their rubber at you again and capture you. After another countdown in Spanish, they all jump into the air like they’re going for a one-shot kill move from the air. A voice speaks out to stop them, telling them to lay off of you as Talos reveals himself.

The mobs are surprised by his interruption, and Talos jumps even higher than the mobs to their collective disbelief. Talos says he is ideal, made to be loved more than anyone, then kicks the mobs away. They still have it in them to yell about how passionate the kick was as they drop to the ground.

Talos runs over to break you out after he lands while the mobs land on a pile of machinery, still sticking to the wrestling acting as they pass out. Talos asks if you’re okay and calls you by name, laughing as he says he’s glad he made it in time. You ask if he’s Hephaestus or say he seems like a cool older brother type.

Talos pretends he is Hephaestus and tells you to follow him to a safe place. You either agree, protest that Arc is still out there, or just give in and go with him. Going with B, Talos says he’ll tell her later and points out that you can’t fight as is.

Elsewhere other wrestler mobs are attacking Arc as they call her a heel and tell her to show them her moves. She was taken by surprise as she tried to hurry back. The mobs jump up for an aerial attack, and Arc notes that they’re legitimately strong, even if their cheerfulness is weird as hell. She wonders where you went and hopes you’re okay.

Back to your side, Talos fights off the soldiers as he takes you further inside until you reach a dead end. Talos checks for something, then asks you to stand there. You ask him at the point why he knows your name, and Talos breaks character to say he’s completed his orders. He asks that you forgive him as he dumps you down a trap door. This somehow leads to the episode battle.