Chapter 9 Episode 7: They are the Crafters 3

After that brief interlude with other people, we go back to our side as we battle it out with Musashi by the Kamata school gates. Blade clashes against blade, and sparks fly. The battle is even, and Musashi smiles as he has fun while backing up a few steps.

Musashi says you aren’t bad, then wonders aloud about cranking up the gear. He decides to hold back a little less, calling this a once in a lifetime chance to make you see his full strength. He holds both the swords already in his hands and the ones still in their scabbards, then throws four of the five at you.

You react in surprise and/or try to knock them down. This is done by you leaning back and using your sword to swat them away. But as you do so, Musashi rushes in and attacks with his remaining sword and a scabbard. Musashi taunts you afterwards saying that if you drop your guard he’ll one-shot you. He moves like he’s calculated his movements, then swings at you with the sword he had planted in the ground.

As you try to block the move, you reflexively guard to the right as Musashi tries to feint. He’s impressed saying most people would have fallen for it and lost their heads, and narration says he had picked up one of his other swords to attack. At that point you notice the other swords flying above his head.

Musashi says you caught on faster than he thought, then taunts you about whether you can really keep up. He continues his assault, attacking with all his blades whether thrown, fallen into the ground, or sometimes with the sword sheathes themselves like he’s performing a war dance. With no openings presented you are forced on the defensive.

After so many sword strikes, Musashi goes for the finisher from your blind spot. You freak out and/or call out for Arc, and in the next instant Musashi is the one pushed away. Arc runs in and says you were almost done for, then asks who Musashi is after having shot down his sword with her chains.

Musashi initially complains about the 1v1 being interfered with before stopping as he notes neither side is truly “one.” You thank Arc for the assist. She says it’s fine since you two are allied together, then goes back to asking who Musashi is. She tried to tie up his whole body, but all she really managed was knocking away his sword, so he can’t be a normal kid.

Musashi stays quiet, so Arc asks a different question. She demands to know what his business with you is and is willing to force the answer out of him. Musashi mulls that over and says “they” have business with anyone who has business with Kamata. Then he simplifies by saying he’s the bodyguard here.

You either ask about the bodyguard thing or the use of plurals to describe himself. Arc says that appearance-wise Musashi seems to be one person, but he’s still turning out to be an unexpected obstacle. Musashi insists that he is five people, and Arc says she doesn’t get what he’s saying.

Musashi is annoyed into explaining some more, then talks about how the five rings will harmonize into one, the same as the ring attached to Solomon. You parrot this back in surprise, and Musashi declares his NP causing his five swords to shine in all the colors. Arc sees it all happening and warns you of his attack, while Musashi says this should make it easier to understand.

Musashi starts moving with even more refined movements. What you thought was unmoving moves, and what you thought was going to be hard is soft. The five blades attack relentlessly, as if you were being attacked by a pack of living things. Arc attempts to pin him down, but she is unable to catch his guilt. She says the chains seem confused, like they can’t focus on which target to capture.

You activate your sword’s ability to cut gravity to fly above Musashi. He’s impressed by the power, but he cuts into your leg for your troubles. He explains it as being able to imitate the Reverse Swallow Cut they’ve known was done by the man who invented the technique. You grit your teeth at being cut back down and say you can’t read his swordsmanship.

Arc calls out and asks if you’re okay. Musashi comments it’s just a matter of math about who would win between two people who can’t work well together and two who can. Arc starts to talk about what he’s said about you guys before deciding to instead ask about what Musashi said earlier. She asks if his swords each have someone’s memories and if he’s conversing with the memories he’s drawing out.

Musashi tells her to butt out since he’s talking to you. He then describes himself as five people with different roles. Those five work as one, and his two swords work as one dragon. This is the first time he’s seen a vessel surpass that, so he just has to fight you. He challenges you to a duel.

Arc comments on Musashi’s huge interest in you and her surprise about this turn of events. Specifically, that you two would meet someone who knows how to pull out the memories from several artifacts and speak with them. She wonders if that’s possible with the Genociders’ artifacts.

Musashi tells you to get serious or die. You either say you’ve been doing that or sarcastically say you wouldn’t want that. Musashi doubts that you are going full power and comments on your having part of your power cut away. You ask what he means by that. Musashi thinks he’s being very clear and says he’s talking about That Dragon.

You ask in disbelief if he means Solomon. He’s confused by the name, but says whatever name you give your power/tools is cool. He thinks it’s more important to focus on your state of being, where you’re in a death match and leaving aside a part of yourself, a part of your tool, and a part of your sword unused.

You insist your sword is in front of you, and that you aren’t leaving anything unused. Musashi says that is true, except that something is up with one of them, not with the others. His young man self would have shouted “it’s torn!” or “it’s broken!” if this happened way back when. You ask if he means Solomon when he say one other sword, and you tell him you can’t summon him during battles.

Musashi questions why you can’t. Is it because someone told you? Did you ever try it out for yourself? He wonders if you think what can’t be seen doesn’t exist, and that this is what people mean when they say they can’t call things from That Side. If so, his selves within his swords should be the same.

He also makes a comparison to the metal of a sword, where there is an inner part and an outer part. That would mean it wouldn’t be possible for any coming and going. You and Arc catch onto something he said, and you ask if he’s the memories from within his swords. Arc asks if he can draw or the memories and coexist.

Musashi thinks you guys focus on the weirdest things, but decides to humor you guys. But yes he confirms that They are the memories of people from another world whose memories exist in the swords, and they can change places through the kid’s body. But since people only have two arms and can only hold two things, only two of them can be used at the same time. You beg him to tell you how he does it.

Musashi stops for a second before answering. He says he can do it because the boy’s heart is empty, so it can soak things up like a sponge. He then decides this is enough free exposition and says you’ll have to beat him if you want to ask him anything else. Since he’s told you so much already he expects something good, and he gets into position, two swords in hand and the rest planted in reach.

Musashi then yells that they’ll never be beaten by a rookie who won’t even trust a part of themselves. You are shocked at the proclamation and ask if he means Solomon again. He says he is and asks if he’s wrong.

Flashback occurs to just earlier when Solomon asked if you distrust him, if you can’t trust him. You decide to ask Arc to step back. She seems hesitant but agrees, saying she’ll pray for your success. She pulls back her chains and falls back.

You and Musashi face each other, holding still. He challenges you to do something. You hold your sword and take a breath, focusing your mind. You cop to not knowing anything about Solomon. Flashback to earlier this chapter when you met Breke and Solomon was asking about what “this” is and “why.”

You say he probably had things he couldn’t say. Thinking on it he also acted suspiciously at times. He acted like he was hiding something. Flashback goes way back earlier to an earlier summoning where he first pops out or something. He said that if you’re ever in trouble you should ask him for help.

But even so... flashback to another time to when he says he’ll track the players you’ve met before, then freaks out about all the hits on his search result. He asks if you’re really going to go, then asks if you’re ready for a bloody hell on earth.

You talk about how Solomon came to you when you were all alone. Flashback to some time to where Solomon reminds you you have a strategy meeting with Shirou and the others after school. He says he’ll be listening too, so you can relax about that. Then he tells you to have fun at school. Flashback shifts to the casino incident where he comes up with the fake key idea. Flashback then shifts to some other time where he asks you to call him in case something happens.

You talk about how Solomon cried. That he said he wanted you to believe in him. So you say you will. You always have. You’ve decided you’ll trust him now. You grip your sword, then call out to Solomon.

https://youtu.be/J99025KFL6Q

Your soul screams, and your sword reacts in answer. Suddenly it slips from your hand. Despite there no one being there as far as can be seen, it feels as though someone asked you to open up your hand. Arc notices something happen in your opened hand as she thinks she saw some sort of phantom for a second. It looked as though you were holding onto a dragon’s tail.

Musashi is impressed by the display and by how you could hold a dragon’s tail just by using words. He says a sense like that is a big deal. But just believing in something... you yell as you hold the sword two-handed again. In the sword’s shadow, another dragon’s shadow is overlaid. You call out your CS, while Musashi also makes his move.

In one swing you cut both distance and gravity, jumping forward to slap Musashi out of the sky. He defends using both his held swords, and Arc says this is the first time he’s gone to block one of your attacks. He says he couldn’t dodge, so parrying was all that’s left. But he says you shouldn’t think this will be enough to win.

Both of you charge each other, and the instant you think you’ll both clash against each other...there is the sound of something breaking, and Arc says there’s a crack in your artifact now. Musashi points out that one side yelling about believing is still one-sided. Even if you know nothing you can believe, but that isn’t enough by itself.

Musashi throws his two swords and causes yours to fly out of your grip. He taunts you about how you weren’t able to catch him and draws two other sword as he goes for the kill. Arc calls out to you convinced he’s going to cut your head off, but thankfully, Xolotl comes in to save you by activating his CS.

A tree protected by wind splits the ground between you and Musashi, and Xolotl calls out asking if you’re okay. You either act surprised he’s there, call his name and affiliation politely, or ask why he’s there. Musashi is annoyed by the intrusion, though he notices yet another coming from the other side.

Amatsumara comes over yelling at Musashi to stop and that you guys are with the invitee. Musashi smiles wryly as he puts away his swords, and Xolotl stammers about his surprise at seeing you in a desperate situation. He’s glad you’re okay, or else Hakumen would have beaten his ass.

Amatsumara comments on how quickly you guys were going, and that he wasn’t sure what would’ve happened if it didn’t stop. Musashi tries to argue he kept suspicious people out and tries to wheedle a compliment out of Amatsumara. He admits he has a point, or at least showed his abilities.

Musashi says he obeys his boss’s orders, though he’s fine with him acknowledging his abilities. You say that was a close call and that you weren’t sure how it’ll end up, and that you couldn’t keep up with the flow of things.

Musashi thanks you for sparring with him since he didn’t want to be thought of as not doing any sort of work. You either are outraged he’s using you as a work excuse or call him a jerk. He apologizes saying they need to show how useful they are as a tool if they’re to get food. Also it’d make a good present for any new employers in the future.

At this point you ask why Xolotl is there, so he starts to mention what Hakumen sent him to do. Amatsumara says you guys should continue this inside since you seem to have business here anyway. He introduces himself, so you can either treat this as a first meeting or say it’s been a while since you’ve seen him.

Going C, it takes him a moment to recognize you, and he then laughs about how the intro was pointless. In any case he prompts you guys to come inside. Kurogane should be back soon, so he’ll introduce you to him then.

As you guys go, Solomon’s voice calls out weakly and he says he’s your...something. A wind blowing by drowns him out and no one hears a thing as the episode ends.