Chapter 10 Episode 14: Rules of War 2

Mononobe starts narrating about how spring is coming again to Shinjuku, and ‘tis the season for the teachers to think about their still immature students. Guidance counseling goes on, and of the many that come in, there’s always at least one like you. By that, he means that there’s a student who is nearing graduation but still hasn’t found themselves as they waver in anxiety.

Mononobe figures that maybe you’ve never thought about the happiness of going into society as such. Maybe you’ve thought that the world would go on unchanging whether you were there or not. Maybe you lied to yourself to meet the hopes and expectations of those around you. And maybe you haven’t found anyone to follow and admire.

Mononobe says that if someone believes that they are replaceable, they’ll never take good care of themselves. If you were to go out like that, you’d be the person who’d live in desperation by throwing yourself aside and hurting yourself, wouldn’t you? Or would you try to become some sort of ideal person that other people want? Or for a third idea, would you just accept the rules and live like that?

Mononobe says the above three choices are not the only choices available to you. He’s not sure if he got that through to you, but he does have something he needs to say to you, no matter how badly you might take it. You might see him as being harsh and distant, but that’s precisely he has to do so. And so comes his message: you shouldn’t chase after anyone. Not even him.

Narration takes over to talk about how Tokyo is split into three sections controlled by the true big three guilds in the west, south, and east. To the west is the Warmongers, the guild of war makers and political strife types where the soldiers think nothing of sacrificing themselves. To the south is the Invaders, the guild of raiders and revolutionaries who advance their plans through ambushes and betrayals. And then there’s the east, the guild of arbiters and selectors. They are...

Narration decides to tangent over to Ouji in Kita Ward and focus on one of the east guild’s top leaders, the Kamui Kotan World Representative Koropokkur. He is the one who possesses the Portal that contains Oujimachi Academy, the front line where the east and west factions clash.

Koropokkur’s direct subordinates are noted to be conspicuously composed entirely of children, yet their cruelty is infamous. They are ruthless in controlling the rules of the battlefield. Anyways Koropokkur uses his NP to summon a blizzard, and narration finally name drops his guild as the Rule Makers.

The Warmongers mobs fall to the blizzard, but some new guy pops up that causes Koropokkur to furrow his brows at his presence. New guy is noted to be a young boy too, radiating a majestic air as he stands alone in front of Koropokkur’s soldiers. Koropokkur’s expression becomes stern at him, and Tanetomo sighs in relief about managing to outlast until reinforcements came.

New guy is labeled by the text box as Sun God Boy? and speaks with an accent thick enough that he gets subtitles like Kijimuna does. He starts activating something as he chants about countless stars looking up to him and passing through the world of the living, then throws out his NP. It seems to be named Ugwan Butochi: Tale of Despairing at the Sun.

New Kid uses the tropical sun he carries on his back to melt the frozen ground Koropokkur created, and he is described as the World Representative of the world of endless summer Nirai Kanai. He is the boy king of the sun Tida. (On a side note I can’t tell you much more than that since all I can find in relation to what’s given is that the NP somehow relates to the Ascension of Hinukan.)

Tida and Koropokkur’s powers are noted to be opposites, and Tanetomo says now’s about a good time. He also says if their artifacts made direct contact then Kita Ward would very likely go to crap. The East guild shouldn’t want that either, so now would be a good time to negotiate a ceasefire.

Time skips a bit as the Warmongers and Rule Makers sign the ceasefire they’ve negotiated. Horus, currently labeled Bird Policeman?, names himself the World Representative of Aaru as he makes his proclamation. He swears that both sides have not lied in the makings of the ceasefire, then declares the new treaty to be concluded between them. On the condition that the Warmongers provide a satisfactory explanation, the Rule Makers will stop their force’s advancement. If this agreement is broken, then his artifact will expose it beneath the sun at once.

After that Tanetomo and the others go process the paperwork, and the battles stop for the time after that. Yasuyori thanks Tanetomo for his work and says their work on ‘that side’ is done. Tanetomo thanks him too but sighs about there being another agreement being made since many have been created over the course of many loops. These sorts of things are things that advisors including Tanetomo have to go over and examine the circumstances of, meaning they’re always swamped with work.

Tanetomo starts talking about needing to write up a bunch of answers for all the questions the East guild will be sending them when he notices a message. He expected it to happen, but it’s still getting worse. He’s received a report through the App about what’s happening in the southern front.

Yasuyori notices and asks if it’s about the south. Narration says the worst has happened in that the Warmongers’ forces are being shaved away instead of coming to a ceasefire there. Tanetomo talks about how they knew their human wave tactics is the worst possible option against the South’s trickery, but narration says that due to their memory fabrication the Warmongers soldiers have been made to betray each other.

Yasuyori mentions that he heard Balor was heading over there and starts mentioning the coastline. Tanetomo figures Balor will be able to do something there, but if he thinks about what happens after that, he says they need more manpower. He asks Yasuyori to handle that.

Yasuyori agrees and says he’ll go see Daikoku. Narration says Daikoku was the one to capture Yasuyori and sell him off to the prison school, and that Daikoku is also the dark auctioneer who trafficked many Transients. In Tokyo, aside from special exceptions, the true big three guilds cannot just add people to their forces. This is also one of the agreements that all three of them have decided upon. It was meant to split Tokyo in three, so it also extended to their recruiting.

Tanetomo says he’ll contact Mahakala then, and Yasuyori acknowledges the order. Narration points out that Yasuyori doesn’t notice his orb resonating as if predicting the meeting he’ll soon be going to.

Scene shifts over to Kabukicho where Shadow copies of the police including Tajikarao are milling around. Suzuka is peeking at them through the blinds of one of Tsukuyomi’s shops, mumbling in irritation. Tsukuyomi comments on the policemen’s shadows and that the Shinjuku police department must have fallen to the Warmongers. The Shadow aura lingering on his right hand reacts as if sensing others of its kind.

Suzuka asks if that idiot Tajikarao got replaced like a chump and yells about how he let his guard down. Tetsuya snorts that the police weren’t their allies to begin with, and that the power balance hasn’t changed. He also says that Gyoubu, Ibaraki, and Tetsugyuu being abducted is more important anyways.

Tsukuyomi notes that it’s finally night time, meaning guild battles have stopped for the day. As the guildmaster’s advisor he starts thinking, and things are being compared as being worse than when the Genociders stomped through town. Tsukuyomi thinks aloud about the war memories and about their shadows falling someday. If those are handled, the enemies’ reserve forces are highly likely to be infinite.

Suzuka asks who could possibly control that many Shadows, so Tsukuyomi brings up the Great Darkness Mahakala. As dramatically as he says it, he still smiles fearlessly. He says Suzuka was right when she called him the King of the Night, so he can’t have someone showing him up when it comes to nighttime battles. Also if he doesn’t make an effort here then the Outlaws guildmaster, the Queen of Kabukicho, is probably gonna beat his ass or something.

Tsukuyomi and the other Outlaws there dress up and gather together before nodding to him. He then says it’s time for them to head to Tokyo’s Dark Auction House, the place where Gyoubu and the other Kabukicho Transients have been taken to. Narration says everything before was a daytime battle, but now is where the nighttime battle begins.

Back to your side, you are running desperately as the battles and running repeat endlessly. Infinite memories of war attack you like automated dolls, but you cut them down until they fall like garbage. Yet before you know it they revive as if nothing had happened. On and on it goes in a place that is truly a war zone.

Every time this happens you see the mobs attacking you as less and less like living things. All you have time to think about is your own safety and fear, and eventually your sense of time fades away. You start forgetting when this reality ever started, at which point Solomon pops up to break your internal narrative and reminds you that this isn’t actually reality. This is a memory that Tezcatlipoca is showing you through his smoke.

You snap out of it and thank him. You also have the choice to ask him to let you pet and cuddle with him to calm yourself. If you do pick that there’s an extra bit with him swooning after it about how good you are at petting. Either way you are glad he’s here and are about to say something about the memories.

Narration says that the memories Tezcatlipoca is showing you doesn’t actually seem any special. They just won’t end, even if the battles themselves are the same kind you’ve always fought. Once one fight finishes, your wounds heal, and then some other battle starts up.

If this is all there is then anyone would forget their fears. They’ll also stop caring about their own safety. You wonder if this is what Taurus Mask and the others saw when Solomon notices something and points it out to you. Memory copies(?) of Bathym, Pollux, and Andvari appear, at which point the episode battle begins.