Chapter Twenty-One: The Demonic Spirit of Suna

Warm sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, casting several round patches of light on Yue Longze’s body. A few crystalline dewdrops still clung to the corners of his eyes, gleaming in the sunlight. Fallen leaves were tangled in his damp hair, and his resolute face bore several bleeding scratches from the gravel on the ground.

“Long, wake up... wake up...”

In the haze between waking and sleep, a gentle, melodious voice of a young woman echoed in Yue Longze’s mind—ethereal and dreamlike.

“Is that... Camilla?”

As his consciousness gradually cleared, the piercing sunlight made it hard for Yue Longze to open his eyes; his thoughts remained muddled. He forced his eyes open to a narrow slit, glimpsing a canopy of lush branches with beams of sunlight piercing through their gaps.

His head still fuzzy, Yue Longze simply closed his eyes again and lay there a while longer.

After about seven or eight minutes, his mind finally felt lucid. He sat up unsteadily, stretched his stiff limbs, squinted his small eyes, and surveyed his surroundings.

The ground was carpeted with fallen twigs and decaying leaves. Moss clung in thick green patches to many roadside stones, and birds in the trees sang cheerfully.

He was in a mountain forest.

Yue Longze stood where he was and gazed into the distance. Beyond this patch of woods, he could vaguely make out the silhouette of a small, dilapidated temple.

"Hmm, it seems there must be humans nearby."

He felt for the Divine Dark Rod in his inner jacket pocket, straightened his clothes, tucked his trouser legs securely into his brown leather boots, and retied his loosened laces. Then Yue Longze started slowly toward the ruined temple.

“I wonder where those Kyrieloid people were flung to by that wormhole... and what exactly happened with Camilla...”

As he walked the woodland path, Yue Longze frowned, still pondering that battle with the third generation Kyrieloid and the mystery of Camilla.

Voices in conversation ahead interrupted his thoughts.

“There used to be a samurai statue and a sword here, right?”

“Uh, yes, a statue of a samurai named Jita Jinryu, and the Japanese sword he used to defeat the Suna Demon.”

...

Two police officers and several people in white combat uniforms conversed nearby, among them a short-haired beauty with delicate features in the same white uniform.

Yue Longze’s heart leapt with excitement—the white uniform was the specially designed gear of the TPC Victory Team!

His former comrades in arms were right before his eyes. Unable to contain his elation, Yue Longze strode forward in great bounds, rushing toward his teammates.

“Hey—Daigo!”

Grinning broadly, Yue Longze waved his arm as he ran, calling out at the top of his lungs.

The group, who had been deep in discussion, all turned in unison to look at him.

“Huh? Daigo, is that your friend?” asked Rina, her beautiful eyes sparkling with curiosity as she patted Daigo’s shoulder.

“I don’t know him...” Daigo replied, eyeing Yue Longze with confusion.

By now, Yue Longze had reached them, bursting with excitement.

“Everyone, long time no see!” He gesticulated exuberantly, giving Daigo a friendly punch in the chest and pinching Kuai’s chubby cheek, his face alight with joy.

The four Victory Team members who’d come to investigate the incident were utterly bewildered.

“Um... excuse me, but are you sure you’re not mistaking us for someone else?” Daigo asked awkwardly.

“Hey, what are you talking about, Daigo!” Yue Longze said, still slinging an arm around Daigo’s shoulders.

“Sir, please don’t interfere with the Victory Team’s official duties!” the tall young policeman interjected, noting that the team members didn’t seem to recognize this man.

“Please step aside!” The young policeman impatiently pushed Yue Longze away.

“Hey, what’s this? I’m a Victory Team member too!” Now it wasn’t just the Victory Team who were baffled—Yue Longze himself was utterly confused.

“Daigo! Commander! Kuai! Rina! Why don’t you recognize me?!”

At that, the two police officers who had been assisting in investigating the Suna Mountain incident each seized one of Yue Longze’s arms and dragged him away without mercy...

Yue Longze: ^#$*@%

“But how did he know our names...?” Daigo muttered, puzzled, watching Yue Longze being hauled off.

“For hardcore Victory Team fans, our names aren’t exactly secrets. They probably even know what color underwear you like to wear!” Kuai said, patting Daigo’s shoulder with a shrug.

Daigo: ...

——————————

After being unceremoniously dragged away by the police, Yue Longze found a relatively flat stone, brushed the dust off, and sat down heavily.

He was calm now. After so much experience, he’d changed a lot from the careless, brash man he once was.

“Why don’t they recognize me...?” Yue Longze couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he tried.

He carefully recalled their earlier conversation—he’d overheard them mention “Jita Jinryu” and “samurai sword” and such. Suddenly, a bad premonition—or perhaps a bold idea—came to him.

With this thought in his mind, one that needed confirmation, Yue Longze stood up, brushed off his pants, and headed back toward the group still gathered outside the samurai temple.

A breeze stirred, tossing his hair gently.

“Hey, why are you back again?” the tall policeman said angrily.

“No, no, I just—”

But before Yue Longze could finish, the ground beneath Suna Mountain began to shake violently.

Rocks tumbled, the earth trembled. From four sides of Suna Mountain, massive columns suddenly rose—on closer look, they were two giant arms and two enormous feet!

“Awaken! Awaken! Destroy this world completely!”

The eerie, terrifying voice resounded throughout Suna Mountain.

“As expected of the Suna Demon—the malice is overwhelming,” Yue Longze muttered, frowning.

From the earlier conversation, he’d deduced that the monster in the mountain was the Suna Demon.

“Jita Jinryu should be making his appearance now...” Yue Longze murmured to himself.

But that wasn’t important—a Suna Demon could be defeated by the combined efforts of Tiga and Jita Jinryu.

What mattered was the idea he needed to verify...

...

Rina was already piloting the Swallow One, scouting the colossal limbs that had erupted from the mountain.

Daigo had also encountered the man possessed by Jita Jinryu.

Yue Longze paid all this no mind. After asking the two police officers a few questions, he returned to the stone and, with a complicated expression, sat down again...