"Higi Village?"
"Yes, I heard the village chief there is taking in displaced people." The speaker nodded, though his tone was somewhat uncertain.
There were too many rumors in these chaotic times; he didn't know which were true and which were false. They said it was a pure land, but what if it turned into a demon's den upon arrival?
Even the Shogunate, whom they trusted implicitly, could do something as drastic as making them scuttle their own ships. Other forces, they feared, would be hard-pressed to be benevolent.
But what could they do? A Shogunate Army squad had died, and although they hadn't killed them, whether for the sake of silencing witnesses or for some other reason, their days ahead would likely be difficult.
That eerie, chilling Yashiori Island seemed to be their only destination. As for Higi Village, even if it was a demon's den, they had to brave it. They had only their worthless lives left, so if anyone wanted to take them, they could!
A considerable number of people harbored such thoughts. Enjou looked at their resolute expressions and comforted them:
"There's no need to be so tragic. I'll go with you all. If there's any danger, let's see if the flames in my hand agree first!"
As he spoke, several fist-sized fireballs appeared in Enjou's hand. With a squeeze of his palm, the fireballs dissipated into smoke, as if they had never appeared.
Watching the spirited Enjou in the distance, Enka quietly sidled up to Enyu.
"#&@...(Why are we saving these humans? Aren't we the Abyss Order, an evil organization that wants to overthrow The Seven Nations on the surface?)"
Fearing a beating, Enka spoke in the language of the Abyss Monster. After he finished, Enyu rewarded him with a heavy punch.
"Lest you forget, just a reminder. There's no precedent in The Order of an Abyss Mage betraying an Abyss Herald. We're setting quite the example."
Enyu said, enunciating each word, as he looked at Enka clutching his head. The Abyss Fire could have escaped, but due to their interference, it ultimately became Enjou's evolution material.
"Oh, right, it really does seem that way." Enka realized this upon hearing it. Subsequently, an indescribable sense of despondency emanated from him.
That gloomy aura directly caused Enyu and Ensa to move far away.
"Why… when did it start… that I became a traitor…" Enka looked at his palms, seemingly unable to accept the fact that he had long been a traitor.
"Thwack!" Seeing Enka in this state, Ensa delivered another punch, even more powerful than Enyu's earlier one, even raising a large bump on Enka's head.
"Enka, listen to me, will you please stop thinking so much from now on?" Ensa said, looking at Enka, who was deep in self-doubt.
"But…"
"I'll tell you another little secret: The Order doesn't know what we've done yet." Enyu leaned over and whispered to Enka.
"Why didn't you say so sooner?"
Enka immediately became carefree. Since they didn't know, it was as if it hadn't happened. And if it hadn't happened, he wasn't a traitor.
But why were they, as the Abyss Order, helping humans? Enka thought for a while, couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking.
Enka perfectly heeded Ensa's words. If he was told not to think, he wouldn't think.
Meanwhile, Enjou, who had been conversing with the crowd in the distance, had made new progress. He turned and walked over.
"Finished talking?"
"Return to the island we just left and find a place called Higi Village."
Enjou nodded and said.
Then his eyes fixed intently on Enyu, not letting go.
"You… what do you want?" Enyu suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Enyu, can you activate an element shield? We'll push you across to the island." Enjou rubbed his hands, looking very expectant.
"Is there a possibility, Enjou, that you could teleport to the opposite island and find a boat for us to ride?" Enyu tapped Enjou's head with his staff and said seriously.
"I knew you'd say that. Wait!" Enjou sighed. He knew Enyu wouldn't agree.
With an open palm, an Abyss Passage appeared before Enjou. He shouted to the restless crowd behind him, "I'm going to find a boat, don't worry."
With that, Enjou stepped into the Abyss Passage… "Splash~"
The seas surrounding Inazuma are still shrouded in storms, but within Inazuma, the ocean remains calm.
Neither the tatarigami of Yashiori Island nor the war between the Shogunate Army and the resistance meant anything to the vast ocean.
A white ripple cut across the calm sea, as a patched-up boat, made of rather "unbearable" materials, sailed across the water.
The boat itself was severely weathered, with some holes plugged with newly made wooden planks, making it look precarious, as if it could sink at any moment.
The broken boat had no sails, because its propulsion system was one that no nation in The Seven Nations could achieve—the Abyss Lector drive system!
Actually, it was just Enjou floating on the sea, pushing the boat with his hands.
Abyss Lectors are not like Apostles. Apostles are warriors, assassins, the sharp edge of The Order.
Singers, on the other hand, are mages, chanters, forbidden Scholars who study the mysteries of the Abyss.
Therefore, Singers generally know more things than Apostles; for example, Singers can fly while Apostles cannot.
Enjou looked at the "Waverider" he had spent half a day building and felt very satisfied.
Perhaps to a professional, this boat seemed too crude, but Enjou himself knew how much effort he had put into it.
The people on Yashiori Island who could run had already run away.
Enjou could only find a broken boat, then use materials on hand, Melt rusted swords and daggers on the ground to use as adhesive, cut down trees for patches, and after a good while of work, he finally got this boat ready.
In the center of the dilapidated boat, Enyu was black-faced, activating his element shield. Directly beneath his feet was an absurdly large hole, and the sea ice formed by Enyu's Cryo element shield happened to plug this large hole.
Although Enjou's excuse was that he had no materials, Enyu was eighty percent sure he just wanted to trick him.
"Sigh—" Enyu sighed and lay down within the element shield. Since things had come to this, what more could he say? He only hoped this boat wouldn't fall apart halfway, rendering his efforts useless.
Fortunately, although the boat Enjou built looked precarious, its quality was quite assured.
With Enjou's efforts, the broken boat cut through the waves and finally, without incident, returned to the distant Yashiori Island.
The group disembarked from the broken boat and looked at Yashiori Island beneath the dense dark clouds, a mix of emotions swirling within them.
When they set off, they had yearned for a new life on Narukami Island. Upon their return, that yearning was cruelly shattered, leaving only endless confusion about the future.
Fine rain, carried by the ceaseless sea winds of Yashiori Island, poured down on everyone, immediately soaking their bodies that had only just dried.
However, no one cared about these things anymore. Just rain; it was the least noteworthy part of a time of war.
"Does anyone know the way to Higi Village? I'm terrible with directions, so don't expect me to lead the way." Enjou, in human form, stepped out from the crowd. In his hand, a fireball spitting flames glowed brightly.
Enjou gently tossed his hand upward, and the fireball broke free, flying above everyone's heads.
As the fireball moved, the Pyro element energy in the air was continuously absorbed by it, and the light and heat of the fireball grew steadily larger.
In the end, the light emitted by the fireball above their heads was more than enough to envelop everyone. Wisps of steam rose from people's bodies, and their clothes visibly dried.
The fireball was like a small sun, warding off the fine rain and cold wind. Although the muddy ground could not be eliminated, it was already much better.
"Looks pretty good, doesn't it?" Enjou said with a laugh, hands on his hips, looking at the little gadget he had created.
"Alright, does anyone know the way!" Enjou asked again.
"I do! I do!"
Many people responded this time.
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