Guess I Really am a Wanyūdō Now. Cough

 

The reptilian Teras scattered in panic.

They had originally intended to circumvent Mount Etna and launch a surprise attack from the rear. Instead, they had been ambushed mid-invasion.

Two machines had ambushed them—both Kryptos.

One bore the feathers of a crow and an eerie head: a face like a long-nosed mask. The other was a heavily armored Silhouette-type Mythology Weapon.

「You are…」

Before the Teras could even utter a question, the armored Silhouette vanished and reappeared behind them—its acceleration unnaturally swift.

「Why…?」

The Telkhines-type Teras voiced its disbelief, only to be cleaved in two the next moment.

「Truly like the wind. Well done, Gao-dono.」

「And you’ve already cleaned up on your end, haven’t you, Karasutengu.」

Gao—the spirit of wind from Native American legend, said to dwell in storms—was the origin of this Mythology Weapon. Karasutengu had been mowing down the reptilian-type Teras with a staff-shaped laser cannon.

「So Bahamut has sided with Morgan.」

「Indeed. I suppose we, too, ought to regroup with them.」

「But the humans we’re sheltering aren’t too keen on that.」

Though small in number, these two were also protecting humans.

Yet those humans hesitated to join Realm or the settlements protected by Aural and his group.

「If Libya-sama returns, perhaps they’ll change their minds.」

「Perhaps. For now, our best course is to remain behind the scenes—out of Realm’s and Morgan’s sight.」

「Exactly so.」

Karasutengu stood atop the wreckage, lost in thought.

「It’d be ideal if Morgan were a trustworthy Kryptos…」

Not all Kryptos who protected humans belonged to Realm or to Aural’s group. These two were among the so-called strays—Kryptos sheltering humans independently, with their own distinct positions. The same held true for the Teras. Libya’s offshoot, Echidna, ruled over them as their leader, protecting humans in her own… highly problematic way.

「It’ll depend on Asia’s Knight’s actions. No matter how things turn out, though, I doubt any harm will come to the humans. He is from the country your myth originated, right?」

「Indeed. I’d like to meet him someday. Sunekosuri would be thrilled.」

He whispered the name of his partner Kryptos—a small creature hard to categorize: catlike, doglike, perhaps even tanuki-like.

「An artificial Kryptos… Morgan really went all in.」

「There was another one that looked like Wanyūdō-dono. Probably a Kasha. That one is also a Kryptos, I doubt it would harm humans.」

「Fair point. Capunis and the rest are waiting. Shall we return?」

「Understood.」

Having fulfilled their purpose, the two Kryptos left the battlefield without fanfare.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

Kou and the others infiltrated the sealed sector where Echidna awaited.

Its structure—only accessible to Development Engineers—was similar to the sealed sectors on Planet Asia, so Kou and Matt faced no barriers.

Arthur, piloted by none other than Libya herself—the super AI in charge of the planet—entered unimpeded as well.

「That path’s sealed.」

「Figures.」

「That path?」

Matt interjected as Kou and Asia exchanged words.

「When we came before, there was a single straight path. That path is the one used for regular operations—it’s the public access route, so to speak. That’s common in sealed sectors.」

「I would have liked to use the straight path…」

「We’re intruders this time, remember? It can’t be helped.」

Asia smiled softly at Matt’s complaint.

「Don’t worry, I’ll protect you too, Matt-niichan.」

「Indeed. Leave it to us.」

「I’m counting on you…」

Matt, knowing he wasn’t suited for front-line combat, clung to the promise of protection from the younger Flack. Not all Development Engineers were combat specialists. Kou, Hyoue, and Kurt were the exception, not the norm.

「I heard the Kashas went in ahead…」

Three Silhouettes advanced down the corridor. The unmanned Kashas and Cait Siths weren’t stopped by the defense system either.

Inside, the scene was bizarre.

「Looks like the Kashas and the Cait Siths rampaged through here.」

Asia summed it up succinctly.

「‘Rampaged’ is putting it lightly. This place looks like a tissue box after a cat finished playing with it.」

The remains of reptilian Teras were strewn about. The simil Kou had used was strangely accurate.

「Echidna probably deployed mass-produced reptilian Teras in the maze-like sector to drain our ammo.」

Libya analyzed Echidna’s strategy.

「And instead, they got overwhelmed by a torrent of Panjandrums and giant cats. They literally ended up steamrolled without being able to do anything.」

Matt’s conclusion was probably accurate.

「They aren’t Panjandrums, Matt. They are Kasha.」

Kou corrected him.

「Let’s not get stuck on that tangent. I already told them not to enter the deepest sector.」

Concerned by the Kashas and Cait Siths’ recklessness, Kou had issued prior instructions.

「Echidna’s strategy was to wear us down using sheer numbers of reptilian Teras. Likely with some heavy hitters mixed in. But she was outplayed. Like pouring water into an ant colony, we flooded her base with Kashas and Cait Siths.」

「I guess it’s the results of her actions, she dug her own grave trying to stall us.」

「You are probably right…」

Echidna was Libya’s offshoot. She was a little concerned about her.

「I wonder what your fragment is really thinking…」

「I would like to see what would happen if one of your cores became a Teras, Asia.」

「Probably she would just turn out to be a pretty and gentle Kryptos.」

Asia puffed her chest with pride. Kou and Matt said nothing.

「Last time, there was an Another Level Silhouette here. We don’t know if there’s a second one… but the Kashas and Cait Siths combined wouldn’t stand a chance against it. Echidna would have already used it if she had another. The odds are low we will encounter one」

「Of course not! If dozens of those things were just lying around, the entire Nemesis system would be toast!」

「Ha ha ha… You are exaggerating, Asia.」

Arthur chuckled awkwardly—perhaps with a hint of self-awareness.

「I know Arthur’s amazing, but he’s not a bad guy.」

Flack spoke with a straight face.

「Be careful, Flack. It’s always the gentlemanly types you have to watch. Especially the British ones.」

「U-Understood.」

「I’m the embodiment of chivalry from all of Europe, not just Britain. You can rest easy.」

「Well… Yeah… Arthur’s myth is the Legend of King Arthur. King Arthur is supposed to be the perfect knight, so you might be right, but…」

Asia was the first to sense something was wrong.

「Emergency signal from the Kashas and Cait Siths?!」

「That room should be the only thing at the end of this corridor. I told them not to go inside… Damn it, let’s move!」

Kou and the others rushed down the corridor. He had strictly ordered the Kashas and the Cait Siths not to venture beyond the corridors, but it seemed they had found trouble.

「Kasha! Cait Sith!」

Flack cried out.

The Cait Siths had lost their rear legs, and the Kashas had their wheels shattered.

「Sorry, boss… The Cait Siths got hurt ‘cause of us…」

「You’re in pieces yourself!」

「Heh… Guess I really am a Wanyūdō now. Cough」

The Kasha spewed fire, losing strenght.

「Nyaa…」

「What’s it saying?」

「It’s sorry. It said there was a really interesting-looking unit and went to investigate. The Kashas jumped in to save it just in time.」

「Myah…」

「You’re hurt too. Don’t push yourself.」

「It’s not a real injury, some parts are damaged but can be replaced…」

「That doesn’t matter, Matt-niichan. Kasha’s reactor is damaged. Kou-niichan, I can’t use Arthur to do emergency repairs. Can you do it?」

「Oof… I feel like I lost something, but it’s true, I’m not designed to do repairs. I rarely malfunction, after all.」

「Leave it to me. Matt, help me!」

「Of course, Kou!」

The two Lanius swiftly examined the damage and checked Kasha’s reactor.

「The design is simple, but that also means the damage runs deep.」

「We’ll shut you down for the moment, we will have to fix you later, the damage is to deep to fix in the field. That okay, Kasha?」

「Wait a sec. Before that, take a look at this footage Cat and I recorded.」

Just before it shut down, Kasha transmitted footage to their Silhouettes.

It showed blue-black armor. A slim silhouette with massive wings.

「Wouldn’t let us get close. Even Cat couldn’t outmaneuver its pinpoint blasts. I think it was using a charged particle cannon. Be careful.」

「Got it. That’s valuable intel. Thanks, Kasha.」

「Definitely a top-tier Antique Silhouette. That was crucial. Thanks, Kasha.」

With a faint smile, Kasha powered down. Matt had shut down the reactor.

「We’ll get you fixed up soon.」

「Nyaa.」

「Cait Sith says it’ll stay here to protect Kasha.」

「Got it. We’ll leave it to you, Cait Sith.」

「Nya!」

After moving Kasha to a safe spot, Flack turned to Kou.

「Hey, Kou-niichan… what is a Wanyūdō?」

「A yokai shaped like a burning wheel.」

「There is another youkai shaped like a wheel?!」

Asia jumped at Kou’s answer.

 

 

AN:

Though Planet Libya is large and most of humanity is devastated, scattered hamlets remain—many protected by Kryptos.

Some are hidden villages, some more like faerie realms, shielded from Murders or Teras detection.

Morgan is an emergent third force. Neither humans nor Mythology Weapons fully trust her yet. The fact that she didn’t participate in the war against the Stones—a war where even the Teras fought alongside the Kryptos—and now she is trying to become their leader doesn’t earn her a lot of sympathy.

How Morgan and Arthur integrate with the other Mythology Weapons is a key issue going forward. Not quite postwar partitioning, but close.

Realm itself is practically a giant hidden village, after all.

As for when Kasha meets Wanyūdō… well, nothing special will happen. Wheel-based spirits are rare worldwide. Hephaestus once made a tricycle, but it lacked will.

Wanyūdō is a proper Kryptos by the way. And yes—there are male and female versions of Wanyūdō!