Walking under the reccesses of the cavern hole, Ichi stopped near a luxorious car. Rikya handed Syon's journal to him despite Ichi's protests. He held it in his hand, flopping it about. His hand tightened around the orc sword's hilt. A quick flick of his wrist twisted the orc sword free and the infinite battle cry echo in his head. Red pulses traveled over the weapon in waves.

Ichi tossed Syon's journal into the sky. Aiming straight for it, he swung the sword. Black energy pulsed around him as he forced the blade that would never travel where he wanted it travel to cut Syon's journal apart. The sword cracked as he swung. He exerted immense pressure aiming for Syon's falling journal, his black energy crawling across the blade like tendrils.

The orc sword's red pulses faded as the hunk of metal snapped. Part of it thudded into the luxorious car nearby, and the hilt remained in his hand. Syon's journal hit the ground as if nothing happened.

Ichi walked over to the car. The entire door caved in from the front half of the sword. Ichi pulled the metal hunk out with great effort, using his repelling black energy to free it. Holding it, he felt like he broke something. No, to be more accurate, the feeling was 'killed'. The word came to Ichi's mind. Syon sort of threw it at him, and somehow, he broke it.

Must be a druid thing, he surmised. He innocently tried to place the sword back together. It didn't feel right. The roar was gone, whatever it was, Ichi mourned the death the blade. He threw the hilt and hunk of metal into the backseat of the car. Turning back to the ground, he eyed Syon's journal. The tanuki plush came to mind again.

Genji Danzaburo probably planned this future out for him. Myon used a gun. So Genji gave Ichi a revolver. Syon used a glove with a wire that made people into puppets. So Genji gave Ichi a tanuki plush. Rikya said Syon wanted revenge on Genji, he already imagined for what. Syon probably sensed she was manipulated somehow.

Or, even worse, and far more likely, that was Genji's intent all along. When Ichi would walk into that vault below Grandpa's house as a druid, or by his Grandpa's guidance, he would have ended up with those items, in that village, with Syon and Myon. It sounded impossible, but Ichi couldn't disagree with the conclusion.

Perhaps, Ichi thought, the whole reason that Syon and Myon were on Earth was to watch Ichi. If he was born a druid, they may have been the chains that Genji created. Somehow. Ichi shook his head. He was thinking too much about it.

He reached out to Syon's journal on the ground. He grasped it lightly, picking it up. Flipping it around in his hand as before, he couldn't get himself to open it. He didn't want to. Ichi reminded himself that he was heading towards Syon, not away.

And then he thought of a way to deal with this in the least painful way possible. It occured to him as he stared out in the direction of a large black dome. Renya's Lab. He flicked the journal in his hand.

He wasn't sure about the extent of his abilities. He had no idea why Genji gave him those items. He didn't feel like he could trust Renya, or, for that matter, anyone but Rikya.

He looked around the inside of his newly named giant robot, 'Avalon'. Looking at the situation, he didn't feel like he had a choice. Renya demostrated something very close to loyalty. Heading to Oni or Tama like he planned wouldn't make him any friends. He needed to make friends with the one person who already was acting like his servant.

There was the choice of avoiding Syon, but there was no avoiding Renya. If he wanted to continue this journey, if he truly wanted to see where Renya's intent would lead him, he had to face her head on.

Ichi nodded his head. He placed the journal in the inside of his black blazer. His eyes stared at his coat pocket with dread. First things first. Ichi got into the car and drove off towards the black dome.