The bulwark-trio went into action almost instantly. Having been in thousands of battle drills, they seemed to move by instinct. Their progress was almost theatrical.

Hajime and Yuuta crouched into a squat as if poised to jump.

Aaaaaa!

Megumin squealed aloud, making her raiki surge. Her arms bulged and turned a dark sepia color. She made a fist with her right hand, and raiki gathered around it like bubbling vapors. The maid warrior grunted again and punched the ground with a kitsu technique.

Megumin: "Tou-kitsu earthquake!"

Bash! Rattle!

A tremor set off from the point of contact, rocking the pagoda on its foundations.

Hakaku held onto the railing to maintain his balance.

Hajime and Yuuta had made a coordinated jump when Megumin launched her kitsu. They were already in the air when the quake happened.

The other two teams lost their balance and staggered to the ground like dolls. As soon as Hajime-Yuuta set foot again, they set off their kitsu sequences.

Hajime: “Doi-kitsu fire-archer form!”

A flaming bow appeared in his grasp.

Whir! Whir! He quickly loosened kitsu arrows at Hakaku.

Yuuta: “Zei-kitsu gale blast!”

Bellow! A volume of air in front of him reeled into a violent twister and raced up towards the sundeck. Roar!

Zip! Zip! From the other side, Daigo released a fistful of petty knives in an arc. Kafu sent his fire-shrews up the steps while Chiyo shot icicles flying.

Nadeko-Illumi-Masaki simply raced up the steps, dodging the attacks of others.

Akako climbed a tree and hid in the foliage.

The purpose of the all-around siege was to keep Hakaku occupied long enough so that someone could touch the railing and win the contest. They had agreed earlier that whoever was victorious would share the whale tokens with the rest of the group. It made sense to form an alliance when going up against someone of kin-lord rank. It did not matter how many handicaps he provided them. Hakaku was exponentially more experienced than the kids.

Hustle! Rumble! The weather in the area seemed to have changed. Such was the quantity of raiki being drawn out. The colorful elementals made it seem like a festival of lights against the evening.

The intended attacks converged.

Hajime's fire arrows, Yuuta's twister, Daigo's petty knives, Kafu's fire shrews, and Chiyo's icicles reached their target.

Whoosh! To everyone's surprise, the barrage simply passed through Hakaku. As if he were permeable!

Boom! There was a shock wave of sorts as all the attacks met on the sundeck. Bash! Bricks and mortar shattered and exploded.

However, the impact was lost on Hakaku's body, which did not interact with the surrounding chaos.

The aspirants were stunned, unable to wrap their heads around what had happened.

Megumin: "How is that possible? How did your attacks pass through him?"

Hakaku: "Surprised? Have your teachers not made you familiar with shuzen? I am standing in a personal raiki space. I am immaterial right now!"

Most of the attackers were flustered, but Hajime and Yuuta were not about to give up so easily. They gestured to the other units for a follow-up attack.

Hajime: "Nadeko's group has almost reached the sundeck. Even if Lord Hakaku has vowed not to use kitsu, I think he may have set a trap. We need to thwart him before he acts."

The Chief Strategist released his shuzen. Apparently, he could not stay material for more than a few seconds. Perhaps it was a limitation of the technique.

Yuuta: "We need to sway his focus so that he cannot activate shuzen again. Megumin, we need another earthquake. Now!"

There was no response from the girl.

Yuuta: "Megumin?"

She was nowhere near them.

The duo turned to see Megumin had collapsed several steps down the monument, her body stiff and unmoving. A giant tentacle wound around her. The limb belonged to a humongous octopus coasting on the ground.

Megumin: “Help!”

Yuuta: "What the-"

Slick! A pair of tentacles raced towards the two men and wound around their ankles, dragging them down the steps.

Hajime: "Goddess, help me! What in the world is that?!"

The octopus was unnaturally oversized, its body twenty feet across. Megumin squeaked from her captivity.

Megumin: "Kill it now!"

The warriors tried to shake free from the tentacles by landing both physical and kitsu attacks, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, Nadeko-Illumi-Masaki found themselves surrounded by a dozen masked bandits. They surrounded the kids and attacked them with swords. The trio barely kept up defending themselves.

Nadeko: "What is going on?"

From the foliage of a tree, Akako looked at the spectacle, bewildered. Her comrades struggled to move, attacking their surroundings for no particular reason. There was nothing hostile around them.

Akako descended to the ground.

Akako: "Megumin, Nadeko, why aren't you moving?"

Megumin: "Can't you see this octopus restraining us? Why don't you help?"

Nadeko: "Bandits have surrounded us. Need some backup!"

Akako racked her brains for an explanation. Octopus? Bandits? They were waving, shooting, and swinging at the air. There were no attackers or monsters!

Invisible attacks? Why could she not see what they could?

An idea occurred to Akako.

Pop! She conjured a water lens through kitsu and looked through it, focusing on Hakaku. He stood motionless, in place, on the sundeck. But there was something different about him. One of his eyes was glowing a scintillating blue color. Even under the sunlight, it was unmistakable.

Akako: "Warriors! Lord Hakaku has activated Yamigan! He's controlling your minds! Break free!"

Hakaku: "Ah, you figured it out. As expected from Raiden Mikashita's daughter! However, that does not mean you are safe from my psychic attack."

Akako felt her feet go immobile. She looked down and saw herself sinking into what looked like quicksand.

Akako: "Nooo! I hate sand!"

All the contestants announced their surrender once they were helpless. The loss was more humbling than the bout with Yuuki. Hakaku released his ocular ability and broke his binding psychic hold over them.

The aspirants were less troubled by their failure and more intrigued by Hakaku's display of ocular powers. They gathered around him with a million questions.

Nadeko: "Lord Hakaku, please tell us more about the Yamigan."

Hakaku: "Well, first things first. Your attacks went through me because I formed an alternate raiki space and stepped into it. That is the fundamental principle of the art of shuzen. Since raiki does not belong to this world, you can form temporary or permanent pockets which do not interact with the material world. These pockets can be used for both civilian and military purposes. The art of shuzen is widely used to store heavy weapons when setting out to war. However, it has a time limitation, and it depletes enormous amounts of raiki."

Hajime: “And about the Yamigan?”

Hakaku: "Of course. As Akako pointed out earlier, my right eye had turned blue. It was because I had activated Yamigan, the exclusive ocular ability of the Yamazaki kin. You must have seen your elders at the citadel using ocular powers specific to their kin. And perhaps you know as well that the user loses eyesight for a few hours as a consequence. Kin-lords, Hyougi, and a few top warriors can use only one eye. This advanced ploy is used so that they aren't completely blinded in the middle of the battle."

Akako: "Wow!"

Hakaku: "While the detailed abilities of my Yamigan are a military secret, I can tell you what the general Yamazaki ocular ability is. It can create illusions. The complexity of what the eye creates depends on the user. The illusions are so real that it uses up the victim's raiki to make them real. For example, those attacked by the octopus may still have octopus slime on them. The weaker your mind, the stronger is the effect of the Yamigan."

Akako: "That is a supreme ability, sir! There is no way you can be defeated in battle."

Hakaku: "I doubt that. Your Overlord has shown me my place several times during our youth. Even in mock battles, he dominates. Remember that nobody is invincible. Even if your opponents have god-like powers, you can find a weakness and defeat them."

Yuuta: "We'll remember that."

Hakaku: "I have to commend Hajime and Yuuta for not being rattled by my abilities. Their experience shows. Anyway, I wish you the best in the Legacy Trials. Now, my attendant has informed me I have an urgent matter to attend to. I will take your leave."

Whing! Hakaku stepped forward and disappeared before their eyes.

The aspirants gasped. Shuzen never failed to impress. The Chief Strategist must be already back at the floating house.

Illumi: "I wish to be this powerful when I grow up."

Nadeko: “You are going to die a weakling.”

Illumi: "Shut up!"

As the kids started their banter, the group remembered that Kento and Shigeo had missed the fun.

Chiyo: "How long will Kento train with the preceptors?"

Akako: "I heard they might train him into the night. They packed food and bedding. Why do you ask? You wanted something from him?"

Chiyo seems a bit flustered.

Chiyo: "Umm. No reason. Just curious about what they are up to."

Daigo: "I was confident earlier that Kento would win against Uzziah even without kitsu. But after getting a preview of Lord Hakaku's ability, one is left to wonder how formidable his son may have become. Especially considering that the Chief Strategist himself trained him. Kento is definitely in for a surprise."

Akako: "Gah! We'll find out in the morning. I have a pouch of dumplings that Lady Midori packed for us. Who's hungry?"