Word traveled fast. Yukimura, one of the great four shoguns, heard of Kazumi's return and Danzo's village bracing for war. Where others hesitated, he did not. He gathered his men and moved, the banners of his house cut through the morning mist.
Elsewhere, whispers reached Yuna. She commanded no armies, only chamber nobles who were more fit for silk and schemes than the clash of blades.
Yet she herself could fight.
And fight she would.
She began her march alone, mounted on her horse.
Through the evening and into the dawn, men arrived in groups. Fujiwara's retainers, Masaharu's swordsmen, and lesser bannermen. The capital village was filled with warriors, some still arriving, others already stationed in a ring around the town, shields.
At the heart of the village, fire roared. The dwarves had taken the old forge for their own. They did not shape katana, but simple swords, forged fast, rough, and plentiful. Each blade was passed on as soon as it cooled, carried away by waiting hands.
By morning, the departure was clear. At the back of the village, families gathered in long lines, carts creaked with bundles of their lives. Women clutched children close, the elderly leaned on staffs, their eyes turned toward the mountains.
All knew the enemy would come from the front, and all prayed the line would hold long enough for them to leave.
Rage stood near the edge of the yard. His gaze swept over the long line of villagers at the back. They were outsiders and families, the ones marked to leave. He knew what that meant. Their fates were not in glory or battle but in flight and survival.
He made his way toward the forge. Heat hit him first, then came the sparks. Dwarves bent over anvils hammering steel with relentless rhythm. The place stank of sweat, fire, and iron.
Rage stepped in. He pretended not to notice the familiar figure among them. Queen Talwyn herself. Her sleeves were rolled. She was working the bellows as if she were just another smith.
"Yo," he said, keeping his voice casual as he set the clay pot down. "Got a job for you. Something for my face. Clay pot should be enough, right?"
One of the dwarves sized him up. Then he took the pot without a word.
While he waited, he stood over a bench. A line of swords was cooling there. He extended a hand to check the stats of each weapon. With Dead Circuit, he upgraded them one after another.
Their structures shifted.
The weapons had harder steel, truer balance, and edges sharpened beyond the smiths' limits.
By the time the dwarf began shaping his strange request, Rage had already left a quiet trail of improved steel in his wake.
Then, his interface flickered.
[SYSTEM] Corruption Level : 40%
[SYSTEM] Macro Integration Enabled
[SYSTEM] Processing Evolution : Dead Circuit
[SYSTEM] Evolution Complete
[SYSTEM] New Ability : Glow
[SYSTEM] New Effect : Added ELEMENT to parameters.
[SYSTEM] Processing Evolution : Eclipse Requiem
[SYSTEM] Evolution Complete
[SYSTEM] New Ability : Calm Snow
[SYSTEM] New Effect : Expanded Modifications
[SYSTEM] New Effect : Deep Diagnostics Enabled
[SYSTEM] Processing Evolution : Eclipse Convergence
[SYSTEM] Evolution Complete
[SYSTEM] New Ability : Murder Mitten
[SYSTEM] New Effect : Reduced processing time.
[SYSTEM] Unlocked Ability :Electric Forest
[SYSTEM] Description : Access to Molecular-Level Manipulation Granted
[SYSTEM] Activation : Manual
Rage laughed.
"I see you're a big fan of Iseestars," he muttered under his breath as if speaking to the system itself, watching the series of upgrades run through his interface.
A dwarf at the anvil glanced up. "Oi, you alright there?"
Rage shook his head. "Yeah. Just having a... systematic moment."
The smith shrugged and went back to hammering steel.
The clang of hammers filled the forge. Then one of the dwarves set down his tools. He held out the finished piece. It was still a clay pot in shape, but altered just enough to serve as a helm. A rough headrest had been fitted inside to keep it steady. Small holes punched through the front for a narrow line of sight.
The dwarf scratched his beard, snorting. "Never made battle-ware out of kitchenware before. Try not to die wearing it."
"That was quicker than I thought," Rage muttered. He took it with both hands. The surface was rough. The edges were uneven, but the fit was snug when he pulled it on. It was secure enough, and ugly enough. He tapped the side twice. Then he gave the dwarf half a smile.
"Thanks, dude."
The dwarf let out a proud laugh. "Aye! Knew it'd fit you right."
Behind them, another dwarf stood at the bench where Rage had been. He ran a thumb along a blade. He frowned at its sharper and finer balance than the ones he had made. With orders piled high he shook the thought off. He turned back to his work.
Rage made his way back to the room where he stayed.
***
In the room, Seloria was seated in her quiet vigil. Her long ears twitched once at his return.
Rage closed the door behind him, setting the clay pot helmet aside.
"Hey. Do me a favor. Turn around. Need to test something."
Seloria arched a brow. "That sounds questionable."
Still she shifted. She pulled her hair aside to bare her back and she braced herself. It was not the first time Rage had performed his strange rituals on her.
Rage focused on the interface. Lines of code and stats unfolded across his vision. New parameters had appeared. Among them is the rename option.
"Great, premium feature to change her name to SlayerBunny420."
Seloria glanced back. She caught only fragments of his muttering. Something was about changing names. Her eyes narrowed. "If that means what I think it does, try it, and I will end you."
Rage raised his hands in mock surrender. "Okay. Chill."
He held off on modifying them for now because Seloria already had overpowered stats.
Seloria's ear twitched and she turned her head.
Another window opened. Memory fragments appeared. He skimmed through them. Curiosity was stronger than caution. Faces, voices, and moments passed quickly. Nothing was useful. Nothing could be used.
"Oops! This is privacy invasion," he muttered while closing the interface fast.
"Finished violating my mind?" Seloria asked while slipping her hair back into place as she eased back into her seat.
"Hey, it was all very scientific," Rage said while he scratched the back of his head.
He stepped past her and went to the table. He picked up one of her daggers and spun it lightly in his hand.
He opened its interface. It was the same as before, but a new option called "Element" was available.
He set the Element to Fire and activated the Glow ability.
The dagger glowed soon after. He held it up, turning it in his hand to get a closer look.
As the changes settled into the dagger's structure, its glow disappeared.
"Well, that's interesting," he said, handing the weapon to Seloria. "Go ahead. Swing it."
Seloria complied. She sliced through the air. A faint trail of flame followed the blade's arc.
"Guess that's a thing now." Rage kept it in mind, deciding not to push further. His corruption was already rising, and he had no idea what would happen if it went too far. The unknown felt heavier than the glow itself.
Finally, he called up the last of his new abilities. Electric Forest.
Sparks hissed in the air around him, small and harmless, sliding across the floor in slow arcs before fading. No burn, no shock, no effect at all.
Rage tilted his head. "What's this supposed to do?"
He ignored the ability, still unsure what it was for.
***
Outside, trees from the edges of the village were cut down and split into logs. They were dragged and shaped into spiked barricades to strengthen the low, thin stone walls. Others moved among the villagers, steadying carts, guiding the elderly, and helping the fleeing residents get in line.
By the front gate, a different kind of preparation was happening. Large taikos were lifted onto stands. Kotos were stretched and tuned. Flutes made from bamboo were passed from hand to hand.
A few short notes rang out. Drumbeats, plucked strings, and breaths through reeds. The sounds came together in small pieces.
From his room, Rage leaned out the window. The villagers and soldiers nearby treated the musicians like they were just entertainers, another part of tradition used for war. But Rage knew better. He opened the interface, and the truth appeared in his vision. They were Bards, just as he expected. MMORPG logic never lied.
***
A moment later, a dark line appeared on the horizon beyond the rice fields. At first it was only a smudge against the morning light. Then the line grew thicker, stretched, and took the shapes of men and banners.
Katsuya's forces.
A tide of armored men and horses surged forward. The rumble of their approach carried faintly on the wind. There was no subtlety, no hidden trick waiting. This was a wall of steel, moving straight and unflinching, raw power in its sheer number.
They formed ranks, banners settled into place, and the intent was plain enough. The plan was a full push forward until the village broke.
The first shouts carried across the town as the village's force caught sight.
The bards answered at once. Taikos boomed, kotos and flutes cut through the air, and the rhythm rolled across the streets like thunder, steadying nerves and sharpening blades.
Orders came quickly. The shoguns wanted the fight to happen inside the village. Tight alleys and narrow roads would become choke points where numbers mattered less. It was a desperate tactic, but their only hope. Kazumi stood among them, calm and steady. Her eyes were fixed on the growing mass beyond the fields.
Even with three shoguns united, their combined strength was small. Barely a thousand men could stand against Katsuya's forces, the largest in the empire. The others had never been warlords. Their lands were farms, and their strength came from rice and trade, not armies.
A knock landed against Rage's own door.
It was time to leave.
Outside, the dwarves had already packed light, sacks over shoulders, tools tied tight.
Rage fell in with the press of villagers streaming toward the back roads.
Among the villagers, a familiar tag flickered across Rage's interface.
Asarhu's most trusted scholar.
[SYSTEM] Yuri: Lv.128
[SYSTEM] class: Sage
[SYSTEM] loyalty: 10%
He blinked. That couldn't be right. The figure was small, hood drawn low, a knapsack strapped tight in the manner of a wandering mage. Rage pushed through the press of bodies, caught the shoulder, and tugged.
The hood slipped. Long, straight white hair fell free, framing her sharp features and her ears were too pointed to be human. Not an old man, not even close. A woman. And she was younger than he ever expected.
Rage froze. "Wait. You're Yuri? I was expecting... y'know. Male. Wrinkled. Beard."
Her eyes widened in surprise. Then they narrowed as she looked at him.
Rage scrambled for words, tossing them like passwords. "Asarhu. Lost Codex. Isekai... Zoltraak?"
At that, Yuri's lips curved into the faintest smile. Her gaze moved to his chest, lingering on the pendants. "You're too early for this timeline," she murmured. "Meet me in the Abyssal Tides after you save the Empress."
And before he could press further, she slipped back into the tide of bodies, swallowed by the crowd.
Rage stood baffled, watching her vanish. "Save the Empress?"
A moment later, a dwarf brushed up beside him. Without a word, the smith pressed something into his palm.
It was a pendant. An amber gemstone was embedded on it.
Of course. He knew it would come to this. Talwyn had only been taking her time.
He lifted his eyes and caught her glance as she boarded one of the carriages, the Queen of the Forge hidden in plain sight until now.
If only Yuri had stayed, the questions might have found answers about the gems, the strange abilities, the queens. But she was gone, and all that remained was the reassurance of her words.
The escape began. Carriages moved first, carrying the weak, the children, and those who could not fight. Others walked beside them, holding what little they had.
[SYSTEM] Empress Kazumi : Loyalty 86.5%
[SYSTEM] Corruption : 42.6%