Autumn Winds - Truth Uncovered | •𝙃𝙚𝙞𝙯𝙤𝙪 𝙓 𝙆𝙖𝙯𝙪𝙝𝙖•

Chapter 10: Escape

Both of them mentally prepared for a fight.

The Hillichurls and the lawachurl located them quickly and charged at them. Heizou began to leap towards them and proceeded punch them. On the other hand, Kazuha grabbed his new blade and ran towards the stonehide lawachurl.

Kazuha attempted to use his 'Kazuha Slash'. Kazuha pulled out his anemo-infused blade and dealt a huge anemo slash, creating the Whirlwind Veil. However, to his surprise, not only was the Veil larger, it also felt warmer. Moreover, he noticed that the maple leaves flowing inside the Whirlwind were more vibrant and radiated light. The leaves sliced the lawachurl aswell, helping to break its 'armor'.

The lawachurl then slammed the ground, causing a rupture of the ground leading to several Geo-powered shockwaves. Kazuha leaped upwards and proceeded to plunge down with his blade. The blade glowed a vibrant light-red and proceeded to create several maple leaves surrounding it. The blade had resonated with its new master, Kaedehara Kazuha.

Kazuha performed a slash, causing all the leaves to disperse, creating a flurry of slashes dealt by the leaves and his own will. The lawachurl was defeated.
Heizou had finished off the hillichurls aswell. Soon, they made their way to the next cave.

Kazuha had realized that Heizou had been awfully silent. Moreover, he frowned more than usual. Kazuha became curious but decided not to say anything. In the next cave, they witnessed a lush-green scenery.

Vines and flowers had surrounded the area. The vines grew across the mossy walls while the flowers blossomed around the vines and on the floor. The flowers gave off a sweet scent and radiated its beauty. They were amazed by the beauty of the cave.

Kazuha crouched and kneeled to the floor, attempting to study and examine the flowers. Heizou on the other hand, put his hands on his chin and began to investigate potential exits.

Kazuha saw a rose and plucked it, putting it in his pocket, wanting to give it to Heizou later. Suddenly, the vines from the walls slithered like snakes and moved towards Kazuha and Heizou. The vines had captured and restrained Kazuha while Heizou dodged its attempt to capture him.

Heizou grabbed Kazuha's fillet blade and sliced the vines. However, it did nothing. Kazuha's mouth and body was coiled by the vines. He was suffocating.

He tried to yell out Heizou's name but it was pointless. Heizou proceeded to use his anemo abilities to create aerial windblades, slicing one vine (barely). Kazuha was then released, which led him to fall but eventually, he got back up. He then used his new blade and began slicing the vines.

The vines decayed and disintegrated immediately. They then saw an opening after cutting all the vines. They had climbed up to the opening and were met with the 'final room'.

The room had a clear opening at the far end that allowed them to see the exit, however, it was protected by a barrier. They saw a switch behind and turned it on. Suddenly, the room changed into several mirrors. They were confused. Heizou snapped his fingers and said, "It's a mirror maze."

They tried several paths but were always blocked by dead ends. Kazuha and Heizou even tried to break the mirrors. However, they failed to do so. They sat in disappointment and tried to observe the mirrors.

Suddenly, Kazuha stood up and pulled out his sword. Kazuha then Infused the blade with anemo and pointed it at the mirrors. It launched several teal-colored maple leaves infused with anemo.

The leaves then hit the mirror and proceeded to cause several reflections. A trail of anemo was created by the reflection, leading to another switch at the end.

As they had finally walked through the maze, they activated the next switch. Suddenly, the floor had disappeared and caused them to fall to the bottom where several stairs were located. They tirelessly climbed the stairs. As they walked up, they saw little 'windows' showing them their past.

Kazuha was shown the past of the Kaedehara Clan's decline while Heizou was shown the past of the Bantan Sango Detective Agency. That left them with a bitter taste. They had finally reached the exit after 10 minutes of walking.

As they made physical contact with the exit, they began to get sucked up and teleported back to the Entrance of the domain. They sighed in relief.

"Phew... we're finally back..." Kazuha said but only a silence from a frowning Heizou followed. "Should we go back?"
Kazuha inquired but was given the same silence again. Heizou stared blankly. Kazuha knew he was zoning out.

Kazuha snapped his fingers as Heizou came back to reality. Kazuha held his hands and tried to pull him up. However, Heizou pushed his hands away aggressively. Heizou then dusted himself off and said, "Let's... have dinner...."

Kazuha worriedly nodded his head, agreeing to his idea.

They walked all the way back to Inazuma City and headed into Uyuu Resteraunt.