That question emerged when all of them couldn't keep their balance as the earth trembled and shook for a few moments. Yes, it was short, but without a doubt, a strong one. All four Seitengers outside the barrier fell to the ground as the shaking continued. Before they could realize what was going on, they raised their heads upon hearing a loud boom.
"Are they crazy?!" SeitenWater shouted and tried to stand up but the shaking of the ground prevented him and his friends from doing so.
Next thing they knew, their surroundings became filled with explosion sounds and pained screams coming from the Seitengers. The remaining grunt soldiers used a combined cannon attack towards the team, but not enough to disintegrate their transformation --- and yet they were now injured and struggling to even stand up. All four of them raised their heads despite the pain to discern the situation. They couldn't even believe what they were seeing.
"They sure had the guts to do this to us all together, huh?" SeitenFire couldn't help commenting as he forced himself to stand up, one hand clutching his side. It didn't look like there was an injury there, but it was still painful. All that he could recall was that something hard had struck him on that part as the explosion happened.
The Gargonemas that remained and even the new monster types were laughing, as if they found the Seitengers' situation amusing. Of course, with that, it would surely be enough to anger the rest of the team.
However, it wasn't the case on this one. They were quiet, but not because of anger. There was a different reason.
"What in the world...?" SeitenWind couldn't help but to let out that question as she looked around as soon as the ground started glowing in pink.
"Pink? Where did this come from?" It was SeitenWater who ended up asking this time.
But no response came from the rest of the team. Both SeitenFire and SeitenLight just looked around as the pink glow kept happening. Not long after that, the Seitengers started feeling it. The red warrior soon looked at his gloved hands.
"Someone's helping us... This glow is starting to act as both a healer and a power booster."
Those words were enough for the others to understand what was really going on. No time to lose. All four of them took out their Hyakureiders once again and charged it with their respective Hasureiki. That action alone soon caught the attention of the laughing Gargonemas and started trying to attack the team using the same energy beam that they've struck the team earlier. Only this time, the team knew that they had the advantage.
"Four Heaven Slash!"
The team soon threw energy blades together towards the enemy group still firing at them. Only this time, the 4 Seitengers were so pissed off that they even channeled their anger and frustration to their attack. The energy beams collided with the energy blades, soon creating explosions. The blades then struck the group that didn't have time to get away.
When the resulting smoke from the blast slowly dissipated, it was then that they heaved a sigh.
"What kind of monsters were those two new ones that we saw, anyway?" SeitenWater couldn't help asking as he faced the others. Of course, he did so even with the knowledge that her friends wouldn't exactly know the answer to that.
"I guess what Helen-chan said was true," SeitenLight said instead. "They're starting to see us as a real threat, that's why they're beginning to bring out the big guns."
As soon as Helen's name was mentioned, however, SeitenFire recalled the pink glow from the ground earlier. He didn't know why he thought of that as soon as he heard that name.
'But that's crazy...' The red warrior didn't really want to think that there was such a connection to that pink Hasureiki glow that they saw before and Helen. But this was already the second time that this has happened.
"Are you okay, Shuichi?" This time, it was SeitenWind who spoke that snapped him out of his thoughts.
He nodded and soon looked around. Still no sign of any incoming Gargonema or even Itsuki. But they knew that the green warrior was still fighting Otoguri inside a barrier.
'Please make it out of there...'
xxxxxx
"Urgh!" SeitenEarth could only groan as he tried to stand his ground and not be affected by the illusions coming from the Triske Monster. But he'd been struggling to keep up with it. Especially when he realized that each time he would fight off the illusions that Otoguri would show to him, he would feel weak, as if it drained not just his Hasureiki but also his energy little by little.
Even so, he knew he had to stand firm. Not to mention, that pink glow emanating from the ground---even with Otoguri's barrier---had been sustaining his remaining energy and slowly replenishing the lost ones. That same glow had also been helping him tremendously in fighting off the Triske Monster's illusions.
This time, SeitenEarth could see an addition to those images shown to him. And even in his weakened state, he could tell that this particular illusion had a completely different source. His reason for arriving at that conclusion?
It was the glow beneath the feet of that illusion. Otoguri's illusions didn't really have them.
'I can't believe I only noticed it just now!' The green warrior couldn't help shaking his head because of that realization. But he could marvel at that later.
He still had a battle to deal with at the moment.
"This is going to be your end, green Seitenger!" Otoguri soon declared that snapped the said warrior out of his musings.
From inside the helmet, Itsuki's eyes narrowed as he plunged his Hyakureider to the ground to support himself. The pain from his injuries was searing, but he had to endure it. He had to brace himself for whatever was about to strike at him coming from Otoguri.
And he was right.
"Say your goodbye prayers!" the Triske Monster shouted before laughing hysterically, acting like it had won already.
Without another word, Otoguri raised both of its hands which generated 2 dark energy balls from each hand.
"I think it's time, my child..."
SeitenEarth felt like time stood still the moment he heard that voice in his head. It was faint, at first. But the words were still clear enough for him to hear what the voice said. And this time, it wasn't a female voice like the one he'd hear in his dreams. It seemed like a male.
"Could this be the one that Helen mentioned?" he asked. No answer came, of course. But there was only one way for him to find out.
At that thought, he raised his head the moment he heard Otoguri growl and got ready to attack him once again. This time, the Triske Monster started charging its hands with another set of energy balls.
SeitenEarth braced himself as he tried standing up straight and gripped his Hyakureider still plunged to the ground. He could only look at the two dark energy balls that could finish him off if he didn't find a way to deal with it. But he couldn't feel any fear or even hesitation at the moment.
That voice earlier had already told him what he needed to know.
"This is it..." he muttered and closed his eyes.
It was then that Otoguri threw the energy balls towards the green warrior with a hysterical laugh. As for SeitenEarth, he only took a deep breath and continued listening to the voice ringing inside his head. He couldn't help frowning since the majority of it was vague and a little hard to understand. But he had to do his best.
This was his chance to realize if what Helen had told him was the truth or not.
"Don't worry, child. This is real. This is not an illusion. I gave you the chance now to know the truth," the voice said, clearer this time.
Inside the helmet of SeitenEarth, Itsuki couldn't help smiling at that. He rarely smiled and the people who knew him were well aware of that. But at the moment, there was no reason for him to stop. Even though the Tarean Monster hadn't been defeated yet, he knew that there was still hope. Something could still be done.
"Is it okay... if I ask you who you are?"
He wasn't sure if the entity would even respond to his inquiry. But he had to know, at the very least. He needed to be aware of who he had to deal with and do his best to interact with it.
"You're an Elemental Guide... right?" he asked once again, a different question this time.
It was only that growl that the green warrior could hear. Perhaps he had asked the wrong question. He was about to think of a different question to ask when ---
"Open your eyes, child..."
He stiffened, but still did what he was asked to do. The moment his sight cleared, he couldn't help letting out a small gasp at what greeted him at the moment.
"This is...!" Just where in the world was he? Why does he find himself standing in the middle of a green field? Almost like the ones he would see in European highlands.
But why was he there? How did he even get there?
"Welcome to my domain, Itsuki."
Despite the intimidating tone on the voice that he kept on hearing, Itsuki --- surprisingly not wearing his Seitenger suit --- looked around to find the source of that voice. And not far from where he stood, a transparent figure of a green-colored bison appeared to be waiting for him. Even with the apprehension, he still felt compelled to approach the bison figure.
"You said that... this is your domain. Does every Elemental Guide have them?" He could seriously smack his head repeatedly for that blunt question.
Or at least, it was blunt in his opinion.
But the bison only laughed before shaking his head, probably done out of amusement.
"Each Elemental Guide has their respective domain. But it seems that among us that were summoned already, I'm the only one who had allowed a mortal to enter my domain."
Itsuki frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Even when I tested previous Seitengers a long time ago, I would only talk to them through illusions that I would show them. But this time, I made it entirely different for you. And I also decided to break my own rule for me to truly know if you're capable of handling my powers."
He would've easily understood the bison's reason and apprehension for not allowing mortals to enter an entity's domain just like this. But to know that it was entirely different this time... 'Does that mean something in this generation of Seitengers has changed?'
"Now I can truly see that you and your friends, if you keep pushing through with this battle, will be able to achieve the greatest feat that only the first generation Seitengers had ever done," the bison continued.
To be honest, Itsuki doesn't know what to feel about that. Without a doubt, he was surprised. At least, it was one thing clear to him. And yet... why does he have the feeling that the Elemental Guide wasn't planning on explaining things to him at the moment?
"You were the one who showed me that illusion the first time I fought Otoguri, right?" He decided to finally ask that one crucial question as soon as he managed to clear his mind from the sudden confusion. "Why did you do that?"
"To show you what truly drives you to discover more as the battle with the Tareans begins to intensify. And to show you the real reason why you treat that young woman that way, even when she was only doing her job as a Vessel Support."
Itsuki became even more confused that even though the Elemental Guide didn't mention a name, he knew it was talking about Helen. But why would it do that? So many why's, and yet he still couldn't find a conclusive answer.
But at the moment, he chose to listen. The Elemental Guide said that would show him the answer he might have desperately needed all this time, even if he wasn't completely aware of it. Before that...
"May I know your name?"
As strange as it would sound, he thought he saw the entity smiling at his question. Then again, he knew what he saw. And he decided to stick to that.
"I am known as the Dynamic Bison of the Land, given the name Bisearth. It's finally a relief for me to be able to meet you like this, Itsuki."
But that introduction was soon met with a crucial question that Itsuki asked the Elemental Guide. One that only came to him at that moment.
"Why did you make me see the vision of Helen when she was a child? What connects her to me?"
Itsuki had been meaning to ask that question ever since he realized the origins of the illusion of the young Helen during his first time fighting Otoguri. There had to be something there --- one that went beyond Erika.
At least, that was what he was sure of.
"And to think in that vision you showed me, she was bloodied as if she was hurt or... dead. Though she said someone wanted to kill her twice, I still don't understand why you made me see that particular vision."
"What I showed you was her past. And someone from that part of her past is connected to you, now that you became the current Vessel of the Heavenly Earth Guardian's Powers."
"So I was right when I thought that Helen's connection to me was more than just about Erika."
Bisearth nodded, the expression on the illusion's face remained somber. "The previous Vessel of the Heavenly Earth Guardian's Powers... The former SeitenEarth from 25 years ago... Your predecessor was, in fact, Helen's deceased mother. Tennouji Atsuko."
Without a doubt, that revelation stunned the composer, judging from the widening of his eyes as he continued looking at Bisearth. Helen's mother was his Seitenger predecessor? Just how insane these piled up coincidences could possibly get?
Itsuki couldn't understand it, though. Why didn't Helen mention anything about that to him? That her mother was his Seitenger predecessor.
"Don't blame the child for not saying anything to you. In my guess, even though she might not be completely aware of it, she must have sensed your subconscious fear for her life and her mission. Not to mention---"
"The aftermath of my predecessor's death still remains..." Itsuki finished for Bisearth.
The entity nodded. He could see the grave expression on the green bison, further explaining the gravity of the possible emotions that Helen must have carried all this time.
"But now you can do something about it. Not just you, but also your friends. All of you had gone through the same thing as she did. And through her, I now know that you can finally wield that other power that I last bestowed to Atsuko more than three decades ago," Bisearth declared.
Itsuki's eyes widened. "Then-"
"I know that you can help me protect Atsuko's daughter. Mind you, Helen can be as reckless as her mother, especially when she uses her powers. Who knows what could happen if she keeps using her Hasureiki as a Vessel Support that way."
He was aware of that. But he also wanted to counter Bisearth's words about Helen being a Vessel Support. For some reason, it was the thought that still doesn't sit right with him. But why was that?
Itsuki chose not to give it more thought at the moment. Instead, he laid out his right hand in front of Bisearth as he looked at it with eyes full of determination.
"Then... lend me your power."
With a nod coming from the entity, Bisearth placed its transparent green paw on Itsuki's laid out hand. Around the same time, the surroundings glowed brighter and enveloped the area.
"You're the only one who can find a way to save them both. Especially the Priestess..."
Though confused by the entity's last words before it disappeared, Itsuki knew he had to hold on to them. There was something about them that felt so important not just to him, but also to his friends.
Maybe... Helen would have an answer to that.
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