128 Japan

Nearly half a day after leaving the frozen ocean, the espers reached the Suruga Bay of Japan. There were three cities located on the bay, one to the north, one to the west, and one to the east. However, the city to the west looked like it had recently been demolished by a massive tsunami.

Tai, Ed, and Rubi stood on the port side of the ship, staring at the devastated city.

"This is the place." Tai smiled as he eyed the surroundings. "Seems that Shizuoka was the unlucky victim this time around."

"The Water Nightmare hit things hard." Ed sighed while shaking his head. "There's hardly anything left of it. Reef city was in far better shape after its nightmare attack. Hell, even Atlanta was better than this."

"Mm." Tai nodded. "The Water Nightmare doesn't usually cause as many deaths as the others, but it can easily wipe the slate clean for a coastal city. The economic damages it causes are off the charts."

"So." Rubi interrupted the conversation. "What exactly are we doing here?" She glanced at the ruins of the city. "I doubt we'll be recruiting anybody from that mess."

"True." Tai agreed. "Any survivors have likely already been shipped out, though there are probably a few newly awakened espers that refused to leave the ruined city. That tends to be the norm after any nightmare attack." He pointed north, towards the city of Fuji. "We'll check out the ruined city first, and then head northeast to Fuji to get a map. After that, we'll be going to Mount Fuji to go mutant hunting!"

"Mount Fuji?" Ed's eyes widened in surprise. "Will the Japanese let us? If that mountain has a manullium mine, then the Japanese government will have a firm grasp on it."

"It'll be fine." Tai waved his hand dismissively. "Hopefully." He muttered under his breath as he walked away. He began shouting orders to the crew to guard the ship. Only a small task force of a dozen espers were entering Japan so as to minimize any commotion they might cause. After all, they were a ship full of foreigners, so it made sense to attempt being discreet.

Tai, Ed, Rubi, and nine other powerful espers exited the ship. All of them were able to fly, as Tai had wanted the task force to be fast, efficient, and adaptable. Ed stared at the various wind, fire, and light covering the flying espers. Despite having similarities between them, it was obvious that each esper had their own unique power. This was consistent with what Ed had always seen in the past. 'No matter what way I look at it, their powers don't match up with the 49 paths.' He frowned. 'My own original power doesn't match up with a path either, otherwise I would have sensed it by now. What makes stress awakened espers so different?' He wondered.

They soon reached the ruins of Shizuoka. Large lakes of water decorated the ground. What little remnants of the city that remained seemed to consist mostly of the foundations of buildings. Mutants roamed all over the city, making it no safer than the wilderness.

Rubi walked ahead of the group, deterring most of the mutants that came near. Waves of fire pulsated off her body. Each step she took caused the ground to tremble as if there was a miniature earthquake. As most of the mutants in the area were related to water, they were more than happy to avoid the strong rings of fire that continually emitted from her.

"What's her power?" Ed curiously questioned Tai.

"Hmm..." Tai waved his fan towards his face. "I can't be sure of the exact details, but it seems to be related to vibration, fire, and earth. If she ever manages to walk the seven paths, it'd be better for her to focus on the earth element.

"Oh, and why is that?" He asked.

"That's a secret, but just know that it relates to the steps beyond the paths." Tai grinned.

"Is it normal for espers to focus on only a single element?" He glanced at Tai. "I've noticed you only seem to focus on the paths of fire, but from what I know, all natural espers should have at least two elements available to them."

"Mm." Tai nodded. "Dividing your attention too much will usually cause an esper to fall behind their peers. Most espers in China focus on a single element regardless of how many are available to them. If they ever make it far enough in their cultivation or if they reach a dead end, then they might start focusing on other elements."

"And why haven't you done that?" Ed grinned, knowing Tai had been stalled at the final step of acquiring the purple origin element of fire.

"Humph." Tai snorted. "As the heir to the Fire Dragon Sect, how could I possibly switch to another path before mastering fire? I'd be throwing my entire inheritance and face out the window. The old bastards of the sect would install one of their own sons or grandsons to replace me in a heartbeat."

"Seems like rising to the top of an organization is difficult anywhere." Ed sighed as he reminisced on his own failings to climb the ranks of various groups before he had set out to create his own. He knew that he had actually gotten quite lucky with how thing had worked out so smoothly in the early stages, though most of it had been ruined by the government soon after.

As the group continued their journey, they came across a series of simple barricades and fences. It seemed to be a temporary settlement similar to the one Ed had stayed in at Reef City in the past.

Suddenly, several men wielding steam rifles peered over the fences. Their eyes quickly widened in shock and fear as they saw Rubi's powers still in effect. "FILTHY ESPERS!" One of the men yelled in Japanese. "This is Sinless territory! Leave or we'll shoot!" He threateningly aimed the gun at them.

"What'd he say?" Rubi turned around and questioned Tai, confusion covering her face.

Tai was just about to speak when Ed suddenly interrupted him. "They said they're with Sinless and that they want us to leave or they'll shoot."

"Bastards!" Rubi yelled as she slammed her fist together. "They want to start something with me?!"

"Calm down, calm down." Tai hurriedly gestured towards her before turning to Ed. "You know Japanese?" He questioned, surprise covering his face.

Ed rubbed his forehead, confusion evident in his eyes. "No, I've never learned any languages other than English..."

"Can you understand what I'm saying right now?" Tai asked.

"Of course I can." He frowned. "But that's not English...?"

"Right, it was Mandarin." Tai nodded while rubbing his chin. "Tell me, Ed. You've absorbed souls in the past, right?"

"A couple of times." He nodded.

"Ah, there's the answer then." Tai smiled. "Though you aren't able to properly utilize them yet, chances are you've gleamed some of the things from their various lives. Certain languages, experiences, and other such things. It's a fairly normal process for espers that absorb souls, and it only becomes more useful once someone actually masters golden faith energy."

"Is that so?" Ed questioned while attempting to speak Mandarin, but it came out as mostly gibberish. Fortunately, Tai still seemed to understand him.

"Well, we're still being held at gunpoint, so let me handle it." Tai chuckled. "You can always practice your foreign language skills later." He looked towards the men hiding behind the crude fence and shouted in Japanese. "We won't interfere with you. Are there any espers hiding in the city? If you let us know where they are, we might be able to take them away."

The three men whispered to each other for a moment before one turned back to them. "All of the Japanese espers were rounded up right after the nightmare attack. A few of our men followed them, and they were taken to Mount Fuji."

"Mount Fuji?" Tai's calmly replied, almost seeming to have expected the answer. "Any idea why?" He asked.

"None!" The man shouted while frowning. "We've told you what you wanted to know, now leave!"

Tai hesitated a moment before nodding. He gestured towards his group, ordering them to leave.

"Tsk." Rubi unhappily clicked her tongue as they left. "Why'd we cower away? I could have taken on thousands of guys like them with no effort."

"It's not worth it." Tai shook his head. "Don't forget where we are. Do you think the government will let things go easily if a bunch of foreigners start slaughtering their citizens? Japan deeply values the lives of every one of their people regardless of whether or not they have powers. It wouldn't be wise to push our luck here."

"Fine." She sighed while placing her hands behind her head. "It's so boring when the mutants won't even attack us though."

The group continued northeast until they reached the city of Fuji. Like all cities, it was surrounded by imposing metal walls that towered nearly a hundred meters high. The only way in and out were through trains or illegal flying.

Tai pointed to two of the espers he had brought along. "Sneak inside and buy a map of Mount Fuji. Don't cause any trouble while you're in there."

"Yes, Mr. Long!" They both nodded and quickly flew into the city. It was only twenty minutes before they returned with a detailed map of Mount Fuji and its surroundings.

"Good." Tai knelt on the ground as he spread the large map out. He pointed towards the center of the mountain. "It should be pretty straight forward getting there, as it's a very easy mountain to navigate. The problem is here." He pointed towards the outer perimeter of the mountain. "The government stations espers all along the border. Ideally, we'll manage to sneak past and enter the depths of the mountain. But if we fail, then we'll need to be prepared for a hell of a fight."

"So, the bat is at the top of the mountain?" Ed questioned.

"Right." Tai nodded. "I don't know how long it's been there, but a bat mutant took over the crater atop the mountain a long time ago. It's a fairly small mutant, but it's also extremely powerful. Granted, I've only heard the stories from some of my seniors in the sect, but it should be true."

"What's the problem then?" Rubi asked. "Shouldn't the Japanese welcome us ridding them of a powerful mutant? Why not just ask for permission?

"That's where the problem lies." Tai sighed. "The Japanese have taken to worshiping the bat as some kind of deity. That's why there are so many guards stationed around the mountain. Honestly, they'll probably realize somethings going on when we fight the mutant, so we need a quick and decisive victory."

"Let's just bring the rest of our forces then!" Rubi protested. "We'll steamroll them!"

"Absolutely not!" Tai furrowed his brows while shaking his head. "It would cause a national emergency and they would send out their strongest espers. Not to mention it would create an international incident. My sect could probably protect me, but all my hopes for becoming the next leader would be void."

Ed rubbed his chin as he examined the map. "I figured it'd be risky when we came here, but there's just one thing I don't understand. Why did they bring the newly awakened espers from Shizuoka to the mountain?"

"That..." Tai hesitated a moment before sighing. "That's the true reason for the bat's power. Those espers are probably all sacrifices to it. I wouldn't be surprised if none are left alive by the time we get there."

"What?!" Rubi's eyes widened in shock. "Why would they do something so barbaric?! Didn't you just say the Japanese government deeply values their citizens a while ago?!"

"Humph." Tai snorted. "There are always vile deeds swept under the rug by every government and organization. They can't resist the allure of the bat's powers, and so they willingly sacrifice young espers to it to empower their own people. It makes perfect sense when the greed of man is involved. In fact, the only reason the bat is worshiped as a deity is because the government spread propaganda about it, allowing them to justify their so-called sacrifices."

"What do you mean by empower their own people?" Ed questioned, rather confused at the turn the conversation had taken.

"That is what makes the bat mutant so valuable and fearsome." Tai sighed. "It has the power to redistribute power. It directly absorbs the power of espers through its fangs, and miraculously, it can pass those powers on to other mutants or humans. What human wouldn't jump at the opportunity to obtain such power for free? What family with any decent amount of wealth or power could possibly resist it?"

Ed's eyes widened in shock. "Are you sure it can do that?! Shouldn't the mana infusion during the process kill ordinary humans? And what about the mana-core? Does it create one for the person? Or does it work differently somehow?"

"I don't know the answers." Tai shook his head. "But now you see why I chose it for the chimera transformation. Even if I don't obtain its powers, just think about how powerful its body must be after absorbing the flesh and powers of countless espers over time. It must take a cut of the power for itself even if it passes them on to others, otherwise it wouldn't cooperate with the Japanese government so freely."

"It sounds like it'll be pretty intelligent." Rubi commented, concern visible within her eyes.

"Mm." Tai agreed. "It's going to be a tough battle, and only Ed and I will reap the benefits." He examined the others carefully. "Are you sure you want to participate?"

The espers all nodded without hesitation. Rubi slammed her fists together. "Just leave it to me! Bats, humans, or espers! I don't care. I'll pound them all!"