【Before Battles】
A headache hit Kagutsuchi out of the blue as he looked at the afire market. Following the pain, a sealed past was gradually revealed——
He had already experienced a similar hellish scene when he was just a little boy…
- Kagutsuchi: “Ugh...My head hurts...What’s happening…?”
The memory fragments pieced back together, bringing Kagutsuchi back to the past...
Holding hands, Izanagi and the little Kagutsuchi went to the wet market. Izanagi brought Kagutsuchi to a playground and told him,
- Izanagi: Kagutsuchi, be a good boy and wait here. Dad needs to go buy something.
- Little Kagutsuchi: Okay! Daddy come back soon!
Kagutsuchi kept waving at Izanagi until his figure disappeared. By then, there were a few kids playing already, and Kagutsuchi went over to approach them.
- Little Kagutsuchi: Hello! Um...May I join you?
The kids welcomed Kagutsuchi, who was the first time playing with the others. He usually stuck with his parents and seldom interacted with others, which was why he was thrilled this time.
The kids decided to play soccer.
The agility of Kagutsuchi made him score a lot, which pissed off his opponent. Just when Kagutsuchi high-fived with his teammate, an older boy pushed him.
- Kid: Aw, what’s with the fall? I thought you were fast, or did you have wimpy legs?
- Little Kagutsuchi: That’s because you suddenly pushed me!
- Kid: What? Pushed you? Did I? Ask the people around you.
As Kagutsuchi looked around, no one had the guts to speak out, for none of them would offend their friend for a new comer.
While Kagutsuchi was disappointed, the older boy instigated the other kids to mock him. The louder the tease got, the angrier Kagutsuchi became.
- Little Kagutsuchi: “Why did they do this to me? I did nothing wrong...Hot...My body is hot...like a flame burning inside me…”
【After Battles】
- Izanagi: Kagutsuchi! Stop!
- Little Kagutsuchi: NOOOOO——
When the rage erupted in Kagutsuchi, his spiritual energy burst out of him! His hands were ignited at first, and then the fire spread everywhere around him, which scared all the kids away.
Izanagi, who was shopping nearby, sensed the outburst of Kagutsuchi’s spiritual energy. By the time he arrived, Kagutsuchi had already burnt the ground to charcoal.
He went over to Kagutsuchi, who lost focus with mental breakdown.
- Izanagi: “Leave this pain and guilt solely to me.”
Heaving a sigh, Izanagi locked this memory up with word spirit spell...The memory had been sealed until the present when the tragedy repeated.
The fear and the guilt broke the seal, bringing the forgotten past back to Kagutsuchi.
- Kagutsuchi: NOOOOO——
Letting out a painful scream, Kagutsuchi burst into tears...
- Kagutsuchi: “I was born because mom used the black magic, and it contributed to that tragedy. How come I still practice that goddamned magic! I was wrong!”