Tachibana Masamune had originally prepared a lengthy battle-rousing speech for Minamoto Wakasei to fire everyone up, but after uttering just a single sentence, Minamoto Wakasei felt he could not go on.
He was too exhausted. Every single word of that speech felt like a mountain crushing him under its unbearable weight. Tonight was destined to be a bloodbath: gods dying and reviving over thousands of years, the heritage of the Shieki Eight Families stretching down to the present day, the showdown with the Manki-shu, and the soaring morale of his family. What suffocated him the most, however, was that he had deceived the three fellows who had descended into the depths, using their lives... All of this pressed down upon his shoulders, so heavy, so terribly heavy, that it almost left him unable to breathe.
"Hai!" Everyone—whether in the sky, on the sea, or upon the platform—bowed deeply to Minamoto Wakasei. The voices of thousands merged together, drowning out even the howling wind and roaring waves.
Chapter 224