Surpassing the Samurai

“

Bunchin holds in his hand an urgent missive addressed to you.

— In-game description

Rewards

The ancient wards holding the mad auspice Koryu in his prison are on the verge of failure, and Genbu of the Four Lords would have you return to Reisen Temple at once. Tataru too is needed, but it seems the collective has already taken the initiative and summoned her themselves...

As feared, the mad auspice that could single-handedly transform the Ruby Sea into a fiery hellscape is poised to return at any moment. The only means by which this calamity might possibly be averted is through the combined powers of the Four Lords, and to that end, you must quell the aramitama of the fourth and arguably most powerful member: Seiryu. The serpentine dragon, who appears to be in full possession of his faculties, agrees to face you in mortal combat, albeit on a distant island he calls home. To that end, you must first journey to the Isle of Bekko in the Ruby Sea, and from there set forth to the chosen battleground with the aid of Genbu.

Before you depart for his island, Seiryu reflects on the fallen samurai Tenzen, who bested him in single combat long ago. On that fateful day, he vowed to train tirelessly that he might claim victory in a future rematch, but was denied the opportunity to do so. And so he found a new purpose in striving to destroy the fiend that robbed the Four Lords of Tenzen: Koryu. Alas, in order to do so, he intends to embrace the aramitama and become a demon to destroy another. Though deeply troubling, your objective is unchanged─you and your adventurer comrades must band together and defeat the legendary auspice.
- ※The Wreath of Snakes can be accessed via the Duty Finder.

Dangerous and deadly though he was, Seiryu was ultimately no match for you and yours. His soul now at peace, the auspice appears to be in a rather more contemplative mood than before...

Long, long ago, Seiryu was regarded as a great kami by the people of an island, who offered him gifts. When visited by calamity, however, they mistook him as the cause and began to offer their own children as sacrifices, who Seiryu would spirit away to other lands and set free in secret. And so, over the years, his worshipers slowly became his decriers, believing him less a guardian spirit and more a malevolent demon. Accordingly, they turned to sellswords, whom they plied with coin to come and slay the serpent, until Tenzen came and defeated him in single combat, only to then offer him a place at his side, along with three other fantastic beasts who would comprise the remainder of the Four Lords. As he thinks on those halcyon days, Seiryu recalls that he was not so much driven to surpass Tenzen, but rather to become an auspice worthy of man's worship─a magnificent dragon that would safeguard his chosen. A noble aspiration briefly forgotten, perhaps due to the influence of the aramitama...