This chapter opens with a soliloquy by Hiroshi, in which Hiroshi laments the fact that his son is stuck in the rearguard. Hiroshi tells his son that he is in a "right mess of trouble" and that his pride will collide with his son's pride, and the two will "mark you a traitor" . He tells Hiroshi that he has a "blessed vessel" , and that he will strike down "the worthless lout" who has joined the "criminal's." Hiroshi replies that he does not intend for his son to lose, but that pride and conceit do not go hand-in-hand. He says that takemika-zuchi is a "warrior god," and his "shinki" are "all soldiers," and that Hiroshi himself is a battle-freak. He asks Hiroshi how he can help his son, and Hiroshi says that it is not Hiroshi's fault that his daughter died without his help. He also says that the gods have not budged an inch on the issue of takingmikazuchi, and it is Hiroshi who needs help, and he says that he would have helped his son if he had known. He then says that vesurena is only trying to destroy the "crafter," not the "creature."