Editing Leviathan:Volume 1 Chapter 4 (section)

===Part 4===

"Orihime-san seems to know quite well how to handle you, Haruomi."

Asya spoke up after accompanying Hal to his study that also served as a bedroom.

Orihime had gone to a nearby supermarket to shop. Although she had told him to rest, Hal still asked 'Need any help?'

'It's okay. Judging from this home's tragic state, Haruga-kun, you seem more than likely to be someone who's of no help in cleaning. I can probably handle things on my own, so don't feel obliged, just rest as much as you can.'

Hence, Hal decided to standby in his own room.

That being said, the previous conversation was possibly the manner in which Orihime showed her care for others&mdash;Feeling as though someone had persistently shone a dazzling bright light in his eye, Hal replied to Asya with slight displeasure:

"What do you mean by how to handle me?"

"Being too meddlesome doesn't work. Too much laissez-faire doesn't work either. You're really troublesome as an opponent, Haruomi."

Asya giggled with a smile, puffing out her flat chest at the same time.

It was like she was showing off the fact that she had known such a person for the longest time.

"I'm not some kind of troublesome opponent. Essentially, I like it best when people leave me alone... However, Juujouji sure is a strange girl for wanting to clean up this house."

Hal whispered with heartfelt emotion.

"I'm really quite surprised. I never thought I'd get to know someone who seems to have a very high level of femininity."

"...Haruomi? Did you just say something?"

Hal repeated his thought verbatim, resulting in an inexplicable expression of shock on Asya's face.

"A very high level of femininity?"

"Yes, that. What do you mean by saying something like that in front of the girl who is your closest friend!? I-I-I-It's almost like you're saying that I'm very low on femininity..."

"But it's actually true that you're very low on femininity. Isn't that right, Asya?"

Regarding the issue of being close friends, Hal had no trouble admitting it.

But he could hardly agree with the latter half of her argument.

"You never care about accommodation conditions no matter what country you're staying in. You're unfazed by total messes, simply dismissing them as something to get used to with time."

Asya was supposed to be quite wealthy.

However, she never insisted on living in high-class residential areas or luxury apartments. For the most part, she would choose one-room units in housing complexes with simple furnishings.

"W-What does that have to do with anything? Whether awake or asleep, a human should not have any problem coping with just a rug-sized area. Also, it's not like anyone would die if I didn't clean for half a year... Anyway, femininity is the more important issue at hand."

The childhood friend coughed to clear her throat.

"Putting the matter of lifestyle aside for now, I must point out that food is my area of expertise. Surely you must know my cooking skills very well, Haruomi?"

"Yes, that's one thing I've never forgotten."

Asya's cooking was definitely very authentic indeed.

After all, she was even capable of carrying out the task of "slaughtering live poultry and processing it into meat products" to perfection. Not to mention taking up a hunting rifle personally to shoot down wild birds for ingredients...

Consequently, compared to femininity, what Hal experienced was more of an exuberant sense of wild vitality.

If fairies were residents of mountains, forests and other natural habitats, then this childhood friend frequently acted as befitted a child of nature, even appearance included.

"In that case, give me a moment!"

Asya spoke with her face tense.

"It's almost time for lunch. I'll prepare delicious food to treat you, so please correct your assessment that my femininity loses out to Orihime-san."

"Sounds like a very tough challenge..."

"Don't worry, I'll make a show of the dormant abilities I've kept hidden!"

"But don't you need to head over to the Mansion later?"

"It's not like there's an emergency. Going later should be fine. Then I'm going out to shop for ingredients!"

Saying that, Asya trotted over to the study's door.

But just as she was about to step out into the corridor, she looked back at him again.

"Oh by the way, j-just to be clear, I'm not trying to act feminine in front of you, Haruomi, just because I'm feeling competitive against Orihime-san. My hand is simply forced as a matter of female pride..."

"Really? Sure, got it. I almost misunderstood."

Hal nodded generously in response to his childhood friend's intentional and supplementary explanation.

For some reason, this caused Asya's eyes to look like those of an injured puppy's. Glaring at Hal, she said "I-I'm heading out" and left the room.

"...I guess Asya's still quite concerned about appearances as a girl."

Muttering, Hal sat down in front of the computer desk.

After he moved the mouse, the computer was roused from sleep mode and the screen lit up.

"I really hope there's something in Pops' database that could shed light on what happened last night..."

Although Orihime had asked him to rest, Hal had difficult circumstances of his own that prevented him from heeding her.

Searching the computer where his father's book collection and research notes were stored as well as the connected external storage device, Hal started his investigation.

The transformation of his body into something weird had taken place the previous night.

Even if just a little, was there any hint existing somewhere that could unravel the mystery?

Since everything had started with the "stone" in his late father's memento, Hal felt hopeful.

Speaking of which, where had the greatest source of information, Hinokagutsuchi run off to? Just as Hal recalled the self-styled devil whom he had neither heard nor seen for quite a while...

"Kyahhhhhhh!?"

"Juujouji!?"

Hearing a scream, Hal instantly stood up.

There should not be anything dangerous inside the house. However, the matter of Raak Al Soth remained unresolved, so there was no guarantee that the dragon would not devote his full effort towards locating Hal to launch an attack...

Worrying about the worst scenario, Hal ran towards the sound&mdash;Hal's living room.

"What happened!?"

Hal asked with intensity. Orihime was standing still in shock with a dazed expression.

Having taken off her uniform jacket, she had her white shirt sleeves rolled up and a duster in hand. In a corner of the living room, a bucket and a cloth were also lying ready.

She did not have any obvious external injuries. Orihime looked unharmed all over.

"Oh, I'm really sorry for screaming so loudly. Did I scare you?"

"...Not too badly. Did you see a mouse?"

Although it was a bit anticlimactic, Hal still asked. This home was not only old but had been left neglected until recently.

It would not be strange for that type of creature to be present but Orihime shook her head. After pondering for a while, she drew herself next to Hal.

"Umm, Haruga-kun, you previously mentioned curses and hauntings, isn't that right? I am only asking in light of that... By any chance&mdash;Would your home have ''that''?"

A question without an explicit subject. Orihime seemed to be taking precautions against something.

Seeing his classmate a little nervous, Hal understood the point of her question. At the same time, another possibility occurred to him.

"Could it be that you saw a girl in a red kimono?"

"&mdash;Indeed you're correct! Is that a ghost!?"

To think she was able to say the word "ghost" so nonchalantly, Orihime certainly belonged to the same generation as Hal.

After all, they were born and raised during times where dragons were matter-of-fact existences. Even when encountering supernatural phenomena, they were still able to quickly calm themselves.

"Oh... What is that thing? I'm not too sure either. Besides, I've only seen it two or three times, that's all..."

Hal glossed over things in a vague answer. On a basic level, he was not lying.

"I see. But she actually said some strange things to me."

"Strange things?"

"Yes. Along the lines of 'Do you want a serpent?' There was also a whole bunch of other stuff but I was too surprised and failed to take it all in."

Rather than getting seen by accident, she was approaching Orihime with ulterior motives?

Suspecting Hinokagutsuchi's intentions, Hal could not help but frown in deep thought. At this time, he heard a patter of footsteps along the corridor.

"Haruomi and Orihime-san, Hiiragi-san just sent a notice!"

Asya rushed in, panting.

She was supposed to have gone shopping, but Hal did not see any bag in her hand. Asya had probably turned back before she entered the shop.

With a foreboding feeling in his heart, Hal turned his gaze to the childhood friend. Orihime followed suit.

"The elite dragon that had appeared in Old Tokyo last night is now located. The Mansion at Shin-Kiba. He apparently attacked the Mansion an hour ago and occupied it. I heard that Orihime-san's cousin, who happened to be at the scene, was captured along with her 'serpent.'"

Normally, Asya would probably be in a state of panic and utter confusion.

But in times like these, the childhood friend never lost her cool. In order to prepare for the imminent battle, she had already entered her "emergency" mode.

Awe inspiring, fearless, flawless, calm and composed. And as beautiful as a sharp sword.

On the other hand, Orihime was stunned and at a loss what to do after hearing about her cousin's misfortune.

"Hazumi, no way!?"

She was clearly shocked and had lost her direction.

But one could hardly blame her. Orihime was not a witch yet. Her only battle experience was last night where she was the one being protected.

Meanwhile, Hal put on a stiff expression.

What happened last night could not possibly be unrelated to Soth's actions. Rather, it would be the opposite.

Soth's true target was Hal and Hinokagutsuchi, right? Orihime's cousin was simply caught up in the affair&mdash;



An hour later, Hal, Orihime and Asya had arrived at the Shin-Kiba area.

The Mansion's vicinity, located near Tokyo Bay, was sealed off by the police and riot squads belonging to that jurisdiction.

Uniformed police officers could be seen all over the place. Judging from their equipment and special vehicles, one could tell that the Metropolitan Police Department had mobilized urban rescue forces.

Currently, all commoners and vehicles were prohibited from entering the area.

The only ones allowed access were "experts" like Asya, invited to resolve the situation.

As soon as they entered the sealed area, a young man immediately walked over to them.

Amidst the many uniformed police officers, he was the only person dressed in an old business suit, looking like a plainclothes detective.

"Hi."

"Kenjou-san? What brings you here?"

Asya stared with widened eyes. Kenjou Genya, manager of the used bookstore Mirokudou as well as a member of SAURU's staff, smiled wryly in turn.

"Under the orders of my boss... Hiiragi-san. She sent me here to support you for now, Asya-san. Let's walk over there before I explain the situation."

Asya, Hal and Orihime followed Kenjou, in that order.

"Let me make this clear first. Don't delude yourself into thinking you can get closer than one kilometer from the Mansion. Terrifying magical power is spread out there so approaching it is already very dangerous."

Kenjou pressed the edge of his hand against his own neck to make a chopping gesture.

What he meant was&mdash;Death would result? Hal and Asya nodded silently whereas Orihime scowled.

Leading them, Kenjou brought the trio to a temporary tent.

Placed on the folding table was a map of the area and several pairs of binoculars.

"Use these to look towards the Mansion."

Since there were enough to go around, everyone took up their own pair of binoculars.

Zoned for redevelopment, the area clearly consisted mostly of empty land.

Extremely sparse in buildings and people, there was excellent visibility. The familiar Mansion could be seen clearly through binoculars.

Furthermore, at the seashore some distance away, there was an object that could not be ignored.

Reportedly, the location was reclaimed land that used to be a landfill site.

"That's&mdash;Minadzuki!?"

Orihime cried out. A transparent triangular prism was standing on the land next to the sea.

The triangular prism was much smaller than the Monolith towering over Old Tokyo. Roughly thirty meters in height, it looked like a miniature Monolith.

A "serpent" that Hal had seen before was coiled around it.

Her body surface was emerald in color. Serving as the horn counterpart, her right hand and claws were especially large.

It was Minadzuki, the leviathan shaped like an oriental ''serpentine dragon''.

Coiled around the transparent equilateral triangular prism, she looked like a snake wrapped around a long rod&mdash;In addition, stabbed in her back was a metal needle, even longer than her body length.

Piercing Minadzuki, the needle had her pinned firmly to the mini-Monolith.

"Still alive... Asleep?"

After death, a leviathan's body would disappear from the world.

Seeing Minadzuki's tightly shut eyes, Hal muttered to himself.

"She's been like that all this time, not moving at all. She isn't going into spiritual form either. The elite that took over the Mansion&mdash;the bastard called Soth, right? That guy seems to have deployed some kind of magic," reported Kenjou.

Asya also looked intently at the mini-Monolith through binoculars.

Her gaze was cast on a certain surface of the triangular prism. Carved there were fifteen runes of Ruruk Soun.

"Asya, do you know what those runes mean?"

"'Life' and 'spiritual power'... I think that's the rough meaning of this arrangement."

Asya's gaze and expression were very solemn and stern.

Her beautiful face like a fairy's was enhanced by acuity and character. Whenever he witnessed his childhood friend in such a state, Hal would always feel shaken in his heart.

"I-Is Hazumi okay? Given that Minadzuki is already like this&mdash;"

"I think she should be unharmed. If anything happened to the witch and covenantee, the 'serpent' would disappear as well," answered Asya with intellect beyond what she usually presented, confronted with the panicking Orihime.

Leviathans were artificial lifeforms without material bodies to begin with. What allowed them to stay in the present world was the covenant between "serpent" and witch. If a witch were to die, nullifying the covenant, the physical body tying the leviathan to the world would naturally collapse&mdash;In other words, death would result.

Orihime breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, Kenjou added extra information:

"Right now, my boss is sending requests to witches and sponsors in various place, asking them to assist in resolving the situation. But since the enemy is elite, everyone seems quite reluctant to step forward."

"The risk of sending out precious 'serpents' is too great, is that it?"

"Oh, Asya-san. Umm..."

Orihime originally wanted to say something to Asya but broke off halfway.

Hal's classmate was considerate of other's feelings despite her upfront personality.

If she were to voice her current thoughts and feelings, perhaps her newfound friend might be forced into hopeless peril. However, Asya never failed to live up to expectations.

She stared at the mini-Monolith and the sleeping "serpent" Minadzuki for quite a while.

Then after turning her gaze to the Mansion and ruminating repeatedly&mdash;She slowly began to speak:

"Let this battlefield be Rushalka's final resting place."

Asya's voice was filled with calm determination.

"Having an elite dragon as her final enemy might be quite fitting. We still haven't paid Soth back for what he did in Old Tokyo, so let's show him what Rushalka is like when going all out."

Asya was the battle hardened veteran with her stalwart and beautiful partner.

But now, her partner was on the verge of death.

Releasing her power to the limit would probably speed up the collapse of the body that could not bear the strain. Asya must have understood this fact when she declared her decision to fight.

However, how much of Rushalka's "true power" was still retained?

Five minutes, ten minutes, or even a shorter duration... The childhood friend's chances of victory ought to be extremely low.