Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume14 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 5===

While Fear continued to battle Nirushaaki, it was taking her full effort just to observe the situation from the corner of her eye.

"Kirika, Haruaki!"

She knew roughly what had happened. After taking a vicious punch, Haruaki had fainted. Kirika had died. However, this also proved one fact, namely that Cow Tits ''did not know'' of that outfit's existence. Fear could see Kuroe mobilizing her hair desperately to move the two unconscious bodies away, transporting them to safety.

"Truth be told, how confident you are to be diverting your attention to the surroundings!" "Indeed!"

Just as Fear suddenly lowered her guard for an instant, a Japanese sword came flying. She blocked with all her strength using «A Hatchet of Lingchi».

(Guh, so strong...)

Pure strength. But Fear also felt that there was more to it, despite being unable to articulate what felt wrong. No, or rather, this inability to articulate the dissonant sense of contradiction was precisely part of why Nirushaaki was so strong?

I must think of a solution&mdash;Just as this thought crossed Fear's mind, Lilyhowell suddenly changed her combat rhythm despite fighting vigorously together all this time with tacit cooperation. In other words, had she continued fighting in the same manner, she would have silently allowed Fear to continue the offensive at this moment, however&mdash;

Instead, Lilyhowell elbowed Fear in the back, forcing her to fly towards Nirushaaki.

"Uwah!"

Fear lost balance and was only able to deflect Kotetsu using her hatchet's hilt purely by chance. She broke out in cold sweat.

But at the same time, Nirshaaki's left arm went whoosh, striking Fear's chest with the base of her palm. Fear had no idea what kind of martial arts it was but she felt all the air in her lungs forced out in an instant as this powerful impact sent her flying&mdash;Nevertheless, from Lilyhowell's perspective, the instant when Fear's body blocked Nirushaaki's view was precisely an excellent opportunity.

"«Calamitous Sword of Sigarsholm»... ''Terror'' resides in the tip of this sword!"

Lilyhowell's voice. Instantly, Fear felt something pass through her underarm. Rolling several times on the blood-splattered  ground, she ignored the pain in her body and her lungs, looking up forcibly only to see&mdash;

"Did it... succeed...?"

The golden longsword's blade had extended quite a few meters, its tip piercing Nirushaaki. The serpentine design on the blade glowed red faintly. As though the snake was crawling forward, the sword had extended with speed faster than the eye could follow clearly. In this regard, it could be considered a long-distance weapon impossible to evade.

Fear was furious that Lilyhowell had used her as bait to create an opening, but if this had defeated the enemy&mdash;Just as she thought that, Fear stared wide-eyed in surprise.

"Hmm, do you really believe you can defeat me using such a thing?"

Nirushaaki was calm and composed. Not a single drop of blood bled from her body. As she twisted her body lightly, somehow the calamitous sword's blade slid off the side of her body like a kitchen knife cutting through bean curd.

Guessing that the sword could shrink back, Fear watched as Lilyhowell retracted the blade back to its original length. Pulling back the calamitous sword's tip, Lilyhowell gritted her teeth and groaned.

"«Wounded Knee Massacre»... A Wathe that renders all attacks ineffective. It turns out to be true?"

"What.. the...!?"

Never heard of it. So that was the shirt's curse? That would be&mdash;so powerful to the point of being unfair. That woman was very strong to begin with. Armed with that kind of power, how could she be defeated...?

Foreboding thoughts silently retreated to the back of her mind. Immediately next&mdash;

"Hey, Kotetsu, allow me to vent my frustrations from being hassled by the bizarre brat and little lass. Time to swap."

"Uh... Nirshaaki-sama...?"

"No matter. Kotetsu, you may take a break. Muramasa, are you thoroughly satisfied?"

"Ha, 'tis sufficient. Master is worthy of controlling me indeed."

Two things happened simultaneous. First of all, Kotetsu jumped up, returning to human form&mdash;

"!"

Fear was instantly plunged into confusion, because Kotetsu's body lacked something it was meant to have, yet also possessed something that was not supposed to exist. He&mdash;Kotetsu&mdash;hastily picked up the clothing he had taken off then covered up his body.

Another thing was that Cow Tits had turned back into her original form.

Namely, a Japanese sword. However, this was not the appearance that Fear had seen many times before. This was not the appearance of a sword sheathed in black metal when wielded in Haruaki's hands.

Instead, the white blade was cold to a terrifying degree.

The blade was as clear as ice, its curved form as transcendental as moonlight.

As a true Japanese sword, as Kotetsu's kindred, she allowed her original appearance to be exposed to the air.

This was her form that was only visible for an instant when performing the «Sword-Kill Counter» technique. She only permitted her true appearance to exist for those instants of time. Nevertheless, the blade currently in view was her true self.

"'Tis been so long since I last returned to this form. Allow me to amuse myself as a distraction."

"Lilyhowell Kilmister, I ask you. That move just now cannot be the end, can it?"

"Ugh&mdash;!"

Fear was sent flying into the distance by the palm strike earlier. As a result, Nirushaaki proceeded to target Lilyhowell who was nearer. As before, Lilyhowell still continued to dual wield the «Calamitous Sword of Sigarsholm» and the «Wathe Breaker» together. A Wathe with a weapon for breaking Wathes. Truly a paradoxical case of dual wielding.

"Oh, so thou art able to control the range of attack freely. Verily, a special toy. However&mdash;"

Dodging the tip of the freely extending calamitous sword, Muramasa switched from defense to offense. However, Lilyhowell also anticipated the counterattack, or perhaps, she had deliberately allowed the opponent to attack her. Lilyhowell instantly used her other sword to intercept.

That's right, she has that thing&mdash;Fear thought.

Namely, the «Wathe Breaker» on her right. Using this to counterattack, the enemy's weapon could be broken.

(No, wait a sec. This is very bad, right? At this rate&mdash;)

Fear felt her heart beat intensely, but her worries turned out to be unfounded. Even from a bystander's perspective, Lilyhowell's counterattack was flawless. Fear could even see an illusion as though the complicated shape of Lilyhowell's blade had broken the opponent's weapon. However&mdash;

The opposite happened in reality.

"The other sword is merely ugly and so boring too&mdash;I shall show thee my power. Ha, please do not make a laughable display of third-rate swords in front of one so beautiful as I!"

The blade's brilliance flashed powerfully as it crossed with Lilyhowell's «Wathe Breaker».

Instantly, a number of lines seemed to appear on the surface of the twisted blade's complicated form, then&mdash;

As though robbed of its title, the «Wathe Breaker»'s blade shattered and scattered.

"Guh... Ohhhhh!"

At the same time, blood gushed from Lilyhowell's shoulder. The aftershock of Muramasa's swing had gone as far as to injure Lilyhowell's body. The bleeding was not minor&mdash;but in spite of that, she still faced forward resiliently.

"Oh?" The Japanese sword could be heard exclaiming, slightly impressed.

"'Tis impressive thy arm was not chopped off. Despite toys for weapons, thou art evidently an accomplished swordsman."

"This person is also skilled in counterattacks. With similar timing, she swung the greatsword knowing the significance that counterattacking represented. Precisely because of that, she was able to evade a critical wound, just barely."

Fear witnessed it again. After turning into a sword, there was still no change. That girl was still unafraid of fresh blood, hesitating not the slightest to kill the enemy. That girl had already turned into this kind of existence...!

"This is bad. Looks like Haru and Kiririn won't be waking up any time soon! Ficchi, let's retreat for now!"

Taking care of Haruaki and Kirika, Kuroe called out urgently to Fear.

Looking at the Japanese sword in Nirushaaki's hand again, Fear gritted her teeth hard.

She really wanted to roar angrily at those people, but did not know what to say.

&mdash;What could she say? What could she say to those people?

From her own perspective, what kind of existence was that Japanese sword? Fear pondered but could not even answer this question. An enemy? A friend? Right now? What about in the past?

"Ficchi!"

"...Okay!"

In any case, Haruaki and Kirika could not be left alone. Also, Fear was very worried about the ordinary people who were left on the scene, injured (and almost all of them unconscious). It was not difficult to imagine what fate lay ahead of them if they were left here. All she could do right now was follow Kuroe's directions, retreating for now then regrouping.

"Kuroe, this might be hard... But those guys collapsed here... As long as they're still alive, can you move them all out together?"

"...If I go all out, I can probably manage, barely."

"I'm counting on you."

Standing up, Fear retreated while paying attention to Nirushaaki and the others' movements.

Ignoring the blood drenched shoulder, Lilyhowell forced her arm to turn, drawing another sword from a scabbard behind her to replace the «Wathe Breaker». A western rapier with a needle-like blade.

"McLachlan's Adultery Penetrator, «Stick Me Please»..."

"Oh? What curse does this sword have?"

"You shall know once you die from being stabbed!"

The needle-like blade's tip was barbed with a design similar to the «Flower Sword Verazella». The rapier stabbed into Nirushaaki's chest, but the result was the same as before. Direct penetration. Still, Nirushaaki did not die.

"To display such recklessness even after witnessing this «Wounded Knee Massacre»'s power, you must have believed in your chances of victory. Judging from the shape&mdash;That sword probably carries the kind of curse along the lines of 'impossible to pull out once stabbed'?"

"Guh..."

"When curses contradict each other, naturally, the stronger curse wins."

Nirushaaki simply moved her body to the side and the rapier slid out from her flank. "Another sword with such a frail form." The Japanese sword flashed again, easily destroying the rapier.

Lilyhowell groaned while retreating. Nirushaaki stroked the aged shirt while she spoke:

"This belonged to an American Indian, the only man who survived a massacre, shielded by his companions. Claiming 'the ability to resist the white man's bullets,' this type of clothing, ghost shirts, was quite popular among the American Indians. Fictional to begin with, but thanks to the lies of the man who survived by luck, this shirt became the only 'genuine article' capable of manifesting the claimed effects. Then it was cursed by the resentment of those who had died in the massacre, acquiring its taboo abilities at the same time. Hence, this is the one true Ghost Shirt, «Wounded Knee Massacre». Despite this tool's relatively short history, surpassing its curse is no easy task."

"...One, I am injured. Two, curse is already confirmed. That is all, I conclude... Now is not the time yet..."

In a voice that sounded as painful as vomiting blood, Lilyhowell muttered while gritting her teeth.

Using those eyes that were still guided by dark willpower, she glared ahead.

She was still exuding an ice-cold aura of vengeance.

Lilyhowell proceeded to retreat, pulling away from Nirushaaki. Stated bluntly, she was preparing to flee. Just like Fear and the others.

Fear understood. Perhaps Lilyhowell was driven insane by the desire for vengeance, but she was not mad to the point of forgetting her objective. She still had an objective that she must achieve at all costs, determined to do so by any means necessary&mdash;She was simply harboring resolve to the point of near insanity.

Showing no intention of chasing after Lilyhowell who was about to escape, Nirushaaki spoke without hurry:

"Non-foolish avengers are very strong, nourishment for one to reach the side of the dragon... As I have said, we must currently wait here in the meantime. Consequently, we shall neither run nor hide. Come challenge us all you want."

Fear could see her masked head turn lightly. It seemed like these words were not only meant for Lilyhowell to hear but Fear's group as well.

However, by this time, Fear already had her back towards Nirushaaki's faction completely, sprinting at full speed. There were no signs of pursuit. She could see Kuroe ahead, moving her tiny legs desperately, meanwhile using her hair to support Haruaki, Kirika and roughly ten other people. Although Fear had no idea what happened to Lilyhowell, she was pretty sure the knight would escape successfully.

(Come challenge you all we want...?)

Fear gnashed her teeth violently. Without needing Nirushaaki to say so, Fear had no intention of letting things end here. Her group was definitely going to make another visit.

However&mdash;after visiting, what were they going to do?

When the time came, for what purpose were they going to visit this place?


Currently, Fear had no idea at all.
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