Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume12 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 6===

"Things end here now!"

Just about to reach towards the box lid, Kotetsu slowly looked back, a strange frown on her face. Had they managed to make it in time at the last second?

By this point, there was nothing left to be said.

"Mechanism No.22 bludgeoning type, spike-ball form: «Morgenstern»!"

"Prepare yourself!"

Fear and Konoha charged the enemy at the same time. Kotetsu ducked under the metal club while using a tiger-clawed strike to deflect Konoha's karate chop, then took a leap to distance herself from the box. Glaring at the two girls, she entered a battle stance.

"Even though I have something to say, will you not listen?"

"Rubbish! On the other hand, I might consider it after I turn you into a rag!"

"In that case, a fight is unavoidable. Go forth and pierce, my will!"

Kotetsu reached behind her and picked up an exhibit that was displayed on the sie of the stage.

These were reputedly the Khakkhara staves that the warrior monk Benkei had used in the past. The staves was supposed to be too heavy for ordinary humans to lift with ease, but possessing inhuman arm strength, Kotetsu picked up the whole exhibit effortlessly. Grabbing the two staves, one long and one short, which were kept inside a wooden rack, Kotetsu quickly extended her tongue to lick.

After doing that, these staves could now be described as two Khakkara blades. Holding the large staff underarm while wielding the small Khakkara in one hand, Kotetsu attacked using a dual-wielding style. Truly bold swordsmanship. It was a fierce offensive that attempted to overwhelm all opposition using power and speed.

The large Khakkhara was like a main cannon, armed with both mass and sharpness, intimidating and vigorous like a battering ram. Each forceful swing was able to twist the air and tear people apart. A human would surely die from one hit. A single swing could probably chop five or six people to death. Fear swung her metal club with full force, barely managing to deflect the staff on equal terms. Both hands felt numb after each impact.

On the other hand, the small Khakkara blade was an all-purpose weapon possessing both speed and sharpness. Kotetsu had an excellent grasp of balance, exhibiting speed and accuracy that was difficult to imagine coming from one-handed wielding. The sound of air being sliced could be heard. It went without saying for slashes, but even her thrusts were exceptionally fast. Thrusts that came flying without preparatory motion where almost like short-range gunshots. Fatal gunshots with infinite ammunition. Konoha was unable to block all the attacks, neither could she evade them all completely. The Khakkara blade brushed past her shoulders, cheeks, waist, arms and legs, producing tiny spatters of blood.

"I have no business with you anymore! Not interested either! Get out of the way!"

"Even if you don't&mdash;"

"We have a great interest in you, however."

Never faltering, continuing to fight. Just at this moment, in the corner of her eye, Fear saw Kirika carrying Haruaki on her back back to the stage. She was probably using «Tragic» to wrap around the railing and pull them up. After confirming that the spot was safe from getting swept up in battle, the two of them climbed over the railing to set foot on the stage again. Moments later, Un Izoey also returned to the stage while carrying Kururi in her arms.

The audience had increased. Fear recalled their reasons for fighting.

Kotetsu was very strong, exhibiting valor akin to the peerless Benkei.<ref>'''Benkei'''(弁慶): Musashibō Benkei(武蔵坊弁慶) was a Japanese warrior monk who served Minamoto no Yoshitsune. Commonly depicted as a man of great strength and loyalty, he is a popular subject of Japenese folklore.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benkei]</ref>

Nevertheless, nevertheless&mdash;

Fear and Konoha were displaying identical expressions.

"Cow Tits, are you going to lose?"

"Impossible."

Both were smiling fearlessly.

After confirming each other's smiles, they both sprang into action, trying to outdo the other. Fear allowed herself to employ powers that she had not released all this time.

She had things she ought to do, things she must do.

If these things were founded upon the burning anger of righteous justice...

Surely&mdash;She was not going to be devoured so easily.

Perhaps this was only her own presumption. Nevertheless, once she believed it, being able to bring out firm resolve was a fact of truth. She vowed to the burning-hot emotions in her heart that were gradually becoming clear, this was a fact of truth. She was able to assert thus.

Hence, Fear took out the second Rubik's cube.

"Dual Emulation, start! Mechanism No.4 swinging type, oscillatory form: «The Pendulum»&mdash;also, Mechanism No.15 suspended type, caged form: «Highwayman's Coffin», Curse Calling!"

Fear turned the cube in her right hand into a massive pendulum scythe attached to a long chain. At the same time, she conferred another cruel form to the cube on her left hand. It was a torture instrument consisting of a metal enclosure resembling a birdcage with a long chain in front. The birdcage was entirely hollow on the bottom and was either used by suspending the cage up high or placing a bed of nails beneath. Imprisoned in the cage, the victims would ultimately fall to their deaths once their strength was exhausted. Even if they managed to entwine their limbs on the metal cage's bars, the prisoners would ultimately weaken and die from exposure&mdash;This was a type of public execution meant as a long-term spectacle in the first place. Nevertheless, Fear did not have the leisure to do things that way. Swinging the long chain, she threw out the heavy steel cage in a violent manner&mdash;Under such conditions, it was equivalent to a long-range bludgeoning weapon, an impromptu weight on a chain.

Swinging the visually similar «Highwayman's Coffin» and «The Pendulum», two chain-type weapons, Fear swept them horizontally at the same time. The reason why she did not transform both cubes to the same form was because "similar but different" was quite advantageous. Attack range, shape of the swinging mass, weight, speed variation, center of gravity&mdash;This simply doubled the amount of information that needed to be discerned within an instant. Calculating everything would be a tall order indeed.
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The two chains wrapped themselves around the large Khakkara blade that Kotetsu had lifted up for defense. Rotating irregularly, the weighted ends of the chains traced out curved trajectories using the large Khakkara blade as a pivot, flying to attack Kotetsu. Although unable to produce critical injuries, the birdcage struck Kotetsu's arm hard while the execution pendulum slashed across her waist. A single tool might not have been enough, but right now, the mass of torture tools had doubled. Entangling the large Khakkara blade, the chains completely sealed its movement. Kill her, kill her, kill her viciously. A voice whispered in the depths of Fear's heart. "So annoying, shut up." Fear suppressed it.

Charging Kotetsu from the opposite direction, Konoha engaged the flashing, small Khakkara blade.

"I am currently filled with fighting spirit&mdash;Haven't you noticed? Although there are cuts all over my body, the blade of my hand is different from last time. I have not suffered any slicing damage again from the Kotetsu you created."

"&mdash;?"

Indeed, Konoha's knife hand was not bleeding a single drop of blood. She had not lost to Kotetsu in a contest of slicing.

Konoha stepped forward and used her right knife hand to block the small Khakkara blade before shoving with the base of her right palm. She proceeded to close in, using her right hand to grab the front end of the small Khakkara blade.

"Our powers are quite reliant on willpower. Even considering the same samurai wielding the same sword, the trajectory of the sword's swing will probably be different when chopping down an enemy for a long-time blood feud compared to cutting down women and children while disguised as a bandit. Indeed, right now I am&mdash;"

Holding the small Khakkara blade to immobilize it, Konoha swung her left elbow to chop downwards while kicking her left knee to smash upwards.

Caught in between, the Khakkara staff made an ear-splitting metallic noise while turning into countless smithereens. Shredded, shredded, utterly shredded.

Then with smooth flowing motions, Konoha closed in on Kotetsu herself. Since the large Khakkara blade on her right was already sealed completely by Fear's giant pendulum scythe, Kotetsu was out of options. Since Konoha had been targeted and picked on by the enemy all this time and accumulated a lot of stress, Fear decided to concede matters to her. No helping it.

Konoha's eyes narrowed acutely. The corners of her lips curled. Her exhaled breath was like poisonous gas.

"Presently, I absolutely cannot tolerate such an abundance of folly. Whether thy master's folly or thy own. Ah, truly excessive stupidity, O Nagasone Kotetsu Nyuudou Okisato&mdash;To dare stir me to anger, this crime alone is sufficient to condemn thee to be a third-rate and ordinary blade! Know thy place!"

"A-Ahhhhh...!"

In that instant, Kotetsu's face seemed to twist in a bizarre manner, her expression a complicated mixture of all sorts of elements. Terror and fear, trepidation and surprise, shock and reverence, as well as&mdash;relief and joy.

Fear did not want to know what this meant. Konoha did not think there was any need to know.

In the next instant, Konoha's spear-handed strike was buried deep into Kotetsu's abdomen.

Watching this result, Haruaki temporarily forgot the pangs of numbing pain on his arm.

Kotetsu flew back towards the far end of the stage, breathing quickly while resting her back against the railing. With her hand pressed against her abdomen, fresh red blood was seeping out from beneath.

Probably due to seeing that color, a certain feeling that ought to be suppressed was surging forth from the depths within her, Konoha narrowed her eyes as though enduring painfully and said:

"I have already held back. You have also reduced the damage slightly by jumping backwards. But after suffering this type of wound, continuing to fight is probably beyond you."

"Ha... Ha... Ha... Haha... Hahaha..."

Kotetsu laughed out as though stunned and at a loss for words.

"Muramasa... To think that until the very last moment... However, it is meaningless. Completely meaningless..."

Leaning on the railing, Kotetsu straightened her back. Then ceasing her laughter, she swept her gaze across the group.

Then she spoke up.

Expressionless, she simply used a calm tone of voice as though recounting facts.

Her words were unbelievable:

"Let me tell you. I already opened the box, but I did not obtain the Indulgence Disk. Do you know what this means? In other words, me, you, everyone has been played for a fool."

"What are... you saying...?"

It was unclear whether Haruaki and company's question reached Kotetsu's ears.

But in any case, she was not going to answer.

Because at this moment, Kotetsu leaned her weight backwards. With her back against the railing, she perfomed a back flip and fell down from the stage.

Due to the excessively shocking nature of Kotetsu's statement, it took a moment's delay before anyone sprang into action. Regaining her senses, Konoha ran towards the railing and looked down, but in the end, she simply shook her head. "...She escaped."

"How could... this be possible?"

Fear murmured quietly then plopped herself down on the floor in front of the box, taking the crimson key out from her pocket. Haruaki and the rest also walked over to her back.

Then Fear inserted the key into the keyhole and turned, producing a light, pleasant and crisp sound.

The box opened.

The contents were displayed clearly before their eyes.


&mdash;Completely empty.


Their brains refused to understand.

What did this sight represent? Why did they witness such a sight? Or rather... Why did they not see the Indulgence Disk they had been seeking all this time?

"W-What is going on here!? Absolutely ridiculous! The keyhole was definitely locked!"

"The keys can only be reset by pressing a switch inside the box&mdash;In other words, this box's design might be the type where even if someone opened it, the box locks up after being closed again, like an automatic lock. In other words, the scene we witnessed earlier was not the instant when she was about to open the box... Instead, it was the instant of closing...!"

"Th-Then... Could that girl be lying so she actually took the Disk before escaping?"

"No, I don't think she is a girl who is capable of lying smoothly under those conditions."

Gazing at that emptiness from the nearest distance, Fear probably suffered the greatest shock of all, nevertheless, she spoke in a calm tone of voice.

Haruaki had no choice but to agree. But what actually happened?

Supposing Kotetsu's final words were true.

Supposing she had not obtained the Indulgence Disk either&mdash;

Then the Indulgence Disk that everyone had been looking for, that Kotetsu had been looking for, what could be described as the root cause of the whole incident&mdash;

Where on earth was it now?

"This development is really unexpected. My confession: reporting the Lab Chief left a letter in my safekeeping. Lab Chief's orders: wait until you open the box then hand letter to you once everything is over. About the content, I report the truth that it is unknown to me too."

With an apologetic expression, Un Izoey used her foot to draw out an envelope from under her skirt. Fear snatched it, spread out the letter folded inside the envelope, then started reading it under the moonlight. Naturally, Haruaki and the others craned their necks to have a look as well.

'Hi, I was thinking you all might be mistaken, so let me clarify first. I only said that keys whose power has activated will be able to open this box, but I never said anything about be able to obtain the Indulgence Disk kept inside the box. You should have been more skeptical back then and asked me "Did you really put the Indulgence Disk into the box?" After all, I do know one or two little clever tricks that magicians use. If you need an analogy, my pocket is big enough to do all sorts of bad things.'

Absolutely unbelievable. That man was truly the worst. Fear continued to read.

'No no no, I hope you won't be angry. Thanks to those keys, I'm thinking that you must have created wonderful memories during the school excursion, am I right? I'm just trying to help you guys. Of course, it's also because it provides entertainment to me as a spectator. That said, from your standpoint, it really would be excessively tragic to be treated as an entertainment show without consent but still not receiving the agreed prize. I did consider this seriously, you know? As a thank you gift for providing me with so much fun as a spectator, I guarantee personally that Hinai Elsie will be returned unconditionally. Although I'm not sure if they are currently present, if they're not, then please help pass the message along to the members of the Family.'

Long-winded and insufferable. Just like the times when he spoke in person, the letter was so long that it was infuriating.

'Basically, in other words, this whole affair can be explained simply as&mdash;Using the Indulgence Disk as the price, the Family has secured the release of Hinai Elsie from the Lab Chief's Nation in exchange. Simplifying problems is very important. Although Indulgence Disks are almost worthless to us, from our standpoint, Hinai Elsie is equally worthless to us too, so this exchange can considered a fair deal. Suppose that girl from the Family took the Indulgence Disk or your side obtained it directly, you would have accepted the Family's request to serve as a go-between for negotiations, right? If that happened, I would have no choice but to reconsider the price in front of my subordinates, a price that is "appropriately worthless," which the Family ought to pay in exchange for Hinai Elsie's release, then ask the Family to pay it. I think that would really be quite bothersome. As much as I'm sorry about how much you desired the Indulgence Disk, seeing as I've provided you with heart-pounding blush-worthy joy and the message that you must be loyal to your feelings in the school excursion, I hope you'll let things slide&mdash;'

Reading to this point was the limit.

"Screw... this&mdash;!"

Uttering these words on everyone's behalf, Fear threw the letter down onto the floor.

Everyone was glaring at the letter with eyes of anger and hatred. Fear really felt like grinding it to a pulp beneath her foot then burning it up, but doing so was not going to help.

Even as his personal aide, Un Izoey was staring with narrowed eyes displaying the same gaze, bowing her head as she looked at the letter with the utterly despicable content. But unlike Fear and the others who were feeling resentment, she was only very surprised.

"Even myself, about this incident, am not without feeling. But I confirm: concluding the principle that as a researcher, I cannot oppose the Lab Chief. Hence, completely unrelated to that principle, I am just muttering to myself on a personal and native note. In my tribe, the punishment for playing word games to go back on promises is to spend a night locked in a wicker basket with poisonous snakes. In other words&mdash;'

Un Izoey exhaled deeply and continued:

"I hope to take the Lab Chief on visit to my tribe's village after such a long absence. Not just for one night, but two."