Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume14 Chapter6 (section)

===Part 14===

"Kotetsu! Return!"

"Gah... Muramasa... -sama...!"

Retreating, Nirushaaki converged with Kotetsu. However, Fear did care at all about that. Single-mindedly, she ran over to the collapsed Haruaki. Please. Breathe.... Heart... Please!

"Haruaki!"

"Oh~..."

She seemed to hear a feeble response. Fear was greatly surprised.

"I feel... super sleepy..."

Still sprawled, Haruaki muttered quietly towards the ground. His consciousness did not seem clear, but at least&mdash;He was alive!

"Kuroe!"

"Coming! Full power to the max&mdash;Mode: «Satisfied Yorimori»!"

"I-I'll help stop the bleeding as well!"

Letting Haruaki lie down on his back, Kuroe and Kirika began to devote their full efforts towards treating Haruaki. Although there was a lot of bleeding, in the end, the most severe wound seemed to be the shoulder's. They could only count their blessings that fortunately, the wound had not expanded towards the center of the body and had not caused fatal harm to internal organs.

But the cause of this severe injury, the person who had carved open his flesh and blood&mdash;

"..."

Completely naked, she still had her right hand covered in Haruaki's blood, her face still covered in tears&mdash;Narrowed harshly beneath those glasses, her eyes were glaring at Kotetsu and Nirushaaki.

Looking at the side of her face, Fear asked:

"How did you manage to recover?"

Without looking at her, Konoha answered calmly.

"In the brief instant just before they erased my memory, I allowed ''my memories'' to retreat to this pair of glasses and deliberately dropped it by my feet. Part of it was a hint that if I were to wear these glasses again, this could serve as the impetus to receive the memories flowing back in reverse. Although I took a gamble, it was better than doing nothing."

"That kind of thing..."

"Feasible. This is my scabbard. Having worn it for years, it's already a part of me. Hence, it's possible to entrust memories to it, at least. I've never taken it off even when sleeping and bathing. I was thinking you'd at least realize this is a scabbard."

Listening to her calm tone of voice, Fear could not help but grip her hatchet tightly. However, she knew that Konoha said this intentionally. Right now, there were more important things to do than apologizing.

Kotetsu was watching Konoha with forlorn eyes. Without changing her expression, Konoha looked back at him.

"You have... turned back."

His words carried undeniable sorrow and disappointment. A voice that sounded like it was forced out. A twisted expression.

"How could things be so... cruel. Unforgivable. Truth be told, you bastards... you bastards are the ones... who are truly Muramasa-sama's curse!"

However, as soon as Nirushaaki touched his shoulder, he regained his sense and turned back to the way he was.

"Since the wish of sharing a collective existence cannot be actualized no matter what&mdash;At the very least, by my very own hands..."

Kotetsu transformed back into a Japanese sword, held in Nirushaaki's hand.

"Finally right at the very end, what unexpected hardship... But this is also a trial along the path to the dragon. This must be overcome."

The masked woman murmured thus. Meaning she did not intend to let them go.

The enemy had lost one weapon. But on our side&mdash;Fear shifted her gaze slightly. Haruaki was unable to move. Kuroe and Kirika were fully focused on treating him. To be honest, she was all covered in wounds too. In the battle so far, in attempting to break past Kotetsu's defense, she had already exhausted all her energy. Still able to move normally was Konoha&mdash;as well as Lilyhowell, standing there motionlessly, although Fear had no idea why she was not moving at all. But there was probaly no point in depending on her.

"...Any plan?"

"No idea."

«Wounded Knee Massacre»'s power still stood in their way. Now that Haruaki had fallen, it was no longer possible to use the poisoned sword that was capable of deciding victory with a single blow to an arm or a leg. It was said that Nirushaaki would die from any attack landing on her back, but she possessed the mask capable of predicting ''future positions of people''. Even if they wanted to tie her up or circle around to her back, Kuroe and Kirika must currently focus on treatment. Even if they could bind her successfully, she was also able to escape by ''moving to a past position''. What a desperate crisis&mdash;

"All we can do is try to get around to her back, using our willpower. Or using willpower, try our best to hack off her arms and legs that the shirt doesn't cover."

This was totally not a plan but wishful thinking. Konoha probably understood too, but did not say a word. She simply chopped the air with her hand, shaking his blood off onto the ground.

Hence, just as Fear and Konoha were about to charge at Nirushaaki&mdash;