Editing Kaze no Stigma:Volume1 Chapter4 (section)

=== Part 1 ===

Just as he came within ten meters of the front door...

“Ka-Kazuma!?”

With displeasure, Kazuma glared at the guardsman who was screaming in shock.

''(Too slow.)''

He mumbled in his heart.

''Even though they're on high alert, they only now realized that I arrived? They're beyond useless.''

However, the speedy reaction of the other party was worthier of praise! Upon hearing the guardsman's shout, every practitioner that was spread out across the area rushed over one by one.

Within seconds, at least ten Enjutsu practitioners surrounded Kazuma.

“Let me meet the Suzerain.”

Kazuma arrogantly commanded, completely ignoring the killing intent coming from all directions.

“We've already come out to get the door. You should be grateful.”

''(Looks like these guys want to pick a fight with me.)''

Even though Kazuma knew that the other party was taunting him, he did not want to bear with it at all. He became furious.

Ever since he came back to Japan, he came across a series of unhappy events. First of all, he was dragged into the fight between the Kannagi clan and the mystery man, then he fell into the mystery man's trap and watched helplessly as Ren was abducted. Faced with the task of reporting Ren's abduction, he had no choice but to force himself to come to the Kannagi household, which he had sworn never to come close to ever again.

All of this had stressed Kazuma's nerves, and it showed on his face as extreme annoyance. He just wanted to find someone to beat up, no matter who it was.

And now, it just so happened that there were a bunch of idiots conveniently waiting in rows as if saying “Please punch me”. There was no reason to give up the opportunity.

One of the idiots stood out to break the stalemate. He might have been someone that Kazuma used to know, but at the moment, Kazuma had no intention of identifying any of them.

“At a time like this, you think you can stand in front of us and beg for mercy?!”

As he spoke, it seemed like he was trying to control his fury with all his might.

Hoping to save even a bit of time, Kazuma slowly opened his mouth and said,

“I said to summon the Suzerain... But is anyone listening to me?”

“You bastard!!!”

Crrackk!

The shouting practitioner began angrily throwing fireballs, but at that instant, Kazuma attacked him like a giant using an uppercut punch, making a sound like a blunt object striking a wall. Kazuma's attacker flew into the air, his chin shattering into pieces. He lost the strength to even open his mouth, only being able to spit out blood mixed with broken teeth.

None of the other Enjutsu practitioners had seen Kazuma's attack. They began to retreat in disbelief, instinctively fearful of this attack method that they had never seen before. However, even as they realized this, the battle had already begun, so they started to collect their fighting spirit.

Of course, Kazuma had not intended to fight. It just seemed that someone inside him was repeatedly saying that the world would be better off if all those idiots died. Kazuma allowed that voice to persuade him, forgetting the purpose of his visit in the process.

"Fist of Air" ...Blocks of air that are highly compressed and sent forth at the speed of sound. The instant before contact, the wind compresses almost hundredfold and, after pointing to a certain direction, instantaneously expands to its original state like a spring, hitting the target with unbelievable strength that easily surpasses a professional boxer's finishing blow.

The Enjutsu practitioners were helpless as one after another was knocked down.

Kazuma threw out a string of continuing combos, throwing air bombs without regards to accuracy as long as they flew in the general direction of his targets. They even ended up unearthing the surface and fracturing the wall. The people that had been standing were completely knocked down and left helpless on the ground.

Kazuma's hands were still resting in the pockets of his leather jacket. People that were able to stand up against him were nowhere to be found.

The practitioners were spread out across the ground. Some had broken lower jaws, some had sunken noses that continuously spewed out blood, and some were moaning about with serious internal damage. They laid around in various positions, none able to continue fighting. 

Even though Kazuma didn't even need 30 seconds to take out the practitioners, he did not show an ounce of arrogance. He simply accepted the landslide difference in strength, passing off his victory as a logical certainty.

However, his expression unexpectedly became pensive.

“...Crap...” 

Unable to find even a single unharmed victim, Kazuma realized that he had committed a deadly mistake.

“I thought carefully and spoke clearly to these people so that something like this wouldn't happen...”

A phone call ahead of time would have probably accomplished his goal. Also, there was no need to talk directly with the Suzerain. Even if they had suddenly met, Kazuma wouldn't have been able to find anything to say. This time, it was only because Ren had been captured in front of his own eyes, clouding his judgment. And also...

“Also, I wanted to come back after all, huh?”

''This place was what I called home in the past. I thought I had already abandoned this place, and yet here I am.''

Kazuma shook his head, interrupting his thought pattern fearing that pondering any deeper would unearth quite an unhappy answer. 

“Hey, wake up. Don’t fall asleep on me!”

Kazuma yelled and kicked an inexperienced practitioner, attempting to distract his mood. However, the practitioner weakly opened his eyes, slowly closing them as he became conscious of the pain coming from his injuries. He simply allowed Kazuma to do as he liked.

“...Damn it!”

Kazuma abhorrently threw away his victim. He then went straight for the door without caring whether he stepped on the ground or a practitioner.

The door was already open, since the people that came out through it had already been defeated. And beyond the door was an area where twice as many Enjutsu practitioners were waiting. The moment Kazuma walked through the door, he was met with almost thirty lines of fire.

Honng!

The enormous heat transformed into plasma and completely surrounded Kazuma, emitted enough light to burn even the eyes. The attacking practitioners had their moment of glory.  

''(We killed him!)''

''(If we did this much and he’s still not dead...)''

''(...No human could survive that!)''

Suddenly, in the dissipating fire, they saw something they couldn't believe.

“Wh, What?”

Kazuma was standing safely inside the white flames that were tinted with blue and green.

“So boring...”

Kazuma lazily waved his hand, extinguishing the collected strength of thirty flames. Not even a hair on Kazuma's head was harmed.

“Impossible... Is that guy a youma god...?”

The practitioners were so shocked that they apparently even forgot how to breathe. If they had looked calmly, they might have been able to see the thin layer of air that separated Kazuma and the flames.

High-level practitioners could even surpass the laws of physics. Whether it was an Enjutsu or a Fuujutsu practitioner, igniting a fire without using oxygen or blocking the heat transferred in the air was most certainly possible.

Kazuma had complete control of the air inside this space. His will was stronger than the laws of physics so, no matter how large the amount of heat there was, it could not be transferred into Kazuma’s body.

The requirements to become a first rate practitioner was not the strength of their spells, nor knowledge, nor technique, but willpower. The willpower to deny the present reality and construct his own fantasy world.

Jutsu, or magic, is based on mixing willpower into "Initial Principle" and creating new laws to control the effects. The constructed system of the world is rewritten, and the new laws are changed into reality. 

In other words, in order to make the flames reach Kazuma, the Enjutsu practitioner would need a stronger will than what Kazuma employed to deny the laws of physics. Basically, what is needed is to use an even stronger will to deny his fabricated laws. Nothing will be achieved if the practitioner does not have enough determination of burning Kazuma to surpass Kazuma's refusal of being burned.

Since nothing was achieved in this case, Kazuma’s will was most likely stronger than the combined will of the thirty practitioners.

“Impossible... impossible...”

The practitioners mumbled, staring with shock.

It ought to be said that they can only mumble.

They understood the reasons for their ineffective spell. In fact, they understood it very well, the same way they understood things such as arms and legs.

Of course, they did not consider Kazuma’s existence as something beyond common sense. They only considered him as a first-class Fuujutsu practitioner, and consequently, believed that Kazuma simply commanded a huge wind spirit.    

Kazuma’s strength had already surpassed what they previously considered, completely achieving another dimension. The difference was clear.

Kazuma didn’t counterattack these practitioners, though. It was obviously not to forgive them, but simply that, from the start, he wanted to ignore the practitioners from the branch families.

Because of the practitioners, Kazuma began to recall the eighteen years he spent in this mansion. They were memories of a home that contained almost no happiness. No matter who it was, everyone disregarded him almost to the point of ignoring his existence. Inside such an excessive clan, there was hardly anyone who kindly accepted him.

But no matter what kind of persecution Kazuma received, he still began to feel homesickness. After all, it was the place of his roots. 

''(That’s right... I came back here...)''

Kazuma could only admit this thought. Even though he was looked down upon and bullied, he was still protected here. He was shielded from society and from the responsibilities of living alone.

However, yearning for someone to protect him was weakness, escapism, and, to put it simply, running away from reality.

Even though Kazuma admitted that his weakness, which he should have had already abandoned four years ago, still lingered within him, this was something that made him depressed.

''(In the end, I can't allow this home to continue existing...)''

Kazuma was assaulted by large amounts of unhappiness, and stubbornly began blaming the roots of his evils on the Kannagi main family. He came to the decision of crushing it with his own hands. 

Hearing Kazuma’s will, an even bigger wind spirit appeared. A wind pressure that could challenge a typhoon began condensing within his palm.

If he released all of it, everything within 200 meters would be destroyed in a blink of an eye. Seeing this, the practitioners already prepared for death.

Kazuma completely forgot about the Kannagi clan or anyone living close by. His only thought was to erase the annoying things right in front of his eyes.

Even Kazuma himself did not notice the large amount of pressure that he accumulated. He was indulged in such self-satisfied thoughts that he was not properly regulating his power. 

“Wo... Wah...!”

“What, what is this strength?!”

No matter what they did, the practitioners had no way of understanding Kazuma's thoughts. They stood stupidly in the face of such crushing strength, without even thinking of defending with jutsu.

This was clearly within reason. The wind spirits that Kazuma summoned were enough to eradicate the mansion, whether released as a jutsu or as an out-of-control rampage.

“.........”

The older practitioners exchanged glances without speaking. They had more experience, so they weren't as stunned. Being exposed to Juugo when he was a young boy, they were already familiar with out-of-control spirits that could be categorized as natural disasters. Although, at that time, they felt that they would be protected by that extreme strength.

After making an enormous inner determination, they realized that there was only one way to defend against the attack that Kazuma was preparing.

They would gamble their lives to perform a summoning of massive proportions, which could result in a mutual suicide. But they had already prepared for death.

''(If only to protect the Suzerain...)''

''(Before Ayano-sama returns...)''

There was no reason for them to gamble their lives other than to try to defeat Kazuma. After all, if Kazuma was standing here, then Genma was probably already defeated.

In that case, only Ayano had the ability to fight on par with Kazuma. With that in mind, the practitioners decided to gamble their lives in order to gain time for Ayano’s return.

“Let's go...”

“Hold it right there.”

A calm voice detained them just before they attacked. The voice's immense power stopped everyone in their tracks.

Time may have frozen for a moment, since nobody moved for a while. During that time, the only audible sound was the bamboo hitting the stone. <!--Don’t know this is called, you see it in anime. -->

"Suz-Suzerain!"

“It's too dangerous! Please withdraw!”

All of the practitioners recommended the Suzerain to withdraw.

Despite everyone having their eyes on him, Juugo walked with ease while continuing to look at Kazuma.

Kazuma also met Juugo’s eyes.

Juugo had always been very gentle with Kazuma, always speaking with feelings of loving concern instead of scolding with strict words. During Kazuma's teenage years when he was surrounded by hostility, only his time with Juugo allowed him relief.

To Kazuma, Juugo was similar to an admirable father, in contrast to Genma who only gave him terror.

A kind of ancient yearning surged forth. However, even if Kazuma wanted to cry, tears would not come out.

Apparently, Juugo completely understood Kazuma's feelings. Speaking as if to a relative he had not seen in a long time, Juugo greeted Kazuma.

“Long time no see, Kazuma. How are you doing?”

“...Ahh”

Knowing that Juugo still believed in him, Kazuma laughed as if he was being released from confinement.

Juugo laughed energetically as well. Seeing the typhoon in Kazuma's hand, he said,

“If it's like that, then, what's in your hand?”

“Huh? Oh, just trying to surpass the past.”

Kazuma clumsily waved his hand, dismissing all of the accumulated spirits. He even forgot the customary etiquette of saying 'thank you' to all of the spirits.

“Huh? Um, ok... It's hard to talk while standing here, so come in for cup of tea.”

Juugo could not have thoroughly understood what Kazuma had meant, so he merely treated the words as neglected mumblings.

The practitioners stood as if force fed muting pills, simply watching Juugo's light conversation with Kazuma. They probably thought that Kazuma would make a sneak attack with his back turned.

“Su-Suzerain, Kazuma is a traitor!”

Juugo glanced sadly at the still incompetent practitioners. He then slowly turned around to face Kazuma and asked,

“Uh, is it like that?”

“...No?”

Kazuma said with a shrug. The bunch of idiots continued their puzzled stares, unable to speak despite having working mouths.<!--Having a mouth but can’t explain, Idiom.  Nere- changed it to "having a mouth but no voice". Azelf- It's all so awkward...--> 

“So it seems.”

“No, we can't trust him!”

The practitioners shouted with dissatisfaction, believing that Juugo was being deceived.

“Calm down, you idiots!”

Juugo scolded, sighing. He continued,

“If Kazuma was serious, you would all be dead. Now do you understand?”

The practitioners all looked towards Kazuma and his careless appearance. The power that could annihilate them was completely gone. It could not be disputed that this once useless man returned as a superior, first-class practitioner.

“...Say, why did you return? It couldn't have just been for a gathering, right?”

“Ah, that's right. There's something I need to tell you.”

Kazuma finally remembered the reason for his visit, although it was very humiliating to admit to someone else that Ren was captured under his watch.

''(Can't be helped, I guess. After all, losing the initiative was my fault.)''

“...Ren has been abducted. The culprit was someone who can use the wind, most likely an accomplice of the murderer that killed your comrades.”

“Quit joking! You were the one who killed Shinji and Shingo!”

The Soushu of the Yuuki family came forward, speaking to Kazuma for the first time.

''(It doesn't matter who dies as long as it's not your sons?)''

For an instant, the man had an urge to say that, but he managed to keep it to himself. After all, he wasn't someone worthy of attention.

“Ren was seized?”

Juugo also ignored Yuuki’s words and questioned Kazuma to know if he was killed.

“That's right. I'm not too sure about the details, but I know that he's still alive. Don't know why, though. I came here to inform you guys, but could it be that you already know who did it?”

“No, not yet. But thank you for the information.”

Juugo seemed to think of something as his face turned bitter. He said something to the man standing at his side. Kazuma tried hard to remember, and recalled that this was a man trusted by Juugo.

That man bowed, and quickly departed from the house.

“Did you see what that person looked like?”

“...Yeah, but I don't think it'll help at all. That thing isn't even human.” 

Just thinking about him brought chills to Kazuma, since the irregular youma ki that 'it' possessed could not have been from anything human.

[[image:Kaze no Stigma vol 01 149.jpg|thumb]]

“I see... By the way, what happened to Genma?”

Juugo's question made Kazuma sincerely laugh. Rather than that of a grown man, his laugh was more of a teenage boy's. His grin wasn't something that could be achieved from practicing. It was a mischievous grin that completely covered his face. 

Kazuma showed his thumb and turned it down. With his chin moving backwards, he bragged,

“I kicked his ass.”

“Huh, haha, hahahahahahaha! So you kicked his ass, huh?”

Juugo laughed uncontrollably, an unstoppable roaring laughter, at Kazuma's overly energetic and carefree reply.

“Suzerain! This is not a funny matter!”

The practitioners worriedly admonished the Suzerain's unstopping laughter.

“Hmm, I suppose it isn't.”

Juugo pulled his face back to a severe, unyielding and steady stare. He then asked Kazuma, 

“Don't tell me you killed him?”

“Nah, I felt like being merciful. I even called an ambulance! Quite kind of me!”

“If that's the case, then it's alright.”

“Absolutely not!”

The person interrupting Juugo was like the practitioner from before. He became so angry that he started to stagger as if he was dizzy.

“If you're not feeling well, you can withdraw.”

“My situation is of no importance! If Kazuma knocked out Genma-sama, then it is absolutely certain that he is rebelling!”

“...This is just a father-son argument.”

“This... Something like this is...!”

“Understood. I just went over this. Okay, you can withdraw.” 

Juugo disrupted the person's words, gesturing at Kazuma as he left through the door. Kazuma followed suit.

And so, after four years, Kazuma finally returned to the place where he was born.