Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume17 Chapter6 (section)

===Part 2===

Haruaki could not believe the scene in front of him and blinked repeatedly. Because it was too unexpected, he had to spend a bit of time before he could recall from memory what he definitely knew.

Just as an armored knight was about to swing his broadsword upon Haruaki, something jumped from the side, baring its fangs to bite the knight's throat. It was&mdash;

''A beast made of indigo mercury''.

Ahhh, this... This is hers&mdash;!

Then he heard a voice. So nostalgic that it brought him to the verge of hot tears, that voice.

"Indigo Venom No.28, Name: «Unknown». Indigo Venom No.29, Name: «Uranus»!"

She looked back.

Haruaki saw it.

With hair covering one eye, dressed in a large coat with many pockets, wearing tall boots for some reason, summoning to her side the cursed forms of her venom familiars&mdash;

"A-Aiko!"

"Aiko-san!? How!?"

He was not mistaken. It was definitely Aiko. During the battle against the Bivorio Family, she had suffered a grievous wound sufficient to kill. It was only last Christmas when they discovered that she was miraculously still alive, slowly waiting to recover&mdash;the girl whose true nature was a cursed pot.

With timid airs like a small pet, Aiko retracted her neck and fidgeted shyly. Indeed it was her, exactly as Haruaki remembered.

"Yes, uh, umm, it was Honatsu..."

"&mdash;Aiko!"

In the middle of Aiko's sentence, Fear rushed over to hug her tightly. Fear's face went through myriad expressions while she rubbed her face against Aiko in one instant, or shook and stroked Aiko's body all over in the next.

"Ahhh, it really is Aiko! Why? How? When did you wake up? Are you okay? Running to this place!"

"...Hweh~"

Aiko made that nostalgic sound while allowing Fear to keep shaking her. However, her gaze suddenly turned to the side&mdash;The approaching armored knight that a newly summoned large dog-shaped venom familiar had pounced on.

"Umm, Fear... I'm very happy, but right now..."

"Y-You're right. Right now... Hmm, it's not the time."

Fear finally recovered somewhat from her confusion and released Aiko's body.

"I'm pretty lost here but you mentioned Pops' name just now? I can basically guess everything from that... Are you willing... to help us?"

"That is exactly why I came here."

An unambiguous answer. Clearly for her, using venom familiars was not supposed to be a happy thing. It was supposed to be a power that she herself hated.
[[image:C3 17-209.png|thumb]]

Haruaki felt very grateful for her well intentions. Nodding, he said:

"Kotetsu! Those animal-like things are on our side. Don't worry!"

"Guh, oh... Hmph. Truth be told, your allies are full of weird things. I never expected the arrival of even beasts as well&mdash;"

Despite wounds all over his body, Kotetsu was still valorously fighting the armored knights with his tiger claws, muttering in a gruff tone of voice. His reply seemed a bit strange to Haruaki.

"...Even beasts as well?"

Kotetsu silently lifted his chin, gesturing towards Kirika who had her abdomen pierced by a knight's broadsword earlier. Heavily injured, she was supposed to be focusing her attention on healing at the moment. Haruaki saw&mdash;

Arriving unnoticed, Yamimagari Pakuaki was standing there, looking down at the collapsed Kirika.

Next, after a wave of his arm...

A group of people dressed in lab coats suddenly appeared in the surroundings.

Pakuaki first glanced at Kirika then Haruaki.

"No need to be so surprised. I simply used transportation and concealment Wathes."

"No, I'm not talking about that, why are you..."

"Looks like there's no time to explain reasons right now. Although brawn is not in abundance on my side, there are a few skills just sufficient to handle combat. That's the main point, right?"

"Take this! Eat my punch! As for the name... I got it! Intellectual Fist of Destruction!"

"Kususu, surprisingly good, that gorilla-like and simple-minded speech of yours. But gorillas can't speak Japanese, so overall, it still adds up to zero."

"Th-Then... Ooh, ooh, ohhhhhhh!"

"Uwah, obviously human but imitating gorilla sounds, that's so revolting. Doing that is totally retarded, so it's minus points now."

"What the heck do you want me to do!?"

A familiar looking muscular researcher equipped with brass knuckles was punching an armored knight. A gloomy woman was wielding a taming whip. Other researchers who showed up were each carrying strange tools, some resembling rods, some resembling fans, some resembling guitars. Those were definitely cursed tools that were useful in combat.

If a re-introduction was necessary, there was also one researcher present who did not carry any cursed tools.

"I am late. Apologizing with this kind of apology."

A dark-skinned figure jumped over, sending a set of silver armor flying with a kick. Most likely, she finally defeated those living knights she was fighting earlier.

"Hi. Anyway, this is the situation now. You help out too."

"Although the reason is unknown... Orders acknowledged."

After nodding at Pakuaki, Un Izoey was just about to pursue the armored knight she had just kicked away when&mdash;

Someone landed on that knight's helmet with a thud.

Haruaki could only stare wide-eyed. Because it was too unbelievable, he could not trust his own eyes.

''Kokoro Pentangeli''. Her hair was cut short and she was dressed in a pantsuit like a businesswoman, but unmistakably, it was the Draconian whom they had defeated in the past.

"Kaha. It's been a while, Hunter, boy... Woah!?"

The armored knight under Kokoro's feet stood up forcibly. Somersaulting in the air, she landed and casually picked up someone's sword that had fallen on the ground. After clashing a few times with the armored knight's broadsword&mdash;perhaps due to a difference in mass&mdash;her sword broke. Backing away, she picked up another sword.

"Tsk, how fragile~ But whatever, this is also a good training handicap."

"Y-You, how...?"

"Oh? You didn't hear about this? I'm now being kept by that unscrupulous and inhumane masked man. He even threatened me with poisoned food... So that's the story. Anyway, that's why I've no intention of fighting you guys at the moment."

"The superintendent?"

Indeed, they had handed Kokoro to the superintendent to take care of. Although she was a villain who had committed unforgivable crimes... Haruaki did not believe that the superintendent would execute her privately. Presumably as punishment, he forced her into becoming his subordinate.

Kuroe tilted her head slightly.

"Come to think of it, the superintendent seems to have mentioned something about a beast tamer..."

"Although I think what he said about poison was 99% likely to be a lie, I can't ignore the possibility that he really laced my food with poison. Anyway, that guy currently holds the power to determine my life and death... Usually, he sends me to do his bidding by handling gangsters or other boring conflicts. Now that there's a rare chance for a big fight, I have to enjoy myself! Kahaha!"

Obtaining weapons from the scene, Kokoro charged the armored knight.

Haruaki then saw Kirika stir restlessly to move her upper body, so he reached out and helped her up. The abdominal wound seemed to have finally healed.

"...Absolutely ridiculous, the situation seems to have descended into chaos."

"It's way too chaotic! By the way, huh? There's even one of Sovereignty's dolls mixed in there!"

Haruaki suddenly discovered there was a doll mixed among Aiko's venom familiars, jumping around, trying to divert the armored knights' attention. Haruaki turned his head to see a figure on the school roof far away. Not just Sovereignty but Shiraho, Isuzu and the others were also there.

"They were clearly asked to hide in the secret room..."

In his hand, Konoha shook lightly.

"I understand their feelings. It's quite painful to just wait without doing anything."

"And right now, the knights probably don't have any spare energy to give them a hard time... Even if they do, Isuzu would be able to handle one or two of them using the power of norito. Anyway, let's feel grateful for Sovereignty's support, it's enough to disrupt the enemy."

"You're right."

Haruaki nodded in agreement with Fear, then readied Konoha in a stance. There was a continuous stream of slight pain from his left hand just from holding the sword. It was when clashing against armor and swords that the force of impact would bounce around inside his body, causing a vague and ambiguous numbness. This elusive pain, too small to pinpoint tangibly, actually felt more annoying.

However, staring at the battlefield before his eyes, Haruaki slowly began to ignore it. Slowly, he forgot the pain.

It felt unbelievable.

They were facing the «Wittelsbach Knights», sixteen of them, threats with mechanical vibes like robots.

Kotetsu swung his tiger claws. Kuroe extended her hair. Kirika controlled her bandage. Un Izoey brandished the knife in her foot. While the doll controlled by Sovereignty distracted the knights, Aiko's venom familiars would seize opportunities to bite. Waving around their respective tools, incomprehensible to Haruaki, the members of the Lab Chief's Nation handled the knights. On the other hand, Kokoro was swinging her sword like a beast.

Everyone was there. Enemies, friends, as well as people who were difficult to classify as enemies or friends.

Haruaki felt his heart heat up unbelievably. He thought back to all the details of everything that had happened to this date. Times they had spent&mdash;interacting, knowing, clashing with certain individuals. At the same time, he immersed himself in the feeling.

Without these times in the past, surely this currently scene would be impossible to witness. The situation would not have developed into this either.

(Sure enough... it's because of Fear, right?)

He believed that Fear was the origin. Everything started after she came here. Meeting all kinds of people, experiencing all sorts of things. To be honest, every incident had good and bad aspects to them&mdash;but thanks to her, many things were definitely put into motion.

Even so, what was waiting ahead of them was assuredly going to be "something good."

Of course, what they desired was a happy ending.

He did not want to see an ending with people crying. He did not want to see an inconsolable ending.

Power surged silently within him. Standing in front of this scene, it was only natural.

This scene, allowing him to see everyone, seemed to be saying "step forward towards the happy ending."

At this moment, gazing at the battlefield like a commander, issuing orders to the researchers, Pakuaki suddenly said to Haruaki:

"Hey hey, what are you spacing out for? We're not jocks, after all, intellectual exercise is our specialty. Although we can buy some time, things won't look pretty if you expect us to wipe out the enemy."

"Huh?"

Pakuaki extended his arm lightly and pointed somewhere.

The far end of the red carpet.

The Dominion Lord was sitting in his throne, the wheelchair. Beside him was the maiden knight&mdash;as well as the cursed spear stabbed in the ground.

"You guys have things to do, right? Then go, Yachi Haruaki."

"This guy is correct. Our goal is not the complete destruction of these sets of armor."

"...That's true."

Fear nodded with a serious demeanor. The Japanese sword in Haruaki's hand also shook lightly.

"Got it. Then excuse me, I'm leaving the rest to you!"

Saying that, Haruaki started sprinting. Kirika also followed. Kuroe, Kotetsu and Un Izoey wanted to rush over but were blocked by the armored knights. Without extra energy to spare, they had no choice but to stay where they were and continue fighting the knights.

In the end, they were the only four who broke free from being surrounded by the «Wittelsbach Knights». Haruaki, Konoha in his hand, Fear, and Kirika.

"Haruaki-kun and I will be in charge of close quarters combat. Ueno-san will take care of long-range attacks and provide treatment in case any of us are injured. Finally, the one who doesn't matter... I suppose this is the most basic lineup."

"Don't call me the one who doesn't matter, accursed Cow Tits!"

"Konoha-kun, are you going to fight in that form?" asked Kirika.

"To be honest, I also hope that Haruaki-kun could stay in a safe place."

"Let me help please. Now that we're here, how could I do nothing but watch? My hand is totally fine too."

Haruaki asserted firmly, prompting a sigh from the Japanese sword.

"Indeed, the opponent does not seem to be a target that could be handled with knifehand strikes alone... And I don't want to suddenly see a set of armor approaching Haruaki-kun from behind and swinging a a sword at him after we separate to fight."

Immediately, Konoha's voice turned serious.

"I will put my life on the line to protect Haruaki-kun. Haruaki-kun, may I complete an important preparation for this purpose? However, that means changing back to human form for a moment."

The Dominion Lord and Dainsleif were right in front of them. However, since Konoha said it was an important preparation, Haruaki could not ignore her, of course.

"Of course it's okay, but since you're turning back into human form, shouldn't I close my eyes first...?"

"Oh, either way is fine. I don't mind even if you don't close your eyes. Yes, this is a good chance to find out Haruaki-kun's preference."

"?"

By the time he tilted his head in puzzlement, Konoha had already jumped up before his eyes and returned to human form. Confronted with the vast view of bare skin, just as Haruaki reflexively tried to close his eyes, Konoha reached out with both hands to lift his face then&mdash;

"Mmmmphhh!?"

She kissed him on the lips.

It was quite unlike the kiss last time. A certain something slid into his mouth, stirring boldly, sucking with a slurping sound.

"Puha... Excellent&mdash;! My motivation is surging! Come, Harauki-kun!"

Konoha's body bounced up and turned back into the Japanese sword.

"Cow Tits! What are you doing!? T-Too shameless!"

"Konoha-kun! You're doing this kind of thing again! A-Absolutely ridiculous!"

"I don't hear anything at all!"

"D-Damn it...! Haruaki, I want motivation too! But it's way too shameless if I imitate her, so, uh, I'm doing this!"

"I-I want some too! Although it's absolutely ridiculous! But it can't be helped!"

Fear wrapped her arms around his back and hugged him tightly, pressing her silver-haired head against his chest. Kirika grabbed his arm and embraced it tightly in her bosom. Haruaki felt his arm sandwiched between two soft objects.

"Hey, you've totally lost me, now isn't the time for this kind of behavior, right!? Although I do agree that motivation is definitely needed!"

In this manner, noisily...

The four of them moved forward, in a style very much unique to them in this sense&mdash;



Simultaneously...

Fear was using the entire front half of her body to feel Haruaki's body warmth.

Through his warmth&mdash;She smothered what was within her.

The black mud pulsating in the depths? That did not disappear, it still existed.

After seeing the dead bodies Satsuko created, it became restless. After the «Wittelsbach Knights» appeared, it became restless. The more the battle situation intensified, the more it became restless. After Konoha acted unreasonably, it became restless.

In other words, a feeling of displeasure. A wish to cause mayhem.

However, apart from her own willpower right now, there were other things capable of suppressing that impulse.

Rubbing her forehead against his chest, she savored his smell.

This alone was not enough. She recalled the taste of his skin.

(...Mmm.)

She used his entire being to smother her impulse. Trying not to think. However, she still thought accidentally.

The squirming in the depths of her body. A shred of unease.

What was going to happen next? &mdash;Future options were definitely limited.

Hence, she could easily imagine them. Good futures, bad futures, the worst future.

She did not know which type of future among them would be chosen. Just as she did not know whom Haruaki wanted to be with the most between Konoha, Kirika and herself, she had no idea at all.

Even so, she still mustered her resolve.

The resolve to believe this to the very end: a wonderful future was what was going to arrive.

She inhaled forcefully again, allowing Haruaki to fill her interior.

Then as before, her unease was easily smothered.

Simple. Wonderful. At ease. Relief. Perhaps she had already gone through a makeover to become like this. To become an existence that was healthy in body and mind as long as she used Haruaki to fill up herself.

Okay, let's go. Everything was about to finish. A wonderful future was about to arrive.

Not like they could stay stuck together forever. The instant before the finish line was just ahead.

Seeing Kirika on the other side releasing Haruaki's arm with her face all red, she took this as the signal to slowly let go of Haruaki. His warmth, smell and texture departed.

Of course, she was definitely reluctant to part from these sensations, but conversely, she gained new pleasures. Because only during temporary separation could she ruminate and savor these experiences in her mind. She decided to immerse herself in them for now.

Ahhh, truly.

Just the thought of touching him again brought unbelievable joy to her heart.

She found this incredible and felt very happy at the same time.



The girls' warmth departed.

When Haruaki turned his attention back to reality, there were only two people before his eyes.

Sitting on the wheelchair, the Dominion Lord, and standing beside him, Dainsleif.

Dainsleif shook her head in disapproval.

"Impossible to comprehend. Like a parade of idiots, what are you people thinking?"

"A foolish question&mdash;Likewise, they do not comprehend our justice or our will. Simply a group of children... A group of children who jump up and down in rage after seeing their pile of sand in the park is about to be leveled."

"This place is not a pile of sand in a park. What you are trying to destroy is a place dear to us. That's why we must stop you."

Haruaki glared at the Dominion Lord and spoke. Sitting in his wheelchair and throne, he was gazing upon Haruaki with eyes marked with age.

Dainsleif rapidly and nimbly moved herself between the two of them.

"...Do you think you will succeed?"

"Hmph, you're the only ones left. I'd like to toss the question back at you: Do you think you can stop us?"

Hearing Fear's reply, Dainsleif answered with her shoulders shaking:

"So long as His Lordship and I remain, a minimum knightly order can be formed, a battlefield for a crusade to eliminate loathsome curses can be formed. Don't make me laugh."

She took a further step, stepping directly in front of the Dominion Lord.

"The only thing that saddens me is that I must request assistance from His Lordship himself."

"A foolish question. You are my sword. Now that the enemy is here, the sword must naturally be swung."

The Dominion Lord declared in a solemn voice:

"Hence&mdash;''permission granted to unsheath'', Dainsleif."

"Affirmative!"

Dainsleif answered sternly then raised her arm as though rebounding. The visor-like helmet made a clong sound and moved&mdash;Underneath, below the visor that had bounced up...

It was a pair of violet eyes shining like ominous gemstones.

In the next second, while the Dominion Lord extended his hand towards her from behind, her body jumped up.

Then by the time anyone noticed&mdash;

A sheathed broadsword was already held in the Dominion Lord's hand while he remained seated the whole time.

The base of the scabbard had a component shaped like a clasp. In material and structure, the clasp resembled Dainsleif's visor-like helmet very much. The clasp was already open, revealing a glimpse of the blade beneath which was unbelievably glowing with violet light. Using a Japanese sword as an analogy, this would be the state of ''koiguchi'', loosening the sword slightly in its sheath for immediate use.

The Dominion Lord stroked the scabbard with his hand. Since the clasp was already open, all he needed to do was wait for the scabbard to slide off.

The red carpet underfoot received the scabbard's weight, producing a tiny thud&mdash;

Left in the Dominion Lord's hand was a sword flashing with ominous violet light, filled with murderous intent.

The shape itself was quite commonplace, a double-edged broadsword with thickness to its body. Attached to the blade's body was a thin steel plate with patterns engraved on it, thus increasing the blade's thickness. Subtly blinking as though breathing, the violet light completely enveloped the steel-colored body of the blade and the silver-white blade itself.

"That's... Dainsleif's original appearance&mdash;"

"Ha, don't overestimate them, Haruaki. Using a battery to glow might be a fun mechanism for little kids, but take a look, the sword's wielder is an old geezer. He intends to fight while sitting in his wheelchair."

Haruaki suddenly realized. Indeed, the Dominion Lord holding the sword was still seated in the wheelchair. «Dieu le veut»'s curse dictated death for the owner as soon as one stepped out of the territory under its rule. Because the town's "Dominionization" had not finished, the Dominion Lord was currently in a forced state of compromise, relying on another «Dieu le veut» spear, using that wheelchair as his temporary fiefdom&mdash;called the Mobile Territory, right?

In other words, until "Dominionization" finished...

The Dominion Lord could not walk from that wheelchair, Zilch Ground.

"Fighting on a wheelchair? Absolutely ridiculous. This can only work by staying impeccably on guard.. right?"

"A foolish opinion. You people have no idea about Dainsleif's curse."

Saying that, the Dominion Lord turned the sword's tip lightly towards them.

In a girl's voice, the sword explained her curse.

"My curse is... 'once drawn, a victim shall be killed.' Hence, I have been called a demonic sword."

"No need to sound so full of yourself. This type of curse is very common. I am a demon blade too."

Konoha remarked in disdain. However, Dainsleif's tone of voice did not change.

"Ignorant to a pitiful degree. As one would naturally expect from a lowly Wathe whose value is equivalent to dirt, but you fail to understand the meaning of the words 'shall be.' Once drawn, I shall move for the sake of killing, I shall exist for the sake of killing, the sword itself will be guided for the sake of killing. Putting it another way, once my sword is drawn, the result of 'killing someone' is already predetermined."

"Huh...?"

"The predetermined outcome, destiny and causality of 'a victim shall be killed' drives my sword forward&mdash;Its direction and the driving force behind the causal relationship is precisely the manifestation of my curse."

"&mdash;Foolish children will not understand, Dainsleif. Just let them witness with their own eyes: the ending reflected upon your blade, predetermined death that follows immediately, and the driving force of guaranteed death led by causality!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Instantly, the pair&mdash;

Together with the broadsword in his hand, the Dominion Lord sitting in his wheelchair rushed towards them.

With the speed of a bullet, with the momentum of a cannonball.

The wheelchair tilted, but probably secured by a belt or something, the Dominion Lord's body did not fall off. Together with the wheelchair's mass, he swung Dainsleif at high speed.

"Haruaki-kun!"

Konoha barely managed to block the attack, deflecting the sword. Against this massive impact as though blocking a giant rock, Haruaki felt his entire body's muscles screaming before it turned into an electrical current that rushed out of his left hand's amputation wound. He gritted his teeth to endure the pain.

The Dominion Lord's wheelchair slid backwards and landed, but immediately, the twisting wheels made a 180-degree turn. Clearly, the Dominion Lord was not operating it at all.

This time, the wheelchair did not advance in a straight line. Instead, tilting the wheels alternately, it approached with dance-like movements&mdash;Fear was the target.

"Fear!"

"Woah...!"

This was not something she could block barehanded. Probably not imitating Kokoro on purpose, but Fear instantly picked up a sword that had fallen by her feet, probably one of the knights' supplies, thus barely managing to block Dainsleif's attack. However, the Dominion Lord attacked relentlessly, chopping consecutively. Fear defended desperately&mdash;

"Chupacabra Bandage!"

Behind the Dominion Lord, Kirika extended the bandage in an attempt to strangle his neck or pull out the «Dieu le veut» spear embedded on the back of the wheelchair. However, the Dominion Lord stood the wheelchair up on one wheel and spun like a top, slicing through the bandage. Finally, Fear took this opportunity to distance herself.

"Tsk, I can't believe it... moves. So weird~"

"Dainsleif is the one pulling... Right!?"

"It appears that the speed and path can be controlled too. They mentioned a driving force of causality and guaranteed death, anyway, that means 'towards the enemy,' this kind of broad vector... Then making use of the vector, they created this method of fighting."

"I thought it was simply a charging thrust, but... Absolutely ridiculous. From the start, I should have calculated they would combine attacking motions with the wheelchair's mass and mobility. This might turn out to be even trickier than a normal battle."

"Indeed, we have never fought a wheelchair-bound opponent before, after all. But let us put this topic aside."

Konoha waved lightly. Haruaki guessed that she was probably looking at Fear's hand. Looking at the weapon she had picked up on the spot.

Still staring ahead, Fear pouted slightly and said:

"I don't want to hold it either, but there's no other way. Stop picking on me for such a simple weapon."

"Yeah, it's definitely challenging to handle a broadsword with bare hands... Konoha, it's fine, right?"

After Haruaki spoke on Fear's behalf, Konoha sighed several seconds laters.

"Fine&mdash;with a weapon like that, even if an emergency came up, I could still destroy it instantly. I'll treat it as an extension of your arm. However, carelessness is forbidden. What I need to do still hasn't changed. Listen carefully, on the first symptoms of trouble, immediately&mdash;"

"I know I know... Anyway, forget about me for now and focus on them! Their movements definitely startled me but it's pretty much just fighting on a wheelchair as a substitute for legs, right? Nothing to be afraid of!"

Shifting the wheelchair as though drifting in motorsports, the Dominion Lord adjusted his position and held up Dainsleif again. With a calm gaze, he said:

"&mdash;Foolish concerns. Whenever someone says there is nothing to be afraid of, the speaker is already afraid."

"Shut up!"

The wheels screeched. Both sides clashed again.

Haruaki and Konoha desperately fought the Dominion Lord together. Dainsleif was a cursed sword and was moving according to her own will&mdash;Hence, the Sword-Kill Counter would not work. Even by using the powerful True-Kill Counter&mdash;

"Kuh...!"

"I am known as the legendary demonic sword! How could a mere demon blade from a remote island nation shatter me!?"

However, the opponent was a cursed broadsword with a long history. The two swords bounced off each other. Haruaki could feel they were evenly matched. It would be too naive to think the match could be concluded in a single strike.

Glowing faintly with violet light, the broadsword was swung with power, speed and spectacularly varying trajectories difficult to imagine coming from a man in a wheelchair. How could the elderly Dominion Lord's arm be so strong? His own swordsmanship was also astounding in skill. Difficult feints, combos, counters... He was not an opponent to be trifled with at all. 

"Gwah... How can I... just keep defending... Take this!"

"Wait, Fear-san, you are too impetuous!"

But Konoha's warning came a step too late. Fighting like a caged beast, Fear lunged to attack using the sword she had picked up earlier, which ended up getting struck by the Dominion Lord's counter. The ordinary sword broke and flew away, leaving a scratch on Fear's cheek. Probably taking evasive action from more serious injuries, her petite body suddenly flew backwards and rolled on the ground. Then reaching around to search, she picked up a nearby sword.

"I'm not done yet...!"

She stood up and glared at the Dominion Lord. A fighting style relying on willpower and conviction instead of technique. Most likely displeased by this, the Dominion Lord scoffed from his wheelchair.

"&mdash;Foolish behavior. You are cursed. Do not fight as though you were a knight with a mission."

"Shut up, I... I have no choice!"

Tossing all concerns aside, Fear charged head on.

"...Mission? Of course I have one. I will defeat you in my rightful form! Then I'll return the town, the school and that home&mdash;back to normal! I absolutely won't give up!"

Haruaki could not watch quietly either and charged together, attacking with Konoha. Kirika also sent a flying bandage to cover them.

Silver hair fluttered by Haruaki's side.

To be honest, Fear's contribution to combat strength was negligible, but Haruaki was very grateful that she was willing to stay by his side and fight alongside them. He also felt saved.

However, even so&mdash;They still failed to harm the Dominion Lord and Dainsleif after all this time.

Although their fighting style was very eccentric at a glance, the pair's strength was like a straight fastball, relying on pure power with no gimmicks. Pure to the point of having no openings, there were no obvious weaknesses.

"H-Huff...!"

Haruaki's group kept consuming stamina. The fatigue accumulated from battling continually so far was weighing heavily on their backs. Even though Konoha was controlling his body, it did not prevent the physical body's base consumption. The shock from impacts felt concentrated on the end of his left hand, even giving him an illusion of the pain materializing into fingers. A matter-of-fact feeling there. A feeling impossible to forget. Forcing himself to forget was making him feel weary.

Hence&mdash;When he blocked Dainsleif's horizontal slash, swinging as though gliding through the air, Haruaki's knees suddenly lost strength and gave way.

"Haruaki-kun!"

Konoha had no choice but to endure the blow, absorbing the impact to jump to the side&mdash;or rather, allow Haruaki's body to be struck flying.

(Guh!)

As the view receded away rapidly, Haruaki saw the wheelchair's wheels turning from the recoil of Dainsleif's attack, then as though executing a spinning back kick, it knocked Kirika away in the opposite direction.

Haruaki gritted his teeth and waited for the next impact. Meanwhile, he could only pray for the girl who was left on the spot&mdash;

He prayed for the safety of the girl who was facing off against her actual parent.

(Fear...!)