Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume9 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 2===

Fifteen opponents. Naturally, this meant that the members of Haruaki's group had to handle roughly four of them each.

Konoha recalled her memories of battlefields in the past, chopping down relentless swarms of nameless infantry. Four opponents were nothing at all&mdash;That was how things were supposed to be.

"...!"

Konoha made a mad dash through the forest, locked on a particular target, using her hand to chop down trees in her way. A second later, the same sound of trees getting chopped down was heard behind her. Instinctively, she leapt side ways. Then she heard the following words:

"Like the way mountains can be cleared of lush vegetation by means of incineration and through the work of sharpened sickles, all sins will be gone, purely purified, and cleanly cleaned!"

Instantly, the space that Konoha occupied mere moments earlier was sliced open by a massive distortion of the air. Then the tree trunk, which she had intended to cut next, slid down with a resounding crash.

"Acting like a vacuum blade? For a bell, that's rather amazing."

"Thank you for your praise."

Expressionless, the bell replied calmly. That sense of calm was most infuriating.

"However&mdash;These are simply parlor tricks! Don't you even dare dream of surpassing me in the domain of severing things... I shall make you personally experience how foolish that would be!"

Invisible and sharp blades came flying again, slicing through the air. Brandishing her hand, Konoha chopped them all apart. Konoha intended to proceed and subdue the opponent that was releasing blades of vacuum, but&mdash;

"The Spirit, Ibukidonushi, who is the origin of the breath of life&mdash;"

"...will breathe and blow sins and impurities..."

"...out to the ends of the underworld!"

At this moment, three shrine maidens in the surroundings chanted in unison to unleash a violent gale. This was the same gust of strong wind that occurred before, sweeping people's feet close to the ground. As much as Konoha stayed on guard, the wind's power was much stronger than before, bolstered by the ritual bell music from earlier, as well as being invoked by three people. Unable to resist, Konoha found her feet beginning to float up.

"Guh...!"

Instantly, Konoha jumped up and performed a flip in midair, landing on all fours with some difficulty. Without pausing in her movements, she kicked the ground like a wild beast and moved swiftly, avoiding the incoming series of wind blades.

Clicking her tongue, Konoha thought:

(Although I said I'll make her understand her folly, our combat styles are too different...!)

Konoha was only able to engage in close quarters combat but these kagura bells were capable of using the power of wind to fight at range, an ability akin to cheating. And as expected of fifteen who could act as one, the unity of their teamwork was completely beyond that of infantry on the battlefield.

Konoha did not stop moving and continued to dodge the enemy's attacks, meanwhile glancing in all directions. Were the others okay?

Kirika could be seen fighting in the distance, using a dead angle formed by the leaves and branches of trees to strangle one of the bells by the neck with her leather belt. However, another bell next to them immediately swung her arm down and chanted a prayer:

"And this was done by following a ritual performed in Heaven; heavenly golden timber was cut up, and arranged upon many shelves!"

As a result, the air seemed to distort as though guided by her arm, severing Kirika's belt. Konoha could see that she had swung an axe formed by stabilizing a blade of wind like the vacuum blades.

"Woah..."

"And heavenly reeds were cut into bits, splintering&mdash;"

"...Like needles, while instructions were given to read out the great purification ritual!"

From Kirika's left and right respectively, two bells released needles of air that were invisible to the naked eye. One could imagine their numbers to far surpass what was demonstrated last time. Kirika managed to dodge some of them but could not evade all the needles successfully. Instantly, her clothes were ripped open and a red liquid seeped out from inside&mdash;Konoha forcefully suppressed the sense of discomfort surging up her throat. Unfazed by these wounds, Kirika glared at her enemies and extended her cursed belt again.

"...It looks like you should be human, but your body is truly unbelievable."

"Unfortunately, even the power of the gods cannot kill me. I know very well that I cannot defeat you. But even with my arms broken or my eyeballs pierced, I will not give up&mdash;!"

Meanwhile, voices could also be heard from Kuroe who was facing off against a quartet just like Konoha.

"There's too many of them. I really wanna get them all at once... Mode: «Killing Machine Masakado»!"

"Akin to strong winds capable of blowing away thick layers of clouds&mdash;"

"Akin to the winds of morning and evening..."

"...capable of blowing away the mist!"

Kuroe extended ropes of black hair all at once, but they were scattered by the bells' simultaneous release of violent wind. This was the move creating rampaging wind over a wide area that Isuzu had displayed at the very beginning, simple yet difficult to evade.

Apart from blowing and scattering her hair, as the raging wind ramped up in power, simply the backwash was enough to send Kuroe's petite body tipping this way and that. Probably thinking that falling over would present too many openings to the enemy, Kuroe desperately gathered her hair into one thick bundle to entangle one of many trees that were slanting in the wind. Jumping without opposing the wind, she flew and shortened her rope of hair, landing on top of a branch&mdash;

"Phew~ That was really close."

"How light and agile. Kusuzu is impressed."

"Well then, Tosuzu shall play along."

The bells murmured softly without any emotional fluctuation, jumping up and riding along the wind. Kuroe extended her rope of hair again to fly towards the next tree. Thus, an aerial battle began, moving above the trees.

Next&mdash;

"Take this!"

"There were many of these wild spirits who would not obey, sometimes they were persuaded, and even then if they still would not obey&mdash;"

"They were removed by force. As a result, the stones, trees, all the grass and weeds, and even each and every leaf that spoke like humans speak, so that it was so noisy then, obeyed the order to be silent!"

Fear threw the execution stake with a great yell but it was blocked by a wall of silence. Turning the returning execution stake into a hatchet, she charged forward once more. However, Norito prayers sounded again and stopped her.

"Damn it, still blocking so effortlessly...!"

"The timing of your attacks is very easy to discern. Despite the fact that the wall of silence only lasts for but an instant, defending is still easy."

"You dare look down on me...!"

Fear fought desperately and kept jumping, swinging her hatchet as hard as she could to deflect the wind needles and vacuum blades fired by the surrounding bells. However, they were right. Even in close quarters combat, Isuzu and her comrades were still able to use the protective shield of silence. Konoha agreed that Fear's fighting style was easy to read and the timing was easy to figure out. Nevertheless, Konoha still strongly acknowledged the destructive power possessed by those massive tools of torture. To think they could be blocked so effortlessly, was there some way to break through these defenses?

(There must be... No, even if there isn't, we must break through...!)

Konoha bit her lower lip hard and renewed her vigor. Don't forget that this battle involves his voice at stake. That gentle yet calm voice whose quiet words alone were enough to calm one's mind, whose whispers alone were enough to bring warmth to one's heart, whose laughter alone was enough to bring happiness&mdash;The voice she loved the most in the entire world.

Konoha stopped and drew in a deep breath.

She could not turn back to the form of a sword. Since they were not facing armed opponents, the Sword-Kill Counter was meaningless. Even if it were not, it would be too dangerous to have Haruaki on the battlefield without his voice. Unable to engage in instantaneous communication, it was most troubling.

Hence, fighting in this manner was the only choice. Going all-out, relentlessly, recklessly, carrying the determination to never falter.

"...I must make you return it. Those who want Haruaki-kun's voice and rely on his voice for power&mdash;You're not the only ones!"

Konoha no longer ran and dodged all over the place. Deploying a sword's sharpness all over her body, she charged straight into the rampaging wind summoned by the bells. She could feel the gazes of others, watching from a distance away from the battlefield&mdash;Haruaki, Sovereignty, Shiraho, as well as Chihaya.

"..."

Chihaya was dancing. It was the dance presented to the gods, slow yet carrying a sense of tension. The cursed dance of the shrine maiden.

It was not performed by her own will and seemed quite out of place for this battlefield. Nevertheless, her dancing figure was full of mysteriousness indeed. In the center amidst the intensely resounding noise of battle, only the shrine maiden's dance continued quietly without words.

At the same time, her hair and hakama were swaying from the aftereffects of the raging winds.

All this time, Chihaya was gazing upon the girls.

As though praying something.

Or perhaps, cursing something.