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Talk:Kaze no Stigma:Volume6 Chapter 6

2013-12-31T00:50:04Z

Nwms8: Created page with "Nooo its finally over."

Nooo its finally over.

Kaze no Stigma:Volume6 Chapter 3

2013-12-29T07:14:44Z

Nwms8:

== Chapter 3 - At the Kannagi residence ==

=== Part 1 ===

After the present objective had been established, Ayano informed the boy.

"You can come to my house but first of all put that spear back. If you walk with it like that the police will start questioning us right away."

"............"

The boy reluctantly frowned and took out from his breast pocket an over-seized handkerchief like cloth.

Was it because the cloth was thin or because it was specially folded but it spread out in a bizarrely large way.

The boy enveloped Kokusen in it.

"What are you doing?"

"Hiding Kokusen, right?"

"Only that - I'm asking why aren't you storing it inside your body?"

"............"

The boy doesn't answer. He continued to envelop Kokusen in indifferent silence.

".........The Wind's sacred treasure, can't be put away just like Enraiha?" whispered Ayano in a small voice into Kazuma's ear.

"If it's so then it's so. There's no need for you to make such an unhappy face," answered Kazuma immediately.

It was just like that.

If you think about it more, the owner of the Water's sacred treasure also stored it inside his body. Then, it seems natural it would be the same for the Wind's also.

In other words, something the real owner could do this boy couldn't. That was ---

"No way, you're not the official successor!?"

"Wrong!"

The boy replied immediately, decisively.

"Wrong! It's true that I'm not the official successor yet. But as a legitimate blood relative I have the qualification for succession! Don't put me together with a thief!"

At that time, Ayano remembered. This boy called that Chijutsushi Gaia ''"his father's enemy"''.

It's likely that his father was urged to give the sacred treasure to those guys and when he refused he was killed.

And then, judging from the boy who was still very young but became the possessor of Kokusen without the due ritual of inheritance, it looked like all the family members older than him were killed.

"Aah---- I'm sorry. I was pretty insensible."

Ayano frankly apologized. But, there was still one remaining problem.

"Then, how did you bring it here? You didn't pass through the airport's custom, right?"

"......I came by boat."

"No, that's still the same."

Whether it's by ship or by airplane, if one crosses the border by the regular routes, he will definitely meet the customs.

And, in Japan individuals weren't allowed to bring their own weapons.

Thinking that far, Ayano noticed the correct answer.

Holding weapons, she couldn't have come by a regular route. Then ---

"You, you're an illegal immigrant right?"

"..........There was no other way."

With a dissatisfied expression, the boy assented Ayano's question.

"I had to come to Japan at any cost. Because they're trying to gather all four sacred weapons."

The only one remaining one - the sacred treasure of Fire, Enraiha - was so famous there wasn't anyone in this business who didn't know it's name.

Together with the name of the family who owned it.

At a not very distant future, it was certain those two would contact Ayano.

In that situation, in order to make Ayano into his ally, the boy took the initiative and crossed the ocean without a moment's delay.

"---------And then, you picked a fight with me?" Replied Ayano in an amazed voice, hearing the boy's explanation.

Even though there was a need to make sure of her ability, the method was confused.

If the timing were a bit different and he would have arrived after Chris and Gaia's, rather than friend there was a high possibility he would have ended like an enemy.

But, the boy declared triumphantly.

"That's how the situation was. If one were to think about it calmly it can be understood the very best thing to do is a joint struggle."

"That so? Certainly I think it would be very advantageous for you to become our ally but ---- the reverse?"

"............."

Without answering, the boy bit his lips in regret.

That's right, from Kazuma and Ayano's standpoint, there's no advantage in becoming the boy's ally.

If they were simply trying to increase the war potential, it would more efficient to extort Kokusen from the boy and have Kazuma use it.

What's even more convenient, the boy challenged them on his accord. When it comes to the unwritten law of their world, having him beaten at his own game would be a splendid legitimate self defense.

"Do you understand? That you cannot complain if you were to be killed right here?"

".............."

"-------- How troublesome."

Looking at the boy who put himself on guard with unconcealed wariness, obstinately shutting his mouth, Ayano took a long breath.

She thought the boy's circumstance pitiful.

But, even though he was unfortunate, that does not mean he can bother other people and she has no reason to permit that happening here.

She doesn't have it but ----

"Anyway."

Letting out another sigh, Ayano dodged the issue. Looking towards the boy over her shoulder, she informed him shortly.

"First, let's return to the house. I'll hear the detailed account after."

"-------Is it alright?"

Perceiving that criticism disappeared from Ayano's eyes, the boy turned his face to her puzzled.

"I don't like finishing off people who are cornered. But this guy does it without batting an eyelid ---"

And then, fleetingly looking at Kazuma, Ayano asked.

"Do you want that spear?"

"Don't want it," retorted Kazuma extremely concisely.

".............."

The boy made a complicated face. Despite feeling relived at not having Kokusen snatched away, his dissatisfaction at having it cast away as if it was something worthless was insuppressible.

Ayano too, thought it was strange so she asked him again.

"But, why? Isn't it natural to want that if you're a Fujutsushi?"

"I could use it but it would come together with various troubles. It probably has the grudge of the Fuan family."

"-----Well, that may be so."

"............"

Looking at Ayano immediately nodding, the boy made a complicated face once more.

"Besides, when it comes to this kind of items, it would be very hard to sell it since it's so famous."

''''"You'd sell it!?"''''

Perfectly synchronized, Ayano and the boy retorted at the same time.

Kazuma shrugged his shoulders superficially.

"Well, leaving jokes aside."

"Liar. You were definitely serious."

"I said leaving jokes aside."

In a manner as if he couldn't hear the voice of objection, he forcefully changed the subject.

"We should quickly go. It's pointless staying and talking here."

"..................................................................I agree"

Even though she had a lot - a great lot she wanted to say, Ayano agreed at once.

=== Part 2 ===

"Is the Suzerain home?"

Kazuma began cross-examining the first servant he happened to see after walking in the Kannagi Residence.

Against people who have something to do with the Kannagi, Kazuma attitude is basically bad.

Even though he doesn't put on airs of superiority, at any rate all his interactions are impolite, which gained him an equally bad reputation among people in all kind of positions.

In Ayano's eyes it seemed like he purposefully wanted others to hate him. Even though she didn't understand the reason.

But even so, as one would expect from a pro - the servant naturally didn't let any of the dissatisfaction she felt shown on her face and replied matter-of-fact.

"Yes. But, right now Shin'ichirou-sama is visiting."

"Shin'ichirou?"

Since that name was very unexpected, Kazuma quizzically asked again.

And then, he tilted his head in confusion, next he looked at the ceiling and finally, turning to Ayano, he asked frankly.

"Who is that?"

Unintentional, Ayano was greatly perplexed.

"The head of the Yuuki Family. Remember at least that much."

"Don't be absurd. That kind of guy played such a minor role, it's impossible to remain in my memory," said Kazuma calmly over his shoulder, looking around as if searching for something.

And then -

"This way, huh?"

He started walking towards the Suzerain's Kehai he just located.

The servant followed him in a fluster.

"Pl- please wait! We were instructed to not let anyone approach----"

But Kazuma didn't turned around.

And then, she begged Ayano's assistance but she couldn't rely on her either.

"Sorry. But our issue is without mistake more important so I don't think he'll get mad. Aah, take care of the tea. You know the number, right?"

Saying so, she followed after Kazuma. And lastly, even the boy who visited the house for the first time.

"Ayano-samaaa........" groaned the yet young servant girl as if crying, the only one who remained behind.

"Suzerain, are you in?"

"--------Kazuma?"

The moment that voice could be heard from indoors, Kazuma opened the futsuma without asking for permission.

He stepped in just like that and the two men who were sitting down - the Suzerain of the Kannagi Family - Juugo and the head of Yuuki Family, one of the branch families, Shin'ichirou, were looking to him seeming surprised.

"Kazuma-dono, isn't this somewhat impolite?"

Shin'ichirou knitted his brows in criticism but Kazuma completely ignored him.

Looking only at Juugo, he said.

"We have to talk."

"----Hmm, is it urgent?"

"I should thing so. More urgent than this."

And then, for the first time, Kazuma looked at Shin'ichirou.

Without even showing scorn to the man looking at him with a gaze full of hatred, he said plainly.

"Get out."

"Wha-----!"

Shin'ichirou trembled with anger.

From the beginning this man, resenting Kazuma for loosing two sons, he had an especially great antipathy towards him even amongst the branch families.

But, because his ability was no match for his, wanting a reprimand instead, he turned a gaze of supplication towards Juugo but ---

"Shin'ichirou, I'm sorry but step outside."

"Wha........Suzerain!?"

The returning answer was heartless.

"Kazuma has something he wants to say enough to visit this house. It can't be a common conversation. Right?"

"It's important for you. For me it doesn't really matter. In whose hand will Enraiha fall?"

At that question lightly investigating, Kazuma replied completely indifferent.

But from that last hint, it was certainly something they, as a family, couldn't ignore.

"Shin'ichirou."

"----Yeah."

As expected, Shin'ichirou didn't complain this time and obediently left.

And yet, when passing each other, he didn't forgot to give Kazuma a gaze full of hatred.

Passing each other the three people entered the room. And then, Ayano prepared the zabuton (floor cushion) --- she removed the one Shin'ichirou used and they sat down.

"Well then----"

Juugo looked in order at the trio and lastly at the unknown boy, sharply gazing at the object he was holding in his hand.

"Before talking, the introduction of the guest comes first. Is the content of that bundle you're holding a spear? I can feel a tremendous power from it."

"That is correct. Incidentally, its name is Kokusen," declared Kazuma in a light tone.

And then naturally, different from his daughter, he father knew that name. He looked at the boy with a surprised expression.

"What! Then he's from the Fuan Family?"

"Aah, that's right. He's----"

Stopping in mid-sentence, Kazuma stared at the boy fixedly.

"By the way, we still haven't heard your name. Do you wish to remain anonymous?"

Knitting his eyebrows in disapproval at Kazuma, who was persistently frivolous, the boy faced Juugo.

"...........I am called Fuan Xiaolei."

And then, after showing a small hesitation, he bowed and gave his name.

As for Juugo, he returned the nod.

"I am the Suzerain of the Kannagi Family, Kannagi Juugo. Should I tell you welcome? It does not seen you came for sightseeing but we welcome you in our family."

"-----Thank you very much."

Looking very relived, the boy - Xiaolei bowed once more.

But then, Kazuma suddenly poking his nose in other's affair, he asked rudely.

"By the way you, what reason do you have not to give your real name?"

Xiaolei's shoulders trembled a little. All eyes gathered there, but he didn't reply.

Instead, Ayano asked of Kazuma.

"Why did you know it wasn't his real name? Do you know the name of this boy?"

The Fuan Family in the most famous Fujutsushi lineage worldwide. She thought that because Kazuma was a Fujutsushi too he would be well-informed about this family but ---

"No, I don't. But, no matter how much your father joked around, he wouldn't name you Xiaolei - you should have a girl's name, right?"
'''(!)'''

"Haa..."

Not knowing why but having a feeling a very odd thing was said, Ayano alternately looked at Kazuma and <<the boy>>.

"-----Girl?"

One isolated word came from her mouth. That single word made Xiaolei's shoulders tremble very bad this time.

It was a reaction similar to a resolute affirmation.

Ayano and Juugo, as expected, looked at Xiaolei with plain shock and shouted with force:

"A - A girl!?"

"................"

Xiaolei was silent. But, without negating Ayano's words, that behavior of not making eye contact was a more eloquent answer than anything else.

"How did you know?"

Kazuma quickly answered.

"I felt it when I trampled her down."

Having said that, Ayano remembered. After utterly defeating Xiaolei, Kazuma trampled that chest down with so much force as if trying to skewer it and sew it to the ground.

Certainly it was on top of her clothes and it was something he felt through his shoe but it was impossible he didn't notice he trampled a woman's chest.

"Wait a minute!"

But at the time she thought so far, Ayano reflexively shouted.

"Then, does that mean you used so much force on a woman's breasts and continued trampling them even after noticing!?"

"What of it?" Said Kazuma, without even a fragment of guilt.

"Wah, you're the lowest!"

"It's my rule not to discriminate between sexes. Besides, if I were to go easy on someone because she's a woman, that would be impolite to the other party."

"Well, that may be true but..."

While mumbling Ayano peeked once more at his - her silhouette.

She appeared younger than her but even keeping that in mind, her body was rough and lacking.

Looking at that particularly small chest, Ayano asked full of consideration.

"Are you wearing cotton stripes over that chest? Isn't it painful?"

The girl's face was jolted faintly. But, without noticing that Ayano continued with genuine good will.

"I don't know with what intention you pretend to be a boy but pressing them too hard it's not healthy and the form will be ruined."

"........Up."

"Eeh? What?"

Lending her ear to hear the girl's whisper, Ayano brought her face near.

And then, with a crimson face, her mouth tear-choked, the girl's angry roar exploded.

"Shut up! I'm sorry for being small! Even yours, it's not like they're so big you can boast about it!"

"-----------"

Forgetting how to respond to the sudden and unforeseen anger, Ayano stared at the girl in wonder.

But, she was also, tentatively, a woman. She instantly understood Xiaolei's feelings.

"Errr, well --- I'm sorry. Aah, but, your growing period is not over yet so I don't think you need to be so pessimistic."

"............."

Ayano followed up while becoming confused. But Xiaolei glanced at that chest who was in itself above average with a spiteful expression and then turned away.

Kazuma shook his head seeming very sarcastic.

"Aa--aah, how pitiful. There are times when insensible words can hurt much more so than the spiteful ones."

"That's not something you can say to me! You ground your foot against this girl's chest! What will you do if her growth stops because of you!?" Shouted Ayano in response.

Even though she talked on and on with force and the words were a stretch, at those words Xiaolei pressed her chest as if feeling anxious.

It seems like she had a pretty serious complex.

"Aah, no, I'm sure it will be fine. If you eat enough and exercise, your chest will get bigger involuntarily."

"That's right, if it's necessary there's also breast augmentation."

"You shut up!"

Ayano shouted with all her strength at Kazuma who was saying too many unnecessary things.

But even so she didn't notice that her own conversation strained to far from the subject they came here to talk about.

Wanting to put the conversation on track, Juugo was about to open his mouth but,

"Please excuse me........."

Slightly preceding it, a shy voice forced its way through from the other side of the futsuma.

"Tea is served."

"-----Enter."

Looking at the tray with four tea cups, Juugo understood the general situation.

But the servant, misunderstanding that gaze for one of reprimand, started to explain in a confused manner.

"Aa, errr, I, I was appointed by Ayano-sama.......I also informed them about Shin'ichirou......"

"No, it's fine. There's no one else in this house who can stop her except for me or Genma."

"Wait, Otou-sama!? Don't refer to me like you would to a violent horse!"

"Isn't it just like that? Good grief, how did I brought up such a beyond wild girl.......this is so troublesome."

"That's so true."

Keeping in tune with the lamenting Juugo, Kazuma agreed. Ayano scowled with a much sterner look but those two didn't pay attention to it.

"Aah, well, I'm sorry for disturbing you."

Unable to bear that blood thirsty ambiance, the servant quickly distributed the tea and withdrew.

From the way she looked she wouldn't approach anymore without being called or ordered.

"Well then, let's return to the real issue."

At that chance, getting a fresh start as if nothing happened, Kazuma fleetingly looked at Xiaolei's face.

"I don't really object against you using a fake name. It's fine even if you don't want to say the reason. Your name here is Fuan Xiaolei ----- is that all right?"

"Yeah. I am Fuan Xiaolei. I gave up being a woman. Because to kill them and take revenge for my family I don't need to be a woman!" Declared the girl with a voice carrying a determined will.

Aroused by the dark, powerful sentiment called ''revenge'', she naturally decided to overlook her own body.

The spirit that brought that about was probably enough to make ordinary humans overwhelmed. But ---

"-----Haa."

Kazuma snorted at that.

"What's so funny?"

"You mean, in addition to your stupidity?"

"You- you bastard!"

Xiaolei stood up in anger glaring at Kazuma.

But, sitting cross-legged and smiling faintly Kazuma caught that glare without wincing.

"Look,"

He casually pointed at Ayano.

"This is a woman. You can understand that by looking?"

Of course. Her outward appearance was that of a spotless beautiful girl. Mistaking her for a boy would mean problems to the brain rather than the eyes.

"------So?"

"So, do you remember her movements a while ago?"

"..............."

Nearby the perplexed Xiaolei, sensing that Kazuma was about to say something worthless again, Ayano's facial expression became grim.

Without minding, Kazuma continued.

"There is such a brave, manly, more handsome-than-any-man woman! There's no need to especially throw away being a woman, when you look at her you realize that right?"

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 06 121.jpg|thumb|]]

"You're noisy!"

Ayano shouted spontaneously, seized the teacup and threw it at him.

But, with a small sway back, Kazuma easily avoided that.

The teacup went straight ahead, broke through the futsuma and disappeared in the hallway - ''gogun, smash'' - two kinds of sounds resounded.

It seems that it sunk into the opposing wall and then smashed with all its strength.

A period of several seconds of silence that made one want to run away filled the room.

"-------Ayano."

What destroyed it was Juugo's voice.

It was low and calm but, that deep anger that could be felt from that tone of voice made Ayano's face stiffen.

"Y- yes....."

Staring very long at his daughter who replied in a vanishing voice, Juugo said in a sorrowful voice.

"It's because you only do stuff like this that you're being called crude and brutal."

"No, going that far......this time it was brave and manly."

"Ayano."

"Yees, I'll reflect on this."

At Juugo's even more weighty word, Ayano gave up any protest prostrating herself before him.

Juugo made one small but heavy sigh. And then, to Kazuma -

"Don't mind her."

"No? Well, it's true she's troublesome at times but it's basically enjoyable."

".................."

Ayano was excited by Kazuma's words once more but this time she put up with it. Which means, she didn't have anything close at hand to throw at him.

Postponing disciplining his daughter for now, Juugo attempted to restore the story.

"By the way, Kazuma."

"Huh?"

"Will you continue?"

Thereupon, Kazuma tilted his head to the side in wonder and said.

"Eeh, why? That was the real punch line."

"Don't do that!"

Juugo ignored his daughter's retort and looked at Kazuma but, he only returned the brad grin of a bad man and didn't look like he would get straight to the point.

Reluctantly, he addressed Xiaolei.

"Xiaolei-kun --- can I call you that?"

".........What is it?"

"I'm not one who is qualified to say whether your choice is right or wrong. So, I only want you to listen to this opinion."

Not trying to correct her mistake from a higher place but to undo the prejudice of insisting on one answer.

"Men and women are different. Different from the question of which is superior, their muscles, built, internal organs, they all vary between men and women."

"..........."

"Therefore, even if they have the same purpose, the optimum way for a man to accomplish that is definitely different from the way a woman would do it. I will not comment on your views of looking on women as ''weaklings'' but even if you want to throw away the ''weak'' woman and pretend to be a ''strong'' man, that is after all nothing but imitating a man. "

Xiaolei cast down her eyes, tightly grasping her fists placed on top of her knees.

In truth, even in the prior battle when she discarded being a woman, she was defeated easily by Gaia.

"Not limited to battle technique, every single path starts from accepting yourself as you are. The way you are right now is a ''strong'' man that cannot win against an accomplished woman."

"--------For example, someone like your daughter?"

"Huh?"

At the sudden retort, Juugo's eyebrows faintly flip-up, and looked at Ayano sitting straight in front of him.

With a light snicker he shook his head.

"No, my daughter is in truth a cause of annoyance. Even though being honest sounds good, if she doesn't put her reason to work even a little, that's no different from a beast....."

"Will you go that far, Otou-sama!?"

"What, if you have an objection please say it."

With a cold retort to the daughter shouting at the severe criticism, Juugo shifted his attention to the entrance of the room.

The circular hole opened in the futsuma gave his words persuasive power beyond consent or refusal.

"Auuu......"

With a glance at Ayano moaning at a loss of words, Juugo turned round to Xiaolei.

"Anyhow, such readiness is meaningless if it's not established by yourself. The relative strength obtained when compared to other people's won't become the pillar necessary to support yourself."

"........!!"

Feeling like she was pointed out for depending on others, Xiaolei blushed.

Because she didn't want to feel like she made a mistake, she compared herself with Ayano.

Meaning that your daughter, in which you have such an exaggerated confidence, after all, she couldn't win against me.

But, that was a simple faultfinding in desperation, equivalent to an unfair false accusation.

Juugo's words can't be undermined by that degree of sophistry.

"Certainly, my words are lip service. It can be possible to throw away your weakness and only strength to remain.

If one were to scrape off the weakness, the unnecessary, what remains will inevitably be strength. Just like a sharpened blade.

But, isn't that just like the strength of a machine? For me, I don't want such a young man like you to throw away weakness and become strong but to overcome your weakness aiming for strength.

Well, that is nothing more but my selfishness."

Simply but with such virtue and authority one felt compelled to straighten in his seat, Juugo concluded his words.

"Even I understand that your decision is certainly not a light one. It's impossible to change your mind just because someone advised you at the first meeting.

But, think about it well. What is the best course you should follow?"

"----- I thank you for your advice."

After a small pause, Xiaolei finally said that much.

But, her determination didn't change.

If it's to carry out her revenge, she would throw away everything that gets in the way, including her nature.

But.

''"I'll think about it."''

Juugo's words gave Xiaolei the impression she was endowed with the weight regarding various - really things.

"Hmm."

Seeing through the change in the girl's heart, Juugo nodded satisfied. And then, he changed his gaze to Kazuma.

"I think this is pretty much what you wanted to say but --- do you have anything else to add?"

"----Huh? What are you talking about?"

Kazuma played dumb, smiling frivolously. Ayano and Xiaolei stared coldly at that slack face.

"Otou-sama, I do believe you're overestimating Kazuma. It's impossible for this guy to think that deeply. After all, his only objective was to entertain himself, isn't that obvious?"

Xiaolei too, supported Ayano in this. No natter what Juugo's words were, she could not believe this superficial man could think that deeply.

Faced with Ayano and Xiaolei's distrustful gaze, he didn't say anything to those two but only expressed a bitter smile.

And then, Juugo began asking a question entirely disregarding the flow until now.

"And now, I think it's finally time to get straight to the point --- What happened?" He asked, evenly looking around at the trio.

But, that gaze was quickly placed on one person and did not move.

The remaining two stared in silence at the last person - Xiaolei.

That was only natural. As for the strife this time, Kazuma and Ayano were in a defensive situation from the beginning to the end.

Because they practically knew nothing about the circumstance, there's nothing to explain.

From what they can conjecture from the fragmentary information, the <<enemy>> is aiming at Enraiha and Kokusen.

And then, besides that, it seems that the Fuan family the girl calling herself Xiaolei left behind was destroyed.

Showered with the gaze of everyone present, Xiaolei's facial expression tightened. And then, she began to speak of the original opening.

"It happened three days ago. Two men appeared in front of my father. Calling themselves Christian Roengram and Gaia, and the possessors of the Water's and Earth's sacred treasures, they were strong Jutsushi."

"----Huh? The sacred treasures of Water and Earth, you said?" Murmured Juugo, interested.

"Did you know, Kazuma?"

"No, I heard it for the first time today," replied Kazuma immediately.

Practically, different from magic tools that had a simple water or earth attribute, even he had limited information about existences endowed with the status <<sacred weapons>> that can rival Enraiha or Kokusen.

"Father said the same thing. That there are no sacred weapons the Spirit Lord blessed us with except Enraiha of the Fire and Kokusen of the Wind. But, they definitely posses a level of power that won't bring shame to the name of sacred weapon. And then, they demanded my father's cooperation as the successor of Kokusen."

"Cooperation?"

"Yes. The Water and Earth they had, and then the Wind father had and the Fire of the Kannagi --- they said they would gather the four sacred treasure given by the Spirit Lords and then hold a grand scale magic ceremony."

"A magic ceremony by collecting the four sacred treasures--------?"

Ayano asked of her father, inclining her head.

"If they can gather four sacred treasures, will they be able to do something special?"

"-------No, I didn't hear that kind of story. Besides, I haven't heard about the existence of the Water and Earth sacred treasures so it's only to be expected."

With that introduction, Juugo announced hid deduction without cracking a smile.

"But, all phenomena of this world are made of the four elements. If one could freely manipulate all of that through the sacred treasures, there would be probably very little one could not do."

It is nothing more but a legend, a story at the fairy-tale level that says this world was created by the Spirit Lords of the four elements.

If that is true, and the sacred treasures are the proof of the authority borrowed from the Spirit Lords, there would be nothing they couldn't do.

It's an extreme argument but there is the possibility of even rebuilding the world.

But, without taken away by the magnificence of the story, Kazuma objected extremely calm.

"Theoretically speaking, that is. But something like that is impossible in reality."

"Why?"

"At a different level from when you simply mix water and wind and get mist, or fire and earth and get magma, for something more, for example the creation of a phenomenon at a natural calamity scale if you want to control it, a strict tuning is necessary. But, the Jutsu control for Spirit Jutsushi is considerably intuitive."

Different from other types of magic, the Spirit Jutsu attaches more importance to sensitivity rather that reason.

Therefore, group work is excessively difficult --- even in a practical situation that is considerably intuitive, theorizing it, converting it numerically, it's practically impossible to reproduce it.

"You, if I were to tell you to mix a 36% fire with a 64% earth, would you be able to coordinate with a Chijutsushi?"

"......Uu, that's........"

"For argument's sake if we were to say you could do it, then, what is the unit? The number of spirits? Calories? Or Mass? How do you establish a common unit for four types of Spirits?"

No one was able to respond to those questions fired in rapid succession.

And, in this place there were direct descendants from the Fuan and Kannagi families - each controlling the top Spirit Jutsushi.

If they did not know about it, it was absolutely certain such a standard did not exist.

"This kind of information we have no idea about means constructing a technique system from scratch, even more, acquiring Jutsushi who can use the sacred treasure and then finally trying it out in practice - that's the kind of level we speak about. To complete this how many years --- no, I don't know how many generations it will take."

"But then, there's also the possibility it was secretly developed from way back and they began moving as it was completed, right?"

"Don't imagine such bad things, you. But, if that's true ---"

"What?"

"If that's the care, there is a mastermind behind them."

"......Uuu."

Ayano groaned at the even more serious pointing out. But, if she were to think of Chris and Gaia's speech and conduct, she could agree to that story.

"Certainly, they don't seem the kind of people who could have such a grand plan and accomplish it........"

"Right? What's even more, the idea itself of using and experimenting on Spirits does not belong with a Spirit Jutsushi."

For Spirit Jutsushi, the Spirits are not just simple weapons or tools. They are irreplaceable colleagues and partners.

Any honest Spirit Jutsushi wouldn't think of them as a material for experiments.

It was the same thing as testing something on family or close friends.

"........How to say this, I have a more and more bad feeling about this."

"Yeah. ---- Aah, by the way."

Remembering he had something he should confirm before thinking about this, Kazuma shifted his attention to Xiaolei.

"Did you hear something about what kind of ceremony they are planning on holding?"

Xiaolei shook her head a little.

"Father may have heard about it but I didn't......In any case, father turned them down. At the time they obediently withdrew but the next day...."

Her fists grasped tightly, shook. When reminiscing about the memory of those times, her pupils were pregnant with anger, terror and hatred.

"My father, my brothers.....even Okaa-sama......"

Without continuing further, Xiaolei kept her mouth shut. Not only her first but even her body shook with exhaustion.

The spirits responded to that fitful anger and a wind blew violently inside the room --- but it quickly died down.

Juugo and Ayano glanced at Kazuma but quickly turned their eyes to Xiaolei. But, as expected, she did not continue. It was an understandable evolution.

"---- So, the story after that."

Instead of Xiaolei who was silent, Ayano volunteered to explain.

"A short time ago those two came to pick a fight with us. Saying to hand Enraiha over. We beat them up however."

"''However'' --- you let them escape. Isn't that right?"

As if pouring cold water on the head of his elated daughter, that was Juugo.

The humiliated Ayano glared at Kazuma with a resentful stare.

"If Kazuma were serious, the future problem should have been disposed of."

"-----Hou?"

But, without showing disturbance at the two's coercion, Kazuma turned the usual slack smile to Juugo.

"Well, that's how it is -- Kokusen and Enraiha are being aimed at --- this is serious, Suzerain."

And so he declared without tension, like it was completely someone else's problem.

Critical glared gathered at the excessively superficial attitude, but even so, without any kind of seriousness blended in it ---

"Well then --- do your best!"

Together with those irresponsible words of encouragement, he left his seat as if declaring his noninterference.

".......Wait Kazuma."

But Juugo promptly called Kazuma to a halt.

"I want to hire you until this case is over. Your top priority is protecting Ayano and Enraiha, the next is the elimination of the enemy. Is that alright? "

"It's going to be expensive."

"I don't care."

In a good tempo, those two concluded the agreement.

For Ayano that was ''the usual'' so it didn't bother her it but for Xiaolei that wasn't the case.

Believing Kazuma's attitude excessively indiscreet, she couldn't endure it and cut in the conversation.

"Wait a minute! You, do you understand the situation right now?"

"I think so?"

"Then why are you talking about something like remuneration? Now it's not the time to mind such things, don't you agree?"

Xiaolei was enraged.

But, contrastive to her, Kazuma faced the girl with a thoroughly indifferent countenance.

"Such things, huh? As expected of an Ojou-sama from the Fuan family."

"Wha........what do you mean?"

"Well then, let's continue."

Disregarding Xiaolei pressing a question, Kazuma reopened the negotiation with Juugo.

"Oi!"

"------Let it go."

Ayano restrained the girl who even so was about to press for an answer with a voice full of sympathy.

"That's how this guy is. If you mind it you loose."

"But---"

Xiaolei couldn't consent no matter what.

She understood it so much it felt painful. That's because that was the road she once traveled on.

That's why, for that reason, she must learn no matter what.

--- In society, there are times you can make a fool of yourself by taking too seriously the existence of the reality you cannot be saved from.

"Understand that."

"........"

As if she saw something in that facial expression that was more eloquent than words, Xiaolei shut her mouth.

But even so the gaze she turned to Kazuma was overflowing with scorn , still he didn't display the slightest reaction and continued his negotiation with Juugo.

"By the way, how capable were they?"

"There wasn't a lot of time but at best, they are merely first-class. As long as they don't have some huge hidden trick, they're at a level me and Ayano can deal with."

"Humph --- But, an incident is an incident. Should I call back Genma and Ren?"

"They're not here?"

"They're on a business trip. They went to Tohoku."

"Unlucky -- well, do as you want."

Negligently saying so over his shoulder, Kazuma stood up once more.

This time without pause, he was seriously wanting to leave. But -

"---- Wait."

Xiaolei's voice stopped those legs.

Kazuma turned only his head.

"What?"

"There's still something I need to ask you no matter what."

Gazing at Kazuma with hard eyes as if she were in front of the enemy, Xiaolei fired the question.

"You, who are you?"

"Who, you ask?"

Worn out by that insecure posture, Kazuma changed the orientation of his body leaning against a pillar and caught Xiaolei's gaze.

"My name is Yagami Kazuma. A freelance Fujutsushi. My favorite work is the danger-less ghost extermination, my goal is an uneventful life but that became non-existent since my main activity became the protection of the Kannagi Family's Ojou-san --- well, that's about it."

More than terribly sketchy, he left out the most important data but, in outline that was truthful profile.

"Don't mess around!"

With bare anger Xiaolei shouted.

"It's impossible to find a stronger Fujutsushi than me, a direct descendant of the Fuan family, in the streets! Answer! You, from where are you?"

Xiaolei was exasperated.

Contrastingly, Kazuma sneered persistently composed.

"You have considerable faith in yourself, huh?" He declared severely.

Meaning that while she continued loosing to Chris, Gaia and himself, she still posed as a <<warrior>>.

"-------!!"

Accurately understanding the meaning of those words, Xiaolei's face colored with anger and disgrace.

But for her, a direct descendant of the Fuan family nominated as the strongest Fujutsushi, Kazuma was a being that threatened the meaning of their existence.

She won't be easily deceived.

Adjusting her breathing and calming her heart, she doubled the spirit driven at Kazuma.

"Certainly, it's not unusual for someone to be stronger than me. But, didn't you control the mist much more than that Suijutsushi? Something like mist is in the water domain with a roughly seven or eight ratio at least. To have a stronger control that a Suijutsushi holding a sacred weapon, something like that cannot be achieved by an ordinary Fujutsushi. How do you explain that?"

"How, you ask?"

Even faced with Xiaolei's identification confident she touched a vital point, Kazuma didn't lost his composure for a moment.

He declared, carelessly shrugging his shoulders.

"As a Fujutsushi I have no connection with any lineage. I appeared out of thin air."

"That's impossible."

"If you want to fuss over lineage so much I''ll tell you that I am a direct descendant of Kannagi."

"What?"

At that excessively unexpected answer, after a few seconds, in mute amazement, Xiaolei gazed inquiringly at Juugo and Ayano.

Both nodded at the same time.

"It's the truth. Because of different circumstances he claims to have a different name."

".............."

Xiaolei looked at Kazuma once more. On her face there was shock that couldn't be concealed.

At any rate, more than her - no, the blood-line of the most powerful Fujutsushi she ever saw, is the direct descendant of the Kannagi Family -- the highest Enjutsushi authority.

"Why in the world ----"

"You want to ask the reason? Even I don't know that," said Kazuma lightly over his shoulder.

And then, he vaguely added.

"Well, it must be that. No matter how famous the clan is, the founder was nothing but a person of doubtful origin. It means that this kind of mutation can appear."

His tone was vapid tone but the language pretty abusive.

This time he left without turning back.

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| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume6_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume6_Chapter_4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Madan no Ou to Vanadis:Volume 07 Chapter 4

2013-11-03T18:35:05Z

Nwms8:

== Chapter 4: The {{furigana|Princess of the Dancing Blades|Cortisa}} ==


A night of a certain day, Alexandra Alshavin alias Sasha had dreamt of her mother.

As she woke up, she revealed a complex smile. She wondered how many years had passed since she had last dreamt of her mother.

As Sasha spoke of it to the servant, who showed to wake her up, the devoted elderly seemed troubled as how to reply. Wrinkling his face, he answered “is that so?” He did not ask whether it was a good dream.

“Which reminds me, I happened to hear rumor that the civil war in the Kingdom of Asvarre is over.”

“Really?”

Sasha’s expression brightly shone. The aged servant was aware that he forcibly changed the topic, but it had been a while since she last heard a bright story.

Regarding Legnica that she governed, the incomes obtained from trade were very important. The civil war of Asvarre was never other people’s affairs.

''---I wonder if Sophie and Tigre are doing well.''


Although in awareness of her meddling when she assigned Matvey to Tigre, she wondered if that scary-looking former sailor was useful to him. Since it became peaceful<ref> since the civil war was over </ref>, Sophie and the others would probably come back, too. And then they would stop at the Imperial Palace, and let her listen to the story. When thinking so, Sasha became happy.

Suddenly, she felt a pain in her spine. As the breathing became painful, the black-haired Vanadis violently coughed. The servant, who was just about to leave, turned pale and ran up to Sasha.

“Alexandra-sama!”

“……I’m alright. I’m alright, so……”

It was even hard for her just to reply like that. When the cough calmed down, Sasha slightly exhaled and lay on the bed. The servant rang the bell to call the doctor.

''---Even though a diagnosis would be useless.''

She felt that the sound of the bell, which reverberated throughout the room, was very annoying.

When turning her gaze to the bedside, there were two swords there, which were proof of her being a Vanadis. Having a blade a half fist longer than a dagger, it was a pair of twin swords. Strange patterns were carved in, one had a golden blade and the other had a vermillion blade; and one could feel a faint heat when touching them.

''---How much longer will you stay by my side?''

Without voicing it, Sasha spoke so to the twin swords. This {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}} called {{furigana|Luminous Flame|Bargren}} had not left her even with her being affected by disease, and had continued to stay by her side.


‘I probably won’t live long.’

A certain night of the time when Sasha was 10. Suddenly, her mother plainly told her in a casual tone as if she was talking about tomorrow’s weather.

“The women in our family have been short-lived from generation to generation. We have what is called “blood disease”. Even your great-grandmother and your grandmother’s sister, everyone died around the age of 30.”

In a small house of the outskirts of a village, sturdiness and size were bed of merit. Sasha, who went into the bed with her mother, was just surprised at the sudden talk. After leaking an “eh?” voice, her mind became pure white and she could not think anymore.

With a smile, the mother quietly waited for her daughter to recover from the shock.

Sasha, who finally pulled herself together after a long time, fixedly stared at her mother’s face.

Her mother had not yet reached 30 years old. Young and healthy, she was always cheerful. To the point that she did not seem to suffer from a disease.

However, her gaze was serious like times when she would teach something to her daughter.

As far as she could remember, Sasha had been taught various things from her mother. Sewing and laundry, not to mention how to clean, how to make a fire by rubbing woods together, how to indentify poison of grass or mushroom growing in the forest, how to set simple traps, and even how to fight with a dagger.


Her usually kind mother was very severe only at that time. Sasha held a grudge against her mother on that occasion for making her repeated many times until she came to be able to do it. Although, when she was able to do it without instructions, as her mother openly praised her, the grudge immediately disappeared.

When she realized that her mother had never told a joke or a lie, Sasha’s spine shivered of fear. While holding her chest because of anxiety and nervousness, the daughter timidly asked.

“……Is it an incurable disease?”

No shadow<ref> no signs of gloom </ref> could be seen in the smile of her mother, who nodded. That expression was so far from being that of fear or sense of grim that it surprised Sasha. The mother gently stroked Sasha’s black hair.

“Sasha. One day, you’ll also come to love someone, and bear a child. And then, tell her properly. Teach her all what you know so that she can choose the path he wants.”

The following year, her mother died.

As she caught a cold and was laid up for a long time, she died as it is. Her face was calm as to give the impression she was only asleep.

Though Sasha was surprised and sad, the adults of the village surprisingly recovered quickly.They knew it. That a day like this would some day come.


Sasha’s family was only her mother. Her mother told her that her father was gone by the time she was born. She did not know whether he died or he left the village. As long as her mother was by her side, it was enough for her.

As she had the adults of the village help her and finished her mother’s burial, Sasha was called by the village chief.

“What will you do from now on?”

The village chief, who was 53 years old in this year, straightforwardly asked. In the village, the chief or the village potentates<ref> influential people </ref> were to take over children with no relatives. The chief asked that question with the expectation that she told him by whom she wanted to be taken over.

“I’ll go on a journey.”

These words slipped out from her mouth smoothly enough to even surprise her.

While burying her mother, Sasha thought about it in the corner of her head, and understood.

She was wondering. Aside from sewing and laundry and the like, which the other children of the village were also taught by their parents respectively, why she, who was a girl, had to acquire knowledge and technique about traps and fight. Even though that should be the role of men, who went out to hunt outside of the village.

In preparation for her death that would someday come, her mother taught her all that herself.

So that she could even live alone.

“On a journey……?”

The chief’s voice was mixed with regret and sense of relief. As to shake off the atmosphere, which became awkward, Sasha responded with an especially bright expression.


“Yes. It’s a journey to look for a wonderful husband, who will marry me.”

It might have sounded like sarcasm to the chief. For the people of the village, who should know about the “blood disease”, there would be probably no curious, who would want to marry such a girl.

Getting only a farewell gift, Sasha left the village.

The 11-year-old girl’s solitary journey was more painful (difficult) than expected. Disguising herself as a man became something natural, and even the way to talk soon changed from “watashi” to “boku”<ref> In Japanese, whereas 私 is used by all, 僕 is generally used only by men; hence Sasha who got accustomed to speak like a man started to employ such a word </ref>. If not for the various knowledge and techniques learned from her mother, she would probably not have lasted one month. There were also times, when she had to beg.

However, only her body she did not sell. Though this was because she feared that she could transmit her disease, it was above all because the reason she told the village chief was partly her true intention. Besides Sasha was searching for someone, who would say “I accept your “blood disease”, let’s make a child”.

If she were to give birth to a girl, she would teach and train her all what she knew as she was asked by her mother. Even if it were a boy, who was to be born, she would also do the same thing. This was because even if her son did not show symptoms, if the child, whom her son would make with someone, were to be a girl, then she might develop the symptoms.

The dual blades technique she mastered was also something she learned in her long journey. She even trained her other hand to be able to wield a sword for when her dominant arm would no longer be usable. To avoid wielding a long sword, she chose short swords with short blades.


It was the fourth year after she went on journey that the {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}} chose her. When she was 15 years old.

She did not know why she, who carried a disease with that body of hers, was chosen. But, Sasha thinking that she would probably someday learn of the reason tightly grasped both gold and vermillion twin swords and obtained the title of “{{furigana|Hidden Princess of the Luminous Flame|Falpram}}”.

Sasha was officially recognized as a Vanadis by King Victor in the royal capital Silesia, received the last name of Alshavin and visited Legnica, which was her territory.

She first talked about her “blood disease” to the civil and military officers, who kneeled down before her.

She asked them whether they did not mind, even though she would probably not live long. That if there was dissatisfaction, she would leave the {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}} behind and leave on her own.

She also talked about the “blood disease”, when she had the audience with King Victor. But the old King waved his hand as if it was annoying and only answered that it should not be a problem if the {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}} chose her.

‘What kind of reaction will these people show?’ Sasha was slightly expecting a cold reaction.

One of the civil officers raised his head. It was an old man with a stern countenance. He should probably have lived more than three times of the 15 years of Sasha. Maybe even four times.

“We accepted it. Is there anything else?”

“……Don’t you mind?”

The black-haired Vanadis, who was surprised, repeated the same question to him while being somewhat confused.


“I have injured my waist three years ago, so I can hardly run. I also often catch cold in winter. However, even now I still work for this Imperial Palace. Of course, it should be nothing compared to the disease, from which Vanadis-sama suffers.”

As the old civil officer finished saying, another military officer looked up at Sasha and spoke. Wearing armor to his firm body, it was a young man who had a lot of small scars on his face.

“If it is the {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}}, which chooses the Vanadis, it is also the {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}}, which denies the Vanadis. We are people, who support Vanadis-sama being made into Vanadis, not people, who refused her.”

Maybe it was because he was young, but he was more straightforward than the old civil officer. It was a statement, which could be taken as irony regarding {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}} and Vanadis. Although there were some people, who were amazed, there was no one, who blamed him.

Sasha also without rebuking the man, revealed a wry smile. This was also because she, the Vanadis of the next era, was feeling a certain sense of security in the point that ‘the {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}} chooses’.

To them, who were older than her, Sasha bowed her head.

“......Please, take care of me.”

Then five years passed peacefully. Although being engaged in politics was of course the first time for her, Sasha was blessed with people, who were supporting her; she was listening well to their advice and worked at the governance of Legnica.


She got to know the other Vanadis, such as Ellen, Mira, Sophie and Lisa; especially Ellen, with whom she got along so well that they exchanged an oath. Though Ellen was also a born commoner and they also had the common point of having wandered from the time she was little like Sasha, it might have made the two girls have a more intimate relationship.

It was when Sasha was 19 years old.

Another ten years until the day of her death would come. When she remembered her mother and was thinking about such a thing, she fainted. In the work office of the Imperial Palace.

When she regained consciousness, Sasha had been carried to her bedroom. She was dressed into loose clothes. It was the maid chief who worked at Imperial Palace helped her changed her clothes.

She felt pain in her spine. Her body felt heavy, and her limbs were as heavy as the lead.

She realized that she had developed the symptoms of the “blood disease”.

Sasha called an attendant, the civil officer chief, to gather the military officers and calmly told them.

“The time seemed to have come.”

Their faces uniformly turned pale. There were also some people, who leaked a groan. The black-haired Vanadis looked around at their faces, and said thank you.

And then Sasha showed the golden and vermillion twin swords, which were on her lap. It was not that someone brought them. {{furigana|Luminous Flame|Bargren}} crossed over the space on its own will and appeared to Sasha’s side. Like the time when it chose her as Vanadis.


“As you see, these children are still in my hands. It doesn’t mean that I am going to die now; regarding my duties, I want to do it smoothly like usual.”

After another two years, the present time.

Sasha was surprisingly still alive. While living an almost bedridden life, she continued to perform her official duties as Vanadis during the interval of rest.

Though she intended to leave the Imperial Palace on the same day when {{furigana|Luminous Flame|Bargren}} would leave from her hands, the {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}} did not yet leave her side. She had several times admonished towards the {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}}, but it had no effect.

The day sank outside of the window, and the darkness increased its density.

Blankly looking at the dim ceiling, Sasha heaved a sigh. After all, the day was over with her still remaining bedridden.

''---I wanted to ask someone about the civil war of Asvarre, though.''

The old servant had postponed the talk about it. Until he judged that there would be no problem seeing Sasha’s condition.

“……When will I be released?”

‘I will die someday. There’s no doubt about it. Then, when will I die?’

''---My great-grandmother, grandmother and my grandmother’s little sister all died around 30 years old……huh. Even mom died before she reached 30.''


In the worst case, her condition was going to persist another nine years. When thinking so, she felt disgusted.

Dying is scary. It’s terrifying. But, Sasha was exhausted of a life, where she spent most of her days in bed. Both her body and mind withered day by day, and becoming weaker was painful.

''---Not good. It somehow becomes dark.''

Not the scenery on the outside. But Sasha’s heart. It might be because she had dreamed of her mother. Though the black-haired Vanadis was indubitably proud of her mother, who was kind and strong, there was also the symbol of death and disease.

Suddenly, Tigre’s face flashed in her mind. It would be about last month that she met and talked with him.

''---He is completely the opposite of me.''

Sasha’s face spontaneously brightened. Though Tigre’s sincere personality was something desirable for her, his strong will of not giving up any more, and the resolution to prove that he would absolutely survive left an impression (were impressive).

''---Though there are also quite a few of such parts in Ellen, Mira and Sophie, I feel that his was stronger than theirs. I wonder if it’s because he’s a man.''

She thought that she would try to follow their example. Though for her it was a little difficult to say “I will prove I can survive”, it was Vanadis-like to think of oneself until the very end.

Sleepiness assailed her. Sasha’s thoughts about her mother, Asvarre, Tigre, Ellen and the others were strangely mingled within her.


“I wanted to have a child…… Hey, Ellen. Will you, like me─”

Breaking her words, quiet breathing of sleeper leaked from her mouth.

In the next day, Sasha’s physical condition seemed to have improved.

While returning a calm answer as usual to the servant who showed up to wake her, she asked if there was no follow-up report concerning the civil war of Asvarre.

“No, Nothing in particular─”

Though the aged servant reverently bowed his head, Sasha squinted as to blame that attitude. She did not overlook the fact that he averted his gaze after her question. If it was someone other than her, he would probably not notice first.

As she raised her body on the bed, Sasha said to the servant in a lecturing tone.

“I don’t like speaking like this, but I think that keeping a secret from me would be bad for my health.”

“Alexandra-sama……”


From the mouth of the servant, who was age was nearly three times that of his master, a begging voice spilled out. His eyes were strongly appealing “Please do not ask, give up”. It was not that he was afraid to be punished, but he was rather that he was worried about Sasha’s condition.

“Please speak.”

Although Sasha was grateful of the elderly’s concern, she urged him in a quiet tone. The servant answered with his face filled with bitterness.

“Yesterday, a ship that was entrusted a message from Sophia-sama had appeared in the port town of Lippner.”

Since the servant refrained from reporting, she could guess that the content of the message revealed bad news. Though Sasha had fully prepared herself, even so, she could not hide her surprise to the following words of the servant.

“A {{furigana|sea dragon|badva}}……?”

Sasha had never seen a {{furigana|sea dragon|badva}}, but she did not doubt of its existence since she had already met an {{furigana|Earth Dragon|Suro}}. However, it was indeed a shock when she heard it like this.

“I hear that Sophia-sama left Asvarre with three escort ships in addition to one mother ship, but one escort ship and the mother ship were sunk, and the two remaining escort ships that picked up the sailors, who survived, are heading toward here.”

Sophie, who judged that it was vital to convey the situation as quickly as possible gathered the injured and loads in one of the two ships, and hurried the one, which was lightened, to Zchted. That ship arrived in the port town of Lippner around dawn yesterday.


The chief of Lippner, who heard the story, immediately sent a messenger to the Imperial Palace, gathered doctors and medicine and prepared a ship for rescue. And the servant received the report last night.

Slightly brushing her hair that was trimmed around her shoulders, Sasha nodded contentedly.

“Sophie’s decision was correct. The chief of Lippner also did well.”

Two ships were sunk. There were probably a considerable number of injured. Sophie thought that it would take too much time to board them on a ship and send that ship ahead. Therefore, it should be better to let the ship, which was lightened, go ahead, prepare and send the doctors and medicines as quickly as possible.

The servant heaved a sigh of relief to Sasha’s condition, and continued the report.

The black-haired Vanadis, who heard the part that Tigre fell into the sea and was missing, put on a serious expression as expected. Of course, she was worried about the youth, but the effect that it would have on Zchted would be hardly small.

If it came to light that Zchted made Tigre an emissary, naturally Brune would violently protest. Even regarding the country, there was no way that Vanadis like Ellen and Mira, and the aristocrats, who harbored discontent towards the King of Zchted Victor, would remain silent.

Even if it were not to develop up to war or civil war, it was fully conceivable that Muozinel nearby could to try to expand the crack done inside and outside the country.


“Anyway, we should send a messenger to the royal capital. After that, gather warships in Lippner. Even if Lord Tigrevurmud defeated the {{furigana|sea dragon|badva}}, we cannot relax yet. I also wanted to hear about Asvarre, but…… I suppose that I should first get the permission from His Majesty for that.”

After saying up to there and showing a little hesitation, Sasha added in a calm voice.

“Also send a messenger to Elizavetta of Lebus. She should also be notified.”

The servant deeply bowed his head. It could not be said that the relationship between the Vanadis Elizavetta Fomina and Sasha was good. They even fought against each other last year regarding the matter of the pirates’ subjugation. Sasha, unable to move because of her disease, unavoidably asked Ellen’s help.

That conflict was still fresh in people’s memory, and the people of Legnica, who harbored antipathy towards Lebus and its ruler Elizavetta, were not few. Though Sasha was aware of it, even so she arranged so that Lebus might also be informed.

“Well then, what should I do about Ellen……?”

She remembered the smiling face of the silver-haired Vanadis, who was happily talking about Tigre, when they met last year. Tigre was officially a guest, and Ellen was supposed to play the role of entertainment. However, it was clear that their relation was not only limited to this.

''---It will be hard……''


When she imagined the shock that this would give to Ellen, her chest hurt; but Sasha, as one of the Vanadis, had to tell her. Looking up at the ceiling and putting her thoughts in order, she said to the servant.

“Prepare a writing brush and a paper. I will write a letter.”

“If you could tell about the contents, the secretary would─”

“No, there will be no meaning if I don’t write it myself.”

Interrupting the servant’s proposal in a strong tone, Sasha shook her head. Ellen might come to understand, but she did not count too much on it. Besides, since it concerned Tigre, even Sasha could not predict what kind of development would be shown from now on.

As a Vanadis and as the ruler of Legnica, she had to keep doing her best.

<center><big>◎</big></center>

Two days later after the arrival of escort ship, which was sent ahead, the ship, on which Sophie and the others rode, arrived at the port town of Lippner.

“Sophia-sama, Olga-sama, it is good to see you return safe above all.”

The {{furigana|Brilliant Princess of the Light Flower|Presuvet}} courteously expressed her gratitude to the chief of Lippner, who showed at the port in order to welcome them.

“We are grateful to you from the bottom of our heart. Thanks to your quick response, many people did not lose their life.”


Next to Sophie, Olga likewise conveyed words of gratitude.

After that, as the chief of Lippner and Matvey faced each other, they smiled and tapped each other’s shoulder. The two men were old friends; this alone was enough to show that they were pleased with their reunion.

While walking towards the port, the head of Lippner and Sophie talked about the future.

“I am aware that you are very busy, but how about you rest here at least for today. I cannot say that we have enough to accommodate persons such as Vanadis-sama, but we have prepared a hotel.”

She had been aboard on a ship, which was full of injured and for a long sea trip. There was no way she would not be tired. However, Sophie refused the offer of the chief of Lippner with a gentle smile.

“Thank you. But, as you said, there are several things that we must do as quickly as possible. We appreciate the concern...... If I say that, we will be a little upside.”

The golden-haired Vanadis jokingly said so and continued to speak.

“Could you lend us about seven or eight horses? And also enough food and water for the trip from this town to the Imperial Palace.”

Sophie, Olga and Matvey with two horses each. And the remaining horse would carry the loads. The chief of Lippner, who understood her intention, replied “right away”.

Behind the two people, Olga was listening to the conversation with a serious expression. As a Vanadis, there were a lot of things that she must learn. And Matvey was heartwarmingly watching that Olga.


Then after approximately one koku, Sophie, Olga and Matvey left Lippner. They let the chief of Lippner take care of the escort ships and the injured.

While scampering on horses in the highway leading to the Imperial Palace, Sophie slightly bowed her head to Matvey.

“I am very sorry for getting you involved in this. Matvey-dono.”

“Please, don’t worry about it. Since making a report to Alexandra-sama is also in the scope of my work.”

Though the scary-looking sailor replied so in all sincerity, he felt bad not to speak words of consideration to a beautiful woman like Sophie. However, he immediately recovered his serious expression.

“By the way, it’s not sure that we will be able to meet Alexandra-sama, but……”

Sophie should know that Sasha was sick in bed. Saying so as to confirm, the golden-haired Vanadis clouded up her expression.

“It couldn’t be helped if we can’t meet her. I will only pass a letter to Sasha, and Olga and I will head to the capital. We must make a report to His Majesty.”

Saying up to there, Sophie looked back with a troubled face. She was not looking at Olga, but the horse, whose reins she was holding, and which carried the loads. Among these loads, there were the souvenirs that Tigre bought in Asvarre. Fortunately, they escaped from sinking into the sea; they were deposited to an escort ship.


Though Tigre’s face flashed across her mind, and her pupils of beryl were about to get wet with tears, Sophie replied. Before shedding tears after thinking of him, there were things that she had to do. It was not her principle to just cry without even accomplishing them.

“I will take care of that. On his behalf, to the people, who should receive it──”

“──Wait.”

Probably inferring from Sophie’s gaze, Olga quickened her horse’s pace and lined up with her.

“I’ll do it. No, let me do it.”

The light pink-haired girl’s face was no less sincere than Sophie’s. Similarly, she was strongly yearning that she wanted to do something for Tigre. However, Sophie shook her head.

“There are a lot of things you have to do from now on. I don’t want to speak cowardly like this, but do you think Tigre would wish for it?”

Olga looked downward grimly. Deeply coloring her expression were frustration and grief of not being able to do anything for Tigre. Though Sophie was feeling sorry for her, even so, only this she did not intend to leave it to her.

''---First Sasha. And then it will be Ellen, Lim, Mira and Teita. Afterwards, I think there is also Rurick of Ellen’s place…… Well, I will know once I confirmed to Lim.''

When thinking about their reaction, it was not far from daunting even Sophie, who was their friend. If Olga would be living as a Vanadis from now on, she (Sophie) should avoid as much as possible that this 14-year-old girl held a bad impression of Ellen and Mira.


Even so, to Olga, who did not completely give up, Matvey spoke as to calm her.

“Olga-dono. Let's leave this to Sophia-dono.”

Within these unadorned words, a lot of emotions were sealed. The former sailor also wanted to do something for Tigre. However, he chose to leave it to Sophie. Noticing it, Olga finally gave in.

The trio was able to meet Sasha without difficulty.

The Imperial Palace was made of solid structure, which mixed white marble here and there, and its foundation piled up sand-colored stones. Sophie, Olga and Matvey were guided to her bedroom, which was deep inside. Though Matvey took off his sword and left it into custody, Sophie and Olga had respectively {{furigana|Light Flower|Zaht}} and {{furigana|Roaring Demon|Muma}} in their hands.

Though as usual Sasha was in the posture where she raised her body on top of the bed, when she saw Sophie, she brightened her eyes and revealed a bashful smile. Sophie also returned a smile, walked up to her and gently embraced her.

“You have lost a little weight. Do you eat properly?”

“There’s no problem. You also, didn’t you eat too much delicious things and slightly gain weight?”


“A fine thing to say. But, you should be alright if you are able to joke like that.”

Sophie was 21 years old and Sasha is 22 years old, one year older than her. The only other Vanadis in her twenties was Valentina. Perhaps due to that, between Sophie and Sasha, There was a friendship with a somewhat different aspect from that of Ellen and the others.

And then Sophie introduced Olga. This was the first time that Olga met Sasha, and though her pupils of obsidian were filled with tension, she dignifiedly introduced herself.

“I am Olga Tamm, the Vanadis chosen by {{furigana|Roaring Demon|Muma}} and granted the land of Brest by His Majesty.”

Sasha held out her hand and replied “Nice to meet you”. Olga nodded and grabbed back that hand.

Then Matvey got down on a knee in front of Sasha. The black-haired Vanadis expressed short the words of gratitude “good work” with a smile. The white beluga decorated on the big man’s back trembled with joy.

After they had finished the greetings, Sophie handed over Tigre’s present. Though she did not think “even if it is not now”, and taking Sasha’s disease into consideration, she could not leisurely do something like “let’s first watch the situation”<ref> I think it meant that here, Sophie could not think something like ‘let’s first watch the situation and decide whether or not to give the present’</ref>.

When Sasha received the cushion, which had a pattern peculiar to Asvarre, she used it right away. She also replaced her pillows.

“Thank you. I will use it with great care.”

Sasha without touching Tigre, and there was no shadow fell over her smile. It was obvious that it was in consideration for the visitors; Olga and Matvey silently cast their eyes down.


Though Sophie quietly closed her eyes as if praying to the gods, after a short pause, she expressed her usual smile. With her usual tone, she talked about the events of Asvarre and the fight in the ship at their return.

Though Sasha nodded from time to time, following the story about the civil war of Asvarre, and about Torbalan and the {{furigana|sea dragon|badva}} with great exuberance and interest, she knitted her brows and asked a question.

“Then, the {{furigana|sea dragon|badva}} was obeying that Demon and had attacked you?”

“That Demon was calling me ‘the axe’ and Tigre the ‘bow’.”

Olga talked about the fight against Torbalan in the Fort Lux while conceiving the strong fighting spirit in her eyes.

“I think that it has something to do with the {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}}.”

“To think that such a thing happened in Asvarre!”

“I cannot say for sure, but I feel that it was just a coincidence that that Demon was living in Asvarre.”

It was Sophie, who replied so to Sasha’s doubt.

“There are many unnatural points. Although he has sided with Prince Elliot at first, when the Prince was defeated, he abandoned him without even trying to rescue him. Even when the {{furigana|sea dragon|badva}}, which was under his control, attacked us, I did not feel the impression that he attacked us for revenge.”

“What about the possibility of him working with Princess Guinevere or Lord Tallard?”


“If that was the case, then the explanation of Lord Tallard assaulting the Fort Lux doesn’t stick. It would have been good just to pretend to attack. Despite taking the trouble to disguise himself as a human and melting into Asvarre, I can’t think of a reason, why he would reveal his real nature.”

Sasha unusually frowned, folded her arms and lost herself in thought. Sophie said as to calm her.

“There are too few materials to think about it now. Let’s hear what Ellen and Mira will say next time.”

“……You’re right. If it’s Mira, she might know something.”

The mother and the grandmother of Ludmira Lurie alias Mira were both Vanadis, who had wielded the {{furigana|Frozen Wave|Lavias}}. Vanadis over three generations of mother daughter was something unprecedented even in the history of Zchted. Therefore, the possibility that she had learned what was not passed down in other Vanadis was high.

In a place where the talk was just reaching the conclusion, the door was knocked from the outside. It was the sound that marked the end of time of the black-haired Vanadis’ talk with Sophie and the others. Sophie muttered regretfully.

“Time went by quickly.”

“But, I think we were able to speak about the important things. Thank you.”

As she thanked the golden-haired Vanadis, Sasha turned her gaze towards Olga.

“Just to be curious, but can I ask you something?”

Olga nodded; the black-haired Vanadis, eight years older than her, gently asked with an expression similar to that of an elder sister to her younger sister.


“I heard that you had traveled for a long time. What brought you to come back now?”

A hard silence fell in the place. Sophie held her mouth with her hand with wide eyes; Matvey at loss for words, watched the course of events.

Speaking of Olga, who was asked the question, after frowning for a moment as if she would burst into tears, she immediately recovered her deadpan and gazed at Sasha. The black-haired Vanadis was quietly waiting for a reply with a smile.

''---Though I said that it was just to be curious.''

Judging that it seemed to be different from the interest in her meaning to dislike her, Olga opened her mouth.

“……In the battle of Asvarre, I have been watching the whole time.”

That Olga earlier looked like she was about to cry was because she remembered Tigre.

“’Let’s do that we have to do’. Tigre had said so, and I have come to agree with it. I want to stand by Tigre’s side.”

Straightening her back, Olga stated in an utmost grown-up tone, but Sophie and Matvey, who were listening to her on the side, had a very frustrating expression.

Words were not enough to describe it. At least be Matvey, who acted together with her since their departure from the port town of Lippner, was able to scoop her feelings from those words.

Whether she felt it from the look of the two adults, or she realized the insufficiency of her words, after a time of about five counts, the light pink-haired girl added.


“Even if I say that I want to be by his side, I don’t mean that I want to be acknowledged by Tigre. How much in difficulty or despair I am before the things that stand in my way, I will do what I have to do without fear and without running away. It’s what I mean. ---And then.”

Olga gently raised the {{furigana|Roaring Demon|Muma}} with its blade downward that she was holding, with both hands.

“Muma had patiently waited for someone like me. Though it might be late with the people of my land……”

The light pink-haired Vanadis repeated in a firm tone, what she once said to Sophie.

Sasha expressed her gratitude with a smile.

“Thank you. It was a sudden question, but I’m glad to have asked it.”

Promising to meet again on another occasion, the trio left from Sasha’s bedroom.

<center><big>◎</big></center>

It was the next day of when bad news had jumped in the Imperial Palace of Legnica.

“We receive a report that a group of large-scale {{furigana|paddle ships|vesuro}}, moving on the sea in a distance of about five or six days from Lippner to the west, was confirmed. They number seventy to eighty ships.”

It seemed to have created agitation. The civil officer, who received that information, breathlessly reported to the servant with a pale face. Similarly, the servant, who heard it, became speechless and swallowed his words.


A {{furigana|paddle ship|vesuro}} referred to a galley ship, which pirates commonly used. Though it required manpower, unlike a sailing ship, which easily moved by the influence of the wind, it was possible to freely move it.

Legnica, whose significant portion of territory faced the sea, had until now continued to be exposed frequently to pirates’ attacks.

However, the number of eighty ships was unheard of. It was a number equivalent to the naval forces of a small country, or more.

“Isn’t it perhaps a fleet of our country, or Brune, or Asvarre?”

Though he (servant) clung to that gleam of hope and checked, the civil officer shooked his head so vigorously that the sweat on his face splashed.

“They did not seem to float a flag or a banner of any country. The merchant ships that were passing were altogether attacked, even now in the scope of our knowledge, they considerably increase their number……”

This time, they could not afford to invade other countries like Brune or Asvarre. The lineup of those who were boarding the ships seemed to vary; they were also not people from Muozinel. There were pirates.

It was just one koku after Sophie and Olga left for the capital and Matvey for Lippner; when the servant came to his senses, he kicked the floor, an act, which was unworthy of his age.

He had to report about such important news to Sasha. And as quickly as possible. He could not afford to hesitate or worry.

He wanted to scream loudly “What is happening?”. Whether it be this or the matter of the {{furigana|sea dragon|badva}}, why did troublesome things have to occur one after another at such a time?


''---Why does it not let Alexandra-sama quietly rest?''

He tapped his trembling knees, wiped the sweat blurring on his forehead with the hem of his cloth, and decided to at least feign the calmness. If he was himself agitated, it would just only add unnecessary anxiety.

Though the servant had gone at the time when he always woke up Sasha, he was a half koku earlier than usual today. Knocking the door while saying “excuse me”, he gave his name.

“……What's wrong?”

He was surprised at the immediate response. He wondered since when she was awake. Slightly relieved for not having disturbed her sleep, the servant opened the door.

The bedroom, which he was seeing every day. On top of the bed placed in a corner of the room, as expected Sasha was up as usual. There was no sign that she was sleeping until just now. The servant respectfully bowed and quietly set his feet in the room.

As he reported the pirates’ appearance, the bedroom, which was made slightly dusky in consideration for the owner of the room, was wrapped in a strange silence.

“……Call the maid chief. I will have her help me change my clothes.”

With an atmosphere that calmly got rid of the silence, rather than breaking it, the black-haired Vanadis said.

“It doesn’t matter how many people may be used, but let all the port towns on the coast know about this. Also send someone to the capital. And then, gather the warships in the port town of Lippner. The rowers and the soldiers, too. They must have already been gathered with the matter of the {{furigana|sea dragon|badva}} though.”


There was tension in her voice. The servant unintentionally stared wide-eyed. He wondered how long had passed since he had first heard Sasha speaking like this.

“How many ships can be prepared in two days?”

It was because the distance from this Imperial Palace to Lippner was roughly two days that Sasha asked so. The servant answered to her question with a cautious tone.

“It’s a guess, but I would say about more than thirty and less than forty.”

“It would be about that, huh. Send a messenger to Lebus. To tell that they scrape up together only the warships that can move right now. Since a matter other than the matter of the {{furigana|sea dragon|badva}}, even she would not think that it’s other people’s affairs.”

“If we continuously send messengers like this, even sarcasm might return as an answer.”

As the servant heaved a sigh, Sasha smiled as to comfort him.

“As well in the fire as in the storm, even people, who hate each other, would respond in cooperation. Let’s think that it’s the same as it.”

After the servant smiled wryly and responded “understood”, he suddenly had a bad feeling. If it was the usual Sasha, before giving orders like this, she should have first called the person, to whom she would leave the command.

However, those lines did come yet from her mouth. He timidly asked.

“Who……will take the command?”

“I will take it.”


Sasha answered as if it was a matter of course; the servant distorted his face, which was likely to burst into tears at any moment, and held his head.

“──Alexandra-sama”

Taking straight the gaze of the servant, who uttered a blaming voice, the black-haired Vanadis said.

“Yes. I’m a Vanadis. It’s in order to protect this Legnica and Zchted. So, let me go.”

The twin swords, which were on her lap, gave off a golden light as if welcoming her fighting spirit.

Though Sasha’s voice was by no means emotional, but calm, it looked like the shine of the strong will emitted in her pupils could not be ignored.

But, even so the old servant, without giving up, moved one step ahead. Even if he was to suffer a temporary anger from her, he believed that he should not let her go.

“With a body afflicted with disease, what can you do?”

“I can at least be in the battlefield.”

“The disease will─”

“It’s a body that will someday die.”

Interrupting the servant’s words, Sasha smiled. If there was something like a transparent smile without an ounce of impurity, it would probably be this. Though the servant almost unintentionally resigned, he tapped his trembling knees on top of his clothes and stared at his Lord.


“What do you think a Vanadis should do?”

Sasha suddenly asked. Taken aback, the servant could not answer right away. While dropping a gentle gaze to the twin swords in her hands, the black-haired Vanadis continued.

A Vanadis is chosen by the {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}}. It is not inherited by blood like in the royalty and titled nobility.

The people of this Legnica were entrusted to me by the King when I became Vanadis.

Then, is there nothing that I inherit from the previous generation Vanadis?

Is there nothing that I can pass to the next generation Vanadis?

“It’s only my thought though. Finally what I should is not to die in my sleep on the bed. But to show to the person, who will wield this {{furigana|Luminous Flame|Bargren}} after me. To show her what a Vanadis is. What did the previous generation Vanadis accomplish? Did she do what she believed that she should do?”

As if responding to its master’s will, the twin swords with different colors were tinged with light. Though Sasha’s smile remained as it is, the servant overwhelmed finally moved backward (resigned).

“That’s why ── I will fight.”

The servant painfully clenched his teeth and desperately looked for words of persuasion. But, it seemed that whatever he said, he would not be able to return the present Sasha on the bed.

He even considered putting sturdy soldiers on guard at the door of her bedroom and not letting her go out, but he concluded that it would be useless. Since the master of the soldiers was not the servant, but Sasha.


Rather, they would be happy to fight under her command. As there were a mountain of such people he happened to know, the servant questioned such people from a certain thought.

The servant finally compromised. But he presented one condition.

“If you can also command to Vanadis-sama of Lebus, then…...”

So that the soldiers’ morale did not lower, it was in a sense a natural measure.

If the enemy was pirates with eighty ships, it was no longer a battle of subjugation. If anything should happen to Sasha in the midst of that battle, the soldiers would be upset<ref> they would lose their composure </ref>, and there would also be the possibility for them to flee.

However, if Elizavetta were there, such a disaster could be prevented. Since, aside from the friction between Sasha and her, Elizavetta was also a Vanadis.

Sasha revealed a smile, which seemed to say “is that all?” and nodded.

“Understood. Though I think that she will come even if I don’t ask since she is serious, I will just ask her.”

To these words, the servant stared at his Lord with a surprised expression. The civil officer, who received instructions with a countenance of excitement, was waiting to leave, and frankly asked what he thought.

“Do you evaluate Vanadis-sama of Lebus?”

“She also has both good and bad points in her own way. She/I doesn’t admit it.”

Sasha added “it’s a secret” in an impish tone.


Shortly thereafter, the maid chief came for the change of clothes, and the servant bowed and left.

“Do what one should do……huh.”

While putting on a black battle outfit, Sasha muttered in a low voice. Showing a smile to the maid chief, who looked puzzled, she shook her head saying “it’s nothing”.

What came to the mind of the black-haired Vanadis was Tigre. She thought that she wanted to talk more with him.

When she appeared in the courtyard of the Imperial Palace, fifty soldiers were waiting in line. All of them wore leather armor, put on a hat reinforced in iron scraps on their head, held a spear and were wearing a small sword to the waist. It was an outfit suited for a battle by the sea. In the sea, both heavy armor and long sword would get in the way.

The servant was standing at their vanguard. Bowing to Sasha, who was, as expected, surprised, he explained.

“Vanadis-sama, those are people, who would by all means like you to take them with you.”

“Their dexterity is good.”

Sasha chuckled. About one koku had passed since she had said that she would go on the battlefield. Considering also including the personnel selection, unless she did not decide it beforehand, they should not have been able to prepare up to the equipment and stand by.

“Since Vanadis-sama is still young.”

The servant forcibly broke his wrinkled face.


“Dreaming of the time when you will someday lead us and have series of discussions with the knight captains and the others, and have been re-selected them every year.”

Sasha was really surprised this time. She did not notice. She raised her face and ran her line of sight to the fifty men. Every face was also filled with fearlessness.

“Are you all right with me?”

Finally, she returned to her old self. One of the knights let a happy feeling spread in his eyes.

“The {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}} chooses the Vanadis. We know it. But, we are serving a human (not a tool).”

All the knights, who were here, were in a certain sense people symbolizing the Vanadis Alexandra Alshavin.

It was one of the results she got by the fact that she had racked her brain and made every possible effort for the government of Legnica even while afflicted by disease.

The wind blew, disheveled Sasha’s forelock, and rustled her battle outfit. The black-haired Vanadis cast her eyes down and quickly wiped her face, pretending to mend her forelock.

And when she lifted her head, the smile had disappeared from her face. Her eyes retaining a drive, which was in no way inferior to that of the knights, she declared in a very loud voice, which could not be imagined coming from her delicate body.

“From here on, we will defeat the pirates! In order to protect this land and his people, I expect of you all to put up a good fight!”

The fifty men answered to the Vanadis’ shout (cry) with cheers.

Sasha left the Imperial Palace accompanied by the knights, and rode the horse to the port town of Lippner.

[[File:Madan no Ou to Vanadis V7 p265.jpg|thumb]]

<center><big>◎</big></center>


At that time, Ellen, who was told the unvarnished truth, was in a awful state.

The glow from her silver hair shining bathing in the sunlight was lost and looked like gray; her hair was disheveled like a worn-out broom, and her expression was nothing but dark.

Though it was five days ago that there were the first changes, it was not awful to this degree at the time.

It was three days ago that she showed a rapid deterioration. And then as the days went by yesterday and today, the silver-haired Vanadis showed a change to the extent that it even thrilled the knights and the maids, who had served her for years. From her pupils, reminiscent of the best ruby, shine disappeared and took the color of dried blood, and there were slightly dark circles on her eyelids.

It was such a state that there was no room even for the soldiers and the maids to candidly call out to her.

Regarding the messenger from the capital and the territory people, who brought a petition, she fixed her appearance, straightened her back, tightened her face and splendidly dealt with them as a Vanadis. But, when it came only to those around her, who knew her, she would immediately behave like an exhausted old cat.

Though the people, who worked at the Imperial Palace, asked for an explanation to Limlisha, who was Ellen’s adjutant, Lim was not able to give a satisfied answer.

“About the rule, a situation, which afflicted Eleonora-sama, has occurred. But, since it won’t last like that for many days, I would appreciate if you diligently worked in your duties as usual. Eleonora would also want it.”


Though Lim felt indignation towards her incompetence as she could only spit out such conventional words, she also had no other measures, which could be adopted.

Even Teita, the maid who served Tigre, was worried about Ellen; what she could only do was to make pastry and pass it to Lim. Saying that she wanted Ellen to eat it. Despite inwardly holding mixed feelings, Lim expressed her gratitude and received it.

It began five days ago. Messengers from the capital Silesia showed up respectively here and Olmutz in the south. Since the content they expressed was pretty much the same, it was about the fact that they should look out for the south and had to be ready so that they could take out the soldiers at any time.

In the south of Zchted was the Kingdom of Muozinel. The people’s skin there was brown, and it was a country, which was continuing the slavery even now in the neighboring countries. Since their current King was particularly belligerent, Zchted and Muozinel had many times crossed swords.

It seemed that one hundred thousand soldiers of that Muozinel began to move near the borderline of both countries. Though Zchted sent right away a messenger to ask them what their purpose was, they did not stop there. There was also the need to look out for the south in preparation for a sudden attack.


Speaking of the Vanadis who was in the south of the Kingdom of Zchted, there were the two persons of Ludmira Lurie who governed Olmutz, and Sophia Obertas who governed Polesia. However, Sophie was currently heading towards the capital from Legnica.

Therefore, the request came to Ellen of LeitMeritz. If the one hundred thousand soldiers were to cross the border and invade the country, Mira and Ellen were to ambush the enemy.

Although Ellen looked displeased, she ordered to Lim and the knights to make preparations so that the soldiers could move at any time. Normally, she would have said ‘don’t joke by asking me to fight side by side with Mira, with who I’m on very bad terms’.

But, one hundred thousand enemies were an opponent who would not permit such selfishness. Ellen was at least aware of that.

And three days ago. This time, a letter of Sasha arrived from Legnica.

When she received the letter, which was carefully sealed with beeswax, Ellen could only think ‘it’s really exaggerated’. In the office, where she was with only Lim, she broke the seal, and looked over the letter inside.

The silver-haired Vanadis complexion changed.

“Eleonora-sama……?”

Lim, who noticed the change in Ellen, anxiously called out to her. Ellen, without saying anything, pushed to her the letter that she had finished reading. Lim received the letter while being perplexed.

And this time it was her turn to become appalled.


Tigrevurmud Vorn fell into the sea during the return from Asvarre and is missing.

Though most of the sentences that Sasha wrote, were to comfort and cheer Ellen, and claimed that there was still hope, the silver-haired Vanadis could barely bear to shout as dictated by her feelings.

“What, is this……?”

Tightly clasping her hands so strongly that her fingernails were digging in her palms and blood oozed, Ellen furiously cursed herself who let Tigre go to Asvarre about one month ago.

It was the voice of the eager Lim, who calmed her down.

“Eleonora-sama. I do not mean to complain about the content of Alexandra-sama’s letter, but with only one letter, we cannot judge just about everything. Besides, the situation may change again now.”

Though for Lim, Tigre was like a disciple, whom she was looking forward to growth, and the shock she received was also great, she was rather able to keep her composure and calmed down Ellen so that her feelings did not rampage any more than this.

As she soon settled down to the extent that she could think straight<ref> to the extent that her thoughts operated all right </ref>, Ellen asked Lim something to drink.

“Strong alcohol would be good.”

“It is still daytime.”


The voice of Lim, who briefly responded, was cold; it was because she was inwardly feeling the same way. However, the Imperial Palace’s Lord and her adjutant must not get drunk when it was still daytime.

She took out something mixed with honey and squeezed the grapevine in cold water. When Ellen swallowed it in a mouthful and sighed, she said to Lim with a wry look, which she had never shown so far.

“How will we tell this…… to Teita?”

Lim, who was also preparing one drink for herself, stood motionless with her mouth wide-opened. Though she did not let the bottle of honey that she had in her hand fall, she unintentionally inclined too much the frighteningly too sweet drink in the glass.

Teita was not just a maid. It was a girl, who had lived together with Tigre since he was little, served him as a maid when the youth became a feudal lord, and bravely followed him and acted as his personal care when it was decided that Tigre would live in LeitMeritz.

Both Ellen and Lim also knew that she was harboring feelings beyond the master-servant relation for Tigre. After Tigre left for Asvarre, whenever Teita was worrying about her master and her small chest hurt, it was Ellen or Lim, who comforted and cheered her up.

With that reason alone, they could not arrive at a conclusion. It was by no means because Ellen and Lim were indecisive, or the width of their thinking was narrow, it was just that they could not come up with a concrete plan.

“……How about we observed the situation for the time being?”


Before long, Lim made the suggestion that they could only put it off, which was unlike her. Ellen also accepted it with a bitter face. There were the only two persons who read the letter from Sasha. They could not spoke of it to anyone, since they did not know from where it would leak out.

“You’re right. Sooner or later, it will be widely known that the civil war of Asvarre is over……”

“Yes. Anyway, until then, we will leave it at that Lord Tigrevurmud has not yet returned from his trip……”

Though the two decided so for the time being, they did not work at all that day. Even if she took the documents in her hands, she did not feel inclined to follow the characters, and got the wrong passage when trying to head somewhere. Even when the meal was prepared, she did not even touch it; and when she realized, everything, even the soup, had cooled down.

And then today. This time, it was the servant, who served Sasha, who sent a letter.

''---I wonder if it’s a follow-up report concerning Tigre.''

She thought so, but if it was the case, she did not understand why it was not a letter from Sasha, but from the servant. Although Ellen looked puzzled, she broke the seal.

At this time, Ellen knew that pirates were heading towards Zchted with a large fleet of eighty vessels. And also that Sasha went to the battlefield.

''---What is the meaning of this? I haven’t heard that she was feeling better.''

The servant continued by writing up that he did not tell Sasha about this letter. That though it was a selfish wish, whether she could ascertain Sasha’s battle.


『It seems that Alexandra-sama has chosen the battlefield as a place where she wants to die. Even if we are her retainers, we are not that person’s friends. I humbly ask to Eleonora-sama, who is that person’s friend. I wonder if you could come over to the port town of Lippner. 』

The servant had probably written this letter with the thought like spitting blood. The last characters of the letter were awfully warped.

What he wanted for Ellen was not to help Sasha, but to ascertain her battle.

“Eleonora-sama.”

Lim, who read the letter after Ellen, said in a serene tone as a matter of fact.

“Please go to Lippner.”

“Lim. What are you saying……?”

Ellen was about to retort, but she unintentionally swallowed her following words before Lim’s blue eyes.

“While presumptuous, I will take care of the response to the south. Nobody but Eleonora-sama can take the role to run to Alexandra-sama’s side.”

Ellen was confused as Lim said so in an unusually firm tone. There was no way that she did not want to go. However, if Muozinel were to move during Ellen’s absence, it would be concern with the fate of Zchted itself.


Ellen’s red eyes usually filled with brightness trembled with hesitation and anxiety. Still, Lim spoke vehemently.

“Let’s suppose that Eleonora-sama does not move from here. And then we heard news of Alexandra-sama’s death. Would you still be able to make a decent judgment? With just the matter of Lord Tigrevurmud, that we only know that he is missing, you have been shaken up like this.”

“……I don’t want to hear that from you.”

Though Ellen was indeed angry and glared at her adjutant, who was older than her and also her best friend, she immediately relaxed her shoulders and made an awkward smile.

“……I‘m going.”

As she got rid of her hesitation, her decision was quick. To that answer, Lim nodded contentedly.

“Please, take care.”

On that day, Ellen rode the horse, left the Imperial Palace and headed towards the north. Just innocently galloping in the highway. And just wishing to make it in time to Sasha’s battle.

<center><big>◎</big></center>


When following the highway to the north from Legnica and crossed the very large river of Valta, one entered in Lebus. It was the land which the Vanadis Elizavetta Fomina governed. Although Legnica was still filled with the air of autumn, signs of winter had already started drifting in Lebus.

It was several days later after Sasha headed to the port town of Lippner that Elizavetta had gathered her main subordinates in the conference room of the Imperial Palace and spoke of the departure for the front.

A blazing fire was burning in the fireplace made of brick geared towards one section of the walls. The windows were closed so as not to let the warm air escape; therefore, one could hardly say that the room was bright. Elizavetta and nearly ten subordinates were surrounding a huge table of walnut.

“Will you accept the request of Legnica?”

To her subordinates, who were surprised, Elizavetta nodded with a face, which said “of course”.

“We also receive a report from the port within this territory that a large army of pirates were seen, right? So it would be natural to crush them before the territory people encounter damage.”

Swaying her red hair, which reached down to her waist, the Lord of Lebus smiled. She would be 18 years old this year. Although just like the other Vanadis, she also had nicknames such as “{{furigana|Flash Princess of the Thunder Swirl|Isgrifa}}” and “{{furigana|Danseuse of the Whip|Kuntos}}”, Elizavetta was not less called by another nickname.

“{{furigana|Rainbow Eyes|Laziris}}”. Those, who had eyes of different colors in left and right, were called so in Zchted.

The golden pupil in Elizavetta’s right eye and the blue pupil in her left eye were shining. Before that, her rich body also piled up many pieces fabrics and the impression of her fancy dress using frills or races grew dim.


Regarding the story that a {{furigana|sea dragon|badva}} appeared a few days ago, what was necessary was just to call for caution to the port town in the territory of Lebus; but if the opponents were the pirates, then it was a different issue.

She did not hear the talk that a {{furigana|sea dragon|badva}} appeared near the port town, but that the pirates would attack the port town. She had to repulse them as the Lord of Lebus and as a Vanadis.

''---Besides, there is one thing that bothers me.''

Elizavetta once again looked over the letter from Sasha. It was certainly written that Sasha herself would lead the soldiers and ride on a ship.

The shock that this sentence gave to Elizavetta was by no means small. It said that afflicted by a disease, Alexandra Alshavin, who had always been in her bedroom, went to the battlefield.

''---I haven’t heard at all that she recovered from her disease. Even if she has recovered to the extent of being able to take command in a battlefield, such rumors should have also reached my ears though.''

Elizavetta wanted to confirm Sasha’s condition with her own eyes.

“But, don’t we take over without applying any conditions?”

The complaint of one of the subordinates, who seemed to be dissatisfied, pulled back to reality Elizavetta, who was immersed in her thoughts. Similarly the people of Lebus also had hard feelings against the people of Legnica. Also regarding Sasha, there were a lot of people, who spoke ill behind her back of the fact that a sick person was calling herself Vanadis.


“If Vanadis-sama there also goes to the front, shouldn’t we let them go through hardships there for about a day or two?

“I think so too. Although the battlefield may be a Knight’s honor, it’s not something to willingly shoulder a heavy burden.”

It was when the subordinates enthusiastically further tried to persuade their Lord. To the sound, which cut through the air, the sound of something hard firmly hitting the stone floor sharply followed. The flame of the fireplace flickered.

As Elizavetta wielded the whip in her hand, her subordinates immediately understood.

The red-haired Vanadis stood up from the chair before one knew and scowled at her subordinates. The jet black whip in her hand, wore a golden light that seemed to be blown off flying if touched, and was quietly shining.

This was the {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}}, which made Elizavetta Vanadis. She only used (wielded) this whip, which was called the {{furigana|Thunder Swirl|Valitsaif}}, on the enemy. But, there was no one among her subordinates, who did not know how frightening it was.

The conference room fell silent as if the enthusiasm until a while ago was a lie. Looking around with her two-color pupils at her subordinates, who kept quiet almost simultaneously, Elizavetta smiled contentedly.

“I love to force trouble on a hateful other party. But – I hate to let a sick person work.”

Those, who understood that, especially the latter half of her lines, which was without falsehood her true feelings, were not in this place. However, struck by a thunder- like dignity contained in the tone of her voice, the subordinates stood from the chair and all together got down on a knee<ref> to express respect </ref>. Elizavetta forgave them by nodding generously.


“If Alexandra came out, I think that the morale of the soldiers of Legnica will be very high. Isn’t it rather necessary to display the military power of Lebus? At least it is my intention.”

Stirred up by the sense of rivalry, fire was burning in her subordinates’ fighting spirit. As Elizavetta confirmed it from their expressions, she ordered the departure after one koku.

The subordinates hurriedly left; Elizavetta, who was left alone in the conference room, gazed out at the fire of the fireplace. Suddenly, a question, which gushed forth, came out of her mouth.

“……I wonder what Eleonora will do, since Alexandra departs to the front.”

Multiple feelings intricately colored the two-color pupils of Elizavetta. Whenever she thought about Ellen, she would begin to recall it. The day when the two met for the first time, in a poor village of the countryside eight years ago. The remote past when the two were not Vanadis. And also the several incidents which occurred two years ago.

When she came to her senses, though she knew that she was the alone in this place, Elizavetta ran her gaze to the surroundings, and then sharply tightened her expression. She shook her head to brush aside the question and the nostalgia.

She herself knew well that, when immersed in her memories, she was putting on a face just like a child who lost sight of his mother.

[[File:Madan no Ou to Vanadis V7 p279.jpg|thumb]]

<center><big>◎</big></center>


There were two kinds of warships owned by Legnica. Though both were galley ships<ref> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galley </ref>, the size was different.

One was thin galley ship called ‘spear’. There was one mast and it could load one hundred twenty rowers and eighty soldiers. Anyway, one might say that the maneuverability was the merit of this kind of ship.

The other was large galley ship called ‘crossbow’ (rook). The ship itself was of a three-step structure, and there were two to three masts. It could load two hundred eighty rowers and one hundred fifty soldiers. Though its motion was stolid because the hull was big, it was also possible to stack catapults.

In fact, unless you were either a knight or a genuine sailor, you would not make a difference by calling them ‘spear’ or ‘crossbow’. The communication by calling them more violently ‘the big one’ and ‘the thin one’ was the mainstream.

By the way, there was no sailing ship. This was because the sailing ship, with which the motion was left to the wind, was suitable for a battle.

Regarding not only Legnica, but also Lebus, and the kingdoms such as Brune and Asvarre, the division of the warship was virtually similar. Though there were those who made ships and weapons of various structures, they never happened to become the mainstream on the battlefield.

The time that Sasha arrived at Lippner, there were already more than thirty warships in the port town impatiently waiting for the departure. Though the chief of Lippner saw Sasha, who was clad in her military outfit, and revealed a surprised expression, he immediately pulled himself together and respectfully bowed.


The black-haired Vanadis returned a smile, and then noticed a familiar figure standing beside the chief of Lippner. With short hair and a visibly tanned burnt skin. A black silk hat and a deep crimson overcoat wrapping his big frame. And above all, his look that might make a child cry just by making eyes contact.

“Vanadis-sama. Though I’m not a soldier but a mere former sailor, if you could give me permission, could you add me to the end of the line of battle?”

That man, who exaggeratedly bowed was Matvey. Sasha walked up to him and asked while shrugging her shoulders.

“You just came back from a long trip, right? Aren’t you tired?”

“It is as you say, but I did not rampage enough.”

“…..What else?”

Sasha, who noticed that fragments of sincere feelings were mixed to Matvey’s touch of humor, shortly asked. Matvey erased his smile and calmly replied.

“When the pirates’ subjugation ends, I would like to borrow one ship with food and water.”

He probably wanted to search for Tigre. Though he might actually want to go out to the sea even right now, as expected he could not set foot where eighty ships of pirates were loitering. Fighting under Sasha should be the quickest way.

“Understood. Then, I will have you be my personal attendant just during this war.”


Though Sasha quickly approved, not only Matvey, who was told this, but also the chief of Lippner standing nearby was surprised. As she smiled at the two men, the black-haired Vanadis immediately put on a serious expression, and confirmed what was necessary. The number of ships, the number of rowers, the number of soldiers, food and water, future weather and wind’s direction forecasts, and the area of the sea, where the enemy was last detected. There was a lot of things she should confirm.

Then after a half koku, the naval forces of Legnica left the port. The lineup was thirty one ‘spear’ ships and three ‘crossbow’ ships, and the best state ‘crossbow’ served as Sasha’s flagship.

Though it was less than half the number of pirates who learnt by hearsay, Sasha did not particularly mind.

“We will first go to the north along the continent and join the naval forces of Elizavetta. Even if the amount of material resources counts more in a naval battle than a land battle, by the time we are waiting to gather more than 80 ships with only Legnica, the damage would just expand.”

While taking the sea breeze on her body at the deck of the flagship, Sasha explained so to her subordinates. Besides, if it was along the continent, there was self-confidence that the people of the Legnica army were more familiar with the reefs and the flow of tide in the area.

The fleet of thirty-four vessels was advancing to the north by pushing its way through the deep blue sea.

Sasha was giving orders while sitting on a chair prepared on the deck. However, if their advance was going smoothly, she would not particularly break in. Silently, what was necessary was just to show the General Commander's figure to the sailors.


Although the sky was cloudless blue and the blazing sunlight was severe, Sasha did not go down in the cabin, and she continued to show her figure on the deck.

Though there were several reasons such as the pride of a Vanadis, who was the greatest (reason), and the fact that the gloomy cabin reminded her of her bedroom in the Imperial Palace, it was also because she liked to look at the sea absentmindedly while taking the sea breeze. In addition, there was also the fact that her condition did not particularly get worse since she left the Imperial Palace.

The morale of the soldiers and rowers was high due to the fact that the Vanadis was the General Commander, and Legnica army smoothly proceeded on the sea.

After Legnica army left for the sea, three days had passed since the ship, which left for scout, reported that it saw the figure of a group likely to be pirate ships. The pirate ships were around ten, and it was said that they had gone away as soon as they were detected from far away.

Sasha, who received the report, tightened her expression while leaving the calmness (staying calm).

“A few days from now, each military force will sound out each other.”

It was scheduled that they could join Lebus army led by Elizavetta tomorrow. Sasha, though not openly, was happy that she responded to the call.

''---Lebus has also about thirty ships. Along with my naval forces, there are a little more than 60. I wonder if Elizavetta and I can fill the difference of nearly 20 ships with the pirates……''


The sun set and the ships lowered the anchor and moored. Sasha was recommended to return to her cabin, but she said “only a little more”, put on a thick coat and still stayed on the deck.

Currently, there were only several guards beside her on the deck. The golden moon shining in the sky, was faintly illuminating the sea with the stars. Though the air had considerably gotten cold, since the two blades in Sasha’s waist freely began to warm their master, she did not feel that much cold.

“It’s too late to say it, but you don’t listen to me at all, eh?”

Sasha revealed a wry smile and stared at the golden and vermillion blades.

Though these two swords were with no doubt letting one think of flame and should actively be hearing what was said, whether they had good intentions and swiftly ran, there were quite a lot of things against which they turned a deaf ear to their master’s demand. Thus, their being in Sasha’s hands now, might be said to be the proof of it.

“Even though Ellen’s Arifal and Mira’s Lavias are more obedient…… At the time of the next Vanadis, I hope you’ll listen a little more to what she said──”

Sasha interrupted her words there. She brushed off the overcoat, and when she stood up from the chair, she was tightly grasping the twin swords to her waist with both hands. She felt an ominous presence.

Even the twin swords in her hands, coiling about crimson and golden flames on each blade, briskly emitted a warning. That something dangerous beyond imagination was close.

''---The prow, huh……''


Confirming that her hands and feet did not become stiff, Sasha walked to the prow. Even though it was on the top of a shaking ship, her steps were not different from walking on the ground.

As expected, one figure was standing there. The silhouette, which emerged dimly lighted by the moon, was that of a human. Though the age was unclear, the head with no hair was round and the physique was of medium build.

What was strange was that there was a sticky hostility released from that figure. It was clearly different to that of a human. It was not that of a beast, either. For an instant, Sasha even felt an illusion like she had strayed off (was lost) somewhere that was not this world.

Small sounds of dripping water struck Sasha’s ears at irregular intervals. Looking closely, the man was soaked from head to toe. That strange sound was due to water drops drooping from the hems of the man’s clothes and his fingertips.

''---He came by swimming, huh. In this sea at night.''

“……Who are you?”

Sasha asked of his identity with a sharp voice. As there was no reply, she asked a different question.

“What happened to the man who was here?”

There was always one person placed in the prow for lookout. There was no way that he would have not raised his voice after seeing someone suspicious. The man’s figure seemed to be laughing.

“Rather than a dead person, should you not worry about yourself? ──‘Twin Swords’<ref> it’s like that that Torbalan called Sasha. By the way, he also called Tigre ‘the bow’ and Olga ‘the axe’. So I assume he would call Sophie and the others Vanadis by the weapons’ names they use </ref>.”


Though Sasha knitted her brows at the strange way of calling, recalling a certain thing, she quickly set up the twin swords. She glared at the figure and inquired.

“……Are you Torbalan?”

Olga had said so. That he was calling her ‘the axe’ and Tigre ‘the bow’.

Mixed with the sea breeze, a lukewarm air different from it was sprayed. Even though in ten steps away from the man’s figure, tension and heavy pressure, which were also similar to that in the presence of a wild beast, wrapped Sasha.

“Did you hear from ‘the axe’ and ‘the bishop’s staff’? In any case, it saves me the long talk.”

That man, who did not have any weapon and was not wearing an armor either, casually shortened the distance while joyfully laughing. The deck creaked to the strong stepping forward. At that time, Sasha also lowered her waist and kicked the deck.

“Though it’s far from my taste……but it’s a Vanadis! You shall become my sacrifice and lessen my stomach!”

At the same time with the cry, a tremendous miasma was released. The man’s eyes gave off a red light that was tinged with bloodlust, and the hempen clothes, which he was wearing, could not withstand the swelling from the inside and were torn up in countless number.

In a blink of an eye, the man’s body swelled up to more than twice to that of Sasha. The skin illuminated by the moon was eerie white to a disgusting extent. There was no body hair and there were three spiral-shaped horns on his forehead. The right half of his face was hideously burned, and from the left shoulder to the right breast, there was something like a scar, which was scooped by something.

''---So this is a Demon……!''


Though Sasha stared wide-eyed in surprise, even if she was petrified on the spot, it was just for an instant. The white strong arm, which was swung down aiming at Sasha, only pulverized the deck and dug a big hole. Within the wood chips blown away along with the destruction sound, only sparks were falling as if dancing.

In a place several steps away from Torbalan, Sasha was standing in a stance of crossing the twin swords. Though screams broke out from the sailors who were under the deck, the black-haired Vanadis ignored it. Since in this situation, whatever she might say would only foster the chaos.

While moving on top of the deck as if sliding, both gradually shortened the distance. Sasha kicked the floor with a high sound. A moment later, an invisible shockwave was released from the Monster’s whole body.

It, which was adjusted so as not to destroy the area at his feet, mercilessly smashed the prow and the gunwale, and blew barrels and number of passengers into small pieces. The dregs of flame, with which Sasha’s twin swords were tinged, were scattered and melted into the darkness.

Torbalan’s face was stained with suspicion. This was because there was no response.

“──Above!”

The Demon swung his strong arm above. The shadow which slipped through the blow and fell, landed on the floor. Its identity was of course Sasha. Towards the black-haired Vanadis, who tried to take distance using the recoil of the landing, Torbalan released a shockwave in a flash without interval of time.

But, Sasha’s speed surpassed even that.


She dodged the shockwave in a dance-like movement and reestablished the twin swords in a place nearly ten steps away from the Demon. The flame which wrapped the blades, swept out the darkness by leaving a trail.

“Oh!” Torbalan raised a voice of admiration. Where Sasha was standing was literally one step forward of the range, in which the shockwave reached. In other words, it meant that she accurately saw through the effective range of the shockwave in a single glance.

Even if she knew about the shockwave since she heard about it from Olga, judging its effective range and avoiding it to the limit within this darkness was not common skill.

“It was the right choice to expressly come up to here. I think I will really enjoy it……”

At that time, something unusual happened to Torbalan’s right arm.

As the Demon’s arm got dislocated in the area of the elbow, a tip fell on the floor from the elbow along with a heavy sound. The cross-section was burnt black, and there was no gushing of blood.

The twin swords in Sasha’s hands each let flames of different colors vigorously rise up. As if displaying their master’s fighting spirit.

“──Next time, you will lose that unpleasant head.”

Setting up the two-color blades clad in flame, the {{furigana|Princess of the Dancing Blades|Cortisa}} calmly said.

<noinclude>

==References==
<references />

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| Back to [[Madan_no_Ou_to_Vanadis:Volume_07_Chapter_3|Chapter 3]]
| Return to [[Madan_no_Ou_to_Vanadis|Main Page]]
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</noinclude>

Kaze no Stigma:Volume6 Chapter 3

2013-10-31T10:13:35Z

Nwms8: Grammar and punctuation edits. Some sentences were rewritten.

== Chapter 3 - At the Kannagi residence ==

=== Part 1 ===

After the present objective had been established, Ayano informed the boy.

"You can come to my house but first of all put that spear back. If you walk with it like that the police will start questioning us right away."

"............"

The boy reluctantly frowned and took out from his breast pocket an over-seized handkerchief like cloth.

Was it because the cloth was thin or because it was specially folded but it spread out in a bizarrely large way.

The boy enveloped Kokusen in it.

"What are you doing?"

"Hiding Kokusen, right?"

"Only that - I'm asking why aren't you storing it inside your body?"

"............"

The boy doesn't answer. He continued to envelop Kokusen in indifferent silence.

".........The Wind's sacred treasure, can't be put away just like Enraiha?" whispered Ayano in a small voice into Kazuma's ear.

"If it's so then it's so. There's no need for you to make such an unhappy face," answered Kazuma immediately.

It was just like that.

If you think about it more, the owner of the Water's sacred treasure also stored it inside his body. Then, it seems natural it would be the same for the Wind's also.

In other words, something the real owner could do this boy couldn't. That was ---

"No way, you're not the official successor!?"

"Wrong!"

The boy replied immediately, decisively.

"Wrong! It's true that I'm not the official successor yet. But as a legitimate blood relative I have the qualification for succession! Don't put me together with a thief!"

At that time, Ayano remembered. This boy called that Chijutsushi Gaia ''"his father's enemy"''.

It's likely that his father was urged to give the sacred treasure to those guys and when he refused he was killed.

And then, judging from the boy who was still very young but became the possessor of Kokusen without the due ritual of inheritance, it looked like all the family members older than him were killed.

"Aah---- I'm sorry. I was pretty insensible."

Ayano frankly apologized. But, there was still one remaining problem.

"Then, how did you bring it here? You didn't pass through the airport's custom, right?"

"......I came by boat."

"No, that's still the same."

Whether it's by ship or by airplane, if one crosses the border by the regular routes, he will definitely meet the customs.

And, in Japan individuals weren't allowed to bring their own weapons.

Thinking that far, Ayano noticed the correct answer.

Holding weapons, she couldn't have come by a regular route. Then ---

"You, you're an illegal immigrant right?"

"..........There was no other way."

With a dissatisfied expression, the boy assented Ayano's question.

"I had to come to Japan at any cost. Because they're trying to gather all four sacred weapons."

The only one remaining one - the sacred treasure of Fire, Enraiha - was so famous there wasn't anyone in this business who didn't know it's name.

Together with the name of the family who owned it.

At a not very distant future, it was certain those two would contact Ayano.

In that situation, in order to make Ayano into his ally, the boy took the initiative and crossed the ocean without a moment's delay.

"---------And then, you picked a fight with me?" Replied Ayano in an amazed voice, hearing the boy's explanation.

Even though there was a need to make sure of her ability, the method was confused.

If the timing were a bit different and he would have arrived after Chris and Gaia's, rather than friend there was a high possibility he would have ended like an enemy.

But, the boy declared triumphantly.

"That's how the situation was. If one were to think about it calmly it can be understood the very best thing to do is a joint struggle."

"That so? Certainly I think it would be very advantageous for you to become our ally but ---- the reverse?"

"............."

Without answering, the boy bit his lips in regret.

That's right, from Kazuma and Ayano's standpoint, there's no advantage in becoming the boy's ally.

If they were simply trying to increase the war potential, it would more efficient to extort Kokusen from the boy and have Kazuma use it.

What's even more convenient, the boy challenged them on his accord. When it comes to the unwritten law of their world, having him beaten at his own game would be a splendid legitimate self defense.

"Do you understand? That you cannot complain if you were to be killed right here?"

".............."

"-------- How troublesome."

Looking at the boy who put himself on guard with unconcealed wariness, obstinately shutting his mouth, Ayano took a long breath.

She thought the boy's circumstance pitiful.

But, even though he was unfortunate, that does not mean he can bother other people and she has no reason to permit that happening here.

She doesn't have it but ----

"Anyway."

Letting out another sigh, Ayano dodged the issue. Looking towards the boy over her shoulder, she informed him shortly.

"First, let's return to the house. I'll hear the detailed account after."

"-------Is it alright?"

Perceiving that criticism disappeared from Ayano's eyes, the boy turned his face to her puzzled.

"I don't like finishing off people who are cornered. But this guy does it without batting an eyelid ---"

And then, fleetingly looking at Kazuma, Ayano asked.

"Do you want that spear?"

"Don't want it," retorted Kazuma extremely concisely.

".............."

The boy made a complicated face. Despite feeling relived at not having Kokusen snatched away, his dissatisfaction at having it cast away as if it was something worthless was insuppressible.

Ayano too, thought it was strange so she asked him again.

"But, why? Isn't it natural to want that if you're a Fujutsushi?"

"I could use it but it would come together with various troubles. It probably has the grudge of the Fuan family."

"-----Well, that may be so."

"............"

Looking at Ayano immediately nodding, the boy made a complicated face once more.

"Besides, when it comes to this kind of items, it would be very hard to sell it since it's so famous."

''''"You'd sell it!?"''''

Perfectly synchronized, Ayano and the boy retorted at the same time.

Kazuma shrugged his shoulders superficially.

"Well, leaving jokes aside."

"Liar. You were definitely serious."

"I said leaving jokes aside."

In a manner as if he couldn't hear the voice of objection, he forcefully changed the subject.

"We should quickly go. It's pointless staying and talking here."

"..................................................................I agree"

Even though she had a lot - a great lot she wanted to say, Ayano agreed at once.

=== Part 2 ===

"Is the Suzerain home?"

Kazuma began cross-examining the first servant he happened to see after walking in the Kannagi Residence.

Against people who have something to do with the Kannagi, Kazuma attitude is basically bad.

Even though he doesn't put on airs of superiority, at any rate all his interactions are impolite, which gained him an equally bad reputation among people in all kind of positions.

In Ayano's eyes it seemed like he purposefully wanted others to hate him. Even though she didn't understand the reason.

But even so, as one would expect from a pro - the servant naturally didn't let any of the dissatisfaction she felt shown on her face and replied matter-of-fact.

"Yes. But, right now Shin'ichirou-sama is visiting."

"Shin'ichirou?"

Since that name was very unexpected, Kazuma quizzically asked again.

And then, he tilted his head in confusion, next he looked at the ceiling and finally, turning to Ayano, he asked frankly.

"Who is that?"

Unintentional, Ayano was greatly perplexed.

"The head of the Yuuki Family. Remember at least that much."

"Don't be absurd. That king of guy playing such a minor role, it's impossible to remain in my memory," said Kazuma calmly over his shoulder, looking around as if searching for something.

And then -

"This way, huh?"

He started walking towards the Suzerain's Kehai he just located.

The servant followed him in a fluster.

"Pl- please wait! We were instructed to not let anyone approach----"

But Kazuma didn't turned around.

And then, she begged Ayano's assistance but she couldn't rely on her either.

"Sorry. But our issue is without mistake more important so I don't think he'll get mad. Aah, take care of the tea. You know the number, right?"

Saying so, she followed after Kazuma. And lastly, even the boy who visited the house for the first time.

"Ayano-samaaa........" groaned the yet young servant girl as if crying, the only one who remained behind.

"Suzerain, are you in?"

"--------Kazuma?"

The moment that voice could be heard from indoors, Kazuma opened the futsuma without asking for permission.

He stepped in just like that and the two men who were sitting down - the Suzerain of the Kannagi Family - Juugo and the head of Yuuki Family, one of the branch families, Shin'ichirou, were looking to him seeming surprised.

"Kazuma-dono, isn't this somewhat impolite?"

Shin'ichirou knitted his brows in criticism but Kazuma completely ignored him.

Looking only at Juugo, he said.

"We have to talk."

"----Hmm, is it urgent?"

"I should thing so. More urgent than this."

And then, for the first time, Kazuma looked at Shin'ichirou.

Without even showing scorn to the man looking at him with a gaze full of hatred, he said plainly.

"Get out."

"Wha-----!"

Shin'ichirou trembled with anger.

From the beginning this man, resenting Kazuma for loosing two sons, he had an especially great antipathy towards him even amongst the branch families.

But, because his ability was no match for his, wanting a reprimand instead, he turned a gaze of supplication towards Juugo but ---

"Shin'ichirou, I'm sorry but step outside."

"Wha........Suzerain!?"

The returning answer was heartless.

"Kazuma has something he wants to say enough to visit this house. It can't be a common conversation. Right?"

"It's important for you. For me it doesn't really matter. In whose hand will Enraiha fall?"

At that question lightly investigating, Kazuma replied completely indifferent.

But from that last hint, it was certainly something they, as a family, couldn't ignore.

"Shin'ichirou."

"----Yeah."

As expected, Shin'ichirou didn't complain this time and obediently left.

And yet, when passing each other, he didn't forgot to give Kazuma a gaze full of hatred.

Passing each other the three people entered the room. And then, Ayano prepared the zabuton (floor cushion) --- she removed the one Shin'ichirou used and they sat down.

"Well then----"

Juugo looked in order at the trio and lastly at the unknown boy, sharply gazing at the object he was holding in his hand.

"Before talking, the introduction of the guest comes first. Is the content of that bundle you're holding a spear? I can feel a tremendous power from it."

"That is correct. Incidentally, its name is Kokusen," declared Kazuma in a light tone.

And then naturally, different from his daughter, he father knew that name. He looked at the boy with a surprised expression.

"What! Then he's from the Fuan Family?"

"Aah, that's right. He's----"

Stopping in mid-sentence, Kazuma stared at the boy fixedly.

"By the way, we still haven't heard your name. Do you wish to remain anonymous?"

Knitting his eyebrows in disapproval at Kazuma, who was persistently frivolous, the boy faced Juugo.

"...........I am called Fuan Xiaolei."

And then, after showing a small hesitation, she bowed and gave her name.

As for Juugo, he returned the nod.

"I am the Suzerain of the Kannagi Family, Kannagi Juugo. Should I tell you welcome? It does not seen you came for sightseeing but we welcome you in our family."

"-----Thank you very much."

Looking very relived, the boy - Xiaolei bowed once more.

But then, Kazuma suddenly poking his nose in other's affair, he asked rudely.

"By the way you, what reason do you have not to give your real name?"

Xiaolei's shoulders trembled a little. All eyes gathered there, but he didn't reply.

Instead, Ayano asked of Kazuma.

"Why did you know it wasn't his real name? Do you know the name of this boy?"

The Fuan Family in the most famous Fujutsushi lineage worldwide. She thought that because Kazuma was a Fujutsushi too he would be well-informed about this family but ---

"No, I don't. But, no matter how much your father joked around, he wouldn't name you Xiaolei - you should have a girl's name, right?"
'''(!)'''
"Haa..."

Not knowing why but having a feeling a very odd thing was said, Ayano alternately looked at Kazuma and <<the boy>>.

"-----Girl?"

One isolated word came from her mouth. That single word made Xiaolei's shoulders tremble very bad this time.

It was a reaction similar to a resolute affirmation.

Ayano and, as expected Juugo, looked at Xiaolei with plain shock and shouted with force?

"A - A girl!?"

"................"

Xiaolei was silent. But, without negating Ayano's words, that behavior of not making eye contact was a more eloquent answer than anything else.

"How did you know?"

Kazuma quickly answered.

"I felt it when I trampled her down."

Having said that, Ayano remembered. After utterly defeating Xiaolei, Kazuma trampled that chest down with so much force as if trying to skewer it and sew it to the ground.

Certainly it was on top of her clothes and it was something he felt through his shoe but it was impossible he didn't notice he trampled a woman's chest.

"Wait a minute!"

But at the time she thought so far, Ayano reflexively shouted.

"Then, does that mean you used so much force on a woman's breasts and continued trampling them even after noticing!?"

"What of it?" Said Kazuma, without even a fragment of guilt.

"Wah, you're the lowest!"

"It's my rule not to discriminate between sexes. Besides, if I were to go easy on someone because she's a woman, that would be impolite to the other party."

"Well, that may be true but..."

While mumbling Ayano peeked once more at his - her silhouette.

She appeared younger than her but even keeping that in mind, her body was rough and lacking.

Looking at that particularly small chest, Ayano asked full of consideration.

"Are you wearing cotton stripes over that chest? Isn't it painful?"

The girl's face was jolted faintly. But, without noticing that Ayano continued with genuine good will.

"I don't know with what intention you pretend to be a boy but pressing them too hard it's not healthy and the form will be ruined."

"........Up."

"Eeh? What?"

Lending her ear to hear the girl's whisper, Ayano brought her face near.

And then, with a crimson face, her mouth tear-choked, the girl's angry roar exploded.

"Shut up! I'm sorry for being small! Even yours, it's not like they're so big you can boast about it!"

"-----------"

Forgetting how to respond to the sudden and unforeseen anger, Ayano stared at the girl in wonder.

But, she was also, tentatively, a woman. She instantly understood Xiaolei's feelings.

"Errr, well --- I'm sorry. Aah, but, your growing period is not over yet so I don't think you need to be so pessimistic."

"............."

Ayano followed up while becoming confused. But Xiaolei glanced at that chest who was in itself above average with a spiteful expression and then turned away.

Kazuma shook his head seeming very sarcastic.

"Aa--aah, how pitiful. There are times when insensible words can hurt much more so than the spiteful ones."

"That's not something you can say to me! You ground your foot against this girl's chest! What will you do if her growth stops because of you!?" Shouted Ayano in response.

Even though she talked on and on with force and the words were a stretch, at those words Xiaolei pressed her chest as if feeling anxious.

It seems like she had a pretty serious complex.

"Aah, no, I'm sure it will be fine. If you eat enough and exercise, your chest will get bigger involuntarily."

"That's right, if it's necessary there's also breast augmentation."

"You shut up!"

Ayano shouted with all her strength at Kazuma who was saying too many unnecessary things.

But even so she didn't notice that her own conversation strained to far from the subject they came here to talk about.

Wanting to put the conversation on track, Juugo was about to open his mouth but,

"Please excuse me........."

Slightly preceding it, a shy voice forced its way through from the other side of the futsuma.

"Tea is served."

"-----Enter."

Looking at the tray with four tea cups, Juugo understood the general situation.

But the servant, misunderstanding that gaze for one of reprimand, started to explain in a confused manner.

"Aa, errr, I, I was appointed by Ayano-sama.......I also informed them about Shin'ichirou......"

"No, it's fine. There's no one else in this house who can stop her except for me or Genma."

"Wait, Otou-sama!? Don't refer to me like you would to a violent horse!"

"Isn't it just like that? Good grief, how did I brought up such a beyond wild girl.......this is so troublesome."

"That's so true."

Keeping in tune with the lamenting Juugo, Kazuma agreed. Ayano scowled with a much sterner look but those two didn't pay attention to it.

"Aah, well, I'm sorry for disturbing you."

Unable to bear that blood thirsty ambiance, the servant quickly distributed the tea and withdrew.

From the way she looked she wouldn't approach anymore without being called or ordered.

"Well then, let's return to the real issue."

At that chance, getting a fresh start as if nothing happened, Kazuma fleetingly looked at Xiaolei's face.

"I don't really object against you using a fake name. It's fine even if you don't want to say the reason. Your name here is Fuan Xiaolei ----- is that all right?"

"Yeah. I am Fuan Xiaolei. I gave up being a woman. Because to kill them and take revenge for my family I don't need to be a woman! ", declared the girl with a voice carrying a determined will.

Aroused by the dark, powerful sentiment called ''revenge'', she naturally decided to overlook her own body.

The spirit that brought that about was probably enough to make ordinary humans overwhelmed. But ---

"-----Haa"

Kazuma snorted at that.

"What's so funny?"

"You mean, in addition to your stupidity?"

"You- you bastard!"

Xiaolei stood up in anger glaring at Kazuma.

But, sitting cross-legged and smiling faintly Kazuma caught that glare without wincing.

"Look,"

He casually pointed at Ayano.

"This is a woman. You can understand that by looking?"

Of course. Her outward appearance was that of a spotless beautiful girl. Mistaking her for a boy would mean problems to the brain rather than the eyes.

"------So?"

"So, do you remember her movements a while ago?"

"..............."

Nearby the perplexed Xiaolei, sensing that Kazuma was about to say something worthless again, Ayano's facial expression became grim.

Without minding, Kazuma continued.

"There is such a brave, manly, more handsome-than-any-man woman! There's no need to especially throw away being a woman, when you look at her you realize that right?"

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 06 121.jpg|thumb|]]

"You're noisy!"

Ayano shouted spontaneously, seized the teacup and threw it at him.

But, with a small sway back, Kazuma easily avoided that.

The teacup went straight ahead, broke through the futsuma and disappeared in the hallway - ''gogun, smash'' - two kinds of sounds resounded.

It seems that it sunk into the opposing wall and then smashed with all its strength.

A period of several seconds of silence that made one want to run away filled the room.

"-------Ayano."

What destroyed it was Juugo's voice.

It was low and calm but, that deep anger that could be felt from that tone of voice made Ayano's face stiffen.

"Y- yes....."

Staring very long at his daughter who replied in a vanishing voice, Juugo said in a sorrowful voice.

"It's because you only do stuff like this that you're being called crude and brutal."

"No, going that far......this time it was brave and manly."

"Ayano."

"Yees, I'll reflect on this."

At Juugo's even more weighty word, Ayano gave up any protest prostrating herself before him.

Juugo made one small but heavy sigh. And then, to Kazuma -

"Don't mind her."

"No? Well, it's true she's troublesome at times but it's basically enjoyable."

".................."

Ayano was excited by Kazuma's words once more but this time she put up with it. Which means, she didn't have anything close at hand to throw at him.

Postponing disciplining his daughter for now, Juugo attempted to restore the story.

"By the way, Kazuma."

"Huh?"

"Will you continue?"

Thereupon, Kazuma tilted his head to the side in wonder and said.

"Eeh, why? That was the real punch line."

"Don't do that!"

Juugo ignored his daughter's retort and looked at Kazuma but, he only returned the brad grin of a bad man and didn't look like he would get straight to the point.

Reluctantly, he addressed Xiaolei.

"Xiaolei-kun --- can I call you that?"

".........What is it?"

"I'm not one who is qualified to say whether your choice is right or wrong. So, I only want you to listen to this opinion."

Not trying to correct her mistake from a higher place but to undo the prejudice of insisting on one answer.

"Men and women are different. Different from the question of which is superior, their muscles, built, internal organs, they all vary between men and women."

"..........."

"Therefore, even if they have the same purpose, the optimum way for a man for a man to accomplish that is definitely different from the way a woman would do it. I will not comment on your views of looking on women as ''weaklings'' but even if you want to throw away the ''weak'' woman and pretend to be a ''strong'' man, that is after all nothing but imitating a man. "

Xiaolei cast down her eyes, tightly grasping her fists placed on top of her knees.

In truth, even in the prior battle when she discarded being a woman, she was defeated easily by Gaia.

"Not limited to battle technique, every single path starts from accepting yourself as you are. The way you are right now is a ''strong'' man that cannot win against an accomplished woman."

"--------For example, someone like your daughter?"

"Huh?"

At the sudden retort, Juugo's eyebrows faintly flip-up, and looked at Ayano sitting straight in front of him.

With a light snicker he shook his head.

"No, my daughter is in truth a cause of annoyance. Even though being honest sounds good, if she doesn't put her reason to work even a little, that's no different from a beast....."

"Will you go that far, Otou-sama!?"

"What, if you have an objection please say it."

With a cold retort to the daughter shouting at the severe criticism, Juugo shifted his attention to the entrance of the room.

The circular hole opened in the futsuma gave his words persuasive power beyond consent or refusal.

"Auuu......"

With a glance at Ayano moaning at a loss of words, Juugo turned round to Xiaolei.

"Anyhow, such readiness is meaningless if it's not established by yourself. The relative strength obtained when compared to other people's won't become the pillar necessary to support yourself."

"........!!"

Feeling like she was pointed out for depending on others, Xiaolei blushed.

Because she didn't want to feel like she made a mistake, she compared herself with Ayano.

Meaning that your daughter, in which you have such an exaggerated confidence, after all, she couldn't win against me.

But, that was a simple faultfinding in desperation, equivalent to an unfair false accusation.

Juugo's words can't be undermined by that degree of sophistry.

"Certainly, my words are lip service. It can be possible to throw away your weakness and only strength to remain.

If one were to scrape off the weakness, the unnecessary, what remains will inevitably be strength. Just like a sharpened blade.

But, isn't that just like the strength of a machine? For me, I don't want such a young man like you to throw away weakness and become strong but to overcome your weakness aiming for strength.

Well, that is nothing more but my selfishness."

Simply but with such virtue and authority one felt compelled to straighten in his seat, Juugo concluded his words.

"Even I understand that your decision is certainly not a light one. It's impossible to change your mind just because someone advised you at the first meeting.

But, think about it well. What is the best course you should follow?"

"----- I thank you for your advice."

After a small pause, Xiaolei finally said that much.

But, her determination didn't change.

If it's to carry out her revenge, she would throw away everything that gets in the way, including her nature.

But.

''"I'll think about it."''

Juugo's words gave Xiaolei the impression she was endowed with the weight regarding various - really things.

"Hmm."

Seeing through the change in the girl's heart, Juugo nodded satisfied. And then, he changed his gaze to Kazuma.

"I think this is pretty much what you wanted to say but --- do you have anything else to add?"

"----Huh? What are you talking about?"

Kazuma played dumb, smiling frivolously. Ayano and Xiaolei stared coldly at that slack face.

"Otou-sama, I do believe you're overestimating Kazuma. It's impossible for this guy to think that deeply. After all, his only objective was to entertain himself, isn't that obvious?"

Xiaolei too, supported Ayano in this. No natter what Juugo's words were, she could not believe this superficial man could think that deeply.

Faced with Ayano and Xiaolei's distrustful gaze, he didn't say anything to those two but only expressed a bitter smile.

And then, Juugo began asking a question entirely disregarding the flow until now.

"And now, I think it's finally time to get straight to the point --- What happened?" He asked, evenly looking around at the trio.

But, that gaze was quickly placed on one person and did not move.

The remaining two stared in silence at the last person - Xiaolei.

That was only natural. As for the strife this time, Kazuma and Ayano were in a defensive situation from the beginning to the end.

Because they practically knew nothing about the circumstance, there's nothing to explain.

From what they can conjecture from the fragmentary information, the <<enemy>> is aiming at Enraiha and Kokusen.

And then, besides that, it seems that the Fuan family the girl calling herself Xiaolei left behind was destroyed.

Showered with the gaze of everyone present, Xiaolei's facial expression tightened. And then, she began to speak of the original opening.

"It happened three days ago. Two men appeared in front of my father. Calling themselves Christian Roengram and Gaia, and the possessors of the Water's and Earth's sacred treasures, they were strong Jutsushi."

"----Huh? The sacred treasures of Water and Earth, you said?" Murmured Juugo, interested.

"Did you know, Kazuma?"

"No, I heard it for the first time today," replied Kazuma immediately.

Practically, different from magic tools that had a simple water or earth attribute, even he had limited information about existences endowed with the status <<sacred weapons>> that can rival Enraiha or Kokusen.

"Father said the same thing. That there are no sacred weapons the Spirit Lord blessed us with except Enraiha of the Fire and Kokusen of the Wind. But, they definitely posses a level of power that won't bring shame to the name of sacred weapon. And then, they demanded my father's cooperation as the successor of Kokusen."

"Cooperation?"

"Yes. The Water and Earth they had, and then the Wind father had and the Fire of the Kannagi --- they said they would gather the four sacred treasure given by the Spirit Lords and then hold a grand scale magic ceremony."

"A magic ceremony by collecting the four sacred treasures--------?"

Ayano asked of her father, inclining her head.

"If they can gather four sacred treasures, will they be able to do something special?"

"-------No, I didn't hear that kind of story. Besides, I haven't heard about the existence of the Water and Earth sacred treasures so it's only to be expected."

With that introduction, Juugo announced hid deduction without cracking a smile.

"But, all phenomena of this world are made of the four elements. If one could freely manipulate all of that through the sacred treasures, there would be probably very little one could not do."

It is nothing more but a legend, a story at the fairy-tale level that says this world was created by the Spirit Lords of the four elements.

If that is true, and the sacred treasures are the proof of the authority borrowed from the Spirit Lords, there would be nothing they couldn't do.

It's an extreme argument but there is the possibility of even rebuilding the world.

But, without taken away by the magnificence of the story, Kazuma objected extremely calm.

"Theoretically speaking, that is. But something like that is impossible in reality."

"Why?"

"At a different level from when you simply mix water and wind and get mist, or fire and earth and get magma, for something more, for example the creation of a phenomenon at a natural calamity scale if you want to control it, a strict tuning is necessary. But, the Jutsu control for Spirit Jutsushi is considerably intuitive."

Different from other types of magic, the Spirit Jutsu attaches more importance to sensitivity rather that reason.

Therefore, group work is excessively difficult --- even in a practical situation that is considerably intuitive, theorizing it, converting it numerically, it's practically impossible to reproduce it.

"You, if I were to tell you to mix a 36% fire with a 64% earth, would you be able to coordinate with a Chijutsushi?"

"......Uu, that's........"

"For argument's sake if we were to say you could do it, then, what is the unit? The number of spirits? Calories? Or Mass? How do you establish a common unit for four types of Spirits?"

No one was able to respond to those questions fired in rapid succession.

And, in this place there were direct descendants from the Fuan and Kannagi families - each controlling the top Spirit Jutsushi.

If they did not know about it, it was absolutely certain such a standard did not exist.

"This kind of information we have no idea about means constructing a technique system from scratch, even more, acquiring Jutsushi who can use the sacred treasure and then finally trying it out in practice - that's the kind of level we speak about. To complete this how many years --- no, I don't know how many generations it will take."

"But then, there's also the possibility it was secretly developed from way back and they began moving as it was completed, right?"

"Don't imagine such bad things, you. But, if that's true ---"

"What?"

"If that's the care, there is a mastermind behind them."

"......Uuu."

Ayano groaned at the even more serious pointing out. But, if she were to think of Chris and Gaia's speech and conduct, she could agree to that story.

"Certainly, they don't seem the kind of people who could have such a grand plan and accomplish it........"

"Right? What's even more, the idea itself of using and experimenting on Spirits does not belong with a Spirit Jutsushi."

For Spirit Jutsushi, the Spirits are not just simple weapons or tools. They are irreplaceable colleagues and partners.

Any honest Spirit Jutsushi wouldn't think of them as a material for experiments.

It was the same thing as testing something on family or close friends.

"........How to say this, I have a more and more bad feeling about this."

"Yeah. ---- Aah, by the way."

Remembering he had something he should confirm before thinking about this, Kazuma shifted his attention to Xiaolei.

"Did you hear something about what kind of ceremony they are planning on holding?"

Xiaolei shook her head a little.

"Father may have heard about it but I didn't......In any case, father turned them down. At the time they obediently withdrew but the next day...."

Her fists grasped tightly, shook. When reminiscing about the memory of those times, her pupils were pregnant with anger, terror and hatred.

"My father, my brothers.....even Okaa-sama......"

Without continuing further, Xiaolei kept her mouth shut. Not only her first but even her body shook with exhaustion.

The spirits responded to that fitful anger and a wind blew violently inside the room --- but it quickly died down.

Juugo and Ayano glanced at Kazuma but quickly turned their eyes to Xiaolei. But, as expected, she did not continue. It was an understandable evolution.

"---- So, the story after that."

Instead of Xiaolei who was silent, Ayano volunteered to explain.

"A short time ago those two came to pick a fight with us. Saying to hand Enraiha over. We beat them up however."

"''However'' --- you let them escape. Isn't that right?"

As if pouring cold water on the head of his elated daughter, that was Juugo.

The humiliated Ayano glared at Kazuma with a resentful stare.

"If Kazuma were serious, the future problem should have been disposed of."

"-----Hou?"

But, without showing disturbance at the two's coercion, Kazuma turned the usual slack smile to Juugo.

"Well, that's how it is -- Kokusen and Enraiha are being aimed at --- this is serious, Suzerain."

And so he declared without tension, like it was completely someone else's problem.

Critical glared gathered at the excessively superficial attitude, but even so, without any kind of seriousness blended in it ---

"Well then --- do your best!"

Together with those irresponsible words of encouragement, he left his seat as if declaring his noninterference.

".......Wait Kazuma."

But Juugo promptly called Kazuma to a halt.

"I want to hire you until this case is over. Your top priority is protecting Ayano and Enraiha, the next is the elimination of the enemy. Is that alright? "

"It's going to be expensive."

"I don't care."

In a good tempo, those two concluded the agreement.

For Ayano that was ''the usual'' so it didn't bother her it but for Xiaolei that wasn't the case.

Believing Kazuma's attitude excessively indiscreet, she couldn't endure it and cut in the conversation.

"Wait a minute! You, do you understand the situation right now?"

"I think so?"

"Then why are you talking about something like remuneration? Now it's not the time to mind such things, don't you agree?"

Xiaolei was enraged.

But, contrastive to her, Kazuma faced the girl with a thoroughly indifferent countenance.

"Such things, huh? As expected of an Ojou-sama from the Fuan family."

"Wha........what do you mean?"

"Well then, let's continue."

Disregarding Xiaolei pressing a question, Kazuma reopened the negotiation with Juugo.

"Oi!"

"------Let it go."

Ayano restrained the girl who even so was about to press for an answer with a voice full of sympathy.

"That's how this guy is. If you mind it you loose."

"But---"

Xiaolei couldn't consent no matter what.

She understood it so much it felt painful. That's because that was the road she once traveled on.

That's why, for that reason, she must learn no matter what.

--- In society, there are times you can make a fool of yourself by taking too seriously the existence of the reality you cannot be saved from.

"Understand that."

"........"

As if she saw something in that facial expression that was more eloquent than words, Xiaolei shut her mouth.

But even so the gaze she turned to Kazuma was overflowing with scorn , still he didn't display the slightest reaction and continued his negotiation with Juugo.

"By the way, how capable were they?"

"There wasn't a lot of time but at best, they are merely first-class. As long as they don't have some huge hidden trick, they're at a level me and Ayano can deal with."

"Humph --- But, an incident is an incident. Should I call back Genma and Ren?"

"They're not here?"

"They're on a business trip. They went to Tohoku."

"Unlucky -- well, do as you want."

Negligently saying so over his shoulder, Kazuma stood up once more.

This time without pause, he was seriously wanting to leave. But -

"---- Wait."

Xiaolei's voice stopped those legs.

Kazuma turned only his head.

"What?"

"There's still something I need to ask you no matter what."

Gazing at Kazuma with hard eyes as if she were in front of the enemy, Xiaolei fired the question.

"You, who are you?"

"Who, you ask?"

Worn out by that insecure posture, Kazuma changed the orientation of his body leaning against a pillar and caught Xiaolei's gaze.

"My name is Yagami Kazuma. A freelance Fujutsushi. My favorite work is the danger-less ghost extermination, my goal is an uneventful life but that became non-existent since my main activity became the protection of the Kannagi Family's Ojou-san --- well, that's about it."

More than terribly sketchy, he left out the most important data but, in outline that was truthful profile.

"Don't mess around!"

With bare anger Xiaolei shouted.

"It's impossible to find a stronger Fujutsushi than me, a direct descendant of the Fuan family, in the streets! Answer! You, from where are you?"

Xiaolei was exasperated.

Contrastingly, Kazuma sneered persistently composed.

"You have considerable faith in yourself, huh?" He declared severely.

Meaning that while she continued loosing to Chris, Gaia and himself, she still posed as a <<warrior>>.

"-------!!"

Accurately understanding the meaning of those words, Xiaolei's face colored with anger and disgrace.

But for her, a direct descendant of the Fuan family nominated as the strongest Fujutsushi, Kazuma was a being that threatened the meaning of their existence.

She won't be easily deceived.

Adjusting her breathing and calming her heart, she doubled the spirit driven at Kazuma.

"Certainly, it's not unusual for someone to be stronger than me. But, didn't you control the mist much more than that Suijutsushi? Something like mist is in the water domain with a roughly seven or eight ratio at least. To have a stronger control that a Suijutsushi holding a sacred weapon, something like that cannot be achieved by an ordinary Fujutsushi. How do you explain that?"

"How, you ask? "

Even faced with Xiaolei's identification confident she touched a vital point, Kazuma didn't lost his composure for a moment.

He declared, carelessly shrugging his shoulders.

"As a Fujutsushi I have no connection with any lineage. I appeared out of thin air."

"That's impossible."

"If you want to fuss over lineage so much I''ll tell you that I am a direct descendant of Kannagi."

"What?"

At that excessively unexpected answer, after a few seconds, in mute amazement, Xiaolei gazed inquiringly at Juugo and Ayano.

Both nodded at the same time.

"It's the truth. Because of different circumstances he claims to have a different name."

".............."

Xiaolei looked at Kazuma once more. On her face there was shock that couldn't be concealed.

At any rate, more than her - no, the blood-line of the most powerful Fujutsushi she ever saw, is the direct descendant of the Kannagi Family -- the highest Enjutsushi authority.

"Why in the world ----"

"You want to ask the reason? Even I don't know that," said Kazuma lightly over his shoulder.

And then, he vaguely added.

"Well, it must be that. No matter how famous the clan is, the founder was nothing but a person of doubtful origin. It means that this kind of mutation can appear."

His tone was vapid tone but the language pretty abusive.

This time he left without turning back.

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| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume6_Chapter_4|Chapter 4]]
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Kaze no Stigma:Volume6 Chapter 3

2013-10-31T09:07:19Z

Nwms8: Grammar and punctuation edits. Some sentences were rewritten.

== Chapter 3 - At the Kannagi residence ==

=== Part 1 ===

After the present objective had been established, Ayano informed the boy.

"You can come to my house but first of all put that spear back. If you walk with it like that the police will start questioning us right away."

"............"

The boy reluctantly frowned and took out from his breast pocket an over-seized handkerchief like cloth.

Was it because the cloth was thin or because it was specially folded but it spread out in a bizarrely large way.

The boy enveloped Kokusen in it.

"What are you doing?"

"Hiding Kokusen, right?"

"Only that - I'm asking why aren't you storing it inside your body?"

"............"

The boy doesn't answer. He continued to envelop Kokusen in indifferent silence.

".........The Wind's sacred treasure, can't be put away just like Enraiha?" whispered Ayano in a small voice into Kazuma's ear.

"If it's so then it's so. There's no need for you to make such an unhappy face," answered Kazuma immediately.

It was just like that.

If you think about it more, the owner of the Water's sacred treasure also stored it inside his body. Then, it seems natural it would be the same for the Wind's also.

In other words, something the real owner could do this boy couldn't. That was ---

"No way, you're not the official successor!?"

"Wrong!"

The boy replied immediately, decisively.

"Wrong! It's true that I'm not the official successor yet. But as a legitimate blood relative I have the qualification for succession! Don't put me together with a thief!"

At that time, Ayano remembered. This boy called that Chijutsushi Gaia ''"his father's enemy"''.

It's likely that his father was urged to give the sacred treasure to those guys and when he refused he was killed.

And then, judging from the boy who was still very young but became the possessor of Kokusen without the due ritual of inheritance, it looked like all the family members older than him were killed.

"Aah---- I'm sorry. I was pretty insensible."

Ayano frankly apologized. But, there was still one remaining problem.

"Then, how did you bring it here? You didn't pass through the airport's custom, right?"

"......I came by boat."

"No, that's still the same."

Whether it's by ship or by airplane, if one crosses the border by the regular routes, he will definitely meet the customs.

And, in Japan individuals weren't allowed to bring their own weapons.

Thinking that far, Ayano noticed the correct answer.

Holding weapons, she couldn't have come by a regular route. Then ---

"You, you're an illegal immigrant right?"

"..........There was no other way."

With a dissatisfied expression, the boy assented Ayano's question.

"I had to come to Japan at any cost. Because they're trying to gather all four sacred weapons."

The only one remaining one - the sacred treasure of Fire, Enraiha - was so famous there wasn't anyone in this business who didn't know it's name.

Together with the name of the family who owned it.

At a not very distant future, it was certain those two would contact Ayano.

In that situation, in order to make Ayano into his ally, the boy took the initiative and crossed the ocean without a moment's delay.

"---------And then, you picked a fight with me?" Replied Ayano in an amazed voice, hearing the boy's explanation.

Even though there was a need to make sure of her ability, the method was confused.

If the timing were a bit different and he would have arrived after Chris and Gaia's, rather than friend there was a high possibility he would have ended like an enemy.

But, the boy declared triumphantly.

"That's how the situation was. If one were to think about it calmly it can be understood the very best thing to do is a joint struggle."

"That so? Certainly I think it would be very advantageous for you to become our ally but ---- the reverse?"

"............."

Without answering, the boy bit his lips in regret.

That's right, from Kazuma and Ayano's standpoint, there's no advantage in becoming the boy's ally.

If they were simply trying to increase the war potential, it would more efficient to extort Kokusen from the boy and have Kazuma use it.

What's even more convenient, the boy challenged them on his accord. When it comes to the unwritten law of their world, having him beaten at his own game would be a splendid legitimate self defense.

"Do you understand? That you cannot complain if you were to be killed right here?"

".............."

"-------- How troublesome."

Looking at the boy who put himself on guard with unconcealed wariness, obstinately shutting his mouth, Ayano took a long breath.

She thought the boy's circumstance pitiful.

But, even though he was unfortunate, that does not mean he can bother other people and she has no reason to permit that happening here.

She doesn't have it but ----

"Anyway."

Letting out another sigh, Ayano dodged the issue. Looking towards the boy over her shoulder, she informed him shortly.

"First, let's return to the house. I'll hear the detailed account after."

"-------Is it alright?"

Perceiving that criticism disappeared from Ayano's eyes, the boy turned his face to her puzzled.

"I don't like finishing off people who are cornered. But this guy does it without batting an eyelid ---"

And then, fleetingly looking at Kazuma, Ayano asked.

"Do you want that spear?"

"Don't want it," retorted Kazuma extremely concisely.

".............."

The boy made a complicated face. Despite feeling relived at not having Kokusen snatched away, his dissatisfaction at having it cast away as if it was something worthless was insuppressible.

Ayano too, thought it was strange so she asked him again.

"But, why? Isn't it natural to want that if you're a Fujutsushi?"

"I could use it but it would come together with various troubles. It probably has the grudge of the Fuan family."

"-----Well, that may be so."

"............"

Looking at Ayano immediately nodding, the boy made a complicated face once more.

"Besides, when it comes to this kind of items, it would be very hard to sell it since it's so famous."

''''"You'd sell it!?"''''

Perfectly synchronized, Ayano and the boy retorted at the same time.

Kazuma shrugged his shoulders superficially.

"Well, leaving jokes aside."

"Liar. You were definitely serious."

"I said leaving jokes aside."

In a manner as if he couldn't hear the voice of objection, he forcefully changed the subject.

"We should quickly go. It's pointless staying and talking here."

"..................................................................I agree"

Even though she had a lot - a great lot she wanted to say, Ayano agreed at once.

=== Part 2 ===

"Is the Suzerain home?"

Kazuma began cross-examining the first servant he happened to see after walking in the Kannagi Residence.

Against people who have something to do with the Kannagi, Kazuma attitude is basically bad.

Even though he doesn't put on airs of superiority, at any rate all his interactions are impolite, which gained him an equally bad reputation among people in all kind of positions.

In Ayano's eyes it seemed like he purposefully wanted others to hate him. Even though she didn't understand the reason.

But even so, as one would expect from a pro - the servant naturally didn't let any of the dissatisfaction she felt shown on her face and replied matter-of-fact.

"Yes. But, right now Shin'ichirou-sama is visiting."

"Shin'ichirou?"

Since that name was very unexpected, Kazuma quizzically asked again.

And then, he tilted his head in confusion, next he looked at the ceiling and finally, turning to Ayano, he asked frankly.

"Who is that?"

Unintentional, Ayano was greatly perplexed.

"The head of the Yuuki Family. Remember at least that much."

"Don't be absurd. That king of guy playing such a minor role, it's impossible to remain in my memory," said Kazuma calmly over his shoulder, looking around as if searching for something.

And then -

"This way, huh?"

He started walking towards the Suzerain's Kehai he just located.

The servant followed him in a fluster.

"Pl- please wait! We were instructed to not let anyone approach----"

But Kazuma didn't turned around.

And then, she begged Ayano's assistance but she couldn't rely on her either.

"Sorry. But our issue is without mistake more important so I don't think he'll get mad. Aah, take care of the tea. You know the number, right?"

Saying so, she followed after Kazuma. And lastly, even the boy who visited the house for the first time.

"Ayano-samaaa........" groaned the yet young servant girl as if crying, the only one who remained behind.

"Suzerain, are you in?"

"--------Kazuma?"

The moment that voice could be heard from indoors, Kazuma opened the futsuma without asking for permission.

He stepped in just like that and the two men who were sitting down - the Suzerain of the Kannagi Family - Juugo and the head of Yuuki Family, one of the branch families, Shin'ichirou, were looking to him seeming surprised.

"Kazuma-dono, isn't this somewhat impolite?"

Shin'ichirou knitted his brows in criticism but Kazuma completely ignored him.

Looking only at Juugo, he said.

"We have to talk."

"----Hmm, is it urgent?"

"I should thing so. More urgent than this."

And then, for the first time, Kazuma looked at Shin'ichirou.

Without even showing scorn to the man looking at him with a gaze full of hatred, he said plainly.

"Get out."

"Wha-----!"

Shin'ichirou trembled with anger.

From the beginning this man, resenting Kazuma for loosing two sons, he had an especially great antipathy towards him even amongst the branch families.

But, because his ability was no match for his, wanting a reprimand instead, he turned a gaze of supplication towards Juugo but ---

"Shin'ichirou, I'm sorry but step outside."

"Wha........Suzerain!?"

The returning answer was heartless.

"Kazuma has something he wants to say enough to visit this house. It can't be a common conversation. Right?"

"It's important for you. For me it doesn't really matter. In whose hand will Enraiha fall?"

At that question lightly investigating, Kazuma replied completely indifferent.

But from that last hint, it was certainly something they, as a family, couldn't ignore.

"Shin'ichirou."

"----Yeah."

As expected, Shin'ichirou didn't complain this time and obediently left.

And yet, when passing each other, he didn't forgot to give Kazuma a gaze full of hatred.

Passing each other the three people entered the room. And then, Ayano prepared the zabuton (floor cushion) --- she removed the one Shin'ichirou used and they sat down.

"Well then----"

Juugo looked in order at the trio and lastly at the unknown boy, sharply gazing at the object he was holding in his hand.

"Before talking, the introduction of the guest comes first. Is the content of that bundle you're holding a spear? I can feel a tremendous power from it."

"That is correct. Incidentally, its name is Kokusen," declared Kazuma in a light tone.

And then naturally, different from his daughter, he father knew that name. He looked at the boy with a surprised expression.

"What! Then he's from the Fuan Family?"

"Aah, that's right. He's----"

Stopping in mid-sentence, Kazuma stared at the boy fixedly.

"By the way, we still haven't heard your name. Do you wish to remain anonymous?"

Knitting his eyebrows in disapproval at Kazuma, who was persistently frivolous, the boy faced Juugo.

"...........I am called Fuan Xiaolei."

And then, after showing a small hesitation, she bowed and gave her name.

As for Juugo, he returned the nod.

"I am the Suzerain of the Kannagi Family, Kannagi Juugo. Should I tell you welcome? It does not seen you came for sightseeing but we welcome you in our family."

"-----Thank you very much."

Looking very relived, the boy - Xiaolei bowed once more.

But then, Kazuma suddenly poking his nose in other's affair, he asked rudely.

"By the way you, what reason do you have not to give your real name?"

Xiaolei's shoulders trembled a little. All eyes gathered there, but he didn't reply.

Instead, Ayano asked of Kazuma.

"Why did you know it wasn't his real name? Do you know the name of this boy?"

The Fuan Family in the most famous Fujutsushi lineage worldwide. She thought that because Kazuma was a Fujutsushi too he would be well-informed about this family but ---

"No, I don't. But, no matter how much your father joked around, he wouldn't name you Xiaolei - you should have a girl's name, right?"
'''(!)'''
"Haa..."

Not knowing why but having a feeling a very odd thing was said, Ayano alternately looked at Kazuma and <<the boy>>.

"-----Girl?"

One isolated word came from her mouth. That single word made Xiaolei's shoulders tremble very bad this time.

It was a reaction similar to a resolute affirmation.

Ayano and, as expected Juugo, looked at Xiaolei with plain shock and shouted with force?

"A - A girl!?"

"................"

Xiaolei was silent. But, without negating Ayano's words, that behavior of not making eye contact was a more eloquent answer than anything else.

"How did you know?"

Kazuma quickly answered.

"I felt it when I trampled her down."

Having said that, Ayano remembered. After utterly defeating Xiaolei, Kazuma trampled that chest down with so much force as if trying to skewer it and sew it to the ground.

Certainly it was on top of her clothes and it was something he felt through his shoe but it was impossible he didn't notice he trampled a woman's chest.

"Wait a minute!"

But at the time she thought so far, Ayano reflexively shouted.

"Then, does that mean you used so much force on a woman's breasts and continued trampling them even after noticing!?"

"What of it?" Said Kazuma, without even a fragment of guilt.

"Wah, you're the lowest!"

"It's my rule not to discriminate between sexes. Besides, if I were to go easy on someone because she's a woman, that would be impolite to the other party."

"Well, that may be true but..."

While mumbling Ayano peeked once more at his - her silhouette.

She appeared younger than her but even keeping that in mind, her body was rough and lacking.

Looking at that particularly small chest, Ayano asked full of consideration.

"Are you wearing cotton stripes over that chest? Isn't it painful?"

The girl's face was jolted faintly. But, without noticing that Ayano continued with genuine good will.

"I don't know with what intention you pretend to be a boy but pressing them too hard it's not healthy and the form will be ruined."

"........Up."

"Eeh? What?"

Lending her ear to hear the girl's whisper, Ayano brought her face near.

And then, with a crimson face, her mouth tear-choked, the girl's angry roar exploded.

"Shut up! I'm sorry for being small! Even yours, it's not like they're so big you can boast about it!"

"-----------"

Forgetting how to respond to the sudden and unforeseen anger, Ayano stared at the girl in wonder.

But, she was also, tentatively, a woman. She instantly understood Xiaolei's feelings.

"Errr, well --- I'm sorry. Aah, but, your growing period is not over yet so I don't think you need to be so pessimistic."

"............."

Ayano followed up while becoming confused. But Xiaolei glanced at that chest who was in itself above average with a spiteful expression and then turned away.

Kazuma shook his head seeming very sarcastic.

"Aa--aah, how pitiful. There are times when insensible words can hurt much more so than the spiteful ones."

"That's not something you can say to me! You ground your foot against this girl's chest! What will you do if her growth stops because of you!?" Shouted Ayano in response.

Even though she talked on and on with force and the words were a stretch, at those words Xiaolei pressed her chest as if feeling anxious.

It seems like she had a pretty serious complex.

"Aah, no, I'm sure it will be fine. If you eat enough and exercise, your chest will get bigger involuntarily."

"That's right, if it's necessary there's also breast augmentation."

"You shut up!"

Ayano shouted with all her strength at Kazuma who was saying too many unnecessary things.

But even so she didn't notice that her own conversation strained to far from the subject they came here to talk about.

Wanting to put the conversation on track, Juugo was about to open his mouth but,

"Please excuse me........."

Slightly preceding it, a shy voice forced its way through from the other side of the futsuma.

"Tea is served."

"-----Enter."

Looking at the tray with four tea cups, Juugo understood the general situation.

But the servant, misunderstanding that gaze for one of reprimand, started to explain in a confused manner.

"Aa, errr, I, I was appointed by Ayano-sama.......I also informed them about Shin'ichirou......"

"No, it's fine. There's no one else in this house who can stop her except for me or Genma."

"Wait, Otou-sama!? Don't refer to me like you would to a violent horse!"

"Isn't it just like that? Good grief, how did I brought up such a beyond wild girl.......this is so troublesome."

"That's so true."

Keeping in tune with the lamenting Juugo, Kazuma agreed. Ayano scowled with a much sterner look but those two didn't pay attention to it.

"Aah, well, I'm sorry for disturbing you."

Unable to bear that blood thirsty ambiance, the servant quickly distributed the tea and withdrew.

From the way she looked she wouldn't approach anymore without being called or ordered.

"Well then, let's return to the real issue."

At that chance, getting a fresh start as if nothing happened, Kazuma fleetingly looked at Xiaolei's face.

"I don't really object against you using a fake name. It's fine even if you don't want to say the reason. Your name here is Fuan Xiaolei ----- is that all right?"

"Yeah. I am Fuan Xiaolei. I gave up being a woman. Because to kill them and take revenge for my family I don't need to be a woman! ", declared the girl with a voice carrying a determined will.

Aroused by the dark, powerful sentiment called ''revenge'', she naturally decided to overlook her own body.

The spirit that brought that about was probably enough to make ordinary humans overwhelmed. But ---

"-----Haa"

Kazuma snorted at that.

"What's so funny?"

"You mean, in addition to your stupidity?"

"You- you bastard!"

Xiaolei stood up in anger glaring at Kazuma.

But, sitting cross-legged and smiling faintly Kazuma caught that glare without wincing.

"Look,"

He casually pointed at Ayano.

"This is a woman. You can understand that by looking?"

Of course. Her outward appearance was that of a spotless beautiful girl. Mistaking her for a boy would mean problems to the brain rather than the eyes.

"------So?"

"So, do you remember her movements a while ago?"

"..............."

Nearby the perplexed Xiaolei, sensing that Kazuma was about to say something worthless again, Ayano's facial expression became grim.

Without minding, Kazuma continued.

"There is such a brave, manly, more handsome-than-any-man woman! There's no need to especially throw away being a woman, when you look at her you realize that right?"

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 06 121.jpg|thumb|]]

"You're noisy!"

Ayano shouted spontaneously, seized the teacup and threw it at him.

But, with a small sway back, Kazuma easily avoided that.

The teacup went straight ahead, broke through the futsuma and disappeared in the hallway - ''gogun, smash'' - two kinds of sounds resounded.

It seems that it sunk into the opposing wall and then smashed with all its strength.

A period of several seconds of silence that made one want to run away filled the room.

"-------Ayano."

What destroyed it was Juugo's voice.

It was low and calm but, that deep anger that could be felt from that tone of voice made Ayano's face stiffen.

"Y- yes....."

Staring very long at his daughter who replied in a vanishing voice, Juugo said in a sorrowful voice.

"It's because you only do stuff like this that you're being called crude and brutal."

"No, going that far......this time it was brave and manly."

"Ayano."

"Yees, I'll reflect on this."

At Juugo's even more weighty word, Ayano gave up any protest prostrating herself before him.

Juugo made one small but heavy sigh. And then, to Kazuma -

"Don't mind her."

"No? Well, it's true she's troublesome at times but it's basically enjoyable."

".................."

Ayano was excited by Kazuma's words once more but this time she put up with it. Which means, she didn't have anything close at hand to throw at him.

Postponing disciplining his daughter for now, Juugo attempted to restore the story.

"By the way, Kazuma."

"Huh?"

"Will you continue?"

Thereupon, Kazuma tilted his head to the side in wonder and said.

"Eeh, why? That was the real punch line."

"Don't do that!"

Juugo ignored his daughter's retort and looked at Kazuma but, he only returned the brad grin of a bad man and didn't look like he would get straight to the point.

Reluctantly, he addressed Xiaolei.

"Xiaolei-kun --- can I call you that?"

".........What is it?"

"I'm not one who is qualified to say whether your choice is right or wrong. So, I only want you to listen to this opinion."

Not trying to correct her mistake from a higher place but to undo the prejudice of insisting on one answer.

"Men and women are different. Different from the question of which is superior, their muscles, built, internal organs, they all vary between men and women."

"..........."

"Therefore, even if they have the same purpose, the optimum way for a man for a man to accomplish that is definitely different from the way a woman would do it. I will not comment on your views of looking on women as ''weaklings'' but even if you want to throw away the ''weak'' woman and pretend to be a ''strong'' man, that is after all nothing but imitating a man. "

Xiaolei cast down her eyes, tightly grasping her fists placed on top of her knees.

In truth, even in the prior battle when she discarded being a woman, she was defeated easily by Gaia.

"Not limited to battle technique, every single path starts from accepting yourself as you are. The way you are right now is a ''strong'' man that cannot win against an accomplished woman."

"--------For example, someone like your daughter?"

"Huh?"

At the sudden retort, Juugo's eyebrows faintly flip-up, and looked at Ayano sitting straight in front of him.

With a light snicker he shook his head.

"No, my daughter is in truth a cause of annoyance. Even though being honest sounds good, if she doesn't put her reason to work even a little, that's no different from a beast....."

"Will you go that far, Otou-sama!?"

"What, if you have an objection please say it."

With a cold retort to the daughter shouting at the severe criticism, Juugo shifted his attention to the entrance of the room.

The circular hole opened in the futsuma gave his words persuasive power beyond consent or refusal.

"Auuu......"

With a glance at Ayano moaning at a loss of words, Juugo turned round to Xiaolei.

"Anyhow, such readiness is meaningless if it's not established by yourself. The relative strength obtained when compared to other people's won't become the pillar necessary to support yourself."

"........!! "

Feeling like she was pointed out for depending on others, Xiaolei blushed.

Because she didn't want to feel like she made a mistake, she compared herself with Ayano.

Meaning that your daughter, in which you have such an exaggerated confidence, after all, she couldn't win against me.

But, that was a simple faultfinding in desperation, equivalent to an unfair false accusation.

Juugo's words can't be undermined by that degree of sophistry.

"Certainly, my words are lip service. It can be possible to throw away your weakness and only strength to remain.

If one were to scrape off the weakness, the unnecessary, what remains will inevitably be strength. Just like a sharpened blade.

But, isn't that just like the strength of a machine? For me, I don't want such a young man like you to throw away weakness and become strong but to overcome your weakness aiming for strength.

Well, that is nothing more but my selfishness. "

Simply but with such virtue and authority one felt compelled to straighten in his seat, Juugo concluded his words.

"Even I understand that your decision is certainly not a light one. It's impossible to change your mind just because someone advised you at the first meeting.

But, think about it well. What is the best course you should follow? "

"----- I thank you for your advice. "

After a small pause, Xiaolei finally said that much.

But, her determination didn't change.

If it's to carry out her revenge, she would throw away everything that gets in the way, including her nature.

But.

''"I'll think about it"''

Juugo's words gave Xiaolei the impression she was endowed with the weight regarding various - really things.

"Hmm"

Seeing through the change in the girl's heart, Juugo nodded satisfied. And then, he changed his gaze to Kazuma.

"I think this is pretty much what you wanted to say but --- do you have anything else to add? "

"----huh? What are you talking about? "

Kazuma played dumb, smiling frivolously. Ayano and Xiaolei stared coldly at that slack face.

"Otou-sama, I do believe you're overestimating Kazuma. It's impossible for this guy to think that deeply. After all, his only objective was to entertain himself, isn't that obvious? "

Xiaolei too, supported Ayano in this. No natter what Juugo's words were, she could not believe this superficial man could think that deeply.

Faced with Ayano and Xiaolei's distrustful gaze, he didn't say anything to those two but only expressed a bitter smile.

And then, Juugo began asking a question entirely disregarding the flow until now.

"And now, I think it's finally time to get straight to the point --- What happened? ", he asked evenly looking around at the trio.

But, that gaze was quickly placed on one person and did not move.

The remaining two stared in silence at the last person - Xiaolei.

That was only natural. As for the strife this time, Kazuma and Ayano were in a defensive situation from the beginning to the end.

Because they practically knew nothing about the circumstance, there's nothing to explain.

From what they can conjecture from the fragmentary information, the <<enemy>> is aiming at Enraiha and Kokusen.

And then, besides that, it seems that the Fuan family the girl calling herself Xiaolei left behind was destroyed.

Showered with the gaze of everyone present, Xiaolei's facial expression tightened. And then, she began to speak of the original opening.

"It happened three days ago. Two men appeared in front of my father. Calling themselves Christian Roengram and Gaia, and the possessors of the Water's and Earth's sacred treasures, they were strong Jutsushi. "

"----huh? The sacred treasures of Water and Earth, you said? ", murmured Juugo interested.

"Did you know, Kazuma? "

"No, I heard it for the first time today. ", replied Kazuma immediately.

Practically, different from magic tools that had a simple water or earth attribute, even he had limited information about existences endowed with the status <<sacred weapons>> that can rival Enraiha or Kokusen.

"Father said the same thing. That there are no sacred weapons the Spirit Lord blessed us with except Enraiha of the Fire and Kokusen of the Wind.

But, they definitely posses a level of power that won't bring shame to the name of sacred weapon. And then, they demanded my father's cooperation as the successor of Kokusen. "

"Cooperation? "

"Yes. The Water and Earth they had, and then the Wind father had and the Fire of the Kannagi --- they said they would gather the four sacred treasure given by the Spirit Lords and then hold a grand scale magic ceremony. "

"A magic ceremony by collecting the four sacred treasures--------? "

Ayano asked of her father, inclining her head.

"If they can gather four sacred treasures, will they be able to do something special? "

"-------No, I didn't hear that kind of story. Besides, I haven't heard about the existence of the Water and Earth sacred treasures so it's only to be expected. "

With that introduction, Juugo announced hid deduction without cracking a smile.

"But, all phenomena of this world are made of the four elements. If one could freely manipulate all of that through the sacred treasures, there would be probably very little one could not do. "

It is nothing more but a legend, a story at the fairy-tale level that saids this world was created by the Spirit Lords of the four elements.

If that is true, and the sacred treasures are the proof of the authority borrowed from the Spirit Lords, there would be nothing they couldn't do.

It's an extreme argument but there is the possibility of even rebuilding the world.

But, without taken away by the magnificence of the story, Kazuma objected extremely calm.

"Theoretically speaking, that is. But something like that is impossible in reality. "

"Why? "

"At a different level from when you simply mix water and wind and get mist, or fire and earth and get magma, for something more, for example the creation of a phenomenon at a natural calamity scale if you want to control it, a strict tuning is necessary.

But, the Jutsu control for Spirit Jutsushi is considerably intuitive. "

Different from other types of magic, the Spirit Jutsu attaches more importance to sensitivity rather that reason.

Therefore, group work is excessively difficult --- even in a practical situation that is considerably intuitive, theorizing it, converting it numerically, it's practically impossible to reproduce it.

"You, if I were to tell you to mix a 36% fire with a 64% earth, would you be able to coordinate with a Chijutsushi? "

"......Uu, that's........"

"For argument's sake if we were to say you could do it, then, what is the unit? The number of spirits? Calories? Or Mass? How do you establish a common unit for four types of Spirits? "

No one was able to respond to those questions fired in rapid succession.

And, in this place there were direct descendants from the Fuan and Kannagi families - each controlling the top Spirit Jutsushi.

If they did not know about it, it was absolutely certain such a standard did not exist.

"This kind of information we have no idea about means constructing a technique system from scratch, even more, acquiring Jutsushi who can use the sacred treasure and then finally trying it out in practice - that's the kind of level we speak about.

To complete this how many years --- no, I don't know how many generations it will take. "

"But then, there's also the possibility it was secretly developed from way back and they began moving as it was completed, right? "

"Don't imagine such bad things, you. But, if that's true ---"

"What? "

"If that's the care, there is a mastermind behind them. "

"......Uuu"

Ayano groaned at the even more serious pointing out. But, if she were to think of Chris and Gaia's speech and conduct, she could agree to that story.

"Certainly, they don't seem the kind of people who could have such a grand plan and accomplish it........"

"Right? What's even more, the idea itself of using and experimenting on Spirits does not belong with a Spirit Jutsushi. "

For Spirit Jutsushi, the Spirits are not just simple weapons or tools. They are irreplaceable colleagues and partners.

Any honest Spirit Jutsushi wouldn't think of them as a material for experiments.

It was the same thing as testing something on family or close friends.

"........How to say this, I have a more and more bad feeling about this. "

"Yeah. ---- Aah, by the way"

Remembering he had something he should confirm before thinking about this, Kazuma shifted his attention to Xiaolei.

"Did you hear something about what kind of ceremony they are planning on holding? "

Xiaolei shook her head a little.

"Father may have heard about it but I didn't......In any case, father turned them down. At the time they obediently withdrew but the next day...."

Her fists grasped tightly, shook. When reminiscing about the memory of those times, her pupils were pregnant with anger, terror and hatred.

"My father, my brothers.....even Okaa-sama......"

Without continuing further, Xiaolei kept her mouth shut. Not only her first but even her body shook with exhaustion.

The spirits responded to that fitful anger and a wind blew violently inside the room --- but it quickly died down.

Juugo and Ayano glanced at Kazuma but quickly turned their eyes to Xiaolei. But, as expected, she did not continue. It was an understandable evolution.

"---- So, the story after that "

Instead of Xiaolei who was silent, Ayano volunteered to explain.

"A short time ago those two came to pick a fight with us. Saying to hand Enraiha over. We beat them up however. "

"''However'' --- you let them escape. Isn't that right? "

As if pouring cold water on the head of his elated daughter, that was Juugo.

The humiliated Ayano glared at Kazuma with a resentful stare.

"If Kazuma were serious, the future problem should have been disposed of. "

"-----Hou? "

But, without showing disturbance at the two's coercion, Kazuma turned the usual slack smile to Juugo.

"Well, that's how it is -- Kokusen and Enraiha are being aimed at --- this is serious, Suzerain. "

And so he declared without tension, like it was completely someone else's problem.

Critical glared gathered at the excessively superficial attitude, but even so, without any kind of seriousness blended in it ---

"Well then --- do your best! "

Together with those irresponsible words of encouragement, he left his seat as if declaring his noninterference.

".......wait Kazuma"

But Juugo promptly called Kazuma to a halt.

"I want to hire you until this case is over. Your top priority is protecting Ayano and Enraiha, the next is the elimination of the enemy. Is that alright? "

"It's going to be expensive. "

"I don't care. "

In a good tempo, those two concluded the agreement.

For Ayano that was ''the usual'' so it didn't bother her it but for Xiaolei that wasn't the case.

Believing Kazuma's attitude excessively indiscreet, she couldn't endure it and cut in the conversation.

"Wait a minute! You, do you understand the situation right now? "

"I think so? "

"Then why are you talking about something like remuneration? Now it's not the time to mind such things, don't you agree? "

Xiaolei was enraged.

But, contrastive to her, Kazuma faced the girl with a thoroughly indifferent countenance.

"Such things, huh? As expected of an Ojou-sama from the Fuan family. "

"Wha........what do you mean? "

"Well then, let's continue"

Disregarding Xiaolei pressing a question, Kazuma reopened the negotiation with Juugo.

"Oi! "

"------Let it go"

Ayano restrained the girl who even so was about to press for an answer with a voice full of sympathy.

"That's how this guy is. If you mind it you loose. "

"But--- "

Xiaolei couldn't consent no matter what.

She understood it so much it felt painful. That's because that was the road she once traveled on.

That's why, for that reason, she must learn no matter what.

--- In society, there are times you can make a fool of yourself by taking too seriously the existence of the reality you cannot be saved from.

"Understand that"

"........"

As if she saw something in that facial expression that was more eloquent than words, Xiaolei shut her mouth.

But even so the gaze she turned to Kazuma was overflowing with scorn , still he didn't display the slightest reaction and continued his negotiation with Juugo.

"By the way, how capable were they? "

"There wasn't a lot of time but at best, they are merely first-class. As long as they don't have some huge hidden trick, they're at a level me and Ayano can deal with. "

"Humph --- But, an incident is an incident. Should I call back Genma and Ren? "

"They're not here? "

"They're on a business trip. They went to Tohoku"

"Unlucky -- well, do as you want "

Negligently saying so over his shoulder, Kazuma stood up once more.

This time without pause, he was seriously wanting to leave. But -

"---- Wait"

Xiaolei's voice stopped those legs.

Kazuma turned only his head.

"What? "

"There's still something I need to ask you no matter what. "

Gazing at Kazuma with hard eyes as if she were in front of the enemy, Xiaolei fired the question.

"You, who are you? "

"Who, you ask"

Worn out by that insecure posture, Kazuma changed the orientation of his body leaning against a pillar and caught Xiaolei's gaze.

"My name is Yagami Kazuma. A freelance Fujutsushi. My favorite work is the danger-less ghost extermination, my goal is an uneventful life but that became non-existent since my main activity became the protection of the Kannagi Family's Ojou-san --- well, that's about it. "

More than terribly sketchy, he left out the most important data but, in outline that was truthful profile.

"Don't mess around! "

With bare anger Xiaolei shouted.

"It's impossible to find a stronger Fujutsushi than me, a direct descendant of the Fuan family, in the streets! Answer! You, from where are you? "

Xiaolei was exasperated.

Contrastively, Kazuma sneered persistently composed.

"You have considerable faith in yourself, huh? ", he declared severely.

Meaning that while she continued loosing to Chris, Gaia and himself, she still posed as a <<warrior>>.

"-------!! "

Accurately understanding the meaning of those words, Xiaolei's face colored with anger and disgrace.

But for her, a direct descendant of the Fuan family nominated as the strongest Fujutsushi, Kazuma was a being that threatened the meaning of their existence.

She won't be easily deceived.

Adjusting her breathing and calming her heart, she doubled the spirit driven at Kazuma.

"Certainly, it's not unusual for someone to be stronger than me. But, didn't you control the mist much more than that Suijutsushi? Something like mist is in the water domain with a roughly seven or eight ratio at least.

To have a stronger control that a Suijutsushi holding a sacred weapon, something like that cannot be achieved by an ordinary Fujutsushi.

How do you explain that? "

"How, you ask? "

Even faced with Xiaolei's identification confident she touched a vital point, Kazuma didn't lost his composure for a moment.

He declared, carelessly shrugging his shoulders.

"As a Fujutsushi I have no connection with any lineage. I appeared out of thin air. "

"That's impossible. "

"If you want to fuss over lineage so much I''ll tell you that I am a direct descendant of Kannagi. "

"What? "

At that excessively unexpected answer, after a few seconds, in mute amazement, Xiaolei gazed inquiringly at Juugo and Ayano.

Both nodded at the same time.

"It's the truth. Because of different circumstances he claims to have a different name. "

".............."

Xiaolei looked at Kazuma once more. On her face there was shock that couldn't be concealed.

At any rate, more than her - no, the blood-line of the most powerful Fujutsushi she ever saw, is the direct descendant of the Kannagi Family -- the highest Enjutsushi authority.

"Why in the world ---- "

"You want to ask the reason? Even I don't know that.", said Kazuma lightly over his shoulder.

And then, he vaguely added.

"Well, it must be that. No matter how famous the clan is, the founder was nothing but a person of doubtful origin. It means that this kind of mutation can appear. "

His tone was vapid tone but the language pretty abusive.

This time he left without turning back.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume6_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume6_Chapter_4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Kenshin no Keishousha:Volume 1 Chapter1

2013-10-31T05:57:13Z

Nwms8:

==Chapter 1 - The Sword Academy==

Tokyo Swordia————

Formerly this city was known as the Tokyo metropolis, but currently in the 21st century, the otherworldly Swordies have ruled over the city since the Great War seventy years ago.

Tokyo Swordia was divided into two regions. In other words, the Swordies resided within the Specialized Central Region while humans inhabited the Outer Human Region.

Being the dominant social class, the Specialized Central Region where all the Swordies lived controlled all political and economic functions. To everyone else in the world, they had the most elegant districts. In contrast, the Outer Human Region felt quite unbalanced with the quality among the districts being starkly different.

It was already past ten in the evening, yet it was quite rambunctious on this particular bustling street in the Outer Human Region which had rows upon rows of bars lined up for construction.

Slightly away from the ruckus within the corner of this region sits an old-fashioned hotel.

Located underneath the hotel was a parking garage. Parked within its depths was a van with its engine running and the shadows of multiple figures gathered around the vehicle. There were five of them in total and all of them were wearing what appeared to be white robes.

One of the members, who was currently breathing heavily, appears to have been wounded. Although medical aid was being received from a friend, it seems the bleeding could not be stopped.

"Looks like I’ve already caught up."

For some reason, these words startled the others as they turned towards the sound of the approaching footsteps.

These robe wearing people all reacted in unison, directing their gaze towards the figure that showed up.

"If you want to escape you should be giving it everything you have, not dilly-dallying around in this sort of place."

A young teenager wearing a red long coat appeared within the parking garage.

From the opening in the front of the long coat, one could see that the somewhat short teenager possessed a slender figure.

Along with his disheveled black hair, there remained a childish facial complexion. However, under the fringe of his hair, his eyes carried an exceptionally sharp expression.

"Well, if you guys were to scatter in disarray you would all be interrogated. That said, you guys also killed four police officers which is quite unacceptable to be honest. You bastards, I'm pretty strict when it comes to losing my comrades. I will keep on pursuing you all even if you were to run to the ends of the earth."

"Are you one of the Sabers?"

One of the robed members shouted in a sharp tone. Unwavered, the teenager wryly smiled in response.

"As you can see."

The teenager————Kurou, pointed to the silver sword insignia on his long coat with his index finger.

The so-called Sabers were Tokyo Swordia's public security force. They were a separate entity from the police force.

"I'd appreciate it if you guys would allow me to make a peaceful arrest. However, if there is any resistance————"

Kurou placed his hand on the hilt of the katana strapped to his waist. Just by looking at its composition, one could tell it was definitely not an ornament or a counterfeit. Instead, it was a thoroughly used and authentic blade.

"This is the end for all of you, followers of the sun."

Even without inquiring, Kurou already knew their true identity.

The so-called sun cult was just as its name indicated. The religious organization was comprised of followers who worshipped the teachings of the sun.

In the last couple of years, these thugs would frequently engage in terrorist activities. The number of victims from these terrorist activities have already reached triple digits. These Sabers, who were part of the public security force, have made the sun cult their number one priority.

Because the van of the sun cult followers arrived at a police checkpoint tonight, they decided to forcefully break through. During their escape, they killed four police officers and are currently still fleeing.

Since the Sabers sent out a dispatch request, Kurou, being a member, caught up to them here.

"Hey——, what is this, it hasn't started yet? Fortunately I leisurely walked over here."

Unexpectedly, an extremely clear voice sounded.

Behind Kurou came another guy that entered the parking garage. He too kept a sword by his waist and also wore the exact same long coat marked with the silver insignia.

"Are you an idiot? You’re currently on the job, you better get over here quickly Lars."

"Yeah yeah, you're so stringent as usual Kurou."

He elatedly smiled. Lars was also a member of the Sabers.

Within the Sabers, he and Kurou worked together as a pair. Although he was about five centimeters taller than the short-statured Kurou, his face also seems to have retained a puerile complexion. In fact, he was only a teenager who was fifteen years of age.

His appearance was well-kept and his hair was practically white. However, he claims the color was “platinum”.

Even though Lars followed an alternate path when chasing the criminals, the two pretty much found them at the same time.

"Despite being Sabers, there are only two of you against the five of us! We have complete control here!"

One of the cultists, who was tending to a comrade of his, spoke up in an acute voice. In response, the other cultists all whipped out their katanas.

In Japan, it was to be expected that ordinary people were prohibited from carrying firearms. In fact, the Sabers, police, and even the military's main weaponry was the sword. Likewise, the weapons of the terrorists were no exception.

It was very hard to see clearly into the shadow of the van, but it was without a doubt the voice of a female cultist————she was a very young teenage girl. Upon closer inspection, she was the only one who wasn't wearing a robe. Instead, she wore a white veil along with a blue nun getup.

Her eyes were filled with tears, yet she unyieldingly glared at Lars.

"Hey Kurou, is this the opponent you’re responsible for?"

"It's not really a responsibility......"

Kurou wryly smiled and advanced forward.

He knew this girl, her name was Kido Akari.

She was a member of the sun cult's combat forces. However, for some reason they encountered each other numerous times during Kurou's missions. Even though those encounters have all been due to chance, it was true that there did exist some underlying reason for this.

"Akari, every time......we seem to encounter each other. Gradually I'm starting to believe this isn't an ill-fated relationship but rather destiny at work here."

"That seems to be the case. Why does it have to turn out like this......"

Akari lowered her gaze as she spoke————

"Hmm? What's wrong? You seem to have some deeply mixed emotions."

"There's no such thing!"

Inadvertently, her piercing glare fixated on Kurou.

"If it is destiny, then that destiny would also include me slaughtering you, you Swordie dog!"

"A dog......"

"Plus, you Swordies are not even part of this world, how could we accept a nation inhabited with you people!"

Akari pulled out her katana and got into her stance. Despite having a bit of flair to it, Kurou understood Akari's strength. Based on her technique, she was probably incapable of defeating any of the Sabers.

"Akari, you can choose to fight, however if this wounded person is left unattended to like this then he will die. This kind of emergency care right now is just prolonging his pain."

"Guh......!"

Akari tightly bit her lips.

Perhaps she realized that Kurou wasn’t just trying to complicate matters.

"Hey, you guys can withdraw. Sorry for arriving late."

"Hmm......?"

Kurou slightly tilted his head at the sound of this sudden voice.

With her presence pretty much undetected, at some point a female figure appeared alongside the followers of the sun.

She wasn't wearing the white robe of the sun cult. Instead, her attire consisted of a skimpy mini-skirt, a tightly fitted suit, and there was a bizarre sword suspended along her waist.

"Allowing me to deal with these Sabers idiots should be fine. Let me take care of the cargo and that one other thing in the van. The streets are filled with police checkpoints so you'll be instantly caught if you escape by car."

"......Understood, we are counting on you."

After Akari finished speaking, the rest of the sun cultists nodded. From the looks of it, they had no intention to continue causing trouble. Akari and the others glanced back at the van every so often before running away.

Both Kurou and Lars had already lost interest in the sun cultists who already fled.

Kurou once again inspected the woman.

The woman's age was probably between twenty and twenty-five years old. She had gleaming short brown hair and although she was quite an attractive person, this was not the appropriate time to be taking note of these sort of things.

"Are you a Swordie?"

"Just like the ones you've seen."

The woman nodded in response to Kurou's question. She then retrieved the sword by her waist in one swift motion.

It was a slender double-edged longsword. The sight of this type of sword wasn’t rare, but————

"Ho, is this the light blade?"

Kurou muttered in admiration.

Known as the light blade, the drawn out sword was enveloped by a faint white light. When the light blade was activated, the sword becomes incredibly hard to bend, break, and furthermore it was very keen-edged.

"Ah so you are a Swordie, and a pretty powerful one as well."

Kurou once again muttered.

The Swordies are considered to be residents from the mystifying world of Swordia.

These otherworldly people and earth's human beings practically look the same. Even though many of them possessed hair and eye colors not found in normal humans, but other than that they were essentially alike.

Despite Swordies and humans having nearly identical physique, the Swordies' physical capabilities were quite outstanding. Their strength and speed were both exceptional.

Furthermore, the most frightening thing was their overwhelming natural disposition to the ways of the sword. Hence, all Swordies were inherently sword specialists.

To add to that, if one becomes a first-class user they could engage in battle with a light blade empowered sword like this woman.

"It ends right here wanted criminal number FZ405333!"

Suddenly a voice rang.

Just like Kurou and Lars, these guys were also wearing red long coats. There were six of them and each held a sword in their hands.

They were all Swordies and members of the Sabers————in other words, they were also Kurou's colleagues. Presumably they too arrived by tracking the followers of the sun.

"This woman is a wanted criminal. In the past she killed two of our members. Clearly a Swordie, she's actually a lunatic for helping out the sun cult."

The one member with the beard spoke up. Kurou also recognized this man. He was one of the older members of the Sabers and possessed excellent finesse.

"You guys can step down. It's too much of a burden for newcomers to face a light blade user."

The man with the beard stated without even looking at Kurou. He then raised his sword and the other five members followed suit.

From the looks of it, they wanted to steal all the glory. Whether it was the bearded man or the other members, it seemed none of them could utilize the light blade. Even so, with it being six to one perhaps they could win.

"Well, it doesn't matter to me how many people I face. Bring it on."

The Swordie woman brazenly smiled as she replied.

Haa——. The bearded man yelled out and charged towards the Swordie woman with the other five members.

The majority of the Sabers members were adept at fighting. The bearded man and the other members probably had numerous experiences fighting enemies with swords. The six of them stormed in simultaneously and while doing so, they had to avoid slicing their own allies in battle.

No one should ever take the enemy lightly due to superiority in numbers. For the sake of killing this one woman, the six men all risked their lives in the attack.

"Haha."

However, the woman was unfazed.

After the woman had seen through the incoming attack from the group of six, she slashed at the bearded man who led the attack, cutting his head off with just one swing of the sword. In quick succession, her sword sliced through a person's torso and then the face of another person.

From the perspective of a normal person, the three of them would seem to have been simultaneously killed. It would be hard for anyone to discern such a high caliber technique.

There was blood vigorously spraying out of the bodies of the men. The part of the body that suffered the violent hit had been greatly carved out.

The woman hardly stopped there. She then slashed at two others diagonally from the shoulders and pierced the last person in the heart————the group of six were now all dead.

Her abilities were indeed extremely impeccable.

"What was that? That was way too easy. Battling against men isn't fun after all."

The woman muttered with an ennui expression. Actually, she probably felt extremely bored. Even though six people attacked her, she still eliminated them instantly. It really was way too easy for her. The difference in their abilities was profoundly visible.

"Hey, that's pretty impressive."

Lars apathetically spoke. At some point in time he retrieved his cellphone in order to look something up.

"Hmm, that woman has a very high bounty, it's at one million. If we were to consider the six members of our group that were killed, the bounty will probably continue to rise."

"Lars, you should have said something earlier!"

"What are you getting all tensed up over. You don't need to worry about anyone stealing your glory now. Oh, by the way, the million is only if you capture her alive. If you captured her dead you would only get three hundred thousand. Well then, good luck."

Lars wryly smiled as he turned off his cellphone.

"Understood. Hence, let me be your opponent. I'll be in your care."

Kurou joyously spoke and proceeded to swiftly pull out the katana by his waist.

"......A katana? You rascal, you're clearly one of the Sabers, why would you still use that kind of thing?"

Having said that, the criminal ringleader’s eyes opened widely, staring intently at Kurou.

"You bastard......could it be, you are a human?"

"Even if I were to say 'just like the ones you’ve seen', you probably wouldn't understand. Well, I guess only humans would use katanas anyways."

Kurou calmly stated as he motioned his katana.

"Hahaha! Originally I had thought the Sabers were just a group of idiotic men. I never would've thought that a human would also be accepted as a member. Has the lack of talent already reached this extent?"

"Jeez, it really annoys me that you would call it a group of idiotic men. I really can't tolerate this abuse towards humans like me."

The Sabers included non-combative members as well. This tiny organization didn't even have a thousand members yet.

The composition of the Sabers consisted entirely of Swordies except for Kurou. On the flip side, the police were practically all humans. It probably would have been more natural if Kurou were part of the police.

There was some reason behind Kurou's recruitment into the Sabers. It wasn't because of a lack of talent, however Kurou wasn't about to kindly explain to that extent.

"Nevertheless, from the looks of it you are clearly a Swordie assisting these humans."

"If I were to be on the Swordies' side, most likely I’d only be able to face the boring swordsmanship of the humans. I want to battle the powerful Swordies. Is that white-haired boy a Swordie? If you don't battle, this human is going to die."

"I'll consider it, but I'm not too worried over my financial situation."

Lars pretended to joke around, even deliberately shrugging while he was at it.

"......Well, forget it. In the end, both of you will die. Before that happens though, please entertain me for a bit."

"Oh trust me you won’t be bored at all."

Kurou faintly smiled and prepared his stance. Although it was rather mundane, the sword was held straight and centered in his stance.

The criminal ringleader also smiled in the same manner. It was a smile of mockery. She never thought she would ever have to battle against a human.

Kurou inched around trying to maintain his distance. He would never underestimate his opponent. From now on, it will be the relentless pursuit of survive and kill.

"Hey human, I got something to say first. You better not bring your human values into this."

"You mean just because you're a woman? Haha, of course I won’t."

This was the monster who instantly killed six people. Even so, this human boy was still able to think in such a manner.

These sorts of things were only humanity's fallacious logic after all.

From the Swordies' point of view, it was considered utter nonsense.

Basically for the Swordies, when comparing the athletic abilities of men to women, women were vastly superior, even in swordsmanship.

From the perspective of the swordswomen, Swordie males were existences of a lower class. Although the Sabers members who were easily eliminated by her had received training and had numerous combat experiences, for this outstanding swordswoman who was also the criminal ringleader, it could hardly be called a fight against the six of them.

Stored within the Swordies was something known as light energy. In terms of physical strength, light was a more superior energy source than what humans were capable of using.

In general, a woman's light quantity was vastly plentiful. The greater the quantity, the more physical power one possessed. Precisely due to this, Swordie women were able to utilize far greater combat strength.

Members of the Sabers were practically all male Swordies. If they were up against human terrorists, the male members would be enough to deal with them. However, if the criminal was a female Swordie, many times the situation would develop into a grim battle.

Humans wouldn't even stand a chance. Regardless of gender, it was impossible to overcome a female Swordie. This knowledge was one that everyone knew. Because of this, the male members didn't want the Sabers to delegate this task to Kurou, a diminutive human.

"I am knowledgeable in some matters regarding the Swordies. You don't need to worry."

"Well then, try to put on a frightened expression as best as you can, human."

The criminal ringleader calmly waved around the sword with her hand, perhaps to add psychological pressure. The intensity of the light blade appeared to have increased. The so-called light blade technique was the emittance of light out of the body and transferring it to the sword. If a person didn't have the appropriate levels of light, it would be impossible to use this move.

The criminal ringleader casually walked towards Kurou. Even though this was underestimating her enemy, she still did not leave any openings exposed. Her eyes were brimming with murderous intent as the tip of her sword flashed by.

A gust of wind blew over————causing a roaring sound.

The criminal ringleader’s wielding of the sword violently stirred up the air————which caused a nearby concrete pillar to be splendidly sliced into two chunks.

Cutting this pillar, whose girth needed two arms to wrap around it, could never be accomplished by humans. She used superlative force, demonstrating the power and skill of the Swordies.

The criminal ringleader smiled. By deliberately chopping down the pillar, she probably wanted Kurou to coward in fear.

"......"

However, Kurou didn't flinch at all. He still maintained his sword in an upright position and never even move his body.

"Hmph, what a grotesque little kid you are."

The criminal ringleader then shot out like an arrow, raising her sword once again.

Simply put, the Swordie's sword was both swift and thunderous as it came down at him. This blazing attack could slash apart anyone involved in the organization, crushing them into pieces. Then in a gruesome scene, that corpse would be turned into fine powder.

A Swordie's sword literally meant a one hit kill.

However, that was only if————they hit.

"......!?"

An impatient expression was clearly visible on the face of the criminal ringleader.

From the very first attempt, the criminal ringleader’s one hit killer sword strikes were completely evaded by Kurou.

In rapid succession, the blade, which was so sharp it easily cut through the air, came at Kurou's neck and chest at full force.

He did not initiate an attack, he only kept continuously dodging her attacks. Their blades never clashed either.

If a Swordie's sword were to clash with that of a human's, the human’s sword would be sent flying or perhaps the blade would be sundered. Which would it be......

However, to be capable of continuously evading a Swordie's sword strikes and such, this was practically unbelievable for a human. Human eyes were unable to capture a Swordie's sword maneuvers, thus being unable to completely elude the strikes.

"What the heck you bastard! Just how can a human evade my sword!"

"Hehe, I'm not an alien though. Don't be holding any doubts during battle."

Kurou even wryly smiled. Even though the swings barely brushed past, to be able to see through those strikes that could cut through his entire flesh numerous times without giving off even a single drop of sweat was really quite exceptional.

"I think it's about time......to make my move!"

For the first time Kurou took the initiative. Even though he went at blinding speed from a human's perspective, to a Swordie's dynamic strength it was ridiculously slow.

"Idiot......!"

A smile even surfaced on the face of the criminal ringleader. Regardless if he were to cock the blade over his head or slash downwards, in her eyes it would all seem like a slow motion reflection.

However————

"What......!?"

The moment Kurou swung his sword with all his might————

“W-What......!?”

Her right hand was cut off from the base and blood began spurting out everywhere. The hand which had held the sword, fell to the ground. The shine of the light blade also vanished.

From the looks of it, her shock seemed to have surpassed her pain. She stared at Kurou without even covering her hand which was spraying out blood.

Compared to humans, a Swordie's physical capabilities were vastly superior. Even an injury of this extent wouldn't kill them. As long as a competent medic diagnosed them, the hand could be reattached.

"How could a human's sword......I, that sword, what in the world was that!?"

"Starting from now, you'll have plenty of time to contemplate over this."

This criminal ringleader had slaughtered numerous Sabers and police members. Whether or not she should ever be allowed to step foot in this world again was questionable. There was probably plenty of time to ponder over this later.

"Eh?"

Kurou inadvertently tilted his head.

The right cuff of his long coat was severed. His expression indicated that this must have been the first time he failed in such a manner.

"Haha, this long coat is quite expensive. If they have to replace this long coat again, the boss will surely take a dig at me."

"......You bastard, that bracelet is——"

Due to Kurou's shirt cuffs being cut, the criminal ringleader directed her vision towards his wrist. Looped on there was a white metallic bracelet.

Engraved on the bracelet was an emblem consisting of a sword and the markings of a plant's vines.

"A Sword God's engraving! That's right, you are——it was mentioned that the Sword Saint accepted a disciple, that person is......!"

"Sounds like you have a pretty good understanding. Well, this thing is just a decoration."

Kurou lightly stroked the bracelet.

Blademaster Hyouka————was the Swordie's strongest swordswoman and the mentor who taught Kurou his sword skills.

To Kurou, the fact that he will become the successor wasn't really a big deal.

"Kurou, it isn't over yet. This criminal ringleader is an extremely important battle asset to the sun cult. Since the sun cult intentionally sent her here, that must mean......"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Perhaps they even have a lot of accumulated treasure on them."

Kurou directed his vision to the van which still had its engine running. If only he had heard the conversation between the sun cult followers and the criminal ringleader, then he would have known what was stowed away in the van.

"Hey, one-million, what kind of cargo is in the van?"

"Do you think I'd give a damn about that?"

"I suppose so."

Even if the van was stuffed with suitcases full of money, the criminal ringleader probably couldn't care less. She was a being who only showed interest in a sword fight against Swordies.

Lars slowly approached the van.

Gripping the hilt of his sword, he suddenly pulled out his sword in a surprise attack. The sword struck countless times, leaving the backdoor of the van in pieces which were carried away by the wind. Even though he was a boy, a maneuver of this caliber was still extremely simple for any Swordie.

"Goodness gracious, can't you open it through normal means?"

"You never know what might be inside......eh?"

Lars replied to Kurou's frustrated tone while gazing suspiciously at the inside of the van.

"What the heck, there's a person inside. Hey, please come out, we'll just let you go."

Lars stated something beyond expectations. It appears not only was there luggage, there seemed to be a sun cult follower sitting there as well. In actuality, tonight's results with just the one criminal ringleader was more than enough.

"Hey, are you listening? You wouldn't want to be slaughtered by him."

In that instant————

The back of the van overflowed with a radiant light, blocking Kurou's vision.

This was different compared to the white light rays from a Swordie's light blade. What was emitted was a glorious golden color————

"Lars!"

When Kurou yelled out, Lars had already backed off from the van by a couple of meters. Since he was a Swordie and a member of the Sabers, he was extremely agile when dealing with abnormal situations.

Kurou redirected his gaze from Lars back to the van. Because the light pouring from the van was so overwhelming, it was impossible to keep your eyes open. Despite this, having not felt any degree of heat was rather strange.

"What in the world......?"

Under the glare, Kurou saw something unbelievable.

Coming out of the blinding light was a girl.

No wait, the girl was enveloped by the rays of light————

She was about the same age as Kurou, somewhere between fifteen or sixteen years old.

She had long black hair, thoroughly pale skin, and a thin white dress.

Was she not wearing any undergarments? Those ample mounds that was her chest shook substantially with every step she took.

Furthermore, there was an awfully tacky set of handcuffs worn around those snappable looking thin hands.
[[File:Kenshin v01 032.jpg|thumbnail|right]]
The girl walked in front of Kurou without even a second thought.

"......"

The girl remained silent, extended her hands which were handcuffed, and unwaveringly stared into Kurou's eyes. Her expression never changed.

Without warning, the light vanished.

As he recovered his vision, the girl————gradually revealed a smile.

Kurou pretty much reflexively swung down with the sword he had drawn out from before.

A snapping sound was produced when the handcuffs lock got cut by the blade and was sent flying. Her arms, which now have regained their freedom, powerlessly drooped down.

"Ah......"

Just when the girl was about to say something, she trembled and collapsed. It happened so abruptly, like the severing of a thread.

Kurou instantly reacted by supporting her fallen over body. He carried her by her surprisingly skinny shoulders and hips which felt like they could be broken with the slightest impact.

What in the world was going on? What is the best course of action to take? Who is this teenage girl?

At his wit's end while holding on to the girl, Kurou was at a loss over what to do————

The Sabers' headquarters was constructed near the center of Tokyo Swordia within the Specialized Central Region.

In this center region, there were rows upon rows of towering ministry buildings and large businesses.

Situated within that area was the plainly designed ten-story building that was the Sabers' headquarters. The Sabers was established five years ago when the terrorist activities of the sun cult started. Since the organization had not been around for that long, unfortunately the headquarters could only be constructed in this unadorned style due to the insufficient budget assigned.

A teenage figure showed up at the headquarter's entrance early in the morning. It was Kurou.

Only a few hours had passed since battling against the criminal ringleader. After the mission was over and the report documents were submitted, he went to a certain office in the Outer Human Region. Just when he was about to take a nap there, he was called over by headquarters.

As Kurou suppressed a yawn, he entered through the front doors.

Located in the main hall was the front desk with a female receptionist sitting idly by. There were also employees holding books while conversing and the cleaning staff tidying up.

Everyone in here was a Swordie. Not every Swordie made a living off wielding a sword. In fact, far more of them took on normal jobs instead.

Kurou, who was the only human within the building, was currently taking the elevator to the highest floor.

After Kurou stepped out of the elevator, he took a detour to the lounge before going to his destination. Inside there were numerous benches set side by side and a vending machine that dispensed drinks.

Once Kurou bought some juice from the vending machine, he stood in front of a window. All of the walls within the lounge were made into windows, allowing him to clearly see the situation outside the building. He was really fond of the scenery here.

Tokyo Swordia was established seventy years ago by the Swordies after the Great War.

The place was integrated as district 23 after the war——and was one of the eight districts of the Chiyoda ward. It was then changed once again into its current Specialized Central Region, a place that encompassed all political and economic functions.

There were also high-rise building areas within the Outer Human Region, but here the greenery was in copious amounts. It even felt like regardless where you were, there would be an obsession to grow greenery in any bit of space that was present.

What could be considered as a thirst for forestation, appears to be some sort of homesickness.

The lush, beautiful, and vast world that was Swordia, was located in another world, one different from Earth. It was the homeworld of the Swordies.

It happened during the Second World War on Earth seventy years ago. At the time of the deadlock, right when each country's military strength began to dwindle————the door was opened.

Within this world, who knows how many of those massive, bizarre doors, or portals rather, linking Earth and Swordia were opened. Swordia's massive army rushed through with one goal in mind and that was to invade.

Following that, the Great War changed in a way that humanity could never have predicted.

For the Swordies whose main weapon was the sword, everyone thought for sure they would be instantly slaughtered by the firearm equipped infantry, tanks, battleships, and aircraft.

However————that wasn't the case.

An abnormal atmosphere arose due to the influence of the massive portals. The earth's environment immediately turned chaotic as the skies and seas became turbulent. Not only were aircraft and battleships unable to move, each individual nation's front lines collapsed since sea, air, and ground transportation abilities were lost.

The Swordies were able to receive supplies from Swordia using their portals which spanned all over the world. Moreover, the elite Swordie troops were unfazed by this abnormal atmosphere.

What ensued was a wondrous sight————

The Swordie army achieved victory and every nation had no choice but to retreat their deployed armies.

The unthinkable had finally become a reality after the conclusion of the war. Although the reasons were quite unclear, after the Swordies claimed victory they instantly shut down all of their portals. Despite inhibiting the disruptive climate, the Swordies did lose their means of returning home.

The place that the Swordies then decided to settle on was————Japan.

When Swordie troops first appeared, it was during the end of the Great War. However, in the past there would be an extremely few number of Swordies who would occasionally arrive in Japan through tiny portals and associate with the people there.

They wanted to turn this country which they were familiar with into their new homeworld.

Following that, the Swordies were successful in placing Japan under their control after the country was weakened by the Great War. The Swordies then implemented a sweeping reform of the government structure and gained a foothold within the country.

Of course, it was an extremely chaotic period throughout this. The Japanese would revolt from time to time. There was even civil strife among the Swordies before the new government was established. However, this was quickly resolved within a short time frame————

Upon achieving dominance over the country, the Swordies added the name of their already forsaken homeworld as their capital.

That was how Tokyo Swordia came to be.

Nevertheless, these facts were quite irrelevant to Kurou who was born in a distant time period from the war.

"Alright, time to go."

He left the lounge after he finished drinking his juice. Standing in front of the door that had the "head director" office sign hanging on it, he casually knocked on the door and stepped in without even waiting for a response.

"Pardon me."

There was already a guest in the head director's office.

Kurou apparently noticed the young female member as well. While sitting in front of the director's desk by the window, she was holding on to the report records while discussing some matters.

Kurou instantly noticed something.

The woman's hand was slightly shaking as she held on to the report. A dreaded look clearly surfaced on her face and even the sword by her waist was clattering. It was truly a pitiful sight.

In addition, leaning against the director's desk was a young woman. She was the boss of the public security force, although that title of hers didn't really match her ten year-old or so complexion. She continued to listen to the report without interrupting.

"————That's all for my report, Director."

"Very well, thank you."

The female member was startled upon hearing the director speak. She proceeded to deeply lower her head and rushed out of the room as if she was trying to escape. Moreover, she ran right past Kurou like she didn't even notice him.

"......What's going on."

"Ah, you're here Kurou-kun, please come this way."

"Alright."

Kurou replied as such and stood in front of the desk.

At this time, a huge wave of pressure assaulted him.

It was as if his body was about to collapse from this sensation that seemed to be binded to his body. He was under the false perception that if this were to continue, his body would probably be crushed into pieces.

If the user was powerful, a Swordie's light could manifest in other physical forms instead of just the light blade.

The woman in front of him possessed light that had overwhelming power. The force could be felt just by standing around her. No one would blame them for being petrified in front of this female member.

Kurou gritted his teeth, stood up straight, and braced himself in face of this impalpable strength.

"You seem to have calmed down. Are you able to speak?"

Kurou lightly nodded.

Whenever anyone stood in front of the director it always turned out like this. For Kurou, as long as he readied himself he could retract the intimidation to a more manageable level.

"Anyhow, it's like people make me out to be a demonic boss considering how I cause everyone to tremble."

The director of the Sabers, Manaka, wryly smiled.

Manaka was a young woman who was twenty-four years-old.

Although the life span of a Swordie was quite similar to that of a human, they were able to delay the effects of aging since they were existences of light. There were many individuals capable of continuously maintaining a youthful appearance of around the age of twenty or so despite being already fifty years-old. Manaka looked like she was only a teenager. This was most likely due to her powerful light force.

Her long blue hair was a rare occurrence even as a Swordie. Tied on both sides of her head were two delicate and inconspicuous ribbons, which suited her quite nicely.

She was wearing the female uniform of the Sabers. It was a black shirt paired with a tight-fitting mini-skirt and a simple suit. Under the suit, her white blouse stuck out at the chest region. As it turns out, her ample bosom was quite noticeable.

A strong willpower could be felt in her green eyes, neat appearance, and her well-proportioned stature. It would be fitting to say that Manaka was a splendid beauty.

However, if you were to judge her based on her appearance it could end up to be quite catastrophic.

Among the Swordies, there exists the Seven Swords who were deemed to be the strongest sword users.

Headed by the Sword Saint, the titles of the other members were the Sword Emperor, Kingsbrand, Dragonblade, Sword General, Sword of Heaven, and Absolute Blade. The Swordies possessed these seven individuals.

Manaka was the director of the Sabers as well as the one who held the title of the Sword General out of the Seven Swords.

The overwhelming combat strength of the Seven Swords was capable of matching an entire army. In fact, the activity displayed by the Seven Swords during the Great War was incomparable. Even until now with the Seven Swords symbolizing the Swordie race, they were also authoritative figures reigning over all swordsmen.

"That said, there wasn't really anything that needed reporting early in the morning besides that tsujigiri<ref> Tsujigiri (辻斬り): is a Japanese term for a practice when a samurai, after receiving a new katana sword or developing a new fighting style or weapon, tests its effectiveness by attacking a human opponent, usually a random defenseless passer-by, in many cases during nighttime.</ref> incident from before in the Outer Human Region."

"Yeah, I heard the rumors. It appears five or six people were already murdered."

Those murdered from the tsujigiri incident were all humans, therefore the criminal was most likely a Swordie. The Sabers had to take care of this incident, which was classified under terrorist activities. From the looks of it, they have already dispatched many female members who were highly skilled in using a sword.

"Yes, that's exactly the incident's report. However, the full story still isn't clear to me————well that seems to be it. It's really troublesome to have made no progress in the middle of a case."

Manaka stated as such. She leaned her entire body against the back of a chair and remained silent.

"......Ummm Director, was there something you needed me to do?"

Kurou reluctantly spoke. To have called over someone specifically and then not say a word, this would be quite troubling to any recipient.

"You don't need to speak in such a reserved manner. It's quite displeasing."

"Even if you say so, you are still my superior."

"No need to worry. To me, you are just the disciple of my older sister."

"......"

Kurou's master was the Sword Saint and the Sword General was her younger sister.

In other words, the sisters ascended to the pinnacle of swordsmanship. Even though they were among Swordies, it was an exceedingly rare occurrence to see such an extraordinary sister pair.

"Kurou-kun, how's the job treating you? Have you already gotten the hang of things around here?"

"Just barely. It's still the same as before, just me working individually."

Kurou nonchalantly stated.

Just a moment ago, the female member's attitude exemplified Kurou's position within the Sabers.

What should be constituted as a Swordie-only public security force had a foreigner mixed in. Clearly a human, they felt awkward battling alongside someone like him, plus they were highly pretentious.

It wouldn't be wrong for Kurou to assume that all Sabers members were like this.

"Other than during a mission, no one will even talk to me except Lars."

"Well, Lars is the same. He would be perceived as unusual within this organization as well."

Manaka wryly smiled and shrugged.

"Even though it has been over a year, you still feel the same. Well, there are many Swordies with big egos around here."

Aren't you one of those Swordies too? Kurou snarkily thought to himself.

However, Manaka was also a pretty bizarre individual among the Swordies. She would have an indifferent expression in regards to her delicate position when dealing with Kurou. It was mainly due to her informal attitude, not just because she was his master's sister.

"That said, it's been a year......starting from when my sister left here, a year has already passed."

"......"

Sword Saint Hyouka————her whereabouts became unknown a year ago.

Manaka became Kurou's new guardian after the Sword Saint left. Although he was within Swordie society, a minor still needed a guardian.

Except, Kurou never easily accepted having another person being his guardian. He decided to join the Sabers with Manaka for the sake of earning money to buy food.

No matter how capable a person was, there would be many obstacles for a human entering a Swordie organization. Because the Sabers was a young organization, there was enough flexibility to let Kurou enter the team. Of course, Manaka's mediation played a huge role as well.

"Well, regardless of what's going on with my sister, if it's her, she wouldn't lose her life to any accidents or things of that nature. Aside from that, let's get right to the main issue at hand."

"There's an issue?"

Kurou had just begun to think Manaka had called him over just to converse.

"Ah right, does it have anything to do with the girl from yesterday's situation?"

"Girl? What are you talking about?"

"......You should read the report once more. Although it's a hassle, I clearly documented it in there."

Yesterday night, a peculiar girl appeared from the sun cult's van.

After that, she was handed off to the other Sabers members that came over. Once the criminal ringleader was handed over as well, there was probably going to be a not so pleasant interrogation session awaiting her after she received treatment. However, the Sabers probably wouldn't do anything rash towards a defenseless girl.

"There was no way I was going to read the report that was just submitted yesterday. It's not my duty. Furthermore, I'm speaking to you as your guardian rather than as your superior. In other words, it's about your Dagger."

"The Dagger!"

The so-called Dagger was another name for a Swordie's ID. On the hilt, a special household emblem would be engraved on it. Until a Swordie was ready to assume personal responsibility, the Dagger would be entrusted to a guardian for the time being.

Out of Tokyo Swordia's ten million population, Swordies only make up ten percent of it. Although there was a degree of discrepancy among the Swordies, anyone could attain "nobility". This meant an increase in various privileges with respect to status and property. The Dagger symbolized this privileged social class.

"Kurou-kun is a Sabers member who records these incidents. Moreover, you possess the mark of being the Sword Saint's successor, something no one could have ever imagined. I would think the prerequisites for receiving the Dagger are more than fulfilled......"

"Is there still a problem then?"

Despite being a human, there was still the possibility of him obtaining a Swordie ID. Many decide to pay the huge sum of money to those who oversee the handling of Daggers at the Emblem Management Institution, however there were exceptions.

Kurou, who displayed his mastery in swordsmanship and submitted an ID application form, was currently one of the exceptions.

"After all Kurou-kun, you haven't even received any formal compulsory education. For you to have received the basic rights of a city resident is already quite the accomplishment."

"......I suppose so."

It was pretty much a given that his master Hyouka's abilities in swordsmanship carried safeguards. Even within the Sword Saint's history, she was particularly outstanding.

However, her temperament was a bit of an issue. "Speaking of practice, we should live in seclusion deep in the mountains", she harbored these types of outdated methods. Just like that, she took her pupil away from the village and into the mountains to train. During that time, Kurou couldn't attend primary school or middle school.

"I understand where you're coming from......ultimately, this is the course of action they want me to take."

"The Emblem Management Institution's verdict was very simple. They just want you to attain a Swordie's education."

"What!?"

"Today is April 25th. Even though the new school year has already begun, it should be no problem for the institution to turn a blind eye towards something of this magnitude. Starting today you'll be enrolled in a Swordie academy to attain your diploma."

"......!"

"Well, that's all I have to say. Good luck!"

Looks like there won't be any room for rebuttals.

However, Kurou had always aspired to attain his Dagger.

The nation was under Swordie control, that was the reality.

If he were to continue living here, Kurou would want to live a comfortable lifestyle.

Because of this, he decided to resume life among the Swordies.

The Sword Academy————

Although it was an academy for Swordie children, it had received much praise as a higher education institution by prestigious individuals.

Despite humans and Swordies being segregated into separate schools, the difference in their education system was quite minimal.

The Sword Academy was the equivalent of a high school in human society.

However, only those who were highly adaptable with a sword could enroll in the academy since there was more to the school than just academics.

For the sake of honing their swordsmanship, an optimal environment was created. This environment was known as the Sword Academy.

The academy was situated in the northwest section of Tokyo Swordia's Specialized Central Region, near the border to the Outer Human Region. There was a forest and numerous parks and such nearby. Plus, it was an extremely tranquil location.

The students were walking along the road to school quietly as they headed towards the school gates.

"Haa......"

Kurou sighed deeply as he arrived at the school gates.

Today he was not wearing his intimidating Sabers long coat, instead he was wearing a school uniform.

He wore a red tie at the collar of his beige suit.

Along with that, he also carried a heavy backpack filled with textbooks.

The tie hung all the way down to his waist and he also kept the scabbard to his sword suspended from his belt. However, there were no other students who carried a katana on them.

On the second day when Manaka called him over to headquarters, Kurou woke up early in the morning and hurriedly made his way to school.

Ever since yesterday, the days of fighting off terrorists were long gone. Now he was just a student. Although it was for obtaining his Dagger, to the working civilian, it did feel like a step backwards.

It was quite beyond expectations to be forced to enroll in the prestigious Sword Academy for his studies.

Even though Kurou felt he was being made a fool of by the people around him, there was no escape.

“Come on Kurou, put away that gloomy expression. Let’s get a move on.”

“......Jeez.”

Kurou couldn’t help but direct his focus onto Lars who patted him on the shoulders.

He was also the same, wearing the same Sword Academy uniform as Kurou. What was he thinking enrolling into the academy as well.

However, both of them were teenagers who would turn sixteen this year. It could be said that compared to getting in street fights every night, it would be more ordinary to go to school.

“The Sabers work wasn’t so bad, but for it to be filled with so much killing is really quite a bummer————, if we’re here, at least there are plenty of girls. You must actively look towards the future Kurou.”

The Sword Academy was the Swordies' highest educational system standard. There were many outstanding fledgling swordswomen. A female becoming a swordswoman would of course be more outstanding so the student body was practically all girls. Despite there being a small population of guys studying there, they haven’t seen a trace of their existence yet.

“You’re right......we should monopolize all the girls.”

“You’re getting way too ahead of yourself!”

Lars habitually replied with a snark remark towards Kurou’s statement which completely revealed his desires. However, this portion of the conversation was clearly heard by the girls passing by.

The girls whispered amongst each other while coldly eyeing Kurou and Lars as they walked past them.

“Kurou, looks like we’re not really welcomed here.”

“That’s always been the case for me.”

Kurou referred to himself in this manner. It was true though, it has always been like this for him. Because of that, there was no point in minding such matters.

Moreover, it was just as Lars said, it probably felt pretty exciting to be in an environment filled with cute girls.

A commonly passed around rumor in Tokyo Swordia was that the female students of the Sword Academy were all beautiful individuals. Although Kurou had never put in any effort to confirm this, it would seem the rumor was true.

The uniforms for the girls were the same as the guys in terms of the suit and tie. There was a discrepancy between grades though. The ties were split into three colors, red, green, and blue.

There were also some people who chose to wear a belt. However, since their swords were all kept away, none of the students carried a sword on them. It seems that even though it was a prestigious sword academy, most of the times the students would avoid carrying their sword within the school.

Kurou had visited other Swordie schools before. Seeing these otherworldly girls wear a tie to school was quite intriguing.

It was said that the other world where Swordies lived resembled medieval Europe.

The people would live in wood constructed houses and wear clothes made out of silk and linen. Their diet was comprised of bread and soup and their means of transportation consisted of walking and horseback riding. Those in the upper class would ride in carriages.

Compared to earth, this kind of civilization lagged way behind.

However, after the Great War and gaining control of Japan, the Swordies adapted to and absorbed the cultures of earth at an alarming pace. In a sense, there was no moral integrity in the way they handled things.

The Swordies now live in reinforced concrete houses and wear clothes woven from chemical fibres. Whether it was Western food, Chinese food, or sushi, they would eat it all. Of course, they now drive cars, fly planes, and shop at convenience stores as well.

The girls at the Sword Academy wore beautiful ties. Their fair, succulent thighs were moderately exposed from the miniskirt.

Ignoring the rights or wrongs of the drastic cultural changes to the Swordies for now, to Kurou, he had no reason to shun Swordie girls.

“Alright Kurou, stop gazing and let’s go. There will be countless girls for you to gaze at in the future.”

“Alright.”

Kurou nodded and walked through the school gates alongside Lars.

At the same time he offered a prayer in hopes that there will be much exhilaration awaiting him.

The classroom was silent.

“My name is Kurou. Although I transferred into this class at an odd time, please take good care of me.”

In front of the blackboard, Kurou did his best to maintain a smile as he greeted the other students.

“......”

There was no response. All the students within the classroom remained quiet.

Kurou was not disheartened either. He sustained his smile and proceeded towards the designated seat the teacher assigned.

How troublesome, Kurou was seated in the middle of the classroom.

There were only girls around him. Furthermore, all the girls within his line of sight did not wish to even look in his direction. Rather, it felt as if the surrounding area was saturated with a subtle sense of tension.

Judging from the looks of it, everyone held a firm resolve to ignore Kurou.

Class immediately started as soon as the extracurricular activities ended.

The first period was mathematics. Even though Kurou had not gone to school before, he had at least learned basic math skills and such from his master. Despite this, he lacked confidence in himself when it came to understanding any mathematics related topics.

With this kind of tense environment, how could anyone even consider going to class.

“Haa——......”

In order to prevent anyone from hearing him sigh, he suddenly turned towards his side. Sitting alongside the window was the other male student, Lars.

Lars introduced himself in front of Kurou and the others. He did not receive any reactions either but he completely brushed that matter aside. Even right now he maintained that apathetic expression of his during this tense atmosphere as he looked out the window.

There was nothing Kurou could do about it. He could only try to bear through this sort of abnormal atmosphere.

Kurou understood that within the Sword Academy, which was comprised of many capable swordswomen, the other students would definitely not be receptive to the idea of a human being weaved in. That was because they already find Swordie men to be intolerable, yet Kurou was actually a notch lower than that————a human.

However, Kurou was already used to this type of response. He had been treated similarly while he was with the Sabers. That was why he showed hardly any interest for this current predicament.

With that said......

“Ah.”

The girl sitting in front of him dropped her eraser and the eraser bounced towards Kurou’s seat.

“Hey, you dropped your————”

The moment Kurou was about to bend over to pick up the eraser, the girl sitting in front of him moved at a blinding speed. After she swiftly picked up her eraser, she returned her attention to the blackboard as if nothing happened.

“......”

Typical of Swordie girls————from the moment she took action to her expressionless demeanor, it was all done with breakneck speed.

Although Kurou was quite accepting of things up until now, he did feel a bit crestfallen.

To be openly rejected by girls of the same age clearly vexed him a great deal.

Moreover, the Sabers female members were practically all older than Kurou. Since he held little interest in older women, he was callous towards being ignored by them.

However, his interest spiked when it came to girls around his age. Plus, the girls in his class were all beauties. If possible, he wished to improve relations with them.

In spite of that, seeing the attitude the girl sitting in front of him had, he knew his chances of improving relations were slim.

Kurou once again heaved a sigh as he pondered.

At the very least, he felt that living a type of school life where he would not be shunned was pretty much out of the question.

“Haa~Haa”

Kurou had already lost count of how many times he sighed today.

Currently it was period three, sword class, during the first day of his transfer.

During the morning, the extracurricular activities along with period one mathematics and period two language class all came to a stagnant end. At the end of it all, Kurou became thoroughly isolated by the girls around him.

The Swordie students wouldn’t even look him in the eye, even the teachers would only engage in formal conversations with him the entire time. Of course, the teachers were all Swordies.

All the girls would evade him as he walked along the hallways. Regardless of where he was, he always heard derisive words being spoken behind his back.

Apparently there was a large barrier between Swordies and humans.

“Oh my god.”

As for his options, he could do nothing besides bemoan to himself as such. Since the class did not involve lectures, he figured there might be a change of pace during sword training. However, nothing exciting really came to fruition.

Sword training took place in a special classroom that differed from a gymnasium.

The girls wore an ordinary yet easily maneuverable attire that consisted of a t-shirt along with tight purple ballet pants while the guys wore t-shirts and shorts.

“However, the equipment we use is surprisingly rough.”

Kurou calmly waved the wooden blade around.

Sword training utilized wooden blades instead of the safer bamboo blades. It was known as a wooden sword to the Swordies.

A Swordie’s physique wasn’t as hard as iron but their light reinforced bodies practically received no damage from bamboo swords. It seemed that wooden swords were incapable of delivering a fatal wound to them as well.

As a result, the students would use wooden swords in class......

“I really wish they would step in the shoes of a human and rethink this. If I were to be struck by a heavy blow with a wooden sword I’d be dead.”

“Well, isn’t this for the sake of your goals? You can probably just endure that kind of thing for now.”

Lars, who had his wooden sword rested on his shoulders, laughed as he spoke. He was unlike Kurou. Being a Swordie, he probably would not die from an attack by a wooden sword. Because of that, he appeared to be completely carefree.

“However, having this number of people wielding swords at once is really quite a sight.”

Lars commented while looking at his surroundings.

Sword training comprised of two conjoined classes with about sixty students in total. The teacher who was instructing everyone only occasionally stepped in. This training appeared to be just letting the students find their own mistakes while at the same time honing their own techniques. Besides Kurou and Lars, the other students found suitable sparring partners as they engaged in practice.

There was no one who feared practicing with a wooden sword. Every student gradually became well-versed in swordsmanship. This was quite understandable considering how outstanding the students who gathered at this school were.

“Hey, that kid doesn’t seem to have a sparring partner.”

“......!”

He searched left and right amongst the girls walking by. As soon as the girl realizes the person she was about to greet was Kurou, she would definitely make a lightning fast escape.

“......That’s quite hurtful of you. That being said, do you think I’d be easily thrashed by her?”

“I’m not quite sure myself. However, your situation seems to have been spread around the school.”

“What are you talking about? Where did you hear this news?”

Kurou sharply glared at Lars. Lars was always like this, doing this kind of stuff behind his back.

“From an active Sabers member. That’s all that needs to be said right? However, these overconfident Swordie girls would probably hesitate as well if they knew you were the Sword Saint’s pupil......”

“So you’re saying there’s no way they’d underestimate me.”

Kurou directed his vision towards the Sword Saint’s successor marking carved onto his bracelet.

Well, that was to be expected. Although he was a student, a human would just be seen as a weak existence in the eyes of the other students. However, if he was the Sword Saint’s disciple, then it would be uncertain as to what his strength would be. Even if he were to lose, there would be nothing shameful about that.

“Even if you have no partners, as long as you come to class you will certainly find one eventually. Furthermore, the top five ranked first year students have the same Swordsman title as us. As for the upperclassmen, there seems to be a Sword Princess. Additionally, there appears to be classes where we combine with the upperclassmen. Perhaps we may get a chance to battle against the Sword Princess.”

“The Sword Princess......”

As soon as a Swordie could assume responsibility in taking care of certain things, they would be able to attain the title of Swordsman. This was on record and was a qualification acknowledged by the country. It was pretty much all given at the discretion of the school teachers or mentors. There were many who attained the title by the age of 18. As long as you were a Swordie, this title was pretty much a given. With just the swordsman qualification, you could enlist in the army, become part of the Sabers, or qualify for any position that required wielding a sword.

The rank above a Swordsman was a Sword Princess. Only one out of ten thousand people could attain this title. They were guaranteed to be powerful. If it were one of them, perhaps the Sword Saint’s disciple would not instill any fear at all.

“That’s right, it’d be pretty interesting if we could battle someone with the rank of Sword Princess!”

“I apologize for not being a Sword Princess, but if you’d be willing, I would like to be your opponent.”

The class hushed down immediately.

A girl who wasn’t in Kurou’s classroom walked straight towards him. It must have been someone from a nearby class.

Her long and glamorous blonde hair was tied towards the left of her head, resembling what was known as a ponytail. Her facial features were extremely well-kept and those substantial eyes of hers exuded a fearsome willpower. The color of her eyes was sort of a blend between blue and emerald green————which formed a very lovely halcyon green hue.

This unimaginably cute and slender beauty was practically fairy-like.

The swells on her chest were enormous and their shape was quite satisfactory. She was snappily thin at the waist. Those legs of hers that were encased by those tight ballet pants were extremely soft, also her feet seemed pretty tiny......

“Alright, very nice.”

“What are you talking about?”

Towards Kurou thinking aloud to himself, the blonde girl sharply snapped back.

The girl’s speech patterns possessed boy-like qualities.

“Ah, it’s nothing. You want to be my opponent? In that case————

“P-Please hold a sec Sefi-sama.”

Between the girl known as Sefi and Kurou, another girl came between them.

With an audaciously short haircut that practically left her forehead exposed, she was a truly vivacious girl.

“To think Sefi-sama would actually consider this thing as her opponent! This guy is a male human you know!”

“Referring to me as “this thing” is really disrespectful! I even feel like I’d turn into a coddling father!”

“As if I would care over such a thing!”

Kurou’s rebuttal was instantly shot down by her one line.

“Y-Yeah that’s right, no good will come out of this if your opponent is him......”

Another girl came forward and spoke with a weak voice. For Swordies, it was uncommon to see them wearing glasses like she was, plus she also kept her hair free flowing. However, this girl seemed to be a very well-behaved person.

“Let me take care of my own business. The two of you are to stay back.”

“B-But Sefi-sama......for the princess of the four generals and a human......”

“Quit your squabbling Neena. I won’t forgive anyone who interferes, even if it’s you.”

Once she had reached this point, the one known as Neena finally backed off. At the same time, the girl with the short hair also parted a step back.

The so-called four generals referred to the four that commanded the Swordie army back during the Great War as well as their descendants.

These people became the ones with the most power within the Swordie government. Their positions only alternated with hereditary supercedings.

To sum it all up————Sefi, who was known as the princess of the four generals, could be considered as the one closest to the nation’s highest status. Although she was only a student, her position did not allow her to play around with humans.

“I believe you said your name was Kurou. For now, I’m a Swordsman just like you. Perhaps it may be inadequate, but would you accept my battle invitation?”

“I’d be honored Princess-sama.”

Kurou smiled as he nodded.

He placed his wooden sword in an upright position as he faced Sefi.

Sefi did the same and centered her sword upright as she attentively gazed at Kurou’s eyes.

As soon as their sights were locked on to each other————

Sefi suddenly made the first move. Without any hesitation, she ferociously charged in.

During a Swordie competition, there did not exist a starting signal such as “ready, set, go”. As soon as both felt the other was prepared, the competition would start right away. Before then, neither side would make a surprise attack.

Sefi swung her wooden sword straight down from above her head. Woosh, the sound of ruffled winds could be heard. The wooden sword winded forth with enormous momentum. Kurou only slightly stepped aside to avoid Sefi’s threatening first strike. That strike appeared to have enough power to blow someone away with just the ensuing wind pressure.

Sefi once again slightly readjusted the hilt of the sword, this time for a horizontal slice. Even this maneuver was dodged by Kurou as he leaned back. A fierce gale violently blew towards Kurou, kicking his hair up.

“Tch......!”

A click of the tongue came from the girl’s cute lips.

Sefi’s sword once again whizzed by. Faced with this diagonal attack to his right, Kurou evaded with dance-esque movements. Afterwards, he readjusted his sword upright as if nothing happened.

"You're very capable Princess-sama."

"Are you taunting me?"

Sefi ruthlessly glanced over. Even that menacing expression was captivatingly cute. It was said that Swordie women were at the peak of their beauty during combat. The situation right now made that saying quite understandable.

"......!"

Confronted with another one of Sefi's attacks, Kurou once again dodged it.

There was already no leeway to be leisurely admiring her. Although he could maneuver around the lithe wooden sword like he had learned from practice, if a Swordie's force happened to impact him in the head for example, his skull would probably be shattered.

"How scary."

Kurou slightly grinned.

The sound of whispering by the other students around them could be heard.

"What do you think will happen?" "Sefi-sama is really giving it her all......" "That person would never take it easy on anyone." "Is that guy really a human?"

How frightening, Sefi’s abilities must be among the highest here yet she was unable to score a direct hit on a diminutive human. The students being at a loss for words was to be expected.

“......Hey, why aren’t you attacking?”

Sefi muttered her obvious suspicion.

“I’m not looking down on you. As for my methods————I don’t think I’m required to say.”

Kurou had positioned both his hands on the wooden sword before, but now he only had his right hand hold on to it.

Using an unhurried pace, he shifted around as he closed in on Sefi.

“......!”

Sefi shuffled back as if she was a little kid startled by the bark of a dog.

Regardless of that, once Kurou was at the appropriate distance, he firmly gripped the wooden sword and swung downwards. The people around him could clearly see the path of the sword.

However————

“Guah!”

Sefi’s wooden sword met Kurou’s on impact————snap, the portion of the wooden sword that came apart fell on the ground following that snapping sound.

“......I guess that’s it. Thank you for your time Princess-sama.”

“Wait, please wait a sec!”

Kurou did not respond to Sefi’s holler. He turned around and marched off.

In front of him, Lars folded his arms and silently smiled. He saw through the whole thing.

“Princess-sama.”

“W-What?”

Kurou suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around.

Sefi was still holding on to the broken wooden sword, but for some reason her face was completely flushed red.

“Please battle with me again next time. No one else is willing to battle me.”

“......I don't want to.”

Sefi suddenly turned around. Her attitude was different compared to her threatening demeanor from before. This time she displayed a rather cute expression.

From the looks of things, regardless if she was the princess of the four generals or a wielder of a sword, she was still just a fifteen or sixteen year-old girl.

Kurou once again smiled as he walked off.

Within the showers, the sound of running water could be heard.

The scalding water ran down Sefi’s fair skin.

This was one of the girls dormitories within the Sword Academy. All of the dorms within the Sword Academy’s grounds were outfitted with showers, bathrooms, and even kitchens.

At the end of every day, Sefi would take a shower within the immaculate shower room. She seemed to enjoy the temperature of the burning hot water greatly.

However, despite taking a hot shower at the moment, she was not in the least jubilant. She was really down in the dumps right now.

“......”

As the warm water trickled down Sefi’s head, she tightly bit her lips.

Everyone must have noticed————

Sefi recalled today’s sword training.

“There’s nothing you can do about the wooden swords breaking occasionally”, her friends responded in this fashion.

However, despite everyone being a student, she was one of the select Swordie girls. There was no way she could have miscomprehended the situation.

The break in Sefi’s wooden sword was definitely not by chance. It was purposefully fractured by that transfer student named Kurou.

But that wasn’t all.

Sefi gave it her all in each of her sword maneuvers. The way she wielded her sword could have even killed Kurou. However, he completely dodged her moves with little difficulty————furthermore, she spared no effort in using her wooden sword to defend against a human’s exceedingly torpid attack.

There was no doubt that the surrounding spectators viewed it like this.

Can’t I win against him, it looks like————

Sefi clenched her first. She wanted to forcefully punch the wall within the shower room......but she stopped herself right there.

Even if she destroyed the wall, the facts would still stay the same.

The fact that she had already lost.

“Haha, really now.”

Sefi turned off the running water and walked out of the shower. Her long blonde hair swayed as she moved.

She boorishly wiped her hair and body with a towel and after putting on her white colored panties, she walked out of the shower room.

Despite the beads of water dripping onto the ground, Sefi did not mind in the least bit. She hurriedly marched off with just a towel wrapped around her shoulders. Due to her wealthy background, she would have servants waiting upon her at home. As a result, she wasn’t too concerned with what she did.

Oh right, I guess I should do that.

Sefi suddenly recalled something.

Sefi had a routine of reading books for an hour before she went to sleep every day. Today should be no different. If there was the leisure time for it, her mood will most certainly improve. It would be best to go to sleep with a better state of mind.

With that said, time to make the preparations————

“Eh......?”

After opening the door at the end of the hallway and entering the living room————Sefi became speechless.

“Oh......Eh?”

“W-W-W-W-W-Wh......Why are you......”

Kurou, who was sitting on the living room couch nonchalantly, caught sight of Sefi.
[[File:Kenshin v01 002.jpg|thumbnail|right|400px]]
His mouth was wide open and his eyes were locked in a stare. He seemed to be completely in shock.

As Sefi was rendered speechless, her eyes flickered as she gazed at Kurou————suddenly, she realized the current state of her body.

Other than the towel wrapped around her shoulders and her panties, she wasn’t wearing anything else. Her naked appearance was completely exposed right in front of a boy————

“Kya————”

She wanted to lament but Sefi tried her best to endure this. She was absolutely prohibited from screaming at this time of day.

Sefi used her two hands to cover her body as she glared at the completely rigid Kurou.

“P-Please turn away! Can’t you at least do that Rou!”

After Sefi walked out of the living room to change into her clothes in another room, she immediately came back.

This girl’s dorm was pretty much like a high-scale apartment with additional rooms in it. It was very luxurious.

Sefi took a seat next to Kurou on the couch.

“Well Rou, what are you doing?”

“Trying to sneak into a girl’s dorm!”

“Don’t be so arrogant you pervert!”

Sefi glared at Kurou with an indignant expression. Kurou on the other hand merely spoke honestly knowing that whatever he was going to say couldn’t distort the truth.

“Haa......jeez, someone like you ought to……”

Sefi heavily sighed.

Her hair was tied into a ponytail. She wore a light pink sweater along with a black miniskirt.

“Why weren’t you in your sleepwear? Then you wouldn’t be all exposed.”

“I don’t have anything of the sort. Even if I did, I wouldn’t wear it in front of outsiders!”

It was quite regrettable. Who would have thought that after taking a shower, someone would change back into daily attire and have people expect this sort of development.

“After seeing me like that......you still wish to humiliate me!?”

“Wasn’t it Princess-sama who provided me with this fanservice without my permission when I came here by chance?"

“It wasn’t by chance! You clearly went overboard and snuck in, yet you’re still saying things like that! Furthermore, please don’t call me ‘Princess-sama.’”

“......Understood, Sefi.”

Kurou smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

After glaring at Kurou for a bit————Sefi chuckled.

“How many years has it been......the last time we met was two years ago right?”

“It was 1 year, 311 days ago.”

“That’s way too accurately remembered! How despicable!”

Kurou thought to himself, “With that said, Sefi isn’t the type to joke around with.”

“You’re always messing with people......you were like this in the past as well.”

“No, I’d say this aspect has taken a turn for the worse.”

“Up to no good as usual!”

What Sefi had said was accurate.

Despite being the princess of the four generals, she was also a prestigious swordswoman————in fact, she was Kurou’s friend from quite some time ago as well.

Ever since Kurou was a child, he would follow the Sword Saint deep into the mountains for days upon days of training. At times there would be guests visiting and Sefi was one of them.

More accurately, the one who had business with the Sword Saint was actually her sister. Sefi’s sister, Silfi, was a friend of the Sword Saint and Sefi would follow her sister into the mountains in order to battle against Kurou.

Although there would only be a few encounters between them each year, Kurou and Sefi could be described as childhood friends. She probably felt the same way as well.

People would address the princess by honorific only. However, Kurou felt that their relationship was quite close considering she would call him by a pet name.

Even though someone had snuck into her room and despite being seen completely naked, she didn’t alert anyone. From this vantage, the friendship between him and Sefi was clearly visible. A friendship that hasn’t withered away even with the two year separation.

Of course, the two of them pretended not to know each other during class, but this was because they took each others’ standing into consideration.

“Ha, I have so many things I want to say. However, you are really quite capable to be able to sneak in here. Tentatively, this dorm has security installations.”

“I came in properly through the entrance as well as came into this room through the door. However, things like security cameras and locks don’t really count as safety features to me. Sneaking into a dorm filled with fledgling Swordie swordswomen isn’t really that hard.”

“That’s because you came to my place......other than swordsmanship, you still have this despicable skill.”

Confronted with Sefi, who was at wit’s end, Kurou only lightly chuckled and then stayed silent.

Sneaking into buildings was something taught to him while he was with the Sabers. Because that wasn’t an ability to be proud of, Kurou wished to put an end to this topic.

“Anyways, why did you come to our school Rou————”

“Umm.”

As Sefi underwent a change of mood when she asked, Kurou’s tummy growled.

“Ah hehe, it’s because I needed to test my intrusion plan. That’s why I haven’t eaten anything today.”

“......You’re really a handful. What am I supposed to do with you.”

With a hopeless expression, Sefi shook her head. Ever since just a moment ago, she had maintained a despairing look.

“Oh yeah, now is the perfect time to do that.”

“That?”

“Yup, doing this for just one person isn’t really feasible but if it’s Rou then it’d be perfect. After sneaking inside a girl’s room, you don’t really have the right to complain."

“H-Ha......”

That, what was she referring to?

While Kurou was distressing over this, there was nothing he could do against Sefi inching her face closer to him, perhaps due to his fear.

“Ah Sefi......surely it isn’t, who would have thought you could do this kind of thing.”

Kurou sighed.

Although it was said that girls could undergo drastic changes within a short time frame, who would have known that Sefi had reached techniques of this magnitude.

“Oh it’s nothing really, but I suppose it isn’t too shabby right? Oh, what’s with that gratified expression of yours......”

Sefi revealed a flirtatious smile.

Even though that typical stern expression of hers was quite nice, the expression just now really suited Sefi. Normally, there would definitely be somewhat of a childish complexion on her but right now she possessed the look of a mature adult. Women were really quite intimidating because of this.

“But you’re really capable......Sefi. For it to be this tasty, it really is quite unbelieveable.”

“Oh really, the ingredients are of the highest quality.”

“Haha, highest quality eh.”

Kurou smiled as he stuffed two onigiris into his mouth.

There was a table by the couch where the two were sitting. On top of it were some onigiris, a full bowl of minced meat soup made out of pork and vegetables, soft and sweet scrambled eggs, as well as cold vegetables topped with dressing.

These were all prepared by Sefi. Ever since she was young, she had always shown interest in cooking. Kurou couldn’t even keep count of how many times she would treat him to her cooking. Compared to two years ago, her technique had improved substantially.

“However, I’d be screwed if people here found out that I was cooking. People associated with the four generals shouldn’t be cooking and such. This is supposedly a servant’s task————getting taught in these matters was particularly troublesome. In my old house, although I would secretly discuss cooking topics with the maids I had good relations with, we would never touch upon actual cooking. Rather, we would use “that” as a secret signal for substituting out words.”

So this secret signal really did have some sort of profound meaning behind it. Kurou snarked to himself.

“Hmm? In that case, you didn’t bring any servants with you? If it’s just one person living within a dorm, you should be permitted to bring servants right?”

The children of many prestigious households were within the Sword Academy. As a result, there was this rule in place.

The people who worked the kitchens here were most likely servants brought along from the student’s household.

“It’d be much more peaceful if I stayed here by myself. I’d only have the household maids bring over some ingredients since I can’t even go out to buy that kind of stuff.”

“What a troublesome life.”

The life of the princess of the four generals seems to be filled with hardship.

“Well, there’s nothing I can do about this. You can’t change a person’s background no matter what you do. With that said, what about you Kurou? Let me hear about the details of your circumstance.”

“I have already mentioned it before though.”

Kurou gulped down some of the minced meat soup.

When Sefi was preparing her dishes, Kurou practically recounted the entire process of enrolling into the Sword Academy. However, beyond that he didn’t give much of an explanation for it.

“During this two year period I haven’t heard anything about you. Although I do know that the Sword Saint’s whereabouts became unknown......you holding up ok?”

“It’s been fine for the most part. Even though master was a strange person, she is very famous. To have accepted a human as a disciple and along with her disappearance, no one should be too surprised.”

“Ah, I see......”

“I don’t have a problem with it either. The training was pretty much over anyways.”

Kuro gently rubbed the bracelet under the cuff of his uniform. Since the continual training, he had received the mark of a successor after being confirmed as one of the candidates to be the next Sword Saint.

“However, is that fine with you? As long as Kurou still has the successor’s mark, there probably aren’t many people who can take responsibility for you.”

“To become one of the symbolic Seven Swords of the Swordies, and having the most powerful throne being passed down to a human? Most of those with power would find it inconceivable. If only I could carefully request my master once she comes back to remove the successor’s mark.”

“Does Rou feel as if this is the best solution?”

“There’s nothing good or bad about it.”

Kurou revealed an anguished smile.

“My hope is to receive my Dagger after graduation and work for the Sabers or some place like that. Then I want to construct my own house and settle down with a family. That’s all there is to it.”

“.......Kurou, you haven’t changed one bit. Always so down-to-earth.”

Sefi revealed an unspeakably subtle expression.

She understood Kurou didn’t have any wild ambitions. She also knew he wasn’t really obsessed with swords. Although that wasn’t really a positive thing in her opinion......

“However, I can’t say for sure that is my path either.”

“......”

Once again, Sefi clearly revealed a dejected expression.

The so-called princess of the four generals was Tokyo Swordia’s highest position, which belonged to Sefi.

Despite being a human, Kurou decided to live among the Swordies.

Therefore the two of them being depressed was sort of understandable. However, at least Sefi had a decent amount of freedom and she seemed to feel guilty about this.

“I’m sorry Sefi.”

“Eh?”

Sefi was surprised at what Kurou said.

“I shouldn’t be going easy during sword training anymore. However, I can’t really say I was just playing around but perhaps there was the intention to mess around for a bit at the time. It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten the chance to fight against Sefi, I almost didn’t want it to end. No wait, this description doesn’t quite suit it either......”

“......You——idiot, I know I can’t win against Kurou. We battled together countless times before, I already knew there was no way to catch up to you during that two year gap.”

Sefi was very strong, but she was also quite straightforward.

Although she wasn’t willing to admit defeat, she did possess an objective reasoning in understanding the truth. Regardless of it being from a swordsman or a normal person, this was a positive quality to have. Kurou really liked this about her.

“Could it be that you came here just to talk about this? Even after you teased me like that, you still wish to disgrace me......”

“Based on your attitude, you must be extremely angry right?”

“Of course. In my mind, I’ve already killed Kurou ten times.”

“At the very least control that number.”

“However, the wooden sword broke because I was weaker than Rou. I’m angry mostly at myself having easily lost like that.”

Sefi tightly clenched her fist.

Seeing her like this, Kurou suddenly got in front of her.

When Kurou and Sefi first met, they were only ten years-old. By that time Kurou had already been training with the Sword Saint for four years.

If it was a Swordie girl of the same age, there was no way he would lose. Due to the Sword Saint’s nightmarish training, he had already attained such finesse.

Every time Sefi lost to Kurou, she would clench her fists and pound the ground. Despite being just a kid, attacking the ground with the arm strength of a Swordie resulted in the ground caving in which led to Kurou shaking in fear. As a human, if he was hit with that kind of force then he would probably die with one hit.

Kurou would put his life at stake during training and the primary reason for that was probably because of Sefi.

“......What are you doing staring at me with such a stupid expression?”

“Ah, no......”

Kurou dubiously smiled and extended his hand towards Sefi————

“Sefi has grown up quite a bit.”

“......!?”
[[File:Kenshin v01 070.jpg|thumbnail|right]]
Sefi, whose breasts were suddenly groped by Kurou, trembled all over. Following that she scooted to the edge of the couch.

“W-What are you trying to do......!?”

“W-What’s going on......!?”

Due to the soft texture coming from within the sweater, Kurou could not help but feel astonished.

No way, this kind of thing was......

“Why would Rou be surprised!? What the heck are you trying to do to me!?”

“It’s just that it felt bigger than it looked......perhaps it’s because the way I touch them is different from before.”

“What in the world are you calmly analysing!?”

Sefi shouted as she used her hands to cover her chest.

“However, it appears that you are wearing something underneath your sweater. If you were to wear even less, that’d be much more exciting.”

“You’ve already felt a girl’s chest, yet you still complain!”

“Didn’t Sefi mention this before? ‘If there is a weakness then go all out fufufu.’”

“That’s something I said when I was young! There was no intention to have my body felt! And what’s with the “fufufu”, no way I would’ve said something like that.”

“No, you did say it before.”

“Eh, really?”

Sefi was dumbfounded.

Her tone actually felt quite languid. At times she would even speak in a frivolous manner but she would never notice it herself. Perhaps the latter might have influenced Kurou.

“Nevertheless, Sefi’s all grown up. Perhaps your figure will turn out to be quite splendid.”

“This conversation is quite obscene, please stop. Although, that means Kurou hasn’t matured yet......this kind of sexual harassment.....we aren’t at the age where we can just joke around like that anymore.”

“Yes I know.”

Kurou smiled as he nodded. He ate an onigiri, finished up the minced meat soup, and after he finished up the rest of the cooked dishes, he lifted Sefi’s skirt.

“Didn’t I just say this before? What are you trying to do now!?”

Kurou nimbly ran away from Sefi who stood up in anger. The glimpse of her white panties was now deeply ingrained in his mind.

“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s just that when I see Sefi I start boiling with lust.”

“Eh, um, so it’s like that. If that’s the case then I guess it can’t be helped......”

“......”

Quite an unexpected reaction.

Of course, Kurou had planned on joking around a bit but who would have thought that this would become a reason for forgiveness......it was probably because he showed admiration towards her charms by saying it excited him.

“Eh, hold on a sec! I had just told you to stop openly engaging in sexual harassment! That said, your insanity is already on another level!”

Sefi seems to have finally caught on to Kurou’s false reasoning. If that wasn’t the case then perhaps even Kurou would have felt there was a bit of wrongdoing.

“If it’s here then it doesn’t matter, just don’t do this type of thing outside. As the number three ranked student in swordsmanship, if my skirt were to be lifted in front of everyone then————”

“Haha, compared to your family history, Sefi is even more into swords.....eh, did you say number three?”

“Yup, but that’s just my placement during the entrance exam. There are still two students placed above me.”

“Ah.”

He had guessed that among the people he saw during sword training, none of them possessed swordsmanship that surpassed Sefi’s. Although two classes were conjoined, since there were only ten class groups for year one students they must have been in the other grades.

“However, for Sefi’s abilities to only be placed as third!”

“For the time being......”

Kurou tilted his head slightly.

Sefi’s tone of voice was a bit ambiguous as if she harbored some sort of grudge.

“What’s wrong? Was there some favoritism during the examination?”

“N-No it’s not like that. To lose means I was weak. Since next time there will be an elimination tournament for the school, I’ll avenge myself then.”

“Hoho, an elimination tournament?”

Having heard some explanations regarding the school activities from the schoolteachers, there seems to be multiple elimination tournaments held to determine the standings for the Sword Academy.

“So what you’re saying is I have to participate as well?”

“Of course. All of the students are forced to participate. Even though there is a test, a poor result in the elimination tournament will get you removed from school.”

This was probably Sefi warning him not to take it easy. Because Kurou only wanted to graduate, he wasn’t really too focused on earning a high grade.

“However, Rou will probably win. At the very least, I can’t beat you.”

“......”

Sefi displayed a subtle sign of dispiritedness.

“Even though you are just joking around, other than you, no other boy would be able to sexually harass me since I’d be able to snap their arms off before they could even touch me.”

“That sounds quite scary.”

“Humans seem to think that all Swordies can do is just put their strength behind wielding a sword, but that isn’t the case. The sword is a much finer piece of equipment.”

Sefi swiftly extended out her right hand.

“The enemy’s vision along with the minute quivering of their body, their breathing motion, and the sound of their joints, all of the five senses must be used to respond to the enemy and judge their movements. However, I can’t predict Rou’s movements. By the time I notice them, I’ve already been sexually harassed.”

“Very powerful words there.”

“There’s probably no other way to put it. For now, Rou can do whatever he wants since I can’t stop you. From lifting up my skirt to wielding that wooden sword against me, it’s almost as if you could do it in your sleep.”

“These are old-school techniques, haven’t you already seen them multiple times?”

“No matter how many times I see them, even after having you explain to me I still can’t prevent it from happening. It’s really quite unbelievable.”

Sefi did not seem to be reprimanding Kurou, nor was she unwilling.

She simply believed that Kurou was an inconceivable person.

“......No, there’s no point in even interrogating Rou in regards to this aspect. Oh well.”

Sefi wryly smiled as she shook her head.

“It would be really helpful if you could manage that. Well then, I should probably get going. Thanks for your hospitality, the taste was delicious.”

“Umm, Rou.”

Just as Kurou was about to step out of the window, he stopped.

“Be careful. There’s going to be a lot of trouble awaiting you in the future since there are maniacs encamped here who put their lives on the line wielding their swords. Even though you are prohibited from pulling out your sword within the school————everyone still carries their sword regardless.”

Other than sword training, there was no need to carry a sword within school. However, since there was also class practice with real swords, the students would leave their swords in their rooms or a cabinet within school. If a sword was required, it seems they would carry their swords on them.

“No matter what, in here you are considered an outsider Rou. Although no one would blindly attack you, within this blood boiling age group, there will be times where you’ll be rendered helpless in some situations if it’s just you by yourself regardless of how strong you are.”

“Well, I’ll keep that in mind.”

He already clearly understood that his own school completely rejected him. There were many who were spiteful towards him just because he was a human and thus it’s understandable that some of them might try to do something provocative.

“Then I guess I’ll have to try my best to protect my life during these three years. As compensation, I’ll have to take Sefi’s bra or panties......would that be alright......”

“No......”

“Is that so......”

Although they were childhood friends, there appear to be limits as to how far one can go.

From another person’s perspective, this kind of conversation would probably seem way too puerile.

“Goodnight Sefi.”

“Goodnight.”

Sefi gently smiled after replying to Kurou.

Kurou exited through the window. Even though Sefi’s room was on the third floor, it was easy to descend from for someone as capable as Kurou.

He climbed down the walls in a manner akin to that of a ninja and having witnessed Sefi’s gentle smile, he felt a warm feeling in his chest.

It was currently the early morning of the next day.

Kurou yawned as he passed through the school gates.

By the way, the academy did not require all students to live within the dormitories. As a result, Kurou came to school from his house.

Although it was mentioned as his house, it was actually just the Sabers’s lounge that he had moved into without permission. Since the head director was his guardian, there were no complaints over this. He only had a bed within the narrow room, but at least the time it takes for him to walk from his workplace did not even add up to a minute. In addition, he saves himself from paying for room and board which made Kurou extremely jubilant.

Actually, Kurou kept himself as a Sabers member even up till now. Despite his pay being reduced, he was at least making money. Manaka did let Kurou go to school, however she probably didn’t plan on him continuing to work. Although Kurou did need to pay for living expenses, he was rarely seen staying with the group.

Kurou paid no heed to his surroundings as he leisurely entered the campus.

“Let me help you carry your backpack.”

“Haha, there’s no need.”

Just as he was about to head to the stair entrance on his way to class after putting away his backpack......

“......Hold on!”

“Hmmm?”

The girl tilted her head slightly.

The girl who offered to help carry Kurou’s backpack closely tailed him.

“What’s wrong with you? Why did you suddenly take my backpack!?”

“It’s because this is my job.”

The girl was expressionless in her reply.

She wore a black and green maid outfit along with a white katyusha on her long hair. Even though her outfit was extremely gorgeous, she did give off an impression of being very delicate.

“Hey, are you.....”

“Hmm?”

“Aren’t you the girl who appeared from the back of the sun cult’s vehicle.....?

“That’s right. What about it?”

The girl still showed no expression at all.

“What do you mean what about it! This can’t be right, why are you here!?”

“Haha, I forgot. I should have said this from the start.”
[[File:Kenshin v01 079.jpg|thumbnail|right]]
The girl remained stoic as she spoke and when she was done speaking, she kneeled down.

Kurou didn’t even have time to stop her. The girl placed both her hands on the floor and deeply bowed her head.

“My name is Sakurai Hinako. Starting today————I’ll be serving you.”

Since she lowered her head so deeply, her expression wasn’t visible.

However, if she was joking around, this would be quite over the top. For a girl to be wearing such an eye-catching outfit, there was no way she should have been permitted to enter school grounds.

Kurou gazed intently at the black hair of the girl who still had her head lowered like this.

It appears that she wasn’t going to lift her head up unless Kurou told her to. The girl remained motionless.

Turning a blind eye towards this would seem optimal, even Kurou was contemplating this unfavorable course of action.

However, Kurou already realized that there was no way he could brush aside this girl. He also recognized that this was just the beginning of his troubles.

<noinclude>

==Translator's Notes and References==
<references/>

{{SimpleNav}}
</noinclude>

User talk:Nwms8

2013-10-29T23:51:33Z

Nwms8: Created page with "Hi."

Hi.

Kaze no Stigma:Volume6 Chapter 2

2013-10-29T23:42:19Z

Nwms8: Grammar and spelling corrections, along with wording edits.

== Chapter 2 - Water and earth raiders ==

=== Part 1 ===

Playing with Kokusen with one hand, Kazuma observed the boy struggling under his foot.

It looked pretty painful. The entire body weight of a grown man concentrated in one point on that delicate body - what's more, the boy was trampled straight above the heart so that was expected.

He already couldn't resist in a meaningful way.

The movement of his limbs, rather than those for escape, were closer to death agony convulsions.

But even so, the boy didn't gave up yet. Seizing with his hand the foot trampling him, he was almost powerless but he still had light in his eyes, looking up at Kazuma.

''"------How energetic,"'' thought Kazuma indifferently.

He did not hate kids with vitality. As long as they're not annoying him, that is.

Adding one thing to another, he believed in being impartial towards all his enemies.

That is, annihilating men and women of all ages if they oppose him.

Therefore, he had no reason to let this boy live.

It would be better to make him spit out why he was aiming at Ayano but that's not something he should pay attention to.

It happened at the time he was putting strength in his leg to quickly kill him.

Some ill-breading intruders disturbed Kazuma's purpose.

"Ayano!"

"-----Eeh?"

Around Ayano's surroundings, blinking at the sudden call, a wind barrier was wrapped up.

Immediately something flying at a high speed was repelled and smashed against the wind barrier.

A small sheet of spray glistened in the sunlight.

"------Water?"

"You two right there, do you have business here?"

Not minding Ayano's confusion, Kazuma asked in a freezing voice.

A replying voice promptly returned.

"Did you notice? Besides, I wasn't particularly hiding my Kehai, you know."

A clear, beautiful voice resounded on the desolate construction site.

Ayano looked around searching for the owner of the voice. As for Kazuma, he didn't even show he was searching and while stepping and jumping on the boy, lazily he puffed his cigarette.

"I asked about your business."

"How impolite."

A voice containing a smile replied. Together with it, two figures appeared on top of a slightly elevated heap of mud.

Appropriate for the owner of the beautiful voice, one of them was an extremely beautiful young man. His silver hair was glittering in the sun like a waterfall, flowing straight down his back. His eyes were amber colored.

He had flawless white skin and thin, fine shaped red lips that were vibrantly contrasting.

He was naturally perfect.

No matter how much one looked at him, not a flaw could be found.

That face was so beautiful it made one believe it must be without a doubt the a human face organized after a single rule - Golden Rule.

But after only glancing at it, Kazuma gazed steadily at the man standing next to him.

He was very short. He had below a hundred and fifty centimeters at most.

But anyone would hesitate calling that man a small built. Surely his stature was low. But even if he was low the volume of muscle that body was clad in, wasn't common.

When describing a muscular giant it's said ''"That upper arm is thicker than a woman's ass"'' or ''"Those tights are like a woman's waist"''.

If the man were above two meters it will be finished one would call him ''burly'' - but if he's below a hundred and fifty centimeters -

You can only call it birth defect. Even assuming he dedicated all his life to weight training, it doesn't seem likely the human body can become like this.

It could be evaluated to a human's parody or rather a distorted figure (prettiness nonexistent).

The balance of length and width, was perfectly deviating from the contour of the human body. Even the skeleton was wrong.

It could be understood if it were a different species from man.

After staring at that atypical appearance very long, Kazuma coughed once.

"So it's true there are Dwarfs, huh?"

"Wait a second, youngster," the man retorted to Kazuma almost reluctantly.

His voice was a deep baritone, which seemed only appropriate.

"Who is a dwarf, huh?"

"It's obviously you, no? Beside that constitution, you're also carrying an ax."

That's right, the man was shouldering a gigantic battle-ax.

Just like in a certain world famous fantasy movie, his physique seemed very similar to that race.

Besides he was also growing a beard.

"If you want to be consistent to that extent, you should wear a helmet with two horns. Can you split into seven and dance around snow white?"

"Wha.....You bastard...."

At Kazuma's abuse, bringing even fairy tales into this, the man glared at him furiously.

But, his mouth didn't seem very proficient so no comebacks emerged.

"Y-you youngster....."

Understanding he couldn't match him verbally, the man grasped with both his hands the battle ax and stepped forward with short steps.

But, his beautiful neighbor restrained him.

"Well, calm down, *imli."

"Who the heck is G*mli?"

Not minding the short one angry and barring his teeth, the beautiful man turned his gaze to Kazuma - no, to the boy trampled on at his feet.

"----This is a somewhat unexpected development, huh?"

Curbing his lips upward, the man addressed the boy. Those red lips were etched with scorn towards a weak person.

But, even that was beautiful. As a god boasting about the superiority of his existence, ridiculing a fallen angel.

"It's not the time to split among friends, right, young prince of the Fuan family - was it? Or rather, you thought that by presenting us with Enraiha, we'll overlook you?"

"Rd....tard......"

With that energy stored somewhere, the boy once again began to act violently underneath Kazuma's foot.

Literally crushing that resistance under his foot, Kazuma looked up at the youth.

"Who are you?"

The young man bowed elegantly and then declared.

"I was slow in saying. I am Christian Roengram - your enemy."

Receiving the young man's - Christian's words, Kazuma's words was etched in a belligerent smile.

"Good vibes, easy to understand. I like that."

"I feel grateful. But - "

Cristian finished his sentence there and looked away. Nearby Kazuma. And then, to where Ayano was standing, in a slightly separated place.

"If you obediently hand over your sacred treasure, I promise not to harm you."

"- So he said. What will you do? "

"That's rejected!" replied Ayano without hesitating for a second.

"Besides I don't like your ''I'll overlook you'' attitude! ''I promise not to harm you''? Do you think you can win against us?"

"Of course."

Chris held out his right hand. On the pointed upwards palm as if trying to receive something, a short pole, thirty centimeters long appeared without notice.

"Why that is, it's because I'm the owner of the Water's sacred treasure, <<Mizuchi>>."

The pole he clasped in his right hand shook. The large amount of water spirits entering through there changed to a whip crossing over ten meters.

"I'll teach you the discrepancy in our status. --- Aah, Gaia, I'm plenty by myself. Don't interfere."

"......Humph, very well. A powerless Fujutsushi and an Enjutsushi who can't even win against that, there's no worth dealing with them."

The short man - Gaia, instantly made a dissatisfied face but immediately agreed and jerked his chin as if saying ''Go already!''.

Chris bowed to Gaia with a smiling face, and approached Ayano with an air of composure.

"...................."

"...................."

Kazuma and Ayano, none even throwing a sidelong glance to the approaching Chris, looked at each other.

Ayano asked frankly.

"Is is real?"

"Who knows. It's the first time I heard of a Water sacred treasure."

While answering, Kazuma incorrigibly gridded down the boy acting violently.

"You're persistent. ------Ayano, I leave that weird one to you."

"Okay."

Kazuma's gaze, looking at Ayano lightly running, suddenly turned down.

The boy under his foot, was pulling the cuff of his trousers.

Feeling that was an action meant to attract attention not to escape the trampling, Kazuma loosened the force just a little.

"What?"

"...St..op....her....."

While bearing the pain of having his chest crushed, the boy boy spoke disconnectedly.

"That woman.......can't.....match him.........She'll be....killed......."

"That so? "

Kazuma was thoroughly calm. The gaze with which he looked at those two, about to start fighting, didn't had a fragment of nervousness.

"Well, shut up and look. What you wanted to see, from here on you'll be able to see freely."

Kazuma smiled lightly at the boy who didn't seem to understand.

"The serious Kannagi Ayano."

Intended to be composed, Chris didn't start but waited for Ayano slashing attack.

Matching the moment Ayano raised Enraiha overhead, at that moment he lightly twisted his wrist.

The flame sword swung downward from above her head was ambushed from underneath by the water whip.

The sound of water soaking a heated frying pan reached their ears. Simultaneously, both were covered by white water vapor.

But, the atmosphere turned clear in a moment. Mizuchi absorbed the surplus water in the atmosphere.

The water whip completely stopped the flame blade. Only the surface that touched continued to evaporate. That was almost nothing compared to the entire water volume.

But, successively compensating that loss from the surroundings, the whip couldn't be severed.

Cool-looking while the burning blade was before his eyes, Chris laughed.

"An Enjutsushi tackling a Suijutsushi. Water trumps Fire - do you not know the rivalry between the five elements?"

"Ara, I know it. Wasn't it all about the amount of material resources?"

There was no appearance of impatience in Ayano's eyes. Including even more power in the blade, she made the golden flame erupt.

"Kuh!"

Chris' voice was confused for the first time. The whip was bisected close to the root, and Mizuchi leaped in his hand, nothing more but a stick.

"So- something like this.........."

From those red lips that looked a little pale, a murmur of astonishment leaked out.

It was the ideology of the cosmic dual forces - Ying and Yang and the five elements.

The elements the world was composed of - Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, all phenomena became by the interference of those elements, that's what it meant.

There are two types of interference, one that takes advantage of one other and they can work together and the other, where there is a killing rivalry between them.

For example, the Earth is raising Wood (vegetation). Therefore the Earth makes Wood alive. On the contrary, Metal (the metal blade) cuts down Tree. Therefore, Metal trumps Tree.

And then, Water trumps Fire. That is the law derived from Chinese cosmology.

But think about it. Certainly Water makes Fire disappear. In that case, did the brilliant, primitive fire disappeared with just a cup of water?

Water is also stronger than Fire. But that is not something absolute. It was just something relatively favorable.

In the first place, the basic concept of Spirit Jutsushi is the theory of the four elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind.

"Haaaah!"

While it may be true that Ayano's enemy was a Suijutsushi, she is swinging Enraiha without hesitation.

Ayano's way of thinking is always simple. And so, it suited her and made her stronger.

Today is a good example of it.

Water trumps Fire? What about it?

Regarding the energy it's able to release, there's nothing that equals <<Fire>>. No matter how much predominance <<Water>> has -

"How can I loose? To the likes of you!"

"Meeh, kuuh!"

Chris drew to himself the water that was cut off trying to reconstruct the whip once more but that spanned a few seconds.

In front of Enraiha at full power, Mizuchi was literally doing nothing more but pouring water of hot stone.

Torn piece by piece, Mizuchi wasn't even allowed to keep the whip shape.

Overhead Chris, all his power stolen, the blade clad in flame was approaching.

''"I got you!"''

But, together with a hard sound, the certain kill blow was obstructed.

Mizuchi lost the water whip. Pushing out that handle, Chris intercepted he blow.

As expected of a sacred treasure, even by using the red-hot blade, she couldn't smash that handle. But -

"Kuu....uu....."

Even if he stopped the blow of the blade itself, he couldn't protect himself against that calorific value.

The golden flame was scorching and both of Chris' hands gripping the handle at both ends gave off a burned smell.

His flushed face was strained by anguish and closely packed sweat drops were coming loose.

"Me....Ooohh!"

While stopping Enraiha's blow, Chris fired a kick in desperation. Without going to far, Ayano evaded the kick taking her distance.

"Wh.....what's going on?"

Underneath Kazuma's foot, the boy opened his eyes wide in shock.

"Isn't she like a different person from when I faced her?"

"Huh? Yeah."

Kazuma nodded to the boy's shout like it was only natural.

"Because she's not the kind of person to get serious if the opponent has no thirst for blood."

"Did she realize!?"

"........Hey"

Kazuma overlooked the boy that was plainly amazed.

"Didn't you say it yourself: ''Show me your power''?"

Which means the boy's purpose wasn't to kill Ayano but to grasp her ability - meaning, trying her ability.

"Well, that Ojou-san may have forgotten about it."

"------?"

"Didn't she notice it with her wildlife sixth sense? Because she's a living thing that moves only on instinct."

The moment he said that, red hot plasma crashed into the wind barrier. Of course, Ayano fired one of Enraiha's blows without even turning around.

"-------Wah?"

Dumbfounded the boy looked at Kazuma, who shrugged his shoulders like nothing happened.

"Right now.....that was the real deal."

"Hmm, how to say this, she kind of misunderstands it for tsukomi. I'm kind of worried if she'll kill someone before long."

"You there! Don't say whatever you want!"

This time she made a verbal tsukomi.

Maybe because she was composed enough, while overlooking Chris reconstructing his water whip without interfeering, Ayano glared at kazuma with an angry look.

"There's no need to worry, except you I wouldn't do this to anyone!"

"And I'm Ok? If you hit me I will die, you know?"

"You'll die? I won't stop you."

At Kazuma's unnaturally miserable manner of speaking, Ayano replied eternally indifferent.

Ant then, she looked at Chris as if remembering him and smiled with composure.

"You seem to be in a sort of pinch so is it all right not to beg your fellow's help? Your dramatic pose when you appeared and your words were all detestable but I understand - isn't it important to understand one's place?"

"........Tch!"

Those words loaded even with pity, magnificently irritated Chris' pride the wrong way.

The hand grasping Mizuchi trembled and the water whip undulated in a big way.

"Girl.......!"

Flinging off his graceful smile and pointlessly polite words, Chris glared at Ayano with the look of a demon.

"You damaged the sacred treasure because I was going easy on you so don't get carried away!"

"I think excuses are unsightly, I really do."

"Shut up!"

Together with that angry roar, Chris held Mizuchi over his head. The water whip stretched upright, its volume swelling.

That was like a water chain iron ball. The endless materialization of water spirits, swelled the apex of the whip to a lump of water ball.

It's diameter was a little more than ten meters - forming the huge water ball reaching a volume of a few hundred tones, Chris shouted.

"I'll smash you! There won't remain a trace of you!"

"With only that?"

Without minding that overwhelming mass swung downward at her Ayano resolutely stepped into his territory.

The several hundreds tons water ball approaching from overhead.

What met it was only a swung brilliant red blade.

That was without a doubt a real spectacle of a courageous but doomed resistance. A different scale from loss or defeat.

"Stop-----!"

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 06 065.jpg|thumb|]]

Including the expectation for the result of the crash, the boy screamed from the bottom of his lungs.

But Ayano, without hesitation, raised the sword overhead with all her power.

Kazuma too, didn't seem like he was going to stop her, and was just looking at her.

The water ball dropped at high speed. Including its mass to the fall velocity, there wasn't any living thing that could bear that kinetic energy of the crash.

Whether it was an African elephant or a grisly bear, they would be squashed in an instant unable to withstand the pressure, unable even to preserve their original form.

But, the sword facing it was called Enraiha.

That mass was equivalent with trash, the quantity of heat it possessed was not something to be outdone by that.

"Yooooooooou! Flyyyyyyyy!"

Together with an outcry not very, or rather excessively - unladylike, as if challenging it, Ayano sliced the sky.

Th golden flame clad on the blade, fiercely sparkled so beautiful striking their eyes.

The gushing out white hot plasma. Similar to a small sun, that hit the huge water mass, pierced it and made all that mass evaporate.

But even so Chris didn't seem disturbed. Rather, he was staring at Ayano holding Enraiha smiling quite sadistically as if he did what he wanted to.

Also, underneath Kazuma's foot, the boy was biting his lips with a regretful expression.

One instant after - a terrific detonation sound roared.

Let's look over the basic science at this point.

When you apply heat to water it undergoes the process of vaporization and becomes steam.

That volume ratio is 1: 1700 ----the instant it vaporized the volume expanded a thousand and seven hundred times.

It this was a small quantity, or rather vaporized gradually, it doesn't matter that the thousand fold becomes twice ten thousand.

But, if a huge volume of water is super heated, it will vaporize in an instant.

The volcanic eruption is similar to this. The underground water is vaporized by burning magma, it expands, and with that pressure it blows off the rocks on the surface.

It's a phenomenon called water vapor explosion.

Yes, an explosion.

The evaporation of water, only that phenomenon can create so much destructive energy to physically alter the topography.

Right now, what happened in front of their eyes was exactly that.

"......Ridiculous.....to go this far........."

Looking at the mist enshrouding the center of explosion, the boy's face was distorted by despair.

With that kind of explosion, there was no way for the humans inside to survive. To say nothing of the fact that this was a water vapour explosion.

A Suijutsushi can can control the water vapor but an Enjutsushi has no way of interfering with an fire-less explosion.

Which means, she lost.

The greatest war potential that could fulfill his dearest wish will turn to nothing and achieve nothing.

The boy turned that unbearable anger against an opponent within reach. Looking up at the man who was yet still trampling him, he shouted full of emotion.

"Why? Why didn't you stop her? You knew something like this would happen!"

"-------Well, this is the reasonable outcome."

While smoking his cigar so carefree so late in the game, Kazuma replied in a voice without energy.

Faced with that indifference of not even raising an eyebrow at the death of his friend, the boy glared at him.

"Bas- bastard......bastard!"

"By the way ----- I have a feeling I wanted at least one explanation beforehand, Ojou-san."

"I believe in you, partner♥!"

At that dispirited murmur that didn't seem to appreciate the situation, a bright lively voice replied.

"-----Eeh?"

With a look of shock the boy stared inside the mist. Inside his blurry field of vision, two shadows were floating.

Christian Roengram holding Mizuchi who once again became just a handle and a girl setting up a brilliant red blade clad in golden flame.

It was obvious who that was.

It wasn't clear how but Ayano came out of the desperate predicament without even a wound and was appearing calm.

"Wh- why....." murmured the boy dumbfounded.

For Chris too, that seemed unexpected and stared at the girl's silhouette as if doubting his eyes.

"Absurd.......why, are you alive.......?"

Ayano showed a fearless smile to Chris who murmured so, his certain victory undermined.

At that time, the boy noticed.

That without the enshrouding mist flowing, without the atmosphere moving, the clothes and hair of the girl standing rock still were gently fluttering.

As it was to be expected, in an instant the boy saw through its meaning - and who was behind it.

One moment later, Chris reached the same answer.

The gazes of the two, dyed in shock and shudders turned to Kazuma's disinterested face.

"You son of a bitch.......a wind barrier, in that moment you........" squeezed Chris with eyes covered in hatred.

The Enjutsushi Ayano had no way of escaping from that explosion. Then, there is only on e answer.

"You have no time to look away, lady-killer."

"-------Tch!"

Calming down with Kazuma's words, Chris turned to the front.

Making Enraiha shine brilliantly, Ayano was drawing near in front of him.

At once ordering the water spirits, Chris reconstructed Mizuchi's water whip. Luckily, there was a vast amount of water drifting in the atmosphere in the form of water vapors and he could summon them - he was supposed to.

"Wha------?"

The drifting about mist, for some reason didn't listed to Chris's command.

The water whip didn't materialize at all but, Enraiha was already swung downward. He had no Jutsu to escape from that blow.

"Kuu....uuu....!"

With Mizuchi's handle, Chris stopped Enraiha once more.

While moaning with the agony of having his fingers burned, he forced it back with all his strength, and took his distance tumbling in a big way.

While his shoulders trembled with intense pain and his breathing was heavy, Chris glared at Kazuma with a bloody mouth.

He did not know what he did. He didn't know it but he instinctively knew. That what hindered his ability was nothing else but that man's action.

Replying with sneer at the gaze full of hatred, Kazuma declared carelessly.

"Since it's different from the water itself, water vapor is within a Fujutsushi's range. That's because it's vapor. You'd better not think you can manipulate it that easily."

"You bastard......."

"That's why I told you you have no time to look away."

Although Chris was exasperated by Kazuma's boasting composed facial expression, it certainly wasn't the time to do that.

Using that chance that opened for a moment, Ayano drew near once more.

Enraiha was held aloft. The blade wearing the golden flame increased its brilliance much more, shedding so much light it couldn't be looked at directly.

If he were to block it the same way, even though Mizuchi would be safe, his fingers would probability evaporate.

However, he had no time to summon more water spirits and he already lost the chance to evade.

"Hii......."

Chris' refined good looks became stiff with fear.

He couldn't run, an absolute death was drawing near, and then -

"Fall back!"

"-------Tch!"

Reflexively responding to Kazuma's voice, Ayano leapt in a big way. Immediately following, before Chris' eyes, the ground raised and an earth fang with a sharp tip slanted forward - if Ayano were to go right ahead, it was pushed out in a direction she would have intersected.

"Kuh!"

"Gaia!?"

"----------"

Everyone's gaze headed for the man - Gaia, who was supposed to have sightseeing the fight from a separate place.

While striking his shoulder with the ax as if taking its rhythm, Gaia's lips warped and he showed a bitter smile.

"It's very boorish interfering in a honor duel but I cannot abandon my colleague. Don't think bad of me."

"It's obvious I'll think bad of you, idiot. You said you won't interfere. If you're a warrior even as a joke don't behave so disgraceful as to violate your oath before the fight!"

The moment he understood that his opponent valued things like honor or pride, something that had no importance to Kazuma, he took advantage of that.

"You came out when that man was about to die. So, as a penalty for violating your oath, at least cut one of your arms!"

"..........Don't get exited, youngster," replied Gaia in a crushed to death voice.

"Besides, you were to one to excessively meddle in those two's fight."

"What the fuck are you saying? That man of gentle manners and delicate features, didn't he said he'll take all of us by himself? I participated in the battle since the beginning. Don't put me together with your underhanded, cowardly sneak attack!"

"Guu.....meee....."

As expected, if they quarreled, it was Kazuma's complete victory.

Sealing more of the enemy's interfering shielding himself behind the pride of a warrior together with justifying himself and the negation of the opponent's modus operandi, that cajolery could be called brilliant.

""Since it's like that, ignore us and let us continue."

"I won't!"

In accordance with Kazuma's words, the moment Ayano tried to start moving, Gaia swung his battle ax a second time.

That blow literally tore the earth and the pebbles raised from that high speed blow obstructed her path, changing into a wall.

"This time, you'll play with me, Miss."

=== Part 2 ===

Receiving that gaze full of hostility pointed towards him rather comfortably, Gaia announced magnificently.

"As far as it goes, let me name myself. I am Gaia. I have no family name. And then -"

Gaia pushed out the ax he was holding. What was dwelling in the blade with a dull shine was the power of the earth, strong enough to make one shiver.

From the development until now it was easy to guess its true colors.

"This is the sacred treasure of the earth - it's name is Nozuchi. Recognize it."

And then, as expected Gaia said those words.

"Geez........what's up with this, one after another..." murmured Ayano as if mourning.

That reaction was only justified. If Gaia's words were true, the sacred treasures of four elements gathered.

It must have been the first time since the dawn of history.

But clearly, Gaia wasn't affected by that deep emotion. The bright smile plastered to that boorish face was the sigh of great joy when meeting a formidable enemy - belonging to a race of people who found in fighting their reason for existence, without controlling that smile, the man took one step forward.

"Being able to overwhelm Chris in a woman's body - it seems we underestimated you. It was more pleasant that I thought."

And then, while coughing really happy he looked down at the boy held down under Kazuma's foot, turning a clear scorn towards him.

"At the very least, much more so that a certain ostentatious Fujutsushi family."

"-------!!"

The moment he heard those words, the boy squeezed an unbelievable amount of power from that weakened body and escaped Kazuma's restriction.

"Ups."

His balance destroyed, Kazuma staggered. It may perhaps be believable that he made such an unusual error but since even Kokusen was taken from him, that was clearly his intention.

With the regained wind's secret treasure in his hand, the boy turned bloodshot eyes full of hatred to Gaia.

"Otou-sama's enemy!"

"------Humph."

With the expression of not being interested, Gaia snorted and expected the boy's rush.

"Aaaaaaaah!!"

The jet black spear flashed. The point of the blade that seemed split by the excessive speed was carrying an overflowing killing intent was aiming at its bitter enemy.

"Huh, it's fast."

Maneuvering Nozuchi, Gaia continued handling those high speed thrusts. But, by mature, an ax is not a weapon aimed at defending.

Although avoiding those aiming for his vitals, the attacks he couldn't handle gave his body countless wounds.

"Ooooooooooo!"

The boy continued attacking incessantly without a break.

Accelerating the speed's rotation even more, finally even the afterimage disappeared. But as if disregarding that attack, Gaia raised Nozuchi across his head on a grand scale.

Without minding the spurts of blood that covered all his body, his recognition and muscles expanded.

"Huaa!"

With just one blow, he knocked down the countless thrusts, and eve blown off the boy's body.

"Guh......hah........"

"How worthless."

Staring at the moaning boy knocked to the ground with coldness, Gaia spat out.

"The attacks of you Fujutsushi are certainly fast. But it's only that. Something like an attack without weight it's only a diversion and not the finishing blow.
That's the limit of Fujutsushi -- after all they're not a class made for battle."

".............."

At the Chijutsushi's reckless words, Ayano instinctively stole a glance at Kazuma's face.

There was nothing particularly strange about that countenance. But -

"........Kazuma?"

With the same aimless manner as always, Kazuma picked up Kokusen, separated from the boy's hand and directly confronted Gaia separated by a few meters.

"Hoo ---- are you motivated, Fujutsushi?"

"Ayano."

Entirely ignoring the mocking tone, Kazuma turned his face only to Ayano.

"You don't have to worry about this. You should finish the small fry on the other side. "

"Ah, yeah----"

"Wa- wait....."

At the time she reflexively nodded, a moan hoarse with agony called Kazuma to a halt.

Turning there, the boy unable to get up yet after being blown off, stretched his hand with a desperate expression.

From his mouth fresh blood was falling out of, a slender voice was released.

"That's.....not something.....you can handle......"

"By the way, that's true," nodded Ayano agreeing.

"Can you use a spear?"

"No, I never touched one."

Kazuma readily replied.

"But-----"

Compared to that he quickly turned around the spear in his hand holding it between his arm and armpit with the same expression full of confidence and composure like always.

The way he handled the spear, without hesitation and openly fluid, was absolutely not amateur-like.

"I used a cane though. If I put that to practical use, well, I should manage somehow."

"------I see. Well then, do your best."

Ayano sent Kazuma out with a tone that was visibly casual. She wasn't particularly shocked.

More that the fact that this man said he ''should manage somehow'', she understood from the experiences until now that whatever the progress may be he will, one way or another come on top.

"Wa- wait........"

The boy who was the original possessor of the spear, seemed to have a different opinion yet.

He tried to stop him a second time but Kazuma already didn't look back.

As a substitute Ayano looked over the boy and asked.

"Is there something else?"

"Of......of course there is! My family came to inherit Kokusen a long time ago, it can't be suddenly used by an outsider who is just a little bit talented!"

"Ah, I see."

Now that you mention it, it was a justified fear - if you apply common sense to your thinking.

But.

Ayano deliberately spoke, not of the same opinion.

"Well, isn't it fine either way?"

"Of course not!"

The boy who as a matter of course couldn't consent, objected to this.

At the same time, Kazuma carelessly pushed out the spear.

Just by looking it was an unenthusiastic throw. But the wind blade that gushed out from that spearhead, clashed into Nozuchi lightly crossing the speed of sound.

"Meee......."

Having that heavy unendurable power pushed into him, Gaia's upper body was bent backwards. While he immediately planted his feet on the ground he was unable to stop the blow and backed off while staggering.

"--------Eeh?"

"Wow---"

'I see. This ---- is very convenient."

While stared at by the boy who murmured like a mentally slow, Kazuma let out a voice of admiration without accent.

"Wha-----"

''"Well, one would normally be surprised,"'' thought Ayano, aiming a look of sympathy at the astonished boy.

That's right, if you think about this normally, it was something impossible.

The famous Fuan Family famous as the highest Fujutsushi continued inheriting for a long time the Wind sacred treasure, Kokusen.

An outsider who only managed to get his hands on it couldn't handle it right away.

But, lucky or unlucky, in this time there was a being who was laughing scornfully at that kind of common sense.

The ''''Contractor'''' - the one who contracted with the Spirit Lord of the Wind, the monster who although was was called the weakest, a Fujutsushi, was more than a match for the Enjutsushi from the Kannagi Clan.

"Well then, let's continue, shall we?"

With an outward appearance that didn't look like it in the slightest, that legend came alive, together with that effortless pronouncement, unleashed the spear one after another. While Gaia barely received with Nozuchi, he continued to back off pressed down by that power blow after blow.

"Guu.....meeeh........"

Kazuma's attack was so swift it didn't seem to be the same kind like the boy's and it was heavy.

Although he didn't had a large build, his center of gravity was low and he was very muscular, Gaia stepped firmly into the ground like any Chijutsushi would, but even so it was very unusual he couldn't hold out against him.

"Meeeeaaah........"

Gaia was driven into a one sided defense. He couldn't even grasp a clue on how to attack.

If he were to give up on his defense and brandish his ax, in that moment the wind blades would make a great number of holes in his body.

No - even now, he couldn't defend against his wind blades. The fact that Kazuma's attack was hitting Nozuchi and didn't struck Gaia was because Kazuma was naturally aiming at the ax.

He was being played with - although he understood that, Gaia couldn't do anything.

Those serial attacks he couldn't confirm by sight didn't become abate but on the contrary, raised their frequency even more.

"Kuuh.....wa, so fast."

"No, is that all they're worth?"

Using Gaia's previous words against him, Kazuma cheerfully bragged.

"You......youngster.......!"

At the disgrace of being looked down upon by ''the likes'' of a Fujutsushi, Gaia grounded his teeth. And finally made his decision.

Believing in his own tenaciousness more than in the fact that he was pressed down until now, he cast away his defense and brandished Nozuchi.

He was slightly slow. Or else, together with Gaia's resolution and good fortune, Kazuma stopped the monotonous attack and took another approach.

The aim were Gaia's legs.

Throwing away the daring sharpness, the wind attack pierced the earth like a blunt weapon. That shock similar to an explosion blew up a large quantity of dust.

"Kuuh - Don't underestimate me!"

But, the opponent was a Chijutsushi. A curtain of earth and sand was nothing more but a smoke screen.

Recovering from that moment of surprise, Gaia got rid of all the dust swinging one arm.

"Whaa--"

The moment his field of vision cleared up, Gaia screamed in shock once again. Suddenly in front of his eyes, he recognized the figure of his opponent separated only by a few centimeters but that was only to be expected.

Gaia understood completely the sneer rising to Kazuma's mouth.

This man, without missing that space of one moment necessary to remove the smoke screen, avoided being sensed by a Chijutsushi by jumping without running on the land and moved closer to him in an instant.

He certainly understood. But, only understanding it is useless - even so, he couldn't react.

"Kuuuuhh!"

"Slow."

Shortly informing Gaia, who was trying to prepare his ax in confusion, Kazuma suddenly rotated the spear.

The end of the black handle - the sharp part, knocked the short man off his feet.

"Meeeh!?"

His feet tripped up in such a skillful manner, Gaia splendidly danced in the air.

The feeling of his body floating horizontally in the sky. But, that feeling that aroused some kind of pleasantness instantly turned to shivers when he recognized Kazuma's silhouette hanging over him from above.

"I managed somehow with a such a weightless attack, huh?"

What dwelt in his voice and attitude was plain mockery. The naked blade glistening in his hand, was already sharply sung down aiming at the rape of his neck.

Rather than capitalizing on its length the true worth of that long-handled spear was the phantasmagoria consecutive attack resembling a circular motion.

To use both ends of the handle to attack it wasn't necessary to slash back like with a sword but to repeat the strike over and over as long as the momentum of the same vector could be maintain.

That speed was obviously more that twice as faster that a sword. At the same time one end of the handle tripped and sprung him up, the blade at the reverse side was swung downwards.

"What kind!"

But, at that moment, Gaia extended his short arm with all his might and seized the ground. Responding to the silent command, the ground transformed to a firm shield and protected him and then, changing to a sharp lance, it attacked Kazuma.

"-------Ha."

Laughing at the futile resistance, in one single blow Kazuma pulverized both shield and spear.

Successively turning around Kokusen as if drawing the letter '''S''', he blew off Gaia with the dull point.

"Gaahaah!"

Gaia rolled like a kicked ball and rushed into the building's wall.

And then, at the same time -

"Guubuh!"

As if it was covered by the sound of the crash, from the upper air a dull, heavy moan resounded.

Looking up to search for that voice, in the center of Gaia's field of vision, he recognized the figure of his companion magnificently dancing in midair.

But, judging from that posture with limbs danging loosely and his pushed up chin, it was clear he didn't jump by his own volition.

After the long, long flight passed, Chris landed on his back.

A moment after he made a small bounce. he twitched and stopped moving. As it seemed like he could barely breath, it was impossible for him to continue the battle.

"................"

Slowly, as if looking at something he didn't want to, Gaia turned his eyes in the direction Chris came flying from.

Just like he imagined, carrying Enraiha on her shoulder, her other hand on her hip Ayano was looking down this way.

"................."

Even slower, he turned his head around ninety degrees.

The man who blew him away so far, likewise, was holding Kokusen in one hand.

"Well then."

Noticing that gaze, Kazuma showed a fearless smile.

"This is checkmate," he mercilessly pronounced.

Looking at Gaia who paled at the desperate crisis, Kazuma thought how to deal with them.

Without letting even several seconds pass, the answer came out.

It was ''"They're bothersome so I'll kill them."''

What was their relationship with the boy, why did they wanted to steal Enraiha, it would be a lie to say he really didn't care.

But, in the end, that was someone else's problem.

The boy, the Kannagi, they should all deal with their respective duty so Kazuma set up Kokusen to finish both of them off.

".......Do you think you won with this?"

"That so? I think that depends upon you. If you still want to persist, I'll deal with you a little longer."

Declaring the unexpressed ''<<at any rate the result will be the same>>'' he was about to unleash the sword but this time Gaia finally took the initiative.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 06 087.jpg|thumb|]]

"Don't get cocky, youngster!"

Together with the angry roar, Gaia knocked his fist into the ground. Immediately following, from that origin cracks ran on the ground freely.

Although they weren't big enough that people would fall into them, naturally the ground was violently shaking.

Unwillingly, Kazuma interrupted his attack.

"Well, as expected you're going to struggle, huh---- "

But even so, he didn't lost his composure and assumed an attack stance a second time while laughing sarcastically but, when he shifted his attention to the ominous sounds coming from overhead - he instantly stopped his movement.

"Tch."

On the outer wall of the building in the middle of construction, several cracks clearly impossible to repair started running.

The outer wall that was originally organized in a straight line was insecurely undulating which was a clear omen of collapse even to inexpert eyes.

"Don't be so rash, you guys-----hey?"

When accidentally looking back, Gaia and Chris were gone. He only heard the voice appearing out of nowhere.

"This was a draw! Next time we won't go easy on you so prepare yourself!"

".......Don't exit with such witty words, Ossan."

At that parting threat fully loaded with the taste of the loser so much it was stereotypical, Kazuma let out a cough of admiration.

But, this was not the place to calm down. The destruction of the building was drawing near before his very eyes.

Looking up, the concrete already started peeling off. At this rate, it will hold on only a few seconds more.

Moreover, based on dangerous slanting it won't be smashed right below but blown out - moreover, it's facing this way - it will certainly collapse.

"-------Hmmm."

Understanding that much, Kazuma turned around and started running without looking right nor left.

Helping his partner, defend against a secondary calamity, clearly not thinking about any of that, he escaped so fast he deserves admiration.

"Hey, Kazuma!? Wait a minute!"

On the other side, Ayano doesn't have the merit (in a bad way ) of abandonment like Kazuma.

While turning a gaze full of resentment to the partner who doesn't show any sigh of slowing down when calling him, even so she couldn't overlook this calamity.

"Geez..."

It was lucky - it can be said so, that she learned how to practically deal with this kind of situation.

It's already too late to stop the destruction. But, if that huge mass were to crash into the earth, the damage on the surrounding will be significant. Then ----

''"I'll burn everything to nothing ----"''

Ayano raised Enraiha overhead with all her power. The golden flame that gushed out of the crimson blade spread around the collapsing building as if wrapping it up and made that entire mass evaporate.

A few seconds after, at the time the fire disappeared, the building in bare concrete completely vanished leaving only the foundation.

In other words, the results of a few months of construction work came to nothing.

''"Aah---- but, because of that Chijutsushi's last attack they should have started from soil preparation all over again......it can't be helped."''

And so, when she tried to justify herself from the back the sound of apathetic applause could be heard.

Ayano looked over her shoulder with a dangerous face.

She understood without having to look but as expected, Kazuma was standing there with a frivolous, slack smile.

"Ya, good job."

"-----Didn't you ran away?"

"I ran away because it was dangerous. Since it's not dangerous anymore there's no need to run. It's a matter of course," replied Kazuma nonchalantly.

Having a thorough knowledge of how meaningless it was to search about something sincere in this man, Ayano changed the conversation without deeply questioning him.

"Those two?"

"They ran away."

"Didn't you let them ran away?"

As expected she investigated this.

The interval he took his eyes off them, preoccupied with the building's destruction, he let them ran away --- it doesn't seem strange but Kazuma is a Fujutsushi.

There wasn't any particular need to specially turn towards the collapsing building but even assuming so for the sake of the argument, he shouldn't have ''taken his eyes off'' those two.

For Kazuma, tuning his senses to wind spirits, looking at two places at the same time was mundane, something he didn't even had to concentrate about.

But, Kazuma persistently played dumb.

"Not really, I didn't let them go. I just didn't felt like pro-actively catching them."

"Why....?"

"Because it's someone else's problem."

Those words that for Ayano seemed unbelievable, didn't even had a tiny amount of guilty conscience.

"They're aiming at you and that brat, not me. There's no need to unjustifiably bring them down."

"You......."

Although Ayano couldn't agree to Kazuma's matter-of-course declaration, she couldn't verbally abuse him -

"Well, leaving that aside, we should leave this place already. It will become noisy."

- Because she was forced to be silent by Kazuma's next words.

"........Yeah."

Reluctantly Ayano agreed.

The Police and Fire Department will arrive any minute. She could silence them by using the Kannagi name but it is better to have few of that troublesome attention.

"First of all, let's change the location."

Saying so, Ayano and Kazuma left that place behind.

=== Part 3 ===

Narrowly hiding themselves from the Police, Fire Department and the large number of people that gathered there, those two took a short rest in a small park.

Ayano grumbled, glaring.

"Geez, why do I have to sneak out like some kind of culprit? But since I became familiar to you I kind of got used to it."

"Hey, wait a minute! You're the main cause of the uproar this time. I was just dragged into it."

"I'm also a victim! To make matter worse, since you let the enemy escape, I don't know anything about their reason."

"Now that you mention it, that's right. What are they trying to do, picking a fight with the Kannagi with that level of power -"

While speaking, Kazuma suddenly moved his line of sight. At the same time, he took a small step back.

In front of his eyes, a small figure passed through at a fair amount of speed.

Ayano was faintly surprised and Kazuma, thoroughly indifferent, let the shadow - the retreating figure of the Fujutsushi boy pass.

"Kuuh."

The boy charging in with the intention of a surprise attack nimbly turned around and faced Kazuma.

This time he put himself of guard, his back dropping, as if carefully searching for an opportunity.

"The brat from earlier, huh --- Did you follow us? What a persistent jerk."

The boy shouted at Kazuma who spoke so like he was disgusted.

"Give it back!"

"------Aah?"

"Give it back! Kokusen is mine!"

That's when he noticed. The boy's gaze wasn't turned towards Kazuma but towards what Kazuma was holding in his hand.

The object that became so familiar to him he actually forgot he was holding it in his hand was, in the end, a borrowed thing.

It was only natural for the boy to chase after it since it was taken away.

"Then say so from the beginning."

While Kazuma spoke even more astounded, he held out Kokusen's handle in front of him. As if leaping, the boy tore it off.

"Your manners are pretty bad - ", grumbled Kazuma blind at his own shortcomings with a backward glance at the boy who hugged Kokusen closely with an expression of relief.

But not later than that, that face had a cramp.

"Eeh......wah......"

Letting out a confused voice, the boy patted the spear all over with both his hands.

Next he pushed it to the sky as if including feeling into it and pressed the handle against his forehead.

In the end he started swinging it as making a pattern.

"What is he doing?"

"Who knows. The dance of victory handed down in the family?"

"......They're not some kind of aboriginals, right?"

To make matters worse, that didn't have the ''flow'' that could give the impression of a dance, its integrity.

Judging from the way it was nonsensically yielded, it looked like simple confusion.

After a short while, trepidly watching over it, the boy suddenly stopped his (looks like ) dance. And then, he stood rock still in blank amazement.

That sad sight, was like ''the portrait of despair'' came alive.

If a human with an honest heart were to be there, it was impossible not to feel pity.

".........Did something happen?" asked Ayano worried, as expected.

With a dumbfounded expression, perhaps not even understanding who was asking, the boy answered in a small voice.

"Kokusen......is not answering......."

"------Eh?"

Ayano was befuddled, not comprehending what the boy was saying. But, the next moment, understanding the reason of it, she nodded deeply.

"Aah, I see."

In a way, it was to be expected.

Kokusen crossed over to the present day's - no, if it's unlucky possibly the all-time-highest Fujutsushi, the <<Contractor>> who contracted the Spirit Lord of the Wind.

The secret treasure obtained by its highest master -there is plenty of possibility it would refuse to be used by everyone else beside him.

Even in Ayano's case, if Juugo or Genma were to use Enraiha, there is a high possibility it would turn like that.

If something like that were to occur, she should go through a tedious ceremony identical with the inheritance one.

"So, what will you do?"

With a sidelong glance at the boy suffering a heartache, Ayano asked Kazuma.

"Will you take this opportunity to make the sacred treasure of the Wind yours?"

"-----!!"

At those words that seemed to instigate robbery, the boy caught his breath sharply.

He set up Kokusen with open vigilance but the sacred treasure that turned into nothing more but a spear, has no power to drive Kazuma away.

".......You."

Ayano smiled with the feeling of a performer at Kazuma who grumbled at her reproachfully.

She was quite enjoyed.

With one lazy sigh, Kazuma stepped up to the boy. And then, he casually seized Kokusen.

"Le - let go!"

The boy pulled the spear towards himself with a desperate look. It seems that in the middle of the agitation, he even forgot to use Fujutsu.

Understandably, when it comes to physical strength - Kazuma was overwhelmingly superior.

The boy dropped his back and tried to cling to it rather than pull the spear but even so Kazuma's posture wasn't destroyed.

"No, no way.....this is.....only this......tch-"

"You're noisy. Just grasp it tightly then."

"----Eeh?"

The boy reflexively looked up at Kazuma. But, without paying attention to him, he gently closed his eyes.

And then -

"Wow........"

At the fantastic scene materializing right in front of her, Ayano let out a voice of wonder that couldn't be expressed into words.

The blue, sparkling wind coiled in a whirlpool before her eyes.

At times strong, at times tender, it was blowing through playfully as if dancing.

Fro somewhere, a transparent, refreshing sound could be heard.

Like a song, like a prayer, an exquisite echo permeated her ears.

''"Are the Wind Spirits singing? No, it's not only that--- "''

One more ''<<Voice>>'' responding to the wind's song rose from the jet black spear held by both Kazuma ans the boy.

It was a strong multi-layered low tone. That sound, contrastive with the light and clear wind song melted into it wonderfully without feeling out of place.

Without one side pressing the other, a symbiotic relation matching each other mutually.

The tune spun as a result was the building up of a miraculous chord that could never be reproduced by musical instruments from the human world.

"He is....resonating with, Kokusen......"

Ayano involuntarily stared at Kazuma. It was clear that this miraculous scene was something done by the means of his power.

Probably right now, inside those closed eyelids, those pupils are shedding a blue light.

"Aah-----"

While gazing at it intoxicated, suddenly the blue wind disappeared without any trailing note. At the same time Kazuma opened his eyes.

Those pupils already returned to usual color but even so, she thought she saw a bottomless brilliance dwelling into them - either way, it must have been her imagination.

On the other side, the boy was looking around the surroundings with an irrelevant face.

The contest of he spirits and the spear didn't seemed to bring any change to the surface but that was only reasonable.

But after a few seconds, opening his eyes wide, he looked at Kokusen.

"........Eeh? Aah......!"

On the surface nothing changed. But the people found there clearly grasped the change.

The spear that until now was nothing but a lump of metal recovered her overwhelming power.

That power of the spear itself wrapped the boy clasping it and formed one ''field''.

Once more, the sacred treasure recognized the boy as it's master.

The boy, instantly expressing delight on his face, immediately glared at Kazuma stiffening.

"You.....what did you do?"

As for Kazuma, he looked down at him with the smile of a mischievous boy.

"It's a secret."

"You!"

"What! If you're dissatisfied I can easily return it to the previous condition."

"------!!"

Panicking the boy hid Kokusen to his back. Of course, it wasn't something he could hide with his small build.

Ignoring the boy's reaction Kazuma said.

"For the time being, I'll invite you to Kannagi-san's house. There's a lot I want to ask of you --- you also had business with her right?"

"---------------------------------------Aah"

After a short silence, carrying a strong will in his pupil, the boy nodded.

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| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume6_Chapter_1|Chapter 1]]
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume6_Chapter_3|Chapter 3]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Kaze no Stigma:Volume6 Chapter 1

2013-10-23T23:46:23Z

Nwms8: Grammar edits, some rewording done.

== Chapter 1 - Disaster together with the wind ==

=== Part 1 ===

Completely burning and exorcising the evil spirit in one single stroke, Kannagi Ayano turned around. - And then her eyebrows frowned at an acute angle.

What was reflected in her field of vision was the silhouette of a man looking at the sky with a somewhat distant look.

In short, despite accompanying her here under the pretext of being her bodyguard, he seemed not to have noticed that the battle ended.

"--------Hey."

"Huh? Aah, is it over?"

Glaring at him with half opened eyes, the man - Yagami Kazuma briefly looked over the surroundings and nodded once. And then, he declared without hesitation,

"Let's go back then."

".......You're so..." groaned Ayano in a gloomy tone.

But of course Kazuma ignored that and started walking by himself.

"Aa, hey, wait!"

Chasing after him in a fluster, Ayano drew near Kazuma with a pout.

"I already forgot how many times I told you this but - since it's been arranged, you're kind of my escort. Even if you won't help at least look!"

"Ha ha ha, you're so baka."

Expressing a refreshing smile, the kind a good young man would have, Kazuma looked over his shoulder at Ayano.

"It's because I really trust your abilities that I can leave it to you without worries."

"I can't believe you at all!" replied Ayano as if slapping something.

How to say this, it was an entirely normal back and forth argument.

Yes, since then - since Pandemonium was destroyed and Bernhardt and Lapis disappeared, Kazuma didn't display any sort of change.

With the same frivolous, slack smiling face like always, teasing Ayano as always, wondering about like always, with an attitude that couldn't be grasped just like the wind, he spent his days like that.

There was no indication he was forcing himself. There was no change from before ---- Even though that was impossible.

He must be hurt. He must be sad.

And yet, Kazuma never showed that.

Ayano was very uneasy about it.

She thought it was dangerous for Kazuma not to show others his weakness.

But what she feared even more was the possibility that she didn't understand anything about Kazuma.

In spite of the fact that he was hurt he did not seem to be so.

If that's the case, assuming Kazuma would get hurt even more in the future, would she not even be able to see that?

No, everything she saw of Kazuma until now was maybe nothing but a mask that concealed his wounded heart.

She was supposed to have come to understand Kazuma, even just a little.

She was supposed to get to the core, even just a little, to the inner part of his heart that was pretending to be superficial.

But if all of it was nothing bore but a delusion...

''"Kazuma-------"''

Walking absent-mindedly, Ayano stared at Kazuma's back as he walked soundlessly.

If she were to call him, he would turn around with the same smiling face. But -

''"Are you here? Are you really looking at me?"''

He is so close and yet, for some reason, Kazuma's back looked so distant.

Was it because she was thinking such things? Not typical of her, her reaction was late.

Suddenly, something like a huge pole appeared before her eyes and without time to avoid it, Ayano crashed into it.

"Kyaa!?"

It had a somewhat soft touch for a pole. Looking at it more clearly, it was Kazuma's arm pushed out in front of her eyes.

"Wha, Kazuma------"

Her words of complaint were interrupted in the middle.

Kazuma's face didn't have a particle of jest to it and was sharply looking forward like a totally different person from before.

"Kazuma, what is----"

"Prepare."

Without giving her the time to finish her question, he directly ordered.

Almost by reflex, Ayano hunched her back.

Immediately following - from the front, a spiritual power detonated.

The wind barrier Kazuma put on creaked fighting with the same kind of power.

''"Same nature--------huh, eeeeeeeeeh!?"''

Ayano's face became stiff with shock.

But no matter how much she doubted her eyes, the reality didn't change.

What was attacking them right now was beyond doubt, the power of ''wind''.

"Why on earth...." murmured Kazuma, as if spitting out while enduring the ''enemy'' attack.

The disturbance felt in that voice was definitely not Ayano's delusion.

For Kazuma, the one who contracted the Spirit Lord of the Wind - the <<Contractor>>, it means that all of the wind spirits are extensions of himself.

To have them turn on him, it was theoretically impossible.

"............."

Ayano unsheathed Enraiha, and searched for presence in the surroundings. As for the perception within range, she did not feel any hostile being. But -

"Kazuma, where is the enemy?"

At that question asked in a controlled voice, Kazuma pointed straight ahead. Without waiting, from there regular footsteps resounded - and then, stopped.

"------Eeh?"

Looking at the figure that boldly appeared from the front without hiding himself, Ayano unintentionally opened her eyes wide.

She looked at Kazuma as if asking if that was the right person.

But, without turning his eyes to Ayano, Kazuma was only staring directly at the boy in the front.

That's right - the ''enemy'' blocking their way was even younger that Ayano, a boy of thirteen or fourteen.

His body, dressed in a stand-up collar shirt and thin pants, looked more delicate that his years and he was shorter than Ayano.

He had soft hair, cut short, that made one want to touch.

He was a very androgynous but adorable bishonen.

But the impression until now was overturned by only two things.

The first were those eyes. The color was dark brown, very common for Asian people. But the light that dwelt in them, like the difference between a cat and a tiger cub, made it clear that the boy was a warrior.

And the second.

Ayano's gaze slightly pointed upwards. The boy's stature was lower than hers. But that top she was looking at was even higher than Kazuma's head.

Approximately two meters.

Held in the hand of the small boy, it was an object of unsuitable size. But even so the boy held it tightly in his small hand.

The jet black handle that was so exceeding the boy's height by that much and the silver blade stretching further was a simple and clear shape forged only for killing people and to destroy one's enemies.

Massive, sharp, piercing and smashing everything.

It was something everyone would understand only after a glance, a very long and boorish spear.

"..........."

In silence the boy thrusts the long spear forward.

Until now it was positioned next to his waist. He stretched his left foot back on grand scale.

Without saying anything he only did that. But only by doing that the spear that until now seemed disproportionate turned one with the boy as if it were so from the beginning.

"Kuuh-------!"

At the master posture, Ayano reorganized her confused mind. It has nothing to do with she sees.

That is, beyond doubt, an enemy.

Unsheathing Enraiha, she faced the boy. And then----- she waited.

She won't make the first move since against the spear with he longest reach. First she'll let herself be hit and move after.

That was the proper practice. Besides---

Ayano fleetingly looked at Kazuma. If the enemy is a Fujutsushi this man won't fall behind. If he would fire the same wind blades like before, Kazuma's barrier will definitely endure it.

Using that gap should be good.

''"It's coming!"''

The boy moved as Ayano expected. He rushed in a big way and pushed out that spear using that force.

Of course, it wasn't a distance the spear would reach but the condensed wind blade fired from the edge of the blade approached the two at the speed of sound.

Ayano concentrated her power on Enraiha.

If she becomes completely defenseless against the wind blade, the fact that it cannot tear down Kazuma barrier, was for her something absolute, a common knowledge.

Therefore, with all her power she trended towards the returning blade, sharpening her consciousness to the utmost limit weighing the timing.

But, that plan was wiped out quick enough.

And in addition to that, by the hand of the partner she put the utmost confidence in- no, by his leg.

"Huh?"

''''Don!''''

The impact that attacked her from her right side sent Ayano flying from that place.

Because it came from a perfectly unexpected direction, she couldn't resist it.

"------Ha?"

At the unbearable scene, her consciousness froze for a moment. But as she could still land even unconscious, Ayano replayed over and over the moment Kazuma's cheek was torn.

''"Eeh-------Why?"''

Her reason refused to recognize it.

That was something impossible, that could never happen and such.

However that was - the meaning of that scene was -

"Wa-------Kazuma-----"

"You're noisy, shut up! The next one is coming!"

In an unusually violent tone, Kazuma interrupted Ayano's words. Without wiping the blood spilling from his cheek and while a cold sweat was spreading on his brow.

''"----No way"''

She was still denying it deep in her heart. She had faith in her ideal, her aspiration.

But she had no choice but to recognize the result right now.

In front of the enemy's wind blade, Kazuma's wind barrier was pierced through without resisting for a second.

Ayano's face flipped up in astonishment looking hard at the boy standing before her eyes.

The boy was clearly not boasting of his power but set up the spear indifferently.

In a manner as if to say ''this is only natural''.

''"This guy, no way - "''

Trying to focuse her mind, Ayano could do nothing but admit that she was not yet taking the situation seriously.

Thinking about it, it was an appropriate situation if you exclude all previous assumptions.

As Kazuma is a Contractor, theoretically all Wind Spirits are under his control. Then, another Fujutsushi won't be able to even begin an attack let alone oppose him.

What can overturn that principle, was someone like Kazamaki Ryuya who manipulated spirits that went mad and used Jutsu differently from it's root or, a Jutsushi who was by far more capable than Kazuma.

''"No way - someone stronger than Kazuma--------?"''

A chill ran along the muscles on her spine.

Without minding Ayano's disturbance, the boy pointed the spear to the target.

Without any confusion, it accurately aimed at Ayano.

"This way!?"

Simultaneously with that turned inside out scream, the spear grew hazy.

A certain kill blow that could simply pass through Kazuma's barrier.

Without thinking of blocking it from the beginning Ayano tumbled in order to avoid it.

She barely escaped.

But, as a compensation, her posture was fatally disordered. In the two seconds she needed to reorganize herself - she can die ten times over.

"Kuu."

In those wide opened eyes that forgot even to blink, the boy taking a pursuit stance was reflected.

Facing the unable to move Ayano, the boy unleashed the spear without hesitation.

"You think I'll let you!"

In that space, together with an angry roar, a gale forced its way through.

As if getting angry at being neglected on account of being worthless, Kazuma fired wind blades to the rapidly penetrating wind spear.

But, between the slashing attack and the spear thrust, there was an exceptional difference in their densities.

Not only unable to offset each other, unable to compete for even a moment, the wind blades were quickly crushed.

''"Wha.......so much bullshit?"''

At the overwhelming power difference demonstrated, Ayano soundlessly petrified.

But, without any sigh of confusion, as if expecting it, Kazuma fired the second and third attack.

When that number reached five, finally the wind spear was negated.

"........This is outrageous," breathed out Kazuma smacking his lips.

Ayano had entirely the same opinion.

By a simple calculation, five times Kazuma's wind strength - to put it bluntly, it was a difference that couldn't even be spoken of.

"............"

The boy turned a colorless gaze to Kazuma but he immediately looked away.

As if literally declaring ''You don't exist in my opinion''.

"How cold, mind me a little bit more. If not, I'll sulk."

But, clearly not hesitant about the power difference, with the impudent talk as usual, Kazuma started walking towards the boy.

As if brushing away the enemy approaching in a straight line, the boy wielded the spear as if sweeping sideways.

Kazuma avoided the attack by dunking so low his head touched the ground, and then from that position, a complete forward somersault.

The heel of his right leg vertically described a circle aimed at the boy's head.

"-----!!"

The rotating kick that was both offense and defense, as expected, surprised the boy.

Although he blocked it by pushing out the spear above his head, the jet black handle bent because of the clashing impact.

"Kuuh........."

But even so, the boy narrowly survived the blow.

And then in a bold move trying to aim at the gap immediately following, supporting his upside down falling body in one hand, this time with his left foot, Kazuma kicked the boy's leg.

The boy went to his knees.

In the meantime, Kazuma promptly stood up, and just like a whirlwind he applied a roundhouse kick from behind.

"----------!!"

Swaying back with all his strength, the boy avoided the kick attacking his temple.

Greatly bending backwards his upper body, he let himself fall just like that, curled his body to disperse the shock and rotated backwards.

Taking a defensive attitude he escaped Kazuma's offensive range.

"Kuuh....."

"-----Humph."

Responding to the boy's glare full of hate, switching over to the standing in one knee posture after rolling three times, Kazuma returned one full of scorn.

Just then, the boy's gaze became even more severe.

Literally rolled in mud by the opponent he was looking down on, he was despised even more. That disgrace was more than he could imagine.

The boy quickly stood up and pointed his spear to Kazuma. He spoke in a squeezed to death voice.

"You bastard.....don't get in my way..........."

"Oo, the random attacker brat finally uses his mouth."

As if being surprised, Kazuma unnaturally raised one eyebrow.

".......Who's a random attacker?"

"Look closely in the mirror at least once and see what you're doing. It would be best to repent and surrender afterwards."

"........."

The boy already didn't answer to Kazuma's persiflage continuing fluently.

Did he used it all up or he had no intent of replying, in any case, the point of the spear thrust without disturbance was more eloquent that a thousand words, announcing the boy's intent.

But even so, Kazuma didn't lose his composure and confronted him with a daring smile.

Expecting from that attitude that Kazuma found the method of capturing the boy, Ayano's alertness relaxed so she spoke.

"All things considered, this is rare. For you to engage in close combat by yourself without being challenged."

Kazuma's tactic was basically a long distance attack using wind blades.

But despite that his martial arts form was stronger than Ayano's, which the girl found exceedingly annoying----

Anyhow, since Kazuma was especially engaging in close combat, she stated thinking that may be the key to capturing him in those circumstances but --- the answer was unexpected in various ways.

With a tendency to pout, as if sulking, Kazuma said.

"But, I can't win with a thing like Fujutsu."

".......You......." murmured Ayano greatly perplexed at that excessively miserable manner of speaking.

"Don't speak ''''so shameful so lightly'''' you baka! Besides, what the heck does ''thing'' mean, huh!? Do you think you're at an age where speaking like that is tolerated!?"

"But, you see......"

"Don't <<But, you see....>> me!! Stop talking immediately like a spoiled mama's boy, it disgusts me!"

She finished her sentence in one breath.

That was by no means something insincere, a really bad feeling was spreading on her skin.

"Well, leaving that aside."

In front of Ayano breathing heavily because of too much stimulation, as if nothing happened, Kazuma quickly regained his usual sarcastic manner.

With a light gesture, lacking any feeling of tension, Kazuma pointed forward.

"Our honorable guest is waiting."

"Eeh? Aah---------"

Hearing that blunder she completely forgot but right now they were in the middle of the battle.

A formidable enemy like never before holding a spear hiding a tremendous power, he was only aiming at them.

But, very strangely, in spite of Ayano showing a lethal gap, the boy didn't began the attack.

As if he was waiting for them to prepare, he stood still spear ready.

''"What is going on---------?"''

Why did the boy overlooked such a definite gap?

She thought so too when Kazuma kept him in check, there was something strange.

"Just what is this boy trying to do?"

Although seeming to agree with that opinion and he was composedly smiling, his gaze was shooting through the boy without a trace of slackness, trying to feel around his true intention.

But, the boy was thoroughly cold towards Kazuma.

"I have no business with you," he coldly declared with a really apathetic expression.

At that indifferent sentence, Kazuma let out a murmur, all his <<Ki>> coming out.

"Hee----"

"-------Tch!"

At that time, with the fastest movement, Ayano grabbed the cuff of his jacket.

Kazuma turned around suspicious.

"What?"

"Right now you, you just thought of abandoning me and running by yourself, right!? That's not going to happen!"

".........Not really, I didn't think something like that."

"Humph, I wonder! But for your information I'll never let you escape! We go to the grave together!"

Looking at Ayano grasping tightly the cuff of his jacket so he'll never run, Kazuma murmured more amazed than ever.

"Why are you expressly taking such a pessimistic decision?"

"But......."

"To begin with, he's not such an opponent that you have to risk your life against."

".......Eeh?"

Involuntarily not believing her ears, Ayano stared at Kazuma.

''"Right now........what was that?"''

The opponent is someone who might have surpassed even Kazuma, a Fujutsushi ''outside human common sense'' grade.

And yet, from the way he spoke just now, she didn't felt any sort of threat -

"......I said I have no business with you."

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 06 021.jpg|thumb|]]

Gazing at the slightly smiling Kazuma, the boy announced for a second time.

And then, with eyes burning with the will to fight, he glared at Ayano.

"The successor of Enraiha! If you say you're the rightful owner of the flame's sacred treasure - then show that power to me!"

With that vigorous shout, the boy took an offensive posture.

The swelling power was kneaded more and more, stronger, sharper.

But, Ayano hadn't yet found the way to oppose the spear facing her.

"W- wait a seco-"

Ayano was flustered but the boy was about to unleash the spear without hesitation. ---------But, as expected Kazuma couldn't tolerate that in silence.

"I told you I won't let you."

Together with that verdict combined with a smile, the unleashed wind blade drew an arc, attacking the boy from the flank.

To intercept that, the boy unwillingly interrupted his attack.

"Kuu! Don't -"

"Of course I'll get in the way, brat!"

Replying with scorn at the gaze full of hatred, Kazuma calmly blocked the boy's way.

"Because I'm sort of this woman's guard and I receive money for it."

"Guard.......?"

The boy's pupils were turned to Ayano full of surprise and anger.

From that gaze it looked like more than the fact that Kazuma was getting in the way so he couldn't defeat her, he condemned Ayano's weakness who had to employ something like a guard.

"And with that, this time I'll be the one to start."

But without caring about such things, Kazuma declared so and then he put it into effect.

From right overhead perpendicularly blowing down, a huge down-burst descended.

The strong wind striking down without a definite aim, shredded the earth cutting everything in touched.

The soaring dust cloud blocked their vision.

While cursing the boy pushed up the spear and lightly twisted his wrists.

The small circle drawn by the spearhead created a strong tornado.

The tornado scattered the down-burst in a moment and coincidentally forced the dust cloud in the atmosphere.

The air was purified. But -

The moment his field of vision cleared, those two figures were nowhere to be seen.

"Did you run away.........?" Murmured the boy staring in wonder while feeling surprised.

But immediately pulling himself together, he searched for <<Kehai>> in the surroundings.

After several seconds ------ the boy turned northeast with confident eyes.

However, he didn't chased after them immediately but looked up at the sky with a somewhat dark expression, starring at a distant place.

".......The power of Enraiha's user is only this much? With this......"

That figure murmuring feebly, appropriate for his age, was forlorn like a child on the verge of bursting into tears.

=== Part 2 ===

Hiding himself in a building in the middle of construction, Kazuma looked annoyed.

"Well, if we could shake him off with this, it would be so easy."

"..........."

Ayano was staring at Kazuma with a pure white gaze.

"What?"

"I'm amazed. You said it would be an easy victory but suddenly we're running like some animal with the tail between its legs, huh? "

At that answer loaded with despair, Kazuma looked at the sky as if thinking back on his memory, cocking his head in puzzlement.

"------Did I say something like that?"

"Sure you did. That he's not such opponent you have to risk your life against. "

"Aah, that."

Quickly agreeing on this, Kazuma continued.

"What about you, ''why'' couldn't you turn against him, do you have a pretext for that?"

"Eeh? No, not really-----"

"Then rather that not fighting and thinking about dying, isn't it better to run?"

"Is that what you meant?" Replied Ayano with all her strength.

But, of course Kazuma didn't show a sigh of shyness.

Stuff like ''running away is shameful'' or ''a warrior's pride'' that's something that would never come out of this man.

"Good grief......leaving that aside, did you shake him off?"

"Isn't that impossible?" Immediately replied Kazuma, extremely carelessly.

"It's different from when I'm alone, it's because there's an Enjutsushi with me."

The amount of Spirits that accompanied Ayano, the direct descendant of the Kannagi Clan, the highest authority of Enjutsushi was absurdly enormous even in peace times.

Naturally, even the Kehai she emitted was luxurious and gorgeous, giving one the impression it was a billboard and perfectly concealing all that brilliance was next to impossible even with Kazuma's proficiency.

Although it may be possible for an ordinary opponent, escaping that boy's eye was beyond optimistic.

"Then, what are we going to do?"

"......Why do I have to think about it?"

Kazuma replied to Ayano's question like he was the embodiment of laziness.

"You're the one he's aiming at, right?"

"But, aren't you my partner?" Declared Ayano, in a tone of declaring the reasonable truth.

Kazuma grimaced magnificently.

At the first glance, Kazuma seems irresponsible and practically he is fairly irresponsible but his his business ethics are unexpectedly high.

Dishonoring a contract was something that never happened.

Of course, that was not because of his virtuous mind, but because he had a thorough knowledge just how bad it could hurt his business credence --- meaning that the reason for that honesty was profit and loss arithmetic and yet Ayano's words unexpectedly poked at that.

"What do you think we should do?"

"Running is best."

Although turning his back to that second question he answered honestly.

"That brat doesn't seem stupid enough to attack the Kannagi Residence, don't you agree? Even if by some chance he does that, Oyaji or the Suzerain will settle the problem but most important is if I take you back home my contract is over."

"..................."

Ayano looked at Kazuma, persistently prioritizing his own comfort, with a white gaze.

But, thinking about the way the battle progressed so far, that was understandable.

To Ayano that boy seemed clearly ahead of Kazuma as a Fujutsushi.

Rather that using a different Jutsu, using the same and being defeated by a Jutsushi who has more excellent and had more talent was something she hadn't thought possible.

That is to say, thinking about it rationally, that's how it is. Kazuma cannot win against that boy.

But, even though she saw this man overwhelmed in reality Ayano couldn't imagine this man losing.

The girl's belief in his strength equals to common sense.

''"It's impossible for Kazuma to lose."''

"----Say, Kazuma."

After hesitating Ayano asked directly.

"Is that child, stronger that you?"

"That brat is nothing impressive by himself."

Unexpectedly, Kazuma declared so without hesitation.

Hearing that answer Ayano felt relief for a moment but it literally didn't go beyond a moment.

"The problem is that spear he has."

"-------Aah?"

She saw it during battle - it was shown to her - remembering the spear's tremendous power, Ayano sighed heavily.

"That was an amazing strength. That's the first time I saw a weapon pregnant with so much power."

"..........."

With half-opened eyes, Kazuma stared at Ayano murmuring absentmindedly.

He made a blatantly shocked face but Ayano, lost in her own thought, didn't noticed.

"So, what's up with that spear?"

"................."

"--------What?"

Finally noticing Kazuma's subdued eyes, Ayano innocently asked. Kazuma quietly turned his gaze away and looked at the blue sky.

"What!?"

"No, it's nothing. But that spear--"

"Do you know of it?"

"That's the first time I saw it so I can't say for sure ---- it's probably Kokusen."

"What's that?"

"..................."

From the reaction until now, Kazuma expected that answer.

He expected it but could do nothing about losing all the strength in his body.

His upper body leaned on the wall slanting. He seemed intolerably attracted to roll over just like that and going to sleep.

"Hey, what's up with that reaction? Just because you're somewhat of a walking dictionary, don't put on airs!"

She thought Kazuma's attitude was an insult so Ayano sulked pouting her lips.

But, even that very lovely gesture couldn't impress him.

"Should I explain for the sake of the baka girl who doesn't know anything......"

After those provocative words used as an introduction, Kazuma briefly explained.

"Kokusen is the sacred treasure of the Wind. The same as your Enraiha."

"-----Eeh?"

Forgetting her anger at those impolite words, Ayano stared at him in puzzlement.

That was something very surprising.

She required thirty seconds until she could understand Kazuma's explanation.

"Sacred treasure - of the wind? Then, what about water and earth?"

"I don't know about those but Enraiha of the Fire and Kokusen of the Wind are both famous. Did you really not know?"

"Yeah."

As Ayano nodded quickly, Kazuma looked at the sky.

"Study a bit more, you. If I'm not mistaken, the Fuan family from Hong Kong was supposed to have it but......."

"But, what?"

"But if that brat became the successor, it's impossible that I didn't hear of it. Did he just take over?"

"It's not something that concerns you."

"Well, that's true."

Kazuma responded to the third voice suddenly cutting in the conversation calmly, without becoming confused.

"Wha---"

But, Ayano jumped to her feet. And then, as expected, that silhouette was in her field of vision.

"Did you think you could escape, Enjutsushi?" Informed the boy coldly, holding the spear.

The self-confidence dwelling in his voice ---- when the searching ability is concerned, the Fujutsushi will always win.

Meaning that an Enjutsushi can't win.

Ignoring Kazuma who was the same, that declaration was bragging about how he was the overwhelmingly superior Jutsushi.

"Play time is over. If you don't want to die demonstrate your power, Enraiha's user"

"Kuu----- "

As if overpowered by that determined gaze, Ayano let out a small moan. She looked at Kazuma requesting a counter plan but -

"Why are you still sitting down? Get up already!"

"Huh? Aah, am I getting in the way? Well then, I'll step back a bit more so do your best......"

"Don't fall back! You should fight too!"

He truly didn't display any willingness.

"Besides, you're the one aimed at, no? He went as far as nominating you so, do it by yourself without nominating others."

"Wha---But, you're my escort, aren't you?"

"That's right. That's why, well - how about this? I'll help you if you're about to die so until then -"

It was at the time Kazuma said that in a voice without motivation.

During the time those two ere exchanging such idiotic words, the boy's shoulders trembled as he remained a spectator, without attacking.

He turned to Kazuma with a cold gaze, cold but with a something that was on the verge of boiling dwelling inside.

"''Help you if you're about to die'', huh? Do you think a third rate Fujutsushi like you can stop me?"

A frank disdain thrown at Kazuma together with an ostentatiously derisive laughter.

There's no need to say it, even for a normal human the anger would be insuppressible.

But, Kazuma -

"------Pfff"

Averting his eyes after looking at the boy's face, he made a small snicker.

"Wha- what's so funny?"

".........No, it's because I understand you're doing your best."

With a sidelong glance at the exasperated boy flicking off the derisive mask, Kazuma's laugh made his shoulders tremble.

"Even though you take the ''I completely ignore the likes of you'' attitude the best you can, since you cannot help but react to every single one of my words, well, it must be because you're young, I think."

"-------!"

Suddenly remembering what happened, with a red face the boy was silent.

Seeing that, Kazuma made an even lower laughter.

"You, you bastard.........!"

Grinding his teeth at the humiliation of a <<lower rank>> making fun of him, the boy glared at Kazuma.

And then, he thrust the tip of Kokusen at the man who made fun of him so much.

"Isn't this fine? Then, I'll teach you your place first!"

"------Aah?"

Kazuma looked at the boy amazed. This development was obviously unexpected.

Even though he feigned calmness and his inexperience could be seen through because he was not yet able to control his emotions, to go as far as forgetting his main purpose drained away by immediate fury, what a ''child''...

"Hey, why are you doing this?"

"Isn't it fine?"

Ayano's happy voice covered that natural protest.

"If you want to fight with me please knock down this man first, or something like that?"

".......Ayano."

With half opened eyes Kazuma looked at Ayano who declared so for fun.

But he seemed the only one dissatisfied by the situation -

"Fine. You'll be my opponent after."

Unrelated to Kazuma's volition, the stage was rapidly prepared.

"........Why does it become like this?"

The unwilling development made Kazuma astonished.

And then, as if sinking the boot into him even further, Ayano winked at him.

"As expected of my guard. Volunteering your body in that manner to protect me ♥"

".......Well, I don't really mind. This amount is still within the reward. But -"

Unexpectedly, Kazuma obediently accepted the situation. But, as if it was natural, he didn't forget to cynically stab her once.

"If you only fight cheap opponents, no matter how much time passes you won't improve, you know."

"Uuu....I understand that but I think this one is a little bit tricky for me."

"That's not true."

"-------Eeh?"

At that declaration without hesitation Ayano unintentionally opened her eyes wide.

But, without saying anything else, with a decisive gait, he stood in front of the boy.

Faced with that attitude full of composure, the boy grimaced with unconcealed discomfort.

"Are you bastards sane? - This late in the game, do you yet not see the the difference in power?"

Kazuma replied with a derisive laugh at those words the boy spat out.

And then, at leisure, he took out his cigarette and lit it.

"Aren't you talkative, brat? You'd be cooler if you shut up."

"------! Then, you should regret ridiculing me in the realm of the dead!"

Together with the angry roar, an unleashed gale blow.

Kazuma jumped sideways in a big way, and at the same time he avoided the attack, he jumped outside the window.

"Hyaaa!"

"You won't run away!"

Although she was outside the fire line, Ayano screamed as broken pieces of concrete that were flaked by the wind blade dashed over her.

But already not minding her, the boy chased straight after Kazuma.

"......Well, for the time being I'm saved, huh?"

While coughing so in confusion, from the window - it was the fourth floor by the way, Ayano overlooked the world.

There, the battle was already reopened.

But then, Kazuma was only escaping and the boy was only attacking so there was the problem that such an one-sided evolution without any change between offense and defense could be called a battle.

"Well, there seems to be a chance of success so I should leave it to him, no?"

But even so, alone, without panicking, Ayano descended at leisure the flight of stairs, aiming for the ground floor.

=== Part 3 ===

Facing the man frivolously smiling, with a cigarette in his mouth, the boy unleashed Kokusen without holding back at all.

The high speed blow surging out approached Kazuma, leaving behind only the sound of cutting wind.

"-----Huh."

But Kazuma avoided it by jumping aside.

He felt the certain kill blade brushing against his cheek but his smile didn't fade.

"Hey, Speedy! Are you only going to run after having such a big mouth?"

"No, why, I have no problem with you praising my magnificent skills in running away."

"Don't fool around!"

The boy attacked, Kazuma avoided. Their battle repeated just like that.

Kazuma was neglecting the boy's attack, without even warding it off with wind, he was just avoiding it as much as possible.

Was that the best he could do, was his composed smile smile only a bluff -

"Don't get cocky, small fry!"

"It's not over yet!"

While dodging the certain kill strike, Kazuma bragged in a smiling voice.

After repeating that many times over, Ayano finally arrived to the battle ground.

Looking at the state of the battle, the first thing she said was:

"Aah, you're still alive."

"............Is that what you say after pushing your own battle to others?" Replied Kazuma, looking over his shoulder with half-opened eyes.

Pretending not to recognize it, Ayano turned away.

And then, at that time, the boy chuckled at the exquisite arrangement.

By chance the three were arranged in a line.

If Kazuma were to evade like always from that location, the wind blade will attack Ayano standing behind him.

Without being able to defend, it would be his overwhelming victory.

He cannot evade a blow at full power - the boy concluded so.

''"It's my win!"''

Convinced of certain victory, the boy dropped his back in a grand scale.

That firm posture that not even a bull could pull was a quiet, instantaneous movement.

"-----!"

Together with a soundless yell, the spear became blurry.

While breathing once he unleashed nine attacks. Of course, they were all to kill -

To offset one of the the boy's attack Kazuma needed to attack five times, so no matter whether he was a contractor or not, it wasn't possible to fire forty five attacks in the space of a moment.

"........."

In front of the imminent nine ''deaths'' Kazuma showed a cold, dry smile. And then, slowly, he pushed out his left hand in front.

As if squeezed out by the hand, nine wind blades were produced.

While dancing like playful fairies, they sweetly, tenderly, softly entwined the wind blade.

The wind influenced by the strong spear was torn off, scattered and run through straight by the coiling wind.

And then, without altering its aim it soundly seized Kazuma's body, blowing through his clothes and hair, making them rustle.

"Wha---?"

"You showed me too much, idiot," Kazuma coldly said over his shoulder to the shocked boy.

"No matter how strong your attack is, if you show it many times over, I will think of one or two countermeasures. What humans can manipulate is not all mighty or absolute. Without even realizing that, you thought yourself invincible just because a somewhat convenient tool happened to fall in your hands, so you loose."

"Kuu......" Murmured the boy in regret.

But Kazuma's points were the truth and had no place for objection.

Since he couldn't make a satisfactory counter attack, he thoughtlessly despised his opponent.

Without thinking of tactics or anything else, he planned on continuing attacking with nothing but brute force but -

Everything was seen through.

He knew what happened.

Kazuma coiled wind like a screw around the spear's wind fired in a straight line and slowly but steadily reduced its power and finally changed it into a gust of wind without any offensive ability.

It seemed easy in theory but putting it into practice was beyond miracle.

To seize them in the space of a moment - he had no other way but to intercept them.

For that purpose not only that transcendent technique that had the touch of divine work was required but the flawless reading of the orbit of his own attack and it's timing, meaning that as a Jutsushi he was completely ahead of him.

There's already nothing he can do against him - he understood that was the definite truth.

Like he was convinced of victory, he cannot pursue Kazuma who was casually stepping up to him so the boy took a step back.

While he was without reservation shortening the distance, Kazuma thought.

''"Good grief, how troublesome......."''

He didn't have the same amount of strong feelings regarding the boy.

To begin with, he wasn't the kind of opponent he had to fight hard against since the beginning. Not even when taking Kokusen into account.

Even the technique the boy was admiring, for Kazuma it wasn't something he was particularly proud of.

For a Jutsushi it was natural to prepare ten or twenty Jutsu when facing someone who had a stronger hand than you.

The idiots who were under the impression of ''I am the strongest'', cannot live long enough in this world.

Without any feeling, Kazuma was simply looking at the boy's bloodless face.

He was thirteen of fourteen. Just a spoiled child.

Even if he's the direct descendant of the Fuan Family, his body is immature, his training ten years at most, even the power he can use doesn't amount to much.

Nevertheless, the reason the brat looked down on all other Fujutsushi and was so conceited to pick a fight with the Kannagi's direct descendant, what's more, the successor of Enraiha, could be only one.

''"Certainly, this is a <<handy tool>>,"'' thought Kazuma, looking at the spear the boy held in his hand.

By all rights, it was impossible for him to take so much time against a Fujutsu opponent.

Kazuma was the <<Contractor>> that contracted the Spirit Lord of the Wind which means that all Wind Spirits obey him unconditionally.

But, that spear, Kokusen, as expected of a sacred treasure, seemed to give the proprietor this much ability as if he was a semi-contractor.

That's why, besides removing the seal and completely displaying his contractor power, with Kazuma's power right now, he couldn't steal the boy's control over wind spirits.

''"Getting stuck fighting that kind of Fujutsushi, huh? It splendidly wounded my pride -"''

While grumbling inside his heart, Kazuma stepped forward in silence.

But, the boy started attacking a second time.

It seems that somehow or another he didn't want to admit defeat but no matter how strong the attack, if it can be seen through, it won't become a threat.

This time it was a counter from the side. He slightly altered the trajectory of the straight going wind spear.

But, that was enough.

All the attacks he continued firing, were avoided as if it were natural, missing their target by a paper thin difference.

Without even making evasive moves, Kazuma walked straight on.

The face of the boy setting up the spear in the front, white and stiff was clear.

In comparison to that, his attack became monotonous and he couldn't handle it anymore.

The last step. He rushed into the space with the physical spear but the pushed out Kokusen was dodged. Simultaneously that handle was casually grasped.

"-------Tch!"

"--------"

The power of the boy and Kazuma, one trying to draw back the other to snatch away, competed for a moment.

But because Kazuma quickly surpassed him the boy staggered and lost his balance.

"Kuh, let- let-go!"

As he immediately tried to reorganize, with the spear he seized, Kazuma manipulated the boy's center of gravity, not giving him the time to do so.

But even so, the boy doesn't let go of Kokusen - in the end, that was the conclusive cause of defeat.

If he would have let go of the spear he may have reorganized his crumbling balance but because he couldn't do that, he quickly crossed over the limit and fell down.

Of course, Kazuma couldn't overlook that.

"Gaah!"

He beat him to the ground with the boy's own weapon after he plundered the right of control from him, screaming like all air was evacuating his lungs.

"Humph."

And then, even more mercilessly, he trampled on the fallen boy's chest.

That force, enough to smash his heart, made his ribs jar with a thick sound.

"------Aah?"

Suddenly Kazuma closed his eyes partly, and revealed a suspicious voice.

But a moment after he regained his serenity and stepped on the boy, struggling feebly, ruthlessly.

While grinning, he asked perfectly serious.

"Well, how about this - die at once, huh?"

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Kaze no Stigma:Volume4 Chapter 4

2013-09-25T21:41:39Z

Nwms8: Basic revision.

==== Chapter 5 Maiden from the days of yore ====

=== Part 1 ===

"Hurry up!"

"I know."

As if calming down the hurrying up Ayano, Kirika nodded carefreely. She fleetingly glanced at the rear view mirror, checking Kazuma's appearance that didn't move as if he was asleep.

She looked forward once again.

Approximately five minutes after Kanon's call, Kirika got into the car she was driving and they headed for the Tokyo Government Office.

Without Daiki. Although she said it was important to accumulate experience, it was still dangerous to take such an inexperienced fellow to the enemy's base.

To say nothing of the fact that right now Ren was captured.

If he were to become a burden - no, the moment he ''will'' become a burden it's not unlikely Kazuma will simply eliminate him. Or maybe, that is certain.

Therefore, policeman Isurughi was watching the office. It goes without saying he took over that duty voluntarily.

"Still another ten minutes, huh?"

Appearing not to hurry, Kirika was operating the car safely. The car model was a jet black GT-R. Just in case, it was a Tokyo MPD's Special Investigation Unit official vehicle but Kirika never let another person take the steering wheel. Remodeled by misusing the public expenditure, it was a car sample for intermingling the public policy with private interest.

"............"

Ayano folded her arms, agitated, and glared at the seat belt that got in her way.

The time was past evening, the place was Shinjuku. Since so many unfavorable conditions piled up, no matter how skilled the driver or how fast the car, it's impossible for the car to run smoothly.

Just when they seemed to move the traffic lights changed to red and Ayano knitted her eyebrows in worry.

"Won't you sound the siren already and go across?"

"Please don't ask for that."

As if calming the irritated Ayano, Kirika said in a composed voice.

"We can't go public with this. You understand, right?"

Certainly it seems impossible to imagine how much of an uproar they would cause if they were to march into Tokyo Government Office with a patrol car ringing a gaudy siren.

She understood that. She understood it but nevertheless she couldn't calm down.

"What the hell was Ren thinking? To meddle with the enemy's base by himself!"

"But he didn't particularly have that intention, right? He only wanted to scout it out from afar -”

"It's the same thing!" Ayano retorted strongly.

Inside the car, Kirika already received a brief lecture. Connecting the information she received from Kanon, Ayano almost perfectly understood the Pandemonium system.

For that reason, she realized it. That the opponent this time was not an easy one. A Jutsushi that can freely use this much magic. Even understating him, it was clear he was elite.

Parading solo before the nose of that sort of opponent is reckless no matter how you think about it.

"Shit!"

"Settle down, Ayano-chan."

To the impatient Ayano, Kirika said the same thing the Nth time.

"The fact that he was abducted means he wasn't immediately killed. I'm sure you'll see him again."

"I know that but........"

"Besides, I'm not the one you want to say these selfish things to, right? When Kazuma comes back you can throw as many tantrums as you like."

"..............."

Despite frowning, Ayano was silent. Although he won't be pleased by furious remarks, it was an established fact she should wait until Kazuma's return.

She looked at Kazuma holding still next to her with a sidelong glance. That figure completely exhausted, leaning on the seat, seemed as if sleeping.

But of course, it was impossible for this man to doze off in front of Ren's crisis. Right now Kazuma was tuning his conscience with the Spirits of the Wind, and investigating the situation at the far off Tokyo Government Office.

When watching him so intently as if she was glaring, Kazuma suddenly opened his eyes.

Lightly looking up at the sky, he let a tiny sigh. And when he was about to close his eyes again, Ayano instantly detained him by holding his arm.

"How was it!?"

"The space above the Tokyo Government Office is certainly distorted."

"And?"

"I won't know more without going there."

Without saying anymore, Kazuma closed his eyes again. But this time, his presence didn't fade. He seemed to merely rest his body.

Understanding the report ended, Ayano shouted in a shocked voice.

"-Then, isn't that the same as not knowing anything!?"

"That's not true, Ayano-chan."

While handling the steering, Kirika put on a bitter smile.

"It means we know that, from the result of the reconnaissance, only that much can be found."

Ayano's eyebrows frowned with a twitch. As expected, she wasn't so slow as not to understand after having been spoken to like that.

"It'll be difficult?"

"Fairly."

At Kirika's question, Kazuma answered without opening his eyes.

The Barrier Kazuma spied on with wind - just because he was capable of constructing such a thing, the enemy's excellent ability was obvious.

At the premonition of a fierce battle, Ayano involuntarily clenched her fists.

After the car drove for five more minutes, Tokyo Government Office's panoramic view finally entered their vision.

In a straight line, the distance is less than three hundred meters. But they were stopped again by the red traffic light.

''"Running should be faster now..."''

The instant Ayano thought so, Kazuma moved.

"I go first."

"Wait!"

As Kazuma said so and got off the car, Kirika sharply called him to a halt. Kazuma looked at Kirika with an emotionless gaze.

"I'm not trying to stop you. I'm just saying it to know I said it - don't destroy the Tokyo Metropolitan Office."

"That seems reasonable..." Kazuma replied with an expression as if that was a stupid thing to say. But it was too early to be relieved.

"I'll be careful until I rescue Ren."

"Be careful after rescuing Ren-kun too!"

"Tell that to the opponent!"

Kazuma bluntly ignored Kirika's shriek-like petition. Coincidentally his silhouette faded like a mist and then - it disappeared.

By manipulating the density of the atmosphere, he turned transparent by distorting light. Kazuma's specialty was optical camouflage.

"Kazuma!"

He didn't reply. Already riding upon the winds, it seems he was headed for the Tokyo Government Office in a literally straight line.

He aimed to go directly to the space between the twin towers where Pandemonium was located without having to use the stairs.

".....!"

Simultaneously, both looked up at the Tokyo Government Office. In the upper air of the tuning fork characteristic silhouette they felt a frozen, enormous power.

"No way! Is he really going to wreck it!?"

While both women became rigid unable to do anything, their faces stiff, quickly, sharply, a gigantic power was released.

The distortion of space, the power that held that distortion in place was forcibly sliced and torn by a wind blade.

The recoil from the reconstruction of the warped space changed to a colorless, soundless shock.

"Is that, Pandemonium?"

The barrier had been smashed and Pandemonium, concealed at the bottom of that distorted space was finally exposed to broad daylight.

The number one central government office, Tokyo Government Office, this building that could be called the symbol of Shinjuku was joke-like enshrined in the gap between the two towers.

It was a scene that made one doubt his sanity. Although after several seconds the barrier reconstructed and that image disappeared, there are people who would have seen it.

"..........I wonder, will we be able to falsify this..........?"

Sitting in the driver seat completely exhausted, Kirika groaned.

Just as feebly, Ayano retorted.

".........Won't it be all right? If there's no evidence, you can settle it by saying it was an optical illusion, or if there are pictures you can say something like that was photo-shopped."

"Maybe -"

"Oo - Oi! What was that explosion!?"

Kirika's murmur, forcibly trying to convince herself was drowned in the man's shout. Ayano and Kirika looked at each other with tedious expressions.

What the man felt was probably the recoil from when the Barrier was tore open.

It was a non-physical shock but it seems it could be perceived by normal people with a good intuition.

".......For now, let's prepare"

Kirika took her telephone out from the dashboard and pressed the buttons. When it connected, she began talking without introduction.

"It's urgent, command an evacuation order for Tokyo Government Office. Eeh, who cares about the reason? Invent something adequate like we received a terrorist bomb warning or something. Do you understand? This conversation is being recorded, right? It will be pointless even if you tell me you won't listen!"

After powering off her phone she flung it in the passenger seat. She let out a deep, deep breath.

"Good grief..."

"What was that? The preliminary arrangements for a cover up?"

At Ayano's question Kirika replied in a worn out voice.

"That's also true but we can't disregard the possibility that Tokyo Government Office will fall, right?"

"Aah, that's true -"

Involuntarily Ayano looked up at the Tokyo Government Office with a distant look.

"Since it's ''that'' Kazuma, he doesn't seem to hold kindness for the guy who abducted Ren, huh?"

"I beg you, don't say it so calmly," Kirika whispered while getting away from the car.

"Because in that worst case, I have no one to rely on but you."

"........I'll do my best."

As Kirika said so desperately hoping, Ayano answered honestly.

Entering the Tokyo Government Office, the usual scene enfolded between their eyes.

"It seems no one takes refuge."

"..........That 'wait and see' son of a bitch....I'll remember this!" Kirika spit out unpleasantly.

Feeling a shiver at that subdued murmur, Ayano felt gratitude for that certain something that surpasses human intellect that didn't made her Kirika's boss.

"Aah, but, the sightseeing room seems closed."

She restored the conversation in a casual manner.

There was no line of people on the left and right direct elevator entrances but a closed sigh stood there bluntly.

"True......that's strange - huh?"

Looking around Kirika took notice of two children who approached them.

''"Aah, are these kids...?"''

This was the first time she met them directly but the duo was so peculiar it was impossible to mistake. As if supporting that guess, Ayano met them halfway.

"Kanon-chan, Serisawa-kun -"

"Onee-sama!"

One of those two, Kanon, clung to Ayano firmly.

"Are you still here? Didn't I tell you to go home?"

"But, but, Ren-kun is....."

"He's fine."

Lightly bending over so that the height of their eyes matched, Ayano showed a smile to bring her piece of mind.

"Don't worry about Ren. That boy is much stronger that what he looks like and a much stronger guy already left to rescue him."

"But...."

Unable to throw away her hesitation, Kanon mumbled. As if covering for her Serisawa opened his mouth.

"If you say it's fine staying here is....besides, even we can -"

"Don't be so irresponsible!"

With a suddenly changed severe tone, Ayano scolded them harshly.

"It may be heartless to say it but right now, there's nothing you two can do. If I am honest, you're nothing but a drag. If you plan to continue being Ren's friends, learn to discern whether or not you can say selfish things."

They had a life and death occupation. Not only they didn't had the ability to protect themselves but it was inexcusable to disturb the site with for amateurs who didn't understand.

If both were those kind of ''people without self-restraint'' there was no point for Ren to associate with them like that.

".....I'm sorry......"

"......I apologize......."

Dejected, heads hung down, both spoke words of apology.

Once again Ayano showed a smile and embraced both of them lightly.

"I'll tell Ren to call you afterwards. Wait until then at your homes, OK?"

"- Yes."

"Is the conversation over?"

As if choosing the moment the children agreed - actually, seeming to lie in wait for it, Kirika approached. Ayano unintentionally scowled and glared at her.

"Please at least try to look like you are persuading them. Truthfully, this is your job right?"

"You could say that but I thought Ayano-chan was more suitable for it. Besides -"

Lightly eluding Ayano's criticism, Kirika focused her eyes on the children.

"The police was supposed to order evacuation, you didn't hear anything?"

"- Eeh?"

Kanon and Serisawa exchanged strange glances.

"No, we didn't hear anything. Aah, but the sightseeing room was suddenly shut."

"We've been in the lobby ever since but there wasn't a broadcast like that. I'm not mistaken."

""..........I see."

With a low nod, Kirika fired her gun in a deserted place. Perhaps in the direction of the Metropolitan Police Department.

"I'll ask for information at the reception desk. Ayano-chan, take the kids."

"Aah, OK."

Hearing Ayano's answer behind her, Kirika walked to the reception.

Looking at her appearance from behind with a fearful gaze, Serisawa asked:

"Is she perhaps, a scary person?"

"That's true. It would be better not to stand in her way today."

Responding with a faintly stiff voice, Ayano took both of them to the exit. Leaving the building together with them, she sent them off.

"Well, go home."

Kanon and Serisawa bowed their heads deeply in front of Ayano.

"Please save Ren-kun."

"Please save him!"

Cracking a smile Ayano assured them.

"Be careful when going home."

"Yes!"

With a vigorous nod, the children returned home. Until their silhouettes disappeared, Ayano waived her hand smiling.

When returning inside, Kirika was waiting in front of the automatic door.

"Let's go."

Recognizing Ayano's appearance, she started walking at a quick pace without explaining the situation. Obviously she was in a bad mood.

"Wait! The situation?"

While chasing after Kirika who headed for the elevator, Ayano asked carefully. Kirika replied without looking back.

"It seems an evacuation advice was given."

".......Aah, I see."

After a pause of several seconds, Ayano understood the meaning of those words.

Not an order or obligation to evacuate but to go or to stay as one pleases.

Since even the receptionist remained it seems they were informed the danger was pretty small.

But just in case, since the advice was taken, this means they have an excuse for that worst case.

"Shit, that's why they're being called incompetent government officials who can only protect themselves!"

"What will you do ~"

"There's no other way. We can only take care so that the building won't collapse by ourselves. Let's hurry."

They quickened their paces even more. They reached the elevator landing and mercilessly pummeled the up button. They slid into the one on standby.

"By the way -"

While looking up at the floor number changing rapidly, Ayano fired the question in a simple way.

"Do you know how to get to the space between the two towers?"

"I don't."

Without the half of a second of pause, Kirika replied immediately. Ayano continued her questioning with a stunned expression.

"Then, what are we going to do?"

"We'll force our way through."

Another immediate reply. Forgetting all her questions, Ayano starred at Kirika's unusually unyielding attitude.

"There's supposed to be at least one window facing the place in question. When comparing it with a broken down building, there's no need worry about a one or two windows or walls getting destroyed."

".........Well, that may be true."

It seems like Kirika was seriously anxious about the collapse of the Tokyo Government Office. Afraid of pointlessly provoking her, Ayano nodded vaguely.

Incidentally, for the sake of getting outside forcefully, it should be noted that beside windows, several locks had been shattered.

"Waaah!?"

At the moment she took a step outside the window, a strong wind got hold of her body. Ayano desperately braced her legs on the ground, her posture changed.

"Dangerous....."

They are at approximately a hundred and fifty meter above ground. If she were to tumble down, there would be literal hell before reaching down.

Feeling a cold sweat on her back, Ayano involuntarily shivered.

"If we were to fall from here, there would be enough time to finish praying before dying."

"Don't say such stupid things and look here."

A cool voice resounded in her ears. When turning around, in the center of the raging wind, Kirika's certainly erect figure was visible.

Ayano pursued Kirika's gaze. The space between the towering towers. At a first glance, nothing seemed suspicious. But -

"Aah, if it's like that, even I can grasp it."

Even for a Enjutsushi's non sharp senses, the unusual phenomenon before her eyes was obvious. The space was flickering in an unstable way.

The barrier concealing Pandemonium seemed unable to restore from the damage Kazuma's wind inflicted upon it.

"What to do? At this point I could hit and hit it with all my force."

"Don't do that."

Without hesitation, Kirika rejected Ayano's proposal.

"If the barrier is blown away, Pandemonium will become completely visible."

"That's true. Then, will you?"

"Yeah. It's fine leaving it to me in this situation."

Letting out words lacking definite confidence or modesty Kirika lightly took a stance.

Unnoticed on the fingers of both palms intersected across her chest four sheets of charms were interposed.

Kirika simultaneously released the four amulet sheets. They soared with a speed unbelievable for some scraps of paper, and suddenly stood still at one point in space, as if there was a transparent barrier there.

The four charms drew a rectangle on that empty space. Gazing sharply at the center of it, Kirika made the Sword Seal - her index and middle finger extended while the other fingers were tightly grasped.

"Rin Pyou Tou Shya Kai Jin Retsu Zai Zen!"

While reciting the nine letter spell, the space before their eyes was cut open the way the right hand Sword Seal was moving. First horizontally, then vertically - and then the moment nine types of lines were carved, the power dwelling in the four amulets was released.

''Ghin!''

Raising an ear breaking friction, the rectangle inside delimited by the amulets was entirely gouged out.

As if suddenly a window was produced in the empty space, from the hole the outer wall of Pandemonium could be seen.

" - Well done!"

At the performance defying the skillful barrier, Ayano spontaneously praised her from the bottom of her heart.

''"But, isn't Hayakuji (trad: the Early Nine Letter) the art of Shugendou?"''

Shugendou is a technique called the Nine Letters of Magic consisting of chanting the Nine Letter Spell while using for each letter a correspondent hand seal to purify evil.

The Hayakuji could be called the abridged version of it. Omitting the both hands seal, using only a right hand seal, substituting it for cutting the space nine times.

Comparing it to the proper way of doing it, its effectiveness was lower. Its speed was exceptionally high and could ensure the freedom of one hand. Compared to the Nine Letters, it was more appropriate for battle.

At any rate, it was magic that couldn't be used by Onmyoudou -

- ...Kazuma's words

''"I see, that's what he was talking about"''

Remembering the words she previously heard from Kazuma, Ayano secretly agreed. This was exactly why she was ostracized by the old ones respecting tradition.

"What are you doing, hurry up!"

When she came to her senses after being called out, Kirika was already passing through the whole opened in the barrier.

It was impossible for Kirika's jutsu to be effective long term. Before being left behind, Ayano followed Kirika in a hurry.

=== Part 2 ===

The wind blade tore the barrier and exposed the hidden image of Pandemonium in broad daylight.

"Excuse me for disturbing you - or something!"

Kazuma fired one more hit, making a huge hole in the roof and entered Pandemonium from the third floor.

"Well then -"

He turned around and looked over the gloomy room. It looked bedroom-like but except a canopy bed there was not much else.

Unable to trace a presence, Kazuma left the room without reluctance. He opened the door -

"Ooh"

While thinking it would led to the hallway, there was another room. This time it was a completely empty, square room. There was a door in all four directions.

While faintly scowling, he opened a random door. Another square room. Four doors.

"............"

Pushing his way forward in a straight line, Kazuma opened in succession the other three doors. Without any change, he was greeted by square rooms.

When turning back to the route he came through, he arrived at a children's room crammed with plush toys that he definitely didn't remember crossing.

Looking up at the ceiling, Kazuma murmured.

"Did you tamper with the inside space too? That's dangerous."

Inside Pandemonium, the space structure was changed to a complicated and mysterious dimension maze.

It was possible the tear the space with wind and push his way forward directly but adding external force to this space that became so complicated, it was possible the balance would instantly collapse breaking down Pandemonium itself.

Until he found Ren, he couldn't behave too rashly.

"If only I could find Ren's whereabouts........"

Since the space was distorted, not only he couldn't find Ren's presence, he didn't even understand his present location.

The only thing Kazuma was able to do right now was to believe in that one in a million chance and continue opening the infinite number of doors.

"Well, do you think there's a need for us to knock?"

Standing in front of Pandemonium's entrance, Kirika cracked a joke trying to appease her nervousness.

"Is not really necessary, is it? But if you want me to, I'll do it."

On the other side, already brimming with fighting spirit, Ayano had already thrown away etiquette and the like beyond the equinox.

Standing in front of the massive door, her left foot made one rotation on the axis. And then -

"Excuse me for disturbing you!"

The strong, peerless right-sided roundhouse kick made a dent in the bulky door. The door hinges popped out and the door was blown off with so much force it seemed there was an explosion.

"Well, let's enter."

"Ayano-chan......"

Trying to rebuke Ayano's conduct as that of a, perhaps, fellow woman, Kirika interrupted her own words in the middle of the sentence.

Inside the mansion, she recognized the presence of a person standing still, soundless, in the grand lounge.

As if matching their entrance, the dim lounge was lit up. The light down pouring from the chandelier, accurately shined upon the still shadow.

She was in her late teens, a girl so beautiful she felt out of place. She wore a jet black one piece dress, Gothic Lolita stile, with abundant frills and lace.

Her chestnut color hair was glamorously glittering, her lapis lazuli color eyes staring directly at the two, without blinking.

"....Eeh......."

Although confused by the sudden appearance, tentatively Ayano asked a question.

"You're not Vesalius, right?"

"Yes," the girl nodded blandly.

"I am Lapis. I serve Master Vesalius."

"I see. Then, will you guide us to your master? I have something to discuss with him."

Of course, the ''conversation'' Ayano had in mind was an aggressive communication using mainly fists.

But, staring with blank eyes at Ayano who was about to roll her sleeves, the girl - Lapis calmly shook her head.

"Master doesn't meet people without an appointment. Please leave."

"Do you expect us to go back with a <<Is that so?>>," Ayano retorted with immediate timing. And then, without hesitation, she stepped forward.

"If you won't show us around we'll search the entire house as I please. Move."

Facing the girl, Ayano met her halfway in a long stride. But Lapis didn't make way.

"Please stop," Lapis pronounced, thoroughly serene.

"If you come any closer, it will be considered hostile behavior and you will be eliminated."

"- Really, how?"

As if answering Ayano's reply, Lapis stepped up to the Western armor decorating the lounge and took the sword carried in those hands.

It was big.

As if disregarding its practical use from the outset, it was a large sword outside norm. The length of the blade was probably a hundred and fifty centimeters. Taking into account the handle, it exceeded two meters. It was bulky enough to cover the girl's waist.

With a solemn sound the scabbard was quickly taken off. The unsheathed blade diffusely reflected the illumination shining prettily.

"........Crystal?" Ayano murmured, intently watching the transparent sword blade that was clearly not steel. True, the gigantic sword that equaled Lapis' stature, all of it was composed of high purity crystal.

Unable to lift it because of its heaviness, the tip of the sword was dragged on the ground. Lapis said:

"Please leave. It is not permitted for uninvited guests to walk around Pandemonium."

She was monotonous as ever but her tone was firm. Ayano immediately understood that it was the last warning.

Pausing her advance, she unsheathed Enraiha. Facing the large crystal sword, she held the scarlet double edged sword clad in a golden flame.

And then, as if declaring war, Ayano took one step forward.

" - !"

Instantly Lapis' image disappeared. In the space of one eye blink, the figure of the girl carrying a large sword moved in front of Ayano.

A swift stepping in and then a slashing attack. The gigantic sword that seemed to mess with the sense of distance, the girl easily swung it downward.

Ayano met that blow with Enraiha. The swinging down crystal sword clashed with the raised scarlet edge.

" - !?"

Lapis had a complete victory in that confrontation.

Her sword, nearly sent flying by that tremendous strength, Ayano instantly altered the angle of the edge and made a slashing attack.

Giving off sparks, the crystal sword slid on Enraiha's blade. Despite changing its trajectory, the huge sword showed no decrease in speed, opening a crater-like hole in the floor.

Putting distance between them, Ayano stared at Lapis with a stiff expression.

''"Is.....is this a joke........?"''

Her power was unbelievable. Surely, between a sword attack from below and an upward sword attack the added gravity will always favour the one swinging down but this was a totally different level.

The physical strength she felt from this girl right now was clearly different from that of a human.

"Well, it's obvious from that occasion you wold posses something like that," Ayano groaned looking at the girl setting up her large sword half way up the stairway.

It was a sight without a sense of reality. Obstructed by the enormous sword blade, the girl's body was practically invisible.

The master setting up his sword, she was reminded of that optical illusion of a full length invisible edge hidden because of that space without gaps, but this was no illusion.

Purely physical, that gigantic blade is covering most of the girl's body.

"So, what to do?"

Preparing Enraiha, Ayano cautiously examined Lapis' reaction.

She couldn't neglect the girl's bizarre muscle strength but she was even more cautious of that crystal long sword held in that hand.

Being without scratch after exchanging blows with the heat of Enraiha's blade that can thoroughly burn all creation, just by that it was obviously not made of just crystal.

Because it was the weapon of the magician's servant it was perhaps loaded with unusual magical power.

If the effect of it was just a boost of strength there's no problem, but -

During the time Ayano didn't decide how to deal with it, Lapis stated attacking once more.

A soundless blow not only without fighting spirit but even her footsteps didn't make a noise. Leaving behind only the sound of cutting wind, the crystal sword assaulted Ayano.

Without committing the stupidity of stopping a slashing attack equivalent to the blow of castle siege weapons Ayano bent her body and dodged the blade. Also, the continuous sideways sweeping swung at her.

''"Sigh - will I manage, one way or another?"''

While using only defensive body movements for dodging the attack, Ayano was roughly making sure of Lapis' ability.

She freely handled the large sword to levels unrivaled by human beings but it seemed simple physical strength.

Certainly, her speed and might were terrific but for the sake of yielding that enormous mass her swordsmanship was limited and couldn't defy the law of inertia.

That was opportunity enough to strike.

Sharpening her reflexes, she waited for her chance while bearing nothing but evasion.

That opportunity arrived unexpectedly early.

Becoming irritated by the lack of contact, Lapis made an extremely long sweeping stroke.

Stepping in closely with all her strength, she mowed down the large sword with her right arm. That offensive made a maximum reach but naturally the time interval for dodging it was also large.

Ayano evaded that blow with a back step and stepped into Lapis' territory when the crystal blade passed her.

Unable to suppress the recoil of the swing the crystal sword almost flew close to Lapis' back. While in that posture, no matter how much transcendental physical strength the girl had, she couldn't slash back in time.

"Whaa?"

But, much more quickly than Ayano expected, Lapis unleashed the pursuit. Moreover, from the right side the same as last time.

Crossing over the girl's back, the large sword was transferred from her right to her left hand and without slashing from the opposite direction from the first attack it made one more revolution and fired the same attack a second time.

Leaving aside the consecutive attack made by the full body rotation, Ayano wasn't able to predict her using that enormous sword like a knife.

She barely managed to catch that blow with Enraiha but, of course, she didn't manage to stop it. Even if Enraiha was safe her arm was about to break.

Naturally Ayano flew back, let loose by the impact.

Although blown away she reorganized her stance in mid-air and neatly landed on the wall with her legs.

By the time she landed on the floor, Lapis was already holding the huge sword aloft. The gigantic sword blade secretly disappeared in the girl's body.

As if she could return it on a scabbard on her back, an extreme pose.

While having a fiercely unpleasant presentiment, Ayano raised Enraiha overhead. Almost simultaneously, Lapis swung down the large sword.

From the crystal sword blade, an intense shock-wave was released.

"Y.......ouu......!"

Enraiha's blade swung downward one beat later met the imminent shock-wave. Cleaving it in two, the shock-wave flew past Ayano on both sides and opened two large holes on the wall behind her.

"......Unbelievable, huh?" Groaned Ayano, letting out a rough breath.

That physical ability was not a laughing matter. The blow just now didn't even have magic. The sword's pointed end exceeded speed of sound and created a genuinely physical shock-wave.

"That's one great animal strength."

"............"

Lapis was silent. Expressionless like a puppet, from the beginning of the fight up until now, she didn't slightly waver once.

Without showing any sign of unrest as all her attacks were blocked, without emotion or maybe because she had confidence her performance was superior.

"Don't get carried away!"

With one shout, Ayano became aggressive. Reducing the distance between the two by breaking into extreme speed, she swung Enraiha downward head on.

Lapis carelessly rose the crystal sword overhead, and repelled the slash. Next it was aimed to her torso but just by slightly changing the angle she defended.

Clearly, the girl mastered the handling of the enormous sword. The length of the sword blade, its thickness, was effectively used, handling the opponent's attack with a minimum of movement.

"Kuu....."

Worn out by the attack, Ayano took a tiny breath and backed off. Without missing that break, Lapis shortened the distance quickly.

"Kyaaa!"

In only a moment, not quick enough, Ayano was blown away. But this was what Ayano planned.

Brandishing Enraiha in midair, Ayano shouts:

"If you can block this, I'd like to see you try!"

The blade swung downward, releasing a fireball. Generating in succession three plasma spheres, they struck Lapis all at once.

Lapis looked up at the super hot cluster of flames drawing near indifferently. Without hesitation, she raised the crystal sword and swept it sideways.

The flash that appeared accurately sliced the three fireballs. Immediately following, they were extinguished without trace.

"- Wha?"

The instant her shocked, wide opened eyes perceived the crystal long sword, Ayao understood that mechanism.

The sword blade that was transparent, had been tainted red.

''"It was absorbed !?"''

Lapis yielded the crimson long sword on a grand scale. The red crystal glittered and released a crimson flame from the blade.

Surrounding Ayano, a five meter diameter space was turned to hell.

" - Tch, for an Enjutsushi such a move is -"

It seems she knew it couldn't be effective. By the time Ayano was scattering the blaze fully irritated, Lapis imminently approached Ayano, the transparent again long sword raised overhead.

"Crap."

Ayano avoided the blade pressed right before her eyes by bending forward and with that momentum put distance between them with a forward somersault.

As a feint she released a fireball in order to get up but as expected it was absorbed by the projected crystal blade.

"I'm beaten by this......" Ayano murmured looking at that stance without openings.

It seems like Lapis wasn't a Jutsushi or maybe a Jutsushi that manipulates one's flesh and didn't have any sort of offensive magic.

But, the girl was clearly an expert at anti-Jutsushi combat. She blocked long distance magical attacks with the crystal blade and by fighting close combat she didn't allow one the spare time for using magic, she showed the ultimate level of perfection at this kind of strategy.

''"What to do....?"''

"Surprisingly, you seem to have a hard time. Are you perhaps going to loose?"

While seriously thinking, a calm question as if it were someone else's problem reached her ears. Involuntarily Ayano was filled with a thirst to kill, and glared at her companion posing spectator from a distant place.

"Why the fuck are you so relaxed? How about backing me a little, even if it's a sham?"

Kirika irresponsibility shrugged her shoulders, warding off Ayano's protest.

"Don't say such nonsense. It's impossible to try thrusting myself in the neighboring of such high speed combat, right?"

"But, Kazuma would -"

Stopping mid-sentence, Ayano realized her blunder.

Although there was no need to say anymore, Kirika stressed the point as if trying to make sure.

"Don't you think it's unreasonable to force mankind to Kazuma's level?"

"Right. That was my mistake."

Ayano frankly admitted her fault.

If it's Kazuma, no matter how fast or complex were Ayano to move, he can flawlessly support her with a nonchalant air.

But, just how much transcendental skill does that require, Ayano knows it better than anyone else.

In any case, she is now fighting at ultra high speed where the positions are mutually exchanged at instant intervals.

If an inferior Jutsushi were to interfere, far from support it's not unlikely she would destroy her ally.

Not just the supporter's movement, but perfectly reading the movement of the rival she is facing, holding the entire battlefield on the palm of his hand, doing that from the first time, the deed of assisting close combat almost intertwined, that becomes an unreasonable deed.

It's possible Kirika was a first class Onmyouji but that is after all only first class.

She spontaneously shouted letting anger take it's natural course but if Kirika were to intervene Ayano would be troubled all the more.

Even under normal circumstances fighting an enemy was difficult. She has no room to pay attention even to her back.

At such times, only at such times, she wanted to be close to Kazuma.

If Kazuma were to defend her back, she can fight without concern.

If it's Kazuma, he can adjust the stage and make her feel good in order to fight at full power.

"Ah, enough already! It's all his fault for not being here!"

Ayano set up Enraiha and retorted with a scream, venting her propensity for anger.

=== Part 3 ===

Before he knew it, Ren was standing by himself in a dim, huge room.

No - he was not alone

There was one more person.

At the boundary between very dim light and pitch darkness, at a distance he could just barely confirm it by sight, someone was sitting calmly.

Eliminating time to look closely, Ren threw a fireball high in the sky. The white light shining out far and wide lit up the spacious room like broad daylight.

As if opening a hundred people ball, the empty room was grand to that extent. But, only two people were there right now.

Ren and, the person seated on an extravagant chair on the seat of honor on the innermost part of the saloon.

"In my opinion -"

The personage assuming that position started talking with an expression containing a smile. It was a voice he heard somewhere before.

The voice of the man that took him out from Tokyo Government Office.

"Your action is inelegant. If illumination is necessary I will provide it. Please erase that primitive lamp about to scorch the ceiling."

Matching the man's words, the great number of chandeliers hanging from the ceiling turned on all at once.

Ren extinguished the flame that became unnecessary, and stared scrutinizing at the whole man.

Platinum blond long hair. A deep crimson mantle wore on top of a black suit. The face was covered with a plain mask.

His appearance was just like it was explained. Ren inquired directly.

"Are you Vesalius?"

"When you're asking for a person's name, isn't it etiquette to call yourself first?"

Ren glared at the man closing hie eyes partly. Spontaneously his back dropped, his knee bent, taking a combat posture.

Inside the mask, the man seemed to laugh.

"Kannagi's youngest child, I heard you are a gentle child who dislikes conflict but that must have been some metaphor, right?"

"I have no idea," Ren repelled unfeeling.

"At least, I don't think there is a need to be mannered towards you."

"Ha ha, how cold."

Laughing once more, the man suddenly stood up.

"Whatever. I am certainly the proprietor of Pandemonium, Vesalius. And you are Kannagi Ren. Shall we advance the conversation now that we both know the other's identity?"

The man - Vesalius made a step forward with his right leg and with a pompous gesture swiped his mantle to the back. As if tempting, he raised his right palm, forward.

"Welcome to the Pandemonium, Chosen One. Your power has been acknowledged and deemed suitable for progressing even more. Do you wish a class change?"

"I don't!" Replied Ren immediately point blank.

"- Well, since it's you, you would answer that way."

Vesalius shrugged his shoulders bored-looking, dropping his hand.

"The other people agreed to it extremely happily."

"Why such a thing - no, the reason is inconsequential. Stop doing such things."

"I can't do that."

This time Vesalius replied immediately.

"This experiment took a lot of labor in itself. I can't stop it because a child's complaint makes noise."

"Experiment - ?"

"That's right, an experiment. For the sake of it I distributed power to those intellectually impaired young people. In no way does it mean I'm messing around trying to convert to reality the world of TV games."

Ren didn't intend to ask about the purpose of that experiment. As one would expect, they wouldn't chat to that extent and there's no point in knowing.

No matter the reason, this sort of act couldn't be overlooked.

"You're giving off a pretty violent presence, boy ~"

Seeing through Ren's decision, a faint wry smile oozed from Vesalius' voice. But, without taking a stance to face the attack, he sat down on the chair for a second time.

"A fighting scene is my weak point. If I were to fight against an Enjutsushi, I would be killed in three seconds. That is being modest."

"Then -"

"I have an attendant specialized in combat but now is all out for the sake of eliminating another intruder."

"Another intruder ~"

"Do you want to see?"

Vesalius lightly brought up his left hand. That movement was a sigh, a screen was produced in the air projecting two girls fighting each other.

Among them, there was a girl Ren recognized by sight.

"Nee-sama!"

"That's right. A direct descendant of Kannagi just like you, Miss Kannagi Ayano. By the way, the other one, my subordinate, is called Lapis. She is thoroughly trained in anti-Jutsu combat. Even if the opponent is a direct descendant of Kannagi, she won't lose."

"You....."

"Aah, it's not just her."

Raising this time his right hand, Vesalius produced one more screen in the air. What was reflected there -

"Nii-sama!"

"Yagami Kazuma. His former name is Kannagi Kazuma. They both came here in order to save you. You're being loved aren't you, boy?"

Inside the screen Kazuma was exploring the mansion irritated. But his manner of walking felt exactly random and didn't seem to have a purpose.

Since his brother was an excellent Fujutsushi, there was no need to use his legs to this extent inside the mansion -

As if reading Ren's question, Vesalius announced in a tone full of composure.

"The section he trespass through became a dimension maze replacing the warped space. He can't search it using wind"

"Nii-sama's wind can tear that space itself!"

"True."

Vesalius agreed to Ren's instant objection without hint of disturbance.

"But, if he were to tear down the space that became twisted to this extent, the balance will instantly crumble and maybe Pandemonium will collapse, that's what he's thinking. In reality, the structure is not that poorly built."

From inside the mask, the lingering memory of scorn leaked out. Sneering at Kazuma continuing his pointless endeavor, Vesalius' shoulders trembled slightly.

"Therefore, he won't choose such a forced action. If he were by himself he wouldn't hesitate but you are here. That man's - our detestable bitter enemy's most important person, you."

" - !?"

Although wearing a mask, it couldn't possibly conceal the hatred and intent to kill. Flooded in the criminal intent gushing out from he man's hole body, Ren was terrified.

".......Is Nii-sama, your objective.......?"

"No, that's an additional gain."

Smoothly recovering his serenity, Vesalius answered.

"It was determined the experiment would be most pertinent if done here. I was informed he would be here but I don't have that much time to spare for someone hated."

"............"

Seeing Vesalius answer thoroughly indifferent, Ren was overpowered.

It was scary beyond reason.

While seeming rational, this was was different at some fundamental level.

Something, he couldn't quite express it, was different. A mutually exclusive definite something. To the extent he couldn't put up with breathing the same air as him.

But even so, he was in front of the enemy ringleader. Running away wasn't permitted. There was nobody who could help him.

- He had no choice but to do it by himself.

"In short, what are you trying to say?"

Hardening his resolution to confront Vesalius, Ren asked with a face feigning serenity.

"Do you plan to take Nii-sama and Nee-sama hostage? If that's the case, it's pointless. Nee-sama wouldn't loose to the likes of your servant. Even Nii-sama won't be trapped in the maze forever. It's quite the opposite, the fact that those two could become a burden to me is nothing but a comical story!"

"Humph, certainly."

Vesalius consented, not taken aback but frank.

"I don't know about Kannagi Ayano but Yagami Kazuma - that man with a lack of common sense in all aspects can't be sealed by something like a dimension maze. That's quite a plausible argument."

"Then, what is that you're aiming at?"

"Hmmm -"

As of thinking over it carefully or maybe trying to dodge, Vesalius tilted his head to the side in doubt. Just like <<The Fire Leader>> Takamatsu Kyoshi said, he was a very theatrical man.

" - The production of a play, maybe?"

"What?"

"I said, the production of a play. With what sort of timing will the three of you be reunited under one roof, I'm waiting for the most effective ''<<chance>>''"

"To.......to what end?"

"How to elaborate this, huh?" Stated Vesalius as a matter of course.

"The arrival of the protagonists after discovering the wicked magician's hiding place. All three separated, caught into vicious traps while rushing in, each encountering a formidable enemy. To come together in this burning situation without any sort of drama, to climax will be lacking. Wouldn't you doubt my sense even more?"

"I don't care about such things!" Shouted Ren unable to bear it any longer. But Vesalius' determination didn't waver.

"I can't allow such a thing. This setting needs drama unconditionally. For example, the moment Lapis beheads Miss Kannagi Ayano, Yagami Kazuma appears and in that state -"

"That's impossible!"

"Is that so? You are underestimating Lapis' ability. That could be called the ultimate form of a <<Jutsushi Killer>>. Even if Yagami is sealed in the dimension maze -"

His proud words interrupted mid-way, Vesalius stared at the screen projecting Kazuma. Inside the screen, Kazuma was also looking hard at Vesalius.

"- Are you, there?"

A dry voice reached Ren's ear. Of course Vesalius' too.

"Ridiculous....."

Vesalius' voice, full of composure until now, looked worried for the first time.

Before his eyes, he stares at the chilly glance beyond the screen.

"Ridiculous!"

Vesalius immediately tried to eliminate the crystal. But, faster that that.

''"Ren!"''

From inside the crystal, Kazuma shouts.

''"If you're there, call my name! I'll definitely find where you are! Ren - "''

"Nii-sama!"

No doubt came to his mind. Believing he will reach without fail, Ren shouts as loudly as possible.

"I'm here! Nii-sama!"

"I won't let you!"

While shouting, Vesalius grasped tightly his right hand. As if crushing the crystal floating in mid-air with that hand.

But, slightly late, from inside, the crystal was sliced in a straight line. The sounds of stretched barriers smashed up over and over again, played and reverberated between the hard space.

"......What unbelievable behavior you have."

Gazing at the man jumping out of the crystal, Vesalius groaned as if mourning.

"More than severing the space, your search by way of wind was supposed to be sealed. How did you do something so special?"

"It's not particularly special. I just followed the path you made," replied Kazuma as a matter of course.

"Should I say, sorry for the trouble I put you through?"

"You bastard.........."

The pair of eyes inside the mask, glared at Kazuma full of hate. But lightly warding that off, Kazuma turned his face toward Ren.

"Yo, Ren. Are you unhurt?"

"Ah, yes. I'm sorry for making you worry."

"No, if I wouldn't have heard your voice, perhaps i would have been delayed a little longer"

While brushing gently Ren's head, rushing over, Kazuma asked as if continuing the conversation.

"So, are you Vesalius?"

"Yes, you can call me that."

"Heee......"

While showing a frivolous broad grin, Kazuma focused on the masked man. Vesalius too, quietly stared back at Kazuma through the expressionless mask.

At a first glance they looked as if confronting each other in an indifferent manner. But, even Ren could clearly see the transmitted violent emotion on the verge of explosion boiling inside.

''" Does my brother also know Vesalius?"''

''our detestable bitter enemy''

Vesalius referred like that to Kazuma. Exactly as stated, he included as much hate as possible.

What sort of connection is between the two, truthfully he was scared of knowing.

In front of Ren, catching his breath and watching them attentively, Kazuma got the ball rolling playing the fool.

"Your taste is surprisingly unusual. What's with the crazed appearance, Bernhardt Rhodes?"

"- Eh?"

"- Humph"

At the shocking accusation, he covered the surprised groan with an displeased sigh.

Confused Ren shifted his attention on the man calling himself Vesalius but without showing any sigh of disturbance, the masked man stared back at Kazuma coolly.

"Can you not make such an elated face? I wasn't particularly hiding it. This resemblance is one part of the play production."

"I see. Then, to what purpose did you bring Ren here? Since I finally overlooked your life, weren't you supposed to use it in a more meaningful manner?"

"Don't get cocky, youngster," Vesalius coldly announced without trace of provocation.

"You'd better understand a bastard like you managed to live this long because we ignored you as something trifle. If we were serious, a bastard like you -"

"Ha ha ha, well, I didn't notice that," Kazuma laughed with an extremely ''you're rubbing me the wrong way'' expression.

"So, who the fuck is supposed to kill me when '''I''' butchered your master, huh?"

With the face of an arrogant villain holding his head high, at the time he loudly declared so -

The wall behind was blown off as if exploding and two shadows tumbled in.

=== Part 4 ===

Madan no Ou to Vanadis:Volume 07 Chapter 1

2013-09-21T23:54:14Z

Nwms8: minor edits

== Chapter 1: Burning the villages ==


“---Has Lord Tigrevurmud ever burned a village?”

Struck with an unexpected question in a casual tone, the youth was taken aback. He steadily stared at the blond hair woman -- Limlisha sitting opposite to him across the table.

She, who was called by her nickname Lim by those close to her, was twenty years old, three years older than the youth. Although there were feelings of guilt in her blue eyes, she continued speaking.

“I apologize about it being an unpleasant question. But, if possible, I wish to talk about……”

“Ah, No, I wasn‘t particularly offended. I was just a little surprised.”

The youth waved his hands as to say that she didn’t have to worry about it. The youth didn’t dislike such an earnest part of Lim.

The youth’s name was Tigrevurmud Vorn. Those close to him called him by his nickname “Tigre”.

Tigre was now receiving her teachings.

Being the adjutant, and also the best friend of the silver white hair Vanadis Elleonora Viltaria, Lim possessed a wide range of knowledge in political affairs and strategies, and the like. Recently, she was secretly looking forward to teach her pupil Tigre, various things she knew.


Tigre was going to answer to her question with his usual tone and expression, but he diverted his gaze from her, and even his voice was tinged with bitterness.

“I have already had to burn nearly half of a village. It was when the plague was spreading……”

That happened several years ago when the youth’s father was still alive. Before the Plague, which cure, let alone medicine, was not yet discovered, the only measures that people could take were to isolate those suffering from the disease and burn down the buildings.

“……I‘m sorry.”

Lim bowed down in apology for having reminded him of a painful past. Her dull blond hair, tied on the left side of her head, shook.

“It’s an old story. Still, why such a question?”

Tigre directed his gaze towards the table. There were several sheets of maps, and only twenty pieces small enough to be held with a finger were scattered there.

Today's lecture was about the warfare maneuvers. It was something along the line, where Lim displayed the pieces on the map and explained the circumstances, and Tigre would answer in the best way possible within the limited time.

Although she was a strict teacher, when Tigre desperately racked his brain and deduced the best answer, she loosened her surly expression a bit and praised him. And thus constantly performing the maneuvers by changing the location of the pieces on the map, Lim who took a short rest, suddenly raised this question.


“Of course I know that Lord Tigrevurmud is someone, who doesn’t do such a thing. It’s precisely for this reason that I would like you to think about it when you can afford it.”

As Lim put a map on the table, she grabbed a few pieces and set them on top.

“You are taking a rest in a certain small village with one hundred soldiers. Well…… let’s say there are fifty villagers in the village.”

While thinking that it was not that big a village, the youth nodded. In the territory of Alsace, which Tigre once governed, there were many mountains and forests; towns and villages could be counted over one hand. In this case, it was easy to guess so. Lim proceeded with the talk.

“At this village, at one day distance from here, five hundred men of the enemy troops were stationed. But our earliest reinforcement will take at least two days to arrive.”

With a look, Lim asked Tigre what he would do. The youth stirred his darkish red hair, staring at the pieces and the map with a sullen face.

The enemy was five times their number. And reinforcements would not make it in time.

''---Don’t get the wrong idea. What Lim is expecting from me is not a way to defeat the enemy, but the best strategy to adopt.''

At first, Tigre had made a lot of mistakes like this, and thus (he had) been scolded by her. Therefore he couldn't afford to repeat the error again.

“While letting the villagers evacuate, we will also retreat. This is the only way.”


“It’s all good to evacuate, but what would you do about the village?”

Tigre frowned, and finally noticed the meaning behind her words.

“……By that, do you mean whether or not I will burn it?”

To the youth, who confirmed with a sour look, Lim coldly nodded.

“The enemy is only one day distance away, the time you can use to escape is less than half a day. The time required to pack things is also limited. Of course, what's left behind will be taken by the enemy. Conversely, by burning them, this can be counted as a form of attacking the enemy.”

There were a lot of things they could exploit in the village. They could also spend the night in the empty houses, compared to resting in a house, sleeping on the floor was clearly more exhausting.

They could replenish their food and water supply, and also raise their morale by getting the spoils of war. Of course, they would also be wary of traps, though.

“Burn the houses down, if there are wells, poison them. Though depending on the situation, it would be necessary to make a decision to that extent on the worst case scenario.”

Tigre angrily looked at the map and pieces. He was thinking that burning the village was a bandit’s behavior. But, aside from plague, he had never thought that he might someday be forced to such a thing.

Though he was desperately trying to think of other ways, he did not come up with a convenient answer.


“You strongly advise me to do so at such a time, huh……”

To Tigre who annoyingly gave up, Lim denied saying “No.”

“You do not need to do it yourself, if I am there at that time, please order me to do so.”

Tigre gasped, and stared in wonder at Lim. Even when making such a statement, her expression did not budge in the slightest. She straightened her back, and confronted Tigre’s line of sight. It was not because she thought it to be a hypothetical talk, but because she was prepared to do so.

“Though it’s a necessary measure, it’s also certain to lose the villagers’ trust. However, as a general of an army, you will have to consider about the aftermath. So--”

“I can’t do that.”

As Tigre refuted Lim’s words in a strong tone, he stared at her.

“When the time comes, I will do it with my own hands. I have no intention of casting the role of the villain onto someone else.”

“The morale of the whole army will be affected.”

Though Lim rose from the chair and immediately argued, Tigre did not back off.

“Even so, I will do it. Certainly there might be times when I will have to order something unpleasant to someone. But this is a different issue.”

“It’s also the duty of a General to make sure not to incur the resentment and hatred of people.”

“Even if my honor is stained, I should only retrieve it with other means. What you say is correct. But, I can’t simply avoid people’s resentment. Though paying attention so as not to fail is a major premise, however if I worry about it, I won’t be able to do anything.”


At the period when Tigre himself was the Lord of Alsace, perhaps because it was a period as short as two and a half years, there was no major issue. However, there were several times that he saw the scene where his father Urz was troubled.

His father’s best friend, Massas, who also took care of Tigre, once said this. ‘There is no such rule where people have no complaints.’

Tigre and Lim were staring at each other for a while, but it was Lim who gave in. With a small sigh, she sat back to the chair, and ruefully said that she understood.

“……But, please keep in mind that there is also the way I mentioned.”

“Then, I also have something to ask. Assuming that I’m caught in such a situation and I had to burn the village……Let’s think together about what to do to regain the people trust afterward.”

As Tigre said so with a smile, Lim also, though it was faint, spread a smile on her lips.

Just before the summer came in LeitMeritz, several months had passed since Tigre began to live as a guest in this Imperial Palace.

<center><big>◎</big></center>


While staring with a serious face at the several sheets of maps that were spread on the table, Tigre recalled Lim’s teachings which he received a few months ago.

This was not the Imperial Palace of LeitMeritz. In the first place, it was not even in the Kingdom of Zchted. This was the West part of the Kingdom of Asvarre’s mainland, in the conference room of the Fort Lux.

Tigre, who suddenly looked up at the murky ceiling, could not help think what he was doing in a place like this.

Tigrevurmud Vorn was not a person from Zchted. He was a small aristocrat who governed Alsace in the border of the Kingdom of Brune. His title was an Earl. Though his skill with the bow was to the extent of what could be said to be a merit, it was not highly evaluated by Brune which despised the bow.

What significantly altered the youth’s fate was the war, which occurred between Brune and Zchted last year.

Tigre became a prisoner of war of one of the only seven Vanadis in Zchted, Ellen, and afterwards, due to a twist of fate, he cast himself in the midst of the civil war which broke out in Brune.

Eventually, Tigre rescued Princess Regin, whose whereabouts were unknown and succeeded in bringing the civil war to a close. But, in the negotiations between Brune and Zchted after the end of the civil war, it was decided that Tigre would live in LeitMeritz as Ellen’s guest.


When welcoming the spring and seeing off the summer end in LeitMeritz, Tigre was asked a certain request by King Victor of Zchted. He had to secretly travel to the Kingdom of Asvarre, and established a covenant offering cooperation to Prince Jermaine.

In Asvarre after the King died, two Princes were fighting over the throne. Being asked a request from the King of a country, Tigre could not refuse and headed to Asvarre.

Although he was able to meet Prince Jermaine, he was about to be killed; as he was trying to escape from that predicament, the Prince was murdered by one of his subordinates who triggered a rebellion. That subordinate, Tallard Graham, said this to Tigre.

“I aim to be King. --Please. Lend me your help.”

There were several reasons, which pushed Tigre to cooperate with Tallard. Whereas this young man (Tallard) intended to conclude a pact of friendship with Zchted, the enemy, Prince Elliot had joined hands with the Kingdom of Muozinel. The Vanadis Sofia Obertas, who was sent by Zchted as a messenger, was captured by Prince Elliot. Moreover, there was also the fact that Tigre was attracted by Tallard’s cheerful personality.

Tigre borrowed three thousand soldiers from him and captured the Fort Lux. It was something which was done from last night to this morning.

And now.

The Fort Lux, which became the stronghold of Tigre and the others, was wrapped in a heavy atmosphere.

Outside the Fort, the shining golden sun in the western sky was setting. The west side of the Fort bathing in the light of dusk was tinged red, and the east side in contrast was covered with a black shadow.


The faces of the soldiers patrolling on top of the walls and the soldiers taking a rest in the courtyard were colored by an indescribable anxiety. This was not the expression of those who gained the Fort after a fierce battle.

Why they were scared was because of a report that was brought earlier by a certain soldier.

“Prince Elliot leading thirty thousand pirates has landed! They seem to be at a distance of about two days from the Fort.”

The shock that this news gave to the soldiers was unfathomable. Of course Tigre was not an exception. An enemy that was actually ten times more than them was at a distance of only two days.

“For the time being, we should do what we have to do.”

Although he said so to calm down his companions, Tigre, who asked to be provided a map and re-confirmed the situation, could not help but groan at the seriousness of the situation.

“Is there anything I can do?”

A beautiful girl with light pink-colored hair turned her big eyes reminiscent of black pearl to Tigre. She was about 13 or 14 years old. Though expressionless and lacking the qualities of the children her age, and also with a grown-up tone, her appearance let one feel wonder and charm.

She was Olga Tamm. A Vanadis of Zchted like Ellen. Although for some reason she had been traveling alone, she met with Tigre and both began to act together. While having a delicate body that gave the impression to likely break if touched, she was the owner of a power able to easily fling away an adult man.


In addition to Tigre and Olga in the conference room, there was one more person.

He was a big man in his mid-thirties who had a visibly suntanned skin named Matvey. The thick former sailor, with the trust of the Vanadis Alexandra Alshavin alias Sasha of Legnica, had also been somehow of a great help to Tigre in his trip.

“Please don’t hesitate to tell me. If it’s your order, I will generally comply.”

Matvey crossed his big arms and revealed a creepy smile. Because of his scary look, it might be this man’s shortcoming that even a well-intentioned smile makes people terrified.

If it were not for those two, Tigre might not have come through many predicaments in this foreign land. They were without doubt reliable companions.

The youth, without speaking of the idea, which came up in his mind just now, smiled wryly as to dodge the issue. Tigre himself was unable to make decisions now, because the members were not gathered yet.

From outside, the sound of footsteps overlapping with the clattering of armor was approaching. The only door of the room was opened, and two men walked in.

One, while being of a medium build and also handsome, was a man able to make people remember his gentle smile. Though without armor and lightly dressed with only a sword hung on the waist, his movement, which left no opening, showed that he was a veteran soldier.


The man’s name was Vaild Ludra. He served Tallard, and was the General Commander of the three thousand soldiers who were here. Tallard originally intended to set Tigre as the General Commander, but Tigre had refused it and put himself in the position of Ludra’s adjutant.

The other one, in contrast was clad in a rowdy atmosphere. Though he was exactly 30 years old, he was the owner of a baby face, who would probably make him pass as a teenager, if not for the large scar on his left cheek.

This man named Simon was the Captain of nearly three hundred mercenaries. Following the merit system and the realism of mercenaries, he was a skilled warrior who had both popularity and ability.

“How are the soldiers’ condition?”

Waiting for the two people to sit on a chair, Tigre asked. While arrogantly creaking the back of the chair, the mercenary Captain Simon sullenly replied.

“It’s a mess. Each one of them looks damn glum.”

“We have temporarily avoided the chaos, but it is necessary to issue new instructions as soon as possible.”

Ludra also expressed his concern in a modest tone. The two men had to appease the soldiers, who panicked at the sudden landing of Elliot’s army; they settled down the chaos by scolding them.

''---It can’t be helped. It's like this because they don't think we can win……''

Matvey put copper cups with water on the table for the number of people in the room.


“It’s not sake?”

Though Simon laughed while looking into the content of the copper cup, it was not by dissatisfaction he said so, but it was only joking. He also perfectly understood that it was not a situation where they could talk while drinking sake.

Tigre put on the table a map in which the whole area surrounding the Fort Lux was drawn.

“Let's confirm the situation. First of all, where is currently Prince Elliot’s army?”

“In this area.”

Ludra, who leaned forward, indicated one point of the map with his finger. The other people standing up also looked at the map. The mainland coast was at a distance of two days from the Fort northward. There, Luarca was written in blurred letters.

“There are two or three fishing villages in this area, but Luarca is, even among them, a particularly big village. I thought that the enemy pattern would be to use it in order to capture Maliayo, but……”

Ludra took a heavy breath. He was completely outwitted.

“Which soldier told you that? I thought the scout did not reach that place.”

At Tigre’s question, Ludra moved his finger placed on the map to the lower left. Seen from the Village of Luarca, it was the southwest, seen from the Fort Lux, it was the northwest.

“There is a small town named Salime here. The villagers, who were attacked, fled here and conveyed the situation; the soldiers of the town, after hearing the news, flew over with horses.”


And then Ludra explained in detail the sudden attack of the pirates.

“I heard that the village was attacked before dawn. It was about at the same time that we attacked the Fort. A harbor of simple structure is located in the fishing village of this area; the pirates took out a large quantity of boats from the ship and rowed up to there……”

Under the sky which still had a lingering trace of darkness, what occurred was a tragedy which made one want to avert his eyes. The pirates mercilessly swung down swords and axes on the villagers, surprised by the sudden attack. They broke into rooms, took what they saw, destroyed them, violated women, and set fire to the houses.

Those who were able to safely escape numbered less than ten.

Tigre’s face was tinged with anger and bitterness. His hometown, where the youth was born and raised, had also been attacked by Duke Thenardier’s army last year.

Recalling it, again thinking back to the livelihoods of villagers stolen unreasonably and although he had also had no choice, his heart was eaten away by melancholy.

Olga and Matvey, though not as much as Tigre, also felt resentment towards the pirates. Remaining cool was Simon, who was at least practical pertaining to war matters, but he also made a point sarcastically saying “very well done.”

As Tigre took a deep breath and pulled himself together, he looked at his companions.

“How do you think Prince Elliot will act from now on?”


“He will move straight to Valverde through the highway.”

It was Ludra who asserted so.

“As you can see, the highway passing near the Village of Luarca extends to the East and the Southwest. By advancing to the Southwest, it reaches the town of Salime and by moving to the North, it is divided into two routes, each leading to Maliayo and Valverde. Either route does not directly lead to this Fort Lux.”

Valverde was Tallard’s stronghold city. From Elliot’s perspective, capturing Valverde first would become the first step toward victory.

“Prince Elliot shouldn’t know yet that we have captured this Fort. Even if he intends to join General Lester, he will have to pass through either route of the highway. In that case, it is not pointless for him to head toward Valverde.”

When the name of Lester was mentioned, Olga, who had been silently looking at the map until now, turned to look at Tigre. Tigre who noticed it shook his head.

Though Lester was the General who was protecting this fort, he was not human but a dreadful grotesque Monster named Torbalan. Those who knew it were only Tigre and Olga who actually fought him. Since explaining it to the others would make things complicated, Tigre intended to keep silent about it.

''---I wonder if Prince Elliot knew that General Lester was a Monster.''

Tigre brushed the doubt which grazed his head to the corner of his mind, because now there were several things which he had to think about.


“But, it’s not as if Prince Elliot won’t forever know that this Fort fell into our hands. Once he gets to know it, won’t he change his plans?”

Olga tilted her head at Ludra’s words. The red-haired knight calmly affirmed.

“That’s right. Considering that possibility, while slowing down the whole March speed, he could send a reconnaissance unit of about five thousand soldiers and advance along the highway……”

“Otherwise, he could organize a detached unit and send it here.”

When Tigre said so, Ludra looking nervous nodded.

Elliot could not ignore the Fort Lux. If he ignored the Fort and headed toward Valverde, he would run the risk of being attacked from the back or the side by the enemy who might be in the Fort.

That was probably why he had invited Lester to change sides at the stage before landing. If Tigre and the others had delayed the Fort siege, there was no doubt that they would have been sandwiched between Prince Elliot’s and Lester’s troops, and forced to retreat.

“In case he sends a detached unit, it will be troublesome that they may come off the highway, and head up to here.”

Ludra dropped his gaze on the map and groaned. Olga retaining her question in her obsidian pupils, looked up at the knight of Asvarre, and then asked Tigre.

“If they proceed off the highway, I think that their feet will become dull and their march will be significantly delayed, right?”


From the Village of Luarca where Elliot landed, if they tried to go to the south straight to the fort, through the meadows, and across the region where a number of large and small hills stood in a row, they would have to break through the vast woods.

Let alone the meadows and the hilly areas, they would greatly have trouble to progress in the woods.

“Yeah. If you intend to stave off the enemy's march, you would usually fortify the highway with soldiers.”

As Tigre put his finger on the map, he circled the whole area spreading out between the fishing villages and the Fort.

“We cannot avoid the soldiers where they deviated from the highway. Neglecting the scouts and being cautious is all we can do. There is a high chance that the enemy will come there.”

Convinced by that, next to Olga, Matvey who was silent until then spoke.

“Ludra-dono. Isn’t there anything you know about Prince Elliot’s character? Something that can serve as reference about how he will move from now on.”

Tigre stared in wonder at the former sailor. Even though there was impatience due to the anger towards the enemy or the status quo, he did not think of this point.

Ludra twisted his neck with a troubled face.

“I have never met Prince Elliot, but there is something that I hear from His Excellency Tallard. According to it, he is an extremely arrogant and incredulous person.”

''---It’s the same as the story I heard from Ellen.''


Tigre recalled what the Vanadis of silvery white hair taught him in the Imperial Palace of LeitMeritz. Arrogant as Prince Jermaine, his suspicion was strong. Ellen had said so.

“However, His Excellency also said this. That he is both bold and cautious, and that he is someone who never let his guard down.”

“Bold and cautious?”

Matvey frowning asked back, Ludra nodded.

“It was at the time when Prince Jermaine had called all his siblings to the Imperial Court and killed them over suspicion of rebellion. Prince Elliot sensing the danger went to the Court after arranging in advance so that he could escape when needed.”

Elliot wonderfully succeeded in getting away from Jermaine’s clutches. Meanwhile, Princess Geneviere, using the confusion which arose thereby, also successfully escaped.

“Regarding the boldness, I don’t even have to explain, right? It’s not something ordinary for a Prince of a country to negotiate with pirates and make them his subordinates.”

“Besides, there is also the landing to the fishing villages, which outsmarted us. He seems to be a Prince who likes to make a display of his originality.”

Simon revealed a sarcastic smile, and asked Ludra while playing with the copper cup in his hand.

“Anyway, if it’s only us, we are no match. After how many days Tallard will come here?”


By now, he should be running about in the country of Asvarre gathering up soldiers. It was planned that when the number reached ten thousand, he would join Tigre and the others going to the north to fight Elliot. Counting from the day when Tigre and the others left Valverde, nearly ten days had passed.

“Sorry.”

Ludra cast down his eyes with a bitter face. It meant that he did not know, either.

In the strategy that Tallard told Tigre, Elliot was supposed to spend a lot of time to the capture of the Port Town of Maliayo. It could be said that Elliot’s dynamism exceeded Tallard’s expectation.

“The messenger will arrive at Valverde tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. Also, it’s not sure that His Excellency will be there. Since it’s possible that he left Valverde in order to gather soldiers……”

“Then, it’s helpless.”

Spinning the empty copper cup in his hand, Simon shrugged his shoulders and said in a joking tone. When this man laughed, the scar on his left cheek would be distorted. Though Olga looked displeased by his frivolous behavior, Tigre and Matvey exuded a wry smile. It was not as if they did not understand his feelings.

After all, less than three thousand soldiers, who were here, would have to fight thirty thousand enemies.

But, Tigre did not feel like positively blaming Tallard. He had after all also experienced the hardships of gathering soldiers in the civil war of Brune.

''---Well, what to do now?''


We have to settle down and do what we should do, was what he said to them. But, what should be done now? Think about a brilliant strategy to defeat an enemy of thirty thousand soldiers?

It’s not that. Extending his hand on the desk, Tigre brought another map on the top.

Around the Fort Lux, the position of the surrounding villages was also drawn. Including to them the small villages with dozens of people living in, there were about ten villages.

Unless they heard the tragedy of the Village of Luarca, Prince Elliot’s troops were in the opposite poles of tolerance and mercy. There was no doubt that they would make these villages, the objects of ruthless plunder.

“What we should do now is to ensure the safety of the villagers. For that purpose, we will adopt two measures. One is to take only two thousand horsemen and set a night attack to the enemy.”

“Taking into account the enemy’s number, I don’t think it will be that much effective with only two thousand……”

“I don’t expect great results in the battle. If we can slow the enemy pace, even a little, then it’s enough.”

Answering so to the confused Ludra, Tigre, who was going to cut directly to the second measure, suddenly avoided meeting his gaze. But, he soon shook off his confusion and said in a businesslike tone.

“Concerning the second, we will evacuate the villagers. Taking into account the location of the village and the enemy, after evacuating, what naturally followed is the night attack. Though I hope for them to rush into Valverde, at worst, we will get away from the Fort to the South.”

Tigre raised his eyes from the map and looked at Ludra. A deep shadow of seriousness and sadness flashed on the youth’s face.


“Will they obediently follow us?”

“The villagers have become accustomed to war. If we tell them ‘The pirates are approaching, run away!’ they will listen to us. We will wait for dawn before moving the soldiers……”

Reproving the mutter of Ludra, who was putting his thoughts in order, Olga asked with a puzzled face.

“Isn't it for tonight? We race against the time, right?”

“The sun has already set. If we left the Fort now, the soldiers would arrive at the village at midnight. The villagers would probably have turned off the light and fell asleep. Even if we gather them and talked to them in such a situation, it will just cause confusion. It would better to wait for the daybreak and then move after.”

The darkness of night easily contributed to the confusion. Not only would the evacuation not progress, but there was also no mistake that those straying off the path or those who were left behind would appear one after another.

“Since we will also have to let the villagers, who were hired for the assault of the Fort, go back……”

Ludra grieved over awkwardness with a sigh.

“Well, it’s all good to make them evacuate, but it’s not all, right?”

It was the veteran mercenary captain who said so.

“The village will be burnt down when it becomes deserted. And in the water wells, we will throw poison. It’s fine, right?”

To Simon, who confirmed as if it was a matter of fact, Matvey, Olga, and Ludra respectively frowned. Only Tigre, without showing such a reaction, as he heaved a sigh mixed with resignation, violently stirred his hair. Since the time he spotted the villages on the map, he had anticipated that.


''---Lim is really a good teacher……''

The unamiable (unsociable) face of the girl with blond hair tied at the left side of her head came to his mind. Recalling the debate with Lim prior the meeting was without doubt consistent to the current situation. As they would evacuate the villagers, if they left the villages and the water wells like that, they would be naturally exploited by the pirates.

If they prevented the pirates from using the water wells, the enemy would have to procure water from somewhere else. It was the basic of the basics that force an enemy to fatigue and trouble in a war.

However, it might also be because the mercenary Simon said it without hesitation. Though Tigre agreed with his words, he could not consent.

''---If we poison the wells, it won’t be possible to use them even after the end of the war.''

It was an act equal to the destruction of the village. Even if the houses, which would be burnt, could newly be rebuilt, the people would not survive without water.

“……Aside from burning the villages, is it possible not to use the poison? For example, we can throw in stones so that the enemy cannot use water.”

Tigre kindly asked. He did not want to destroy the villages, if possible, but Simon mercilessly shook his head.

“It’s useless to do so if we take into account the enemy’s number. The stones will be immediately removed.”


Silence fell. No one was able to propose an alternative solution.

Tigre returned his gaze at the map, and scowled at it as if it were an object of revenge (like a camel staring at his father's murderer).

''---At that time, I said to Lim. That I will do it with my own hands.''

Her assumption had now become a reality. Of course, he could also choose not to burn the villages and poison the wells. But, if they did not deal a blow to the enemy, even a little, let alone the safety of the villagers, the soldiers, who would fight, will be in danger.

If Elliot’s army was early, they would arrive at the Fort in two or three days. Regardless of how to deal with it, time was required for both preparation and execution. Even the time to think about that was not given to Tigre now.

“Lord Tigrevurmud. The General Commander of this army is not you, but me.”

While putting on sympathetic eyes, Ludra said so in a particularly rebuking tone.

“It’s me who decide and order it. You don’t have to be concerned about it.”

“Yes”, Tigre nodded. Rather than agreeing with it, he had to pretend to understand in consideration for Ludra, who was anxious on his behalf.

What Ludra said was not wrong. But, Tigre, rather than just following orders as a mere soldier, was in a position in which he could state his opinion to Ludra. Given that in the beginning, Tallard was going to appoint Tigre as the General Commander, one could say that they were on equal status.


Moreover, the youth was unable to lie to himself and Lim, who was in Zchted.

“Ludra. I leave the compensation of the villagers to you.”

“I swear on my name, even at the cost of my life. Without fail.”

The earnest and prompt reply of the red-haired knight was at least providence.

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The moon greatly inclined towards the west sky, and the night sky let its darkness gradually fade. The darkness being minutely divided with its gradual shading foretold that the night's end was drawing near.

Among the nearly three thousand soldiers, about one thousand remained in the Fort with Ludra, and two thousand cavalrymen led by Tigre, left the Fort. Before dawn, though there was a still a margin of more than one Koku, they started to move a little early because passing through the forest in cavalry would take time.

When they passed through the forest, the sky was crystal-clear blue, and the sun was shining white despite his low position.

As scheduled, Tigre divided the two thousand soldiers into ten squads and each headed towards a village. Tigre himself, also leading about three hundred cavalrymen, was heading towards one of the villages. To the youth’s right and left side were the figures of Olga and Matvey.


The soldiers were wearing leather armor, and most of them, in addition to spears, were armed with a bow. Tigre and Ludra, who speculated the enemy’s equipment from the talk of when the Village of Luarca was attacked, decided it like that.

When Tigre and his squad reached the village, they were able to confirm little by little the figures of the villagers, who had begun to do farm work. The number of inhabitants of this village was roughly seventy. Their days were spent with harvest from the oat fields surrounding the village and with the forest's bounty one belsta (approximately one kilometer) away.

The houses applied plaster to the wooden walls, and the ceilings were only made of simple thatched roofs.

As Tigre called the potentates of the village including the village chief, they gathered in the chief’s house, and he frankly stated their business.

‘The pirates are getting closer. Pack your loads by noon and escape from here.’

Of course, the chief and the others, with color of perplexity on their faces, openly looked at each other.

“By noon, you say?”

“No matter how you put it, isn’t it too sudden? To begin with, even if you ask us to escape, where should we go……?”

“Valverde.”

Tigre deliberately told so in a businesslike tone. Since he was not familiar with the Asvarre language that he just learnt from Matvey, it had probably sounded more bluntly from the perspective of the listener.

Tigre had resolved himself before departing the fortress, putting coat after coat of ice around his heart, yet nevertheless, his own words made him want to vomit.


He was conscious of how to proceed exactly because the village was of a foreign country, and he did not even know its name until yesterday. It let the youth’s heart soundlessly creak. If it was some village from his home town Alsace, might he have taken such a decision?

“It will take two days or more from here.”

One of the potentates raised a voice-like scream. It was a man of 25 years old, who had a short white mustache particularly conspicuous. Seeing him made Tigre suddenly remember Massas, who was in Brune. Though he had not met him for more than half a year, he wondered if he was doing well.

“First of all, I want you to go toward the south from the Fort Lux. It doesn’t matter if you can escape into a village or a town in its neighborhood. If that seems impossible, you can change your course to the east and go to Valverde.”

When it came to such long lines, Tigre spoke in Zchted language first, and Matvey translated it into the Asvarre language. Tigre’s cold attitude coupled with Matvey’s ferocious look and burly body was already intimidation from the perspective of bystanders.

“There are women, children and also old men…… even sick people.”

Another man spoke of the mutter that sounded more like a complaint in a low voice. To the words such as children and old men, which inferred a blaming tone, Tigre answered while maintaining his cold tone and attitude.

“We will provide you with two carts. Children and old men can ride on them. There are probably also some in this village.”

“---And about the wild oats?” Another potentate asked.

“Finally, all the threshing is over; we will have kept them in the warehouse. We should carry them to Valverde a few days later……”


Tigre’s expression slightly stiffened. He recalled the state of the wheat field, which he saw on his way from Maliayo to Valverde.

After finishing the harvest of ripe wheat, the next step is the threshing. Pulling the wheat ears back and forth between the sticks split from the middle would remove the wheat. It was a work which required patience.

When finished, they would be packed in hempen bags, and transported in the warehouse. At a later date, a portion of these would be loaded onto the carts as taxes, and carried to the nearest city. The villagers would use what remained (as provisions) until the next harvest. It should have been the scenery that did not change regardless of which country.

“You can request compensation.”

While it turned out that it was not such a thing (although they are not meant to understand), the youth could only say so.

Of course there was also tax issues. But, at the demand that they should throw away things they obtained after several months of hard work by sowing any more seeds, plowing, worrying about drought and heavy rain, and racking their brain to find solution about the harm of insects and birds, the villagers would certainly feel sadness and indignation.

“Can’t you do something before the pirates arrive?”

One of the potentates turned reproachful eyes towards Tigre. Whether the man’s emotions were highly strung, Tigre, who was trying to reply to it, was vehemently cut before he could speak.


“I will stay here. In the first place, it’s unlikely that pirates would come to a place like this. I live in this village for more than 40 years; even though I have already seen thieves or bandits, I have never seen pirates.”

As Tigre was fed up with that, he put on a wistful face and overbearingly declared.

“Then, go to the town of Salime and hear the story. Those who barely escaped from pirates are there now. If you personally hear it from their mouths, I think that you will resolve yourself. But, then it might be too late though.”

Silence fell. The place was wrapped in a serious and cold atmosphere that did not allow anyone to casually speak. Although the village chief and the others felt uneasy and looked at each other, no one said a word.

Tigre took off his eyes from the man, and turned toward the village chief.

“---Chief. If there are people reluctant to leave the village, tie them up and carry them on a cart along with their loads. As I have said many times, we are running out of time. We will hold the enemy here.”

Tigre stood up as to say that the talk was over. It looked like the words he threw off made them surrender.

However, that was not the case. An old man, who would be the senior among the people of the village, moved his wrinkled face and falteringly returned these words.

“We…… We had been quietly living. Even when the soldiers under Jermaine-dono were rampaging. Even if they were trampling down our fields, breaking the fence and barrels and hitting young men for no reason, we had endured it without resistance.”


The old man looked up at Tigre with reproachful eyes.

“This time you want us to abandon this village?”

The sun was high in the sky when the villagers packed their load and left the village.

Tigre, without even trying to hide his displeasure, looked up at the sky and heaved a sigh filled with frustration. Although it took a half koku than expected, they somehow managed to evacuate the whole village.

Clothes, pans, iron pots, farming tools and the like, which were thrown away on the street, were scattered. After another half koku, fire would be set, and all these, would be burned along with the houses and fields.

Just in case, the soldiers checked if there were people who failed to get out in time. Tigre himself, together with Olga and Matvey, without moving from the central square of the village, waited for the report.

“I will take the thankless role.”

Ahead of the line of sight of Matvey who muttered so, there were figures of soldiers who were entering empty houses. Their action was slow; either they were openly non-favorable, or they were looking at the trio with eyes in which all kind of feelings were enclosed.

Most of the soldiers were basically commoners. They had spent their days in their respective towns and villages without war. Although they were given detailed instructions beforehand by Ludra, the act of burning a village was unbearable for them, and they could not help turning reproachful eyes at Tigre, who was the Commander of the site.


“No, it is better that such a thing is done by me, a stranger. Besides – I also agree.”

In the black pupils of Tigre, who responded so, a masochistic and dismal light was blinking. If he was also in their position, he would have also felt resentment towards the person who gave such orders.

But, as a Commander, he must coldly give such orders. Even if he felt like vomiting blood, if he did not do this, Tigre and the others would be force to stand in more harsh conditions. Taking a rest in an empty house, he also secured water so as to fight against the enemy in perfect condition.

“Sorry for that, Matvey. If only I could speak the Asvarre language……”

“You said what should be said. Don’t worry too much about it.”

To the former sailor, who open heartedly laughed, Tigre showed his gratitude by nodding his head. He also inwardly expressed his gratitude once again towards Sasha of Legnica, for introducing this man.

The skeptical looks of the soldiers were also turned toward Olga and Matvey. This was because both of them were seen as Tigre’s companions. However, Matvey scornfully laughed, and Olga, without changing one bit her deadpan, remained calm.

Olga suddenly brought her horse near Tigre. Though the Vanadis with light pink-colored haired did not say a single word, her quiet drive to protect Tigre was felt from her dignified attitude.

“Thank you. But, I’m all right.”


Tigre said so and lightly patted the girl’s head, and when the report that no one was left behind finally arrived, the youth gave the order to set fire.

Tigre himself poisoned the two wells of the village. So that his hands, which were trembling, were not seen by the soldiers, he left only Olga and Matvey at his side.

Not an ounce of emotion surfaced on Tigre’s face as he witnessed flames engulfed homes.

He was just clutching his fist strong enough to let his fingernails dug into the palm of his hand and shed blood.

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The meadows, which were at one Belsta (about one Kilometer) to the north from the village Tigre and the others left, was the place of the rendezvous.

When they arrived, nearly one thousand cavalrymen had already gathered. The Captains of each squad saw Tigre standing in the vanguard and went towards him at a quick pace.

Though some people reported the results with a bitter face, Tigre maintained his cold attitude and listened to them in turn. Their feelings aside, it seemed that they evacuated the villagers as ordered.

Tigre did not give any words of apology or appreciation at all. It was because he understood that it would instead only incite them the wrong way. By just carefully listening to their reports, he would show in his attitude, of act of accepting both their anger and bitterness.


As he finished listening to all the reports, Tigre gathered the Captains.

“Send scouts. Prepare eighty cavalrymen with little fatigue. Set eight squads of ten horsemen and send four squads respectively to the north and the east.”

Looking to the North, gently-sloping hills were visible in the distance. Shifting the gaze to the East, meadows mixed with sparsely color of dry grass were spreading. If the enemy passed through the meadows, they would probably come out in the highway.

Even though either way commanded a fine view, they were quite wide. So as not to overlook the enemy, Tigre made all the eight squads depart by different routes.

When it was over, he ordered them to set up camp. He planned to let them have a good rest for the time being in preparation for the night attack.

Although it was a camp, an encampment could brook no encumbrance. The surroundings were enclosed with a wooden fence, guards were set in key points and were taking rests by turn; they had meals, when it came time to sleep, they piled up overcoats on the ground.

In a place a little distant from the soldiers, Tigre was talking with both Olga and Matvey. Since there was no command tent, he had no choice but to settle at a distance so as not to let the soldiers hear unnecessary things. Since Olga hardly spoke, the two men became the center of the conversation.

“Do you think that Prince Elliot already knows about the fall of the Fort Lux?”

“It’s better to assume that he already knows.”


Many possibilities for the enemy to obtain the information could be considered, such as villages which were too far from the coastal area for Tigre and the others to call for evacuation, or unlucky travelers and peddlers who had run into the pirates, or small aristocrats who feared Elliot and dispatched an emissary and so on.

“I don’t like pessimistic thoughts, but let’s assume the worst case scenario. Let’s consider that the enemy knows about the fall of the Fort. The number of soldiers in the advanced troops is seven thousand. They've passed through the meadows and are in the mid-hill areas.”

“I feel that seven thousand is a bit exaggerated, but under the present circumstances, it is better to estimate that much.”

However, the reality was greatly beyond what the two men expected.

As the scout, who came back by the time the daybreak, ran up to Tigre without stopping to wipe his sweat and catching his breath, reported.

“We discovered one party thought to be the enemy. They are at about two koku on foot from here. There is no doubt it’s a large party of twenty thousand soldiers!”

Not only Tigre, but also Olga and Matvey stared wide-eyed in surprise.

''---Twenty thousand!? And at two koku on foot?''

The distance of marching on foot at the moment was ten Belsta (about ten kilometers). Elliot’s army was advancing with a speed far beyond Tigre and the others’ expectation.

“I see. Regarding the enemy’s composition, can you tell me in detail?”

Tigre immediately erased the surprise from his facial expression, and asked with a tone as relaxed as he could muster. Probably because an overwhelmingly large army was in sight, the soldiers were agitated. He must avoid shaking them further.


“The enemy raised the banner of the Red Dragon and its ranks are in disorder……”

Everyone in Elliot’s army, without any mind to military formation, ran up the gently-sloping hilly areas at full speed. The visible weapons are sticks and hatchets and even though they are formally dressed, it was leather armor at best. There was no cavalry.

“Is the number twenty thousand certain? If the enemy’s ranks are so much in chaos, I think it will be difficult to count them.”

Olga, who returned to her usual deadpan, asked indifferently. When the enemy numbered thousands or ten thousand, it was not an easy task to precisely grasp their number. However, the messenger clearly answered.

“I have worked as a messenger for a long time; if there are 1000 infantry, no matter how clumped they are, I will know. As I mentioned earlier, there is no cavalry among the enemy and since the ranks were extended greatly in a line, it’s possible to count them by the thousand.”

“I see. Sorry for having doubted your words.”

Olga honestly apologized. Beside her, Tigre started to think over what the messenger reported and the moment he realized the enemy’s intent, he almost unintentionally shouted. However, without showing this, he gave words of appreciation to the soldier with a gentle smile.

“Good work. You can rest now. I cannot allow wine, but you can take a light meal.”


As the soldier walked away from Tigre, Olga and Matvey turned dubious eyes to the youth. Tigre’s face was clearly tinged with tension and anxiety. He took out a map from his breast pocket with impatient fingers.

“Have you understood something?”

“The enemy has advanced straight to the south with the whole army. And with a fairly forced march.”

Tigre recalled that someone said that Elliot possessed a bold personality.

The second Prince of Asvarre, without organizing a detached unit, changed the course of action of the entire army and gave top priority to the capture of Fort Lux.

“……Then, the enemy had ten thousand in their forced march turned deserter?”

Matvey said with a dumbfounded face. Since Elliot’s army should be thirty thousand, it meant that it had pretty much decreased by 1/3.

“The enemy has probably considered this point. That, even if there are ten thousand stragglers, twenty thousand remain.”

It was the right way of thinking under this situation. For example, supposing that stragglers continued to occur and Elliot’s army was reduced to half, that’s still fifteen thousand. It would be five times Tigre's forces. Even if Tallard’s reinforcement of ten thousand were to arrive in time, Elliot's army would still be superior in number. Moreover, the stragglers would catch up given time.

“But, if they are pushing themselves that much, they will be exhausted and fighting will become impossible.”

To Olga, who frowned, Matvey softly shook his head,


“There’s no way that soldiers would be deployed in a place like this. Or even if they were deployed, only a small number of people would be able to effortlessly break through. Honestly, even I don’t want to clash with an enemy ten times superior in number. Even if it’s possible to win because the enemy is tired from the forced march.”

If they misread the level of enemy exhaustion, they would be easily repelled. If they did not act carefully, they could be surrounded in a flash and destroyed. It was far too dangerous to bet on it.

As Elliot judged and anticipated that there would be no more than ten thousand enemies ahead of their route, there was no doubt that they were advancing at a surprisingly tremendous speed. Tigre could not help shivering. Though not to the extent of using swords, the smoke of war had already begun.

Tigre quickly took a pen and paper and wrote a letter. Then he called a messenger.

“Return quickly to Fort Lux and give this to Ludra-dono.”

The messenger, who had received the letter, carefully put it in his breast pocket, bowed and left.

Olga and Matvey, who were waiting behind Tigre, looked at each other. Since he did not verbally pass the message, it meant that the contents were not addressed to the soldiers. Thinking whether or not it might have anything to do with the night attack scheduled to begin after this, Olga asked hesitantly.

“What about the night attack?”

“We will do it.”

Tigre briefly asserted to show his determination.


“We must slow down the enemy pace here at all costs. We must at least gain half a day.”

Of course there was the fear of clashing with an enemy ten times superior in number. But, Tigre understood that the villagers would not be able to escape if things were going on like this.

The villagers had begun to evacuate from this morning until noon. There were leading children and old people holding their loads. It was a situation where even they did not know whether or not they would be able to reach the Fort.

It would be good if the pirates, after seeing the fire ruins of the village, became more careful and enhanced their vigilance; if they marched at the same speed, they would surely catch up by tomorrow. Tigre could not absolutely let such a thing happen. Otherwise, for what purpose did he burn the village, and poisoned the wells?

“I think what Matvey said is correct. However, if we revise our viewpoint, the enemy won’t be wary of us. There are no signs that they sent a scout. – It’s a good opportunity.”

“It’s a gamble, you know? And a big gamble at that.”

Matvey broadly laughed while shrugging his shoulders. This was the laughter of a sailor who had braved the sea storms. Though Olga was silently staring at Tigre, she did not disagree.

As the units sent for reconnaissance all returned, Tigre learnt that the enemy had stopped their march. Soon getting out from the hilly area, they were at about one koku on foot away from the place where Tigre and the others were. He also confirmed at the same time that they did not send scouts.

Just to be on a safe end, Tigre moved out their campground, and retreated the troops to the south. Even though a campground, since it was only setting up a fence, it did not take a lot of time.


As the forest came into view, Tigre stopped their retreat. With the forest’s appearance at their back, they again built a campground.

The construction of the campground ended when the sun was setting. The clouds, which lurked in the sky, bathing in the light of the setting sun were dyed vermillion. The forest also dyed black a part of the ground in its huge shadow, which greatly spread branches and leaves, and the shadows of soldiers and horses had sunk in it. Matvey in admiration said so.

“With this, as long as we don’t use fire, it will be hard to be discovered from a distance.”

“I will prohibit the use of the fire after a little bit. From now, I want you to accustom your eyes to the dark.”

As Tigre gathered the Captain of each unit after that, he issued a few instructions.

“Let the soldiers make the catapults sling. Pick up stones in the forest. And then……”

The catapults sling was a tool used to catapult stones at a far distance by using the centrifugal force. Since the string could be easily made with just scraps of cloth, Tigre had also used it once or twice when hunting. Though it was more difficult to hit the target, it could also catapult stones at a distance of one hundred Alsins (about 100 meters).

Among the two thousand soldiers present here, only about half of the soldiers, that’s one thousand, were able to prepare bow and arrow. It (catapult) was a mean to make up for that shortage.

As he finished issuing instructions, Tigre slightly sighed. His shoulders felt heavy. Though there was not that much physical fatigue, the mental exhaustion was extreme.


“—I will take a rest for a half koku.”

Like that, Tigre put on a slightly dirty overcoat and turned his back to Matvey and Olga.

“I suppose you're off to take care of some business?”

To the former sailor who asked in a joking tone, Tigre only replied without looking back.

“I will only take a rest in a place a little away. I will return at once if something happens.”

After Matvey looked up at the sky, he saw off the youth while answering “Understood”.

Since the lurking clouds had hidden the moon and the stars, the night sky of autumn was darker than usual. With this, even if Tigre parted from the army alone to rest, he would not probably be conspicuous.

After they dared tackle their reluctance, they would be challenging an enemy ten times in numerical superiority. Moreover, Tigre would be leading foreign soldiers in a foreign land. Matvey wanted for Tigre to rest when he still could afford it.

Tigre, who was away from the soldiers, leaned against one of the trees that formed the forest and sat on the ground. Even though a little away, He probably couldn't hear normal voices, but a shout should be able to reach him at this distance. As expected he could not take more distance than that.

Though he closed his eyes, Tigre was so highly strung that he could not immediately sleep.

''---How should we fight?''

Last year, Tigre had struggled to repel the twenty thousand soldiers of the Muozinel army, who invaded Brune, with only two thousand soldiers. At that time, the soldiers’ morale was high, and he had reliable subordinates such as Rurick and the like.


There was the geographical advantage, too. Since the Muozinel army had advanced in a thin ravine (canyon) and got caught in the cliff, not only they were not able to use their military force of twenty thousand, but their March speed was also slow because of the slaves they had taken. There was room to come up with a plan. There was also the expectation that Massas and Augres would bring reinforcements.

How could the current situation be turned over? Though he could rely on Olga and Matvey, not only those two had no experience of commanding soldiers, but they also had no authority. He was also anxious whether the soldiers would follow his orders. Apart from the fact that he was not well versed in the geographical advantage, above all there was no time in every sense of the word.

“……I will somehow manage.”

Tigre brushed aside the heavy pressure, which applied a huge burden throughout his body, with murmurs, which could not be voiced. Suddenly, he tiresomely lifted his head when he felt something approaching.

Standing there was Olga. Though it was so dark that one could not even properly see several steps ahead, with her light pink-colored hair and her small build, there was above all no way the ax of gray blade, which was in her hand, could above all be mistaken.

As he was wondering why she came, the Vanadis of light pink-colored hair bent her delicate body, and smoothly entered in Tigre’s body.

“I need to rest, too.”

Tigre frowned, and rebuked “hey!” in a low voice. Olga indifferently replied.

“Matvey told not to use fire. This way you can rest without becoming cold.”

“But, that’s……”
[[File:Madan no Ou to Vanadis V7 cl03.jpg|thumb]]


Tigre hesitated to speak. In reality, he wanted to be alone for a little while. As he was thinking about a suitable reason, Olga spoke first.

“No.”

It was a small and unusually strong tone. To the surprised Tigre, Olga calmly continued.

“Tigre, I don’t know how you feel. But, there something that I know. It’s that I can not let you be alone now.”

The latter half of her speech did not seem like her, and though it was a very childlike way of speaking, her words strangely enough entered Tigre’s heart.

“I will stay by your side.”

Olga was not clear about what Tigre did intended to do. However, she did not encourage or comfort him, and also did not accept or deny him; she just told him what she want to do. Though her words made people feel an adamant will, strangely they did not feel hard-pressed to others.

Tigre, without knowing what he should say for a moment, fixedly stared at the girl. Though his feelings of wanting to be left alone did not completely disappear, it was certain they considerably fade. He only said “Thank you” in a lowered voice.

The youth, at that time for the first time, felt the warmth transmitted from the girl's body through her slightly dirty clothes. In that warmth, there was something which made his heart feel at ease. As drowsiness rapidly assailed him, Tigre entrusted his weight to her smaller back.


Olga did not show an unpleasant figure; rather her body was glued to his. While tickling his nasal cavity with the sweet smell of her light pink-colored hair, Tigre fell asleep.

As she heard the sleeper’s breathing of Tigre, Olga heaved a sigh of relief.

Regarding Tigre’s decision and the action to burn the village, it was not as if there was no room to think.

But, more than that, she didn't know what to say to Tigre, who would not show his expression of bitterness to the villagers and soldiers. Although she thought of some words of comfort, she felt like she was short on words to fully express her feelings.

Therefore, Olga decided to support the youth by at least being at his side, and to become his strength.

When late at night, Tigre and the others began to move. They whittled wood to make slabs for the horses to put in their mouths, and wrapped clothes around their hooves to reduce noise.

“I see. You thought this well.”

It was Matvey who said so in admiration. For this man, who had spent most of his life on the sea, it seemed to be something unusual. Tigre responded in a somewhat embarrassed tone.

“It's not my idea. I was taught how to surprise attack and night attack in a cavalry by a good acquaintance.”


That person should be waiting for Tigre’s return in LeitMeritz of the Kingdom of Zchted at this time. He also decided to help Sofi – Sofia Obertas for her sake, and to return safely.

Matvey grinned, guessing that the youth’s mood seemed to have changed for the better from his tone of voice.

“It seemed that you were able to take a good rest.”

“Thanks to you.”

The facial expression of Olga, who was pulling her horse near to Tigre’s, was mixed with joy and pride.

The moon and most of the stars were hidden by the clouds in the sky, which did not fade away. It was the perfect situation for a night attack.

All the two thousand soldiers went down from the horses, and advanced through the meadows wrapped in darkness while pulling their horses. Since the sky was very dark, their pace was slow and cautious.

Though they grew accustomed to seeing in the dark, it was only to the extent of grasping the difference in the depth of the darkness. Even if the sensation of stepping on the grass was transmitted to the feet through the shoes, their steps were shrouded in darkness and they could see nothing. Since the sense of distance also went amiss, the fatigue built up quickly.

So as not to let the soldiers get too tired, Tigre took break several times.

“There’s enough time. Don’t speak, or make a sound. And be careful not to fall.”

As they were marching since about a half koku, they saw some lights in the distance. It was the campfire lighted by the pirates.

“Are they camping without even stretching tents?”


Matvey, who was standing beside Tigre, laughed in a low voice. Within this darkness, though his figure was only a black shadow, the only countenance the youth's imagination could conjure was a smile as wicked as can be.

''---It appears that the enemy did not build a campground, and they also don’t seem to rest together, huh. It is as the scouts reported.''

As they got closer until a rough estimate distance of about 300 Alsins from the campfire, Tigre gave instructions to the captains of each squad. He had already told them what kind of offensive to adopt, when leaving their campground. One could only say that it was all according to plan.

''--- I will shoot a fire arrow towards the sky. It will be the signal to attack with arrows and catapults, and confuse the enemy, and then you will charge. When we defeat the enemy’s vanguard, we will leave and withdraw from the battlefield.''

It was because he judged that attacking the vanguard and breaking imprudently in the darkness was dangerous. If they were to be surrounded by the pirates who reorganized their posture, they would not escape from complete annihilation.

The two thousand soldiers that should be called ‘Tigre squad’ suppressed their voice and quietly spread left and right. Looking at it from above their movement was like that of a bird spreading its wings.

The soldiers were gradually approaching the pirates. Sweat blurred on Tigre’s forehead. His and the soldiers’ breathing, the sound of the horses’ footsteps and the shoes scraping on the grass were very loud. Their heart was violently pounded in the anxiety of whether or not they were discovered by the enemy good intuition.

''---So that the arrows and the catapults reach, a distance of 100 Alsins is necessary……''


They did not have to necessarily hit the target. But, they had to reach. If it was Tigre, he could even shoot aim from this distance, but the soldiers of course did not have such skill.

He considered the weakest soldier standards as reference. It was what Lim and Massas taught him.

They finally approached to a distance deemed to be 100 Alsins. Tigre looked back at Matvey. The former sailor with his big body took out two sticks. One side of the stick was burnt black at the tip.

The soldiers who were nearby formed a wall around him, and Matvey vigorously rubbed the stick. Fire lighted at the tip, and then Tigre took out an arrow that he had prepared. He also coated the arrowhead with oil.

He brought the arrow close to the fire that Matvey was holding. The sickle burnt making a ‘pot’ small sound.

Tigre quickly nocked the arrow to his black bow and shot it high in the sky. The blazing arrow flew straight towards the night sky, and the pirates who saw it uttered loud sounds.

But, their voices were drowned out by another sound.

Nearly one thousand of bowstrings let their sound reverberate in the void (thin air), and the catapults and the arrows cut through the wind. In the night sky illuminated by the campfire, countless numbers of black shadows appeared. Shriek and scream overlapped, and cries informing an enemy attack, were audible until where Tigre and the others were.

Tigre nocked another arrow to his black bow, but he did not shoot it. He first wanted to grasp the soldiers’ situation. So far, there was no disorder on their side.

The soldiers, who finished throwing the second stone, stripped the horses of the bits forced into their mouths in preparation for the attack, and removed the cloths from the hoof. They kept the catapult string, or threw it away and tightly grasped a spear.


Arrows were shot a second time. Several hundred arrows like a rain of black needles, depicted a dark parabola, and poured on the pirates. The voices of confusion of pirates became louder.

Tigre took off the arrow he once nocked on the bow. He rode his horse. There was the figure of Olga sitting astride her horse silently next to him. The soldiers also put their bow on their saddle, and took out a spear on horseback.

“--Charge!”

A battle cry broke out. Tigre squad let horses' hooves resound all over, and wrapping into a round shape, they advanced on the pirates. The campfire gradually grew big (large), and at the other side, many figures running about in utter confusion let their silhouette become clear.

The pirates put their weapon at hand, and though they were still wearing leather armor, they had not yet recovered from the shock of being taken by surprise. They were stunned by the apparition of the Tigre squad from within the darkness; they threw away their weapons and ran about trying to escape. Though, among them, there were some who tried to fight weapons in hand, they were knocked out by the cavalry.

Flames painted the air and fresh blood dyed the ground red.

The cavalry had no mercy at all toward the pirates. There were few people who were practical about driving away the villagers, burning the village and poisoning the wells. They slammed their anger against the pirates. They kicked them about with horse's hooves, hit them very hard with spear, brushed them and pierced them.

Tigre also nocked the arrows to his black bow and defeated two people. Partly because Olga did not leave Tigre’s side, she had not yet wielded her ax.


The pirates either fled into the darkness, or they silently died and fell to the ground; as the battle around him gradually became sporadic, Tigre looked up.

Shifting his attention to the darkness, he could not help but gasp.

In the darkness, the campfire, which was burning moving from place to place, had been extended into the distance.

They were all enemies. More than ten thousand enemies were on the other side in the dark. A dry smile emerged. If they rushed while holding their weapons, Tigre and the others would be swallowed in a blink of an eye, and would join the blood-stained corpses lying on their feet.

The blow was certainly given. Should they go back?

''---No, we can still hold…………!''

Tigre judged so. Since the enemy was too concerned about the speed of progress, ignoring other things. Even resting was a mess. There was no way not to take advantage of that mistake.

“Please gather the soldiers who are nearby. And charge once more.”

They were cavalry on Tigre’s side. Even if they retreat from here after launching another blow, they could easily shake off the enemy infantry. As Matvey also understood this point, he called the soldiers nearby in the dark and ordered them.

The faces of the soldiers, who showed up from the darkness and were illuminated by the campfire, were all colored with tension and excitement of a battlefield. Their morale was high.


Tigre brandished his black bow, and pointed at the flickering campfire in the distance.

“It's over there. Spread after defeating the pirates; we will go back to the forest with our friends. We will use the height of the campfire as a signal to go back.”

In the confusion of the darkness and the battlefield, it was difficult to gather. Tigre and the others could not also convene all the soldiers. He understood that it could not be helped. What was important now was the speed. Before the enemy bounced back, it was necessary to end everything.

“--Charge!”

He shouted again. The roar of the horses’ hooves shook the ground, and the war cry echoed in the night sky. Even with just this sound and voice coming from within the darkness, the pirates might be scared.

Tigre squad similarly defeated the pirates, who were also there; Tigre broke through the midst of the enemy along with Olga, Matvey and the less than ten cavalrymen, and jumped into the darkness.

There was no way to know the direction in the darkness. But in this case, as long as the forward backed to the North of the bonfire, it will be certainly right.

“It went well.”

Matvey said so in a joyful tone. He also seemed to have been struggling, and at the tip of the spear, which he had in hand, blood was dripping.


Tigre and the others barely manage to reach the forest before long. If they entered the forest, the enemy would lose sight of them, and moreover they would probably being cautious about trap and ambush in the forest and refrained from pursuing them. Considering the enemy’s confusion in the first place, there was probably no way that they would chase them, and let their guard down. Here was a battlefield.

“Reform the ranks. Take care of the injured. Don’t relax yet.”

As he was checking, the number of cavalrymen gathered in front of the forest now was less than thousand. Therein, the soldiers injured to the extent that continuing fighting would be difficult, were approximately fifty. Tigre providing them about twenty companions told them to go ahead back to the Fort.

“Still, I didn’t think that half of us would be defeated……”

Would they be roaming in the darkness, isolated? Then they would need to be aided. In the midst of thought, the sound of severely uncoordinated horse hooves drew near from inside the darkness.

“It’s the people of Cliff squad……”

The primary concern behind the sound of the horse hooves was a certain officer who had made a name for himself. With his breaths like gasps, his voice had no strength to it.

The number of cavalrymen, which was less than ten, appeared from within the darkness. Everyone was injured, and the smell of blood was circulating in the night air and had drifted until here. The soldier on the vanguard was leaning against the horse’s neck and something long and slender was on his back.

''---Is it…… an arrow? Considering it is, it’s long.''

When looking closely in the darkness, it was without a doubt an arrow. But, It was more than a fist longer than what Tigre and the soldiers carried.


“Our squad and Jeremy squad suffer from the enemy’s counterattack……”

Both Cliff and Jeremy were the captains who were in charge of the so to speak left-wing of Tigre squad. Tigre, who understood the situation, looked back at Matvey, and gave him another task. While ordering their treatment, he asked a soldier of the Cliff squad.

“How many people were defeated (killed)?”

Matvey translated the soldier’s answer. To the word “longbow”, Tigre muttered “It was that after all”. A long time ago, he had seen it only once. Around the time his father was still alive, Massas had got his hands on one and brought it. He said that it was a rare bow of a foreign country.

The bow stem was longer than Tigre’s height at that time. It might have been 20 Chet (about 2 meters). As it was long, it required a considerable physical strength to draw the bowstring; Tigre of course, and even his father or Massas were not able to draw it sufficiently.

『Though it needs considerable strength to draw it, the arrow will fly with only. 300 Alsin seems to be light. 』

Tigre remembered well that Massas said so.

''---So their fast recovery was due to this squad of longbows, huh!''

Tigre was terrified. Even judging from the injury and the way of talking of the soldiers, it meant that there were probably not only one or two longbow users. There must be a squad from dozens to several hundred people. They would probably have to dive in there.


“Are there still allies remaining?”

To Tigre’s question using Matvey as intermediary, the soldier feebly nodded.

“Good work. We will help your companions. Choose three persons with shallow wounds as guide, and retreat into the forest.”

Making the soldier of the Cliff squad lead the way, Tigre squad reduced to nine hundred advanced in the darkness. In the place where cries of the battlefield gradually increased, the youth nocked an arrow to his black bow.

“Matvey. I leave you in command.”

At that time he roughly grasped the position of allies and foes. Near the campfire was the enemy, who had formed an orderly rank. In the dark where the campfire’s light did not reach, the allies were squirming.

The wind noise, mixed and overlapping with dozens or several hundred of roars of their horses’ hooves, tickled the eardrum. It was the sound of arrows, which were shot from longbows and tore the night air to hit the allies far away.

Tigre chewed his molar. The enemy, who noticed them, was trying to change the direction to where they (Tigre) were. Though there was still a distance of about three hundred Alsins between them, it was better to think that it was not a problem for the enemy.

Tigre put power to his foot stepping on a stirrup, stretched straight out his left hand holding the black bow forward and drew the bowstring to the limit. And as he shortened further the distance to one hundred Alsins, he shot the arrow.


The arrow drew the orbit of a mountain, and flew as it were sucked towards the enemy squad who were set up with longbows. It went and pierced the forehead of one soldier. When that soldier fell down, confusion began to spread among the other soldiers.

Tigre, without particularly showing joy, like a craftsman, who kept working silently, nocked a new arrow to the bow. It was not as if he was aiming whoever. His aim was set.

The second shot. Because they drew nearer earlier, hitting the target that was aimed at was not difficult. The movement of the enemy that was setting up their longbows became once again dull. It was fatal in this situation. Although the arrows were shot from the longbows, their numbers did not even reach half of the enemy.

Although the soldiers of the Tigre squad, who were hit by arrows, fell from the horses one after another, still the momentum of the assault did not become dull, and several hundreds of cavalry sprang toward the squad of longbow users.

Though the archers each possessed a burly body, one could only said as expected of archers. They were not good at close range combat, so they threw their longbow and ran away. While nocking an arrow to his black bow, Tigre shouted.

“Don’t chase the enemy! Help the allies!”

Matvey repeated what Tigre had said in Asvarre language. They had not much time. If there was another squad of of longbows, the attack on Tigre’s side, in which they simultaneously shoot arrows from a distance would certainly not reach them.

Having spoken loudly had attracted the enemy's attention. The pirates, who finally regained their composure, brandished club and ax and attacked Tigre.


But, Olga advanced her horse as to break between both parties. At that time, the ax, which was in the hand of the girl with light pink-colored hair, had already changed its shape to that of a long haft.

Her {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}}, the Roaring Demon had the ability to change its shape according to its master’s intention (will). Using the confusion and the darkness of the battlefield, Olga had transformed the ax.

With her thin arms, Olga totally easily swung the double-edged ax, which would not be even possible to lift, around like a stick. It smashed the heads of the enemies swarming, and blew off their arms along their weapons. It was as if a storm was born in the darkness.

Mixed with fresh blood were torn flesh and crushed bone fragments, which were scattered. The grey matter and entrails were thrown out (dumped). It was hardly thinkable that it was the physical strength of a young girl. When one thought that it was caught, the gray blade had blown away anything and everything.

Even though she continued wielding an ax without rest, no change was seen in Olga’s expression. The will of not wanting to let even one soldier approach Tigre was overflowing in her black eyes, the {{furigana|Moon Princess of the Roaring Demon|Bardiche}} continued killing and amassing a mountain of enemy corpses. . In her figure, there was something which made even the pirates wince.

About a quarter koku had passed, and Tigre left the battlefield with the soldiers. They rushed into the forest. As he confirmed the situation, Cliff was alive, but Jeremy was already no longer of this world.


"……I am sorry."

A color of fatigue was deep in the face of Cliff who powerlessly lowered his head, and his body was full of bruises.

As he returned into the forest, Tigre ordered the soldiers to take a rest. And, he told them not to make more fires than necessary.

“They may come to inquire the situation. Don’t forget that there are still a great number of enemies here.”

The voice of Tigre giving instructions was cold (indifferent), and was similar to that of a composed Commander, but it was meant to conceal the impatience of his heart.

''---One of my moves was sealed……''

It was referring to the move he use when he repulsed the Muozinel army, which has invaded Brune. Tigre had forced the assault, approached Kashim who was the advance troops' Commander until a distance of 300 Alsins and killed him with his bow and an arrow.

It looked like he was not able to use that plan this time. As long as the squad of soldiers who used longbow was around Elliot, they would pour a rain of arrows taking the opportunity when Tigre would aim at the Commander. If it’s like this (if so), sniping would indeed be impossible.

''---Anyway, we have no choice, but to gain time…………''

When dawn drew near, Tigre and the others returned to the Fort.



<center><big>◎</big></center>

With near to two thousand casualties and reports of them increasing, Elliot, the second prince of the Asvarre kingdom, refrained from shouting at the pirates despite having revealed a moment of surprise and anger.

Here was the camp of Elliot army. Although called camp, they were not even surrounded by a fence and ditch, there were not as much tents as the soldiers.

Pirates properly gathered together and made a fire, and were directly lying on the ground. There were those using blanket and overcoat that they took in the village, but it was the minority. That appearance rather than calling it an army, it was accurate to call it a herd of bandits.

At the center of such a camp, two tents were stretched. One of them was used by Elliot, who was the General Commander of this army. Within the tent, a desk and a chair, while being of poor structure, were placed, and there were a bottle of wine and a silver cup in the desk.

As he made the pirate who finished the report withdraw, Elliot clicked his tongue and kicked the ground. His well-featured handsome face was distorted and steeped with violent emotions.

“When I think that I have taken the Fort, what followed is a night attack, huh. A commoner born in a fishing village going and doing something like that.”

The commoner born in a fishing village was referring to Tallard. Although he was originally a Prince using a rough way of speaking, one could not imagine it was a royalty influenced by pirates.


Everything was going as planned, until noon today. Beginning with the village of Luarca, they had burned down several fishing villages, and after putting on a ship the captured villagers, who were likely to be sold as slaves, Elliot leading the pirates, advanced on the highway in high spirits.

Though of course they also attacked the villages along the highway, when he asked about Tallard Graham and the movement of the army he led to the villages potentates captured at that time, a surprising answer came back.

The Fort Lux fell by Tallard’s attack, and though General Lester was defeated, it was said that he safely escaped to somewhere.

Elliot immediately left the highway, and decided to rush to the Fort Lux. It was because if this story was true, then there was no doubt they would be struck by a surprise attack before reaching Valverde if they continued advancing in the highway. He only hastened the march willing to drop out (lose) up to half of the whole army. Then, it was this night attack. He was amazed by the speed of response of the other party.

“There should be dozens of small villages ahead……”

When he decided to move toward the Fort Lux, Elliot intended to attack those villages, to resupply necessary goods, food being the priority. At the time of landing (the boats), the food, which the Prince prepared, was only for four days. In order to act promptly, he gave it to the pirates without preparing the load for the troops. Even if they came ashore taking aback the enemy, it had no meaning if they did not quickly proceed with their next move.


In addition, the act of looting was the quick (and easy) way in order to maintain the pirates' morale.

However, if their enemy came this far, then it was another story.

''---That bastard Tallard has been relying on people’s support. Rather than abandoning the people of villages, he makes them escape. And there is no doubt that he would either retrieve the food, which was in the villages, or burn it.''

“Until we take back the Fort Lux, we will be unable to supply food and water. It would be better to think so.”

Though he requested to transport the food and goods to his alliance’s partner Muozinel in preparation for the time there was something, Elliot army was constantly moving. It was likely to happen in several days.

He poured a really lukewarm wine in a silver cup, and gulped it with violent hand movements. At that time, the pirate who was keeping watch outside reported that a visitor was there. Without even hiding his bad mood, Elliot ordered to let him in.

Entering after an interval of about ten counts was a young man in his mid-twenties. With a high stature, he was the owner of a body, while the description of rough rather than sturdy well-matched. His arms were especially thick.

Wearing a leather armor, which applied ornament, he held a bow as long as his height in his hand. Elliot stood from the chair revealing a smile, and extended his hands so as to welcome him.

“I give you my thanks, Hamish. We were able to repel the enemy thanks to you.”

The man named Hamish without changing his stern expression bowed.

“For that matter, there is one thing I came to ask his Highness.”


“……Is there something that bothered you?”

At the time, when the late King Zacharias was still alive, Elliot, with the comfort of second Prince also assisted him; he gathered aristocrats of low class about the same age, and led a loose life. Hamish was one of his libertine companions. Now he was one of the very few subordinates that Elliot could trust.

At the time when Jermaine and Elliot had divided the country in two and begun to fight, though Hamish had officially declared neutrality and adopted a watchful stance, he had actually secretly kept in touch with Elliot, and sent various informations. It was also this man, who appealed to Lester.

With his befitting peerage of Viscount as a small aristocrat, his territory was small, and he could only move a few soldiers.

However, the approximately four hundred soldiers under Hamish’s command were somewhat special (unique).

They were skilled in the use of longbow.

The arrow shot from a longbow, was powerful. In short distance, it could even pierce chain mail or iron armor.

The flying distance was also awesome. It could also shoot at an enemy, who was at 300 Alsins or beyond. It was a distance that could be never reached by average archer with an ordinary bow. It was not impossible with the crossbow, but its quick firing was far inferior.

Though power to draw the bowstring to the limit was absolutely necessary to handle it but thanks to repeated training,the longbow users, were a redoubtable group.

Hamish, who was the Imperial Prince Commander of those longbow users, making a sullen face, said.


“Among the enemy, there is someone, who possesses archery skills out of the ordinary.”

Hamish raised his voice. To be exact, because he was reminded of the appearance of an opponent he did not even know, his feelings were highly strung, and his voice naturally became clamorous.

“That person could shoot (aim) an arrow at a distance of more than 300 Alsins, moreover on horseback, and accurately aim.”

Elliot folded his arms, and looked up at Hamish’s large build. Frowning as he understood the meaning of his subordinate’s words, he put on an amazed face.

“I do not think it possible to shoot an arrow at a distance of 300 Alsins with an ordinary arrow. Didn’t you perhaps mistake it with a crossbow or a longbow?”

“Two commanders of my hundred bows squad were killed; both with ordinary arrows.”

A hundred bows commander literally referred to the person, who commanded hundred soldiers’ users of longbow. Though there were four commanders of hundred bows under Hamish, they had decreased to half in one night. It was a severe loss.

“As the report already said, when we were fighting the enemy's cavalrymen force, we were struck by an attack from another squad of the enemy. The bow user, who was among them, shot the arrows from the distance of 300 Alsins and killed the commanders of the 100 bows users one after another.”

In Hamish’s voice there were not only anger and sadness, but some admiration was also included.

Because the commanders of 100 bows users were defeated, the soldiers were confused, and they suffered a few sacrifices since the counter-attack was not in time.

His anger and sadness were for those victims. On the other hand, Hamish was able to have respect for the owner of an outstanding skill, even though the enemy.


“Your Highness, it’s not that I want to make a big fuss about it. But there is a redoubtable enemy. Shooting an arrow on top of a running horse and in the confusion of the battlefield of midnight, and hitting the target aimed at, he is a monster in the bow use.”

Emphasizing the latter half of his speech, Hamish feverishly (enthusiastically) explained. While being a little surprised at his attitude, Elliot waved his hand as to order him to settle down. The user of the longbow regained his composure, bowed his head and apologized for the impoliteness.

“I understood the story. So you want to ask me about that bow user, huh. However, unfortunately, I have not also heard of such a guy__”

Stopping in mid-sentence, Elliot suddenly stiffened his expression.

“Speaking of which, I heard that that bastard Tallard excels in the use of the bow……”

The voice of the second Prince of Asvarre was rapid. It was tinged with a small carelessness. The feelings he harbored towards Tallard were that of hatred and disdain, but also fear.

Before about half a year from the beginning of the strife with Jermaine, Elliot had never won against Tallard. On the contrary, he was even forced to surrender in local battles.

Elliot, who was born Prince, served by all and raised as a Prince, was naturally looking down at Tallard, who was born and raised in a fishing village, but the fact that he could not win with only that, no matter how he fought, was disgraceful, and terrifying at the same time.


“No, Your Highness. It was not Lord Tallard.”

To Hamish who stated so in a moderate tone, Elliot threw a dangerous gaze.

“Did you see the appearance?”

“Only for a moment. There was no composure until he shot the arrow.”

That “there was no composure” was because the soldiers were confused because the commanders of 100 bows users had been defeated in succession. But, without mentioning that, Hamish only described the enemy's features.

“It is a youth, who has not probably reached yet 20 years old. His hair color is darkish. With an appearance with a plain bow on an ordinary leather armor, he is deemed not to be an aristocrat. There are certainly even among the soldiers, those who have seen that person shoot, I confirm that.”

“It was not Tallard, huh……”

Though Elliot inwardly took a break of relief, he also understood at the same time that it was a worrying situation. It meant that other than Tallard, there was another bow user with excellent skills, who was on the enemy side.

“If there is such a talented person, I thought that his name would be known.”

“It cannot be help if someone we don’t know. Can you win against that bow user?”

“……If we are separated from 400 Alsins.”

The longbow of Hamish could shoot (aim) at a target in 400 Alsins or more, if the bowstring was drawn to the maximum. Though he naturally had skill, it was a distance, which could be reached, because it was the longbow.


“Alright. Your squad will be placed in the stronghold as bodyguards to protect me. We have a few hundred here. If there is only one enemy, then there is no need to worry.”

“Yes. However, Your Highness must take care. Until we approach a distance where arrows can reach, we have to subjugate the enemy’s General, by all means, and win. Since the enemy is able to fight like that.”

As Elliot nodded to Hamish’s words, he conveyed the plans of hereafter. That’s, recapturing the Fort Lux and heading toward Valverde after that.

“Will the food be enough?”

It was what Hamish first asked. Elliot answered in disappointment.

“We cannot afford it. Therefore, we cannot recklessly act.”

“How about threatening the nearby towns such as Salime that they deliver food?”

“If we stop on the way, it will probably give time to Tallard.”

It was an assault to beat Tallard in one go without giving him room to set up a countermeasure. Though it could not be helped for the Fort Lux, they could not afford to stop on the way more than this until they captured Valverde.

“Oh yeah, Hamish. I will show you something nice.”

Changing the topic, Elliot stood up with a smile. He came out of the tent followed by Hamish. They went in the tent directly spreading nearby. To the guard standing in front of the tent, they confirmed whether there was anyone who approached. The guard answered in a faltering tone.


“There were some people, but none have gone in.”

As Elliot satisfactorily (contently) nodded, he entered the tent.

“How do you feel, Sofia-dono?”

Therein was a young woman. Her white skin got dirty with the forced long trip, and although her golden hair, which extended until her waist and, having lost its gloss, became dull, her beautiful face, which possessed both intellect and loveliness, was also not ruined (damaged) in the slightest. Though the color of fatigue was deep in her face, her strong will was felt in her eyes of beryl.

Though her delicate shoulders were naked, her rich bosom, her slender waist and her legs which smoothly extended, were wrapped in a pale green color dress. The edge of her dress also became loose, and dirt was conspicuous (showed dirt).

And above all, making those, who saw her, feel miserable was probably the boorish iron chain that restrained her thin arms. A heavy iron ball was rolling at the tip of the chain, and put her in the situation where it was difficult to even stand up.

She was Sofia Obertas. A Vanadis of Zchted. Far from being frightened by Elliot, who was undressing her whole body with his eyes, she even revealed with a stout-hearted smile and responded.

“Thanks to you, I am feeling at ease, Your Highness.”

Without replying to her words, Elliot looked back at Hamish.

“Hey, Hamish. Here is a Vanadis of Zchted Sofia Obertas-dono. Don’t you think she is really too much of a beautiful woman to hand over to Muozinel?”


Hamish did not immediately answer. He was captivated by Sofi’s beauty, and was just standing on the spot in blank amazement. It took time of about three counts until the longbow user noticed Elliot’s gaze and came to his senses.

To Hamish with his face dyed red, who apologized for his impoliteness, Elliot generously nodded. However, he did not also forget to give him a warning in a lower voice.

“Hey Hamish. I have executed nearly ten pirates for this woman’s safety. She is that valuable. Even if it is you, I cannot do an exception.”

“I am aware of it.”

After answering, Hamish turned his line of sight to both arms of Sofi.

“However, Your Highness. Isn’t it going a little too far by tying a weak woman with a chain?”

These words seemed to have come out from pure sympathy. But, Elliot scornfully laughed.

“I hear a Vanadis of Zchted would put any man to shame, and she is equal to a thousand soldiers. Moreover, my army does not have that. Would you not agree this degree of measure is essential?”

To Elliot’s banter, Hamish also nodded. Although he placed guards at the key points, he could not expect anything for the discipline. In fact, there were two thousand casualties during the ensuing night attack.

“Sofia-dono. I will have you bear for a while again. Since Muozinel should come to take you in a few days. Just to tell you, I do not mind if you want to run away. But, if you do so, the guys who are in the Capital will die.”


The guys who were in the Capital, were the people who had served as Sofi’s escort when she came to Asvarre as a messenger. After making Sofi that he caught a hostage and making them surrender, Elliot imprisoned them in the Capital.

In fact, Elliot did not think he was safe at all even if he had hostages. He even considered the possibility that Sofi would forsake the hostages. Since he would naturally do so if he were in her position.

“Oh yeah, Hamish. About the bow user of 300 Alsins. If you bring him down, I might have to take some things into consideration. So that Muozinel would not learn of it.”

As he spoke in a tone untelling to exactly how serious he was, Elliot turned his back to Sofi and left the tent along with Hamish. He had had somewhat of a change of spirit. Although the discomfort continued, there was Muozinel as an ally here.

''---That’s right, no matter how much the likes of Tallard struggles, it won’t change anything.''

As he parted with Hamish, Elliot revealed a smile and returned to his tent.

Confirming signs of Elliot and Hamish leaving, Sofi tightly grasped the hem of her dress so strong that her hands whitened. She was irritated at her present situation.


''---Nothing is done yet. I must bear it for now.''

She eagerly persuaded herself. If possible, she wanted to cut off this annoying chain and escape. Although her {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}}, Light Flower was not in her hands now, if she as the owner strongly wished it, she could also make it to appear in her hands right away.

She knew well how much awful Elliot army marching and camping were. After being taken down from the ship, Sofi was put on a shabby door (panel) with both arms being tied with a chain, and was transported up to here (so far).

It would not be difficult for her to escape, if she felt like it, but there were two reasons why she did not do so. One was, like Elliot had also said, the existence of hostages, who were held in the Capital of Asvarre.

If she escaped on her own, that pirate Prince would kill them without hesitation. Even if it became a problem in the future, there were pawns called pirates, who would force all the responsibility onto him.

The other reason was that Sofi was not familiar with the geography of this area. Although she investigated in detail about Asvarre Main Island before her departure (from Zchted), partly because those of the continental territory were running out of time, she did not investigate that much.

By walking along the highway, the chance to be found would be high. On the other hand, by walking on the mountains or in the forest, there would be the danger of an accident. For a woman walking alone (by herself), what was the most frightening was not only beasts or bandits. Besides, she had also accumulated fatigue in her prisoner life. There was no confidence to escape to a safe place.


“It saves me to think that there’s still hope ……”

From the conversation exchanged between the pirates on the way when she was transported, and from the fragments of idle talk she heard in the tent, Sofi had roughly grasped the current situation. There was the fact that Elliot army and Tallard army would clash in a few days.

Elliot's defeat would be desirable, but even if he won, there would probably be some kind of change. Moreover, even when the messenger of Muozinel would come to take her, she might find an opportunity to defuse this situation.

As Sofi was lying down, she rounded her back as to protect herself. By taking a rest, her fatigue could be relieved even if a little and she had to recover her physical strength.

''---Speaking of which.''

Sofi suddenly remembered the words of Elliot, when he left this tent. A bow user of three hundred Alsins. She was wondering the meaning of a bow user, who could fly an arrow in 300 Alsins. If it was right, she was familiar with someone capable of such a feat.

The face of a youth with darkish red hair born in Brune flashed into her head.

''--- It can’t be, right……? It’s Asvarre here. There’s no reason for that child to be here.''

As the day sank, Sofi quietly fell asleep.

<noinclude>

==References==
<references />

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| Back to [[Madan_no_Ou_to_Vanadis:Volume07_Illustrations|Illustrations]]
| Return to [[Madan_no_Ou_to_Vanadis|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Madan_no_Ou_to_Vanadis:Volume_07_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
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</noinclude>

Madan no Ou to Vanadis:Volume 07 Chapter 1

2013-09-19T20:28:24Z

Nwms8:

== Chapter 1: Burning the villages ==


“---Has Lord Tigrevurmud ever burned a village?”

Struck with an unexpected question in a casual tone, the youth was taken aback. He steadily stared at the blond hair woman -- Limlisha sitting opposite to him across the table.

She, who was called by her nickname Lim by those close to her, was twenty years old, three years older than the youth. Although there were feelings of guilt in her blue eyes, she continued speaking.

“I apologize about it being an unpleasant question. But, if possible, I wish to talk about……”

“Ah, No, I wasn‘t particularly offended. I was just a little surprised.”

The youth waved his hands as to say that she didn’t have to worry about it. The youth didn’t dislike such an earnest part of Lim.

The youth’s name was Tigrevurmud Vorn. Those close to him called him by his nickname “Tigre”.

Tigre was now receiving her teachings.

Being the adjutant, and also the best friend of the silver white hair Vanadis Elleonora Viltaria, Lim possessed a wide range of knowledge in political affairs and strategies, and the like. Recently, she was secretly looking forward to teach her pupil Tigre, various things she knew.


Tigre was going to answer to her question with his usual tone and expression, but he diverted his gaze from her, and even his voice was tinged with bitterness.

“I have already had to burn nearly half of a village. It was when the plague was spreading……”

That happened several years ago when the youth’s father was still alive. Before the Plague, which cure, let alone medicine, was not yet discovered, the only measures that people could take were to isolate those suffering from the disease and burn down the buildings.

“……I‘m sorry.”

Lim bowed down in apology for having reminded him of a painful past. Her dull blond hair, tied on the left side of her head, shook.

“It’s an old story. Still, why such a question?”

Tigre directed his gaze towards the table. There were several sheets of maps, and only twenty pieces small enough to be held with a finger were scattered there.

Today's lecture was about the warfare maneuvers. It was something along the line, where Lim displayed the pieces on the map and explained the circumstances, and Tigre would answer in the best way possible within the limited time.

Although she was a strict teacher, when Tigre desperately racked his brain and deduced the best answer, she loosened her surly expression a bit and praised him. And thus constantly performing the maneuvers by changing the location of the pieces on the map, Lim who took a short rest, suddenly raised this question.


“Of course I know that Lord Tigrevurmud is someone, who doesn’t do such a thing. It’s precisely for this reason that I would like you to think about it when you can afford it.”

As Lim put a map on the table, she grabbed a few pieces and set them on top.

“You are taking a rest in a certain small village with one hundred soldiers. Well…… let’s say there are fifty villagers in the village.”

While thinking that it was not that big a village, the youth nodded. In the territory of Alsace, which Tigre once governed, there were many mountains and forests; towns and villages could be counted over one hand. In this case, it was easy to guess so. Lim proceeded with the talk.

“At this village, at one day distance from here, five hundred men of the enemy troops were stationed. But our earliest reinforcement will take at least two days to arrive.”

With a look, Lim asked Tigre what he would do. The youth stirred his darkish red hair, staring at the pieces and the map with a sullen face.

The enemy was five times their number. And reinforcements would not make it in time.

''---Don’t get the wrong idea. What Lim is expecting from me is not a way to defeat the enemy, but the best strategy to adopt.''

At first, Tigre had made a lot of mistakes like this, and thus (he had) been scolded by her. Therefore he couldn't afford to repeat the error again.

“While letting the villagers evacuate, we will also retreat. This is the only way.”


“It’s all good to evacuate, but what would you do about the village?”

Tigre frowned, and finally noticed the meaning behind her words.

“……By that, do you mean whether or not I will burn it?”

To the youth, who confirmed with a sour look, Lim coldly nodded.

“The enemy is only one day distance away, the time you can use to escape is less than half a day. The time required to pack things is also limited. Of course, what's left behind will be taken by the enemy. Conversely, by burning them, this can be counted as a form of attacking the enemy.”

There were a lot of things they could exploit in the village. They could also spend the night in the empty houses, compared to resting in a house, sleeping on the floor was clearly more exhausting.

They could replenish their food and water supply, and also raise their morale by getting the spoils of war. Of course, they would also be wary of traps, though.

“Burn the houses down, if there are wells, poison them. Though depending on the situation, it would be necessary to make a decision to that extent on the worst case scenario.”

Tigre angrily looked at the map and pieces. He was thinking that burning the village was a bandit’s behavior. But, aside from plague, he had never thought that he might someday be forced to such a thing.

Though he was desperately trying to think of other ways, he did not come up with a convenient answer.


“You strongly advise me to do so at such a time, huh……”

To Tigre who annoyingly gave up, Lim denied saying “No.”

“You do not need to do it yourself, if I am there at that time, please order me to do so.”

Tigre gasped, and stared in wonder at Lim. Even when making such a statement, her expression did not budge in the slightest. She straightened her back, and confronted Tigre’s line of sight. It was not because she thought it to be a hypothetical talk, but because she was prepared to do so.

“Though it’s a necessary measure, it’s also certain to lose the villagers’ trust. However, as a general of an army, you will have to consider about the aftermath. So--”

“I can’t do that.”

As Tigre refuted Lim’s words in a strong tone, he stared at her.

“When the time comes, I will do it with my own hands. I have no intention of casting the role of the villain onto someone else.”

“The morale of the whole army will be affected.”

Though Lim rose from the chair and immediately argued, Tigre did not back off.

“Even so, I will do it. Certainly there might be times when I will have to order something unpleasant to someone. But this is a different issue.”

“It’s also the duty of a General to make sure not to incur the resentment and hatred of people.”

“Even if my honor is stained, I should only retrieve it with other means. What you say is correct. But, I can’t simply avoid people’s resentment. Though paying attention so as not to fail is a major premise, however if I worry about it, I won’t be able to do anything.”


At the period when Tigre himself was the Lord of Alsace, perhaps because it was a period as short as two and a half years, there was no major issue. However, there were several times that he saw the scene where his father Urz was troubled.

His father’s best friend, Massas, who also took care of Tigre, once said this. ‘There is no such rule where people have no complaints.’

Tigre and Lim were staring at each other for a while, but it was Lim who gave in. With a small sigh, she sat back to the chair, and ruefully said that she understood.

“……But, please keep in mind that there is also the way I mentioned.”

“Then, I also have something to ask. Assuming that I’m caught in such a situation and I had to burn the village……Let’s think together about what to do to regain the people trust afterward.”

As Tigre said so with a smile, Lim also, though it was faint, spread a smile on her lips.

Just before the summer came in LeitMeritz, several months had passed since Tigre began to live as a guest in this Imperial Palace.

<center><big>◎</big></center>


While staring with a serious face at the several sheets of maps that were spread on the table, Tigre recalled Lim’s teachings which he received a few months ago.

This was not the Imperial Palace of LeitMeritz. In the first place, it was not even in the Kingdom of Zchted. This was the West part of the Kingdom of Asvarre’s mainland, in the conference room of the Fort Lux.

Tigre, who suddenly looked up at the murky ceiling, could not help think what he was doing in a place like this.

Tigrevurmud Vorn was not a person from Zchted. He was a small aristocrat who governed Alsace in the border of the Kingdom of Brune. His title was an Earl. Though his skill with the bow was to the extent of what could be said to be a merit, it was not highly evaluated by Brune which despised the bow.

What significantly altered the youth’s fate was the war, which occurred between Brune and Zchted last year.

Tigre became a prisoner of war of one of the only seven Vanadis in Zchted, Ellen, and afterwards, due to a twist of fate, he cast himself in the midst of the civil war which broke out in Brune.

Eventually, Tigre rescued Princess Regin, whose whereabouts were unknown and succeeded in bringing the civil war to a close. But, in the negotiations between Brune and Zchted after the end of the civil war, it was decided that Tigre would live in LeitMeritz as Ellen’s guest.


When welcoming the spring and seeing off the summer end in LeitMeritz, Tigre was asked a certain request by King Victor of Zchted. He had to secretly travel to the Kingdom of Asvarre, and established a covenant offering cooperation to Prince Jermaine.

In Asvarre after the King died, two Princes were fighting over the throne. Being asked a request from the King of a country, Tigre could not refuse and headed to Asvarre.

Although he was able to meet Prince Jermaine, he was about to be killed; as he was trying to escape from that predicament, the Prince was murdered by one of his subordinates who triggered a rebellion. That subordinate, Tallard Graham, said this to Tigre.

“I aim to be King. --Please. Lend me your help.”

There were several reasons, which pushed Tigre to cooperate with Tallard. Whereas this young man (Tallard) intended to conclude a pact of friendship with Zchted, the enemy, Prince Elliot had joined hands with the Kingdom of Muozinel. The Vanadis Sofia Obertas, who was sent by Zchted as a messenger, was captured by Prince Elliot. Moreover, there was also the fact that Tigre was attracted by Tallard’s cheerful personality.

Tigre borrowed three thousand soldiers from him and captured the Fort Lux. It was something which was done from last night to this morning.

And now.

The Fort Lux, which became the stronghold of Tigre and the others, was wrapped in a heavy atmosphere.

Outside the Fort, the shining golden sun in the western sky was setting. The west side of the Fort bathing in the light of dusk was tinged red, and the east side in contrast was covered with a black shadow.


The faces of the soldiers patrolling on top of the walls and the soldiers taking a rest in the courtyard were colored by an indescribable anxiety. This was not the expression of those who gained the Fort after a fierce battle.

Why they were scared was because of a report that was brought earlier by a certain soldier.

“Prince Elliot leading thirty thousand pirates has landed! They seem to be at a distance of about two days from the Fort.”

The shock that this news gave to the soldiers was unfathomable. Of course Tigre was not an exception. An enemy that was actually ten times more than them was at a distance of only two days.

“For the time being, we should do what we have to do.”

Although he said so to calm down his companions, Tigre, who asked to be provided a map and re-confirmed the situation, could not help but groan at the seriousness of the situation.

“Is there anything I can do?”

A beautiful girl with light pink-colored hair turned her big eyes reminiscent of black pearl to Tigre. She was about 13 or 14 years old. Though expressionless and lacking the qualities of the children her age, and also with a grown-up tone, her appearance let one feel wonder and charm.

She was Olga Tamm. A Vanadis of Zchted like Ellen. Although for some reason she had been traveling alone, she met with Tigre and both began to act together. While having a delicate body that gave the impression to likely break if touched, she was the owner of a power able to easily fling away an adult man.


In addition to Tigre and Olga in the conference room, there was one more person.

He was a big man in his mid-thirties who had a visibly suntanned skin named Matvey. The thick former sailor, with the trust of the Vanadis Alexandra Alshavin alias Sasha of Legnica, had also been somehow of a great help to Tigre in his trip.

“Please don’t hesitate to tell me. If it’s your order, I will generally comply.”

Matvey crossed his big arms and revealed a creepy smile. Because of his scary look, it might be this man’s shortcoming that even a well-intentioned smile makes people terrified.

If it were not for those two, Tigre might not have come through many predicaments in this foreign land. They were without doubt reliable companions.

The youth, without speaking of the idea, which came up in his mind just now, smiled wryly as to dodge the issue. Tigre himself was unable to make decisions now, because the members were not gathered yet.

From outside, the sound of footsteps overlapping with the clattering of armor was approaching. The only door of the room was opened, and two men walked in.

One, while being of a medium build and also handsome, was a man able to make people remember his gentle smile. Though without armor and lightly dressed with only a sword hung on the waist, his movement, which left no opening, showed that he was a veteran soldier.


The man’s name was Vaild Ludra. He served Tallard, and was the General Commander of the three thousand soldiers who were here. Tallard originally intended to set Tigre as the General Commander, but Tigre had refused it and put himself in the position of Ludra’s adjutant.

The other one, in contrast was clad in a rowdy atmosphere. Though he was exactly 30 years old, he was the owner of a baby face, who would probably make him pass as a teenager, if not for the large scar on his left cheek.

This man named Simon was the Captain of nearly three hundred mercenaries. Following the merit system and the realism of mercenaries, he was a skilled warrior who had both popularity and ability.

“How are the soldiers’ condition?”

Waiting for the two people to sit on a chair, Tigre asked. While arrogantly creaking the back of the chair, the mercenary Captain Simon sullenly replied.

“It’s a mess. Each one of them looks damn glum.”

“We have temporarily avoided the chaos, but it is necessary to issue new instructions as soon as possible.”

Ludra also expressed his concern in a modest tone. The two men had to appease the soldiers, who panicked at the sudden landing of Elliot’s army; they settled down the chaos by scolding them.

''---It can’t be helped. It's like this because they don't think we can win……''

Matvey put copper cups with water on the table for the number of people in the room.


“It’s not sake?”

Though Simon laughed while looking into the content of the copper cup, it was not by dissatisfaction he said so, but it was only joking. He also perfectly understood that it was not a situation where they could talk while drinking sake.

Tigre put on the table a map in which the whole area surrounding the Fort Lux was drawn.

“Let's confirm the situation. First of all, where is currently Prince Elliot’s army?”

“In this area.”

Ludra, who leaned forward, indicated one point of the map with his finger. The other people standing up also looked at the map. The mainland coast was at a distance of two days from the Fort northward. There, Luarca was written in blurred letters.

“There are two or three fishing villages in this area, but Luarca is, even among them, a particularly big village. I thought that the enemy pattern would be to use it in order to capture Maliayo, but……”

Ludra took a heavy breath. He was completely outwitted.

“Which soldier told you that? I thought the scout did not reach that place.”

At Tigre’s question, Ludra moved his finger placed on the map to the lower left. Seen from the Village of Luarca, it was the southwest, seen from the Fort Lux, it was the northwest.

“There is a small town named Salime here. The villagers, who were attacked, fled here and conveyed the situation; the soldiers of the town, after hearing the news, flew over with horses.”


And then Ludra explained in detail the sudden attack of the pirates.

“I heard that the village was attacked before dawn. It was about at the same time that we attacked the Fort. A harbor of simple structure is located in the fishing village of this area; the pirates took out a large quantity of boats from the ship and rowed up to there……”

Under the sky which still had a lingering trace of darkness, what occurred was a tragedy which made one want to avert his eyes. The pirates mercilessly swung down swords and axes on the villagers, surprised by the sudden attack. They broke into rooms, took what they saw, destroyed them, violated women, and set fire to the houses.

Those who were able to safely escape numbered less than ten.

Tigre’s face was tinged with anger and bitterness. His hometown, where the youth was born and raised, had also been attacked by Duke Thenardier’s army last year.

Recalling it, again thinking back to the livelihoods of villagers stolen unreasonably and although he had also had no choice, his heart was eaten away by melancholy.

Olga and Matvey, though not as much as Tigre, also felt resentment towards the pirates. Remaining cool was Simon, who was at least practical pertaining to war matters, but he also made a point sarcastically saying “very well done.”

As Tigre took a deep breath and pulled himself together, he looked at his companions.

“How do you think Prince Elliot will act from now on?”


“He will move straight to Valverde through the highway.”

It was Ludra who asserted so.

“As you can see, the highway passing near the Village of Luarca extends to the East and the Southwest. By advancing to the Southwest, it reaches the town of Salime and by moving to the North, it is divided into two routes, each leading to Maliayo and Valverde. Either route does not directly lead to this Fort Lux.”

Valverde was Tallard’s stronghold city. From Elliot’s perspective, capturing Valverde first would become the first step toward victory.

“Prince Elliot shouldn’t know yet that we have captured this Fort. Even if he intends to join General Lester, he will have to pass through either route of the highway. In that case, it is not pointless for him to head toward Valverde.”

When the name of Lester was mentioned, Olga, who had been silently looking at the map until now, turned to look at Tigre. Tigre who noticed it shook his head.

Though Lester was the General who was protecting this fort, he was not human but a dreadful grotesque Monster named Torbalan. Those who knew it were only Tigre and Olga who actually fought him. Since explaining it to the others would make things complicated, Tigre intended to keep silent about it.

''---I wonder if Prince Elliot knew that General Lester was a Monster.''

Tigre brushed the doubt which grazed his head to the corner of his mind, because now there were several things which he had to think about.


“But, it’s not as if Prince Elliot won’t forever know that this Fort fell into our hands. Once he gets to know it, won’t he change his plans?”

Olga tilted her head at Ludra’s words. The red-haired knight calmly affirmed.

“That’s right. Considering that possibility, while slowing down the whole March speed, he could send a reconnaissance unit of about five thousand soldiers and advance along the highway……”

“Otherwise, he could organize a detached unit and send it here.”

When Tigre said so, Ludra looking nervous nodded.

Elliot could not ignore the Fort Lux. If he ignored the Fort and headed toward Valverde, he would run the risk of being attacked from the back or the side by the enemy who might be in the Fort.

That was probably why he had invited Lester to change sides at the stage before landing. If Tigre and the others had delayed the Fort siege, there was no doubt that they would have been sandwiched between Prince Elliot’s and Lester’s troops, and forced to retreat.

“In case he sends a detached unit, it will be troublesome that they may come off the highway, and head up to here.”

Ludra dropped his gaze on the map and groaned. Olga retaining her question in her obsidian pupils, looked up at the knight of Asvarre, and then asked Tigre.

“If they proceed off the highway, I think that their feet will become dull and their march will be significantly delayed, right?”


From the Village of Luarca where Elliot landed, if they tried to go to the south straight to the fort, through the meadows, and across the region where a number of large and small hills stood in a row, they would have to break through the vast woods.

Let alone the meadows and the hilly areas, they would greatly have trouble to progress in the woods.

“Yeah. If you intend to stave off the enemy's march, you would usually fortify the highway with soldiers.”

As Tigre put his finger on the map, he circled the whole area spreading out between the fishing villages and the Fort.

“We cannot avoid the soldiers where they deviated from the highway. Neglecting the scouts and being cautious is all we can do. There is a high chance that the enemy will come there.”

Convinced by that, next to Olga, Matvey who was silent until then spoke.

“Ludra-dono. Isn’t there anything you know about Prince Elliot’s character? Something that can serve as reference about how he will move from now on.”

Tigre stared in wonder at the former sailor. Even though there was impatience due to the anger towards the enemy or the status quo, he did not think of this point.

Ludra twisted his neck with a troubled face.

“I have never met Prince Elliot, but there is something that I hear from His Excellency Tallard. According to it, he is an extremely arrogant and incredulous person.”

''---It’s the same as the story I heard from Ellen.''


Tigre recalled what the Vanadis of silvery white hair taught him in the Imperial Palace of LeitMeritz. Arrogant as Prince Jermaine, his suspicion was strong. Ellen had said so.

“However, His Excellency also said this. That he is both bold and cautious, and that he is someone who never let his guard down.”

“Bold and cautious?”

Matvey frowning asked back, Ludra nodded.

“It was at the time when Prince Jermaine had called all his siblings to the Imperial Court and killed them over suspicion of rebellion. Prince Elliot sensing the danger went to the Court after arranging in advance so that he could escape when needed.”

Elliot wonderfully succeeded in getting away from Jermaine’s clutches. Meanwhile, Princess Geneviere, using the confusion which arose thereby, also successfully escaped.

“Regarding the boldness, I don’t even have to explain, right? It’s not something ordinary for a Prince of a country to negotiate with pirates and make them his subordinates.”

“Besides, there is also the landing to the fishing villages, which outsmarted us. He seems to be a Prince who likes to make a display of his originality.”

Simon revealed a sarcastic smile, and asked Ludra while playing with the copper cup in his hand.

“Anyway, if it’s only us, we are no match. After how many days Tallard will come here?”


By now, he should be running about in the country of Asvarre gathering up soldiers. It was planned that when the number reached ten thousand, he would join Tigre and the others going to the north to fight Elliot. Counting from the day when Tigre and the others left Valverde, nearly ten days had passed.

“Sorry.”

Ludra cast down his eyes with a bitter face. It meant that he did not know, either.

In the strategy that Tallard told Tigre, Elliot was supposed to spend a lot of time to the capture of the Port Town of Maliayo. It could be said that Elliot’s dynamism exceeded Tallard’s expectation.

“The messenger will arrive at Valverde tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. Also, it’s not sure that His Excellency will be there. Since it’s possible that he left Valverde in order to gather soldiers……”

“Then, it’s helpless.”

Spinning the empty copper cup in his hand, Simon shrugged his shoulders and said in a joking tone. When this man laughed, the scar on his left cheek would be distorted. Though Olga looked displeased by his frivolous behavior, Tigre and Matvey exuded a wry smile. It was not as if they did not understand his feelings.

After all, less than three thousand soldiers, who were here, would have to fight thirty thousand enemies.

But, Tigre did not feel like positively blaming Tallard. He had after all also experienced the hardships of gathering soldiers in the civil war of Brune.

''---Well, what to do now?''


We have to settle down and do what we should do, was what he said to them. But, what should be done now? Think about a brilliant strategy to defeat an enemy of thirty thousand soldiers?

It’s not that. Extending his hand on the desk, Tigre brought another map on the top.

Around the Fort Lux, the position of the surrounding villages was also drawn. Including to them the small villages with dozens of people living in, there were about ten villages.

Unless they heard the tragedy of the Village of Luarca, Prince Elliot’s troops were in the opposite poles of tolerance and mercy. There was no doubt that they would make these villages, the objects of ruthless plunder.

“What we should do now is to ensure the safety of the villagers. For that purpose, we will adopt two measures. One is to take only two thousand horsemen and set a night attack to the enemy.”

“Taking into account the enemy’s number, I don’t think it will be that much effective with only two thousand……”

“I don’t expect great results in the battle. If we can slow the enemy pace, even a little, then it’s enough.”

Answering so to the confused Ludra, Tigre, who was going to cut directly to the second measure, suddenly avoided meeting his gaze. But, he soon shook off his confusion and said in a businesslike tone.

“Concerning the second, we will evacuate the villagers. Taking into account the location of the village and the enemy, after evacuating, what naturally followed is the night attack. Though I hope for them to rush into Valverde, at worst, we will get away from the Fort to the South.”

Tigre raised his eyes from the map and looked at Ludra. A deep shadow of seriousness and sadness flashed on the youth’s face.


“Will they obediently follow us?”

“The villagers have become accustomed to war. If we tell them ‘The pirates are approaching, run away!’ they will listen to us. We will wait for dawn before moving the soldiers……”

Reproving the mutter of Ludra, who was putting his thoughts in order, Olga asked with a puzzled face.

“Isn't it for tonight? We race against the time, right?”

“The sun has already set. If we left the Fort now, the soldiers would arrive at the village at midnight. The villagers would probably have turned off the light and fell asleep. Even if we gather them and talked to them in such a situation, it will just cause confusion. It would better to wait for the daybreak and then move after.”

The darkness of night easily contributed to the confusion. Not only would the evacuation not progress, but there was also no mistake that those straying off the path or those who were left behind would appear one after another.

“Since we will also have to let the villagers, who were hired for the assault of the Fort, go back……”

Ludra grieved over awkwardness with a sigh.

“Well, it’s all good to make them evacuate, but it’s not all, right?”

It was the veteran mercenary captain who said so.

“The village will be burnt down when it becomes deserted. And in the water wells, we will throw poison. It’s fine, right?”

To Simon, who confirmed as if it was a matter of fact, Matvey, Olga, and Ludra respectively frowned. Only Tigre, without showing such a reaction, as he heaved a sigh mixed with resignation, violently stirred his hair. Since the time he spotted the villages on the map, he had anticipated that.


''---Lim is really a good teacher……''

The unamiable (unsociable) face of the girl with blond hair tied at the left side of her head came to his mind. Recalling the debate with Lim prior the meeting was without doubt consistent to the current situation. As they would evacuate the villagers, if they left the villages and the water wells like that, they would be naturally exploited by the pirates.

If they prevented the pirates from using the water wells, the enemy would have to procure water from somewhere else. It was the basic of the basics that force an enemy to fatigue and trouble in a war.

However, it might also be because the mercenary Simon said it without hesitation. Though Tigre agreed with his words, he could not consent.

''---If we poison the wells, it won’t be possible to use them even after the end of the war.''

It was an act equal to the destruction of the village. Even if the houses, which would be burnt, could newly be rebuilt, the people would not survive without water.

“……Aside from burning the villages, is it possible not to use the poison? For example, we can throw in stones so that the enemy cannot use water.”

Tigre kindly asked. He did not want to destroy the villages, if possible, but Simon mercilessly shook his head.

“It’s useless to do so if we take into account the enemy’s number. The stones will be immediately removed.”


Silence fell. No one was able to propose an alternative solution.

Tigre returned his gaze at the map, and scowled at it as if it were an object of revenge (like a camel staring at his father's murderer).

''---At that time, I said to Lim. That I will do it with my own hands.''

Her assumption had now become a reality. Of course, he could also choose not to burn the villages and poison the wells. But, if they did not deal a blow to the enemy, even a little, let alone the safety of the villagers, the soldiers, who would fight, will be in danger.

If Elliot’s army was early, they would arrive at the Fort in two or three days. Regardless of how to deal with it, time was required for both preparation and execution. Even the time to think about that was not given to Tigre now.

“Lord Tigrevurmud. The General Commander of this army is not you, but me.”

While putting on sympathetic eyes, Ludra said so in a particularly rebuking tone.

“It’s me who decide and order it. You don’t have to be concerned about it.”

“Yes”, Tigre nodded. Rather than agreeing with it, he had to pretend to understand in consideration for Ludra, who was anxious on his behalf.

What Ludra said was not wrong. But, Tigre, rather than just following orders as a mere soldier, was in a position in which he could state his opinion to Ludra. Given that in the beginning, Tallard was going to appoint Tigre as the General Commander, one could say that they were on equal status.


Moreover, the youth was unable to lie to himself and Lim, who was in Zchted.

“Ludra. I leave the compensation of the villagers to you.”

“I swear on my name, even at the cost of my life. Without fail.”

The earnest and prompt reply of the red-haired knight was at least providence.

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The moon greatly inclined towards the west sky, and the night sky let its darkness gradually fade. The darkness being minutely divided with its gradual shading foretold that the night's end was drawing near.

Among the nearly three thousand soldiers, about one thousand remained in the Fort with Ludra, and two thousand cavalrymen led by Tigre, left the Fort. Before dawn, though there was a still a margin of more than one Koku, they started to move a little early because passing through the forest in cavalry would take time.

When they passed through the forest, the sky was crystal-clear blue, and the sun was shining white despite his low position.

As scheduled, Tigre divided the two thousand soldiers into ten squads and each headed towards a village. Tigre himself, also leading about three hundred cavalrymen, was heading towards one of the villages. To the youth’s right and left side were the figures of Olga and Matvey.


The soldiers were wearing leather armor, and most of them, in addition to spears, were armed with a bow. Tigre and Ludra, who speculated the enemy’s equipment from the talk of when the Village of Luarca was attacked, decided it like that.

When Tigre and his squad reached the village, they were able to confirm little by little the figures of the villagers, who had begun to do farm work. The number of inhabitants of this village was roughly seventy. Their days were spent with harvest from the oat fields surrounding the village and with the forest's bounty one belsta (approximately one kilometer) away.

The houses applied plaster to the wooden walls, and the ceilings were only made of simple thatched roofs.

As Tigre called the potentates of the village including the village chief, they gathered in the chief’s house, and he frankly stated their business.

‘The pirates are getting closer. Pack your loads by noon and escape from here.’

Of course, the chief and the others, with color of perplexity on their faces, openly looked at each other.

“By noon, you say?”

“No matter how you put it, isn’t it too sudden? To begin with, even if you ask us to escape, where should we go……?”

“Valverde.”

Tigre deliberately told so in a businesslike tone. Since he was not familiar with the Asvarre language that he just learnt from Matvey, it had probably sounded more bluntly from the perspective of the listener.

Tigre had resolved himself before departing the fortress, putting coat after coat of ice around his heart, yet nevertheless, his own words made him want to vomit.


He was conscious of how to proceed exactly because the village was of a foreign country, and he did not even know its name until yesterday. It let the youth’s heart soundlessly creak. If it was some village from his home town Alsace, might he have taken such a decision?

“It will take two days or more from here.”

One of the potentates raised a voice-like scream. It was a man of 25 years old, who had a short white mustache particularly conspicuous. Seeing him made Tigre suddenly remember Massas, who was in Brune. Though he had not met him for more than half a year, he wondered if he was doing well.

“First of all, I want you to go toward the south from the Fort Lux. It doesn’t matter if you can escape into a village or a town in its neighborhood. If that seems impossible, you can change your course to the east and go to Valverde.”

When it came to such long lines, Tigre spoke in Zchted language first, and Matvey translated it into the Asvarre language. Tigre’s cold attitude coupled with Matvey’s ferocious look and burly body was already intimidation from the perspective of bystanders.

“There are women, children and also old men…… even sick people.”

Another man spoke of the mutter that sounded more like a complaint in a low voice. To the words such as children and old men, which inferred a blaming tone, Tigre answered while maintaining his cold tone and attitude.

“We will provide you with two carts. Children and old men can ride on them. There are probably also some in this village.”

“---And about the wild oats?” Another potentate asked.

“Finally, all the threshing is over; we will have kept them in the warehouse. We should carry them to Valverde a few days later……”


Tigre’s expression slightly stiffened. He recalled the state of the wheat field, which he saw on his way from Maliayo to Valverde.

After finishing the harvest of ripe wheat, the next step is the threshing. Pulling the wheat ears back and forth between the sticks split from the middle would remove the wheat. It was a work which required patience.

When finished, they would be packed in hempen bags, and transported in the warehouse. At a later date, a portion of these would be loaded onto the carts as taxes, and carried to the nearest city. The villagers would use what remained (as provisions) until the next harvest. It should have been the scenery that did not change regardless of which country.

“You can request compensation.”

While it turned out that it was not such a thing (although they are not meant to understand), the youth could only say so.

Of course there was also tax issues. But, at the demand that they should throw away things they obtained after several months of hard work by sowing any more seeds, plowing, worrying about drought and heavy rain, and racking their brain to find solution about the harm of insects and birds, the villagers would certainly feel sadness and indignation.

“Can’t you do something before the pirates arrive?”

One of the potentates turned reproachful eyes towards Tigre. Whether the man’s emotions were highly strung, Tigre, who was trying to reply to it, was vehemently cut before he could speak.


“I will stay here. In the first place, it’s unlikely that pirates would come to a place like this. I live in this village for more than 40 years; even though I have already seen thieves or bandits, I have never seen pirates.”

As Tigre was fed up with that, he put on a wistful face and overbearingly declared.

“Then, go to the town of Salime and hear the story. Those who barely escaped from pirates are there now. If you personally hear it from their mouths, I think that you will resolve yourself. But, then it might be too late though.”

Silence fell. The place was wrapped in a serious and cold atmosphere that did not allow anyone to casually speak. Although the village chief and the others felt uneasy and looked at each other, no one said a word.

Tigre took off his eyes from the man, and turned toward the village chief.

“---Chief. If there are people reluctant to leave the village, tie them up and carry them on a cart along with their loads. As I have said many times, we are running out of time. We will hold the enemy here.”

Tigre stood up as to say that the talk was over. It looked like the words he threw off made them surrender.

However, that was not the case. An old man, who would be the senior among the people of the village, moved his wrinkled face and falteringly returned these words.

“We…… We had been quietly living. Even when the soldiers under Jermaine-dono were rampaging. Even if they were trampling down our fields, breaking the fence and barrels and hitting young men for no reason, we had endured it without resistance.”


The old man looked up at Tigre with reproachful eyes.

“This time you want us to abandon this village?”

The sun was high in the sky when the villagers packed their load and left the village.

Tigre, without even trying to hide his displeasure, looked up at the sky and heaved a sigh filled with frustration. Although it took a half koku than expected, they somehow managed to evacuate the whole village.

Clothes, pans, iron pots, farming tools and the like, which were thrown away on the street, were scattered. After another half koku, fire would be set, and all these, would be burned along with the houses and fields.

Just in case, the soldiers checked if there were people who failed to get out in time. Tigre himself, together with Olga and Matvey, without moving from the central square of the village, waited for the report.

“I will take the thankless role.”

Ahead of the line of sight of Matvey who muttered so, there were figures of soldiers who were entering empty houses. Their action was slow; either they were openly non-favorable, or they were looking at the trio with eyes in which all kind of feelings were enclosed.

Most of the soldiers were basically commoners. They had spent their days in their respective towns and villages without war. Although they were given detailed instructions beforehand by Ludra, the act of burning a village was unbearable for them, and they could not help turning reproachful eyes at Tigre, who was the Commander of the site.


“No, it is better that such a thing is done by me, a stranger. Besides – I also agree.”

In the black pupils of Tigre, who responded so, a masochistic and dismal light was blinking. If he was also in their position, he would have also felt resentment towards the person who gave such orders.

But, as a Commander, he must coldly give such orders. Even if he felt like vomiting blood, if he did not do this, Tigre and the others would be force to stand in more harsh conditions. Taking a rest in an empty house, he also secured water so as to fight against the enemy in perfect condition.

“Sorry for that, Matvey. If only I could speak the Asvarre language……”

“You said what should be said. Don’t worry too much about it.”

To the former sailor, who open heartedly laughed, Tigre showed his gratitude by nodding his head. He also inwardly expressed his gratitude once again towards Sasha of Legnica, for introducing this man.

The skeptical looks of the soldiers were also turned toward Olga and Matvey. This was because both of them were seen as Tigre’s companions. However, Matvey scornfully laughed, and Olga, without changing one bit her deadpan, remained calm.

Olga suddenly brought her horse near Tigre. Though the Vanadis with light pink-colored haired did not say a single word, her quiet drive to protect Tigre was felt from her dignified attitude.

“Thank you. But, I’m all right.”


Tigre said so and lightly patted the girl’s head, and when the report that no one was left behind finally arrived, the youth gave the order to set fire.

Tigre himself poisoned the two wells of the village. So that his hands, which were trembling, were not seen by the soldiers, he left only Olga and Matvey at his side.

Not an ounce of emotion surfaced on Tigre’s face as he witnessed flames engulfed homes.

He was just clutching his fist strong enough to let his fingernails dug into the palm of his hand and shed blood.

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The meadows, which were at one Belsta (about one Kilometer) to the north from the village Tigre and the others left, was the place of the rendezvous.

When they arrived, nearly one thousand cavalrymen had already gathered. The Captains of each squad saw Tigre standing in the vanguard and went towards him at a quick pace.

Though some people reported the results with a bitter face, Tigre maintained his cold attitude and listened to them in turn. Their feelings aside, it seemed that they evacuated the villagers as ordered.

Tigre did not give any words of apology or appreciation at all. It was because he understood that it would instead only incite them the wrong way. By just carefully listening to their reports, he would show in his attitude, of act of accepting both their anger and bitterness.


As he finished listening to all the reports, Tigre gathered the Captains.

“Send scouts. Prepare eighty cavalrymen with little fatigue. Set eight squads of ten horsemen and send four squads respectively to the north and the east.”

Looking to the North, gently-sloping hills were visible in the distance. Shifting the gaze to the East, meadows mixed with sparsely color of dry grass were spreading. If the enemy passed through the meadows, they would probably come out in the highway.

Even though either way commanded a fine view, they were quite wide. So as not to overlook the enemy, Tigre made all the eight squads depart by different routes.

When it was over, he ordered them to set up camp. He planned to let them have a good rest for the time being in preparation for the night attack.

Although it was a camp, an encampment could brook no encumbrance. The surroundings were enclosed with a wooden fence, guards were set in key points and were taking rests by turn; they had meals, when it came time to sleep, they piled up overcoats on the ground.

In a place a little distant from the soldiers, Tigre was talking with both Olga and Matvey. Since there was no command tent, he had no choice but to settle at a distance so as not to let the soldiers hear unnecessary things. Since Olga hardly spoke, the two men became the center of the conversation.

“Do you think that Prince Elliot already knows about the fall of the Fort Lux?”

“It’s better to assume that he already knows.”


Many possibilities for the enemy to obtain the information could be considered, such as villages which were too far from the coastal area for Tigre and the others to call for evacuation, or unlucky travelers and peddlers who had run into the pirates, or small aristocrats who feared Elliot and dispatched an emissary and so on.

“I don’t like pessimistic thoughts, but let’s assume the worst case scenario. Let’s consider that the enemy knows about the fall of the Fort. The number of soldiers in the advanced troops is seven thousand. They've passed through the meadows and are in the mid-hill areas.”

“I feel that seven thousand is a bit exaggerated, but under the present circumstances, it is better to estimate that much.”

However, the reality was greatly beyond what the two men expected.

As the scout, who came back by the time the daybreak, ran up to Tigre without stopping to wipe his sweat and catching his breath, reported.

“We discovered one party thought to be the enemy. They are at about two koku on foot from here. There is no doubt it’s a large party of twenty thousand soldiers!”

Not only Tigre, but also Olga and Matvey stared wide-eyed in surprise.

''---Twenty thousand!? And at two koku on foot?''

The distance of marching on foot at the moment was ten Belsta (about ten kilometers). Elliot’s army was advancing with a speed far beyond Tigre and the others’ expectation.

“I see. Regarding the enemy’s composition, can you tell me in detail?”

Tigre immediately erased the surprise from his facial expression, and asked with a tone as relaxed as he could muster. Probably because an overwhelmingly large army was in sight, the soldiers were agitated. He must avoid shaking them further.


“The enemy raised the banner of the Red Dragon and its ranks are in disorder……”

Everyone in Elliot’s army, without any mind to military formation, ran up the gently-sloping hilly areas at full speed. The visible weapons are sticks and hatchets and even though they are formally dressed, it was leather armor at best. There was no cavalry.

“Is the number twenty thousand certain? If the enemy’s ranks are so much in chaos, I think it will be difficult to count them.”

Olga, who returned to her usual deadpan, asked indifferently. When the enemy numbered thousands or ten thousand, it was not an easy task to precisely grasp their number. However, the messenger clearly answered.

“I have worked as a messenger for a long time; if there are 1000 infantry, no matter how clumped they are, I will know. As I mentioned earlier, there is no cavalry among the enemy and since the ranks were extended greatly in a line, it’s possible to count them by the thousand.”

“I see. Sorry for having doubted your words.”

Olga honestly apologized. Beside her, Tigre started to think over what the messenger reported and the moment he realized the enemy’s intent, he almost unintentionally shouted. However, without showing this, he gave words of appreciation to the soldier with a gentle smile.

“Good work. You can rest now. I cannot allow wine, but you can take a light meal.”


As the soldier walked away from Tigre, Olga and Matvey turned dubious eyes to the youth. Tigre’s face was clearly tinged with tension and anxiety. He took out a map from his breast pocket with impatient fingers.

“Have you understood something?”

“The enemy has advanced straight to the south with the whole army. And with a fairly forced march.”

Tigre recalled that someone said that Elliot possessed a bold personality.

The second Prince of Asvarre, without organizing a detached unit, changed the course of action of the entire army and gave top priority to the capture of Fort Lux.

“……Then, the enemy had ten thousand in their forced march turned deserter?”

Matvey said with a dumbfounded face. Since Elliot’s army should be thirty thousand, it meant that it had pretty much decreased by 1/3.

“The enemy has probably considered this point. That, even if there are ten thousand stragglers, twenty thousand remain.”

It was the right way of thinking under this situation. For example, supposing that stragglers continued to occur and Elliot’s army was reduced to half, that’s still fifteen thousand. It would be five times Tigre's forces. Even if Tallard’s reinforcement of ten thousand were to arrive in time, Elliot's army would still be superior in number. Moreover, the stragglers would catch up given time.

“But, if they are pushing themselves that much, they will be exhausted and fighting will become impossible.”

To Olga, who frowned, Matvey softly shook his head,


“There’s no way that soldiers would be deployed in a place like this. Or even if they were deployed, only a small number of people would be able to effortlessly break through. Honestly, even I don’t want to clash with an enemy ten times superior in number. Even if it’s possible to win because the enemy will be tired by the forced march.”

If they misread the degree of exhaustion of the enemy, they would be easily repelled. If they did not act carefully, they could be surrounded in a flash and destroyed. It was far too dangerous to bet on it.

As Elliot judged so and anticipated that there would be no enemy numbered more than ten thousand ahead of their route, there was no doubt that they were advancing at a surprising tremendous speed. Tigre could not help shivering. Though not to the extent of using swords, the smoke of war has already begun.

Tigre quickly took pen and paper and wrote a letter. Then he called a messenger.

“Return quickly to the Fort Lux now, and give this to Ludra-dono.”

The messenger who had received the letter, carefully put it in his breast pocket, bowed and left.

Olga and Matvey, who were waiting behind Tigre, looked at each other. Since he did not verbally pass the message, it meant that the content was not addressed to the soldiers. Thinking whether or not it might have anything to do with the night attack scheduled to begin after this, Olga asked hesitantly.

“What about the night attack?”

“We will do it.”

Tigre briefly asserted so to show his determination.


“We must slow down the enemy pace here at all costs. We must at least gain half a day.”

Of course there was the fear of clashing with an enemy ten times superior in number. But, Tigre understood that the villagers would not be able to escape if things were going on like this.

The villagers had begun to evacuate from this morning until noon. There were leading children and old people holding their loads. It was a situation where even they did not know whether or not they would be able to reach the Fort.

It would be good if the pirates, after seeing the fire ruins of the village, became more careful and enhanced their vigilance; if they marched at the same speed, they would surely catch up by tomorrow. Tigre could not absolutely let such a thing happen. Otherwise, for what purpose did he burn the village, and poisoned the wells?

“I think what Matvey said is correct. However, if we revise our viewpoint, the enemy won’t be wary of us. There are no signs that they sent a scout. – It’s a good opportunity.”

“It’s a gamble, you know? And a big gamble at that.”

Matvey broadly laughed while shrugging his shoulders. This was the laughter of a sailor who had braved the sea storms. Though Olga was silently staring at Tigre, she did not disagree.

As the units sent for reconnaissance all returned, Tigre learnt that the enemy had stopped their march. Soon getting out from the hilly area, they were at about one koku on foot away from the place where Tigre and the others were. He also confirmed at the same time that they did not send scouts.

Just to be on a safe end, Tigre moved out their campground, and retreated the troops to the south. Even though a campground, since it was only setting up a fence, it did not take a lot of time.


As the forest came into view, Tigre stopped their retreat. With the forest’s appearance at their back, they again built a campground.

The construction of the campground ended when the sun was setting. The clouds, which lurked in the sky, bathing in the light of the setting sun were dyed vermillion. The forest also dyed black a part of the ground in its huge shadow, which greatly spread branches and leaves, and the shadows of soldiers and horses had sunk in it. Matvey in admiration said so.

“With this, as long as we don’t use fire, it will be hard to be discovered from a distance.”

“I will prohibit the use of the fire after a little bit. From now, I want you to accustom your eyes to the dark.”

As Tigre gathered the Captain of each unit after that, he issued a few instructions.

“Let the soldiers make the catapults sling. Pick up stones in the forest. And then……”

The catapults sling was a tool used to catapult stones at a far distance by using the centrifugal force. Since the string could be easily made with just scraps of cloth, Tigre had also used it once or twice when hunting. Though it was more difficult to hit the target, it could also catapult stones at a distance of one hundred Alsins (about 100 meters).

Among the two thousand soldiers present here, only about half of the soldiers, that’s one thousand, were able to prepare bow and arrow. It (catapult) was a mean to make up for that shortage.

As he finished issuing instructions, Tigre slightly sighed. His shoulders felt heavy. Though there was not that much physical fatigue, the mental exhaustion was extreme.


“—I will take a rest for a half koku.”

Like that, Tigre put on a slightly dirty overcoat and turned his back to Matvey and Olga.

“I suppose you're off to take care of some business?”

To the former sailor who asked in a joking tone, Tigre only replied without looking back.

“I will only take a rest in a place a little away. I will return at once if something happens.”

After Matvey looked up at the sky, he saw off the youth while answering “Understood”.

Since the lurking clouds had hidden the moon and the stars, the night sky of autumn was darker than usual. With this, even if Tigre parted from the army alone to rest, he would not probably be conspicuous.

After they dared tackle their reluctance, they would be challenging an enemy ten times in numerical superiority. Moreover, Tigre would be leading foreign soldiers in a foreign land. Matvey wanted for Tigre to rest when he still could afford it.

Tigre, who was away from the soldiers, leaned against one of the trees that formed the forest and sat on the ground. Even though a little away, He probably couldn't hear normal voices, but a shout should be able to reach him at this distance. As expected he could not take more distance than that.

Though he closed his eyes, Tigre was so highly strung that he could not immediately sleep.

''---How should we fight?''

Last year, Tigre had struggled to repel the twenty thousand soldiers of the Muozinel army, who invaded Brune, with only two thousand soldiers. At that time, the soldiers’ morale was high, and he had reliable subordinates such as Rurick and the like.


There was the geographical advantage, too. Since the Muozinel army had advanced in a thin ravine (canyon) and got caught in the cliff, not only they were not able to use their military force of twenty thousand, but their March speed was also slow because of the slaves they had taken. There was room to come up with a plan. There was also the expectation that Massas and Augres would bring reinforcements.

How could the current situation be turned over? Though he could rely on Olga and Matvey, not only those two had no experience of commanding soldiers, but they also had no authority. He was also anxious whether the soldiers would follow his orders. Apart from the fact that he was not well versed in the geographical advantage, above all there was no time in every sense of the word.

“……I will somehow manage.”

Tigre brushed aside the heavy pressure, which applied a huge burden throughout his body, with murmurs, which could not be voiced. Suddenly, he tiresomely lifted his head when he felt something approaching.

Standing there was Olga. Though it was so dark that one could not even properly see several steps ahead, with her light pink-colored hair and her small build, there was above all no way the ax of gray blade, which was in her hand, could above all be mistaken.

As he was wondering why she came, the Vanadis of light pink-colored hair bent her delicate body, and smoothly entered in Tigre’s body.

“I need to rest, too.”

Tigre frowned, and rebuked “hey!” in a low voice. Olga indifferently replied.

“Matvey told not to use fire. This way you can rest without becoming cold.”

“But, that’s……”
[[File:Madan no Ou to Vanadis V7 cl03.jpg|thumb]]


Tigre hesitated to speak. In reality, he wanted to be alone for a little while. As he was thinking about a suitable reason, Olga spoke first.

“No.”

It was a small and unusually strong tone. To the surprised Tigre, Olga calmly continued.

“Tigre, I don’t know how you feel. But, there something that I know. It’s that I can not let you be alone now.”

The latter half of her speech did not seem like her, and though it was a very childlike way of speaking, her words strangely enough entered Tigre’s heart.

“I will stay by your side.”

Olga was not clear about what Tigre did intended to do. However, she did not encourage or comfort him, and also did not accept or deny him; she just told him what she want to do. Though her words made people feel an adamant will, strangely they did not feel hard-pressed to others.

Tigre, without knowing what he should say for a moment, fixedly stared at the girl. Though his feelings of wanting to be left alone did not completely disappear, it was certain they considerably fade. He only said “Thank you” in a lowered voice.

The youth, at that time for the first time, felt the warmth transmitted from the girl's body through her slightly dirty clothes. In that warmth, there was something which made his heart feel at ease. As drowsiness rapidly assailed him, Tigre entrusted his weight to her smaller back.


Olga did not show an unpleasant figure; rather her body was glued to his. While tickling his nasal cavity with the sweet smell of her light pink-colored hair, Tigre fell asleep.

As she heard the sleeper’s breathing of Tigre, Olga heaved a sigh of relief.

Regarding Tigre’s decision and the action to burn the village, it was not as if there was no room to think.

But, more than that, she didn't know what to say to Tigre, who would not show his expression of bitterness to the villagers and soldiers. Although she thought of some words of comfort, she felt like she was short on words to fully express her feelings.

Therefore, Olga decided to support the youth by at least being at his side, and to become his strength.

When late at night, Tigre and the others began to move. They whittled wood to make slabs for the horses to put in their mouths, and wrapped clothes around their hooves to reduce noise.

“I see. You thought this well.”

It was Matvey who said so in admiration. For this man, who had spent most of his life on the sea, it seemed to be something unusual. Tigre responded in a somewhat embarrassed tone.

“It's not my idea. I was taught how to surprise attack and night attack in a cavalry by a good acquaintance.”


That person should be waiting for Tigre’s return in LeitMeritz of the Kingdom of Zchted at this time. He also decided to help Sofi – Sofia Obertas for her sake, and to return safely.

Matvey grinned, guessing that the youth’s mood seemed to have changed for the better from his tone of voice.

“It seemed that you were able to take a good rest.”

“Thanks to you.”

The facial expression of Olga, who was pulling her horse near to Tigre’s, was mixed with joy and pride.

The moon and most of the stars were hidden by the clouds in the sky, which did not fade away. It was the perfect situation for a night attack.

All the two thousand soldiers went down from the horses, and advanced through the meadows wrapped in darkness while pulling their horses. Since the sky was very dark, their pace was slow and cautious.

Though they grew accustomed to seeing in the dark, it was only to the extent of grasping the difference in the depth of the darkness. Even if the sensation of stepping on the grass was transmitted to the feet through the shoes, their steps were shrouded in darkness and they could see nothing. Since the sense of distance also went amiss, the fatigue built up quickly.

So as not to let the soldiers get too tired, Tigre took break several times.

“There’s enough time. Don’t speak, or make a sound. And be careful not to fall.”

As they were marching since about a half koku, they saw some lights in the distance. It was the campfire lighted by the pirates.

“Are they camping without even stretching tents?”


Matvey, who was standing beside Tigre, laughed in a low voice. Within this darkness, though his figure was only a black shadow, the only countenance the youth's imagination could conjure was a smile as wicked as can be.

''---It appears that the enemy did not build a campground, and they also don’t seem to rest together, huh. It is as the scouts reported.''

As they got closer until a rough estimate distance of about 300 Alsins from the campfire, Tigre gave instructions to the captains of each squad. He had already told them what kind of offensive to adopt, when leaving their campground. One could only say that it was all according to plan.

''--- I will shoot a fire arrow towards the sky. It will be the signal to attack with arrows and catapults, and confuse the enemy, and then you will charge. When we defeat the enemy’s vanguard, we will leave and withdraw from the battlefield.''

It was because he judged that attacking the vanguard and breaking imprudently in the darkness was dangerous. If they were to be surrounded by the pirates who reorganized their posture, they would not escape from complete annihilation.

The two thousand soldiers that should be called ‘Tigre squad’ suppressed their voice and quietly spread left and right. Looking at it from above their movement was like that of a bird spreading its wings.

The soldiers were gradually approaching the pirates. Sweat blurred on Tigre’s forehead. His and the soldiers’ breathing, the sound of the horses’ footsteps and the shoes scraping on the grass were very loud. Their heart was violently pounded in the anxiety of whether or not they were discovered by the enemy good intuition.

''---So that the arrows and the catapults reach, a distance of 100 Alsins is necessary……''


They did not have to necessarily hit the target. But, they had to reach. If it was Tigre, he could even shoot aim from this distance, but the soldiers of course did not have such skill.

He considered the weakest soldier standards as reference. It was what Lim and Massas taught him.

They finally approached to a distance deemed to be 100 Alsins. Tigre looked back at Matvey. The former sailor with his big body took out two sticks. One side of the stick was burnt black at the tip.

The soldiers who were nearby formed a wall around him, and Matvey vigorously rubbed the stick. Fire lighted at the tip, and then Tigre took out an arrow that he had prepared. He also coated the arrowhead with oil.

He brought the arrow close to the fire that Matvey was holding. The sickle burnt making a ‘pot’ small sound.

Tigre quickly nocked the arrow to his black bow and shot it high in the sky. The blazing arrow flew straight towards the night sky, and the pirates who saw it uttered loud sounds.

But, their voices were drowned out by another sound.

Nearly one thousand of bowstrings let their sound reverberate in the void (thin air), and the catapults and the arrows cut through the wind. In the night sky illuminated by the campfire, countless numbers of black shadows appeared. Shriek and scream overlapped, and cries informing an enemy attack, were audible until where Tigre and the others were.

Tigre nocked another arrow to his black bow, but he did not shoot it. He first wanted to grasp the soldiers’ situation. So far, there was no disorder on their side.

The soldiers, who finished throwing the second stone, stripped the horses of the bits forced into their mouths in preparation for the attack, and removed the cloths from the hoof. They kept the catapult string, or threw it away and tightly grasped a spear.


Arrows were shot a second time. Several hundred arrows like a rain of black needles, depicted a dark parabola, and poured on the pirates. The voices of confusion of pirates became louder.

Tigre took off the arrow he once nocked on the bow. He rode his horse. There was the figure of Olga sitting astride her horse silently next to him. The soldiers also put their bow on their saddle, and took out a spear on horseback.

“--Charge!”

A battle cry broke out. Tigre squad let horses' hooves resound all over, and wrapping into a round shape, they advanced on the pirates. The campfire gradually grew big (large), and at the other side, many figures running about in utter confusion let their silhouette become clear.

The pirates put their weapon at hand, and though they were still wearing leather armor, they had not yet recovered from the shock of being taken by surprise. They were stunned by the apparition of the Tigre squad from within the darkness; they threw away their weapons and ran about trying to escape. Though, among them, there were some who tried to fight weapons in hand, they were knocked out by the cavalry.

Flames painted the air and fresh blood dyed the ground red.

The cavalry had no mercy at all toward the pirates. There were few people who were practical about driving away the villagers, burning the village and poisoning the wells. They slammed their anger against the pirates. They kicked them about with horse's hooves, hit them very hard with spear, brushed them and pierced them.

Tigre also nocked the arrows to his black bow and defeated two people. Partly because Olga did not leave Tigre’s side, she had not yet wielded her ax.


The pirates either fled into the darkness, or they silently died and fell to the ground; as the battle around him gradually became sporadic, Tigre looked up.

Shifting his attention to the darkness, he could not help but gasp.

In the darkness, the campfire, which was burning moving from place to place, had been extended into the distance.

They were all enemies. More than ten thousand enemies were on the other side in the dark. A dry smile emerged. If they rushed while holding their weapons, Tigre and the others would be swallowed in a blink of an eye, and would join the blood-stained corpses lying on their feet.

The blow was certainly given. Should they go back?

''---No, we can still hold…………!''

Tigre judged so. Since the enemy was too concerned about the speed of progress, ignoring other things. Even resting was a mess. There was no way not to take advantage of that mistake.

“Please gather the soldiers who are nearby. And charge once more.”

They were cavalry on Tigre’s side. Even if they retreat from here after launching another blow, they could easily shake off the enemy infantry. As Matvey also understood this point, he called the soldiers nearby in the dark and ordered them.

The faces of the soldiers, who showed up from the darkness and were illuminated by the campfire, were all colored with tension and excitement of a battlefield. Their morale was high.


Tigre brandished his black bow, and pointed at the flickering campfire in the distance.

“It's over there. Spread after defeating the pirates; we will go back to the forest with our friends. We will use the height of the campfire as a signal to go back.”

In the confusion of the darkness and the battlefield, it was difficult to gather. Tigre and the others could not also convene all the soldiers. He understood that it could not be helped. What was important now was the speed. Before the enemy bounced back, it was necessary to end everything.

“--Charge!”

He shouted again. The roar of the horses’ hooves shook the ground, and the war cry echoed in the night sky. Even with just this sound and voice coming from within the darkness, the pirates might be scared.

Tigre squad similarly defeated the pirates, who were also there; Tigre broke through the midst of the enemy along with Olga, Matvey and the less than ten cavalrymen, and jumped into the darkness.

There was no way to know the direction in the darkness. But in this case, as long as the forward backed to the North of the bonfire, it will be certainly right.

“It went well.”

Matvey said so in a joyful tone. He also seemed to have been struggling, and at the tip of the spear, which he had in hand, blood was dripping.


Tigre and the others barely manage to reach the forest before long. If they entered the forest, the enemy would lose sight of them, and moreover they would probably being cautious about trap and ambush in the forest and refrained from pursuing them. Considering the enemy’s confusion in the first place, there was probably no way that they would chase them, and let their guard down. Here was a battlefield.

“Reform the ranks. Take care of the injured. Don’t relax yet.”

As he was checking, the number of cavalrymen gathered in front of the forest now was less than thousand. Therein, the soldiers injured to the extent that continuing fighting would be difficult, were approximately fifty. Tigre providing them about twenty companions told them to go ahead back to the Fort.

“Still, I didn’t think that half of us would be defeated……”

Would they be roaming in the darkness, isolated? Then they would need to be aided. In the midst of thought, the sound of severely uncoordinated horse hooves drew near from inside the darkness.

“It’s the people of Cliff squad……”

The primary concern behind the sound of the horse hooves was a certain officer who had made a name for himself. With his breaths like gasps, his voice had no strength to it.

The number of cavalrymen, which was less than ten, appeared from within the darkness. Everyone was injured, and the smell of blood was circulating in the night air and had drifted until here. The soldier on the vanguard was leaning against the horse’s neck and something long and slender was on his back.

''---Is it…… an arrow? Considering it is, it’s long.''

When looking closely in the darkness, it was without a doubt an arrow. But, It was more than a fist longer than what Tigre and the soldiers carried.


“Our squad and Jeremy squad suffer from the enemy’s counterattack……”

Both Cliff and Jeremy were the captains who were in charge of the so to speak left-wing of Tigre squad. Tigre, who understood the situation, looked back at Matvey, and gave him another task. While ordering their treatment, he asked a soldier of the Cliff squad.

“How many people were defeated (killed)?”

Matvey translated the soldier’s answer. To the word “longbow”, Tigre muttered “It was that after all”. A long time ago, he had seen it only once. Around the time his father was still alive, Massas had got his hands on one and brought it. He said that it was a rare bow of a foreign country.

The bow stem was longer than Tigre’s height at that time. It might have been 20 Chet (about 2 meters). As it was long, it required a considerable physical strength to draw the bowstring; Tigre of course, and even his father or Massas were not able to draw it sufficiently.

『Though it needs considerable strength to draw it, the arrow will fly with only. 300 Alsin seems to be light. 』

Tigre remembered well that Massas said so.

''---So their fast recovery was due to this squad of longbows, huh!''

Tigre was terrified. Even judging from the injury and the way of talking of the soldiers, it meant that there were probably not only one or two longbow users. There must be a squad from dozens to several hundred people. They would probably have to dive in there.


“Are there still allies remaining?”

To Tigre’s question using Matvey as intermediary, the soldier feebly nodded.

“Good work. We will help your companions. Choose three persons with shallow wounds as guide, and retreat into the forest.”

Making the soldier of the Cliff squad lead the way, Tigre squad reduced to nine hundred advanced in the darkness. In the place where cries of the battlefield gradually increased, the youth nocked an arrow to his black bow.

“Matvey. I leave you in command.”

At that time he roughly grasped the position of allies and foes. Near the campfire was the enemy, who had formed an orderly rank. In the dark where the campfire’s light did not reach, the allies were squirming.

The wind noise, mixed and overlapping with dozens or several hundred of roars of their horses’ hooves, tickled the eardrum. It was the sound of arrows, which were shot from longbows and tore the night air to hit the allies far away.

Tigre chewed his molar. The enemy, who noticed them, was trying to change the direction to where they (Tigre) were. Though there was still a distance of about three hundred Alsins between them, it was better to think that it was not a problem for the enemy.

Tigre put power to his foot stepping on a stirrup, stretched straight out his left hand holding the black bow forward and drew the bowstring to the limit. And as he shortened further the distance to one hundred Alsins, he shot the arrow.


The arrow drew the orbit of a mountain, and flew as it were sucked towards the enemy squad who were set up with longbows. It went and pierced the forehead of one soldier. When that soldier fell down, confusion began to spread among the other soldiers.

Tigre, without particularly showing joy, like a craftsman, who kept working silently, nocked a new arrow to the bow. It was not as if he was aiming whoever. His aim was set.

The second shot. Because they drew nearer earlier, hitting the target that was aimed at was not difficult. The movement of the enemy that was setting up their longbows became once again dull. It was fatal in this situation. Although the arrows were shot from the longbows, their numbers did not even reach half of the enemy.

Although the soldiers of the Tigre squad, who were hit by arrows, fell from the horses one after another, still the momentum of the assault did not become dull, and several hundreds of cavalry sprang toward the squad of longbow users.

Though the archers each possessed a burly body, one could only said as expected of archers. They were not good at close range combat, so they threw their longbow and ran away. While nocking an arrow to his black bow, Tigre shouted.

“Don’t chase the enemy! Help the allies!”

Matvey repeated what Tigre had said in Asvarre language. They had not much time. If there was another squad of of longbows, the attack on Tigre’s side, in which they simultaneously shoot arrows from a distance would certainly not reach them.

Having spoken loudly had attracted the enemy's attention. The pirates, who finally regained their composure, brandished club and ax and attacked Tigre.


But, Olga advanced her horse as to break between both parties. At that time, the ax, which was in the hand of the girl with light pink-colored hair, had already changed its shape to that of a long haft.

Her {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}}, the Roaring Demon had the ability to change its shape according to its master’s intention (will). Using the confusion and the darkness of the battlefield, Olga had transformed the ax.

With her thin arms, Olga totally easily swung the double-edged ax, which would not be even possible to lift, around like a stick. It smashed the heads of the enemies swarming, and blew off their arms along their weapons. It was as if a storm was born in the darkness.

Mixed with fresh blood were torn flesh and crushed bone fragments, which were scattered. The grey matter and entrails were thrown out (dumped). It was hardly thinkable that it was the physical strength of a young girl. When one thought that it was caught, the gray blade had blown away anything and everything.

Even though she continued wielding an ax without rest, no change was seen in Olga’s expression. The will of not wanting to let even one soldier approach Tigre was overflowing in her black eyes, the {{furigana|Moon Princess of the Roaring Demon|Bardiche}} continued killing and amassing a mountain of enemy corpses. . In her figure, there was something which made even the pirates wince.

About a quarter koku had passed, and Tigre left the battlefield with the soldiers. They rushed into the forest. As he confirmed the situation, Cliff was alive, but Jeremy was already no longer of this world.


"……I am sorry."

A color of fatigue was deep in the face of Cliff who powerlessly lowered his head, and his body was full of bruises.

As he returned into the forest, Tigre ordered the soldiers to take a rest. And, he told them not to make more fires than necessary.

“They may come to inquire the situation. Don’t forget that there are still a great number of enemies here.”

The voice of Tigre giving instructions was cold (indifferent), and was similar to that of a composed Commander, but it was meant to conceal the impatience of his heart.

''---One of my moves was sealed……''

It was referring to the move he use when he repulsed the Muozinel army, which has invaded Brune. Tigre had forced the assault, approached Kashim who was the advance troops' Commander until a distance of 300 Alsins and killed him with his bow and an arrow.

It looked like he was not able to use that plan this time. As long as the squad of soldiers who used longbow was around Elliot, they would pour a rain of arrows taking the opportunity when Tigre would aim at the Commander. If it’s like this (if so), sniping would indeed be impossible.

''---Anyway, we have no choice, but to gain time…………''

When dawn drew near, Tigre and the others returned to the Fort.



<center><big>◎</big></center>

With near to two thousand casualties and reports of them increasing, Elliot, the second prince of the Asvarre kingdom, refrained from shouting at the pirates despite having revealed a moment of surprise and anger.

Here was the camp of Elliot army. Although called camp, they were not even surrounded by a fence and ditch, there were not as much tents as the soldiers.

Pirates properly gathered together and made a fire, and were directly lying on the ground. There were those using blanket and overcoat that they took in the village, but it was the minority. That appearance rather than calling it an army, it was accurate to call it a herd of bandits.

At the center of such a camp, two tents were stretched. One of them was used by Elliot, who was the General Commander of this army. Within the tent, a desk and a chair, while being of poor structure, were placed, and there were a bottle of wine and a silver cup in the desk.

As he made the pirate who finished the report withdraw, Elliot clicked his tongue and kicked the ground. His well-featured handsome face was distorted and steeped with violent emotions.

“When I think that I have taken the Fort, what followed is a night attack, huh. A commoner born in a fishing village going and doing something like that.”

The commoner born in a fishing village was referring to Tallard. Although he was originally a Prince using a rough way of speaking, one could not imagine it was a royalty influenced by pirates.


Everything was going as planned, until noon today. Beginning with the village of Luarca, they had burned down several fishing villages, and after putting on a ship the captured villagers, who were likely to be sold as slaves, Elliot leading the pirates, advanced on the highway in high spirits.

Though of course they also attacked the villages along the highway, when he asked about Tallard Graham and the movement of the army he led to the villages potentates captured at that time, a surprising answer came back.

The Fort Lux fell by Tallard’s attack, and though General Lester was defeated, it was said that he safely escaped to somewhere.

Elliot immediately left the highway, and decided to rush to the Fort Lux. It was because if this story was true, then there was no doubt they would be struck by a surprise attack before reaching Valverde if they continued advancing in the highway. He only hastened the march willing to drop out (lose) up to half of the whole army. Then, it was this night attack. He was amazed by the speed of response of the other party.

“There should be dozens of small villages ahead……”

When he decided to move toward the Fort Lux, Elliot intended to attack those villages, to resupply necessary goods, food being the priority. At the time of landing (the boats), the food, which the Prince prepared, was only for four days. In order to act promptly, he gave it to the pirates without preparing the load for the troops. Even if they came ashore taking aback the enemy, it had no meaning if they did not quickly proceed with their next move.


In addition, the act of looting was the quick (and easy) way in order to maintain the pirates' morale.

However, if their enemy came this far, then it was another story.

''---That bastard Tallard has been relying on people’s support. Rather than abandoning the people of villages, he makes them escape. And there is no doubt that he would either retrieve the food, which was in the villages, or burn it.''

“Until we take back the Fort Lux, we will be unable to supply food and water. It would be better to think so.”

Though he requested to transport the food and goods to his alliance’s partner Muozinel in preparation for the time there was something, Elliot army was constantly moving. It was likely to happen in several days.

He poured a really lukewarm wine in a silver cup, and gulped it with violent hand movements. At that time, the pirate who was keeping watch outside reported that a visitor was there. Without even hiding his bad mood, Elliot ordered to let him in.

Entering after an interval of about ten counts was a young man in his mid-twenties. With a high stature, he was the owner of a body, while the description of rough rather than sturdy well-matched. His arms were especially thick.

Wearing a leather armor, which applied ornament, he held a bow as long as his height in his hand. Elliot stood from the chair revealing a smile, and extended his hands so as to welcome him.

“I give you my thanks, Hamish. We were able to repel the enemy thanks to you.”

The man named Hamish without changing his stern expression bowed.

“For that matter, there is one thing I came to ask his Highness.”


“……Is there something that bothered you?”

At the time, when the late King Zacharias was still alive, Elliot, with the comfort of second Prince also assisted him; he gathered aristocrats of low class about the same age, and led a loose life. Hamish was one of his libertine companions. Now he was one of the very few subordinates that Elliot could trust.

At the time when Jermaine and Elliot had divided the country in two and begun to fight, though Hamish had officially declared neutrality and adopted a watchful stance, he had actually secretly kept in touch with Elliot, and sent various informations. It was also this man, who appealed to Lester.

With his befitting peerage of Viscount as a small aristocrat, his territory was small, and he could only move a few soldiers.

However, the approximately four hundred soldiers under Hamish’s command were somewhat special (unique).

They were skilled in the use of longbow.

The arrow shot from a longbow, was powerful. In short distance, it could even pierce chain mail or iron armor.

The flying distance was also awesome. It could also shoot at an enemy, who was at 300 Alsins or beyond. It was a distance that could be never reached by average archer with an ordinary bow. It was not impossible with the crossbow, but its quick firing was far inferior.

Though power to draw the bowstring to the limit was absolutely necessary to handle it but thanks to repeated training,the longbow users, were a redoubtable group.

Hamish, who was the Imperial Prince Commander of those longbow users, making a sullen face, said.


“Among the enemy, there is someone, who possesses archery skills out of the ordinary.”

Hamish raised his voice. To be exact, because he was reminded of the appearance of an opponent he did not even know, his feelings were highly strung, and his voice naturally became clamorous.

“That person could shoot (aim) an arrow at a distance of more than 300 Alsins, moreover on horseback, and accurately aim.”

Elliot folded his arms, and looked up at Hamish’s large build. Frowning as he understood the meaning of his subordinate’s words, he put on an amazed face.

“I do not think it possible to shoot an arrow at a distance of 300 Alsins with an ordinary arrow. Didn’t you perhaps mistake it with a crossbow or a longbow?”

“Two commanders of my hundred bows squad were killed; both with ordinary arrows.”

A hundred bows commander literally referred to the person, who commanded hundred soldiers’ users of longbow. Though there were four commanders of hundred bows under Hamish, they had decreased to half in one night. It was a severe loss.

“As the report already said, when we were fighting the enemy's cavalrymen force, we were struck by an attack from another squad of the enemy. The bow user, who was among them, shot the arrows from the distance of 300 Alsins and killed the commanders of the 100 bows users one after another.”

In Hamish’s voice there were not only anger and sadness, but some admiration was also included.

Because the commanders of 100 bows users were defeated, the soldiers were confused, and they suffered a few sacrifices since the counter-attack was not in time.

His anger and sadness were for those victims. On the other hand, Hamish was able to have respect for the owner of an outstanding skill, even though the enemy.


“Your Highness, it’s not that I want to make a big fuss about it. But there is a redoubtable enemy. Shooting an arrow on top of a running horse and in the confusion of the battlefield of midnight, and hitting the target aimed at, he is a monster in the bow use.”

Emphasizing the latter half of his speech, Hamish feverishly (enthusiastically) explained. While being a little surprised at his attitude, Elliot waved his hand as to order him to settle down. The user of the longbow regained his composure, bowed his head and apologized for the impoliteness.

“I understood the story. So you want to ask me about that bow user, huh. However, unfortunately, I have not also heard of such a guy__”

Stopping in mid-sentence, Elliot suddenly stiffened his expression.

“Speaking of which, I heard that that bastard Tallard excels in the use of the bow……”

The voice of the second Prince of Asvarre was rapid. It was tinged with a small carelessness. The feelings he harbored towards Tallard were that of hatred and disdain, but also fear.

Before about half a year from the beginning of the strife with Jermaine, Elliot had never won against Tallard. On the contrary, he was even forced to surrender in local battles.

Elliot, who was born Prince, served by all and raised as a Prince, was naturally looking down at Tallard, who was born and raised in a fishing village, but the fact that he could not win with only that, no matter how he fought, was disgraceful, and terrifying at the same time.


“No, Your Highness. It was not Lord Tallard.”

To Hamish who stated so in a moderate tone, Elliot threw a dangerous gaze.

“Did you see the appearance?”

“Only for a moment. There was no composure until he shot the arrow.”

That “there was no composure” was because the soldiers were confused because the commanders of 100 bows users had been defeated in succession. But, without mentioning that, Hamish only described the enemy's features.

“It is a youth, who has not probably reached yet 20 years old. His hair color is darkish. With an appearance with a plain bow on an ordinary leather armor, he is deemed not to be an aristocrat. There are certainly even among the soldiers, those who have seen that person shoot, I confirm that.”

“It was not Tallard, huh……”

Though Elliot inwardly took a break of relief, he also understood at the same time that it was a worrying situation. It meant that other than Tallard, there was another bow user with excellent skills, who was on the enemy side.

“If there is such a talented person, I thought that his name would be known.”

“It cannot be help if someone we don’t know. Can you win against that bow user?”

“……If we are separated from 400 Alsins.”

The longbow of Hamish could shoot (aim) at a target in 400 Alsins or more, if the bowstring was drawn to the maximum. Though he naturally had skill, it was a distance, which could be reached, because it was the longbow.


“Alright. Your squad will be placed in the stronghold as bodyguards to protect me. We have a few hundred here. If there is only one enemy, then there is no need to worry.”

“Yes. However, Your Highness must take care. Until we approach a distance where arrows can reach, we have to subjugate the enemy’s General, by all means, and win. Since the enemy is able to fight like that.”

As Elliot nodded to Hamish’s words, he conveyed the plans of hereafter. That’s, recapturing the Fort Lux and heading toward Valverde after that.

“Will the food be enough?”

It was what Hamish first asked. Elliot answered in disappointment.

“We cannot afford it. Therefore, we cannot recklessly act.”

“How about threatening the nearby towns such as Salime that they deliver food?”

“If we stop on the way, it will probably give time to Tallard.”

It was an assault to beat Tallard in one go without giving him room to set up a countermeasure. Though it could not be helped for the Fort Lux, they could not afford to stop on the way more than this until they captured Valverde.

“Oh yeah, Hamish. I will show you something nice.”

Changing the topic, Elliot stood up with a smile. He came out of the tent followed by Hamish. They went in the tent directly spreading nearby. To the guard standing in front of the tent, they confirmed whether there was anyone who approached. The guard answered in a faltering tone.


“There were some people, but none have gone in.”

As Elliot satisfactorily (contently) nodded, he entered the tent.

“How do you feel, Sofia-dono?”

Therein was a young woman. Her white skin got dirty with the forced long trip, and although her golden hair, which extended until her waist and, having lost its gloss, became dull, her beautiful face, which possessed both intellect and loveliness, was also not ruined (damaged) in the slightest. Though the color of fatigue was deep in her face, her strong will was felt in her eyes of beryl.

Though her delicate shoulders were naked, her rich bosom, her slender waist and her legs which smoothly extended, were wrapped in a pale green color dress. The edge of her dress also became loose, and dirt was conspicuous (showed dirt).

And above all, making those, who saw her, feel miserable was probably the boorish iron chain that restrained her thin arms. A heavy iron ball was rolling at the tip of the chain, and put her in the situation where it was difficult to even stand up.

She was Sofia Obertas. A Vanadis of Zchted. Far from being frightened by Elliot, who was undressing her whole body with his eyes, she even revealed with a stout-hearted smile and responded.

“Thanks to you, I am feeling at ease, Your Highness.”

Without replying to her words, Elliot looked back at Hamish.

“Hey, Hamish. Here is a Vanadis of Zchted Sofia Obertas-dono. Don’t you think she is really too much of a beautiful woman to hand over to Muozinel?”


Hamish did not immediately answer. He was captivated by Sofi’s beauty, and was just standing on the spot in blank amazement. It took time of about three counts until the longbow user noticed Elliot’s gaze and came to his senses.

To Hamish with his face dyed red, who apologized for his impoliteness, Elliot generously nodded. However, he did not also forget to give him a warning in a lower voice.

“Hey Hamish. I have executed nearly ten pirates for this woman’s safety. She is that valuable. Even if it is you, I cannot do an exception.”

“I am aware of it.”

After answering, Hamish turned his line of sight to both arms of Sofi.

“However, Your Highness. Isn’t it going a little too far by tying a weak woman with a chain?”

These words seemed to have come out from pure sympathy. But, Elliot scornfully laughed.

“I hear a Vanadis of Zchted would put any man to shame, and she is equal to a thousand soldiers. Moreover, my army does not have that. Would you not agree this degree of measure is essential?”

To Elliot’s banter, Hamish also nodded. Although he placed guards at the key points, he could not expect anything for the discipline. In fact, there were two thousand casualties during the ensuing night attack.

“Sofia-dono. I will have you bear for a while again. Since Muozinel should come to take you in a few days. Just to tell you, I do not mind if you want to run away. But, if you do so, the guys who are in the Capital will die.”


The guys who were in the Capital, were the people who had served as Sofi’s escort when she came to Asvarre as a messenger. After making Sofi that he caught a hostage and making them surrender, Elliot imprisoned them in the Capital.

In fact, Elliot did not think he was safe at all even if he had hostages. He even considered the possibility that Sofi would forsake the hostages. Since he would naturally do so if he were in her position.

“Oh yeah, Hamish. About the bow user of 300 Alsins. If you bring him down, I might have to take some things into consideration. So that Muozinel would not learn of it.”

As he spoke in a tone untelling to exactly how serious he was, Elliot turned his back to Sofi and left the tent along with Hamish. He had had somewhat of a change of spirit. Although the discomfort continued, there was Muozinel as an ally here.

''---That’s right, no matter how much the likes of Tallard struggles, it won’t change anything.''

As he parted with Hamish, Elliot revealed a smile and returned to his tent.

Confirming signs of Elliot and Hamish leaving, Sofi tightly grasped the hem of her dress so strong that her hands whitened. She was irritated at her present situation.


''---Nothing is done yet. I must bear it for now.''

She eagerly persuaded herself. If possible, she wanted to cut off this annoying chain and escape. Although her {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}}, Light Flower was not in her hands now, if she as the owner strongly wished it, she could also make it to appear in her hands right away.

She knew well how much awful Elliot army marching and camping were. After being taken down from the ship, Sofi was put on a shabby door (panel) with both arms being tied with a chain, and was transported up to here (so far).

It would not be difficult for her to escape, if she felt like it, but there were two reasons why she did not do so. One was, like Elliot had also said, the existence of hostages, who were held in the Capital of Asvarre.

If she escaped on her own, that pirate Prince would kill them without hesitation. Even if it became a problem in the future, there were pawns called pirates, who would force all the responsibility onto him.

The other reason was that Sofi was not familiar with the geography of this area. Although she investigated in detail about Asvarre Main Island before her departure (from Zchted), partly because those of the continental territory were running out of time, she did not investigate that much.

By walking along the highway, the chance to be found would be high. On the other hand, by walking on the mountains or in the forest, there would be the danger of an accident. For a woman walking alone (by herself), what was the most frightening was not only beasts or bandits. Besides, she had also accumulated fatigue in her prisoner life. There was no confidence to escape to a safe place.


“It saves me to think that there’s still hope ……”

From the conversation exchanged between the pirates on the way when she was transported, and from the fragments of idle talk she heard in the tent, Sofi had roughly grasped the current situation. There was the fact that Elliot army and Tallard army would clash in a few days.

Elliot's defeat would be desirable, but even if he won, there would probably be some kind of change. Moreover, even when the messenger of Muozinel would come to take her, she might find an opportunity to defuse this situation.

As Sofi was lying down, she rounded her back as to protect herself. By taking a rest, her fatigue could be relieved even if a little and she had to recover her physical strength.

''---Speaking of which.''

Sofi suddenly remembered the words of Elliot, when he left this tent. A bow user of three hundred Alsins. She was wondering the meaning of a bow user, who could fly an arrow in 300 Alsins. If it was right, she was familiar with someone capable of such a feat.

The face of a youth with darkish red hair born in Brune flashed into her head.

''--- It can’t be, right……? It’s Asvarre here. There’s no reason for that child to be here.''

As the day sank, Sofi quietly fell asleep.

<noinclude>

==References==
<references />

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| Back to [[Madan_no_Ou_to_Vanadis:Volume07_Illustrations|Illustrations]]
| Return to [[Madan_no_Ou_to_Vanadis|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Madan_no_Ou_to_Vanadis:Volume_07_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
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</noinclude>

Madan no Ou to Vanadis:Volume 07 Chapter 1

2013-09-19T02:20:53Z

Nwms8: Grammar and sentence rewording done, notes left on some of the major changes.

== Chapter 1: Burning the villages ==


“---Has Lord Tigrevurmud ever burned a village?”

Struck with an unexpected question in a casual tone, the youth was taken aback. He steadily stared at the blond hair woman -- Limlisha sitting opposite to him across the table.

She, who was called by her nickname Lim by those close to her, was twenty years old, three years older than the youth. Although there were feelings of guilt in her blue eyes, she continued speaking.

“I apologize about it being an unpleasant question. But, if possible, I wish to talk about……”

“Ah, No, I wasn‘t particularly offended. I was just a little surprised.”

The youth waved his hands as to say that she didn’t have to worry about it. The youth didn’t dislike such an earnest part of Lim.

The youth’s name was Tigrevurmud Vorn. Those close to him called him by his nickname “Tigre”.

Tigre was now receiving her teachings.

Being the adjutant, and also the best friend of the silver white hair Vanadis Elleonora Viltaria, Lim possessed a wide range of knowledge in political affairs and strategies, and the like. Recently, she was secretly looking forward to teach her pupil Tigre, various things she knew.


Tigre was going to answer to her question with his usual tone and expression, but he diverted his gaze from her, and even his voice was tinged with bitterness.

“I have already had to burn nearly half of a village. It was when the plague was spreading……”

That happened several years ago when the youth’s father was still alive. Before the Plague, which cure, let alone medicine, was not yet discovered, the only measures that people could take were to isolate those suffering from the disease and burn down the buildings.

“……I‘m sorry.”

Lim bowed down in apology for having reminded him of a painful past. Her dull blond hair, tied on the left side of her head, shook.

“It’s an old story. Still, why such a question?”

Tigre directed his gaze towards the table. There were several sheets of maps, and only twenty pieces small enough to be held with a finger were scattered there.

Today's lecture was about the warfare maneuvers. It was something along the line, where Lim displayed the pieces on the map and explained the circumstances, and Tigre would answer in the best way possible within the limited time.

Although she was a strict teacher, when Tigre desperately racked his brain and deduced the best answer, she loosened her surly expression a bit and praised him. And thus constantly performing the maneuvers by changing the location of the pieces on the map, Lim who took a short rest, suddenly raised this question.


“Of course I know that Lord Tigrevurmud is someone, who doesn’t do such a thing. It’s precisely for this reason that I would like you to think about it when you can afford it.”

As Lim put a map on the table, she grabbed a few pieces and set them on top.

“You are taking a rest in a certain small village with one hundred soldiers. Well…… let’s say there are fifty villagers in the village.”

While thinking that it was not that big a village, the youth nodded. In the territory of Alsace, which Tigre once governed, there were many mountains and forests; towns and villages could be counted over one hand. In this case, it was easy to guess so. Lim proceeded with the talk.

“At this village, at one day distance from here, five hundred men of the enemy troops were stationed. But our earliest reinforcement will take at least two days to arrive.”

With a look, Lim asked Tigre what he would do. The youth stirred his darkish red hair, staring at the pieces and the map with a sullen face.

The enemy was five times their number. And reinforcements would not make it in time.

''---Don’t get the wrong idea. What Lim is expecting from me is not a way to defeat the enemy, but the best strategy to adopt.''

At first, Tigre had made a lot of mistakes like this, and thus (he had) been scolded by her. Therefore he couldn't afford to repeat the error again.

“While letting the villagers evacuate, we will also retreat. This is the only way.”


“It’s all good to evacuate, but what would you do about the village?”

Tigre frowned, and finally noticed the meaning behind her words.

“……By that, do you mean whether or not I will burn it?”

To the youth, who confirmed with a sour look, Lim coldly nodded.

“The enemy is only one day distance away, the time you can use to escape is less than half a day. The time required to pack things is also limited. Of course, what's left behind will be taken by the enemy. Conversely, by burning them, this can be counted as a form of attacking the enemy.”

There were a lot of things they could exploit in the village. They could also spend the night in the empty houses, compared to resting in a house, sleeping on the floor was clearly more exhausting.

They could replenish their food and water supply, and also raise their morale by getting the spoils of war. Of course, they would also be wary of traps, though.

“Burn the houses down, if there are wells, poison them. Though depending on the situation, it would be necessary to make a decision to that extent on the worst case scenario.”

Tigre angrily looked at the map and pieces. He was thinking that burning the village was a bandit’s behavior. But, aside from plague, he had never thought that he might someday be forced to such a thing.

Though he was desperately trying to think of other ways, he did not come up with a convenient answer.


“You strongly advise me to do so at such a time, huh……”

To Tigre who annoyingly gave up, Lim denied saying “No.”

“You do not need to do it yourself, if I am there at that time, please order me to do so.”

Tigre gasped, and stared in wonder at Lim. Even when making such a statement, her expression did not budge in the slightest. She straightened her back, and confronted Tigre’s line of sight. It was not because she thought it to be a hypothetical talk, but because she was prepared to do so.

“Though it’s a necessary measure, it’s also certain to lose the villagers’ trust. However, as a general of an army, you will have to consider about the aftermath. So--”

“I can’t do that.”

As Tigre refuted Lim’s words in a strong tone, he stared at her.

“When the time comes, I will do it with my own hands. I have no intention of casting the role of the villain onto someone else.”

“The morale of the whole army will be affected.”

Though Lim rose from the chair and immediately argued, Tigre did not back off.

“Even so, I will do it. Certainly there might be times when I will have to order something unpleasant to someone. But this is a different issue.”

“It’s also the duty of a General to make sure not to incur the resentment and hatred of people.”

“Even if my honor is stained, I should only retrieve it with other means. What you say is correct. But, I can’t simply avoid people’s resentment. Though paying attention so as not to fail is a major premise, however if I worry about it, I won’t be able to do anything.”


At the period when Tigre himself was the Lord of Alsace, perhaps because it was a period as short as two and a half years, there was no major issue. However, there were several times that he saw the scene where his father Urz was troubled.

His father’s best friend, Massas, who also took care of Tigre, once said this. ‘There is no such rule where people have no complaints.’

Tigre and Lim were staring at each other for a while, but it was Lim who gave in. With a small sigh, she sat back to the chair, and ruefully said that she understood.

“……But, please keep in mind that there is also the way I mentioned.”

“Then, I also have something to ask. Assuming that I’m caught in such a situation and I had to burn the village……Let’s think together about what to do to regain the people trust afterward.”

As Tigre said so with a smile, Lim also, though it was faint, spread a smile on her lips.

Just before the summer came in LeitMeritz, several months had passed since Tigre began to live as a guest in this Imperial Palace.

<center><big>◎</big></center>


While staring with a serious face at the several sheets of maps that were spread on the table, Tigre recalled Lim’s teachings which he received a few months ago.

This was not the Imperial Palace of LeitMeritz. In the first place, it was not even in the Kingdom of Zchted. This was the West part of the Kingdom of Asvarre’s mainland, in the conference room of the Fort Lux.

Tigre, who suddenly looked up at the murky ceiling, could not help think what he was doing in a place like this.

Tigrevurmud Vorn was not a person from Zchted. He was a small aristocrat who governed Alsace in the border of the Kingdom of Brune. His title was an Earl. Though his skill with the bow was to the extent of what could be said to be a merit, it was not highly evaluated by Brune which despised the bow.

What significantly altered the youth’s fate was the war, which occurred between Brune and Zchted last year.

Tigre became a prisoner of war of one of the only seven Vanadis in Zchted, Ellen, and afterwards, due to a twist of fate, he cast himself in the midst of the civil war which broke out in Brune.

Eventually, Tigre rescued Princess Regin, whose whereabouts were unknown and succeeded in bringing the civil war to a close. But, in the negotiations between Brune and Zchted after the end of the civil war, it was decided that Tigre would live in LeitMeritz as Ellen’s guest.


When welcoming the spring and seeing off the summer end in LeitMeritz, Tigre was asked a certain request by King Victor of Zchted. He had to secretly travel to the Kingdom of Asvarre, and established a covenant offering cooperation to Prince Jermaine.

In Asvarre after the King died, two Princes were fighting over the throne. Being asked a request from the King of a country, Tigre could not refuse and headed to Asvarre.

Although he was able to meet Prince Jermaine, he was about to be killed; as he was trying to escape from that predicament, the Prince was murdered by one of his subordinates who triggered a rebellion. That subordinate, Tallard Graham, said this to Tigre.

“I aim to be King. --Please. Lend me your help.”

There were several reasons, which pushed Tigre to cooperate with Tallard. Whereas this young man (Tallard) intended to conclude a pact of friendship with Zchted, the enemy, Prince Elliot had joined hands with the Kingdom of Muozinel. The Vanadis Sofia Obertas, who was sent by Zchted as a messenger, was captured by Prince Elliot. Moreover, there was also the fact that Tigre was attracted by Tallard’s cheerful personality.

Tigre borrowed three thousand soldiers from him and captured the Fort Lux. It was something which was done from last night to this morning.

And now.

The Fort Lux, which became the stronghold of Tigre and the others, was wrapped in a heavy atmosphere.

Outside the Fort, the shining golden sun in the western sky was setting. The west side of the Fort bathing in the light of dusk was tinged red, and the east side in contrast was covered with a black shadow.


The faces of the soldiers patrolling on top of the walls and the soldiers taking a rest in the courtyard were colored by an indescribable anxiety. This was not the expression of those who gained the Fort after a fierce battle.

Why they were scared was because of a report that was brought earlier by a certain soldier.

“Prince Elliot leading thirty thousand pirates has landed! They seem to be at a distance of about two days from the Fort.”

The shock that this news gave to the soldiers was unfathomable. Of course Tigre was not an exception. An enemy that was actually ten times more than them was at a distance of only two days.

“For the time being, we should do what we have to do.”

Although he said so to calm down his companions, Tigre, who asked to be provided a map and re-confirmed the situation, could not help but groan at the seriousness of the situation.

“Is there anything I can do?”

A beautiful girl with light pink-colored hair turned her big eyes reminiscent of black pearl to Tigre. She was about 13 or 14 years old. Though expressionless and lacking the qualities of the children her age, and also with a grown-up tone, her appearance let one feel wonder and charm.

She was Olga Tamm. A Vanadis of Zchted like Ellen. Although for some reason she had been traveling alone, she met with Tigre and both began to act together. While having a delicate body that gave the impression to likely break if touched, she was the owner of a power able to easily fling away an adult man.


In addition to Tigre and Olga in the conference room, there was one more person.

He was a big man in his mid-thirties who had a visibly suntanned skin named Matvey. The thick former sailor, with the trust of the Vanadis Alexandra Alshavin alias Sasha of Legnica, had also been somehow of a great help to Tigre in his trip.

“Please don’t hesitate to tell me. If it’s your order, I will generally comply.”

Matvey crossed his big arms and revealed a creepy smile. Because of his scary look, it might be this man’s shortcoming that even a well-intentioned smile makes people terrified.

If it were not for those two, Tigre might not have come through many predicaments in this foreign land. They were without doubt reliable companions.

The youth, without speaking of the idea, which came up in his mind just now, smiled wryly as to dodge the issue. Tigre himself was unable to make decisions now, because the members were not gathered yet.

From outside, the sound of footsteps overlapping with the clattering of armor was approaching. The only door of the room was opened, and two men walked in.

One, while being of a medium build and also handsome, was a man able to make people remember his gentle smile. Though without armor and lightly dressed with only a sword hung on the waist, his movement, which left no opening, showed that he was a veteran soldier.


The man’s name was Vaild Ludra. He served Tallard, and was the General Commander of the three thousand soldiers who were here. Tallard originally intended to set Tigre as the General Commander, but Tigre had refused it and put himself in the position of Ludra’s adjutant.

The other one, in contrast was clad in a rowdy atmosphere. Though he was exactly 30 years old, he was the owner of a baby face, who would probably make him pass as a teenager, if not for the large scar on his left cheek.

This man named Simon was the Captain of nearly three hundred mercenaries. Following the merit system and the realism of mercenaries, he was a skilled warrior who had both popularity and ability.

“How are the soldiers’ condition?”

Waiting for the two people to sit on a chair, Tigre asked. While arrogantly creaking the back of the chair, the mercenary Captain Simon sullenly replied.

“It’s a mess. Each one of them looks damn glum.”

“We have temporarily avoided the chaos, but it is necessary to issue new instructions as soon as possible.”

Ludra also expressed his concern in a modest tone. The two men had to appease the soldiers, who panicked at the sudden landing of Elliot’s army; they settled down the chaos by scolding them.

''---It can’t be helped. It's like this because they don't think we can win……''

Matvey put copper cups with water on the table for the number of people in the room.


“It’s not sake?”

Though Simon laughed while looking into the content of the copper cup, it was not by dissatisfaction he said so, but it was only joking. He also perfectly understood that it was not a situation where they could talk while drinking sake.

Tigre put on the table a map in which the whole area surrounding the Fort Lux was drawn.

“Let's confirm the situation. First of all, where is currently Prince Elliot’s army?”

“In this area.”

Ludra, who leaned forward, indicated one point of the map with his finger. The other people standing up also looked at the map. The mainland coast was at a distance of two days from the Fort northward. There, Luarca was written in blurred letters.

“There are two or three fishing villages in this area, but Luarca is, even among them, a particularly big village. I thought that the enemy pattern would be to use it in order to capture Maliayo, but……”

Ludra took a heavy breath. He was completely outwitted.

“Which soldier told you that? I thought the scout did not reach that place.”

At Tigre’s question, Ludra moved his finger placed on the map to the lower left. Seen from the Village of Luarca, it was the southwest, seen from the Fort Lux, it was the northwest.

“There is a small town named Salime here. The villagers, who were attacked, fled here and conveyed the situation; the soldiers of the town, after hearing the news, flew over with horses.”



And then Ludra explained in detail the sudden attack of the pirates.

“I heard that the village was attacked before dawn. It was about at the same time that we attacked the Fort. A harbor of simple structure is located in the fishing village of this area; the pirates took out a large quantity of boats from the ship and rowed up to there……”


Under the sky which still had a lingering trace of darkness, what occurred was a tragedy which made one want to avert his eyes. The pirates mercilessly swung down swords and axes on the villagers, surprised by the sudden attack. They broke into rooms, took what they saw, destroyed them, violated women, and set fire to the houses.


Those who were able to safely escape numbered less than ten.

Tigre’s face was tinged with anger and bitterness. His hometown, where the youth was born and raised, had also been attacked by Duke Thenardier’s army last year.

Recalling it, again thinking back to the livelihoods of villagers stolen unreasonably and although he had also had no choice, his heart was eaten away by melancholy.

Olga and Matvey, though not as much as Tigre, also felt resentment towards the pirates. Remaining cool was Simon, who was at least practical pertaining to war matters, but he also made a point sarcastically saying “very well done.”

As Tigre took a deep breath and pulled himself together, he looked at his companions.

“How do you think Prince Elliot will act from now on?”


“He will move straight to Valverde through the highway.”

It was Ludra who asserted so.

“As you can see, the highway passing near the Village of Luarca extends to the East and the Southwest. By advancing to the Southwest, it reaches the town of Salime and by moving to the North, it is divided into two routes, each leading to Maliayo and Valverde. Either route does not directly lead to this Fort Lux.”

Valverde was Tallard’s stronghold city. From Elliot’s perspective, capturing Valverde first would become the first step toward victory.

“Prince Elliot shouldn’t know yet that we have captured this Fort. Even if he intends to join General Lester, he will have to pass through either route of the highway. In that case, it is not pointless for him to head toward Valverde.”

When the name of Lester was mentioned, Olga, who had been silently looking at the map until now, turned to look at Tigre. Tigre who noticed it shook his head.

Though Lester was the General who was protecting this fort, he was not human but a dreadful grotesque Monster named Torbalan. Those who knew it were only Tigre and Olga who actually fought him. Since explaining it to the others would make things complicated, Tigre intended to keep silent about it.

''---I wonder if Prince Elliot knew that General Lester was a Monster.''

Tigre brushed the doubt which grazed his head to the corner of his mind, because now there were several things which he had to think about.


“But, it’s not as if Prince Elliot won’t forever know that this Fort fell into our hands. Once he gets to know it, won’t he change his plans?”

Olga tilted her head at Ludra’s words. The red-haired knight calmly affirmed.

“That’s right. Considering that possibility, while slowing down the whole March speed, he could send a reconnaissance unit of about five thousand soldiers and advance along the highway……”

“Otherwise, he could organize a detached unit and send it here.”

When Tigre said so, Ludra looking nervous nodded.

Elliot could not ignore the Fort Lux. If he ignored the Fort and headed toward Valverde, he would run the risk of being attacked from the back or the side by the enemy who might be in the Fort.

That was probably why he had invited Lester to change sides at the stage before landing. If Tigre and the others had delayed the Fort siege, there was no doubt that they would have been sandwiched between Prince Elliot’s and Lester’s troops, and forced to retreat.

“In case he sends a detached unit, it will be troublesome that they may come off the highway, and head up to here.”

Ludra dropped his gaze on the map and groaned. Olga retaining her question in her obsidian pupils, looked up at the knight of Asvarre, and then asked Tigre.

“If they proceed off the highway, I think that their feet will become dull and their march will be significantly delayed, right?”


From the Village of Luarca where Elliot landed, if they tried to go to the south straight to the fort, through the meadows, and across the region where a number of large and small hills stood in a row, they would have to break through the vast woods.

Let alone the meadows and the hilly areas, they would greatly have trouble to progress in the woods.

“Yeah. If you intend to stave off the enemy's march, you would usually fortify the highway with soldiers.”

As Tigre put his finger on the map, he circled the whole area spreading out between the fishing villages and the Fort.

“We cannot avoid the soldiers where they deviated from the highway. Neglecting the scouts and being cautious is all we can do. There is a high chance that the enemy will come there.”

Convinced by that, next to Olga, Matvey who was silent until then spoke.

“Ludra-dono. Isn’t there anything you know about Prince Elliot’s character? Something that can serve as reference about how he will move from now on.”

Tigre stared in wonder at the former sailor. Even though there was impatience due to the anger towards the enemy or the status quo, he did not think of this point.

Ludra twisted his neck with a troubled face.

“I have never met Prince Elliot, but there is something that I hear from His Excellency Tallard. According to it, he is an extremely arrogant and incredulous person.”

''---It’s the same as the story I heard from Ellen.''


Tigre recalled what the Vanadis of silvery white hair taught him in the Imperial Palace of LeitMeritz. Arrogant as Prince Jermaine, his suspicion was strong. Ellen had said so.

“However, His Excellency also said this. That he is both bold and cautious, and that he is someone who never let his guard down.”

“Bold and cautious?”

Matvey frowning asked back, Ludra nodded.

“It was at the time when Prince Jermaine had called all his siblings to the Imperial Court and killed them over suspicion of rebellion. Prince Elliot sensing the danger went to the Court after arranging in advance so that he could escape when needed.”

Elliot wonderfully succeeded in getting away from Jermaine’s clutches. Meanwhile, Princess Geneviere, using the confusion which arose thereby, also successfully escaped.

“Regarding the boldness, I don’t even have to explain, right? It’s not something ordinary for a Prince of a country to negotiate with pirates and make them his subordinates.”

“Besides, there is also the landing to the fishing villages, which outsmarted us. He seems to be a Prince who likes to make a display of his originality.”

Simon revealed a sarcastic smile, and asked Ludra while playing with the copper cup in his hand.

“Anyway, if it’s only us, we are no match. After how many days Tallard will come here?”


By now, he should be running about in the country of Asvarre gathering up soldiers. It was planned that when the number reached ten thousand, he would join Tigre and the others going to the north to fight Elliot. Counting from the day when Tigre and the others left Valverde, nearly ten days had passed.

“Sorry.”

Ludra cast down his eyes with a bitter face. It meant that he did not know, either.

In the strategy that Tallard told Tigre, Elliot was supposed to spend a lot of time to the capture of the Port Town of Maliayo. It could be said that Elliot’s dynamism exceeded Tallard’s expectation.

“The messenger will arrive at Valverde tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. Also, it’s not sure that His Excellency will be there. Since it’s possible that he left Valverde in order to gather soldiers……”

“Then, it’s helpless.”

Spinning the empty copper cup in his hand, Simon shrugged his shoulders and said in a joking tone. When this man laughed, the scar on his left cheek would be distorted. Though Olga looked displeased by his frivolous behavior, Tigre and Matvey exuded a wry smile. It was not as if they did not understand his feelings.

After all, less than three thousand soldiers, who were here, would have to fight thirty thousand enemies.

But, Tigre did not feel like positively blaming Tallard. He had after all also experienced the hardships of gathering soldiers in the civil war of Brune.

''---Well, what to do now?''


We have to settle down and do what we should do, was what he said to them. But, what should be done now? Think about a brilliant strategy to defeat an enemy of thirty thousand soldiers?

It’s not that. Extending his hand on the desk, Tigre brought another map on the top.

Around the Fort Lux, the position of the surrounding villages was also drawn. Including to them the small villages with dozens of people living in, there were about ten villages.

Unless they heard the tragedy of the Village of Luarca, Prince Elliot’s troops were in the opposite poles of tolerance and mercy. There was no doubt that they would make these villages, the objects of ruthless plunder.

“What we should do now is to ensure the safety of the villagers. For that purpose, we will adopt two measures. One is to take only two thousand horsemen and set a night attack to the enemy.”

“Taking into account the enemy’s number, I don’t think it will be that much effective with only two thousand……”

“I don’t expect great results in the battle. If we can slow the enemy pace, even a little, then it’s enough.”

Answering so to the confused Ludra, Tigre, who was going to cut directly to the second measure, suddenly avoided meeting his gaze. But, he soon shook off his confusion and said in a businesslike tone.

“Concerning the second, we will evacuate the villagers. Taking into account the location of the village and the enemy, after evacuating, what naturally followed is the night attack. Though I hope for them to rush into Valverde, at worst, we will get away from the Fort to the South.”

Tigre raised his eyes from the map and looked at Ludra. A deep shadow of seriousness and sadness flashed on the youth’s face.


“Will they obediently follow us?”

“The villagers have become accustomed to war. If we tell them ‘The pirates are approaching, run away!’ they will listen to us. We will wait for dawn before moving the soldiers……”

Reproving the mutter of Ludra, who was putting his thoughts in order, Olga asked with a puzzled face.

“Isn't it for tonight? We race against the time, right?”

“The sun has already set. If we left the Fort now, the soldiers would arrive at the village at midnight. The villagers would probably have turned off the light and fell asleep. Even if we gather them and talked to them in such a situation, it will just cause confusion. It would better to wait for the daybreak and then move after.”

The darkness of night easily contributed to the confusion. Not only would the evacuation not progress, but there was also no mistake that those straying off the path or those who were left behind would appear one after another.

“Since we will also have to let the villagers, who were hired for the assault of the Fort, go back……”

Ludra grieved over awkwardness with a sigh.

“Well, it’s all good to make them evacuate, but it’s not all, right?”

It was the veteran mercenary captain who said so.

“The village will be burnt down when it becomes deserted. And in the water wells, we will throw poison. It’s fine, right?”

To Simon, who confirmed as if it was a matter of fact, Matvey, Olga, and Ludra respectively frowned. Only Tigre, without showing such a reaction, as he heaved a sigh mixed with resignation, violently stirred his hair. Since the time he spotted the villages on the map, he had anticipated that.


''---Lim is really a good teacher……''

The unamiable (unsociable) face of the girl with blond hair tied at the left side of her head came to his mind. Recalling the debate with Lim prior the meeting was without doubt consistent to the current situation. As they would evacuate the villagers, if they left the villages and the water wells like that, they would be naturally exploited by the pirates.

If they prevented the pirates from using the water wells, the enemy would have to procure water from somewhere else. It was the basic of the basics that force an enemy to fatigue and trouble in a war.

However, it might also be because the mercenary Simon said it without hesitation. Though Tigre agreed with his words, he could not consent.

''---If we poison the wells, it won’t be possible to use them even after the end of the war.''

It was an act equal to the destruction of the village. Even if the houses, which would be burnt, could newly be rebuilt, the people would not survive without water.

“……Aside from burning the villages, is it possible not to use the poison? For example, we can throw in stones so that the enemy cannot use water.”

Tigre kindly asked. He did not want to destroy the villages, if possible, but Simon mercilessly shook his head.

“It’s useless to do so if we take into account the enemy’s number. The stones will be immediately removed.”


Silence fell. No one was able to propose an alternative solution.

Tigre returned his gaze at the map, and scowled at it as if it were an object of revenge (like a camel staring at his father's murderer).

''---At that time, I said to Lim. That I will do it with my own hands.''

Her assumption had now become a reality. Of course, he could also choose not to burn the villages and poison the wells. But, if they did not deal a blow to the enemy, even a little, let alone the safety of the villagers, the soldiers, who would fight, will be in danger.

If Elliot’s army was early, they would arrive at the Fort in two or three days. Regardless of how to deal with it, time was required for both preparation and execution. Even the time to think about that was not given to Tigre now.

“Lord Tigrevurmud. The General Commander of this army is not you, but me.”

While putting on sympathetic eyes, Ludra said so in a particularly rebuking tone.

“It’s me who decide and order it. You don’t have to be concerned about it.”

“Yes”, Tigre nodded. Rather than agreeing with it, he had to pretend to understand in consideration for Ludra, who was anxious on his behalf.

What Ludra said was not wrong. But, Tigre, rather than just following orders as a mere soldier, was in a position in which he could state his opinion to Ludra. Given that in the beginning, Tallard was going to appoint Tigre as the General Commander, one could say that they were on equal status.


Moreover, the youth was unable to lie to himself and Lim, who was in Zchted.

“Ludra. I leave the compensation of the villagers to you.”

“I swear on my name, even at the cost of my life. Without fail.”

The earnest and prompt reply of the red-haired knight was at least providence.

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The moon greatly inclined towards the west sky, and the night sky let its darkness gradually fade. The darkness being minutely divided with its gradual shading foretold that the night's end was drawing near.

Among the nearly three thousand soldiers, about one thousand remained in the Fort with Ludra, and two thousand cavalrymen led by Tigre, left the Fort. Before dawn, though there was a still a margin of more than one Koku, they started to move a little early because passing through the forest in cavalry would take time.

When they passed through the forest, the sky was crystal-clear blue, and the sun was shining white despite his low position.

As scheduled, Tigre divided the two thousand soldiers into ten squads and each headed towards a village. Tigre himself, also leading about three hundred cavalrymen, was heading towards one of the villages. To the youth’s right and left side were the figures of Olga and Matvey.


The soldiers were wearing leather armor, and most of them, in addition to spears, were armed with a bow. Tigre and Ludra, who speculated the enemy’s equipment from the talk of when the Village of Luarca was attacked, decided it like that.

When Tigre and his squad reached the village, they were able to confirm little by little the figures of the villagers, who had begun to do farm work. The number of inhabitants of this village was roughly seventy. Their days were spent with harvest from the oat fields surrounding the village and with the forest's bounty one belsta (approximately one kilometer) away.

The houses applied plaster to the wooden walls, and the ceilings were only made of simple thatched roofs.

As Tigre called the potentates of the village including the village chief, they gathered in the chief’s house, and he frankly stated their business.

‘The pirates are getting closer. Pack your loads by noon and escape from here.’

Of course, the chief and the others, with color of perplexity on their faces, openly looked at each other.

“By noon, you say?”

“No matter how you put it, isn’t it too sudden? To begin with, even if you ask us to escape, where should we go……?”

“Valverde.”

Tigre deliberately told so in a businesslike tone. Since he was not familiar with the Asvarre language that he just learnt from Matvey, it had probably sounded more bluntly from the perspective of the listener.

Tigre had resolved himself before departing the fortress, putting coat after coat of ice around his heart, yet nevertheless, his own words made him want to vomit.


He was conscious of how to proceed exactly because the village was of a foreign country, and he did not even know its name until yesterday. It let the youth’s heart soundlessly creak. If it was some village from his home town Alsace, might he have taken such a decision?

“It will take two days or more from here.”

One of the potentates raised a voice-like scream. It was a man of 25 years old, who had a short white mustache particularly conspicuous. Seeing him made Tigre suddenly remember Massas, who was in Brune. Though he had not met him for more than half a year, he wondered if he was doing well.

“First of all, I want you to go toward the south from the Fort Lux. It doesn’t matter if you can escape into a village or a town in its neighborhood. If that seems impossible, you can change your course to the east and go to Valverde.”

When it came to such long lines, Tigre spoke in Zchted language first, and Matvey translated it into the Asvarre language. Tigre’s cold attitude coupled with Matvey’s ferocious look and burly body was already intimidation from the perspective of bystanders.

“There are women, children and also old men…… even sick people.”

Another man spoke of the mutter that sounded more like a complaint in a low voice. To the words such as children and old men, which inferred a blaming tone, Tigre answered while maintaining his cold tone and attitude.

“We will provide you with two carts. Children and old men can ride on them. There are probably also some in this village.”

“---And about the wild oats?” Another potentate asked.

“Finally, all the threshing is over; we will have kept them in the warehouse. We should carry them to Valverde a few days later……”


Tigre’s expression slightly stiffened. He recalled the state of the wheat field, which he saw on his way from Maliayo to Valverde.

After finishing the harvest of ripe wheat, the next step is the threshing. Pulling the wheat ears back and forth between the sticks split from the middle would remove the wheat. It was a work which required patience.

When finished, they would be packed in hempen bags, and transported in the warehouse. At a later date, a portion of these would be loaded onto the carts as taxes, and carried to the nearest city. The villagers would use what remained (as provisions) until the next harvest. It should have been the scenery that did not change regardless of which country.

“You can request compensation.”

While it turned out that it was not such a thing (although they are not meant to understand), the youth could only say so.

Of course there was also tax issues. But, at the demand that they should throw away things they obtained after several months of hard work by sowing any more seeds, plowing, worrying about drought and heavy rain, and racking their brain to find solution about the harm of insects and birds, the villagers would certainly feel sadness and indignation.

“Can’t you do something before the pirates arrive?”

One of the potentates turned reproachful eyes towards Tigre. Whether the man’s emotions were highly strung, Tigre, who was trying to reply to it, was vehemently cut before he could speak.


“I will stay here. In the first place, it’s unlikely that pirates would come to a place like this. I live in this village for more than 40 years; even though I have already seen thieves or bandits, I have never seen pirates.”

As Tigre was fed up with that, he put on a wistful face and overbearingly declared.

“Then, go to the town of Salime and hear the story. Those who barely escaped from pirates are there now. If you personally hear it from their mouths, I think that you will resolve yourself. But, then it might be too late though.”

Silence fell. The place was wrapped in a serious and cold atmosphere that did not allow anyone to casually speak. Although the village chief and the others felt uneasy and looked at each other, no one said a word.

Tigre took off his eyes from the man, and turned toward the village chief.

“---Chief. If there are people reluctant to leave the village, tie them up and carry them on a cart along with their loads. As I have said many times, we are running out of time. We will hold the enemy here.”

Tigre stood up as to say that the talk was over. It looked like the words he threw off made them surrender.

However, that was not the case. An old man, who would be the senior among the people of the village, moved his wrinkled face and falteringly returned these words.

“We…… We had been quietly living. Even when the soldiers under Jermaine-dono were rampaging. Even if they were trampling down our fields, breaking the fence and barrels and hitting young men for no reason, we had endured it without resistance.”


The old man looked up at Tigre with reproachful eyes.

“This time you want us to abandon this village?”

The sun was high in the sky when the villagers packed their load and left the village.

Tigre, without even trying to hide his displeasure, looked up at the sky and heaved a sigh filled with frustration. Although it took a half koku than expected, they somehow managed to evacuate the whole village.

Clothes, pans, iron pots, farming tools and the like, which were thrown away on the street, were scattered. After another half koku, fire would be set, and all these, would be burned along with the houses and fields.

Just in case, the soldiers checked if there were people who failed to get out in time. Tigre himself, together with Olga and Matvey, without moving from the central square of the village, waited for the report.

“I will take the thankless role.”

Ahead of the line of sight of Matvey who muttered so, there were figures of soldiers who were entering empty houses. Their action was slow; either they were openly non-favorable, or they were looking at the trio with eyes in which all kind of feelings were enclosed.

Most of the soldiers were basically commoners. They had spent their days in their respective towns and villages without war. Although they were given detailed instructions beforehand by Ludra, the act of burning a village was unbearable for them, and they could not help turning reproachful eyes at Tigre, who was the Commander of the site.


“No, it is better that such a thing is done by me, a stranger. Besides – I also agree.”

In the black pupils of Tigre, who responded so, a masochistic and dismal light was blinking. If he was also in their position, he would have also felt resentment towards the person who gave such orders.

But, as a Commander, he must coldly give such orders. Even if he felt like vomiting blood, if he did not do this, Tigre and the others would be force to stand in more harsh conditions. Taking a rest in an empty house, he also secured water so as to fight against the enemy in perfect condition.

“Sorry for that, Matvey. If only I could speak the Asvarre language……”

“You said what should be said. Don’t worry too much about it.”

To the former sailor, who open heartedly laughed, Tigre showed his gratitude by nodding his head. He also inwardly expressed his gratitude once again towards Sasha of Legnica, for introducing this man.

The skeptical looks of the soldiers were also turned toward Olga and Matvey. This was because both of them were seen as Tigre’s companions. However, Matvey scornfully laughed, and Olga, without changing one bit her deadpan, remained calm.

Olga suddenly brought her horse near Tigre. Though the Vanadis with light pink-colored haired did not say a single word, her quiet drive to protect Tigre was felt from her dignified attitude.

“Thank you. But, I’m all right.”


Tigre said so and lightly patted the girl’s head, and when the report that no one was left behind finally arrived, the youth gave the order to set fire.

Tigre himself poisoned the two wells of the village. So that his hands, which were trembling, were not seen by the soldiers, he left only Olga and Matvey at his side.

Not an ounce of emotion surfaced on Tigre’s face as he witnessed flames engulfed homes.

He was just clutching his fist strong enough to let his fingernails dug into the palm of his hand and shed blood.

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The meadows, which were at one Belsta (about one Kilometer) to the north from the village Tigre and the others left, was the place of the rendezvous.

When they arrived, nearly one thousand cavalrymen had already gathered. The Captains of each squad saw Tigre standing in the vanguard and went towards him at a quick pace.

Though some people reported the results with a bitter face, Tigre maintained his cold attitude and listened to them in turn. Their feelings aside, it seemed that they evacuated the villagers as ordered.

Tigre did not give any words of apology or appreciation at all. It was because he understood that it would instead only incite them the wrong way. By just carefully listening to their reports, he would show in his attitude, of act of accepting both their anger and bitterness.


As he finished listening to all the reports, Tigre gathered the Captains.

“Send scouts. Prepare eighty cavalrymen with little fatigue. Set eight squads of ten horsemen and send four squads respectively to the north and the east.”

Looking to the North, gently-sloping hills were visible in the distance. Shifting the gaze to the East, meadows mixed with sparsely color of dry grass were spreading. If the enemy passed through the meadows, they would probably come out in the highway.

Even though either way commanded a fine view, they were quite wide. So as not to overlook the enemy, Tigre made all the eight squads depart by different routes.

When it was over, he ordered them to set up camp. He planned to let them have a good rest for the time being in preparation for the night attack.

Although it was a camp, an encampment could brook no encumbrance. The surroundings were enclosed with a wooden fence, guards were set in key points and were taking rests by turn; they had meals, when it came time to sleep, they piled up overcoats on the ground.

In a place a little distant from the soldiers, Tigre was talking with both Olga and Matvey. Since there was no command tent, he had no choice but to settle at a distance so as not to let the soldiers hear unnecessary things. Since Olga hardly spoke, the two men became the center of the conversation.

Many possibilities for the enemy to obtain the information, such as villages, which were too far from the coastal area for Tigre and the others to call for evacuation, unlucky travelers and peddlers who had run into the pirates, small aristocrats who, fearing Elliot, dispatched an emissary and so on, could be considered.

“I don’t like pessimistic thoughts, but let’s assume the worst case scenario. Let’s consider that the enemy knows the fall of the Fort. The number of soldiers in the advanced troops is seven thousand. They pass through the meadows and are in the mid-hill areas.”

“I feel that seven thousand is a bit exaggerated, but under the present circumstances, it is better to estimate that much.”

However, the reality was greatly beyond what the two men expected.

As the scout, who came back by the time the daybreak, ran up to Tigre, without wiping his sweat and adjusting his breathing, he reported as followed.

“We discover one party thought to be the enemy. They are at about two koku on foot from here. There is no doubt it’s a large party of twenty thousand soldiers!”

Not only Tigre, but also Olga and Matvey stared wide-eyed in surprise.

''---Twenty thousand !? And at two koku on foot?''

The distance of march on foot at the moment was ten Belsta (about ten kilometers). Elliot’s army was advancing with a speed far beyond Tigre and the others’ expectation.

“I see. Regarding the enemy’s completion, Can you tell me in detail?”

Tigre immediately erased the surprise from his facial expression, and asked with a tone relaxed as much as possible. Probably because of an overwhelming large army which was on sight, the soldiers were agitated. He must avoid shaking them further.


“The enemy raised the banner of the Red Dragon and its ranks are greatly disturbed (in disorder)……”

Everyone, in Elliot’s army, without mind at all military formation, was running up the gently-sloping slope of the hilly areas at full speed. Regarding their weapons, sticks, hatchets and locks were those conspicuous, and even though formally dressed, they were wearing at best leather armor. There was no cavalry.

“Is the number twenty thousand certain? If the enemy’s ranks are so much in chaos, I think it will be difficult to count them.”

Olga, who returned to her usual deadpan, asked indifferently. When the enemy numbered thousands or ten thousand, it was not easy task to precisely grasp their number. However, the messenger clearly answered.

“I have worked as messenger for a long time, if there are 1000 infantry, no matter how clumped they are, I will know. As I mentioned earlier, among the enemy, there is nobody mounting a horse, and since the rank was extended greatly forward and backward, it’s possible to count them by thousand.”

“I see. Sorry for having doubted your words.”

Olga honestly apologized. Beside her, Tigre started to think over what the messenger reported, but the moment he realized the enemy’s intent, he almost unintentionally shouted. However, without showing it, he gave words of appreciation to the soldier with a gentle smile.

“Good work. You can rest now. I cannot allow wine, but you can take a light meal.”


As the soldier walked away from Tigre, Olga and Matvey turned dubious eyes to the youth. Tigre’s face, was clearly tinged with tension and anxiety. He took out a map from his breast pocket with impatient fingers.

“Have you understood something?”

“The enemy has advanced straight to the south with the whole army. And that with a fairly forced march.”

Tigre recalled that someone said that Elliot possessed a bold personality.

The second Prince of Asvarre, without organizing a detached unit, changed the course of action of the entire army and gave top priority to the capture of the Fort Lux.

“……Then, the enemy also had ten thousand in their forced march turned deserter?”

Matvey said with a dumbfounded face. Since Elliot’s army should be thirty thousand, it meant that it had pretty much decreased from 1/3.

“The enemy has probably considered this point. That, even if there are ten thousand stragglers, twenty thousand remain.”

It was the right way of thinking under this situation. For example, supposing that stragglers continued to occur, and Elliot’s army was reduced to half, that’s fifteen thousand, it would be five times Tigre and the others’ number. Even if Tallard’s reinforcement of ten thousand was to arrive in time, Elliot army would be still superior in number. Moreover the stragglers would catch up with the course of time.

“But, if they are pushing themselves that much, they will be exhausted and fighting will become impossible.”

To Olga, who frowned, Matvey softly shook his head,


“There’s no way that soldiers would be deploy in a place like this. Or even if they were deployed, only a small number of people would be able to effortlessly break through. Honestly even I don’t want to clash with an enemy ten times superior in number. Even if it’s possible to win because the enemy will be tired by the forced march.”

If they misread the degree of exhaustion of the enemy, they would be easily repelled. If they did not act carefully, they could be surrounded in a flash and destroyed. It was far too dangerous to bet on it.

As Elliot judged so and anticipated that there would be no enemy numbered more than ten thousand ahead of their route, there was no doubt that they were advancing at a surprising tremendous speed. Tigre could not help shivering. Though not to the extent of using swords, the smoke of war has already begun.

Tigre quickly took pen and paper and wrote a letter. Then he called a messenger.

“Return quickly to the Fort Lux now, and give this to Ludra-dono.”

The messenger who had received the letter, carefully put it in his breast pocket, bowed and left.

Olga and Matvey, who were waiting behind Tigre, looked at each other. Since he did not verbally pass the message, it meant that the content was not addressed to the soldiers. Thinking whether or not it might have anything to do with the night attack scheduled to begin after this, Olga asked hesitantly.

“What about the night attack?”

“We will do it.”

Tigre briefly asserted so to show his determination.


“We must slow down the enemy pace here at all costs. We must at least gain half a day.”

Of course there was the fear of clashing with an enemy ten times superior in number. But, Tigre understood that the villagers would not be able to escape if things were going on like this.

The villagers had begun to evacuate from this morning until noon. There were leading children and old people holding their loads. It was a situation where even they did not know whether or not they would be able to reach the Fort.

It would be good if the pirates, after seeing the fire ruins of the village, became more careful and enhanced their vigilance; if they marched at the same speed, they would surely catch up by tomorrow. Tigre could not absolutely let such a thing happen. Otherwise, for what purpose did he burn the village, and poisoned the wells?

“I think what Matvey said is correct. However, if we revise our viewpoint, the enemy won’t be wary of us. There are no signs that they sent a scout. – It’s a good opportunity.”

“It’s a gamble, you know? And a big gamble at that.”

Matvey broadly laughed while shrugging his shoulders. This was the laughter of a sailor who had braved the sea storms. Though Olga was silently staring at Tigre, she did not disagree.

As the units sent for reconnaissance all returned, Tigre learnt that the enemy had stopped their march. Soon getting out from the hilly area, they were at about one koku on foot away from the place where Tigre and the others were. He also confirmed at the same time that they did not send scouts.

Just to be on a safe end, Tigre moved out their campground, and retreated the troops to the south. Even though a campground, since it was only setting up a fence, it did not take a lot of time.


As the forest came into view, Tigre stopped their retreat. With the forest’s appearance at their back, they again built a campground.

The construction of the campground ended when the sun was setting. The clouds, which lurked in the sky, bathing in the light of the setting sun were dyed vermillion. The forest also dyed black a part of the ground in its huge shadow, which greatly spread branches and leaves, and the shadows of soldiers and horses had sunk in it. Matvey in admiration said so.

“With this, as long as we don’t use fire, it will be hard to be discovered from a distance.”

“I will prohibit the use of the fire after a little bit. From now, I want you to accustom your eyes to the dark.”

As Tigre gathered the Captain of each unit after that, he issued a few instructions.

“Let the soldiers make the catapults sling. Pick up stones in the forest. And then……”

The catapults sling was a tool used to catapult stones at a far distance by using the centrifugal force. Since the string could be easily made with just scraps of cloth, Tigre had also used it once or twice when hunting. Though it was more difficult to hit the target, it could also catapult stones at a distance of one hundred Alsins (about 100 meters).

Among the two thousand soldiers present here, only about half of the soldiers, that’s one thousand, were able to prepare bow and arrow. It (catapult) was a mean to make up for that shortage.

As he finished issuing instructions, Tigre slightly sighed. His shoulders felt heavy. Though there was not that much physical fatigue, the mental exhaustion was extreme.


“—I will take a rest for a half koku.”

Like that, Tigre put on a slightly dirty overcoat and turned his back to Matvey and Olga.

“I suppose you're off to take care of some business?”

To the former sailor who asked in a joking tone, Tigre only replied without looking back.

“I will only take a rest in a place a little away. I will return at once if something happens.”

After Matvey looked up at the sky, he saw off the youth while answering “Understood”.

Since the lurking clouds had hidden the moon and the stars, the night sky of autumn was darker than usual. With this, even if Tigre parted from the army alone to rest, he would not probably be conspicuous.

After they dared tackle their reluctance, they would be challenging an enemy ten times in numerical superiority. Moreover, Tigre would be leading foreign soldiers in a foreign land. Matvey wanted for Tigre to rest when he still could afford it.

Tigre, who was away from the soldiers, leaned against one of the trees that formed the forest and sat on the ground. Even though a little away, He probably couldn't hear normal voices, but a shout should be able to reach him at this distance. As expected he could not take more distance than that.

Though he closed his eyes, Tigre was so highly strung that he could not immediately sleep.

''---How should we fight?''

Last year, Tigre had struggled to repel the twenty thousand soldiers of the Muozinel army, who invaded Brune, with only two thousand soldiers. At that time, the soldiers’ morale was high, and he had reliable subordinates such as Rurick and the like.


There was the geographical advantage, too. Since the Muozinel army had advanced in a thin ravine (canyon) and got caught in the cliff, not only they were not able to use their military force of twenty thousand, but their March speed was also slow because of the slaves they had taken. There was room to come up with a plan. There was also the expectation that Massas and Augres would bring reinforcements.

How could the current situation be turned over? Though he could rely on Olga and Matvey, not only those two had no experience of commanding soldiers, but they also had no authority. He was also anxious whether the soldiers would follow his orders. Apart from the fact that he was not well versed in the geographical advantage, above all there was no time in every sense of the word.

“……I will somehow manage.”

Tigre brushed aside the heavy pressure, which applied a huge burden throughout his body, with murmurs, which could not be voiced. Suddenly, he tiresomely lifted his head when he felt something approaching.

Standing there was Olga. Though it was so dark that one could not even properly see several steps ahead, with her light pink-colored hair and her small build, there was above all no way the ax of gray blade, which was in her hand, could above all be mistaken.

As he was wondering why she came, the Vanadis of light pink-colored hair bent her delicate body, and smoothly entered in Tigre’s body.

“I need to rest, too.”

Tigre frowned, and rebuked “hey!” in a low voice. Olga indifferently replied.

“Matvey told not to use fire. This way you can rest without becoming cold.”

“But, that’s……”
[[File:Madan no Ou to Vanadis V7 cl03.jpg|thumb]]


Tigre hesitated to speak. In reality, he wanted to be alone for a little while. As he was thinking about a suitable reason, Olga spoke first.

“No.”

It was a small and unusually strong tone. To the surprised Tigre, Olga calmly continued.

“Tigre, I don’t know how you feel. But, there something that I know. It’s that I can not let you be alone now.”

The latter half of her speech did not seem like her, and though it was a very childlike way of speaking, her words strangely enough entered Tigre’s heart.

“I will stay by your side.”

Olga was not clear about what Tigre did intended to do. However, she did not encourage or comfort him, and also did not accept or deny him; she just told him what she want to do. Though her words made people feel an adamant will, strangely they did not feel hard-pressed to others.

Tigre, without knowing what he should say for a moment, fixedly stared at the girl. Though his feelings of wanting to be left alone did not completely disappear, it was certain they considerably fade. He only said “Thank you” in a lowered voice.

The youth, at that time for the first time, felt the warmth transmitted from the girl's body through her slightly dirty clothes. In that warmth, there was something which made his heart feel at ease. As drowsiness rapidly assailed him, Tigre entrusted his weight to her smaller back.


Olga did not show an unpleasant figure; rather her body was glued to his. While tickling his nasal cavity with the sweet smell of her light pink-colored hair, Tigre fell asleep.

As she heard the sleeper’s breathing of Tigre, Olga heaved a sigh of relief.

Regarding Tigre’s decision and the action to burn the village, it was not as if there was no room to think.

But, more than that, she didn't know what to say to Tigre, who would not show his expression of bitterness to the villagers and soldiers. Although she thought of some words of comfort, she felt like she was short on words to fully express her feelings.

Therefore, Olga decided to support the youth by at least being at his side, and to become his strength.

When late at night, Tigre and the others began to move. They whittled wood to make slabs for the horses to put in their mouths, and wrapped clothes around their hooves to reduce noise.

“I see. You thought this well.”

It was Matvey who said so in admiration. For this man, who had spent most of his life on the sea, it seemed to be something unusual. Tigre responded in a somewhat embarrassed tone.

“It's not my idea. I was taught how to surprise attack and night attack in a cavalry by a good acquaintance.”


That person should be waiting for Tigre’s return in LeitMeritz of the Kingdom of Zchted at this time. He also decided to help Sofi – Sofia Obertas for her sake, and to return safely.

Matvey grinned, guessing that the youth’s mood seemed to have changed for the better from his tone of voice.

“It seemed that you were able to take a good rest.”

“Thanks to you.”

The facial expression of Olga, who was pulling her horse near to Tigre’s, was mixed with joy and pride.

The moon and most of the stars were hidden by the clouds in the sky, which did not fade away. It was the perfect situation for a night attack.

All the two thousand soldiers went down from the horses, and advanced through the meadows wrapped in darkness while pulling their horses. Since the sky was very dark, their pace was slow and cautious.

Though they grew accustomed to seeing in the dark, it was only to the extent of grasping the difference in the depth of the darkness. Even if the sensation of stepping on the grass was transmitted to the feet through the shoes, their steps were shrouded in darkness and they could see nothing. Since the sense of distance also went amiss, the fatigue built up quickly.

So as not to let the soldiers get too tired, Tigre took break several times.

“There’s enough time. Don’t speak, or make a sound. And be careful not to fall.”

As they were marching since about a half koku, they saw some lights in the distance. It was the campfire lighted by the pirates.

“Are they camping without even stretching tents?”


Matvey, who was standing beside Tigre, laughed in a low voice. Within this darkness, though his figure was only a black shadow, the only countenance the youth's imagination could conjure was a smile as wicked as can be.

''---It appears that the enemy did not build a campground, and they also don’t seem to rest together, huh. It is as the scouts reported.''

As they got closer until a rough estimate distance of about 300 Alsins from the campfire, Tigre gave instructions to the captains of each squad. He had already told them what kind of offensive to adopt, when leaving their campground. One could only say that it was all according to plan.

''--- I will shoot a fire arrow towards the sky. It will be the signal to attack with arrows and catapults, and confuse the enemy, and then you will charge. When we defeat the enemy’s vanguard, we will leave and withdraw from the battlefield.''

It was because he judged that attacking the vanguard and breaking imprudently in the darkness was dangerous. If they were to be surrounded by the pirates who reorganized their posture, they would not escape from complete annihilation.

The two thousand soldiers that should be called ‘Tigre squad’ suppressed their voice and quietly spread left and right. Looking at it from above their movement was like that of a bird spreading its wings.

The soldiers were gradually approaching the pirates. Sweat blurred on Tigre’s forehead. His and the soldiers’ breathing, the sound of the horses’ footsteps and the shoes scraping on the grass were very loud. Their heart was violently pounded in the anxiety of whether or not they were discovered by the enemy good intuition.

''---So that the arrows and the catapults reach, a distance of 100 Alsins is necessary……''


They did not have to necessarily hit the target. But, they had to reach. If it was Tigre, he could even shoot aim from this distance, but the soldiers of course did not have such skill.

He considered the weakest soldier standards as reference. It was what Lim and Massas taught him.

They finally approached to a distance deemed to be 100 Alsins. Tigre looked back at Matvey. The former sailor with his big body took out two sticks. One side of the stick was burnt black at the tip.

The soldiers who were nearby formed a wall around him, and Matvey vigorously rubbed the stick. Fire lighted at the tip, and then Tigre took out an arrow that he had prepared. He also coated the arrowhead with oil.

He brought the arrow close to the fire that Matvey was holding. The sickle burnt making a ‘pot’ small sound.

Tigre quickly nocked the arrow to his black bow and shot it high in the sky. The blazing arrow flew straight towards the night sky, and the pirates who saw it uttered loud sounds.

But, their voices were drowned out by another sound.

Nearly one thousand of bowstrings let their sound reverberate in the void (thin air), and the catapults and the arrows cut through the wind. In the night sky illuminated by the campfire, countless numbers of black shadows appeared. Shriek and scream overlapped, and cries informing an enemy attack, were audible until where Tigre and the others were.

Tigre nocked another arrow to his black bow, but he did not shoot it. He first wanted to grasp the soldiers’ situation. So far, there was no disorder on their side.

The soldiers, who finished throwing the second stone, stripped the horses of the bits forced into their mouths in preparation for the attack, and removed the cloths from the hoof. They kept the catapult string, or threw it away and tightly grasped a spear.


Arrows were shot a second time. Several hundred arrows like a rain of black needles, depicted a dark parabola, and poured on the pirates. The voices of confusion of pirates became louder.

Tigre took off the arrow he once nocked on the bow. He rode his horse. There was the figure of Olga sitting astride her horse silently next to him. The soldiers also put their bow on their saddle, and took out a spear on horseback.

“--Charge!”

A battle cry broke out. Tigre squad let horses' hooves resound all over, and wrapping into a round shape, they advanced on the pirates. The campfire gradually grew big (large), and at the other side, many figures running about in utter confusion let their silhouette become clear.

The pirates put their weapon at hand, and though they were still wearing leather armor, they had not yet recovered from the shock of being taken by surprise. They were stunned by the apparition of the Tigre squad from within the darkness; they threw away their weapons and ran about trying to escape. Though, among them, there were some who tried to fight weapons in hand, they were knocked out by the cavalry.

Flames painted the air and fresh blood dyed the ground red.

The cavalry had no mercy at all toward the pirates. There were few people who were practical about driving away the villagers, burning the village and poisoning the wells. They slammed their anger against the pirates. They kicked them about with horse's hooves, hit them very hard with spear, brushed them and pierced them.

Tigre also nocked the arrows to his black bow and defeated two people. Partly because Olga did not leave Tigre’s side, she had not yet wielded her ax.


The pirates either fled into the darkness, or they silently died and fell to the ground; as the battle around him gradually became sporadic, Tigre looked up.

Shifting his attention to the darkness, he could not help but gasp.

In the darkness, the campfire, which was burning moving from place to place, had been extended into the distance.

They were all enemies. More than ten thousand enemies were on the other side in the dark. A dry smile emerged. If they rushed while holding their weapons, Tigre and the others would be swallowed in a blink of an eye, and would join the blood-stained corpses lying on their feet.

The blow was certainly given. Should they go back?

''---No, we can still hold…………!''

Tigre judged so. Since the enemy was too concerned about the speed of progress, ignoring other things. Even resting was a mess. There was no way not to take advantage of that mistake.

“Please gather the soldiers who are nearby. And charge once more.”

They were cavalry on Tigre’s side. Even if they retreat from here after launching another blow, they could easily shake off the enemy infantry. As Matvey also understood this point, he called the soldiers nearby in the dark and ordered them.

The faces of the soldiers, who showed up from the darkness and were illuminated by the campfire, were all colored with tension and excitement of a battlefield. Their morale was high.


Tigre brandished his black bow, and pointed at the flickering campfire in the distance.

“It's over there. Spread after defeating the pirates; we will go back to the forest with our friends. We will use the height of the campfire as a signal to go back.”

In the confusion of the darkness and the battlefield, it was difficult to gather. Tigre and the others could not also convene all the soldiers. He understood that it could not be helped. What was important now was the speed. Before the enemy bounced back, it was necessary to end everything.

“--Charge!”

He shouted again. The roar of the horses’ hooves shook the ground, and the war cry echoed in the night sky. Even with just this sound and voice coming from within the darkness, the pirates might be scared.

Tigre squad similarly defeated the pirates, who were also there; Tigre broke through the midst of the enemy along with Olga, Matvey and the less than ten cavalrymen, and jumped into the darkness.

There was no way to know the direction in the darkness. But in this case, as long as the forward backed to the North of the bonfire, it will be certainly right.

“It went well.”

Matvey said so in a joyful tone. He also seemed to have been struggling, and at the tip of the spear, which he had in hand, blood was dripping.


Tigre and the others barely manage to reach the forest before long. If they entered the forest, the enemy would lose sight of them, and moreover they would probably being cautious about trap and ambush in the forest and refrained from pursuing them. Considering the enemy’s confusion in the first place, there was probably no way that they would chase them, and let their guard down. Here was a battlefield.

“Reform the ranks. Take care of the injured. Don’t relax yet.”

As he was checking, the number of cavalrymen gathered in front of the forest now was less than thousand. Therein, the soldiers injured to the extent that continuing fighting would be difficult, were approximately fifty. Tigre providing them about twenty companions told them to go ahead back to the Fort.

“Still, I didn’t think that half of us would be defeated……”

Would they be roaming in the darkness, isolated? Then they would need to be aided. In the midst of thought, the sound of severely uncoordinated horse hooves drew near from inside the darkness.

“It’s the people of Cliff squad……”

The primary concern behind the sound of the horse hooves was a certain officer who had made a name for himself. With his breaths like gasps, his voice had no strength to it.

The number of cavalrymen, which was less than ten, appeared from within the darkness. Everyone was injured, and the smell of blood was circulating in the night air and had drifted until here. The soldier on the vanguard was leaning against the horse’s neck and something long and slender was on his back.

''---Is it…… an arrow? Considering it is, it’s long.''

When looking closely in the darkness, it was without a doubt an arrow. But, It was more than a fist longer than what Tigre and the soldiers carried.


“Our squad and Jeremy squad suffer from the enemy’s counterattack……”

Both Cliff and Jeremy were the captains who were in charge of the so to speak left-wing of Tigre squad. Tigre, who understood the situation, looked back at Matvey, and gave him another task. While ordering their treatment, he asked a soldier of the Cliff squad.

“How many people were defeated (killed)?”

Matvey translated the soldier’s answer. To the word “longbow”, Tigre muttered “It was that after all”. A long time ago, he had seen it only once. Around the time his father was still alive, Massas had got his hands on one and brought it. He said that it was a rare bow of a foreign country.

The bow stem was longer than Tigre’s height at that time. It might have been 20 Chet (about 2 meters). As it was long, it required a considerable physical strength to draw the bowstring; Tigre of course, and even his father or Massas were not able to draw it sufficiently.

『Though it needs considerable strength to draw it, the arrow will fly with only. 300 Alsin seems to be light. 』

Tigre remembered well that Massas said so.

''---So their fast recovery was due to this squad of longbows, huh!''

Tigre was terrified. Even judging from the injury and the way of talking of the soldiers, it meant that there were probably not only one or two longbow users. There must be a squad from dozens to several hundred people. They would probably have to dive in there.


“Are there still allies remaining?”

To Tigre’s question using Matvey as intermediary, the soldier feebly nodded.

“Good work. We will help your companions. Choose three persons with shallow wounds as guide, and retreat into the forest.”

Making the soldier of the Cliff squad lead the way, Tigre squad reduced to nine hundred advanced in the darkness. In the place where cries of the battlefield gradually increased, the youth nocked an arrow to his black bow.

“Matvey. I leave you in command.”

At that time he roughly grasped the position of allies and foes. Near the campfire was the enemy, who had formed an orderly rank. In the dark where the campfire’s light did not reach, the allies were squirming.

The wind noise, mixed and overlapping with dozens or several hundred of roars of their horses’ hooves, tickled the eardrum. It was the sound of arrows, which were shot from longbows and tore the night air to hit the allies far away.

Tigre chewed his molar. The enemy, who noticed them, was trying to change the direction to where they (Tigre) were. Though there was still a distance of about three hundred Alsins between them, it was better to think that it was not a problem for the enemy.

Tigre put power to his foot stepping on a stirrup, stretched straight out his left hand holding the black bow forward and drew the bowstring to the limit. And as he shortened further the distance to one hundred Alsins, he shot the arrow.


The arrow drew the orbit of a mountain, and flew as it were sucked towards the enemy squad who were set up with longbows. It went and pierced the forehead of one soldier. When that soldier fell down, confusion began to spread among the other soldiers.

Tigre, without particularly showing joy, like a craftsman, who kept working silently, nocked a new arrow to the bow. It was not as if he was aiming whoever. His aim was set.

The second shot. Because they drew nearer earlier, hitting the target that was aimed at was not difficult. The movement of the enemy that was setting up their longbows became once again dull. It was fatal in this situation. Although the arrows were shot from the longbows, their numbers did not even reach half of the enemy.

Although the soldiers of the Tigre squad, who were hit by arrows, fell from the horses one after another, still the momentum of the assault did not become dull, and several hundreds of cavalry sprang toward the squad of longbow users.

Though the archers each possessed a burly body, one could only said as expected of archers. They were not good at close range combat, so they threw their longbow and ran away. While nocking an arrow to his black bow, Tigre shouted.

“Don’t chase the enemy! Help the allies!”

Matvey repeated what Tigre had said in Asvarre language. They had not much time. If there was another squad of of longbows, the attack on Tigre’s side, in which they simultaneously shoot arrows from a distance would certainly not reach them.

Having spoken loudly had attracted the enemy's attention. The pirates, who finally regained their composure, brandished club and ax and attacked Tigre.


But, Olga advanced her horse as to break between both parties. At that time, the ax, which was in the hand of the girl with light pink-colored hair, had already changed its shape to that of a long haft.

Her {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}}, the Roaring Demon had the ability to change its shape according to its master’s intention (will). Using the confusion and the darkness of the battlefield, Olga had transformed the ax.

With her thin arms, Olga totally easily swung the double-edged ax, which would not be even possible to lift, around like a stick. It smashed the heads of the enemies swarming, and blew off their arms along their weapons. It was as if a storm was born in the darkness.

Mixed with fresh blood were torn flesh and crushed bone fragments, which were scattered. The grey matter and entrails were thrown out (dumped). It was hardly thinkable that it was the physical strength of a young girl. When one thought that it was caught, the gray blade had blown away anything and everything.

Even though she continued wielding an ax without rest, no change was seen in Olga’s expression. The will of not wanting to let even one soldier approach Tigre was overflowing in her black eyes, the {{furigana|Moon Princess of the Roaring Demon|Bardiche}} continued killing and amassing a mountain of enemy corpses. . In her figure, there was something which made even the pirates wince.

About a quarter koku had passed, and Tigre left the battlefield with the soldiers. They rushed into the forest. As he confirmed the situation, Cliff was alive, but Jeremy was already no longer of this world.


"……I am sorry."

A color of fatigue was deep in the face of Cliff who powerlessly lowered his head, and his body was full of bruises.

As he returned into the forest, Tigre ordered the soldiers to take a rest. And, he told them not to make more fires than necessary.

“They may come to inquire the situation. Don’t forget that there are still a great number of enemies here.”

The voice of Tigre giving instructions was cold (indifferent), and was similar to that of a composed Commander, but it was meant to conceal the impatience of his heart.

''---One of my moves was sealed……''

It was referring to the move he use when he repulsed the Muozinel army, which has invaded Brune. Tigre had forced the assault, approached Kashim who was the advance troops' Commander until a distance of 300 Alsins and killed him with his bow and an arrow.

It looked like he was not able to use that plan this time. As long as the squad of soldiers who used longbow was around Elliot, they would pour a rain of arrows taking the opportunity when Tigre would aim at the Commander. If it’s like this (if so), sniping would indeed be impossible.

''---Anyway, we have no choice, but to gain time…………''

When dawn drew near, Tigre and the others returned to the Fort.



<center><big>◎</big></center>

With near to two thousand casualties and reports of them increasing, Elliot, the second prince of the Asvarre kingdom, refrained from shouting at the pirates despite having revealed a moment of surprise and anger.

Here was the camp of Elliot army. Although called camp, they were not even surrounded by a fence and ditch, there were not as much tents as the soldiers.

Pirates properly gathered together and made a fire, and were directly lying on the ground. There were those using blanket and overcoat that they took in the village, but it was the minority. That appearance rather than calling it an army, it was accurate to call it a herd of bandits.

At the center of such a camp, two tents were stretched. One of them was used by Elliot, who was the General Commander of this army. Within the tent, a desk and a chair, while being of poor structure, were placed, and there were a bottle of wine and a silver cup in the desk.

As he made the pirate who finished the report withdraw, Elliot clicked his tongue and kicked the ground. His well-featured handsome face was distorted and steeped with violent emotions.

“When I think that I have taken the Fort, what followed is a night attack, huh. A commoner born in a fishing village going and doing something like that.”

The commoner born in a fishing village was referring to Tallard. Although he was originally a Prince using a rough way of speaking, one could not imagine it was a royalty influenced by pirates.


Everything was going as planned, until noon today. Beginning with the village of Luarca, they had burned down several fishing villages, and after putting on a ship those among the captured villagers, who were likely to be sold as slaves, Elliot leading the pirates, advanced in the highway in high spirits.

Though of course they also attacked the villages along the highway, when he asked about Tallard Graham and the movement of the army he led to the villages potentates captured at that time, a surprising answer came back.

The Fort Lux fell by Tallard’s attack, and though General Lester was defeated, it was said that he safely escaped to somewhere.

Elliot immediately left the highway, and decided to rush to the Fort Lux. It was because if this story was true, then there was no doubt they would be struck by a surprise attack before reaching Valverde if they continued advancing in the highway. He only hastened the march willing to drop out (lose) up to half of the whole army. Then, it was this night attack. He was amazed by the speed of response of the other party.

“There should be dozens of small villages ahead……”

When he decided to move toward the Fort Lux, Elliot intended to attack those villages, to resupply necessary goods, food being the priority. At the time of landing (the boats), the food, which the Prince prepared, was only for four days. In order to act promptly, he gave it to the pirates without preparing the load for the troops. Even if they came ashore taking aback the enemy, it had no meaning if they did not quickly proceed with their next move.


In addition, the act of looting was the quick (and easy) way in order to maintain the pirates' morale.

However, if their enemy came this far, then it was another story.

''---That bastard Tallard has been relying on people’s support. Rather than abandoning the people of villages, he makes them escape. And there is no doubt that he would either retrieve the food, which was in the villages, or burn it.''

“Until we take back the Fort Lux, we will be unable to supply food and water. It would be better to think so.”

Though he requested to transport the food and goods to his alliance’s partner Muozinel in preparation for the time there was something, Elliot army was constantly moving. It was likely to happen in several days.

He poured a really lukewarm wine in a silver cup, and gulped it with violent hand movements. At that time, the Pirate who was keeping watch outside reported that a visitor was there. Without even hiding his bad mood, Elliot ordered to let him in.

Entering after an interval of about ten counts was a young man in his mid-twenties. With a high stature, he was the owner of a body, while the description of rough rather than sturdy well-matched. His arms were especially thick.

Wearing a leather armor, which applied ornament, he held a bow as long as his height in his hand. Elliot stood from the chair revealing a smile, and extended his hands so as to welcome him.

“I give you my thanks, Hamish. We were able to repel the enemy thanks to you.”

The man named Hamish without changing his stern expression bowed.

“For that matter, there is one thing I came to ask his Highness.”


“……Is there something that bothered you?”

At the time, when the late King Zacharias was still alive, Elliot, with the comfort of second Prince also assisted him; he gathered aristocrats of low class about the same age, and led a loose life. Hamish was one of his libertine companions. Now he was one of the very few subordinates that Elliot could trust.

At the time when Jermaine and Elliot had divided the country in two and begun to fight, though Hamish had officially declared neutrality and adopted a watchful stance, he had actually secretly kept in touch with Elliot, and sent various informations. It was also this man, who appealed to Lester.

With his befitting peerage of Viscount as a small aristocrat, his territory was small, and he could only move a few soldiers.

However, the approximately four hundred soldiers under Hamish’s command were somewhat special (unique).

They were skilled in the use of longbow.

The arrow shot from a longbow, was powerful. In short distance, it could even pierce chain mail or iron armor.

The flying distance was also awesome. It could also shoot at an enemy, who was at 300 Alsins or beyond. It was a distance that could be never reached by average archer with an ordinary bow. It was not impossible with the crossbow, but its quick firing was far inferior.

Though power to draw the bowstring to the limit was absolutely necessary to handle it, the longbow users, who provided for it thanks to repeated training, were a redoubtable group.

Hamish, who was the Imperial Prince Commander of those longbow users, making a sullen face, said.


“Among the enemy, there is someone, who possesses archery skills out of the ordinary.”

Hamish raised his voice. To be exact, because he was reminded of the appearance of an opponent he did not even know, his feelings were highly strung, and his voice naturally became clamorous.

“That person could shoot (aim) an arrow at a distance of more than 300 Alsins, moreover on horseback, and accurately aim.”

Elliot folded his arms, and looked up at Hamish’s large build. Frowning as he understood the meaning of his subordinate’s words, he put on an amazed face.

“I do not think it possible to shoot an arrow at a distance of 300 Alsins with an ordinary arrow. Didn’t you perhaps mistake it with a crossbow or a longbow?”

“Two commanders of my hundred bows squad were killed; both with ordinary arrows.”

A hundred bows commander literally referred to the person, who commanded hundred soldiers’ users of longbow. Though there were four commanders of hundred bows under Hamish, they had decreased to half in one night. It was a severe loss.

“As the report already said, when we were fighting the enemy's cavalrymen force, we were struck by an attack from another squad of the enemy. The bow user, who was among them, shot the arrows from the distance of 300 Alsins and killed the commanders of the 100 bows users one after another.”

In Hamish’s voice there were not only anger and sadness, but some admiration was also included.

Because the commanders of 100 bows users were defeated, the soldiers were confused, and they suffered a few sacrifices since the counter-attack was not in time.

His anger and sadness were for those victims. On the other hand, Hamish was able to have respect for the owner of an outstanding skill, even though the enemy.


“Your Highness, it’s not that I want to make a big fuss about it. But there is a redoubtable enemy. Shooting an arrow on top of a running horse and in the confusion of the battlefield of midnight, and hitting the target aimed at, he is a monster in the bow use.”

Emphasizing the latter half of his speech, Hamish feverishly (enthusiastically) explained. While being a little surprised at his attitude, Elliot waved his hand as to order him to settle down. The user of the longbow regained his composure, bowed his head and apologized for the impoliteness.

“I understood the story. So you want to ask me about that bow user, huh. However, unfortunately, I have not also heard of such a guy__”

Stopping in mid-sentence, Elliot suddenly stiffened his expression.

“Speaking of which, I heard that that bastard Tallard excels in the use of the bow……”

The voice of the second Prince of Asvarre was rapid. It was tinged with a small carelessness. The feelings he harbored towards Tallard were that of hatred and disdain, but also fear.

Before about half a year from the beginning of the strife with Jermaine, Elliot had never won against Tallard. On the contrary, he was even forced to surrender in local battles.

Elliot, who was born Prince, served by all and raised as a Prince, was naturally looking down at Tallard, who was born and raised in a fishing village, but the fact that he could not win with only that, no matter how he fought, was disgraceful, and terrifying at the same time.


“No, Your Highness. It was not Lord Tallard.”

To Hamish who stated so in a moderate tone, Elliot threw a dangerous gaze.

“Did you see the appearance?”

“Only for a moment. There was no composure until he shot the arrow.”

That “there was no composure” was because the soldiers were confused because the commanders of 100 bows users had been defeated in succession. But, without mentioning that, Hamish only described the enemy's features.

“It is a youth, who has not probably reached yet 20 years old. His hair color is darkish. With an appearance with a plain bow on an ordinary leather armor, he is deemed not to be an aristocrat. There are certainly even among the soldiers, those who have seen that person shoot, I confirm that.”

“It was not Tallard, huh……”

Though Elliot inwardly took a break of relief, he also understood at the same time that it was a worrying situation. It meant that other than Tallard, there was another bow user with excellent skills, who was on the enemy side.

“If there is such a talented person, I thought that his name would be known.”

“It cannot be help if someone we don’t know. Can you win against that bow user?”

“……If we are separated from 400 Alsins.”

The longbow of Hamish could shoot (aim) at a target in 400 Alsins or more, if the bowstring was drawn to the maximum. Though he naturally had skill, it was a distance, which could be reached, because it was the longbow.


“Alright. Your squad will be placed in the stronghold as bodyguards to protect me. We have a few hundred here. If there is only one enemy, then there is no need to worry.”

“Yes. However, Your Highness must take care. Until we approach a distance where arrows can reach, we have to subjugate the enemy’s General, by all means, and win. Since the enemy is able to fight like that.”

As Elliot nodded to Hamish’s words, he conveyed the plans of hereafter. That’s, recapturing the Fort Lux and heading toward Valverde after that.

“Will the food be enough?”

It was what Hamish first asked. Elliot answered in disappointment.

“We cannot afford it. Therefore, we cannot recklessly act.”

“How about threatening the nearby towns such as Salime that they deliver food?”

“If we stop on the way, it will probably give time to Tallard.”

It was an assault to beat Tallard in one go without giving him room to set up a countermeasure. Though it could not be helped for the Fort Lux, they could not afford to stop on the way more than this until they captured Valverde.

“Oh yeah, Hamish. I will show you something nice.”

Changing the topic, Elliot stood up with a smile. He came out of the tent followed by Hamish. They went in the tent directly spreading nearby. To the guard standing in front of the tent, they confirmed whether there was not anyone who approached. The guard answered in a faltering tone.


“There were some people, but none have gone in.”

As Elliot satisfactorily (contently) nodded, he entered the tent.

“How do you feel, Sofia-dono?”

Therein was a young woman. Her white skin got dirty with the forced long trip, and although her golden hair, which extended until her waist and, having lost its gloss, became dull, her beautiful face, which possessed both intellect and loveliness, was also not ruined (damaged) in the slightest. Though the color of fatigue was deep in her face, her strong will was felt in her eyes of beryl.

Though her delicate shoulders were naked, her rich bosom, her slender waist and her legs which smoothly extended, were wrapped in a pale green color dress. The edge of her dress also became loose, and dirt was conspicuous (showed dirt).

And above all, making those, who saw her, feel miserable was probably the boorish iron chain that restrained her thin arms. A heavy iron ball was rolling at the tip of the chain, and put her in the situation where it was difficult to even stand up.

She was Sofia Obertas. A Vanadis of Zchted. Far from being frightened by Elliot, who was undressing her whole body with his eyes, she even revealed with a stout-hearted smile and responded.

“Thanks to you, I am feeling at ease, Your Highness.”

Without replying to her words, Elliot looked back at Hamish.

“Hey, Hamish. Here is a Vanadis of Zchted Sofia Obertas-dono. Don’t you think she is really too much beautiful of a woman to hand over to Muozinel?”


Hamish did not immediately answer. He was captivated by Sofi’s beauty, and was just standing on the spot in blank amazement. It took time of about three counts until the longbow user noticed Elliot’s gaze and came to his senses.

To Hamish with his face dyed red, who apologized for his impoliteness, Elliot generously nodded. However, he did not also forget to give him a warning in a lower voice.

“Hey Hamish. I have executed nearly ten pirates for this woman’s safety. She is that valuable. Even if it is you, I cannot do an exception.”

“I am aware of it.”

After answering, Hamish turned his line of sight to both arms of Sofi.

“However, Your Highness. Isn’t it going a little too far by tying a weak woman with a chain?”

These words seemed to have come out from pure sympathy. But, Elliot scornfully laughed.

“I hear a Vanadis of Zchted would put any man to shame, and she is equal to a thousand soldiers. Moreover, my army does not have that. Would you not agree this degree of measure is essential?”

To Elliot’s banter, Hamish also nodded. Although he placed guards at the key points, he could not expect anything for the discipline. In fact, there were two thousand casualties during the ensuing night attack.

“Sofia-dono. I will have you bear for a while again. Since Muozinel should come to take you in a few days. Just to tell you, I do not mind if you want to run away. But, if you do so, the guys who are in the Capital will die.”


The guys who were in the Capital, were the people who had served as Sofi’s escort when she came to Asvarre as a messenger. After making Sofi that he caught a hostage and making them surrender, Elliot imprisoned them in the Capital.

In fact, Elliot did not think he was safe at all even if he had hostages. He even considered the possibility that Sofi would forsake the hostages. Since he would naturally do so if he were in her position.

“Oh yeah, Hamish. About the bow user of 300 Alsins. If you bring him down, I might have to take some things into consideration. So that Muozinel would not learn of it.”

As he spoke in a tone untelling to exactly how serious he was, Elliot turned his back to Sofi and left the tent along with Hamish. He had had somewhat of a change of spirit. Although the discomfort continued, there was Muozinel as an ally here.

''---That’s right, no matter how much the likes of Tallard struggles, it won’t change anything.''

As he parted with Hamish, Elliot revealed a smile and returned to his tent.

Confirming signs of Elliot and Hamish leaving, Sofi tightly grasped the hem of her dress so strong that her hands whitened. She was irritated at her present situation.


''---Nothing is done yet. I must bear it for now.''

She eagerly persuaded herself. If possible, she wanted to cut off this annoying chain and escape. Although her {{furigana|Dragonic Tool|Viralt}}, Light Flower was not in her hands now, if she as the owner strongly wished it, she could also make it to appear in her hands right away.

She knew well how much awful Elliot army marching and camping were. After being taken down from the ship, Sofi was put on a shabby door (panel) with both arms being tied with a chain, and was transported up to here (so far).

It would not be difficult for her to escape, if she felt like it, but there were two reasons why she did not do so. One was, like Elliot had also said, the existence of hostages, who were held in the Capital of Asvarre.

If she escaped on her own, that pirate Prince would kill them without hesitation. Even if it became a problem in the future, there were pawns called pirates, who would force all the responsibility onto him.

The other reason was that Sofi was not familiar with the geography of this area. Although she investigated in detail about Asvarre Main Island before her departure (from Zchted), partly because those of the continental territory were running out of time, she did not investigate that much.

By walking along the highway, the chance to be found would be high. On the other hand, by walking on the mountains or in the forest, there would be the danger of an accident. For a woman walking alone (by herself), what was the most frightening was not only beasts or bandits. Besides, she had also accumulated fatigue in her prisoner life. There was no confidence to escape to a safe place.


“It saves me to think that there’s still hope ……”

From the conversation exchanged between the pirates on the way when she was transported, and from the fragments of idle talk she heard in the tent, Sofi had roughly grasped the current situation. There was the fact that Elliot army and Tallard army would clash in a few days.

Elliot's defeat would be desirable, but even if he won, there would probably be some kind of change. Moreover, even when the messenger of Muozinel would come to take her, she might find an opportunity to defuse this situation.

As Sofi was lying down, she rounded her back as to protect herself. By taking a rest, her fatigue could be relieved even if a little and she had to recover her physical strength.

''---Speaking of which.''

Sofi suddenly remembered the words of Elliot, when he left this tent. A bow user of three hundred Alsins. She was wondering the meaning of a bow user, who could fly an arrow in 300 Alsins. If it was right, she was familiar with someone capable of such a feat.

The face of a youth with darkish red hair born in Brune flashed into her head.

''--- It can’t be, right……? It’s Asvarre here. There’s no reason for that child to be here.''

As the day sank, Sofi quietly fell asleep.

<noinclude>

==References==
<references />

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| Back to [[Madan_no_Ou_to_Vanadis:Volume07_Illustrations|Illustrations]]
| Return to [[Madan_no_Ou_to_Vanadis|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Madan_no_Ou_to_Vanadis:Volume_07_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
|-
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</noinclude>

Kaze no Stigma:Volume1 Chapter6

2013-08-16T00:30:30Z

Nwms8: /* 2 */ TsoiLing -> Tsoi Rin to match later chapters

== Chapter Six - Decisive Battle ==

=== 1 ===
Ksssshaaaaaaaaaaaa......

The forest rustled uneasily, shifting from the sounds made by the forest inhabitants, who were running away with all their might from the immense youki. The bugs, which had no means of sensing the danger, were unable to withstand the abnormal pressure and disappeared without a trace. Even animals that were unable to escape perished from coming in contact with the youki. The sound of their corpses raining out of the trees and littering the forest floor resounded throughout the forest. There were no visible wounds, yet they were all dead.

All sound ceased. All the youki within Ryuuya was released, and its mere existence spread death around the world.

Ayano raised Enraiha to face the silently watching Ryuuya. However, she was unable to do any more than that - She couldn't even take a step in his direction. The youki, which felt as though it would freeze her blood, petrified her. And not only that, she could not stop her knees from trembling.

An immense fear had gripped Ayano's soul. It was difficult enough just to force herself to stand there without running away - Advancing was impossible.

Ayano had inherited Enraiha at the young age of twelve, which might have been a mistake. Because of this, Ayano had never fought an enemy more powerful than herself. Since she was always able to defeat her enemies with brute strength, there was no way for her to fight strategically when she was the one at a disadvantage.

To put it simply, after suffering her first defeat, Ayano was unable to find the courage to go up against Ryuuya.

“What are you doing? Go on!”

Kazuma said to the trembling Ayano. He continued,

“Don't worry! I'll be with you.”

"How can I not worry?!"

Ayano retorted angrily. How dare this man say "Don't worry" so casually?

“There's no reason to run now, right? I won't run this time. Trust me.”

Who could trust someone who just said "I'll run if there's a reason"? Ayano stared back to see Kazuma smiling deviously.

“This...... This is the last time. If you betray me again, I'll kill you first!”

“No problem! I swear to God.”

“......Which God?”

Ayano gave him an undisguisedly suspicious glare, but Kazuma simply replies with his untrustworthy smile,

"Who knows? But it doesn't matter who I pray to! I'm an atheist, after all."

Ayano could no longer stay angry by then, so she merely muttered in despair,

"......Enough. I'll leave the support to you."

"Leave it to me."

Ignoring Kazuma's mocking salute, Ayano dashed forward. Though she didn't, and probably wouldn't ever, realize it, the fear that had gripped her was now greatly reduced by this meaningless chat.

Ayano closed in on Ryuuya, but he took to the air the moment she reached within a few steps of him.

“......Huh?”

Ayano gave a sound of shock as she stared after Ryuuya, who had flown past her.

“Idiot! Don't get outmaneuvered so easily!”

"You...... Even if you say that......"

Completely ignoring Ayano, Ryuuya aimed straight for Kazuma, showering him with wind blades as he descended. Kazuma met this with a strong updraft, crashing it into the black blades.

But that was just a feint. Ryuuya suddenly lashed out with his hidden claw, slicing down with demonic strength that could easily rip through a person as if he was a piece of tofu.

Kazuma, moving forward at an angle, barely managed to dodge it. As he did so, he lightly took the enemy's right arm and slightly diverted its path.

Ryuuya, missing, lost his balance due to the lack of resistance. Kazuma immediately took the opportunity to knee his enemy's liver through the side of his abdomen. This powerful strike, which was coupled with a strong explosion of ki, smashed into Ryuuya, who was still toppling forward, arcing his body like a bow and throwing him back into the air. Chasing the flying body, Kazuma slammed his elbow into the enemy's chin moments before it touched the ground. Ryuuya's head was bent so far back that he could almost see his own back.

A normal person, or even a powerful wrestler, would have instantly died from such a violent attack. However, the demonized Ryuuya easily shrugged off the damage.

In fact, in mid-flight, Ryuuya directed his momentum into his right knee, aiming straight for Kazuma's jaw.

Even though the attack came from what should have been a blind spot, to Kazuma, who is synchronized with the wind spirits, there is no such thing. He steps forward, leaning to the left to avoid Ryuuya's knee, grabs the front of Ryuuya’s shirt, at the same time sweeping his left leg horizontally.

In a masterful example of judo, Ryuuya’s body is flipped. With Ryuuya's head about to fall flat on the ground, Kazuma strikes with his palm. Not to punch downwards, but to press. He bends down to push the enemy’s head straight into the ground, and a comfortable reaction is sent through his shoulder.

However, Kazuma did not feel Ryuuya’s skull crack. Realizing instantly that he has not given his enemy a fatal blow, Kazuma uses his foot to crush Ryuuya’s head, who lay on the ground facing the sky. The kick instead lands on Ryuuya's crossed arms, as he blocks Kazuma's attack.

”Chut!”

Kazuma quickly kicks away the arm that is about to grab his other leg, and jumps backwards to put some distance between them.

(To not even faint after such a fierce attack, does attacking the brain have no effect on him? To just what extent has he been transformed to a demon?……) Kazuma grumbles unhappily.

As though beating up a steel statue, he feels as if he has accomplished nothing. Ryuuya's body quickly swings back up, directly from his lying down position. This simple action is far beyond what a human can achieve, almost like a zombie from the movies.

Ryuuya releases countless wind blades as he gets up, and then, at a speed even faster than the wind blades, strikes at Kazuma. The wind blades and his claws reach Kazuma at the same time.

“Guahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

At the same time as the shout, Kazuma forcefully stretches his hand out towards the right arm that was swung at him. The wind forms a rapidly spinning whirlpool, as if that hand had squeezed them out. The rapid flow of air becomes a shockwave, destroying the wind blades, and Ryuuya is blown back into the air like a puppet.

It seems for a moment that he is unable to take this blow, but only for a moment, as Ryuuya adjusts his posture in the air and hovers at a fixed altitude, beginning to slowly retreat.

“Don’t even think about escaping!”

Kazuma knocks the air above Ryuuya downwards. The figure that was originally gliding away slowly, suddenly flew downwards at a sharp angle, as if swatted by something, and with a speed way beyond a free-falling object, hits the ground. Ryuuya was just able to land on his two feet, his body unable to move, stuck to the ground due to the great air pressure.

As Ryuuya stands there paralyzed, Kazuma quickly closes the distance.

The wind that was forcefully blowing downwards doesn't seem to lay a finger on Kazuma. Kazuma instead seems as though drawn into it, and runs quickly inside the raging winds without hindrance.

“How…… powerful, that guy is actually so powerful……”

Ayano is totally taken in by the scene in front of her eyes, completely mesmerized by the sight of Kazuma fighting. She had been unable to land even a single hit upon Ryuuya, and yet Kazuma could fight on an even level with or an even higher level than Ryuuya. Skillfully avoiding the attacks of the opponent, retaliating with perfectly timed counters, and slowly accumulating damage. This is, she realizes, what it means to be “an experienced fighter."

Forgetting that she is part of the fight as well, Ayano stands there enraptured, her eyes focused solely on Kazuma.

“------------------------------!”

When Kazuma is just a few steps away, Ryuuya, who is still trapped on the ground, looses a silent roar. Black wind begins to rampage, breaking the bonds that had restrained him just moments before.

In the same movement with which he straightens his knees, he stretches his claws out towards the incoming Kazuma, who is running directly at him, and aims directly for the throat, executing an insane counterattack.

Kazuma, however, does not stop. Instead, as he takes his last step, he bends down as much as possible. Reaching to the far ends of his consciousness to dodge the pitch black claws passing before him, he places his palm on Ryuuya's [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#tanden|''tanden'']].

Kazuma steps onto the ground firmly. From there, gathering power which goes past his knees straight to his waist, and from the waist to his shoulders, like a spiral, and continues to become stronger as it continued to be transmitted. From his shoulder to the front of his arm, after all the energy in his body has gathered, it is released from his palm. An immense ki is released from his body through his palm, dense enough that it feels as if it could pierce through the enemy.

“Hah!”

Accompanying his shout, a force great enough to blow even an African elephant to pieces exploded right into Ryuuya’s tanden, the core of a human’s central nervous system. Ryuuya’s body was blown away with such power he ended up embedded in a stone wall.

The ki of a person circulated around the body, originating in the tanden. Therefore, this place was the most vital of all vital areas for a [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Practitioner|''jutsushi'']]. Once the flow of ki has been disrupted, no matter how powerful a jutsushi might be, he would be left unable to use any [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Jutsu|''jutsu'']] for some time. Or that would have been the case, had Ryuuya been a human being.

Huuuuu!!

“Muah!”

Ryuuya doesn't even look injured as he rapidly releases the blades of wind once more. Kazuma barely dodges in the nick of time, and hurriedly places some distance between them.

“Damn! Bastard! That didn’t work! That guy really, whole-heartedly doesn’t want to be human anymore!”

“…… whole-heartedly…… What kind of description is that……”

Hearing Ayano’s subconscious remark, Kazuma shouts out loud, “Don’t just stand there and watch the show! You're supposed to be the attacker, aren't you? So why don’t you grab your big torch and go beat him up!”

“Big……”

(Big torch?)

To use such a crude description of the treasure of the Kannagi clan?!

“You, I'll have a talk with you about this once this is over!”

Ignoring Ayano’s furious look, Kazuma waves his hand to hush her, “Don’t talk so much, ''attack'' little kitten."

Though her eyes burn with murder, Ayano steps forward. Perhaps reflecting her anger, Enraiha shines with a glaring glow unlike any before.

(Nee-sama, you can do it……)

Ren prays devoutly for the victory of the two.

He can only pray, since he does not possess the power to participate in their battle.

His inability to help deeply hurting his heart, Ren murmurs, ”If only I had more power……”

”No, no, your 'bit' of power is just right.”

”!?”

Ren turns in shock, and looks where there shouldn't be anyone.

“To break the seal placed upon our God, that bit of power is enough.”

The voice sounded like it had come from the opposite direction of just earlier. Ren turns his head once more, and calls out in a rising tone, “It…… it is you, Hyoue! Come out now!”

Shaaaaaaaaaaa, the sound of bushes rustling in the wind, this time from the left. Out of Ren's raised palm, fire begins to erupt in a rapid stream.

In short order, the withered plants catch fire and burn furiously, but there is no sign of Hyoue. Ren glances around frantically as Hyoue's coarse voice again sounds in his ears.

“It isn't that you lack strength. It's that you're still just a brat. Your technique is what's lacking!”

”Shut……Shut up!”

Flames emerge from Ren’s body. In order to prevent the enemy from moving behind him, he begins to search for Hyoue with a body wrapped in flame.

(I can’t find his presence!)

He has absolutely no idea where Hyoue may be. From the beginning, En-jutsushis are a bit unbalanced in their combat abilities. Though their attacking strength is the strongest, their detection abilities are among the weakest, let alone comparable to Fuu-jutsushis.

As an En-jutsushi, Ren was still inexperienced, and was unable to handle the jutsu that the experienced Fuu-jutsushi Hyoue was using to conceal himself.

“Still too immature. A flame of that level is unable to extinguish the hatred within me,” Hyoue whispers in his ear.

Though the direction from which Ren had heard Hyoue's voice was directly behind him, he could not sense his presence at all.

“Behind? Wh-Where?!”

He turned around several times, always failing to see Hyoue. No matter how swift his actions, the voice from behind never stopped.

“Over here!”

”Over here!”

”Over here!”

--Over here-- --Over here-- --Over here-- --Over here--

This line continues to repeat like an echo. The unease of being unable to see his enemy, and the rising fear and nervousness of fighting in actual combat, stretch Ren’s mind to its limit.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Driven by fear, he desires power. The power to eliminate the enemy. The power to destroy 'everything,' the power to rid himself of his fear...

In response to Ren’s scream, everywhere around, fires explode into existence. The fire spirits that had been released indefinitely, obeying only their own desires for survival and rampage, burn everything to ash.

Everything the flames touched was burnt. The forest becomes a sea of flame, with mighty pillars of fire that reach the heavens and shake the earth.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

Ren, who is panicking after losing control, is attempting to create a Hell on Earth, [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Ren|just like his name]]. He continues to summon a massive amount of spirits, surpassing even the limits of his ability to control. The trees turn to ash in the extreme heat, and the already scorched earth begins to melt.

“Ahhhhhh……ah?”

But at precisely this moment, a cold gust of wind blows past his body, cooling his head and calming his madness in an instant. The youth, shocked, turns to look in the direction the wind originated from.

Kazuma was looking attentively at his brother. Basking in those clear eyes, Ren returns to normal.

(He is looking at me!)

Kazuma looks at him with boundless trust.

“Nii-“

(Nii-sama!)

Immediately after meeting Ren's eyes, Kazuma shifts his gaze away, focusing once more on the battle with Ryuuya.

Briefly disappointed, Ren remembers once more what he needs to do. Calming his breathing, he prepares to take on the enemy's assault.

"Your brother seems to have abandoned you.”

Hyoue’s voice rings mockingly from behind his ear. But Ren, his head clear once again, recognizes that his enemy isn't actually behind him. It was just a diversion, using his jutsu to mobilize the wind to carry his voice to Ren's ears. This was a very basic technique everyone in the Fuuga clan knew. Such a simple fact, and yet he hadn't noticed. Ren was ashamed at his immaturity.

"But he can't be blamed for doing so. Even working together, those two don't have a chance, let alone the luxury of taking time out to protect someone as useless as you."

Ho! Ho! Ho!

This time, hearing Hyoue's eerie laughter has no effect on Ren. He calmly searches out his presence, at the same time rejecting Hyoue's babbled nonsense.

"You're wrong."

”What is wrong?” Hyoue replies calmly.

Hyoue holds no doubts of his control of the situation. He might even think that this is not a fight, but a hunt, just a cat toying with a mouse before the kill. This is the weak point Ren grasped for.

“Nii-sama did not abandon me. It is because he believes in me, believes that I am more than enough to deal with scum like you.”

“What daring words. A little punk like you who can't even find me, how are you going to defeat me??”

Indeed, in terms of detection capability, En-jutsushi were far inferior to Fuu-jutsushi. Unlike fire, air was everywhere. One of the necessary conditions for a human to survive, and the one that occupies the most space, is air. The difference in amount of space occupied directly affects the amount of information obtainable.

(But, if it is now...)

The flames that Ren had released when berserk had burnt the trees in the area, and continued to burn fiercely. The density of fire spirits in the area had increased to a point that surpassed reason. With things like this, his abilities weren't less than any Fuu-jutsushi's. Ren closes his eyes, and opens his ears to listen to the voices of the spirits.

“What’s wrong? You want to beat someone like me, and yet you seem to be taking your time?”

Sounds of mockery come from every direction. A wind blade passes by his cheek, and flies straight on. Ren completely lets go of everything, and synchronizes himself with the spirits.

His five senses disappear, slowly replaced with the senses of the spirits. Relying neither on light, nor relying on sound, but instead relying on [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Theurgy|theurgy]] to view the world. Despite being faced with an abnormality which would drive a regular human insane, Ren adapts very easily.

(Gotcha!)

It should be said he didn't actually detect Hyoue's presence. Rather, within the areas he searched, only one refused the invasion of fire spirits. Hyoue had to be at this spot. Ren felt confident in his guess.

“Over there!”

Ren raises his palm to release a fireball. The divine power of purification slices through...

Empty space. Just empty space.

“You fool, where do you think you're aiming?……”

Seeing the flame travel in completely the wrong direction, Hyoue, concealed in a [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Kekkai|''kekkai'']] of wind, reveals his scorn.

Only to change expressions immediately. He watches as the flames around him branch out and rain down in a curtain of flame, aimed directly at him.

“Wh-What!?”

Hyoue is so filled with shock his eyes almost pop out of his head. The fire rains down from all directions and all at once.

With every escape route cut off by the incoming flame, this was not a predicament that could be resolved by trickery. To defend himself, he has no choice but to force the flames aside with sheer power. But Hyoue does not possess such power. Judging by strength alone, Ren wins handily.

“Wahhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”

As his kekkai is pierced by the rain of fire like so much paper, Hyoue gives off a pitiful scream.

“It...it worked……?” Sensing the kekkai's disappearance, Ren says quietly, staring into space.

The trick he used was really simple. There had been no need for him to create the attacking fire himself, as he had been surrounded by burning flames all along.

Ren had purposely loosed a flame at an empty spot to trick Hyoue into letting his guard down, and then had instead used the flames that were burning around Hyoue to attack.

Had Hyoue been fighting seriously, he might have seen through the trick. It was his overconfident attitude of seeing Ren as prey, and not as an enemy, that forced him to suffer such a dreadful attack.

“You……you are really something……Kid……”

”------!?”

A black shape, still roughly discernible as human, rolls just in front of Ren. No matter how you look at it, it was just so much charcoal, and yet it still moved somehow. Every time it moved, pieces of meat that had been turned to ash fell away, revealing pitch black skin below, skin that did not seem human.

“Hoho…… Watch closely…… This is the power I obtained by forming a contract with the youma - a power surpassing human ability! Do you get it now, kid? Your flames just won’t work against me. Hohoho…… Hahahahaha!!”

“You foolish thing.”

Ren's sudden speech, in a tone cold enough as to come from someone else, causes Hyoue's laughter to come to an abrupt halt.

“My flames, useless? How dare a piece of charcoal speak like a human being? Since you've already given up on being human, nothing more need be said. Because the Kannagi flames are purifying flames. A divine power bestowed for the destruction of inhuman monsters like you!”

A golden light cleanses away the dense youki. The rampaging flames appear to be absorbed into the purifying light. The fire weakens, and slowly disappears. The formerly uncontrolled fire spirits serve to make the golden light shine all the more brilliantly.

The flames that once expanded explosively now are beginning to shrink, and yet the temperature grows. Condensed into a high density semi-materialized flame, emitting a syrupy glow, it begins to revolve around Ren.

“I, as a member of Kannagi main family, declare! Hyoue Kazamaki: the many lives that you've taken away shall now be repaid with your own!” surrounded by that blurry glow, Ren says loudly.

Faced with a tiny body that yet unleashes an immense pressure, Hyoue curls up in fear.

This is the descendant of a respected and powerful bloodline. The top of the En-jutsushis, a rightful son of the Kannagi.

A great power, formed of a thousand years of training, is about to awaken...

=== 2 ===

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

Striking with all her might, Ayano chops Enraiha downwards.

Clang!

Ryuuya's claws make a clear sound as they deflect the blade.

(Even Enraiha cannot cut through, just what are those claws made of?)

Ayano immediately ignores the question that pops up in her mind. There's no time to think about this, I need to find some way to get past those claws...

Ayano increases the rate at which she strikes, including a number of feints in her attacks, to find a hole in Ryuuya’s defense. His defense, unfortunately, is impenetrable.

“What is that idiot doing……” Kazuma spits in disgust.

The fear of loss yet lingers in Ayano’s heart, causing her to forget her usual style. Adding those tricks to her attack was meaningless; she should focus on a single lethal strike instead.

At that moment, Enraiha finds its way into Ryuuya’s shoulder, cleanly severing his right arm.

(Now I've got him!)

Ayano strikes at his right side with all her strength. Because of this, she fails to notice his right arm, lurking behind her back, flying directly towards her.

“Behind you!”

Kazuma's voice and the attack come at almost the same time. Ayano jumps quickly, and the right arm speeds past her like a lance.

“That was close……”

The danger wasn't over though. Ryuuya suddenly appears in front of Ayano, still in mid-air, the claws on his remaining left arm glittering with deadly intent.

Dong!

Ayano somehow manages to block, but with her legs hanging in mid-air, she is unable to hold her position. Knocked away like a cannonball, with no way to stop herself, she slams into a nearby tree.

“Argh…… Ah……”

Perhaps feeling that it would be too easy, with her offering so little sport, Ryuuya opts not to pursue, instead leisurely reattaching his right arm. Wriggling muscle tissue and nerves extend from the severed arm as the same extend from the other end, merging together. After but moments, there is no hint of the injury - his arm was completely whole once more.

And yet Ryuuya still shows no sign of attacking. He lifts his head to stare at the sky, raising his arms as if to grasp the sky with his hands.

“------------!“

The instant he realizes what that gesture signifies, Kazuma sprints forward as fast as possible. Hugging Ayano's head to his chest, he forcefully slams her back onto the floor.

“Wah!”

With no time to pay it any mind, he ignores Ayano's strangled cry of protest. Lying as low to the ground as he can, he erects a kekkai of even greater density around them.

“What are you doing all of a sudden?” Ayano shouts, her nose glowing red from the pressure.

Kazuma immediately retorts at a volume twice her own, “You idiot! For what reason did you think it was necessary to engage in close combat? If you allow the enemy the time it needs to unleash such a powerful attack, all earlier effort would be rendered meaningless.”

Confronted with such a decisive answer that left no room for questions, Ayano is at a loss for words.

“……Huh……? Powerful attack……”

As she turns her head, as instructed by Kazuma, the scene revealing itself before her eyes leaves her at a loss for words. A spectacular pillar of wind connecting heaven and earth, a great vortex that tumbles as it spins, it is...

"What is...that?"

"What do you mean 'what is that?' As you can see, what 'they are' are tornadoes! Four, no five...by the way, what is the unit for tornadoes?"

Kazuma's randomly asked question does not register in Ayano's consciousness.

She gazes at the scene, as if spellbound. "Here is the roar of nature that hurls giant boulders and uproots giant trees" is all she can think about.

“……There's no way……”

”Ahhh? What did you say?”

”There's no way we can win!” Ayano turns her head to shout.

The eyes that had earlier been full of fight now carry tears. As if humbled, she falls to her feet beside Kazuma.

"It's impossible to win! Our enemy is 'that' kind of monster, just what do you expect me to do?! There's just no way to win!"

Ayano's eyes reveal an absolute despair transcending fear. "Eyes just like 'that' person's in the past" Kazuma thinks to himself.

<nowiki>--</nowiki> Did I not seek power because I hate seeing those eyes?

(Tsoi Rin...)

The weak girl that I was unable to protect in the past. No matter how difficult, no matter how painful, the girl who wanted to live on no matter what.

“I was not born into the world to be devoured by a devil.”

(Those eyes shone with the light of hope, and the one who erased that light was me.)

Because he had been weak, because he had had no power.

But things were different now. He had been defeated back then, and was helpless to do anything but watch as the girl he had sworn to protect had had her soul devoured...but things were different now.

Whether for self-fulfillment or to atone for the past, all he wanted now was to help the girl trembling before him.

Her eyes were filled with tears. Just before the first tears fall, Kazuma pokes her forehead with his finger.

Ayano leans back slightly, looking at him with wet eyes, as Kazuma smiles.

“Our jobs were clear from the start right? All you need to do is take that blade and slash Ryuuya. I'll deal with his wind.”

Ayano jabs her finger towards the tornadoes as she shrieks, “Deal with……? Tornadoes?"

Kazuma merely shrugs.

“Well, about that…… I'm sure there's a way. So, you just take care of him. Can you do that?”

She hesitates for a brief moment before nodding her head determinedly.

“Very good. Then let the match continue!”

Kazuma lifts Ayano, still sitting on him, with his arms and rises. Witnessing unbelievable arm and waist strength, Ayano's eyes widen, but even more shocking was what happened afterwards.

“……Wa……Ah……”

Before Ayano, a path opens. A path, surrounded by a kekkai of wind suppressing the tornadoes, straight to Ryuuya.

“Go!”

Receiving a gentle push from that voice, Ayano instinctively dashes forward.

“Okay, even though I said all that just now…… What should I do?”

After forcing an opening through the tornadoes, Kazuma grumbles to himself. Because he had boasted about it in front of someone else, he had no choice but to think of a way to take care of those five tornadoes...

"If only Ayano was of some use, then the enemy might not have the effort to spare to maintain those tornadoes...But an originally weak girl, now so scared witless she can barely walk, can't be of any use..."

The simplest method would be to create tornadoes of equal magnitude to cancel them out...

(……Nah, far too much trouble!)

Even the thought made him feel tired. There had to be an easier way...

“Wait a minute, a tornado is actually the upward flow of air right…… in that case…… Good, let’s do this.”

Kazuma lets the column of wind comprising the tornado rise even higher, raising the air to the lower stratosphere.

The air brought by the updraft cools rapidly, and the water particles it contains become tiny drops of ice that combine to form hailstones. As they fall once again, the hailstones melt, cooling the surrounding air even further, making the air heavy, and it drops down at a high speed. This great downward airflow is known as a "downburst."

The natural top speed of a downburst is comparable to a tornado, and Kazuma speeds it up even further. This section of air, pulled down from an extremely high altitude, easily surpasses the speed of sound.

The supersonic wind blade slices the tornadoes wide open, and the accompanying shock wave completely destroys what remains. Without any notable resistance, the raging winds easily erases any hint of the tornadoes, while directing all extra energy towards Ryuuya.

“Gwahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

In the midst of the thunder of destruction came a sharp scream, lacking of femininity.

(Gwah? Ohhh……)

Kazuma claps his hands as he realizes what happened.

“Darn, I completely forgot to avoid you. Sorry.”

”You idiot! Go to hell!” Ayano furiously shouts.

Yet for some reason, she is uninjured. Maybe the wind spirits had automatically avoided her?

Though Ayano continued to fuss, she quieted down as the dust settled and the scene slowly revealed itself to her.

The mountain view had changed. Originally a lush green forest, now uprooted trees lay scattered about, and the forest's surface had been dug up, forming a tract of empty land. All this due to Ryuuya's tornadoes and Kazuma's downburst.

(These guys are really monsters……)

Ayano gazes at Kazuma, struck with awe, but that flippant look of his betrays no sign of his magnificent power.

“Hey, this is a good opportunity! Ayano,” Kazuma hushes, no, tells her.

Even something like Ryuuya suffered tremendous damage from this assault. While his limbs were largely intact, deep cuts scored his body - wounds excreting a black mist instead of blood.

(When I cut him earlier, nothing like that came out……)

Though annoyed at the huge difference in power between her and Kazuma, now wasn't the time to worry about such things, and so Ayano took up Enraiha once more to stand before Ryuuya.

(Still alive - what a monster.)

Just as Ayano was facing off with Ryuuya, Kazuma’s expression grew more serious.

Kazuma could feel the end of the road looming.

Even when combining their powers, they had been unable to deliver Ryuuya a fatal blow. Though they currently appeared to hold the advantage, there was no way to win a prolonged fight.

There had never been a human that could exceed the youma in terms of physical stamina. This was because the youma possessed minds far surpassing their bodies, and could easily overcome their bodies limitations through sheer willpower.

(Should I use it? Even though I really don't want the Kannagi to learn of it, I guess there's no choice. And, I guess they'll hear it from Ren sooner or later, anyway. Either way, life is something irreplaceable.)

There was just one problem. Leaving breaking the seal aside, to gather enough power to truly destroy Ryuuya required a lot of preparation. During this time, Ayano would be left completely defenseless, and what would happen then has already been seen.

(So, what to do...)

He ponders deeply for a brief moment.

(So be it. This will be a test for her as well.)

Lions pushed their cubs off cliffs without hesitation. Kazuma would have to do the same for Ayano.

“Ayano! I am going to play my strongest card! Buy me some time!"

“Don’t shout it out loud like that! Idiot!” Ayano shouts in a pained voice.

She was seriously crying out to Kazuma.

As Kazuma had expected, Ryuuya struck instantly. In the blink of an eye, the defending and offensive parties had switched sides, as wind blades raced towards Ayano.

“Kazuma you big idiot! After I die, I will definitely come back to haunt you as a vengeful spirit! No matter how many times you change houses, I will burn them down and make sure the real estate agencies blacklist you!” Ayano shouts in a tone close to tears, as she tries her best to dodge the blades.

Regrettably, Kazuma was in a state of intense concentration by then, and Ayano's furious promise of eternal vengeance went unnoticed.

Sinking deep within his consciousness, he opens the “door” within himself. Within the “door” lay an azure sky as wide as the eye can see.

This place was a space that existed within “that being" - no, every corner of this space was filled with that being. This space was the being itself.

By opening the “door,” Kazuma and “that being” merged to form a single entity. Kazuma was reborn, becoming a human and the ruler of spirits at the same time, commanding all wind in existence as a high level jutsushi.

His consciousness expanded without limit. For as far as his mind could reach, an area of about a hundred kilometers in radius, all wind spirits located therein became Kazuma’s receptors, continuously transmitting an endless stream of information.

This immense amount of data - of which a human’s weak and fragile mind would be unable to handle the tiniest fraction - Kazuma controlled with his will. He picked out the necessary data from the scene in front of him, at the same time surveying the situation of everything within his domain. This was the viewpoint of a god - a power beyond human knowledge or understanding.

(Ren…… still alive. Very good.)

With his expanded perception, he can clearly see the battle between Ren and Hyoue, more than a kilometer away. It goes without saying, the same goes for Ayano’s battle...

Without Kazuma to cover for her, Ayano is forced into a one-sided defense. Unable to even think about retaliating, every thought, every action is devoted to dodging the incoming claws and blades of wind - to survival

(……Are you still not ready Kazuma?)

Glancing at Kazuma from time to time, Kazuma, focusing deeply, did not appear to notice. Despite her reluctance to admit it, the lack of attention filled her with unease.

She was scared, but Kazuma was not here to say something stupid to loosen her up, not now. He did not poke her head, or smile that disrespectful smile. For the first time, Ayano realizes how many times she has been saved by that flippant smile of his.

“Ahhh!”

A pitch black wind smashes into Ayano like a hammer. The powerful blow knocks her off her feet, throwing her backwards through the air. She lands on her back, but the force of the impact was so great she found herself rolling three times before slamming into a stone wall with a great crash.

(No more! I can’t hold on any longer……!)

Ayano turns pleadingly to Kazuma, desperate for help, and for a short-lived moment, she felt certain she had seen a smirk travel across his face.

Ryuuya took the opportunity to aim more wind blades at Ayano, who continued to lay there, unmoving. Even so, Ayano continued to stare at Kazuma.

(Ever since the moment when I saw him again yesterday, I've despised that guy.

Worse than Hyoue or Ryuuya, I refuse to even acknowledge his existence.

Because he is stronger than me? No, not just that.

Because of his flippant attitude? No, that's just a front, a facade of his.

The real him completely ignores my existence, does not care about me, and ''that'' is more unforgivable than anything else.

And so I resist, and so I quarrel with him, that he might acknowledge me.

But...he's given up on me.

"You will finish him" had become "buy me some time," "I will do everything," "I no longer have any expectations of you."

Even now, he is watching everything, mocking how pathetic I look.)

“A kitten is just a kitten,” she felt she could hear his condescending voice say.

“Don’t look down on me!”

An angry roar rocks the air, a furious flame consumes the blades of wind.

Ayano forces her swaying body to stand, her eyes focus on Ryuuya, but within, her mind continues to rail against Kazuma.

There was simply no way she would accept, or even tolerate, that she, the wielder of Enraiha, was believed to be useless.

She knew very well how to overturn this flawed belief completely. For a man like Kazuma, there was no point in further words.

The way to prove herself was with raw, overwhelming power.

"'Buy me some time'? Don’t joke around. I will finish him off myself, and you can just stand there until you die of boredom!”

Ayano raises Enraiha, and begins to gather ki. The flame that had always burned golden begins to flare red. This crimson flame continues to amass upon Enraiha.

Loosing a howl of pure rage, Ayano begins to run. Moving at an astonishing speed, which did not even leave an afterimage, she suddenly appears before Ryuuya, as if by teleportation, and swings downwards with all her might.

There were no tricks, just a single slice. Without time to dodge, Ryuuya crosses his arms to block the strike. That is, he tried to block it.

Burning with a crimson glow, Enraiha bore the divine flame to which there was no possible defense, severing all ten claws in one stroke, and with a quick turn, Ryuuya's left arm soon follows.

She slices at Ryuuya's now defenseless left side, but at this moment, the sliced off arm attacks Ayano from behind like the other arm had done previously.

This time, however, Ayano reverses her grip on Enraiha, and without even turning, stabs backwards. Enraiha mercilessly pierces through the arm that was flying through the air.

"Begone!"

Scorched from the inside-out, the arm was consumed in an instant. Never stopping, Ayano continued to chase after Ryuuya, who had begun a slow retreat. Again with that shocking speed, she easily caught Ryuuya once more.

The crimson blade flashes brightly, slicing Ryuuya from the shoulders to the legs. A quick turn of the blade and it continues to slice through the demonic body.

But even though his body has been chopped into four pieces, Ryuuya has yet to be destroyed. His listless eyes continue to gaze eerily at Ayano.

Ayano jumps backwards, but this time, not to run.

It all ends now!

“Namo, Sanmanduo, Warila Lan, Han!”

She chants the Acalanatha sutra. The chant itself possessed no power or meaning - it was just a string of keywords she had learned in her training. Having learned the mantra along with the complicated jutsu activation sequence, the two had become linked in her mind. For her, using the jutsu was a reflex when chanting the sutra.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 01 269.jpg|thumb]]

As she lands, Ayano stabs Enraiha into the ground, activating the jutsu.

"Thrust of the Exorcising Supreme Flame!"

A crown of light burst forth from the ground with Ryuuya at its center, forming a hemispherical kekkai. The fire spirits within Enraiha darted through from beneath the ground, releasing all their heat within the barrier.

The earth under Ryuuya's feet instantly vaporized, and the spherical kekkai can now be seen in full view. The barrier efficiently reflected all heat inwards, focusing the energy at its center.

This was Ayano's strongest exorcism jutsu: to seal the youma in a kekkai, leaving nothing to escape but ashes.

"Hah! How's that?"

Ayano smiles proudly, about to look in Kazuma's direction, when she suddenly stops in her tracks, and stares at Ryuuya, caught within the kekkai.

Trapped in scorching plasma, Ryuuya had become nothing more than a piece of meat, having lost all signs of his previous appearance.

(He shouldn't have the power to resist anymore...but what is this youki?!)

Gurgle……Gurgle……Gurgle……

Right before Ayano eyes, the surface of the meat seemed to boil as one bubble after another began to appear. The eerie piece of meat did not appear to care that it was tens of thousands of degrees within the kekkai, and was multiplying at a high rate.

When the piece of meat had finished multiplying, the shape slowly changed. Sticks of meat stretched out from four areas, and a small sphere appeared at the top - the monster was complete.

It had probably intended to mimic human form, with hands and legs and head, body parts that could be recognized.

But that was it.

Like an ugly design a small child might make with meat colored clay, it was a likeness of the evil of mankind, an unforgivable insult to humanity.

The monster places its hands on the kekkai to force it open. That is to say, the sticks that passed for its hands did, and from the ugliness of its motions, it lacked any joints as well. If human arms were snakes, they would probably look like this!

“……This is not…… possible……?”

The monster easily dispels the kekkai, and steps out. It feels so ugly and evil that Ayano involuntarily takes a step back, tripping and losing her balance.

“Wah!”

Falling here means certain death. The premonition of death approaching gives her goosebumps.

But...the feeling on her back is not that of the cold, hard floor. Something warm had taken hold of this body, frozen with anxiety.

A strong hand caresses Ayano's head, and, as if whispering in her ear, a low, calm voice makes her ear twitch.

"That is enough. You did very well."

From the gentle, yet firm grip that enveloped her arm, Ayano feels an indescribable calm fall over her. Her tense body relaxes, bit by bit, entrusting everything to that wide chest behind her.

"You did very well."

That sentence repeats over and over in her mind. Those four mundane words make her happier than anything else in the world.

To be recognized by him makes her proud.

The man behind her talks in a comfortable tone that makes a shiver run down her back, and goes on to say...

"Very well done...for a kitten."

Pak!

Ayano pushes Kazuma's hand away with all her might. How is it possible that a moment ago she actually felt that this kind of guy's chest could possibly be comforting? Ayano felt whole-heartedly ashamed of herself.

“You're…… Huh……?”

Sensing something off in her surroundings, Ayano looks around and immediately understands.

The air shines with a blue glow.

The slow-flowing blue air holds an enormous amount of energy. Ryuuya's black winds are repelled by the azure glow, and compress around their master.

“This…… Impossible…… 'Purification'!?”

The secret power to destroy evil, bestowed only upon the Kannagi...and this magnitude!

"To surround the entire mountain with his winds? And such a massive amount of spirits, how did..." Ayano turns her head to ask, and is left speechless once more.

Knowing very well the reason for her shock, Kazuma smiles playfully, enjoying Ayano's stunned look.

“That…… What is…… Your eyes?”

“Oh these? They were marked by the Lord of Wind Spirits.”

Kazuma's blue eyes flash, as he calmly says something shocking.

“Spi……rit……Lord……?” Ayano dumbly repeats.

This fact that was beyond imagination had stopped all thought.

“………… N-No way----!?”

Bright as the azure sky, eyes that couldn't possibly be clearer - that was proof of the contract with the Lord of Wind Spirits. Ruling all the air on this planet, only a man bestowed with everything could be marked by this stigma.

Even in the legends, there had only been a few people with such a mark: the ancient King Solomon who governed the 72 demon lords and Moses who led the Hebrews and had contracted with Jehovah.

And after that would be the first chief of the Kannagi, who had been bestowed with Enraiha.

“Contractor.” Someone who had formed a contract with a supernatural existence. They called them “Contractors”.

But, to actually be confirmed, there is only one Contractor in history who has been proven to exist. "The first" Contractor was how he had come to be praised in modern legend.

“Come! It's about time you slept, Ryuuya!”

The azure wind begins to swirl like a maelstrom, with Ryuuya at its center. The maelstrom was, of course, Kazuma's creation, utilizing all the wind spirits at his command, and the area it spans can be seen even from outer space.

=== 3 ===

''Slice''

Hyoue's wind blades cut deeply into Ren's arms.

“Wahhhhhh-!”

Against the blades of wind, Ren can only dodge. The relentless assault does not even allow him to stand.

Hyoue cackles as he watches Ren. The scene of a jutsushi of the Kannagi main family, unable to even stand beneath his attacks, just couldn't get any funnier.

(Just you watch, Genma! Juugo! You're next! The humiliation we suffered, you shall receive ten thousand fold!)

A hysterical laughter shakes the air.

Hyoue looks down on Ren, who has finally managed to rise, and smugly shouts, full of pride, "Now do you understand the difference between us? You should just surrender before you get hurt further...If you're too heavily wounded, it might hinder the removal of the seal!"

Hahahaha……

Ren sends golden flame in the direction of the laughter, but while the flame may possess the power to destroy Hyoue, if it misses, it's simply a waste of effort.

“Wah!”

A sudden, violent shock wave strikes Ren's head, sending him reeling and leaving him feeling as though his brain were bouncing in his skull. For a few moments, he wavers on the edge of unconsciousness.

Just standing there, completely defenseless, has made Ren an easy target. But though there have been several such instances before, Hyoue has yet to finish him off. It can only be expected, though, as Hyoue does not want Ren's corpse; he needs him alive. Furthermore, there was still more fun to be had in his torment.

Hyoue, who has given up his humanity, now possesses a great power, incomparable to the past.

Of course, Ren is still far more powerful, but the gap in skill and experience is just too large. He is being toyed with, unable to show even half his power.

"Isn't it about time to give up? You know you can't win, right?"

Hyoue is slowly crucifying him, deliberately avoiding any fatal injuries. Time and again he tries to break Ren's will, targeting his weaknesses to force him to bow to despair, but Ren refuses to give in.

"I refuse! I promised Nii-sama that I would never give up, that I would live on no matter what! I will never obey you, never be used by you, and will never let you kill again!"

Despite cuts which run all over his body, blood that pours down his face and drenches his clothes, Ren's eyes never lose their shine. Faced with this proud and majestic vision, even Hyoue, who undoubtedly holds the advantage, cannot help but be wary.

"Hmph. In that case, let's test the limits of that pride!" he spits, as he prepares to unleash more wind blades-

“Wha!?”

Hyoue gives off a strangled cry, stretching his arms to hug his body. Hidden beneath his arms, something seems to be wriggling. Hyoue tightens his grip, intending to suppress whatever it is, but the eerie wriggling only spreads to his arms.

His entire body is wracked with convulsions. His muscles seize violently, before eventually bursting.

Hyoue had been surrounded by Kazuma's purifying winds. A great power had severed his connection to Ryuuya. Losing Ryuuya's protection, the demonic powers within Hyoue had begun to rampage.

Ren does not waste the opportunity, and races towards him.

“Ki……Kid…… Wahhhhh!”

As Hyoue attempts to defend himself, his raging body only grows worse. He is now forced to use his full power simply to restrain his now uncontrollable body.

Ren does not slow. Knocking into Hyoue at full speed, he hooks his arms around Hyoue's knees, and gives a mighty pull.

The powerful tackle leaves the two of them tangled on the ground. Ren hugs Hyoue tightly, and softly whispers...

"I won't miss at this distance."

“You……You fool! Let me go!“

No longer concerned about losing control, Hyoue releases his blades of wind.

But Ren is quicker. Hugging the shaking body, he shouts hoarsely.

"'''BURN!'''"

A brilliant golden pillar of flame roars into the sky. The purifying pillar of fire leaves no trace of the tainted body and even more tainted soul of the old man who had fallen into darkness.

“----------------------------------------------!!”

It even swallows his dying scream.

Ryuuya has lost control of his black wind. The strong, azure wind separates the berserk spirits from their dark master, absorbing them.

“Ryuuya's wind is………being consumed?” Ayano whispers in shock.

"Terrifying power" is not enough to describe the scene before her. Though there have been a number of logic-defying events today, this is by far the most ridiculous.

The wind surrounding Ryuuya releases the frenzied spirits before absorbing them, further increasing its power.

Even so, Ryuuya still isn't defeated and continues to release his dark, corrupt youki to defend against the purifying winds. However, he is unable to negate the purification completely, and as the azure wind closes on him, the surface of his body begins to boil and bubble. Slowly, very slowly, but surely, his body is being dismantled, piece by piece.

(Almost like a final battle between monsters.)

This unseemly thought running through her mind, Ayano begins to move. Although her power is by far the weakest of the three, she is still a participant, nor can her power be ignored, for she possesses the power to end the stalemate, and she knows her duty well.

-- You will finish him off, can you do it? --

“I'll show you!”

Ryuuya ''leaps'' backwards, intending to escape Ayano. His movements had slowed significantly, and he no longer had the means to dodge her attacks.

But Ayano chases after him, focused only on delivering the final strike! Ryuuya changes the tip of his arms into blades as a last ditch defense. The meat colored blades he raised above his head radiated a hard light.

“That won't save you now!”

Ayano furiously swings Enraiha downwards, no thought to defense. She instinctively realizes that this is the deciding moment. Kazuma has no power to spare to aid her and if she is blocked again, they are sure to lose.

The crimson glow arcs downwards without encountering any resistance, as if slicing through air.

The cloven meat blades that serve for Ryuuya's arms dissolve into the azure air as Enraiha carves its way into the top of his head, stopping at his heart. She takes a risk not cutting Ryuuya in two, choosing instead to call forth fire spirits from Enraiha directly within the wound...and igniting them.

Ryuuya's body explodes. Pieces of scattered meat are blown away by the flame, carried away by the wind and swallowed by the azure light. In the end, every trace of his existence had been erased.

This was the end of Ryuuya, no, the end of the unnamed youma who had founded the Fuuga clan.

The azure winds slowly fade, their power of purification weakening as they spread in all directions, probably to continue restoration of this youki polluted world.

Watching the wind spirits leave, Ayano is captivated by the scene.

“Damn it, just pennies for such hard work. I'll never take any jobs from the Kannagi again.”

And again, a line that completely disregarded the mood spoiled everything. Ayano turns angrily, to see Kazuma lying spread-eagled on the floor. Walking over to him, he doesn't move. He appears to be completely drained.

(No matter how strong he might be, he is still human.)

"After all he almost single-handedly handed Ryuuya defeat. I think I can forgive him one or two rude lines!" Ayano thinks generously.

“Great work,” she thanks him.

Kazuma does not reply, and merely sniffs.

She kneels down beside him.

“Hey, Kazuma?”

Neither expecting an answer, nor receiving one, she continues.

"Even if you'd been alone, you could've won anyway, couldn't you?"

“That's pushing it.”

This time, Kazuma finally reacts. His eyes, having regained their original black luster, turn to Ayano.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 01 281.jpg|thumb]]

"A contract with a Lord of Spirits does not mean I am omnipotent. Though I may have limitless power at my disposal, I am limited by what I can control. I am still subject to human limitations, after all."

"Hmm? Maybe so. Besides, you still need time to prepare. You would definitely have been attacked by then, right?"

"...Yep. That's right."

Though outwardly he answers without hesitation, Ayano didn't miss a brief shift in his gaze.

“Kazuma?”

”Yes?”

His poker face is flawless, but it is already too late.

Ayano flops down on top of him, grabbing him by his collar, as if ready to strangle him. Kazuma can offer no resistance, and he remains spread-eagled on the floor.

"To push a man down like this - what a shameless girl. The Soushu would cry if he saw this."

Belying his exhausted state, his mouth is still at 100%.

“Don’t joke around, now answer me. When were you ready?”

Despite Ayano’s grip growing more forceful by the second, Kazuma replies carelessly.

“Right about the moment when you were blown away?”

“Then, why didn't you do anything earlier!?”

By now, Ayano's full strength was concentrated in her hands, and yet Kazuma replies calmly, as if nothing was happening.

“You're wrong to blame me. It was for your own good that I waited.”

”Which part!?”

Ayano is bristling, on the edge of exploding. If Kazuma does not provide a legitimate reason here, she intends to stab him with Enraiha.

"From the way things looked, if I'd ended it without you being able to land a single blow, you would have been doomed to be a loser for the rest of your life."

“Ugh……”

His dead-on remark hits her squarely, leaving her momentarily speechless. Indeed, if all she had done back then was escape from Ryuuya's attacks, leaving everything to Kazuma, she might never have regained the courage to fight again. Someone unable to overcome her fear, a jutsushi that could only fight enemies weaker than herself, simply could not be relied upon, no matter how strong.

"When I saw that you had finally managed to gather your courage, I decided to watch for a bit. Your performance wasn't half bad until about midway through. If he hadn't escaped right then, you probably would even have won!"

"Eh? You mean to say that my jutsu worked?"

"No. That was absolutely worthless."

Kazuma continues straightforwardly, “You are the wielder of Enraiha. There is no need to resort to tricks or lousy jutsu. If cutting him in four doesn't kill him, then just keep cutting until there's nothing left."

“…… Sorry for being 'lousy.'”

”That's not what you should be sorry for.”

Kazuma continues his ruthless criticism.

"You need to practice your swordsmanship. The way things are, there's no point in you having Enraiha."

”I know……”

"But...that last strike was pretty good. It skillfully used the characteristics of Enraiha as both a sword and a magical artifact."

Hearing the unexpected praise, Ayano blushes. She is suddenly filled with pleasure. In spite of the countless flaws in his personality, and the disgust she feels as she realizes she is dancing in the palm of his hand, the throbbing in her chest is undeniable.

“You…… Like you're so great. Just what do you know about Enraiha?”

Despite speaking harshly in an attempt to hide her embarrassment, her ploy had obviously failed. Kazuma smiles at Ayano, with a look that seems to see through it all.

"Oh. One more thing. It's best not to sit on a man dressed like that."

“……Huh?”

"Even if you ''are'' a little girl with neither breasts nor sensuality, other people might misunderstand!"

Ayano inadvertently glances at herself...and freezes. Unable to withstand the strenuous battle, her uniform is completely shredded. Even her underwear is partly torn, almost to the point where it failed to cover her body.

Seeing Kazuma's eyes that "seem to see through it all," Ayano blushes up to her ears.

“Id……Idiot------------!!”

A scream reverberates through the uninhabited forest.

“Nii-sama!”

Recognizing the ones approaching as Kazuma and Ayano, Ren cries out with joy, as he tries to run towards them, but his body, weak from injury, does not allow him to do so.

“Wah……”

A gust of wind gently carries Ren, who had tripped and was about to fall, right into his brother's arms. Kazuma hugs him tightly, patting his head. Ren hugs his brother back, never intending to let go.

“You did very well, Ren. A fine job.”

”Thank you, Nii-sama……?”

Their conversation suddenly ends as Ren stretches his hand to Kazuma's cheek, where there lies a very clear, very red, hand-print.

Faced with the silent question, Kazuma smiles and replies, "Well, just now, after defeating Ryuuya, I met an even more vicious enemy. I almost died."

Having said this, he turns in Ayano's direction. Ayano, now covered by Kazuma's jacket, turns away in anger, ignoring him.

“Ah...Hmm...”

Ren somewhat understands, but he has the unshakable feeling that to speak those words would be to endanger his life. Desperately, he tries to change the topic.

"Ryu-Ryuuya has also been defeated, so it's finally over!"

Trying his best to show an innocent smile, Ren laments his pitifulness.

“That's right. Let's go home! Ayano, how's the car?”

"It burned up," Ayano immediately replies, as Kazuma eyes her with suspicion.

“It……It wasn’t me! It was blown away by Ryuuya’s wind, and when it smashed into the ground it caught on fire.”

Ayano tries to explain, but even so, Kazuma’s eyes remain full of suspicion.

Lifting his head to gaze into the clear night sky, Kazuma tells Ren, "Never mind. Taking a moonlight stroll through the mountains isn't too bad now and again."

"...if we don't meet with an accident," hearing Kazuma's words that seem to be avoiding reality, Ayano interjects calmly.

"Oh? Did the root of all evil just say something?"

“What?! You were the one who abandoned me! It's ''your'' fault this happened!”

“…… Please stop arguing, the two of you.”

Ren's tired voice tries to pacify the pair, but they don't appear to notice, and only continue to energetically accuse each other.

Looking up at the moon, so much like a silver plate, Ren ponders the cruel reality of life. Ryuuya and Hyoue have both been eliminated, the Fuuga's ambitions smashed to pieces. Everything was perfectly settled, so why is a happy ending still out of reach?

With no end to the bickering in sight, and no longer with the strength to stop them, Ren leans against his brother's chest, and slowly gives in to his drowsiness, taking the pleasing sounds of his beloved brother and sister as a lullaby.

<noinclude>
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| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter5|Chapter 5]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Epilogue|Epilogue]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Kaze no Stigma:Volume1 Chapter3

2013-08-15T23:58:15Z

Nwms8: /* 3 */ Cui Ling -> Tsoi Rin to match later chapters

== Chapter Three - A Battle with the Past ==

=== 1 ===
Kazuma stood alone in the darkness.

Deep in the night, a dead silence shrouded the park. The usual wanderers who occupied the park were nowhere to be found, perhaps chased away by something unknown.

French Hill. This place may sound nice, but due to its dense vegetation, it became a frightening place that would make anyone question whether it could be considered a park. It seemed gloomy even by daylight, and at night, strollers would probably meet with mishap.

At the top of this hill, Kazuma leaned lightly against a tree trunk, resting motionlessly.

His black jacket almost completely concealed his existence, even to people that may have been standing right in front of him.

Just like an experienced hunter, Kazuma had become one with nature.

“...............!”

His eyes opened without warning. His body began to shiver due to his unconstrained happiness and fear.

“Here already...”

He mumbled. An unusual heat came through the park entrance, heading straight towards him.

Even someone whose senses were not as sharp as Kazuma’s would definitely notice this presence. Because the shining energy waves in the dark were so scary, it gave one the impression of daybreak.

If Ayano at that evening was said to be the sun, then this could only be described as a supernova’s explosion.

The other party did not show any intention of hiding his existence. Instead, as though he was boasting it, he walked with the same ease a king would.

As “he” stepped into the plaza, his line of vision shifted to Kazuma, who was standing in the shade of the trees.

“......Am I late?”

“No...... the timing is just right.”

Kazuma answered as he emerged from the shade, walking into the open without a care.

A statue symbolizing a loving mother and her child stood between them. It was unsure if that was just a coincidence or if Kazuma was using it to mock the situation.

“Let's begin, then.”

Kazuma calmly declared the beginning of the battle.

“So you...... are unwilling to sit and talk this over......?”

“He” questioned hesitantly.

Perhaps “he” already knew the answer, as his tone slightly implied resignation.

As expected, Kazuma taunted back,

“Let me answer with my power...... 'Father'!!”

Kazuma released blades of wind as he spoke. Genma let out flames in retaliation.

Both sides had things they could not afford to lose. The winds and flames fought against each other furiously, perhaps the only way for father and son to communicate upon meeting after four years.

The residence was shrouded with silence. As Genma walked down the corridor alone, he felt like he was in an abandoned house with no one in it.

At this point, most of the members of the family were gathered in the Kannagi residence. Every single one of them breathed quietly as though afraid to be found, too scared to stay alone. They gathered in the main hall, shivering.

There was a basis for their fears, though. Masato, the strongest of the branch families, and Shingo and Takeya, who were rumored to rival even the main branch when together, were murdered one by one. Everyone was scared, afraid that they would be next.

Genma called them cowards for that, but not everyone was as powerful as he was.

“I am late.”

Genma kneeled before Juugo’s room, and upon receiving permission to enter, slid the paper door open. Genma walked inside, moving while kneeling, and stopped before Juugo, still kneeling. Juugo showed deep hatred in his eyes.

“......You are really late.”

''(You old sly fox, running away on your own.)''

Juugo said, without even bothering to keep his unpleasant thoughts to himself.

“By the way, where is Ayano?”

Genma asked as though nothing had happened.

“She was too noisy, so I sent her out.”

Juugo’s voice sounded even more displeased because he had just pacified Ayano several minutes ago. Unfortunately, Ayano might have gone to the hotel where Kazuma was staying at to set it aflame in her rage.

“This is something that cannot be helped. She had been in such close terms with Masato after all.”

Genma commented as though he had nothing to do with it. Consequently, Juugo became even more furious.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were so lenient. Since you're so concerned about Ayano, wouldn’t it have been better to calm her down earlier?”

Before, when Ayano was making a big scene shouting and screaming, Genma had turned around as though nothing was happening and had left his seat. And to be so thick-skinned as to come back only once she had finally calmed down was something that even Juugo would grumble about.

“That's because I had to give instructions to everyone in the clan. I also wanted to hear the reports from the Fuuga clan.”

Genma decided not to mention these things because they were of no relevance, simply ignoring them. Juugo knew this as well, so he stopped pressing Genma as there were other matters that required discussion.

"So what do you think? Most of the people in the clan pinned the crimes on Kazuma..."

“Killing Masato and Takeshi without Ayano noticing, then deliberately revealing himself before escaping. Then, while making his escape, he spots Shingo and Takeya and kills both of them at the same time. Even though it is theoretically possible considering the timing......... it is too difficult to be done.”

“Hearing you say that makes me feel much better. I almost thought I was the only normal one.”

After hearing such words from Juugo, who didn’t normally mock others, Genma smirked.

“It's because everyone feels insecure. Rather than facing some unknown enemy, they find it easier to believe that Kazuma is back in Japan for revenge.”

“...Does Ayano feel insecure as well?”

"She just lost her rationality due to Masato’s death. That’s all."

Genma brought the issue across faintly. It was a critical period now, so there was no time to bother with that stubborn girl.

''(Once we know the true identity of our enemy, feel free to be angry as much as you want!)''

Gemna's thoughts were blunt, even though it would be difficult to say such things out loud.

“Compared to this, a problem still lies with Kazuma. No matter what, his actions are too suspicious. Maybe he is in league with the enemy!”

“That could be true. If he really didn’t do it, he should have come and explained everything. I don't think he's afraid we might kill him without hearing him out first. Leaving you aside, he should still trust me a lot.”

“Indeed.”

Genma could only give a bitter smile in response to Juugo’s mocking remarks. After all, he had done nothing to deserve Kazuma’s trust, so he had no way of rebutting Juugo's words at that time.

“However, I am the only one who can capture Kazuma.”

“......Were Shingo and Takeya really killed by Kazuma?”

“Even though this is just speculation, I believe the murderer was someone else...... perhaps the person who Ayano saw. But Kazuma did defeat the two of them beforehand. From the marks the wind blades made as they grazed the ground and the position of Shingo and Takeya's bodies, they were definitely lying on the ground when they were attacked.”

Genma spoke faintly, but it sounded more like boasting in Juugo’s ears. If Genma’s assumptions were true, Kazuma had already attained strength that rivaled the main branch.

“You seem really happy, Genma. If this is true, why did you abandon Kazuma back then?”

Juugo finally asked the question that he had held back for four years. He had always wondered about it.

No matter how bad Genma was at expressing himself, even if no one could understand what he was thinking, Juugo had come to realize that Genma actually loved Kazuma a lot.

“I was born as a Kannagi and live as a Kannagi. I am not allowed to choose any other way of living...... it is the same for my son as well.”

“So is that why you threw him somewhere you couldn’t reach? So he could choose any path he desired? Even so, there was no need to leave him all alone! What if he had starved to death by the roadside?”

“Hmph...... What are you talking about? He is my son.”

“*Sigh*... So that’s it.”

He had no strength to continue asking after that boastful statement. Juugo decided to return to the main topic once more.

“So, can you defeat Kazuma?”

Genma did not reply. Instead, he fixed his eyes on Juugo. Eyes that were more convincing than any words could be, saying “there is no way I can lose.”

“I understand. I shall leave this matter to you then! When will there be results?”

“It should be settled today. If we give our enemies too much time by chasing Kazuma, they will use it as an advantage. We give them an inch and they will take a mile.”

“......I look forward to your performance.”

Genma, without reply, showed his respects and quietly left the room, with the intent of nabbing his son with his very own hands.

=== 2 ===

Kazuma was leisurely enjoying his dessert on the 67th story of Yokohama’s Landmark Tower, the hotel on Royal Street that came closest to the skies.

Be it a threat or a coax, Kazuma intended to squander off all the cash he obtained by any means possible, no matter how evil or horrendous said methods may be.

However, as though to mock this sadistic decision, his hand phone rang. Kazuma looked, irritated, at the hand phone on the table.

Pirorororororororo

Staring at his consistently ringing hand phone, Kazuma cursed himself.

''Why did I forget to set it to voicemail?''

Even with that said, Kazuma could not just turn off his phone.

Pirorororororororo

The monotonous ringing continued. Kazuma did not pick up the phone, instead mentally listing all the people who know his number, one by one, trying to avoid reality.

Pirorororororororo

“Ahhh! It’s too noisy!”

He finally gave up, and pressed the button to receive the call.

“Who is it?”

Kazuma did not bother to hide his unhappiness. He used a very rude tone, which was sent to the ears of the person at the other end through electronic waves.

”Watashi (It is me)” 

The other party was even ruder. Upon hearing the caller's voice, Kazuma immediately regretted his decision to pick up the phone from the bottom of his heart, as it was the voice he least wanted to hear in the world.

“Oh, Mr. Watashi? What a weird name. Did we meet somewhere before?”

”Quit joking around with me”

Though Kazuma tried to joke his way around this, the voice in the phone spoke just as arrogantly as before. Kazuma took a deep breath and prepared himself to duel with the man who had abandoned him in the past.

“It has been a long time. I wonder, can I still call you 'Father'?”

Genma’s voice caused his memories of the past to painfully reawaken.

''I was still Kazuma Kannagi back then, who was pathetically weak.''

''Back then, I could never defy my father. I could only mindlessly listen to his orders to continue training, even though he knew I had no talent.''

“You lost?”

It was neither a question nor verification. It was an unbelievably calm sentence that surpassed anger and disappointment, one dealt a great blow upon the pitiful loser.

“You lost to some twelve-year old girl?”

The voice repeated, as though speaking purposely.

“……I am……Really sorry……”

The boy placed his forehead on the tatami, squeezing out a very weak voice. The man did not answer, merely glaring at the shivering boy with ice cold eyes.

“……So be it. It was a mistake to even want to train you to be a Enjutsu practitioner.”

The man mercilessly gave up on the boy. But somehow, the boy seemed happy about that.

“You don’t need to practice Enjutsu anymore from now on.”

The boy, about to faint at first, suddenly brightened. The man, upon verification, said the most crucial sentence.

“Someone who is not an Enjutsu practitioner has no need to stay in the Kannagi family.”

“……Huh?”

The smile on the boy’s face hardened. The man continued talking as though it was a natural thing to do.

“From today on, you are no longer my son. Get lost! Go to some other place!”

“……What……Fath……Father!”

“I am no longer your 'Father'.”

The man said coldly.

“Get out of my presence immediately.”

With that blunt statement, the man walked out of the room without another glance at the boy.

“Fath…Father! Please wait!”

The man looked down emotionlessly on the boy who hugged his arm, tossing him away. The boy was thrown so hard that he almost hit the wall.

”Fath…Father! Father!”

The boy was unable to stand up and could only cry out in pain and misery. He reached out his hand, but was unable to touch anything. Even so, the boy refused to give up and continued to extend his arm.

“Father!!!!!!”

The man walked away without even turning his head.

There was no one who could reply to this boy who had lost everything now......

"Call me whatever you want."

The voice that would remain blunt even unto the verge of death pulls Kazuma back to reality.

“How about Gen-chan?”

“Why did you come back to Japan?”

Ignoring Kazuma’s cheeky response, Genma brought out the main topic.

“I believe the youngest child of the Yuuki family should have mentioned that I came back 'on a whim.' Didn’t you hear?”

“......Surrender! It is not too late!”

“You guys seem to be treating me like the criminal. I didn't come here to find trouble with the Kannagi family, but if you guys come knocking on my door, I won’t be merciful.”

The chat was more of two people talking on their own than a conversation. After all, a conversation requires people to understand, or at least try to understand, each other and give something like a reaction. However, the phrase “understand each other” didn’t seem to apply to these two.

“Do you think you can win against the Kannagi family?”

“No one will know unless I try, right?”

Kazuma realized that he was no longer afraid of Genma like he was in the past. Through this newfound arrogance, Kazuma felt a certain sense of warmth from the absence of fear.

''(This stubborn old man didn’t change a bit…)''

Kazuma stopped paying attention to whatever Genma may have been saying at the other end of the phone, indulging himself in his own emotions.

“Kazuma, are you listening?!”

Genma raised his voice. Four years ago, Kazuma might have been kneeling next to the phone begging for forgiveness. Their relationship was one of absolute orders followed with absolute obedience.

“Huh? Oh, of course I'm listening. What is it?”

The sound of Genma's deep sigh came out of the phone as he said,

“I must meet with you. I am going over to you now, is that okay?”

''(Good chance.)''

Kazuma needed to clarify one thing ever since he heard his father’s voice again after four years.

''(I want to know whether I have surpassed that man... Whether I have become stronger than the man who ordered me around in the past. No matter how, I must verify this.)''

“No, now is not a convenient time.”

Kazuma kept his expanding emotions within his heart. Without changing his cheeky way of speech, he said,

“Tonight at twelve, let’s meet in French Hill.”

“What kind of time is that? The park would have closed long ago!”

“Then no one will come to interrupt, right?”

With those words, Kazuma's tone suddenly changed.

“So you really want to kill me... I accept your challenge, then.”

''To Genma, I was nothing but a failed product. He wouldn’t go easy even when executing punishment on me.''

“I realized what you took me as since four years ago. However, I am no longer that little boy. I won't let you order me around anymore.”

“...Foolish kid. Fine, then. I shall let you understand the limitations of your own strength.”

Genma replied arrogantly. Even though he knew clearly that his son has misunderstood him, he was unable to think of any other reply.

“I shall look forward to it then, 'Father'.”

After bidding farewell with excitement, Kazuma ended the call. He switched his phone off immediately and threw it at the desk beside him.

However, the phone missed the intended target and rolled onto the floor.

Looking at his trembling left hand, Kazuma gave a bitter smile. His left hand was shaking so much that he could not control its strength, but he was not ashamed of that.

''(Yeah, of course I'm scared. After all, I am challenging the strongest practitioner of the Kannagi clan.)''

He clenched his left fist tightly, as though intending to trap his fear within it.

''No matter how afraid I am, I must not run away. To truly sever all ties with the Kannagi clan and to surpass the old me, I must perform the “ritual” of defeating my father, who symbolizes my past.''

He did not hate Genma. In fact, now he found the stubbornness in Genma rather pleasant.

''But this and that are two different matters. This is something I cannot give in to, no matter what.''

The trembling stopped. With a determination beyond the fear he felt in his tightly held left fist, Kazuma muttered to himself,

“I will not run or hide anymore. Nor will I go easy on you...... [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Oyaji|oyaji]].”

=== 3 ===

The flames that Genma summoned easily swallowed and melted away Kazuma's wind blades.

“......Did you do something just now?”

With his entire body wrapped in golden flames, Genma descended like a god, with the identity of a man with divine power. Such magnificent power made any attempts at resistance seem meaningless.

The mere existence of this man, Kannagi Genma, was enough to instill such feelings into his opponents. With such power, he definitely had that “right”.

“...It’s not over yet!”

Kazuma subconsciously retreated several steps, shouting as if to encourage himself, and once more began forming wind blades.

“The fun only starts now!”

Almost a hundred wind blades flew towards Genma from all directions. However, the blades did not attack simultaneously. Instead, the wind blades skillfully developed their own paths and speed, flying around the sky.

“Hmmm......”

Genma observed the blades calmly. No matter how he moved, there was no way to fully avoid an attack like that. However, he noticed that each individual blade was no stronger than the ones that came at him earlier.

Genma did not take any action, simply standing there as the blades came at him. As the wind blades flew into the flames wrapped around his body... They vanished without a trace.

''(This cannot be...)''

Realizing the huge gap between their strength, Kazuma was so shocked that he was at a loss for words. Genma leisurely watched Kazuma’s expression.

“I'm sure this isn't your full strength, right? I have no time to play with you, so let me end this now!”

As he announced this, his flames increased at an explosive rate.

Several fire pillars shot out with fierce roars, aiming at Kazuma. It had the shape of a big snake or dragon with an arched body, the materialized form of such a great power.

Genma's attack gave off the impression of a glare from a poisonous snake. Trying to control his body trembling with fear, Kazuma jumped up with all his might.

In the blink of an eye, the place where Kazuma had been was swallowed up by the dragon’s mouth. Even though he escaped it, the flames that hit the floor became tiny pieces and continued to rampage violently.

Though they were tiny pieces of flame, they were still flames that Genma controlled. The density of the flames were unusually high, and a direct hit would turn any target into ashes.

Kazuma focused all his attention in avoiding them. He used the flow of air to understand the situation and, by synchronizing with the wind spirits, “saw” every single direction at once.

He accurately grasped the motion of all the flames that rained down from the sky, dodging at times and deflecting them with his wind at other times.

Forcefully taking down all of the flames was not an option. The power of the branch family could not be compared with that of the main family, so Kazuma had no confidence to survive for even one second with his wind barrier.

''(Well, it's not like I can't do it. But now is not the time.)''

Having escaped from the firestorm, Kazuma waited calmly for an opportunity to strike. According to Genma’s true strength, that was nothing at all. There would have been nothing to be proud of even if he had blocked that attack.

“Oh, you dodged it?”

[[image:Kaze no Stigma vol 01 099.jpg|thumb]]

Genma waved his hand, instantly extinguishing all the flames. As if it was all just an illusion, there was no trace of what had just happened. Not even a leaf was burnt.

“To burn nothing but the intended target? That’s not a simple trick.”

The higher the level of the Enjutsu practitioner, the easier it was to fully control the spirits and their flames. It could even defy the laws of physics, such as burning on water without boiling the water or forming flames that affected only the intended target.

“I should say the same for you. I originally intended to kill you...... But it seems I went too easy on you. You should be proud, I admit that you are someone worthy to fight me.”

A gallant smile appeared on his strict face as Genma praised his son. But his son simply scratched his nose tip with a bitter smile in return.

“Ah... Ermm... Actually, you don’t need to be so serious...... I am, after all, just a failed product. So why don’t you relax a bit?”

Genma ignored Kazuma's ridiculous words and began to concentrate. He gathered his power attentively, creating an even stronger power.

''(I can see it clearly...)''

In contrast to his earlier, flippant expression, Kazuma mobilized all of his energy to try to see through Genma's attack. There would only be one chance, so there was no room for failure.

“Don’t die, Kazuma.”

Genma had no intention of killing Kazuma, as he did not forget that his main objective was to capture Kazuma. Therefore, Genma released a tremendous amount of power while keeping it at a level that would leave the target barely alive.

''(......Now!!)''

Kaboom!

The flames that appeared in front of Genma suddenly expanded and exploded. The shockwave hit the vegetation in the area, sent chairs and dustbins flying, and broke streetlights in all directions.

“I succeeded...?”

Genma was still engulfed in flames. Though the results were still unclear, the surroundings looked as though a bomb has just exploded. The plants fluttered away from Genma, and any movable objects were blown from sight.

''(Even though it wasn't a fatal hit, he should have at least taken some damage!)''

As the flame subsided, the scene inside became clear. What Kazuma saw inside was...

“So that is your killer shot?”

...Genma, completely unharmed. Even his coat was as tidy as before.

Genma looked at Kazuma calmly.

“And I thought you grew up after these four years… So you only improved by using such cheap tricks? What a disappointment.”

His words were as humiliating as four years ago, the day when he looked down upon Kazuma and said, "I have no use for trash."

“Stop joking......”

Kazuma gnashed his teeth, squeezing out his voice with his fist held tight and trembling as the dreadful scenes of the past appeared in his mind one by one. He lost his sense of reasoning.

"What a joke!! Disappointment!? You never expected anything from me!! Do you think you have any right to expect anything now? You, who abandoned me back-"

Genma’s insults were too painful for Kazuma, whose scars from four years ago still caused pain in his chest.

“Shut up!”

But Genma only coldly interrupted the screams of the boy who was reminded of the past.

“If you want to make a fuss, I will give you time to do so later. Now you have only two options: either come back yourself, or I shall drag you back. You decide!”

“I choose neither.”

Kazuma replied without thinking. He calmed down, since, after all, he was no longer the kid who cried because his father had abandoned him.

“Only you! I would rather die than lose to you! I will definitely defeat you!”

Kazuma answered sharply, while showing his middle finger... Maybe he was still a kid after all!

“So you still think you can defeat me? Without such cheap tricks, you can’t even win against Shingo and Takeya!”

“Oh, so you noticed?”

Kazuma shrugged his shoulders lightly as if to say, “I don’t care about such a thing.”

“By inspecting the corpse, one can notice it easily. It was just a simple manipulation of oxygen to cause combustion. If it went unnoticed, it might have been effective against second rate Enjutsu practitioners and below.”

Genma saw through Kazuma’s trick completely. Kazuma had simply transferred the oxygen around Shingo to Takeya’s surroundings as they were about to release their flames.

The sudden increase in oxygen concentration had caused Takeya’s flames to go out of control. On the other hand, Shingo suffered from lack of oxygen as his flames burned the remaining oxygen out.

This was the killer move that Kazuma designed against Enjutsu practitioners. If there were two opponents, it would work even better, as it could kill two birds with one stone.

But as Genma had pointed out, this trick would only work if the opponent was caught off guard.

As mentioned, Enjutsu practitioners can defy the laws of physics. To light a flame without using oxygen was one of the basics of Enjutsu.

“So be it. Since you intend to fight no matter what, I shall show you what irresistible power means!”

Genma raised his ''ki'' to the maximum. A shade of azure spiritual energy burst out from his body, and the fire spirits around him were dyed blue one by one.

The spirits that were soaked in the azure ''ki'' similarly materialized in the form of azure flames, replacing the originally glaring golden flames and giving off a clear and transparent blue glow.

Kazuma watched the azure flames in amazement. After swallowing a few times, he mumbled in a hoarse voice...

“This is the first time I have seen it... So this is the azure flame of Kannagi Genma…”

The flames of the Kannagi clan were flames of purification... and the strongest among them were “golden”.

That was absolutely true. However, the most outstanding force in the main family may sometimes surpass this limit.

The “Divine Flame”- This was the invincible power that only the true chosen ones could attain. Adding the color of their own “ki” to their flames was an ability that only eleven have obtained in the past thousand years. The only ones who were able to attain this level after a period of two centuries were Genma with his “azure flame” and Juugo with his “amethyst flame”.

“Watch this closely! This is the true power that your cheap tricks are completely useless against.”

“Oh... This does indeed seem like something my tricks won’t work against.”

Hearing what sounded like a loss declaration, Genma was slightly affected. However, Kazuma was not finished with his words.

“So then, let me get a little serious too!”

With that, Kazuma raised his right hand up and pointed to the sky.

“Stop sounding so......”

Genma held his words back. Wind spirits gathered at Kazuma’s command with unbelievable speed, and Genma was attracted to this phenomenon.

“How... How can that be...”

His shock came out as words from his mouth. At that moment, Genma realized for the first time that he had underestimated his son’s powers.

Kazuma was not just someone worthy of a fight. He was someone who Genma might not win against even if he went all out.

Genma was stunned for just a few seconds, and those few seconds were just what Kazuma wanted.

Genma quickly started his summoning, but Kazuma informed him calmly.

“It’s useless, my summoning speed is faster.”

To tell the truth, Kazuma had no confidence of beating Genma in terms of strength. In terms of attack power, fire spirits were the strongest among the four elemental spirits. Therefore, if an Enjutsu practitioner fought an equally powerful Fuujutsu practitioner and both attacked at full strength, the Enjutsu practitioner would definitely win.

In that case, all the Fuujutsu practitioner needed to do was to not let the Enjutsu practitioner attack at full strength.

In terms of speed, wind spirits were the fastest. If the Fuujutsu practitioner began his summoning first, he could attack before his opponent gathered enough strength. So if he aimed for such a time difference, there was no way to lose.

To act weak at first, but reveal his true capabilities when the enemy is unable to obtain full strength.

Some people may consider him despicable, but “righteousness” doesn't exist in Kazuma’s dictionary. “A winner is a winner, no matter how it is won” was his philosophy.

Kazuma knew that he was sure to win. He had already gathered more power than Genma had, and all that was left was to release it.

“I will spare your life... Be grateful for that!”

As if condensing the size of a large typhoon by ten thousand times, a very scary energy rampaged violently. The frantic winds turned into countless blades dashing across, cutting the azure flames into tiny bits.

“Argh...... Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!”

Even so, the frenetic winds did not seem to weaken. They reached Genma's flesh and without stopping at all... went through.

The blades were so fast and sharp that there wasn’t even time for the victim to feel pain. Instead, an eternal piercing chill was felt... That was the last feeling Genma had as he succumbed to the darkness.

“...........................”

Kazuma emotionlessly looked upon his father’s body, which was lying flat on the ground with blood flowing out from all over. Genma laid on the red-stained floor, motionless as if dead.

“......!”

Kazuma, whose head had been lowered and whose shoulders began shivering as it spread across his entire body, finally burst out in excitement.

“……Ho……Ha……Haha……Ha……Hahahahahahahaha!! This is great! I won! Now you know how strong I really am! Damn dad! You shall lie down on the sickbed in regret! Ahahahahahahaha……Hahahaha……Haha……Ha……”

Kazuma, who was laughing loudly in the empty park, calmed down all of a sudden and collapsed onto the floor in lassitude. He looked up into the night sky with a troubled expression.

“I won... What to do... Tsoi Rin...... What...... should I do from now on......?”

...But the moon did not answer any of his questions.

No one could answer him. The moon just stayed in the unreachable night sky, shining down silently.

=== 4 ===
It was already around two in the morning by the time Kazuma reached his hotel. His steps were somewhat heavy after having to deal with three battles in one day.

But he still could not rest yet. The wind brought a strong scent of fire.

''(Kannagi again? When will they ever learn......)''

Even though it was troublesome, Kazuma had no intention of running away, as the enemy was waiting by the main entrance of the hotel. Kazuma walked straight to the source.

Perhaps the enemy sensed Kazuma approaching. The thin little shadow sitting beside the flowerbed turned his head.

Due to the darkness of the night, Kazuma was unable to see the person’s face clearly, though he could make out a very small figure. The power he possessed was weaker than Ayano's, but on a different level compared to Shingo and Takeya.

''(......? Was there such a person in the Kannagi family......?)''

The shadow approached the doubtful Kazuma without warning. His face was lit up by the streetlights, revealing that he was younger than expected. A child, around ten or eleven years old, walked up to Kazuma.

He was wearing beige shorts with a duffel coat. His feet were fortified by ankle boots. He was wearing clothes that were casual, yet well made.

His cute face that one may mistake for a girl gave off a gentle, yet mature aura. The youth looked just like a well brought-up little master.

The youth seemed tense as he nervously watched Kazuma, who returned his gaze with suspicious eyes. After staring at each other for a few seconds, the young boy opened his mouth slowly.

“Frankly speaking, I don’t really believe it...... But if you are here now, then does that mean that father lost?”

''(Father...?)''

Later on, whenever Kazuma would recall this scene, he would feel really stupid. However, right now he could not understand what this youth meant, so he asked directly,

“......Who are you?”

The youth’s eyes instantly became very strict. He seemed to be angry, but because of his cute face, he was not menacing in any way.

“Are you saying that seriously? ...Nii-sama”

“'Nii-sama'...? Ah, you're Ren!”

Kazuma clapped his hands and called out his younger brother’s name, who was apparently twelve by now.

''(Oh yeah, I have a brother.)''

Though, if he had said that out loud, Ren would probably have looked down on him forever, so Kazuma forcefully kept his words inside his mouth.

“You sure grew! It's been ten years since we last met, right?”

"......I don’t think it has been that long!"

Ren answered strictly.

“Is that so? But it should have been about four years since we last saw each other, right? After all, I don’t recall seeing you when I left.”

“Yes, you left home without saying a word.”

“Oh...... Ahh...... Sorry about that......”

Ren’s voice seemed even more serious. Kazuma could only reply with an embarrassed smile.

The reason why Kazuma forgot about Ren was not because he was heartless... Or rather, not ''just'' because he was heartless.

Unlike his elder brother, Ren was born with exceptional flame powers, so Genma had high expectations from him. Genma was apparently worried that Kazuma’s uselessness might have been passed onto Ren, seeing as how he tried to separate them as much as possible.

The two brothers probably met less than once every half a year. Even so, the pure  Ren threw aside his father’s intentions and looked up to Kazuma wholeheartedly.

Kazuma, however, could not help but harbor complex feelings towards his talented brother. Despite that, he could not hate the cute, smiling boy who was unaware of those feelings and so remained attached to him.

Even though this was not the outcome Genma wanted, Kazuma and Ren were a pair of close brothers.

......So in the end one could only call that heartless.

“Ah...... so what are you doing here?”

Kazuma asked, pulling himself together.

Ren suddenly became serious, looking straight into Kazuma’s eyes.

“I...... I am here to persuade you.”

“......Oh~”

Kazuma grumbled and walked off, leaving Ren behind.

“Nii-sama!?”

“First, let's go into my room! It's been a really busy day, and I'm drained.”

After guessing the reason for his fatigue, Ren’s expression became clouded. He silently made himself determined to bring Kazuma back.

Ren ran slowly while following Kazuma, who had already reached the room.

Ren lightly sat down on the edge of the sofa. He was not being wary, though. The sofa was way too soft, and he was worried that if he sat down in the middle, he would have been buried within.

Kazuma was sitting in front of a teacup, and Ren was in front of a mug filled with honey and hot milk. However, neither of them touched their cups. They were looking at each other as though trying to find out what the other was thinking.

“Back to the topic. Why did you come here?”

“......Huh? That is because......”

Kazuma raised his hand, stopping Ren from asking the same question.

“I know the reason. But why? Kannagi Genma made his move, so why did you still come here? Normally, you wouldn’t expect him to lose against me!”

Genma would never lose, that was common knowledge in the Kannagi clan. Ever since Juugo lost a leg in a traffic accident, Genma was undoubtedly the strongest practitioner in the Kannagi clan.

They were probably thinking that right now, believing Genma would bring back a badly wounded Kazuma very soon!

However, Ren, despite being someone who believed in the strength of his father more than anyone else, did not seem to feel that way. And that meant.........

“What do you know?”

Ren tried his best to fight back against those eyes that seem to see right through him.

“I know some rumors, from some occult website in Europe.”

Users of magic, a technique of ancient times, were actually very progressive when it came to using something so extremely convenient as the internet.

The website Ren found was one of those that practitioners used to exchange information.

“I heard them saying...... The 'Contractor' is Japanese......”

Kazuma widened his eyes slowly. Ren, witnessing this reaction, gathered up his courage and told Kazuma his assumptions.

“I have no proof. But...... I am very certain... that it is you, right? The only Contractor verified to exist in history...... That is you, isn’t it, Nii-sama?”

“You are wrong.”

Kazuma answered in a dull manner. He stopped Ren, who was about to speak, and continued talking.

“Not the only one, there is at least one other. I think we both know this very well.”

“So... You are indeed the......”

Ren looked at Kazuma in awe, realizing his indirect answer.

“No matter, this kind of thing isn't important. Let's get to the main topic!”

Kazuma placed one leg over the other comfortably and held up his cup.

Ren sat upright, using his youth-like, straightforward mouth to speak openly.

“So let me ask you, are you the Fuujutsu practitioner who has been killing Kannagi practitioners these last couple of days?”

“I didn't do it.”

Kazuma answered in a very straightforward manner as well.

“I said that to everyone I met, but no one believed me. Why?”

Even though he knew that Ren knew the reason, he kept it to himself. Perhaps that was a very wise decision!

“If that is the case, why don’t you come back to explain yourself!? At this rate, the whole Kannagi clan will become your enemy soon!”

“......Do you still not get it?”

Hearing Kazuma's calm reply, Ren glared at him with strict eyes...... but he still wasn't very taunting.

“No matter how strong you are, against the Kannagi clan......”

“Our old man seemed to have said the same thing! Even though he's in pretty bad shape now, no thanks to me. Ayano can't even be considered a worthy opponent. Those in the branch family are nothing. Therefore, I shouldn't lose as long as I don’t fight against the clan chief.”

There is no way Ren could rebut against Kazuma's confident words.

Perhaps for the sake of his brother, who seemed ready to cry, Kazuma turned down his tone.

“......I understand that what I'm doing is very silly. To fight just because I can win is pretty much proving that I'm an idiot. If I just head back and say hello, the clan chief will probably forgive me just like that. But...... I have no intention of giving in to the Kannagi clan in any way anymore.”

Kazuma stopped halfway, flushing some red tea down his throat. The sound of the cup being put back onto the coaster was abnormally clear.

“After so long, I no longer hate the Kannagi family. Even though I am now much more powerful than all of those who bullied me in the past put together, I don’t intend to take revenge and put myself at their level. However, that doesn't mean I've forgotten all the things that they did to me, nor the painful scars left in my heart. In order to overcome the weakness in myself, I gave up on the Kannagi name. Therefore, I shall not give in to the Kannagi clan in any way. I vow upon my name of Yagami to never give in.”

His tone was much calmer than his words suggested, yet his unwavering determination was clear.

Ren could only choose to remain silent, obviously unable to touch Kazuma at all.

“Though it is a very stupid determination! After all, it won't hold forever.”

“......What do you mean?”

Ren asked, surprised.

Kazuma replied naturally,

“The Kannagi clan will be exterminated soon. I saw one of the enemies today, and he is way beyond Ayano's level. Plus, our old man doesn't seem like he can recover in time!”

Despite being the one who gravely wounded Genma, Kazuma didn't seem like he cared at all.

“You...... How can you even say such a thing!? Nii-sama, aren't you part of the Kannagi family too? Is it fine to you even if your family members die!?”

“That's none of my business. I am no longer a Kannagi, nor do I have any family members.”

Kazuma clearly answered the questions, even though Ren was shouting out in shock.

“Don't get the sequence wrong, Ren. I didn't abandon the Kannagi family, the Kannagi family abandoned me.”

“That is...... But......”

“So can you still say that I'm obliged to do anything for the Kannagi clan?”

Ren was unable to say anything. Kazuma's words were very true, after all, and Ren had no right to ask for help either.

But if he were to give up just like that, it would defeat the whole purpose of coming to find Kazuma.

Kazuma had to be persuaded somehow, but Ren could not say anything. Kazuma was emotionlessly looking upon him.

Ren lifted his head, revealing pitiful eyes that sought help.

“......Wu......Wuwu...... Wahh...... Wuwu......”

Under the consistent staring, Ren finally began to sob.

“Hey hey...... Why are you crying over such a trivial matter? Now it seems as though I'm the bad guy!”

Perhaps lacking the self-awareness of a bad guy, Kazuma spit out a rather brainless line.

Ren just continued to weep, unable to reply. In this speechless period, only his sad weeping echoed.

“......Damn it......”

Kazuma was the first to give in. He grabbed a towel by the side and tossed it to Ren, sighing.

“Stay here for tonight! Use that to wipe your face, and go to sleep quickly. Tomorrow...... I will send you back.”

“......Nii-sama!!”

Ren pulled the towel away, letting out a cheerful cry. He jumped over the table and directly leaped into Kazuma's chest, hugging him.

''(I knew this was going to happen...)''

Kazuma gently caressed Ren's head, looking at the ceiling.

[[image:Kaze no Stigma vol 01 119.jpg|thumb]]

Even in the past, Kazuma had never been able to refuse Ren's “requests”. No matter how unreasonable, as long as he used his angelic smile to ask and beg, crying if he was refused, Kazuma would still listen to him in the end.

This time was no exception. However......

Kazuma grabbed Ren by the back of his neck and easily picked him up. Ren, who was held up like a little cat, looked at Kazuma with a dazed expression. Eventually, however, he let out a smile across his face.

It was not adoration. Ren was simply overly happy.

Upon realizing this, Kazuma found it even harder to hide his suspicions.

''(Is this kid really twelve? Is it okay to be this cute?)''

Kazuma could not help but fear for Ren's future, but he immediately stopped his thoughts, realizing that something weird could arise.

Kazuma tossed Ren.

Ren spun around once and landed squarely in the sofa.

“Go to sleep!”

“Ehh~~ But......”

Ren seemed displeased at Kazuma's cold words.

“What is it?”

“I want to chat some more! It has been a long time since we last met, after all......”

Kazuma stared at Ren in refusal, but the result was the same as always. Kazuma mentally added this defeat to the hundreds of losses he had against Ren. He had actually already lost count, though he had a vague record at a corner of his head.

“......I get it. What do you want to talk about?”

Kazuma raised the white flag of surrender.

Ren asked timidly,

"Erm... Err... What do I have to do, to be as strong as you, Nii-sama?"

“How would I know the training methods of an Enjutsu practitioner?”

Ren pouted from Kazuma's straightforward answer.

“Besides, you have enough natural talent. There's no need to undergo some weird training, right?”

“That is not true! I am probably the least talented in the main family.”

“......Then what can you say about me, who was abandoned by the family due to my lack of talent?”

Kazuma replied as if he had no other choice.

Agitated, Ren spoke out,

“You are very talented! To practice Fuujutsu to its limits! Compared to Nii-sama, I am still only a newbie. My flames are incomparable to Ayano-nee-sama and father.”

“...The way you compare yourself with the owner of Enraiha or the Divine Flames is a problem in itself.”

“But......”

Ren's expression was filled with anxiety. Apparently, he felt inferior from being among such elite family members.

However, in Kazuma's eyes, the power Ren possessed was not much different from Ayano four years ago. Their difference in power was simply because of Ayano's possession of Enraiha.

As for Juugo and Genma, they were out of the question. Only those with the Divine Flames could be compared to another Divine Flames wielder. Ren was at least ten years too early to feel inferior because of that.

In other words, it was a meaningless comparison. However, even if he said that, Ren was unlikely to accept it. After all, he was lost because of the current difference in power, and failed to see the hope that laid in the future.

“And besides, if you really wish to become stronger, it will happen even if you lack talent.”

In the end, Kazuma decided to frankly tell Ren his thoughts. Kazuma didn't like it much, but there was nothing else he could say.

“You mean, 'there is no Talent that surpasses Diligence'?”

Ren pouted with dissatisfaction.

Kazuma waved it away, saying,

“I won't say something as trite as that. There are barriers that can't be overcome by hard work alone, and there are levels that can't be reached without talent... But if you put your heart into it, you'll be too busy to notice such a thing. So, no matter how ridiculous or impossible it seems, all you can do is work hard at it. If you still can't do it after ignoring all common knowledge and limits and working as hard as you can... Well, you can always just give up then.”

Perhaps Kazuma's words were too strong, as Ren couldn't help but feel afraid.

“Is...... Is that how you got stronger, Nii-sama?”

“Yup, I would be on the brink of death almost weekly!”

“To work so hard like that... Did you really want to take reven...... get back at father?”

Maybe Ren feared that the word “revenge” would be too harsh, as he suddenly began stuttering.

Kazuma could only give a bitter smile to Ren's speculation that deferred so much from the truth.

“I'm really happy that you look up to me so much. But I'm not that powerful. The reason I left Japan was to run away... to run away wholeheartedly from Dad...... and that woman. To run to somewhere far, far away. I didn't want to have anything to do with the Kannagi family anymore. I didn't even think about taking revenge against our oyaji until he called me.”

“Then, why?”

"About that...... All I can say is that I've had a lot of difficulties!"

Kazuma tried to get his way out of Ren's innocent question, because the content wasn't suitable for innocent kids like Ren.

“A lot of difficulties?”

"Anyway, it was just a lot...... Speaking of which, the last time I was in mainland China, I met the Dragon King......"

"A lot of difficulties......"

“Listen! This happened in Sichuan Province...”

Ren eventually forgot his original question. Without even realizing it, he had become indulged in his brother's stories.

Kazuma let out a sigh of relief deep within his heart as he continued to exaggerate his adventures overseas.

=== 5 ===

After coaxing the excited Ren to sleep, Kazuma finally laid on his end of the bed. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but his rest ended in the blink of an eye.

"........................"

Kazuma woke up upon feeling an evil presence and quickly jumped off the bed. As he did so, he sensed some black object passing by slowly beneath his feet.

''(This is......!)''

Kazuma stepped onto the trembling floor and headed to Ren's room.

“Ren! Are you awake!?”

“Yes!”

Ren had woken up long ago and was already wearing his shoes. Despite his young age, he was still a Kannagi practitioner, and it was impossible for him not to notice such a strong, ominous presence of youki.

“What is happening!?”

“Some idiot sliced the whole hotel! We have to escape now!”

Kazuma grabbed Ren without explaining and ran towards the window.

“Wait...... Wait a second, Nii-sama...... Don't tell me...”

Kazuma answered Ren's question with his actions. A gust of wind shattered the glass. Kazuma jumped out of the newly made exit without hesitation.

Needless to say, he was hugging Ren throughout the whole process.

Naturally, there was nothing at the other end of the exit. The light of dawn shone upon Earth’s surface, which seemed hopelessly far away.

The fear inside Ren transformed into sounds from his mouth.

“Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

His cry trailed far behind as the two descended at breakneck speed. Ren shut his eyes tightly.

But they were caught by a gentle wind rather than smashing violently into the ground. Kazuma had skillfully changed his posture, landing his legs perfectly.

“Hey, we reached our destination.”

Kazuma lightly knocked Ren, who was gripping him tightly, and informed him that they had already reached the ground. Ren opened his fearful eyes, and looked at the surroundings.

“Nii...... Nii-sama...... Am I still alive......?”

“The real trouble starts now.”

Ren stood on his own feet, lifting his head to look up. What he saw was unbelievable.

''(The hotel is falling from the sky......?)''

The hotel was cleanly sliced through about one third of its height from the top, and was now sliding down from there. A building that was approximately a hundred meters in height was falling from a height of two hundred meters. This was easily comparable to a giant meteor dropping onto Earth, a catastrophe beyond human comprehension.

''"Some idiot sliced the whole hotel!"''

Kazuma's words just now flitted into Ren’s head.

''(This...... was done by a human......?)''

The unlucky people who were in the path of the cut dropped down one by one like abandoned puppets. The only fortunate thing for them was that they probably had no time to even be afraid when their bodies were sliced. The upper halves of the corpses were left, indicating pieces of flesh that no longer had any life.

“Don't move recklessly.”

In order to defend against the falling building, Kazuma surrounded himself and Ren with a kekkai of wind. Ren instinctively held on tightly to Kazuma's jacket.

The next moment...

Kadoong...... Bam......

The remains of the gigantic building violently crashed onto the ground.

The nightmarishly smooth cutting point brought about a disaster. The upper half of the hotel that smashed into the ground remained in its original upright position. The people who spent their night in that portion of the hotel must have fully enjoyed the ecstasy of a two hundred meter long free-fall. Ren saw countless shadows at the windows, their faces distorted from fear and despair... or was it just his imagination?

“......Argh......”

The hotel that fell at a horrifying speed was totally smashed out of shape. And with that, the kinetic energy obtained during the free-fall was released in all directions.

Countless pieces, most of them ten meters long, flew towards the two, who were standing right in the center of the impact. These pieces had the destructive power of bombs flying at high speed, but were still forcefully blocked by Kazuma’s wind kekkai.

Rather than continuing to stay in their current position, Kazuma used the force of the explosion to fly up into the sky. His spherical kekkai skillfully dissolved the impact, allowing them to float back to a safe distance.

“......Ah......Ah......”

Looking at where the hotel was, Ren moaned.

Dust was everywhere, blocking the actual scene from sight. But...

Those eyes staring upwards displayed great despair. The dust flew no higher than fifty meters, but there was nothing left above that. The lower portion of the hotel, which was supposed to be safe from harm, was no longer there.

The high rise building, famed to be the tallest in Japan... Yokohama's Landmark Tower was completely destroyed.

''(This...... This can't be...... Such a thing......)''

Unable to look at the scene directly, Ren shifted his line of vision and looked down, suddenly noticing the floor around him.

Countless holes scarred the blacktop, probably due to the flying pieces. The number of people lying down in the area was unbelievable.

Even though it was just dawn, it was impossible that no one would be moving about in an area so close to the government organization. Whether they were white collar people who left home early in the morning, teenagers going for their morning jog, newspaper distributors or people with some other purpose to wake up so early... They were all hit directly by concrete pieces, and were now lying motionless on the floor, moaning.

The blood pool that soaked the road continued to spread out further. The scattered bystanders were too weak to escape the jaws of death, yet they were still not dead yet... Or rather, they were unable to die just yet.

Those who had stayed in the hotel might have been more fortunate. After all, at least they could go on without suffering pain.

Ren buried his face into Kazuma’s back and held on tight with his trembling hands. He felt as though all those people who were moaning in pain were looking at him, and even blaming him. He could not bear to watch it any further.

“What a big mess he made.”

After landing on the floor, Kazuma mumbled as though this has nothing to do with him.

“This...... was done by the enemy's Fuujutsu......?”

“Maybe.”

“Can't...... Can't this be stopped? If it was you, Nii-sama......”

“Ah...... Nope, I can't interfere with the wind that guy controls.”

Hearing Kazuma's simple and carefree words, Ren became shocked and doubtful.

“That cannot be...?! Because, Nii-sama, you are......”

“Yeah, that's what I think. There's apparently someone else like me.”

Unable to say anything, Ren's pale expression shivered slightly. There was nothing to be ashamed of. To have to fight against this kind of enemy, even the Kannagi family......

“Don't look so pitiful. Don't worry. Such a person can't exist.”

Ren gave a relieved smile when Kazuma caressed his head, but it changed back into doubt in a moment.

"So then, why is that? You should know already, right?"

“Yeah. After what just happened, I think I am beginning to understand what is going on.”

Kazuma curled his fist tightly and, with great force, threw it at one of the pieces of concrete with steel reinforcing bars stabbed into the floor at the side.

The seemingly durable piece of the building broke into even smaller rubble, together with its steel foundation. The piece of rubble flew out like a bullet, chopping down the only remaining streetlight.

“Damn it, don't screw with me...... I'll let you know that there are some things that I won't stand for......”

Looking at his enraged brother, Ren shivered in fear. He was wholeheartedly glad that Kazuma's fury was not directed at him.

“Hmph...... So he's here? Ren, run from here.”

Sensing the approaching enemy, Kazuma gave his orders to Ren.

“Nii...... Nii-sama......”

“Don't worry. There's only one enemy, and there's no room for you in this battle. Just wait in that corner over there. I'll come for you once this is over.”

“You...... You are sure to win, right? Nii-sama?"

“Leave it to me. Your brother is invincible!”

Without even turning his head, Kazuma gave Ren a thumbs-up as wind surrounded his body and lifted him into the sky. Ren watched the back view of his confident brother with absolute trust.

Seeing the batch of youki surrounding the enemy right before his eyes, Kazuma felt endless fear. A youma of this level should be locked in the deepest depths of Hell. And, even if it wasn't, it should not be released onto the surface.

But Kazuma did not reveal these thoughts. He spoke in a very natural manner.

“Hi, thanks for your kind hospitality a while ago...... I believe this is the first time I've met you in person?”

''That thing'' remained silent. Even if it couldn't talk, its attitude could not be more obvious. Even a novice would recognize the killing intent that it gave off, an aura so cold that it gave the illusion of trapping him in an ice cavern.

''(Strike before it does!!)''

Kazuma fired a gust of powerful wind without warning. He did not go easy on the youma. In fact, he could not go easy on him. With an intent of maintaining his relentless attack until the enemy was destroyed, he continuously released gusts of wind.

The reaction from his opponent instantly changed. An ominous aura made Kazuma immediately shift to the side at top speed. A black wind went through the place where he just was.

Even though he was bounced off by the shockwave, Kazuma knew the true identity of the black wind.

A wind with the strength to push back Kazuma’s wind, and with an aura that spelled certain death... there could be no doubt.

“Such unorthodoxy...”

The enemy was clearly stronger than Kazuma. But even so, Kazuma could not just give in. As a practitioner, there was no room for such unorthodoxy to exist.

''(Should I reveal my true strength...? After all, Ren already knows...)''

The moment he made his decision, Ren's screams reached Kazuma's ears.

"Wahhh! Nii...... Nii-sama! Nii-"

“Ren!? Damn it!”

The cut-off scream disrupted Kazuma's concentration, something that the opponent was quick to take advantage of. A black wind graced past Kazuma’s throat. If he had not noticed it in time, his head would have undoubtedly separated from his body.

Pressing on the wound on his throat, Kazuma was shocked.

''(How can there be a second person here......? This should not be possible- Ah!)''

Kazuma had completely forgotten. The black wind not only does not obey Kazuma’s will, it could even hide others in its presence.

This was a careless mistake that could not be forgiven, as the ambusher was now retreating, taking Ren with him.

But Kazuma could not give chase, because if he did not keep up with the monster in front of him, he was sure to die. Understanding that all the more, Kazuma could not take any action.

“Damn it! Ren, stay alive!”

Kazuma removed Ren from his mind, and concentrated on eliminating the foe before him.

The wind began to shine with an azure glow. The black wind retreated as though it was fearful of that glow.

''(I'm going to kill you!)''

As Kazuma gathered the azure wind into a usable power......

''That thing'' lifted the edges of its lips into a smirk, and then, disappeared right before Kazuma’s stunned eyes.

“......!!”

Kazuma raised his head to look higher into the sky. Even though he knew that the enemy was flying upwards at a high speed, he had no way of catching up. Nor could he use his wind to follow. Ren's presence had completely vanished by now, too.

"I was completely toyed with......"

Kazuma mumbled faintly, and then descended away from the battlefield-like ruins of the hotel.

''(Wait for me, Ren! I will definitely save you!)''

Kazuma put on a completely clueless expression as he walked past the police and fire-fighters who were gathered, mixing himself into the crowds.

<noinclude>
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|-
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter4|Chapter 4]]
|-
|}
</noinclude>

Kaze no Stigma:Volume1 Chapter1

2013-08-15T06:45:12Z

Nwms8: /* 2 */

== Chapter One - The Disinherited Son Returns ==

=== 1 ===

"What bad taste……"

That was the first impression he had with this client. Incidentally, this impression did not change in the slightest all the way to the end. A mansion sat arrogantly on this hill, high-class residential area, displaying its design that completely disregarded the harmony of its surroundings. If one were to disregard the mansion thus far, one might have to say it was a rather magnificent view. Climbing up Governor's Hill presented a vast view of the land's rich scenery. When he saw it, he was honestly and completely stunned.

''(Did Turkish harems have this feeling?)''

Yagami Kazuma didn't seem to be joking when he thought that. "Don't paint the walls of a Japanese house in such wild colors!" he wanted to preach, while grabbing that person's collar. It was that kind of house.This area could probably be considered the origin of Japan's Westernization movement. The first gaslight was lit here and the very first ice cream in Japan was sold here. One would expect it to be a stylish, refined town with a distinguished history.

''(Considering that, this is probably something like a breach of contract…)'' 

He saw a decorated [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Golden Carp|golden carp]] on the roof and let out a sigh. The image that was held dear in Yokohama, had crumbled away completely, with a clattering sound.

When he accepted the job at the agency, he was given not only an address, but also a detailed map that was completely unnecessary. By asking the neighborhood residents, "what's the house with the poorest taste around here?" even a monkey could manage to find his way here.

- A structure painful to the eyes —— he didn't want to call it a house —— that when seen, made Kazuma look up to the sky, begging. The sky was empty and blue.

"Hey, at least it's work…" he muttered, trying to convince himself.

However, this was the same Kazuma whose looks probably wouldn't by any means be called appropriate for work. Wearing a checkered shirt covered by a black jacket with jeans and sneakers, this 22-year-old man seemed, no matter how one looked at him, no different than a student from a nearby university. He was completely blind to his own faults though. As he continued his observations, he noticed something strange. The dark aura that covered the mansion was thicker than he was told; because of this, perhaps even an ordinary person with no psychic background could sense the aura that was presently surrounding the mansion.

''(Maybe I should just go back…)''

Nagged by a horribly bad premonition, Kazuma's thought was halfway serious. The dark aura covering the mansion was something more unearthly than he had expected, but it wasn't so bad that he couldn't deal with it. For this reason, his premonition was a bad omen.

Yet, something else was up.

Judging from his experiences up until then, it was a credible and important premonition. However, he couldn't throw away this job on that alone. This was his first assignment in Japan; if he broke off the arrangement with a reason like that, there was no doubt that he would never get any jobs from the agency in the future. He made his way toward the mansion with heavy steps and stopped in front of a ridiculously huge gate. As he stood in front of the doorbell, Kazuma was still unsure if he should continue this job. Danger signals bombarded his instincts and he couldn't help wanting to run away. However...

"Yagami-sama, I presume."

Without any warning, a voice came from the intercom and completely disrupted Kazuma's thinking. He jumped back with a start and stood on guard as the voice continued.

"You've been expected. Kindly enter through the door on the side."

Click. As she spoke, a small door towards the right side of the gate unlocked. Apparently, there was no one to escort him inside.

''(Compared with that "you've been expected," that's some rude treatment…)''

He felt uncomfortable, but he was dealing with a customer. He entered through the side door as instructed. Inside the fence was a large number of security cameras and sensors.

"They must live a very shadowy life..." Kazuma muttered.

Multiple cameras followed him as he walked into the entryway. Irritation rose in him, almost to the point of wanting to kill whoever put him under this rude surveillance. Somehow though, Kazuma managed to repress himself.

"Eeek……"

That was what he'd intended, but apparently it showed on his face. The maid who came to greet him became fearful of him as if she had just come across a man-eating bear. Kazuma hurriedly smoothed over his expression.

"Welcome! Please, come this way."

Somehow she changed her face of terror, as if she were being picked up and eaten, to an overly bright smile. It didn't seem possible for someone to change their expression so dramatically, forgetting their suspicions instantly, yet the maid smiled as if nothing had happened. As the maid walked ahead to lead him to the living room, Kazuma observed her gratifyingly swaying bottom.

''(It would have been better if I'd left…)''

Kazuma felt deep regret at his choice as soon as he arrived at the living room and saw what was inside. A thin, little man laid back with his legs outstretched, introducing himself as Sakamoto Nanigashi, the master of the mansion. Kazuma recognized him as the client, but he wasn't alone. There was also a [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Practitioner|practitioner]] in the room whose face he knew well. That practitioner, upon seeing Kazuma, showed fear on his face for a moment but immediately twisted his lips into a sneer and glared at Kazuma with a face full of scorn.

"What? The other practitioner was you Kazuma? You became a disinherited child of the Kannagi because of your incompetence and now you dare to call yourself a practitioner?"

Those explanatory words were probably for Sakamoto to hear. Practitioner——Kannagi. The youngest child of the branch family, Yuuki Shinji, truly took great pleasure in mocking Kazuma. Sakamoto showed the response that Shinji expected. His expression changed as he approached Kazuma.

"Is this true? Isn't this different from what you said? You said you were a top-class spiritual practitioner, which was why I hired you!"

Kazuma, calmly making a step back with each step his client made forward, answered...

"I don't know what the person at the agency told you but if you're dissatisfied, perhaps I should leave?"

"Hmmph, that's right."

Sakamoto's eyes showed a faintly cunning light. Kazuma's desire to work, which was scarce even at the best of times, quickly neared zero.

"Mmmm, how about this? Why don't you both try the exorcism and only the successful one gets paid? Ahh, naturally, I won't tell the loser to return the advance payment."

"Good idea, yeah."

They were flippant words, but Shinji had immediately accepted them. Then, with the face of someone who was completely made a fool of, he asked Kazuma.

"And what are you going to do?"

"I'm out."

Kazuma gave an immediate reply. In the scornful stares of the two, not even a muscle of their eyebrow moved.

"Hmmph, coward! Sucking your finger like a baby! I'll show you a model example of an [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Enjutsu|Enjutsu]]."

"Model example eh? Tough talk for the youngest child of the branch family."

"Y-you!"

Shinji was enraged from being insulted by the person who he looked down upon. Completely forgetting about being in front of a client, he tightened a fist and lunged forward. He sent a powerful punch directed at Kazuma's face, yet Kazuma easily dodged the punch by stepping aside to his left. Shinji, who had inserted a great deal of force into his punch, lost his balance and fell. At the last moment, he managed to make it look like a feint by attempting to kick Kazuma's temple from his blind spot.

However, Kazuma, as if he had seen it coming, casually bent his head back. The heel of Shinji's left leg passed by a few millimeters in front of his eyes. Kazuma moved like the leaves of a tree swaying in the wind, without hesitation. After dodging Shinji's kick, he immediately swept Shinji's pivoting leg, making him trip and fall down on all fours to the floor. 

"Sh-shit!"

Shinji barely managed to perform an [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Ukemi|ukemi]] and quickly got back up. Incorrigible, he assumed a fighting posture.

"You! Do you think that you can beat me in [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Taijutsu|Taijutsu]]? You were not even a match for the me from four years ago. There's no way you can be an opponent for me right now." 

"Sh-shut up!"

Kazuma did not show the least bit of triumph. He chided disinterestedly, as if facing a defiant child. Being looked down upon from such a securely elevated position, Shinji's reason made a sound and broke.

"Stop it right there you two."

A restraining voice broke in, turning the two heads towards the speaker. Sakamoto showed great satisfaction at successfully getting both their attention. In a tone as if he was scolding a child, he shouted...

"I didn't call you here to fight! The furnishings in this room, no matter which one you look at, are all more expensive than what I'm paying you! Any kind of rough behavior would be troublesome, okay?"

Suddenly, around the vicinity of money talk, there was a scumbag. The person in question was probably attempting to flaunt his assets, but for the ones made to listen, it was nothing but the stink of the ''nouveau riche'' pushed up their noses.

''(Maybe I'll leave… since I still get the advance payment...)''

With the discomfort continuing to rise with no end in sight, Kazuma's desire to work had already disappeared. He couldn't ignore the agony of simply being in the place.

"Mm……?"

Instantly, without warning, an unearthly presence began to converge...

"It's coming..."

The unearthly presence spread throughout the mansion and directed its focus to one point in the living room. Kazuma casually moved back so that Sakamoto and Shinji were between himself and this presence.

"What's that? What just…?"

The unearthly presence solidified into a smoky black figure. Shinji, seconds slower than Kazuma, finally noticed it too.

"Hmmm, so it came out?"

"Wh-what? What's wrong?"

Hesitatingly breaking the suddenly tense atmosphere, Sakamoto shouted in a shrill voice.

Kazuma answered in place of Shinji, who was already beginning to focus his mind for the use of a [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Jutsu|jutsu]].

"It's time to work. The 'evil spirit', or whatever you've been struggling with just came out."

While giving this offhand explanation, Kazuma felt a beyond-ordinary sense of unease.

''(That's no evil spirit. What kind of thing is it?)''

When Kazuma first accepted this assignment, the person at the agency said "It is just a normal evil-spirit exorcism."

—— Hey, your first job should be one of these, right? If you're as good as the rumors say, you should be able to take that evil spirit with one hand or another ——

A superficial seeming man, but with definite achievements. Their kind of work was, in some sense, even more than practitioners', it was a work where confidence was life. Making a mistake this big was extremely unlikely. It wasn't an easy business, so such an irresponsible agent would not survive.

''(Was I set up? Well, fine. Should I just observe his skill?)''

Kazuma leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and looked about as if sightseeing. Shinji focused his mind to prepare himself for the appearance of the "evil spirit." He was apparently planning to burn it the moment it appeared. It was easy to see from his expression. Suddenly, the space in front of Shinji turned dark and thick. Shinji faced both his palms towards each other in order to set up a transparent ball in front of his chest. A small fire ignited between those palms.

''Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooon……''

A voice full of resentment shook the air as the evil spirit revealed itself. A distorted face stood before them, projecting hatred across the room.


"Eeep!"

"HAAAA!!"

Paying no attention to the screaming Sakamoto, Shinji released a devastating flame alongside a sharp yell. The evil spirit would be cleansed on contact with the summoned fire and would disappear without a trace... or so Shinji believed. However...

"Idiot."
''
Gioooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo……''

While the evil spirit's cries of agony echoed and Shinji snickered...the flame exploded.

"Gahhhhhhhhhh!?"

Shinji screamed as he was wrapped in the flames that he had summoned. In a moment, the entire living room was engulfed in flames.

''Kakakakakakakakakakakakakakakaka''

The entity before them had overcome Shinji's attack and had devoured the flame. The [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Youma|youma]] began to sneer with laughter.

=== 2 ===

Even among the ''Enjutsu'' users who could freely manipulate fire, the Kannagi family was famous for their superior strength. It was not simply because their power was great. The reason laid in the special ability passed on in their family's blood. The flame they manipulated was not created by the physical phenomenon of simply accelerating molecular motion. It possessed the power to burn away impurities and destroy evil.

Because of this "purifying flame" the Kannagi family practitioners held absolute dominance over ''youma'', evil spirits, and all beings who transgressed the law. However, even with the ability given by blood, depending on the extent to which their blood was diluted with each generation, it was inevitable that their power would eventually deteriorate.

The branch family practitioners had long lost the highest rank of the "gold" flame attribute. If a youma with a fire attribute was their opponent, the flame that they released would merely be absorbed by the youma instead of purifying and destroying it.

...Which was what had happened just now——

The living room had become a purgatory. The high-class furniture and the shag carpet were already carbonizing. The glass from the chandelier on the ceiling had melted and turned into a grotesque art object. This wouldn't have happened if someone from the head family branch had purified the youma. 

"I wonder if he's dead..." Kazuma muttered with a refreshed face.

A cool breeze wrapped around Kazuma, preventing the raging fire from touching him. Even the heat that the flame emitted was sealed off; not a drop of sweat was on Kazuma's face. 

"H-help……"

A frail voice rang in his eardrums. Kazuma looked down at the blackened object at his feet.

His client Sakamoto had rolled into the [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Kekkai|kekkai]], screaming. He didn't seem to be dead though he was burned here and there.

"Aaaaaa! He-help me!"

Sakamoto screamed as he clung onto Kazuma's legs. However, Kazuma heartlessly kicked away his client.

''Thud!''

Sakamoto's face writhed in pain as he was mercilessly trampled upon. Since Kazuma didn't want to touch anything beyond his slippers, he brought down his heel instead of stepping on him. The skull could have been making a creaking sound, but that wasn't a big problem.

Kazuma stepped on Sakamoto's head and stated clearly: "you're not my client and I don't have a habit of saving middle-aged men."

"If it's money, I'll pay. Twice as much, or so…"

"Twice? Is your life worth only a million?"

Kazuma took a cigarette from his pocket. He gently stretched out his hand, exposing the cigarette's tip outside of the kekkai and began to smoke.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 01 019.jpg|thumb]]

Sakamoto didn't have the luxury to be so relaxed though. Whether by chance or on purpose, there were holes in the area of the kekkai near Sakamoto. Some of the flames passed through the holes and touched him.

"Hot-! Ee-eeee! Help! Fine!! I'll pay 10 million!"

"Thanks for your business."

Upon tossing away his cigarette, Kazuma's face let out a smile similar to that of a demon who had made a profitable deal.

"All right now. Then, won't you please stand back?"

Kazuma kicked Sakamoto in the rear, sending him rolling into the side of the room and proclaimed, "you're in the way."

He began muttering in a low voice and waved his right hand sideways in a mowing motion. As if being squeezed out by his hand, the raging fire was instantly expelled through the window.

The fire didn't spread to the grass and trees in the garden. Instead, it scattered and then vanished.

At that moment, a fireball with a distorted face floated in the center of the room. Now the youma's true form was in front of Kazuma.

''Hyuuoou-''

In place of the extinguished fire, wind raged across the room. Kazuma stood quietly and with his hand still in his jacket pocket, directed the wind to erase the flames still remaining in the room.

The fight was already over. The youma was unable to even put up any resistance against Kazuma's overwhelming power as it was torn to pieces. All that was left to do was wait for its annihilation.

"And with this…"

Kazuma slowly raised his right hand. A person gifted with the sixth sense would have been terrified upon seeing the amount of wind power that was gathering in his hand.

"…The end!"

The hand swung down ten times faster than it came up. From his right hand, an invisible blade that sliced through air came forth, slicing the youma neatly in two.

There were no spirit fragments remaining. Kazuma quietly observed the destroyed youma with a calm look.

"Finished," Kazuma told Sakamoto. Sakamoto was still lying on the floor, dumbfounded.

"Pay the money in three days. Otherwise, would you like to regret having ever been born?"

It was identical to what a criminal would say. Even if it was a mistake, it wasn't the way one would speak to a customer.

However, Sakamoto, realizing the horror of going against Kazuma, didn't even dare to complain.

"Y-yes. Understood. But something terrible has happened to Yuuki-kun. I never thought something so serious would happen."

Without a word Kazuma approached what appeared to be the ashes of Shinji's remains and trampled on them to Sakamoto's despair. As expected, Sakamoto protested... 

"Wh-what are you doing!? I don't know whatever happened between you two but please give respect to the dead!"

"He's not dead..." Kazuma dryly spat the words out and then continued to kick Shinji again and again.

Upon doing so, the ash covering the surface fell off; Sakamoto noticed that Shinji appeared to be undamaged by the flame that had covered him a while ago.

"Wh-wha……?"

Sakamoto doubted his eyes as he beheld the unbelievable scene. Kazuma gave an offhand explanation.

"All of the Kannagi bloodline receive the divine protection of the fire spirits. Even people from a branch family wouldn't die in this degree of fire." 

Kazuma curled his lips in self-derision and added, "though I'm the exception."

"Uu……Guu……"

Shinji murmured, waking up. After looking around him, he confirmed that the youma was destroyed.

"You did this?"

"It's just like you saw."

''Who do you think you are, saying whatever you please?''——Kazuma was already aware that Shinji was conscious the whole time. Shinji hurriedly attempted an explanation.

"So you noticed……? But I couldn't help. I honestly couldn't move."

"I don't want to hear your excuses."

Kazuma coldly stated this over his shoulder, as he turned his back. Shinji called out to the unhesitating figure leaving. There was still something he wanted to ask.

"Why did you return?"

"On a whim, I guess."

At Kazuma's lazy answer, Shinji sharpened his gaze thinking that his question had been evaded.

"'A whim...' Do you believe the elders will accept that?"

"I was only disinherited, I wasn't exiled. Where I go is my business."

"What are you planning?"

"Nothing in particular," Kazuma answered curtly, shrugging his shoulders.

"Are you returning to the Kannagi?"

"Not even if I die."

Kazuma answered as if spitting out the words. Then, this time, without hesitation, he walked off.

Shinji was driven by a sense of unease that he couldn't suppress. He continued to stare at Kazuma.

''(I have to tell this to the [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Soushu|soushu]] as soon as possible…)''

In a sense, Shinji's unease was on the mark. From that moment, a war to push the Kannagi into the abyss of ruin began.

===3===

"Did you know? It seems that Kazuma has returned to Japan. What's more, he's become a Fuujutsu practitioner."

"What! That incompetent guy? It must be dead simple, then, to be a Fuujutsu practitioner."

"Nope, 'I'm a dark magician' is what I heard. For him to become a practitioner, he'd have to sell his soul to the devil, right?"

"Ah, that's probably true."

"Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha…"

That day, rumors about Kazuma were the talk of the Kannagi main house. Of the elders (the general term for those who retired from active service and are now overseeing the management of the practitioners) who heard Shinji's report, only one refrained from jokingly spreading around nonsense.

Shinji was currently under probation for the offense of the aforesaid failure of his duty. Tail fin, dorsal fin, belly fins; all were wildly added to the rumor, until it grew to maturity. Not one person tried to stop it.

The source of the rumors, the elders, appeared to be in complete delight. The people known as ''elders''—excluding the extremely serious exceptions—were basically men of leisure. "Looking important is work," and so on, was the gossip some attacked with.

When there was no work, they would drink tea all day and amuse themselves by talking about various topics. Obviously, they could not resist something interesting to talk about.

They danced with joy inside upon hearing Shinji's news. The elders, when they passed the verdict of probation on the dejected Shinji, even had something of a skipping type of light gait while they drank tea and turned back to each other. They haphazardly began talking like this:

"Ohh, did you know…?"

The elders, during this work time, were like different people in energetic activity.

Within an hour, there was almost nobody in the huge mansion who had not heard of Kazuma's return to the country. It certainly reached the servants, spreading to all kinds of people afterwards.

It was, in short, a situation where almost nobody knew the true facts. It wasn't a big problem for the elders, though, since their attitude was pretty much, ''If it's interesting, who cares what happens later!''

And so, news of Kazuma spread in the exact opposite direction which Shinji had hoped for.

To wit:

"Kazuma's returned as a dark magician."

"Kazuma was secretly murdered; he's buried in the back garden."

"Kazuma clashed with Shinji during work and suddenly killed him."

"Kazuma made a contract with the wind spirits. An evil demon."

The truth was subtly mixed in, but it was distorted so much that nobody could really interpret it. Obviously, no one feared Kazuma's retribution.

Kazuma, the main family's failure who had left all his talent in his mother's womb, like liquid skimmed off the top, had found a preferable power to take in, it seemed. Nobody laughed at that.

However, there were a small number of exceptions. One of them was the current suzerain, Kannagi Juugo. During supper, in the humorous talk that was being told, there was one item Juugo was interested in.

"Ohhhh? Kazuma chose Fuujutsu? Did you know that, Genma?"

Juugo spoke to his cousin sitting next to him. For some reason, as if harboring some ill will, Genma's smile was filled with hatred.

"…Oh"

Genma answered briefly. Apparently the rumor had already reached his ears, as he didn't appear disturbed.

However, it was clear he wasn't happy about the rumor either. The saying, ''like someone chewing up a bitter bug,'' perfectly described his frown as he gripped a tight fist.

''If Kazuma was in front of me, I'd want to strangle him to death.'' His expression openly displayed his thoughts.

"It's shameful."

"It's not especially shameful." Juugo answered lightly. He gave a command to a nearby servant: "I would like to hear a detailed account. Call Shinji."

"Certainly."

The moment he arrived, Shinji bowed down so low that he scraped the tatami in his prostration. His tension was great; he was sweating from his forehead and breathing awkwardly.

Truthfully, the difference in status between Kannagi's main family and branch family was absolute. It was impossible for the branch family to even dream of a revolution.

Tradition and social status meant nothing in Kannagi's system. The two families were simply separated by the overwhelming difference in power.

If a rebellion were to occur, Enjutsu practitioners like Juugo or Genma could simply smash everyone in the branch family by wiggling a finger. Because of this hopeless difference in power, no thoughts of rebellion were harbored.

Therefore, Shinji's tension was understandable. He was in front of Juugo, whose superiority was similar to a god, and had to recount his clumsy failure. This was definitely worse than his original feelings.

"Raise your face. You don't have to humble yourself like that."

Juugo spoke in a friendly manner. However, looking into the suzerain's face and speaking was far too overwhelming for Shinji. In the end, he raised his face, but his eyes still stared at the tatami as he submitted his report.

"A-and, I now have the privilege of being allowed to give this report."

"…I see."

After Shinji finished recounting everything, Juugo remained silent for a while after saying that.

"…I see."

As if to confirm, he repeated it once more. He closed his eyes lightly, and reminisced back to when his nephew (to be accurate, the relation was more separated than that, but he used the label since it was too much trouble) had left 4 years ago.

''(—What a poor child he was.)''

If Kazuma had been born to any but the Kannagi family, he would probably have been considered a superior child. Excellent intellect, good reflexes, and great promise in learning the jutsu; all jutsu except one. He was unable to manipulate fire.

However, for the Kannagi family, this was the most important ability.

No matter what else he was proficient at, someone with no talent for manipulating fire was treated as incompetent. Because of this, Kazuma was no longer part of the Kannagi.

''Still—'' Juugo thought.

''(Why didn't you ask me for help, Kazuma? There was no need to disown you from the family. If it was me, I would have made a place for you. Whatever Genma said, I wouldn't have cared about the Enjutsu, I would have made use of your talent, yet despite that…)''

Juugo looked down at his right leg. It was made of metal and plastic. If that accident hadn't happened, and the "rule of inheritance" hadn't been rushed, would Kazuma be here right now?

Unfortunately, it was far too late. Kazuma had thrown away the family, their name; all that was Kannagi, and had left Japan. This was reality. The ''past'' is a thing that could never be changed.

"…Suzerain?"

An uncertain voice brought Juugo back to reality. Looking around, he found everyone in an awkward silence. It wasn't surprising, as there were almost none among them who had not tormented Kazuma.

However, the one who had driven Kazuma out was calm. That person, Genma, spoke without a single change in his expression.

"Suzerain. Kazuma is already someone without any connection to the Kannagi. There is no need to worry about him."

"Genma, you would say that of your own son—"

"I have only one son, Ren."

Genma spoke coolly, interrupting the suzerain's words. Juugo considered replying, but, disliking unproductive battles, he decided to put other, safer words into his mouth.

"It's fine then. After all, Kazuma has become successful in Fuujutsu. Maybe it was best that he left the Kannagi... Or maybe, Hyoue, if he had been entrusted to your care, could he have become skilled and powerful?" 

"Perhaps." Sitting at a lower seat, Hyoue, the head of the Fuuga clan, answered sullenly. 

Genma again cut in with an objection.

"We are all afraid even though Fuujutsu and such are, after all, lower arts? The most they are capable of is acting as assistants to Enjutsu practitioners. Even if we had known 4 years ago of Kazuma's talent for Fuujutsu and left him to people like the Fuuga clan, clearly, we would still have had to disinherit him."

Hearing his art publicly insulted, Hyoue twisted his face in humiliation. However, nobody paid any attention to Hyoue nor his face.

To the Kannagi family, who only valued fighting power, the Fuuga clan, having been given the reconnaissance and battle support duties, was limited to a lower status. Genma was not trying to start a fight. He was not saying anything beyond the normal beliefs of the other Kannagi.

"…We will go no further with this talk. Dinner will become unpleasant."

At Juugo's words, everyone clearly showed relieved expressions on their faces. As if on cue, cheerful talk began, and they rolled around laughing at silly jokes.

Though awkwardly, the usual dining hall atmosphere returned.

And so, nobody noticed the dark light harbored in Hyoue's eyes. He suppressed his thoughts from showing up on his expression, and murmured in a voice so small it did not even reach his own ears.

"I will not forget this disgrace, Genma…"

=== 4 ===

"Kannagi……no, Yagami Kazuma……? You came back at a very good time!"

"Huo-huo-huo……" A hoarse laugh broke the strained silence. Not a single streak of light could be found in the single room filled with darkness.

"And……?"

"Yes, it's better if everyone hears this. Finally, the time has come. The time when we shall dispel the disgrace that has lasted 300 years. Now is the time for us to regain the power we lost, and return to our previous, glorious position."

"Ohhhhhhhhh…………"

A stifled commotion filled the air. No one shouted. Afraid of being discovered, they kept their breaths in check, keeping their tension locked inside the room.

"Oh, when you finally realize it, you Kannagi... We will overthrow you and leave not a single one remaining… Kukuku…"

A low and gloomy voice echoed with resentment darker than darkness...

''"U-uwaaaaaaaaaaaa! Wha-what, what are you doing-?!"''

Late at night on that same day, Shinji screamed out in terror. Nearby were two freshly severed heads, which tumbled down onto the floor. Following them were two headless corpses. And standing before him, a human?

Shinji was unable to say for certain. There was nothing different from a human by outward appearance, but it possessed an aura that a human could not possibly have.

The two corpses——who had been alive until 30 seconds ago——had been captured in a ''kekkai'' without any chance to prepare themselves and were immediately decapitated.

The mysterious person had not moved a single finger. And yet Shinji had clearly witnessed an incredible force slicing the two heads off as if they were nothing. Or rather, Shinji had been forced to witness.

Even though the other two surpassed him in skill, Shinji was the only person left alive. It wasn't because of luck. Shinji realized this more than anyone else.

He was being toyed with. This demon in human shape was feeding on Shinji's fear and hopelessness. It held off killing him for the moment, playing with him lazily, enjoying his empty resistance.

"What the hell?! What did I do…?"

The ''thing'' gave no answer. It came closer without even making footsteps, taking its time.

The ''thing'' remained completely silent. Nothing came out as it drew closer, wielding an invisible sword.

Silence even after severing those heads. The two blood-covered heads rolling on the ground seemed not to have noticed their own deaths, still having drunken, relaxed slack smiles.

Shinji knew of only one person who could do what this ''thing'' had just done. He had just met that person yesterday. In addition, that person had a motive to kill them.

Shinji became frantic, begging the ''thing'' for forgiveness. His voice did a complete turn.

"Ka-Kazuma? You're Kazuma, right? Forgive me——it was my fault, I-I regret it, so please, forgive meeee——"

The only reply was a flash from the wind-blade. It severed his right arm at the base. Formed from a high density of spirits, the blade cut through meat and bone as if it were tofu.

''"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"''

While screaming, Shinji threw himself fully into starting Enjutsu. The intense concentration from being so close to death brought forth the greatest power of his 25 years of life.

The ''thing'' became covered in a golden flame, the same one that had the power to destroy any and all demons, the highest level of purification. The flame burned brightly through the darkness.

"Y-yeah! I think I——"

Suddenly, ''that thing'', now a huge torch, began to move. Shinji's face, full of hope, froze.

The ''thing'' stretched out a hand, taking hold of the golden flame, ''and in one movement, tore it from its body.'' 

The ''thing'' emerged from the flame's restraints completely uninjured. Its body, and even its clothes, remained undamaged without any sign of having been engulfed by fire.

The ''thing'' slowly turned to Shinji and began walking. Underneath the freezing moonlight, without a sound, it came closer, an ominous shadow.

This was, in some ways, twisted. There was something there that the eye could not help but be fascinated by. A scene filled with beauty that one had to admit was from the spirit world.

"Hee, heehee, heeheeeeheeheehee-, kyahahahaha, ahahahaha!"

Suddenly, Shinji began laughing in a strange voice.

Evidently, his mental equilibrium had snapped from an overload of fear. Even as the wind-blade soundlessly sliced through his body, splitting it in half, he tumbled over laughing without even showing a reaction.

Perhaps the ''thing'' got tired of Shinji's lack of response. It casually sliced off his head as if throwing away an unwanted toy.

There was a dull ''thunk.'' The third head rolled on the ground.

The ''thing'' remained dissatisfied even after killing everyone. It continued to slice up the bodies. Though it was only for a few minutes, the three bodies were cut into many small pieces that even the parents of the corpses would no longer recognize; they wouldn't even be able to tell what kind of flesh it was or what limb it was.

As the raw stink of blood and meat drifted through the kekkai, the ''thing'' laughed cruelly and vanished as if melting into the air.

Afterwards, three severed heads remained. Though the bodies were in pieces, there was not one injury on those heads.

Somehow, the three heads had ended up facing the gate in a straight line. Each had a strange smile, as if to say to anyone coming through that gate, "Welcome to a nightmare."

And so the tragedy began...

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| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
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Kaze no Stigma:Volume1 Chapter1

2013-08-15T06:44:06Z

Nwms8: /* 2 */ Comma deletion and sentence structure changes are explained in edit notes.

== Chapter One - The Disinherited Son Returns ==

=== 1 ===

"What bad taste……"

That was the first impression he had with this client. Incidentally, this impression did not change in the slightest all the way to the end. A mansion sat arrogantly on this hill, high-class residential area, displaying its design that completely disregarded the harmony of its surroundings. If one were to disregard the mansion thus far, one might have to say it was a rather magnificent view. Climbing up Governor's Hill presented a vast view of the land's rich scenery. When he saw it, he was honestly and completely stunned.

''(Did Turkish harems have this feeling?)''

Yagami Kazuma didn't seem to be joking when he thought that. "Don't paint the walls of a Japanese house in such wild colors!" he wanted to preach, while grabbing that person's collar. It was that kind of house.This area could probably be considered the origin of Japan's Westernization movement. The first gaslight was lit here and the very first ice cream in Japan was sold here. One would expect it to be a stylish, refined town with a distinguished history.

''(Considering that, this is probably something like a breach of contract…)'' 

He saw a decorated [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Golden Carp|golden carp]] on the roof and let out a sigh. The image that was held dear in Yokohama, had crumbled away completely, with a clattering sound.

When he accepted the job at the agency, he was given not only an address, but also a detailed map that was completely unnecessary. By asking the neighborhood residents, "what's the house with the poorest taste around here?" even a monkey could manage to find his way here.

- A structure painful to the eyes —— he didn't want to call it a house —— that when seen, made Kazuma look up to the sky, begging. The sky was empty and blue.

"Hey, at least it's work…" he muttered, trying to convince himself.

However, this was the same Kazuma whose looks probably wouldn't by any means be called appropriate for work. Wearing a checkered shirt covered by a black jacket with jeans and sneakers, this 22-year-old man seemed, no matter how one looked at him, no different than a student from a nearby university. He was completely blind to his own faults though. As he continued his observations, he noticed something strange. The dark aura that covered the mansion was thicker than he was told; because of this, perhaps even an ordinary person with no psychic background could sense the aura that was presently surrounding the mansion.

''(Maybe I should just go back…)''

Nagged by a horribly bad premonition, Kazuma's thought was halfway serious. The dark aura covering the mansion was something more unearthly than he had expected, but it wasn't so bad that he couldn't deal with it. For this reason, his premonition was a bad omen.

Yet, something else was up.

Judging from his experiences up until then, it was a credible and important premonition. However, he couldn't throw away this job on that alone. This was his first assignment in Japan; if he broke off the arrangement with a reason like that, there was no doubt that he would never get any jobs from the agency in the future. He made his way toward the mansion with heavy steps and stopped in front of a ridiculously huge gate. As he stood in front of the doorbell, Kazuma was still unsure if he should continue this job. Danger signals bombarded his instincts and he couldn't help wanting to run away. However...

"Yagami-sama, I presume."

Without any warning, a voice came from the intercom and completely disrupted Kazuma's thinking. He jumped back with a start and stood on guard as the voice continued.

"You've been expected. Kindly enter through the door on the side."

Click. As she spoke, a small door towards the right side of the gate unlocked. Apparently, there was no one to escort him inside.

''(Compared with that "you've been expected," that's some rude treatment…)''

He felt uncomfortable, but he was dealing with a customer. He entered through the side door as instructed. Inside the fence was a large number of security cameras and sensors.

"They must live a very shadowy life..." Kazuma muttered.

Multiple cameras followed him as he walked into the entryway. Irritation rose in him, almost to the point of wanting to kill whoever put him under this rude surveillance. Somehow though, Kazuma managed to repress himself.

"Eeek……"

That was what he'd intended, but apparently it showed on his face. The maid who came to greet him became fearful of him as if she had just come across a man-eating bear. Kazuma hurriedly smoothed over his expression.

"Welcome! Please, come this way."

Somehow she changed her face of terror, as if she were being picked up and eaten, to an overly bright smile. It didn't seem possible for someone to change their expression so dramatically, forgetting their suspicions instantly, yet the maid smiled as if nothing had happened. As the maid walked ahead to lead him to the living room, Kazuma observed her gratifyingly swaying bottom.

''(It would have been better if I'd left…)''

Kazuma felt deep regret at his choice as soon as he arrived at the living room and saw what was inside. A thin, little man laid back with his legs outstretched, introducing himself as Sakamoto Nanigashi, the master of the mansion. Kazuma recognized him as the client, but he wasn't alone. There was also a [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Practitioner|practitioner]] in the room whose face he knew well. That practitioner, upon seeing Kazuma, showed fear on his face for a moment but immediately twisted his lips into a sneer and glared at Kazuma with a face full of scorn.

"What? The other practitioner was you Kazuma? You became a disinherited child of the Kannagi because of your incompetence and now you dare to call yourself a practitioner?"

Those explanatory words were probably for Sakamoto to hear. Practitioner——Kannagi. The youngest child of the branch family, Yuuki Shinji, truly took great pleasure in mocking Kazuma. Sakamoto showed the response that Shinji expected. His expression changed as he approached Kazuma.

"Is this true? Isn't this different from what you said? You said you were a top-class spiritual practitioner, which was why I hired you!"

Kazuma, calmly making a step back with each step his client made forward, answered...

"I don't know what the person at the agency told you but if you're dissatisfied, perhaps I should leave?"

"Hmmph, that's right."

Sakamoto's eyes showed a faintly cunning light. Kazuma's desire to work, which was scarce even at the best of times, quickly neared zero.

"Mmmm, how about this? Why don't you both try the exorcism and only the successful one gets paid? Ahh, naturally, I won't tell the loser to return the advance payment."

"Good idea, yeah."

They were flippant words, but Shinji had immediately accepted them. Then, with the face of someone who was completely made a fool of, he asked Kazuma.

"And what are you going to do?"

"I'm out."

Kazuma gave an immediate reply. In the scornful stares of the two, not even a muscle of their eyebrow moved.

"Hmmph, coward! Sucking your finger like a baby! I'll show you a model example of an [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Enjutsu|Enjutsu]]."

"Model example eh? Tough talk for the youngest child of the branch family."

"Y-you!"

Shinji was enraged from being insulted by the person who he looked down upon. Completely forgetting about being in front of a client, he tightened a fist and lunged forward. He sent a powerful punch directed at Kazuma's face, yet Kazuma easily dodged the punch by stepping aside to his left. Shinji, who had inserted a great deal of force into his punch, lost his balance and fell. At the last moment, he managed to make it look like a feint by attempting to kick Kazuma's temple from his blind spot.

However, Kazuma, as if he had seen it coming, casually bent his head back. The heel of Shinji's left leg passed by a few millimeters in front of his eyes. Kazuma moved like the leaves of a tree swaying in the wind, without hesitation. After dodging Shinji's kick, he immediately swept Shinji's pivoting leg, making him trip and fall down on all fours to the floor. 

"Sh-shit!"

Shinji barely managed to perform an [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Ukemi|ukemi]] and quickly got back up. Incorrigible, he assumed a fighting posture.

"You! Do you think that you can beat me in [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Taijutsu|Taijutsu]]? You were not even a match for the me from four years ago. There's no way you can be an opponent for me right now." 

"Sh-shut up!"

Kazuma did not show the least bit of triumph. He chided disinterestedly, as if facing a defiant child. Being looked down upon from such a securely elevated position, Shinji's reason made a sound and broke.

"Stop it right there you two."

A restraining voice broke in, turning the two heads towards the speaker. Sakamoto showed great satisfaction at successfully getting both their attention. In a tone as if he was scolding a child, he shouted...

"I didn't call you here to fight! The furnishings in this room, no matter which one you look at, are all more expensive than what I'm paying you! Any kind of rough behavior would be troublesome, okay?"

Suddenly, around the vicinity of money talk, there was a scumbag. The person in question was probably attempting to flaunt his assets, but for the ones made to listen, it was nothing but the stink of the ''nouveau riche'' pushed up their noses.

''(Maybe I'll leave… since I still get the advance payment...)''

With the discomfort continuing to rise with no end in sight, Kazuma's desire to work had already disappeared. He couldn't ignore the agony of simply being in the place.

"Mm……?"

Instantly, without warning, an unearthly presence began to converge...

"It's coming..."

The unearthly presence spread throughout the mansion and directed its focus to one point in the living room. Kazuma casually moved back so that Sakamoto and Shinji were between himself and this presence.

"What's that? What just…?"

The unearthly presence solidified into a smoky black figure. Shinji, seconds slower than Kazuma, finally noticed it too.

"Hmmm, so it came out?"

"Wh-what? What's wrong?"

Hesitatingly breaking the suddenly tense atmosphere, Sakamoto shouted in a shrill voice.

Kazuma answered in place of Shinji, who was already beginning to focus his mind for the use of a [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Jutsu|jutsu]].

"It's time to work. The 'evil spirit', or whatever you've been struggling with just came out."

While giving this offhand explanation, Kazuma felt a beyond-ordinary sense of unease.

''(That's no evil spirit. What kind of thing is it?)''

When Kazuma first accepted this assignment, the person at the agency said "It is just a normal evil-spirit exorcism."

—— Hey, your first job should be one of these, right? If you're as good as the rumors say, you should be able to take that evil spirit with one hand or another ——

A superficial seeming man, but with definite achievements. Their kind of work was, in some sense, even more than practitioners', it was a work where confidence was life. Making a mistake this big was extremely unlikely. It wasn't an easy business, so such an irresponsible agent would not survive.

''(Was I set up? Well, fine. Should I just observe his skill?)''

Kazuma leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and looked about as if sightseeing. Shinji focused his mind to prepare himself for the appearance of the "evil spirit." He was apparently planning to burn it the moment it appeared. It was easy to see from his expression. Suddenly, the space in front of Shinji turned dark and thick. Shinji faced both his palms towards each other in order to set up a transparent ball in front of his chest. A small fire ignited between those palms.

''Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooon……''

A voice full of resentment shook the air as the evil spirit revealed itself. A distorted face stood before them, projecting hatred across the room.


"Eeep!"

"HAAAA!!"

Paying no attention to the screaming Sakamoto, Shinji released a devastating flame alongside a sharp yell. The evil spirit would be cleansed on contact with the summoned fire and would disappear without a trace... or so Shinji believed. However...

"Idiot."
''
Gioooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo……''

While the evil spirit's cries of agony echoed and Shinji snickered...the flame exploded.

"Gahhhhhhhhhh!?"

Shinji screamed as he was wrapped in the flames that he had summoned. In a moment, the entire living room was engulfed in flames.

''Kakakakakakakakakakakakakakakaka''

The entity before them had overcome Shinji's attack and had devoured the flame. The [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Youma|youma]] began to sneer with laughter.

=== 2 ===

Even among the ''Enjutsu'' users who could freely manipulate fire, the Kannagi family was famous for their superior strength. It was not simply because their power was great. The reason laid in the special ability passed on in their family's blood. The flame they manipulated was not created by the physical phenomenon of simply accelerating molecular motion. It possessed the power to burn away impurities and destroy evil.

Because of this "purifying flame" the Kannagi family practitioners held absolute dominance over ''youma'', evil spirits, and all beings who transgressed the law. However, even with the ability given by blood, depending on the extent to which their blood was diluted with each generation, it was inevitable that their power would eventually deteriorate.

The branch family practitioners had long lost the highest rank of the "gold" flame attribute. If a youma with a fire attribute was their opponent, the flame that they released would merely be absorbed by the youma instead of purifying and destroying it.

...Which was what had happened just now——

The living room had become a purgatory. The high-class furniture and the shag carpet were already carbonizing. The glass from the chandelier on the ceiling had melted and turned into a grotesque art object. This wouldn't have happened if someone from the head family branch had purified the youma. <-- Removed ', though' since it seemed redundant -->

"I wonder if he's dead..." Kazuma muttered with a refreshed face.

A cool breeze wrapped around Kazuma, preventing the raging fire from touching him. Even the heat that the flame emitted was sealed off; not a drop of sweat was on Kazuma's face. <-- Nwms8: Changed 'Even the heat that the flame present in the room emitted' to 'Even the heat that the flame emitted'. The part about the flame being in the room is obvious -->

"H-help……"

A frail voice rang in his eardrums. Kazuma looked down at the blackened object at his feet.

His client Sakamoto had rolled into the [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Kekkai|kekkai]], screaming. He didn't seem to be dead though he was burned here and there.

"Aaaaaa! He-help me!"

Sakamoto screamed as he clung onto Kazuma's legs. However, Kazuma heartlessly kicked away his client.

''Thud!''

Sakamoto's face writhed in pain as he was mercilessly trampled upon. Since Kazuma didn't want to touch anything beyond his slippers, he brought down his heel instead of stepping on him. The skull could have been making a creaking sound, but that wasn't a big problem.

Kazuma stepped on Sakamoto's head and stated clearly: "you're not my client and I don't have a habit of saving middle-aged men."

"If it's money, I'll pay. Twice as much, or so…"

"Twice? Is your life worth only a million?"

Kazuma took a cigarette from his pocket. He gently stretched out his hand, exposing the cigarette's tip outside of the kekkai and began to smoke.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 01 019.jpg|thumb]]

Sakamoto didn't have the luxury to be so relaxed though. Whether by chance or on purpose, there were holes in the area of the kekkai near Sakamoto. Some of the flames passed through the holes and touched him.

"Hot-! Ee-eeee! Help! Fine!! I'll pay 10 million!"

"Thanks for your business."

Upon tossing away his cigarette, Kazuma's face let out a smile similar to that of a demon who had made a profitable deal.

"All right now. Then, won't you please stand back?"

Kazuma kicked Sakamoto in the rear, sending him rolling into the side of the room and proclaimed, "you're in the way."

He began muttering in a low voice and waved his right hand sideways in a mowing motion. As if being squeezed out by his hand, the raging fire was instantly expelled through the window.

The fire didn't spread to the grass and trees in the garden. Instead, it scattered and then vanished.

At that moment, a fireball with a distorted face floated in the center of the room. Now the youma's true form was in front of Kazuma.

''Hyuuoou-''

In place of the extinguished fire, wind raged across the room. Kazuma stood quietly and with his hand still in his jacket pocket, directed the wind to erase the flames still remaining in the room.

The fight was already over. The youma was unable to even put up any resistance against Kazuma's overwhelming power as it was torn to pieces. All that was left to do was wait for its annihilation.

"And with this…"

Kazuma slowly raised his right hand. A person gifted with the sixth sense would have been terrified upon seeing the amount of wind power that was gathering in his hand.

"…The end!"

The hand swung down ten times faster than it came up. From his right hand, an invisible blade that sliced through air came forth, slicing the youma neatly in two.

There were no spirit fragments remaining. Kazuma quietly observed the destroyed youma with a calm look.

"Finished," Kazuma told Sakamoto. Sakamoto was still lying on the floor, dumbfounded.

"Pay the money in three days. Otherwise, would you like to regret having ever been born?"

It was identical to what a criminal would say. Even if it was a mistake, it wasn't the way one would speak to a customer.

However, Sakamoto, realizing the horror of going against Kazuma, didn't even dare to complain.

"Y-yes. Understood. But something terrible has happened to Yuuki-kun. I never thought something so serious would happen."

Without a word Kazuma approached what appeared to be the ashes of Shinji's remains and trampled on them to Sakamoto's despair. As expected, Sakamoto protested... <-- Nwms8: Changed 'trampled on them in despair' to 'trampled on them to Sakamoto's despair' since Kazuma would not trample in despair. Also changed 'Sakamoto detested' to 'Sakamoto protested' -->

"Wh-what are you doing!? I don't know whatever happened between you two but please give respect to the dead!"

"He's not dead..." Kazuma dryly spat the words out and then continued to kick Shinji again and again.

Upon doing so, the ash covering the surface fell off; Sakamoto noticed that Shinji appeared to be undamaged by the flame that had covered him a while ago.

"Wh-wha……?"

Sakamoto doubted his eyes as he beheld the unbelievable scene. Kazuma gave an offhand explanation.

"All of the Kannagi bloodline receive the divine protection of the fire spirits. Even people from a branch family wouldn't die in this degree of fire." <-- Nwms8: Changed 'Kannagi's people' to 'the Kannagi bloodline' -->

Kazuma curled his lips in self-derision and added, "though I'm the exception."

"Uu……Guu……"

Shinji murmured, waking up. After looking around him, he confirmed that the youma was destroyed.

"You did this?"

"It's just like you saw."

''Who do you think you are, saying whatever you please?''——Kazuma was already aware that Shinji was conscious the whole time. Shinji hurriedly attempted an explanation.

"So you noticed……? But I couldn't help. I honestly couldn't move."

"I don't want to hear your excuses."

Kazuma coldly stated this over his shoulder, as he turned his back. Shinji called out to the unhesitating figure leaving. There was still something he wanted to ask.

"Why did you return?"

"On a whim, I guess."

At Kazuma's lazy answer, Shinji sharpened his gaze thinking that his question had been evaded.

"'A whim...' Do you believe the elders will accept that?"

"I was only disinherited, I wasn't exiled. Where I go is my business."

"What are you planning?"

"Nothing in particular," Kazuma answered curtly, shrugging his shoulders.

"Are you returning to the Kannagi?"

"Not even if I die."

Kazuma answered as if spitting out the words. Then, this time, without hesitation, he walked off.

Shinji was driven by a sense of unease that he couldn't suppress. He continued to stare at Kazuma.

''(I have to tell this to the [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Soushu|soushu]] as soon as possible…)''

In a sense, Shinji's unease was on the mark. From that moment, a war to push the Kannagi into the abyss of ruin began.

===3===

"Did you know? It seems that Kazuma has returned to Japan. What's more, he's become a Fuujutsu practitioner."

"What! That incompetent guy? It must be dead simple, then, to be a Fuujutsu practitioner."

"Nope, 'I'm a dark magician' is what I heard. For him to become a practitioner, he'd have to sell his soul to the devil, right?"

"Ah, that's probably true."

"Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha…"

That day, rumors about Kazuma were the talk of the Kannagi main house. Of the elders (the general term for those who retired from active service and are now overseeing the management of the practitioners) who heard Shinji's report, only one refrained from jokingly spreading around nonsense.

Shinji was currently under probation for the offense of the aforesaid failure of his duty. Tail fin, dorsal fin, belly fins; all were wildly added to the rumor, until it grew to maturity. Not one person tried to stop it.

The source of the rumors, the elders, appeared to be in complete delight. The people known as ''elders''—excluding the extremely serious exceptions—were basically men of leisure. "Looking important is work," and so on, was the gossip some attacked with.

When there was no work, they would drink tea all day and amuse themselves by talking about various topics. Obviously, they could not resist something interesting to talk about.

They danced with joy inside upon hearing Shinji's news. The elders, when they passed the verdict of probation on the dejected Shinji, even had something of a skipping type of light gait while they drank tea and turned back to each other. They haphazardly began talking like this:

"Ohh, did you know…?"

The elders, during this work time, were like different people in energetic activity.

Within an hour, there was almost nobody in the huge mansion who had not heard of Kazuma's return to the country. It certainly reached the servants, spreading to all kinds of people afterwards.

It was, in short, a situation where almost nobody knew the true facts. It wasn't a big problem for the elders, though, since their attitude was pretty much, ''If it's interesting, who cares what happens later!''

And so, news of Kazuma spread in the exact opposite direction which Shinji had hoped for.

To wit:

"Kazuma's returned as a dark magician."

"Kazuma was secretly murdered; he's buried in the back garden."

"Kazuma clashed with Shinji during work and suddenly killed him."

"Kazuma made a contract with the wind spirits. An evil demon."

The truth was subtly mixed in, but it was distorted so much that nobody could really interpret it. Obviously, no one feared Kazuma's retribution.

Kazuma, the main family's failure who had left all his talent in his mother's womb, like liquid skimmed off the top, had found a preferable power to take in, it seemed. Nobody laughed at that.

However, there were a small number of exceptions. One of them was the current suzerain, Kannagi Juugo. During supper, in the humorous talk that was being told, there was one item Juugo was interested in.

"Ohhhh? Kazuma chose Fuujutsu? Did you know that, Genma?"

Juugo spoke to his cousin sitting next to him. For some reason, as if harboring some ill will, Genma's smile was filled with hatred.

"…Oh"

Genma answered briefly. Apparently the rumor had already reached his ears, as he didn't appear disturbed.

However, it was clear he wasn't happy about the rumor either. The saying, ''like someone chewing up a bitter bug,'' perfectly described his frown as he gripped a tight fist.

''If Kazuma was in front of me, I'd want to strangle him to death.'' His expression openly displayed his thoughts.

"It's shameful."

"It's not especially shameful." Juugo answered lightly. He gave a command to a nearby servant: "I would like to hear a detailed account. Call Shinji."

"Certainly."

The moment he arrived, Shinji bowed down so low that he scraped the tatami in his prostration. His tension was great; he was sweating from his forehead and breathing awkwardly.

Truthfully, the difference in status between Kannagi's main family and branch family was absolute. It was impossible for the branch family to even dream of a revolution.

Tradition and social status meant nothing in Kannagi's system. The two families were simply separated by the overwhelming difference in power.

If a rebellion were to occur, Enjutsu practitioners like Juugo or Genma could simply smash everyone in the branch family by wiggling a finger. Because of this hopeless difference in power, no thoughts of rebellion were harbored.

Therefore, Shinji's tension was understandable. He was in front of Juugo, whose superiority was similar to a god, and had to recount his clumsy failure. This was definitely worse than his original feelings.

"Raise your face. You don't have to humble yourself like that."

Juugo spoke in a friendly manner. However, looking into the suzerain's face and speaking was far too overwhelming for Shinji. In the end, he raised his face, but his eyes still stared at the tatami as he submitted his report.

"A-and, I now have the privilege of being allowed to give this report."

"…I see."

After Shinji finished recounting everything, Juugo remained silent for a while after saying that.

"…I see."

As if to confirm, he repeated it once more. He closed his eyes lightly, and reminisced back to when his nephew (to be accurate, the relation was more separated than that, but he used the label since it was too much trouble) had left 4 years ago.

''(—What a poor child he was.)''

If Kazuma had been born to any but the Kannagi family, he would probably have been considered a superior child. Excellent intellect, good reflexes, and great promise in learning the jutsu; all jutsu except one. He was unable to manipulate fire.

However, for the Kannagi family, this was the most important ability.

No matter what else he was proficient at, someone with no talent for manipulating fire was treated as incompetent. Because of this, Kazuma was no longer part of the Kannagi.

''Still—'' Juugo thought.

''(Why didn't you ask me for help, Kazuma? There was no need to disown you from the family. If it was me, I would have made a place for you. Whatever Genma said, I wouldn't have cared about the Enjutsu, I would have made use of your talent, yet despite that…)''

Juugo looked down at his right leg. It was made of metal and plastic. If that accident hadn't happened, and the "rule of inheritance" hadn't been rushed, would Kazuma be here right now?

Unfortunately, it was far too late. Kazuma had thrown away the family, their name; all that was Kannagi, and had left Japan. This was reality. The ''past'' is a thing that could never be changed.

"…Suzerain?"

An uncertain voice brought Juugo back to reality. Looking around, he found everyone in an awkward silence. It wasn't surprising, as there were almost none among them who had not tormented Kazuma.

However, the one who had driven Kazuma out was calm. That person, Genma, spoke without a single change in his expression.

"Suzerain. Kazuma is already someone without any connection to the Kannagi. There is no need to worry about him."

"Genma, you would say that of your own son—"

"I have only one son, Ren."

Genma spoke coolly, interrupting the suzerain's words. Juugo considered replying, but, disliking unproductive battles, he decided to put other, safer words into his mouth.

"It's fine then. After all, Kazuma has become successful in Fuujutsu. Maybe it was best that he left the Kannagi... Or maybe, Hyoue, if he had been entrusted to your care, could he have become skilled and powerful?" 

"Perhaps." Sitting at a lower seat, Hyoue, the head of the Fuuga clan, answered sullenly. 

Genma again cut in with an objection.

"We are all afraid even though Fuujutsu and such are, after all, lower arts? The most they are capable of is acting as assistants to Enjutsu practitioners. Even if we had known 4 years ago of Kazuma's talent for Fuujutsu and left him to people like the Fuuga clan, clearly, we would still have had to disinherit him."

Hearing his art publicly insulted, Hyoue twisted his face in humiliation. However, nobody paid any attention to Hyoue nor his face.

To the Kannagi family, who only valued fighting power, the Fuuga clan, having been given the reconnaissance and battle support duties, was limited to a lower status. Genma was not trying to start a fight. He was not saying anything beyond the normal beliefs of the other Kannagi.

"…We will go no further with this talk. Dinner will become unpleasant."

At Juugo's words, everyone clearly showed relieved expressions on their faces. As if on cue, cheerful talk began, and they rolled around laughing at silly jokes.

Though awkwardly, the usual dining hall atmosphere returned.

And so, nobody noticed the dark light harbored in Hyoue's eyes. He suppressed his thoughts from showing up on his expression, and murmured in a voice so small it did not even reach his own ears.

"I will not forget this disgrace, Genma…"

=== 4 ===

"Kannagi……no, Yagami Kazuma……? You came back at a very good time!"

"Huo-huo-huo……" A hoarse laugh broke the strained silence. Not a single streak of light could be found in the single room filled with darkness.

"And……?"

"Yes, it's better if everyone hears this. Finally, the time has come. The time when we shall dispel the disgrace that has lasted 300 years. Now is the time for us to regain the power we lost, and return to our previous, glorious position."

"Ohhhhhhhhh…………"

A stifled commotion filled the air. No one shouted. Afraid of being discovered, they kept their breaths in check, keeping their tension locked inside the room.

"Oh, when you finally realize it, you Kannagi... We will overthrow you and leave not a single one remaining… Kukuku…"

A low and gloomy voice echoed with resentment darker than darkness...

''"U-uwaaaaaaaaaaaa! Wha-what, what are you doing-?!"''

Late at night on that same day, Shinji screamed out in terror. Nearby were two freshly severed heads, which tumbled down onto the floor. Following them were two headless corpses. And standing before him, a human?

Shinji was unable to say for certain. There was nothing different from a human by outward appearance, but it possessed an aura that a human could not possibly have.

The two corpses——who had been alive until 30 seconds ago——had been captured in a ''kekkai'' without any chance to prepare themselves and were immediately decapitated.

The mysterious person had not moved a single finger. And yet Shinji had clearly witnessed an incredible force slicing the two heads off as if they were nothing. Or rather, Shinji had been forced to witness.

Even though the other two surpassed him in skill, Shinji was the only person left alive. It wasn't because of luck. Shinji realized this more than anyone else.

He was being toyed with. This demon in human shape was feeding on Shinji's fear and hopelessness. It held off killing him for the moment, playing with him lazily, enjoying his empty resistance.

"What the hell?! What did I do…?"

The ''thing'' gave no answer. It came closer without even making footsteps, taking its time.

The ''thing'' remained completely silent. Nothing came out as it drew closer, wielding an invisible sword.

Silence even after severing those heads. The two blood-covered heads rolling on the ground seemed not to have noticed their own deaths, still having drunken, relaxed slack smiles.

Shinji knew of only one person who could do what this ''thing'' had just done. He had just met that person yesterday. In addition, that person had a motive to kill them.

Shinji became frantic, begging the ''thing'' for forgiveness. His voice did a complete turn.

"Ka-Kazuma? You're Kazuma, right? Forgive me——it was my fault, I-I regret it, so please, forgive meeee——"

The only reply was a flash from the wind-blade. It severed his right arm at the base. Formed from a high density of spirits, the blade cut through meat and bone as if it were tofu.

''"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"''

While screaming, Shinji threw himself fully into starting Enjutsu. The intense concentration from being so close to death brought forth the greatest power of his 25 years of life.

The ''thing'' became covered in a golden flame, the same one that had the power to destroy any and all demons, the highest level of purification. The flame burned brightly through the darkness.

"Y-yeah! I think I——"

Suddenly, ''that thing'', now a huge torch, began to move. Shinji's face, full of hope, froze.

The ''thing'' stretched out a hand, taking hold of the golden flame, ''and in one movement, tore it from its body.'' 

The ''thing'' emerged from the flame's restraints completely uninjured. Its body, and even its clothes, remained undamaged without any sign of having been engulfed by fire.

The ''thing'' slowly turned to Shinji and began walking. Underneath the freezing moonlight, without a sound, it came closer, an ominous shadow.

This was, in some ways, twisted. There was something there that the eye could not help but be fascinated by. A scene filled with beauty that one had to admit was from the spirit world.

"Hee, heehee, heeheeeeheeheehee-, kyahahahaha, ahahahaha!"

Suddenly, Shinji began laughing in a strange voice.

Evidently, his mental equilibrium had snapped from an overload of fear. Even as the wind-blade soundlessly sliced through his body, splitting it in half, he tumbled over laughing without even showing a reaction.

Perhaps the ''thing'' got tired of Shinji's lack of response. It casually sliced off his head as if throwing away an unwanted toy.

There was a dull ''thunk.'' The third head rolled on the ground.

The ''thing'' remained dissatisfied even after killing everyone. It continued to slice up the bodies. Though it was only for a few minutes, the three bodies were cut into many small pieces that even the parents of the corpses would no longer recognize; they wouldn't even be able to tell what kind of flesh it was or what limb it was.

As the raw stink of blood and meat drifted through the kekkai, the ''thing'' laughed cruelly and vanished as if melting into the air.

Afterwards, three severed heads remained. Though the bodies were in pieces, there was not one injury on those heads.

Somehow, the three heads had ended up facing the gate in a straight line. Each had a strange smile, as if to say to anyone coming through that gate, "Welcome to a nightmare."

And so the tragedy began...

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| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
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Kaze no Stigma:Volume1 Chapter1

2013-08-15T05:59:11Z

Nwms8: /* 1 */

== Chapter One - The Disinherited Son Returns ==

=== 1 ===

"What bad taste……"

That was the first impression he had with this client. Incidentally, this impression did not change in the slightest all the way to the end. A mansion sat arrogantly on this hill, high-class residential area, displaying its design that completely disregarded the harmony of its surroundings. If one were to disregard the mansion thus far, one might have to say it was a rather magnificent view. Climbing up Governor's Hill presented a vast view of the land's rich scenery. When he saw it, he was honestly and completely stunned.

''(Did Turkish harems have this feeling?)''

Yagami Kazuma didn't seem to be joking when he thought that. "Don't paint the walls of a Japanese house in such wild colors!" he wanted to preach, while grabbing that person's collar. It was that kind of house.This area could probably be considered the origin of Japan's Westernization movement. The first gaslight was lit here and the very first ice cream in Japan was sold here. One would expect it to be a stylish, refined town with a distinguished history.

''(Considering that, this is probably something like a breach of contract…)'' 

He saw a decorated [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Golden Carp|golden carp]] on the roof and let out a sigh. The image that was held dear in Yokohama, had crumbled away completely, with a clattering sound.

When he accepted the job at the agency, he was given not only an address, but also a detailed map that was completely unnecessary. By asking the neighborhood residents, "what's the house with the poorest taste around here?" even a monkey could manage to find his way here.

- A structure painful to the eyes —— he didn't want to call it a house —— that when seen, made Kazuma look up to the sky, begging. The sky was empty and blue.

"Hey, at least it's work…" he muttered, trying to convince himself.

However, this was the same Kazuma whose looks probably wouldn't by any means be called appropriate for work. Wearing a checkered shirt covered by a black jacket with jeans and sneakers, this 22-year-old man seemed, no matter how one looked at him, no different than a student from a nearby university. He was completely blind to his own faults though. As he continued his observations, he noticed something strange. The dark aura that covered the mansion was thicker than he was told; because of this, perhaps even an ordinary person with no psychic background could sense the aura that was presently surrounding the mansion.

''(Maybe I should just go back…)''

Nagged by a horribly bad premonition, Kazuma's thought was halfway serious. The dark aura covering the mansion was something more unearthly than he had expected, but it wasn't so bad that he couldn't deal with it. For this reason, his premonition was a bad omen.

Yet, something else was up.

Judging from his experiences up until then, it was a credible and important premonition. However, he couldn't throw away this job on that alone. This was his first assignment in Japan; if he broke off the arrangement with a reason like that, there was no doubt that he would never get any jobs from the agency in the future. He made his way toward the mansion with heavy steps and stopped in front of a ridiculously huge gate. As he stood in front of the doorbell, Kazuma was still unsure if he should continue this job. Danger signals bombarded his instincts and he couldn't help wanting to run away. However...

"Yagami-sama, I presume."

Without any warning, a voice came from the intercom and completely disrupted Kazuma's thinking. He jumped back with a start and stood on guard as the voice continued.

"You've been expected. Kindly enter through the door on the side."

Click. As she spoke, a small door towards the right side of the gate unlocked. Apparently, there was no one to escort him inside.

''(Compared with that "you've been expected," that's some rude treatment…)''

He felt uncomfortable, but he was dealing with a customer. He entered through the side door as instructed. Inside the fence was a large number of security cameras and sensors.

"They must live a very shadowy life..." Kazuma muttered.

Multiple cameras followed him as he walked into the entryway. Irritation rose in him, almost to the point of wanting to kill whoever put him under this rude surveillance. Somehow though, Kazuma managed to repress himself.

"Eeek……"

That was what he'd intended, but apparently it showed on his face. The maid who came to greet him became fearful of him as if she had just come across a man-eating bear. Kazuma hurriedly smoothed over his expression.

"Welcome! Please, come this way."

Somehow she changed her face of terror, as if she were being picked up and eaten, to an overly bright smile. It didn't seem possible for someone to change their expression so dramatically, forgetting their suspicions instantly, yet the maid smiled as if nothing had happened. As the maid walked ahead to lead him to the living room, Kazuma observed her gratifyingly swaying bottom.

''(It would have been better if I'd left…)''

Kazuma felt deep regret at his choice as soon as he arrived at the living room and saw what was inside. A thin, little man laid back with his legs outstretched, introducing himself as Sakamoto Nanigashi, the master of the mansion. Kazuma recognized him as the client, but he wasn't alone. There was also a [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Practitioner|practitioner]] in the room whose face he knew well. That practitioner, upon seeing Kazuma, showed fear on his face for a moment but immediately twisted his lips into a sneer and glared at Kazuma with a face full of scorn.

"What? The other practitioner was you Kazuma? You became a disinherited child of the Kannagi because of your incompetence and now you dare to call yourself a practitioner?"

Those explanatory words were probably for Sakamoto to hear. Practitioner——Kannagi. The youngest child of the branch family, Yuuki Shinji, truly took great pleasure in mocking Kazuma. Sakamoto showed the response that Shinji expected. His expression changed as he approached Kazuma.

"Is this true? Isn't this different from what you said? You said you were a top-class spiritual practitioner, which was why I hired you!"

Kazuma, calmly making a step back with each step his client made forward, answered...

"I don't know what the person at the agency told you but if you're dissatisfied, perhaps I should leave?"

"Hmmph, that's right."

Sakamoto's eyes showed a faintly cunning light. Kazuma's desire to work, which was scarce even at the best of times, quickly neared zero.

"Mmmm, how about this? Why don't you both try the exorcism and only the successful one gets paid? Ahh, naturally, I won't tell the loser to return the advance payment."

"Good idea, yeah."

They were flippant words, but Shinji had immediately accepted them. Then, with the face of someone who was completely made a fool of, he asked Kazuma.

"And what are you going to do?"

"I'm out."

Kazuma gave an immediate reply. In the scornful stares of the two, not even a muscle of their eyebrow moved.

"Hmmph, coward! Sucking your finger like a baby! I'll show you a model example of an [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Enjutsu|Enjutsu]]."

"Model example eh? Tough talk for the youngest child of the branch family."

"Y-you!"

Shinji was enraged from being insulted by the person who he looked down upon. Completely forgetting about being in front of a client, he tightened a fist and lunged forward. He sent a powerful punch directed at Kazuma's face, yet Kazuma easily dodged the punch by stepping aside to his left. Shinji, who had inserted a great deal of force into his punch, lost his balance and fell. At the last moment, he managed to make it look like a feint by attempting to kick Kazuma's temple from his blind spot.

However, Kazuma, as if he had seen it coming, casually bent his head back. The heel of Shinji's left leg passed by a few millimeters in front of his eyes. Kazuma moved like the leaves of a tree swaying in the wind, without hesitation. After dodging Shinji's kick, he immediately swept Shinji's pivoting leg, making him trip and fall down on all fours to the floor. 

"Sh-shit!"

Shinji barely managed to perform an [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Ukemi|ukemi]] and quickly got back up. Incorrigible, he assumed a fighting posture.

"You! Do you think that you can beat me in [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Taijutsu|Taijutsu]]? You were not even a match for the me from four years ago. There's no way you can be an opponent for me right now." 

"Sh-shut up!"

Kazuma did not show the least bit of triumph. He chided disinterestedly, as if facing a defiant child. Being looked down upon from such a securely elevated position, Shinji's reason made a sound and broke.

"Stop it right there you two."

A restraining voice broke in, turning the two heads towards the speaker. Sakamoto showed great satisfaction at successfully getting both their attention. In a tone as if he was scolding a child, he shouted...

"I didn't call you here to fight! The furnishings in this room, no matter which one you look at, are all more expensive than what I'm paying you! Any kind of rough behavior would be troublesome, okay?"

Suddenly, around the vicinity of money talk, there was a scumbag. The person in question was probably attempting to flaunt his assets, but for the ones made to listen, it was nothing but the stink of the ''nouveau riche'' pushed up their noses.

''(Maybe I'll leave… since I still get the advance payment...)''

With the discomfort continuing to rise with no end in sight, Kazuma's desire to work had already disappeared. He couldn't ignore the agony of simply being in the place.

"Mm……?"

Instantly, without warning, an unearthly presence began to converge...

"It's coming..."

The unearthly presence spread throughout the mansion and directed its focus to one point in the living room. Kazuma casually moved back so that Sakamoto and Shinji were between himself and this presence.

"What's that? What just…?"

The unearthly presence solidified into a smoky black figure. Shinji, seconds slower than Kazuma, finally noticed it too.

"Hmmm, so it came out?"

"Wh-what? What's wrong?"

Hesitatingly breaking the suddenly tense atmosphere, Sakamoto shouted in a shrill voice.

Kazuma answered in place of Shinji, who was already beginning to focus his mind for the use of a [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Jutsu|jutsu]].

"It's time to work. The 'evil spirit', or whatever you've been struggling with just came out."

While giving this offhand explanation, Kazuma felt a beyond-ordinary sense of unease.

''(That's no evil spirit. What kind of thing is it?)''

When Kazuma first accepted this assignment, the person at the agency said "It is just a normal evil-spirit exorcism."

—— Hey, your first job should be one of these, right? If you're as good as the rumors say, you should be able to take that evil spirit with one hand or another ——

A superficial seeming man, but with definite achievements. Their kind of work was, in some sense, even more than practitioners', it was a work where confidence was life. Making a mistake this big was extremely unlikely. It wasn't an easy business, so such an irresponsible agent would not survive.

''(Was I set up? Well, fine. Should I just observe his skill?)''

Kazuma leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and looked about as if sightseeing. Shinji focused his mind to prepare himself for the appearance of the "evil spirit." He was apparently planning to burn it the moment it appeared. It was easy to see from his expression. Suddenly, the space in front of Shinji turned dark and thick. Shinji faced both his palms towards each other in order to set up a transparent ball in front of his chest. A small fire ignited between those palms.

''Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooon……''

A voice full of resentment shook the air as the evil spirit revealed itself. A distorted face stood before them, projecting hatred across the room.


"Eeep!"

"HAAAA!!"

Paying no attention to the screaming Sakamoto, Shinji released a devastating flame alongside a sharp yell. The evil spirit would be cleansed on contact with the summoned fire and would disappear without a trace... or so Shinji believed. However...

"Idiot."
''
Gioooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo……''

While the evil spirit's cries of agony echoed and Shinji snickered...the flame exploded.

"Gahhhhhhhhhh!?"

Shinji screamed as he was wrapped in the flames that he had summoned. In a moment, the entire living room was engulfed in flames.

''Kakakakakakakakakakakakakakakaka''

The entity before them had overcome Shinji's attack and had devoured the flame. The [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Youma|youma]] began to sneer with laughter.

=== 2 ===

Even among the ''Enjutsu'' users who could freely manipulate fire, the Kannagi family was famous for their superior strength. It was not simply because their power was great. The reason laid in the special ability passed on in their family's blood. The flame they manipulated was not created by the physical phenomenon of simply accelerating molecular motion. It possessed the power to burn away impurities and destroy evil.

Because of this "purifying flame" the Kannagi family practitioners held absolute dominance over ''youma'', evil spirits, and all beings who transgressed the law. However, even with the ability given by blood, depending on the extent to which their blood was diluted with each generation, it was inevitable that their power would eventually deteriorate.

The branch family practitioners had long lost the highest rank of the "gold" flame attribute. If a youma with a fire attribute was their opponent, the flame that they released would merely be absorbed by the youma instead of purifying and destroying it.

...Which was what had happened just now——

The living room had become a purgatory. The high-class furniture and the shag carpet were already carbonizing. The glass from the chandelier on the ceiling had melted and turned into a grotesque art object. This wouldn't have happened if someone from the head family branch had purified the youma, though.

"I wonder if he's dead..." Kazuma muttered with a refreshed face.

A cool breeze wrapped around Kazuma, preventing the raging fire from touching him. Even the heat that the flame present in the room emitted was sealed off; not a drop of sweat was on Kazuma's face.

"H-help……"

A frail voice rang in his eardrums. Kazuma looked down at the blackened object at his feet.

His client, Sakamoto, had rolled into the [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Kekkai|kekkai]], screaming. He didn't seem to be dead, though he was burned here and there.

"Aaaaaa! He-help me!"

Sakamoto screamed as he clung onto Kazuma's legs. However, Kazuma heartlessly kicked away his client.

Thud!

Sakamoto's face writhed in pain as he was mercilessly trampled upon. Since Kazuma didn't want to touch anything beyond his slippers, he brought down his heel instead of stepping on him. The skull could have been making a creaking sound, but that wasn't a big problem.

Kazuma stepped on Sakamoto's head and stated clearly: "You're not my client and I don't have a habit of saving middle-aged men."

"If it's money, I'll pay. Twice as much, or so…"

"Twice? Is your life worth only a million?"

Kazuma took a cigarette from his pocket. He gently stretched out his hand, exposing the cigarette's tip outside of the kekkai, and began to smoke.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 01 019.jpg|thumb]]

Sakamoto didn't have the luxury to be so relaxed, though. Whether by chance or on purpose, there were holes in the area of the kekkai near Sakamoto. Some of the flames passed through the holes and touched him.

"Hot-! Ee-eeee! Help! Fine!! I'll pay 10 million!"

"Thanks for your business."

Upon tossing away his cigarette, Kazuma's face let out a smile similar to that of a demon who had made a profitable deal.

"All right now. Then, won't you please stand back?"

Kazuma kicked Sakamoto in the rear, sending him rolling into the side of the room and proclaimed, "You're in the way."

He began muttering in a low voice, and waved his right hand sideways in a mowing motion. As if being squeezed out by his hand, the raging fire was instantly expelled through the window.

The fire didn't spread to the grass and trees in the garden. Instead, it scattered and then vanished.

At that moment, a fireball with a distorted face floated in the center of the room. Now the youma's true form was in front of Kazuma.

Hyuuoou-

In place of the extinguished fire, wind raged across the room. Kazuma stood quietly and, with his hand still in his jacket pocket, directed the wind to erase the flames still remaining in the room.

The fight was already over. The youma was unable to even put up any resistance against Kazuma's overwhelming power as it was torn to pieces. All that was left to do was wait for its annihilation.

"And with this…"

Kazuma slowly raised his right hand. A person gifted with the sixth sense would have been terrified upon seeing the amount of wind power that was gathering in his hand.

"…the end!"

The hand swung down ten times faster than it came up. From his right hand, an invisible blade that sliced through air came forth, slicing the youma neatly in two.

There were no spirit fragments remaining. Kazuma quietly observed the destroyed youma with a calm look.

"Finished," Kazuma told Sakamoto. Sakamoto was still lying on the floor, dumbfounded.

"Pay the money in three days. Otherwise, would you like to regret having ever been born?"

It was identical to what a criminal would say. Even if it was a mistake, it wasn't the way one would speak to a customer.

However, Sakamoto, realizing the horror of going against Kazuma, didn't even dare to complain.

"Y-yes. Understood. But something terrible has happened to Yuuki-kun. I never thought something so serious would happen."

Without a word Kazuma approached what appeared to be the ashes of Shinji's remains and trampled on them in despair. As expected, Sakamoto detested...

"Wh-what are you doing!? I don't know whatever happened between you two, but please give respect to the dead!"

"He's not dead..." Kazuma dryly spat the words out, and then continued to kick Shinji again and again.

Upon doing so, the ash covering the surface fell off; Sakamoto noticed that Shinji appeared to be undamaged by the flame that had covered him a while ago.

"Wh-wha……?"

Sakamoto doubted his eyes as he beheld the unbelievable scene. Kazuma gave an offhand explanation.

"All of Kannagi's people receive the divine protection of the fire spirits. Even people from a branch family wouldn't die in this degree of fire."

Kazuma curled his lips in self-derision, and added, "Though I'm the exception."

"Uu……Guu……"

Shinji murmured, waking up. After looking around him, he confirmed that the youma was destroyed.

"You did this?"

"It's just like you saw."

''Who do you think you are, saying whatever you please?''——Kazuma was already aware that Shinji was conscious the whole time. Shinji hurriedly attempted an explanation.

"So you noticed……? But I couldn't help. I honestly couldn't move."

"I don't want to hear your excuses."

Kazuma coldly stated this over his shoulder, as he turned his back. Shinji called out to the unhesitating figure leaving. There was still something he wanted to ask.

"Why did you return?"

"On a whim, I guess."

At Kazuma's lazy answer, Shinji sharpened his gaze thinking that his question had been evaded.

"'A whim...' Do you believe the elders will accept that?"

"I was only disinherited, I wasn't exiled. Where I go is my business."

"What are you planning?"

"Nothing in particular," Kazuma answered curtly, shrugging his shoulders.

"Are you returning to the Kannagi?"

"Not even if I die."

Kazuma answered as if spitting out the words. Then, this time, without hesitation, he walked off.

Shinji was driven by a sense of unease that he couldn't suppress. He continued to stare at Kazuma.

''(I have to tell this to the [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Soushu|soushu]] as soon as possible…)''

In a sense, Shinji's unease was on the mark. From that moment, a war to push the Kannagi into the abyss of ruin began.

===3===

"Did you know? It seems that Kazuma has returned to Japan. What's more, he's become a Fuujutsu practitioner."

"What! That incompetent guy? It must be dead simple, then, to be a Fuujutsu practitioner."

"Nope, 'I'm a dark magician' is what I heard. For him to become a practitioner, he'd have to sell his soul to the devil, right?"

"Ah, that's probably true."

"Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha…"

That day, rumors about Kazuma were the talk of the Kannagi main house. Of the elders (the general term for those who retired from active service and are now overseeing the management of the practitioners) who heard Shinji's report, only one refrained from jokingly spreading around nonsense.

Shinji was currently under probation for the offense of the aforesaid failure of his duty. Tail fin, dorsal fin, belly fins; all were wildly added to the rumor, until it grew to maturity. Not one person tried to stop it.

The source of the rumors, the elders, appeared to be in complete delight. The people known as ''elders''—excluding the extremely serious exceptions—were basically men of leisure. "Looking important is work," and so on, was the gossip some attacked with.

When there was no work, they would drink tea all day and amuse themselves by talking about various topics. Obviously, they could not resist something interesting to talk about.

They danced with joy inside upon hearing Shinji's news. The elders, when they passed the verdict of probation on the dejected Shinji, even had something of a skipping type of light gait while they drank tea and turned back to each other. They haphazardly began talking like this:

"Ohh, did you know…?"

The elders, during this work time, were like different people in energetic activity.

Within an hour, there was almost nobody in the huge mansion who had not heard of Kazuma's return to the country. It certainly reached the servants, spreading to all kinds of people afterwards.

It was, in short, a situation where almost nobody knew the true facts. It wasn't a big problem for the elders, though, since their attitude was pretty much, ''If it's interesting, who cares what happens later!''

And so, news of Kazuma spread in the exact opposite direction which Shinji had hoped for.

To wit:

"Kazuma's returned as a dark magician."

"Kazuma was secretly murdered; he's buried in the back garden."

"Kazuma clashed with Shinji during work and suddenly killed him."

"Kazuma made a contract with the wind spirits. An evil demon."

The truth was subtly mixed in, but it was distorted so much that nobody could really interpret it. Obviously, no one feared Kazuma's retribution.

Kazuma, the main family's failure who had left all his talent in his mother's womb, like liquid skimmed off the top, had found a preferable power to take in, it seemed. Nobody laughed at that.

However, there were a small number of exceptions. One of them was the current suzerain, Kannagi Juugo. During supper, in the humorous talk that was being told, there was one item Juugo was interested in.

"Ohhhh? Kazuma chose Fuujutsu? Did you know that, Genma?"

Juugo spoke to his cousin sitting next to him. For some reason, as if harboring some ill will, Genma's smile was filled with hatred.

"…Oh"

Genma answered briefly. Apparently the rumor had already reached his ears, as he didn't appear disturbed.

However, it was clear he wasn't happy about the rumor either. The saying, ''like someone chewing up a bitter bug,'' perfectly described his frown as he gripped a tight fist.

''If Kazuma was in front of me, I'd want to strangle him to death.'' His expression openly displayed his thoughts.

"It's shameful."

"It's not especially shameful." Juugo answered lightly. He gave a command to a nearby servant: "I would like to hear a detailed account. Call Shinji."

"Certainly."

The moment he arrived, Shinji bowed down so low that he scraped the tatami in his prostration. His tension was great; he was sweating from his forehead and breathing awkwardly.

Truthfully, the difference in status between Kannagi's main family and branch family was absolute. It was impossible for the branch family to even dream of a revolution.

Tradition and social status meant nothing in Kannagi's system. The two families were simply separated by the overwhelming difference in power.

If a rebellion were to occur, Enjutsu practitioners like Juugo or Genma could simply smash everyone in the branch family by wiggling a finger. Because of this hopeless difference in power, no thoughts of rebellion were harbored.

Therefore, Shinji's tension was understandable. He was in front of Juugo, whose superiority was similar to a god, and had to recount his clumsy failure. This was definitely worse than his original feelings.

"Raise your face. You don't have to humble yourself like that."

Juugo spoke in a friendly manner. However, looking into the suzerain's face and speaking was far too overwhelming for Shinji. In the end, he raised his face, but his eyes still stared at the tatami as he submitted his report.

"A-and, I now have the privilege of being allowed to give this report."

"…I see."

After Shinji finished recounting everything, Juugo remained silent for a while after saying that.

"…I see."

As if to confirm, he repeated it once more. He closed his eyes lightly, and reminisced back to when his nephew (to be accurate, the relation was more separated than that, but he used the label since it was too much trouble) had left 4 years ago.

''(—What a poor child he was.)''

If Kazuma had been born to any but the Kannagi family, he would probably have been considered a superior child. Excellent intellect, good reflexes, and great promise in learning the jutsu; all jutsu except one. He was unable to manipulate fire.

However, for the Kannagi family, this was the most important ability.

No matter what else he was proficient at, someone with no talent for manipulating fire was treated as incompetent. Because of this, Kazuma was no longer part of the Kannagi.

''Still—'' Juugo thought.

''(Why didn't you ask me for help, Kazuma? There was no need to disown you from the family. If it was me, I would have made a place for you. Whatever Genma said, I wouldn't have cared about the Enjutsu, I would have made use of your talent, yet despite that…)''

Juugo looked down at his right leg. It was made of metal and plastic. If that accident hadn't happened, and the "rule of inheritance" hadn't been rushed, would Kazuma be here right now?

Unfortunately, it was far too late. Kazuma had thrown away the family, their name; all that was Kannagi, and had left Japan. This was reality. The ''past'' is a thing that could never be changed.

"…Suzerain?"

An uncertain voice brought Juugo back to reality. Looking around, he found everyone in an awkward silence. It wasn't surprising, as there were almost none among them who had not tormented Kazuma.

However, the one who had driven Kazuma out was calm. That person, Genma, spoke without a single change in his expression.

"Suzerain. Kazuma is already someone without any connection to the Kannagi. There is no need to worry about him."

"Genma, you would say that of your own son—"

"I have only one son, Ren."

Genma spoke coolly, interrupting the suzerain's words. Juugo considered replying, but, disliking unproductive battles, he decided to put other, safer words into his mouth.

"It's fine then. After all, Kazuma has become successful in Fuujutsu. Maybe it was best that he left the Kannagi... Or maybe, Hyoue, if he had been entrusted to your care, could he have become skilled and powerful?" 

"Perhaps." Sitting at a lower seat, Hyoue, the head of the Fuuga clan, answered sullenly. 

Genma again cut in with an objection.

"We are all afraid even though Fuujutsu and such are, after all, lower arts? The most they are capable of is acting as assistants to Enjutsu practitioners. Even if we had known 4 years ago of Kazuma's talent for Fuujutsu and left him to people like the Fuuga clan, clearly, we would still have had to disinherit him."

Hearing his art publicly insulted, Hyoue twisted his face in humiliation. However, nobody paid any attention to Hyoue nor his face.

To the Kannagi family, who only valued fighting power, the Fuuga clan, having been given the reconnaissance and battle support duties, was limited to a lower status. Genma was not trying to start a fight. He was not saying anything beyond the normal beliefs of the other Kannagi.

"…We will go no further with this talk. Dinner will become unpleasant."

At Juugo's words, everyone clearly showed relieved expressions on their faces. As if on cue, cheerful talk began, and they rolled around laughing at silly jokes.

Though awkwardly, the usual dining hall atmosphere returned.

And so, nobody noticed the dark light harbored in Hyoue's eyes. He suppressed his thoughts from showing up on his expression, and murmured in a voice so small it did not even reach his own ears.

"I will not forget this disgrace, Genma…"

=== 4 ===

"Kannagi……no, Yagami Kazuma……? You came back at a very good time!"

"Huo-huo-huo……" A hoarse laugh broke the strained silence. Not a single streak of light could be found in the single room filled with darkness.

"And……?"

"Yes, it's better if everyone hears this. Finally, the time has come. The time when we shall dispel the disgrace that has lasted 300 years. Now is the time for us to regain the power we lost, and return to our previous, glorious position."

"Ohhhhhhhhh…………"

A stifled commotion filled the air. No one shouted. Afraid of being discovered, they kept their breaths in check, keeping their tension locked inside the room.

"Oh, when you finally realize it, you Kannagi... We will overthrow you and leave not a single one remaining… Kukuku…"

A low and gloomy voice echoed with resentment darker than darkness...

''"U-uwaaaaaaaaaaaa! Wha-what, what are you doing-?!"''

Late at night on that same day, Shinji screamed out in terror. Nearby were two freshly severed heads, which tumbled down onto the floor. Following them were two headless corpses. And standing before him, a human?

Shinji was unable to say for certain. There was nothing different from a human by outward appearance, but it possessed an aura that a human could not possibly have.

The two corpses——who had been alive until 30 seconds ago——had been captured in a ''kekkai'' without any chance to prepare themselves and were immediately decapitated.

The mysterious person had not moved a single finger. And yet Shinji had clearly witnessed an incredible force slicing the two heads off as if they were nothing. Or rather, Shinji had been forced to witness.

Even though the other two surpassed him in skill, Shinji was the only person left alive. It wasn't because of luck. Shinji realized this more than anyone else.

He was being toyed with. This demon in human shape was feeding on Shinji's fear and hopelessness. It held off killing him for the moment, playing with him lazily, enjoying his empty resistance.

"What the hell?! What did I do…?"

The ''thing'' gave no answer. It came closer without even making footsteps, taking its time.

The ''thing'' remained completely silent. Nothing came out as it drew closer, wielding an invisible sword.

Silence even after severing those heads. The two blood-covered heads rolling on the ground seemed not to have noticed their own deaths, still having drunken, relaxed slack smiles.

Shinji knew of only one person who could do what this ''thing'' had just done. He had just met that person yesterday. In addition, that person had a motive to kill them.

Shinji became frantic, begging the ''thing'' for forgiveness. His voice did a complete turn.

"Ka-Kazuma? You're Kazuma, right? Forgive me——it was my fault, I-I regret it, so please, forgive meeee——"

The only reply was a flash from the wind-blade. It severed his right arm at the base. Formed from a high density of spirits, the blade cut through meat and bone as if it were tofu.

''"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"''

While screaming, Shinji threw himself fully into starting Enjutsu. The intense concentration from being so close to death brought forth the greatest power of his 25 years of life.

The ''thing'' became covered in a golden flame, the same one that had the power to destroy any and all demons, the highest level of purification. The flame burned brightly through the darkness.

"Y-yeah! I think I——"

Suddenly, ''that thing'', now a huge torch, began to move. Shinji's face, full of hope, froze.

The ''thing'' stretched out a hand, taking hold of the golden flame, ''and in one movement, tore it from its body.'' 

The ''thing'' emerged from the flame's restraints completely uninjured. Its body, and even its clothes, remained undamaged without any sign of having been engulfed by fire.

The ''thing'' slowly turned to Shinji and began walking. Underneath the freezing moonlight, without a sound, it came closer, an ominous shadow.

This was, in some ways, twisted. There was something there that the eye could not help but be fascinated by. A scene filled with beauty that one had to admit was from the spirit world.

"Hee, heehee, heeheeeeheeheehee-, kyahahahaha, ahahahaha!"

Suddenly, Shinji began laughing in a strange voice.

Evidently, his mental equilibrium had snapped from an overload of fear. Even as the wind-blade soundlessly sliced through his body, splitting it in half, he tumbled over laughing without even showing a reaction.

Perhaps the ''thing'' got tired of Shinji's lack of response. It casually sliced off his head as if throwing away an unwanted toy.

There was a dull ''thunk.'' The third head rolled on the ground.

The ''thing'' remained dissatisfied even after killing everyone. It continued to slice up the bodies. Though it was only for a few minutes, the three bodies were cut into many small pieces that even the parents of the corpses would no longer recognize; they wouldn't even be able to tell what kind of flesh it was or what limb it was.

As the raw stink of blood and meat drifted through the kekkai, the ''thing'' laughed cruelly and vanished as if melting into the air.

Afterwards, three severed heads remained. Though the bodies were in pieces, there was not one injury on those heads.

Somehow, the three heads had ended up facing the gate in a straight line. Each had a strange smile, as if to say to anyone coming through that gate, "Welcome to a nightmare."

And so the tragedy began...

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| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
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Kaze no Stigma:Volume1 Chapter1

2013-08-15T05:58:34Z

Nwms8: /* 1 */ Lots of comma deletions, italics added to sfx. See notes for some changes.

== Chapter One - The Disinherited Son Returns ==

=== 1 ===

"What bad taste……"

That was the first impression he had with this client. Incidentally, this impression did not change in the slightest all the way to the end. A mansion sat arrogantly on this hill, high-class residential area, displaying its design that completely disregarded the harmony of its surroundings. If one were to disregard the mansion thus far, one might have to say it was a rather magnificent view. Climbing up Governor's Hill presented a vast view of the land's rich scenery. When he saw it, he was honestly and completely stunned.

''(Did Turkish harems have this feeling?)''

Yagami Kazuma didn't seem to be joking when he thought that. "Don't paint the walls of a Japanese house in such wild colors!" he wanted to preach, while grabbing that person's collar. It was that kind of house.This area could probably be considered the origin of Japan's Westernization movement. The first gaslight was lit here and the very first ice cream in Japan was sold here. One would expect it to be a stylish, refined town with a distinguished history.

''(Considering that, this is probably something like a breach of contract…)'' 

He saw a decorated [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Golden Carp|golden carp]] on the roof and let out a sigh. The image that was held dear in Yokohama, had crumbled away completely, with a clattering sound.

When he accepted the job at the agency, he was given not only an address, but also a detailed map that was completely unnecessary. By asking the neighborhood residents, "what's the house with the poorest taste around here?" even a monkey could manage to find his way here.

- A structure painful to the eyes —— he didn't want to call it a house —— that when seen, made Kazuma look up to the sky, begging. The sky was empty and blue.

"Hey, at least it's work…" he muttered, trying to convince himself.

However, this was the same Kazuma whose looks probably wouldn't by any means be called appropriate for work. Wearing a checkered shirt covered by a black jacket with jeans and sneakers, this 22-year-old man seemed, no matter how one looked at him, no different than a student from a nearby university. He was completely blind to his own faults though. As he continued his observations, he noticed something strange. The dark aura that covered the mansion was thicker than he was told; because of this, perhaps even an ordinary person with no psychic background could sense the aura that was presently surrounding the mansion.

''(Maybe I should just go back…)''

Nagged by a horribly bad premonition, Kazuma's thought was halfway serious. The dark aura covering the mansion was something more unearthly than he had expected, but it wasn't so bad that he couldn't deal with it. For this reason, his premonition was a bad omen.

Yet, something else was up.

Judging from his experiences up until then, it was a credible and important premonition. However, he couldn't throw away this job on that alone. This was his first assignment in Japan; if he broke off the arrangement with a reason like that, there was no doubt that he would never get any jobs from the agency in the future. He made his way toward the mansion with heavy steps and stopped in front of a ridiculously huge gate. As he stood in front of the doorbell, Kazuma was still unsure if he should continue this job. Danger signals bombarded his instincts and he couldn't help wanting to run away. However...

"Yagami-sama, I presume."

Without any warning, a voice came from the intercom and completely disrupted Kazuma's thinking. He jumped back with a start and stood on guard as the voice continued.

"You've been expected. Kindly enter through the door on the side."

Click. As she spoke, a small door towards the right side of the gate unlocked. Apparently, there was no one to escort him inside.

''(Compared with that "you've been expected," that's some rude treatment…)''

He felt uncomfortable, but he was dealing with a customer. He entered through the side door as instructed. Inside the fence was a large number of security cameras and sensors.

"They must live a very shadowy life..." Kazuma muttered.

Multiple cameras followed him as he walked into the entryway. Irritation rose in him, almost to the point of wanting to kill whoever put him under this rude surveillance. Somehow though, Kazuma managed to repress himself.

"Eeek……"

That was what he'd intended, but apparently it showed on his face. The maid who came to greet him became fearful of him as if she had just come across a man-eating bear. Kazuma hurriedly smoothed over his expression.

"Welcome! Please, come this way."

Somehow she changed her face of terror, as if she were being picked up and eaten, to an overly bright smile. It didn't seem possible for someone to change their expression so dramatically, forgetting their suspicions instantly, yet the maid smiled as if nothing had happened. As the maid walked ahead to lead him to the living room, Kazuma observed her gratifyingly swaying bottom.

''(It would have been better if I'd left…)''

Kazuma felt deep regret at his choice as soon as he arrived at the living room and saw what was inside. A thin, little man laid back with his legs outstretched, introducing himself as Sakamoto Nanigashi, the master of the mansion. Kazuma recognized him as the client, but he wasn't alone. There was also a [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Practitioner|practitioner]] in the room whose face he knew well. That practitioner, upon seeing Kazuma, showed fear on his face for a moment but immediately twisted his lips into a sneer and glared at Kazuma with a face full of scorn.

"What? The other practitioner was you Kazuma? You became a disinherited child of the Kannagi because of your incompetence and now you dare to call yourself a practitioner?"

Those explanatory words were probably for Sakamoto to hear. Practitioner——Kannagi. The youngest child of the branch family, Yuuki Shinji, truly took great pleasure in mocking Kazuma. Sakamoto showed the response that Shinji expected. His expression changed as he approached Kazuma.

"Is this true? Isn't this different from what you said? You said you were a top-class spiritual practitioner, which was why I hired you!"

Kazuma, calmly making a step back with each step his client made forward, answered...

"I don't know what the person at the agency told you but if you're dissatisfied, perhaps I should leave?"

"Hmmph, that's right."

Sakamoto's eyes showed a faintly cunning light. Kazuma's desire to work, which was scarce even at the best of times, quickly neared zero.

"Mmmm, how about this? Why don't you both try the exorcism and only the successful one gets paid? Ahh, naturally, I won't tell the loser to return the advance payment."

"Good idea, yeah."

They were flippant words, but Shinji had immediately accepted them. Then, with the face of someone who was completely made a fool of, he asked Kazuma.

"And what are you going to do?"

"I'm out."

Kazuma gave an immediate reply. In the scornful stares of the two, not even a muscle of their eyebrow moved.

"Hmmph, coward! Sucking your finger like a baby! I'll show you a model example of an [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Enjutsu|Enjutsu]]."

"Model example eh? Tough talk for the youngest child of the branch family."

"Y-you!"

Shinji was enraged from being insulted by the person who he looked down upon. Completely forgetting about being in front of a client, he tightened a fist and lunged forward. He sent a powerful punch directed at Kazuma's face, yet Kazuma easily dodged the punch by stepping aside to his left. Shinji, who had inserted a great deal of force into his punch, lost his balance and fell. At the last moment, he managed to make it look like a feint by attempting to kick Kazuma's temple from his blind spot.

However, Kazuma, as if he had seen it coming, casually bent his head back. The heel of Shinji's left leg passed by a few millimeters in front of his eyes. Kazuma moved like the leaves of a tree swaying in the wind, without hesitation. After dodging Shinji's kick, he immediately swept Shinji's pivoting leg, making him trip and fall down on all fours to the floor. 

"Sh-shit!"

Shinji barely managed to perform an [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Ukemi|ukemi]] and quickly got back up. Incorrigible, he assumed a fighting posture.

"You! Do you think that you can beat me in [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Taijutsu|Taijutsu]]? You were not even a match for the me from four years ago. There's no way you can be an opponent for me right now." 

"Sh-shut up!"

Kazuma did not show the least bit of triumph. He chided disinterestedly, as if facing a defiant child. Being looked down upon from such a securely elevated position, Shinji's reason made a sound and broke.

"Stop it right there you two."

A restraining voice broke in, turning the two heads towards the speaker. Sakamoto showed great satisfaction at successfully getting both their attention. In a tone as if he was scolding a child, he shouted...

"I didn't call you here to fight! The furnishings in this room, no matter which one you look at, are all more expensive than what I'm paying you! Any kind of rough behavior would be troublesome, okay?"

Suddenly, around the vicinity of money talk, there was a scumbag. The person in question was probably attempting to flaunt his assets, but for the ones made to listen, it was nothing but the stink of the ''nouveau riche'' pushed up their noses.

''(Maybe I'll leave… since I still get the advance payment...)''

With the discomfort continuing to rise with no end in sight, Kazuma's desire to work had already disappeared. He couldn't ignore the agony of simply being in the place.

"Mm……?"

Instantly, without warning, an unearthly presence began to converge...

"It's coming..."

The unearthly presence spread throughout the mansion and directed its focus to one point in the living room. Kazuma casually moved back so that Sakamoto and Shinji were between himself and this presence.

"What's that? What just…?"

The unearthly presence solidified into a smoky black figure. Shinji, seconds slower than Kazuma, finally noticed it too.

"Hmmm, so it came out?"

"Wh-what? What's wrong?"

Hesitatingly breaking the suddenly tense atmosphere, Sakamoto shouted in a shrill voice.

Kazuma answered in place of Shinji, who was already beginning to focus his mind for the use of a [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Jutsu|jutsu]].

"It's time to work. The 'evil spirit', or whatever you've been struggling with just came out."

While giving this offhand explanation, Kazuma felt a beyond-ordinary sense of unease.

''(That's no evil spirit. What kind of thing is it?)''

When Kazuma first accepted this assignment, the person at the agency said "It is just a normal evil-spirit exorcism."

—— Hey, your first job should be one of these, right? If you're as good as the rumors say, you should be able to take that evil spirit with one hand or another ——

A superficial seeming man, but with definite achievements. Their kind of work was, in some sense, even more than practitioners', it was a work where confidence was life. Making a mistake this big was extremely unlikely. It wasn't an easy business, so such an irresponsible agent would not survive.

''(Was I set up? Well, fine. Should I just observe his skill?)''

Kazuma leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and looked about as if sightseeing. Shinji focused his mind to prepare himself for the appearance of the "evil spirit." He was apparently planning to burn it the moment it appeared. It was easy to see from his expression. Suddenly, the space in front of Shinji turned dark and thick. Shinji faced both his palms towards each other in order to set up a transparent ball in front of his chest. A small fire ignited between those palms.

''Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooon……''

A voice full of resentment shook the air as the evil spirit revealed itself. A distorted face stood before them, projecting hatred across the room.


"Eeep!"

"HAAAA!!"

Paying no attention to the screaming Sakamoto, Shinji released a devastating flame alongside a sharp yell. The evil spirit would be cleansed on contact with the summoned fire and would disappear without a trace... or so Shinji believed. However...

"Idiot."
''
Gioooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo……''

While the evil spirit's cries of agony echoed and Shinji snickered...The flame exploded.

"Gahhhhhhhhhh!?"

Shinji screamed as he was wrapped in the flames that he had summoned. In a moment, the entire living room was engulfed in flames.

''Kakakakakakakakakakakakakakakaka''

The entity before them had overcome Shinji's attack and had devoured the flame. The [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Youma|youma]] began to sneer with laughter.

=== 2 ===

Even among the ''Enjutsu'' users who could freely manipulate fire, the Kannagi family was famous for their superior strength. It was not simply because their power was great. The reason laid in the special ability passed on in their family's blood. The flame they manipulated was not created by the physical phenomenon of simply accelerating molecular motion. It possessed the power to burn away impurities and destroy evil.

Because of this "purifying flame" the Kannagi family practitioners held absolute dominance over ''youma'', evil spirits, and all beings who transgressed the law. However, even with the ability given by blood, depending on the extent to which their blood was diluted with each generation, it was inevitable that their power would eventually deteriorate.

The branch family practitioners had long lost the highest rank of the "gold" flame attribute. If a youma with a fire attribute was their opponent, the flame that they released would merely be absorbed by the youma instead of purifying and destroying it.

...Which was what had happened just now——

The living room had become a purgatory. The high-class furniture and the shag carpet were already carbonizing. The glass from the chandelier on the ceiling had melted and turned into a grotesque art object. This wouldn't have happened if someone from the head family branch had purified the youma, though.

"I wonder if he's dead..." Kazuma muttered with a refreshed face.

A cool breeze wrapped around Kazuma, preventing the raging fire from touching him. Even the heat that the flame present in the room emitted was sealed off; not a drop of sweat was on Kazuma's face.

"H-help……"

A frail voice rang in his eardrums. Kazuma looked down at the blackened object at his feet.

His client, Sakamoto, had rolled into the [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Kekkai|kekkai]], screaming. He didn't seem to be dead, though he was burned here and there.

"Aaaaaa! He-help me!"

Sakamoto screamed as he clung onto Kazuma's legs. However, Kazuma heartlessly kicked away his client.

Thud!

Sakamoto's face writhed in pain as he was mercilessly trampled upon. Since Kazuma didn't want to touch anything beyond his slippers, he brought down his heel instead of stepping on him. The skull could have been making a creaking sound, but that wasn't a big problem.

Kazuma stepped on Sakamoto's head and stated clearly: "You're not my client and I don't have a habit of saving middle-aged men."

"If it's money, I'll pay. Twice as much, or so…"

"Twice? Is your life worth only a million?"

Kazuma took a cigarette from his pocket. He gently stretched out his hand, exposing the cigarette's tip outside of the kekkai, and began to smoke.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 01 019.jpg|thumb]]

Sakamoto didn't have the luxury to be so relaxed, though. Whether by chance or on purpose, there were holes in the area of the kekkai near Sakamoto. Some of the flames passed through the holes and touched him.

"Hot-! Ee-eeee! Help! Fine!! I'll pay 10 million!"

"Thanks for your business."

Upon tossing away his cigarette, Kazuma's face let out a smile similar to that of a demon who had made a profitable deal.

"All right now. Then, won't you please stand back?"

Kazuma kicked Sakamoto in the rear, sending him rolling into the side of the room and proclaimed, "You're in the way."

He began muttering in a low voice, and waved his right hand sideways in a mowing motion. As if being squeezed out by his hand, the raging fire was instantly expelled through the window.

The fire didn't spread to the grass and trees in the garden. Instead, it scattered and then vanished.

At that moment, a fireball with a distorted face floated in the center of the room. Now the youma's true form was in front of Kazuma.

Hyuuoou-

In place of the extinguished fire, wind raged across the room. Kazuma stood quietly and, with his hand still in his jacket pocket, directed the wind to erase the flames still remaining in the room.

The fight was already over. The youma was unable to even put up any resistance against Kazuma's overwhelming power as it was torn to pieces. All that was left to do was wait for its annihilation.

"And with this…"

Kazuma slowly raised his right hand. A person gifted with the sixth sense would have been terrified upon seeing the amount of wind power that was gathering in his hand.

"…the end!"

The hand swung down ten times faster than it came up. From his right hand, an invisible blade that sliced through air came forth, slicing the youma neatly in two.

There were no spirit fragments remaining. Kazuma quietly observed the destroyed youma with a calm look.

"Finished," Kazuma told Sakamoto. Sakamoto was still lying on the floor, dumbfounded.

"Pay the money in three days. Otherwise, would you like to regret having ever been born?"

It was identical to what a criminal would say. Even if it was a mistake, it wasn't the way one would speak to a customer.

However, Sakamoto, realizing the horror of going against Kazuma, didn't even dare to complain.

"Y-yes. Understood. But something terrible has happened to Yuuki-kun. I never thought something so serious would happen."

Without a word Kazuma approached what appeared to be the ashes of Shinji's remains and trampled on them in despair. As expected, Sakamoto detested...

"Wh-what are you doing!? I don't know whatever happened between you two, but please give respect to the dead!"

"He's not dead..." Kazuma dryly spat the words out, and then continued to kick Shinji again and again.

Upon doing so, the ash covering the surface fell off; Sakamoto noticed that Shinji appeared to be undamaged by the flame that had covered him a while ago.

"Wh-wha……?"

Sakamoto doubted his eyes as he beheld the unbelievable scene. Kazuma gave an offhand explanation.

"All of Kannagi's people receive the divine protection of the fire spirits. Even people from a branch family wouldn't die in this degree of fire."

Kazuma curled his lips in self-derision, and added, "Though I'm the exception."

"Uu……Guu……"

Shinji murmured, waking up. After looking around him, he confirmed that the youma was destroyed.

"You did this?"

"It's just like you saw."

''Who do you think you are, saying whatever you please?''——Kazuma was already aware that Shinji was conscious the whole time. Shinji hurriedly attempted an explanation.

"So you noticed……? But I couldn't help. I honestly couldn't move."

"I don't want to hear your excuses."

Kazuma coldly stated this over his shoulder, as he turned his back. Shinji called out to the unhesitating figure leaving. There was still something he wanted to ask.

"Why did you return?"

"On a whim, I guess."

At Kazuma's lazy answer, Shinji sharpened his gaze thinking that his question had been evaded.

"'A whim...' Do you believe the elders will accept that?"

"I was only disinherited, I wasn't exiled. Where I go is my business."

"What are you planning?"

"Nothing in particular," Kazuma answered curtly, shrugging his shoulders.

"Are you returning to the Kannagi?"

"Not even if I die."

Kazuma answered as if spitting out the words. Then, this time, without hesitation, he walked off.

Shinji was driven by a sense of unease that he couldn't suppress. He continued to stare at Kazuma.

''(I have to tell this to the [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Translator%27s_Notes#Soushu|soushu]] as soon as possible…)''

In a sense, Shinji's unease was on the mark. From that moment, a war to push the Kannagi into the abyss of ruin began.

===3===

"Did you know? It seems that Kazuma has returned to Japan. What's more, he's become a Fuujutsu practitioner."

"What! That incompetent guy? It must be dead simple, then, to be a Fuujutsu practitioner."

"Nope, 'I'm a dark magician' is what I heard. For him to become a practitioner, he'd have to sell his soul to the devil, right?"

"Ah, that's probably true."

"Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha…"

That day, rumors about Kazuma were the talk of the Kannagi main house. Of the elders (the general term for those who retired from active service and are now overseeing the management of the practitioners) who heard Shinji's report, only one refrained from jokingly spreading around nonsense.

Shinji was currently under probation for the offense of the aforesaid failure of his duty. Tail fin, dorsal fin, belly fins; all were wildly added to the rumor, until it grew to maturity. Not one person tried to stop it.

The source of the rumors, the elders, appeared to be in complete delight. The people known as ''elders''—excluding the extremely serious exceptions—were basically men of leisure. "Looking important is work," and so on, was the gossip some attacked with.

When there was no work, they would drink tea all day and amuse themselves by talking about various topics. Obviously, they could not resist something interesting to talk about.

They danced with joy inside upon hearing Shinji's news. The elders, when they passed the verdict of probation on the dejected Shinji, even had something of a skipping type of light gait while they drank tea and turned back to each other. They haphazardly began talking like this:

"Ohh, did you know…?"

The elders, during this work time, were like different people in energetic activity.

Within an hour, there was almost nobody in the huge mansion who had not heard of Kazuma's return to the country. It certainly reached the servants, spreading to all kinds of people afterwards.

It was, in short, a situation where almost nobody knew the true facts. It wasn't a big problem for the elders, though, since their attitude was pretty much, ''If it's interesting, who cares what happens later!''

And so, news of Kazuma spread in the exact opposite direction which Shinji had hoped for.

To wit:

"Kazuma's returned as a dark magician."

"Kazuma was secretly murdered; he's buried in the back garden."

"Kazuma clashed with Shinji during work and suddenly killed him."

"Kazuma made a contract with the wind spirits. An evil demon."

The truth was subtly mixed in, but it was distorted so much that nobody could really interpret it. Obviously, no one feared Kazuma's retribution.

Kazuma, the main family's failure who had left all his talent in his mother's womb, like liquid skimmed off the top, had found a preferable power to take in, it seemed. Nobody laughed at that.

However, there were a small number of exceptions. One of them was the current suzerain, Kannagi Juugo. During supper, in the humorous talk that was being told, there was one item Juugo was interested in.

"Ohhhh? Kazuma chose Fuujutsu? Did you know that, Genma?"

Juugo spoke to his cousin sitting next to him. For some reason, as if harboring some ill will, Genma's smile was filled with hatred.

"…Oh"

Genma answered briefly. Apparently the rumor had already reached his ears, as he didn't appear disturbed.

However, it was clear he wasn't happy about the rumor either. The saying, ''like someone chewing up a bitter bug,'' perfectly described his frown as he gripped a tight fist.

''If Kazuma was in front of me, I'd want to strangle him to death.'' His expression openly displayed his thoughts.

"It's shameful."

"It's not especially shameful." Juugo answered lightly. He gave a command to a nearby servant: "I would like to hear a detailed account. Call Shinji."

"Certainly."

The moment he arrived, Shinji bowed down so low that he scraped the tatami in his prostration. His tension was great; he was sweating from his forehead and breathing awkwardly.

Truthfully, the difference in status between Kannagi's main family and branch family was absolute. It was impossible for the branch family to even dream of a revolution.

Tradition and social status meant nothing in Kannagi's system. The two families were simply separated by the overwhelming difference in power.

If a rebellion were to occur, Enjutsu practitioners like Juugo or Genma could simply smash everyone in the branch family by wiggling a finger. Because of this hopeless difference in power, no thoughts of rebellion were harbored.

Therefore, Shinji's tension was understandable. He was in front of Juugo, whose superiority was similar to a god, and had to recount his clumsy failure. This was definitely worse than his original feelings.

"Raise your face. You don't have to humble yourself like that."

Juugo spoke in a friendly manner. However, looking into the suzerain's face and speaking was far too overwhelming for Shinji. In the end, he raised his face, but his eyes still stared at the tatami as he submitted his report.

"A-and, I now have the privilege of being allowed to give this report."

"…I see."

After Shinji finished recounting everything, Juugo remained silent for a while after saying that.

"…I see."

As if to confirm, he repeated it once more. He closed his eyes lightly, and reminisced back to when his nephew (to be accurate, the relation was more separated than that, but he used the label since it was too much trouble) had left 4 years ago.

''(—What a poor child he was.)''

If Kazuma had been born to any but the Kannagi family, he would probably have been considered a superior child. Excellent intellect, good reflexes, and great promise in learning the jutsu; all jutsu except one. He was unable to manipulate fire.

However, for the Kannagi family, this was the most important ability.

No matter what else he was proficient at, someone with no talent for manipulating fire was treated as incompetent. Because of this, Kazuma was no longer part of the Kannagi.

''Still—'' Juugo thought.

''(Why didn't you ask me for help, Kazuma? There was no need to disown you from the family. If it was me, I would have made a place for you. Whatever Genma said, I wouldn't have cared about the Enjutsu, I would have made use of your talent, yet despite that…)''

Juugo looked down at his right leg. It was made of metal and plastic. If that accident hadn't happened, and the "rule of inheritance" hadn't been rushed, would Kazuma be here right now?

Unfortunately, it was far too late. Kazuma had thrown away the family, their name; all that was Kannagi, and had left Japan. This was reality. The ''past'' is a thing that could never be changed.

"…Suzerain?"

An uncertain voice brought Juugo back to reality. Looking around, he found everyone in an awkward silence. It wasn't surprising, as there were almost none among them who had not tormented Kazuma.

However, the one who had driven Kazuma out was calm. That person, Genma, spoke without a single change in his expression.

"Suzerain. Kazuma is already someone without any connection to the Kannagi. There is no need to worry about him."

"Genma, you would say that of your own son—"

"I have only one son, Ren."

Genma spoke coolly, interrupting the suzerain's words. Juugo considered replying, but, disliking unproductive battles, he decided to put other, safer words into his mouth.

"It's fine then. After all, Kazuma has become successful in Fuujutsu. Maybe it was best that he left the Kannagi... Or maybe, Hyoue, if he had been entrusted to your care, could he have become skilled and powerful?" 

"Perhaps." Sitting at a lower seat, Hyoue, the head of the Fuuga clan, answered sullenly. 

Genma again cut in with an objection.

"We are all afraid even though Fuujutsu and such are, after all, lower arts? The most they are capable of is acting as assistants to Enjutsu practitioners. Even if we had known 4 years ago of Kazuma's talent for Fuujutsu and left him to people like the Fuuga clan, clearly, we would still have had to disinherit him."

Hearing his art publicly insulted, Hyoue twisted his face in humiliation. However, nobody paid any attention to Hyoue nor his face.

To the Kannagi family, who only valued fighting power, the Fuuga clan, having been given the reconnaissance and battle support duties, was limited to a lower status. Genma was not trying to start a fight. He was not saying anything beyond the normal beliefs of the other Kannagi.

"…We will go no further with this talk. Dinner will become unpleasant."

At Juugo's words, everyone clearly showed relieved expressions on their faces. As if on cue, cheerful talk began, and they rolled around laughing at silly jokes.

Though awkwardly, the usual dining hall atmosphere returned.

And so, nobody noticed the dark light harbored in Hyoue's eyes. He suppressed his thoughts from showing up on his expression, and murmured in a voice so small it did not even reach his own ears.

"I will not forget this disgrace, Genma…"

=== 4 ===

"Kannagi……no, Yagami Kazuma……? You came back at a very good time!"

"Huo-huo-huo……" A hoarse laugh broke the strained silence. Not a single streak of light could be found in the single room filled with darkness.

"And……?"

"Yes, it's better if everyone hears this. Finally, the time has come. The time when we shall dispel the disgrace that has lasted 300 years. Now is the time for us to regain the power we lost, and return to our previous, glorious position."

"Ohhhhhhhhh…………"

A stifled commotion filled the air. No one shouted. Afraid of being discovered, they kept their breaths in check, keeping their tension locked inside the room.

"Oh, when you finally realize it, you Kannagi... We will overthrow you and leave not a single one remaining… Kukuku…"

A low and gloomy voice echoed with resentment darker than darkness...

''"U-uwaaaaaaaaaaaa! Wha-what, what are you doing-?!"''

Late at night on that same day, Shinji screamed out in terror. Nearby were two freshly severed heads, which tumbled down onto the floor. Following them were two headless corpses. And standing before him, a human?

Shinji was unable to say for certain. There was nothing different from a human by outward appearance, but it possessed an aura that a human could not possibly have.

The two corpses——who had been alive until 30 seconds ago——had been captured in a ''kekkai'' without any chance to prepare themselves and were immediately decapitated.

The mysterious person had not moved a single finger. And yet Shinji had clearly witnessed an incredible force slicing the two heads off as if they were nothing. Or rather, Shinji had been forced to witness.

Even though the other two surpassed him in skill, Shinji was the only person left alive. It wasn't because of luck. Shinji realized this more than anyone else.

He was being toyed with. This demon in human shape was feeding on Shinji's fear and hopelessness. It held off killing him for the moment, playing with him lazily, enjoying his empty resistance.

"What the hell?! What did I do…?"

The ''thing'' gave no answer. It came closer without even making footsteps, taking its time.

The ''thing'' remained completely silent. Nothing came out as it drew closer, wielding an invisible sword.

Silence even after severing those heads. The two blood-covered heads rolling on the ground seemed not to have noticed their own deaths, still having drunken, relaxed slack smiles.

Shinji knew of only one person who could do what this ''thing'' had just done. He had just met that person yesterday. In addition, that person had a motive to kill them.

Shinji became frantic, begging the ''thing'' for forgiveness. His voice did a complete turn.

"Ka-Kazuma? You're Kazuma, right? Forgive me——it was my fault, I-I regret it, so please, forgive meeee——"

The only reply was a flash from the wind-blade. It severed his right arm at the base. Formed from a high density of spirits, the blade cut through meat and bone as if it were tofu.

''"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"''

While screaming, Shinji threw himself fully into starting Enjutsu. The intense concentration from being so close to death brought forth the greatest power of his 25 years of life.

The ''thing'' became covered in a golden flame, the same one that had the power to destroy any and all demons, the highest level of purification. The flame burned brightly through the darkness.

"Y-yeah! I think I——"

Suddenly, ''that thing'', now a huge torch, began to move. Shinji's face, full of hope, froze.

The ''thing'' stretched out a hand, taking hold of the golden flame, ''and in one movement, tore it from its body.'' 

The ''thing'' emerged from the flame's restraints completely uninjured. Its body, and even its clothes, remained undamaged without any sign of having been engulfed by fire.

The ''thing'' slowly turned to Shinji and began walking. Underneath the freezing moonlight, without a sound, it came closer, an ominous shadow.

This was, in some ways, twisted. There was something there that the eye could not help but be fascinated by. A scene filled with beauty that one had to admit was from the spirit world.

"Hee, heehee, heeheeeeheeheehee-, kyahahahaha, ahahahaha!"

Suddenly, Shinji began laughing in a strange voice.

Evidently, his mental equilibrium had snapped from an overload of fear. Even as the wind-blade soundlessly sliced through his body, splitting it in half, he tumbled over laughing without even showing a reaction.

Perhaps the ''thing'' got tired of Shinji's lack of response. It casually sliced off his head as if throwing away an unwanted toy.

There was a dull ''thunk.'' The third head rolled on the ground.

The ''thing'' remained dissatisfied even after killing everyone. It continued to slice up the bodies. Though it was only for a few minutes, the three bodies were cut into many small pieces that even the parents of the corpses would no longer recognize; they wouldn't even be able to tell what kind of flesh it was or what limb it was.

As the raw stink of blood and meat drifted through the kekkai, the ''thing'' laughed cruelly and vanished as if melting into the air.

Afterwards, three severed heads remained. Though the bodies were in pieces, there was not one injury on those heads.

Somehow, the three heads had ended up facing the gate in a straight line. Each had a strange smile, as if to say to anyone coming through that gate, "Welcome to a nightmare."

And so the tragedy began...

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| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume1_Chapter2|Chapter 2]]
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Kaze no Stigma:Volume4 Chapter 1

2013-08-14T16:57:33Z

Nwms8: /* Part 4 */ Grammar and word flow edits. I understand the context but still changed "Yukari, half a semicircle later, crashed into her back." to "Yukari crashed into her back half a second later."

== Chapter 1 - A certain cameraman's day ==

=== Part 1 ===

"Uugh, why are you always like that?"

"Don't say vague words such as ''like that''. Was there a problem?"

"A big one, you baka! You're always, always forcing everything on me! To think that just by standing there you get paid, don't you think of apologizing to the diligent working people?"

"Not at all."

"You low-life scoundreeeeeell!"

The girl's angry roar, rumbled in a big way.

It happened during the evening, in front of the Shinjuku Station. The lovely girl's scream, became the focal point for the people passing through.

"Ah."

Belatedly realizing the became the target of attention, the girl's face became colored with shame.

"You're the center of attention."

The man who seemed to accompany her, nonchalantly informed her. For a second time the girl frowned but being careful of the surroundings this time, she said in a whisper.

"Who- whose fault is it?"

"It's yours, yours, yours. Don't shift the responsibility."

"Uuu.......a- anyway, we're changing the place."

The girl took the man's hand and left that place behind as if running.

Without being particularly unusual, a commonplace act found anywhere.

But this was the beginning of everything.

"Go- good grief......I was so embarrassed."

While out of breath because of the powerful sprint, the girl glared at the man standing next to her.

The man, while running the same distance at the same speed, with no indication of heavy breath, he replied calmly.

"I already told you it was your fault. Don't complain to me."

"A- aren't you in the wrong for not working seriously?"

In short, it was like that.

The girl's name was Kannagi Ayano. The man's name was Yagami Kazuma.

Their occupation is to exorcise evil and protect the world from harm.

As the man's motto was ''earn money with ease'', for people that possess first class battle abilities like Ayano, whom he met during work, he doesn't hesitate to bear the stigma of a salary thief.

That's what happened this time. Without literally raising a finger Kazuma watched over Ayano like a sightseer frivolously ridiculing the seriously fighting Ayano.

Being too serious and having pride towards herself as a practitioner, Ayano couldn't forgive Kazuma's attitude.

"J- just stop it already you you low-life scoundrel!!!"

Which means her anger exploded in the in the already familiar way.

What happened until now can be called an ordinary scene. But -

"That's no good, making your woman work while you have it easy, such a windward man is no good."

"Eh?"

Called out from an unexpected direction, Ayano frowned with a twitch. Turning her face around, a strange man before his twenties, with a sloppy smile, approached grinning.

"ForgeT about that useless man and come with me. I'll make you happy."

''.....What, a flirt.....''

Ayano instantly lost her interest for the man. Ignoring him, she turned to where Kazuma was. But - no one was there.

Watching around even more, the ''useless man'' was putting a coin into a vending machine.

"Hey", said Ayano in a crushed to death tone.

But even so, without changing his facial expression Kazuma took a sip of the Oolong tea, enjoyed the cold liquid reaching his neck, sampled its flavor in full and finally answered.

"......What?"

"It's not ''.......what?'' is it!? Why, when I'm being involved with a left-over inferior man, are you ignoring it without taking any sort of position!?"

"Don't say that. The job is already finished, so I don't think I have any obligation to protect you."

In spite on absolutely not protecting her during the job, Kazuma said so, shamelessly.

Of course, Ayano can't be deceived with those words.

"This has nothing to do with work. Every man had the duty to protect the girl he's with at the same time!"

"I think that sort of sexual discrimination has no logic. To begin with, one or two dozen of skirt-chasers makes no difference for you right?"

"That's why I told you that's not it! With the technique of escorting a young woman - any man of caliber should care about that!"

"That caliber should be fine even without asking."

While arguing noisily both of them naturally took their leave.

The skirt chaser saw them off dumbfounded, but after finally noticing something he shouted with grim eyes.

"W- wait you!!"

".........."

".........."

Stopping at the same time, both turned around with bored expressions.

"Why couldn't he watch us off quietly?"

"He's really an idiot that can't read the atmosphere."

"You....you!!"

Completely made fun of, the man's face flushed bright red. Of course, not being ashamed because he doesn't know his standing.

Gripping his fists, the man drew closer with a rough gait. No matter who you look at it, he wasn't in the disposition to flirt with Ayano anymore.

"Really......"

Letting out a bothersome sigh, Kazuma took a step forward. It seems he intended to become the man's opponent but from that figure, standing there with one Oolong tea can in his hand, no tension can be felt.

"You should pick your partner a little better. It's impossible to get this woman through flirting you know?"

".........What does that mean?"

At his tone that was definitely not praising her, while her temples were twitching, Ayano pressed a question.

Kazuma answered with nonchalantly.

"It means that your behavior is firm, that you're a very level-headed Ojou-sama."

"............."

With a pure white look, Ayano stared at Kazuma very long.

"Say that again while looking into my eyes."

"Sorry, that's impossible."

An immediate reply. Furthermore, he adverted his eyes making an unnatural face.

''"Kazuma?"''

With a sweet smile but while her temple veins were pulsing Ayano grabbed Kazuma's collar.

She pulled Kazuma closer with a superhuman strength her slender arms didn't seem capable of and glared at him point blank, their faces very close.

No matter how those two think about it, that was from the start nothing more but a lover's quarrel.

What's more, they didn't even pay attention to the existence of the man drawing closer.

His very small pride stepped over, the skirt chaser's face was warped with anger.

"Yooooooooouuuuu!!"

Glaring at the two huddling closer preparing to kiss, the man struck.

But, just before the attack reached, Kazuma gently pushed Ayano aside and retreated himself, using that recoil.

The man's fist and then his body slipped through the space between those two.

First his fist and then his upper body and then his lower half of the body went through.

Nonchalantly, with his foot left in place, Kazuma swiped the man's feet.

"Gee!?"

Unable to defend, the man lively fell down. And soundlessly meeting him half-way, using the pointed end of his tiptoe, Kazuma kicked the man's jaw.

" - gh!"

Raising a voiceless shriek, he fell flat, the white of his eyes showing.

Without even making sure of the conclusion, Kazuma turned back to Ayano.

"Well, let's go."

"Yeah."

Heartless, the two started walking leaving the fainted man as it is. But, after advancing a few steps, Kazuma suddenly stopped.

"What happened?"

Without answering Ayano, Kazuma turned back unusually slow. Ayano too, followed his gaze, and looked at the same thing he was.

''" - Why?"''

Ayano inclined her head a little. There's no mistake about it, Kazuma's kick shot the lights out of the man's jaw.

That man's cranium and his brain were violently shaken inside and he wouldn't be conscious for at least an hour.

"Hmmm - "

Icily looking at the man that was recovering with an unusual speed, Kazuma pushed out his Oolong tea to Ayano.

"Hold it."

"Ah, yeah," nodding obediently Ayano took the can.

Fleetingly looking t the can in her hand, for some reason her cheeks were dyed red.

"Y- You....u...."

Looking at Ayano, although staggering, the man got up. Admirably, his sturdiness is clearly exceeding his intellect.

"You made me so angry.......I won't go easy on you - I'll kill you!"

While spouting words with no ingenuity, the man was rapidly recovering. The unfocused pupil, was glaring at Kazuma now.

" - Raah!"

Raising a strange voice, the man started running towards Kazuma. He was fast.

The movement excluding any technique based only on force and the explosive power was closer to that of a beast.

Reaching top speed in just three steps, he brandished his hardened fists.

"Dieeee!"

The fist pushed out in a straight line. Kazuma handled that with a empty handed movement, parrying by rotating. Simultaneously seizing the opponent's arm, making sure to catch his fingertips, he lightly overturned the opponent's wrist.

Only by that movement, the man's body flew in mid-air. And then, with no sign of effort put into it, he was blown off with extreme force.

By seizing a linear motion thrust with a circular one it's swallowed up and the center of gravity crumbles.

This is a technique that is called Aiki in Japan and Kakei(???) in China.

By utilizing the opponent's power, a larger amount of power can be controlled with a smaller one - that is the advantage of this power but -

<nowiki> - bekiii! -</nowiki>

But even so how much power did that man's attack have, to be flung away with enough force to break the roadside trees he crashed into.

Kazuma looked down in silence at the man that tumbled from the nearby crashed trees. There is no negligence in those eyes. It was an expression convinced that he will definitely get up.

"Heh......hehehehehehe.....there's no use......"

As he thought, the man showed no sign of damage.

"On the me right now, human attacks don't work!"

While screaming the man took off his jumper. That body dressed in a T-shirt is skinny. But -

"Koooo......"

Together with the exhalation, the thin body rapidly grew thicker.

The over-sized T-shirt was pushed and stretched by the inflating body.

"Ooaaaa!!"

It was torn off when its limit crossed-over.

".....Is this what you call ''pump up''?," asked Ayano, lacking a sense of reality.

By repeating muscle contraction, by means of pumping large quantities of blood containing oxygen, the muscles will dramatically expand - there certainly is such a technique. But still -

"Well - did the human muscle fiber extend this much?" Kazuma returned with a bitter smile.

Practically, when seeing this you have no choice but to laugh. The man's transformation reached the limit of metamorphosis.

The thickness of his arms, the width of his chest, all his muscles, without exaggerating, swelled up more than three times.

The body, neglected because of laziness, suddenly evolved to the utmost limits of a well trained bodybuilder.

"Ku ku ku ku ....."

Expressing a full smile, the man inserted power in his muscles. The body that increased its thickness to the limit became even wider.

"You'll die you know? There's no one who survived after seeing this body!"

".........."

With sober eyes Kazuma inspected the surroundings. It was obvious but they became the target of attention for many pedestrians crossing in front of the Shijuku station.

"This is a rough estimate but a hundred people are watching you. Do you intend to kill them all?"

"Shut- shut-up!"

Since his cool line was calmly retorted, the man shouted with a red face.

"Don't talk down on me! Let's go!!"

Together with his voice, the man's figure disappeared. That's what it must have looked like through the eyes of ordinary men.

Much faster than the first charge, with a speed that obviously exceeds what a man can achieve, he dashed.

The fist pushed out a second time and Kazuma dealt with it using the same circular motion.

But, whether Aiki or Kakei, although it appears like a supernatural movement for the untrained eyes, the principle is still the same.

Even using the principle of leverage, if the opponent's power is bigger, there won't be any effect.

The man's physical strength, drastically transcended the human limits. Although Kazuma had a far better posture, even using his whole energy, he couldn't change the thrust's trajectory.

As soon as he noticed that, he moved. Diagonally stepping ahead, he moved his body from the trajectory and going even further, he went around the man's back.

The powerful fist was dodged and his slovenly stance was destroyed, leaving his back defenseless. Placing his foot on the back of the knee, Kazuma stepped on it with all his strength.

With a crumbling sound, the knee's ligament broke. But still he mercilessly stepped on it, beating the man's knee to the ground. The white tiles spread on the ground broke at the same time with the kneecap.

"Hikyaaa!"

His knee completely destroyed, the man screamed with intense pain. Maybe because of the dull sound made by the knee, his upper body arched with force to watch for Kazuma behind him.

Using the foot he broke the knee with as a pivot, Kazuma raised his elbow overhead.

The cranium that was approaching from the opposite side was attacked by Kazuma's elbow that seemed to bore a hole in it.

The <<Ki>> pumped into the cranium via that extremely violent power blow penetrated his brain and came out through the forehead.

The man's body convulsed, then fell down like a doll with broken strings and was silent.

As expected, he didn't get up this time.

"Many thanks."

"Ah, I pointlessly used my physical strength."

At Ayano's thankful words, Kazuma made a sluggish reply.

Although it was minor, because he exercised he felt thirsty and extended his hand to Ayano.

"Oolong tea."

Kazuma carelessly stretched his hand but the next second he turned his entire body around.

He noticed that Ayano's hand was empty.

"My Oolong tea?"

Cross-examined by Kazuma, Ayano's cheeks lightly colored and smiled while showing her tongue.

"I drank it."

"Aah!?"

Extremely childish, Kazuma's eyes peeled openly angry.

"You, don't behave selfishly with the social standing of a rich woman! Return my Oolong tea!"

".....Still, I don't you think it's that unsightly......" Ayano murmured, dejected by the excessive cheapness.

Rare nowadays, she was full of disappointment.

"Shut up. I can't stand when other people take my stuff."

"Well, leaving that aside...."

Considerably displeased, Ayano forcefully changed the topic.

"What do we do with this?"

In front of her eyes, the fallen flirty man became a mere shadow of its former self.

His flesh deflated and his body returned to the modest former self.

No, it didn't just return. Even after returning to the same shape, the muscles' atrophy didn't stop.

Thoroughly endless, as if air slipped out of it, the man's body shrunk until it turned into a creature of only skin and bone.

"Is this...the backlash of power? But he doesn't seem dead."

"Well then."

"Who on earth was this guy?"

Kazuma shrugs his shoulders but doesn't answer. Different from Ayano, tilting her head in wonder, he does not seem to have any sort of interest towards it.

Taking an attitude with no sense of responsibility, Ayano stares at Kazuma including blame.

"You'll just ignore it?"

"It doesn't concern me. Well, as for the obligation I have as a citizen, shall I inform the police?"

Taking out his cellphone, he pressed the buttons. But, contrary to his words he didn't press 911.

"Kirika? There is knocked down half naked suspicious person at the south entrance of Shinjuku. If you catch it, you may hear something interesting. Bye."

Without waiting for the other side to reply, he one-sidedly informed her about the business and closed the phone.

Ayano looked up at Kazuma with a stunned expression.

"How to say this, you can't be kind no matter the circumstance?"

She knew who he contacted. That's someone she definitely didn't like but she couldn't help but feel pity for Kirika.

But, Kazuma replied very naturally.

"It's fine because it's Kirika."

A casual tone full of trust. That careless contact, unkind but without omitting crucial steps, recognizing the signs of Kazuma's confidence in ''if it's Kirika, that's enough'', for some reason Ayano felt discomfort.

"Hmmm, is Tachibana such a capable police officer?"

''Not in other areas'' - without using words just by placing accent, Ayano spit out the thorny words.

Tachibana Kirika is the name of the person Kazuma called. Her rank is police superintendent. She serves as the Chief of the Special Investigation Unit, the institution dealing with expelling evil spirits.

It would be better not saying this but, as a matter of fact, this organization is made of only puny abilities.

Especially their battle capabilities were really meager. So after discovering the devilishness to be defeated, they leave the actual ''defeating'' to the big guns - the Kannagi Clan.

And so, the trust Kazuma was placing on Kirika seemed to be related to police business but -

"Aa, ahhh, Kirika is really capable ''even'' as a government worker."

It appears that Kazuma was trusting Kirika as a practitioner. Answering her question that was supposed to be mean earnestly made Ayano's face become even more grim.

"You meant very capable as a practitioner?"

"Yes, isn't she a top class Onmyoji?"

"But isn't that person from one of Tachibana's branch families?"

Even if it is an Onmyoji name, it belongs after all to one of the branch families. To say nothing of the do-nothing-job as a police chief.

In front of Ayano who was having such warped thoughts, Kazuma shamelessly praised another woman.

"Because she was more capable than the branch family, she was gotten rid of to Tokyo MPD's Special Investigation Unit as some sort of exile."

".............Really?"

"Especially for her, because she adopted fairly unprincipled different style techniques, they had various reasons for punishment. But, at the very least now there isn't a single person from the Tachibana more capable than her."

"Hmm, really?"

Seeming really displeased, Ayano made agreeable responses in short sentences with no intonation.

Incompletely understanding her obvious ''I'm angry'' attitude, Kazuma looked into Ayano's face.

"What happened?"

"Nothing!"

Shouting angrily, Ayano turned her face away. Watching her reaction, Kazuma's lips curved as if finally noticing something.

"What's up with you, don't tell you have a sense of rivalry towards Kirika?"

"I- it's not like that!"

That was an almost reflex answer but it was definitely not a lie. The one Ayano was fussing over was not Kirika.

''More than that woman, I was, by far...''

She looked up to Kazuma peevishly.

As for Ayano, she was conceited about the fact that Kazuma was her partner. More than Kirika, she was far more helpful. She fought for the sake of Kazuma.

''"It's fine because it's Ayano"''

He never told her such words, not even once.

He doesn't trust in her. Perhaps he doesn't even have confidence in her.

''Am I that useless?''

It seems she'll forever be nothing more but an unskilled half-share. Thinking like that, she becomes unbearably anxious.

Even so, this man never says what she wants to hear and only spouts worthless bullshit with a frivolous laugh.

"It's fine. In other areas it's out of the question but as a practitioner you won't loose. When exchanging blows you're absolutely stronger." - Like that.

At the expressively well timed reply, Ayano is helplessly enraged.

"That's not a follow-up! You baka! Just die!"

Kazuma stares at Ayano's fit of anger really, really happy.

Since before the trust comment, for the sake of enjoying himself with Ayano's reactions, Kazuma takes careful aim with his words and before she will realize it, many of these incidents will happen.

=== Part 2 ===

One ordinary day after school.

One section of the practice ground was filled with a silence full of tension. Everyone was neglecting their practice and while holding a hand to their mouths, their gazes were concentrating to one point.

Before their eyes...was that girl's figure. Elatedly reacting to the gaze that was already turned into physical pressure, she was standing there with a clear facial expression.

Someone gulped - strangely that sound clearly reached her ears. As if that was a signal, the girl lightly kicked the earth's surface and started running. Her route drew a light arc, a forward obliqueness, aiming at the bar the same height as her stature.

Stepping on her left foot, the girl was released from the restraints of gravity. Her bent chest aiming the sky, her slender limbs danced in midair.

"Oooh...."

While watching over the excited onlookers, the girl's head, then her beautiful arched body and her long stretched legs, passed above the bar.

The posture of a perfect jump. The body that jumped over the bar was once more caught by gravity but that one moment was beautiful.

With a light sound, the girl's body was buried in the mattress. Her limbs spread in abandon, overhead the bar was still, expressing the high success of the jump.

"........."

A moment of silence. And then - an explosion of applause and cheers.

"Veeeery goood! A new record!"

"Kudo-senpai is great!"

"Nanase, I love you!"

In the middle of the bursting cheers, the girl - Kudo Nanase slowly got up.

Not really exposing her emotions, it didn't look as if she sympathized with the uproar.

Looking up at the bar overhead, her lips faintly raised. That was all the joy she displayed for breaking a new record.

Nanase Kudo - a beautiful girl with androgynous features and straight short-cut hair.

Always calm, with quick movements and not an easy going tone like most girls and yet not boyish, she was enjoying an overwhelming popularity between girls her age - that's why, this kind of scene was a daily occurrence.

"Senpai, please use this!"

A first year, winning through a violent competition presented Nanase, descending from the mattress a towel.

"Ah, thank you."

Nanase accepted it with a small smile. She returned it after lightly whipping off her sweat.

"Haa..."

Inhaling with yearning her senpai's perspiration, the girl embraced the towel with an ecstatic expression. The others in the big crowd, having been outwitted, glared at the girl with murder in their eyes.

Somewhere close to the development of the all-girl's school-like act -

"........"

Clearly separating herself from that naive society, with a severe facial expression, Nanase looked in the way of the tennis court.

She glared at the blackish shadow clinging to the fence with a violent repugnance.

"Is he here again?"

"Senpai?"

A girl's voice asked a question in a surprised tone. Noticing that, Nanase looked at the girl and showed a harmless smile.

"Nothing important. Just, you know?"

While answering, she gently brushed the girl's head in a casual manner. It as an action with no significance in particular but -

".........uu?"

With a scream that didn't seem to reach the surroundings, the girl in question fell to the ground with a swoon face.

".....What happened?"

"No- no......nothing....."

With a red face and clouded eyes, as if fever made her delirious, the girl slowly shook her head.

"I see. Then, take car.e"

Not really thinking about it, Nanase started walking - aiming at the tennis court.

The moment she turned to it, she had already forgotten the conversation with the girl. She was concentrating on the suspicious figure clinging to the tennis court's fence.

With a cool expression, totally different from the one pointed at the girl before, unforgiving, as if giving a sentence.

"Hey, he's still coming?"

A second year in the tennis club, Sughino Mie murmured so, not pleased from the bottom of her heart. Before her eyes, sticking to the tennis court's fence, a short and fat shadow was peeking.

Just by looking, he was a suspicious man.

Setting up his digital camera, that figure taking snapshots of the girls' appearance, no other word described him better than ''degenerate''.

If this man wasn't a pupil of Seiryou Academy, they would definitely call the police. Or perhaps, there are a lot of people who think they should call the police nevertheless.

Utsumi Kousuke.

That is this man's name. He is a second year but his results were so poor it was a miracle he managed to promote.

His facial features resemble a frog. His whole face is full of pimples, and he had a greasy sweat regardless of the season so his frog image is spot-on.

He belonged to the photography club but the subjects of his photos are just a step away from criminal or maybe already crossing over that line, only that kind of crap.

But even so, the perpetrator is claiming that this is art, although nobody believed him.

It's only natural. If one were to see the expression on his while taking pictures, there can be no place for misunderstanding.

The feeling of various dangers emitted from his blood-shot eyes gave the impression of a real sex-offender.

"As I thought, he's dangerous. Shouldn't we do something?"

"That's right, he's also scaring the first years....."

Weirdly stared at by Utsumi, pressing his shutter as if possessed, the girls were murmuring between themselves.

As if hiding behind her back the first years that have just joined the club, revealed their thought when looking for the firs time at the ominous living creature.

"Se- senpai......what is ''that''? "

"That's a pervert"

Mie immediately replied with no hesitation. That answer was something the firs years, who didn't know the circumstance, could't comprehend but just because of that, their disgust and dread didn't soften.

"Can't you do something? Maybe calling the teacher..."

"Ah, yes.....he won't come...."

Staring at her couhais, supplication clearly in their eyes, Mie's gaze wandered around, her face troubled.

No matter how suspicious he was, Utsumi was a pupil of this school. Moreover he had the pretext of being a member of the photography club.

That means, photographing as a club activity was for him very reasonable. They can't stop him from photographing just because his vulgar smile was eerie.

"No way..."

At that explanation, based on last year's events, the first year's crying faces were pitiable but nothing could be done at the present. Just when she was instructing them to give up, it happened -

"Huh....Kudo-san...?" murmured Mie, recognizing the girl walking behind Utsumi.

Simultaneously Utsumi also realized this and turned around, separating his eyes from the fence.

At that moment -

"Bukyaa!?"

A foot sole with no leniency stroke Utsumi's back of the head. The blow, more like stepping on him than trying to kick, forced Utsumi to strongly kiss the fence.

"Gyaa.....Gyaabii.....?"

To Utsumi's ears, as he was wordlessly screaming, reached a cold notice of conviction:

"How long did you think I would overlook your vulgar molestation, low-life?"

"Guugyaaa....bebii...."

Although Utsumi was trying to escape the restraint, his lazy, neglected body couldn't overcome the force of the foot trampling his head.

Vainly resisting, he was pressed down by the already doubled force. The flesh of his loosen face was squeezed through the mesh of the fence.

"Uuu......"

Because his already ugly face was distorted even more, all the girls in the tennis club simultaneously adverted their eyes.

A dozen seconds after - at the time everyone was starting to see his face really getting cut in the mesh, the girl - Nanase removed her leg.

The released Utsumi crouched holding his face. Crawling unsightly, from the gaps between his fingers he raised his eyes to Nanase.

"Hiii......please....stop the violence...."

A high shriek escaped. He tried to escape, stepping back as if crawling on his ass, but in the crowded place the fence blocked his escape route.

Fleetingly watching behind him, Utsumi's face became even more grim. On the other side of the fence, the girls belonging to the tennis club were watching him with grim eyes.

Being encouraged by Nanase's strong entrance, their eyes lost their fear for the ominous thing. Their looks filled with anger and flared up while their restraints towards the punishment of the insolent peeping demon broke.

In confusion, Utsumi started an explanation,

"Please, please wait. As a member of the photography club, for the sake of the year book photos, I - "

"Don't joke around!"

"Hiii -"

In a fit of rage the women kicked the fence and Utsumi fled that place as if tumbling.

But of course, Nanase is in that direction. This time his face, receiving a Yakuza Kick, was once again dragged in front of the girls.

"N- no, hey, listen....."

"Only lies, huh?" one of the girls shouted.

"How can you take such low angle photos for the year album? Everyone knows that you take dirty photos for the sake of your hobby!"

"That's true! That's true!"

"You rotten fat otaku shit! Diee!"

"It stinks! Don't get closer than a hundred meters!" several girls unanimously shouted.

Obviously there were some unjust accusations mixed in between but Utsumi was quiet.

Originally, except for taking pictures of girl's lower parts he is a timid person. While being surrounded by female students, it's impossible for him to object coherently.

No matter how unreasonable the verbal attacks he received, there was nothing to do but to put up with it in silence.

"Uuu, uuuu....."

"This should be fine, right?"

But a helping hand appeared from an unexpected place.

That was Nanase.

Naturally, she had the character of someone feeling refreshed after <<splitting the bamboo>>. She doesn't like the act of a large group ganging up on someone.

To say nothing of the girls' words which had already entered into a state of wild excitement and began to drift from the original point, changing into nothing but slander and ridicule.

Nanase disliked that development so she got back to the point.

It was just that, but -

"Ku- Kudo-san!"

With a face as if seeing Buddha from the depths of hell, Utsumi's eyes sparkled. It seems that he was convinced that Nanase became his ally.

"I - I knew you would understand! That's right, my photos are art. These women can't understand that!"

Bracing himself he stood up while talking non-stop. He didn't notice the cold anger filling Nanase's eyes.

"Aah, I understand! That's why you were angry. Because I didn't look at you and was taking pictures of this bunch. You don't have to worry, you're my most important subject. From now on, always - "

Perhaps Utsumi's character wasn't vulgar but simply stupid. If a neutral person were to stand there, he or she could only think that.

In the tennis girl's expressions, there was already no anger. What dwelt there was pity and dread. As if looking at a bomb timer decreasing each moment, they nervously observed Utsumi and Nanase.

And then -

GASyAN!

An ominous sound interrupted Utsumi's triumphant speech. His camera, rolling on the ground, was trampled upon with all her strength by Nanase.

"Aah, aaaaaaaaaa!?"

The expensive lens turned into shards of glass. Utsumi cried in a bitter voice.

"Wh- what are you doing!?"

Without answering, Nanase kicked the camera with her foot. Placing the camera with a crooked frame on the top of her foot, she used a half rotation to volley-kick and sent it flying.

The camera that flew with power crashed into the school building and smashed.

"Hiiiiii!"

With a pose similar to Munch's Scream, Utsumi shouted.

"Ah, ah, a"

Leaking out as murmurs, as if his soul escaped his body, he looked up at Nanase in blank amazement.

A frozen gaze looked down on Utsumi.

"Hi, hiii......"

Nanase ordered the pale Utsumi with indifference.

"Get out of my sight!"

"Ah, waaa........waaaaa...."

Revealing a meaningless cry, Utsumi started running on all fours.

"Fucking trash! Just die!!"

"Don't ever come back!"

Showering his back with the tennis girls' boos, Utsumi ran away faster.

Nanase stared at that retreating figure thoroughly indifferent.

=== Part 3 ===

''Shit, just watch you bitches....''

While placing desks one on top of the other behind the tennis club's room - in a perfectly blind spot from the front, Utsumi boiled in anger when thinking of those bitches that didn't understand his art.

''After shooting them at great pains, they falsely accuse me of peeping and taking peeping films...then it's fine to answer your expectations right?''

The insistence of repeating the failed argument over and over is filling his mind. That was nothing more than a pretext, but for him it didn't matter.

Even if someone were to deny it, for him that was the absolute truth and he found no reason to hesitate to respond to the ''undeserved'' persecution with ''rightful'' retribution.

"Yes, it got trough!"

Utsumi, standing on top of the desks, reached the ventilation fan's frame. His body trembling in dark joy, he raised a small sound of joy.

He quietly inserted the small CCD camera in the small gap opened in the corner of the ventilation fan. On the monitor he was holding, silhouettes of girls in their underwear appeared clearly.

"How about this, did you realize.......?"

Without realizing, while smiling simple-mindedly watching the girls changing clothes, a naturally scornful smile appeared on his face.

While video recording the defenseless silhouettes of the people that insulted him, he was intoxicated by his own sense on superiority as if he could decide their fates.

"I won't be satisfied by just this. I'll leak your pictures on the net. With no censorship. Hyahahahaha!"

Of course, he will spread the video address inside the school. Intoxicated with sleazy delusions, in a sense, Utsumi was getting the hang of being a man.

Making the gap and plunging the camera to the extent of warping the secret ventilation fan's frame, bringing the old, discarded desks for support- even if it was for the sake of peeking, maybe he deserves some praise for putting so much effort into it.

At present, Utsumi's effort was greatly rewarded. Moment by moment, the camera's memory is filled with undressed girls.

It's understandable for them not to notice. The back of the club room had no windows, the fan is three meters high so nobody paid attention to it.

Not one person noticed the fact that the fan's frame was subtly warped. Therefore, Utsumi's plan against the tennis club could be called perfect.

If there was a miscalculation, it could only be that he didn't notice the gloomy path weaving its way through the groove of trees was used as a shortcut.

And so, when ''she'' called out to him asking for his identity, her character was not simple enough to make it a prior warning.

"Uhii!?"

Suddenly something shook underfoot. Realizing that someone kicked the desks serving as scaffolding, his plump relaxed body fell, aiming for the ground.

" - uu!"

He fell on his back. For an instant, his breathing stopped. Without really being able to scream in pain, extremely nervous and convulsing, Utsumi fainted.

"Good grief - "

A murmur reached his ear. For some reason he could clearly understand that voice even in the middle of roaring noise made by the falling bricks.

He slowly opened his eyelids, tightly closed in pain. The first thing in his field of vision were two slender, long legs.

Ankles closed tightly. Calves covered with knee socks. Firm tights - extremely healthy, the beautiful legs of an active person.

Legs he recognized. Without having to look at her face, Utsumi knew who those legs belonged to. Track club, second year, Kudo Nanase.

They were without doubt the legs of that girl, his main target.

Forgetting the situation he was in, Utsumi was fascinated by those legs soaring before his eyes.

The one he captured on hundred of pictures but as expected looking at them so close, the intensity was different.

Furthermore, because of the extremely low angle he was looking from, he could see almost to her crotch. Those essentials were covered by her skirt but they were very suggestive.

This was a chance. Forgetting the pain in his body Utsumi shuffled his feet remaining in the same position, approaching Nanase.

''More, just a bit more...''

He stretched his neck to the limit, trying to peek behind the mystery veil but -

Together with a crash resounding all around his cranium, his field of vision was plunged into darkness.

"Guu......Gyaa....?"

While not understanding that his face was stepped on, Utsumi tried to brush away the thing covering his eyes. But he was powerless against the unforgiving trampling that didn't hesitate to rub dirt into his eyes.

"You really don't learn, do you?" Nanase spit out disgusted, while stepping on and grinding Utsumi's face.

"Don't techniques like reflection and regret suit your body, bizarre frog man?"

"Fuu....Fuguu...Gyaaah....!"

Although her manner of speaking was excessive, Utsumi had no strength to object, his face being ground and all, so he clenched his teeth.

That was the moment when the girls from the tennis club rushed out, hearing noise.

" - Nanase-san?"

"Yo."

Nanase replied to Mie's reflexive cry, lightly raising her hand. Of course, she didn't stop stomping and treading on the piece of meat beneath her feet.

Noticing that movement, Mie shifted her gaze to Nanase's feet. And then, to the surroundings.

First of all to the source of the noise, the scattered desks. And then on the CCD camera thrust into a crack made in the ventilation fan. The small monitor connected to the camera was swinging like a pendulum.

It was a very clear scene. After looking at Utsumi with a penetrating cold glance, she exchanged looks with her colleagues that followed her.

There was no need for words. Reading Mie's intent just by eye contact, they rushed back to the club-room.

Ten seconds after, the club's door was opened for a second time and all the girls in the club rushed out with rough steps. They speedily encircled Utsumi and glared at him with eyes burning in anger.

A bit later the first years came out of the club-room. The reason they were late could be clearly seen. They collected the lynching tools. As expected they avoided the rackets, the emphasis was on the mop. But one person was holding a bettered metal bat taken from somewhere.

".....Thank you, Nanase-san. That's enough," Mie said in a restrained voice.

"Yeah."

Nanase nodded, knocking down Utsumi's head with a thick sound. While his body was faced up, she turned his head. Again, his head twisted.

"Oo...Okekereba..."

Bearing a pain intense enough to break his neck-bones, Utsumi rolled his body the same way his neck did.

Nanase chose that moment, when he was lying with his face on the ground, to retreat in a slippery manner of walking. That was only for the sake of not having the insides of her skirt exposed while removing her leg but of course, nobody complained that it was overkill.

The girls were rather impressed by that brilliant movement.

"Uuu.....Uuuuu....."

The released Utsumi tried to get up. And then he saw the expression of the girls surrounding him.

"Uu....aaah...."

Revitalized by fear, Utsumi revealed a sight of agony and death. Realizing he could not escape, he started to explain in a trembling voice.

"Th- this is art..."

"Shut up, you're annoying."

His thoughtless words rejected, Mie thrust her hand out to the first years, waiting behind her.

"Demolishing bat!"

"Yes!"

Without a moment's delay, the first years presented her the scratched metal bat. Strongly gripping the overused bat, Mie shouted.

"Heavenly punishment!!"

''"Oooooooooooooo!"''

Rising their voices, the girls raised their tools. And then like birds of prey swarming around a dead body, they jumped on the petrified Utsumi.

"Uu, Waaaaaahhh!"

A torrent of high pitched shrieks - and then silence.

"........"

Nanase meaninglessly raised her eyes to the sky and then, shifted her attention to the place where the gruesome lynching was performed. The target was silenced but still, the ''sword of justice'' was continuously swinging downward. The girl's faces were radiating great joy.

''"Should I stop it?"''

"It's fine"

As if reading Nanase's thoughts, a smiling voice could be heard from her side. Turning her face around, before she knew, the one that commanded the punishment, Mie stood beside her.

"Are you satisfied, Sugino?"

"Yeah, as you can see -"

Mie was holding the metal bat, stroking gently the ''sword blade'' stained in new blood.

"The demolishing bat has the power to wound and kill and beside it could turn bad so I had to stop."

"Must be hard being the vice-president."

"We are of equal status in this regard."

Both exchanged a bitter smile, bonding for being in the same place and having the same troubles.

Unrelated to the disastrous scene happening a few meters before them, there was a gentle atmosphere around these two.

"By the way, I didn't properly thank you. Thank you very much for today. You helped us twice."

"That's fine. The track club was also at a loss when it came to Utsumi so it wasn't just your business."

"Maybe it would have been better to do something like this quicker, huh?" Mie said while looking at the girls beating the hell out of Utsumi.

"True. This kind of idiot will only be spoiled if left alone. Because he doesn't understand when talking to him, there's no way but to painfully teach it to him."

"True. That's so true!"

Grasping tightly the metal bat, Mie nodded awfully forceful.

"Now that we inherited the ''Demolishing Bat'', we can't permit perverted acts towards the members!"

".......No, I don't think that has anything to do with it..."

"Is that so? Anyway, it would be fine if the idiot learned something from that experience."

They both had the same opinion on this point so Nanase nodded.

"Certainly. But don't overdo it. It's not worth it to be charged with a crime because of such a guy."

"I know. Leave it to me."

Leaving it to the girl that declared so pulling out her chest, Nanase said her parting words.

"Then, I leave the rest to you. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

A commonplace greeting. Smiling at each other. Without foundation, both believed that the tomorrow that will come will be the same as today. At that hour, they still thought so.

=== Part 4 ===

"Hmm, did something like that happened yesterday?"

The next day's lunch break.

While eating her lunch, Nanase told her friends - Kannagi Ayano and Shinomiya Yukari yesterday's incident.

"Ha ha, he got what he deserved," Ayano replied delightedly from the bottom of her heart.

She also thinks Utsumi's deeds are unpleasant so she doesn't have a particle of sympathy for him.

"So, is he still alive?"

At Ayano's question Nanase simply shrugged her shoulders as if saying ''I wonder''. Substituting her friend who really didn't care from the bottom of her heart, Yukari answered.

"Of course he's alive. Because luckily Ayano-chan wasn't at that place."

Yukari was wearing her shoulder length hair wavy, and seemed like a very gentle girl. Although speaking slowly, quite a number of people noticed at times her irony.

"I see, that was unlucky - wait a second!"

But, because they were friends for a long time Ayano couldn't be deceived. On the verge of noticing, she glared with half open eyes at her friend, grinning at her with a happy smiling face.

"Didn't you just say something inexcusable with a straight face just now?"

"I wonder...I only spoke the truth."

"That's even worse!"

"Kya- Nanase-chan help!"

Pretending to be scared of the roaring Ayano, whose face was blazing, Yukari hid behind Nanase.

"Wait!"

"Kyaa-"

The moving around Ayano. Yukari escaping again. Gradually increasing their speed, both started running round and round around Nanase.

"You guys, I'm in the middle of eating-"

Amazed, Nanase warned them but without seeming to hear both continued to run around.

After fixedly staring at them, Nanase closed the bentou lid and casually pushed out her leg forward. With superb timing, that leg caught Ayano running in front of her.

"Waahyaa!"

Ayano fell forward with all her strength. As expected, she avoided falling down but Yukari crashed into her back half a second later.

"Waaa!"

"Kyaaa!"

Entangled, Ayano and Yukari tumbled on the floor of the rooftop. Disregarding those two, Nanase calmly resumed her meal.

"Ow...uch..."

Several seconds after, Ayano got up raising a grazed moan. Tearing off Yukari's body tangled with hers as in a judo locking technique, she stood up while arranging her hair.

"Na - na - se."

Being spoken to in such a harsh voice, Nanase didn't show any sign of being perturbed. While steadily chewing her the fries she just put in her mouth, she declared as a matter of course.

"I told you I'm in the middle of eating. You were raising dust."

"But still suddenly tripping me up-"

"It's fine, I carefully chose the opponent. I wouldn't do it to anyone except you."

"Don't do it to me either!"

"By the way-"

Ignoring Ayano's outcry, Nanase turned her eyes to Yukari. Finally getting up while cleaning the dust off her clothes Yukari tilted her head as if asking ''What is it?''

"Do you know?"

Yukari accurately read the aim of the untitled question.

"About Utsumi-kun? Of course he didn't die, nor is he hospitalized. You see, people don't generally use tools and seriously strike at someone, right?" said Yukari while fleetingly glancing at Ayano.

Sensing that, Ayano frowned.

"Why were you looking at me?"

Yukari nonchalantly turned away. As if she didn't hear anything, she continued her conversation with Nanase.

"That's why, the injury he received from those blows is pretty much to the level of mouth cuts. They said his bones are whole."

"Just that...."

"Yes, just that. As expected, he will stay in bed today but compared to the damage he would have suffered from Ayano-chan, that's just like a gentle brush."

"Why are you using me as an example?" Ayano raised her voice again.

Sensing she had reached a critical section, Yukari didn't ignore her this time and faced her with an honest face.

"Listen to me, Ayano-chan."

"Wh- what?"

The atmosphere suddenly changed and as if pressured by Yukari closing in, Ayano retreated a little.

"I think of Ayano-chan as an important friend."

"I see.....thanks."

That was a pretty common thing to say but not in this context.

She nodded frankly.

"That's why, please-"

The light of sincerity dwelling in her eyes, like a prayer, like a request, Yukari continued.

"So please, don't say such mean things to me."

"..........."

Ayano's temple had a cramp. Staring at Yukari with a dark glare, she let out a voice that must have crawled from the bottom of hell.

"Yu - ka - ri...."

"Wh - a - t?"

Contrary to Ayano's dark tone, Yukari's reply didn't have an atom of darkness. The song-like tone felt like the elegance of a bright spring.

There's no need to say it but this only had the opposite effect.

Ayano slightly moved forward her center of gravity, the muscles all over her body poised. An attitude that gave the impression of a feline hunter on the verge of leaping on her pray.

"Yukari....it seems necessary. We need to have a lengthy discussion one of these days......"

Ayano let out a low, small whisper. It seems it was lost in wind but it was the kind of sentence that would definitely reach the other party.

The tiptoes of Ayano's fingers placed on the floor, lightly scratched the concrete.

When the few moments before the strife began expanding over and over - at that time -

"Oh, it's open!"

Several boy came to the rooftop with a basket ball. It seems they wanted to exercise some after eating.

The minute that the door was opened Ayano and Yukari returned to their former positions so fast it didn't even leave an afterimage.

Sitting straight, those figures smiling elegantly didn't show any sign a cat fight was about to happen seconds before.

"Hurry up. The lunch break will end - huh?"

The boy in the front - apparently a first year - finally perceived Ayano's group. His eyes opened wide in surprise.

"Shi- shinomiya-san? Kudo-san and- and even Kannagi-san?"

The good fortune of being able to see the Academy's top three beautiful girls in the same place made the boy's face become loose. On the faces of the boys following him, an expression of supreme bliss floated.

"I'm sorry, we're in the middle of lunch. Can you restrain yourselves?" asked Yukari, while showing an brutally cute smile.

As there were no boys who could go against that face, they immediately replied with a straight posture.

"Of- of course! We're apologizing for causing you trouble!"

"We're sorry."

Moreover, Ayano's smile increased the tension. The boys' consciousness flew higher than the sky, their thinking ability all evaporated.

Nanase saw off the departing boys, their faces intoxicated.

The door closed, the sound of footsteps died out and waiting a few more seconds just to make sure, Nanase spoke with a sigh.

"How to put this - both of you have a tremendous skill in hiding your true selves."

"Isn't it fine? There're all happy," Yukari replied with a nonchalant face.

Ayano didn't reply, on account of resuming her lunch.

Understanding she said something completely pointless, Nanase feebly shook her head, resuming her thoughts. She once again looked at Yukari who knew all the gossip.

"So, Yukari. Was his punishment decided?"

"Three days of house arrest," Yukari quickly replied to Nanase's question.

Unintentionally Ayano shouted when hearing the too indulgent punishment.

"Just that?"

"Just that. He was a first offender."

Also dissatisfied, Nanase frowned.

"It could have been so peaceful had he been expelled......."

"That's impossible. If it's Utsumi-kun, they won't expel him before raping someone."

"<<If it's Utsumi-kun>>? What do you mean by that?"

"He's from a rich family in hospital administration. The amount of his donations is top class."

"Ah, I see."

At the tough reality, Nanase kept silent with a sullen face.

Seiryou Academy was a private school but it wasn't unaffected by the declining birth rates. The period when only the best pupils were selected had passed and because its name was famous, noted families pursued it.

The management was definitely not difficult but the funds were never enough.

To put it in simple words, it was hard to part from valuable gold.

"I heard rumors he entered the school through the back door, that guy."

"Yeah, but those rumors were false."

"Were they?"

"Yes," Yukari declared with no doubt.

That was an information unavailable to a simple student but neither Ayano nor Nanase were suspicious about it. Frankly this girl, without changing her gentle exterior appearance, or maybe in accordance with her image was randomly well connected.

Currently she is occupying the position of secretary in the Student Council but except for that she belongs to different committees and influential clubs. On top of that she has connections among the teaching staff.

That vast and subtle information network had an unparalleled accuracy. No school event escapes her eyes.

"That's why, he'll probably come back to school after three days with a calm face. Maybe he will be quiet for some time and reflect upon his actions."

".....I wonder."

Remembering his persistent gaze trying to look under her skirt even after he was caught during the crime, Nanase breathed a sigh, fed up with it.

"It can't be helped, even if it's a makeshift solution. If he will continue with this crap day after day, no matter how stupid he is, he will come to care about his well being."

"Like yesterday? Ah, about that-"

"What?"

"Wasn't Sugino-san the one that organized yesterday's beating? It seems she suddenly fell into a coma."

"Ehh? Is that true?"

Unintentionally Nanase asked again so Yukari's lips became sharp seeming displeased.

"I never tell false information."

"Well, that's true - that's just so strange, she looked so well yesterday," said Nanase doubtfully.

Yukari raised her finger and said to her.

"Maybe she was cursed by Utsumi-kun, huh?"

" - Yukari, that's not funny."

"Eh, that was an indiscretion. I'm sorry."

Gazing at Yukari, putting out her tongue, Nanase anxiously frowned with a light reprimand.

She told herself she was thinking too much. But she instinctively knew. That this is just the beginning. That something bad, something really bad is just about to happen.

<noinclude>
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| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume4_Illustrations|Illustrations]]
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume4_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}

Kaze no Stigma:Volume4 Chapter 1

2013-08-06T21:29:28Z

Nwms8:

== Chapter 1 - A certain cameraman's day ==

=== Part 1 ===

"Uugh, why are you always like that?"

"Don't say vague words such as ''like that''. Was there a problem?"

"A big one, you baka! You're always, always forcing everything on me! To think that just by standing there you get paid, don't you think of apologizing to the diligent working people?"

"Not at all."

"You low-life scoundreeeeeell!"

The girl's angry roar, rumbled in a big way.

It happened during the evening, in front of the Shinjuku Station. The lovely girl's scream, became the focal point for the people passing through.

"Ah"

Belatedly realizing the became the target of attention, the girl's face became colored with shame.

"You're the center of attention"

The man who seemed to accompany her, nonchalantly informed her. For a second time the girl frowned but being careful of the surroundings this time, she said in a whisper.

"Who- whose fault is it?"

"It's yours, yours, yours. Don't shift the responsibility."

"Uuu.......a- anyway, we're changing the place."

The girl took the man's hand and left that place behind as if running.

Without being particularly unusual, a commonplace act found anywhere.

But this was the beginning of everything.

"Go- good grief......I was so embarrassed."

While out of breath because of the powerful sprint, the girl glared at the man standing next to her.

The man, while running the same distance at the same speed, with no indication of heavy breath, he replied calmly.

"I already told you it was your fault. Don't complain to me."

"A- aren't you in the wrong for not working seriously?"

In short, it was like that.

The girl's name was Kannagi Ayano. The man's name was Yagami Kazuma.

Their occupation is to exorcise evil and protect the world from harm.

As the man's motto was ''earn money with ease'', for people that possess first class battle abilities like Ayano whom he met during work he doesn't hesitate to bear the stigma of a salary thief.

That's what happened this time. Without literally raising a finger Kazuma watched over Ayano like a sightseer frivolously ridiculing the seriously fighting Ayano.

Being too serious and having pride towards herself as a practitioner, Ayano couldn't forgive Kazuma's attitude.

"J- just stop it already you you low-life scoundrel!!!"

Which means her anger exploded in the in the already familiar way.

What happened until now can be called an ordinary scene. But -

"That's no good, making your woman work while you have it easy, such a windward man is no good."

"Eh?"

Called out from an unexpected direction, Ayano frowned with a twitch. Turning her face around, a strange man before his twenties, with a sloppy smile, approached grinning.

"ForgeT about that useless man and come with me. I'll make you happy."

''.....What, a flirt.....''

Ayano instantly lost her interest for the man. Ignoring him, she turned to where Kazuma was. But - no one was there.

Watching around even more, the ''useless man'' was putting a coin into a vending machine.

"Hey", said Ayano in a crushed to death tone.

But even so, without changing his facial expression Kazuma took a sip of the Oolong tea, enjoyed the cold liquid reaching his neck, sampled its flavor in full and finally answered.

"......What?"

"It's not ''.......what?'' is it!? Why, when I'm being involved with a left-over inferior man, are you ignoring it without taking any sort of position!?"

"Don't say that. The job is already finished, so I don't think I have any obligation to protect you."

In spite on absolutely not protecting her during the job, Kazuma said so, shamelessly.

Of course, Ayano can't be deceived with those words.

"This has nothing to do with work. Every man had the duty to protect the girl he's with at the same time!"

"I think that sort of sexual discrimination has no logic. To begin with, one or two dozen of skirt-chasers makes no difference for you right?"

"That's why I told you that's not it! With the technique of escorting a young woman - any man of caliber should care about that!"

"That caliber should be fine even without asking."

While arguing noisily both of them naturally took their leave.

The skirt chaser saw them off dumbfounded, but after finally noticing something he shouted with grim eyes.

"W- wait you!!"

".........."

".........."

Stopping at the same time, both turned around with bored expressions.

"Why couldn't he watch us off quietly?"

"He's really an idiot that can't read the atmosphere."

"You....you!!"

Completely made fun of, the man's face flushed bright red. Of course, not being ashamed because he doesn't know his standing.

Gripping his fists, the man drew closer with a rough gait. No matter who you look at it, he wasn't in the disposition to flirt with Ayano anymore.

"Really......"

Letting out a bothersome sigh, Kazuma took a step forward. It seems he intended to become the man's opponent but from that figure, standing there with one Oolong tea can in his hand, no tension can be felt.

"You should pick your partner a little better. It's impossible to get this woman through flirting you know?"

".........What does that mean?"

At his tone that was definitely not praising her, while her temples were twitching, Ayano pressed a question.

Kazuma answered with nonchalantly.

"It means that your behavior is firm, that you're a very level-headed Ojou-sama."

"............."

With a pure white look, Ayano stared at Kazuma very long.

"Say that again while looking into my eyes."

"Sorry, that's impossible."

An immediate reply. Furthermore, he adverted his eyes making an unnatural face.

''"Kazuma?"''

With a sweet smile but while her temple veins were pulsing Ayano grabbed Kazuma's collar.

She pulled Kazuma closer with a superhuman strength her slender arms didn't seem capable of and glared at him point blank, their faces very close.

No matter how those two think about it, that was from the start nothing more but a lover's quarrel.

What's more, they didn't even pay attention to the existence of the man drawing closer.

His very small pride stepped over, the skirt chaser's face was warped with anger.

"Yooooooooouuuuu!!"

Glaring at the two huddling closer preparing to kiss, the man struck.

But, just before the attack reached, Kazuma gently pushed Ayano aside and retreated himself, using that recoil.

The man's fist and then his body slipped through the space between those two.

First his fist and then his upper body and then his lower half of the body went through.

Nonchalantly, with his foot left in place, Kazuma swiped the man's feet.

"Gee!?"

Unable to defend, the man lively fell down. And soundlessly meeting him half-way, using the pointed end of his tiptoe, Kazuma kicked the man's jaw.

" - gh!"

Raising a voiceless shriek, he fell flat, the white of his eyes showing.

Without even making sure of the conclusion, Kazuma turned back to Ayano.

"Well, let's go."

"Yeah."

Heartless, the two started walking leaving the fainted man as it is. But, after advancing a few steps, Kazuma suddenly stopped.

"What happened?"

Without answering Ayano, Kazuma turned back unusually slow. Ayano too, followed his gaze, and looked at the same thing he was.

''" - Why?"''

Ayano inclined her head a little. There's no mistake about it, Kazuma's kick shot the lights out of the man's jaw.

That man's cranium and his brain were violently shaken inside and he wouldn't be conscious for at least an hour.

"Hmmm - "

Icily looking at the man that was recovering with an unusual speed, Kazuma pushed out his Oolong tea to Ayano.

"Hold it."

"Ah, yeah," nodding obediently Ayano took the can.

Fleetingly looking t the can in her hand, for some reason her cheeks were dyed red.

"Y- You....u...."

Looking at Ayano, although staggering, the man got up. Admirably, his sturdiness is clearly exceeding his intellect.

"You made me so angry.......I won't go easy on you - I'll kill you!"

While spouting words with no ingenuity, the man was rapidly recovering. The unfocused pupil, was glaring at Kazuma now.

" - Raah!"

Raising a strange voice, the man started running towards Kazuma. He was fast.

The movement excluding any technique based only on force and the explosive power was closer to that of a beast.

Reaching top speed in just three steps, he brandished his hardened fists.

"Dieeee!"

The fist pushed out in a straight line. Kazuma handled that with a empty handed movement, parrying by rotating. Simultaneously seizing the opponent's arm, making sure to catch his fingertips, he lightly overturned the opponent's wrist.

Only by that movement, the man's body flew in mid-air. And then, with no sign of effort put into it, he was blown off with extreme force.

By seizing a linear motion thrust with a circular one it's swallowed up and the center of gravity crumbles.

This is a technique that is called Aiki in Japan and Kakei(???) in China.

By utilizing the opponent's power, a larger amount of power can be controlled with a smaller one - that is the advantage of this power but -

<nowiki> - bekiii! -</nowiki>

But even so how much power did that man's attack have, to be flung away with enough force to break the roadside trees he crashed into.

Kazuma looked down in silence at the man that tumbled from the nearby crashed trees. There is no negligence in those eyes. It was an expression convinced that he will definitely get up.

"Heh......hehehehehehe.....there's no use......"

As he thought, the man showed no sign of damage.

"On the me right now, human attacks don't work!"

While screaming the man took off his jumper. That body dressed in a T-shirt is skinny. But -

"Koooo......"

Together with the exhalation, the thin body rapidly grew thicker.

The over-sized T-shirt was pushed and stretched by the inflating body.

"Ooaaaa!!"

It was torn off when its limit crossed-over.

".....Is this what you call ''pump up''?," asked Ayano, lacking a sense of reality.

By repeating muscle contraction, by means of pumping large quantities of blood containing oxygen, the muscles will dramatically expand - there certainly is such a technique. But still -

"Well - did the human muscle fiber extend this much?" Kazuma returned with a bitter smile.

Practically, when seeing this you have no choice but to laugh. The man's transformation reached the limit of metamorphosis.

The thickness of his arms, the width of his chest, all his muscles, without exaggerating, swelled up more than three times.

The body, neglected because of laziness, suddenly evolved to the utmost limits of a well trained bodybuilder.

"Ku ku ku ku ....."

Expressing a full smile, the man inserted power in his muscles. The body that increased its thickness to the limit became even wider.

"You'll die you know? There's no one who survived after seeing this body!"

".........."

With sober eyes Kazuma inspected the surroundings. It was obvious but they became the target of attention for many pedestrians crossing in front of the Shijuku station.

"This is a rough estimate but a hundred people are watching you. Do you intend to kill them all?"

"Shut- shut-up!"

Since his cool line was calmly retorted, the man shouted with a red face.

"Don't talk down on me! Let's go!!"

Together with his voice, the man's figure disappeared. That's what it must have looked like through the eyes of ordinary men.

Much faster than the first charge, with a speed that obviously exceeds what a man can achieve, he dashed.

The fist pushed out a second time and Kazuma dealt with it using the same circular motion.

But, whether Aiki or Kakei, although it appears like a supernatural movement for the untrained eyes, the principle is still the same.

Even using the principle of leverage, if the opponent's power is bigger, there won't be any effect.

The man's physical strength, drastically transcended the human limits. Although Kazuma had a far better posture, even using his whole energy, he couldn't change the thrust's trajectory.

As soon as he noticed that, he moved. Diagonally stepping ahead, he moved his body from the trajectory and going even further, he went around the man's back.

The powerful fist was dodged and his slovenly stance was destroyed, leaving his back defenseless. Placing his foot on the back of the knee, Kazuma stepped on it with all his strength.

With a crumbling sound, the knee's ligament broke. But still he mercilessly stepped on it, beating the man's knee to the ground. The white tiles spread on the ground broke at the same time with the kneecap.

"Hikyaaa!"

His knee completely destroyed, the man screamed with intense pain. Maybe because of the dull sound made by the knee, his upper body arched with force to watch for Kazuma behind him.

Using the foot he broke the knee with as a pivot, Kazuma raised his elbow overhead.

The cranium that was approaching from the opposite side was attacked by Kazuma's elbow that seemed to bore a hole in it.

The <<Ki>> pumped into the cranium via that extremely violent power blow penetrated his brain and came out through the forehead.

The man's body convulsed, then fell down like a doll with broken strings and was silent.

As expected, he didn't get up this time.

"Many thanks."

"Ah, I pointlessly used my physical strength."

At Ayano's thankful words, Kazuma made a sluggish reply.

Although it was minor, because he exercised he felt thirsty and extended his hand to Ayano.

"Oolong tea."

Kazuma carelessly stretched his hand but the next second he turned his entire body around.

He noticed that Ayano's hand was empty.

"My Oolong tea?"

Cross-examined by Kazuma, Ayano's cheeks lightly colored and smiled while showing her tongue.

"I drank it."

"Aah!?"

Extremely childish, Kazuma's eyes peeled openly angry.

"You, don't behave selfishly with the social standing of a rich woman! Return my Oolong tea!"

".....Still, I don't you think it's that unsightly......" Ayano murmured, dejected by the excessive cheapness.

Rare nowadays, she was full of disappointment.

"Shut up. I can't stand when other people take my stuff."

"Well, leaving that aside...."

Considerably displeased, Ayano forcefully changed the topic.

"What do we do with this?"

In front of her eyes, the fallen flirty man became a mere shadow of its former self.

His flesh deflated and his body returned to the modest former self.

No, it didn't just return. Even after returning to the same shape, the muscles' atrophy didn't stop.

Thoroughly endless, as if air slipped out of it, the man's body shrunk until it turned into a creature of only skin and bone.

"Is this...the backlash of power? But he doesn't seem dead."

"Well then."

"Who on earth was this guy?"

Kazuma shrugs his shoulders but doesn't answer. Different from Ayano, tilting her head in wonder, he does not seem to have any sort of interest towards it.

Taking an attitude with no sense of responsibility, Ayano stares at Kazuma including blame.

"You'll just ignore it?"

"It doesn't concern me. Well, as for the obligation I have as a citizen, shall I inform the police?"

Taking out his cellphone, he pressed the buttons. But, contrary to his words he didn't press 911.

"Kirika? There is knocked down half naked suspicious person at the south entrance of Shinjuku. If you catch it, you may hear something interesting. Bye."

Without waiting for the other side to reply, he one-sidedly informed her about the business and closed the phone.

Ayano looked up at Kazuma with a stunned expression.

"How to say this, you can't be kind no matter the circumstance?"

She knew who he contacted. That's someone she definitely didn't like but she couldn't help but feel pity for Kirika.

But, Kazuma replied very naturally.

"It's fine because it's Kirika."

A casual tone full of trust. That careless contact, unkind but without omitting crucial steps, recognizing the signs of Kazuma's confidence in ''if it's Kirika, that's enough'', for some reason Ayano felt discomfort.

"Hmmm, is Tachibana such a capable police officer?"

''Not in other areas'' - without using words just by placing accent, Ayano spit out the thorny words.

Tachibana Kirika is the name of the person Kazuma called. Her rank is police superintendent. She serves as the Chief of the Special Investigation Unit, the institution dealing with expelling evil spirits.

It would be better not saying this but, as a matter of fact, this organization is made of only puny abilities.

Especially their battle capabilities were really meager. So after discovering the devilishness to be defeated, they leave the actual ''defeating'' to the big guns - the Kannagi Clan.

And so, the trust Kazuma was placing on Kirika seemed to be related to police business but -

"Aa, ahhh, Kirika is really capable ''even'' as a government worker."

It appears that Kazuma was trusting Kirika as a practitioner. Answering her question that was supposed to be mean earnestly made Ayano's face become even more grim.

"You meant very capable as a practitioner?"

"Yes, isn't she a top class Onmyoji?"

"But isn't that person from one of Tachibana's branch families?"

Even if it is an Onmyoji name, it belongs after all to one of the branch families. To say nothing of the do-nothing-job as a police chief.

In front of Ayano who was having such warped thoughts, Kazuma shamelessly praised another woman.

"Because she was more capable than the branch family, she was gotten rid of to Tokyo MPD's Special Investigation Unit as some sort of exile."

".............Really?"

"Especially for her, because she adopted fairly unprincipled different style techniques, they had various reasons for punishment. But, at the very least now there isn't a single person from the Tachibana more capable than her."

"Hmm, really?"

Seeming really displeased, Ayano made agreeable responses in short sentences with no intonation.

Incompletely understanding her obvious ''I'm angry'' attitude, Kazuma looked into Ayano's face.

"What happened?"

"Nothing!"

Shouting angrily, Ayano turned her face away. Watching her reaction, Kazuma's lips curved as if finally noticing something.

"What's up with you, don't tell you have a sense of rivalry towards Kirika?"

"I- it's not like that!"

That was an almost reflex answer but it was definitely not a lie. The one Ayano was fussing over was not Kirika.

''More than that woman, I was, by far...''

She looked up to Kazuma peevishly.

As for Ayano, she was conceited about the fact that Kazuma was her partner. More than Kirika, she was far more helpful. She fought for the sake of Kazuma.

''"It's fine because it's Ayano"''

He never told her such words, not even once.

He doesn't trust in her. Perhaps he doesn't even have confidence in her.

''Am I that useless?''

It seems she'll forever be nothing more but an unskilled half-share. Thinking like that, she becomes unbearably anxious.

Even so, this man never says what she wants to hear and only spouts worthless bullshit with a frivolous laugh.

"It's fine. In other areas it's out of the question but as a practitioner you won't loose. When exchanging blows you're absolutely stronger." - Like that.

At the expressively well timed reply, Ayano is helplessly enraged.

"That's not a follow-up! You baka! Just die!"

Kazuma stares at Ayano's fit of anger really, really happy.

Since before the trust comment, for the sake of enjoying himself with Ayano's reactions, Kazuma takes careful aim with his words and before she will realize it, many of these incidents will happen.

=== Part 2 ===

One ordinary day after school.

One section of the practice ground was filled with a silence full of tension. Everyone was neglecting their practice and while holding a hand to their mouths, their gazes were concentrating to one point.

Before their eyes...was that girl's figure. Elatedly reacting to the gaze that was already turned into physical pressure, she was standing there with a clear facial expression.

Someone gulped - strangely that sound clearly reached her ears. As if that was a signal, the girl lightly kicked the earth's surface and started running. Her route drew a light arc, a forward obliqueness, aiming at the bar the same height as her stature.

Stepping on her left foot, the girl was released from the restraints of gravity. Her bent chest aiming the sky, her slender limbs danced in midair.

"Oooh...."

While watching over the excited onlookers, the girl's head, then her beautiful arched body and her long stretched legs, passed above the bar.

The posture of a perfect jump. The body that jumped over the bar was once more caught by gravity but that one moment was beautiful.

With a light sound, the girl's body was buried in the mattress. Her limbs spread in abandon, overhead the bar was still, expressing the high success of the jump.

"........."

A moment of silence. And then - an explosion of applause and cheers.

"Veeeery goood! A new record!"

"Kudo-senpai is great!"

"Nanase, I love you!"

In the middle of the bursting cheers, the girl - Kudo Nanase slowly got up.

Not really exposing her emotions, it didn't look as if she sympathized with the uproar.

Looking up at the bar overhead, her lips faintly raised. That was all the joy she displayed for breaking a new record.

Nanase Kudo - a beautiful girl with androgynous features and straight short-cut hair.

Always calm, with quick movements and not an easy going tone like most girls and yet not boyish, she was enjoying an overwhelming popularity between girls her age - that's why, this kind of scene was a daily occurrence.

"Senpai, please use this!"

A first year, winning through a violent competition presented Nanase, descending from the mattress a towel.

"Ah, thank you."

Nanase accepted it with a small smile. She returned it after lightly whipping off her sweat.

"Haa..."

Inhaling with yearning her senpai's perspiration, the girl embraced the towel with an ecstatic expression. The others in the big crowd, having been outwitted, glared at the girl with murder in their eyes.

Somewhere close to the development of the all-girl's school-like act -

"........"

Clearly separating herself from that naive society, with a severe facial expression, Nanase looked in the way of the tennis court.

She glared at the blackish shadow clinging to the fence with a violent repugnance.

"Is he here again?"

"Senpai?"

A girl's voice asked a question in a surprised tone. Noticing that, Nanase looked at the girl and showed a harmless smile.

"Nothing important. Just, you know?"

While answering, she gently brushed the girl's head in a casual manner. It as an action with no significance in particular but -

".........uu?"

With a scream that didn't seem to reach the surroundings, the girl in question fell to the ground with a swoon face.

".....What happened?"

"No- no......nothing....."

With a red face and clouded eyes, as if fever made her delirious, the girl slowly shook her head.

"I see. Then, take car.e"

Not really thinking about it, Nanase started walking - aiming at the tennis court.

The moment she turned to it, she had already forgotten the conversation with the girl. She was concentrating on the suspicious figure clinging to the tennis court's fence.

With a cool expression, totally different from the one pointed at the girl before, unforgiving, as if giving a sentence.

"Hey, he's still coming?"

A second year in the tennis club, Sughino Mie murmured so, not pleased from the bottom of her heart. Before her eyes, sticking to the tennis court's fence, a short and fat shadow was peeking.

Just by looking, he was a suspicious man.

Setting up his digital camera, that figure taking snapshots of the girls' appearance, no other word described him better than ''degenerate''.

If this man wasn't a pupil of Seiryou Academy, they would definitely call the police. Or perhaps, there are a lot of people who think they should call the police nevertheless.

Utsumi Kousuke.

That is this man's name. He is a second year but his results were so poor it was a miracle he managed to promote.

His facial features resemble a frog. His whole face is full of pimples, and he had a greasy sweat regardless of the season so his frog image is spot-on.

He belonged to the photography club but the subjects of his photos are just a step away from criminal or maybe already crossing over that line, only that kind of crap.

But even so, the perpetrator is claiming that this is art, although nobody believed him.

It's only natural. If one were to see the expression on his while taking pictures, there can be no place for misunderstanding.

The feeling of various dangers emitted from his blood-shot eyes gave the impression of a real sex-offender.

"As I thought, he's dangerous. Shouldn't we do something?"

"That's right, he's also scaring the first years....."

Weirdly stared at by Utsumi, pressing his shutter as if possessed, the girls were murmuring between themselves.

As if hiding behind her back the first years that have just joined the club, revealed their thought when looking for the firs time at the ominous living creature.

"Se- senpai......what is ''that''? "

"That's a pervert"

Mie immediately replied with no hesitation. That answer was something the firs years, who didn't know the circumstance, could't comprehend but just because of that, their disgust and dread didn't soften.

"Can't you do something? Maybe calling the teacher..."

"Ah, yes.....he won't come...."

Staring at her couhais, supplication clearly in their eyes, Mie's gaze wandered around, her face troubled.

No matter how suspicious he was, Utsumi was a pupil of this school. Moreover he had the pretext of being a member of the photography club.

That means, photographing as a club activity was for him very reasonable. They can't stop him from photographing just because his vulgar smile was eerie.

"No way..."

At that explanation, based on last year's events, the first year's crying faces were pitiable but nothing could be done at the present. Just when she was instructing them to give up, it happened -

"Huh....Kudo-san...?" murmured Mie, recognizing the girl walking behind Utsumi.

Simultaneously Utsumi also realized this and turned around, separating his eyes from the fence.

At that moment -

"Bukyaa!?"

A foot sole with no leniency stroke Utsumi's back of the head. The blow, more like stepping on him than trying to kick, forced Utsumi to strongly kiss the fence.

"Gyaa.....Gyaabii.....?"

To Utsumi's ears, as he was wordlessly screaming, reached a cold notice of conviction:

"How long did you think I would overlook your vulgar molestation, low-life?"

"Guugyaaa....bebii...."

Although Utsumi was trying to escape the restraint, his lazy, neglected body couldn't overcome the force of the foot trampling his head.

Vainly resisting, he was pressed down by the already doubled force. The flesh of his loosen face was squeezed through the mesh of the fence.

"Uuu......"

Because his already ugly face was distorted even more, all the girls in the tennis club simultaneously adverted their eyes.

A dozen seconds after - at the time everyone was starting to see his face really getting cut in the mesh, the girl - Nanase removed her leg.

The released Utsumi crouched holding his face. Crawling unsightly, from the gaps between his fingers he raised his eyes to Nanase.

"Hiii......please....stop the violence...."

A high shriek escaped. He tried to escape, stepping back as if crawling on his ass, but in the crowded place the fence blocked his escape route.

Fleetingly watching behind him, Utsumi's face became even more grim. On the other side of the fence, the girls belonging to the tennis club were watching him with grim eyes.

Being encouraged by Nanase's strong entrance, their eyes lost their fear for the ominous thing. Their looks filled with anger and flared up while their restraints towards the punishment of the insolent peeping demon broke.

In confusion, Utsumi started an explanation,

"Please, please wait. As a member of the photography club, for the sake of the year book photos, I - "

"Don't joke around!"

"Hiii -"

In a fit of rage the women kicked the fence and Utsumi fled that place as if tumbling.

But of course, Nanase is in that direction. This time his face, receiving a Yakuza Kick, was once again dragged in front of the girls.

"N- no, hey, listen....."

"Only lies, huh?" one of the girls shouted.

"How can you take such low angle photos for the year album? Everyone knows that you take dirty photos for the sake of your hobby!"

"That's true! That's true!"

"You rotten fat otaku shit! Diee!"

"It stinks! Don't get closer than a hundred meters!" several girls unanimously shouted.

Obviously there were some unjust accusations mixed in between but Utsumi was quiet.

Originally, except for taking pictures of girl's lower parts he is a timid person. While being surrounded by female students, it's impossible for him to object coherently.

No matter how unreasonable the verbal attacks he received, there was nothing to do but to put up with it in silence.

"Uuu, uuuu....."

"This should be fine, right?"

But a helping hand appeared from an unexpected place.

That was Nanase.

Naturally, she had the character of someone feeling refreshed after <<splitting the bamboo>>. She doesn't like the act of a large group ganging up on someone.

To say nothing of the girls' words which had already entered into a state of wild excitement and began to drift from the original point, changing into nothing but slander and ridicule.

Nanase disliked that development so she got back to the point.

It was just that, but -

"Ku- Kudo-san!"

With a face as if seeing Buddha from the depths of hell, Utsumi's eyes sparkled. It seems that he was convinced that Nanase became his ally.

"I - I knew you would understand! That's right, my photos are art. These women can't understand that!"

Bracing himself he stood up while talking non-stop. He didn't notice the cold anger filling Nanase's eyes.

"Aah, I understand! That's why you were angry. Because I didn't look at you and was taking pictures of this bunch. You don't have to worry, you're my most important subject. From now on, always - "

Perhaps Utsumi's character wasn't vulgar but simply stupid. If a neutral person were to stand there, he or she could only think that.

In the tennis girl's expressions, there was already no anger. What dwelt there was pity and dread. As if looking at a bomb timer decreasing each moment, they nervously observed Utsumi and Nanase.

And then -

GASyAN!

An ominous sound interrupted Utsumi's triumphant speech. His camera, rolling on the ground, was trampled upon with all her strength by Nanase.

"Aah, aaaaaaaaaa!?"

The expensive lens turned into shards of glass. Utsumi cried in a bitter voice.

"Wh- what are you doing!?"

Without answering, Nanase kicked the camera with her foot. Placing the camera with a crooked frame on the top of her foot, she used a half rotation to volley-kick and sent it flying.

The camera that flew with power crashed into the school building and smashed.

"Hiiiiii!"

With a pose similar to Munch's Scream, Utsumi shouted.

"Ah, ah, a"

Leaking out as murmurs, as if his soul escaped his body, he looked up at Nanase in blank amazement.

A frozen gaze looked down on Utsumi.

"Hi, hiii......"

Nanase ordered the pale Utsumi with indifference.

"Get out of my sight!"

"Ah, waaa........waaaaa...."

Revealing a meaningless cry, Utsumi started running on all fours.

"Fucking trash! Just die!!"

"Don't ever come back!"

Showering his back with the tennis girls' boos, Utsumi ran away faster.

Nanase stared at that retreating figure thoroughly indifferent.

=== Part 3 ===

''Shit, just watch you bitches....''

While placing desks one on top of the other behind the tennis club's room - in a perfectly blind spot from the front, Utsumi boiled in anger when thinking of those bitches that didn't understand his art.

''After shooting them at great pains, they falsely accuse me of peeping and taking peeping films...then it's fine to answer your expectations right?''

The insistence of repeating the failed argument over and over is filling his mind. That was nothing more than a pretext, but for him it didn't matter.

Even if someone were to deny it, for him that was the absolute truth and he found no reason to hesitate to respond to the ''undeserved'' persecution with ''rightful'' retribution.

"Yes, it got trough!"

Utsumi, standing on top of the desks, reached the ventilation fan's frame. His body trembling in dark joy, he raised a small sound of joy.

He quietly inserted the small CCD camera in the small gap opened in the corner of the ventilation fan. On the monitor he was holding, silhouettes of girls in their underwear appeared clearly.

"How about this, did you realize.......?"

Without realizing, while smiling simple-mindedly watching the girls changing clothes, a naturally scornful smile appeared on his face.

While video recording the defenseless silhouettes of the people that insulted him, he was intoxicated by his own sense on superiority as if he could decide their fates.

"I won't be satisfied by just this. I'll leak your pictures on the net. With no censorship. Hyahahahaha!"

Of course, he will spread the video address inside the school. Intoxicated with sleazy delusions, in a sense, Utsumi was getting the hang of being a man.

Making the gap and plunging the camera to the extent of warping the secret ventilation fan's frame, bringing the old, discarded desks for support- even if it was for the sake of peeking, maybe he deserves some praise for putting so much effort into it.

At present, Utsumi's effort was greatly rewarded. Moment by moment, the camera's memory is filled with undressed girls.

It's understandable for them not to notice. The back of the club room had no windows, the fan is three meters high so nobody paid attention to it.

Not one person noticed the fact that the fan's frame was subtly warped. Therefore, Utsumi's plan against the tennis club could be called perfect.

If there was a miscalculation, it could only be that he didn't notice the gloomy path weaving its way through the groove of trees was used as a shortcut.

And so, when ''she'' called out to him asking for his identity, her character was not simple enough to make it a prior warning.

"Uhii!?"

Suddenly something shook underfoot. Realizing that someone kicked the desks serving as scaffolding, his plump relaxed body fell, aiming for the ground.

" - uu!"

He fell on his back. For an instant, his breathing stopped. Without really being able to scream in pain, extremely nervous and convulsing, Utsumi fainted.

"Good grief - "

A murmur reached his ear. For some reason he could clearly understand that voice even in the middle of roaring noise made by the falling bricks.

He slowly opened his eyelids, tightly closed in pain. The first thing in his field of vision were two slender, long legs.

Ankles closed tightly. Calves covered with knee socks. Firm tights - extremely healthy, the beautiful legs of an active person.

Legs he recognized. Without having to look at her face, Utsumi knew who those legs belonged to. Track club, second year, Kudo Nanase.

They were without doubt the legs of that girl, his main target.

Forgetting the situation he was in, Utsumi was fascinated by those legs soaring before his eyes.

The one he captured on hundred of pictures but as expected looking at them so close, the intensity was different.

Furthermore, because of the extremely low angle he was looking from, he could see almost to her crotch. Those essentials were covered by her skirt but they were very suggestive.

This was a chance. Forgetting the pain in his body Utsumi shuffled his feet remaining in the same position, approaching Nanase.

''More, just a bit more...''

He stretched his neck to the limit, trying to peek behind the mystery veil but -

Together with a crash resounding all around his cranium, his field of vision was plunged into darkness.

"Guu......Gyaa....?"

While not understanding that his face was stepped on, Utsumi tried to brush away the thing covering his eyes. But he was powerless against the unforgiving trampling that didn't hesitate to rub dirt into his eyes.

"You really don't learn, do you?" Nanase spit out disgusted, while stepping on and grinding Utsumi's face.

"Don't techniques like reflection and regret suit your body, bizarre frog man?"

"Fuu....Fuguu...Gyaaah....!"

Although her manner of speaking was excessive, Utsumi had no strength to object, his face being ground and all, so he clenched his teeth.

That was the moment when the girls from the tennis club rushed out, hearing noise.

" - Nanase-san?"

"Yo."

Nanase replied to Mie's reflexive cry, lightly raising her hand. Of course, she didn't stop stomping and treading on the piece of meat beneath her feet.

Noticing that movement, Mie shifted her gaze to Nanase's feet. And then, to the surroundings.

First of all to the source of the noise, the scattered desks. And then on the CCD camera thrust into a crack made in the ventilation fan. The small monitor connected to the camera was swinging like a pendulum.

It was a very clear scene. After looking at Utsumi with a penetrating cold glance, she exchanged looks with her colleagues that followed her.

There was no need for words. Reading Mie's intent just by eye contact, they rushed back to the club-room.

Ten seconds after, the club's door was opened for a second time and all the girls in the club rushed out with rough steps. They speedily encircled Utsumi and glared at him with eyes burning in anger.

A bit later the first years came out of the club-room. The reason they were late could be clearly seen. They collected the lynching tools. As expected they avoided the rackets, the emphasis was on the mop. But one person was holding a bettered metal bat taken from somewhere.

".....Thank you, Nanase-san. That's enough," Mie said in a restrained voice.

"Yeah."

Nanase nodded, knocking down Utsumi's head with a thick sound. While his body was faced up, she turned his head. Again, his head twisted.

"Oo...Okekereba..."

Bearing a pain intense enough to break his neck-bones, Utsumi rolled his body the same way his neck did.

Nanase chose that moment, when he was lying with his face on the ground, to retreat in a slippery manner of walking. That was only for the sake of not having the insides of her skirt exposed while removing her leg but of course, nobody complained that it was overkill.

The girls were rather impressed by that brilliant movement.

"Uuu.....Uuuuu....."

The released Utsumi tried to get up. And then he saw the expression of the girls surrounding him.

"Uu....aaah...."

Revitalized by fear, Utsumi revealed a sight of agony and death. Realizing he could not escape, he started to explain in a trembling voice.

"Th- this is art..."

"Shut up, you're annoying."

His thoughtless words rejected, Mie thrust her hand out to the first years, waiting behind her.

"Demolishing bat!"

"Yes!"

Without a moment's delay, the first years presented her the scratched metal bat. Strongly gripping the overused bat, Mie shouted.

"Heavenly punishment!!"

''"Oooooooooooooo!"''

Rising their voices, the girls raised their tools. And then like birds of prey swarming around a dead body, they jumped on the petrified Utsumi.

"Uu, Waaaaaahhh!"

A torrent of high pitched shrieks - and then silence.

"........"

Nanase meaninglessly raised her eyes to the sky and then, shifted her attention to the place where the gruesome lynching was performed. The target was silenced but still, the ''sword of justice'' was continuously swinging downward. The girl's faces were radiating great joy.

''"Should I stop it?"''

"It's fine"

As if reading Nanase's thoughts, a smiling voice could be heard from her side. Turning her face around, before she knew, the one that commanded the punishment, Mie stood beside her.

"Are you satisfied, Sugino?"

"Yeah, as you can see -"

Mie was holding the metal bat, stroking gently the ''sword blade'' stained in new blood.

"The demolishing bat has the power to wound and kill and beside it could turn bad so I had to stop."

"Must be hard being the vice-president."

"We are of equal status in this regard."

Both exchanged a bitter smile, bonding for being in the same place and having the same troubles.

Unrelated to the disastrous scene happening a few meters before them, there was a gentle atmosphere around these two.

"By the way, I didn't properly thank you. Thank you very much for today. You helped us twice."

"That's fine. The track club was also at a loss when it came to Utsumi so it wasn't just your business."

"Maybe it would have been better to do something like this quicker, huh?" Mie said while looking at the girls beating the hell out of Utsumi.

"True. This kind of idiot will only be spoiled if left alone. Because he doesn't understand when talking to him, there's no way but to painfully teach it to him."

"True. That's so true!"

Grasping tightly the metal bat, Mie nodded awfully forceful.

"Now that we inherited the ''Demolishing Bat'', we can't permit perverted acts towards the members!"

".......No, I don't think that has anything to do with it..."

"Is that so? Anyway, it would be fine if the idiot learned something from that experience."

They both had the same opinion on this point so Nanase nodded.

"Certainly. But don't overdo it. It's not worth it to be charged with a crime because of such a guy."

"I know. Leave it to me."

Leaving it to the girl that declared so pulling out her chest, Nanase said her parting words.

"Then, I leave the rest to you. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

A commonplace greeting. Smiling at each other. Without foundation, both believed that the tomorrow that will come will be the same as today. At that hour, they still thought so.

=== Part 4 ===

"Hmm, did something like that happened yesterday?"

The next day's lunch break.

While eating her lunch, Nanase told her friends - Kannagi Ayano and Shinomiya Yukari yesterday's incident.

"Ha ha, he got what he deserved", Ayano replied delighted from the bottom of her heart.

She also thinks Utsumi's deeds are unpleasant so she doesn't have a particle of sympathy for him.

"So, is he still alive?"

At Ayano's question Nanase simply shrugged her shoulders as if saying ''I wonder''. Substituting her friend who really didn't care from the bottom of her heart, Yukari answered.

"Of course he's alive. Because luckily Ayano-chan wasn't at that place"

Yukari was wearing her shoulder length hair wavy, and seemed like a very gentle girl. Although speaking slowly, quite a number of people noticed at times her irony.

"I see, that was unlucky - wait a second!"

But, because they were friends for a long time Ayano couldn't be deceived. On the verge of noticing, she glared with half open eyes at her friend, grinning at her with a happy smiling face.

"Didn't you just said something inexcusable with a straight face just now?"

"I wonder...I only spoke the truth"

"That's even worse!"

"Kya - Nanase-chan help!"

Pretending to be scared of the roaring Ayano, whose face was blazing, Yukari hid behind Nanase.

"Wait!"

"Kyaa - "

The moving around Ayano. Yukari escaping again. Gradually increasing their speed, both started running round and round around Nanase.

"You guys, I'm in the middle of eating - "

Amazed, Nanase warned them but without seeming to hear both continued to run around.

After fixedly staring at them, Nanase closed the bentou's lid and casually pushed out her leg forward. With superb timing that leg caught Ayano's running in front of her.

"Waahyaa!"

Ayano fell forward with all her strength. As expected she avoided falling down but Yukari, half a semicircle later, crashed into her back.

"Waaa!"

"Kyaaa!"

Entangled, Ayano and Yukari tumbled on the floor of the rooftop. Disregarding those two, Nanase calmly resumed her meal.

"Ow...uch..."

Several seconds after, Ayano got up raising a grazed moan. Tearing off Yukari's body tangled with hers as in a judo locking technique, she stood up while arranging her hair.

"Na - na - se"

Being spoken to in such a harsh voice, Nanase didn't show any sign of being perturbed. While steadily chewing her the fries she just ate, she declared as a matter of course.

"I told you I'm in the middle of eating. You were raising dust."

"But still suddenly tripping me up - "

"It's fine, I carefully chose the opponent. I wouldn't do it to anyone except you"

"Don't do it to me either!"

"By the way - "

Ignoring Ayano's outcry, Nanase turned her eyes to Yukari. Finally getting up, while cleaning the dust off her clothes Yukari tilted her head as if asking ''What is it?''

"Do you know?"

Yukari accurately read the aim of the untitled question.

"About Utsumi-kun? Of course he didn't die, nor is he hospitalized. You see, people don't generally use tools and seriously strike at someone, right?", said Yukari While fleetingly glancing at Ayano.

Sensing that, Ayano frowned.

"Why were you looking at me?"

Yukari nonchalantly turned away. As if she didn't hear anything she continued her conversation with Nanase.

"That's why, the injury he received from those blows is pretty much to the lever of mouth cuts.They said his bones are whole"

"Just that...."

"Yes, just that. As expected he will stay in bed today but compared to the damage he would have suffered from Ayano-chan, that's just like a gentle brush"

"Why are you making me as an example?", Ayano raised her voice again.

Sensing she reached a critical section Yukari didn't ignored her this time and faced her with an hones face.

"Listen to me, Ayano-chan"

"Wh- what?"

The atmosphere suddenly changed and as if pressured by the drawing near Yukari, Ayano retreated a little.

"I think of Ayano-chan as an important friend"

"I see.....thanks"

That was a pretty common thing to say but not on this context.

She nodded frankly.

"That's why, please - "

The light of sincerity dwelling in her eyes, like a prayer, like a request, Yukari continued.

"So please, don't say such mean things to me"

"..........."

Ayano's temple had a cramp. Staring at Yukari with a dark glare, she let out a voice that must have crawled from the bottom of the hell.

"Yu - ka - ri...."

"Wh - a - t?"

Contrary Yukari's reply didn't have an atom of darkness. In the song-like tone felt like the elegance of a bright spring.

There's no need to say it, this only had the opposite effect.

Ayano slightly moved forward her center of gravity, the muscles all over her body poised. An attitude that gave the impression of a feline hunter on the verge of leaping to her pray.

"Yukari....it seems necessary we need to have a lengthy discussion one of these days......"

Ayano let out a low, small whisper. It seems it was lost in wind but it was the kind of sentence that would definitely reach the other party.

The tiptoes of Ayano's fingers placed on the floor, lightly scratched the concrete.

When the few moments before the strife began expanding over and over - at that time -

"Oh, it's open!"

Several boy came to the rooftop with a basket ball. It seems they wanted to exercise some after eating.

The minute that the door was opened Ayano and Yukari returned to their former positions so fast it didn't even leave an afterimage.

Sitting straight, those figures smiling elegantly didn't show any sign a cat fight was about to happen seconds before.

"Hurry up. The lunch break will end - huh?"

The boy in the front - apparently a first year - finally perceived Ayano's group. His eyes opened wide in surprise.

"Shi- shinomiya-san? Kudo-san and, and even Kannagi-san?"

The good fortune of being able to see the Academy's top three beautiful girls in the same place - made the boy's face become loose. On the faces of the boys following him an expression of supreme bliss floated.

"I'm sorry, we're in the middle of lunch. Can you restrain yourselves?", said Yukari showing an brutally cute smile.

As there were no boys who could go against that face, they immediately replied with a straight posture.

"Of- of course! We're apologizing for causing you trouble!"

"We're sorry"

Moreover, Ayano's smile increased the tension. The boys' consciousness flew higher than the sky, their thinking ability all evaporated.

Nanase saw off the departing boys, their faces intoxicated.

The door closed, the sound of footsteps died out and waiting a few more seconds just to make sure, Nanase spoke with a sigh.

"How to put this - both of you have a tremendous skill in hiding your true selves"

"Isn't it fine? There're all happy", Yukari replied with a nonchalant face.

Ayano didn't on account of resuming her lunch.

Understanding she said something completely pointless, Nanase feebly shook her head, resuming her thoughts. She once again looked at Yukari who knew all the gossip.

"So, Yukari. Was his punishment decided?"

"Three days of house arrest", Yukari quickly replied to Nanase's question.

Unintentionally Ayano shouted when hearing about the too indulgent punishment.

"Just that?"

"Just that. He was a first offender"

Also dissatisfied, Nanase frowned.

"It could have been so peaceful had he been expelled......."

"That's impossible. If it's Utsumi-kun, they won't expel him before raping someone"

"<<If it's Utsumi-kun>>? What do you mean by that?"

"He's from a rich family in hospital administration. The amount of his donations is top class"

"Ah, I see"

At the tough reality, Nanase kept silent making a sullen face.

Seiryou Academy was a private school but it wasn't unaffected by the nowadays declining birth rates. The period when only the best pupils were selected passed and because its name was famous, noted families pursued it.

The management was definitely not difficult but the funds were never enough.

To put it in simple words, it was hard to part from valuable gold.

"I heard rumors he entered the school through the back door, that guy"

"Yeah, but those rumors were false"

"Were they?"

"Yes", Yukari declared with no doubt.

That was an information unavailable to a simple student but neither Ayano nor Nanase were suspicious about it. Frankly this girl, without changing her gentle exterior appearance, or maybe in accordance with her image was randomly well connected.

Currently she is occupying the position of secretary in the Student Council but except for that she belongs to different committees and influential clubs and on top of that she has connections among the teaching staff.

That vast and subtle information network has an unparalleled accuracy. No school event escapes her eyes.

"That's why, he'll probably come back to school after three days with a calm face. Maybe he will be quiet for some time and reflect upon his actions"

".....I wonder"

Remembering his persistent gaze trying to look under her skirt even after he was caught during the crime, Nanase breathed a sigh, fed up with it.

"It can't be helped, even if it's a makeshift solution. If he will continue with this crap day after day, no matter how stupid he is, he will come to care about his well being"

"Like yesterday? Ah, about that - "

"What?"

"Wasn't Sugino-san the one that organized yesterday's beating? It seems she suddenly fell into a coma"

"Ehh? Is that true?"

Unintentionally Nanase asked again so Yukari's lips became sharp seeming displeased.

"I never tell false information"

"Well, that's true - that's just so strange, she looked so well yesterday", said Nanase doubtful.

Yukari raised her finger and said to her.

"Maybe she was cursed by Utsumi-kun, huh?"

" - Yukari, that's not funny"

"Eh, that was an indiscretion. I'm sorry"

Gazing at Yukari, putting out her tongue, with a light reprimand, Nanase anxiously frowned.

She told herself she was thinking too much. But she instinctively knew. That this is just the beginning. That something bad, something really bad is just about to happen.

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| Back to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume4_Illustrations|Illustrations]]
| Return to [[Kaze_no_Stigma|Main Page]]
| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume4_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
|-
|}

Kaze no Stigma:Volume4 Chapter 1

2013-08-06T21:27:21Z

Nwms8:

== Chapter 1 - A certain cameraman's day ==

=== Part 1 ===

"Uugh, why are you always like that?"

"Don't say vague words such as ''like that''. Was there a problem?"

"A big one, you baka! You're always, always forcing everything on me! To think that just by standing there you get paid, don't you think of apologizing to the diligent working people?"

"Not at all."

"You low-life scoundreeeeeell!"

The girl's angry roar, rumbled in a big way.

It happened during the evening, in front of the Shinjuku Station. The lovely girl's scream, became the focal point for the people passing through.

"Ah"

Belatedly realizing the became the target of attention, the girl's face became colored with shame.

"You're the center of attention"

The man who seemed to accompany her, nonchalantly informed her. For a second time the girl frowned but being careful of the surroundings this time, she said in a whisper.

"Who- whose fault is it?"

"It's yours, yours, yours. Don't shift the responsibility."

"Uuu.......a- anyway, we're changing the place."

The girl took the man's hand and left that place behind as if running.

Without being particularly unusual, a commonplace act found anywhere.

But this was the beginning of everything.

"Go- good grief......I was so embarrassed."

While out of breath because of the powerful sprint, the girl glared at the man standing next to her.

The man, while running the same distance at the same speed, with no indication of heavy breath, he replied calmly.

"I already told you it was your fault. Don't complain to me."

"A- aren't you in the wrong for not working seriously?"

In short, it was like that.

The girl's name was Kannagi Ayano. The man's name was Yagami Kazuma.

Their occupation is to exorcise evil and protect the world from harm.

As the man's motto was ''earn money with ease'', for people that possess first class battle abilities like Ayano whom he met during work he doesn't hesitate to bear the stigma of a salary thief.

That's what happened this time. Without literally raising a finger Kazuma watched over Ayano like a sightseer frivolously ridiculing the seriously fighting Ayano.

Being too serious and having pride towards herself as a practitioner, Ayano couldn't forgive Kazuma's attitude.

"J- just stop it already you you low-life scoundrel!!!"

Which means her anger exploded in the in the already familiar way.

What happened until now can be called an ordinary scene. But -

"That's no good, making your woman work while you have it easy, such a windward man is no good."

"Eh?"

Called out from an unexpected direction, Ayano frowned with a twitch. Turning her face around, a strange man before his twenties, with a sloppy smile, approached grinning.

"ForgeT about that useless man and come with me. I'll make you happy."

''.....What, a flirt.....''

Ayano instantly lost her interest for the man. Ignoring him, she turned to where Kazuma was. But - no one was there.

Watching around even more, the ''useless man'' was putting a coin into a vending machine.

"Hey", said Ayano in a crushed to death tone.

But even so, without changing his facial expression Kazuma took a sip of the Oolong tea, enjoyed the cold liquid reaching his neck, sampled its flavor in full and finally answered.

"......What?"

"It's not ''.......what?'' is it!? Why, when I'm being involved with a left-over inferior man, are you ignoring it without taking any sort of position!?"

"Don't say that. The job is already finished, so I don't think I have any obligation to protect you."

In spite on absolutely not protecting her during the job, Kazuma said so, shamelessly.

Of course, Ayano can't be deceived with those words.

"This has nothing to do with work. Every man had the duty to protect the girl he's with at the same time!"

"I think that sort of sexual discrimination has no logic. To begin with, one or two dozen of skirt-chasers makes no difference for you right?"

"That's why I told you that's not it! With the technique of escorting a young woman - any man of caliber should care about that!"

"That caliber should be fine even without asking."

While arguing noisily both of them naturally took their leave.

The skirt chaser saw them off dumbfounded, but after finally noticing something he shouted with grim eyes.

"W- wait you!!"

".........."

".........."

Stopping at the same time, both turned around with bored expressions.

"Why couldn't he watch us off quietly?"

"He's really an idiot that can't read the atmosphere."

"You....you!!"

Completely made fun of, the man's face flushed bright red. Of course, not being ashamed because he doesn't know his standing.

Gripping his fists, the man drew closer with a rough gait. No matter who you look at it, he wasn't in the disposition to flirt with Ayano anymore.

"Really......"

Letting out a bothersome sigh, Kazuma took a step forward. It seems he intended to become the man's opponent but from that figure, standing there with one Oolong tea can in his hand, no tension can be felt.

"You should pick your partner a little better. It's impossible to get this woman through flirting you know?"

".........What does that mean?"

At his tone that was definitely not praising her, while her temples were twitching, Ayano pressed a question.

Kazuma answered with nonchalantly.

"It means that your behavior is firm, that you're a very level-headed Ojou-sama."

"............."

With a pure white look, Ayano stared at Kazuma very long.

"Say that again while looking into my eyes."

"Sorry, that's impossible."

An immediate reply. Furthermore, he adverted his eyes making an unnatural face.

''"Kazuma?"''

With a sweet smile but while her temple veins were pulsing Ayano grabbed Kazuma's collar.

She pulled Kazuma closer with a superhuman strength her slender arms didn't seem capable of and glared at him point blank, their faces very close.

No matter how those two think about it, that was from the start nothing more but a lover's quarrel.

What's more, they didn't even pay attention to the existence of the man drawing closer.

His very small pride stepped over, the skirt chaser's face was warped with anger.

"Yooooooooouuuuu!!"

Glaring at the two huddling closer preparing to kiss, the man struck.

But, just before the attack reached, Kazuma gently pushed Ayano aside and retreated himself, using that recoil.

The man's fist and then his body slipped through the space between those two.

First his fist and then his upper body and then his lower half of the body went through.

Nonchalantly, with his foot left in place, Kazuma swiped the man's feet.

"Gee!?"

Unable to defend, the man lively fell down. And soundlessly meeting him half-way, using the pointed end of his tiptoe, Kazuma kicked the man's jaw.

" - gh!"

Raising a voiceless shriek, he fell flat, the white of his eyes showing.

Without even making sure of the conclusion, Kazuma turned back to Ayano.

"Well, let's go."

"Yeah."

Heartless, the two started walking leaving the fainted man as it is. But, after advancing a few steps, Kazuma suddenly stopped.

"What happened?"

Without answering Ayano, Kazuma turned back unusually slow. Ayano too, followed his gaze, and looked at the same thing he was.

''" - Why?"''

Ayano inclined her head a little. There's no mistake about it, Kazuma's kick shot the lights out of the man's jaw.

That man's cranium and his brain were violently shaken inside and he wouldn't be conscious for at least an hour.

"Hmmm - "

Icily looking at the man that was recovering with an unusual speed, Kazuma pushed out his Oolong tea to Ayano.

"Hold it."

"Ah, yeah," nodding obediently Ayano took the can.

Fleetingly looking t the can in her hand, for some reason her cheeks were dyed red.

"Y- You....u...."

Looking at Ayano, although staggering, the man got up. Admirably, his sturdiness is clearly exceeding his intellect.

"You made me so angry.......I won't go easy on you - I'll kill you!"

While spouting words with no ingenuity, the man was rapidly recovering. The unfocused pupil, was glaring at Kazuma now.

" - Raah!"

Raising a strange voice, the man started running towards Kazuma. He was fast.

The movement excluding any technique based only on force and the explosive power was closer to that of a beast.

Reaching top speed in just three steps, he brandished his hardened fists.

"Dieeee!"

The fist pushed out in a straight line. Kazuma handled that with a empty handed movement, parrying by rotating. Simultaneously seizing the opponent's arm, making sure to catch his fingertips, he lightly overturned the opponent's wrist.

Only by that movement, the man's body flew in mid-air. And then, with no sign of effort put into it, he was blown off with extreme force.

By seizing a linear motion thrust with a circular one it's swallowed up and the center of gravity crumbles.

This is a technique that is called Aiki in Japan and Kakei(???) in China.

By utilizing the opponent's power, a larger amount of power can be controlled with a smaller one - that is the advantage of this power but -

<nowiki> - bekiii! -</nowiki>

But even so how much power did that man's attack have, to be flung away with enough force to break the roadside trees he crashed into.

Kazuma looked down in silence at the man that tumbled from the nearby crashed trees. There is no negligence in those eyes. It was an expression convinced that he will definitely get up.

"Heh......hehehehehehe.....there's no use......"

As he thought, the man showed no sign of damage.

"On the me right now, human attacks don't work!"

While screaming the man took off his jumper. That body dressed in a T-shirt is skinny. But -

"Koooo......"

Together with the exhalation, the thin body rapidly grew thicker.

The over-sized T-shirt was pushed and stretched by the inflating body.

"Ooaaaa!!"

It was torn off when its limit crossed-over.

".....Is this what you call ''pump up''?," asked Ayano, lacking a sense of reality.

By repeating muscle contraction, by means of pumping large quantities of blood containing oxygen, the muscles will dramatically expand - there certainly is such a technique. But still -

"Well - did the human muscle fiber extend this much?" Kazuma returned with a bitter smile.

Practically, when seeing this you have no choice but to laugh. The man's transformation reached the limit of metamorphosis.

The thickness of his arms, the width of his chest, all his muscles, without exaggerating, swelled up more than three times.

The body, neglected because of laziness, suddenly evolved to the utmost limits of a well trained bodybuilder.

"Ku ku ku ku ....."

Expressing a full smile, the man inserted power in his muscles. The body that increased its thickness to the limit became even wider.

"You'll die you know? There's no one who survived after seeing this body!"

".........."

With sober eyes Kazuma inspected the surroundings. It was obvious but they became the target of attention for many pedestrians crossing in front of the Shijuku station.

"This is a rough estimate but a hundred people are watching you. Do you intend to kill them all?"

"Shut- shut-up!"

Since his cool line was calmly retorted, the man shouted with a red face.

"Don't talk down on me! Let's go!!"

Together with his voice, the man's figure disappeared. That's what it must have looked like through the eyes of ordinary men.

Much faster than the first charge, with a speed that obviously exceeds what a man can achieve, he dashed.

The fist pushed out a second time and Kazuma dealt with it using the same circular motion.

But, whether Aiki or Kakei, although it appears like a supernatural movement for the untrained eyes, the principle is still the same.

Even using the principle of leverage, if the opponent's power is bigger, there won't be any effect.

The man's physical strength, drastically transcended the human limits. Although Kazuma had a far better posture, even using his whole energy, he couldn't change the thrust's trajectory.

As soon as he noticed that, he moved. Diagonally stepping ahead, he moved his body from the trajectory and going even further, he went around the man's back.

The powerful fist was dodged and his slovenly stance was destroyed, leaving his back defenseless. Placing his foot on the back of the knee, Kazuma stepped on it with all his strength.

With a crumbling sound, the knee's ligament broke. But still he mercilessly stepped on it, beating the man's knee to the ground. The white tiles spread on the ground broke at the same time with the kneecap.

"Hikyaaa!"

His knee completely destroyed, the man screamed with intense pain. Maybe because of the dull sound made by the knee, his upper body arched with force to watch for Kazuma behind him.

Using the foot he broke the knee with as a pivot, Kazuma raised his elbow overhead.

The cranium that was approaching from the opposite side was attacked by Kazuma's elbow that seemed to bore a hole in it.

The <<Ki>> pumped into the cranium via that extremely violent power blow penetrated his brain and came out through the forehead.

The man's body convulsed, then fell down like a doll with broken strings and was silent.

As expected, he didn't get up this time.

"Many thanks."

"Ah, I pointlessly used my physical strength."

At Ayano's thankful words, Kazuma made a sluggish reply.

Although it was minor, because he exercised he felt thirsty and extended his hand to Ayano.

"Oolong tea."

Kazuma carelessly stretched his hand but the next second he turned his entire body around.

He noticed that Ayano's hand was empty.

"My Oolong tea?"

Cross-examined by Kazuma, Ayano's cheeks lightly colored and smiled while showing her tongue.

"I drank it."

"Aah!?"

Extremely childish, Kazuma's eyes peeled openly angry.

"You, don't behave selfishly with the social standing of a rich woman! Return my Oolong tea!"

".....Still, I don't you think it's that unsightly......" Ayano murmured, dejected by the excessive cheapness.

Rare nowadays, she was full of disappointment.

"Shut up. I can't stand when other people take my stuff."

"Well, leaving that aside...."

Considerably displeased, Ayano forcefully changed the topic.

"What do we do with this?"

In front of her eyes, the fallen flirty man became a mere shadow of its former self.

His flesh deflated and his body returned to the modest former self.

No, it didn't just return. Even after returning to the same shape, the muscles' atrophy didn't stop.

Thoroughly endless, as if air slipped out of it, the man's body shrunk until it turned into a creature of only skin and bone.

"Is this...the backlash of power? But he doesn't seem dead."

"Well then."

"Who on earth was this guy?"

Kazuma shrugs his shoulders but doesn't answer. Different from Ayano, tilting her head in wonder, he does not seem to have any sort of interest towards it.

Taking an attitude with no sense of responsibility, Ayano stares at Kazuma including blame.

"You'll just ignore it?"

"It doesn't concern me. Well, as for the obligation I have as a citizen, shall I inform the police?"

Taking out his cellphone, he pressed the buttons. But, contrary to his words he didn't press 911.

"Kirika? There is knocked down half naked suspicious person at the south entrance of Shinjuku. If you catch it, you may hear something interesting. Bye."

Without waiting for the other side to reply, he one-sidedly informed her about the business and closed the phone.

Ayano looked up at Kazuma with a stunned expression.

"How to say this, you can't be kind no matter the circumstance?"

She knew who he contacted. That's someone she definitely didn't like but she couldn't help but feel pity for Kirika.

But, Kazuma replied very naturally.

"It's fine because it's Kirika."

A casual tone full of trust. That careless contact, unkind but without omitting crucial steps, recognizing the signs of Kazuma's confidence in ''if it's Kirika, that's enough'', for some reason Ayano felt discomfort.

"Hmmm, is Tachibana such a capable police officer?"

''Not in other areas'' - without using words just by placing accent, Ayano spit out the thorny words.

Tachibana Kirika is the name of the person Kazuma called. Her rank is police superintendent. She serves as the Chief of the Special Investigation Unit, the institution dealing with expelling evil spirits.

It would be better not saying this but, as a matter of fact, this organization is made of only puny abilities.

Especially their battle capabilities were really meager. So after discovering the devilishness to be defeated, they leave the actual ''defeating'' to the big guns - the Kannagi Clan.

And so, the trust Kazuma was placing on Kirika seemed to be related to police business but -

"Aa, ahhh, Kirika is really capable ''even'' as a government worker."

It appears that Kazuma was trusting Kirika as a practitioner. Answering her question that was supposed to be mean earnestly made Ayano's face become even more grim.

"You meant very capable as a practitioner?"

"Yes, isn't she a top class Onmyoji?"

"But isn't that person from one of Tachibana's branch families?"

Even if it is an Onmyoji name, it belongs after all to one of the branch families. To say nothing of the do-nothing-job as a police chief.

In front of Ayano who was having such warped thoughts, Kazuma shamelessly praised another woman.

"Because she was more capable than the branch family, she was gotten rid of to Tokyo MPD's Special Investigation Unit as some sort of exile."

".............Really?"

"Especially for her, because she adopted fairly unprincipled different style techniques, they had various reasons for punishment. But, at the very least now there isn't a single person from the Tachibana more capable than her."

"Hmm, really?"

Seeming really displeased, Ayano made agreeable responses in short sentences with no intonation.

Incompletely understanding her obvious ''I'm angry'' attitude, Kazuma looked into Ayano's face.

"What happened?"

"Nothing!"

Shouting angrily, Ayano turned her face away. Watching her reaction, Kazuma's lips curved as if finally noticing something.

"What's up with you, don't tell you have a sense of rivalry towards Kirika?"

"I- it's not like that!"

That was an almost reflex answer but it was definitely not a lie. The one Ayano was fussing over was not Kirika.

''More than that woman, I was, by far...''

She looked up to Kazuma peevishly.

As for Ayano, she was conceited about the fact that Kazuma was her partner. More than Kirika, she was far more helpful. She fought for the sake of Kazuma.

''"It's fine because it's Ayano"''

He never told her such words, not even once.

He doesn't trust in her. Perhaps he doesn't even have confidence in her.

''Am I that useless?''

It seems she'll forever be nothing more but an unskilled half-share. Thinking like that, she becomes unbearably anxious.

Even so, this man never says what she wants to hear and only spouts worthless bullshit with a frivolous laugh.

"It's fine. In other areas it's out of the question but as a practitioner you won't loose. When exchanging blows you're absolutely stronger."

- Like that

At the expressively well timed reply, Ayano is helplessly enraged.

"That's not a follow-up! You baka! Just die!"

Kazuma stares at Ayano's fit of anger really, really happy.

Since before the trust comment, for the sake of enjoying himself with Ayano's reactions, Kazuma takes careful aim with his words and before she will realize it, many of these incidents will happen.

=== Part 2 ===

One ordinary day after school.

One section of the practice ground was filled with a silence full of tension. Everyone was neglecting their practice and while holding a hand to their mouths, their gazes were concentrating to one point.

Before their eyes...was that girl's figure. Elatedly reacting to the gaze that was already turned into physical pressure, she was standing there with a clear facial expression.

Someone gulped - strangely that sound clearly reached her ears. As if that was a signal, the girl lightly kicked the earth's surface and started running. Her route drew a light arc, a forward obliqueness, aiming at the bar the same height as her stature.

Stepping on her left foot, the girl was released from the restraints of gravity. Her bent chest aiming the sky, her slender limbs danced in midair.

"Oooh...."

While watching over the excited onlookers, the girl's head, then her beautiful arched body and her long stretched legs, passed above the bar.

The posture of a perfect jump. The body that jumped over the bar was once more caught by gravity but that one moment was beautiful.

With a light sound, the girl's body was buried in the mattress. Her limbs spread in abandon, overhead the bar was still, expressing the high success of the jump.

"........."

A moment of silence. And then - an explosion of applause and cheers.

"Veeeery goood! A new record!"

"Kudo-senpai is great!"

"Nanase, I love you!"

In the middle of the bursting cheers, the girl - Kudo Nanase slowly got up.

Not really exposing her emotions, it didn't look as if she sympathized with the uproar.

Looking up at the bar overhead, her lips faintly raised. That was all the joy she displayed for breaking a new record.

Nanase Kudo - a beautiful girl with androgynous features and straight short-cut hair.

Always calm, with quick movements and not an easy going tone like most girls and yet not boyish, she was enjoying an overwhelming popularity between girls her age - that's why, this kind of scene was a daily occurrence.

"Senpai, please use this!"

A first year, winning through a violent competition presented Nanase, descending from the mattress a towel.

"Ah, thank you."

Nanase accepted it with a small smile. She returned it after lightly whipping off her sweat.

"Haa..."

Inhaling with yearning her senpai's perspiration, the girl embraced the towel with an ecstatic expression. The others in the big crowd, having been outwitted, glared at the girl with murder in their eyes.

Somewhere close to the development of the all-girl's school-like act -

"........"

Clearly separating herself from that naive society, with a severe facial expression, Nanase looked in the way of the tennis court.

She glared at the blackish shadow clinging to the fence with a violent repugnance.

"Is he here again?"

"Senpai?"

A girl's voice asked a question in a surprised tone. Noticing that, Nanase looked at the girl and showed a harmless smile.

"Nothing important. Just, you know?"

While answering, she gently brushed the girl's head in a casual manner. It as an action with no significance in particular but -

".........uu?"

With a scream that didn't seem to reach the surroundings, the girl in question fell to the ground with a swoon face.

".....What happened?"

"No- no......nothing....."

With a red face and clouded eyes, as if fever made her delirious, the girl slowly shook her head.

"I see. Then, take car.e"

Not really thinking about it, Nanase started walking - aiming at the tennis court.

The moment she turned to it, she had already forgotten the conversation with the girl. She was concentrating on the suspicious figure clinging to the tennis court's fence.

With a cool expression, totally different from the one pointed at the girl before, unforgiving, as if giving a sentence.

"Hey, he's still coming?"

A second year in the tennis club, Sughino Mie murmured so, not pleased from the bottom of her heart. Before her eyes, sticking to the tennis court's fence, a short and fat shadow was peeking.

Just by looking, he was a suspicious man.

Setting up his digital camera, that figure taking snapshots of the girls' appearance, no other word described him better than ''degenerate''.

If this man wasn't a pupil of Seiryou Academy, they would definitely call the police. Or perhaps, there are a lot of people who think they should call the police nevertheless.

Utsumi Kousuke.

That is this man's name. He is a second year but his results were so poor it was a miracle he managed to promote.

His facial features resemble a frog. His whole face is full of pimples, and he had a greasy sweat regardless of the season so his frog image is spot-on.

He belonged to the photography club but the subjects of his photos are just a step away from criminal or maybe already crossing over that line, only that kind of crap.

But even so, the perpetrator is claiming that this is art, although nobody believed him.

It's only natural. If one were to see the expression on his while taking pictures, there can be no place for misunderstanding.

The feeling of various dangers emitted from his blood-shot eyes gave the impression of a real sex-offender.

"As I thought, he's dangerous. Shouldn't we do something?"

"That's right, he's also scaring the first years....."

Weirdly stared at by Utsumi, pressing his shutter as if possessed, the girls were murmuring between themselves.

As if hiding behind her back the first years that have just joined the club, revealed their thought when looking for the firs time at the ominous living creature.

"Se- senpai......what is ''that''? "

"That's a pervert"

Mie immediately replied with no hesitation. That answer was something the firs years, who didn't know the circumstance, could't comprehend but just because of that, their disgust and dread didn't soften.

"Can't you do something? Maybe calling the teacher..."

"Ah, yes.....he won't come...."

Staring at her couhais, supplication clearly in their eyes, Mie's gaze wandered around, her face troubled.

No matter how suspicious he was, Utsumi was a pupil of this school. Moreover he had the pretext of being a member of the photography club.

That means, photographing as a club activity was for him very reasonable. They can't stop him from photographing just because his vulgar smile was eerie.

"No way..."

At that explanation, based on last year's events, the first year's crying faces were pitiable but nothing could be done at the present. Just when she was instructing them to give up, it happened -

"Huh....Kudo-san...?" murmured Mie, recognizing the girl walking behind Utsumi.

Simultaneously Utsumi also realized this and turned around, separating his eyes from the fence.

At that moment -

"Bukyaa!?"

A foot sole with no leniency stroke Utsumi's back of the head. The blow, more like stepping on him than trying to kick, forced Utsumi to strongly kiss the fence.

"Gyaa.....Gyaabii.....?"

To Utsumi's ears, as he was wordlessly screaming, reached a cold notice of conviction:

"How long did you think I would overlook your vulgar molestation, low-life?"

"Guugyaaa....bebii...."

Although Utsumi was trying to escape the restraint, his lazy, neglected body couldn't overcome the force of the foot trampling his head.

Vainly resisting, he was pressed down by the already doubled force. The flesh of his loosen face was squeezed through the mesh of the fence.

"Uuu......"

Because his already ugly face was distorted even more, all the girls in the tennis club simultaneously adverted their eyes.

A dozen seconds after - at the time everyone was starting to see his face really getting cut in the mesh, the girl - Nanase removed her leg.

The released Utsumi crouched holding his face. Crawling unsightly, from the gaps between his fingers he raised his eyes to Nanase.

"Hiii......please....stop the violence...."

A high shriek escaped. He tried to escape, stepping back as if crawling on his ass, but in the crowded place the fence blocked his escape route.

Fleetingly watching behind him, Utsumi's face became even more grim. On the other side of the fence, the girls belonging to the tennis club were watching him with grim eyes.

Being encouraged by Nanase's strong entrance, their eyes lost their fear for the ominous thing. Their looks filled with anger and flared up while their restraints towards the punishment of the insolent peeping demon broke.

In confusion, Utsumi started an explanation,

"Please, please wait. As a member of the photography club, for the sake of the year book photos, I - "

"Don't joke around!"

"Hiii -"

In a fit of rage the women kicked the fence and Utsumi fled that place as if tumbling.

But of course, Nanase is in that direction. This time his face, receiving a Yakuza Kick, was once again dragged in front of the girls.

"N- no, hey, listen....."

"Only lies, huh?" one of the girls shouted.

"How can you take such low angle photos for the year album? Everyone knows that you take dirty photos for the sake of your hobby!"

"That's true! That's true!"

"You rotten fat otaku shit! Diee!"

"It stinks! Don't get closer than a hundred meters!" several girls unanimously shouted.

Obviously there were some unjust accusations mixed in between but Utsumi was quiet.

Originally, except for taking pictures of girl's lower parts he is a timid person. While being surrounded by female students, it's impossible for him to object coherently.

No matter how unreasonable the verbal attacks he received, there was nothing to do but to put up with it in silence.

"Uuu, uuuu....."

"This should be fine, right?"

But a helping hand appeared from an unexpected place.

That was Nanase.

Naturally, she had the character of someone feeling refreshed after <<splitting the bamboo>>. She doesn't like the act of a large group ganging up on someone.

To say nothing of the girls' words which had already entered into a state of wild excitement and began to drift from the original point, changing into nothing but slander and ridicule.

Nanase disliked that development so she got back to the point.

It was just that, but -

"Ku- Kudo-san!"

With a face as if seeing Buddha from the depths of hell, Utsumi's eyes sparkled. It seems that he was convinced that Nanase became his ally.

"I - I knew you would understand! That's right, my photos are art. These women can't understand that!"

Bracing himself he stood up while talking non-stop. He didn't notice the cold anger filling Nanase's eyes.

"Aah, I understand! That's why you were angry. Because I didn't look at you and was taking pictures of this bunch. You don't have to worry, you're my most important subject. From now on, always - "

Perhaps Utsumi's character wasn't vulgar but simply stupid. If a neutral person were to stand there, he or she could only think that.

In the tennis girl's expressions, there was already no anger. What dwelt there was pity and dread. As if looking at a bomb timer decreasing each moment, they nervously observed Utsumi and Nanase.

And then -

GASyAN!

An ominous sound interrupted Utsumi's triumphant speech. His camera, rolling on the ground, was trampled upon with all her strength by Nanase.

"Aah, aaaaaaaaaa!?"

The expensive lens turned into shards of glass. Utsumi cried in a bitter voice.

"Wh- what are you doing!?"

Without answering, Nanase kicked the camera with her foot. Placing the camera with a crooked frame on the top of her foot, she used a half rotation to volley-kick and sent it flying.

The camera that flew with power crashed into the school building and smashed.

"Hiiiiii!"

With a pose similar to Munch's Scream, Utsumi shouted.

"Ah, ah, a"

Leaking out as murmurs, as if his soul escaped his body, he looked up at Nanase in blank amazement.

A frozen gaze looked down on Utsumi.

"Hi, hiii......"

Nanase ordered the pale Utsumi with indifference.

"Get out of my sight!"

"Ah, waaa........waaaaa...."

Revealing a meaningless cry, Utsumi started running on all fours.

"Fucking trash! Just die!!"

"Don't ever come back!"

Showering his back with the tennis girls' boos, Utsumi ran away faster.

Nanase stared at that retreating figure thoroughly indifferent.

=== Part 3 ===

''Shit, just watch you bitches....''

While placing desks one on top of the other behind the tennis club's room - in a perfectly blind spot from the front, Utsumi boiled in anger when thinking of those bitches that didn't understand his art.

''After shooting them at great pains, they falsely accuse me of peeping and taking peeping films...then it's fine to answer your expectations right?''

The insistence of repeating the failed argument over and over is filling his mind. That was nothing more than a pretext, but for him it didn't matter.

Even if someone were to deny it, for him that was the absolute truth and he found no reason to hesitate to respond to the ''undeserved'' persecution with ''rightful'' retribution.

"Yes, it got trough!"

Utsumi, standing on top of the desks, reached the ventilation fan's frame. His body trembling in dark joy, he raised a small sound of joy.

He quietly inserted the small CCD camera in the small gap opened in the corner of the ventilation fan. On the monitor he was holding, silhouettes of girls in their underwear appeared clearly.

"How about this, did you realize.......?"

Without realizing, while smiling simple-mindedly watching the girls changing clothes, a naturally scornful smile appeared on his face.

While video recording the defenseless silhouettes of the people that insulted him, he was intoxicated by his own sense on superiority as if he could decide their fates.

"I won't be satisfied by just this. I'll leak your pictures on the net. With no censorship. Hyahahahaha!"

Of course, he will spread the video address inside the school. Intoxicated with sleazy delusions, in a sense, Utsumi was getting the hang of being a man.

Making the gap and plunging the camera to the extent of warping the secret ventilation fan's frame, bringing the old, discarded desks for support- even if it was for the sake of peeking, maybe he deserves some praise for putting so much effort into it.

At present, Utsumi's effort was greatly rewarded. Moment by moment, the camera's memory is filled with undressed girls.

It's understandable for them not to notice. The back of the club room had no windows, the fan is three meters high so nobody paid attention to it.

Not one person noticed the fact that the fan's frame was subtly warped. Therefore, Utsumi's plan against the tennis club could be called perfect.

If there was a miscalculation, it could only be that he didn't notice the gloomy path weaving its way through the groove of trees was used as a shortcut.

And so, when ''she'' called out to him asking for his identity, her character was not simple enough to make it a prior warning.

"Uhii!?"

Suddenly something shook underfoot. Realizing that someone kicked the desks serving as scaffolding, his plump relaxed body fell, aiming for the ground.

" - uu!"

He fell on his back. For an instant, his breathing stopped. Without really being able to scream in pain, extremely nervous and convulsing, Utsumi fainted.

"Good grief - "

A murmur reached his ear. For some reason he could clearly understand that voice even in the middle of roaring noise made by the falling bricks.

He slowly opened his eyelids, tightly closed in pain. The first thing in his field of vision were two slender, long legs.

Ankles closed tightly. Calves covered with knee socks. Firm tights - extremely healthy, the beautiful legs of an active person.

Legs he recognized. Without having to look at her face, Utsumi knew who those legs belonged to. Track club, second year, Kudo Nanase.

They were without doubt the legs of that girl, his main target.

Forgetting the situation he was in, Utsumi was fascinated by those legs soaring before his eyes.

The one he captured on hundred of pictures but as expected looking at them so close, the intensity was different.

Furthermore, because of the extremely low angle he was looking from, he could see almost to her crotch. Those essentials were covered by her skirt but they were very suggestive.

This was a chance. Forgetting the pain in his body Utsumi shuffled his feet remaining in the same position, approaching Nanase.

''More, just a bit more...''

He stretched his neck to the limit, trying to peek behind the mystery veil but -

Together with a crash resounding all around his cranium, his field of vision was plunged into darkness.

"Guu......Gyaa....?"

While not understanding that his face was stepped on, Utsumi tried to brush away the thing covering his eyes. But he was powerless against the unforgiving trampling that didn't hesitate to rub dirt into his eyes.

"You really don't learn, do you?" Nanase spit out disgusted, while stepping on and grinding Utsumi's face.

"Don't techniques like reflection and regret suit your body, bizarre frog man?"

"Fuu....Fuguu...Gyaaah....!"

Although her manner of speaking was excessive, Utsumi had no strength to object, his face being ground and all, so he clenched his teeth.

That was the moment when the girls from the tennis club rushed out, hearing noise.

" - Nanase-san?"

"Yo."

Nanase replied to Mie's reflexive cry, lightly raising her hand. Of course, she didn't stop stomping and treading on the piece of meat beneath her feet.

Noticing that movement, Mie shifted her gaze to Nanase's feet. And then, to the surroundings.

First of all to the source of the noise, the scattered desks. And then on the CCD camera thrust into a crack made in the ventilation fan. The small monitor connected to the camera was swinging like a pendulum.

It was a very clear scene. After looking at Utsumi with a penetrating cold glance, she exchanged looks with her colleagues that followed her.

There was no need for words. Reading Mie's intent just by eye contact, they rushed back to the club-room.

Ten seconds after, the club's door was opened for a second time and all the girls in the club rushed out with rough steps. They speedily encircled Utsumi and glared at him with eyes burning in anger.

A bit later the first years came out of the club-room. The reason they were late could be clearly seen. They collected the lynching tools. As expected they avoided the rackets, the emphasis was on the mop. But one person was holding a bettered metal bat taken from somewhere.

".....Thank you, Nanase-san. That's enough," Mie said in a restrained voice.

"Yeah."

Nanase nodded, knocking down Utsumi's head with a thick sound. While his body was faced up, she turned his head. Again, his head twisted.

"Oo...Okekereba..."

Bearing a pain intense enough to break his neck-bones, Utsumi rolled his body the same way his neck did.

Nanase chose that moment, when he was lying with his face on the ground, to retreat in a slippery manner of walking. That was only for the sake of not having the insides of her skirt exposed while removing her leg but of course, nobody complained that it was overkill.

The girls were rather impressed by that brilliant movement.

"Uuu.....Uuuuu....."

The released Utsumi tried to get up. And then he saw the expression of the girls surrounding him.

"Uu....aaah...."

Revitalized by fear, Utsumi revealed a sight of agony and death. Realizing he could not escape, he started to explain in a trembling voice.

"Th- this is art..."

"Shut up, you're annoying."

His thoughtless words rejected, Mie thrust her hand out to the first years, waiting behind her.

"Demolishing bat!"

"Yes!"

Without a moment's delay, the first years presented her the scratched metal bat. Strongly gripping the overused bat, Mie shouted.

"Heavenly punishment!!"

''"Oooooooooooooo!"''

Rising their voices, the girls raised their tools. And then like birds of prey swarming around a dead body, they jumped on the petrified Utsumi.

"Uu, Waaaaaahhh!"

A torrent of high pitched shrieks - and then silence.

"........"

Nanase meaninglessly raised her eyes to the sky and then, shifted her attention to the place where the gruesome lynching was performed. The target was silenced but still, the ''sword of justice'' was continuously swinging downward. The girl's faces were radiating great joy.

''"Should I stop it?"''

"It's fine"

As if reading Nanase's thoughts, a smiling voice could be heard from her side. Turning her face around, before she knew, the one that commanded the punishment, Mie stood beside her.

"Are you satisfied, Sugino?"

"Yeah, as you can see -"

Mie was holding the metal bat, stroking gently the ''sword blade'' stained in new blood.

"The demolishing bat has the power to wound and kill and beside it could turn bad so I had to stop."

"Must be hard being the vice-president."

"We are of equal status in this regard."

Both exchanged a bitter smile, bonding for being in the same place and having the same troubles.

Unrelated to the disastrous scene happening a few meters before them, there was a gentle atmosphere around these two.

"By the way, I didn't properly thank you. Thank you very much for today. You helped us twice."

"That's fine. The track club was also at a loss when it came to Utsumi so it wasn't just your business."

"Maybe it would have been better to do something like this quicker, huh?" Mie said while looking at the girls beating the hell out of Utsumi.

"True. This kind of idiot will only be spoiled if left alone. Because he doesn't understand when talking to him, there's no way but to painfully teach it to him."

"True. That's so true!"

Grasping tightly the metal bat, Mie nodded awfully forceful.

"Now that we inherited the ''Demolishing Bat'', we can't permit perverted acts towards the members!"

".......No, I don't think that has anything to do with it..."

"Is that so? Anyway, it would be fine if the idiot learned something from that experience."

They both had the same opinion on this point so Nanase nodded.

"Certainly. But don't overdo it. It's not worth it to be charged with a crime because of such a guy."

"I know. Leave it to me."

Leaving it to the girl that declared so pulling out her chest, Nanase said her parting words.

"Then, I leave the rest to you. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

A commonplace greeting. Smiling at each other. Without foundation, both believed that the tomorrow that will come will be the same as today. At that hour, they still thought so.

=== Part 4 ===

"Hmm, did something like that happened yesterday?"

The next day's lunch break.

While eating her lunch, Nanase told her friends - Kannagi Ayano and Shinomiya Yukari yesterday's incident.

"Ha ha, he got what he deserved", Ayano replied delighted from the bottom of her heart.

She also thinks Utsumi's deeds are unpleasant so she doesn't have a particle of sympathy for him.

"So, is he still alive?"

At Ayano's question Nanase simply shrugged her shoulders as if saying ''I wonder''. Substituting her friend who really didn't care from the bottom of her heart, Yukari answered.

"Of course he's alive. Because luckily Ayano-chan wasn't at that place"

Yukari was wearing her shoulder length hair wavy, and seemed like a very gentle girl. Although speaking slowly, quite a number of people noticed at times her irony.

"I see, that was unlucky - wait a second!"

But, because they were friends for a long time Ayano couldn't be deceived. On the verge of noticing, she glared with half open eyes at her friend, grinning at her with a happy smiling face.

"Didn't you just said something inexcusable with a straight face just now?"

"I wonder...I only spoke the truth"

"That's even worse!"

"Kya - Nanase-chan help!"

Pretending to be scared of the roaring Ayano, whose face was blazing, Yukari hid behind Nanase.

"Wait!"

"Kyaa - "

The moving around Ayano. Yukari escaping again. Gradually increasing their speed, both started running round and round around Nanase.

"You guys, I'm in the middle of eating - "

Amazed, Nanase warned them but without seeming to hear both continued to run around.

After fixedly staring at them, Nanase closed the bentou's lid and casually pushed out her leg forward. With superb timing that leg caught Ayano's running in front of her.

"Waahyaa!"

Ayano fell forward with all her strength. As expected she avoided falling down but Yukari, half a semicircle later, crashed into her back.

"Waaa!"

"Kyaaa!"

Entangled, Ayano and Yukari tumbled on the floor of the rooftop. Disregarding those two, Nanase calmly resumed her meal.

"Ow...uch..."

Several seconds after, Ayano got up raising a grazed moan. Tearing off Yukari's body tangled with hers as in a judo locking technique, she stood up while arranging her hair.

"Na - na - se"

Being spoken to in such a harsh voice, Nanase didn't show any sign of being perturbed. While steadily chewing her the fries she just ate, she declared as a matter of course.

"I told you I'm in the middle of eating. You were raising dust."

"But still suddenly tripping me up - "

"It's fine, I carefully chose the opponent. I wouldn't do it to anyone except you"

"Don't do it to me either!"

"By the way - "

Ignoring Ayano's outcry, Nanase turned her eyes to Yukari. Finally getting up, while cleaning the dust off her clothes Yukari tilted her head as if asking ''What is it?''

"Do you know?"

Yukari accurately read the aim of the untitled question.

"About Utsumi-kun? Of course he didn't die, nor is he hospitalized. You see, people don't generally use tools and seriously strike at someone, right?", said Yukari While fleetingly glancing at Ayano.

Sensing that, Ayano frowned.

"Why were you looking at me?"

Yukari nonchalantly turned away. As if she didn't hear anything she continued her conversation with Nanase.

"That's why, the injury he received from those blows is pretty much to the lever of mouth cuts.They said his bones are whole"

"Just that...."

"Yes, just that. As expected he will stay in bed today but compared to the damage he would have suffered from Ayano-chan, that's just like a gentle brush"

"Why are you making me as an example?", Ayano raised her voice again.

Sensing she reached a critical section Yukari didn't ignored her this time and faced her with an hones face.

"Listen to me, Ayano-chan"

"Wh- what?"

The atmosphere suddenly changed and as if pressured by the drawing near Yukari, Ayano retreated a little.

"I think of Ayano-chan as an important friend"

"I see.....thanks"

That was a pretty common thing to say but not on this context.

She nodded frankly.

"That's why, please - "

The light of sincerity dwelling in her eyes, like a prayer, like a request, Yukari continued.

"So please, don't say such mean things to me"

"..........."

Ayano's temple had a cramp. Staring at Yukari with a dark glare, she let out a voice that must have crawled from the bottom of the hell.

"Yu - ka - ri...."

"Wh - a - t?"

Contrary Yukari's reply didn't have an atom of darkness. In the song-like tone felt like the elegance of a bright spring.

There's no need to say it, this only had the opposite effect.

Ayano slightly moved forward her center of gravity, the muscles all over her body poised. An attitude that gave the impression of a feline hunter on the verge of leaping to her pray.

"Yukari....it seems necessary we need to have a lengthy discussion one of these days......"

Ayano let out a low, small whisper. It seems it was lost in wind but it was the kind of sentence that would definitely reach the other party.

The tiptoes of Ayano's fingers placed on the floor, lightly scratched the concrete.

When the few moments before the strife began expanding over and over - at that time -

"Oh, it's open!"

Several boy came to the rooftop with a basket ball. It seems they wanted to exercise some after eating.

The minute that the door was opened Ayano and Yukari returned to their former positions so fast it didn't even leave an afterimage.

Sitting straight, those figures smiling elegantly didn't show any sign a cat fight was about to happen seconds before.

"Hurry up. The lunch break will end - huh?"

The boy in the front - apparently a first year - finally perceived Ayano's group. His eyes opened wide in surprise.

"Shi- shinomiya-san? Kudo-san and, and even Kannagi-san?"

The good fortune of being able to see the Academy's top three beautiful girls in the same place - made the boy's face become loose. On the faces of the boys following him an expression of supreme bliss floated.

"I'm sorry, we're in the middle of lunch. Can you restrain yourselves?", said Yukari showing an brutally cute smile.

As there were no boys who could go against that face, they immediately replied with a straight posture.

"Of- of course! We're apologizing for causing you trouble!"

"We're sorry"

Moreover, Ayano's smile increased the tension. The boys' consciousness flew higher than the sky, their thinking ability all evaporated.

Nanase saw off the departing boys, their faces intoxicated.

The door closed, the sound of footsteps died out and waiting a few more seconds just to make sure, Nanase spoke with a sigh.

"How to put this - both of you have a tremendous skill in hiding your true selves"

"Isn't it fine? There're all happy", Yukari replied with a nonchalant face.

Ayano didn't on account of resuming her lunch.

Understanding she said something completely pointless, Nanase feebly shook her head, resuming her thoughts. She once again looked at Yukari who knew all the gossip.

"So, Yukari. Was his punishment decided?"

"Three days of house arrest", Yukari quickly replied to Nanase's question.

Unintentionally Ayano shouted when hearing about the too indulgent punishment.

"Just that?"

"Just that. He was a first offender"

Also dissatisfied, Nanase frowned.

"It could have been so peaceful had he been expelled......."

"That's impossible. If it's Utsumi-kun, they won't expel him before raping someone"

"<<If it's Utsumi-kun>>? What do you mean by that?"

"He's from a rich family in hospital administration. The amount of his donations is top class"

"Ah, I see"

At the tough reality, Nanase kept silent making a sullen face.

Seiryou Academy was a private school but it wasn't unaffected by the nowadays declining birth rates. The period when only the best pupils were selected passed and because its name was famous, noted families pursued it.

The management was definitely not difficult but the funds were never enough.

To put it in simple words, it was hard to part from valuable gold.

"I heard rumors he entered the school through the back door, that guy"

"Yeah, but those rumors were false"

"Were they?"

"Yes", Yukari declared with no doubt.

That was an information unavailable to a simple student but neither Ayano nor Nanase were suspicious about it. Frankly this girl, without changing her gentle exterior appearance, or maybe in accordance with her image was randomly well connected.

Currently she is occupying the position of secretary in the Student Council but except for that she belongs to different committees and influential clubs and on top of that she has connections among the teaching staff.

That vast and subtle information network has an unparalleled accuracy. No school event escapes her eyes.

"That's why, he'll probably come back to school after three days with a calm face. Maybe he will be quiet for some time and reflect upon his actions"

".....I wonder"

Remembering his persistent gaze trying to look under her skirt even after he was caught during the crime, Nanase breathed a sigh, fed up with it.

"It can't be helped, even if it's a makeshift solution. If he will continue with this crap day after day, no matter how stupid he is, he will come to care about his well being"

"Like yesterday? Ah, about that - "

"What?"

"Wasn't Sugino-san the one that organized yesterday's beating? It seems she suddenly fell into a coma"

"Ehh? Is that true?"

Unintentionally Nanase asked again so Yukari's lips became sharp seeming displeased.

"I never tell false information"

"Well, that's true - that's just so strange, she looked so well yesterday", said Nanase doubtful.

Yukari raised her finger and said to her.

"Maybe she was cursed by Utsumi-kun, huh?"

" - Yukari, that's not funny"

"Eh, that was an indiscretion. I'm sorry"

Gazing at Yukari, putting out her tongue, with a light reprimand, Nanase anxiously frowned.

She told herself she was thinking too much. But she instinctively knew. That this is just the beginning. That something bad, something really bad is just about to happen.

<noinclude>
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| Forward to [[Kaze_no_Stigma:Volume4_Chapter_2|Chapter 2]]
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Kaze no Stigma:Ignition Volume1 Chapter 4

2012-09-25T17:28:09Z

Nwms8: changed: returning the Heaven. --> returning to Heaven.

'''Haunted holiday'''

“Ah, what fine thing did I find ♡?”

Pushing her way, almost sprinting, through the crowd of people, who at the eastern entrance of the Shinjuku Station doesn’t die out even during working days, the lady muttered so with a delightful expression.

This particular day, after practically no free time since the beginning of the new school term, Kannagi Ayano was in an extremely good mood. That figure, lightly stepping forward, showing a soft smile is so lovely, to the extent that it would be impossible to conceive that such a body contains a tremendous combat ability.

The season is light spring. The sunlight is worm, the people are lightly dress, that sort of day.

Ayano put on a bolero on top of her dress, her outfit excluding a novel, high-class lady appearance. Her figure – lovely because of her cleanliness and tidiness – just by standing there resembles a painting, drawing hot glances from the mesmerized men.

However, those glances, always unpleasant, didn’t damage Ayano’s mood. If it’s now, even player-wannabes would call out to her in an over familiar manner, maybe she wouldn’t show those men the depths of Hell. I repeat again, Ayano is in a very good mood.

-At the very least, a few more seconds.

“………Ua!?”

Before 10 minutes have passed since leaving Alta Ayano received a strong hit from the side. She immediately retreated a few steps in order to subdue the impact. Although she somehow avoided falling down, the paper bags she was holding hit the ground.

“What are you doing – uh!?”

The instant she started shouting at the aggressor, her face became stiff. Before her eyes is a smiling, beautiful woman in the middle of her twenties she met a few times before. Her thoughts stopped by an ominous premonition, Ayano can only stare dumbly at the woman.

“Y – You…”

“Good day to you, Ayano-chan!”

Facing a petrified Ayano the woman greets her with an out of place cheerful salute.

“This may be sudden, but I’m leaving it to you.”

The white finger indicates something behind Ayano. The three running men she saw instinctively turning her head around – every one of them were two meters tall.

“W-Wait….what is happ…”

With exquisite timing, a bewildered Ayano is pushed forward by the shoulders. Almost like falling forward she comes forth and realizes, standing in front of these men to protect another woman, that she has fallen to a new low.

“Just stop it alr…”

While Ayano was flaring up in a rage, shouting, her eyes fell at the feet of the three men. The change of her complexion was absolute.

“Ah…w-wait a minute!”

Naturally they didn’t stop.

The feet of the men step on the paper bags spread on the road almost as if taking careful aim to do so. The shoes, probably thirty centimeters long, tear off the paper bags trampling on the wrapping paper.
The white skirt hidden inside was smudged with distinct black shoe marks. The silk blouse was a total loss. The sound of accessories being transformed in junk can be heard. With a strange sound, something snapped inside her head.

“Y ...You...”

In front of the young lady’s anger, even the animosity towards the woman is forgotten. Towards the men who ruined the shopping’s results, the power of Ayano’s retort is similar to a hurricane. A charge full of force was placed on the fist driven into the stomach of the man in the middle.

Critical hit.

You can tell the shock pierced through the stomach, penetrating as far as the back. Ayano drew near to the remaining two, interposing between them. With no hesitation, she approached the left one first.

Evading the large strike she used his arm for a judo shoulder throw. Even if he was an amateur, the man’s defense wasn’t breached even as he was falling down. This much damage should be fine – he should walk again – in a week or so.

While she was turned the other way, the last man attacked. Without even turning back she jumped toward him and just before touching him she moved her leg, twisting her body ninety degrees while pushing out her elbow. By kicking her hind foot, the speed increases to max and by concentrating all her kinetic energy she thrusts her left fist in the pit of the stomach. There was a strong backlash.

It was practically a certain kill. The large built man flew ten centimeters and collapsed like a doll, whose threads have been cut.

“Well – ”

With a sidelong glance at the fallen men, Ayano slowly turned back. That glance, no matter how you look at it, was more cold than what a hoodlum deserves.

“Will you explain?”

“I don’t mind but...”

However the woman wasn’t perturbed. Receiving the villainous glare without hesitation, with a smiling face, she points her finger forward a second time.

“It’s not over yet”

Simultaneously, the sound of the defeated men getting up can be heard.

“...............Hm!?”

Astonished, Ayano looks over her shoulder. It was an impossible thing. The degree of damage can’t be compensated by something like durability or will-power.

Judging from a biological point of view, for humans the result is absolute immobilization if such a powerful strike in such a place is applied.

However, in reality sure enough the men were resurrected. Trying to grasp the reason Ayano stares at them.
The men’s bodies call to mind the transparency of dead bodies. One was only bones. Another one was a pitch-black corpse. And the last one – was a warrior dressed in armor.

Starring at the decomposing body clad in worn-out armor, Ayano mutters in blank amazement.

“These guys they’re possessed......you!!”

Unintentionally forgetting about the crisis right in front of her, she turns around. She shouts, letting anger take its natural course:

“A public servant using a civilian to do her work!”

“Well – don’t say that. Look look! They’re coming from behind.”

Certainly this was not the place for carefree quarrels. The men, possessed by the spirits of the dead, drew near for a second time.
A bothersome opponent. Because spirits don’t feel pain and so on, hitting them or kicking them has no effect. If you don’t inflict enough damage to kill and then destroy their joints it seems you cannot permanently immobilize them.

Through physical means, that is.

“...........”

A deep inhale and then exhale.

Stimulating the entire body’s power by this one sequence, flexibly concentrating all consciousness in both palms, the contours of her wrists warp.

The pale gold heat haze enveloping the girl’s wrists disturbs the course of light.

Before her eyes is the skeleton corpse possessed man. Staring at Ayano with stagnant pupils, like those of rotten fish, he raises both arms overhead, rejecting the nuisance.

“Haa!”

Ayano hit with both palms at full power that virtually empty body. It was a double palm strike. Via those palms, a golden brightness was pumped into the man’s body. While his entire body was glowing in the golden light, the man bent backwards, as if suffering from electric shock.

“Giiiii.................”

During the soundless scream, the spirit of the dead was separated from the man’s body.

“I’m not letting you escape!”

From Ayano’s palms the golden light gushed out, changing to a violently rushing stream. The light that hit him increased by far its density and radiance , transforming and manifesting itself as a golden flame, thoroughly burning the departed soul, without allowing resistance.

She repeated the process twice again.

“............Fuuuu”

After cleansing the three spirits through fire, Ayano took a light breath.

From behind indifferent applause can be heard.

“<<Well done!>> it’s what I’d like to say now but you really took your time. Weren’t purification flames supposed to destroy only evil?”

“I’m sorry for being so inexperienced.”

Turning her body the other way, Ayano replied with a very threatening tone.

The wicked spirits called Youma – because the devilishness that holds resentment towards the world of men exists – it can be said it was inevitable that in order to resist, men have obtained power.

The girl’s name is “Kannagi” Ayano. Manipulating purification flames able to destroy evil – she is the daughter of the En-jutsu family known as the strongest. But then Ayano herself, can’t be helped but be called very inexperienced. Even if she possesses mighty power, she has yet to learn the art of perfect control.

Not to hurt the people depending on them and to purify only the possessing spirits – such a deed is possible only for the girl’s father – Juugo and her uncle Genma.

As for Ayano, one can say with confidence such high-class techniques are outside her reach.

Therefore, her plan consisted of the following: before materializing her power as flames she is releasing it as a “heat” that won’t damage the human body, continually knocking out the departed souls that try to escape.

As a matter of course, this is a reckless and difficult operation. Taking as much time for the likes of departed souls, it can’t be helped that the famous Kannagi name could be distrusted, on account of such rumors.

However, Ayano has no intention of taking such criticism obediently. She thought so from the bottom of her heart: “this woman” has no right to complain.

“Will I receive some sort of explanation, I wonder...”

She started cross-examining, including enough drive for the other party to understand that depending on the answer, this isn’t over.

“...Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Special Data Arrangement, Miss Police Officer Tachibana Kirika?”

Calling her especially by the overlong job title, as a matter of course this is a form of harassment. The Chief of the country’s one and only government organization for vanquishing evil, the person on the position of protecting the nation from spiritual disasters, isn’t it absurd to drag civilians in her troubles? This is why.

“Well – don’t say that. You’re not someone unrelated.”

But the woman, Kirika was very composed. Being spoken to by this beautiful woman so over familiarly, Ayano answers in a freezing tone:

“What are you saying? To the likes of you, what else could I be except for an unrelated person? I’m fed up with your impertinent talk. Give me an explanation.”

“Well, that’s fine...”

Being questionably evasive, Kirika shifts her focus forward, behind Ayano.

“If I were to tell you that’s not all, would you get angry?”

“........Tch!”

Forcefully turning around, Ayano observes. Drawing near unnoticed, a crowd of men and women of all ages undoubtedly possessed by the spirits of the dead. There were roughly thirty of them. In the middle of this bizarre atmosphere the pedestrians that happened to be present by chance become noisy.

But one man among them – what was he thinking – stood in front of the assailants.

“Stop it! You guys – ”

Seeing a beautiful woman and a beautiful girl being attacked, it seems he thought to make himself to look better. It seems he has some sort of knowledge. But –

Bokyatsu!

The character manipulating the departed souls removed the limits of the bodies and some mediocre martial arts can’t win any sort of battle. Both his arms standing on guard broke his own chin, and the man flew through the air, thoughtlessly screaming.

Watching the convulsing man vomiting blood, pedestrians started to shriek. By mixing people who wanted to run away and people who, on the contrary had burning curiosity, chaos occurred.

The only calm people were those involved – the assailants and the assaulted.

Staring at the attackers getting close, in spite of mowing down the people who got in their way, Kirika asks:

“Can you exorcise them all like you did earlier?”

“Absolutely impossible,” stated Ayano without hesitating for a moment.

“The sensitivity required for tuning the necessary caloric value is preposterous and for so many opponents gathered, I should burn half of them.”

“That’s dreadful.”

Imagining the gruesome spectacle, Kirika murmured in a monotonous tone.

“Well then, should we run away?”

“Do your best then.”

Kirika is suspiciously watching over Ayano’s “this is none of my business” reply.

“Will you not help me?”

“I didn’t receive such a commission. If you live through it, call me later and explain the situation.”

With those words Ayano tries to leave but watching the crowd blocking her path, she scowls.

“Hey! The one you’re aiming at is right there.”

Of course the spirits don’t answer. The possessed flesh moves with a somewhat supernatural ability, wiggling, and with no hesitation and killing intent faces Ayano.

“.........What is this?” a doubtful Ayano. The answer comes from the back.

“Ah, as I thought”

“What exactly is <<as I thought>>?”

To the enquiring Ayano, her glace fixed on the spirits of the dead, Kirika answers with a smiling face.

“Don’t you thing it must be difficult to control so many spirits of the dead at once from a distance? So, beside the comments given I thought that maybe they can move autonomously. For example, <<unconditionally execute anyone who is standing in your way>> or something”

“............Y – O – Uuuuuuuu!!”

Showing the vein on her temple, Ayano started screaming:
“You planned on forcefully dragging me into this from the start, right? You stinking official!!”

For this reason, before explaining the circumstances, she involved Ayano in battle – for the sake of the enemy recognizing Ayano as an obstacle, so that she wouldn’t be able to run away.

“Don’t get so angry. In troubled times we are of equal status don’t you agree?”

But without showing any timidity, Kirika winked at the angry Ayano.

“Y...You...”

Although glaring at the very annoying woman, it was all too late. She was already dragged unknowingly in the turmoil’s upheaval or more likely at the core of it all.

“I’ll remember this!”

Replacing the boiling anger with flames, Ayano swung downward her right hand. The blaze slapped into the ground changes in a wall of fire, blocking the way before these two.

“DAAAAAAAA!?”

Being scared of the purifying flames, the attackers back off. Ignoring the screams of the ordinary people unfortunately involved, Ayano turns back and run.

“We’re running away!”

“I thank you for your cooperation. As I thought the voluntary cooperation of civilians is the secret for early settlements.”

“Be silent for a little bit, you public servant failure!”

Leaving behind boos somewhat filled with anguish, both of them managed a speedy flight.

“Ha...ha...for the time being we’ve done it right?”

“So it seems...”

Hiding themselves in a deserted, empty building, Ayano and Kirika muttered so, greedily devouring oxygen. As one would expect, a thirty minute sprint at full power was very demanding. Both of them were short of breath.

“By the way, I think it’s time you start explaining these circumstances.”

“Ah that’s right. I forgot.”

Seeing Kirika clap her hands, truly having forgotten to explain, Ayano sends her way a somewhat cynical, bitter smile.

“Even so, there’s not much explaining to do. If I were to say it in a few words, it’s only a matter of settling scores.”

“Settling scores?”

“Yes. In this business, it’s only natural to incur various people’s enmity. Particularly some puny organization like the Special Data Arrangement who does whatever it wants with the power of the State. The criticism can be severe, in various ways.”

“Hmmm...well, that may be true...” Ayano nodded vaguely.

The girl’s family can be considered the industry’s leader so she doesn’t really get the sorrows of this type of puny organization.

“I know, right? I got used to it but this time we came across a big-shot, sort of.”

“Big-shot?”

“Yes. Do you know Ghost Tamer?”

“.....I heard that name somewhere”

Ayano tried to remember, but it didn’t come out easily.

“If it’s Ayano-chan I’m sure that you heard about him before. He’s a celebrity.”

“That so? ... well it’s impossible for a necromancer who can simultaneously manipulate thirty spirits of the dead to be nameless.”

This doesn’t apply just for necromancers, increasing the number of techniques controlled at the same time, the degree of difficulty jumps through the window. As for necromancers, they are considered first class when they can control ten bodies at the same time.

But Kirika revealed an even more frightful fact:

“That is just the beginning. Regarding the validation made to the best of our abilities, the maximum number he can control is one hundred and twenty.”

“One hundred and twenty!?” Ayano screamed with bulging eyes.

But at the same time, that absurd number made her remember that abominable incident.

“Say...you don’t say Ghost Tamer is... the one three years before in San Francisco...”

The desire to be wrong that fills Ayano’s question is heartlessly destroyed by Kirika.

“Yeah, that’s the one...”

“Uaa....” with an unpleasant feeling, from the bottom of her heart Ayano groans.

Ghost Tamer – despite being a necromancer he uses killing curses, possessing suitable humans and using them, its forte is a technique consisting of using physical means to kill its targets, different from a shaman, different from an assassin – a “curse assassin”

The incident that made him world-wide famous happened three years ago. For the sake of killing a certain mafia boss he made one hundred and twenty people, possessed by the spirits o the dead, to hold bombs and attack the target in a very special way.
The casualties exceeded three hundred. It is said that the body fragments of the manipulated people, after being gathered in plastic bags, didn’t amount to 3% of the total.

“Another troublesome one appeared...”

With all her strength, Ayano unpleasantly puzzles over it. It’s as if an unrelated person all of a sudden turns into an assassin – that element of surprise and the almost infinite amount of supplies is the Ghost Tamer’s forte.

Because this is a metropolis, there is abundance of departed souls but also of human hosts. There is also the problem of the possessed humans who have been killed. The deceased can be captured by Ghost Tamer and turned into a new departed soul, possessing other humans in order to attack the target. In order to stop the domino effect there is no choice but use a high ranking white magic that can exorcize all of them in one go.
Only if such a thing was possible, though.

“What do we do next?”

Needless to say, Ayano is not capable of such things. The girl’s power is not suited for such sensitive operations.

“There is that....”

To Ayano, demanding for a counter plan, Kirika tilted her head to the side, with a troubled appearance.

“The moment I found Ayano-chan, I thought all my troubles are gone...”

She is fleetingly looking at Ayano and then a deep sigh. At this “I can’t use her attitude” Ayano is pissed.

“What about you? You can’t perform spirit exorcism is spite of being an Onmyoji?”

“Of course I can. I’ve done it for thirty bodies or so but then I ran out of charms.”

“That so...”

Onmyoji is based on the general principle of the cosmic dual forces, Yin and Yiang, and they can use a mighty power. But the restriction is that in order to put the technique in operation, charms must absolutely be used. In this industry there is a well known verse, sang from ancient times.

“Charmless Onmyoji, ordinary man, right?” Ayano hums spontaneously, Kirika retorts with coolness:

“It doesn’t rhyme.”

“You’re noisy!”

“Well, anyway.”

Unusually restraining herself before exploding, Ayano makes the conversation advance.

“This is a stalemate. Can you think of something?”

“Well...” Kirika slowly opens her mouth:

“If it’s just the two of us, we can’t win in this situation. If that’s the case, we have no choice but to call for reinforcement.”

“Who? One of your subordinates?”

“Wrong. We know someone much more reliable, am I right?”

“Ah, that one?”

Because Ayano and Kirika don’t have many common acquaintances, she quickly understood who it was.

Certainly, ability wise he was the most reliable man. '''Ability wise'''

“........Fine, will you call him?”

To Ayano who reluctantly agreed, Kirika sends a meaningful smile.

“.......What?”

“Err, nothing in particular. Then, please get in touch with him.”

“Why me!?” Ayano unintentionally shouted. “It’s better if you call him, right? Because you two have a much more ''friendlier'' relationship!”
The first time Ayano met Kirika, she and Kazuma were leaving the red-light district, arms linked. That’s why Ayano firmly believes these two have “that kind of relationship.”

“That’s not true. If it’s Ayano-chan, he’ll answer the phone. So, please?”

“............................”

Even if this doesn’t mean she believes Kirika’s words, Ayano gave up on resisting, taking out the mobile phone. As a matter of course, she has his number.

''It’s just for work! It’s really just that!''

She dialed it, they talked a few times before –

“What?”

Maybe because he knows it was Ayano, or maybe he does it for everyone – anyway, the voice reaching Ayano’s ears is excessively self-important.

“Ah, Kazuma? I have a favor –”

“I refuse.”

The answer comes back lightning fast. For a short while Ayano is silenced but she corrects herself in a low voice:

“I have a job request.”

“Say it.”

“................”

Still on the phone, Ayano throws a sidelong glance at Kirika, glaring at her.

''Hey, is this what you call a good answer?''

Although she didn’t say it loud, her twisted expression said it all. Not caring about it, Kirika encouraged her in a small voice: “Keep going!”

Giving up the investigation, Ayano concentrates her attention on the conversation with Kazuma.

“You see...” she explains, summarizing the situation.

Surprisingly, Kazuma quickly understood.

“Even though I think we can end it by killing them all, but since there is money in this, I don’t mind playing around with them. So, where are we meeting?”

“Ah, well.....”

Ayano considered her current surroundings. But without deliberating too much, she answered:

“Tee hee hee, I don’t know. Somewhere in Shinjuku. Will you search ♡?”

She tried to be as lovely as possible. But – it was useless.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaa,” an endless, deep sigh reached her ears. And then.....

“Did your brains go bad or something!!”

“Kyauu!?”

Because the angry roar explodes close to her ear Ayano involuntarily throws out the phone. Kirika skillfully caught it just before falling on the ground.

“Hey, it’s wrong to bully girls, you know?”

“.....Kirika, why are you there?”

From the mobile phone now in Kirika’s hands, Kazuma’s questioning tone can be heard. Throwing a sidelong glance at Ayano, listening attentively, Kirika moves the conversation forward.

“This was my work from the start. So it’s fine to bill me for the job. So, where are you? Your home? The one in Yokohama? Really – please hurry. Yeah, please. Well then... ”

Kirika settled the conversation at once, hang up and returned the telephone to Ayano. She received it with a blank facial expression.

“As I thought it turned out well because you did the talking, right?”

“I wonder...” Kirika responds to Ayano, who looks displeased, with a mature smile full of composure.

For some reason or another, feeling she is losing the mental battle, Ayano changes the subject.

“So, are we hiding until Kazuma gets here? If he’s in Yokohama, no matter how fast it still takes time.”

“That’s right, it would be ideal if circumstances allow, but.....”

In the middle of her words, Kirika shifts her attention inside the hallway. Almost simultaneously, so does Ayano. Looking at the ceiling, deploring, she corrects herself with a delicate expression:

“It would have been ideal...”

“Your everyday behavior must be very sinful, am I right?”

Standing up Ayano is brushing off the dust from her skirt.

Without having to wait for them, they appeared in the front. With a rotten, fishy smell and fixed eyes, the man – a company worker – is of course possessed by the spirits of the dead.

“Good grief – it can’t be helped...”

Lightly kicking the floor, Ayano’s silhouette vanished in a blur. Swiftly rushing in, her high speed movement is like she can leap over time restrains. Instantly plunging into the man’s chest she thrusts her elbow, using the force of the rush. Through the blow, purification power is pumped into his face. The golden radiance doesn’t allow any escape and the spirit dwelling on the man is burned to nothing.

“Oh, that did the trick.”

“That so? He’s kind of burning.”

Overlooking the man emitting fumes from here and there, Kirika says a touching, silent prayer.

“Don’t concern yourself with minor details!”

“Minor, huh?”

She has lots of things to say to this girl, but now it’s not the time to fuss over it. Chasing the already running Ayano, Kirika breaks into a forceful run.

“....I’m not letting you escape.... ”

In one of the rooms from a certain hotel in Akasaki, Ronald Wallace murmured so, in a heavy, low voice.

Aquiline nose – white hair – the name Ghost Tamer is appropriate; the old man’s appearance is that of an evil sorcerer come forth from fairy-tales. That figure gazing at the crystal ball is terrifying.

“You can’t get away..........no matter how you struggle.....”

Watching the women, reflected in the crystal ball, running around, trying to escape, Ronald laughs. That was because he knows victory is certain.

The net completely encircling them – there is no target whose technique can exorcize more than a hundred organized departed souls. Of course, not even the Enjutsushi who stumbled in the middle of it.

There is just one flaw. Following Ronald’s will manipulating the spirits and finding his location. The only way is to strike at him. But –

“The Enjutsushi whose only merit are combat abilities and the Onmyoji trying to escape with all her might, can you do it...?”

With absolute confidence, Ronald sneered. Even the Enjutsushi’s flames are not scary if the person can avoid them. Departed souls and the like are after all pieces who have no choice but to do his work as a substitution.

“Perhaps capturing the Enjutsushi’s soul could be fun. If it retains even a small portion of the power it has alive, maybe I can use it.”

“Stop it. That one’s is probably really hard to manipulate.”

That answer reached his ears much too naturally. Searching for the rebuttal words, Ronald turned around in terror.

A hundred and eighty degrees rotation, a body suspended in the air.

Since the head’s rotation doesn’t stop, approximately after another rotation, the balance is destroyed, the dead falls down and crashes.

Ronald – climbing in the revolving world finally recognizes the situation. The revolving universe. But someone tramples down on the head and the spinning stops.

“What’s more...”

Looking up with disgrace and humiliation, in the field of vision is reflected a man’s face, showing a cynical smile.

“I’ve decided I’m the only one allowed to play with her AND that’s the law of this country, you know!”

With these words the sensation of Ronald’s last moment was the smashing of his cranium and his consciousness faded into darkness.

The headless body, standing erect, spurts out fresh blood as if remembering.

At the same time....

Ayano and Kirika were trapped in a desperate crisis. It is evening in the Imperial Garden of Shinjuku. The surroundings are flocked with more than a hundred possessed bodies. There is no way to escape.

“.......What are we going to do?” Ayano groans in a worn-out voice but Kirika either has no way out.

At such a troubled time, almost like aiming for it, the cell phone’s ringtone can be heard. Kirika fetched it really fast and stated shouting.

“How long do you plan to take Kazuma!? We’re at our limit!!”

A contrastive, hatefully calm voice can be heard.

“It’s over. Everything.”

“No it’s not! Right now we are in the middle of being attacked by nearly a hundred spirits!”

“.........Oh?” Kazuma’s voice is surprisingly serious. From the other side of the phone, a silence filled with confusion can be sensed.

“Hey....”

“Ah, I got it. Even if the practitioner dies, the last order passed down is still effective. I see.”

The only one impressed is Kazuma because Kirika asks him in a low voice:

“I’m so glad you cleared the puzzle. So, how do you get here?”

“How, you ask...where are you now? Shinjukugyouen? That’s impossible. It’s totally outside my range. I’ll get there in twenty, thirty minutes so wait there.”

“We can’t wait that long! We’re already under pressure. It’s fine with you if Ayano-chan becomes a mass murderer?”

“Tell her this. If she dares to die, she can choose her favorite method for when HER PARTNER is going to kill her............Ah, that’s right. She’s there. Get her on the phone.”

“Eh?”

“Put Ayano on the phone,” Kazuma plainly repeated.

Kirika peeked at Ayano’s situation. She has already started the fight. For the time being, even if she is adjusting to the non-fatal amount, in reality it seems she has no choice but to minimally go easy on them, because the sound of blows is pretty severe.

While making appropriate judgment on the enemy, a telephone is pushed before her eyes.

“From Kazuma. He wants to talk to you.”

“I’m busy now!” Ayano shouted without taking it.

“Although I can see that wouldn’t it be better to take it? We’re not getting anywhere this way.”

“...................”

Ayano snatched the telephone totally annoyed. While beating down the enemies with her free hand, her left hand holds the telephone to her ear. That instant, as if intentionally, Kazuma’s voice can be heard.

“Hey, feeling well?”

In addition to being very agitated, Ayano couldn’t endure it and her reason flipped out.

“Huff.....don’t mess around you fool! U – Until now....what have you...done.....”

Because of fatigue and anger, her breath was disturbed and her mouth didn’t work well.

As for Kazuma, he replied in a refreshing and calm voice:

“If you raise your voice like that, it feels like one of those dangerous phone calls <<Wifey, the color of today’s underwear is...>>”

“Y........Youuuuuuuuuu!!”

With rage enveloping her mind, Ayano stroke down the nearby enemies with that violent emotion. There was the smell of something burning, but right now she doesn’t have time to worry about such things.

“Remember this! I’ll kill you! I’ll definitely kill you!! There won’t be any ash left by the time I’m finished with you!!”

“Uh huh”

“Just you wait! When the time comes I’m not letting you off even if you burst into tears!”

“Uh huh”

“....................”

Kazuma doesn’t say anything only some half-hearted replies.

Because there is no feedback Ayano regains her cool very quickly. Remembering the current state of affairs, she sobers up in one breath, informing him:

“Although I believe you know, I’m extremely busy right now. If you have no business with me, I’m hanging up.”

“W – Wait. Let’s talk a bit more.”

Surprisingly, Kazuma wanted to continue the telephone call. Without understanding his intention, Ayano looks into it, perplexed.

“Talk, you say... about what?”

“Anything will do. Just continue on like just now, talking about idiotic things like idiots.”

Speaking of too much, because of that excessive comment, a huge vein shows on Ayano’s temple. Because she was groping the telephone tightly, an ominous, recognizable sound can be heard.

“Y ....You low life rascal....! I hate you the most! You should try and learn something from Ren’s charm, even if it’s just a little.”

“Yeah yeah, is that so......fine, I caught you.”

“What?”

Without minding the bewildered Ayano, Kazuma one-sidedly said:

“GO!”

“What are you – huh?”

The wind gently swirls. In some respects already familiar with it, Ayano suppresses the questioning words.

The light blue radiance fills the surroundings. That is without doubt the color of purification. The supreme power cleansing all evil.

Aoooooooo.......

When those bodies are flooded with purification wind, the departed souls raise cries of pain. From the humans they cling to, they are being torn off, no resistance permitted.

“.......No..... this is......”
Resistance and the like, there wasn’t any from the beginning. The thoughts raised by the departed souls were shots of joy, congratulations on their liberation. The spirits, released from the Ghost Tamer’s curse, by their own will dissolved the possession and accepted the power of purification.

The shapes of the dead spirits changed from the gruesomeness in the moment of death to those when they were alive. The healed spirits’ contours morphed, while floating with content smiles, being reduced to balls of light returning to Heaven.

The countless light balls, while dancing, ran beyond the sky. That fairytale-like spectacle, Ayano looks up at it, simply amazed.

“Amazing....”

A murmur from the back. When turning around, Kirika speaks with a bitter smile.

“How to say this...a scene ridiculing the efforts of mediocre people. This doesn’t seem like the work of men.”

“True. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t put great effort into it, don’t you think?”

“Well, that may be true. By the way, you didn’t hang up, did you?”

Although asking, Kirika plunders the telephone before hearing the answer.

“Hello. Everything is finished. If you can do it, do it faster. What’s all that crap about being outside range – huh?”

Unexpectedly Kirika raised her voice in hysterics, and glared at the phone like it was the enemy of her ancestors.

“That so? Well then, thank you very much! Ciao!!”

With a shout that raised the corners of her eyes she roughly hanged up. And then with a gaze, for some reason, packed with a certain something, she is staring at Ayano.

“W – What........?”

In front of such an emotional new Kirika, different from her usual calm self, Ayano involuntarily shrinks away.

But together with a solemn, long breath Kirika releases her anger, promptly recovering her calmness.

“I hanged up but....did you have something to say to him?”

Because for one reason or another she is overpowered in the mental battle, Ayano asks in a sulky tone:

“..........Not particularly. What are you trying to say?”

“Words of gratitude among other things.”

“Don’t joke around!” Ayano shouts, furiously grasping her fists tightly.

“Why would I, to such a guy!? He is dismissing people just when they think of dismissing him, he is mocking them, doing as it pleases him, turning them into toys!”

“That’s all the same thing.”

“Next time I meet him, I’m definitely stabbing him with Enraiha.”

Without hearing Kirika’s retort, Ayano is thoroughly excited.

“You’re not honest with yourself,” mingled with a sigh, Kirika murmurs so.

The girl in front of her eyes and the absent man – she is facing these two.

Kazuma’s words from a while ago are resurrected in her ears.

It was true that he was outside range. But –
“Because of Ayano’s voice, even if we’re separated by a hundred kilometers, I can get through,” he continued.

''Good grief, he’s speaking so fondly of her.''

For a second time she is focusing in Ayano. Without knowing to what extent and how carefully she is being protected, she is shouting abusive words even now.

But surely to notice that warped and twisted love, it seems unreasonable. Nevertheless, she has no intention of helping her.

“I’m not going to tell you. Realize it yourself, dumb bunny.”

Turning her back on the girl, with an ill-natured look, Kirika murmured so.

[[User:Ayame|Ayame]] 01:47, 21 July 2012 (CDT)

Kaze no Stigma:Ignition Volume1 Chapter 3

2012-09-23T19:14:17Z

Nwms8: Fixed some punctuation, grammar and typos. Changed some expressions: this is why it was before long they arrived -> this is why it was not before long they arrived. exchanged glances and sighted -> exchanged glances and sighed. Etc.

The Metropolitan Police Department Special Data Organization.

That is, at the present time, the only evil spirit repellant organization owned by the Japanese Government. But, that combat ability is low, to speak plainly. To the extent that even to call oneself “war potential” is ridiculous.

Consequently, on the occasions when unmanageable incidents occurred, it has been decided to seek cooperation from private practitioners who excel in battle. And at the top of that collaboration list, was the name of the Kannagi household.

“Ke-Kerberos?”

“That’s right. However, we don’t have positive proof.”

The Room Monitor of the special data organization, police superintendent Tachibana Kirika nodded very calmly in response to Kannagi Ayano who was overcome with surprise and repeated the answer.

She is a beautiful woman who gives off such a charm that doesn’t appear likely on a police officer, in her mid twenties.

Being almost the ideal example of the “Adult Woman”, gifted with both beauty and intelligence, whereas Ayano is still a young girl in the middle of ”development”, she can’t help but harbor an inferiority complex toward the other party.

Glaring at Kirika, Ayano shouted, almost groaning.

”What the heck is the gatekeeper of hell doing at a place like this?”

“How would I know? If I heard from the beast itself?” Kirika lightly eluded Ayano’s question.

Kerberos- the bronze gates that tower at Hell’s entrance and the demon dog known to have three heads, guarding those gates.

Since that suddenly appeared in the world, approximately two hours passed. The place of appearance was above the Pacific Ocean, approximately fifty kilometers from Boso Peninsula[1].
Tearing up space, Kerberos appeared from hell, dashed across the sea surface, landed on Boso Peninsula and came out at Tokyo Bay.

Without looking aside, the demon beast simply rode fast in a straight line. At the end of that line there was the capital of Japan, Tokyo.

For the sake of preventing the beast from landing in Tokyo, the practitioners from Materials Regulation Room, led by Kirika, intercepted it on the shore of Tokyo Bay. Because the beast was confined at the expense of raising their entire power, a collaboration request was issued, the other party being the Kannagi household.

Because the household deemed the incident as a serious one, they sent Ayano, the next suzerain and the successor of Enraiha and Yagami Kazuma, the wind practitioner in the role of assisting her. Thus, this is why it was not before long they arrived.

Roughly explaining the vicinity’s　circumstances, Kirika firmly said:

“At any rate, we can’t help but prevent it from disembarking near Tokyo. Although I don’t understand where Kerberos is aiming to go, I have no doubt that just by granting it passage through, the city will receive serious damage.”

Now when the demon beast was made to land on Boso Peninsula in the Chiba Prefecture, if someone were to overlook this place from high above, maybe it would see a long cylindrical line across the peninsula.

This doesn’t mean Kerberos carries out destruction activities on purpose. But when a phenomenon consisting of an enormous mass rivaling that of a whale runs at high speed, that thing in itself is a calamity.

The buildings placed on the demon beast’s course have been crushed, houses stepped on and the town itself literally divided into parts.

If the supernatural phenomenon would be revealed, the public would be thrown into panic, but thanks to the influence of the miasma Kerberos emits, the recording equipment such as video cameras and the like are projecting nothing but a thick fog, maybe be the only silver lining of this dark cloud.

As long as no records remain, it is possible to provide as many explanations as one likes. It’s likely that later, something along the lines of “local tornado outbreak” will be made.

“That is why, do your best. Ah, I think you know this but don’t kill it. Please repel it with an amount of injuries that it won’t die from.”

If they were to kill the hell watch dog, there will be the danger of the spirits of the dead overflowing in the present world. Therefore, it’s not like Kirika’s point can’t be understood, but…

“If you’re thinking about it as someone else's problem, you can say that feeling at ease, right?” In response to Ayano’s truly unhappy grumble, Kirika displayed a smile full of trust.

“If it’s you two, I’m thinking you can undoubtedly do it.”

She slightly shifted her eyes, turning to the man who was smoking cigarettes without giving indication that he was participating in the conversation. Without being perturbed by abruptly being brought up as a subject, the man, Kazuma casually shrugged his shoulders.

“You’re the client. I’ll follow your indications.”

“Thank you. Saying it like that you saved me.”

“You’re welcome.”

For some reason, both of them exchanged a parent-like smile. Ayano raised her eyebrows at a steep angle. Grasping Kazuma’s hand, she said in a dangerous voice.

“Look, let’s go quickly! Today I must return as soon as possible!”

“What? There’s some TV show you must watch no matter what?”

“As if I have something like that!” Ayano retaliated sharply and continued with a mournful expression, “Because Yukari said she picked up a puppy, I want to go and see it.”

“…”

Both of them turned en masse towards Ayano with an utterly amazed expression. Kazuma, as a representative, revealed his thoughts.

“……Again this person is splendidly intermingling public policy with private interest.”

“WRONG!”

Ayano let her other hand plunge, aiming at the fine point of Kazuma’s jaw. Of course, an instant before the impact he grasped her fist tightly.

“Both of you, you are able to say such easygoing remarks just because you don’t know how scary that girl is underneath the “natural airhead” part.”

Although screaming, Ayano began reflecting on the conversation from a few hours ago which even now remembering makes her head hurt.

“I picked up a puppy ♡“

That day, since morning, Shinomiya Yukari was in a very good mood.

Shoulder length curly hair and a soft facial expression always smiling, a girl usually without an air of tension, today her screws seeming even more slacken than usual.

Faced with a Yukari who, whether was in class or not, emitted sounds such as “ufufufu” and “tehehehe” and the like, repeatedly laughing and reminiscing, Ayano together with another close friend, Kudou Nanase started investigating. Cross-examining an evading Yukari, slippery as an eel, they managed to pull out an answer at lunch break.

“Oh, he’s so very cute...”

Once she opened her mouth nobody could stop her. While they could do nothing but listen, Yukari started talking about the cuteness of the dog in the smallest details.

“He’s still this small and his fur is glossy black.”

“Hmmm…”

“A, is that so...”

Ayano and Nanase threw the appropriate words in conversation in an indifferent manner, exchanged glances and sighed. They started whispering in a low voice.

“Good grief, since she was making such a merry face I imagined something different. I even thought you had your first sexual experience.”

“With whom?”

“Well if it’s Yukari, don’t you have a feeling she would likely do it with some guy she met for the first time just because she is pleased with him?“

“Indeed, because she’s similar to a kid living through her senses.”

Ayano earnestly nodded in assent.

Meanwhile, Yukari was going on and on, boasting about the puppy. They lent an ear listening without any particular intention.

“Whats more, his eyes are as red as a ruby.”

“Oh?”

“On the tail he has no hair but instead is covered with tiny scales.”

“Hey!”

“Sometimes he’s breathing fire from his mouth.”

“Wait a second!!” Ayano and Yukari both shouted with matching, clear voices.

“What’s the matter?”

“Don’t ask me what’s the matter! What sort of puppy is that thing!?”

“Eh......but, no matter how you look at it’s a dog? It whimpers, among other things.”

“Does a dog breathe fire?”

Together with Ayano’s exclamation, Yukari’s complexion changed as if she became aware of something.

“T-then, don’t tell me...”

“That’s right, the animal you picked up is…”

“The Japanese wolf - Canis lupus hodophilax, which we were told it became extinct?”

“That’s so wrong!” Shouting as always, Ayano grabbed Yukari by the collar, letting anger taking it’s natural course.

“If it’s the Japanese wolf, it can breathe fire!? Do you seriously believe that!?”

“Ayano-chan it hurts! Calm down!” For some reason, without showing any signs of pain, Yukari soothed Ayano with a smiling face. Naturally, it didn’t have effect and until Nanase came between them, Ayano continued shaking the girl.

“Oh, get a hold of yourself.”

While wedging oneself in the space between those two to pull Ayano apart, Nanase asked Yukari.

“Still, you seriously didn’t think it was odd?”

“But, there are human beings spouting fire therefore why would dogs doing it be weirder, right?”

“……Ah, I see.”

“Wait a minute,” with a low tone as if crushing something to death, Ayano interrupted their conversation. She glares at both of them with a half open eye.

“Who is that particular human being spouting fire?”

“Ayano-chan.”

“I’m not spouting it! Nanase you too shouldn’t agree so easily!” Ayano shouts at her heartless (supposedly) friends, but none showed signs that they were paying attention.

“Still......”

“Right.”

As a matter of course they nodded to each other in a similar fashion.

“B-both of you are......” Although full of resentment towards the girls who don’t know true friendship, Ayano returned to the real issue at hand.

“Anyway, a living-like thing who breathes fire doesn’t exist in the realm of nature! What you found is the offspring of a demon beast!”

“…Demon beast?” Drawing closer to Yukari, with her head slightly bent to one’s side, Ayano, in order to terrify her, said: ‘That’s right. It’s a dangerous thing, absolutely. If you’re being negligent because it’s just a child, it can chew your head.”

“……”

For a brief period Yukari thought over Ayano’s words and then she waived her hand laughing.

“It’s going to be fine. It became really emotionally attached and besides he’s really cute.”

“Ah, she really doesn’t get it!” Ayano shouted, being greatly perplexed.

“And, oh well, it became like this...."

“W-what a u-unique friend, huh,” after Ayano slovenly brought the story to a finish, Kirika made the questionable comment with a stiff smile.

“Let me see, it that’s the case, our organization can deal with the above mentioned Yukari-chan. So you can relax.”

“That’s not good,” it was an immediate reply. Faced with an unexpected response, Kirika lightly opens her eyes wider.

“Why?”

“Assuming you would send your subordinates, it doesn’t seem likely Yukari would obediently hand the demon’s offspring over. In that situation, securing the demon beast would take priority over Yukari’s will, right?”

“We wouldn’t do things like trying to cause harm to one of Ayano-chan’s friends.”

“Still not good. If you try meddling with Yukari I won’t forgive you.”

Closing the argument after the one-sided declaration, Ayano shifts her attention to the man who until then gave his undivided attention to the consumption of cigarettes, just because all this was none of concern.

“Because that’s the case, today we’re settling it with a swift attack and going home. Understood?” Her quiet tome shows a clear determination that denies any objection.

The tip of the flame sword Enraiha was thrust out too quick for the naked eye to follow, as if hinting: “if you slack off, I’m going to freaking stab you.”

However, Kazuma was not the kind of person to back down because of that. With an obstinate man-eater smile, frivolous and with a lax expression, he says:

“Don’t say stuff like that. I don’t like to push myself. It’s one of those things bad for one’s health, right?“

“……”

Silently, Ayano increased her grip on Enraiha. The signs of an explosive situation that give hair-raising shivers fill the surroundings.

“Calm down Ayano-chan,” without a moment’s delay Kirika forced her way in the space between these two. With her seemingly casual behavior she held down Ayano’s hand holding Enraiha, carefully paying attention to it.

“You want to end this quickly, right? Now it’s not the time for a split among friends.”

“...…This guy, he’s not my friend.”

In spite of talking back with a sulky tone, Ayano reluctantly drew back her sword. On the way to the battlefield, she asks a question without particular interest in hearing the answer.

“Kerberos, huh. I wonder, did the dead escape or something?”

“Well…” Kazuma answers in a seemingly disinterested manner. “It doesn’t matter what the reason is. What matters is to beat it up so badly it will go back to the entrance of Hell.”

“…You make it sound so simple.”

The opponent is Kerberos – one can confidently say its existence is top class among all other demon beasts, its status different from the norm. Of course it’s not a being easily summoned by the likes of men. Such a thing, why did it appear in the present age devoting itself to endless atrocities？ While trying to come up with an answer, Kazuma‘ｓ legs suddenly stopped.

“Is this the place?”

“Yeah, it’s gonna appear from the front.” Even if it’s an empty parking lot, it’s spacious enough to play a soccer game. Beside it, a strange upside-down-pyramid-like building was built.

“The evacuation is finished. You don’t have to hold back,” Kazuma instigated the girl unsheathing Enraiha with a broad sneer on his face. Without responding, Ayano set her eyes on the empty space in front of her. Before their eyes… the space became loose.

The space separating the two dimensions connected in a firework-like show, bits of light flickering and scattering. From inside the downpour of light, darkness penetrates, burning.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

Biting and tearing the loose space with all its might, three heads appear. And then, the body.

“……”

At a loss for words, Ayano raises her eyes in blank amazement. It’s big. Its height exceeds five meters. A magnificent physique that easily supports three heads. Its six eyeballs, bloody red, shed a grim light. Its fangs bared, it breaths out an incandescent heat. Kerberos recognizes these two’s existence and their power. The crimson eyes overlook them and the distinct intent they carry. That is, “an enemy” that must be defeated.

“Ugh……”

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

The demon beast howled once again. From those three mouths, together with the roar, jet-black flames gush out.

“……!”

Without time to dodge, Ayano and Kazuma were engulfed in the flames of hell. Kerberos overlooks from his high place and without taking the time to confirm the results, jumps over the sea of flames.

“GYAUUUU!”

An immaterial fist was thrust from bellow, hitting the demon beast’s jaw during the jump. From underneath the large built body spinning in the air, the Hell fire is scattered by the wind.

“Honorable guest visiting so suddenly, don’t be in such a hurry will you?”

From the middle of the vanishing black flames, the taunting words can be heard. While dispersing the remains of the flames in the same manner, Ayano involuntary smiles broadly.

''Good grief, this guy…''

Looking next to her, as expected, is a fearless smile. Contrary to his words, his childish smiling face, full of mischief says in capital letters: “I’m gonna provoke you with everything I’ve got.” With a devil-may-care attitude, always impetuous, the kind of man you absolutely can’t put your faith in.

''Despite this, why do I feel so relaxed when this man is around? It’s impossible to lose; I naturally thought so, if we are together.''

“Come, let’s finish this and go back, Kazuma!”

Aiming at the beast’s huge body, Ayano stepped into its territory with all her strength.

“GAAAA!”

But the fireballs are sliced by the beast’s claws. Even so, their purpose was to buy time until sword distance…

“Waa!”

Because she was slipping too close to its foreleg. Kerberos fired a killing blow from right overhead.

“Eh?”

Ayano opened her eyes wide. Enraiha’s blade was drawn expecting to hit the target but it was held-back – literally – by Kerberos’s fangs. She expected fire resistance as the demon beast breathes fire but there is no indication of receiving damage from the edge clad in flames.

Kerberos stopped her movement. And now, the other party still has another two heads and limbs to ...

''This is bad…''

“You fool, fall back!”

“GAAAAAAA!”

Together with the rebuke, Kazuma released wind blades and the demon beast roared. The shock-wave that accompanied the thunder-like roar counterbalanced his attack.

“As expected from Hell’s watchdog. This is pretty good.”

“This is not the place for admiration!” Screamed Ayano while retreating, slipping into a state of confusion.

“What to do? Do you have a plan?”

“Plan? Not particularly. We’ll win if we do it like we always do.”

“You say like usual, but my attacks have no effect.”

“Idiot.”

Kazuma relentlessly rejected Ayano’s complaints.

“No effect? As if! If you are stopped by claws and fangs you will endanger your body. To what purpose do you think Enraiha is shaped like a sword?”

“Ah…”

If you think about it, that’s correct. It’s not like the demon beast rendered the attack useless. It just intercepted it with fangs and claws. If you notice that you can form countless counter-attacks.

“I – I got it!”

“Then go already!”

To a shouting Ayano trying to hide her embarrassment, Kazuma urges her forward with an impatient hand gesture. Although that rudeness made her cheeks puffy with anger, she starts running towards Kerberos.

“Now then...”

While closely looking at Ayano’s retreating figure and the demon beast, Kazuma is probing the opponent for a breach. As for the situation, Ayano’s is somewhat better. If things go like this, there will be no need to cover for her.

Now what we have to do is send it back to Hell by causing it enough damage without killing it. That shouldn’t be so difficult – Kazuma truthfully thought so.

Without having to wait for it, the opportunity came.

Ayano’s slash was a faint and with the sole of her hand, hit Kerberos’s jaw. That big contrast was similar with a baby knocking an elephant off its feet. Even if it was a surreal spectacle, Kazuma didn’t lose this ideal opportunity and fired wind blades aimed at the beast’s head, still thrown back. The careful aimed blow half-sliced the left head.

“GAAAAAA!!”

From the wound that reached as far as the cervical vertebrae, fresh blood erupted almost like a fountain.

“Look, the blood is red,” while murmuring so carefree, Kazuma lands next to Ayano.

“Well then, normally after receiving such an amount of damage, it should try to escape,” halfway through the speech, he looked up at the demon beast and sighed, “but for some reason, it seems unlikely.”

“Yeah.”

Despite having one head cut, the beast’s fighting spirit didn’t abate. The four eyes’ glow and radiance looked down at these two with a boiling killing intent. Furthermore, the left head which hung down up until now was raised triumphantly. Inhaling very deeply, it breaths out fire. And then……

“Wha…?”

Ayano opened her eyes full of shock. The left head, severed as far as the trachea gushes out jet-black flames even from the wound.

“GAAAAAA…” the beast’s head was engulfed in flames for a moment.

“S-Self-destruction…?”

“No, that’s wrong,” Kazuma responded in a bitter, groan-like tone, “perhaps it serves as a styptic.”

“Huh?”

Ayano stares at the demon beast’s head. Surely, for the sake of stopping the hemorrhage the wound, together with the head, should be carbonized. If the purpose was to stop the blood, then the goal is achieved. But even so –

“It’s going that far?”

“Shit…This is bad … a do or die resolution… we’re walking a tight rope.”

Kazuma grumbled, seemingly unpleased from the bottom of his heart. To burn one’s head – even if there are three of them – for the sake of accomplishing one’s purpose, that’s the way this demon beast moves.

Even if they consider the fact that a demon beast is capable of taking such actions, Kazuma and Ayano can’t help but prepare themselves.

“No option but to kill.”

“……Yeah.”

With dry voices they decided the plan. Being half-hearted didn’t work. As long as the beast is alive, it can’t be stopped. There are no options besides killing it.

“GAAAAAA!”

Kerberos took the initiative. With the explosive power characteristic of beasts, it reduced the distance between them in a flash.

Kazuma dodged it’s swung down talon blow with a water like movement. With those blood-shot eyes full of determination, Kerberos swings his claws, with a movement so fearless, it doesn’t seem it just lost one head.

“GRAA……WA?”

But the movement suddenly stopped. Kerberos restrains its half-way swung down limb and very seriously and longingly looks at something behind Kazuma.

“…….?”

Kerberos pushes Kazuma aside and makes his way through the trees behind with his claws.

“Kyuuuuun….” A barely perceptible feeble whine. The black puppy that was there, apparently late at getting away, tries to conceal itself by shrinking its body as much as possible.

“GRRR….”

After staring at that puppy for a short while, Kerberos looks away with a howl full of sadness. The dragon-skin tail feebly hangs down, coiling on the ground.

“Ah…you don’t say…” watching that appearance, a certain reasoning flashed lightning-fast through Ayano’s brain. She thought it wasn’t possible but almost at the same time she strongly felt it was the only explanation possible. If it’s that girl…

“Kazuma!”

“What?”

“I’ll retreat for five minutes or so I’m leaving this to you! Don’t kill it until I come back!” Ayano one-sidedly informed him and ran off without waiting for a response.

After she put a few hundred meters between them, she takes her telephone hidden at the shelter. When the other person picked up, she started speaking, without waiting for a reply.

“Yukari, do you hear me?...”

Approximately four minutes afterwards, she returned to the battlefield. Apparently Kazuma did as she said because the damage inflicted on Kerberos didn’t increase – on the contrary it apparently decreased.

“Does it regenerate?”

On the other hand, Kazuma shifted his attention on Ayano and asked, refreshed:

“Did you go to the toilet or something?”

Disregarding his frivolous talk, she pushed the telephone screen before his eyes.

“What?”

“I made Yukari send me a photo of the puppy she picked up.”

“Why would you do such a …” Kazuma watched the screen with an indifferent look but after a few seconds and blinks he started scowling at the perspective. The photo of a “sitting” dog(?)

It was basically a dog but the tail peaking from behind was growing scales. The eyes were deep crimson. But the round pupils, too big for its face, gave it a cute look instead of an atrocious one. To match his eyes, a bright red choker was fit around its neck.

“So that’s the reason,” Kazuma sighed and focused on Kerberos, in order to compare them. And then, abruptly, he called the name of a woman not present.

“Kirika.”

It was a call that shouldn’t have reached. But in the same manner a reply came.

“What?”

This is a type of skill that carries one’s voice along with the wind called “Spiritual Calling.” For a practitioner of Kazuma’s magnitude, it’s easy to carry sounds separated by several kilometers and to gather the other party’s response.

“Can you get in touch with Shinomiya Yukari’s house?”

“……Huh?”

After only a few seconds of indecision, Kirika was positive. Kazuma ignored the girl next to him, arching her eyebrows with discomfort and continued:

“Secure her immediately and bring her here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Apparently its parent is here.”

Even transmitted from a far-away place, the loss-for-words atmosphere can be felt. After a full ten seconds of unbroken silence, a voice oozing weariness got through.

“Good grief… The lost puppy causes a lot of trouble. Wait thirty…no twenty minutes.”

“Hurry.”

After cutting off the transmission, Kazuma raised his eyes at the demon beast towering before him. Indeed, its totally motivated face stands out, looking this way.

“Forget about understanding through words but…Ayano, can’t you explain our intentions? With your wild instincts or something”

“As if that’s possible!!”

Approximately eighteen minutes after.

“It arrived?" With an unusually fatigued expression, Kazuma sighed. Immediately the sound of a helicopter’s rotor reached Ayano’s ears.

“That?”

“Yeah, go and fetch it.”

“Ok,” Ayano nodded meekly without taking offense at the rude order, “hold on just for a bit longer.”

Reluctant to even give a response, Kazuma waived his hand instead of saying “just go already.”

With a little bitter smile, Ayano started running towards the already descending helicopter. It landed squarely in the middle of the road. That fact in itself is trivial but regarding the young lady that appeared from inside, holding down her skirt fluttering in the wind, as one would expect, Ayano can’t let it pass.

“Why are you here Yukari?”

As for the staff members of the Special Data Organization, they couldn’t be so stupid as to bring an ordinary person on the battlefield. But she is here right now. When cross-examined, Yukari said with a somehow smiling face:

“I made a little wish and I was brought along.”

“A wish, you say…” In front of the bewildered Ayano the figure of a man appears from the helicopter, peeking with an hesitant face. Its grim features, after recognizing Ayano’s look, started explaining or rather vindicating before the question was even asked.

“I – I swear that no rude behavior towards this girl…”

“…That’s enough.”

Ten minutes have already passed. Ayano negligently waved her hand, stopping his explanation.

“You’re the victim. I get it. If you’re not going to complain latter, you can return.”

“Y – yes!” the pilot nodded with a narrow-escape-from-dead expression.

After seeing off for a brief moment the helicopter, that drove off in the same direction it came from, Ayano aimed at Yukari a stern gaze.

“You, did you threaten him? By using my name?”

“I think that speaking style can ruin one’s respectability,” although pouting, sharpened lips and all, Yukari didn’t deny Ayano’s words, “all I wanted was to make sure Candy was reunited with his mother.”

“Candy?”

“This pup. Look.”

Yukari unbuttoned her collar and from there a black something crawled out. It was imprisoned inside her clothes and seemed to be suffocating because it started focusing very hard on breathing, putting its tongue out. Needless to say, that was the “puppy” Yukari picked up – the young child of Kerberos.

In front of Ayano, staring intently and at a loss for words, Yukari says while grinning:

“Cute, isn’t he?”

“Kyau!” Tickling its throat, Candy comfortably closed his eyes and barked. It became attached.

But naming a living thing, whose mouth is packed with fangs instead in spite of being a puppy, “Candy”, it seems the girl didn’t harbor any reserve towards it. If it would be just that it could still be understood, but after being informed that the pup is actually a demon beast why would she enclose it next to her bosom? In all possible ways, Yukari’s sense was eluding Ayano’s comprehension.

“Fine.” Setting aside various questions, Ayano holds out her hand in front of Yukari.

“Anyway, hand that thing over. I’m going to return it.”

“No.” Yukari immediately replied.

“……Excuse me, Miss Yukari?” With a delicate, stiff smile, Ayano stretches her hand even further.

“Don’t say such selfish things and hand in over.”

“If I say no it’s no.” Yukari took a step back embracing Candy, who crawled out of her bosom, in order to protect him.

“YU – KA – RI!”

Towards the friend who suddenly became unreasonable, Ayano growled with pressuring tone.

“I don’t have time to play games with you. If you don’t hurry up and give it to me, we don’t know what might happen.”

“I know that.”

“If you know then – ”

“I’ll be the one to hand it over,” watching Ayano whose voice became more and more stern, Yukari flatly declared.

“What?”

“This pup, I’ll be the one who personally hands it over to his mother.”

After several seconds of silence, Ayano started shouting with a shriek-like voice.

“Of course I’m not going to allow you to do such a dangerous thing!”

“I’ll do it no matter what!!” Yukari retaliated with a scream that wouldn’t lose to Ayano’s.

“I’m the one who picked this puppy! That’s why I’m the one who has to take it to where his mother lives! And because it’s dangerous I can’t leave it to anyone else!”

“……”

To this girl who argued so vehemently that tears started to accumulate in her eyes, Ayano didn’t find any persuasive words. It would be so easy to snatch it away from her…

“It can’t be helped,” although recognizing that this way of thinking is so naïve, she let it go. “It’s really dangerous so follow my instructions exactly, all right?”

“Yeah,” nodded Yukari with a sparkly smile.

Taking Yukari’s hand Ayano once again returned to the battlefield, where Kazuma and Kerberos confronted in silence. Running out of patience, Kerberos is trying to reduce the distance between him and Kazuma, who just stands there relaxed.

That development suddenly stopped. The brute’s glance pierces Kazuma and reaches Candy, embraced by Yuukari, who stands there behind him.

A silence that seemed to have stopped time, flew.

“GRRRR….”

“……”

Yukari took Kerberos’s twisted, lowered gaze directly. Just because of that, her entire body shivers, making a rattle sound, almost overpowering her mentally, but for a civilian maybe admiration should be expressed for her emotional strength.

Yukari started walking towards the demon beast, a gulp ringing in her small throat.

“Ah……” Although Ayano wanted to follow, for some reason or another her legs stopped, feeling it would be more difficult, going together.

With a detached attitude Kerberos overlooked Yukari. She stopped at its feet and raised Candy, who until that point was curling on her chest, overhead.

“GRRRUU…” Raising a vaguely satisfied growl, the demon beast lowered its head and received Candy skillfully, taking the choker with the tip of its fangs. But…

“Uuuu…..”

Yukari didn’t let go of Candy. Because both the girl and the beast didn’t back off, Candy’s body started to stretch.

“Yukari, stop it…” Ayano started panicking toward such an act that exceeds even recklessness. Yukari doesn’t have any sort of strength, she’s just ordinary girl, if Kerberos feel like it, it could crush her existence with one finger.

“Kazuma…” Looking at Kazuma in order to request salvation, he bluntly states.

“Impossible, at this distance the beast has the advantage.”

“Auuuuu...what is that girl thinking…”

Sparing a sidelong glance at the groaning Ayano, the beast and the girl continued pulling. But before reaching a conclusion, the “rope” approached its limit.

“Kyuuuu…” the moment the painful sound was raised, both parties simultaneously let Candy go.

“Ooh, an Oooka Decision[2],” mutters Kazuma openly expressing his admiration.

“I’m telling you that’s not the problem…” returns Ayano in an amazed voice.

Both of them are completely left out of the event.

Yukari promptly caught the falling Candy. At the warm sensation from inside her arms, she expressed a soft smile full of relief. But in the next moment, the choker Yukari gave Candy, was torn from its neck and fell.

“Ah…..”

Looking at the sharply slit choker on the ground, severed by Kerberos’s fang, the girl scowls with a sad look.

“Is that so… As I thought, you’ll be happiest together with your mother.” Muttering with determination, once again Yukari presented Candy to Kerberos. This time she delivered Candy obediently, without struggle.

“Candy…… will we meet again?”

“Kyuuun….”

Candy, snugly sitting inside Kerberos’s mouth responds to Yukari’s voice with the sad cry. They stared at each other – but time relentlessly moves on, Kerberos returns and starts walking toward the beach. Until that figure disappeared, Yukari sees off her “one day” pet in silence.

Confirming that everything is over, Ayano gradually relaxes and approaches Yukari.

“Good grief, don’t be so rash. You’re shortening my life span.”

“Sorry,” apologizing, Yukari’s gaze quickly returns to the sea, at the spot the demon beasts disappeared. ”It’s really gone…”

“Did you like that pup so much?”

“Yeah, that’s part of it…” Yukari shifts her attention to Ayano, more exactly towards the hand holding Enraiha, and says with a dreamy voice:

“Because Candy is a demon beast, someday he will grow as big as his mother right?”

“……Probably, but I don’t know how many years it will take.”

“If that’s the case, when Candy is as big as a cow or a horse, I thought I can be a demon beast user and fight together with Ayano-chan.”

“......” That moment Ayano seriously became dizzy. The world shakes irregularly and a feeling of dread gives her gooseflesh, as if the earth crumbles from underneath her feet. Enduring the impulse of wanting to escape from reality, Ayano firmly sizes Yukari’s shoulders.

“Yukari, don’t think about such stupid things.”

“Is it impossible?”

“Yes. Absolutely,” Ayano says very strongly.

It would be impossible to entrust her back to a human like Yukari, whose train of thought she cannot comprehend. Using persuasive words until exhaustion, Ayano becomes aware Kazuma is starring at her with an amusing look on his face.

“So that’s what you call friends gained through common interests?”

“Wait! I can’t let that pass”

“Ah – what do you mean Ayano-chan,” asks Yukari tangling with a pissed off Ayano.

“Ah – no, it’s not like that… Kazuma, where are you going?”

“Don’t try to deceive me. Ayano-chan do you hate me?”

Behind Kazuma’s back, who turns back, ignoring them, how long will these two continue to fight?

[[User:Ayame|Ayame]] 14:55, 14 July 2012 (CDT)

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C5%8Ds%C5%8D_Peninsula

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Coka_Tadasuke

Kaze no Stigma:Ignition Volume1 Chapter 4

2012-09-23T18:18:53Z

Nwms8: Fixed some punctuation, grammar and typos. there're -> they're. rime -> rhyme. s -> as. It it's -> If it's. You're everyday -> Your everyday. m -> my.

'''Haunted holiday'''

“Ah, what fine thing did I find ♡?”

Pushing her way, almost sprinting, through the crowd of people, who at the eastern entrance of the Shinjuku Station doesn’t die out even during working days, the lady muttered so with a delightful expression.

This particular day, after practically no free time since the beginning of the new school term, Kannagi Ayano was in an extremely good mood. That figure, lightly stepping forward, showing a soft smile is so lovely, to the extent that it would be impossible to conceive that such a body contains a tremendous combat ability.

The season is light spring. The sunlight is worm, the people are lightly dress, that sort of day.

Ayano put on a bolero on top of her dress, her outfit excluding a novel, high-class lady appearance. Her figure – lovely because of her cleanliness and tidiness – just by standing there resembles a painting, drawing hot glances from the mesmerized men.

However, those glances, always unpleasant, didn’t damage Ayano’s mood. If it’s now, even player-wannabes would call out to her in an over familiar manner, maybe she wouldn’t show those men the depths of Hell. I repeat again, Ayano is in a very good mood.

-At the very least, a few more seconds.

“………Ua!?”

Before 10 minutes have passed since leaving Alta Ayano received a strong hit from the side. She immediately retreated a few steps in order to subdue the impact. Although she somehow avoided falling down, the paper bags she was holding hit the ground.

“What are you doing – uh!?”

The instant she started shouting at the aggressor, her face became stiff. Before her eyes is a smiling, beautiful woman in the middle of her twenties she met a few times before. Her thoughts stopped by an ominous premonition, Ayano can only stare dumbly at the woman.

“Y – You…”

“Good day to you, Ayano-chan!”

Facing a petrified Ayano the woman greets her with an out of place cheerful salute.

“This may be sudden, but I’m leaving it to you.”

The white finger indicates something behind Ayano. The three running men she saw instinctively turning her head around – every one of them were two meters tall.

“W-Wait….what is happ…”

With exquisite timing, a bewildered Ayano is pushed forward by the shoulders. Almost like falling forward she comes forth and realizes, standing in front of these men to protect another woman, that she has fallen to a new low.

“Just stop it alr…”

While Ayano was flaring up in a rage, shouting, her eyes fell at the feet of the three men. The change of her complexion was absolute.

“Ah…w-wait a minute!”

Naturally they didn’t stop.

The feet of the men step on the paper bags spread on the road almost as if taking careful aim to do so. The shoes, probably thirty centimeters long, tear off the paper bags trampling on the wrapping paper.
The white skirt hidden inside was smudged with distinct black shoe marks. The silk blouse was a total loss. The sound of accessories being transformed in junk can be heard. With a strange sound, something snapped inside her head.

“Y ...You...”

In front of the young lady’s anger, even the animosity towards the woman is forgotten. Towards the men who ruined the shopping’s results, the power of Ayano’s retort is similar to a hurricane. A charge full of force was placed on the fist driven into the stomach of the man in the middle.

Critical hit.

You can tell the shock pierced through the stomach, penetrating as far as the back. Ayano drew near to the remaining two, interposing between them. With no hesitation, she approached the left one first.

Evading the large strike she used his arm for a judo shoulder throw. Even if he was an amateur, the man’s defense wasn’t breached even as he was falling down. This much damage should be fine – he should walk again – in a week or so.

While she was turned the other way, the last man attacked. Without even turning back she jumped toward him and just before touching him she moved her leg, twisting her body ninety degrees while pushing out her elbow. By kicking her hind foot, the speed increases to max and by concentrating all her kinetic energy she thrusts her left fist in the pit of the stomach. There was a strong backlash.

It was practically a certain kill. The large built man flew ten centimeters and collapsed like a doll, whose threads have been cut.

“Well – ”

With a sidelong glance at the fallen men, Ayano slowly turned back. That glance, no matter how you look at it, was more cold than what a hoodlum deserves.

“Will you explain?”

“I don’t mind but...”

However the woman wasn’t perturbed. Receiving the villainous glare without hesitation, with a smiling face, she points her finger forward a second time.

“It’s not over yet”

Simultaneously, the sound of the defeated men getting up can be heard.

“...............Hm!?”

Astonished, Ayano looks over her shoulder. It was an impossible thing. The degree of damage can’t be compensated by something like durability or will-power.

Judging from a biological point of view, for humans the result is absolute immobilization if such a powerful strike in such a place is applied.

However, in reality sure enough the men were resurrected. Trying to grasp the reason Ayano stares at them.
The men’s bodies call to mind the transparency of dead bodies. One was only bones. Another one was a pitch-black corpse. And the last one – was a warrior dressed in armor.

Starring at the decomposing body clad in worn-out armor, Ayano mutters in blank amazement.

“These guys they’re possessed......you!!”

Unintentionally forgetting about the crisis right in front of her, she turns around. She shouts, letting anger take its natural course:

“A public servant using a civilian to do his work!”

“Well – don’t say that. Look look! They’re coming from behind.”

Certainly this was not the place for carefree quarrels. The men, possessed by the spirits of the dead, drew near for a second time.
A bothersome opponent. Because spirits don’t feel pain and so on, hitting them or kicking them has no effect. If you don’t inflict enough damage to kill and then destroy their joints it seems you cannot permanently immobilize them.

Through physical means, that is.

“...........”

A deep inhale and then exhale.

Stimulating the entire body’s power by this one sequence, flexibly concentrating all consciousness in both palms, the contours of her wrists warp.

The pale gold heat haze enveloping the girl’s wrists disturbs the course of light.

Before her eyes is the skeleton corpse possessed man. Staring at Ayano with stagnant pupils, like those of rotten fish, he raises both arms overhead, rejecting the nuisance.

“Haa!”

Ayano hit with both palms at full power that virtually empty body. It was a double palm strike. Via those palms, a golden brightness was pumped into the man’s body. While his entire body was glowing in the golden light, the man bent backwards, as if suffering from electric shock.

“Giiiii.................”

During the soundless scream, the spirit of the dead was separated from the man’s body.

“I’m not letting you escape!”

From Ayano’s palms the golden light gushed out, changing to a violently rushing stream. The light that hit him increased by far its density and radiance , transforming and manifesting itself as a golden flame, thoroughly burning the departed soul, without allowing resistance.

She repeated the process twice again.

“............Fuuuu”

After cleansing the three spirits through fire, Ayano took a light breath.

From behind indifferent applause can be heard.

“<<Well done!>> it’s what I’d like to say now but you really took your time. Weren’t purification flames supposed to destroy only evil?”

“I’m sorry for being so inexperienced.”

Turning her body the other way, Ayano replied with a very threatening tone.

The wicked spirits called Youma – because the devilishness that holds resentment towards the world of men exists – it can be said it was inevitable that in order to resist, men have obtained power.

The girl’s name is “Kannagi” Ayano. Manipulating purification flames able to destroy evil – she is the daughter of the En-jutsu family known as the strongest. But then Ayano herself, can’t be helped but be called very inexperienced. Even if she possesses mighty power, she has yet to learn the art of perfect control.

Not to hurt the people depending on them and to purify only the possessing spirits – such a deed is possible only for the girl’s father – Juugo and her uncle Genma.

As for Ayano, one can say with confidence such high-class techniques are outside her reach.

Therefore, her plan consisted of the following: before materializing her power as flames she is releasing it as a “heat” that won’t damage the human body, continually knocking out the departed souls that try to escape.

As a matter of course, this is a reckless and difficult operation. Taking as much time for the likes of departed souls, it can’t be helped that the famous Kannagi name could be distrusted, on account of such rumors.

However, Ayano has no intention of taking such criticism obediently. She thought so from the bottom of her heart: “this woman” has no right to complain.

“Will I receive some sort of explanation, I wonder...”

She started cross-examining, including enough drive for the other party to understand that depending on the answer, this isn’t over.

“...Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Special Data Arrangement, Miss Police Officer Tachibana Kirika?”

Calling her especially by the overlong job title, as a matter of course this is a form of harassment. The Chief of the country’s one and only government organization for vanquishing evil, the person on the position of protecting the nation from spiritual disasters, isn’t it absurd to drag civilians in her troubles? This is why.

“Well – don’t say that. You’re not someone unrelated.”

But the woman, Kirika was very composed. Being spoken to by this beautiful woman so over familiarly, Ayano answers in a freezing tone:

“What are you saying? To the likes of you, what else could I be except for an unrelated person? I’m fed up with your impertinent talk. Give me an explanation.”

“Well, that’s fine...”

Being questionably evasive, Kirika shifts her focus forward, behind Ayano.

“If I were to tell you that’s not all, would you get angry?”

“........Tch!”

Forcefully turning around, Ayano observes. Drawing near unnoticed, a crowd of men and women of all ages undoubtedly possessed by the spirits of the dead. There were roughly thirty of them. In the middle of this bizarre atmosphere the pedestrians that happened to be present by chance become noisy.

But one man among them – what was he thinking – stood in front of the assailants.

“Stop it! You guys – ”

Seeing a beautiful woman and a beautiful girl being attacked, it seems he thought to make himself to look better. It seems he has some sort of knowledge. But –

Bokyatsu!

The character manipulating the departed souls removed the limits of the bodies and some mediocre martial arts can’t win any sort of battle. Both his arms standing on guard broke his own chin, and the man flew through the air, thoughtlessly screaming.

Watching the convulsing man vomiting blood, pedestrians started to shriek. By mixing people who wanted to run away and people who, on the contrary had burning curiosity, chaos occurred.

The only calm people were those involved – the assailants and the assaulted.

Staring at the attackers getting close, in spite of mowing down the people who got in their way, Kirika asks:

“Can you exorcise them all like you did earlier?”

“Absolutely impossible,” stated Ayano without hesitating for a moment.

“The sensitivity required for tuning the necessary caloric value is preposterous and for so many opponents gathered, I should burn half of them.”

“That’s dreadful.”

Imagining the gruesome spectacle, Kirika murmured in a monotonous tone.

“Well then, should we run away?”

“Do your best then.”

Kirika is suspiciously watching over Ayano’s “this is none of my business” reply.

“Will you not help me?”

“I didn’t receive such a commission. If you live through it, call me later and explain the situation.”

With those words Ayano tries to leave but watching the crowd blocking her path, she scowls.

“Hey! The one you’re aiming at is right there.”

Of course the spirits don’t answer. The possessed flesh moves with a somewhat supernatural ability, wiggling, and with no hesitation and killing intent faces Ayano.

“.........What is this?” a doubtful Ayano. The answer comes from the back.

“Ah, as I thought”

“What exactly is <<as I thought>>?”

To the enquiring Ayano, her glace fixed on the spirits of the dead, Kirika answers with a smiling face.

“Don’t you thing it must be difficult to control so many spirits of the dead at once from a distance? So, beside the comments given I thought that maybe they can move autonomously. For example, <<unconditionally execute anyone who is standing in your way>> or something”

“............Y – O – Uuuuuuuu!!”

Showing the vein on her temple, Ayano started screaming:
“You planned on forcefully dragging me into this from the start, right? You stinking official!!”

For this reason, before explaining the circumstances, she involved Ayano in battle – for the sake of the enemy recognizing Ayano as an obstacle, so that she wouldn’t be able to run away.

“Don’t get so angry. In troubled times we are of equal status don’t you agree?”

But without showing any timidity, Kirika winked at the angry Ayano.

“Y...You...”

Although glaring at the very annoying woman, it was all too late. She was already dragged unknowingly in the turmoil’s upheaval or more likely at the core of it all.

“I’ll remember this!”

Replacing the boiling anger with flames, Ayano swung downward her right hand. The blaze slapped into the ground changes in a wall of fire, blocking the way before these two.

“DAAAAAAAA!?”

Being scared of the purifying flames, the attackers back off. Ignoring the screams of the ordinary people unfortunately involved, Ayano turns back and run.

“We’re running away!”

“I thank you for your cooperation. As I thought the voluntary cooperation of civilians is the secret for early settlements.”

“Be silent for a little bit, you public servant failure!”

Leaving behind boos somewhat filled with anguish, both of them managed a speedy flight.

“Ha...ha...for the time being we’ve done it right?”

“So it seems...”

Hiding themselves in a deserted, empty building, Ayano and Kirika muttered so, greedily devouring oxygen. As one would expect, a thirty minute sprint at full power was very demanding. Both of them were short of breath.

“By the way, I think it’s time you start explaining these circumstances.”

“Ah that’s right. I forgot.”

Seeing Kirika clap her hands, truly having forgotten to explain, Ayano sends her way a somewhat cynical, bitter smile.

“Even so, there’s not much explaining to do. If I were to say it in a few words, it’s only a matter of settling scores.”

“Settling scores?”

“Yes. In this business, it’s only natural to incur various people’s enmity. Particularly some puny organization like the Special Data Arrangement who does whatever it wants with the power of the State. The criticism can be severe, in various ways.”

“Hmmm...well, that may be true...” Ayano nodded vaguely.

The girl’s family can be considered the industry’s leader so she doesn’t really get the sorrows of this type of puny organization.

“I know, right? I got used to it but this time we came across a big-shot, sort of.”

“Big-shot?”

“Yes. Do you know Ghost Tamer?”

“.....I heard that name somewhere”

Ayano tried to remember, but it didn’t come out easily.

“If it’s Ayano-chan I’m sure that you heard about him before. He’s a celebrity.”

“That so? ... well it’s impossible for a necromancer who can simultaneously manipulate thirty spirits of the dead to be nameless.”

This doesn’t apply just for necromancers, increasing the number of techniques controlled at the same time, the degree of difficulty jumps through the window. As for necromancers, they are considered first class when they can control ten bodies at the same time.

But Kirika revealed an even more frightful fact:

“That is just the beginning. Regarding the validation made to the best of our abilities, the maximum number he can control is one hundred and twenty.”

“One hundred and twenty!?” Ayano screamed with bulging eyes.

But at the same time, that absurd number made her remember that abominable incident.

“Say...you don’t say Ghost Tamer is... the one three years before in San Francisco...”

The desire to be wrong that fills Ayano’s question is heartlessly destroyed by Kirika.

“Yeah, that’s the one...”

“Uaa....” with an unpleasant feeling, from the bottom of her heart Ayano groans.

Ghost Tamer – despite being a necromancer he uses killing curses, possessing suitable humans and using them, its forte is a technique consisting of using physical means to kill its targets, different from a shaman, different from an assassin – a “curse assassin”

The incident that made him world-wide famous happened three years ago. For the sake of killing a certain mafia boss he made one hundred and twenty people, possessed by the spirits o the dead, to hold bombs and attack the target in a very special way.
The casualties exceeded three hundred. It is said that the body fragments of the manipulated people, after being gathered in plastic bags, didn’t amount to 3% of the total.

“Another troublesome one appeared...”

With all her strength, Ayano unpleasantly puzzles over it. It’s as if an unrelated person all of a sudden turns into an assassin – that element of surprise and the almost infinite amount of supplies is the Ghost Tamer’s forte.

Because this is a metropolis, there is abundance of departed souls but also of human hosts. There is also the problem of the possessed humans who have been killed. The deceased can be captured by Ghost Tamer and turned into a new departed soul, possessing other humans in order to attack the target. In order to stop the domino effect there is no choice but use a high ranking white magic that can exorcize all of them in one go.
Only if such a thing was possible, though.

“What do we do next?”

Needless to say, Ayano is not capable of such things. The girl’s power is not suited for such sensitive operations.

“There is that....”

To Ayano, demanding for a counter plan, Kirika tilted her head to the side, with a troubled appearance.

“The moment I found Ayano-chan, I thought all my troubles are gone...”

She is fleetingly looking at Ayano and then a deep sigh. At this “I can’t use her attitude” Ayano is pissed.

“What about you? You can’t perform spirit exorcism is spite of being an Onmyoji?”

“Of course I can. I’ve done it for thirty bodies or so but then I ran out of charms.”

“That so...”

Onmyoji is based on the general principle of the cosmic dual forces, Yin and Yiang, and they can use a mighty power. But the restriction is that in order to put the technique in operation, charms must absolutely be used. In this industry there is a well known verse, sang from ancient times.

“Charmless Onmyoji, ordinary man, right?” Ayano hums spontaneously, Kirika retorts with coolness:

“It doesn’t rhyme.”

“You’re noisy!”

“Well, anyway”

Unusually restraining herself before exploding, Ayano makes the conversation advance.

“This is a stalemate. Can you think of something?”

“Well...” Kirika slowly opens her mouth:

“If it’s just the two of us, we can’t win in this situation. If that’s the case, we have no choice but to call for reinforcement.”

“Who? One of your subordinates?”

“Wrong. We know someone much more reliable, am I right?”

“Ah, that one?”

Because Ayano and Kirika don’t have many common acquaintances, she quickly understood who it was.

Certainly, ability wise he was the most reliable man. '''Ability wise'''

“........Fine, will you call him?”

To Ayano who reluctantly agreed, Kirika sends a meaningful smile.

“.......What?”

“Err, nothing in particular. Then, please get in touch with him.”

“Why me!?” Ayano unintentionally shouted. “It’s better if you call him, right? Because you two have a much more ''friendlier'' relationship!”
The first time Ayano met Kirika, she and Kazuma were leaving the red-light district, arms linked. That’s why Ayano firmly believes these two have “that kind of relationship.”

“That’s not true. If it’s Ayano-chan, he’ll answer the phone. So, please?”

“............................”

Even if this doesn’t mean she believes Kirika’s words, Ayano gave up on resisting, taking out the mobile phone. As a matter of course, she has his number.

''It’s just for work! It’s really just that!''

She dialed it, they talked a few times before –

“What?”

Maybe because he knows it was Ayano, or maybe he does it for everyone – anyway, the voice reaching Ayano’s ears is excessively self-important.

“Ah, Kazuma? I have a favor –”

“I refuse.”

The answer comes back lightning fast. For a short while Ayano is silenced but she corrects herself in a low voice:

“I have a job request.”

“Say it.”

“................”

Still on the phone, Ayano throws a sidelong glance at Kirika, glaring at her.

''Hey, is this what you call a good answer?''

Although she didn’t say it loud, her twisted expression said it all. Not caring about it, Kirika encouraged her in a small voice: “Keep going!”

Giving up the investigation, Ayano concentrates her attention on the conversation with Kazuma.

“You see...” she explains, summarizing the situation.

Surprisingly, Kazuma quickly understood.

“Even though I think we can end it by killing them all, but since there is money in this, I don’t mind playing around with them. So, where are we meeting?”

“Ah, well.....”

Ayano considered her current surroundings. But without deliberating too much, she answered:

“Tee hee hee, I don’t know. Somewhere in Shinjuku. Will you search ♡?”

She tried to be as lovely as possible. But – it was useless.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaa,” an endless, deep sigh reached her ears. And then.....

“Did your brains go bad or something!!”

“Kyauu!?”

Because the angry roar explodes close to her ear Ayano involuntarily throws out the phone. Kirika skillfully caught it just before falling on the ground.

“Hey, it’s wrong to bully girls, you know?”

“.....Kirika, why are you there?”

From the mobile phone now in Kirika’s hands, Kazuma’s questioning tone can be heard. Throwing a sidelong glance at Ayano, listening attentively, Kirika moves the conversation forward.

“This was my work from the start. So it’s fine to bill me for the job. So, where are you? Your home? The one in Yokohama? Really – please hurry. Yeah, please. Well then... ”

Kirika settled the conversation at once, hang up and returned the telephone to Ayano. She received it with a blank facial expression.

“As I thought it turned out well because you did the talking, right?”

“I wonder...” Kirika responds to Ayano, who looks displeased, with a mature smile full of composure.

For some reason or another, feeling she is losing the mental battle, Ayano changes the subject.

“So, are we hiding until Kazuma gets here? If he’s in Yokohama, no matter how fast it still takes time.”

“That’s right, it would be ideal if circumstances allow, but.....”

In the middle of her words, Kirika shifts her attention inside the hallway. Almost simultaneously, so does Ayano. Looking at the ceiling, deploring, she corrects herself with a delicate expression:

“It would have been ideal...”

“Your everyday behavior must be very sinful, am I right?”

Standing up Ayano is brushing off the dust from her skirt.

Without having to wait for them, they appeared in the front. With a rotten, fishy smell and fixed eyes, the man – a company worker – is of course possessed by the spirits of the dead.

“Good grief – it can’t be helped...”

Lightly kicking the floor, Ayano’s silhouette vanished in a blur. Swiftly rushing in, her high speed movement is like she can leap over time restrains. Instantly plunging into the man’s chest she thrusts her elbow, using the force of the rush. Through the blow, purification power is pumped into his face. The golden radiance doesn’t allow any escape and the spirit dwelling on the man is burned to nothing.

“Oh, that did the trick.”

“That so? He’s kind of burning.”

Overlooking the man emitting fumes from here and there, Kirika says a touching, silent prayer.

“Don’t concern yourself with minor details!”

“Minor, huh?”

She has lots of things to say to this girl, but now it’s not the time to fuss over it. Chasing the already running Ayano, Kirika breaks into a forceful run.

“....I’m not letting you escape.... ”

In one of the rooms from a certain hotel in Akasaki, Ronald Wallace murmured so, in a heavy, low voice.

Aquiline nose – white hair – the name Ghost Tamer is appropriate; the old man’s appearance is that of an evil sorcerer come forth from fairy-tales. That figure gazing at the crystal ball is terrifying.

“You can’t get away..........no matter how you struggle.....”

Watching the women, reflected in the crystal ball, running around, trying to escape, Ronald laughs. That was because he knows victory is certain.

The net completely encircling them – there is no target whose technique can exorcize more than a hundred organized departed souls. Of course, not even the Enjutsushi who stumbled in the middle of it.

There is just one flaw. Following Ronald’s will manipulating the spirits and finding his location. The only way is to strike at him. But –

“The Enjutsushi whose only merit are combat abilities and the Onmyoji trying to escape with all her might, can you do it...?”

With absolute confidence, Ronald sneered. Even the Enjutsushi’s flames are not scary if the person can avoid them. Departed souls and the like are after all pieces who have no choice but to do his work as a substitution.

“Perhaps capturing the Enjutsushi’s soul could be fun. If it retains even a small portion of the power it has alive, maybe I can use it.”

“Stop it. That one’s is probably really hard to manipulate.”

That answer reached his ears much too natural. Searching for the rebuttal words, Ronald turned around in terror.

A hundred and eighty degrees rotation, a body suspended in the air.

Since the head’s rotation doesn’t stop, approximately after another rotation, the balance is destroyed, the dead falls down and crashes.

Ronald – climbing in the revolving world finally recognizes the situation. The revolving universe. But someone tramples down on the head and the spinning stops.

“What’s more...”

Looking up with disgrace and humiliation, in the field of vision is reflected a man’s face, showing a cynical smile.

“I’ve decided I’m the only one allowed to play with her AND that’s the law of this country, you know!”

With these words the sensation of Ronald’s last moment was the smashing of his cranium and his consciousness faded into darkness.

The headless body, standing erect, spurts out fresh blood as if remembering.

At the same time....

Ayano and Kirika were trapped in a desperate crisis. It is evening in the Imperial Garden of Shinjuku. The surroundings are flocked with more than a hundred possessed bodies. There is no way to escape.

“.......What are we going to do?” Ayano groans in a worn-out voice but Kirika either has no way out.

At such a troubled time, almost like aiming for it, the cell phone’s ringtone can be heard. Kirika fetched it really fast and stated shouting.

“How long do you plan to take Kazuma!? We’re at our limit!!”

A contrastive, hatefully calm voice can be heard.

“It’s over. Everything.”

“No it’s not! Right now we are in the middle of being attacked by nearly a hundred spirits!”

“.........Oh?” Kazuma’s voice is surprisingly serious. From the other side of the phone, a silence filled with confusion can be sensed.

“Hey....”

“Ah, I got it. Even if the practitioner dies, the last order passed down is still effective. I see.”

The only one impressed is Kazuma because Kirika asks him in a low voice:

“I’m so glad you cleared the puzzle. So, how do you get here?”

“How, you ask...where are you now? Shinjukugyouen? That’s impossible. It’s totally outside my range. I’ll get there in twenty, thirty minutes so wait there.”

“We can’t wait that long! We’re already under pressure. It’s fine with you if Ayano-chan becomes a mass murderer?”

“Tell her this. If she dares to die, she can choose her favorite method for when HER PARTNER is going to kill her............Ah, that’s right. She’s there. Get her on the phone.”

“Eh?”

“Put Ayano on the phone,” Kazuma plainly repeated.

Kirika peeked at Ayano’s situation. She has already started the fight. For the time being, even if she is adjusting to the non-fatal amount, in reality it seems she has no choice but to minimally go easy on them, because the sound of blows is pretty severe.

While making appropriate judgment on the enemy, a telephone is pushed before her eyes.

“From Kazuma. He wants to talk to you.”

“I’m busy now!” Ayano shouted without taking it.

“Although I can see that wouldn’t it be better to take it? We’re not getting anywhere this way.”

“...................”

Ayano snatched the telephone totally annoyed. While beating down the enemies with her free hand, her left hand holds the telephone to her ear. That instant, as if intentionally, Kazuma’s voice can be heard.

“Hey, feeling well?”

In addition to being very agitated, Ayano couldn’t endure it and her reason flipped out.

“Huff.....don’t mess around you fool! U – Until now....what have you...done.....”

Because of fatigue and anger, her breath was disturbed and her mouth didn’t work well.

As for Kazuma, he replied in a refreshing and calm voice:

“If you raise your voice like that, it feels like one of those dangerous phone calls <<Wifey, the color of today’s underwear is...>>”

“Y........Youuuuuuuuuu!!”

With rage enveloping her mind, Ayano stroke down the nearby enemies with that violent emotion. There was the smell of something burning, but right now she doesn’t have time to worry about such things.

“Remember this! I’ll kill you! I’ll definitely kill you!! There won’t be any ash left by the time I’m finished with you!!”

“Uh huh”

“Just you wait! When the time comes I’m not letting you off even if you burst into tears!”

“Uh huh”

“....................”

Kazuma doesn’t say anything only some half-hearted replies.

Because there is no feedback Ayano regains her cool very quickly. Remembering the current state of affairs, she sobers up in one breath, informing him:

“Although I believe you know, I’m extremely busy right now. If you have no business with me, I’m hanging up.”

“W – Wait. Let’s talk a bit more.”

Surprisingly, Kazuma wanted to continue the telephone call. Without understanding his intention, Ayano looks into it, perplexed.

“Talk, you say... about what?”

“Anything will do. Just continue on like just now, talking about idiotic things like idiots.”

Speaking of too much, because of that excessive comment, a huge vein shows on Ayano’s temple. Because she was groping the telephone tightly, an ominous, recognizable sound can be heard.

“Y ....You low life rascal....! I hate you the most! You should try and learn something from Ren’s charm, even if it’s just a little.”

“Yeah yeah, is that so......fine, I caught you.”

“What?”

Without minding the bewildered Ayano, Kazuma one-sidedly said:

“GO!”

“What are you – huh?”

The wind gently swirls. In some respects already familiar with it, Ayano suppresses the questioning words.

The light blue radiance fills the surroundings. That is without doubt the color of purification. The supreme power cleansing all evil.

Aoooooooo.......

When those bodies are flooded with purification wind, the departed souls raise cries of pain. From the humans they cling to, they are being torn off, no resistance permitted.

“.......No..... this is......”
Resistance and the like, there wasn’t any from the beginning. The thoughts raised by the departed souls were shots of joy, congratulations on their liberation. The spirits, released from the Ghost Tamer’s curse, by their own will dissolved the possession and accepted the power of purification.

The shapes of the dead spirits changed from the gruesomeness in the moment of death to those when they were alive. The healed spirits’ contours morphed, while floating with content smiles, being reduced to balls of light returning the Heaven.

The countless light balls, while dancing, ran beyond the sky. That fairytale-like spectacle, Ayano looks up at it, simply amazed.

“Amazing....”

A murmur from the back. When turning around, Kirika speaks with a bitter smile.

“How to say this...a scene ridiculing the efforts of mediocre people. This doesn’t seem like the work of men.”

“True. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t put great effort into it, don’t you think?”

“Well, that may be true. By the way, you didn’t hang up, did you?”

Although asking, Kirika plunders the telephone before hearing the answer.

“Hello. Everything is finished. If you can do it, do it faster. What’s all that crap about being outside range – huh?”

Unexpectedly Kirika raised her voice in hysterics, and glared at the phone like it was the enemy of her ancestors.

“That so? Well then, thank you very much! Ciao!!”

With a shout that raised the corners of her eyes she roughly hanged up. And then with a gaze, for some reason, packed with a certain something, she is staring at Ayano.

“W – What........?”

In front of such an emotional new Kirika, different from her usual calm self, Ayano involuntarily shrinks away.

But together with a solemn, long breath Kirika releases her anger, promptly recovering her calmness.

“I hanged up but....did you have something to say to him?”

Because for one reason or another she is overpowered in the mental battle, Ayano asks in a sulky tone:

“..........Not particularly. What are you trying to say?”

“Words of gratitude among other things.”

“Don’t joke around!” Ayano shouts, furiously grasping her fists tightly.

“Why would I, to such a guy!? He is dismissing people just when they think of dismissing him, he is mocking them, doing as it pleases him, turning them into toys!”

“That’s all the same thing.”

“Next time I meet him, I’m definitely stabbing him with Enraiha.”

Without hearing Kirika’s retort, Ayano is thoroughly excited.

“You’re not honest with yourself,” mingled with a sigh, Kirika murmurs so.

The girl in front of her eyes and the absent man – she is facing these two.

Kazuma’s words from a while ago are resurrected in her ears.

It was true that he was outside range. But –
“Because of Ayano’s voice, even if we’re separated by a hundred kilometers, I can get through,” he continued.

''Good grief, he’s speaking so fondly of her.''

For a second time she is focusing in Ayano. Without knowing to what extent and how carefully she is being protected, she is shouting abusive words even now.

But surely to notice that warped and twisted love, it seems unreasonable. Nevertheless, she has no intention of helping her.

“I’m not going to tell you. Realize it yourself, dumb bunny.”

Turning her back on the girl, with an ill-natured look, Kirika murmured so.

[[User:Ayame|Ayame]] 01:47, 21 July 2012 (CDT)

Kaze no Stigma:Volume2 Chapter 5

2009-02-03T04:10:27Z

Nwms8: Changed 'a blade of wind' to 'A blade of wind' because it was a new sentence.

== Fall part two – The price of Soul- ==

=== 1 ===

“…………!”

There is a guy leaning against the wall reading a horse racing paper, his eyes stop at a female who passes the corner of his view.

That is a girl who looks a little over twenty, wearing a tidy blue silk kimono. The guy takes up his paper to cover his face, acting as though nothing is wrong, but yet staring at the girl attentively at the same time.

The girl seems completely unaware of his gaze, and continues to walk at a set pace. The guy folds his paper and places it under his armpit, and takes out a hand phone from belt holster at his waist.

“I see the target. Will begin tailing her.”

At the same moment------

A middle aged guy hangs a silver chain over an opened map. There is a platinum ring at the chain that forms a loop, wavering at a height that almost touches the map.

“------Hmm.”

Suddenly, the chain begins to shift in a certain direction. The ring, as if being pulled by some invisible force, its movements seem clearly unnatural.

The guy moves in the direction the chain is being pulled in, and when he realized he had walked too far, he moves back again, and after repeating these adjustments over and over again, he finally stops at the point where the invisible force has led him.

“------ This is the place?”

The ring kept spinning at a point on the map. The guy reads out the name of the place that is indicated there, and then reaches out to pick up the phone on the table.

A young female is attentively staring at a crystal ball. That is a beauty who is dressed up as a fortune telling that can be seen anywhere on the streets, giving off a mysterious aura. Even though it is awful to describe her this way.

The crystal ball of radius twenty centimeters is carved and polished flawlessly, yet for some reason there is a white mist at the centre of it.

In order to see through the mist, the female uses a scary expression to stare at the crystal ball, a nerve revealing itself at her temple.

“------!”

Maybe due to her hard work, the white mist gradually disperses, and an image begins to surface------ Something like a building.

The entire structure seems thin and long, a black cross is portrayed at the upper half of the white wall.

The entrance was zoomed into. The female reads out the words carved on the door, and joints them down carefully.

“Speaking of which, how daring. This is indeed a blind spot.”

The female gives a praising smile towards the enemy she has never seen before, and walks out of the room to make her report.

An hour later------

The ten Jutsushis led by Ogami Masayuki all gathered near a certain Church at Ikebukuro. The purpose, needless to say, is to hunt down Misao, whom they have finally found.

This operation is a little rushed, there was no time to hesitate. They failed to find any trace of where she was hiding before this, yet they managed to find her through a few channels suddenly.

It is really just too suspicious------ Or should it be said, that this is a luring that cannot be any more obvious, as if Misao is waving her hand right before their eyes.

It is just like saying I have hidden myself during a game of hide-and-seek, and then purposely stick her head out, as if purposely waiting for Kazuma to catch her.

But, Misao’s power should still not be sufficient to defeat Kazuma. Precisely because of this, Masayuki is acting hurriedly. In order to put an end to this himself, before Misao is defeated by someone else------

“Listen up people, among you, there may even be a few of you that are on good terms with Misao, but don’t misunderstand. She is an unforgivable evil being that has degenerated into a demon, so do not go easy on her. In order to uphold the name and honor of the Kannagi, we must eradicate her such that not a single cell of her remains!”

Standing before the subordinates he gathered, Masayuki is giving a speech loudly. The hidden meaning of “The survival of the Ogami family depends on this battle!” is conveyed to everyone clearly.

Or it can also be said that, nothing was mentioned other than this. Like his love for his daughter, pity, the pains of having to end his own daughter by his very hands etc.

Because it is his daughter, that is why he is so hardhearted, this kind of positive explanation is not entirely absent, but to believe this saying from the bottom of the heart would probably require a lot of imagination!

Masayuki’s attitude is just like that.

Ayano leaves the group, and as she looks at Masayuki’s back as he is giving the speech, she thinks in her heart.

(Maybe it is because of her father being this way, that Misao is unable to endure the pains of losing her brothers……)

Even so, the unpleasant feelings in her heart still lingers.

Maybe this is a child’s wishful thinking. But Ayano feels that, this is not what is meant by a family.

Ren at one side seems to have the same thoughts, his expression seems very uneasy.

“So then------“

After the speech ended, Masayuki turns towards their direction, a flattering smile on his face.

“If Kazuma comes over, please deal with him.”

“….. Hmm.”

As she is under no obligation to put Masayuki at ease, so Ayano emotionlessly nods in response. Not sure how Masayuki takes her reply, he frowns to verify once more.

“Is it really okay?”

“What do you mean?”

”…… Are you confident in winning against Kazuma?”

“How can I be confident about that.”

Ayano says bluntly. This is not to scare him, but the true words in her heart.

However, Masayuki’s expression changes greatly hearing what she said.

“How…… How can that be!? Then why did you promise to take care of Kazuma!?”

“Need you ask? Because I am the only who can do it.”

Ayano looks coldly at the shocked Masayuki, and says bluntly:

“No matter what your thoughts may be, Misao must be eliminated. Not by the hands of others, but by us, the Kannagi clan, so I will not let Kazuma make trouble regarding this.

If it is left up to you people, you would all be killed within three seconds. But, I can buy you people up to three minutes, so figure something out during this period of time!”

The whole area became quiet instantly. What Ayano just said is not an alarmist talk, the number she gave, three minutes, is already a very optimistic estimate.

To think that they naively believe that up against Kazuma, having Ayano on their side allows them to relax. Perhaps the image of “the weak Kannagi Kazuma” is still buried deep in their hearts!

“So, what is the battle plan?”

Ignoring the tense atmosphere, Ayano voices out to ask Masayuki. If they have intended to fight a prolonged battle, they must change their plans immediately.

“Y…… Yes. We intend to lure Misao out from the church, and then chase her to the park just opposite. This entire area has been blocked off, so there is no worry that other people may get involved in this. After that we just need to set up a kekkai in the park, Misao is like a fish in the net. It is absolutely foolproof, there will not be any accidents.”

“Oh……”

Ayano thinks that this is not a bad method. In terms of fighting abilities, Misao is not much of a threat, so by sealing off all possible escape routes, with the power of ten, they should not lose at all?

“But, who is the one blocking the area off? And, the kekkai is……”

As she is querying, Ayano shuts up suddenly. Because she recognizes a female figure that is walking towards this area.

A tall and thin outfit with trousers. As she is wearing sunglasses, so her face is not clearly visible, but Ayano somehow just feels that she has seen this female somewhere before.

“The kekkai is ready, we can start anytime.”

After a routine report, the female takes off her sunglasses. Ayano widens her eyes instantly.

“A…… Ahhhhhh------!!”

She stretches her finger out and calls out without realizing it. That is undoubtedly the woman from before, holding hands with Kazuma at the love hotel street, called Kirika.

“Hi, Ayano.”

Kirika smiles faintly, and looks at Ayano leisurely.

“…… You know each other?”

“We met once before.”

Kirika replies, acting as though she is unaware at all. Masayuki puts on a serious expression and stares at her.

“I hope you mind your tone. Ayano-sama is of the bloodline of the main family, she is originally not allowed to be spoken to directly like this------“

“Oh, sorry for having been so rude.”

Kirika apologizes respectfully, and cutting into a long nag by an old man at the same time. She uses an extremely natural attitude to neglect the Masayuki who seems to still want to say something, and gives a formal salute towards Ayano.

“I am superintendent (Note: A title of one of the ranks of the Japan Police, of the middle ranked officers.) Tachibana Kirika sent by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (Note: Japan’s east Tokyo central main base of the police force). It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Police……? The surname Tachibana, could it be------“

I am from a branch family.”

Kirika smiles as she shrugs her shoulders.

Ayano gets more and more confused. Speaking of the Tachibana family, that is a famous Onmyoji clan. Even from the branch family, how can it be possible that a member of that clan become a police.

(Prepare kekkai------?)

Ayano stares at Masayuki with strict eyes instantly.

“You sought the help of police?”

The duty of the Kannagi clan is to eradicate youma through direct combat, and the quality of their work requires cooperation from government related agencies such as the police.

As their relationships with the police are rather close, and their astounding results from protecting the society for the past thousand years, some unreasonable requests are still accepted.

But, in this current case, there should not be unrelated personals like the police involved since the start.

The criminal they are hunting down is from their own family. And to degenerate from a Jutsushi into a youma, and to kill over a hundred people has already left a great stain for the clan. Such a fact should not be revealed to outsiders.

“N…… No…… This is because……”

Seeing that Ayano is questioning him, Masayuki became afraid, he bends down slightly and retreats backwards, yet Kirika does not change her relaxed attitude.

“Please calm down, we are helping in response to Jugo-san’s request.”

“Oto-san------?”

Ayano asks in doubt. Masayuki who is hiding behind Kirika hurriedly nods in agreement.

“That is right, Ogami Misao’s hiding location is also found by us!”

Even so, Ayano still cannot understand, why would her cautious father do something that even she knows is dumb.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 195.jpg|thumb]]
Against Ayano’s hostile eyes, Kirika walks towards her, defenseless. Then, she places her face by the ear of Ayano who is in her battle stance, and says softly at a volume that only Ayano can hear:

”You are mindful of what we know?”

Ayano’s body shook lightly. Kirika continues saying, looking as though she feels like laughing:

“Those things that you “do not want others to know”, we already know very well. For example, what Ogami Misao did------ But, we are still unsure of the actual number of victims.”

(Should I kill her------?)

Ayano ponders about this seriously. Even though she is very unwilling to do so, but she really cannot just ignore what she said.

“You intend to threaten the Kannagi?”

She verifies one last time. If the other party nods, then she must set her mind to it.

But Kirika shakes her head with ease.

“How can that be. I am not so ignorant, after all, such a minor issue of this standard is not enough to use as a handle.”

“------ What do you mean?”

“The “value” of the Kannagi, will not be shaken by this minor scandal. Maybe if those higher ups know of this, they may use it as a chip at making deals, but this information will be kept with me.”

Ayano raises an eyebrow.

“Didn’t you say you will not threaten us?”

“Don’t you get it? This is to represent my sincerity.”

“------?”

“Kill me, and no one will ever find out------ That is what it means.”

“------!”

“Why do you……”

“So that the soushu of the Kannagi will remember me, this tiny price means nothing. Besides, we will also get a record of having helped the Kannagi.”

“…………”

Ayano has a strange feeling. The “we” that has appeared several times in Kirika’s speech, does not seem to mean the entire police organization.

There is only one explanation that she can think of. That would be that in between the two unrelated powers of police and jutsushis, there is a line linking the two.

“Could you be that? That…… called Information consolidation department or something……”

“To be more accurate, it would be the special information consolidation department. I am the chief of that place.”

Kirika nods proudly.

The special information consolidation department of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

This is a department that is established only in the recent years, as if to hide from others, the nameplate of this department only lingers quietly at one corner of the basement of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

Everyone knows of the existence of this department, but the number of people that knows what they do is very few. To the extent where what the words “Special Information” means, the entire Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department------ Including the employees working there, there is no one that knows at all.

To put it simply, there is no such thing existing. Such an obscure department name, it is just a hoax to hide the contents of its operations.

For over a century after the Bureau of Onmyo was disbanded, Japan has passed on most of the spiritual protecting jobs to its people. In order to make a breakthrough from this current situation, this special information department is established------ The only government-run exorcising organization.

As they are unable to label themselves as an exorcising department in broad daylight, so they used a name that seems to “do odd jobs”. It is even rumored that, the “information” is taken from the same pronunciations “dead spirits”.

Leaving this government agency style of naming aside, its establishment really made an impact in the field------

“Oh, so there really is such a department. I have not heard of any activities at all, so I had thought that it is just an urban legend kind of rumor.”

From Ayano’s current understanding, it is something like that.

“Hmm……”

Hearing this harsh comment, Kirika shows a hurt expression.

“O…… Of course we have been active! Restoring distorted kekkais, suppressing land-bound spirits etc…… Because we have to obtain Jutsushis with fighting capabilities, so we are unable to undergo large scale exorcisms……”

“Ah ah, so you are a bunch of people that are working silently. That sure seems like a government functionary.”

Ayano smiles with a “Hmph hmph”. That expression is really arrogant and incomparable, “so cute” that it makes one want to give her a tight slap.

But Kirika is an adult after all. She does not show her anger, and uses a kind smile to say to Ayano:

“But, the higher ups are always unable to understand our unnoticeable activities. Ayano, do you want to come over and work in the Special Information Department? Even if it is just as a part time job.”

“I refuse.”

Ayano’s reply is very firm. Yet, as if she just thought of something, she uses querying eyes to look at Kirika.

“Ah…… Could it be that, that time you were trying to persuade Kazuma to join?”

“Huh? Ah ah, you meant the last time we met?”

Kirika shows a relaxed smile.

Their positions are switched instantly. Ayano who is now at a disadvantage refuses to give in and stares back at Kirika, but her eyes reveals clearly that those are just looks, and empty within.

“In your heart, you really hope that I met with Kazuma only because of work right?”

“N……No I don’t……”

Despite how she is negating it at her mouth, Ayano can’t help but ask again:

“------So, what is it?”

Seeing Ayano who is lowering down her head while staring at her, Kirika replies:

“I won’t tell you.”

“------!”

“Be it for private or work, I am under no obligations to tell you anything. Isn’t that right?”

(This…… This woman……!)

Ayano’s eyes glow with murderous intent. Against such strong stare, Kirika still maintains her relaxed smile.

As the two continues staring at each other, a hand tugs Ayano’s sleeve, shrinking up. Ayano looks at that direction, and turns back to stare at Kirika after that.

“Don’t interrupt me, Ren. I must settle things with this woman------“

“But, everyone is waiting for us.”

“Huh------?”

Ayano follows the direction Ren is looking in, there are ten Jutsushis using very unfriendly eyes to observe their duel.

Among which, Masayuki seems especially impatient. He is trying his best to control himself so that he does not show an anxious expression, but he is unable to hide that nerve at his temple.

This feeling is just like using all the restraining powers one can master to hold back the impulse to scream out “Hurry up, you two brats!”.

In replacement of that roar, Masayuki asks in a fake manner:

“It is about time to head for the church…… Are the both of you ready?”

But, these two are of course not “brats” who would be afraid of someone like Masayuki. They look at the guy with a fake smile on his face, and coldly says:

“Then go?”

“Feel free to.”

Masayuki’s smile froze. He looks dumbly at the two with an expression that is neither laughing nor crying.

“I should have said ealier that “we can start anytime”. Or should I say, is there some reason that we must go together with you?”

“Mm……”

“You better hurry and move along. If she escapes, are you going to take responsibility?”

“Mmm……”

After being blasted by the two’s words continuously, Masayuki’s face flushes red, unable to say anything anymore.

Facing this old man who is staring at her with cursing eyes, Ayano waves at him with ease------ As if chasing a dog away.

“Mmm…… Everyone, let’s go!”

After shouting out as if venting his anger, Masayuki walks off with loud and clear footsteps. He reprimands the Jutsushis who look at each other in an angry voice.

“Won’t you hurry up!”

“G……Got it!”

Seeing Masayuki and gang walk off hurriedly, Ayano breathes out lightly.

“Finally gone.”

Seeing such a frank reaction, Kirika asks smilingly:

“You seem to hate that old man a lot?”

“Need you ask! Someone who intends to stiffen his heart and kill his daughter for the survival of his clan------ There is no need to put up with him!”

“As for me, it doesn’t matter as long as the Soushu is happy. Besides, what kind of future can that guy have?”

Ayano shrugs her shoulders with a bitter smile.

“I can only say, oto-san has no intentions of destroying the Ogami family.”

Even so, he cannot not take up any responsibility at all! And this responsibility must be taken up by Masayuki who is the head of the family.

“The one who is to take responsibility exists precisely to take up the responsibility. I really like this sentence. By the way------ You really intend to fight with Kazuma?”

Kirika nods as if it evoked her thoughts, and then changed topics suddenly. Even though she is slightly at a loss, Ayano still replies honestly:

“Yeah, there is no one else after all. Even though I may not be able to win, but I can try to buy time.”

“……You don’t have to push yourself so hard. Even if you lose against that man, it is not considered shameful.”

“I know. I don’t intend to put my life at it. Besides, I have this kid with me.”

She pats on Ren’s head, who is standing beside her. Ren raises his head in surprise to look at Ayano.

“Huh……? Me too……?”

Ayano keeps quiet, and changes the hand on Ren’s head into the shape of a claw. A sharp pain strikes at Ren in an instant.

“O……Ouch! That hurts Onee-sama!”

“Let’s work hard together, Ren [Heart symbol]”

“……O……Okay……”

Ren gave in to fear and pain, nodding in reply with tears in his eyes.

=== 2 ===

“Thank you for the hard work.”

Kirika shows a smile on her face, the police officers return the greeting instantly.

The vehicles that blocked the way shifted slightly, opening a small gap that allows one person to get through. Passing through that small gap, Kirika, Ayano and Ren in sequence, entered into the secured zone.

“……What a thorough job.”

Looking at their surroundings, Ayano uses an extremely shocked tone to say to Kirika.

This corner of the city that is originally very busy, has now been completely transformed into an empty dead city. Not only are there no pedestrians, even the people inside the buildings seem to be all cleared away.

Kirika shrugs her shoulders lightly.

“Actually we only evacuated a few people. Most of the people sensed an abnormality and escaped before we did anything.”

“Abnormality…… Is it?”

Smelling the stinking stench similar to a rotten fish amidst the wind, Ayano frowns. The asphalt road surface seems strangely gooey. Every step they take, their sole seems to be glued to the ground, a thin thread stuck at the centre.

Maybe due to the base portion being corroded, the trees in the park are tilting at a dangerous angle under the wind’s blow, as if it would topple any moment.

“It is rather common to hear others say, that humans are a type of animal that has lost its basic instincts. But judging from this, it seems humans have not completely lost them after all. Just think about it, isn’t there no one coming to watch the scene or any reporters at the inspection area?”

“------Now that you mention it, it seems to be that way.”

Ayano recalls the scene of when they were passing through the inspection area.

In contrast to the completely empty streets, such a big cast seems to be overdoing it, causing one to question whether it is necessary. But thinking about it more carefully, it won’t seem strange.

Because the centre of Ikebukuro is clearly sealed off, yet there are no commotions. Normally speaking this is very abnormal.

(Normally speaking huh------)

Faced with a meaningless imagination, Ayano can’t help but show a bitter smile. Under a situation whereby youki causes a physical change, causing the wind and earth to be corroded, using the word “normally” does not seem to be suitable.

If the people are to realize the abnormality and escape, that would be most convenient. Because this way they will not have to worry about other people seeing them, and fight as they wish.

She smiles in her heart, and walks to the center of the secured zone. There is a small church there, this is perhaps a church that is furthest away from the word “Holy” in the whole world!

Looking at the actual place, the preparations are ready. Ten Jutsushis surround the church, not letting even a seep of water to get through.

Sensing Ayano approaching, Masayuki who is standing right at the entrance turns around.

“Please do not take part in this Ayano-sama and Ren-sama.”

“I know.”

Ayano impatiently waves her hand towards Masayuki who reminds them once more.

The Jutsushis are concentrating, waiting for Masayuki’s signal. He knows that Misao is inside there, and at this stage he does not intend to spend more time searching the interior.

He plans to burn down the entire church.

If ten Kannagi Jutsushis are to release flames all at the same time, this kind of building would be destroyed before it even begins burning.

It is best if thing could be settled just like this. In case she survives, then according to their plans they will force her into the park and eradicate her.

There exists no element of failure. Everyone believes firmly at the arrival of their victory.

“Okay, begi……”

Right at the moment before Masayuki gave the command, the door of the church opens slowly. Masayuki hurriedly stops the hand that is about to wave down, and stares closely at the door.

Following a sharp squeaking sound, the door opens gradually. Unable to see the interior at all, the darkness filled within rejects the entry of all light.

Not only that, the darkness even began infesting the light. A certain black object passes through the front door, and appears in the space filled with light.

It is someone dressed in a pitch black kimono------ A black-haired girl wearing a mohuku. The darkness that took on the shape of a human stares at the group of people.

“…… You are…… Misao……?”

Masayuki calls out his daughter’s name, as if moaning. The reason why the pitch near the end raises up, is due to the immense youki wrapped around her.

“I welcome everyone’s arrival. Oto-sama as well, I am glad to see that you are still so healthy.”

Misao elegantly greets them. That gentle smile announces her genuine welcome.

But, if there is anyone who knows Misao, they may probably see the abnormality in this. In the recent tens years or so, Misao has never smiled like this towards Masayuki.

Of course, even Masayuki did not realize this. Because as a female, Misao who cannot become a fighter, is nothing more than a useless and worthless existence to him.

Staring angrily at the daughter who is smiling innocently, Masayuki shouts from the bottom of his heart:

“Shut up! A dirty and despicable thing like you is not qualified to call me oto-sama!”

In a moment, the smile in Misao’s eyes vanishes. But after that she remembers how to give a smile, and returns to her original expression.

“Sorry to have been so rude then. By the way------“

Misao looks around, verifying the faces of everyone at the scene.

“Where is Kazuma-san?”

“That guy has already been dismissed!”

Ayano answers at an astonishing speed:

“Whether he is capable enough is only secondary, we have no intentions of hiring someone who does not plan to work at all. This is not charity work.”

Staring at Ayano who would feel unpleasant if she doesn’t say this for quite a while, the side of Misao’s lips rises suddenly.

Ayano’s eyebrows jump up in an instant. Even if it was just for a moment, but she has correctly understood the meaning of that smile.

It was a mockery, a mockery that looks down upon the opponent from a high place. It is something a Jutsushi from a branch------ and to have degenerated into a youma, it is an intolerable expression.

“What is so funny……?”

Ayano questions in a suppressed tone.

“The attitude of Ayano-sama is too ugly.”

Misao replies, still having a smile at her face.

Swoosh, Ayano steps out, slanting her right body. That is completely a battle posture. Masayuki who is standing between the two is so scared he jumps backwards.

Ignoring the murderous aura directed at her, Misao smiles and says:

“Does Kazuma-san caring only for me make you that jealous?”

“------!”

The uprising murderous aura shakes the area, but Misao shows no signs of backing off. Unsure whether she is confident in winning, or has lost her normal judgment capabilities------

“Very well…… Speaking of which, we have yet to settle from last time.”

“Is that so…… I can’t recall such a thing.”

A face-off like swords and blades crossing each other. Their exchanged glances gives off sparks, a tense atmosphere is at the brink of exploding.

Ayano takes out her Enraiha quietly, the golden brilliances that erupts from it exorcises the murky youki.

Faced with a sudden battle between females, the Jutsushis from branch families began trembling.

“A…… Ayano-sama. Leave Misao to us……”

Masayuki hurriedly tries to halt Ayano, yet he quietens down under the stare filled with murderous intent. After all, the level between the two is completely different.

No one can stop them. Just as everyone at the scene is thinking this way------

“Excuse me, sorry to disturb when the two of you are so busy.”

With her ear stuck at the mobile phone that is switched to vibration mode, Kirika makes a routine announcement.

“Yagami Kazuma has appeared. He is closing in from the direction of the main road.”

Ayano’s body shook suddenly.

(Saved------)

Seeing this reaction, Masayuki sighs in relief.

“Ayano-sama------“

“I know.”

Keeping Enraiha, Ayano stares at Misao once more. Misao lifts her chin, showing a smile of victory in response.

She saw the way Ayano’s temple entangles together.

(There should still be time after killing her first……)

For a moment, Ayano considers this seriously. But, since she has calmed down now, she cannot place her personal feelings before her.

“Masayuki-san, please act as we have originally planned. Superintendent Tachibana, I will not ask you to fight with Kazuma, but please maintain the kekkai. Okay?”

Ayano gives off commands one by one, and finally shifts her eyes to Ren.

“Let’s go stall Kazuma!”

“…… Yes……”

Ren droops his eyes, and nods to reply with a helpless tone. Yet Ayano does not care about Ren’s attitude, and forcefully drags him off.

=== 3 ===

“I am late, has it already begun?”

Sprinting on the empty streets, Kazuma grumbles.

He noticed Misao’s “invitation”, yet he noticed an hour later than Kannagi and the police. This is not due to some special reason, but purely because he was sound asleep.

Even though he jumped up from his bed immediately when he sensed the uprising youki, but he is still unable to deny the fact that he came late. The only thing fortunate to him would be that it is happening next to the hotel he is using as a base for his search. '''(!)'''

(Speaking of which, to be located so close…… Even though I am not sure who it may be, but he is good.)

Thinking about the real enemy who has yet to reveal himself, Kazuma speeds up. Perhaps due to all his wrong-doings most of the time, he did not reach the destination that easily.

Two shadows stand before Kazuma, stopping him. Kazuma uses sharp eyes to stare at the shadows------ and lets out a bored sigh. '''(!)'''

“Oh, it’s you.”

“Well, sorry for being me.” '''(!)'''

Hearing his disappointed voice, Ayano replies impolitely in the same manner. She held Enraiha in her hand. Her intentions were plain as day. 

Leaving that aside------

“Why is Ren here as well?”

“Well, what do you think?” '''(!)'''

Ayano opens her palm and slaps onto the bitterly smiling Ren’s head. A very clear sound was given off.

“Obviously, we're working together to beat you up!”

Ayano says bluntly, but Ren backs off slightly, and shakes his head vigorously from a place that Ayano cannot see.

Kazuma decides to put Ren aside for now. Looking straight at Ayano who seems ready to fight anytime, Kazuma smiles proudly:

“------Are you prepared?” '''(!)'''

A fierce atmosphere surrounds Ayano. '''(!)'''

“Argh……”

It's frightening. Kazuma is only standing there------ Yet that is so scary already.

She is not prepared at all, as there is not a single hope of victory. Even so------

“Even so, I must do this! Because only I can!”

As if trying to throw away her fears and hesitations, she raises the Enraiha with everything she has. She swings down the blade with all her strength.

“Take this------!!” '''(!)'''

A massive plasma body burns the air and speeds off. Looking at that object closing in at a high speed, Kazuma waves his hand out with ease.

The fist entangled with wind sends the plasma bullet flying. The scorching flames veer off at a right angle, and a big hole is made in the building caught in the flames’ path.

(……As expected, ranged attacks are useless……)

Ayano holds the Enraiha tightly, determined to go into melee combat.

As she gradually reduces the distance between them, intending to jump straight into Kazuma, Kazuma suddenly relaxes and takes a step back.

“------?”

“So sorry when you are all fired up, but I am in a rush to get over there. I'll play with you next time!”

Leaving this selfish remark, Kazuma rides the wind and flies into the sky------ and disappears. This is done by manipulating the density of air, causing a change in the refraction of light to create an effect of invisibility.

“Huhhh!?”

Ren who is standing further back gives off a sound of surprise. But Ayano has already seen this kind of trick before, and has come up with a method against it.

“Hmph------“

She raises Enraiha slowly.

“Did you think the same trick------“

Just as the Fuu-jutsushi observe the air flow, En-Jutsushi use fire------ heat to see the world. Ayano cannot possibly miss the heat source with more than twice the temperature of the air.

“Can be used over and over again------!!”

A high speed plasma bullet fired off, and accurately shot past the invisible Kazuma------ that layer of wind kekkai around him. '''(!)'''

“Woahh!?”

Kazuma suddenly appeared in the sky. Having lost the protection of the wind, Fuu-Jutsushis are naturally unable to fly in the air------ and will of course fall down.

“Yosh……”

Just before falling onto the ground surface, Kazuma regains control of the wind. Just as he regains an upright posture, his feet land softly on the ground. '''(!)'''

Looking at the proud Ayano, Kazuma sighs and lectures her:

“Didn’t I tell you before, if you have time to study small tricks like this, you should go practice your sword skills.”

“It doesn't matter. It's pretty useful, after all.” '''(!)'''

Ayano shoulders Enraiha, laughing proudly. '''(!)'''

“Are you disappointed to have your technique broken?”

“…… Not really. That aside------ what're you going to do now?” '''(!)'''

Ayano has already dragged Kazuma back onto the ground, so then she can use Enraiha to attack directly.

<nowiki>------</nowiki>That is, if she can hit him.

With Ayano's abilities, she can't even touch Kazuma. The difference in power is too great to be bridged by hard work or determination.

However, Ayano's composed smile doesn't fade.

“Did you really think I would go against you without thinking of anything?”

“Yup. After all, you're an animal that moves on instinct.”

Kazuma replied instantly. A vein rose in Ayano's temple.

“------ Then, watch this!”

Ayano stretches her hand behind her, thrusting out the "Thing" she grabbed towards Kazuma.

“Ultimate technique! Barrier!!” '''(!)'''

<nowiki>------</nowiki>Please wait a moment------

The stopped time started to flow again.

Kazuma sighs as if emptying his lungs. He looks at Ayano with a pitying look.

“……For now, go ahead and explain.” '''(!)'''

“Hee hee hee, no matter how wicked and inhuman you are, I doubt you'd be able to hurt Ren! As long as I have this Barrier, even if I can't win, I definitely won't lose either!”

Hiding behind Ren whose entire body is lifted up by the collar, Ayano declares so while brimming with confidence.

While looking at this scene with a pained expression, Kazuma asks:

“……How should I say this, don’t you feel embarrassed as the next Soushu of the Kannagi?”

“I, for one, am embarrassed……”

Hung like a doll that had just been washed, Ren quietly wept.

“Silence! I'll use whatever it takes to win!”

“No, you still can't win. You just won’t lose.”

“Ah…… That's... Anyways. If you think you can break through this Barrier, just try it!”

“Sure.”

Kazuma effortlessly released blades of wind that, drawing an arc like a boomerang, sliced at both of Ayano's arms from behind.

“Kya!”

Although it doesn't reach the skin, both of Ayano's sleeves were completely shredded, surprising her enough that she releases <s>Ren</s> the Barrier.

Ren quickly escapes to a place where Ayano's hands don't reach. He naturally didn't want to keep working with her.

“Hey, stop right there!”

Ayano tries to chase after Ren, but

<nowiki>------</nowiki> Swoosh!

A blade of wind flying right before the tip of her nose made her stop in her steps.

She happens to look below her feet, and noticed that the surface of the asphalt was smoothly sliced through like butter.

A cold sweat ran down Ayano's back.

“Well, I somewhat understand. Basically, you're trying to buy some time, right?”

Ayano was frozen, her intentions exposed. Kazuma pronounces coldly:

“I think I told you already, but I'm in a hurry to get there. If you keep fooling around------ You'll die.”

“------!”

As if being pushed by a massive intent to kill, Ayano uses all her strength to move to the side. A blade of wind ran through the place where Ayano had just been.

This wasn't a threat or an attack meant to disable. It was literally an attack to instantly slices a person in two.

(He's gotten serious------?)

A shiver runs down her back. Ayano prepares to aim for the eyes, and focuses every nerve in her body on the enemy in front of her.

Kazuma's attacks don't have movements for preparation. He can release a lethal strike without even moving a finger. In comparison to dodging attacks like this, dodging bullets is much easier.

Ayano tosses aside her useless defence. She prays to god that she will not suffer fatal injuries, and thrusts in a straight line.

Wind blades that strike at her continuously cancel out with the flames that surround her entire body. Ayano gives up on all meaningless dodging actions, and closes in on Kazuma in the shortest distance possible.

(------I reached him!)

The attacking range of the sword, at this distance, the sword is faster than Jutsu.

What Jutsu means is the substantiation of one’s will. And so, when one uses Jutsu, he must think------ that means it must go through the brain.

In comparison, when the body is moving, including the usage of every piece of muscle, sometimes even the most basic will of to “make the body move” may be left out entirely.

For someone whose fighting skills have been trained to a certain extent, I believe they have experienced “to strike out before thinking” before. This speed will never be caught up by Jutsu. No matter how much one trains, to activate Jutsu subconsciously is impossible logically.

Ayano swings Enraiha down forcefully. The destructive powers of this sword would be humbled even by calling it “overwhelming”. If a human is hit------No, lightly scratched by it, he would become a piece of charcoal.

Kazuma moves to the left to dodge the slice. Ayano pulls the blade back, reversing her grip, and cuts slanting upwards.

Kazuma moves left, and at the same time dashes into the chest of Ayano who pulled her upper body upwards for the upward slice, and stretches his hand out at the handle of Enraiha. Enraiha slips out from Ayano’s hand.

If this is a competition, the judge would have probably announced Kazuma’s victory by now. But, this is an actual battle------ And the blade that Ayano holds is Enraiha.

After dodging the palm strike aimed at her chin by twisting her body, Ayano focuses her consciousness onto Enraiha.

At the same time, the Enraiha that was flying in mid air disappeared. Following that------ In Ayano’s body, a collation of energy was made at her chest area.

She holds the empty right hand tight, and places that burning, beating power within. In the blink of an eye, Enraiha is in her right hand once more.

That is a strong and sudden straight attack. Even though Ayano thought that her surprise attack was successful, but this seems to be within the opponent’s expectations as well. Kazuma bends backwards slightly, the tip of the blade swept by his body by a mere several millimeters.

Kazuma unhurriedly pulls their distance apart once more, a smile appearing on his face. That is undoubtedly a smile of praise, but Ayano did not realize that.

(Smile all you want!)

In order to not let the opponent pull the distance apart, Ayano jumps right into Kazuma. She slices at the body parallel with the ground, and then continuously to strike at Kazuma who is dodging backwards, swinging her sword once more.

Kazuma’s back knocks against the wall of a building, he cannot retreat any further. The joy of having forced the enemy to his end made Ayano reveal a sinister smile.

(Hit------!)

All the muscles in her body tenses up, the condensed power all gather at one spot and releases. The sword tip strikes straight at Kazuma’s face at the shortest distance possible.

The scorching blade cannot be defended at all, there is no time to even dodge. Ayano firmly believes she has won.

That is a full-powered attack at that detestable face that is always laughing and joking around------

“What------“

Ayano widens her eyes. Enraiha became still before Kazuma’s face. As if stopped by an invisible wall, no matter how much strength she uses, the remaining distance of ten centimetres just cannot be shortened any further.

(A wind kekkai------?)

The truth is placed before her eyes, but Ayano still cannot believe it. A high level spirit Jutsu can go beyond a physical phenomenon------ She can understand this common knowledge very well. But, just how much will must be inserted into the air to be able to make a kekkai that is strong enough to withstand against Enraiha? Ayano cannot imagine it at all.

“This is just how it is.”

Kazuma mumbles as if it is only natural, the wind kekkai disappears at the same time. Walking past the side of Ayano who falls forward as she is unable to draw her strength back in time, Kazuma uses a tone that cannot be any more arrogant to say:

“Let’s stop here for today.”

Ayano is of course very agitated.

“Wha……What do you mean by “stop here for today”!? This is not a practice!”

“I accompanied you for some time already, what else do you have to complain about?”

“------This is not over.”

Ayano regains her calm very shortly, she uses the Enraiha to point at Kazuma.

“You must stay with me until Misao’s punishment is over. Because this problem must be taken care of by our own people.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, that side can hardly fend for themselves.”

“------What do you mean?”

Towards Ayano’s question, Kazuma silently raised his hand, stretching three fingers out.

“Three? What?”

Kazuma did not answer, but retracted his ring finger.

“Two.”

Retracted his middle finger.

“One.”

The last one. Kazuma retracts his index finger, showing a faint smile on his face.

“Bang!”

Accompanied by a strong explosive sound, a pitch black pillar of fire rises up into the sky.

=== 4 ===

“What……”

Ayano raise her head, staring at the fire pillar dumbly.

Black flames.

That is unlike the black smoke that is created from burning of heavy oil, the flames itself is black in color.

“That is…… Misao……?”

“Is there anyone else that can use flames that are full of youki like this? It seems that the battle style of the Kannagi must have changed quite a bit ever since I left then.”

Kazuma questions her back with a serious look. Perhaps he really wanted to know the answer to this question?

“We don’t have anyone like that!”

Ayano answers rudely. Of course, Kazuma will not feel bad about this. He puts on an expression as though it does not matter to him, and shrugs his shoulders as he walks off.

“W...... Wait a minute!”

Kazuma obediently stops in his steps.

“What is the matter? Is there someone among those people there that you hope will die? Then I don’t mind waiting a bit longer, after all there is only three minutes left.”

Ayano took quite a bit of time to truly understand what that sentence meant. Ren who interpreted what the line means asks with a fearful look on his face:

“Is Misao really that strong? That even ten people working together are still unable to defeat her.”

“Six.”

Kazuma corrects truthfully.

“------Huh?”

“That blast earlier, the presence of four people disappeared.”

Ren became speechless, and in replacement is Ayano’s roar:

“You should say something like that earlier!”

“You should have realized it much earlier yourself.”

“……Y…….You……”

“Calm down, Onee-san.”

Ren tries to pacify Ayano who is on the brink of explosion as he looks at his brother with blaming eyes.

“Onii-san, why can’t you just get along with onee-san?”

“What do you mean by get along? Our goals this time are entirely different, she is my enemy.”

“Don’t tell me you still intend to defend Misao!?”

“Yup.”

Kazuma nods naturally at Ayano who stares at him with her eyes wide open.

“…… What are you thinking? Do you know how many people that girl killed!?”

“How would I know. I am not so kind as to pity those strangers that died.”

Kazuma spits this line out easily, and following that walks off without waiting to see their reactions. Ayano hurriedly chases after him from behind------ And finally overtook Kazuma.

The park is not that far away. Even though she ran, she was only faster by around ten seconds.

But, that is more than enough.

(Find her, and settle it in one shot!)

She is very confident. No matter how strong Misao may have become, compared to herself who is of the main family, their levels of power are entirely different. Just one strike from Enraiha should be able to eliminate Misao?

She reached the park. She jumped over the fence at the entrance, and ran into the square.

There is no need to search for her, Misao stands at the centre of the square. Despite being surrounded by Jutsushis of the branch families, there is not a single trace of anxiety on her face, instead it is the Jutsushis that seem to be trembling in fear.

There is no time to care for the face of the Ogami anymore. In order to finish Misao off at one go, Ayano pushs the Jutsushis surrounding Misao away------ And then became stunned like them.

[[Image:Kaze no Stigma vol 02 227.jpg|thumb]]
Misao did not even notice Ayano’s appearance, and is playing with a rubber ball happily.

She wears an innocent smile, and uses an extremely gentle motion to bounce the rubber ball that rebounds back to her waist level. The group stares at this simple repeating action without getting bored by it.

However, the rubber ball looks very old and tattered, the surface has became yellowish like the earth. The fading grayish black threads spread around in great volumes, just like a bamboo curtain falling off continuously. Those continuously wavering black thread, are just like hair------

(Just like------?)

The instant she realizes what that rubber ball is, Goosebumps rose all over Ayano’s body. Her hand reaches out to cover her mouth, trying hard to stop herself from vomiting.

The messy black threads------ those are hair of a man around fifty over years of age.

The red threads that spread over the soil-yellow surface------ Those are blood stains that are stuck to the victim’s skin.

That object that Misao is playing like a rubber ball, is the head of a dead person. The face of the man who is planning to slay his own daughter for the survival of the family, is now bouncing up and down between the ground surface and the white and tender hand.

Dong……Dong……

The sound of the rebounding of the “rubber ball” is abnormally heavy. Every time it hits against the solid ground, more wounds are gradually added to Masayuki’s painful and distorted expression.

Speaking in terms of common sense, it is impossible for the head of a human to bounce like a rubber ball. This may have been caused by psychic powers or something similar to move the head……

“…… Misao……”

Ayano is unable to say a word. Facing off against a girl who is happily playing with her father’s head, what can she say?

Before the eyes of Ayano and gang who are holding their breaths and staring at her, Misao bounces the “rubber ball” attentively.

If there is any purpose to this action, that could still be seen in a more optimistic manner. Like venting her anger on the body, scaring the enemy with her power, or a part of a Jutsu ritual------ Anything would have been fine.

But this is different.

Anyone can tell that, this action is meaningless.

This is just merely a “game”. Like a kid taking a piece of paper crushed in a bundle as a ball, she is just merely playing with her father’s head as a rubber ball.

“…………”

Misao suddenly hits the “rubber ball” with force. Jumping higher than before, the “rubber ball” bounces to her chest area, and Misao stretches her hands out to catch it.

“What have you been doing since just now?”

No one understood what her murmuring meant.

Yet, a voice came in reply.

“It is hard to explain in a moment’s notice, but I still rushed here.”

Like an avalanche, everyone’s eyes gathered at the same direction.

That relaxed expression without any tension, did not waver at all under the stare of everyone in the area.

Even though he possesses power that surpasses anyone, but his presence is calmer and firmer than anyone.

Just that cheeky appearance is enough to dispel the abnormal demonic presence given off by Misao.

Natural as the air, and possessing absolute power to accept everything. To possess a “right” that is not violated by anyone, the man called Yagami Kazuma stands there.

“Looks like I made it in time for the main event of this show.”

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