Editing Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha:Volume 4 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 9===

Basara and the others who had chosen to temporarily retreat, ran into a certain special classroom on the third floor. It was a space with cooking tables with sinks, stoves, drawers and lined up, the home Economics Classroom that had no equipment inferior to a culinary school.

“—are you guys alright?”

Sakazaki asked after taking a deep breath.

“Nn… I’m fine.”                       “…Me too.”

Basara and Tachibana nodded while answering.

“But, why did sensei…?”

And asked Sakazaki. why did he help them – and at the same time, why could he use special abilities. Tachibana too also had the same questions, and quietly waited for Sakazaki’s answer. Sakazaki only put on his usual bright smile and said:

“Actually, Jin and I are old friends. He had asked me to look after you while he went to the Demon Realm, and that is why I am here.”

"You are my dad’s…? Then—“

Basara remembered the words Sakazaki had told him on the day he transferred in, and Sakazaki gave a bitter smile.

“That’s right. On the day when we first met, you had asked me if I knew who was Jin’s acquaintance in this school, and that acquaintance is actually me. I am not one of the Heroes, but I have some special abilities, as you had seen.”

Sakazaki’s words set off some visualizations within Basara’s mind. The Heroes were an organization founded to deal against the Demon Race, and there were some who dealt with various supernatural beings like Tachibana who is a vampire, choosing to act without any limitations from an organization, people like retired magicians, exorcists and onmyōji<ref>a traditional Japanese esoteric cosmology, a mixture of natural science and occultism</ref>. Sakazaki was probably part of them.

“I see…”

"Sorry to have kept it from you. It was to conceal my identity so that I can move about in the shadows, and give you a helping hand whenever there is a need. To tell the truth, I had wanted to help you deal with those Heroes and Demons who had bad intentions for Mio, but…”

Sakazaki’s expression became serious.

“I’m very sorry, I am a teacher of this school; I have many people to protect, including you. After Hasegawa came here, practically everyone related to the school has become her hostage; if I get caught moving carelessly, who knows just how many people she will use as meat shields – please forgive me.”

“No need for that, you helping us just now is sufficient enough… Thank you, sensei.”

The problem between the Heroes and the Demon race, is something Basara and the others must settle personally, and not be handed to them by someone else. However—

''…I got helped again by dad.''

Yuki not receiving punishment from the [Village] is probably a result Jin mediating in the shadows, and who knows just how much more he had planned. As Basara was once again reassured by the reliability of his father—

“However, Toujou, didn’t I tell you before – you need to be careful of Hasegawa Chisato.”

“……I’m sorry.”

Sakazaki’s scolding, caused Basara to lower his head.

“Um, Sakazaki-sensei… Just what kind of a person is Hasegawa-sensei?”

Tachibana sheepishly asked from the side, and Sakazaki shook his head while replying:

“I’m not clear about that either… What I know is as you have seen, she possesses a terrifying amount of strength. Thank goodness that up till now, nothing serious has happened. Probably because she wanted to avoid trouble, she had moved everyone’s consciousness away from herself. That is the reason why I have been maintaining my secret observation, to avoid stimulating her… but lately the situation has changed.”

“Then, could the reason Donoue-senpai suddenly turned strange be…?”

Sakazaki nodded with s [Yes], and Tachibana who had asked murmured [How can that be…] while shocked.

But it’s no surprise. It was Hasegawa who had convinced Tachibana to join the Organising Committee, and finding out that she had been planning to do damage to the Sports Festival would give Tachibana a big blow.

“……Sakazaki-sensei, how long do you think the barriers you created can last?”

“I am not able to give you a precise answer. Each of them will last around five minutes, so all of them will be about thirty minutes.”

“I see. Then—“

Basara suddenly swung out Brynhildr. There wasn’t any preliminary actions, a complete surprise attack. Normally speaking, I is completely unavoidable. Right now—

“ ! –T-Toujou-kun?”

“Tachibana was at a loss, shock filling his voice.

But – Sakazaki was different. He jumped backwards, deftly landing on the ground after avoid Basara’s attack.

“Toujou… I can understand that you have been through many things and can’t easily trust people. As you can see now, I am not being controlled by her.”

“That’ right… I know that sensei bringing us here, is completely of your own free will. But—“

Basara held Brynhildr towards Sakazaki and said:

“This, is the irrefutable evidence that shows that you are the true enemy.”

“W-Why…?”

“Listen closely. I had transferred to this school because my dad said that he has an acquaintance here, and Sakazaki-sensei claims to be that acquaintance… that is definitely impossible.”

Because—

“The pressure Hasegawa-sensei had released is extremely shocking… Undoubtedly, it is far above Sakazaki-sensei. And from Sakazaki-sensei’s words, you had known of Hasegawa’s existence for a long time; if Sakazaki-sensei is really the acquaintance of my dad, normally speaking, my dad would’ve stopped me from transferring here, by right.”

“Ah…”

As Tachibana exclaimed as he suddenly realised something—

“Haven’t I already said it? Hasegawa’s strength is really powerful, but it wouldn’t be a big threat if she isn’t stimulated. And you coming to this school of to protect Naruse—“

“An enemy that couldn’t be dealt with if the enemy gets mad isn’t a threat? Usually under this condition, it shouldn’t be me transferring here, but instead Mio transferring to the school I was originally studying at.”

“Basara cut off Sakazaki’s explanation, and then continued:

“And my dad has also said before, he had already done some investigating about Mio and the others; so in his investigation, he will definitely have realised Hasegawa’s presence.”

“Right now both Nonaka and Takigawa who is in charge of Mio’s surveillance have not uncovered Hasegawa’s real identity… You and Jin who have left the Heroes for so long, would be even more difficult to uncover, no?”

“If that is really the case, the fact that you have not warned my dad about Hasegawa-sensei’s presence, is even weirder. And, a short blank five years basically cannot cause my dad’s senses to degrade; even me, can still see through and estimate the strength of an opponent. From what I can see, you do indeed have much strength—“

Basara said while directly looking at Sakazaki:

“But, my apologies – I do not see that you are above my dad. Since you already have found out about Hasegawa’s true strength, my dad cannot not miss it. And my dad clearly knew of the strength Hasegawa possesses, yet gave me no warnings at all… Why is that so?”

There was only one answer.

“Because there was no need at all. My dad knew of Hasegawa-sensei’s strength, and knows that it will never become a threat to us.”

Hasegawa’s powerful strength, instead had revealed the truth. And that is—

“My dad’s acquaintance is not you at all – it is Hasegawa-sensei instead.”

The irony is that, only after mistakenly thinking that he had been saved by the true enemy Sakazaki, he could be so certain. With this, Hasegawa closing Mio and Yuki into the Infirmary, must have her reasons.

They must be fine – so what’s next is to defeat Sakazaki, and things will end.

''…Thirty minutes, huh.''

He didn't know just how much the words of the enemy can be trusted. If that is the truth, if they just waited innocently, they would need to spend thirty minutes before being able to rendezvous with Hasegawa; if they rendezvous with Hasegawa, they’ll probably be able to defeat Sakazaki easily, and Sakazaki probably also knows that. Then—

''…Eh?''

Basara’s train of thought was suddenly broken. He saw Sakazaki still having his usual bright smile on in this situation, gazing at him. This gaze, was the same as the gaze he had felt after the attack at the station late in the night and the one he had felt often within school.

“My, my, looks like there’s no other way…”

In the moment Sakazaki said so with the same smile—

“Gh——…!?”

An attack that couldn’t be seen hit Basara’s abdomen, sending him flying backwards, crashing back-first into the blackboard, flattening his lungs. Just as the force of the impact<ref>read: Newton’s Third Law</ref> cause Basara’s body to bounce from the wall—

“ ! –Toujou-ku—“

Tachibana’s shout was suddenly cut off. It was an attack exactly like the one that hit Basara, that had directly hit Tachibana. Probably because that attack had also taken his consciousness, he laid on the floor, not moving at all.

This scene, caused Basara who had difficulties breathing due to the impact and whose vision ois still blurry—

“————!”

Who had barely landed on the ground feet first – to kick the ground hard at the same time, suddenly moving forward. 

Since Tachibana is now unconsciousness, the option of escaping the Home Economics Classroom and getting to Hasegawa’s side after wrecking Sakazaki’s barrier is now cut off. Even if he were to carry Tachibana and run utilizing the speed of a speed-type fighter, they would be stopped by the numerous barriers Sakazaki had set up on their way here, and Sakazaki would catch up in an instant.

Those barriers were not just to delay Hasegawa, they were also probably to prevent Basara and Tachibana from escaping. Since they can’t escape… they can only fight.

“ ! –Oooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

With the roar fuelled by anger pushed out from the stomach and forcefully pushing his lungs to restart themselves, Toujou Basara attacked.

While holding Brynhildr in front of his eyes pointed at Sakazaki, Basara kept his posture low and dashed in between the lined-up cooking tables. This action, to deal with attacks that couldn’t be seen by the eyes, can block attacks that come from the front as well as the sides.

Most likely, there won’t be any attacks coming from his back. He had already locked on to have Sakazaki in front of him, and if an attack really comes from behind him, he’ll just have to immediately adjust his posture and continue going straight to attack. His expectations were quickly fulfilled, as an attack came at from in front of him, and Basara immediately increased his speed; in less than a breath, Basara had already closed in on Sakazaki, and swung the raised Brynhildr downwards at Sakazaki. He probably won’t be able to avoid this attack – but if he does manage to avoid it, Basara will use Brynhildr to destroy the floor of the Home economics classroom, opening a way down to the second floor. Since Sakazaki wants to prevent Basara from rendezvousing with Hasegawa, this will probably be the situation he wants to avoid the most. Thus, Basara thought of various countermeasures to the actions Sakazaki might take, and got ready to forcefully slash through any defence or struggle put up.

“—So that’s it.”

Sakazaki kept his smile unchanged, and used the unseeable attack to meet Basara’s attack; but as Basara’s slash had superior power, Sakazaki’s attack bounced off with a ‘Clang!’. Basara did not stop just from that, and continued swinging Brynhildr downwards – but clashing with that attack just now had caused him a very small delay, enough for Sakazaki to retreat backwards. Yet—

''…Don’t even think of escaping!''

Basara immediately followed. Even if Sakazaki can send out attacks outside of Basara’s attack range, there was the danger of him injuring himself when the distance between them is close to zero, and that would naturally reduce the number of attacks Sakazaki let loose. There is no weapon in Sakazaki’s hands, so he could very likely by a mage-type fighter -- once the distance between them has been shortened, the very fast swordsman of a speed-type fighter like him would be able to suppress him within a few strokes.

In other words, a close-ranged battle was Basara’s only way of victory – and that was exactly what he did.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!”

Basara immediately pulled into Brynhildr’s effective range, and released a slash.

As any errors in dodging would cause Basara to destroy the flooring, Sakazaki casted a barrier, defending against Basara’s countless criss-crossing attacks—

“What a headache… She’ll be here very soon, so don’t waste too much of my time, understand?”

In the moment he said while having a frustrated smile on, he released a shockwave.

However – its target was not Basara, but Tachibana who collapsed at their side. It was an attack released downwards, with its strength controlled in order to not destroy the flooring. Tachibana who possesses the robustness and recovery power of a vampire probably won’t receive a very serious injury, but—

“……!”

Seeing his unconscious friend unable to unable to defend and receiving the attack, Basara’s heart was unconsciously shaken and the speed of his attacks decreased. Sakazaki took the opportunity taking a step back, he said with his right palm aimed precisely at Basara:

“Hahaha – Toujou, you really are a kind-hearted person.”

In the next moment, the attack Sakazaki released hit Basara’s shoulder.

"Ga—aaahhh…!”

Sakazaki who had been on the defensive up till now, attacked Basara who was in mid-upturned as the target, and as if to vent his anger onto Basara’s body, released countless relentless attacks at Basara’s body which crashed into the glass case by the wall.

“Ggaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!”

As the attacks pounded him, the broken glass shards carved countless scars into Basara’s body. Despite that, Basara still clashed Brynhildr at one of the attacks and immediately left the wall. Yet—

“————!”

When he tried to dash towards Sakazaki once again, he suddenly stopped and gasped. That was not due to taking injuries, but instead by Sakazaki’s side – there was a young teenage girl floating in mid-air.

" ! ...Kurumi!"

Basara reflexively shouted her name, but Kurumi gave no reactions. Then, Sakazaki said:

“Don’t worry, she is only unconscious – no matter what, she is after all my precious hostage. But right now she is just merely unconscious, so if don’t wish to see her lose her life, Toujou Basara, you better do the sensible thing. Alright—“

Sakazaki’s smile got even brighter.

“My apologies, I don’t have much time left – can you please put down your weapon?”

“………………………..!”

Despite how Basara gritting his teeth could be heard audibly, he had no choice but to listen to Sakazaki’s demand in the end, since after all, Kurumi’s life is irreplaceable. But—he can’t give up just like that.

''…It’s not over yet…!''

Sakazaki’s target is Basara, most likely due to [Banishing Shift]; then, he probably won’t kill so easily, so there will probably be a chance to retaliate. Thinking that, as Basara was about to  throw Brynhildr into the air – he suddenly heard a [Hyun] sound.

“——————”

Taking a closer look, Sakazaki had raised his right hand and was pointing his index and midle finger at Basara.

--next moment, Basara’s body tilted right along with a metallic ‘Clang’ sound.

Basara immediately put strength to right himself, thinking: [What is going on?] before seeing it.

Brynhildr had fallen onto the floor – together with armoured right arm.

''…Eh?''

In the moment his thought stopped, at the leftover part of the severed right shoulder – a large amount of blood poured out from the shoulder region.

There was no feeling of pain, only the visual of seeing blood pouring out, and his consciousness thinning out.

''…! This is…!''

Basara became significantly anxious. This clouding of his consciousness is not due to significant blood loss, it was probably Sakazaki taking the opportunity when Basara was realising he had received grave injury causing a break in his consciousness to control his mind.

''No matter what, I have to scrape by'' – the moment he thought that, his whole body rapidly lost energy.

When he realised it, what was before his eyes was the flooring of the Home Economics classroom, and it turned into black in the turn of an eye.

''…Shit…!''

''How can I be defeated here?'' Basara used his remaining right arm to fumble for Brynhildr, but with only black in his vision, his hand could only feel the flooring.

Very quickly, Basara could no longer muster up this much resistance. Just as he was about to give up trying to retain his consciousness—

''…Who, is it…?''

Toujou Basara vaguely heard a certain someone’s voice.

And his consciousness being swallowed by the darkness – is what happened next.