Horizon:Volume 9B Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Unmoving Stable One

It is a signifier of the strong

It belongs to the firm

But unfortunately

It comes in different sizes

Point Allocation (Boo-!)

●

As Sassa Narimasa collapsed, Adele stopped running with Raging Beast’s lance.

“Sigh.”

She let out a breath. A big breath that required stretching her body and then bending over.

Tears spilled from her eyes. And her voice from her mouth. She thought it would be a trembling voice from the tears, but she managed to form words in her throat.

“Thank…you!”

Her sweat poured out with the words. Only then did she realize how exhausted she was.

…Wow.

She was beat. All her energy seemed to drain out of her, so her legs refused to move. But she didn’t lose her grip on her lance, so how could she describe her state?

Me: “Hey, everyone! Adele’s reached nirvana!”

Asama: “No, she has not. She has entered a meditative state, Toori-kun.”

Horizey: “Oh, you mean that thing!? You know, rigor mortis!”

That last one was the worst of the bunch, but Adele wasn’t too surprised given who it came from.

She tried to laugh, but…

…Oh.

Just as her legs were about give out, someone supported her from behind.

It was Mary. She held Adele securely around the waist and lifted her, leading Adele to a realization.

…They’re huge!

She was supposedly too exhausted to move, but she still managed to get her voice out.

“H-h-hu- boo…huge….b-b-boo-boo-”

“Are you alright, Lady Adele!? Everyone! Lady Adele is delirious!”

Why did everyone respond to that by turning away and rushing toward the front entrance? And why did the 1st Special Duty Officer (who did stay behind) give her a look of such intense understanding?

The lance finally fell from Adele’s hand.

…Oh, I’m so light.

She felt so little weight in her body that she thought she would just float away. She was so fully supported by Mary that she could tell she had gone limp. And…

“Oh…”

Her sweaty body felt a sudden chill. She thought it was the air of the summer night, but it was not.

It was Mary.

Pale ether light surrounded her, creating a virtual forest. Was that Mary’s power as a spirit, or…

“This must be because I linked with the ley line during the battle. This land is filled with ether, so my mother’s side is coming through more strongly than usual. But it should help you rest.”

“Judge,” said Adele before noticing Sassa sitting with his back to them a fair distance away.

How tough is he? she wondered, but he looked like he was lost in thought.

Raging Beast was lying in the opposite direction from him and it was in a bad state. The last attack had really done a number on it. The chest armor was badly cracked.

Flat Vassal: “How am I supposed to fix that?”

Gold Mar: “I guess that’s what happens when it doesn’t have the ballast inside.”

Silver Wolf: “That can really change the damage propagation rate.”

Tonbokiri: “You have made a new discovery in the history of mobile shells, Vassal-dono.”

Adele wasn’t sure if she should be happy about that. But with how exhausted she was…

…This is as far as I go.

She gave Mary a gesture saying she was okay and Mary sighed too.

Then Adele realized that Mary too was quite exhausted.

Thinking back, Mary had engaged Sassa in combat for a significant length of time. Her physical exhaustion had to be matched by severe mental exhaustion.

…Wow, some vassal I am!

She had made both a knight and a princess worry over her. That thought got her moving again. And…

“Mary-dono, I will go with that idiot.”

“Judge. I need to secure the entrance area here, so you go do your job, Master Tenzou. I will be waiting for your return.”

That sounded like a hell of a death flag, but Adele kept that observation to herself since Mary was here.

Then Mary pulled a somewhat long and skinny paper bag from below her skirt, blushed, and held it out toward the 1st Special Duty Officer.

“Um, Master Tenzou, you probably won’t need it, but I did make you some combat food.”

Adele couldn’t imagine he would need that. Honnouji was a small battlefield, They might need to run around some once inside, but the 1st Special Duty Officer’s job would be bodyguarding and trap detection.

In fact, please do that. Yes, I mean it.

But the 1st Special Duty Officer nodded once and accepted it.

“May I?”

“Eh? Oh, judge!”

With Mary’s permission, he opened the bag, pulled something out, and ate it. It was unclear how he did that through his scarf, but he definitely ate it. And…

“Ho ho? That was dried boiled rice hardened into a stick with fermented tofu and seasoned with salt, garlic, and basil, wasn’t it!?”

“Yes. I got the idea from the old style of pizza that doesn’t use tomato sauce and I figured it wouldn’t have to keep with such a short battle.”

“Judge. Then I will share them with you, Mary-dono. And you too, Adele-dono.”

…I get some!?

Adele didn’t think she had ever been this thankful for the 1st Special Duty Officer.

But the stick she received was salty and…

“D-delicious! You can’t go wrong with basil! The legal herb!”

Only after saying that did Adele realize Mary had probably given the paper bag to the 1st Special Duty Officer now so that she could have some. Normally, she would have given it to him later on, like when they got inside and were regrouping. But she had done it now.

“Fight well, Master Tenzou.”

“Judge! I will be back!”

The 1st Special Duty Officer stuck the paper bag in his pocket and turned around. With Ex. Collbrande on his back, he ran toward the others in an instant. The next thing Adele knew, she could hear cannon fire. She had been hearing it all along, but she was only now aware of it.

The battle wasn’t over yet.

●

Gin was concerned about timing.

She had been measuring the battlefield with Muneshige for a while now.

They were in the woods out in front of the main entrance. They were under attack by the half-dragon unit there.

…Now, then.

This enemy could move between shadows and they had changed their fighting style.

Before, they had hidden in the forest’s shadows and struck when they saw an opening. But…

“They have begun working in groups of two.”

That kept Gin and Muneshige on their toes.

The enemy in the shadows generally got to act first. Gin and Muneshige could react and instantly launch a counterattack, but…

“Oops!”

Another enemy emerged from the first one’s shadow.

They launched a further counterattack against Gin’s own.

The combo was like having four arms. And they used this for both attack and defense.

When Gin’s counterattack was quick enough to reach the attacker, the second attacker would move.

“Here you go!”

They would use their arm or head to create a shadow when she was about to strike their partner.

And the one she was about to strike would escape into that shadow.

The battle continued like this and time passed.

Gin knew she was being delayed. But it was better for her and Muneshige to handle this annoyance than to have their entire group caught up in it.

But if they were going to defeat these adversaries, when should they make their move? That was the question.

●

While counterattacking and dodging, Muneshige decided this delaying tactic was meaningful.

…You could say these shadow walker half-dragons are the most troublesome foes on the battlefield.

Because they could move through shadows.

In transit, they could not be seen from the outside.

And there were only four of them in these woods to intercept him and Gin.

He and Gin had concluded that the half-dragon called Yasuke was not here.

That meant these four were here on Yasuke’s orders.

They were here to delay Muneshige and Gin.

But what would they do once they realized they couldn’t delay those two?

…They will withdraw and pursue the Chancellor’s group!

The shadows of the woods led all the way to the shadow of the main entrance’s wall. Honnouji’s glowing pillars caused the shadows to stretch out. So if the half-dragons wanted to, they could use the shadows to travel through the woods alongside the main path and reach the main entrance. From there, they might even be able to enter the shadows of the warriors or the Chancellor’s group.

What would happen then?

If Muneshige and Gin couldn’t catch up, it would take someone at the Vice Chancellor level to stop their attack. The 1st Special Duty Officer might just barely be able to.

So Muneshige and Gin had to take this seriously. If the half-dragons could spare anyone here, they would send someone after the Chancellor’s group.

Of course, Muneshige and Gin couldn’t spend all their time being delayed here either.

The enemy had something like a time limit.

10ZO: “We are about to reach the main entrance! How are things on your end!?”

Tachibana Husband: “We are holding the half-dragons here. Wait just a bit longer!”

But they understood what was going to happen.

…Once the others open the main entrance, the half-dragons here will move away.

Most likely, they would attack the main Musashi group.

That would mean the time for delaying tactics had ended. And that time was coming soon. So…

“Gin, we should get moving soon.”

“Judge. This is when the others will reach the main entrance. I am prepared.”

Reassured by his wife’s words, Muneshige took a light step.

He was in the woods, but he stood near the main path to Honnouji. And after confirming the pillars of light were shining on his back…

“Then.”

He held Kamenuki out horizontally in his right hand and placed his left hand alongside it.

“Let’s get started.”

●

The four half-dragons used their vision and their armor reflections to confirm the enemy’s location from within the shadows.

And they all tilted their heads in the shadows.

“Get started? With what?”

“Probably another time-wasting attack that never actually hits.”

Both sides wanted time-wasting delaying tactics. The half-dragons could hold back fighters as powerful as the Tachibana Couple and the four of them were on the same level as long as they had shadows to work with. If they pursued the enemy’s main unit, they could join with their commander Yasuke to become an even greater threat within Honnouji.

The only remaining question was how long both sides would keep this up.

To be honest…

“It might turn out to be a race from here to the enemy’s main unit.”

The enemy was highly mobile.

But the half-dragons thought they could catch up. Once they did, the fight began anew against the enemy’s main unit. And their commander Yasuke was there.

That gave them the advantage. So…

“Should we get started? It’s what he wants.”

“With two-man cells. The same as before.”

They moved out in groups of two.

“We’ll go first.”

The two on the right, the ones in charge of attacking Tachibana Gin, went first.

“This will probably be the last time, so let’s go all out.”

The one out front swung his black knife to strike Tachibana Gin.

But as he attacked from within the shadow…

“–––––”

He realized his attack had been deflected.

●

“Huh?”

The half-dragon who had attacked Tachibana Gin initially failed to understand what had happened.

His attack had been deflected and then stopped.

But not by a counterattack. Tachibana Gin was simply looking straight ahead. She held a short sword in each hand, but they weren’t moving a bit. However…

“Hey, wait.”

Confused, the half-dragon tried to warn the ones on the left who were attacking Tachibana Muneshige.

To tell them something wasn’t right.

Those other half-dragons attacked Tachibana Muneshige from within the shadow.

“–––––”

Again, the knife was deflected inside the shadow.

But Tachibana Muneshige hadn’t made any move against the swinging knife.

Tachibana Gin was also standing still, simply looking their way.

So the other member of the two-man cell targeting Tachibana Gin made his move.

“This’ll be a bit rushed, but here goes!”

The front one attacked from above and the second one from below.

Their attacks raced toward Tachibana Gin once more. And just before emerging from the shadow…

“…!”

Both attacks were deflected.

No, at this point the half-dragons understood. Their attacks were not being deflected.

“What!?”

They both checked the knives that had pulled back as if bouncing up into the air.

Their fingers – protected by armor and tough skin – were trembling.

That was definitely the echo of being hit by a counterattack. But none of them had seen Tachibana Muneshige or Gin make a move or even block.

“Could it be?”

They understood. Only now did they understand the meaning of the position their two enemies had chosen.

“A swordsman’s barrier!”

●

Gin simply waited in a relaxed pose.

She and Muneshige had taken up positions that created a perfect barrier.

…This is an excellent position.

It came down to their weapons’ effective ranges. The concept was known as ‘maai’ by Far Eastern warriors who used swords and spears. It generally referred to the distance your attack could reach, but it also indicated something else.

Anyone who entered that ‘maai’ was guaranteed to be hit.

The number of opponents was irrelevant.

At that distance, any number of attacks from any number of directions could be dealt with.

That absolute hit range was called a barrier.

A normal swordsman would have a hard time dealing with attacks from all directions. And even if they could do it, it would take time, making their barrier’s range quite small.

But not for these two.

They could use any number of methods – every single technique and decision they knew – to form a barrier that extended a bit past the reach of their hands and weapons.

…This reminds me of when I fought Sir Drake in England.

It was this technique that had allowed her to sever both his arms while unable to use the same attack twice.

How did this compare to that?

Did their opponents understand what this meant?

Did their opponents understand how absolute this barrier was?

“Do you?”

In the instant the enemy attacked, they would realize their attack could not hit. And that, if they took a careless step forward, they would be caught and attacked themselves.

So they pulled back.

Meanwhile, Gin and Muneshige did not even think about the enemy’s attacks.

But the enemy could no longer attack them. They would give up before they did and stop moving. Not only was attacking meaningless, but it contained the possibility of being cut down in return.

It took Honda Futayo levels of cluelessness and expertise to ignore that like it was nothing.

This opponent did not have that.

The shadow walker half-dragons were definitely a threat thanks to their special ability. But…

“Unfortunately, a species trait is no substitute for skill.”

●

The half-dragons saw the enemy’s position.

The enemy had moved to the surrounding shadows the half-dragons would have used to reach the main entrance.

Their escape route was cut off. Also, the shape of the forest shadows being cast on the enemy had become their barrier itself.

“Now,” said the enemy, making a quick movement.

The half-dragons thought they were moving in for the attack, but they were not. The two of them instead extended their blades overhead.

“How about this?”

They chopped down the tree branches, letting more light in. That eliminated the shadows and…

…Are they trying to fully eliminate the shadows leading to the main entrance!?

If the restrictions placed on the half-dragons got any worse, they wouldn’t be able to withdraw. They wouldn’t even be able to delay this enemy any further if the trees were cut away too much.

“Damn!”

The enemy was right. Their species traits were no help here. The terrain wasn’t any help either. And they were out of time.

What created the difference between the half-dragons and these opponents?

Skill.

The simple ability to secure the attack range needed to strike down the enemy had changed everything.

“Commander!” roared the four half-dragons while moving out in their two-man cells and attacking. “Please let this be enough!”

●

Knives were launched from the shadows on the left and right. With two knives per half-dragon, and including the ones directed toward Gin, Muneshige saw a total of 8 blades.

“Long time no see!”

Almost a minute was a long time indeed.

And he made his counterattacks from nearly point-blank range. He felt the counterattacks land, and…

“Now, if you will excuse us!”

He and Gin didn’t even look back at the four collapsed forms in the woods as they took off running.

Their main group had arrived at the main entrance.

●

Tenzou was catching up to the others as he learned Muneshige and Gin had dealt with the pursuing enemy.

Mary was looking after Adele and Gin said she would guard those two once she caught up to them. Urquiaga and Narumi were hunting the enemy ghost warriors while also moving to deal with the enemy guard units located to the left and right of Honnouji. But…

…That means the rest of us have to head inside.

Up ahead, he saw the main entrance that doubled as a delivery entrance. It was located at the center of the domed building. A door more than 20m left to right would slide open to either side like a wooden accordion. However, it currently had several lock spells applied and…

“It’s locked up tight. They even reinforced it with cement.”

White, quick-dry cement revealed the shape of the wooden door. It was now more a wall than an entrance, but…

“That must be for this mission only. The people inside are locked in.”

“This is a surprisingly primitive reinforcement method,” said Nenji while attached to the hardened white wall as a slime.

Next to him, Itoken was similarly pressed against the wall.

“It is made of basic materials like sand and lime. And a spell was applied to accelerate the drying.”

“That simplicity is useful when you need to produce a lot of it on short notice!”

Makes sense, thought Tenzou, but something felt off. When did they prepare this?

…It almost feels like they saw this coming.

Of course, they would have known Akechi Mitsuhide was coming. But…

“Akechi-dono was one of their own, so the history recreation with him would have been a discussion. So why do they have all this ready for us?”

“Hm? But security seems light if they were expecting us,” said Mitotsudaira. “Even with Shizugatake happening, wouldn’t they have left more of their fighters here?”

Smoking Girl: “We sank their fleet at the start and then they sent those ghost warriors after you. Isn’t that enough?”

Tenzou understood Naomasa’s point, but it felt a little different here on the battlefield.

How could he explain it?

“It all feels…finely tuned.”

“Tuned so it will be too late by the time we reach the deepest point?” suggested Masazumi.

He nodded. But he had no proof. And…

“Even if so, I don’t know why they would do that.”

“Heh heh. I think I know. It’s that thing you see in Neshinbara’s novels. Where the final boss goes ‘Ha ha ha! I was waiting for you! Now to activate my world-destroying spell!’ You know, where you wonder why they don’t activate it earlier.”

Novice: “Well, excuse me! It’s more exciting when it happens that way!”

“If that is what they’re doing, I would appreciate it, but it would also make things awkward.”

Regardless, they were working on getting the door open.

Text was already flowing from the Jibril sign frame Asama held.

Jibril was one of the angel spells given to the Five Great Peaks and Akechi Mitsuhide had used it to reach the bottom of the imperial palace.

“Does the wide-range spell barrier not trigger for that?” asked Tenzou.

“If it did, it would trigger for the lock spell too.”

When she put it like that, he realized she was right. But while placing a Shinto sign frame over Jibril’s sign frame, Asama suddenly went “oh”.

“I go like this.”

She grabbed Jibril’s sign frame and waved it. Jibril’s little wings flapped and the waves of words lightly struck the door.

A sound followed.

The lock spell had fallen to the ground.

…Huh!?

The lock spell was of course a spell. If it was destroyed, it would shatter and turn to ether light. In fact, that destruction was happening now, but…

“This doesn’t break the lock. It decodes it and opens it. So, um, I decoded the lock spell with it…”

“Then it’s my turn,” said Mitotsudaira, looking up at the door fortified with white cement. She held a hand out toward Tenzou. “You have Excalibur, don’t you? May I borrow it? This calls for a physical solution.”

●

Yasuke and Ranmaru felt the entire structure shake and saw alarm insha kotobs pop up.

They were inside Honnouji’s dome. Just before the door into the deepest hall.

That door was also fortified with quick-dry cement, but…

“They got through the lock spell in no time at all, Ranmaru-kun.”

“Are they thieves?”

“Akechi Mitsuhide is here for an assassination, so they are criminals either way.”

Yasuke looked back to see a crack in the white wall. That was from the tremor caused by the enemy forcing open the outer entrance.

“This building was built in a hurry, so I really wish they would stop with the harsh shaking.”

“It is built to withstand an earthquake, but not even the wide-range barrier can prevent it from being physically torn apart.”

“How is your unit doing?”

“The automaton gunners and attackers are on the stairs of the main path after setting up sandbags for cover. But the automata at the imperial palace must have used a similar method. What a pain,” said Ranmaru. “That said, do you hope they are stopped before reaching the end, Yasuke-sama?”

“Why would I?”

“The Testament does not say if Akechi Mitsuhide actually met Oda Nobunaga at Honnouji. We simply know his people arrived and burned down Honnouji and that Nobunaga’s body was never found. And…”

And…

“I feel like our master is hoping to encounter them.”

“True. …And we can make a good guess why that is. But that doesn’t mean we can just let them through. It could affect what must happen here. If we do let them through, it has to be after everything has ended.”

“Agreed. Because our master is very kind. But…” Ranmaru asked a question. “I have been wondering, Yasuke-sama. Why are you here?”

●

Yasuke did not nod at Ranmaru’s question. He simply stepped forward and…

“More or less the same reason as everyone else. When I lived on the Dark Continent, well, there was all that stuff with the history recreation of the slave trade. But given what that entailed, it provided an opportunity to improve your standing within your species. So the place I lived tried to go along with it all, so, well, we would head out and play different roles in the history recreation.”

“I see,” said Ranmaru. “But I heard Hashiba-sama ended that practice when she conquered Kyushu. The Testament says the Europeans often died of unknown infectious diseases when they arrived in the Dark Continent. But there were also a lot of villages in the Dark Continent that were wiped out by unknown diseases brought by the Europeans. Thus, Hashiba-sama used that to reset those harmful customs. She freed species like yours who had previously found it hard to improve your social standing without making use of the history recreation and she guaranteed you all a certain level of status through the Far Eastern reservations. Afterwards, you were allowed to join the provisionally ruled people.”

“Yes, it sounds like she really did treat them well.”

This was about his home.

“They were allowed to join different parts of the Far East, primarily Shimazu. I wonder if they entered the regions controlled by Tres España and other powerful nations using the history recreation of a local uprising in Kumamoto or somewhere similar. I know the process is still underway. My grandmother sends me news via the Catholics who arrived deep in the Dark Continent long ago.”

“Yes, that did happen, didn’t it?”

“But anyway,” said Yasuke. He was curious about her. “Ranmaru-kun, why are you here?”

“Shaja. For the history recreation. Did you forget? Are you feeling alright, Yasuke-sama?”

“You really are ruthless, aren’t you!?”

“Calm down,” said Ranmaru, waving a hand. When she continued, she was still staring straight down the empty passageway. “I… Do I really have to say it? I see no reason to.”

“Tell me! C’mon! I want to hear it!”

“Can you be more polite?”

“Please tell me. Please.”

“Shaja. I will not be telling this to a man with no spine.”

“I knew you were going to say that! I just knew it! But you don’t have to be looking my way when you say it.”

“Fair enough.” Ranmaru paused as if taking a breath. “I am an old-style automaton. I am one of the original 4-digit models. For whatever reason, I ended up that way.”

“Are you sure you weren’t designed to rebel against your creator?”

Ranmaru turned his way, so he averted his eyes.

Then Ranmaru face forward again and continued.

“The old-style automata were created in the Age of Dawn. The 4-digit models worked within the imperial palace, so we know the emperor’s identity and that destiny was given a personality.”

She stopped there. Some gunfire and a small tremor could be heard from somewhere.

…Is she worried about that?

But Yasuke realized that wasn’t the case. He quickly applauded Ranmaru.

“You 4-digit models are incredible! So what ended up happening!?”

“Shaja. The initial 4-digit models scattered across the land, but most of the survivors are within the imperial palace. So we made a decision after the Harmonic Unification War. We decided to be present at every turning point in history so that we can watch over all of history since people landed on this planet. …We have deteriorated a lot with age, but our shared memory is linked. I suppose you could call this our hobby. No one asked us to do it, but we found a role for ourselves and we work to carry it out. I was sent here for that purpose. I am also working as the head of the broadcast committee, so it has been a very fulfilling day.”

“You’re a surprisingly diligent worker.”

“Because I do not underestimate this world as much as you do.”

“That hurts coming from you!”

But Yasuke did find this to be kind of unexpected.

“I assumed it would be a more sentimental reason.”

“We are automata. We view emotional matters from an outside perspective. Emotions do not occur within us. So…I have determined that is why we can complete our tasks mechanically enough to keep you from having to carry that kind of burden yourself.”

“Okay, yeah. That is a very you way of putting that.”

“I was designed to meet your expectations.”

With that, Ranmaru took a step forward. Her footsteps continued and Yasuke followed after her.

“Ranmaru-kun. Is it time to go?”

“I had hoped to greet Hashiba-sama first…but oh well. You can do that for me.”

She opened an insha kotob.

It displayed the status of the path from the main entrance to here.

“The earlier counterattack has been breached. Yasuke-sama, our guests await in the center. We prepared for this situation, so we can rely on our subordinates.”

●

Toshiie looked up into the sky and sighed.

The sky was lit by two full moons and by the pillars of light extending into the sky as if moving out ahead of the moons.

He stood in the center of a shrine in the forest, but…

“I’m out of money, Ma-chan.”

“Are you disappointed? Or glad?”

Matsu had returned to her original form and asked that from behind his right shoulder. He tilted his head at the question.

“I did what I could, so isn’t that good enough?”

Mitsunari had contacted him to say Sassa let Musashi through and withdrew from the battlefield. In fact, she was currently managing the ley line link cylinder back behind the shrine.

“Maeda-sama. Are you going to withdraw too?”

“Hmm, I feel like I’ve already withdrawn by being all the way out here.”

He had considered joining with Hashiba, but with Mitsunari here, he had done that too.

So what now?

“I think I’ll just watch.”

“You really are Maeda Toshiie, aren’t you?”

He had to agree with Matsu on that one.

“I get involved when I like and then see what happens, which only makes me worry over it all the more. But I never do get involved in the truly important things.”

“Some people call that being smart.”

“I’m just bad at having fun.”

“Then do you find fun to be painful?”

“Saying goodbye after having fun is painful.”

And it wasn’t time for fun yet.

This was a graduation. The second term had only just begun, but some people were graduating and his group was in a similar position.

…I don’t want to call it dropping out.

He recalled calling it that as a joke in the past, but that joke didn’t seem so funny anymore. Because…

“If you’re never going to see someone again, maybe there’s no point in having fun with them.”

He really did think that.

…In the end, I more or less ran away from Shizugatake too.

He should have stayed for two hours instead of only thirty minutes. He hadn’t just been taking a break there. And since he knew he had to leave, it wasn’t like he would have been spending the night there.

But…

“I always start with the cowardly stance and then look back on it like I actually tried.”

“That’s why you’ll live so long.”

“If we’re competing to see who lives the longest in the Warring States period, I can’t compete with Sanada’s Nobuyuki.”

●

“Hey! Hey! What do you think you’re doing!? Why are you hiding out at this shrine and drinking!? Do you enjoy excluding me!? That’s it, isn’t it!? Oh, woe is me! And when I’m working so hard for you as Chancellor!”

“Oh, shut up. It’s a festival, you idiot! You’re the one that skipped out on the preparations and spent all your time reading manga in the divine transmission tea house! Don’t get all upset after excluding yourself!”

“Huh!? I was expanding my view of the world! And what are those lights in the western sky!? Did you all do that too!? Is that part of the festival!? You’re excluding me again, aren’t you!?”

“Unno-sama, the Chancellor appears to have entered a world where we are the only people in existence.”

“That guy is going to live forever…”

●

Toshiie had seen that guy from a distance at a provisional border meeting and he had seemed like someone who would live a long life.

“People who run away from everything unpleasant are incredible. Especially how they confuse the means with the ends.”

“You run away from fun things all the time, Toshiie-kun.”

“What about you, Ma-chan?”

“I have fun being with you.”

She smiled a bit and draped her arms around his neck from behind. She stood up on her toes and leaned against him like he was carrying her on his back.

“And no matter how much you run away, I’ll always be with you,” she said.

“I have to look back to see you there, though.”

“That’s fine,” she said. “Whether you look back or any other way, that will always be forward for me, my darling.”

I see, he thought, but then he realized something.

“My darling...Maeda-rling. Was that a pun!?”

Mitsunari demonstrated how excellent a data entity she was by giving them a look of utter disbelief.

But when Matsu laughed, he laughed too and looked to the sky out ahead.

People he knew were below the glowing pillars rising into the night sky to the southeast.

And other people he knew were at Shizugatake behind him.

He was involved in both locations, but he was not at either.

“I supposed that’s fine. Now, what do you call a ghost who has payed out everything he owes?”

“Testament,” replied Matsu. “The un-debt.”

●

“Is it really over?”

While rushing down a passageway in Honnouji, Asama noticed the supply of ghost warriors had stopped.

She opened a sign frame and ran an ether scan of their surroundings, but the ether readings outside of Honnouji were disappearing one by one.

“There were a few appearing inside earlier, but now there are none.”

“Because they could waste our time but not actually stop us.”

Futayo was carrying Masazumi up ahead and Mitotsudaira could sense danger by smell. Asama watched their actions, but neither one seemed to detect any further ghosts either.

Of course, Asama’s scan was being done so close to the massive ether pillars that she couldn’t pick up anything very detailed. But based on the best readings she could get, the ghosts were not increasing in number.

Narumi and Urquiaga must have been enjoying themselves.

“At least this reduces the risk to Mary-dono and the others outside,” said Tenzou.

The warriors left outside had called in a transport ship to form a recovery team for Adele’s damaged Raging Beast. They would have it carried out in no time and the plan had been to bring Adele back on the transport ship too.

Losing Raging Beast as a shelter was unfortunate, but if they left it out there, it could have slowed them down when it came time to withdraw. So they had decided to carry it away now and Adele had agreed.

Adele was always out in front as a scout or defender, so her being the first one to withdraw wasn’t so much surprising as it was a sign of the intensity of this battlefield.

No one was holding anything back because they had to reach their destination. And they had to get everyone back to the Musashi alive.

…It’s similar to Mikawa in a way.

Asama had remained aboard the Musashi then.

But not this time.

Horizon, who they had saved at Mikawa, was here. Mary, Gin, and Narumi hadn’t been with them then, but they were here now. And Asama and Mitotsudaira had joined the Aoi household.

So much had changed in only half a year.

Up ahead, a blast-resistant door covered the width of the passageway.

“Heh heh. They’ve given this one some white makeup too.”

“Does this mean they were rushing through the interior setting this up earlier?” asked Masazumi from Futayo’s shoulder.

Tenzou nodded and looked back after moving out ahead to check the door. He watched the hand gestures of his ninja unit that had been checking over the walls and floors.

“There are no traps or other physical tricks, Asama-dono.”

On his instruction, she activated Jibril. Combining her ether scan with the interior structure of Honnouji he had presented before they arrived, she could tell there was a further passageway on the other side.

…And the enemy is there.

The strength of the reading told her one was an automaton. The other had a weaker reading, but only one species contained that much ether inside them.

“There is a half-dragon. And an automaton.”

“Are the two of them waiting for us?” asked Mitotsudaira.

“Will they blast us as soon as we open the door?” asked Naito.

Everyone froze.

While Tenzou cautiously pressed up against the door and held his breath, he circled behind him and activated seven auditory spells.

“Kabooooom!”

“Ohhhhh!? Wh-what is wrong with you, Toori-dono!?”

He held out his hands and gestured for Tenzou to be quiet.

Then he pressed up against the door like Tenzou had been and eventually…

“Ohhhhh!? Wh-what is wrong with you, Twooooori-dono!?”

“I-I did not use that weird pronunciation! And I did not make that weird face!”

“Okay, Toori-kun. Did you get it out of your system?

“You and your pranks,” sighed Asama as she opened the door with Jibril. She couldn’t help but wonder why everyone was staring at her so harshly.

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