Horizon:Volume 9B Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Big One and Small One at the Festival

One was big to begin with

One was small at the start

Then which one

Is bigger in the end?

Point Allocation (I assure thee this is not about breasts)

●

The deer experienced a strange emotion.

The human he had been carrying for a while now had run up to an elevated location while other humans pursued her. The other humans don’t seem to have noticed, but I can track her scent. Because she has my scent on her.

But the human had just started running. And seemed to have jumped from that elevated location.

…Wait, what?

So you can run on your own. And really fast at that.

Then did you not need my help? No, it was my help that allowed you to preserve your strength for this moment.

I don’t know what this is about, but it must be part of your hunting routine. I will now depart for the southern heaven.

We were not together long, but I am glad you made it where you wanted to be. Adieu and good luck.

●

Fukushima decided her current objective was to reach Kitanosho Castle.

…Because my divine transmissions are being restricted!

She could see the Azuchi was nearby, but she couldn’t contact it. She could only guess that something at Kitanosho Castle was causing it. All the more reason to think this was the site of the final battle.

So she hurried. But a great pressure was approaching from behind her.

That was Oichi.

Fukushima was using Headfirst Fall to accelerate and leap, but Oichi easily kept up with her. Probably because this was familiar territory for her. She would occasionally seem to veer away to the side, but…

“Ah hee hah!”

She would use the packed-in rows of ships to rapidly accelerate along the edges of the decks.

And she would circle around in front of Fukushima.

…She is fast!

Fukushima couldn’t even finish the thought before Oichi took a back step and sent out a horizontal flash with her sword.

Fukushima charged below the approaching and rotating blade.

Oichi moved just as the blade was passing over Fukushima’s head.

She bent her body back to launch the swinging blade vertically. Then she flipped backwards through the air to put distance between them.

The vertical slash arrived while Fukushima was ducked down.

It didn’t matter.

“Headfirst Fall.”

She could still run while ducking. As long as she maintained her acceleration stance, Headfirst Fall would activate. Which meant she could accelerate. She dropped her body down forward and to the right while applying another round of acceleration to push herself out ahead.

She jabbed Ichinotani diagonally upwards at Oichi as she landed from her back flip.

The flat-bladed spear raced out and struck falling Oichi in the jaw.

It failed to slice off her head. Instead, her head was split from throat to brow as if by a chisel. But…

“So this is a Testamenta Arma!”

A glowing metal halo-like decoration rose from Oichi’s back.

That was Testamenta Arma: Caput Fides – Vetus. In Oichi’s case, it made her immortal so long as she continued to believe she would be killed during the Battle of Shizugatake.

And this was where she would die.

So she did not die.

Her split face returned to normal as if the blood and skin were repaired with adhesive.

“Ah, hah…hah.”

Fukushima didn’t let it bother her. She passed by Oichi with Ichinotani still raised from the attack.

Maybe this couldn’t kill Oichi, but it could buy time. And just as Fukushima had that thought…

“No!”

She felt a sudden weight on the arm holding Ichinotani.

It was Oichi.

She had kept up with Fukushima by backstepping and grabbed at the bottom end of Ichinotani, which had split open her face and passed by her on the side.

It was a tenuous grasp with only three fingers.

But the power of that grasp was so great Fukushima feared it would fully negate her speed and then toss her around.

…How strong is she!?

Realizing she was about to lose all her speed, Fukushima made a quick decision.

“Extension device!”

She sent Ichinotani’s shaft springing backwards.

Just as the sharp bottom end smashed Oichi’s fingers, Oichi used her other arm to throw her large sword horizontally. Specifically, directly below the extended Ichinotani.

Fukushima also threw Ichinotani forward even as she pulled it back. Also…

“Headfirst Fall.”

She accelerated backwards while avoiding Oichi’s thrown sword. She also regrabbed Ichinotani after throwing it forward and…

…I can see it now!

She saw Kitanosho Castle up ahead.

●

Fukushima had her destination in view.

Kitanosho Castle was visible when looking down from the transport ship stacked high with cargo. The castle was a warship based on an ironclad ship. It was small for the flagship of someone at Shibata’s level, but it had plenty of armor and was said to have excellent breaching power and survivability.

But currently the cannons had been removed from the upper deck. It looked like it had been modified for residential purposes, but since it was tonight’s stage, that wouldn’t be the truth.

It was a battlefield.

Fukushima could see decorative roofs set up over a stage, various partitions, and rows of sake barrels. There were lines of food stands toward the bow and it looked like everyone had been enjoying a celebratory festival recently.

Shibata was there.

So Fukushima accelerated. From this transport ship deck, she knew she only needed to make two more Headfirst Fall accelerations and then leap. But…

“Oh?”

Her acceleration and leap sent her surprisingly far. It was like just barely catching her toes on the deck was enough to send her nimbly forward.

She thought she had to be imagining it, but viewing the deck’s wood panels told her she wasn’t. The standard-sized panel was 60cm long. Her stride during high-speed movement should have been an average of 21m per step, but she was covering about 5 more panels than before.

…What is this?

Was this the result of her time in the mountains?

Her body’s axis was better controlled than before, allowing her to send her strength out more directly.

She must have drawn on this new ability during her minor collision with Oichi.

She leaped forward, cautioning herself to keep her center of gravity low so she wouldn’t be sent flying.

She moved to descend toward Kitanosho Castle. But…

“Ahhhhhh!”

She heard Oichi take a leap from behind.

She looked back, but Oichi couldn’t match this leap accelerated by Headfirst Fall. Oichi clearly lost speed partway through and began to fall, her long hair trailing behind her.

It looked like Oichi would land on Kitanosho Castle’s stern while Fukushima would land near its center. But…

“…Ha…”

With a laugh like a light breath, Oichi made a second leap in midair.

…Is that…?

Oichi had leaped from the large sword Fukushima had dodged on the transport ship earlier.

That meant Oichi hadn’t sent the sword below Ichinotani to restrict Fukushima’s evasive actions.

…She wanted to use it for her footing, so she made sure I couldn’t stop it with Ichinotani!

Fukushima had entirely overlooked that possibility. She had thought Oichi had abandoned her weapon as a meaningless deterrent, but now she was using it as a foothold.

“Ha ha, hee, hah!”

Oichi pulled the sword in with her arms and charged more from straight ahead than overhead.

Fukushima defended.

The attack hit.

After the metallic clang, Fukushima thought she had deflected the attack.

That was when the two of them broke through one of Kitanosho Castle’s decorative roofs and landed on its deck.

Fukushima had arrived at her destination.

●

Fuwa was uncertain how to assess her position.

Physically, she was at the east end of the Shibata camp, in front of the transport ship managing the shipping out of supplies.

She had come here to check on reports of Fukushima arriving on a deer. But Fukushima wasn’t here and Fuwa had only seen a deer running off.

She thought she had wasted her time coming here, but the position did give her a good view of the transport routes in each direction. This would be the best position to keep tabs on Shizugatake from a Shibata Team point of view.

But what was this position from a more emotional perspective?

…I kind of understand why Maeda ran off as soon as he could.

The festival was definitely at its climax, but the end was already in sight. She didn’t know how it would end, but it would end. That was certain. There was no changing it.

The guys saw that as a reason to celebrate and that was certainly one of way of approaching it, but she just couldn’t manage it. When the end came, she would watch it play out and…

“See who achieves what.”

That idiot Sassa had already fled. Maeda and Matsu were gone too. It was a shame Sakuma had been taken in by the Azuchi. Niwa was still here, but not many people could look her in the eye and ask her to take control. Since Fuwa was easier to talk with, most people came to her instead. And since she had managed the finances and the transport work…

…I have a good grasp of how it all fits together!

I’m going to have a lot of work on my plate after this battle if the Genesis Project doesn’t pan out, she thought.

…Won’t anyone show me any kindness?

“Oh! Fuwa-san! I received some extra bentos! Do you want one!?”

“I ask for kindness and I receive a tentacle.”

“Wh-why do you sound so bummed out!?”

“Well, you know,” she said to the tentacle carrying a box full of bento boxes. “What do you think of Shibata-senpai and Oichi-sama?”

“Testament! I want them to win! I do want to root for the Ten Spears since Hashiba-sama saved me, but I still want Shibata-sama to win!”

“Why’s that?”

“Because if he wins, there might just be a next time.”

Fuwa just about called Mori naive, but she held her tongue. That kind tentacle had to be well aware of his own naivete.

“Yes, the winner does have a chance of continuing on.”

“Wait!? What’s this!? You aren’t going to call me naive and tear my pure heart to shreds, Fuwa-san!? Are you feeling alright!? Do you miss Sassa-sama so much something broke inside you!?”

She threw some snow at him just before hearing destruction and surprised voices from the northwest.

…That would be…

Insha kotobs popped up, displaying reports from different posts.

Fukushima Masanori had arrived at the prepared battlefield on Kitanosho Castle’s upper deck.

●

Fukushima viewed the scene below the scattering wreckage of the decorative roof.

She found herself on a battlefield 50m wide and 800m long.

But that battlefield existed in the center of a festival stage with food stands up toward the bow.

The place looked like a Far Eastern festival.

After making that split-second assessment, she ran straight ahead. The wreckage of the decorative roof was still falling all around her. She figured that sound would mask her footsteps. So…

“…!”

Shibata stood 70m ahead of her.

On his back, he wore a white metal decoration resembling a single wing.

That was Testamenta Arma: Animus Caritas – Novum. The ether light enveloping it said it was already active. Fukushima was familiar with its effect.

…It can briefly stop all hostile actions – offense and defense!

So she took action while running. She nimbly placed herself in the air and threw Ichinotani toward Shibata.

And…

“––––––”

Her motion stopped in midair.

…What!?

This was something you could only understand after experiencing it yourself. She stopped moving like there was a wall in front of her moving at the same speed as her. It only happened for an instant, but it did stop her.

“Kh.”

Then she resumed moving. Her momentum was intact. She continued right where she had left off. Which meant…

…If I act fast enough, I would be able to reach him!?

Of course, that time lag would make it difficult to hit someone on Shibata’s level.

She had heard the effective range was 50m, but something felt off to her. She had attacked from the very edge of that range while running, but…

…It reacted sooner than that?

Had it been strengthened? She had definitely felt an odd sensation similar to a gaze on her from the moment she readied her weapon.

This was a challenging ability to deal with in single combat, but understanding how it worked meant a lot.

Suddenly, she sensed a strange presence approaching. Like something chilly passing through her from front to back and then continuing on well behind her.

She recognized this. She had encountered this chilly piercing on that mountaintop morning.

When she climbed to the summit viewing platform to end her training camp, she had taken a break and dozed off. She remembered some kind of presence piercing her and the wall behind her.

This was it.

It had flown toward her from Shibata here. Which meant…

…It was Lord Shibata!

She followed up that thought with movement. If she evaded, the Testamenta Arma would stop her. So she disturbed her footwork without any thought behind it.

“Oops.”

She tripped.

●

Fuwa was watching the deck of the distant flagship when something was blasted back toward the stern.

As flashy as the attack was, it was only a horizontal slash. The deck itself was probably safe. She understood how this worked.

That smashing power was the ability of Kamewari, Shibata’s divine weapon.

The attack must have cut through all the food stands on the rear of the ship, blasting away the roofs and signs.

Light vanished from the rear of the ship, leaving only the moonlight to illuminate Kitanosho Castle’s stern.

It was just like Shibata to use such a flashy attack to signal the beginning of a battle. But…

“Fuwa-san! Wh-what was that just now!?”

“Eh? It was Shibata-senpai’s Kamewari.”

“But his Kamewari only has a range of 30m! And that attack was 200m, if not more!”

“True.” Fuwa nodded. “Shibata-senpai was given the unique spell called Mikal. It multiplies the power of its bearer’s weaponry based on their strength. So even that relatively weak smashing power ends up like that for him. …He doesn’t usually use it, but today must be an exception.”

“Huh. …Wait, why do you know that!?”

“Hmm? Mori, did he never tell you? My, my, my.”

“Th-that look and attitude! You are in top form tonight, Fuwa-san!”

Really, Shibata had bragged about Mikal to anyone who would listen when he first received it, but that was before Mori joined them. Fuwa was pretty sure he had stopped using it after getting carried away showing off to Oichi and slicing through a brand-new warship.

…But does that mean he’s going to be making some overkill attacks here?

●

Shibata updated his opinion of the enemy.

…Not bad.

She had chosen to trip herself to avoid his attack.

Animus Caritas – Novum would briefly stop an enemy’s defensive or offensive actions. That meant evasion would be stopped too, so she wouldn’t have been able to fully dodge Kamewari’s boosted attack.

The Musashi Vice Chancellor had been hit by it in that way aboard the Musashi shortly before Magdeburg.

But this opponent had tripped.

Since it hadn’t counted as evasive action, she must have started with an action meant to trip her, not to dodge. She had likely relaxed one of her accelerating legs.

Not even a Testamenta Arma could take issue with a tripping action. If it did, it would have to stop any kind of movement, which would restrict his allies too.

…That would have turned out differently if my attack had been more obvious.

If she had confirmed my attack before taking action, tripping would have counted as evasive action.

But she had sensed the presence of his incoming attack before seeing the attack itself. She had sensed it during the time when he wasn’t attacking in preparation to attack.

●

If she could read his breathing that well…

“I thought she’d be a really hardheaded since she enjoyed hiding up in the mountains like Naru Naru-kun, but she’s actually got a brain in that head. And she’s still got a wild side to her.”

Shibata rested Kamewari on his shoulder again.

And he spoke to his opponent as she rose to her feet 30m ahead.

“Name yourself.”

“Hashiba Ten Spears #1! Fukushima Masanori!” she shouted, readying her flat-blade spear. “With Deer-dono’s assistance, I have come to face thee with Ichinotani!”

“I see,” he said. He knew about Ichinotani. Info on special weapons found its way up to the superiors. He honestly remembered the weapon more than Fukushima herself.

…That flat-blade spear…

The blade would open and absorb the enemy’s attack. And when it opened again, it would release that attack.

That was useful for defense, but it did have a flaw.

“That weapon can’t absorb phenomenon attacks, right? Only the simple physical and ether-based attacks.”

The storage space would also be an issue, but it couldn’t store “different laws”.

Which was why she had dodged his attack just now.

She was being unexpectedly rational. She didn’t even test it out. She’s controlling herself well, thought Shibata, but then he realized she had mentioned something curious.

“A deer?”

She responded with a firm nod. He had thought she had a wild side, but…

…You’re not some wild woman from Nara.

“What do you think, Oichi-sama?”

He addressed his question to Oichi as she dashed in from behind and immediately attacked Fukushima.

“Ah, ha, hee!”

Well, at least she’s enjoying herself, he decided as their blades clashed and sparks flew.

●

Sakuma had gotten permission to move out onto the deck with Koroku keeping an eye on her.

They had previously been trading thoughts and information on Tea Ceremony Battlers – Physical Change, the game they had been playing earlier, but…

“–––––”

On the bow deck of the 1st central ship, repairs were underway to recover from the previous battle and prepare for the rush to Honnouji. Everyone was busy with their jobs.

“Hey, wait, wait, wait. Everyone’s acting like Shizugatake’s already over.”

“It is already over for you at least.”

“Y-you really are harsh, you know that!? You’ll regret it once you grow up!”

“I’m not a kid by choice.”

Sakuma wasn’t sure what to say in response to that.

…Yeah.

She didn’t have her level of skill by choice either. She wasn’t in this position by choice and she didn’t have her height or looks by choice.

…Whatever.

She placed a hand on Koroku’s head while the girl looked out toward the Shibata camp.

“Would you prefer to be a grownup?”

“I just wanted some kind of dividing line.”

“I see,” said Sakuma, thinking a bit about Koroku.

…It’s not that I don’t understand.

She had thought Koroku was a colder kid. She only would have allowed Sakuma to come out here because she was curious too. Curious about the people fighting there who were crossing a further dividing line that Sakuma hadn’t reached yet. And…

“Your classmate is trying to make that happen. Can you hear it?”

“Testament. I’ve been hearing it for a while now.”

“Thought so,” was all Sakuma could say. “It’s impressive, really. She’s making all that noise against someone who has a Testamenta Arma, Mikal, and Oi-chan. I’m not surprised it sounds like a defensive battle, but not many people can last this long against Shiba-chan.”

●

Fukushima wasn’t looking at her opponents.

She didn’t think she could escape unscathed in a battle against Shibata and Oichi. But that didn’t mean she could afford to get injured due to carelessness and she wanted to try for unscathed for as long as she could. She considered that the bare minimum of a strategy for now.

So her goal was to return alive and with a minimum of injury. That meant she had to attack, but she didn’t insist on attacking first. Besides, Shibata’s Testamenta Arma got in the way of that. If she demonstrated an intent to attack or defend, her movement would be stopped.

So her movements were more general than that.

Instead of evading, she would move along paths that would also avoid the attacks.

Instead of attacking, she would ready her weapon and guide the enemy to leap into the swinging motion.

So if she looked to her opponents, she would fail almost immediately.

She had to first gain an understanding of the entire battlefield and only then look to her opponents.

She was doing that now.

When Shibata attacked, she made an outwards rotation so his attacking arm would swing through Ichinotani’s position.

She always made sure she moved first and her opponent’s attack arrived second. That way…

“Ha! You’re surprisingly clever!”

Shibata sounded confident, meaning he was prepared for this kind of response.

…I should have known!

Meanwhile, Fukushima couldn’t spare enough focus to even respond. If she disturbed the rhythm of her breathing, his attack would hit her. She had to perfectly control her own movements to avoid the many blades and leap in close.

“…”

She went too far. The starboard side of the deck was dangerous. Shibata was right-handed, so she wanted to avoid that positioning.

So she went back. Instead of dodging, she used Headfirst Fall to draw out a rapid curve. Shibata and Oichi sent a series of attacks along that curve, but she just barely managed to circle around to their side with an accelerated slide.

But they both immediately stepped back and made a back turn to face her. Their movements didn’t look particularly fast, but they were precise. They got the angles exactly right first try, creating the impression of an instantaneous action.

They followed her forward. But she passed them and aimed for an opening.

Fukushima was glad the protection of Shibata’s Testamenta Arma did not apply to Oichi.

She would be troublesome indeed if she was undying and could stop any attack against her.

So Fukushima decided to focus on Oichi first.

Oichi would not die. But her regeneration was not instantaneous.

Stalling Oichi that way and then attacking Shibata would be the safest choice. But…

…She has no openings!

The reality did not match Fukushima’s theory. She had planned out a few moves, but she couldn’t make use of them.

Shibata and Oichi were covering for each other. Since Shibata was right-handed, Oichi stayed on his left side and attacked with the weapons in her hands. And when they moved apart…

“Ha ha!”

Oichi laughed and went in for an attack. She wasn’t just taunting Fukushima.

…It’s a pincer attack!

Fukushima hurried away. And then…

“Get her, Kamewari.”

A smashing attack raced out with its power and range boosted.

●

Shibata was analyzing Fukushima.

How much could she move and how well could she attack? And how much could she resist moving and resist attacking? He was testing it all.

…This girl’s quite something!

Her options were fairly restricted with two opponents attacking her, but she still managed to keep her movements, evasions, and attacks united.

When faced with Animus Caritas – Novum, most people’s evasive movements and attacks would diverge. They could link their movements with their attacks and their movements with their evasions, but they couldn’t include attack and evasion in a single movement.

Even the ones who could normally manage that would have their actions stiffen up and become one-note when forced to be so conscious of them.

But this girl could do it. The same as she always did.

Most people would gradually fall apart the more they fought, until they couldn’t recover and were defeated.

But there was one kind of opponent Animus Caritas – Novum had trouble with.

Opponents with movement spells.

In addition to running, jumping, and rolling, those opponents could use their spell to move. Even if it was a simple acceleration spell, their distance traveled and their speed differed depending on if they used the spell or not. That allowed them to evade after Animus Caritas – Novum had been activated and it let them attack with a predictive action.

The problem was how they could do this by activating a spell instead of with physical action. I mean isn’t it super cheap that they can turn a movement into attack or defense with the flick of a switch?

But that wasn’t the biggest problem with movement spell users.

For the most part, they would all have learned to make ideal movements.

●

Shibata knew there were a few different kinds of ideal movements.

…But with both sides attacking and defending, they must take the form of a series of linked movements.

Attack and defense were separate things. But to detect an enemy’s attack and respond accordingly, attack and defense had to be linked.

Simply reading the enemy’s movements only told you what they were going to do.

Reaching the ideal movements also required knowing what to do to defeat your opponent whatever they might do.

You read the enemy’s attack and defense and then took the appropriate action in response. That meant understanding your own attacks and defenses and constantly linking them together.

Your attack and defense had to form a single action in response to the enemy’s action.

Animus Caritas – Novum could not prevent that. When an action was fully linked together and included not just attack and defense but also “movement”, then it didn’t trigger the Testamenta Arma.

And anyone who used a movement spell would pick up ideal movements quicker than average.

This girl was no exception. She used Headfirst Fall to jump in from close or mid-range, giving herself more movement options while also linking her movements together.

Of course, this was still rough around the edges. Her movements could be tightened up a lot and she didn’t attack when he left an opening.

…But I’m wise enough to see her potential!”

“Hey!”

He ignored the Kamewari attack sweeping across the deck and looked to his left.

Fukushima was making a low leap diagonally behind Oichi there. She sent an attack shooting up from below toward Oichi.

“Ha. Ha. Hee!”

Oichi used her left blade as a shield to catch the attack. But then Fukushima spun around and moved diagonally in front of Oichi. That angle put Oichi’s blocking blade between the two of them.

But I’m tall enough to see her. So…

“Watch out, Oichi-sama.”

His left hand was empty. So he grabbed Oichi’s hip hard point and shoved her diagonally toward Fukushima.

Realizing what he meant, Oichi made a shield bash with her raised left blade.

With a metallic clang, Fukushima moved away. She made a quick leap and bent her body into a flip. She smartly kept her blade held cautiously out this way the whole time. Her face didn’t betray any concern and she linked that flip into her next dash quite well.

She had trained well and was prepared for just about anything. But…

“You still aren’t taking this seriously, are you!?”

●

Fukushima considered Shibata’s question.

…Thou are overestimating me!

She was up against the M.H.R.R. Vice Chancellor with a Testament Arma, a unique spell, and Kamewari. Plus, he had Oichi with him. Fukushima would be in grave danger if she wasn’t taking this seriously.

But at the same time, she kind of understood what he meant.

She had noticed something while running along the transport ships to reach this battlefield.

…My training camp really paid off.

Ever since the training camp, she had only been playing with a deer instead of training or sparring, so she didn’t actually know how she compared to her old self.

Of course, she doubted a few weeks of training had changed her all that much. Skill was changed either by long periods of training or by an instant of inspiration.

She felt the training camp had essentially been the former type. But…

“–––––”

She nodded to Shibata. She still didn’t know if she had seen everything she could do. But…

“I can do more than this!”

●

Shibata grinned and stepped forward.

“Then bring it on. Don’t bore me, underclassman.”

Fukushima responded by dashing in along a curving path.

“So thou has accepted me as thy underclassman?”

“Course I have,” he replied. “That’s what tonight’s all about.”

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