Kaze no Stigma:Volume1 Chapter6
Chapter Six- Decisive Battle
1
Ksssshaaaaaaaaaaaa…….
The forest rustled with unease. Such were the sounds made by the animals which had run away with all their might once they felt 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 came in contact with the youki and had been unable to escape in time died instantly. The sound of their corpses raining out of the trees and littering the forest floor could be heard. Though there were no external wounds, they had all died instantly.
Then, all sound ceased. All the youki within Ryuya was released, and just its mere existence had spread death around the world.
Facing Ryuya, who stood there silently, Ayano took up Enraiha. Simply lifting it was all she could do. She was unable to take even a single step towards him. The youki, which felt as if it could almost freeze her blood, rendered her unable to move. And no matter what she did, she couldn't stop her knees from trembling.
An immense fear had gripped Ayano’s soul. It was difficult enough to just force herself to stand there without running away; to advance would have been impossible.
Ayano had inherited Enraiha at the age of twelve, when she was still so young. It might have been a mistake. Due to that, Ayano had never fought an enemy more powerful than herself. For someone who always defeated her enemies with brute strength, there was no way for her to make confident combat decisions when she was the one at a disadvantage.
To put it simply, after suffering her first defeat, Ayano has not been able to find the courage to go up against Ryuya.
“What are you doing? Go on!”
Kazuma said to the trembling Ayano.
“Don’t worry! I am with you.”
”How can I not worry?!”
Ayano retorted angrily. "How dare this man say 'don’t worry' so simply?"
“There is no reason to run now, is there? So I won't run this time. Trust me.”
Who could trust someone who had said “he would run if there was a reason”? Ayano stared back to see Kazuma smiling deviously like a trickster.
“This…… This is the last time. If you dare to betray me again, before I die, I will kill you!”
“No problem, I swear to God.”
“……God? Which one?”
Ayano gave him an undisguisedly suspicious look, but Kazuma only continued to show that smile that couldn't be trusted, and replied, ”Who knows? Which God doesn’t matter! I am an unbeliever after all.”
Ayano no longer had the strength to remain angry at this and murmured, her voice heavy with resignation, ”……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 which had controlled her had been greatly reduced by this meaningless chat.
Ayano ran towards Ryuya, but when her target is just a few steps away Ryuya suddenly takes off into the air.
“……Huh?”
Looking at Ryuya, who flew past above her, Ayano gave a sound of shock.
“Idiot! Don’t get outmaneuvered so easily!”
”You…… Even if you say that……”
Completely ignoring Ayano, Ryuya aimed straight for Kazuma and as he descended he released wind blades at a rapid speed. Kazuma created a strong upflow of air to cancel out the black winds.
But this is just a feint, the true attack uses a strength beyond human limits. A slice executed by claws. Raised high above his head, the originally hidden right claw suddenly lashed out.
That attack could easily rip through a human body as though it was cutting a piece of tofu (bean curd). Kazuma, moving forward at an angle, dodged it barely. At the same time, he placed his hand lightly on the back of the enemy’s right arm, and slightly changed its path.
His attack striking only at empty air caused Ryuya to lose his balance and Kazuma immediately took the opportunity to use his knee to strike at the side of the enemy’s abdomen, aiming for his liver. The power of Ryuya's own momentum, together with a strong explosion of Kazuma's “ki” focused at a single point, made Ryuya’s body arc like a bow and threw him back into the air. Following the flying body closely, Kazuma used his elbow to strike the enemy’s chin, just before it touched the ground. Ryuya’s head was thrown so far backwards that he could almost see his own back.
If Ryuya had been a normal human, no, even someone as powerful as a wrestler, he would have died instantly from such a violent attack. However, to the demonized Ryuya, it barely did any damage. In mid-flight, Ryuya used his momentum and raised his right knee, aiming straight for Kazuma’s jaw.
Even though the attack came from a blind spot, to Kazuma, who was synchronized with the wind spirits, there was no such thing. He stepped forward, leaned to the left to avoid the knee, grabbed the front of Ryuya’s shirt and at the same time swept his left leg horizontally.
In a masterful example of judo, Ryuya’s body was flipped over. With Ryuya's head about to fall flat on the ground, Kazuma struck with his palm. Not to punch, but to press downwards. He consistently bent down to press the enemy’s head straight into the ground, and a comfortable reaction went through his shoulder.
However, Kazuma did not feel Ryuya’s skull cracking. Realizing instantly that he had not given his enemy a fatal blow, Kazuma used his foot to crush Ryuya’s head, who lay on the ground facing the sky. The kick landed on Ryuya's crossed arms as he blocked Kazuma's attack.
”Chut!”
Kazuma quickly kicked away the arm that is about to grab his other leg, and jumped backwards to put 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 grumbled unhappily. As though beating up a steel statue, he felt as if he had accomplished nothing. Ryuya's body quickly swung up directly from his lying down position. This action was way beyond what a human could achieve, just like a zombie in the movies.
Ryuya released countless wind blades as he got up, and then at a speed even faster than the wind blades, struck at Kazuma. The wind blades and his claws reached Kazuma at the same time.
“Guahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”
At the same time as the shout, Kazuma forcefully stretched out towards the right arm that was swing at him. The wind formed a whirlpool spinning rapidly, as if that hand squeezed them out. The rapid flow of air became a shockwave, destroying the wind blades, and Ryuya was blown back into the air like a puppet.
It seemed for a moment that he was unable to take this blow, but then Ryuya adjusted his posture in the air and hovering at a fixed altitude, began to slowly retreat.
“Don’t even think about escaping!”
Kazuma knocked the air above Ryuya downwards. The figure that was originally gliding away slowly, suddenly dove at a sharp angle, as if swatted downwards by something, and with a speed way beyond a free-falling object, hit the ground. Ryuya was barely able to land on his two feet, but his body was unable to move, stuck to the ground due to the great air pressure.
As Ryuya stood there paralyzed, Kazuma quickly closed the distance.
The wind that was forcefully blowing downwards didn't seem to lay a finger upon Kazuma. Kazuma instead seemed as though he was drawn into it, and ran quickly inside the raging winds without hindrance.
“How…… powerful, that guy is actually so powerful……”
Ayano was totally taken in by the scene in front of her eyes, completely mesmerized by the sight of Kazuma fighting. She had been unable to even land a hit upon Ryuya and yet Kazuma could fight on an even level with or an even higher one than Ryuya. Skillfully avoiding the attacks of the opponent, retaliating with perfectly timed counters, and slowly accumulating damage done. This is, she realized, what it means to be called “an experienced fighter."
Forgetting that she was in the fight as well, Ayano stood there enraptured, her eyes solely focused on Kazuma.
“------------------------------!”
As Kazuma was just a few steps away, Ryuya who was still trapped on the ground gave a silent roar. Black wind started to rampage and broke the bonds that had restrained him just moments before.
In the same movement as he straightened his knees, he stretched his claws out towards the incoming Kazuma, aiming straight for Kazuma’s throat, who was running directly at him, executing an insane counterattack.
Kazuma, however, did not stop. Instead, as he made his last step, he bent down as much as possible. Using the far ends of his conscious to that the pitch black claws have passed before him, he placed his palm against Ryuya’s abdomen----his diaphragm. [Don't know what the far ends of conscious thing is supposed to mean]
Kazuma stepped onto the ground firmly, from there gathering power which went past his knees straight to his waist, and from the waist to his shoulders, like a spiral, and continued to become stronger as it continued to be transmitted. From his shoulder to the front portion of his arm, after all the energy in his body has gathered, it was released through his palm to the front. At the same time, an immense “ki” was released from his body throughout his palm, dense enough that it felt as if it could just pierce through the enemy.
“Hah!”
Accompanying the shout, a force so great it could blow even an African elephant to pieces exploded right into Ryuya’s diaphragm, the core of a human’s central nervous system. Ryuya’s body was blasted away with so much power that he ended up embedded in a stone wall.
The “ki” of a person revolved around the whole body beginning with the diaphragm. Therefore, this place was the most vital of all vital areas for a jutsushi. Once the flow of “ki” was disrupted, no matter how powerful the jutsushi might be, he would be unable to cast any jutsu for some time. Or that would have been the case, had Ryuya been a human being.
Huuuuu!!
“Muah!”
Ryuya didn't look injured at all as he released those fast wind blades again. Kazuma barely dodged in the nick of time, and hurriedly put 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 rebuttal, Kazuma shouted out loud.
“Don’t just stand there and watch the show! You're the striker, aren't you? So why don’t you grab your big torch and go beat him up!”
“Big……”
(Big torch?)
To use such a rude 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 waved his hand to hush her..
“Don’t talk so much, attack little kitten."
Even though her eyes burned with a strong killing intent, Ayano stepped forward in response. Perhaps reflecting upon her anger, Enraiha shone with a glaring glow unlike any before.
(Sister, you can do it……)
Ren prayed devoutly for the victory of the two.
He could only pray, since he didn't possess enough power to participate in this battle.
His inability to help, deeply hurting his heart, Ren murmured, ”If only I had more power……”
”No no, your 'bit' of power is just right.”
”!?”
Ren looked back in shock, and stared towards where there shouldn't have been 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 as just previous. Ren turned his head once more, and called out in a rising tone, “It…… it is you, Hyoue! Come out now!”
Shaaaaa, the sound of bushes rustling in the wind, this time from the left. Out of Ren's raised palm fire began to erupt in a rapid flow.
In a short moment, the withered plants caught fire and burned furiously, but there was no sign of Hyoue there. Ren looked around frantically and Hyoue's coarse voice again sounded in Ren’s ears.
“Your strength isn't bad at all. It's just that you are still a kid. Your technique is what's poor!”
”Shut……Shut up!”
Flames emerged from Ren’s body. In order to not allow the enemy to move to his back, he began to search for Hyoue as his body was surrounded by flame, but------
(I can’t find his presence!)
He had completely no idea where Hyoue was. Originally, En-jutsushis were a bit unbalanced in their combat abilities. Even though their attacking strength was the best, their sensing abilities were among the weakest, and much worse than Fu-jutsushis.
As an En-jutsushi, Ren was not mature enough, and was unable to see through the jutsu that the experienced Fu-jutsushi Hyoue used to conceal himself.
“Still too immature. A flame of that level is unable to extinguish the hatred within me.”
Hyoue once again whispered by his ear. Though the direction from which he had heard it was just behind, he could not sense his presence at all.
“Behind? Whe……Where!”
He turned around several times, always failing to see Hyoue. No matter how swift he might be, the voice from his back never stopped.
“Over here!”
”Over here!”
”Over here!”
--Over here-- --Over here-- --Over here-- --Over here--
This line continues to repeat itself like an echo. The unease from being unable to see his enemy and the rising fear and nervousness of fighting in an actual battle stretched Ren’s mind to the limit.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”
Driven by fear, he desired power. The power to eliminate the enemy. The power that can destroy 'everything,' that can make him feel unafraid------
In response to Ren’s scream, fire erupted everywhere. The flame spirits that were being released indefinitely, obeying only their own purpose of survival and rampage, burned everything to ashes.
Everything the flames touched was burnt. The forest became a sea of flame, with mighty pillars of fire that went all the way into the sky, shaking the ground.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”
Ren who had panicked after losing control, just like his name, attempted to create a Hell on Earth. [Ren attempts to create a 煉獄 on Earth, and Ren’s name is 煉] He went beyond the limits of his power, and continued to summon a massive amount of spirits. The trees became ashes under the extreme heat, and the already scorched land began to melt.
“Ahhhhhh……ah?”
But just at this moment, a cold gush of wind blew past Ren’s body.
The gush of wind cooled his head and Ren’s madness calmed down in an instant. The youth looked dumbfounded at the direction the wind came from.
Kazuma was looking attentively at Ren. Basked in those clear eyes, Ren returned completely to normal.
(He is looking at me!)
Kazuma looked at him with infinite trust.
“Brot-“
(Brother!)
But, right after the short instant that Kazuma’s eyes met with Ren’s, Kazuma shifted his eyes away again and focused on the battle with Ryuya without looking back.
Ren felt very disappointed for a moment, but finally remembered what he should do. He calmed his breathing, and prepared to take on the enemy’s assault.
“You seem to have been abandoned by your brother.”
Hyoue’s voice rings mockingly from behind his ear. But Ren, his head clear once again, knew that the enemy wasn't at his back. It was just a distraction with his jutsu to use the wind to bring his voice to Ren’s ears. This was a very basic technique everyone in the Fuga clan knew. Such a simple fact, and yet he hadn't noticed. Ren was ashamed by his immaturity.
“But he can't be blamed for that. Those two can't win against Ryuya even if they work together. There is no way he can take the time to protect someone as useless as you.”
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Hearing the eerie laughter by his ear didn't affect Ren this time. He calmly detected the presence, and at the same time, denied the nonsense that Hyoue was babbling.
“You are wrong.”
”What is wrong?”
He replied calmly. Hyoue had no doubt that he was in control of the situation. He might even be thinking that he is not fighting, but hunting! Just playing around with his prey before making the kill. This was the weak spot Ren grasped at.
“My brother, he 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. For a little punk like you who cannot even find where I am, how are you going to defeat me?”
Indeed, in terms of detection capability, en-jutsushi were far weaker than fu-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 he had gone berserk, had burnt the trees in the area, and continued to burn fiercely. The density of fire spirits had increased to a state that went beyond reason. If it was in a situation like this, he was not inferior to any fu-jutsushi. Ren closed his eyes, and opened his ears to listen to the spirits’ voices.
“What’s wrong? You want to beat someone like me and yet you seem to be taking quite a bit of time?”
Sounds of mockery came from everywhere. A wind blade passed by his cheek, and flew straight ahead. Ren let go of everything completely, and synchronized himself with the spirits.
His five senses disappeared, and slowly switched to the senses of the spirits. Not relying on light, nor relying on sound, but instead relying on “theurgy” to see the world. Despite facing an abnormality which would drive a regular human insane, Ren adapted to it very easily.
(Gotcha!)
It should be said he didn't actually detect him. Rather, in the area which he tried to search, only one spot refused the fire spirits and couldn't be searched. Hyoue had to be at this spot. Ren felt confident in his guess.
“Over there!”
Ren raised his palm, and released a fireball. The divine power to purify sliced through empty space.
-- Just empty space.
“You fool, what are you aiming at?……”
Seeing the flame that went in the wrong direction, Hyoue, who was concealed in a barrier of wind, showed a mocking expression.
But that expression vanished immediately. He saw the flames around him branch out, and rain down as a curtain of fire, aimed at him...
“Wha……What!?”
Hyoue was so shocked his eyes almost popped out. The rain of fire came from all directions and all at the same moment.
With every direction cut off this was not a situation that could be solved with trickery. To defend himself, he had to use power to wipe the flames aside. But, Hyoue did not possess such power. Looking at sheer strength alone, Ren was sure to win.
“Wahhhhhhhhhhhhh!?”
As the barrier was pierced by the rain of fire like a piece of paper, Hyoue gave off a pitiful scream.
“It...it worked……?”
Sensing the barrier's disappearance, Ren says quietly, staring into space.
The trick he used was really simple. There had been no need for him to initiate the fire himself, as the flames were burning there all along.
Ren had purposely released a flame at an empty area to trick Hyoue into letting his guard down, and then had instead used the flames that were burning around Hyoue to attack.
If Hyoue had been fighting seriously, he might have been able to see through the trick. It was his overconfident attitude of seeing Ren as prey and not as an enemy, that caused him to suffer such a dreadful blow.
“You……you are really something……Kid……”
”------!?”
A black shape rolled out just in front of Ren, which one could still roughly discern as human. No matter how you looked at it, it was a completely burnt corpse and yet the corpse was still moving somehow. Every time it moved, pieces of meat that had already been turned to ash fell away, leaving a pitch black skin below that did not seem human.
“Hoho…… Watch closely…… This is the power I obtained after signing a contract with the youma - a power beyond human capability! Now you get it, kid? Your flames don’t work against me. Hohoho…… Hahahahaha!!”
“You foolish thing.”
Ren suddenly speaking as coldly as if he was a completely different person caused Hyoue’s laughter to halt.
“My flames useless? How dare a piece of charcoal speak like a human being? Since you yourself gave up on being human, then there is nothing to be said. Because the Kannagi flames are purifying flames. A power bestowed to destroy inhuman monsters like you!”
A golden light cleansed away the dense youki. The rampaging flames appeared to be taken in by the purifying light, as the fire weakened, and slowly disappeared. These uncontrolled fire spirits, upon being controlled once more, made the golden light shine even more brilliantly.
The flames that had before expanded explosively began to shrink, and yet the temperature rose. Condensed into a high density semi-materialized flame, giving off a sticky glow, it revolved around Ren.
“I, as a member of the main family of the Kannagi, declare! Hyoue Kazamaki, the many lives that you took away, shall now be repaid with your own!”
Surrounded by that blurry shine, Ren spoke loudly. Faced with a tiny body that yet unleashed such an immense pressure, Hyoue curled up in fear.
This is the descendant of a respected and powerful bloodline. At the top of En-jutsushis, a rightful son of the Kannagi clan.
A great power that was formed through a thousand years of training, was about to awaken...
2
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!”
Striking with all her might Ayano swung Enraiha downwards.
Clang!
Ryuya’s claws made a clear sound as they deflected the blade.
(Even Enraiha cannot cut through, what are these claws made of?)
Ayano immediately ignored the question that popped up in her mind. There is no time to think about this, I must find some way to get past those claws...
Ayano increased the rate of her strikes, including a number of feints in her attacks in order to find a hole in Ryuya’s defense. His defense, however, was impenetrable.
“What is that idiot doing……”
Kazuma spat out in disgust.
The fear of loss still lingered in Ayano’s heart and had caused her to forget her own fighting style. Adding those tricks to her attack was meaningless; she should just focus on a single lethal strike instead.
At that moment, Enraiha found its way into Ryuya’s shoulder and cleanly cut his right arm off.
(Now I've got him!)
Ayano struck at his right side, putting all her strength into the attack. Because of that, she failed to notice his right arm, which had lurked behind her back, flying at her.
“Behind you!”
Kazuma’s voice and the hit from the right arm came at almost the same time. Ayano jumped quickly and the right arm sped past her like a lance.
“That was close……”
The danger wasn't over though. Ryuya suddenly appeared in front of Ayano, who was still in mid-air, the claws on his remaining left arm glittering with deadly intent.
Dang!
Ayano managed to block that attack somehow, but her legs were off the ground, and she was unable to hold her position. She was knocked away like a cannonball, and without any way to stop herself, she violently hit a big tree nearby.
“Argh…… Ah……”
Perhaps feeling that it would be too easy for him, with her offering so little sport, Ryuya did not pursue his prey, instead leisurely reattaching his right arm. Wriggling muscle tissue and nerves extended from the severed section, and the same stretched out from the other end, merging together. After several seconds, even the wound disappeared, - his right arm was completely whole.
But Ryuya still showed no sign of attacking. He lifted his head up to stare at the sky, and raised both his arms, as if wanting to grasp the entire sky with his hands.
“------------!“
The instant he realized what that gesture signified, Kazuma sprinted forward as fast as he could. Hugging Ayano's head to his chest, he forcefully slammed her back into the floor.
“Wah!”
Even though Ayano made a strangled cry of protest, there was no time to pay it any mind. He lay as low as he could, at the same time, setting up a barrier of even greater density around them.
“What are you doing all of a sudden?” Ayano shouted, her nose glowing red from the pressure.
Kazuma immediately retorted at a volume twice her own. “You idiot! For what reason did you think it necessary to engage in melee combat? If the enemy gains the time necessary to unleash powerful attacks, then all the effort prior would be meaningless!”
Confronted with such a resolute answer that left no room for questions, Ayano was at a loss for words.
“……Huh……? Powerful attack……”
The scene she saw, as she turned her head as Kazuma instructed, left Ayano at a loss for words. A spectacular pillar of wind connected heaven and earth, a great vortex that tumbled as it spun, that is... that is...
“……That is…… what……?”
“That is not what. As you can see, it is a tornado! Four------ No, five…… by the way, what is the unit for tornadoes?”
Kazuma's randomly asked question did not register in Ayano's consciousness.
She gazed at the tornado as if spellbound. "Here was the roar of nature that hurls giant boulders and uproots giant trees" - that was all she could think about.
“……There's no way……”
”Ahhh? What did you say?”
”There's no way we can win!” Ayano turned her head to shout.
The eyes that had been full of fight before now carried tears. As if humbled, she tumbled to her feet beside Kazuma.
“It is impossible to win! Our enemy is that kind of monster - what do you expect me to do?! There is no way to win!”
Ayano’s eyes revealed an absolute despair beyond fear; they were just like the eyes of 'that' person in the past, Kazuma thought to himself.
-- Did I not seek power because I hate seeing that kind of eyes?
(Tsui-Ling...)
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 it was different now. He had been defeated back then, and had had to 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; now, he just wanted to help this girl who was trembling before him.
The girl’s eyes were filled with tears. At the moment before the first tears dropped, Kazuma poked Ayano’s forehead with his finger.
Ayano leaned back slightly, and looked at him with wet eyes, yet Kazuma smiled.
“Our jobs were clear from the start right? All you need to do is take that blade and slash Ryuya. I'll deal his wind.”
“Deal with…… Deal with a tornado?”
Ayano’s finger pointed at the tornado as she shrieked. Kazuma merely shrugged.
“Well, about that…… I'm sure there's a way. So, you just take care of him. Can you do that?”
She hesitated just a moment, before nodding her head determinedly.
“Very good, then let the match continue!”
Kazuma lifted Ayano, who was still sitting on him, with his arms and just stood up. Seeing such unbelievable strength from his waist and legs, Ayano's eyes widened. But, what was even more shocking was what happened afterwards.
“……Wa……Ah……”
Before Ayano, a path opened through the tornado. A path, surrounded by a barrier of wind which suppressed the tornado, straight to where Ryuya was.
“Go!”
Receiving a gentle push from that voice, Ayano instinctively dashed forward.
“Okay, even though I said all that just now…… What should I do?”
After forcefully opening a way through the tornado, Kazuma grumbled to himself. Since he had boasted about it in front of someone else, he had to think of a way to take care of these five tornadoes……
“If only Ayano was of some use, then the enemy might not have any effort to spare, while fighting her, to maintain the tornado…… But an originally weak fellow, now scared so witless she can barely walk, can't be of any use……”
The simplest method would be to create a tornado of equal magnitude to cancel them out...
(……No way, that's far too much trouble!)
Just thinking about it made him 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 windstream of the tornado go even higher up, and brings the air up to the lower stratosphere.
The air brought by the upflow cools rapidly, and the water particles it contained become tiny ice drops that combine to become hailstones. When those hailstones melted as they fell down once again, they cooled the surrounding air even further, making the air heavy, dropping 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 sped it up even further. This piece of air, pulled down from an extremely high altitude, easily surpasses the speed of sound.
The supersonic wind blade sliced the tornado open, and the shockwave that accompanied it completely destroyed what was left of the tornado. Without any notable resistance, the raging winds easily erased the tornado, releasing any extra energy towards Ryuya.
“Gwahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”
In the midst of the thunder of destruction came a sharp scream lacking any femininity.
(Gwah? Ohhh……)
Kazuma clapped his hands once he realized what happened.
“Darn, I completely forgot to avoid you. Sorry.”
”You idiot! Go to hell--!” Ayano shouted furiously, yet for some reason she was not at all hurt. Maybe the wind spirits had automatically avoided her?
Even though Ayano was still making a fuss, the scene that slowly revealed itself to her as the dust dispersed, quieted her down.
The view of the mountain had changed. Where there had been originally a lush green forest, now the trees lay around uprooted. Further, the forest's surface had been dug up, forming a piece of empty land. This was all due to Ryuya’s tornado, and Kazuma’s downburst.
(These guys are really monsters……)
Ayano looked at Kazuma with awe. But in that flippant look, she could see no sign of his magnificent power.
“Hey, this is a good opportunity! Ayano.”
Kazuma hushes, no, tells her.
Even someone like Ryuya suffered a lot of damage from this assault. While his limbs were still largely intact, deep cuts scored his entire body - wounds which excreted some sort of black mist instead of blood.
(When I cut him earlier, there was no such thing coming out……)
Ayano was annoyed by the huge difference in power between Kazuma and herself. But now wasn't the time to be bothered by such things, and she took up Enraiha once more and stood before Ryuya.
(Still alive - what a monster.)
Just as Ayano was facing off with Ryuya, Kazuma’s expression grew more serious.
Kazuma could feel they were about to come to the end of their road.
Even when combining their powers, they had been unable to deliver a fatal blow to Ryuya. Though they currently seemed to have the advantage, there was no way they could win in the long run.
There had never been a human that could exceed youma in terms of physical energy. This was because a youma possessed a mind far greater than its body, and could overcome the limitations of the body through sheer will.
(Should I use it? I guess there's no choice, even though I really do not want the Kannagi to know about it…… Well, they will hear about it from Ren sooner or later anyway! No matter what, life is irreplaceable.)
There was just one problem. Leaving the breaking of the seal aside, to gather enough power to truly destroy Ryuya required a lot of time to prepare. During this time, Ayano would be left completely defenseless, and what would happen then has already been witnessed.
(So, what to do then...)
He thought deeply for a 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 shouted in a pained voice.
She was seriously crying out to Kazuma.
As Kazuma had expected, Ryuya struck instantly. In the blink of an eye, the defending and offensive parties had switched sides, wind blades racing 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 your home, I will burn it down, and make sure the real estate agencies avoid doing business with you!” Ayano said in a tone close to tears, as she tried her best to dodge the blades.
Alas, Kazuma was in a state of intense concentration by then, and Ayano's furious promise of eternal vengeance went unnoticed.
He keeps his conscious mind still, and opened the “door” within his body. [No idea what the first half of the sentence means] Inside 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” combined, forming a single entity. Kazuma was restructured, 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 go, about a hundred kilometers in radius, all wind spirits within 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 smallest fraction - Kazuma controlled with his will. He picked out the necessary data from the scene in front of him, at the same time grasping the situation of everything within a radius of a hundred kilometers. 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. Of course, the same goes for Ayano’s battle...
Without Kazuma to cover for her, Ayano was forced into a one-sided defense. She didn't even think about retaliating, every scrap of attention focused on dodging the incoming claws and wind blades - on survival.
(……Are you still not ready Kazuma?)
She looked at Kazuma from time to time, but Kazuma, who was concentrating, did not notice, or so it seemed. Despite her unwillingness to admit it, the lack of attention was making her feel uneasy.
She was scared, but Kazuma did not say some nonsense to loosen her up, not now. He did not poke her forehead and smile at her. For the first time, Ayano realizes how many times she has been saved today by that flippant smile of his.
“Ahhh!”
A pitch black wind smashed into Ayano like a hammer. The powerful hit blew her off her feet and threw her backwards through the air. She landed on her back, and the force of the impact had been so great that she found herself rolling on the floor three times before hitting a stone wall with a great crash.
(No more! I can’t hold on any longer……!)
Ayano looked pleadingly at Kazuma, desperate for help, and just for an instant she felt sure she saw a cold smirk on his face.
Ryuya aimed at Ayano, who continued to lay there, unmoving, and released more wind blades. Even so, Ayano still stared at Kazuma.
(Ever since that moment when I saw him again yesterday, I really hate that guy.
He is even worse than Hyoue or Ryuya. I do not even want to admit his existence.
Because he is stronger than me - no, not just that.
Because of his arrogant attitude - no, that is just the surface, an external facade of him.
The real him, completely ignores my presence, does not care about me, and that is more unforgivable than anything else.
So I resist, I keep quarreling with him, so that he will acknowledge my presence.
But... he gave up on me.
“You will finish him off” became “buy me some time”, “I will do everything, I no longer have any expectations of you.” -- That is what he said.
He is watching everything even now, 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 shook the air, a furious flame consumed the blades of wind.
Ayano forced her swaying body to stand up, her eyes looking at Ryuya, but her mind continued to rail against Kazuma.
There was 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 raised Enraiha and began to gather “ki”. The flame that had always burst out golden, began to carry a red glow. This crimson flame continued to gather upon Enraiha.
With a scream of pure rage, Ayano started to run. She moved at an astonishing speed, which didn't even leave an afterimage. She appeared before Ryuya abruptly, as if teleported, and swung downwards with all her might.
There were no tricks, just a straightforward slice. There was no time to dodge, so Ryuya crossed his arms and blocked the strike. No, he tried to block it.
Releasing crimson flames, Enraiha carried the divine flame to which there was no possible defense. It cut through all ten claws in one go, and with a quick turn, Ryuya's left arm followed.
She sliced at the now defenseless left side, but at this moment, the sliced off left arm floats in mid-air, and attacks Ayano from behind like like the other arm had done previously.
This time, however, Ayano reversed her grip on Enraiha and without even turning stabbed backwards. Enraiha mercilessly pierced through the arm that was flying in the air.
“Begone!”
Burning from the inside-out, the left arm was consumed in an instant. Ayano did not stop, and continued to chase after Ryuya, who had been slowly retreating backwards. Again with that shocking speed, she easily caught Ryuya once more.
The crimson blade shone brightly, and it sliced through Ryuya from the right shoulder to between the legs. A quick flip of the blade and it continued to slice through the demonic body.
But, even though his body has been cut into four pieces, Ryuya wasn't destroyed yet. His listless eyes continued to look at Ayano.
Ayano jumped backwards, but this time, not to run.
-- Everything shall end in a moment!
“Namo, Sanmanduo, Warila Lan, Han”
She chanted the Acalanatha sutra in the air. The chant itself possessed no power or meaning - it was just a string of keywords she had learned in her training to remind her of a special frame of mind. Together with the mantra, she remembered the complicated jutsu activation sequence, because in her mind the two were linked. For her, using the jutsu had become a reflexive action when chanting the sutra.
At the same time as her landing, Ayano stabbed Enraiha into the ground, and activated the jutsu.
“Ultimate exorcism flare wave!!”
A circle of light burst out of the ground with Ryuya at its center, forming a hemispherical barrier. The fire spirits Enraiha emitted darted through from beneath the ground, and released all their heat within the barrier!
The earth under Ryuya’s feet vaporized instantly and the spherical barrier can be seen in full view. The barrier efficiently reflected the heat, and gathered this energy at its center.
This was Ayano’s strongest exorcising spell: locking the youma in a kekkai and not allowing them to leave until they were burnt to ashes.
“Heh! How is that?”
Ayano smiled proudly, and was about to turn her head in Kazuma’s direction when suddenly she stopped in her tracks and stared at Ryuya, who was trapped within the barrier.
Trapped in the scorching plasma, Ryuya had become but a piece of meat that had lost all signs of his previous appearance. (He should have no power to resist anymore - but what is this youki?!)
Gurgle……Gurgle……Gurgle……[sound of something boiling? Not sure]
Right before Ayano, who stood there watching, the surface of the meat seemed to be boiling and bubbles began to appear. On top of the bubbles another bubble appeared. The eerie piece of meat did not seem to care about the several tens of thousands of degrees within the barrier, and was multiplying at a high rate.
When the piece of meat had multiplied to the required number, the shape slowly changed. Meat sticks stretched out from four areas and a small sphere was placed at the top - the monster was complete.
The monster had probably intended to imitate a human form, with hands and legs, head and body parts that could be recognized.
But, that was all. Like an ugly design a small child might make with meat colored clay, it was a reproduction of the evil of mankind, it was an unforgivable insult to humanity.
That monster placed its hands on the barrier to open it. Or rather the meat sticks which were what counted for its hands did, and from the way it did it, it lacked any joints as well. If a human arm was transformed into a snake, this was probably how it would look!
“……This is not…… possible……?”
The monster dispelled the barrier easily, and stepped out. It was so ugly and felt so evil that Ayano involuntarily took a step back, and tripping over something by her feet, she lost her balance.
“Wah!”
Falling down here meant certain death. The premonition of death approaching gave her goosebumps.
But... the feeling on her back was not the cold hard floor. Something warm grabbed hold of this body frozen with anxiety.
A strong hand caressed Ayano’s head, and as if whispering by her ear, a low and calm voice made her ear twitch.
“That is enough, you did very well.”
From the gentle yet firm grip that was hugging her arm, Ayano felt an indescribable calm envelop her. Her tense body relaxed bit by bit, leaving everything to the wide chest behind her.
“You did very well.”
The sentence repeated itself over and over again in her mind. Such mundane words made her happier than anything else in the world.
To be recognized by him made her feel proud.
The man behind her uses a comfortable voice that would make one shiver in his back, and continues to say...
“Very well done, for a kitten.”
Pak!
Ayano uses all her strength to push Kazuma’s hand off. How is it possible that just an instant ago she actually thought that this kind of guy’s chest could possibly be comforting? From the bottom of her heart, Ayano felt ashamed of herself.
“You…… Huh……?”
Feeling a slight disturbance in the surrounding view, Ayano looked around and instantly understood.
-- The air was shining with a light blue glow.
The blue airflow, though flowing slowly, carried within it a massive amount of energy. The black winds commanded by Ryuya were repelled by the azure glow, and compressed around their master.
“This…… Could it be…… 'Purification'!?”
The secret power to destroy evil that was bestowed only on the Kannagi family, and, this magnitude!
“To use purifying winds to surround the entire mountain? Such a massive amount of spirits, how did……”
Ayano turned her head to ask, and became speechless once more. Knowing very well why she was shocked, Kazuma smiled playfully and enjoyed Ayano’s stunned expression.
“That…… What is that…… Your eyes?”
“Oh these? They were imprinted upon by the lord of wind spirits.”
Kazuma's blue eyes flashed as he said such a shocking fact so easily.
“Spi……rit……Lord……?”
Ayano dumbly repeated. This fact that was beyond imagination had stopped her mind.
“………… No way--------------------!?”
Bright as the azure sky, eyes that couldn't possibly be clearer - that was the proof of the contract with the lord of wind spirits. To rule all the air on this planet, only a man that was bestowed with everything could be imprinted with this stigma.
Even in the legends, there had only been a few people with such a stigma: the ancient King Solomon who governed the 72 demon lords, 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 be confirmed in history, there is only one Contractor who has been proven to exist. “The first” contractor was what the people praised him to be in modern legends.
“Come on! It is about time to go to sleep, Ryuya!”
The azure wind began to swirl like a maelstrom, with Ryuya at its center. The maelstrom of air was created by Kazuma, mobilizing all the wind spirits in the area that he controlled, and the huge area it covered could be seen even from outer space.
3
Pssh! [sound of wind cutting, not sure the exact sound]
The wind blades made by the demonized Hyoue cut both of Ren’s arms deeply.
“Wahhhhhh-!”
Up against the blades of wind which continuously struck, Ren could only roll his body to dodge - there wasn't even the slightest chance to get up.
Hyoue laughed as he watched Ren. The scene of a jutsushi of the Kannagi main family having to dodge everywhere from his attacks just couldn't get any funnier.
(Just you watch, Genma! Jugo! You're next! The humiliation we suffered, you shall receive ten thousand fold!)
An uncontrollable laughter shook the air.
Hyoue looked down on Ren who had finally managed to get up smugly and shouted full of pride, “Now, do you know the difference between our power? You should just surrender quietly, for if you are too heavily wounded, it might hinder the dispelling of the seal.”
Hohoho……
Ren threw a golden flame in the direction of the laughter. However while the flame might have possessed the power to destroy Hyoue, if there was nothing to hit it was just a wasted effort.
“Wah!”
Suddenly, a shockwave hit Ren’s head so violently it felt as if his brain was bouncing about in his head, and for a few seconds he wavered on the border of consciousness.
Ren stood there completely vulnerable to an attack, it would have been very easy to kill him now! But even though there had been several instances like this before, Hyoue had not finished him off. Hyoue did not want Ren’s corpse; he needed him alive, plus, he wanted to enjoy defeating Ren to the fullest.
Hyoue who had given up the body of a human, now possessed a great power, incomparable to the past.
Of course, Ren still was far more powerful, but the difference in skill and experience was just too great. Ren was being toyed with, unable to show even half his power.
“Isn't it about time you gave up? You know you can't possibly win, don't you?”
Hyoue was torturing him, deliberately avoiding fatal injuries, and time and again he tried to attack Ren's mind, targeting his weaknesses to make him give up the fight, but Ren didn't give in to fear.
“I refuse! I promised my brother, I will never give up, I will live on no matter what! I will never obey you, never be used by you, or let you kill anyone else!”
Despite having cuts all over his body from wind blades, blood running over his face and drenching his clothes, Ren’s eyes did not lose their shine. That prideful, and majestic look, even Hyoue who was in an overwhelmingly superior position couldn’t help but be wary of it.
“Hmph…… In that case, let me see where the limits of your pride are!”
As he spat out this sentence and was about to unleash more wind blades...
“Woah!?”
Hyoue gave off a strangled cry, stretching both his arms to hug his body. Beneath his arms there seemed to be something wriggling. Hyoue gripped even tighter intending to suppress that thing, but instead the eerie wriggling only spread to his arms.
Hyoue’s body was shaken by convulsions. His muscles contracted violently, rising up and down, and eventually burst.
This is what happened the instant Hyoue was surrounded by the purifying wind. A great power cut off all the power that Hyoue had received.
Losing the protection of Ryuya, the demonic powers in Hyoue had begun to rage out of control. Ren did not waste the opportunity and immediately ran towards him.
“Ki……Kid…… Wahhhhh!”
As Hyoue tried to release more wind, the berserk condition of his body only grew worse. He was forced to use all his power just to restrain his now uncontrollable body.
Ren did not slow down, but knocked into Hyoue at full speed. He hooked his arms around Hyoue’s knee and pulled mightily.
The powerful tackle left the two of them lying entangled on the ground.
Ren hugged Hyoue as tight as he could, and spoke softly, “I won’t miss at this distance.”
“You……You fool! Let me go!“ Not caring whether he lost control or not Hyoue released wind blades.
But Ren was quicker. He continued to hug the shaking body, and shouted hoarsely.
”Burn-!!”
A bright golden pillar of fire erupted into the sky. The body and tainted soul of the old man who had fallen into the darkness were completely destroyed by this purifying flame.
“----------------------------------------------!!”
The golden flame swallowed even his dying scream.
Ryuya had lost control over his black wind. The strong, azure wind separated the berserk spirits from their master and absorbed them.
“……Even Ryuya’s wind…… is eaten away……?” Ayano whispered in shock.
To use the term “terrifying power” was not enough to describe what was happening. Even though there had been a number of logic-defying events today, this was the most ridiculous of all.
The wind surrounding Ryuya returned the berserk spirits to normal, and absorbed them to further increase its power.
Even so, Ryuya still wasn't defeated. He released dark and polluted youki to defend against the purifying winds. However, he was unable to negate the purification completely, and the surface of his body began to boil and bubble. Slowly, very slowly, but surely his body was dismantled, bit by bit.
(This is almost like a final battle between monsters.)
This unseemly thought running through her mind, Ayano started to move. Although her power was by far the weakest of the three, she had participated in this battle and her power couldn't be neglected, for she possessed the power to end the stalemate between the two parties, and she knew her duty well.
-- You will finish him off, can you do it? --
“I'll show you-!”
Ryuya takes a huge jump backwards, intending to escape Ayano's fast pace - his movements had slowed down significantly and he no longer had the means to dodge her attacks.
But Ayano chased after him, focused to deliver the final strike. Ryuya changed the tip of his arms into blades as a final defense. The solid blades he raised above his head to deflect her strike emanated with a pale glow. [meat color glow is the actual text… meat color?]
“That won't save you now!”
Ayano aggressively swung Enraiha downwards with no thought to defense. She knew that this was the deciding moment. Kazuma had no power to spare to help her and if she was blocked again, they were sure to lose.
A crimson glow arced down without encountering any resistance, as if cutting through air.
The sliced meat blades of Ryuya's arms melted into the azure air as Enraiha cut in from the top of the head, and stopped at his heart. She was taking a risk by not cutting Ryuya in two, and instead called forth fire spirits from Enraiha from within the wound - and ignited them.
Ryuya’s body exploded. The pieces of meat that were blown off by the flames were carried away by the wind and swallowed by the azure light. In the end, even the tiniest traces of its existence had been erased.
That was Ryuya's, no, the end of the unnamed youma who had founded the Fuga clan.
The azure winds dissipated slowly, their power of purification weakening as they spread in all directions, maybe to continue restoration of this youki polluted world!
Watching the wind spirits leave, Ayano was captivated by the scene.
“Darn, just a few pennies for such hard work; I shall never take any jobs from the Kannagi again.”
But, again a line that ignored the mood spoiled everything. She turned around angrily to see Kazuma laying spread-eagled on the floor.
Ayano went over to him, but he did not move. He appeared to be completely drained.
(No matter how strong he is, he is still human.)
After all he had almost single-handedly defeated Ryuya. I think I can forgive him one or two rude lines! Ayano thought generously, and thanked him.
“Great work.”
Kazuma did not reply, and merely sniffed.
Ayano sat down beside Kazuma.
“Hey, Kazuma?”
She did not expect an answer as Kazuma showed no response, but Ayano still continued.
“If it was just you, you could have won on your own, couldn’t you?”
“It would have been very difficult!”
This time, Kazuma finally gave a response, and his eyes that had regained their original black luster looked at Ayano.
“Making a contract with a spirit lord does not mean that I am omnipotent. Even if I have unlimited power at my disposal, there is still a limit to the amount I can control. I can never exceed the amount a human can handle.”
”Is that so? Maybe that is the case! Besides, there's still the time you need to get ready. You surely would have gotten attacked before then, right?”
“...... Yup, that is right.”
Even though outwardly he answered without hesitation, Ayano didn't miss the moment his eyes shifted.
“Kazuma?”
”What?”
His expression was completely neutral. But, it was too late.
Ayano flopped down right onto him, and reached with her hands to grip him by his collar, as if about to strangle him.
Kazuma offered no resistance, his hand and legs remained spread wide on the floor.
“To push a man down like this, what a shameless girl you are. The clan chief would cry if he saw this.”
-- That mouth of his was still the same, no matter how tired he was.
“Don’t joke around, now answer me. When were you ready?”
Despite Ayano’s grip growing more forceful by the second, Kazuma replies carelessly.
“Hmm, about the time when you were hit and flew off?”
“Then, why didn’t you use your tricks immediately!?”
Ayano was putting her entire strength into her hands and yet Kazuma still talked as if nothing was happening.
“You are wrong to blame me; I was doing it for your own good.”
”Which part of it was for my good!?”
She was on the brink of explosion. If he did not have a logical explanation, she intended to stab him with Enraiha.
“The way it looked, if it had ended with you being unable to land even a single strike, you would have been doomed to be a loser for the rest of your life.”
“Argh……”
His remark hit her soundly and Ayano was left speechless for a moment. Indeed, if she had only kept dodging back then and left everything to Kazuma, she might never have had the courage to fight again. Someone unable to overcome her fear, a jutsushi who could only fight enemies weaker than herself, couldn't be relied upon, no matter how strong she was.
“When I saw that you had finally managed to gather your courage, I decided to watch from the side for a bit. Your performance was not at all bad until half-way. If he hadn't escaped at that point, you would probably have won!”
“Huh? You mean to say that my technique worked?”
”Nope. It was completely useless.”
Kazuma replied in a straightforward manner..
“Because you have Enraiha in your hand, there is no need to rely on tricks or use some lousy techniques. If cutting him in to four pieces doesn’t kill him, just cut him until he is annihilated.”
“…… Sorry for being that lousy.”
”That is not what you should be sorry for.”
Kazuma ruthlessly continued to critique her.
“You need to practice on your swordsmanship, currently there is no point in you having the Enraiha.”
”I know……”
”But, that last strike was brilliant. It skillfully used the characteristics of Enraiha as both a sword and a spiritual artifact.”
Hearing the sudden praise, Ayano blushed. She suddenly felt very happy. In spite of the flaws in the personality of this man she saw clearly and the disgust she felt over realizing that she had been dancing in the palm of his hand, the throbbing in her chest couldn't be stopped.
“You…… You talk like you are so great. Just what do you know of Enraiha?”
She tried to speak harshly to cover up her embarrassment, but her ploy had obviously failed. Kazuma smiled at Ayano with a look that seemed to see through it all.
“Ah ah, and one more thing, it is best not to sit on a man dressed like that.”
“……Huh?”
“Even if you are a little girl who has neither a bosom nor femininity, other people might misunderstand!”
As Ayano involuntarily lowered her head to see just what kind of state she was in- She froze completely. Unable to withstand the vigorous battle, her uniform had no inch left intact, everything was shredded. Even her underwear was partly torn, almost to the point where it failed to cover her body.
Seeing Kazuma’s eyes that “seemed to see through it all,” Ayano’s face turned bright red up to her ears.
“Id……Idiot------------!!”
A scream echoed in the wilderness.
“Brother!”
As he recognized that the ones approaching him to be Kazuma and Ayano, Ren cried out with joy and tried running towards them. But his body weak from injury did not allow him to do so.
“Wah……”
A gust of wind gently lifted Ren, who had stumbled over his own legs and was about to fall. The boy floated right into Kazuma’s arms.
Kazuma hugged Ren lightly, and caressed his head. Ren hugged his brother back tightly without the intention of letting go.
“You did very well, Ren. You did a great job.”
”Thank you, brother……?”
Their conversation suddenly halted and Ren stretched his hand to Kazuma’s cheek - there was a very clear, red hand-print on it.
Faced with a silent question, Kazuma smiled and replied, “Ah, just now, after defeating Ryuya, I met an even more vicious enemy. I almost died there.”
After saying that, he looked in the direction of Ayano for a second. Ayano who was covered by Kazuma’s jacket turned away in anger, ignoring him.
“Huh…… This……”
Ren understood some, but he had the feeling that if he said it, his life might be in danger. He desperately searched for another topic.
“Ryu……Ryuya has also been defeated? So then everything is finally over!”
Trying his best to show an innocent smile, Ren feels sad about how pathetic he was.
“Yup! Let us head back! Ayano, is our car still okay?”
“It was burnt,” Ayano rushed to say, and Kazuma looked at her suspiciously.
“It……It wasn’t me! It was blown away by Ryuya’s wind, and when it smashed into the ground it caught on fire.”
Ayano tried to explain, but even so, Kazuma’s eyes remained full of suspicion.
Lifting his head to look into the clear night sky, Kazuma said to Ren, “Never mind, taking a stroll through the mountains while looking at the moon is not bad once in a while.”
”...if we are not lost.”
Hearing Kazuma’s words that seemed to be avoiding reality, Ayano interjected calmly.
“Ah? Did you say something just now? The root of all evil.”
“What?! You were the one who left me, it's your fault this happened!”
“…… Both of you, stop arguing.”
Ren's tired voice tried to pacify them, but the two didn't seem to hear and continued to accuse each other energetically.
Looking up at the moon that was like a silver basin, Ren thought about the cruelty of life.
Ryuya and Hyoue were both eliminated, the Fuga clan’s ambitions smashed into pieces. Everything was perfectly settled, so why must a happy ending still be so far away?
The tongue fight still continuing and no longer with any strength to go between them, Ren lies against his brother’s chest, and accepts the intrusion of the sleep demon.
He takes the funny speech between his beloved brother and sister as a lullaby and enjoys it.
Notes
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