Volume 1
Chapter 2 Part
3
Dancing in the
Burning Dust, Rindo Flower 3
Translator : PolterGlast
"Now then."
Saki took ten steps
away from the point of impact to prepare herself.
She held the
vermillion-colored Naginata in her
hand and rotated it two or three times in her hand like a dance.
Each time the tip
arced, the spiritual power within the blade scattered violet light, and the
excess power was converted into flames, forming a perfect circle.
Divine Pillar (Mihashira) that reigns over Southern
Shumon Province is a deity that controls fire. Naturally, many of the spirits
that dwell in those who are under the protection of that deity belong to fire.
It is only natural
that the spirit dwelling inside Saki would have the attribute of fire.
"I shall conquer.
Lend me your strength, Ezuka-hime."
The moment she felt
the presence nestled in her soul smiling at her, her enormous spiritual power
was sublimated and became a vortex of spiritual power.
The violet-colored
spiritual power erupting from her body converged with her spirit container, Shōjinbina, as it swirled around.
The violet light
exploded and at the same time became flames, scorching Saki's surroundings.
She readied her Shōjinbina and lowered her waist
slightly.
At that moment, a pack
of boars driven from the depths of the darkness collided with Akira and the
others.
The boars came at them
with a rumbling noise, and Akira and his men, not to be outdone, pushed the
boars one step harder.
――At the same time, Saki
instantly closed the gap of 10 steps with a swift movement as if gliding
through the air.
Kihoin-style Spirit
Technique, First Transmission――
She stamped her left
foot on the ground powerfully and transmitted the inertia gained from her
movement into the blade so as not to lose any of it.
With a full body
rotation, she fired a powerful upward slash toward the boars, which should
still be outside her attack range.
"――Tsubame
Kiba."
The blade of the Naginata drew a scarlet circle while
being clad in flame, and the flaming slash passed between the boars and the
shield team like a swallow soaring over the ground.
However, Tsubame Kiba
is just a rudimentary spirit technique that only sends a flying slash. It does
not have enough sustainability to change the boars' course.
Therefore, its main
purpose is to connect with the next technique.
Without stopping the
momentum, she drew a second perfect circle with the still flaming blade.
It is a spirit
technique based on the premise of two consecutive attacks.
Kihoin-style Spirit
Technique, Linked Move――
"――Scarlet Strike."
As if following the
lead of Tsubame Kiba that was rushing ahead, a torrent of flames that gushed
out while tracing the previous slash further separated Akira and the others
from the boars.
The right half of the
boars were burned and fell down without even raising a cry of pain, while the
other boars, who were afraid of the flames, changed their path to ideal
positions.
"――As
expected..."
A voice of admiration
escaped from Akira's mouth. The wall of flames which is still burning
completely separates the boars from Akira and the others.
Though it was not the
first time he had seen such spirit techniques itself.
However, the spirit
technique unleashed by Saki was of a different dimension of power.
The technique of the
first strike is comparable to the power of the second strike. One step ahead of
Akira and the others is a world of scorching heat where flames still burned.
No defiled beasts
could survive in this world. Perhaps thinking so, everyone relaxed a little.
However, at that
moment, the flames rose up.
Then, protected by the
dense miasma, a deformed boar appeared as if defying the torrent of flames.
Akira, as well as
Saki, were under a misconception, as Lord is not something that appears all of
a sudden. Since the main cause is a mutation due to concentrated miasma, it is
only natural that there are some defiled beasts that are on the verge of
becoming a Lord.
They may look like
mere defiled beasts, but the concentration of the miasma they carry inside them
is of a different order of magnitude.
Unfortunately, Akira
and the others encountered a boar on the verge of becoming Lord.
The boar turned its
reddish-black eyeballs toward the blooming flames without looking at Akira and
the others.
The boar, without
regard to the fire that was burning him, began rushing frantically toward Saki.
Saki, who was
maintaining her spirit technique, was slightly delayed in responding to it.
――At this rate, Saki
will be trampled.
As he thought so,
Akira's body moved subconsciously.
Even against the
torrent of flames, the boar temporarily exceeded its own power, and reached
Saki, who was frozen in place after her spirit technique was forcibly breached,
in a single motion.
――There was no time to
hesitate.
Akira grabbed Saki by
the collar and forcefully swung her out of the boar's path.
As a result, Saki and
Akira switched positions, and Akira had to face the boar's lunge head-on.
――Boom！！！
The boar collided with
the shield that Akira was barely able to hold in position.
With a sound as if a
rock or something crashed into him, Akira's body was hit with a violent shock
that he had never felt before.
――― Uuuuugggghhh！！！
"Gu~u
~u~ua~a~a~a~h!"
Akira's throat let out
a painful cry due to the continuous shock and pain.
Essentially, the role
of the shield team is to push the side of the defiled beasts with the shield
and change its course.
No matter how sturdy
the shield is, it is not designed to withstand on the defiled beasts head-on.
――And it is the very
same case with Akira's shield.
The shield, made of
sturdy oak wood, makes an ominous creaking sound.
No wonder. In addition
to the boar's rush, the shield was also being enveloped by a dense miasma.
It did not take more
than a breath for the shield to begin to crack and erode from the inside in an
instant.
The shield's top edge
cracked wide, and through the gap, Akira's gaze crossed with the frenzied,
blazing eyes of the enemy. The miasma mixed with a distinct curse slightly
invaded his lungs as he breathed, and he was nearly knocked unconscious by the
intense pain that invaded his lungs.
There was no time to
hesitate. While resisting the boar's momentum with everything he had, he
reached for his personal pouch, which was tied around his waist.
He snapped the
fastener with his thumb, then drew out a talisman from inside, pinching it
between his index and middle fingers, and threw it in front of the boar at the
same time the shield was broken.
After throwing it, he
made a sword finger sign with his hand, and in one fluid motion, he slashed the
sacred thread, activating the talisman.
――At that moment,
Akira's entire field of vision froze.
What Akira used was a
water-based, barrier-type talisman that he had obtained with the money he had
saved up.
Barrier-type is the
second most expensive talisman next to Regeneration-type. They are also used to
reinforce permanent barriers and are not intended for lavish use as temporary
barriers like what Akira just did.
For Akira, the
barrier-type talisman seemed to be powerful enough to be worth the price, and
with the cracked shield at its center, the nearly-born Lord and the fallen
boars were all frozen in ice.
"...Whoa!"
While holding his
throat, which still ached from the miasma, he let out an unintentional gasp of
admiration at the power of the talisman he had just used for the first time.
The powerful defiled
beast which was on the verge of becoming a Lord is now completely glazed with
ice.
Just when he was
relieved that the danger was over for the time being, the boar's ferocious eyes
glared at him through the ice.
He involuntarily took
a step backward.
Within the ice, the
boar's huge frame swelled even more.
――Crack. A large crack
appeared on the surface of the ice.
At the same time, the
talisman attached to the surface of the ice burnt away without making a sound.
This scene forced him
to recognize reality, even if he didn't like it. The beast that had been sealed
inside the barrier was forcibly breaking through it from the inside.
The miasma was
spraying at a furious pace from the cracks.
Akira was exposed to
it from the front.
Because his body was
stunned, his reaction was fatally delayed.
Inhaling the dense
miasma again, Akira almost fell down on the spot.
―――Gii~i~i~ioaa~aaa！！！
"Gu~u u~!"
Bang. The ice cracked,
and the head of the boar, freed, let out a cry that was a mixture of rage and
cursing.
A wave of malicious
intent struck Akira, who was unable to move at that moment.
Akira barely looked up
and saw the boar with its free forelegs raised in the air, ready to trample him
down.
"――Retreat！！"
Just like what Akira
had done earlier, Saki suddenly grabbed him by the collar and threw him out of
the boar's attack range.
In the nick of time,
the boar's forelegs struck down, and the earth shook and the dust scattered
around it, conveying the force of the blow.
Akira and Saki jumped
out in different directions, scattering the dust that was billowing up.
Akira, nearly knocked
unconscious by the intense pain, rolled on the ground, unable to brace himself.
The boar's eyes were
fixed only on Akira, not even paying attention to Saki, perhaps because he knew
that he was about to be sealed inside the ice barrier.
――Saki was not so
foolish as to let that opportunity pass by.
She bent down and
readied her Shōjinbina.
"I~i~ia~a~a~a！！"
Saki rushed forward
accompanied by her fierce fighting spirit.
Aimed at its exposed
flank, she unleashed a lethal blow that pierced through the Lord's defenses.
Kihoin-style
Spirit Technique, Middle Transmission――
"――Kitsutsuki
Tōshi!"
The moment the blow
struck, multiple explosions impacted a point on the boar's tough body surface.
Countless explosions
forcefully broke through the boar's defenses, burying the blade of Shōjinbina completely within its body.
―――Gi~I~i~i!
Perhaps the pain was
too much to ignore, and the boar's cry was mixed with an obvious cry of
anguish.
However, that was not
the end of the attack. Saki once again concentrated her spiritual power on the
blade of Shōjinbina.
She pushed the blade
further in a twisting motion, and the tip of the blade reached the boar's
internal organs.
It is a chain
technique that directly attacks the internal organs, which cannot be defended
against.
Kihoin-style
Spirit Technique, Linked Move――
"――Hachikanse!"
Thud. After a sound of
a muffled explosion, the boar stood still and slowly fell to the ground.
From its neck to its
shoulders, everything was blackened and discolored.
The inside of the
blackened hole had completely turned to charcoal.
The boar's strong
defenses had been breached and the explosion had spread throughout its body.
The body structure of
the defiled beast is no different from that of the original creature. If so, it
should still have a heart inside its body.
If its heart is
destroyed, there is no way for it to survive, no matter how powerful it may be.
The core of this pack
has been burned to death for sure. Saki released her lingering fighting spirit
and exhaled deeply.
She glanced at Akira,
who she had thrown backward.
She could vaguely see
that Akira's figure was still enveloped in a dense miasma and could tell
nothing more than that he had collapsed unconscious on the ground.
――Guu~uooo~o~on~！！！
Just as she was about
to turn on her toes to run toward Akira, a roar accompanied by a rumbling sound
echoed from the other side of the forest spreading out behind Saki.
A tremor of powerful
spiritual power reached Saki. It was the same fluctuation that Ryota had often
released at Tenryo Academy.
Intuitively, Saki was
sure that it was the rumbling sound of the pack being split in two.
The pack that had been
split in two should already be surrounded by Genji and the others.
If that were the case,
there was nothing left for Saki to do in this place.
"All hands,
listen up!"
There was no
hesitation.
Turning away from
Akira, Saki moved her toes in the direction of the roaring sound and gave
instructions to the soldiers, who were on edge now that their team leader was not
present.
"Divide into two
groups! One group will surround the still-breathing boars and make sure they
are killed. The other will guard the surrounding area and ensure our
safety!"
"""Yes,
ma'am!"""
Saki told the
soldiers, who had begun to move swiftly but precisely, not to overdo it, and
ran in the direction of the sound to fulfill her role.
She concentrated her
spiritual power in her Tanden
(Dantian) to accelerate the flow of her entire body's spiritual energy.
This is a spiritual
technique for strengthening the body that is not limited to Kihoin, but all
those who possess a high-ranked spirit must first learn and master it.
Kihoin-style
Spirit Technique, First Transmission――
"――Aragamioroshi."
Leaves danced in the
air as if they exploded under Saki's feet as she kicked the ground.
At a speed that leaves
this reality behind, Saki begins to accelerate.
She effortlessly
avoided the approaching grove of trees and weaved her way through them like
dancing.
A second roar reached
Saki's ears as she hurried on.
――Ryota must have
eradicated the pack that was assigned to him.
Ryota's ability is
well known, even though he is not a very likable person.
Having been beaten up
at the academy, he had been quiet for a while, but the inexperienced Saki did
not know in what direction the taste of success would turn him to once again.
Besides, he did not
want to show any weakness that would make him look weak, especially since he
was directly ordered to take part in this mission by the head of the Kuga clan.
After finding the
trail where the boars had run through, Saki ran further along the trail.
Shortly before
reaching the target location, she readied her Shōjinbina behind her and further boosted her spiritual power.
Then she arrived in a
blackened, empty space, where Ryota must have used his spirit technique.
Ten Ken*1
ahead, she could see the edge of a steep cliff.
Without hesitation,
she ran as fast as she could toward the cliff.
As she ran, she kept
raising her spiritual power.
Further, and further.
――She hoped that
someday, eventually, she would be able to reach the divine spirit.
[――Chi nake, sake ware, denden taiko, morobito
nomite, yake odore.]*2
In order to increase
the success rate, she recites an incantation.
The spiritual power
that she could not fully control was converted into fire sparks that emitted
violet light.
Wrapped in the vast
amount of fire sparks, Saki accelerates her speed even further.
Without hesitation,
she jumped high into the air beyond the cliff, closing the gap of 10 Ken*1
in roughly three sprints.
At the bottom of the
cliff were Niikura and his team, the Jinchi Team, and a pack of boars running
amok, pushed into the cliff by them.
Raising the Shōjinbina high into the night sky, Saki
concentrated all her boosted spiritual power at once.
This is the maximum
firepower that Saki can unleash.
Kihoin-style
Spirit Technique, Finisher Move――
"――Ishiwari Tonbi！！"
The upraised blade is
swung down while covered in violet light and flames.
Like a Kite plummeting
toward its prey, it thrust into the middle of the boar herd.
Thud. Compared to
Ryota's thunderous blast, the sound was more modest.
However, it was
greatly more effective.
The boars' feet were
momentarily lifted up, and the ground sank in a collapsing fissure, entangling
the boars' legs as they tried to escape, and the falling ground swallowed the
pack in one fell swoop.
Red flames erupted
from the cracks in the ground, burning the boars that had lost their escape
route to death.
"You have
improved your skill, Miss."
While the trainee
soldiers were still catching their breath, Genji, who had exterminated the pack
ahead of the others, approached Saki with a lively smile on his face.
"There aren't
many people that can use Ishiwari Tonbi at your age. The chief must be very
proud of you."
"Not really,
since Ane-sama and Ani-sama were able to use it much earlier than me. ......
More importantly, Uncle!"
Genji was startled by
Saki's sudden change in behavior after she finished her sentence.
"What is it? It's
rare for you to be so perturbed."
"Please give me
as much Kiyomemizu as you have!"
Kiyomemizu is purified water
from the shrine that is used to purify miasma.
Although it has a
lower quality than talismans, it is cheaper, so it is popular among the
commoners as an easy-to-use tool for purifying miasma.
The same is true for
the garrison, which is instructed to carry it with them at all times to deal
with those who are seriously exposed to miasma.
"O-ou."
Bewildered by Saki's
unusual behavior, Genji threw the bamboo canister tied around his waist and
handed it over to her.
"What's the
matter, miss? What happened?"
Saki, who was about to
run off with the bamboo canister she had received, looked over her shoulder to
answer Genji's question.
"That team
leader, he protected me and was hit by the Lord's body!"
Without waiting for
Genji's response, Saki used physical reinforcement and ran up the cliff with
such lightness as if she did not feel the shackles of gravity.
She skillfully used
the rocks and tree roots protruding from the cliff to run up the cliff and
accelerate even faster.
There was nothing but
impatience on Saki's face.
The probability of
survival of those who have inhaled the miasma is directly related to the time
it takes to purify the miasma.
Although it is
doubtful whether the Kiyomemizu in
Saki's hand can purify the miasma Akira inhaled, as long as it can purify the
miasma from his internal organs, it should be able to buy him some time.
...... This is not the
first time that Saki has experienced actual combat or human death. But it is
the first time she has seen someone risk their life to protect hers.
This meant that
letting Akira die would coincide with the fact that Saki had caused him to die.
Despite the rather steep
slope, Saki ran to the location of the Shield Team as if she were running on
level ground.
It did not take long
for her to return to their location, and there, she found that Akira was just
about to get up, despite miasma enveloping his body.
"――Hey!"
"Yes?"
And despite the dense
miasma, Akira's reply was quite normal.
"Didn't you just
inhale the miasma!? Don't get up!"
She rushed to Akira
and forcefully shoved the purifying water into his mouth.
Regardless of the fact
that Akira was choking from the sudden action, she kept pouring the purifying
water into his mouth.
"Cough, cough.
What are you doing all of a sudden!?"
"――This should be
able to stop the corrosion on your internal organs, but not the outside of your
body yet. ...... Does anyone have any purifying water left?"
"...... I have
some. However, leader is-..." "Thanks!"
Saki would not listen
to the team members who handed her the purifying water in a bewildered manner,
but instead tried to sprinkle the purifying water directly from the bamboo
canister.
"Please stop
it!"
Akira gave a panicked
response and Saki's movement stopped just in time.
"...Huh?"
"Look, I'm fine,
please stop it."
How can someone be
okay after being exposed to such a large amount of miasma? After thinking so,
she realized.
His skin, which should
have been blistered and on the verge of decaying, showed no sign of change at
all.
To begin with, the
fact that he was able to respond to her in such a nonchalant manner was too
unusual.
In front of Saki's
eyes, who was stunned to see something impossible, Akira tapped the area where
the miasma was thick in a gesture as if he was removing dust.
The moment his hand
lands on his clothes, the miasma in the area is whittled away.
This time, Saki's eyes
widened as she was confronted with a reality that was polar opposite to her own
common sense.
".........Eh?"
Leaving the bewildered
Saki aside, Akira's hand kept moving without hesitation, rapidly removing more
and more of the miasma.
"Eh?
E~eehh!?"
It would be more
accurate to describe it as an exorcism, but the way the tensionless hand
movements were whittling away the miasma was neither like a blessing nor a
cursing.
Eventually, after
beating off all the miasma that clung to his body, Akira turned to Saki, who
had become an figurine that could only watch in amazement, and lightly shrugged
his shoulders.
"......It seems
that if one beats the miasma a little harder, it can be exorcised."
"...There is no
way such a thing is possible."
Saki's thoughts were
unable to accept the reality even though she saw that it firsthand, and she
barely managed to refute it with a few words.
However, in this
regard, Saki's perception is more correct, regardless of the reality.
At first glance, the
miasma looks like a reddish-black haze, but in reality, it is not a haze but
more like a spirit power.
It is an everlasting
poison that erodes the spiritual power of yin and yang, especially that of life
that belongs to the yang element, and this is what is known as miasma. If the
miasma that clings to life itself could be dispersed with just a little effort,
it would not be such a serious problem as is happening everywhere now.
"Wait, how come
you're not affected by the miasma? There's not even a single scratch on
you."
"I'm affected,
you know? When I inhaled the miasma, it hurt so much that I fainted."
"That's true.
But, if it's only to that extent, then it means that it doesn't affect you
much, right?"
Normally, one's
internal organs would have rotted and melted. If Akira merely felt some pain, it
would be safe to say that he was not affected at all.
"My fellow squad
members seem to be wondering about that as well, perhaps I have a constitution
that makes me resistant to it."
"...It's the
first time I've ever heard of such a human. ――But I'll have to admit it, since
it's right in front of me after all. I'm convinced. When you were knocked
unconscious, no one was worried about you. They all knew about your
constitution, huh?"
"Yes. Though it's
not something worth mentioning, so no one except our squad members knew about
it."
Ha~a. Perhaps having
finally been convinced, she sighed as she put her finger on her forehead.
There are people who
are not affected by the miasma. She nodded and accepted this reality for the
time being.
After stopped thinking
about it any further, she pushed the remaining purifying water she had in her
hand onto Akira's chest.
"There's only a
little left, but you should drink the remaining purifying water. Even if you
say you won't be affected by the miasma, you don't know for sure, do you? It's
true that the miasma is poisonous, so you can never be too careful."
".......Thank
you."
Although bewildered,
he accepted the bamboo canister that was shoved in front of him.
It was quite light,
and when he shook it lightly, it rattled, indicating that there was still some
purifying water left in it.
It was one of the few
pure good intentions Akira had ever received.
Akira's heart was not
so cold that he could reject the bamboo canister, which was given to him out of
concern for his own safety, just because the other party was one of the eight
families with whom he had a personal grudge.
Before he knew it, the
sky in the east was beginning to turn pale white.
The miasma in Mt.
Myokaku had thinned out considerably.
Miasma generally
becomes active at midnight, when it is shrouded in darkness. There should be no
more battles today. Saki judged so.
As Akira tilted the
bamboo canister and swallowed the purifying water, Saki stretched her body out.
"This should be
the end for today. Thanks for your hard work."
"Yes. Likewise,
Ojōsama."
Akira returned a flat
response and smiled as if it couldn't be helped.
Saki is not that
insensitive. Although she was aware of the bias she felt from Akira, she was
hesitant to point it out.
Saki knew as a matter
of common sense that almost all of the trainee soldiers who join the garrison
have a past history to some degree or another.
Their past history is
enough to cause some kind of grudge against their hometowns or the nobility.
The nature of the grudge
varied from person to person, but it was often a false accusation or banishment
for which the person was not to blame, and this tended to be more noticeable in
those who joined the military at a younger age.
As a member of the
Eight Families, Saki knew that she was prone to some kind of resentment, and
perhaps because she was influenced by Genji at an early age, she held the
belief that "people should have freedom of thought at least".
That is why she did
not criticize him just because she sensed his bias.
Beyond the shadows of
the grove, which was beginning to darken, came the presence of people who had
brought a handful of purifying water with them.
After heaving a deep
sigh, Saki raised her right hand to let them know her location.
*1 Old
length unit, 1 Ken = approx. 1.818 m.
*2 The
earth shall cry, the earth shall split, the earth shall crack, electricity and
drums shall beat, and everyone shall drink and dance in a fiery dance.
――――――――――――――――
TIPS: About the
Fighting Styles.
There are five major
styles in Takamagahara.
These five styles are
Kihoin-style, Gioin-style, Hariin-style, Jinroin-style, and Tsukinomiya-style.
The five schools are
not differentiated by which is stronger or weaker, but by which attributes the
Divine Pillars of the province possess.
For example, the
Divine Pillar of Shumon Province governs fire, so the Kihoin-style is designed
to effectively control the attribute of fire.
For the record, even
if one is born in Shumon Province, but is born with the attribute of water, one
must learn Gioin-style, which specializes in controlling the water element.
-----
Hello guys, PolterGlast
here.
As of today, I'll post
2 chapters/week.
Also, I added this
novel to my Patreon Page, so if you want to support me and read advanced
chapters at the same time, please be sure to drop by :)
-----
