Volume 4
Chapter 9 Part
1
When the Rain Comes,
It Will be Settled 1
Translator : PolterGlast
They say that in the
ancient Takamagahara, there was only one deity and the families that supported
it.
The four divine
pillars were then born from Takamikura and forgiven by the vassal families, and
with endless compassion, they divided the divine island of Takamagahara into
five provinces.
It was a mistake of
the vassal families to have allowed even a breath of the miscellaneous beings
that spread across the land.
As a result, the
vassal families were usurped from Takamagahara, and they had to support the
Takamikura and the five provinces only in the Central Capital.
To call a divine being
like Takamikura by such a casual name as 'Haha' and to boldly claim that they
rule the provinces as if they were the sovereigns. Such an outrage.
And to top it all off,
mere appendages of old families are revered as the Eight Families and are now
at the height of their arrogance.
—All this is because of the forgiveness of the old
families.
To return Takamagahara
to its original state. That is the natural right that is still engraved in the
souls of those who call themselves the old families.
It is the forgotten
truth that the old families have secretly passed down in the historical
records.
Just when the
long-cherished dream of the old families was about to be realized, Tsuwabuki
Samon's foolish actions ruined everything.
For the old families,
who could not even unite, the only possibility that remained was their
connection with the Ugetsu family.
The marriage between
the two families, which was reluctantly accepted with the understanding that
the Ugetsu family would allow the old families to remain at the end, was a
blessing in disguise for me, who was approaching old age.
That is the legitimacy
of the Ugetsu family. I can confidently say that Ugetsu Souma's talent is that
of a direct descendant, even without favoritism.
—That is why I could not forgive such a violation of
justice as to constantly belittle him with petty tricks.
It is a good thing
that a grandfather can end the misconduct of his grandson.
The farce called the
Imperial Match will end in laughter once this fellow is dead.
There are only two
members of the Eight Families that are currently with him. If we choose a
replacement from among the retainers of the old families, they should be
grateful for the generous treatment.
Suppressing the spirit
that was unusually hesitant deep within, the old man spat out righteous
indignation.
"It's fine to
crush the miscellaneous beings. We can show mercy afterward.
—Let's go, Rouba Nyogo."
He controlled the
spiritual light that burned like a Ominaeshi and swung his short sword (class-A
spirit weapon) horizontally.
Tsukinomiya-style
Spirit Technique, Shoden, ―Enreki.
♢
In an instant, a
crescent-shaped flying slash distorted the moonlight and pierced through the
steam car.
A strange sound
resounded. The released steam stained the view whiter than snow.
The opponent stepped
toward Fuwa Naotoshi, who had barely avoided it, and flashed a small dagger at
his chest.
"What the,
—!?" "Haaa!"
A blade that tore
through the air overlapped with the trajectory of the flying slash.
Tsukinomiya-style
Spirit Technique, Consecutive Technique, ―Ougasane.
An invisible blade
that crushed wind and snow in its wake, pursued Naotoshi relentlessly. Naotoshi
matched the slash with his own, following the trajectory where the white was
shattered into fine particles.
Spiritual power
clashed with sparks, and the blade's speed increased to the point that the
blade's edge grazed his cheek.
As the snowflakes
covering the entire area were crushed and scattered, Naotoshi's feet left marks
on the ground.
—Powerful!
Overwhelmed by the
skill born from relentless training, Naotoshi let out an exclamation of
admiration inwardly.
However, Naotoshi was
also a member of the Hariin-school (never retreating). He couldn't just let himself
be defeated.
Maintaining the
spiraling spirit power, Naotoshi stomped through the ground.
Hariin-style Spirit
Technique, Shoden―
"Frost
Pillar" "—Katabamikuzushi"
A barrier towered over
the old man half a breath faster than Naotoshi.
The moment Naotoshi's
spirit technique struck the surface, the barrier shattered into dust with a
burst of spiritual light.
In the shadow cast by
the fading glow of the Ominaeshi, a blue vein ran across the old man's
forehead.
"How dare you
violate the earth element!!" "—Wha!?"
A loud voice that
shook even the spiritual light. In an instant, the spirit power turned into
purple lightning and raged around the old man.
Tsukinomiya-style
Spirit Technique, Chuden, ―Jinchu Akiura.
An impact similar to
that of metal pierced through Naotoshi's defense and ran wild.
An impact that
threatened to crush his breath. The old man's toes kicked Naotoshi's collapsing
body.
"Naotoshi-sensei!"
Without even hearing
Akira's worried voice, Naotoshi was swallowed up by the darkness of the woods.
As if even that were a
trivial matter, the old man flipped his haori and snorted.
"Ha. If you had
just stood there like a wooden puppet, I would have graciously cut off your
head.
—Well, whatever. Once I've finished, I'll tell you what
honor I have in store for you."
The spirit power
emanating from the old man, who was not particularly tall, arrogantly painted
the surroundings.
Akira and Saki braced
themselves against the oppressive presence that surpassed even the Eight
Families.
Was it arrogance, or
did he consider it natural?
In the midst of the
tense silence, Akira was the first to speak.
"...What a lame
act to sneak around. You even go so far as ambushing us. And you call
yourselves an old family? You sure have fallen pretty low."
"To compare mercy
with an ambush is as low as it gets.
I was merely being
kind to the miscellaneous beings I was about to mow down, so they wouldn't
suffer."
"Face the
reality. You've messed up and now you're cornered.
You must be desperate,
aren't you? —Mikuriya Shishin."
Shishin's face turned
red with anger at Akira's mockery.
With a bloodshot face,
he lowered his waist and held his short sword in a Hassō-no-kamae stance.
"You're nothing
but a weed my daughter discarded.
—Return the Ugetsu artifact to me. Then I will be
merciful enough to cut off your limbs and behead you myself."
"So you want the
artifact, and if I give it to you, you'll execute me.
Are you stupid? Just
say honestly that you're upset that I've been recognized as the rightful
heir."
"—Do you spit on
my kindness? Then that's fine, I'll chop you up and use it as a final
lesson!"
Akira's ignorance, who
didn't understand words before common sense.
Giving up on the mercy
to persuade him, Shishin kicked the ground arrogantly.
"Saki, check Naotoshi-sensei's
condition." "—Got it!"
As expected, they
exchanged short words, and Akira and Saki separated to the left and right.
Even if Shishin had to
deal with the members of the Eight Families eventually, his current priority
was Akira.
Without hesitation, he
aimed at Akira and refined his spirit power.
Tsukinomiya-style
Spirit Technique, Chuden, ―Amanerobu.
Overlapping of
physical reinforcement. With a momentary acceleration, the distance between
them melted away in an instant.
Although it wasn't
enough to manipulate time, it was still an instantaneous acceleration.
"!"
"—Too slow!"
At a distance where
even their breath could reach, the blades of both sides flashed.
Excess spirit power
intertwined with each other, and sparks traced trajectories each time their
swords clashed.
A back-and-forth
battle ensued. Eventually, the two sides separated at the same time with sparks
flying.
Huff. As the heat of
his excited body was washed away by the winter waves, it felt good.
Without letting his
guard down, he slowly closed the distance with just the tips of his toes.
Their breaths, exhaled
as they faced each other, drifted whitely in the wind.
Only the wind's
whimpers could be heard. In an instant, they closed the distance again.
Responding to the wolf
howling deep within, Akira swung his spirit weapon.
Gioin-style Spirit
Technique, Variant, ―Kagetsu Koukou.
Controlling the
instantly accelerating spirit power. He aimed the roaring slash from above at
Shishin's head.
Gioin-style Spirit
Technique, Shoden―
"―Hangetsu-narashi"
A deafening roar, a
violent explosion. The shockwave, fueled by spirit power, crashed down like an
avalanche, trying to crush the old man.
The sheer weight was
directly linked to its power. A pure conversion of power that allowed for
neither defense nor evasion.
Even as the power of
the water-element approached, a mocking sneer twisted Shishin's lips.
The spiritual light
swirling around the short sword condensed sharply. The ground was gouged where
his foot stepped, and it converged with increasing momentum.
Tsukinomiya-style
Spirit Technique, Chuden―
"―Yonagayurashi"
Pierced by a short
thrust, the shockwave dissipated.
An anticlimactic end
that left no sound.
"W-Wha—!"
"—It's over, you fool!"
A kick slammed into
Akira's abdomen after he dodged the slash that only carved the night.
Rolling twice, Akira
bounced back up.
His instincts, shaking
with pain, screamed, and a chill ran down his spine.
—-A moment after Akira kicked the ground to evade,
spirit power swirled above his head.
Tsukinomiya-style
Spirit Technique, Chuden, ―Geshiotoshi.
The wind carried a
heat wave, swirling upward.
A whirlwind of flames
that fell in an instant raged, carving even the night darkness.
"This is the
spirit technique of the earth element that rules over the five elements.
—A vulgar end fitting for a vulgar being. It's
deplorable that you cannot even understand that such treatment is all you
deserve."
"Then give up.
The fact that you're still clinging to it shows how limited your capacity
is."
"Don't you
understand that you've hit rock bottom by refusing to listen to reason!"
"—Then you should
also accept the decision of the Three Imperial Families and stop throwing a
tantrum, old man."
Saki narrowed the
distance sharply with her naginata in hand, her eyes fixed on Shishin's back.
The violet spiritual
light carved a cross-shaped trajectory.
Kihoin-style Spirit
Technique, Chuden―
"Juji-no-Nazo!"
"—Fuyuzare Musubi"
The fierce slash of
flames cut through the air, but it dissipated in the face of Shishin's blow,
which contained the frigid winter.
Realizing the
disadvantage of fire against water, Saki stood side by side with Akira without
going forward any further.
"...How's
sensei?" "He's fine. He just can't move."
With one worry gone, a
sense of relief appeared on Akira's face.
For some reason,
Mikuriya Shishin, who had become the biggest remaining concern, was simply
glaring at them.
"What's wrong?
Aren't you going to ambush me?"
"I said that was
just a kindness.
Now that you've
rejected it, twisting you to pieces would be an apology for what you've done to
me."
"—Mikuriya
Shishin. If word gets out about what you've done, don't you understand that it
will mean the end of the old families? Not only is it an outrageous act, but to
harbor resentment towards those recognized as one of the Eight
Families..."
"Recognized? You
keep barking about empty words that even the old families haven't acknowledged.
To cast aside the
divine spirit, the supreme treasure, Takamikura and the Three Imperial Families
can only maintain their value when they are managed by us old families."
"...I see, I
finally understand."
Akira felt like he had
a slight understanding of Shishin's arrogant words.
"For you, it's
the old families who should rule Takamagahara, not the Three Imperial Families
and Four Sovereigns, right?"
"That's right.
You miscellaneous beings are only allowed to breathe because we old families
permit it.
Why can't you
understand that the remaining four elements are just ornaments to the Earth
element?"
The Earth element
belongs to the middle path. It contains the potential for everything, the
foundation and the one of all things.
Its reputation as
being capable of everything is not unfounded.
Even though it
transcends the relationship of generation and restraint, the Earth element is a
rare existence even among divine spirits in the Four Provinces.
The old families are,
in other words, the general term for families that possess this rare existence
as their bloodline.
Swinging his short
sword horizontally, Shishin heightened his spirit power.
Staring at the peak of
the honorable one, he accelerated purely from his dantian.
"—And this is
proof that Souma is my direct descendant."
Shishin's spiritual
light, which was as high as it could go, became as clear as a pale yellow
flower.
Eventually, the glow
of the divine pillar poured down from the distant peak of the honorable one.
"A divine
spirit... and an Earth element, at that."
"Do you
understand now? Only those who possess the divine spirit of the honorable one
are worthy of the Ugetsu artifact.
It's absurd for a
spiritless being, who is not even fit to be a spectacle, to touch it."
As a truly rare Earth
element divine spirit medium, Mikuriya Shishin cast excess spiritual light from
the blade.
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