Volume 4
Chapter 9 Part
2
When the Rain Comes,
It Will be Settled 2
Translator : PolterGlast
*Whoosh*.
The wind and snow
burned darkly in the glow of the Ominaeshi.
The spirit power
condensed endlessly, eventually becoming transparent and clear.
It was the sign when a
spirit sublimated. It was the proof that he had reached the pinnacle.
"Divine
spirit..."
Rindou Saki exclaimed
in astonishment.
With the wind and snow
following him, Mikuriya Shishin rushed towards the girl who hastily pulled back
her naginata.
The distance melted
away in an instant. The thrust unleashed by the old man clashed with the
naginata, scattering sparks.
"Kuh, ugh!"
"—You're too
weak, little girl!"
The girl's cry of pain
and Shishin's roar of anger crossed. They repelled each other, and the distance
between them opened again.
Akira stepped forward
to protect the girl who had jumped back.
As if fanned by
Shishin's divine spirit, the boy's breath was colored by obsidian spirit power.
"Are you okay,
Saki?"
"I'm fine.
—Don't, Akira-kun."
The girl pointed out
sharply to the clear and transparent obsidian aura.
No matter how many
martial arts there are in the world, ultimately, victory in battle boils down
to one point.
—That is, how to deprive your opponent of their
freedom.
Akira and Saki had been
taught by Asogi Genji that the essence of martial arts lies in reducing the
range that can be reached in one breath, with one's own two arms and a forward
step.
This is true even for
the factional schools that teach spirit techniques.
Initiative, response.
The optimal choice for oneself is decided at the moment of stepping forward.
In the end, tactics in
the factional schools are nothing more than a game of revealing each other's
cards (means).
It was a foolish
strategy to reveal the trump card (the divine protection of the divine pillar)
out of emotion, against Shishin who had decided the situation with the greatest
card of all, the divine spirit medium.
"I know, but we
can't stay at the foot of Renkyo Mountain for long."
"Yeah. —If the
Ugetsu family finds out about this commotion, it'll definitely be
troublesome."
In Renkyo Mountain,
and by extension, in the land of Tsuzura, Akira and Saki's only ally was Fuwa
Naotoshi.
That fact at least
implied that if Akira and Mikuriya Shishin fought, there would be a higher
possibility that they would side with the opponent.
With Saki's agreement,
Akira looked up at the curtain of wind and snow pressing down from the night
sky.
The heavy curtain of
softly falling snowflakes silently swallowed most sounds.
"I don't think we
need to worry about the noises, but... given that he ambushed us here, it must
be due to a report from a retainer."
In the darkness of
night, as the wind and snow fell, he timed his descent from the mountain with
Akira and the others. Without a doubt, there was a spy within the Ugetsu
family.
Akira chose his words
carefully and opened his mouth.
"Colluding with a
retainer of the Ugetsu family. Your way of doing things sure so similar to that
guy named Tsuwabuki, is scheming a specialty of the old families?"
"Rest assured.
Those miscellaneous beings I've let crawl around are just to keep the Ugetsu
people busy.
—It's less troublesome than having to deal with more
people who are presumptuous enough to defile the radiance of our honorable
one."
"I had heard that
Ugetsu Souma was the only divine spirit medium of this generation, but it seems
there's someone else hiding it."
In a society where the
rank of a spirit determines the value of a noble, and even a person,
Earth-element spirits are already few in number, and divine spirits are even
rarer.
"Like I said. It
would defile the radiance of the divine spirit if miscellaneous beings were to
see the honorable one.
A secret is enough.
The divine spirit is just a shining light to glorify the old family."
"You were
boasting about your precious grandson Souma, though..."
"If a divine
spirit of another element were to be obtained by a mere Eight Great Clan, it's
no big deal, at most it would be like a firefly."
"—I mean, to keep
it hidden... wouldn't that be a waste at your age?"
Saki pointed out
involuntarily while measuring the distance between them.
It's fine to keep it
hidden, but no matter how divine a spirit is, it only dwells in an individual.
Since Mikuriya Shishin
is already quite old, its value as a trump card would inevitably decrease.
Perhaps she had hit
the nail on the head, Shishin's mouth twisted unhappily.
"...Speaking of
which, you also barked at me in Kamotsu that one time.
I already taught you
the hierarchy myself. It's a shame that it was all for nothing."
"Ara~. It's been
only three months, and you remember it well."
He was relieved to see
Saki's response.
No matter how much Shishin
tried to gloss over the reason, the reality remained the same.
He was aware that if
the case was brought to the public's attention, the Mikuriya family would be at
a disadvantage since they had been involved in the attempted murder.
"There's no need
for miscellaneous beings like you to understand.
—I'll show you the end of those who throw away the
opportunity to return the artifact peacefully."
Shishin, who had come
this far, poured his carefully kneaded spirit power into his spirit weapon.
The glow of the
Ominaeshi, which carved a vortex, changed into shockwaves within Shishin's
range.
Tsukinomiya-style
Spirit Technique, Chuden―
"—Kansen
Sudaki"
In an instant, an
ear-splitting shock kicked up the snow and swept through the area.
The white fog engulfed
the area, and Akira and Saki jumped backward to avoid it.
"Ha. It would be
fine if it was Ugetsu, but returning the artifact to Mikuriya is too convenient
for you."
"There's a piece
of history that miscellaneous beings like you don't know.
Futsu-no-Awai was
originally an artifact dedicated to the Mikuriya family by the tutelary deity
of water. The Mikuriya family, which guards the north, lent it to the Gioin
family as a proxy for conquering the north."
Piercing the vast
snowflakes, Shishin took a step forward.
Scorching heat dwelled
in his throbbing blade.
"In other words,
it was the Gioin family, who disregarded the main Mikuriya family, that
carelessly started the Ugetsu family.
—It's not just the Ugetsu. All the artifacts possessed
by the Four Sovereigns were originally owned by the old families."
"...If you really
believe that, there's no saving you. No matter how much you stretch it, there
are holes."
"Don't worry. I
won't have the mercy to ask you to believe it anymore."
Tsukinomiya-style Spirit
Technique, Chuden, ―Moyugari.
With the sweeping
slash, the snow smoke sublimated into nothingness.
An enormous amount of
heat crashed into Akira with a loud noise.
The blade roared as it
left Ominaeshi in its trajectory, gradually corroding the obsidian blade.
Earth overcomes Water.
Even if it converted into heat, Mikuriya Shishin was essentially of the Earth
element.
Pressed by the
momentum driven by the divine spirit, Akira concentrated all his strength on
refining his spirit power.
Gioin-style Spirit
Technique, Shoden, ―Nagayatsuki.
"Zeeeii~!"
"—Too weak!"
Moisture roared with
the blade and clashed with Shishin's slash.
In an instant, a huge
amount of moisture exploded from the blade, and the impact scattered as it
clashed.
"You've only been
training in spiritual techniques for a few months.
It's obvious how high
your sandals are when a weakling like you who has been slacking off until now
can defeat Souma."
"Damn it!"
Spiritual light rushed
towards Akira, who jumped back to start over.
In Akira's line of
sight, the blade of the divine spirit flashed.
Tsukinomiya-style
Spirit Technique, Chuden, ―Chutodachi.
There was no time to
evade. Shishin's freezing slash overlapped with Akira's sword, which he had
raised for defense.
Thump. Akira, who endured
the resounding shock, stepped forward deeply.
The blade howled, and
the two of them sharpened their edges against each other.
Eventually, Shishin's
tip began to graze Akira's side, piercing through Akira's defense.
After repeated
exchanges of swordfights from the left and right, Shishin dropped a reinforced
overhead strike onto the top of Akira's head.
Convinced that the boy
was at the bottom of his game, Shishin abandoned his petty tactics and
concentrated all his strength on refining his divine spirit. The pressure of
the surging divine spirit shattered the ground at Akira's feet.
"Ha. I expected
the same trick you used to defeat Souma, but it looks like your shallowness is
only this much.
That's enough. Before
you fall into the corrupted, be grateful for my mercy that has allowed you to
breathe until now."
—Slowly.
The glow of the
Ominaeshi inched closer to Akira.
"...We're both
equally shallow, aren't we? You've been saying the same thing since a while
ago.
Besides, asking for
the artifact of Kokuten Province to be returned to Central Province only makes
you a busybody."
—Slowly.
A sound of pain mixed
with Akira's retort.
"It's a history
of the old families that have been passed down continuously since the rise of
Takamagahara.
It's quite
presumptuous of you to judge its authenticity."
"Really? The fact
that it's not made public means that no one cares even if you bark as you
please.
—Just like how you're feeling good about yourself right
now when you're trying to kill someone."
"Whether it's
true or not doesn't matter. The only certain thing is the fact that the
authority of the old families is shining brightly.
Come on. If you don't
exert yourself a little more, your skull will be shattered."
"That's scary.
—So? After using up all your divine power, when will
you finally be able to cut me?"
Shishin, who tried to
sneer at Akira's fearless response, finally realized.
Despite pouring all
his strength into the divine spirit, the trembling blade refused to fall on
Akira.
The accelerated spirit
power converged on the boy's body, which was enduring the overhead strike.
—Was it his imagination, or did the obsidian glow that
was gushing out have a transparent luster?
"Im...possible"
Completely ignoring
the doubting Shishin, Akira concentrated all his strength on refining his
spirit power.
Gioin-style Spirit
Technique, Chuden, ―Imachidzuki.
Firm and unwavering.
The defensive spiritual technique, which stood tall, bounced Shishin's slash
upwards.
The relationship of
Earth overcoming Water collapsed head-on, and Shishin's posture was fatally
disrupted.
With a solid sound,
the obsidian glow scattered from Akira.
"Saki! This guy
can only use divine spirit, that's all. He has no depth."
"—It seems
so."
Saki's clear
determination responded to Akira's voice.
The naginata drew a
trajectory that burned violet. Saki stepped in, taking Akira's place, and
thrust out a stab instantly.
Kihoin-style Spirit
Technique, Chuden―
He was caught off
guard, but he had regained his balance.
Taking a deep breath
and refining his spirit power, Shishin defended himself with all his might.
"―Kitsutsukitōshi"
"Don't underestimate me!"
Just before the
naginata, with its multiple dancing flames, collided, an ice wall separated
Saki and Shishin.
Fire generates Earth,
and Water overcomes Fire. The ice wall, mediated by the earth-element, had an
advantage over the fire-element.
"You surprised
me. A mere divine spirit medium of the fire element, trying to break through my
frost pillar..."
"Yes. It might be
impossible with just spirit power."
Saki's conviction
shook without wavering in response to Shishin's composure.
Instinctively, the old
man chose to retreat, speechless at the girl's words.
It was probably the
right choice.
After all, it had
slightly extended Shishin's life.
Beyond the towering
ice block, in Shishin's line of sight, the violet spiritual light became
transparent and clear.
The spirit power
endlessly sublimated to a higher level and descended from the distant peak of
the honorable one.
It was the radiance of
a divine spirit.
Eventually, it
accompanied intense heat and converged into a single point at the tip of the
naginata.
The heat that
transcended even the relationship of Fire generating Earth pierced through the
ice block in front of Shishin.
From beyond the
resounding roar, Saki appeared along with the manifested divine spirit.
"Impossible.
You're just a little
girl from the Eight Families, not an old family. As far as I've investigated,
you couldn't possibly be a divine spirit medium."
"Yes. That's why
that's your limit, Mikuriya oldman.
If the Three Imperial
Families had placed a certain amount of trust in you, you would have known
about me."
"...Whether I
know or not doesn't matter. Just because you broke a frost pillar, don't ever
think that you can defeat me."
—It's certainly as Akira said
While Shishin was
refining his spirit power with all his might, Saki shrugged and released her
spirit power.
No longer interested
in the dumbfounded Shishin, she turned her back on him defenselessly.
"What? What does
this mean?"
—"Akira. I'll leave the rest to you."
"Yeah."
The flat exchange
between Akira and Saki. —Somewhere, the elderly intuition whispered that these
two would no longer regard Mikuriya Shishin.
The boy, who took her
place, saw Saki off as she disappeared into the wind and snow.
His returned eyes also
did not reflect Shishin.
"I thought you'd
be crying and whining, but you're surprisingly quiet."
"...Are you going
to mock this Mikuriya Shishin to that extent? Even if she's a divine spirit
medium, she's just a little girl. After I kill you,"
"Oh, I'm done
with that. All your talk about mercy and old families is so shallow.
It would be much more
fitting to think of you as a corrupted beast that just repeats words."
"Corrupted beast,
you say? You're putting Mikuriya Shishin on the same level as a corrupted
beast?"
"If you can't
even understand words, that's enough. Oh, come to think of it, I was once
hunted Shōjō in Kamotsu. Compared to you, he was more troublesome because he
knew how to run away."
Shishin, completely
forgetting mercy at Akira's calmly spoken words, made Akira, the pseudo-kegare
in front of him, his sole target.
He no longer had any
room for complacency.
—With his divine spirit raging, Shishin instantly
performed the divine descent (Aragamioroshi).
The blade cut through
the air and approached Akira with a roar.
Sparks flew from
Akira's swinging sword, carving a trajectory in the night darkness.
Amidst the multiple
flying slashes, Akira's emotions were strangely calm.
Three years ago, he
would have been terrified of Ugetsu Tenzan and Mikuriya Shishin.
—But as he got to know his opponent, that shallowness
turned into contempt.
More than knowledge or
position, it was stubbornness that refused to understand oneself.
Because he hadn't
tried to understand, he could twist the fact that both Tenzan and the old man
in front of him had trampled on others miserably.
—And that might have been the same for Akira.
It was precisely
because both Tenzan and the old man before him didn't try to understand others
that they were able to twist a fact and trample on others so miserably.
—And the same might have been true for Akira.
He had twisted in
ignorance and wasted his time sulking.
The fact that they
were on the other side shouting and Akira was watching from this side was
simply a matter of a very narrow margin of luck.
It was simply
paper-thin luck that Akira was able to stand and watch them as they stood on
the other side and ranted.
The flames fueled
Akira, and the swirling slashes came with impacts.
The desperate
expression on Mikuriya Shishin's face was suddenly filled with an emotion
bordering on mockery.
While crushing the
rising flames with water, Akira suppressed Shishin's short sword with his
sword's guard.
It didn't matter if it
was the Earth element. More than anything, Mikuriya Shishin was fatally lacking
as a divine spirit medium.
"Oh, thank you
for that. —Mikuriya Shishin."
"You,
you..."
"Don't you know
about divine descent (Aragamioroshi)? You lack the basic knowledge as a divine
spirit medium."
For some reason, Akira
understood.
It is well known that
spirits and divine spirit mediums are the same existence, but that doesn't
necessarily mean their emotions and personalities are the same.
Since Shishin and the
members of the old families disrespected the spirits and the divine pillars,
their benefit of knowledge will be commensurately lowered.
Mikuriya's misfortune
was the fact that he could usually get by with just wielding his divine spirit,
—and the fact that he was able to hide his divine
spirit until now.
Thanks to that, he was
satisfied with mediocre skills, from swordsmanship training to the use of
spiritual techniques.
The reason why the
Tsukinomiya decided to eliminate the old families was probably because they
judged that this corruption had reached a point of no return.
The only form of
gratitude Akira could offer was to simply end Shishin's life here, covered in
humiliation and denial.
He could not even
bring himself to knead the divine energy. Raising his sword, which was
condensing water-element, Akira simply controlled it with all his might without
even using Kagetsu Kōkō.
Hardly, firmly. At the
moment he crossed a certain point, the obsidian glow suddenly disappeared.
—Silence. A little moisture swayed and scattered,
leaving only silence.
"...I, the old
families..."
How pointless. A
lingering regret escaped from the corner of Mikuriya Shishin's mouth.
His side was deeply
pierced, and he collapsed onto the ground, gouged by something that had pierced
through him.
His final breath was a
quiet one.
Akira engraved the
conviction he had grasped in his mind and sheathed his sword.
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