[Part 5/5]
Tamaki unintentionally let out a dumbfounded voice at the unexpected turn of events. Surprisingly, the bear was also wide-eyed and surprised. And then...
'Grrrrrrr!!?'
Imdiately after, combustible fuel, secretly prepared by the old man, erupted powerfully with flas from sowhere unknown. The bear youkai, in a state of panic, was sent charging forward, raising dust and leaving the sound behind. It even surpassed the escaping hibachi. And then... it crashed with its rotating horns from the face that was teary-eyed.
'Gwaaaah!?'
With a scream, it smashed through the door. Boldly. Piercing through it, it plowed through the earthen wall behind it. '(；＾o＾) You're cornered now! One-hit sure-kill!!' or so incomprehensible gibberish seed to echo, but Tamaki couldn't be bothered. The important thing was that the escape route of the fleeing hibachi had been blocked.
"...Wait, do you an to say that wasn't even its full power?"
'The power I released, yes. It's nothing to be surprised about.'
"I am surprised! And, that wasn't its own power, right? Bear-san was surprised too, right? I an, it was definitely crying, right!?"
What was that acceleration thod? It was terrible, no, it was beyond terrible! Tamaki couldn't help but break the seriousness of the situation with her exclamation. Even if the bear was a modified youkai, there's a limit. There's no justification for being pushed around like that, probably.
'It's good to have compassion. However, that's not the point now. Look, that hibachi is trying to escape into the labyrinth again.'
Being destroyed by the door or the ans of it, perhaps they were stunned. The hibachi and its subordinates hesitated for a mont before finally recalling their route and changing direction. Unable to escape to another room right away, they tried to flee into the endlessly continuing and intricate maze.
"Ugh!! That's right, I can't let them escape...!!"
Once Tamaki rembered that, she regained her composure and tried to resu the pursuit... but she felt a presence behind her. Quickly, she swung the Dagger (tantō) with the uninjured hand.
With a tallic sound, the blade was deflected. She staggered slightly. When she looked ahead, she saw it with a flustered and pained expression on her face. It wasn't just because of the injury to her pierced palm.
"Shishimai-san...!!"
Tamaki swung the dagger once again towards Shishimai Asami, who had a half-beast-like appearance. The clash of the dagger and claws resonated repeatedly...
'Grr!? Unbelievable, how much have you grown in such a short ti...!!?'
"Shishimai-san, please step back!! Don't interfere with ...!!"
Shishimai shouted in astonishnt at Tamaki, who had beco much more skilled since their last encounter. anwhile, Tamaki earnestly pleaded with her, begging her to comply.
"Don't be absurd!! I have my own priorities here!! I can't die in a place like this...!!"
At the sa ti, Shishimai intensified her assault in opposition to Tamaki's request. She increased her attack, but she still couldn't break through. Despite her turmoil, Tamaki adeptly evaded Shishimai's attacks with the best of her abilities. With each passing second, her movents beca even more refined. Shishimai ca to realize the truth of the situation; the balance of power was slowly but steadily tilting in Tamaki's favor. She was reminded of the difference in their inherent talents.
'Grr!?'
Moreover, the counterattacks Tamaki launched were enough to make Shishimai feel threatened. Even in her semi-youkai form, they were at a stalemate. The balance's scale, aid at Tamaki, was gradually tipping further every two hours. She was made aware of the difference in their innate abilities.
'Grr!?'
Eventually, Shishimai suffered an injury. The half-lion's face contorted in pain. However, Tamaki's expression was even more agonizing, turning pale and looking like she was about to cry. In contrast, Shishimai displayed an irritated expression, as if her emotions were being played with.
'It's mocking...!! You're so audacious to beco an exorcist with that kind of resolution!'
Shishimai yelled as she swung her claws. It was as if she didn't like anything Tamaki did. In truth, Tamaki's way of being was sothing Shishimai Asami couldn't accept.
'Truly, you're such a spoiled girl!'
"Shishimai-san!!"
'Shut up!!'
In response to Tamaki's call, Shishimai responded with an angry voice. And then, the confrontation continued, and they clashed again. They locked eyes at close range. One was filled with irritation and hatred, while the other had a gaze filled with sadness.
'Grrrr!! Why can't I break through!?'
"Stop it!? Just stop it, Shishimai-san!! It's all aningless!! You, you...!!"
With tears in her eyes, Tamaki shouted, trying to call out her benefactor's na and what lay beyond, but her words beca muffled.
'What are you talking about? What do you want to say...?'
Shishimai was bewildered by Tamaki's extraordinary state. Although her body was still in a fighting stance, her mind was disturbed. And simultaneously, her sixth sense warned her that Tamaki's intentions concerned a significant matter related to her core.
'...!!? Why does it matter? I don't care about such things!!!!'
Doubt, suspicion, confusion - Shishimai shook them off forcibly and shouted. And then, she unleashed her trump card.
'ROARRRRRR!!!!'
Her clothes tore apart. A roar resounded. A mont later, Tamaki faced not a girl, not even a half-human, half-beast creature, but a literal beast. A lion youkai. A lion monster discharging electricity towards its surroundings. Shishimai Asami's youkai factor laid bare.
The balance was once again disrupted by the strengthening caused by youkai transformation. The deadlock they had before tilted heavily in Shishimai's favor. Tamaki was gradually pushed back... but that didn't matter to her. Tamaki shouted at Shishimai.
"That's why, it's all aningless, Shishimai-san!! Don't you rember? Don't you have any mories left? Recall it!! You are..."
Tamaki montarily hesitated there, but she mustered her determination and shouted with a painful emotion.
"Shishimai-san, it's all futile!! Because you... you are already dead!!"
And Tamaki shouted, revealing the truth she learned from the servant and Botan.
'...Huh?'
At Tamaki's unexpected revelation, Shishimai Asami froze in bewildernt. She was confused, shaken, and alard. But quickly, she glared at Tamaki.
'Don't say such nonsense!! I contracted at the brink of death, and I am alive even now!! I have spent a thousand years in this labyrinth!! When I finish my duty, I'll be able to leave!!'
Yes, it was a contract. The worst kind of contract. An act of betraying the human world. An absurd condition that looked down upon her completely. Still... even with that contract, she could avoid death. Wanting to live, to survive, was only natural. Compared to losing everything, any miserable situation was better. She couldn't see him anymore, the one she believed was worth risking her life for. If that was the case, what was wrong with valuing her own life!?
"Rember properly!! Rember all your past mories! Touch the depths of your heart, I beg you...!!"
'Annoying!! Stop confusing with your nonsense!!'
Shishimai, with a desperate expression, tried to dismiss Tamaki's actions as a psychological strategy. However, after a brief reflection on Tamaki's personality, she realized it was impossible. Once she understood, anxiety and doubt overflowed...
'Grr... huh?'
And then, Shishimai Asami finally beca aware of the abnormality. Co to think of it, she hadn't felt her own heartbeat for a long ti. Despite facing nurous intruders, she couldn't recall feeling her heart pounding. She had been out of breath at tis, but she couldn't rember experiencing the intense palpitations of her heart. Why was that?
'Huh...?'
And she realized sothing else. After intense battles, her body never felt hot. In fact, it was quite the opposite. When she touched her own body, it was terrifyingly cold, as if she were a corpse.
'...'
At so point, the strength to keep clashing with Tamaki had left. The lion returned to its human form. The girl stared at Tamaki. Tamaki tightly closed her mouth, nodding with a tragic expression. Shishimai Asami, through the tears in her torn clothes, touched her chest where she had felt her heart. She touched it hesitantly.
Under her clothes, there was a hole piercing her heart.
"Ah..."
Tamaki lowered her head in frustration and sorrow. And Shishimai Asami rembered. She rembered that scene.
Assigned to her room, in the vicious space where intruders could not leave until there was only one left, Shishimai Asami had been continuously used as a gatekeeper and a corpse handler, according to the contract...
"Ah, ah..."
How many tis, dozens of tis, had she fulfilled her role? The end ca suddenly. Among the countless and diverse youkai, beasts, and humans, only two remained. She imdiately recognized the origin of the one dressed in a familiar black clothes. It was a servant.
"Aaaah...!"
Since the last two refused to kill each other no matter how much ti passed, her turn ca. She warned them, and then attacked, forcibly reducing the number of survivors to one.
"Aaaahhhhh!!?"
And she faced off against the one who had audaciously challenged her to a fight. Shocked, stunned, astounded. Her heart was pierced by a vile trap, and she cut off the other party body diagonally from the head to at least take him with her.
At the sa ti, the mask her opponent wore was torn away. As she spat blood, she looked at the detestable face of her opponent and Shishimai Asami opened her eyes wide in despair.
"AaaAAAaaAAaaAAaaAAaaaAAahhhhhh!!!??"
In her final monts, the last thing she saw was the female servant who rushed to embrace the lifeless body of the man she had loved, cursing her with all her might...
Little fifth-grade loli: "Bankai... Zanka no Tachi, South: Great Burial Ranks of the Ten Trillion Fire Dead'!!"
Fan art:
Title: Botan Illustrations Compilation: Tsundere is cute.
URL: here
Title: Previous Chapter Yuka Joke: Probably a mistake in reporting, not a mistake in handling.
URL: here
Title: Christmas Santa Botan: ...Hmm? S*x Night Santa? (Hard of hearing)
URL: here
Reviews
All reviews (0)