Toasteful: Chapter 84, Part 2

　Then she bows her head as if it were a matter of course and kneeling, thanking it for the miracle. If I were to express the reaction of the "shitty spider" in an easy-to-understand way, would it be like (´▽｀；)ゞ ? ...No, seriously, why are you using emoji? Is that your power, the ability to comprehend your mind?

　(Maybe, but anyway...)

　I glance at Iruka who is lying on the trunk of a tree. The beast arm, the wolf ears, and the wolf tail are the same, but the beast hair that grew on her body has disappeared, and her bone structure has returned to that of a human. Above all... there seems to be no sign of the curse. But did the curse be literally purified?

　'Was it disappointing?' Botan pointed out in the background.

　I respond with silence, which is essentially a yes. Unfortunately, it seems that the "youkai-ization" itself has not been cured. This won't do. Even if miracle is granted, she can't turn back to human. I would hope that it is not necessarily impossible if further experiments are carried out.

　I thought so, but Tamaki interrupted my thinking, "Um...". Then, I say apologetically, "Oh, I'm sorry. Please wait a moment. I'm retrieving this now. I'll explain it to you afterwards."

　As I think about how to explain what's to come, I reach out from behind and grab the white spider that's still lying around in front of Tamaki for far too long.

　Yes, I try to catch it and put it in a bug cage quickly... But in the next moment, I'm blown away by a sudden gust of wind.

　"Huh!?" I cry out in surprise, my voice panicked.

　"Eh!?" Tamaki echoes, equally shocked.

　To be more precise, in the moment when the gust of wind rages, I was already flying in the air, as if someone had grabbed me by the neck. I catch a glimpse of Tamaki looking up at me in disbelief. Then, with a slight delay, I was slammed to the ground, bouncing with the impact.

　"Ah...ugh...!?" I groan in pain, my voice strained as I try to make sense of what just happened.

　Severe pain, like being burned from the head to the neck and back, attacks me. I couldn't move. On the contrary, the figure, which had been more like a non-human until halfway through, was slowly turning back into a human being. To a fragile and weak human body.

　...This should have been a happy thing, but now it was the worst possible timing.

　"Ugh... Ggh...?"

　I groan, and in agony I manage to move my head. Then I look for the one who hurt me and drove me to my death.

　And as I caught sight of the culprit, I was stunned. Why, it's you...!!?

　"Well, well, well, what a terrible reaction. You react as if you were seeing a ghost. Even though it's supposed to be a touching reunion, I'm hurt by such a reaction, you know? Well, to be precise, calling it a reunion is an understatement, was it not?" the culprit said, blabbering on and on..

　The weasel, a child with a wry smile whose tail has turned into a sickle in each hand. A monster disguised as a child... The one who was supposed to have been swallowed up by the darkness earlier was there. Without a scratch, as if they were twins with the same appearance...!?

　(Huh!? Ah, I see now. Although it wasn't in the original story, this is the interpretation for this case...!!)

　I thought, remembering the legend and looking back at all the inexplicable phenomena up until now. This is my fault for misinterpreting.

　"Well then, it seems that the scary ones are approaching us. Shall we make this quick?" The weasel monster said with a mouth that looked like a crescent moon, viciously and brutally.

* * *

　"Kamaitachi" or "Nogama (wild sickle)," also known as "Kamakaze (wind sickle)" or "Idzuna (飯綱)," is said to be a youkai beast that controls the wind.

　Although there are different stories depending on the region, this mysterious creature, which is often known for its appearance as a weasel with arms and legs turned into sickles, has a famous legend. It is said to be a group of three parent-child or sibling weasels. The first one trips the victim, the second one cuts their body, and the third one applies medicine to the wound.

　The three-in-one weasel youkai monster... However, in this world, this legend does not simply mean that there are three Kamaitachi.

　The greatest ability possessed by "Yuka," the Kamaitachi, is the ability to create clones. The clones have the same appearance, personality, and even the same youkai power and shared memories as Yuka.

　Of course, there are corresponding restrictions to such powerful abilities. In fact, Yuka's power is quite low among calamity youkai. It is only a little higher than that of the highest level youkai, the great youkai. Additionally, the clones cannot be created in unlimited numbers.

　Only up to three clones are allowed to exist at once, and they cannot be easily replaced once lost. Of course, if all existing clones are destroyed at once, it is over, and even top-level exorcists can defeat them with the right conditions.

　Therefore, Yuka never creates all their clones at once. They always stand alone and have one clone hiding in the background to attack careless humans who have defeated Yuka. And the last clone is...

　"Today is really a bad day. I've died many ways, but you know what? It's not every day I get to be burned over a charcoal fire and then melted down, you know?" Kamaitachi declares, slowly approaches the wounded servant with a sardonic tone.

　"...!" The crouching servant throws a Dagger (tantō), but it is easily avoided by Kamaitachi, who scoffs at the futile attempt.

　"Oops, it's dangerous," Kamaitachi teases, their voice dripping with malice as they prepare for their next attack.

　The handcuffed servant, losing their power of youkai, attempts a surprise attack, hoping to catch Kamaitachi off-guard. However, the monster easily evades the attack, their movements as swift as a skittering insect.

　"Ggh...!?" The servant cries out in pain as Kamaitachi lands a devastating blow, their tone triumphant as they revel in their victory.

　In an instant, stabbing wounds appear on both of the servant's shoulders as if they had been gouged out, causing blood to spatter in the air. The servant's arms are rendered useless, most likely due to shattered bones. The servant crawls on the ground in agony and sees the bloodstained sickle attached to the weasel's arms, a chilling reminder of the monster's brutality.

　"Even though your skin is that of a monkey, your inside is a monster. I have to cut off both of your arms...!!" The servant attempted to resist, but Kamaitachi kicked him in the gut, "Ugh...!!?" sending him crashing into a rotten trunk of a tree that had fallen from Tamaki's "black", with a sickening sound of bones breaking.

　"Ha, guh...!? Y-you...b*stard...!?" The servant struggled to speak through the pain and blurred vision.

　And in his vision, the servant sees the youkai approached him, its face blackened by the shadows. He couldn't recognize the face. The only thing he could see was the gleam of its shiny, pomegranate-colored eyes.

　(Is this guy not trying to kill me?)

　The servant realized, even in his fading consciousness, that the youkai didn't intend to kill him, at least not right now. If the youkai intended to kill him, his neck should have been severed first, or his heart should have been targeted. They may be trying to make him into a daruma, but at least he is sure that the youkai does not intend to kill him right now.

　However, there was no good end for him anyway.

　"! Sto—"

　"—Uwaaaaaaah!!"

　Before the servant could finish his words, a figure appeared out of the corner of his eye. The figure... Tamaki screamed and ran toward the calamity youkai with a desperate look from behind, holding a Shakujou staff in her hand. She picked up the cursed tool dropped by the household (retainer) member who had been killed and, seeing it by chance, swung it at Yuka. ...And it was blocked.

　"Isn't it cruel to do that from behind?" Kamaitachi mocked.

　"Eep!?" Tamaki, with tears in her eyes, struggled in fear as she was grabbed by her Shakujou staff. She couldn't budge even a little bit against Yuka's tremendous strength, which was like that of a delicate child.

　Instead, Yuka pulled the Shakujou staff away from Tamaki's arm and slammed it into her shoulder with a slight yank. Tamaki screamed as she was thrown back and crashed into the ground, groaning and holding her arm.

　"Calm down. I'll deal you too and you don't need to get angry... well, I'm planning to go easy on you anyway," Kamaitachi taunted, looking down at Iruka, who was dying and crawling toward Tamaki.

　Then, raising their sickle, they began to work quickly before time ran out... but Yuka looked up at the sky.

　"...?"

　Yuka noticed it with their keen animalistic senses. A presence was rapidly approaching. It was not the exorcists who had been coming towards them earlier. It was something far more dangerous than that...!

　"...Well, I'm done for. Is it really time's up?" Kamaitachi declared, looking down at the fallen servant, "Goodbye. Let's meet again somewhere, you d*mn monkey."

　Immediately afterward, a flash of light descended from the sky and engulfed the surroundings in flames.

* * *

　The dragon is fast. Even if exorcists could leave the sound behind temporarily, it's not a continuous ability. However, dragons are different.

　While even the divine dragons have difficulty maintaining the speed of sound, they can run at high speeds above horses in the sky. However, even if they could maintain it, it's still not easy for exorcists to stick to the dragon's back, which is pushing through the air with pressure and shock waves. ...Except for her.

　She forcibly solved the problems of shattered bones, torn muscles, ruptured eyeballs and eardrums, broken necks, and turned herself into a cannonball, seeing it all.

　It's like a catapult. The dragon suddenly stopped and changed direction, and immediately after the recoil and impact, she strengthens her own leg muscles with spiritual power, piercing through the sky from high above, using the dragon's massive body as a platform.

　The trajectory was like a dive bombing. As the ground rapidly approached, she saw the scenery clearly, and was overjoyed to find his figure. Delightful, frustrated, insane, and furious. And then... it exploded.

　The calamity youkai that was there was literally crushed to pieces in an instant. It was turned into flesh pieces. It was pulverized and burnt. Even with adjusting the trajectory and speed, the shock wave echoed through the mountains, blowing away trees and gouging the ground. Dust is scattered. The heat licked around the surroundings.

　But it didn't matter. All she cared about was the one she held in her arms.

　In the center of the destruction, she was holding him in what is called a princess's hug. The first princess of Onitsuki twisted her mouth. Her eyes are dark and misty.

　"Oh...I'm sorry, ◼️◼️. Did I keep you waiting for a long time?" she whispered sweetly, apologizing to the person she loved deeply and cherished. There was no response, only a small groan escaped. The body of her childhood friend, who stares at her blankly with his eyes open, is battered, bloody, and painful to look at. It was clear from the state of his body that he had been through a lot of turmoil.

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