Toasteful: Chapter 130, Part 2

[Part 2/4]

"Miss Murasaki..."

"I understand your feelings, but please restrain yourself for now. ...At the very least, for 'now,' it's fine to recognize her as allies."

Murasaki spoke before Tamaki's words could reach her Despite wearing an aura of real annoyance, she seemed to suffer as she bit the bitter pill. It seemed that, for Murasaki, Miyataka Shinobu had already been provisionally excluded from the category of enemies. Had some kind of negotiation taken place without Tamaki's notice?

(This situation... It's undoubtedly all strange, but can I really trust it to that extent?)

Considering their relationship until just now, where they were at each other's throats, Tamaki found it hard to trust easily. The position of Miyataka Shinobu was difficult to determine. Could an enemy of an enemy truly be considered an ally? But then again...

"Don't look away. Hey, look behind you."

"Huh...!?"

Suddenly, Tamaki caught a bloodied blade thrown her way and instinctively swung it behind her. The sound of metal striking metal echoed as the blade was brought down. Two of the Ezo attackers who had been swinging their blades down were impaled. Tamaki managed to catch their assault, but her agitation was unmistakable.

"...!? Wh-Why!!? Why would they do something like this!!?"

"You should already know, shouldn't you?"

As Tamaki shouted at the attackers' brutality, the response came from Shinobu, the curse caster of Miyataka, instead. Simultaneously, the Ezo assailants who had clashed in front of Tamaki were suddenly impaled on extending branches. Blood splattered, bodies convulsed, fluids were expelled... When Tamaki turned to look, there stood Miyataka Shinobu, extending branches from her palm... or perhaps it's more accurate to say, she had grown them?

"That, is...!!?"

"This will be troublesome later. Seeds got lodged in the wind holes. I'll have to pull out all the roots."

Tamaki was speechless when she saw a blood-sucking plant growing from the wound in Shinobu's palm that Tamaki herself had pierced. It was likely caused by her piercing Shinobu's hand with the smoking pipe for restraint earlier. The youkai tree seeds concealed in the smoking pipe's bowl had lodged in the wound. They had sprouted, sucking the handler's blood, and eventually taking root and fusing with her arm... Just thinking about it was a terrifying reality.

No, there's something more pressing now...!

"...!! Hey, stop!! You're going too far! If it keeps draining blood like this, you'll die!"

Trembling, Tamaki's voice pleaded as she was horrified by the state of Shinobu's arm.

"We're exorcists! Our duty is to eliminate youkai! We're not warriors or soldiers! Killing people isn't our job! It should be enough to just neutralize them, right!?"

“Killing people, huh?”

Shinobu, glancing back only slightly in response to Tamaki's desperate plea, sneered and mocked. Meanwhile, tendrils of youkai wood sprouted from the wound, entwining around the faces of the Ezo attackers, peeling their skin away.

"Wha...?"

"W-What on earth is this!?"

Not only Tamaki, but Suzune and Tamamo's princess as well, were horrified. It was only natural. As the skin was peeled away, the revealed faces had transformed into grotesque, bat-like forms.

"I thought youkai that looked this composed must be skilled, but... is this another form of youkai transformation after all?"

Murasaki continued to trample the surrounding Ezo assailants with her controlled youkai blade, her words dripping with disdain. Youkai transformation magic – a forbidden art that morphed the human body with otherworldly elements. And this, it seemed, wasn't just incorporating a part of the body; the very composition of the flesh itself appeared significantly altered.

It was an abomination beyond words, an affront to existence itself.

"Seems like it's altering from the inside by absorbing bodily fluids. Probably even the composition and number of organs have changed. So, tell me, is it right to treat something with a face like this as human?"

"Such a thing...!"

Despite attempting to retort, the captive youkai was met with monstrous shrieks, leaving her speechless.

(It's not working! I need to say something...!)

When it came to humans transformed into youkai, her friends and benefactors fell into that category too. She should have stood up against this. However, with their current appearance... saying "Don't judge people by their looks" would be nothing more than empty words. With such a monstrous appearance, and especially since they weren't allies, there was no confidence to offer a defense or counterargument.

"...Seems like we have our answer?"

"Wh-!? S-Stop...!!"

Unable to muster retorts, Tamaki fell into silence, and Shinobu interpreted her silence as an answer, narrowing her eyes and sneering. Without listening to any pleas, she moved forward.

A writhing tendril thrust into the assailant's forehead. The body of the transformed youkai from Ezo spasmed. Tamaki felt nauseous as she grasped what the blood-sucking plant was siphoning.

With a thud, two chunks of flesh, devoid of bodily fluids, fell to the ground. It was as though discarding clumps of dust. Tamaki's anger seethed at the heartlessness of this act.

"Y-you...!?"

"Oh, come now. If you have any objections, I'm all ears. But considering the safety of the princess and your maid, it's best to efficiently finish things, don't you think?"

"Kyaa!"

Casting a sidelong glance behind Tamaki and releasing Ezo's princess onto the floor, Shinobu provocatively questioned. Tamaki remained silent, but her gaze was as piercing as a sword's edge. The words of the Shinobu were correct, objectively speaking. Yet, these were words she didn't want to hear from this person. After all, wasn't this woman, too, part of the cause of this turmoil?

"Oh my, don't look at me with such passionate eyes, dear. I suppose you're itching to tell me off for stirring up the situation... However, it's more efficient to deal with just one pillar. This is still a 'better' situation, as we only have one opponent to handle, isn't it?"

"'Better'? Are you joking...!!?"

Shinobu's words greatly infuriated Tamaki. How could this be considered 'better' amid this tragedy, with so many lives lost? This was beyond outrageous!

"Enough, Miss Tamaki. The woman's words are indeed correct. In this situation, it's relatively better."

"Miss Murasaki!?"

Why would she say that? Tamaki glared at Murasaki, as if demanding an explanation.

"We can argue and explain later. But right now, we don't have the luxury for that."

Indeed, there was no time to continue this internal dispute indefinitely. The clatter of footsteps drew everyone's attention to the approaching creature.

'Grrrrrrrrrrr...!!'

Growling, the gigantic beast stared down Tamaki and her companions. Its body was covered in blades and spears, and yet...

"Well, it seems to have ended sooner than I thought. Though I had hoped they'd take each other out... I suppose it's greedy to wish for that."

Summoning back the youkai blades that had been rampaging around, Murasaki pointed them toward the monstrous dog's front, clicking her tongue in irritation.

About twenty Ezo assailants had turned into youkai upon entering the room. Murasaki's youkai blade had scattered six of them. Shinobu had took care of two of them. The remains of the other twelve were strewn around the feet of the gigantic creature. Torn apart, gnawed, and crushed, the bodies of the attackers lay discarded.

"I guess that means that even if this guy is rotten and corrupt, it's still divine. Three youkai soldiers aren't worth its attention."

Amidst such talk, Shirowakamaru leaped in through the hole in the ceiling. Having dealt with six of the Ezo attackers who had assaulted the rooftop, driven off by Murasaki, and capturing another six with her sealing charms, the apprentice curse caster finally entered the battle.

"Thanks for securing the suspects. Dealing with those things while capturing them using my Kubisage (youkai sword) is quite a hassle."

"Well, even with a helping hand, the load is heavy."

"Hmph...?"

Shirowakamaru's response exceeded the brevity of Murasaki's gratitude. Furrowing her brows in annoyance and indignation, Murasaki, however, cleared her throat, regaining her composure and focusing ahead.

"There's a strong youkai aura... with a faint trace of divinity mixed in."

Images flashed through her mind – the Earth Mother Goddess she had faced before, or perhaps her final forms.

Fallen gods, beings whose divinity had degraded to youkai level. But this...

"'Hyōga Ginka Ebi Shirainu no Mikoto'..."

"Huh...?"

"That's its name. Well, to be precise, it's changed and fallen even further. ...Though 'Ginka' is quite a charming name, isn't it, Princess?"

Glancing down at Princess Tamamo who had collapsed at her feet, Shinobu questioned, causing the princess to wear a face on the brink of tears. In response, the dog growled. Battle-ready, Tamaki's team hurried to the front, and Suzune aimed to move Princess Tamamo to a safe place.

"It's scary... It's scary..."

"I remember that divine name from somewhere. I believe it was a youkai god that was defeated long ago..."

"It seems it wasn't completely eradicated after all. Not only that, it cunningly tried to infiltrate the bloodline of the former shrine maiden... truly audacious, isn't it?"

Those words were the catalyst. Immediately after, the massive dog attempted to leap at them with incredible speed. However, it never succeeded. Countless talismans danced in the air, attacking from all sides.

'Grrrr!! Grr!? Gruuuuuuuh!!?'

Shinobu's technique wasn't extraordinary. It consisted of talismans empowered by a curse of reinforcement, as sharp as blades, which swarmed from all directions and tormented the fallen deity-turned-dog, whose color had shifted from ash to black. They found gaps in its tough fur or slipped into wounds, tearing flesh.

'Grrrr!!? Grrr, Gruuuuuuuh!!?'

The beast struggled and shredded several talismans, but it was a futile effort. It was akin to a bear being tormented by a swarm of bees. While far from fatal, blood was steadily drawn, and flesh was slowly chipped away.

The question was whether it would keep playing with the spell cards forever.

'Roarrrrrrrr!!!!'

Realizing the futility, the giant dog repositioned itself and distanced itself momentarily from the talismans. It then lunged fiercely toward Tamaki and her group. Its jaws wide open, it let out a tremendous roar, charging forward.

"Kubisage!!"

The call alone was enough for unspoken understanding. The snake, with its blade-like solidified form, instantly blocked the dog's path. It ripped open the face.

Immediately, that face was blown away by a flash of claws from the dog's front legs. It was truly a blow befitting a divine dog.

Unfortunately, for the snake, it was meaningless.

'Ughhhh!'

'Roarrrr!!?'

Losing its head and falling, the blade snake promptly slammed its tail into the dog's body, which had momentarily evaded its attack. The swipe struck the dog's side, driving it into the wall. The divine dog coughed up blood.

"Ginka!?"

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