[Part 4/4]
(You, you were avoiding attacks from outside your field of vision, right? It's impossible to deceive me like that. Do you perhaps have eyes on your back?)
The strike of the tail, which absorbed sound by protecting itself with bodily fluids, was certainly silent. Even with my heightened senses, I couldn't fully perceive it. Yet, I dodged it. Without even looking. The snake questioned this.
...This is bad.
"Hah, it's not good to be overconfident. Know your own limits."
(...)
Rather than being provoked, the snake fell into silence. I have a bad feeling about this.
(...Are you trying to deceive me? Are you trying to hide something?)
It seems the Great Snake, who had calmly sensed the initial surprise attack, could not be fooled by such a hasty excuse. The snake instantly saw through it.
(Oh, I see. That's how it is.)
And as the Divine Snake calmly contemplated, surveyed everything, expanded its field of vision, it noticed. It couldn't help but notice.
Yes, that's right. I am indeed holding my whole body tightly with a long rope. Strengthening it. However, even so, everything is still lacking. There's no way I can react to the Great Snake's speed with just that. Moreover, with the injuries I received from the initial attack, it should have been difficult to move properly.
Therefore, it's only natural that there are seeds and traps there. And the seeds have already been cracked. The crude rope binding has been exposed. So, what about the trap?
"Ugh...!!?"
At the end of the horizon, hidden on the top of a mountain with a good view, she was lurking. Suppressing her presence, she had been constantly observing every detail. Observing and "maneuvering." While listening to signals and the situation through the conch shell in her hand.
Using her powers, Inaba-hime from the Kakitsugi family has been controlling my body's movements from a distance. Even without any authority, I feel a sense of fear from the gazes directed at me, and I prepare myself with a weapon in hand, anxiously awaiting the catalyst of my powers.
"Don't underestimate me...!"
I hold a massive spear, which serves as a catalyst for my abilities, determined to fight in this desperate situation.
"You fool, run away quickly!! Use meeee!!"
I shout angrily through a conch shell. Trembling in surprise, Inaba-hime immediately understands my intention and moves backward. Despite the excruciating pain coursing through my body, I move with all my might, separate from my anguished mind.
Suppressing the screams of my body, I approach the giant snake. I get close to it. I'll time for Inaba-hime's escape. I must buy her time. It is the means for me to fight with this worn-out body, and it is my responsibility as the one who dragged her to the front lines.
(You idiot!! You got caught!!)
It immediately turned its head from Inaba-hime to me. The snake's jaws were open as if they were going to split open, and a shining light came from the back of its throat.
There is no longer any steam inside the conch shell. A premonition of death flashes through my mind. Time seems to be slowing down like a racing lantern.
...However, something small and thin fell, scattering red things.
"Huh?"
Before I can recognize what it is, a pale blue flame appears in front of me. The wall of flame becomes my shield. It protects me from the rays.
"What...!?"
"Sorry...I'm late, aren't I?"
What I saw right after I was shaken up was the dignified profile of my childhood friend, the princess, who had emerged from the sea of flames of destruction...
Even though a fierce battle was going on in a corner of the forbidden area, this place was really quiet. It was just silence.
"Hmmm..."
In a fort on a tree, the Middle Counselor sits elegantly, sipping tea, and ponders his fate as a captive. While pondering, he gazes at the magnificent nature before his eyes.
With a brush in hand, he examines the poem.
"'Birdcage, unavoidable, the edge of the well'... Hmm. No good. This is not very elegant."
As he sings a verse, the Middle Counselor becomes frustrated with his lack of poetic talent. Even in the imperial court, this was considered a flaw of the nobleman. Some even say that it was the reason he was denied promotion to the rank of Senior Counselor... But it's just gossip, after all.
"The way of tea is good, but creating something like this is better enjoyed than pursued."
While he can arrange famous items and follow proper etiquette, this old man struggles with pursuits like poetry, painting, writing, and independent thinking. In his youth, he had a rough personality like that of a country samurai, and he was treated as a troublemaker.
Thanks to that, when he proposed to the most renowned princess of the capital at the time, he was coldly rejected using impossible demands for betrothal gifts... But the old man smiles cheerfully as he recalls the past.
"At this age, I find myself reminiscing about the past more and more. Is it true that we can't beat time?"
The old man sips his tea. He takes a deep breath and picks up a snack. As if playing, he starts to think of the next poem. He was truly enjoying a graceful moment.
...But then several huge monsters emerge from the shadows of the dense forest surrounding the tree-top palace.
"Hmm, who could they be?"
The old man, sipping his tea without paying attention to the surrounding monsters, asks the question, facing the invisible rear.
'...Oh? You figured it out? Why? You're just an ordinary monkey, aren't you?'
Yao's golden fox, appearing from the illusion, skillfully mixes mockery and confusion into her question. Indeed, this fox had great confidence in her own magic, so the doubt was reasonable.
"Oh, it's just something I learned from an old person's teachings. ...When youkai show off, the most important thing to watch out for is the blind spot. Isn't that right?"
'...'
It was common sense. The monsters who rely on cowardly surprise attacks would never show themselves openly. Especially if they have come this far, it is only natural to think that there is a reason behind it, not just a mere beast.
'...You dared to test me, even though you are nothing but monkeys?'
The fox trembles with shame. She is furious at having been deceived by the trickery of humans and foolishly revealing herself. The monster that mimics the form of a human glares fiercely at the Middle Counselor.
'Since you played with me, you will pay the price, won't you? ...I will skin you alive!!'
The voice of the spoiled woman transforms into the growl of a ferocious beast. In an instant, a Tengu descends from the sky and stands guard over the Middle Counselor. However, in this situation, it is a reassuring yet unreliable reinforcement.
'I thought there was something hidden! Coming all the way here just to die, what a foolish bastard you are!!'
The fox leaped while mocking. The Tengu is quick-witted. And the opponent is an important person among monkeys. So it makes sense to have a guard and surveillance role.
However, no matter how high their potential is as a species, they are ultimately like a frog in a well who has been confined to a forbidden area. They have no experience. They don't even know what a battlefield is like.
The tengu is outnumbered, and the fox spirit highly values her own experience. At best, she'll treat them kindly.
'I'll strip your feathers instead of training you!!'
In a flash, the Tengu swings their naginata at the fox. It looks like they hits her head, but it's just an illusion! The golden fox, Ruri Kouka, sneaks up from behind and scares the Tengu. She laughs at them for falling for it.
"Really, these youkai think they're the only ones who are safe, huh?"
'Huh? What...!?'
Insults ring coldly from behind. Confusion and shock at the same time. She is blown away, crashing through the walls of the mansion.
'Gaahh!!? Wha-what is this...!!?'
The fox stood up from the rubble of the palace, blood flowing from her head, and muttered words of confusion. She couldn't understand the situation she found herself in.
"The most important thing is to not let your guard down when you have the chance to defeat your opponent... The teachings of those who came before us are important, you see. Especially when you have a living example right in front of you."
A sudden gust of wind blew. Black feathers danced in the air. Before she knew it, the fox's henchmen who had been hiding around were all defeated. A giant corpse crumbled to the ground. The intruder wiped her wet hands and red spots scattered on the floor.
'You... You're the one from that time...!!?'
"It's been a while, hasn't it? Well then, let's show our gratitude with a little gift... It's for my own benefit, but I won't show any mercy."
The half-youkai exorcist, with a deeply dissatisfied expression, sucked on the contents of a bag that was obscenely wrapped around her body.
While pretending to be calm, her face turned bright red and her twisted mouth revealed sharp fangs.
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