The Salvation Ninja (8)
In the fields near Evergreen Village—
A barren stretch of open land, nothing more—Orphe, the blue-haired woman, was swinging her spear with fierce determination.
“Haat! Hap!”
The tip of her spear, thrusting into empty air, caught the sunlight and glittered brilliantly.
No—there was an opponent. It simply existed only inside Orphe’s mind.
The instructor. The dragonkin. Heiner. The bandits. And finally, Robin.
She conjured opponents of every size, ability, and style, and kept driving her spear through them without pause.
How much time had passed? Orphe finally stopped her training and perched on a boulder to rest.
“Hoo.”
After putting every muscle through the wringer for the first time in ages, her whole body felt pleasantly heavy.
She tilted her head back slightly to drink from her waterskin.
Her sweat-soaked clothes rode up just enough to reveal a glimpse of pale, taut abdominal muscles.
“Taking a break already?”
Startled, Orphe turned toward the voice.
A tall woman in crimson armor was looking down at her.
It was Kate of the Crimson Flame Dragon Knights—the same woman who had grilled Robin and her so relentlessly about their identities.
“How long have you been watching?”
“Not long. Without that adventurer—Robin, was it?—you look terribly bored. Are the two of you lovers?”
“You seem awfully interested in private matters.”
“You’re not denying it, though. I’ll take that as a yes. Poor thing, already collared at such a young age. You could have picked a better man.”
Kate dropped her stiff formal tone, the corner of her mouth curling into a smile that looked thoroughly mean-spirited.
Orphe regarded her without the slightest flicker of emotion, then rose to her feet and dumped the rest of the water from her skin straight over her own head.
“Whoa—”
Kate flinched at the sudden move. Orphe turned fully toward her and spoke.
“Aren’t you on duty right now?”
“Nope. This is personal free time. Who in the world works all day long?”
“I thought the Crimson Flame Dragon Knights might be different. Seems I expected too much.”
“...Are you always like this? The atmosphere just flipped completely.”
“Who knows.”
Neither woman gave an inch as they locked eyes. A strange silence settled between them for a moment.
“Need a sparring partner? I could help you out a little.”
Kate was the first to break it.
“I’m fine, Dame Kate. I appreciate the thought.”
“Don’t play so hard to get. That earlier bit was just a greeting.”
“You greet people rather fiercely.”
“That’s just how I am. Anyway, what do you say? It’ll be a lot more fun than poking empty air like an idiot. I guarantee it.”
“Is there something you want in return? I don’t have much to offer. As I said before, I spent everything on equipment.”
“You’re incredibly prickly. You don’t have to be so guarded. It’s not that I dislike you. It’s just… the situation was what it was. No conditions. Watching you train so hard simply caught my interest. We spar, and that’s the end of it. Sound fair?”
Cynical as she was, Kate was still a member of the Crimson Flame Dragon Knights—someone who held a position that demanded a sense of justice and conviction, someone worthy of respect.
Seeing this unexpected side of her, Orphe shifted her attitude.
“In that case, Dame Kate… I would be grateful for a lesson.”
A spar against a knight who had endured murderous training since childhood.
There would be more than a few things to gain.
Orphe raised her spear once more.
“Put on your armor and take up your shield. We’re doing this properly. I don’t go easy on anyone.”
Kate grinned, baring her teeth.
It was a splendid smile.
“This isn’t something we can just brush past so easily—!”
“It’s a yokai with telepathy and mind-reading! Keep your thoughts short!”
“There’s something more important than that—!”
Even in a crisis this dire she still latched on and refused to let go. Unbelievable.
Was Soft Sword King’s brain just packed full of muscle?
“Its shell is thick! You won’t cut through it easily—watch yourself!”
I casually chewed up Soft Sword King’s nonsense and slipped past the Queen Bee’s claws.
Whether because it was watching Soft Sword King more carefully than me, its movements were slower than before.
Her chatter was irritating, but thanks to Soft Sword King I wasn’t taking the full brunt of the Queen Bee’s focused assault, so I decided to forgive her.
She ought to be grateful I was kindly handing out free tips.
—Still acting so relaxed!
The Queen Bee, rattled by the way I wriggled free of every attack like an eel and by Soft Sword King blocking with Soul Eater, retreated several steps and unleashed a jelly breath.
Its rolled-back eyes had returned to normal; it seemed to have finally grasped how serious the situation was.
I’d hoped it would go completely berserk, but as always, the world never goes the way you want.
Charr-rr-rr!
“That’s brick jelly—it hardens the instant it touches you! Get hit and you’ll turn into a statue!”
“Every single word out of your mouth is noise!”
She said that, yet Soft Sword King’s eyes lit up as she dodged.
The title of Soft Sword clearly hadn’t been won by playing jacks; every motion was natural and elegant.
It reminded me of a ballerina from Earth.
There was a slight unsteadiness to her steps, though—probably fatigue.
Just how many bee yokai had she cut down on the way here to end up like this?
“Annoying pest. I’ll deal with you first!”
—Who said you could!
As if she had finally decided to get serious, Soft Sword King roared and launched herself at the Queen Bee’s heart.
Startled by that explosive leap, the Queen Bee covered its chest with one pair of hands and swung the others to keep her at bay.
Soft Sword King slipped past the probing strikes with the barest of movements and sliced the Queen Bee’s wrist as it withdrew.
—Kh!
A scratch appeared on the creature’s hard shell.
My attacks never managed that.
Honestly, it was pure gear difference.
Either way, a path to victory was starting to open.
Seizing the moment, I snatched up my ninjato from where it had fallen some distance away.
—Not bad. But that alone won’t be enough!
Despite the haughty words, the Queen Bee crouched low and began to radiate light from its body.
An intense rainbow glow forced Soft Sword King to shield her eyes.
“What the hell is that?”
“How should I know? I’m not TreeWiki.”
A pattern I’d never seen before. I was rattled too.
Was it hardening its body? Self-destruct? Evolution? Magical-girl transformation? Too many variables to pin it down.
I slipped into a corner for now.
Better safe than sorry.
A moment later, strange powder began pouring from the glowing body.
It looked exactly like a disinfectant truck blanketing an area with pesticide.
I took a deep breath and tugged my half-lowered mask back up over my face.
Powder from a yokai was bound to be bad for humans.
“Kh. Paralysis poison…?”
“Hey, why aren’t you falling back?”
Soft Sword King had apparently inhaled the stuff without even thinking of dodging.
“It’s nothing major. I can endure this much easily.”
“She’s completely lost it.”
Someone needed to give this woman a full-power back-slap.
She seemed to have purified the paralysis toxin with mana, but that technique burned through a ton of mana even if it sounded simple.
A pointless waste of strength, if you asked me.
“Queen of Birix! To crow so confidently over a technique of this level—have you no shame!”
—Insolent wretch!
Enraged, the Queen Bee brought both pairs of arms crashing down. Soft Sword King moved like a cheetah, slipping aside with fluid grace.
Even exhausted, there was no hitch in her motion.
I burned those movements into my eyes, slow and careful.
I needed to be able to move like that too.
“Howl, Soul Eater!”
At Soft Sword King’s cry, her rapier blazed with crimson light and began to thrash.
Waaaaaang—shoooo—iiiiii—!
—Kyaaaaah!
The Queen Bee shuddered at the noise.
Strangely, standing in the same place, I took no damage at all.
A technique that only worked on yokai, maybe?
Either way, this was my chance.
I clung to the wall and vanished with Floating Shadow.
The face. I had to aim for its face.
“Haaat!”
In a flash Soft Sword King closed the distance, dove into the Queen Bee’s open arms as it screamed, and drove her blade into its heart.
A sharp, precise strike.
—So that was what you were after all along.
Yet once again it left only a scratch.
Looking closer, only the shell over the chest had darkened in color, as if reinforced.
It must have strengthened that area while it was crouching.
“Damn it…!”
Hardness emphasized and repeated like this had a way of making people uneasy.
Soft Sword King clicked her tongue and scowled.
She had poured everything into that thrust; her breathing came hard and ragged.
I wanted to support her, but I was lining up my own finishing blow and couldn’t afford to move carelessly.
—Stupid bitch! I can read your thoughts!
The Queen Bee swung a hand at Soft Sword King’s sagging shoulder. This time she couldn’t dodge.
Even one of the renowned Seven Sword Kings couldn’t overcome accumulated fatigue.
A hand bristling with sharp spikes like claws punched straight through Soft Sword King’s shoulder.
“Ghhhk…”
Soft Sword King crumpled, blood pouring from the wound.
I barely restrained the urge to rush out and help her right then.
Not yet. Just a little longer.
Carefully I climbed all the way to the ceiling.
—I myself sent request after request for reinforcements to my children, yet none came. Did you kill them all? …Then it is time you paid the price.
The Queen Bee seized Soft Sword King by the left ankle and hoisted her upside down.
“Eat shit… monster!”
Even coughing blood, Soft Sword King spat curses.
Facing death itself and still standing tall—she was a model for every warrior.
I counted slowly from one to ten.
Then—
Wazabyot~!!
I locked onto the Queen Bee’s face, aimed my body, and launched.
Intercontinental ballistic ninja.