Part 9
Basara and the others who had chosen to temporarily retreat, ran into a
certain special classroom on the third floor. It was a space with cooking
tables with sinks, stoves, drawers and lined up, the home Economics
Classroom that had no equipment inferior to a culinary school.
"—are you guys alright?"
Sakazaki asked after taking a deep breath.
"Nn… I'm fine." "…Me too."
Basara and Tachibana nodded while answering.
"But, why did sensei…?"
And asked Sakazaki. why did he help them – and at the same time, why could
he use special abilities. Tachibana too also had the same questions, and
quietly waited for Sakazaki's answer. Sakazaki only put on his usual bright
smile and said:
"Actually, Jin and I are old friends. He had asked me to look after you while
he went to the Demon Realm, and that is why I am here."
"You are my dad's…? Then—"
Basara remembered the words Sakazaki had told him on the day he
transferred in, and Sakazaki gave a bitter smile.
"That's right. On the day when we first met, you had asked me if I knew who
was Jin's acquaintance in this school, and that acquaintance is actually me. I
am not one of the Heroes, but I have some special abilities, as you had seen."
Sakazaki's words set off some visualizations within Basara's mind. The
Heroes were an organization founded to deal against the Demon Race, and
there were some who dealt with various supernatural beings like Tachibana
who is a vampire, choosing to act without any limitations from an
organization, people like retired magicians, exorcists and onmyōji
[31]
.
Sakazaki was probably part of them.
"I see…"
"Sorry to have kept it from you. It was to conceal my identity so that I can
move about in the shadows, and give you a helping hand whenever there is a
need. To tell the truth, I had wanted to help you deal with those Heroes and
Demons who had bad intentions for Mio, but…"
Sakazaki's expression became serious.
"I'm very sorry, I am a teacher of this school; I have many people to protect,
including you. After Hasegawa came here, practically everyone related to the
school has become her hostage; if I get caught moving carelessly, who knows
just how many people she will use as meat shields – please forgive me."
"No need for that, you helping us just now is sufficient enough… Thank you,
sensei."
The problem between the Heroes and the Demon race, is something Basara
and the others must settle personally, and not be handed to them by someone
else. However—
…I got helped again by dad.
Yuki not receiving punishment from the [Village] is probably a result Jin
mediating in the shadows, and who knows just how much more he had
planned. As Basara was once again reassured by the reliability of his father—
"However, Toujou, didn't I tell you before – you need to be careful of
Hasegawa Chisato."
"...I'm sorry."
Sakazaki's scolding, caused Basara to lower his head.
"Um, Sakazaki-sensei… Just what kind of a person is Hasegawa-sensei?"
Tachibana sheepishly asked from the side, and Sakazaki shook his head while
replying:
"I'm not clear about that either… What I know is as you have seen, she
possesses a terrifying amount of strength. Thank goodness that up till now,
nothing serious has happened. Probably because she wanted to avoid trouble,
she had moved everyone's consciousness away from herself. That is the
reason why I have been maintaining my secret observation, to avoid
stimulating her… but lately the situation has changed."
"Then, could the reason Donoue-senpai suddenly turned strange be…?"
Sakazaki nodded with s [Yes], and Tachibana who had asked murmured
[How can that be…] while shocked.
But it's no surprise. It was Hasegawa who had convinced Tachibana to join
the Organising Committee, and finding out that she had been planning to do
damage to the Sports Festival would give Tachibana a big blow.
"...Sakazaki-sensei, who long do you think the barriers you created can
last?"
"I am not able to give you a precise answer. Each of them will last around
five minutes, so all of them will be about thirty minutes."
"I see. Then—"
Basara suddenly swung out Brynhildr. There wasn't any preliminary actions,
a complete surprise attack. Normally speaking, I is completely unavoidable.
Right now—
" ! –T-Toujou-kun?"
"Tachibana was at a loss, shock filling his voice.
But – Sakazaki was different. He jumped backwards, deftly landing on the
ground after avoid Basara's attack.
"Toujou… I can understand that you have been through many things and
can't easily trust people. As you can see now, I am not being controlled by
her."
"That' right… I know that sensei bringing us here, is completely of your own
free will. But—"
Basara held Brynhildr towards Sakazaki and said:
"This, is the irrefutable evidence that shows that you are the true enemy."
"W-Why…?"
"Listen closely. I had transferred to this school because my dad said that he
has an acquaintance here, and Sakazaki-sensei claims to be that
acquaintance… that is definitely impossible."
Because—
"The pressure Hasegawa-sensei had released is extremely shocking…
Undoubtedly, it is far above Sakazaki-sensei. And from Sakazaki-sensei's
words, you had known of Hasegawa's existence for a long time; if Sakazakisensei is really the acquaintance of my dad, normally speaking, my dad
would've stopped me from transferring here, by right."
"Ah…"
As Tachibana exclaimed as he suddenly realised something—
"Haven't I already said it? Hasegawa's strength is really powerful, but it
wouldn't be a big threat if she isn't stimulated. And you coming to this
school of to protect Naruse—"
"An enemy that couldn't be dealt with if the enemy gets mad isn't a threat?
Usually under this condition, it shouldn't be me transferring here, but instead
Mio transferring to the school I was originally studying at."
"Basara cut off Sakazaki's explanation, and then continued:
"And my dad has also said before, he had already done some investigating
about Mio and the others; so in his investigation, he will definitely have
realised Hasegawa's presence."
"Right now both Nonaka and Takigawa who is in charge of Mio's
surveillance have not uncovered Hasegawa's real identity… You and Kin
who have left the Heroes for so long, would be even more difficult to
uncover, no?"
"If that is really the case, the fact that you have not warned my dad about
Hasegawa-sensei's presence, is even weirder. And, a short blank five years
basically cannot cause my dad's senses to degrade; even me, can still see
through and estimate the strength of an opponent. From what I can see, you
do indeed have much strength—"
Basara said while directly looking at Sakazaki:
"But, my apologies – I do not see that you are above my dad. Since you
already have found out about Hasegawa's true strength, my dad cannot not
miss it. And my dad clearly knew of the strength Hasegawa possesses, yet
gave me no warnings at all… Why is that so?"
There was only one answer.
"Because there was no need at all. My dad knew of Hasegawa-sensei's
strength, and knows that it will never become a threat to us."
Hasegawa's powerful strength, instead had revealed the truth. And that is—
"My dad's acquaintance is not you at all – it is Hasegawa-sensei instead."
The irony is that, only after mistakenly thinking that he had been saved by the
true enemy Sakazaki, he could be so certain. With this, Hasegawa closing
Mio and Yuki into the Infirmary, must have her reasons.
They must be fine – so what's next is to defeat Sakazaki, and things will end.
…Thirty minutes, huh.
He didn't know just how much the words of the enemy can be trusted. If that
is the truth, if they just waited innocently, they would need to spend thirty
minutes before being able to rendezvous with Hasegawa; if they rendezvous
with Hasegawa, they'll probably be able to defeat Sakazaki easily, and
Sakazaki probably also knows that. Then—
…Eh?
Basara's train of thought was suddenly broken. He saw Sakazaki still having
his usual bright smile on in this situation, gazing at him. This gaze, was the
same as the gaze he had felt after the attack at the station late in the night and
the one he had felt often within school.
"My, my, looks like there's no other way…"
In the moment Sakazaki said so with the same smile—
"Gh——…!?"
An attack that couldn't be seen hit Basara's abdomen, sending him flying
backwards, crashing back-first into the blackboard, flattening his lungs. Just
as the force of the impact
[32] cause Basara's body to bounce from the wall—
" ! –Toujou-ku—"
Tachibana's shout was suddenly cut off. It was an attack exactly like the one
that hit Basara, that had directly hit Tachibana. Probably because that attack
had also taken his consciousness, he laid on the floor, not moving at all.
This scene, caused Basara who had difficulties breathing due to the impact
and whose vision ois still blurry—
"————!"
Who had barely landed on the ground feet first – to kick the ground hard at
the same time, suddenly moving forward.
Since Tachibana is now unconsciousness, the option of escaping the Home
Economics Classroom and getting to Hasegawa's side after wrecking
Sakazaki's barrier is now cut off. Even if he were to carry Tachibana and run
utilizing the speed of a speed-type fighter, they would be stopped by the
numerous barriers Sakazaki had set up on their way here, and Sakazaki would
catch up in an instant.
Those barriers were not just to delay Hasegawa, they were also probably to
prevent Basara and Tachibana from escaping. Since they can't escape… they
can only fight.
" ! –Oooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh!!"
With the roar fuelled by anger pushed out from the stomach and forcefully
pushing his lungs to restart themselves, Toujou Basara attacked.
While holding Brynhildr in front of his eyes pointed at Sakazaki, Basara kept
his posture low and dashed in between the lined-up cooking tables. This
action, to deal with attacks that couldn't be seen by the eyes, can block
attacks that come from the front as well as the sides.
Most likely, there won't be any attacks coming from his back. He had already
locked on to have Sakazaki in front of him, and if an attack really comes
from behind him, he'll just have to immediately adjust his posture and
continue going straight to attack. His expectations were quickly fulfilled, as
an attack came at from in front of him, and Basara immediately increased his
speed; in less than a breath, Basara had already closed in on Sakazaki, and
swung the raised Brynhildr downwards at Sakazaki. He probably won't be
able to avoid this attack – but if he does manage to avoid it, Basara will use
Brynhildr to destroy the floor of the Home economics classroom, opening a
way down to the second floor. Since Sakazaki wants to prevent Basara from
rendezvousing with Hasegawa, this will probably be the situation he wants to
avoid the most. Thus, Basara thought of various countermeasures to the
actions Sakazaki might take, and got ready to forcefully slash through any
defence or struggle put up.
"—So that's it."
Sakazaki kept his smile unchanged, and used the unseeable attack to meet
Basara's attack; but as Basara's slash had superior power, Sakazaki's attack
bounced off with a 'Clang!'. Basara did not stop just from that, and continued
swinging Brynhildr downwards – but clashing with that attack just now had
caused him a very small delay, enough for Sakazaki to retreat backwards. Yet
—
…Don't even think of escaping!
Basara immediately followed. Even if Sakazaki can send out attacks outside
of Basara's attack range, there was the danger of him injuring himself when
the distance between them is close to zero, and that would naturally the
number of attacks Sakazaki let loose. There is no weapon in Sakazaki's
hands, so he could very likely by a mage-type fighter -- once the distance
between them has been shortened, the very fast swordsman of a speed-type
fighter like him would be able to suppress him within a few strokes.
In other words, a close-ranged battle was Basara's only way of victory – and
that was exactly what he did.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"
Basara immediately pulled into Brynhildr's effective range, and released a
slash.
As any errors in dodging would cause Basara to destroy the flooring,
Sakazaki casted a barrier, defending against Basara's countless criss-crossing
attacks—
"What a headache… She'll be here very soon, so don't waste too much of my
time, understand?"
In the moment he said while having a frustrated smile on, he released a
shockwave.
However – its target was not Basara, but Tachibana who collapsed at their
side. It was an attack released downwards, with its strength controlled in
order to not destroy the flooring. Tachibana who possesses the robustness and
recovery power of a vampire probably won't receive a very serious injury,
but—
"...!"
Seeing his unconscious friend unable to unable to defend and receiving the
attack, Basara's heart was unconsciously shaken and the speed of his attacks
decreased. Sakazaki took the opportunity taking a step back, he said with his
right palm aimed precisely at Basara:
"Hahaha – Toujou, you really are a kind-hearted person."
In the next moment, the attack Sakazaki released hit Basara's shoulder.
"Ga—aaahhh…!"
Sakazaki who had been on the defensive up till now, attacked Basara who
was in mid-upturned as the target, and as if to vent his anger onto Basara's
body, released countless relentless attacks at Basara's body which crashed
into the glass case by the wall.
"Ggaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"
As the attacks pounded him, the broken glass shards carved countless scars
into Basara's body. Despite that, Basara still clashed Brynhildr at one of the
attacks and immediately left the wall. Yet—
"————!"
When he tried to dash towards Sakazaki once again, he suddenly stopped and
gasped. That was not due to taking injuries, but instead by Sakazaki's side –
there was a young teenage girl floating in mid-air.
" ! ...Kurumi!"
Basara reflexively shouted her name, but Kurumi gave no reactions. Then,
Sakazaki said:
"Don't worry, she is only unconscious – no matter what, she is after all my
precious hostage. But right now she is just merely unconscious, so if don't
wish to see her lose her life, Toujou Basara, you better do the sensible thing.
Alright—"
Sakazaki's smile got even brighter.
"My apologies, I don't have much time left – can you please put down your
weapon?"
"............…..!"
Despite how Basara gritting his teeth could be heard audibly, he had no
choice but to listen to Sakazaki's demand in the end, since after all, Kurumi's
life is irreplaceable. But—he can't give up just like that.
…It's not over yet…!
Sakazaki's target is Basara, most likely due to [Banishing Shift]; then, he
probably won't kill so easily, so there will probably be a chance to retaliate.
Thinking that, as Basara was about to throw Brynhildr into the air – he
suddenly heard a [Hyun] sound.
"——————"
Taking a closer look, Sakazaki had raised his right hand and was pointing his
index and midle finger at Basara.
--next moment, Basara's body tilted right along with a metallic 'Clang'
sound.
Basara immediately put strength to right himself, thinking: [What is going
on?] before seeing it.
Brynhildr had fallen onto the floor – together with armoured right arm.
…Eh?
In the moment his thought stopped, at the leftover part of the severed right
shoulder – a large amount of blood poured out from the shoulder region.
There was no feeling of pain, only the visual of seeing blood pouring out, and
his consciousness thinning out.
…! This is…!
Basara became significantly anxious. This clouding of his consciousness is
not due to significant blood loss, it was probably Sakazaki taking the
opportunity when Basara was realising he had received grave injury causing a
break in his consciousness to control his mind.
No matter what, I have to scrape by – the moment he thought that, his whole
body rapidly lost energy.
When he realised it, what was before his eyes was the flooring of the Home
Economics classroom, and it turned into black in the turn of an eye.
…Shit…!
How can I be defeated here? Basara used his remaining right arm to fumble
for Brynhildr, but with only black in his vision, his hand could only feel the
flooring.
Very quickly, Basara could no longer muster up this much resistance. Just as
he was about to give up trying to retain his consciousness—
…Who, is it…?
Toujou Basara vaguely heard a certain someone's voice.
And his consciousness being swallowed by the darkness – is what happened
next.
Part 10
After Sakazaki confirmed the collapsed Basara had lost consciousness and is
no longer to battle—
"Now then… I better move quickly."
During the time when he fought with Basara, two of the barriers had already
been broke through, and it won't be long before ''she'' arrives. Before that
happens, he will have to leave this place.
"—but, I better clean up before I leave."
Saying that, Sakazaki looked at Tachibana and Kurumi who was
unconscious. Since he had already obtained Basara, hostages no longer have
any use. Bringing a burden along with him will not only just slow him down,
it'll be much easier to leave behind traces if he decides to jump through
space; why not just kill the hostages now, to not give him any troubles?
Hence, Sakazaki raised his right hand towards Tachibana and Kurumi – in the
corner of his eye, the figure of Basara lying on the ground suddenly
disappeared.
"What…Guuaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
The surprise Sakazaki let out while turning around suddenly turned into a
scream. An attack he did not see from the front had sent him flying, followed
by a series of booms. It was the sound of Sakazaki who was sent flying
breaking through the wall of the Home Economics Classroom, as well as the
walls of the classroom behind him.
Sakazaki continuously broke through five classrooms, sending the hard
blackboards, lecterns, chairs and desks dotted around the room, storage
cabinets, etc. flying everywhere in pieces – before finally stopping back-first
on a large machine in the Crafts Classroom. Then—
"Gu… Uu… Ha…!"
Sakazaki who let out anguished moans vomited out large amounts of fresh
blood, clearly showing there were ruptures in his internal organs. Even the
damage to his ribcage was not simply just fractures, it was already in pieces.
…J-Just what…?
The pain distorted his vision, and as Sakazaki tried to focus his
consciousness, a golden aura covered him, rapidly repairing the damage to
his body. Despite that, Sakazaki still wasn't able to move, only able to
slightly raise his head.
" ! ...?"
And in the direction he had came from, he saw something like green flames
casting flickers of light on the surroundings, and gasped. In the dim barrier,
the bright light slowly approached Sakazaki.
That, is unmistakably Toujou Basara. From the classroom Sakazaki was
knocked out from – on the many chips and shards of the broken rubble, he
slowly took steps towards him at a steady pace, causing Sakazaki to
unconsciously widen his eyes. he bleeding of the severed arm had been
stopped, but not just that—
…how is the right arm I severed…!
Basara's right arm that was supposed to have been severed, has been
restored, and was tightly gripping onto Brynhildr.
No, to be exact, it was not restored. Previously, when Brynhildr was
materialised, there was armour only on the right arm; but the Basara right
now had his torso and back covered up by armour too – as if the armour was
eroding into him.
Next—
"————————"
Basara's eyes, viciously turned towards Sakazaki, as if locking onto its prey,
looking at Sakazaki with a gaze that was different from usual. When their
eyes met—
" ! ——Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!"
Sakazaki who seemed to have finished healing himself raised a scream as if
trying to get rid of his spiralling fear.
As something called fear overcame his rational instincts, Sakazaki forgot that
he had originally wanted to capture Basara alive and materialised countless
golden glowing spheres and released them in one swoop of his arm, and those
spheres flew very fast towards Basara while leaving a trail behind like a
meteor—
"——————!?"
Yet with a slash through the air, those golden spheres suddenly disappeared.
A high-pitched ringing sound then rang out, showing that what Basara had
just acyivated was undoubtedly [Basnishing Shift], but—
…He had activated that move successively…!
Impossible, how can something like this be happening… Taking into account
the conditions to successfully eliminate, successively activating it is
something impossible at a basic level. The surprise, caused Sakazaki's mind
to turn blank.
Basara's silhouette then disappeared from Sakazaki's eyes, leaving behind
only some flickers of light. Immediately—
"————!?"
A sudden twisting of his body on reflex saved Sakazaki's life. The glint of
Brynhildr appeared, sweeping through where Sakazaki's head was just a
moment ago. But this dodge did not manage to keep him completely safe, and
his the hearing from his left ear disappeared, causing the thought that his left
ear had been cut off to appear in Sakazaki's mind.
…No.
Merely cutting off the ear wouldn't be enough to cause hearing loss. As
Sakazaki's continued evading, he touched the place where his left ear was
supposed to be. There was no pain or blood, but yet the hearing of his left ear
had disappeared. As if – the existence of its hearing ability had disappeared
from the world.
"Could it be, it could not only just stop attacks…!?"
Amidst the unprecedented shock, Sakazaki tried to quickly draw distance
between himself and Basara.
Not only could he activate [Banishing Shift], the ability to completely
eliminate in succession, he could also use it to attack? How is that possible?
The activation condition of [Banishing Shift] is mainly to limit its
overpoweredness after all.
If it was possible to override the conditions—
"Then, it's just as if... Gu—aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!?"
Basara almost instantly came around to before Sakazaki – and with a sweep,
the right of Sakazaki's abdomen was taken.
Next moment, Basara grabbed Sakazaki who staggered from the pain by the
throat—
"! …Uh… Haa...!?"
And held him up by force, his hand pinching a ring around Sakazaki's neck.
Sakazaki who currently had difficulty breathing, saw it at this moment.
Basara's face as he was releasing a green glow while holding Brynhildr in his
hand, that was carrying a dark smile.
--This view caused Sakazaki to want to say something to stop him.
Anything is fine, even if it were lies.
Someone had to say something to quickly stop Basara. Yet, Basara had the
strength to take his neck at any time, making him not able to make any
sounds. Then—
"————————"
Basara raised his eyebrows, and put more strength into gripping Brynhildr –
and just as he was about to release [Banishing Shift] and eliminate Sakazaki's
existence—
"—that's enough."
A calm voice was suddenly heard – and in the next moment, golden chains
ensnared Basara, stopping of all of his movements.
Right in the nick of time, Sakazaki's life was saved.
" ! …Haah… Haah… To think that something like this, caused me…!"
Kneeling on the floor while at a loss, Sakazaki whispered while staring at
Basara who was trapped in mid-air. Just then—
"—I see that even you have these kind of days, Ornis."
That tart voice stated out Sakazaki's real name. Turning around to look, he
only saw her walking slowly this way.
"How are you able to enter here…"
"Is it something weird? Those barriers you created to obstructed me, were
destroyed when Basara let loose with Banishing Shift."
After saying that, Hasegawa Chisato gave a cold smile.
"Why do you think the Hero Tribe had decided to simply just exile Basara
who had already lost control of his abilities from the Village? Even if he was
trapped into barriers like these, was once the strongest Valkyrie who hunted
for many souls in the name of the chief god and had sacrificed her body and
soul to seal an evil spirit."
" ! …To think that even after being sealed, it still has so much strength."
Probably because of the period of time Brynhildr was stuck upright in the
earth and the sealed evil spirit fusing with Basara who later on became its
user, the container that was called a sword was able to preserve its strength
and part of itself. Basara's right arm regenerating and his chain of out-ofcontrol actions, was definitely due to Brynhildr who was severed and
separated from Basara, in order to preserve its own existence and return to its
host body no matter what, rousing its instincts to kill Sakazaki who would be
a threat to its preservation of its existence.
However…
Even if Brynhildr had forcefully suppressed Basara's consciousness and
manifested itself on his flesh and controlled it, for her who had combined
with Basara's body, what she will be able to do won't exceed the abilities of
the host. To tell the truth, [Banishing Shift] is not Brynhildr's ability.
In other words – the continuous and successive use of [Banishing Shift],
ignoring the condition of it only able to counterattack, as well as the swift
speed which Sakazaki wasn't able to react to, were all Basara's own abilities.
Sakazaki had been trying to treat the injury dealt to his left ear and the right
of his abdomen, there was no effect at all. It was due to [Banishing Shift]
severing the origin of its existence, causing those parts to have never existed
at all. As Sakazaki once again felt shock and awe at that power—
"But still… Why did you not choose Naruse or Nonaka to be your hostage,
instead choosing Nonaka's sister?"
"It's because that I knew, that if I made a move at Naruse or Nonaka, you
would see through it."
Sakazaki replied to Hasegawa:
"You had enclosed the both of them into the infirmary with a double barrier –
it was to protect them so that I can't harm them, right?"
Thus, he had conversely used that fact. When Basara who harboured
suspicions against Hasegawa saw that scene, his suspicions would be on the
mark and Sakazaki would intervene with the excuse of saving Basara, taking
the opportunity to mention Jin's name, creating the opportunity for Basara to
become careless.
"I see… So in order to obtain Banishing Shift, you made use of Tachibana's
and Donoue's emotions and lied to Basara that I had changed Donoue's
personality, to make him become suspicious of me, right? You had originally
planned to use this to incite Basara and trick me… only to be seen through by
Basara and have your plan fall through in the end."
Hasegawa continued saying to Sakazaki who expression was increasingly
becoming entangled:
"—but there is still something I don't understand. Why did you attack Basara
when he was on his way back from my home? Doing something like that,
wouldn't it cause him to become cautious? If you wanted to obtain Banishing
Shift, avoiding rousing his suspicions would be better, so why did you lower
your chances of success on purpose?"
Hearing that question, Sakazaki – Ornis spoke:
"…Isn't it obvious, Afreyja-sama"
He called Hasegawa by her real name, and said:
"It's because Toujou Basara – that damned brat, received a favour from you"
Hasegawa listened as Ornis spoke with a tone of hate:
"Since you had put up an invisible barrier at the infirmary and your
apartment, I am no able to look in… but from the state Toujou left your
apartment, it's not difficult to see that something had happened."
Ornis trembled from anger while saying [Just why?], and asked:
"For someone so important like you, why did you do that…!"
"I see… so that is why you wanted to forcefully extract Banishing Shift, and
then kill him"
Hasegawa raised her eyebrows, and said:
"—just like when you killed the real Sakazaki."
Ornis's mouth curled – and at this moment he returned back to his original
posture.
"Indeed, is there anything wrong with that? That human who did not know
just how lowly he was dared held delusions of becoming close to you… All I
did was just doing away with a dirty pest, was there anything wrong with
that?"
A smile appeared on his face, clearly showing some arrogance, becoming
insidious.
"That unmatched beauty of yours, is an absolute sanctuary that no one can
dirty; even if you sealed your power and came to this Realm, that face still
remains unchanged. And the one to protect the sanctuary, would naturally be
none other than me who was ordered to guard you as a mission."
Ornis's words, caused Hasegawa Chisato to be disgruntled.
--not long ago, Hasegawa had opposed the knotty implications of [Jealousy],
and had once spoke to Basara about that.
Back then, she had said that jealousy is something that was just as it appeared
to be, but it would become messy once it crosses a certain stage. That was not
her speculation or generalization, as Ornis who is near Hasegawa had such
complications; yet Hasegawa had not dealt with him at all, until today. For
Ornis's convenience, Hasegawa had turned a blind eye when Ornis had killed
the real Sakazaki; the reason was that Sakazaki was a scum who secretly does
all sorts of nasty things to female students, so even if Ornis had not done it,
Sakazaki would die one day from someone's plot.
[33]
After that, to prevent the other male teachers from assaulting Ornis, she had
diverted their consciousness away from him. It was only when their minds
became relaxed from drinking alcohol then did they let loose on their
clamped-down emotions.
--as far as Hasegawa is concerned, Basara is the only exception. Hasegawa
had originally planned to look over him from afar, but under Jin's
arrangement, Basara had come to this school to study.
Thus – whenever she saw Basara, she couldn't hold it back any more, since
after all, the last time she had interacted with him this close, was when he
was just a baby that was just born. Hence when Hasegawa saw Basara who
had grown into a strong young teenager, her suppressed emotions rapidly
expanded; and when Basara spoke to her about his troubles that couldn't be
discussed with Mio, Yuki or Maria, her emotions ran wild, to the point where
it flooded to even push her to invite Basara into the bathroom in her
apartment and give her affection to him using her breasts. Yet, Ornis who
obsessively loved Hasegawa was unable to accept something like that
happening, and so on impulse, he attacked Basara. At that moment, Ornis
looked at Basara with vicious eyes—
"I will definitely not allow anyone to tarnish you. Not just humans who are
just inferior versions of us—"
And said out the hidden major secret.
"—even that taboo, abomination of 『 』 too."
Hearing that—
"————————"
Hasegawa Chisato emotions immediately exploded, and unlocked all the
power she possessed.
Dazzling golden aura rapidly poured out, her hair and eyes then turned into
golden and blue colours, regaining the air from back when she was called
Afreyja.
"Mind your words, Ornis… In that child, in Basara's body, flows『Her』blood,
and to protect the honour and glory of that person, no one is allowed to
slander Basara's existence."
" ! …Even if you say that, wasn't『Her』death due to this youth?"
Receiving Hasegawa's murderous intent, the shaken Ornis tried to rebut, and
despite how his expression distorted from fear, he felt pure joy from once
again seeing Hasegawa's true self.
"To you, Toujou is probably your enemy, no? But yet you abandoned your
position for this guy, and even sealed your power and came to this Realm…
and even protecting him. Actually, I know about all of it—"
"Ornis continued:
Blood of Three Races
Three Breds
"Before when he had a battle against his childhood friends – you had hugged
him after leaving the Yakiniku shop, and kissed his forehead to give him a
blessing; that's why near the end of the battle, Toujou hadn't fallen into deep
sleep from inhaling Nonaka's drug and was just in time to settle her danger."
And then—
"Previously before the battle against the high-class demon, you had tied a
bandage that could act as a holy talisman on Toujou's injured finger, warning
him to absolutely not take it off. Right? That was the reason why despite the
damage sustained from the succubus in her adult form and Zolgear left no
lasting effects."
Seeing Hasegawa's silence showing affirmation, Ornis said:
"Why? Why are you so obsessed with this youth…?"
This question, caused Hasegawa to touch her earing with a fingertip, and
reply:
"Because this child – is the proof that『She』had once lived.
What Hasegawa said while gazing at Basara, were emotions that she could
never give up – Hasegawa Chisato's true feelings.
Toujou Basara, is the child she wanted to give birth to even if it means
sacrificing herself. She, was a special woman who was far older than
Hasegawa, whom Hasegawa held a sister-like admiration for.
To protect this child, Hasegawa Chisato had resolved to do anything for him.
It was fifteen years ago, when she had sworn to herself on the day Basara was
born.
"Is that so – then, it seems that I have no other choice."
At the same time Ornis announced that, a radiance surrounded Basara who
has in the air.
That radiance is similar to a magic circle, but in fact, dissimilar – just like
Hasegawa, it radiated the sacred golden glow.
"As long as Toujou exists, you will continue sacrificing for him – in order to
set you free, I will have to kill Toujou."
Ornis said:
"This is the holy circle
[34]
I had constructed to extract the power of Banishing
Shift. Although I had not expected that Brynhildr would go out of control,
Toujou Basara right now is bound by you, so disposing of him wouldn't be a
problem. I, who exists to follow and serve you, knows of the nature of your
power, has always been looking for ways to serve you, so – I wouldn't cause
and rebounding or repulsing of our powers."
These words were not lies. The golden glow gradually seeped through
Hasegawa's binding, flowing towards Basara's body.
"I see… However, do you really think that I will continue watching as you
cause trouble?"
"Toujou's Banishing Shift, is an ability that can eliminate my flesh at the
level of the soul. No matter what I do, once [the people up there] know of
this, this guy will be as good as dead.
Ornis continued with 'since that is the case', and said:
"Why not let me first extract the ability of Banishing Shift? Once I bring back
this ability, I will be able to send you back to that position high up there. This
place, isn't somewhere you should be staying at."
Come.
"Return back to the God Realm with me – Afreyja-sama"
Seeing Ornis extend a hand, Hasegawa gave a bried moment of silence before
speaking in an enraged tone:
"…You really think I'll let you kill Basara, and return with you?"
"You are free to become angry. The situation right now is different from the
past, you can no longer stop me. Other than for self-protection, [the people up
there] had sealed virtually all of your power; that was the condition of you
coming to this Realm, is it not? So—"
Ornis tried to continue speaking – but was cut off by Hasegawa, literally.
Simply swinging her right hand, she completely smashed Ornis's saint circle.
" ! ————?"
After that, Hasegawa said to the stunned Ornis:
"Fifteen years ago… when I had decided to abandon everything, I received a
lot of condemnation, especially from the rest of the [Ten gods]; however –
there were still a few, who was willing to stand by my side."
And in the end, Hasegawa reached a [Compromise].
"Indeed, majority of my power has been sealed, but if I meet a certain
situation – for [A Certain Goal], I can release as much power as in the past."
Do you know why?
"—if I find a time where I must protect Basara, my seal will be cancelled
temporarily."
Announcing that, Hasegawa began walking slowly towards Ornis.
Perhaps finally realising just how close to death he was, Ornis suddenly
became flustered.
"T-This is a joke right, Afreyja-sama… Didn't you just stop Toujou from
eliminating me? If you really wanted to protect Toujou, you only just had to
watch him—"
"—I had stopped Basara, not to save you."
Hasegawa coldly smiled – and then said out the truth.
"If I had not intervened, the barriers you and I had put up could've been
completely eliminated; moreover, if Basara had killed you in that situation,
things would've happened like you said, with those people finding out of his
power. No matter what, I must prevent that from happening."
"Afreyja-sama had also put up barriers…? How? What did it even happen…"
"It's no wonder you didn't realise it… after all, it is the special barrier that
not even the rest of the Ten Gods focusing can sense."
"Y-You're lying, right…? If what you said is true, then back when the
situation about Toujou and Takigawa and those childhood playmates
happened, you should have used the power of the Ten Gods to protect him,
no!?"
"Of course, I had prepared some insurance. However, the conflict arising
from the Demon Race fighting over Naruse, as well as the problem
concerning Nonaka and those childhood playmates, were all hurdles Basara
will overcome by himself. I was just holding back myself from intervening,
to stop myself from protecting him too much."
However—you are dif erent.
"Since you from the God Race wants to get involved, it no longer concerns
Naruse or Nonaka, it's a problem that I must not push to someone else, and
eradicate it personally."
Hasegawa added an 'Also', and said:
"Just wanting to kill Basara is enough to make me not let you off alive… You
even made use of me, making Basara suspect me. If not for you, I would not
even need to look at myself with such cruel eyes. Say, jusy how should I
make you compensate me… Ornis?"
Saying that, Hasegawa then gathered golden aura in her right hand, releasing
a multi-layered holy circle.
"In Basara's place, I shall thoroughly eradicate you until there's no trace of
you left."
And she extended her right hand towards Ornis.
"Afreyja-sama! …I-It was for you that I—"
Those words that he blurted out, became his last words.
The power Hasegawa released was as she said, wiping out all of Ornis's
existence. Then—"
"...…What you wanted to say at the end, couldn't be that you want me to
let you live, could it?"
Hasegawa sighed, and said:
"If you say that you wanted to kill Basara for my sake – that would be no
different from asking me to kill you."
Part 11
After eliminating Ornis – Hasegawa Chisato still had to do something.
"Next…"
Hasegawa turned to face Basara who was bounded by chains and currently
hung up in mid-air.
And after that said to the demonic sword that had regenerated Basara's right
arm, controlled Basara's consciousness, and expanded the armour to his
body:
"Thank you for saving me the time needed to regenerate his right hand, but
regretfully, I cannot hand him to you. As for the soul of the one who foolishly
attempted to harm you, you have have him – so please accept it."
Hasegawa touched Brynhildr lightly—
"——————"
With some ringing sounds of steel, Brynhildr which was embodied melted
into nothingness, and his body and the armour on his right arm regained their
original appearance. Hasegawa then released the chains, and Basara landed
within her arms through the air.
"It's great that you're fine… Basara."
Hasegawa sat down on the floor, tightly holding on to her beloved youth.
--to tell the truth, I really want to you everything.
Tell you about my identity, Basara's life, what Ornis had meant when he said
[ ].
As well as – just how much Hasegawa Chisato loved Toujou Basara. But—
"I'm really sorry – I still can't tell you of everything about me yet."
After taking a breath—
"And – the matter about your two mothers."
Hasegawa hasn't even revealed that matter yet to his father Jin, so naturally
she can't Basara about it yet.
…Really, why am I even bringing this upon myself?
Caressing Basara's cheeks, Hasegawa couldn't help but to smile bitterly.
Since she can't reveal her own identity, Hasegawa needed to modify Basara's
memories and pretend that she herself is unrelated to this matter.
When she sent Mio and Yuki into the infirmary, she had already done the
necessary preparations with only some fine-tuning left, and only Tachibana
and Basara were left – just in case, it is probably best that Kurumi's
memories were also checked through. There probably won't be any more
problems with that.
Besides, Hasegawa still had to deal with the aftermath of some matters.
Firstly, is to let the disrupted Sports Festival that Ornis had controlled
Donoue to create a tornado continue. Basara and his companions had joined
the organising committee and put in a lot of work over a long period of time,
so she can't let Ornis's twisted love for her to cause the Sports Festival to be
halted.
Next is to deal with Ornis – Sakazaki's whereabouts. Basara had properly
disposed of him, so he'll probably be treated as a missing person in the end,
but the problem caused by the tornado still remains. If the testimonials aren't
appropriate enough, the school and police would conclude that Sakazaki's
disappearance is linked to the tornado, and the Sports Festival this year will
be halted. To avoid that situation, the memories of the student dean or other
Blood of Three Races Three Breds
related personal has to be modified – for something of this degree, it would
be a breeze for the current Hasegawa.
Next up…
Lastly, the most important one, is to erase his memories of letting loose with
[Banishing Shift] at Sakazaki from basara's mind. Although his
consciousness was seized by Brynhildr at that time and probably wouldn't
remember it – his subconsciousness would still remember it. If by
coincidence one day he remembers it, it will undoubtedly increase the pain of
Basara who has yet to be free from the pain from the scene of the tragedy five
years ago.
Thus, to modify Basara's memories, Hasegawa laid atop Basara. Although
just making contact with her hand would be sufficient to modify memories,
and she will be doing that to the other people – but to Basara, she just wanted
to use this way. At a distance the both of them could feel each other's
breathing, Hasegawa Chisato who was looking at Basara's sleeping face
suddenly an emotion rushing up to her head—
"————"
She kissed Basara, unable to hold back anymore. A compensation of this
level, is probably fine. Fully experienced the sensation of the lips, Hasegawa
then slipped her tongue into his mouth.
"Nn..."
And Basara who was supposed to be sleeping had a reaction, entwining his
tongue with hers, and even started caressing her breast.
…Fufu, you're still the same as always.
Not only did Hasegawa not resist, she even returned the kiss even more
sexily.
Entwining with his tongue, saliva flowing into each other's mouths, letting
out sounds as they stimulated each other's mouths.
At that moment – Basara's mobile phone fell out from his pocket.
"Oh my…"
Hasegawa stopped her movements, and began reaching a hand for the floor –
and then stopped.
Because she saw what was displayed on the screen of the phone that fell to
the ground.
The phone is currently doing a sound recording. From the duration of the
recording displayed, the recording was probably started after being trapped
within Ornis's barrier. It was his insurance, taking into account that he might
be manipulated by enemy that could control consciousness.
He only had to listen to the recording after things settled down to be able to
understand the whole truth. Hence—
"Fu…ahaha! Ahahahaha!"
Hasegawa couldn't hold back her surging laughter. She knew that Basara and
Takigawa had joined hands to bring down Zolgear – but she had not expected
that she herself and Ornis would also be set up by him.
This young man, really is something. Despite how Toujou Basara is still a far
cry from the Ten Gods' Afreyja on the battlefield; his mind is much more
exquisite. Hasegawa noticing Basara's phone, is just purely luck; if she had
released him directly after modifying his memories, everything she had been
hiding would be found out by him. But—
"Even if you are so smart, you probably never thought that my feelings for
you are so deep, right?"
Hasegawa giggled. Basara's strategies and thinking are really amazing, but
this time, Hasegawa's emotions had won with a kiss. To continue that action,
Hasegawa Chisato brought her lips closer towards Basara—
"I really look forward… to the day where I can tell you of today,
understand?"
And after murmuring that, their four lips once again made contact.
And suddenly, a dazzling golden light warmly covered the two of them, as if
gently giving blessings to their future.