'A month from now, we're all going to die.'
Lucy's ominous words lingered in Sora's mind. For the entire past month, she had endured countless sleepless nights, trying to understand the meaning behind those words, but to no avail.
She knew Lucy was honest to the bone, he had never been one to deceive, something even children find hard to do. However, Sora found herself doubting him for the first time.
'Perhaps he was joking.' She thought, though she knew Lucy's humor was far from refined.
Sora shrugged, continuing her ascent up X-You Mountain, her gaze drifting toward the blind woman beside her, Mikino, who was attempting to strike up a conversation.
"Sora, this will be your first time fighting a large group; aren't you afraid?"
Her expression turned indifferent, and she replied coldly, "I'm not. If you have nothing to say, please remain silent. I prefer silence to listening to your unpleasant voice."
Mikino chuckled beneath her oni mask, teasing, "Sora-chan, why must you be so cold to your big sister? You should show respect to your seniors, you know?"
Sora's anger flared, and she snapped, "Why do you people always wear masks? Can't you show your true faces for once?"
Mikino feigned ignorance, her gaze fixed on the surrounding trees.
"We wear masks to intimidate our opponents. Since the samurai in charge won't be allowed near X-You Mountain, you understand, don't you?"
Sora quickly grasped the underlying message: they wore masks to conceal their true emotions and intentions. Isn't this group battle a prime example? Even if their faces contorted in pain, their adversaries wouldn't notice.
With a sigh, the silver-haired girl donned a ko-omote mask and walked toward the gathering in the mountain path, where people were singing along to Shinji's songs of bravery and dreams of gold. She occasionally chimed in to cure the boredom, navigating the winding path.
After two water breaks, the group reached X-You Mountain's summit. Sora's suspicions grew, recalling Lucy's ominous warning a month prior.
Her big blue eyes scanned the mountain forest, skipping the horseman on the opposite side, and landing on a girl wearing a menpo mask with shoulder-length raven hair, who led their group.
Tsukino unsheathed twin katanas, pointing them at the leader of the Kushi village's sworn enemies. Her voice dripping with ice, "I'll chop your head off, repaying the embarrassment from our last two encounters. You'll regret underestimating me."
Sora inwardly scoffed, 'Stop acting innocent, you enjoyed it!'
However, she shrugged and focused on the golden-brown skinned man with short white hair, dismounting his horse. Shoji exuded confidence, his eyes locking onto Tsukino as he licked his lips seductively.
"Do you think I'll let you do that? This time, I'll take it further... maybe even make a baby?"
Tsukino's face twisted in frustration:
"Who'd want to have babies with a creep like you? Disgusting pervert!"
She charged, her armor releasing faint metallic sounds, and Shoji retaliated, his metal gloves meeting her blades. The surrounding groups clashed, and Sora clicked her tongue in disdain, slipping away.
'They're going to drag everyone into their twisted love game.' She thought, joining Lucy at the sidelines.
He stood idle, observing the bloodbath with no emotion in his amber eyes. Sora smiled, asking, "Aren't you going to fight?"
Lucy shrugged, turning to descend the mountain:
"The first battle of this four-way group match has already concluded."
Sora glanced at the chaos, noticing Shoji and Tsukino already entwining, as they shared another kiss.
Her expression soured.
Suddenly, an arrow from Shinji disrupted the elicit couple, and Shoji evaded, tossing Tsukino toward Sora.
The scene felt like a cliché movie replay. The same scenario unfolded the next day, and the day after, until the final day of the four-way fight, when something finally changed.
Shoji hurled Tsukino toward Lucy, his face contorted in rage as he bellowed, "Silver Hammer! I know you're the strongest among your group! Why have you ignored my challenges until now?! Come and fight me like a true warrior!"
Lucy halted, turning to catch Tsukino, and handed her to Sora. His expression cold.
"Fine, I'll fight you in honor of my master."
He gripped the otsuchi on his back and sprinted toward Shoji. The giant silver hammer swung left and right, killing everyone in its path, friend or foe alike.
Shoji laughed in delight, adrenaline surging through his body as he rushed toward Lucy. However, before he could reach Lucy, the giant silver hammer came crashing down, dripping with the blood of its victims.
For a fraction of a second, Shoji's life flashed before his eyes. He recalled his time with Takeshi, entering the Kushi Village Mortal Warrior Camp at an age before he even began to memorize. Despite being used by Takeshi, he never hated or loved it.
In the end, his life was marked by loneliness. His only regret was never truly being with Tsukino...
However, before Shoji could accept his fate, Sora pierced his thigh with a kunai, forcing him to collapse to the ground and narrowly avoid the deadly blow.
The otsuchi, meanwhile, rotated at incredible speed, piercing the clouds before boomeranging back to the ground.
Boom!
The summit of X-You Mountain erupted in a deafening explosion as the hammer crashed down, leaving century-old cracks in its wake.
The sequence unfolded in the blink of an eye, leaving both sides frozen in shock.
Lucy, however, remained nonchalant, strolling toward his silver hammer to retrieve it. His cold gaze settled on the unrecognizable mass of flesh.
His lips formed a cold disdainful smile, "May the lord bring you light in your next life, Aunt. "