1017

Azusa Hachimiya made her way down the hallway to Nanae’s office. Arriving at the door, she knocked twice and waited. From inside, a muffled voice answered, “Enter.” However, it was strangely higher than normal. Raising an eyebrow, Azusa opened the door and walked inside, looking in the direction of the large desk of the office. The chair was currently turned away from her and Azusa was unable to see who was in it aside from the fact that whoever was seated in that chair was happily munching away on chocolate P*cky sticks. Azusa narrowed her eyes as the chair turned around. “Too bad, it’s just me~!” Yume Tsubakuro sang as she finished chewing the stick she had in her mouth.

“Where is Nanae-sama?”

Seeing that there was no need for her to tell the truth, Yume lied. “Who knows? When I got here, she was already gone. Even though I came all this way to play with her!”

“I see.”

Yume beamed, “In that case, why don’t I go look for her?” She then popped another stick into her mouth.

“No thank you,” Azusa replied as she opened the door and left the office.

Yume finished the stick and yelled, loud enough for her voice to be heard through the door, “I’m so bored!” Popping another stick into her mouth, she muttered, “Sheesh, that woman is annoyingly obsessed with Nanae-sama.” She then looked up at the ceiling and said to no one in particular, “I made sure to distract her. Where could you have gone to even leave me in charge of your office?”

Earlier, Nanae had told Yume to wait in her office because she knew that Azusa would come to visit her soon. Nanae herself went back to visit the shrine behind her mansion. Well, to be more accurate, she went to visit what was beneath the shrine. Inside the shrine was a secret passageway that led into the belly of the mountain. There, multiple tables were sprawled about. It resembled an office somewhat.

However, Nanae had gone deeper into the mountain. Behind one of the tables was a large hole and it was lined with traditional decorations that would go around an ancient shrine. The corridor behind it was lined with torches and more decorations before opening up into an even vaster expanse of space. Here, multiple pools of yousai are kept. In one corner, a group of men in specially constructed biohazard suits that would defend against the effects of yousai (normal biohazard suits are still vulnerable to the corruptive nature of yousai) were emptying a container full of yousai into one of the not full pools; the Origami family not only stores yousai to help keep it away from civilization but also uses that same liquid in their human experiments. Nanae herself was at the head of it.

As she looked down at the pool of yousai, a blob began rising out of it and a disfigured face melted across the blob. Narrowing her eyes, she ordered, “Just rest for now and leave me to handle your protection.” With that, the blob sank back into the pool and Nanae grunted with satisfaction. She then swept her overcoat and turned around before making her way toward the exit.

1257

In the forest near the base of operations of Operation Morning Star.

Maya Shidou was still swinging her sword.

In front of her several trees were on the ground, having been perfectly bisected. There were also multiple holes in the ground from Maya training her downward swing, bring her blade down with enough force to direct a concentrated blast of air into the dirt, excavating holes. She had said that she wanted to go calm herself but instead, it was more like Maya was redirecting the frustration at having been basically soundly defeated by her juniors into her sword. She cursed herself at her weakness for losing herself over something like this, apologizing to her sword. However, she could think of no other solution but to keep swinging.

As such, she almost failed to notice the voice behind her. “Goodness gracious, does the word ‘limit’ exist in your dictionary?”

Stopping her relentless swinging, Maya asked without turning around, “What do you want?”

“We’re heading out.”

Her eyes widened as she wheeled around. “Is that true? They have found the others?”

Suzuka smiled warmly as Maya returned to her normal vigor. “It’s unconfirmed but we’ve obtained a report that they were spotted in Chubu-Sangaku National Park. Judging from the direction they’re moving, I believe they are heading toward Toyama. I don’t believe any other junior-high-aged girls would run around a national park with swords strapped to their waists.”

Maya sheathed her sword and began to walk away. “Let’s go, Suzuka!” Maya ordered.

Suzuka exaggeratedly shrugged her shoulders. “But I’m the one who came to get you… Ah, whatever.”

Suzuka chased after Maya who upon arriving back at the base gave out precise orders. “Everyone, pack up and move out! We’re making our way straight to Toyama!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Everyone began moving as they disassembled everything and repacked them all into the trunks of the vehicles. Maya and Suzuka climbed into one of the vehicles while Fuutarou gently escorted the now-handcuffed Alice into one of the vehicles herself. With her was the person who she had first spoken to when she had surrendered herself. She beamed at him, her radiant smile causing the grown man to temporarily regress in mental age as a blush spread itself across his face. Alice then turned to look out the window, the smile fading. Ohimesama, Manaka, I'm on my way now.

Back to the present time.

1623.

The far west side of Chubu-Sangaku National Park near the park’s borders.

It was but only the afternoon, yet the sky was already close to total blackness.

Nearly ninety minutes ago, the girls had managed to successfully flee from the peak of Asamayama. The ground beneath their feet shivered as they ran away from the mountain. No sooner had they did, the top of the mountain had given way. An explosion rocked the peak as an ash cloud was shot into the sky. Heat from the volcanic eruption further melted the snowcap of Asamayama, triggering lahars that raced their way down the mountain. As if that wasn’t enough, the ash cloud firing into the sky lost its buoyancy after half an hour, sinking back down to the ground and crashing downhill as multiple pyroclastic flows. They traced through the valleys the lahars had carved their muddy way through.

These events severely damaged the local area, especially the cities of Karuizawa, Komoro, and Tsumagoi. Ashfall in these cities reached nearly 150 centimeters, causing the unavoidable collapse of many buildings as the weight of the ash crushed the roofing tiles. It was undeniable that there were significant immediate casualties. However, the secondary effects of the eruption will be much more severe.

Although the eruption only happened an hour ago, scientists worldwide were already on the volcano’s case, classifying it as a Plinian-style eruption with a VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index, a scale used to measure the explosive power of a volcanic eruption) of 6. The ash cloud from the volcano had already blasted itself at least an entire 33 kilometers into the sky, substantially injecting itself into both the lower layer of the atmosphere, the troposphere, and the layer above, the stratosphere, and it was predicted to rise further. Scientists were already expecting a temperature drop at least on the scale, or perhaps even more significant than the drop induced by the Mount Pinatubo eruption of 1991 in the Philippines; however, more pressing issues needed to be solved.

Asamayama is located within 40 kilometers of the nearest major population center, Nagano, within 140 kilometers of Tokyo. Unlike the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption, the eruption of Asamayama occurred all at once instead of in stages; as such, it was nearly impossible to evacuate the people of Karuizawa, Komoro, and Tsumagoi in time. In fact, the efforts of Professor Shin’ichiro Asanuma and his students at the University of Tokyo-operated volcanic observatory were all nearly for naught as the government simply did not believe the mounting evidence of a volcanic eruption until it was too late. Naturally, the many immediate casualties of the explosion could have been avoided had the government taken the leap of faith and listened to the many warnings.

This was what Maihime heard and relayed to her companions on the battery-powered radio she had on her person. The volcano itself was still erupting, spewing out ash and blocking out the sky. Even as far as they were, the sky had gone black. However, with both Mahime’s and Suzuran’s Magan at their disposal, they can safely traverse the darkened landscape as they both can see in the dark.

“The news outlets sure aren’t forgiving of the government, huh?” Noa said matter-of-factly.

“Well, as a matter of fact, it was us that caused the eruption,” Maihime shrugged. “All of you rampaged far too much. As a result, you weakened the stability of the volcano and hastened a volcanic eruption that may have been far in the future… Especially you, Manaka, your Hachimanriki is far too dangerous.”

“… My deepest apologies, Oujo Denka,” she muttered. Manaka shrunk back even further when Maihime gave her a glare for not calling her by her name again. “I was simply absorbed in trying to defeat Yomi Satsuki that I didn’t pay too much attention to my surroundings.”

“That’s one of your bad habits,” Maihime scolded. “As much as I want to praise you for your efforts in repelling that fox that put us in this unsavory situation, there is no denying that we screwed up the country.”

“I suppose both my and Noa-chan’s items can’t be retrieved any longer?”

“No, no problems in that department,” Maihime declared. “The people who retrieved your items are Toji and they are well-trained. They will bring your items to the rendezvous point after us.”

“I see.” Suzuran shrugged before returning to her regular goofy expression. “In that case, there really is nothing more for us to do than to run.” Suzuran upped her speed as she watched Maihime accelerate; she had earlier decelerated to let the other girls listen to her radio.

Half an hour later, the girls reached Tateyama Station very near the confluence of the Jōganji and Shomyo Rivers. As the girls followed her, Maihime called for them to take a break. “Noa, you still have a bundle of cash on your person, yes?”

“Indeed,” she replied. “Why are you asking?”

“You might as well buy something to fill up your stomachs. While we are close to our destination, none of us have properly eaten anything since we were assaulted yesterday.”

“Now that you mention that….” Just as she said this, Suzuran’s stomach growled, demanding attention. “Yeah, we probably should… Noa-chan, how much do you have left?”

“Enough for a small meal for all of us,” she replied.

“In that case, let’s go eat some ramen,” Maihime suggested. “I don’t know about you but for me, it’s my go-to meal if I want to eat something fast and warm.”

“If that is your choice, I shall follow you,” Manaka deferred.

“Hmm, ramen sounds good right about now,” Suzuran nodded. “What about you, Noa-chan?”

“Ramen it is then.” With the last person agreeing, the girls all visited a nearby restaurant to fill themselves up. Maihime ushered her teammates in and whispered something to Manaka who promptly nodded in reply.

Maihime lingered outside before pulling out her cell. Pressing a button to speed-dial, she waited for three rings before the person on the other side picked up. “Kazuyuki-sama.”

“Oi,” Maihime grunted.

“Ah, my deepest apologies, Maihime-sama,” the voice on the other side stated. “Special Operator Honami Mitsumine reporting.”

“Good. How is the state of the Elite Guard?”

“They’re already en route to Toyama Prefecture,” Honami Mitsumine replied. “They should arrive in no less than ninety minutes.”

“Tch, already?”

“I apologize, Maihime-sama. They received an anonymous tip.”

“Mhm,” Maihime nodded. She then changed the conversation. “That aside, how are you holding up?”

“Um?”

“Don’t dodge the question. You’ve been deceiving your best friend this entire time.”

“…”

Maihime sighed before she started a soliloquy. “Honami Mitsumine, born on July 13 under the astrological sign, Cancer, in the seventeenth year of the Heisei era. As your family did before you, you were charged with serving as the personal retainer of the Origami family’s heir; that would be me. You are allowed to attend school but most of your studies are completed by a body double as you have already been educated in everything taught in the Five Traditions ever since you were a child. On top of that, your friendship with Suzuran Arisugawa is protracted, forcing you to constantly hide your identity as my retainer at all times… so you choose to play the timid fool. Even now, it is your body double currently in custody at the Sword Administration HQ while your real self is disguised for blending in with the special task force. In lieu of this, I’m simply worried.”

“… I couldn’t be more grateful for your kind words, Maihime-sama. However, it is my duty as a member of the Mitsumine family. Our job is to guard the Origami family from the shadows and the post of accompanying you simply fell to me, the eldest child of the current head. As such, as much as I wish to accept your magnanimous words, I simply cannot.”

“… And I assume I cannot change your mind?”

“It is as you say.”

“Hrm…” Maihime chewed her lip as she tried to think of something else to say, however, nothing came to mind. Instead, she simply sighed. “Fine. Continue giving me reports. I want you to prioritize your own safety at all times. If you get yourself killed, I’ll tear my way through Yomi and drag you out to kill you myself.”

“Quite frightful as I know that you have the ability to back your claims,” Honami replied, her voice cracking slightly as she began to sweat from the pressure her liege was releasing through just her voice alone. “Understood, Maihime-sama. I shan’t die until you order me to.”

“Very well. Dismissed.” Removing the phone from her ear, Maihime palmed the hilt of her okatana, a habit she had developed whenever she felt either excited or distressed. As she slipped the communication device back into her pocket, she could honestly only pray that her shadow remains safe…

The girl at the center of Maihime’s worries simply smiled to herself as she snapped the burner phone she had just used to call her liege in half, discarding it into a nearby garbage bin in the city of Otari. This was currently where the operatives of the failed Operation Morning Star were gathered in preparation for the new assault on the escaped traitors who they were told had escaped to Toyama Prefecture. While she did give Maihime an accurate estimate of the time they’d arrive in Toyama, by her mental calculations, she had actually overestimated it; it would take roughly 115 minutes or so to get from Otari to Toyama’s Kansui Park which was the rendezvous and extraction point set by Mokusa (that detail was somehow also leaked to the Special Sword Administration Bureau, something that angered Honami as she couldn’t help but believe that there was a traitor amongst their organization), a good 25 minutes or so off from her initial estimate of 90 minutes. Hopefully, this would give Maihime-sama and the rest enough time so that they’d avoid engaging in combat…

Suddenly, she laughed quietly to herself from her roost in the trees, having climbed up there after discarding her burner phone. Ah, my apologies, Maihime-sama. I was just so moved by how much worry you show me, someone who will always live within the shadows. Do not worry, Maihime-sama, I shan’t ever fail you. With that new resolve burning in her heart, Honami Mitsumine left her leaf-lined perch and stole through the shadows, tailing the military convoy.

“Is something the matter, Maihime-sama?” Maihime was so buried in thought as she rolled the phone around in her hand that she did not notice Manaka had stepped out of the restaurant.

“Ah, it’s nothing,” she replied. “Sorry for taking so long.”

“Not a problem.”

“How are the girls?”

“Well… The Hiiragi girl is quiet as she consumes her food but the Arisugawa girl is…”

“I would assume so,” Maihime chuckled. “From the stories that woman has told me about her mother, I can definitely see the similarities.” Of course, this was a lie; even to people like Manaka and Alice, Maihime still kept secrets from them. This information was given to her by Honami, her shadow, who always went out on a limb to search for relevant information that may be of help to their organization. “In any case, we shall leave that aside. For now, we have to eat.”

“Of course,” Manaka deferred, quickly moving to open the door for her liege. The two girls then entered the restaurant where Maihime apologized to the attending chef and ordered an extra-large helping of ramen. While Maihime would have taken the time to enjoy her food, she was unable to do so as she was pressed for time; as such, she ended up polishing off even her extra-large serving of food in no less than ten minutes. She finished her food before even Suzuran or Noa who had ordered their food and had received their food before her.

After another ten minutes, the other girls finished their servings as well and settled the bill. Maihime added several hundred more yen as a tip. The girls then regrouped outside before nodding to each other. They began walking at a leisurely pace in order to blend with the crowd before darting down an empty alley. Once there, the girls took off once more, this time, for the final destination at Kansui Park.

1828.

“Alright, we’re here,” Fuutarou Morikube announced.

He had been riding in the truck along with several other special operatives that held their high-value prisoner, the Toji of Mokusa, Alice Sakayanagi. While he couldn’t boast that he had the best grades during training, he believed he had a general understanding of what the Mokusa organization was trying to do, however, he couldn’t believe that such a radical organization could have converted the girl in his custody. Nevertheless, he had to separate his personal perceptions from his attitude on the job.

The girl in question was completely oblivious to Fuutarou’s misgivings as when he pulled on the rope attached to her handcuffs, she said, “Are we finally here, desu?”

Fuutarou said nothing further as he dismounted from the truck with his fellow operatives and tugged Alice out of the truck. Even with the force on her hands, she was able to land perfectly on her feet. Hmm. They’ve already blockaded Kansui Park. Knowing my liege, she would first lead them here in order to test them once more… It would be far too suspicious for them to have been given the correct information for the rendezvous point yet they would not find them there. However… Alice bit her lip as she held back an angry growl. While she has absolutely no knowledge of her, Alice too reached the same conclusion as Honami: there was a traitor amongst their organization who was whispering information to the Special Sword Administration Bureau.

The ‘correct information’ that Alice would have willingly given up to the Sword Administration was that the rendezvous point was Joganjigawa Park, however, she was unable to do so before she was shocked to hear that they had received information that the rendezvous point was changed to Kansui Park which was the secondary rendezvous point should the first be compromised. She internally shook her head. No, this much should be well within Oujo Denka’s expectations. In that case, my job is to… She narrowed her eyes as she eyed the girl with hair that evokes the image of an owl’s plumage, light gray and dark gray. That girl being the “wily fox” that so irritates her liege, Yomi Satsuki.

Earlier, she had gathered some information from hearsay from the soldiers which told her that Yomi had already dueled Manaka once and was forced to retreat. Alice had also done her own research, especially after sensing the presence of aradama within not just Yomi but the other two girls of the Elite Guard. She disregarded dealing with them as she trusted that her liege would be able to handle them; her duty now was to face Yomi and stall her before she could engage in combat with the others. She meditated as she waited for the opportune moment.

Sensing that she was once again being towed along by the operatives, she concentrated and upon feeling the pull on her rope stop, she opened her eyes and took in the total blockade that surrounded her liege and her escort. Thirty meters of distance meant nothing to Maihime as she noticed Alice, acknowledging her with nothing more than a slight bob of the head. Confident that she had received express permission, she called on her okatana and channeled Hachimanriki into her hands. Of course, as the sword was not actually in her hands, she was able to only unleash it for just an instant; this was still more than enough for her to break the handcuffs with a single powerful yank.

The general belief is that Toji can only exercise their powers with an okatana in hand, however, this isn’t strictly true. In Toji who have had their okatana for years, especially for those Toji who are from established lineages, they have already formed a ‘bond’ with their sword that allows them to temporarily channel their powers even when not physically touching the sword. Secondly, it allowed them to do things such as this…

“Return to me, Tenrou: Echizenkurage!” Alice stuck out her hand in the air and yelled these words. Not even a second later, a truck in the blockade exploded as a single sword flew through the air and landed in Alice’s hand. She couldn’t help but smile as she said, “Welcome back, sis.” Immediately, she activated jin’i and sailed straight for Yomi. Just as her sword was about to strike her, Yomi drew her sword and guarded against the killing blow. “That reaction speed…! You aren’t human!”

At the same time…

“Damn…!”

Noa cursed as not even two minutes had elapsed before their complete encirclement by the forces of the Special Sword Administration Bureau. All of them drew their swords, entered utsushi, and placed themselves in combat stances. “How come they know we’re here?!”

“Maihime-sama, what’s going on?” Manaka asked.

“Tsk,” she clicked her tongue. “Manaka, I trust you to bring them the rest of the way. I need to investigate something.”

“… Then it’s true? There is a traitor?”

“I don’t know,” she replied. “I have to investigate this myself. Manaka, I leave them to you. Don’t fail me!”

“Yes, Oujo Denka!” Manaka watched as her liege disappeared in an instant, bolting at such speeds that all three of the girls instinctively knew that if Maihime had chosen to do so, she could have very well chosen to leave them all behind.

Suzuran could only mumble, “… Exactly how deep is she able to go?”

As always, Noa was the first to recover from her shock. “I shouldn’t need to say this but we’re still surrounded!”

Suzuran hefted her sword as she sighed. “Welp, how many times does this make it?”

“Shut it and focus,” Manaka scolded. “Nene, stay here.”

“Kyuu!” But of course, Aruji-sama!

The first to strike was Suzuran who dashed forward and cut down an enemy Toji. She internally apologized to the girl as she recognized her from their earlier clash in the Battle of Asamayama. She continued her dance through the enemy lines, cutting through Toji before reversing her blade to use the spine to attack the normal soldiers. “Oy, Suzuran! You’re getting ahead of yourself!” Noa yelled at her compatriot as she too joined in the frenzy; it wasn’t much of a problem for the two fighters to repel the soldiers and Toji. With Manaka as their rearguard and the main lake of Kansui Park behind her, they needn’t worry about possible assaults from their rear.

“Hey, move aside! These girls are too much for you.” Both Suzuran and Noa tensed up as they trained their swords on their nemeses from earlier that day. “You seem to have found good company,” Maya Shidou scoffed.

“Ha,” Manaka replied. “Certainly, I am classified as good company, especially compared to you. You’ve become an Impurity, haven’t you?”

“Oh?” the accompanying girl, Suzuka Konohana, said. “If you know that term, then you are indeed part of Mokusa.”

“Yeah, it’s too late to hide that now,” Manaka said. “But!” She dashed forward and brought her sword in a heavy kiri-otoshi. Suzuka wisely chose to backstep to avoid the blow but she still was impacted by a strong airblast. “I can do her a favor by eliminating you!”

“Suzuran, pay attention!” Noa screamed as she blocked a downward slash from Maya aimed at Suzuran.

“Whoa!” she gasped as she snapped back to reality and stepped back. “Sorry, I was just caught up in deciding the battle plan but it seems like Manaka’s decided for us.”

“Yeah, last time, we just barely held our own against them,” Noa shuddered. “This time… We should have some luck.”

“Do you believe that you stand a chance against me if both of you attack me at the same time?”

“I’d like to believe as such,” Suzuran snapped back, adopting a standard seigan stance as she tried picking out weaknesses in her opponent’s stance. “Practitioner of the Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū, Suzuran Arisugawa, here I come!”

Maya barely held back a laugh. “In that case, I shall humor you. Practitioner of the Shindō Munen-ryū, Maya Shidou, prepare yourself.” Maya received Suzuran’s overhead strike with an underhand cut of her own. Their swords separated then reunited with each other another seven times in rapid succession, enough for some sparks to be caught flying off of their clashing blades. “I see you have gotten faster.”

“Yeah, sorry, wasn’t in top shape last time,” Suzuran joked. “I was pretty hungry after all.” … Dammit, she’s too skilled! I can’t figure out if she has an opening in her defense!

“With these superb sword skills, why did you choose to help that traitor over there?”

“She’s my friend! I swing my sword to help my friends and she was in need of help! I have no other reason.”

“So you are a fool,” Maya concluded.

“I may be a fool but I am not scum,” Suzuran growled back. She began increasing the speed of her attacks before slamming Maya’s sword with an especially hard strike and stepping back. “Noa-chan!”

“You don’t have to tell me!” Noa snapped as she slashed from below from a modified gedan-no-kamae. The strike carried enough force to at least temporarily unseat Maya’s center of gravity. Suzuran took the chance to attack with her own low strike, aiming to take out Maya’s leg.

“Very excellent aim,” Maya applauded, however, she flipped herself over, landing once on her off-hand before pushing back onto her feet. “Indeed, that is a magnificent tactic that would’ve worked on any other swordsman but me. I must say, you were indeed correct in saying you were not in top shape.”

“Tsk,” Noa clicked her tongue. “I suppose that should be expected of the First Seat of the Elite Guard.”

“Unfortunately, I need to follow where my sword takes me and for that, I must cut you down again!” Suzuran asserted as she slashed once more. She continued slashing, sequentially increasing the speed of her strikes. Eventually, both Noa and Maya widened their eyes as they noticed that Suzuran had forcibly entered ‘the zone’.

To explain, Toji can usually only open a ‘gate’ through which they siphon power from but for Suzuran, she has opened a ‘gate’ and has actually entered the layers of the Netherworld, which exists as an alternate world superimposed upon reality (of course, the Netherworld and reality rarely interact and they only ever do so on predictable 400-year cycles where the fabric of space between the Netherworld and reality are stretched so thin that greater numbers of aradama, including the truly powerful ones, are able to cross into reality; in the same way, it is possible for humans to fully cross into the Netherworld with no way of returning to reality). This state is usually referred to as ‘the zone’ but it also has an official name.

“Impossible…!” Maya exclaimed as she clenched her teeth from the ever-increasing weight of Suzuran’s relentless strikes. “She can enter zenkyou shoujin!? Only one out of five thousand Toji are able to access that state…!”

“Suzuran…!” Noa mumbled as sheーin an incredibly out-of-character momentーlet her grip on her sword go slack in her attempt to process what she was seeing. Even through my research, I’ve only ever discovered Nanae Origami and Yume Tsubakuro as users of this technique…! Are you just a beast of talent, Suzuran Arisugawa!?

“That reaction speed…! You aren’t human!”

Even if she wasn’t quite as fast as true masters of jin’i (such as the case with Sayuki Asahina and her ability of the infinite phase jin’i), Alice Sakayanagi is incredibly skilled. She had just unleashed Fifth Layer Jin’i, a speed that most Toji would be completely unable to react to. However, not only was Yomi Satsuki able to react to it, she was able to counterattack. Alice was forced to stop short to avoid Yomi’s counterattack that would have cleanly taken off her head. “So Ojou Denka was right, desu,” she muttered. “You’re an Impurity!”

“Hehehe…” Yomi giggled. “I suppose you would know all about Impurities, Toji of Mokusa.” Giving no reply, Alice hefted her sword before slashing at her once again. As expected, her attack was defended against and she received a counterattack on her golden arm. “Hm. Kongoushin, is it? I suppose this would indeed be rather hard to break through.”

“Try as you might, there’s no way you can break my armor, desu!”

“I do believe that my Shinjin-ryū is quite the bad match for your Hyōhō Taisha-ryū.”

“Hm, you make a good point, however, a deficiency in sword style can be supplanted by a difference in skill, desu!” Alice hefted her blade and attacked Yomi once again. While she was a student of the Hyōhō Taisha-ryū, she has also taken lessons in other sword schools; although she wasn’t quite yet adept at using the style, the fact that she can emulate Tenka Musō Shiten-ryū (officially, it is known as just Shiten-ryū but it can also be written as the aforementioned) despite being a student of another school was something not typically seen in Toji.

As if proof of this, Yomiーwho usually never makes a shift in her expressionーwidened her eyes as she raised her sword to defend herself from the renewed sword strikes which had changed rhythms from their initial clash. Using a differing sword school has done a great deal against Yomi’s perception of Alice’s flow as the new rhythm clashes with what she had already memorized. “I see,” she muttered. “Indeed, this might be a problem.” Yomi deflected a strike with great strength and forced Alice off-balance. She took that opportunity to bring her sword up to her own arm, slicing it open. While Alice was never there to see it, the blood on Yomi’s arm frothed in the same way as when she injured herself in her duel with Manaka during the battle of Asamayama.

“So this is what it is like to bear aradama, desu…” Alice shivered in awe as she unconsciously removed her device from her pocket to inspect it. Surely enough, it did not register the aradama in front of her. She narrowed her eyes, hefting her sword. She took to stepping sideways, in a counterclockwise motion, drawing an imaginary half-circle around Yomi; Yomi kept her eyes trained on Alice which was particularly strange considering she was quite literally craning her neck almost the whole way around. “… That’s creepy,” Alice muttered. With her blade still emulating the Tenka Musō Shiten-ryū, she began attacking again, swinging her sword in great wide sweeps in order to slash her way through the cloud of miniature aradama Yomi’s blood was birthing.

“What’s creepier is your ever-changing sword style,” Yomi spat back. “I cannot even begin to tell if your next strike will be of your original school or of the second school you had taken the liberty of learning.”

“Haha, why, thanks,” Alice quipped. “If there’s one thing that sets me apart from other Toji, it’s my formless sword… For example…” Alice attacked Yomi with a strike that was found neither in her original sword school of Hyōhō Taisha-ryū nor in the second school, Tenka Musō Shiten-ryū. Following that, she unleashed yet another strike with another form then again, and again, and again.

Eight strikes in quick succession, all from different schools.

This time, Yomi couldn’t help but widen her eyes as she watched Alice’s attacks. As someone who has studied swordsmanship, she would of course know of the many swordsmanship schools that exist; for that matter, she was able to name the schools Alice Sakayanagi was making use of:

Her first strike was taken from the Aizu Kage-ryū.

Her second strike was a form of the Arichi Shinkage-ryū.

Her third strike was a maneuver of the Hōen-ryū.

Her fourth strike was an attack using the Enmei-ryū.

Her fifth strike was a technique of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū.

Her sixth strike was a methodology of the Katayama Shindō-ryū.

Her seventh strike was an art taken from the Ōishi Shinkage-ryū.

Her final strike was a skillful move from the Taihei Shinkyō-ryū.

“I see…” Yomi mumbled. “You are indeed formless… or to be more accurate, you cannot simply mold yourself into any one school.”

“Correct,” Alice laughed, a tinge of self-deprecation in her voice. “I am a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. I cannot perfect a single sword style no matter how much I train so I instead compensate by learning everything that I can, desu. It does have its useful moments, doesn’t it?” As if to prove her point, Alice’s formless blade continues cutting through the aradama swarm Yomi had created with Yomi herself countering by forming more swarms; the self-inflicted wounds on her person just kept increasing in number.

As a daughter of the Blackbourne family and being aware of anti-aradama research, Alice could rationalize the idea of aradama-Toji hybrids (since one way or another, the idea would certainly come up during the research), however, she could not accept how Yomi kept having to wound herself to continue with her attacks. She renewed her effort to clear out the aradama in her way but the swarm did not seem to grow any smaller. “Yomi! What is so good about your lying leader? She’s doing nothing but killing you, desu!”

“‘Killing’ is an incredibly strong word,” Yomi said. “If anything, she is saving us. With this much power, perhaps we can finally end the war with our generation. It doesn’t matter if it is heretical or if it is hypocritical. Power is power!”

Is this what it’s like to be radicalized? Alice thought to herself. “I see. Then I shall put you to rest, desu.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Yomi laughed as she met Alice’s blow after the latter cut her way through the aradama swarm. They exchanged a few blows before Yomi waved her bloodletting arm in Alice’s face, forcing her to back away; she had no confidence that she could face an entire swarm of what seemed to be small insect-type aradama (a type that has a great pickling for gnawing at a Toji’s utsushi) by herself.

However, it wasn’t as if she was out of options.

She used jin’i to close the range while skirting past the aradama smokescreen before planting her foot into Yomi’s abdomen. “A Toji’s only weapon isn’t just the sword, desu!”

Yomi flew away several meters, tumbling over herself. She hacked up blood and cursed under her breath. “… Not enough power.” Dismantling her utsushi, she reached into her uniform and pulled out an injector pen. Popping off its cover in a clearly practiced move, she brought the device to her neck and pushed the plunger. Alice did not even have time to shout, Stop! She retreated several paces as a dastard pulse of what can only be described as dark energy began flowing through the air. Even more shockingly, Yomi’s face began distorting, her right eye transforming into a horn-like protrusion; Alice temporarily let her mind wander as she wondered if Yomi could see anything through her transmogrified eye.

“… Are you a demon!?” Alice choked out, her sword trained on the human-shaped monster in front of her.

“For my master,” Yomi’s reply was a monotonous drawl, even more inflectionless than normal. She charged Alice, a kiri-otoshi aimed straight for the center of her crown which was beautifully deflected with her original school, however, Alice knew she was a half-step late. She had hesitated in attacking first due to the fact that Yomi was not in utsushi; if she swung, she is going to kill her.

Gritting her teeth, she removed her dominant hand from her sword, using just her off-hand to maneuver it, and slammed a fist charged with Third Layer Hachimanriki into Yomi’s abdomen, in the same spot she had earlier struck her with her foot. Much to her shock, Yomi didn’t even flinch and this time, Alice reacted far too late to respond to Yomi’s blow which struck her utsushi and destroyed it. She collapsed onto her rump with only her sword left to defend against Yomi’s relentless attacks, however, as was standard for Toji, a dismantled utsushi left them drained and Alice could tell that her blade was getting heavier with each passing moment. Yomi simply stated, “Unable to generate utsushi anymore? Very well, it is time for you to leave the stage!”

Alice simply closed her eyes, waiting for the blade to sink into her neck.

For someone in league with the Mokusa organization, Alice had already made peace with the fact that she could possibly die. If there was one thing she regretted, it was not being able to say goodbye to her family or give her parents the grandchildren they so excitedly wanted… and there was something else.

“Hey, Daddy, who’s this?”

She sifted through her memories, recalling her conversation with her father when she was but six years old. Despite having been born in Japan proper, Alice was raised in a household that primarily spoke English and from a young age, she was able to fluently hold a conversation in both English and Japanese. As a general rule, English was to be used in the household and English was the language she was currently using to converse with her father.

“Who, this? This… Hmm, how should I put this?”

“He is your future husband, my sweet touch-me-not.”

Her mother would interrupt the conversation, fully decked out in an apron and fixing up their dinner.

“For the sake of my husband’sーyour father’sーresearch, it has been decided that he will be the man you love.”

“I’m sorry, my baby girl, for simply deciding who you should love for you.”

The young Alice could tell that her father’s voice was pained and she immediately asserted, “Don’t worry, Daddy! I promise to be a good girl! Please don’t be sad!”

Her mother giggled, “My, she’s so sweet. Oh, I know! How about I show you some more pictures of him?” Just like she had said, Alice would spend countless hours going through filesーfiles that depicted a young boy, okatana in hand. The files she was given weren’t limited to just images too; they included videos and even articles concerning the boy. With her parents’ continuous praises of the boy and the clear proof of the boy’s deeds within reach of her eyes, it would perhaps be considered a matter of course for the young Alice to develop strong feelings for the boyーa boy she had never met, not even now when she was about to die.

Ah… I only wish I could have seen you just one time… The love I harbor for you, the love that my parents cultivated… I so wish it could have borne fruit.

Alice waited and waited…

However, she felt no steel severing her neck.

Instead, she heard a voice, a strangely strong and mellifluous voice belying its owner’s maturity yet at the same time, betraying a miniscule hint of playfulness. “Just in the nick of time.”

Alice slowly opened her eyes and saw a boy, wearing a military uniform of the Special Religious Military Unit that was bedecked with all sorts of decorations, a testament to the wearer’s service. Her eyes wandered even further up and spotted his face, sharply chiseled and ruggedly handsome, adorned with amber gold eyes and a scruff of obsidian hair. Tied to his head was an elaborately designed mask in the shape of the kitsune.

Alice brought her hand to her breast and felt her heart and she instinctively knew that this was the boy that she had wanted to meet all these years. Her love for the boy only deepened as he extended his hand to her and, with a dazzlingly bright grin, asked, “You alright?”

Zenkyou Shoujin—.

It carried the definition of “Total Mirroring Concentration”.

Indeed, Suzuran felt as if she was watching herself fight through a mirror. She ‘touched’ the mirror’s surface with both hands as she viewed herself. Suddenly, a warm light began embracing her and a voice echoed in her skull. “I see that you have also finally made it to this realm…” Suzuran tried opening her mouth to speak but it was as if an invisible force was sucking away her voice. “Not now, child, the time has not yet come. Focus on the battle in front of you.”

Just as quickly as it came, Suzuran’s consciousness returned to her body.

She was still in the state of zenkyou shoujin but she could feel herself getting heavier. She knew that she had not yet trained enough to access this state; she had simply forced her way in using nothing more than sheer bravado. Even with the accelerated state of mind she had, she knew that if she did nothing, she would still lose. With her body sharply screaming at her to slow down, she gritted her teeth and pressed forward.

“… It seems that this is your first time entering that state,” Maya comments. “I see. It must be that sword.”

“——aaahgh…!” Suzuran’s voice died in her throat as she continued forcing her body to move. She attacked with wide sweeping slashes, herding Maya away from Noa before her off-hand shot out to grab Noa’s arm. “———your… sword…!” Suzuran barely coughed out. Noa widened her eyes before nodding, relinquishing her blade to Suzuran.

Now equipped with two blades, she renewed her attacks and Maya clicked her tongue. “Nitōjutsu? Now this is indeed troublesome.” While Maya was certainly skilled, she had only met perhaps one or two opponents trained in the art of dual-wielding; there were after all very few schools that teach the art. Suzuran’s attacks were rough but well-practiced, proving that she had truly trained in the art of dual-wielding but Maya could tell that as she continued attacking, her attacks became less and less refined as the exhaustion of haphazardly entering the state of zenkyou shoujin slowly caught up to her.

One of Suzuran’s strikes with Noa’s blade in her off-hand struck Maya’s utsushi, removing her arm but that was also when Suzuran stumbled on her own feet and fell to the ground. “——!” A wordless scream escaped from her lips as her whole entire body ached with pain, falling out of the state of zenkyou shoujin.

“You’ve hit your limit, hm?” Maya asked. “Roughly one hundred seconds. That certainly isn’t bad for your first time in that state, especially considering you forced your way in without the proper training. I’ll put in a good word for you; I’m sure Nanae-sama would forgive you if she learned that you can enter zenkyou shoujin. Even I cannot access that state yet and I’ve been the First Seat for four years now.” She raised her sword and brought it down on Suzuran, destroying her utsushi. “Now, it’s you two—hm?”

While she had been keeping on eye on Suzuka’s duel with Manaka, she couldn’t focus even a sliver of her attention in that direction after Suzuran entered zenkyou shoujin. Now that she could look that way, she could see that Manaka had just sliced through Suzuka, dismantling her utsushi before attempting to rush to Suzuran’s side, however, she widened her eyes and suddenly, Maya felt cold steel caressing her neck. “Now, now, I can’t have you do that on my watch.”

It was the same boy who had earlier previously saved Alice. He also had easily dispatched Yomi with a single blow of his okatana, held in his left hand. Yomi herself was unconscious and the aradama she had produced vanquished without a trace. For this young boy, Yomi was hardly even a worthy opponent; indeed, he had even fought her with Alice in his arms, hugging the girl close as he dispatched Yomi with but a single swipe of his sword. “That’s… the mythological-class…!”

“Oh? I suppose this would indeed identify me,” the boy quipped. “Well? Would you be so nice as to lower your weapon?”

Maya gulped once, dismantled her utsushi, and sheathed her sword, before falling down to her knees, all in one practiced movement. “Kazuyuki-sama…! What brings you out here…?”

“Tch,” he clicked his tongue. “I told you to drop the honorific.”

“M-My apologies, Ka-Kazuyuki-sa—n…”

“Acceptable, I suppose. In any case, tell my mother this: I shan’t follow how she runs things anymore. I refuse to accept that woman as my mother, someone who uses her underlings as naught but puppets! You and Suzuka both…” For just a secod, a pained expression flashed across Kazuyuki's face before it reverted back to neutral as he returned his sword to its saya before picking up the now-unconscious Suzuran in his now free left arm. He turned his attention to both Noa, who was shocked speechless for the umpteenth time that day, and Manaka, who simply deferred to Kazuyuki as if she had already known. “Come, follow me. They won’t be boorish enough to disobey a direct order from me.”

Noa watched as he took off across the lake of Kansui Park and ran across the surface of Jinzū River. “He can and will leave you behind if you don’t chase after him now,” Manaka said before running herself. Noa gritted her teeth and trailed after them.

Maya still couldn’t believe her ears as Suzuka, who had recovered from being defeated by Manaka, muttered, “This was outside of anyone’s expectations…”

“We have no choice,” Maya said. “Let’s retreat.”

2123.

“The US military has given us a reply,” an operator said. “They haven’t found a single trace of them.”

“I must leave it to Kazuyuki-sama,” Maya said. “No one other than him can pull off such a disappearing act. To think that they would escape by submarine…”

“Indeed…” Suzuka mumbled. “I still cannot believe that he would turn against his mother as well. Has their been no news on the location of Maihime-sama?”

“No, ma’am, she was last seen in Kansui Park but she up and vanished,” another operator replied.

“That is not the most important thing here!” Azusa yelled. “How in Izanami’s name did you fail with three members of the Elite Guard!? Not to mention, one of you ended up like that.” She was, of course, referring to Yomi who had overdosed herself on yousai in her attempt to defeat Alice; currently, she was in a comatose state, bandages wrapped around her face where her right eye had been.

The double doors to the command operations room opened with a flourish as Nanae walked inside. “I certainly do have the most rebellious children… How interesting.” She then turned her gaze to both Maya and Suzuka who both stiffened up. “I suppose my incorrigible son said something to you two?”

“Ye-Yes, he said that he refutes you and everything you stand for as someone who hardly bats an eye to using their subjects as human experimentations,” Maya stammered.

“I see, I see! That is indeed something he would say!” she laughed joyously. “Now… Azusa, Madoka, Chikage, all of you are dismissed. I shall pursue my rebellious son myself.”

“Bu-But Nanae-sama…!”

“Quiet,” she ordered. “You have already disobeyed me. Do remember that I have the authority to strip you of all of your decorations.”

“Ye-Yes, ma’am…” Azusa quickly folded under Nanae’s intense stare and followed the other two principals out of the door.

Nanae watched them go before she turned her attention to the screen in front of her. “Hmm. I suppose I shall let him run free for now. He is still within my reach.”

Right outside of the door, Azusa broke away from the other principals and walked toward the room where Sayuki was detained in. Opening the door, she snapped, “Come.” Sayuki wordlessly nodded as she got up from her seat and followed her principal, trailing her steps with her head hung.

Eventually, the two crossed paths with Chikage and Honami and Honami stopped them. “Sayuki-chan! I’m so glad you can go home now.”

“Mhm…” she nodded.

“I’ll be returning home to my school too!”

“I see…”

Honami squirmed under the awkwardness. “I’ll see you soon.”

She turned to walk away but felt a light tug on her sleeve. “Your cookies were delicious…” Sayuki muttered. “Can I have more?”

Honami burst into a smile as she said, “Not a problem! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! But… Sorry, I don’t have any more on me right now.”

“Oh…” Honami could swear she could see a pair of dog ears and a tail, all drooping sadly.

“Do-Don’t worry! I can make some more! Do you have a cellphone?”

“Mhm…”

“Let’s exchange contact information.”

“Mhm…!”

With a stronger grunt of agreement, the two girls exchanged numbers and just when Honami was about to say something else, a sharp snap came from behind them. “Sayuki!”

“Yes, ma’am…” she said. She bowed once to Honami before turning around and running after her principal.

Chikage, who had watched all of this unfold, sighed. “You’re really the same as always.” As Honami returned to her side, she asked, “Are you sure that was a good idea, Fuyuka?”

“A non-issue, Madame Principal,” the girl replied. “I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to become her body double. Besides, she could serve as a great source of information… While I apologize for using her friend for this, it is my duty to cover for her.”

“I swear, you girls have immensely strong senses of duty…” Chikage then felt her own phone vibrate in her pocket and upon taking it out, raised an eyebrow as she read the name. “… Asuka?”

She answered the call and immediately, the cheery voice of the principal of Minoseki Academy said, “Ah, you picked up! Thank goodness! Now, Chikage-senpai, I got a teensy little request for you.”

“… You know that I don’t have many good memories of you when you take that tone with me, yes?”

“Aw, don’t be such a spoilsport, Senpai! It’s a request from your cute junior, A-su-ka~!”

“Fine, what do you want?”

“Oh, it’s nothing! It’s just… It’s about time to put that plan into motion, yes?”

“I suppose so.”

“Great! I’ll make the preprations!” She then hung up.

“What’s wrong, Madame Principal?” Fuyuka asked.

“It’s nothing… Now, come, it’s time to begin.”

Fuyuka only nodded as she followed her.