Chapter Twenty-Three: I Really Hate That Word / Chapter Twenty-Four: Emergency Notice

"Ah, no wonder they had to fob you off with an excuse like that."

Sirin repented inwardly. She shouldn't have thought that the complete stranger had something wrong with her head, because it was obviously Yae Sakura who had something wrong with hers.

These people had killed so many ghosts that they'd killed their own brains stupid.

"Kiana wasn't fobbing me off. I was the one who made the request." Yae Sakura stopped and looked Sirin over. "Don't you have anything to do right now?"

"I do!"

"Then why are you still pestering me?"

"Isn't this what I'm doing?" Sirin put her hands on her hips and said righteously, "Adjusting my mental state. That's what I need to do right now."

Yae Sakura fell silent.

So Sirin's way of adjusting her mental state was to ruin other people's moods and mental states?

With a soft sigh, she returned to her temporary residence there. Sirin followed behind her and slipped inside as well.

"If you ask me, she doesn't want to be friends with someone like you who stole her friend's sword." Sirin plopped herself down somewhere, maliciously ruining Yae Sakura's mood. "She only humored you because she couldn't beat you."

Yae Sakura had no desire to argue with her. She simply treated Sirin as though she didn't exist, ignoring what she had just said.

To convince Raiden Ryoma, she had to figure out what he was really thinking and why exactly he refused to meet Raiden Mei.

He hadn't even made a phone call.

Remembering the letter she had delivered for him, Yae Sakura wondered inwardly: Could he think that since he had already written his will, meeting her or not no longer mattered?

"Hey, what if you meet her next time and she brushes you off, saying that the promise you mentioned last time doesn't count? What will you do?"

Yae Sakura frowned. "She won't."

Kiana had chased after her at great risk for Raiden Mei's sake. After learning the truth from her, she had even fought her despite being injured so that her friend and father could meet again. It was obvious at a glance that Kiana was a very straightforward person.

Someone like that wouldn't go back on her word.

"Oh, then I'll just suppose it too."

"She won't."

Sirin stared at Yae Sakura suspiciously. "Wait. Isn't this your first time meeting her? You don't have some ability to see through people at a glance, do you?"

"You wouldn't understand." Yae Sakura thought for a moment before saying, "If you could meet her and have a chat with her, perhaps you'd understand how I feel now."

"Is it really that magical?"

Sirin hadn't been interested at first, but after hearing Yae Sakura praise Kiana so much, she developed a little interest of her own.

"Then when this is over, after we kill Takemikazuchi, take me along to meet her."

Kiana wasn't some object on display.

Yae Sakura frowned, but then thought that neither of them might survive the battle. "If we survive."

Sirin's expression changed instantly.

"What do you mean, 'if we make it back alive'?" She snorted. "Can't you say something auspicious? We'll definitely win, and I absolutely won't die here!"

"Every battle may demand a price from anyone. It might be him, or it might be me..."

"But it definitely won't be me!"

Yae Sakura nodded in agreement. "That's true. You being alive is more valuable than all of us combined."

"You!"

Sirin glared at her furiously.

A call for her came through her earpiece. Sirin suppressed her anger, shot another glare at the tactless Yae Sakura, and hurried away.

It seemed that it was time for Sirin to work.

Chapter Twenty-Three: I Really Hate That Word

"Damn it, can't you settle down for once?"

Sirin watched the dragon that could fly out of the thunderclouds at any moment and cursed under her breath. She drew the sword beside her again, projected it into the sky, and recited the Word of Power.

"Void Descent!"

The Edict Blade responded to the Blade Master's Word of Power, and the Word of Power differed according to each Blade Master's compatibility. The Words of Power they learned from the swords were the ways of using power best suited to them.

As the Word of Power was released, the body of the Heavenly Blade became a phantom, binding the surrounding space. Centered on the Edict Blade, black spatial shackles spread in all directions at a speed beyond the human eye's ability to perceive.

The illusory black dragon should have retreated then, but its scarlet eyes fixed on Sirin, who controlled the Heavenly Blade. It let out a piercing roar and charged toward the spatial barrier, carrying the thunderclouds with it.

Sirin had thought this impact would be similar to yesterday's, but the spatial barrier under the Heavenly Blade's control trembled violently when Takemikazuchi struck it.

Sirin's expression changed. She had calculated that there was still some time, but as the sword's master, no one understood better than her the impact caused by Takemikazuchi's collision.

How could this be?

"Go inform the others to prepare! Takemikazuchi is about to break free!"

Had this beast been pretending to be weak before? Had it not been using its full strength?

Daring not to leave the observation post again, Sirin used the power of the Heavenly Blade to repair the spatial barrier that Takemikazuchi had nearly smashed through.

But Takemikazuchi's attack did not stop. It seemed to have noticed that this space was no longer as sturdy, so, just as yesterday, it began ramming the barrier crazily.

Cracks like those in glass appeared across the space, visible to the naked eye. Takemikazuchi's dragon head grew increasingly solid instead of phantom-like, while Sirin coldly devoted all her strength to repairing the barrier before her.

The impacts of Takemikazuchi against the spatial barrier produced deafening peals of thunder. Mixed within the storm and rumbling lightning was the sound of spatial rifts spreading.

Hold out a little longer!

I have to hold out a little longer!

The longer she delayed, the more people would have time to react. If Takemikazuchi broke through the obstruction like this, the nearby base might suffer a devastating blow!

"Get back in there!"

The golden glow in her eyes was brilliant beneath the pitch-black thunderstorm.

"This world doesn't welcome you! You bunch of evil spirits, can't you just obediently go die?!"

"Void Space!!!"

She stabilized the surrounding spatial barrier once more.

At that crucial moment, Sirin, holding the Heavenly Blade, comprehended a new way to use space.

Where Takemikazuchi had struck cracks into the barrier, pieces of space transformed into the sharpest blades in the world and swept across its enormous dragon head.

There were many fragments, but the spatial shards were too small. Even with Sirin's enhancement, the damage they inflicted on Takemikazuchi within the space was limited.

Steady!

I have to hold it steady!

Yet no matter how constantly she tried to repair it, Takemikazuchi's attacks never stopped, and the spatial barrier at this point grew increasingly fragile.

Should I retreat?

Perhaps the next time Takemikazuchi charged, this space would shatter completely.

If she didn't evacuate the mountaintop immediately, then once the space was smashed apart and Takemikazuchi escaped...

She would be the first one hit.

Struggling to maintain the tottering barrier, she pressed her left hand to her earpiece and connected to a nearby communications officer. "Can you hear me? Listen carefully. Takemikazuchi is stronger than we detected. We can't hold this place any longer!"

"Please stay calm. I've already received the report, and reinforcements are on the way!" An anxious woman's voice came from the other side, speaking extremely quickly. "Hold it back a little longer! No matter what, don't let it leave that coordinate. There are still people who haven't been evacuated from the nearby cities, and the Anti-God Weapons are warming up. They need another minute before they're fully activated!"

Sirin wasn't surprised by the news.

She was one of them, after all, and had participated in the entire plan and deployment against Takemikazuchi.

She had contacted the communications officer only to pass along this irreversible news. If the others could make even one more preparation, that was one more preparation made.

"I know what I have to do."

She lowered the hand touching her earpiece and took a deep breath. "Damn Yae Sakura. You have no talent for telling stories at all. I'm about to die, and my head is still full of questions."

"You clearly knew I hated people saying things like that beforehand, yet you still had to say, 'if we make it back alive'..."

Sirin gritted her teeth as she looked at Takemikazuchi, which was about to break through the obstruction. She gripped the hilt of the Edict Blade with both hands and charged toward Takemikazuchi. "If I can still make it back alive this time... Yae Sakura, you jinx of a woman, just you wait!"

Space rippled, and countless golden spatial blades slashed from the ripples toward the area within the space.

In the blink of an eye,

Sirin also used the Edict Blade's power to transfer herself into this space, which was filled with cracks and gradually collapsing under Takemikazuchi's power.

"I must be crazy."

She was still complaining under her breath.

If she were alone, the best choice for holding Takemikazuchi back for several minutes would be to remain inside the space.

But facing Takemikazuchi alone...

Thunder that seemed like divine punishment descended from the storm around Takemikazuchi. The Edict Blade in Sirin's hand generated a thin barrier, blocking most of the lightning outside.

"Although I really hate that word, but..." Sirin held the Edict Blade and pointed its tip toward Takemikazuchi. "I'm sorry, but before I die, you can forget about leaving this place!"

"Void Space! Descent!"

Within Imaginary Space, Sirin completely unleashed the Edict Blade in her hand, named 'Heaven,' forged by slaying Amatsukami.

The Imaginary Space, shattered like a wasteland at the end of the world, changed into another form under her power.

A golden cage like a palace trapped her and Takemikazuchi together. The power of Imaginary Space transformed into blade after blade and shot toward Takemikazuchi.

The enraged Takemikazuchi stared at Sirin with its bestial eyes as endless lightning surged toward the barrier protecting her.

This wave of energy, exceeding the barrier's defensive capacity, caused cracks to crawl across it like those spreading through space.

Although holding the Edict Blade allowed her to reproduce the power of the Kishin, a human body obviously couldn't fully unleash such might.

The power of 'Heaven' activated. Protected by the barrier like a golden orb of light, Sirin dodged the unending divine punishment.

Occasional attacks aimed at Takemikazuchi pierced through its scale armor, but the wounds were instantly covered by the storm of lightning manifested from the power surrounding its body.

All this damage is useless!

Before its power was depleted to the critical point, it could keep recovering. That was one of the reasons every battle was so difficult and required the sacrifice of so many people.

"Damn thunderstorm!"

The red thunderstorm surrounding Takemikazuchi was terrifying. Sirin felt that if the barrier shattered, she probably wouldn't be far from death.

Calm down. I have to stay calm now!

Don't think about anything else. Focus on holding it back and buy the rescue teams evacuating the residents a little more time!

Chapter Twenty-Four: Emergency Notice

The Command Center at the disaster site.

"How is the situation now?"

"Sirin's signal has disappeared. We believe she entered Imaginary Space to stop Takemikazuchi."

"What about Welt? Where is Welt?"

"Welt has already taken people to the scene. He's discussing with the Command Center whether to move the battlefield into Imaginary Space."

"Why move it into Imaginary Space?! That would needlessly waste our forces. Without firepower to suppress it and create an opening for them, what could they use to confront Takemikazuchi head-on?!!"

"Report! All Anti-God Weapons are in position."

But the residents nearby who had previously banded together and refused to leave had not all been forcibly evacuated yet.

It was estimated that there were still people remaining nearby.

At least ten thousand.

Yet relying on Sirin alone to face Takemikazuchi could very likely result in her being lost inside Imaginary Space.

How should they choose?

There was no need to choose anymore!