Indigo tried to slash into the semitransparent barrier that surrounded him with his wicked vessel, Deep Blue, while dodging the crystalline katana being swung his way. Metal bouncing off the barrier was the only sound that could be heard; not a single crack was being made in it.
“What is going on here? There’s a barrier that Deep Blue can’t break...? No, has Deep Blue lost its power?”
Indigo continued to dash around the confined space as the drawn sword chased its target. Yakumo firmly pushed the harpbow back into her sash when it began to fall out. The impatience at being unable to find the opportunity for a finishing blow almost made her turn the sacred treasure into its katana form to strike the man down regardless, but she knew if she did that, the wicked devout outside of the [Prison] would no longer be in range of the Divinity Neutralization.
The only time you should do that is when you know for certain you can take him down, Yakumo told herself. Don’t get impatient. Watch your opponent’s movements and slowly but surely stop them.
“[Gate].”
“Hm?!”
Indigo bent his body back to avoid the tip of the sword that suddenly appeared from the distortion in space behind him.
“Spatial magic?! A little unfair that you can still use your magic while we can’t use our weapons, don’t you think?”
“If it means I can protect what is important to me, I feel no shame in being called a cheat or a coward.”
Yakumo knew her parents would tell her that if petty pride or a sense of justice endangered those you loved, you should just throw them away. Were it a fight concerning yourself as an individual, then of course, one should fight fair and square with their pride on the line. However, in a fight to protect someone or something else, trying to see something like that through was just a means of self-satisfaction. It was important to not get one’s priorities wrong.
What Yakumo wanted to protect was her family, the people of her country, and the people in the world working hard to live each day to its fullest. If it was to protect them, she would use anything at her disposal, even if it was deemed unfair. She felt no hesitation in doing that.
“Complaining about cheating and being a coward is but the drivel of the loser, you say? Very good. I agree.”
“Wha—?!”
Indigo took out something akin to a spray can from a pouch hanging from his waist. He then pulled out the pin and threw it on the ground where it suddenly released a plume of vivid purple smoke that filled the inside of the barrier and cut off Yakumo’s sight.
“What a crafty move...! Kokonoe Secret Style: Hurricane Storm Flower!”
Yakumo swung her magic-enhanced blade sideways with a battle cry, causing a small whirlwind to billow forth from the sword’s tip, soon transforming into a large tornado that sucked in the purple smoke.
The [Prison] that Touya had erected could freely specify what was allowed in and out of its walls. Naturally, blocking the air would cause those inside to suffocate, so it was permitted to pass through.
With the purple smoke now driven outside of the barrier, Yakumo could see clearly again.
“What?!”
And yet, it was Yakumo who sounded shocked. As she readied her sword, she suddenly realized that Indigo, the wicked devout wearing the diver suit, had vanished without a trace.
“He’s gone?!”
Yakumo was dazed by the man’s disappearance. Everyone had worked so hard to drive him into a corner, yet right at the very end, she had let him escape.
The plan has failed. Everything was all for naught because of me. What should I do? Should I ask father to release his [Prison] and have him conduct a [Search]?
“Yakumo! Calm down!”
Amid Yakumo’s panic, her mother’s voice reached her ears. She flinched, and then turned toward Yae, seeing her mother’s strong gaze aimed right at her.
Right. First, I need to calm down. These are exactly the times when I must keep a clear mind. Take a deep breath...and then think. Father’s [Prison] can’t be broken with anything but a divinity-enhanced attack, and right now, their divinity is sealed by the sacred treasure. That means his teleportation magic should be sealed. But then, how did he disappear?
“He...disappeared?”
Yakumo’s eyes widened in realization. She heightened her senses, feeling even the slightest distortions of the air from the edges to the corners of the barrier.
“There!”
Yakumo threw two kunai from her pocket. One bounced off the [Prison], but the other deflected off thin air. At that moment, Indigo’s figure reappeared.
“You’re sharp. It appears I should’ve attacked you directly rather than waiting for this barrier to be dispelled.”
Indigo’s legs were still invisible from under his knees. Whenever he moved, Yakumo could see a slight border surrounding his legs against the background. Apparently, his diver suit was enchanted with some kind of illusion magic.
“I’m glad I got those upgrades from Scarlet.”
His body once more dissolved into the background. Yakumo immediately sank back, taking position at a corner of the [Prison] to eliminate the risk of being attacked from the rear.
Suddenly, Indigo appeared in front of her, swinging down his metallic blue hatchet. By the time she’d blocked, deflected, and moved to counter, Indigo was already invisible again. In a situation like this, where she was the cornered one, she couldn’t afford to let her guard down for even a second. She concentrated all her senses on her surroundings so that she was prepared for an attack no matter where it came from.
Yakumo felt a slight disturbance in the air, and then suddenly a harpoon was flying toward her out of nowhere.
“Ngh!”
Though she’d managed to quickly swat it away with her sword, Indigo took that opportunity to appear and do a follow-up attack. Still in the middle of her swing, Yakumo was unable to bring her blade back to block the blow. She rolled to the side instead, just narrowly missing the strike. And as she was rolling, she used her arms and legs to push herself away from Indigo.
A few hairs that had been slashed off scattered around her, a cold sweat running down her cheeks. That had been incredibly close. If she had dodged the harpoon instead of deflecting it, she would’ve been able to counter Indigo. A minor error of judgment could completely change one’s fate in this battle. She had to be careful.
“That was very close. I won’t miss next time.”
There was suddenly something akin to an ejection device fitted to the armored part on Indigo’s left wrist. A harpoon was once more set in place as Indigo’s figure disappeared once more. Yakumo sharpened her senses and concentrated her spirit. Her opponent’s body had not actually disappeared—he had simply become invisible. The enemy she had to cut down was definitely there.
Time passed ever so slowly. The moment the situation changed was immediate.
A harpoon was shot out from thin air diagonally to Yakumo’s right, and at the same time, Indigo attacked with his hatchet from the diagonal left. The ejection device on Indigo’s wrist was missing. Yakumo had seen through his tactic of placing the ejection device on the opposite side of where he intended to attack to have it fire automatically so he could carry out a pincer attack. If she deflected the harpoon, she’d be slashed by the hatchet. If she guarded against the hatchet, she’d be pierced by the harpoon. Thus, the only appropriate course of action was...
“[Gate]!”
“Guh?!”
Indigo recoiled from the sudden stab from behind. When he turned his gaze down, he saw that the sharp harpoon was sticking through his stomach.
“How did you...?!”
The harpoon that should’ve hit his enemy had pierced right through him instead...and from the back of all places.
Yakumo had used [Gate] to both avoid the harpoon and attack Indigo at the same time. The harpoon had been teleported from in front of Yakumo to behind Indigo, piercing through him with the exact same momentum. Dark gold particles gushed out like blood from the wound, but it did nothing to deter Indigo from swinging down his hatchet on the small girl.
That was the moment Indigo realized Yakumo’s weapon was no longer the phrasium katana she had been using before. It was a katana with a platinum sheen that was radiating divine energy.
“Kokonoe Secret Style: Lightning Flash!”
The sacred sword was swung horizontally, cutting Indigo’s wicked vessel into two. The shattered pieces of the weapon clattered to the ground, losing their blue shine and melting into a sludge that emitted black smoke.
“Heh heh... So this is it for me, is it...? Everything’s down to you now, Scarlet... Glory to the wicked god of destruction who will end this world filled with falsehood and deception!”
With those last words, Indigo crumbled to the ground, a pile of sand spreading out from the dismantled diver suit.
Having confirmed his death, Yakumo fell to one knee.
That was close...
If that harpoon had been even a second slower in piercing Indigo, he might have dodged her blade. Somehow, though, she had won. With this, there was no need for them to fear the wicked devout teleporting away.
“We somehow managed...I think.”
Outside the [Prison], her mother was giving her a small nod, a smile on her face.