Alsuhariya now had everything in place—the moon, the fog, and the ship. She stood tall and waited for things to begin.
“Whatever you do, it’s important to set the scene. Hiiro Sanjo, let us link toys, hum a childish tune, and make a play out of this epic of a foolish hero.”
The evil spirit raised her cigarette as she would a conductor’s stick.
“Nuestra Señora de Atocha…do you know how to dance with the Holy Mother?”
The sailship loomed toward me.
I had no time to react. The port side of the Queen’s Watch and the starboard side of the ghost ship collided. The ship swayed, and I went rolling on the deck.
“Ngh…!!!”
The wound on my side rubbed against the wood, and I moaned.
This wasn’t good. I slammed the tip of my bladeless knife against the plank and gritted my teeth as I repositioned myself.
Tsukiori was still fighting inside the ship… Ophelia and the other girls hadn’t left the area yet…and I couldn’t let this monster get her hands on them…!!!
Spirits that looked like skeletons slowly oozed out of the air as they blended with the fog.
“Come,” the evil spirit said and raised her arms.
“Let’s play some music to this night.”
Sounds, sounds, and more sounds rang out.
White fog stirred in circles, thunder rumbled, driving rain pounded the ship’s hull, and the spirits of sailors strummed their instruments.
There were violins, violas, cellos, flutes, oboes, bassoons, and an organ… The fog, rain, and thunder rotated around the two ships, a herd of lifeless water spirits performed an oratorio, and the flying skeletons sang Handel’s Messiah.
Swinging up and down overhead, the sailor spirits tapped their fingers against the keyboard, creating a staccato as they flew around. The violins had become a single mass, and they laughed as they drew their bows, drank rum, and ate cookies. A mixed chorus of sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses sang a rousing rendition of words from the writings of Isaiah, Malachi, and Luke.
In the midst of the chaotic orchestra, Alsuhariya conducted in a whirlpool of white smoke she created.
Time and again, the ships kept colliding with each other.
Soaking wet, I screamed as I jumped from bow to bow and slammed the sword of light I’d generated into the evil spirit.
With every swing, white lightning sliced through the darkness, and the shadows of humans and demons emerged in the gray clouds—as if making fun of a hero’s efforts to fight evil.
Not concerned about me at all, Alsuhariya closed her eyes, all wrapped up in keeping pace with her score. The white smoke swirling around her took the form of a blade and slashed about, attempting to drive away the winged insects that disturbed its master’s performance.
Swirl.
Swirl, swirl, swirl!!!
Before I knew it, the surface of the sea was also swirling.
Engulfed in the whirlpool, Alsuhariya and I sliced at each other on the ship’s stage.
The demon attacked with her sounds, and the human responded with blades.
In an accelerating killing dance, I was blown away, rolling on the ghost ship and leaking blood from my mouth as I pulled my trigger. I shook off the skeletal spirits of sailors who attacked me, releasing magic power from the soles of my feet, and ran up the creaking mast.
The mast was chopped to bits in an instant, and it slowly began to tilt. Having run to the top of it, I dove.
The light of the moon twinkled in my eyes, and I went on the offensive—throwing a flash at my opponent—which she stopped with a single cigarette.
Exhaling white smoke, Alsuhariya looked at me and smiled.
“Hey, you ant-like specimen. Don’t you see that you don’t stand a chance?”
“Don’t be so sure of yourself when you’ve had to use two fingers to counter that ant, demon.”
My view turned 180 degrees.
Grabbed by the collar, I was slammed against the plank and stopped breathing.
Making a split-second decision, I launched my trigger, rotated my legs and my hips, and delivered a water-surface kick. Alsuhariya leaped out of the way, and the ball of light I kicked up floated before her eyes.
“We have a full moon out tonight.”
I crooked the corners of my mouth.
“We can enjoy gazing at the moon, though it isn’t the season for it.”
The round ball of light burst, and rays of light were sucked into the demon’s eyes.
I had gotten up from a prone position and was already running. I grappled at the helm, which was moving on its own, and reversed it.
The ghost ship finally began moving away from the Queen’s Watch.
I tried to slash away at the rusty helm—and a hand that reached out from behind the thick fog grabbed my middle and ring fingers and twisted them in the opposite direction. I yelped in agony.
From behind the fog—an index finger reached out and swayed from side to side in slow motion.
“No fooling around. The performance isn’t over yet—”
Without a pause, I cut open the space in front of me, slashing my two fingers in the process.
They flew through midair.
A spray of blood rose from behind the fog. The music stopped, and the view cleared, revealing Alsuhariya looking stunned.
“Hey, maestro.”
Having shed blood and sweat, I slammed the sword at her.
“I’ll end the music for you.”
Cross.
Having been struck twice, Alsuhariya beamed as she backed off.
“Hey. Did you cut off your fingers so that you could take a swing at me…? You’re insane… Has the moon confused you and made you a lunatic…? A messiah complex to this extreme is laughable…”
Alsuhariya clawed at her face with her leather-gloved hands—and smirked.
“Good…very good… I would love to see you writhe in hell…”
I wrapped handkerchiefs around the wounds on my hands, stopped the bleeding, then laughed back at her.
“And I would love to see you dead.”
We both paused.
Alsuhariya obliterated the gap between us with her speed, scooped me up, and threw me overboard. I soared over the ocean, landed on the Queen’s Watch, and rolled backward to crush the impact.
Then Alsuhariya descended from where she stood and spread out her arms.
“That’s enough fun and games. It’s time to move on to the climax of the show.”
“I agree. It’s time for the great evil to explode with a bang and for me to watch the closing credits.”
The evil spirit caught the cigarette she’d dropped, inhaled the smoke, and spat it out.
“I’d like to see you pee your pants and take off running. I’m looking forward to seeing a righteous human crawling on all fours, crying, begging for forgiveness, and then trying to save himself, even if it means abandoning his friends, lovers, and family.”
“Sorry, but I don’t intend to respond to your crappy request. I decide what happens to me. Whether you’re a god, demon, or human, your own will is the only thing that shapes your outcome.”
I smiled as greasy sweat dripped down my body.
“Unlike you…I have things to protect… So from here on out…”
Laughing, I pointed the tip of my sword downward and formed a wall with Masamune Kuki.
“…I’m not going to let you get to them, even if it costs me my life.”
“Geez, I’m hating you more and more.”
Things were gradually getting worse.
Panting, I curved down the corner of my mouth and breathed hard.
Well, okay…that’s my last resort… It’s all or nothing… I have to do it…
“We’ll experiment. We’ll see how many inches I have to cut your fingers until you, a human, give up the things you have to protect. It’ll be fun. My brain is already starting to tremble in excitement.”
“Shut up… Don’t put a vibration function in your brain, you jerk… I’ll call you every day…so leave it on, get a concussion, and die…”
“It’s sad to think that that noisy mouth will soon be out of commission.”
Alsuhariya took a step forward, and I shot an invisible arrow—whoosh—and naturally, the evil spirit grabbed it.
“An elf’s arrow, huh? I haven’t seen one since I encountered Estilpament and her apprentice…but it’s still crafty. Hmm?”
Alsuhariya craned her neck.
“Hiiro…Sanjo… Did you have something to do with Estilpament?”
As Alsuhariya spoke unintelligibly, I shot one invisible arrow at her after another, but she grabbed every one of them.
I smiled bitterly.
“Don’t make the mistake of showing yourself at the wrong time…you rotten cheater…”
“You’re the one who was born at the wrong time. You could have gone on playing the hero a little longer if you hadn’t met me. It’s a pathetic, banal, and despicable life.”
Alsuhariya opened her Magic Eye.
“It’s time to call it a night.”
The pupils of her eyes were cut open from top to bottom, left to right, and the essence of her magic power crawled out through the cracks.
“Alsuhariya!!!”
The evil spirit turned in the direction of the voice.
A girl stood there, alone and trembling.
“D-do you remember me…? I’m L-Luri Hizumi…a girl you saved… P-please listen to me… Th-that male still has his uses…s-so please…”
Her knees were shaking as she drew attention to herself—her life—to protect a jerk who was practically a stranger to her.
“D-don’t kill him…”
“No, Hizumi, stop it! She’ll kill you!!!”
“N-no… I—I…I’m not running anymore… A-after seeing you, I finally remembered…that if I backed off now…everything my teacher passed on to me would be in vain… So…I…I’m going to—”
Blinking back tears, Luri Hizumi shouted, “I’m going to follow my hero…!!!”
“Oh, you’re going to make me cry. My pounding heartbeat is starting to slow down.”
Alsuhariya’s Magic Eye was activated, and—
“It’s time to put away the toys I’ve finished playing with.”
Memories of days passed flashed in Hizumi’s eyes.