Sora, Sora........Sora?　Oh, yeah?


　Hearing the name Claudia shouted out, the old man narrowed his eyes, not looking interested.

　To the old man, who had served the Swords family for many years, the name Sora was very familiar to him.

　The great swordsman's petty son - Mitsurugi Sora.


Have you come to Canary?　But.....


　A question resides in the old man's voice.

　The person called Sola emitted a jolt of power like a torrent.

　A thunderous roar of power rushed through his body, causing the air to tremble.

　It's hard to believe that this man is the same person as Bonbone, who couldn't even surpass the test.

　This overflowing power was definitely that of someone who had mastered the mind attire.



　It is a martial art that is not to be missed. It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you'll be able to see it.

　If that's the case, then Sora is still Sora.

　But it's not that Sora has formally learned the Itto-ryu. It was hard to believe that such a person had mastered the mind attire all on his own.



　The old man laughed in a low, amused voice.

　Funny, he thought.

　There was no connection between the old man and Sora, and he had no feelings for the exiled heir of the sect.

　But if Sora had risen from the bottom of the earth to gain power and learned to dress in mind - let's respect that fact.

　After all, this is the same path that the old man himself had followed in the past.


You must be Sora-dono, I presume. I am a Seirin bannerman and my name is Jijinbo. The other day I did not know you were Sora-dono and I apologize for not telling you my name.


　It was a manner of speaking with the utmost respect for the old man - Jijinbo.

　However, considering his position as an assailant, and the situation where the duke family's squire had fallen around him, it was only natural for him to be perceived as a man-eating attitude.

　It was no wonder they ignored him.

　So Jijinbo added the following words so that the other party would be forced to respond.


He added: "It was my sister, Astrid Dragnaut, who cursed Claudia Dragnaut - was my advice helpful to you?


　When the sisters overheard this, they turned their heads to look at Jirinbo as if they had been played, followed by a glance at Sora.

　In response, Sora shrugged lightly.


''It was helpful. The owner of a soul as cloudy as Gobo's accused Astrid-sama of being the culprit by name. Because that is, in other words, proof of Astrid-sama's innocence.''

'Baboon!　That's an astute eye. It seems that the man who was exiled from the island without being able to stand up to the dragon tuskers has matured a lot.


　Sora responds with equal amounts of malice to the abuse that is laden with mockery.


It's not as if the monk is an outcast, but he's just like me. Your position is not much different than mine.

'Baboons!　What do my words have in common with your exiled monk, who is in charge of the Canary War? What does the exiled monk, who was entrusted with the capture of Canary, have in common with you?　If you think my words are not delusional, then I would very much like to have you teach me, as I am ignorant and vague.

What? It's a simple matter. If Gobo is truly needed by the Sword as an asset, there's no way he could be sent off the island.


　As he said this, Sora curved his lips and looked at Jijinbo.


''It is the military law of the swordsman family that all the heart-armoured wizards of the Eight Banners of the Qinglin family, led by your master, should be assigned to the defense of the demon island. Otherwise, the demons pouring out of the demon gate would eat away at the island's defenses in a heartbeat. The exceptions to this would be freshly enlisted youths, the wounded who have lost the ability to fight, or those who are unable to fight on the island due to their inability to harness the power of their heart-suits.


　Such people leave the island with a mission.

　Even if they can't fight on the island, they are more than enough to fight against the monsters outside, much less the humans.

　In other words, they are an effective use of their non-strength.

　It's a good idea to make sure that the defense of the island is rock solid with the best of the best, while letting them take care of the nagging demands of the empire - Sora knows that this is the way of the current master of the sword.


I'm standing here now. That's all you need to know about the Gobo's power and the Gobo's position. If I am an outcast, then Gobo is a lefty. See, there's not much of a difference, is there?

"Baboon, you're talking nonsense. My level is seventy-three.　I hate to say this, but I don't like to be put in the same category as you, young man.

"Judging from your heart attire, the Gobo's power specializes in sound and spells.

Nuh-uh?

''If it can reach this mansion from the cemetery, why was Gobo considered unnecessary for the battle on the island, even though there is no other long-range attack as useful as this one?　That's because the power of the Gobo cannot be understood by the owner of a certain amount of jade.

....

''The power is a magical force that is generated within the body. A technique that is incomprehensible to me cannot be understood by the demons of the island, which are imbued with the magical power of the demon gate. In other words, the only thing Gobo can do is to punish those weaker than himself. There is no reason to be afraid of such an opponent, no matter how high he is.


　Sora declares unequivocally.

　Then, he flashes the black sword in his hand.


　In the next moment, a sound like over a hundred pieces of pottery breaking at once rang out in the garden of the Duke's residence.



◆ ◆ ◆



　It was the sound of the black walls of the Gagangzhai, which had been manifested by the magical power of Jirinbo, shattering into countless pieces.

　It was the result of a dashing - flying slash from the sky.

　The pieces of the wall that were shattered into a thousand pieces, as soon as they fell to the ground, they melted and disappeared like snow.

　When Jirinbo found out that his strongest shield had been shattered by a single sword, he peeled his cloudy eyes away.



　But there was no time to be surprised.

　I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one.



　Jirinbo, who was leaning against the wall of the duke's mansion, had no way out, and she received her opponent's slash with the biwa in her hand - the heart-dressed and dead-zuka-gozen.

　The moment the two heart-suits collided, a silk-splitting scream was emitted from the Dead Zuka Gomae.

　It is an automatic (auto) counterattack (counter) that is possessed by the Death Mound Gozen. This is a sound attack that is several times higher than the sound attack that conquered the Dragnoth father and daughter.

　An ordinary opponent would have pierced his eardrums with a single blow, causing blood to gush out of his ears and make him squirm in agony.


　However, Sora withstood the counterattack of the deadly mound of gore without a care in the world - no, he didn't mean it.

　As Sora had guessed earlier, the sound attack of the Deadly Zuka Gomae would not be understood by those with a certain amount of power.


　At this rate, he would be pushed back.

　The old man realized as he played a spitting match between the heart-dressers. At the same time, a loud, high-pitched laugh erupted from his mouth.


''Hihihihihihihi!　Delightful, indeed, delightful!　How could I, who was trying to taunt Claudia Dragnaut to my heart's content, be in the opposite predicament!　Life is not what it seems, but it's what you make of it!　Very well, let's get serious from here!


　As soon as he said this, Cijinbo barked like a strange bird.

　Instantly, Cijinbo's body was blown backwards as if it had been thrown by something.

　Jirinbo shot a jingoistic cannon at the sky from close range.

　There was no reason why Jirinbo couldn't handle the rudimentary power techniques that the sky could handle.

　The damage inflicted on Sora was minor, but Jirinbo didn't care. The important thing was to gain distance from the opponent. Faster than Sora could regain his stance, Jirinbo had started his next chant.



''Iron cavalry, steel soldier No. 1,000,000, wounded soldier old horse holed up in Henzhai.''


　The chanting was quick, accurate and above all, precise. The woven magic power composed the magic without an inch of error.

　If there was a sorcerer here, they would have marveled at the fact that Jirinbo's chanting was at the level of a sage (Lord), the point of attainment for a sorcerer.


'The flagpole (flagpole) has run out of water without iron and without sustenance, yet the flagpole (flagstick) remains unbroken. Gathered together are the mutineers, sworn to be the revolution. Pile up the tiles to form a wall, and dig out the granite to form a shelter. It's a fortress of the lost!



　The moment the chanting was completed, a black wall - no, a castle wall - appeared around Cihnyobo.

　Rather than a partial manifestation due to the destruction of the chanting, the wall that appeared around Cijinbo was different from the black wall that had just shattered, in every way from thickness to height to density.

　It was a single fort, albeit a small one.


''This is my strongest shield. I put so much magic into it that I never dreamed it would shatter with a single sword as it did the other day. The young man's attack could not reach me, but my attack could reach him.


　Jirinbo laughed, his throat trembling.


''Baboon. Young man, you said earlier that you have no reason to be afraid of me?　You don't mean to tell me that you can beat me just by seeing through that much?　If that's the case, then knowing one and not knowing the other is exactly what it means to be young today!　It is true that my mind is limited, but I have the ability to make up for it, that I do. When did I tell you that I only have one ability?


　As soon as he said it, Jirinbo began the following chant.


"'Let the trees decay, let the grass wither, let the soil rot.'


　The old man's chant that echoed.

　And at the same time, another voice, unfamiliar to me, began to chant another magic.


"'His blood will boil, his hair will burn, his eyes will boil.'


　It was a voice that was emitted by a heart outfit. The dead mound gozen in Jirinbo's hands spun the chant in a voice that sounded like a scream.


''Dancing is ashlar, filling is miasma.''

KOKETSU's castle and chair of a skull. A banner of rebellion is flown, and a sacrifice of a deadly blade is fallen.


　Double chanting. That was the other ability that Jirinbo's heart outfit possessed.


"'Let it be festering and sore and rotten--Festering unholy soil!

"'Blood-eyed flame hand, death's embrace to my enemy-- the flame princess.'




　With the completion of Jirinbo's chanting, the soil magic of the seventh sphere was activated, and the garden of the Duke's residence began to rapidly decay.

　Starting from the place where the Gagangzhai was unfolding, the soil in the garden became muddy with a gurgling sound.

　Even the stone pavement that connected the gate to the entrance could not escape the influence of the corrosive spell and was transformed into a sticky substance like clay.



　In the blink of an eye, the once beautiful green grass turned into dark purple withered grass, and a nose-turning stench covered the area.

　The next thing that echoed was the dismayed voices of those who served the duke's family.

　The corroded garden turned into a bottomless swamp, trying to drag those present into the dirt. Like insects on a cake, the more they resisted, the deeper they were entrenched and the more they were bound.

　Even if they tried to escape, the whole garden was already contaminated by the old man's magic and they had nowhere to run.



　The same thing was happening to Sora as well.

　Moreover, more than ten flaming tentacles created by the Deadly Mound Gozen were roaring and closing in on the sky.

　If one's body was strengthened with jade, one could avoid them.

　But if he did so, it was clear that the flames would head towards the others who were unable to move - especially the dragnaught father and daughter.


　Within the vision of the sky, Jijinbo's mouth opened in the shape of a crescent moon.