The man laughed and bared his neatly-grown teeth as he laughed.

'Thanks for being outdoors, Cecily Arkwright, you made it easy for me to find you,'

　Cecily was puzzled.
　The man was the Four Deadly Disasters, and there was no doubt about it first.
　But.........how could this Four-Verse Disaster know his name?
　Of course, he had never met the man before.

''But I'm surprised. I didn't know that the real thing was of better quality than the real thing. It just goes to show that even the beshugam can't always be accurate.

　The man crawls to Cecily with a price-stamping gaze.

''Huh ... this is Cecily Arkwright.

　The sound of the man's voice was filled with pure admiration.

The very existence of the woman is a miracle. Shasha, I just can't get enough of this guy. I'm sure the imagination is already spreading out on its own at this point.
How did you know my name?
Hmm?　That's a really simple one.

　The man points to Cecily.

'It's because I'm here for you, Cecily Arkwright.
It's for me?

　What does it mean that the purpose of the Four Deadly Plagues, which have been waging a horrific killing spree across the continent, is himself?
　Did he hear a rumor about the Jewel of Renowthred somewhere and come to the capital to obtain it?
　If so, it was a strange feeling.
　The scale of the carnage they had been doing until now and the single woman seemed too out of proportion.
　It's just............................The man now spoke of 'my purpose'.
　In other words, does this mean that the purpose of the four evil spirits is also separate from the purpose of the four evil spirits--?

''My God,''

　When I looked, I saw that Gaiden was bending forward in front of the man.

'Hmm?　What are you, old man?　Are you so terrified that you're not feeling well?

　Gaiden grabbed his own chest area tightly.

''Ugh........ka, haha.......!

　Gaiden coughs up blood.
　Blood splatters on the cobblestones.

"Oh?　Are you sick or something?

　With his body twitching, Gaiden squats down on the spot.

''Ugh........''
'Shasshasshasshas!　What's with this old man?　I thought you'd be fighting with a sword on your hip, but it's not going to be of any use to you!
You are the Four Deadly Sins, aren't you?

　Gaiden said in an upsetting croak, and crawled weakly to the man's feet.

'The Four Deadly Disasters?　...Oh, yeah, right?　I'm Masso Angren, third son of the four Angren brothers.
Massaso my name is Gaiden Arkwright.
Hmm?　ArcLight?　God d*mn it, you--

　For a moment.

　Gaiden slammed his arm against the back of the man's leg.

　No.
　No.
　What he struck was the dagger clutched in his hand.
　But the man - Masso, it seems, was anticipating it.
　He pulled his leg and effortlessly escaped the skewer.

'Shascha!　You ... you ... lying old man!

　Masso twists the edges of his mouth in amusement.

'And that sickly weakness is a mimicry too, right?

　Masso looks at the blood that Gaiden spat out.

That blood isn't the smell of human blood, is it?

　Mimicry.
　The blood was probably fake, prepared in advance.
　He plays the part of a frail old man consumed by a disease, a strategy to weaken Masso's guard.
　But Masso smells the blood and sees it through.
　Cecily remembered that Gaiden's nickname at the time was 'The Villain'.

　A man who would do anything to win.

'Masso, did you say?'

　Suddenly, in a good-natured manner, Gaiden speaks to me.

"Oh?
Can't you just let it go?　I love my grandson so much that it wouldn't even hurt to look him in the eye and I would gladly give my life to save the old man's if I could save him. Will you please forgive me for my current rude behavior as I am desperately trying to protect my grandson?
So cut yourself open and kill yourself right there.
...Oh, my God, that's bloody awful.

　Gaiden circles.

'--Neenow!

　He pulled something out from under his cloak and threw it at Masso.
　Masso destroys the flying object with his fist.
　A crushing sound.
　Gaiden threw a clear bottle at him.
　Masso bathed his body in the contents of the shattered bottle.
　It's a transparent, yellowish liquid.

'Huh?　What the hell is this?

　Gaiden has already thrown down his dagger and drawn the art form.
　The activation formula is drawn.
　And then a mass of fire attacked the mass of flames, aiming at Massey.

"This, this is the oil--

　Before he could finish, Masso's body burst into flames.
　The flames crawled up and spread to the upper half of his body, which was particularly well oiled.
　The 'flame axe' is a technique that creates a mass of flames and sends them flying.
　The oil caused the flames to further increase in intensity.

''U, oh, oh, oh, oh........!

　It seems that the reason Gaiden came out late from the store was because he was procuring oil in the store.
　The dagger you just threw away was also used to handle fish if you look closely at it.

''Jeez, old man, you, you, you, you, you are such a bastard--''

　Gaiden silently pulled out his sword.
　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for when you're ready to buy.
　And Masso, covered in flames, turned backwards.
　He avoided Gaiden's thrust.
　As a result, Guyden's strike failed to catch the target.
　Still, without showing a single sign of regret, Guyden distanced himself from Masso for once.
　Masso shook off the flames in a depressed manner.

　Gaiden took a breath, then said without looking at Cecily.

The fact is," he said, "I would tell you to run away, but when the target is you, I don't think you can tell me to run away so easily now.

　Geiden says, with a sour note.
　Cecily understands what her grandfather is trying to say.
　He understands.
　He knows that it was Masso who jumped over his head a little while ago, screaming.
　And the fact that it was Masso who ran to them at an unusual speed.

　If it became a 'chase', Masso would have a clear advantage in terms of speed.
　Even if they escaped, it was self-evident that they could easily catch up with him.
　The worst thing that could happen is that Cecily, who had escaped first, would be caught up with by Masso, and Gaiden, who would be superior to Cecily as a swordsman, would lose sight of them.
　The reason for this is unknown, but Masso's objective is Cecily Arkwright.
　Even if Cecily fled the scene, there was a good chance that he would ignore Gaiden and chase after him.

　Cecily put her hand on the twin swords at her waist.

''The two of you, would you like to do this?''

　Gaiden observes Masso.
　Then, after a few moments of silent contemplation, he answered.

Can you do it?

　Cecily draws her sword and releases it.

'Yes.'

　The honey-colored blade gleamed in the blazing sunshine.

I'm sorry. It would be good if I could defeat them all by myself, but that might be too much for me to handle on my own.
'It's hard to escape under the circumstances. If we want to have any chance of winning in that situation, we'll have to do it together.

　Only," said Gaiden, giving Frias a look.

'No matter how much you are, that dour holy sword without practice--'

　Cecily poured the holy element into Frias.
　Left and right, simultaneously.
　Maintaining the influx of holy elements as it was.
　The crystal of Freyas shines.
　The blade itself emits a thin layer of light.
　And then.........a thin, azure light begins to drift around the blade.

　In the case of the holy sword, as long as the light through the holy element surrounds the blade, it is said that it is able to draw out its full power.
　That state is still firmly maintained even now.　
　Gaiden breathes in admiration while exuding self-awareness.

You are right, aren't you? You are my proud grandson. I'm sorry, forget what I said before.

　The flames that had enveloped Masso's body had already been extinguished.
　From the looks of it, the injuries were minor.
　Although charred, his clothes are also safe enough that no skin is exposed.
　Gaiden regrasps the hilt.

"Can you match my movements instantly?
I'll try - no, I'll make it fit.
You are becoming more and more reliable, Cecily.

　Cecily smiled downcastly.

'It's probably because of my friends, I'm sure.

　With a wave of his arm, Masso comes closer.

'That was a bit of a surprise, old man.

　The glaring Masso's eyes shot through Cecily, sword in hand.

'Huh?　You're a brat. And the old man how does he plan to deal with me with that poorly made sword?

　Gaiden fiddled with the holy sword in his hand, reflecting the falling sunlight several times.

''Hmm, a poorly made sword?''

　The holy sword he currently holds in his hand has a blade so polished and ornate that it could be mistaken for a mirror.
　However, it is not a masterpiece.
　It is more of a work of art than a practical one.
　This sword is usually displayed in the castle as a 'decoration', Gaiden said.
　If he had known in advance that the four evil attacks were coming, my grandfather would have prepared his famous holy sword or magic sword from the beginning.

''But what do you think?　A fight isn't necessarily determined by the quality of the weapon....lie or true, shall we try?
'Shascha!　Then let's give it a try!

　As I moved towards Cecily with a breathing Masso at my side, Gaiden spoke to me in a whisper.

I'm sure you'll have to rely on Freyas to kill us. I'll go to the front and create an opening for him. You should flank ... or if you can, go behind him and attack when the time is right. If you can do it, break his legs.

　Gaiden readied his sword to intercept.

'The problem is that leaping power and movement speed. As long as we can crush those legs, we can take the option of running away.

　Cecily replied, calculating her course of action.

'Okay, I'll try,'

　Cecily and Geiden scattered at the same time.
　Masso shoots a fist at the approaching Gaiden while catching Cecily at the edge of his vision.
　A powerful arm that roared out.
　A single blow could be fatal.
　And if you are hit by an old body like Guyden's, your bones are sure to be crushed.
　However, Guyden avoided Masso's fist with a single piece of paper.
　It's not a bad idea to have a good time.

"You do it, old man!

　Masso leisurely avoids Gaiden's attack as he says

'Shascha!　But how long will I be able to avoid it!

　Masso unleashes a barrage of fist blows.
　Gaiden dodges the attack just in time, his blade glinting.
　Cecily spins around, looking for an opportunity.
　Gaiden gives him a look.
　Not yet, he tells her.
　Masso is constantly catching Cecily at the edge of his vision.
　But depending on Gaiden's movements, there will be a moment when he will be out of consciousness.
　I'm sure.
　I'll make the opportunity to do so, he said, waiting.

　And after a moment, Cecily realizes something.
　Masso's expression is distorted.
　Moreover, his attacks were finally beginning to blatantly miss Gaiden as a target.
　The number of strikes that can be called haphazard is clearly increasing.

"d*mn it!　Old man........you!

　That's when I realize.
　Masso's expression is twisted, and I wonder why.

　-- something, dazzling?

　Ah, Cecily realized.
　Upon closer inspection, she saw countless white lights coming and going on Masso's face.
　She glanced up at the sky.
　Brilliant sunshine.
　The sun's light was reflected off the mirror-like sword barrel and shone in Masso's eyes over and over again.
　It's a good thing that you're not going to be able to get a lot more than you think you can.

You can't really train your eyes, can you?

　And Masso's gaze, which hadn't caught the sight of him, though his eyes narrowed, was - finally - off of Cecily.
　No, more than dislodged.
　It must have been too much of a glare.
　Masso closed his eyelids.
　Gaiden's gaze told him.
　Now, he said.
　Cecily sprinted and fleshed out to Masso.
　He aimed at the tendons in his legs.
　It is a difficult part of the human body to train.
　But if you tear it, it's a part that will certainly take away your mobility.
　Cecily increased her speed at once, and brought her sword from behind Masso--

Wait, Cecily!

　Gaiden shouted.
　Cecily stopped moving, and with a couple of swift footsteps, she dodged the attack of Masso, who had come to catch her.
　A thick arm snarled and passed in front of him.

'Old man, that's too much.

　With his eyes closed, Masso clicked his tongue.
　Once again, Masso's attack struck, this time on Gaiden and Cecily.
　Cecily was flabbergasted.
　This time his fist was firmly aimed at the target.

"You know exactly where we are from the sound of your breathing and the flow of air, don't you?
I don't know if you get it, but you're not just any guy, are you?

　Hmmm," growled Gaiden.

'So this is the Four Deadly Plagues.

　A cold sweat runs down Gaiden's forehead while a smile is on the edge of his mouth.

''........You monster.''

　If they tried to get out of range here, both Cecily and Gaiden would be able to take advantage of the moment and take a decent hit.
　It was no longer possible to escape from Masso's range.
　Then.

　--I have no choice.

It would be a shame to get bogged down in the middle of all this fun.

　Massey pumped his fist in the air to get ready.

"I guess I'll let the old man die first.

　And so, when Masso slipped the soles of his shoes on the cobblestone pavement, the battle of two against one began.

　　　　　　　　　　*

You're a fighter, old man.

　Suddenly, Masso stopped moving and smiled a victorious smile.
　He had been torn in places on his clothes, and had received multiple cuts.
　Some areas were bleeding.
　Most of the wounds were inflicted by Cecily's flyers.
　Most of the slashes Cecily was able to hit were probably due to Gaiden going head to head with Masso.
　That Guyden was also very impressive.
　By increasing the amount of holy element that was poured in just before the cutting edge touched, he had also given him some lacerations, albeit minor.
　Even so - it was not possible to fulfill the original goal of sealing Masso's leg.
　All attacks on the part of the body that would have interfered with the action failed.
　But fortunately Cecily and Gaiden were still unharmed.
　However, even though they are unharmed, both of them have a high degree of wear and tear due to the long offensive and defense that does not allow for a moment of slackness.

It's a good thing that you are able to use your "holy sword" to injure me. Especially that twin-sworded one.

　The way he just said it was a bit tricky.
　It's not as if attacking you with the 'holy sword' is not very effective.

I'm sure you'll be happy to know that you're not the only one. I don't know what kind of trick you've used to avoid my attacks while the sun was hiding in the clouds, but that's just the way it is, isn't it? But even if you can read my attacks...

　Masso gave him a triumphant look and prodded.

'It's a sad thing to get old, isn't it, old man?

　Exhaling roughly, Gaiden lifts the corners of his mouth.

'Maybe...'

　Yes.
　Gaiden's weakness is his physical strength.
　No matter how healthy he is for his age, Gaiden is an old man.
　Inevitably, he would be at a disadvantage over a long period of time.
　That's why Cecily wanted to win the battle as soon as possible if she could.
　But what he hadn't expected was the unusual hardness of Masso's skin.
　I don't think there is any difficulty with the sharpness of Frias itself.
　If not, there would be no such anecdotes left for him to tell.
　If that's the case.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

　Gaiden looked at Cecily.

''It's only because of your longevity that you are able to see your treasures grow.
The treasure that I've watched grow up is going to be mine today.

　With sweat on his forehead, Gaiden glares at Masso in a stinging croak.

''Well you're going to die before that, you know,''
Oh, scary, scary.

　Masso raises his hands in the air as if in a tea ceremony.
　Cecily analyzes the situation, while keeping her breath in check.

　--Well, how should we attack it?

　At the moment, they are not fatally outmatched.
　It's not enough to reduce the opponent's power, but it's not enough to hurt them either.
　If this two-on-one situation can be maintained, or so I thought.
　If you can somehow get Masso to turn his attack on you and give Gaiden some time to rest...

　It was then.

'Ugh........'

　--A child's voice?

Higgghhh..........father.......where is........?

　Suddenly.
　A young girl emerged from an alley near Masso's, belching.

"The kid...!

　It was Masso who moved immediately.

'd*mn it!　You just showed up here.　You're in my way!

　Masso attacked the girl.
　He decided that she was in his way and tried to kill her.
　Cecily stepped in to help the girl - and when she did, she hesitated.
　If he jumped in to save the girl here, would he be able to ward off Masso's attack?
　Would I be able to avoid being caught?
　If either one of you is missing in this situation, your chances of winning are slim.
　However, that doesn't mean you have to abandon the girl--.
　While Cecily's thoughts were swirling around such thoughts, it was Gaiden who made what could almost be called a reflexive move.

''Ah!

　Masso let out a startled sound when he noticed that Gaiden had interrupted him and the girl.
　Cecily raised an eyebrow.
　What in the world is she surprised about?

'Shasha!　Yeah, right!　So that's it!

　Understanding flashed across Masso's face, and he let out a high-pitched laugh.

'You're making the mistake of thinking I'm 'going to kill' this kid, aren't you!
What the...?
I was just trying to get this kid out of harm's way!

　A huge fist that seemed to reappear struck Gaiden.
　Gaiden was unable to kill the momentum of the sprint.
　Sudden changes in direction are impossible.
　The exhaustion of physical strength is also a blessing.
　There was no way to avoid it with that one--!

Grandfather!

　Gaiden quickly takes a defensive stance with his sword.
　In front of him, Cecily's defensive technique unleashed by Cecily unfolds in front of him.

''Shah!''

　Masso's fist easily penetrated the defensive technique.
　The blade of the sword also shattered, and then a fist like a rock struck Gaiden's side.

''--ggh, ugh!

　What does that mean?
　Cecily is confused.
　Wasn't Masso trying to kill that girl?

　--no, more than that now.

　Cecily adjusted her stance and faced Masso, who was strangling her grandfather in a feather-light.

I'm sorry, Ceci, Lee...I didn't mean to do anything uncharacteristic....... ...maybe it's a bad idea to be a little girl.

　Gaiden makes a self-mocking smile.

"When I was a little boy, you and I overlapped and I reflexively moved my body and that's okay.... ...and it's a good thing that you didn't make an unintentional move, because it would have been a better decision...

　Masso slammed his fist into Gaiden's temple.

'Shut up if you won't cry for me.

　Gaiden gulps and sneers.

'Grandfather!
"Shasshasshasshas...!　Don't worry. I'm not going to kill you. ...Hey, kid.

　Masso looks down at the girl who is shaking her legs.

'What?　What... what... oh, Uncle, who?　Why ... did you ... hit me?
Get out of here. This place is not safe.

　The girl scurried around and compared Cecily and Masso.
　Oh," the girl said, opening her mouth.

You're not going to be able to get away with it.　Um, I, I...

　I must have done something very wrong.
　The girl's face conveyed that kind of sentiment.
　Cecily smiled at the girl as if to bring her relief.

'You're looking for your father, aren't you?　If so, I'm sure you'll be able to meet him if you head towards the castle?
Oh, um...
Come on, hurry up. You'll be fine here. The Order will be here in a few minutes.
Okay, yes.

　The girl walked back to the alley where she had appeared, repeatedly looking behind her.
　Of course, the Knights were left out of her mouth.

'I was surprised,'

　Cecily looked up at Masso.

'Even a man like you wouldn't touch a child, would you?
I can't give you an exact number, though.
?

　What does it mean?

'So what do we do now?　If you don't want this old man to be killed you know what I mean?

　'Don't resist, I suppose.

"The princess is more capable of fighting than we thought. I just wanted to see if I could find a way to hold the old man hostage. I don't like the idea of fighting without killing him, but the fun begins with a clean bill of health, right?

　Masso looked at Cecily's entire body, licking her from top to bottom.

"Shascha, I understand the trust between you guys from what we've seen so far. You can't abandon this old man.

　Cecily felt thin and cold, but a smile crept over her mouth.

'Oh?　What the hell are you laughing at?　Have you gone crazy with fear?

　'Gulp,' said Cecily, swallowing down her spit.

'I don't know if you've noticed--'

　Cecily placed the blade of her sword against her neck.
　I'm sure you're not the only one.

If I'm a hostage, don't I have one too?