*

Now, let's start with the nitty gritty.
Take it easy on us, will you?

　Makoto concentrates on his consciousness while speaking lightly.
　Kuzuha - the seven evil undead are an unknown enemy.
　We don't know what kind of abilities they have.
　In that sense, I'm grateful that Kuzuha is licking us.
　He may just be pretending to lick us, but we'll just fight with all our might.
　Nine tails stretch out as if they were writhing.

''Let's go?''

　It's too early to say, but the nine tails attacked in a matter of hours.
　My target is Makoto.
　Apparently, he doesn't care about Yuka.
　Convenient. I can focus on Kuzuha alone.
　Mako is running towards Kuzuha.
　It's not a straight line, but an arc.
　It's not a good idea to move back and forth, whether to confront or duck the attack.
　A roaring sound could be heard from behind.
　Perhaps the tail has crushed the cobblestones.
　But there was no time to check it.
　After all, there are eight tails left.
　An intermittent roar echoes, and something jumps out of the corner of my vision.
　Perhaps it's a Kuzuha's tail.
　Assuming it's a tail, he twists his ankle and changes direction.
　My ankle screams at the sudden load, but I manage to turn at a right angle.
　The tail passes right by me, and I feel heat in my arms.
　I thought I'd dodged it, but I think I'd snatched it away.
　I regret now that I should have asked for my coat back, even if I thought I was too miserly.
　No, even if he had worn the coat, he would not have been able to prevent the attack.
　Because Kuzuha's tail destroyed the adamantite alloy chainmail.

''Hoho, let's avoid it.''

　Kuzuha said admiringly, but the next tail was looming.
　He must have been manipulating the tail with the expectation of avoiding it.

''Ignition (ignition)!''

　He wears flames on his right arm and dispels the tail.
　The moment you touch the tail, the flames disappear and sparks fly.
　The tail is grinding away at the basket hand like a grinder.
　At first glance, it looks fluffy, but I didn't know it was grinding an adamantine alloy.

'Shukuso (comber) ... materialize (materialize)!

　Jet-black flames erupt from his right arm and materialize.
　The cost of that is intense pain - but not unbearable.

''Gggggh!''
Ho-ho-ho, we'll get through this one. How about this?

　Kuzuha grinned and a chill crawled up his spine.
　The next second he jumped to the side, his tail popped out of the ground.

''Bad move,''

　Kuzuha muttered as he let out a sigh, and the impact of a side blow blew Mako away.
　An attack by the tail.
　He was knocked to the ground and tried to stand up.
　But Kuzuha's attack was faster.
　The nine tails attacked Makoto and--.

''Homing blitz!

　Yuka's magic popped the nine tails.
　Makoto stood up and took a distance from Kuzuha.

''You ... you're a tactless guy.

　Kuzuha raised his eyebrows as if he was miffed.

''Thank you, thank you.''
I can handle the tail, but don't expect anything else.
Do you think you can do more?
I can't.

　Yuka said wordlessly.

'I'll deal with that,'
You're not the world champion in fast-talking, so you can't move as fast as you do now. I'm so jealous of Fujica!

　Yuka blurted out.
　It's true that being able to use magic without spells is appealing.
　Especially when you're fighting each other at high speed.

''Do not ... ignore my mistress!

　Kuzuha yelled in frustration and his tail attacked him.
　As I thought, the target is Mako.
　Mako kicks the ground and accelerates towards Kuzuha.
　This time it's a straight line - the shortest distance to push forward.

Are you trying to play the speed game?
I didn't mean...
Repeat.

　Yuka's voice rang out, and the light struck the nine tails.
　It doesn't look like it was damaged, but the impact caused it to stop moving.
　He kicks the ground hard and closes the distance at once.
　Kuzuha let out a small breath and flashed his fan.
　A moment later, a jet black flame erupted.

''Kuh!''

　Makoto grunted and flashed his right arm in a flash.
　A wall of fire split up and down and nine tails rushed in.

'Re-chant (repeat)!

　Yuka's magic - a tracking bullet stifles the tail for a moment.
　Mako leaps right to the side, her tail piercing the ground.
　The cobblestones shatter and the fragments scatter like scattered bullets.
　Thanks to the skill, it doesn't hurt as much.

'Give me your mistress' flames.

　Kuzuha points his index finger upwards and lights a jet black fire.
　With an acting gesture, she breathes on it and the fire flies towards Makoto.

''Flaming bullets!''

　Flames erupt from his right arm, forming a flaming bullet.
　Kuzuha's fire is as tiny as a match.
　And yet, no, that's why I couldn't shake a bad feeling.
　But it couldn't stay like this forever.
　Makoto threw a flaming bullet into the fire of the Kuzuha.
　The flaming bullets went straight forward and seemed to swallow Kuzuha's fire.
　Kuzuha's fire flickered within the flaming bullets.
　The fire was even blacker than Mako's flame.
　Compared to this, Mako's fire was like thin ink.
　Kuzuha's fire flickered and was engulfed by Makoto's flame.
　The fire accelerates further.

''Kuh!''

　Makoto jumped back, but the fire followed, picking up speed.

'Re-e (repeat)--'
No, you won't.

　Kuzuha doesn't even take a glance and shoots his tail at Yuka.
　Yuka tried to avoid it, but was blown away without any way to do so.

''Yuka!''

　Makoto reflexively turned his gaze to Yuka and said

"You're a fool. You can't afford it.

　The next moment when Kuzuha muttered, jet black flames painted Makoto's vision.

*

　Fene and his friends continue along the riverfront street.
　Despite being along the river, there's no stench in the air, and the streets are sophisticated.
　As expected, should I say the area where the lord's mansions are located?
　Every mansion is surrounded by high walls.
　Maybe that's why the corpses that were even in the back alleys weren't here.

''We don't have any enemies.''
But that doesn't mean you can't be careful.
I know.

　When Liv pointed it out to him, Fene steeled himself.
　Just because there were no bodies lying around didn't mean that there were no enemies.

'After all this time, it's an awesome mansion, isn't it?
I wish you'd stop chatting and making small talk before your tongue gets too dry.

　I'd like to see you either tighten up or loosen up.
　That said, I agree with the term "awesome house".

I had the impression it was pretty rural, but I guess guys with money are everywhere.
Yeah.

　He would never have stepped foot in the house if he hadn't joined Mako.
　He wouldn't have gotten to know Liv and Laura either.

'Well, where does Laura live?'
'I used to be Master Chris's escort, so it was a live-in kind of thing, but now I live in a house on the outskirts of the area.
That's not out of line.

　Laura said matter-of-factly, but it's a semi-prime place.

'After all, knights make a lot of money.
I don't know.

　Laura clammed up.

'Doesn't it make money?'
'I'm sure he was paid reasonably well in the eyes of the world, but...'
Like it's not worth the price of life?
'No, I'm proud of my knightly work.

　Laura said proudly.

''You're ... proud?''
Don't tell me how proud you are of your work and who you are.
I'm not.

　Fene said back, miffed.
　I'm proud to be a member of the Black Flame and I'm proud of my contribution to the team.
　I don't know if my pride is the same as Laura's, but I know that I shouldn't undermine it.

''It's just,''
"Just?

　Laura muttered and Fujica tilted her head cutely.

'It's a little complicated because I think that's not so bad now that I have lots of money. I feel like I've gotten myself dirty.'
Laura, you seem to be very fastidious.
Is that right?

　Fene tilted her head.
　As far as I can see, she doesn't seem to have such complicated feelings--''

''Keep your mouth shut,''
Okay.
Sober and hurtful.

　Laura grunted.
　After advancing in silence for a while, Christine's mansion came into view.
　Two knights in armor stood in front of the gate.

''Well that's good.''

　Laura let out a breath of relief.
　Christine wasn't her employer anymore, but she didn't seem to have been cut off to a mental connection.
　As we got even closer, the two knights noticed us and reached for their swords.

''Stop!''
'It's me!　I'm Laura Cerberus!
What is it, Laura?

　Relieved, the knight removed his hand from his sword.

'I heard that the undead have broken inside the city walls, and I have come to you.
Okay.

　The knight nodded quietly.
　His voice sounded as if he was impressed.

'How is the situation?'

　Laura asked, and the two knights looked at each other.
　No matter how well they said they knew each other, they were outsiders now.
　They couldn't decide if they should pass on the information or not.

'The undead were trying to climb over the fence just now, but now they're gone.
No?

　The knight raised his eyebrows quizzically as Laura muttered in a parroting tone.
　Apparently, I've given him the benefit of the doubt.

'We've avoided fighting as much as possible.
I see. Then it's not hard to understand. The undead just disappeared out of nowhere.
Gone?

　It was Liv who raised her voice.

'Like this, right in front of my eyes, disappearing into the air.
Like it was all thanks to Makoto and Yuka?
I'm sure it's relevant. You're fighting someone who can do that.

　Liv frowned ruefully.

''Well we're going to do our job, oysses.
"Ask Master Chris for permission to see you.
Yeah, I'll check it out soon.

　The knight nodded at Laura's words.

*

...so much for this.

　Kuzuha muttered with a sigh and slowly approached.
　However, he stopped in the middle of it.

''Don't pretend to be dead, okay?''
....

　Mako does not answer.

'You don't think that if you pretend to be dead the mistress will miss it, do you?　For the record, concubines aren't that merciful, are they?　No, I would be more than happy to show you mercy if you weren't one of the Seven Wrongs, but do you hear me?

　Kuzuha said as he wound up and let out a small breath.
　The emotion contained therein is probably discouragement.

''I don't want to get close enough to them to fight back.

　The kuzuha stretched out nine tails.
　The way it stretched while moving around reminded me of tubular organisms such as worms.

''Sa--''
Binding!

　Yuka's voice rang out faster than Kuzuha could say it.
　A band of light extending from the ground restrained Kuzuha with each tail.
　When you're moving at high speed, you can't use anything other than tracking rounds to cover you.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this.

''You're playing dead too!

　Mako jumped up and kicked the ground hard.
　He gained an explosive acceleration and fleshed out on Kuzuha.

''........Huh.''

　The band of light is shredded with the slightest effort by Kuzuha.
　But it was too late.
　The moment Makoto unleashed his right fist, Kuzuha's figure disappeared from view.
　He looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen.

''It's a spanking for a bad boy who pretends to be dead.

　I heard a voice colored with amusement - and the next thing I knew, Mako was slammed to the ground.

''Ah, gah.''

　I try to get up somehow, but I'm numb to the core of my body.

"Oh, well, that's pretty solid.
What are you--
You didn't just hit him with this.

　Kuzuha tapped his shoulder with a folded fan.

'What, you're doing the same thing, aren't you?

　And then he looked at his right arm - an armor made of jet black fire.

"Well, the power I put into it is incomparable.
How strong are you?
"I don't have time to bemoan my inability to do anything.

　The impact pierced his body and the next thing he knew, Mako was flying through the air.
　Twisting his body, he looked down and saw nine tails closing in on him.
　Intermittently, the impact pierced his body and carried him to a height that overlooked the church.
　The impact ceased and the inertia caused it to continue its slow ascent.
　Kuzuha was waiting for Makoto with the moon at his back.

'You're going to gnash your teeth, aren't you?
"-Oh!

　Kuzuha swung the fan down and a shock that was incomparable to the previous one hit Makoto.
　He lost consciousness, and the shock brought him back to consciousness again.

''Gahaha!''

　He slumps back and spits out blood.

"Terrible, sturdy.

　Kuzuha landed on the ground and tapped him on the shoulder with his fan.
　His attitude made him angry.
　Mako gritted her teeth and stood up on shaky legs.

'Yuka, are you okay?'
I have a stomach ache and I'm dying.

　Yuka's voice from behind her reassures her a little.
　She still looks fine.

''Are you still up for it?''
Yeah.

　Kuzuha's eyes widen in surprise.
　I'd cry if I could get away with it, but it would be useless.

''Mako, you can't be a changeling.
I know.
If you have a trump card, I think you should cut it off.
I have my own problems.

　If I had a chance to win, I would change God, but I shouldn't do it now.
　This one doesn't know what the opponent's hand is.
　Makoto let out a bloody breath and sat down.
　He kicked the ground with all his strength.
　In an instant, he closes the gap between the two and unleashes a right fist.
　The right fist touched Kuzuha's stomach.
　The moment I thought that, Kuzuha's figure disappeared.

Here's some payback.

　Each of the nine tails pounced on me as if they had a will.
　Not just from all sides, but also from above and below.
　My vision was red and my nose conveyed nothing but the smell of blood.
　Suddenly, the image of the car wash passed through my mind.
　I see, it's not unlike it.

'Tracking rounds!'

　Yuka's voice echoes, and Kuzuha leaps backwards in a big way.
　Of course, that wouldn't allow him to shake off the tracking bullet.
　Kuzuha knocked off the tracking bullet with his tail.
　And then--.

''Stop.........''

　He declared abruptly.

'What kind of a windbag is that?'
It takes a lot of effort to deal with you people when you're fresh out of bed.

　Fluffily, Kuzuha emerges.

''My mistress is in the ruins.''
If it were possible, I'd rather not see you again.
Not so fast. You are the dead and you are the living.
Destined to kill each other?
That's not what I meant.

　Kuzuha nodded hawkishly and soared up to the heavens.
　Mako watched him disappear completely from sight and slumped into place.
　The armor on his right arm disappeared back into flames.
　The original basket hand was shaved off and only about half of it remains.

''........You lost?''

　Mako let out a deep sigh.
　Strangely, he didn't feel a sense of regret for his mouth.
　Instead, it was more of a sense of relief that he had survived.

'Mako, are you alive?'
Sort of.

　He answers Yuka as she runs up to him.
　Yuka takes out a water potion (potion) from her pouch and sprinkles it on Makoto.
　The potion emits a faint glow and the pain eases a bit.
　She takes out yet another bottle of water potion and sprinkles it on her.

'Don't worry about me, you can use it yourself.
Mako, you have no idea what you look like, do you?
We don't have any mirrors. How are you feeling, just in case?
You could play a corpse in a splatter movie.
I'm starting to feel bad.

　When I looked at my body again, I saw that my entire body was sopping wet with blood.
　The basket hand on my left arm and the leg armor on both sides were gone, and my clothes and my chainmail were tattered.

''Is Yuka okay?''
''My wand broke, but other than that........it's a minor injury compared to Makoto. I'm seriously glad I saved my physical resistance.

　Yuka said with a divine look on her face and immediately frowned.

''It's not cool to lose when you've played the righteous side of the freaky once in a lifetime,''
Well, that's about it.

　It's just a justice thing done in a mood.
　If this awakens you to a new power in a crisis situation, the people who are serious about being a justice fighter are bound to be angry.

'What are you going to do now?'
You can't run away from it, can you?

　To Kuzuha, the undead, this city is like a table with a row of dishes.
　They may be slow or fast, but they will always come back.
　There is no other way but to fight.

''I wish it had been a little easier.''
Me too.

　I feel like I'm moving away from my purpose, the slow life.

So, can we win?
I think it's going to work out.
You're down for the count.

　Yuka said with a sigh.

'I don't think we're that hopelessly different.
Yeah?
'Yeah, that guy seemed to be wary of us having a trump card.
Aren't you just being cautious?
'If there's a desperate difference in strength, why would you be alarmed?
Well, yeah.

　Yuka nodded.

'Just in case you were wondering, are you going to change gods?'
Well, yeah.
You're not very articulate.
From the patterns we've seen so far, Kuzuha's going to change too.
Yeah, right.

　Seriously, this sucks, Yuka said as she spat.

'I'm going to have to save my freakin' God for that.
So how do we fight this?
It's all about the numbers, isn't it?
A number.

　Yuka muttered quietly.

'The rest...'
Is it still there?
Don't worry, that's the last one.

　Mako cleared her throat lightly.

We need to plan for this fight.
....

　Yuka gave him a subtle look.

'I was expecting a little bit of that, but it's a very obvious idea.
You're not gonna come up with a bunch of great ideas, are you?

　How much do you expect, Makoto chuckled.

''Well the reason you didn't change God is because you wanted to plan countermeasures?''
'I wasn't thinking that specifically, but I thought it would be a bad idea to use my trump card when I didn't know what they were capable of.
If that's what it takes to kill me, I don't know what I'll do.
It's all right.
Yeah.

　Yuka let out a small sigh.

'Mako is so positive, isn't she?'
It's not as bad as when I was paying off my debt.
Is this any better?
I'm not surprised.

　He had no choice but to pay back the debt, but he could make all sorts of moves in the fight against Gehae.
　It's only when there are no more moves to make that you despair.

''We'll win next time.''
Of course.

　Yuka nodded at Makoto's words.

*

　As the kudzu leaves landed on the ground, the surrounding landscape distorted and formed what should be called a path of light.
　It descended down the path of light and eventually its toes touched the ground.
　The moment I recognized that, the path of light disappeared.
　There - at the lowest level of the dungeon - are the ruins that dedicated the Kuzuha.
　My memory of the time I was dedicated is vague.
　Nonetheless, I can vividly recall the events of my time in the East.
　The army that was sent to kill Katsuba.
　When you remember the look in their eyes filled with murderous intent, an inexplicable feeling of pleasure crawls up your spine.

''Ah, I see.''

　Kuzuha fell to his lonesome.
　When he woke up and found out that he had become undead, he wasn't shocked at all.
　If they said that was undead, it would feel like that, but Kuzuha thought differently.
　From the time he was alive, he was the enemy of the world.
　He would only continue to be the enemy of the world during his life and after his death.
　Kuzuha stepped forward and bent his knees.
　He pressed down on his stomach.
　There is no pain, but there is discomfort.
　This is where he was attacked by his peers - Makoto.

''Well, that's to be expected.

　If you get attacked, you take damage.
　That's all there is to it.
　If there was a miscalculation, it would be that I misjudged Mako's strength.
　Kuzuha stood up and started to walk away.
　He stopped after a while.
　The one lying underneath his feet is a boy of the fox tribe - although it is said to be called the Foxtail tribe here -.

''You........you........''

　Kuzuha knelt down and called out to the boy.