Volume 20 - CH 2

SEPTEMBER 10, 2022 ~ FROZZENDETH

After a three-day cruise through the Arctic Ocean, I.U. passed through the Bering Strait–then headed toward the South Pacific before anchoring.

With the latitude and longitude coordinates that Sherlock gave me, I checked a nautical chart with Kou, and we were south of Japan, East of Taiwan, North of Palau, and west of Guam.

We were in a hard to describe part of the Sea of the Philippines.

Opening the hatch on the now surfaced I.U., we were hit by a humid, hot sea breeze due to the pressure differential inside the warship. It was still early morning, but it was 30 C outside.

Sherlock, Yen, Tsubaki, Sarah, Kou, Aria and myself climbed up onto the submarine’s bridge… and the sunlight flashed in our eyes. I have not seen a more dazzling sight, brighter than a Japanese summer day.

“…”

As my eyes adjusted to the light, I was able to look out across the sea’s surface–and the scene took my breath away.

Everywhere, the sea was perfectly clear.

The sea was so transparent that the waves were imperceptible, and the sunlight reached the bottom of the shallow water…

If seen from above, the pitch black I.U. would be observed floating in a sea of pure white.

This must be some kind of optical illusion. Just then, a pod of porpoises and small fish swam and skimmed past the starboard hull. Making smooth and stately progress across the seabed, a blue whale shark was visible.

Then 200 metres from the bow of the ship–we saw a lone island.

“Is that the Oni homeland?”

“Just so. This is the modern Island of the Oni, Kii no Kuni.”

Wearing a cutoff sailor suit, Kou stood calmly–holding the nagatina-esque Green Dragon Crescent Blade ready in her hands–talking to the kimono garbed Yen.

That solitary island is Kii no Kuni?

Using my hand to shade my eyes while squinting I scrutinized the island and… it was somewhat strange.

As far as I know, an island is usually surrounded by sandy beaches and/or rocky outcrops touching the ocean as far as one can see. Instead, this island was covered in trees down to the shoreline. The whole island was covered in a mangrove forest full of thick trunks covering the whole island that reached out into the ocean, anchoring in the seabed.

And just like the film we had watched the other day… Aria’s small mouth opened in a small sound of shock because it looked very similar. It looked like the flying Castle of Laputa had set down on the ocean’s surface. (TL Note: Laputa is a reference to a Studio Ghibli film, in this case the film “Castle in the Sky”.)

It was covered so thickly that the island itself could not be seen, and underneath the foliage on one side, a Fugake was visible with wheels and engines submerged on the ocean. Based on the large Fugaku bomber’s size, the island was 200 metres square.

There were numerous signs of repair on the side of the Fugaku. Is this the one that flew above Tokyo?

Back when I was onboard, the oni made a report saying it would fly here, so then did it fly here… and land in the water? It did not look like a seaplane, but it must have some way to take off and land that I can’t see.

“The origins of the island are that it was originally an Imperial Japanese military floating oil platform for offshore drilling. Debris drifted to the abandoned structure from neighbouring land masses, and eventually the trees took root, becoming a true island.”

With a jacket tossed over a shoulder, Sherlock explained as he held a pipe in one hand.

A former Japanese military oil platform…

And it was now taken over by the oni.

“It is not an “island” according to the UN maritime definition, and as such, cannot be claimed by any nation, and as such, such relics… they can be found scattered across the high seas. Most notably, there is an abandoned platform within the coastal waters of my own England–the Principality of Sealand–that declared its own independence…”

As Sherlock showcased the breadth of his knowledge by explaining this fact, I let the words pass over me–

Is Habi there?

As I observed the island… A single-masted wooden ship with the “無” character emblazoned in an undyed pattern on it’s square cloth sail set out from the island. (TL Note: Symbol here means “nothing” “nought”, etc.)

Although the boat itself looks young, it is a Bezaisen, a Japanese style boat used from the Azuchi-Momoyama period into the Edo period. (TL Note: period here is 1600-1868.)

It seems that at the outset, this type of craft design was intended to be both a sailing and rowing vessel intended to transport troops.

A female oni wearing a purple kimono sculled the oars to bring the ship up close to the rear of I.U. ‘s bridge…

We then unfurled a rope ladder constructed of wire and aluminum pipe that dropped down.

Because of how skirts and kimono’s work with ladders, Sherlock and I–the two sole males–allowed the girls to descend first… huh…?

What’s this? Sherlock stayed on the bridge.

“You’re not coming to Kii no Kuni?”

“Correct. Please excuse me. I have had a long-standing relationship with the nation of oni, so please convey my regards and apologies… Kon-kun cannot come in her oil drum so I shall stay.”

“Kon?”

“She is quite ill, and I shall take care of her to restore her health.”

Now that I think of it, Kon hadn’t joined us on the bridge.

I had attributed it to sheer laziness, but…

Yen and Tsubaki’s mood seemed to agree with the idea that Kon would be left behind.

But if the oni can get sick, shouldn’t there be an oni doctor here in Kii no Kuni to examine her…? I said that when I realized it.

“– Were you able to deduce what was in that letter, Sherlock?”

“You can deduce that yourself.”

“You couldn’t so you read it, didn’t you?”

“You possess some ability as a detective.”

It is a well-known fact among historians that Sherlock was bad at dealing with the opposite sex, but witnessing it myself brought a wry smile to my face…

Even in my normal state, I could read the situation.

“Are you–using a woman as an excuse to make off with the I.U.? And leaving me and Aria here?”

“Not accompanying my great-granddaughter to recover what was once hers is an extremely childish action, is it not?”

…In a roundabout manner, he confirmed my suspicion.

“According to some, I do possess a childish aspect. I also wish to take this craft to have adventures in the depths of the ocean. So I will borrow it for that purpose.”

…Damn. He plans to use the nuclear submarine like a rental car.

Regardless of his whimsical disposition, Sherlock had done us the favour of giving us free passage to Kii no Kuni where Habi was located.

On top of that… If he came with us to the imminent fight with Habi, I would be doubtful of his true motives.

Apart from Aria, I can’t shake the feeling that he bears me and Kou some kind of hostility.

Objectively, parting ways here is for the best. Tactically speaking.

“…Sherlock. I’ll turn a blind eye this time. Aria and Kou have spoken of you kindly.”

“Thank-you, Kinji-kun. Then it is time for us to say farewell. Please look after Aria-kun.”

Sensing that he and Kon were still awkward about expressing their feelings, I did nothing to disturb the neutral state of affairs…

A Butei must show a samurai’s compassion, after all.

Throwing a wrench into a situation when a man and woman are alone together–even I am not that much of a devil.

As we rode the Bezaisen to Kii no Kuni, I gave a poor explanation as to why Sherlock was staying on the I.U. But then, for some reason, Aria and Kou seemed to pick up on the awkward atmosphere around us. Yen and Tsubaki as well. As women, they seem to be attuned to detect such things.

Then, under Yen’s direction, we entered a part of the mangrove thicket, and the island… was surprisingly cool.

At the centre of the small, rocky island was the old drilling platform–it was a ruin, riddled with holes and covered in green growth. It was about the size of a small schoolhouse, and the structures around it had become ramshackle and dilapidated.

Arriving in front of it…

“This is like… it feels like we are walking through a neighbourhood of apartment complexes in Kabukicho.”

“I-, it’s like Kowloon Castle all over again. Demons are everywhere…” (TL Note: Demon in Kii No Kuni as in actual demons, demons in Kowloon as in enemies.)

I grumbled while the scimitar that Kou held shook in fear.

The island had quite the population density… No, it had quite the oni density. Everywhere you looked on this small island, you caught glimpses of oni in African patterned short-kimonos.

As I had been previously informed, oni are exclusively female. They stop growing at what appears to be 18 years of age, so at first glance you might think this was a paradisaical island– But on their heads they each had sprouted one or two horns, varying in size and location. Oni women are still women though, so this is an island of female demons.

One of the oni held a bowl out toward us, and I could see the steam of cooked rice rising from it. Slightly curious, I asked–

“Oi, Yen! Where do you get your food and drink? There aren’t any convenience stores to plunder out here.”

Still harbouring a grudge from the time she had burgled the shop where I had been working as a part-timer, I snidely queried her.

“Are you speaking of our provisions? We trade in oil with Palau in exchange for rice and alcohol”

Yen pointed at the rusted, hole-ridden steel beneath our feet–

Beneath the waves below, I could see the rusty piston of a sucker rod oil well moving like a dippy bird.

Next to it, I could see what had to be terribly inefficient, but compact oil and gas refinery equipment. It didn’t look like any I had seen before. It was probably one of Kon’s inventions.

“200 of my brethren reside here. There are fewer people in Berau than Japan. If some calamity were to befall a village there, what future would we have? Thus we trade.”

Unused to the nuances of ancient speech, Aria made a “?” face… but I got a sense of what she was saying.

Berau referred to the archipelago nation of Palau. Because it was a former Japanese territory, the official language was Japanese, and there were many people of Japanese descent that lived there. The oni preference for Japanese foodstuffs must come from there.

Therefore, if they pillaged and raided, they would run off the people entirely. So at Kii no Kuni, they always traded for what they needed instead.

“Just as honey is produced solely by bees, rice and sake are produced solely by humans. So we allow them to do so.”

Tsubaki said from beside Yen, showing that she viewed humans as insects…

If you ask me though, they are all lazing about and living a lazy life off their petroleum products.

Looking at all those scattered about, all they were doing was eating, drinking, sleeping, and messing about.

Not a single one seems to possess the will to work. Some were fishing, but not to the level of what could be called fisherman’s work. The probably don’t have any concept of what “work” is. Speaking of envy, they truly had an enviable life, proving that they were a race apart from humans just as I thought–these oni.

“That is enough talk. I have come to meet Habi. You have heard who my great-grandfather is, haven’t you?”

Aria said this, and Yen and Tsubaki began to lead us.

“Habi-sama is seated within the castle tower.”

“Around this time, she takes her respite.”

We then entered an old 4-story building built in the Imperial Japan era style.

It was a crumbling concrete structure with rusty steel reinforcement showing here and there, and I gave a wry smile that the building they called a “castle tower” lacked any doors or windows…

Earlier… When Aria addressed Habi without an honorific, Yen did not get angry at her.

Despite the fact that she was extremely agitated by it when I did that in the Netherlands. Why was that?

–Entering the castle: “Oh! It is Hina-sama!” “Hina-sama is here!”, my questions were resolved as the oni there spoke.

Apparently the oni consider Aria to be one of their own…seemingly, they consider her a superior being and hold her in reverence. She herself was staring blankly with her camellia eyes, but it was no mystery to me. She was a genuine oni girl with horns.

But why are they calling her that…?

The name they are using is the same word used for dolls for the March Doll Festival. Actually, back in my room in my dorm, I made a Hina doll in poor taste that looked like a primary schooler sitting on the back of an effigy of me and shouting “You woke me up from my nap with the noise of you eating a rice cracker” while shooting me. This, naturally, had a bad outcome for me. (TL Note: Hinamatsuri is a Japanese festival where they display dolls, many of which are heirlooms.)

“It looks like they are treating you like a god, doesn’t it?”

“K-Kou is being treated the same way.”

Crossing her arms, Aria acted the role of a VIP while Kou looked about nervously. But no oni approached me.

Aria is becoming the Scarlet Goddess… that is to say, she is a fledgling. Is that the reason for the “Hinamatsuri”? Kou is an imperfect Scarlet Goddess and Aria is her current incarnation. (TL Note: Hina can mean Doll or Fledgeling. Avatar or Agent can also work here.)

Grasping the true significance of this… I suppose that I would have been killed in an instant if I had arrived here alone. That might have been Sherlock’s calculated aim, so I am glad to be here with Aria and Kou.

As the rumble of the oni feet sounded on the staircase like the pounding of a dancefloor, it was clear each and every oni possessed a fighting strength greater than a human. Of the 7-8 surrounding us, each of them possessed similar power to Yen and Tsubaki. This combat-type was likely the norm among them.

The sunlight filtered through the cracks of the concrete as we reached the third level of the structure.

“All, please halt here. Tsubaki will augur Habi-sama’s disposition. Afterwards, we shall pay audience with her.”

“Agreed, Yen-nee-sama.”

After that conversation shared between Yen and Tsubaki, Yen plopped herself down onto an African patterned goza mat… the rest of us also doing likewise.

“Yen do you… that is to say, do both of you plan to help us get back the Karagane from your leader?”

Avoiding the direct use of Habi’s name, I asked Yen to be sure of her intentions.

“Indeed. We intend to oppose Habi-sama’s wishes for the sake of thine love.”

“Love…”

“L-L-Love?”

This simple, two syllable word caused Aria to become excited, but as the one who had been the sole inspiration for this Love Theory that Yen was acting upon, I could not say anything.

Kou then caught a gecko that was creeping nearby by happenstance, so the super embarrassing situation between Aria and I went unnoticed.

“Speaking of ‘wishes’, is this what the Scarlet Goddess in Aria wants?”

Coming back to the topic at hand, Yen nodded in response–

Which caused Aria’s almond-shaped eyes to take on a sharper look as she sat in her sailor suit uniform.

“The progenitor of the scarlet oni as well as the Scarlet Goddess and Habi-sama share the same ambitions. Habi-sama was an agent of the Scarlet Goddess at the start…”

“–Habi also has Hihiirokane inside her, like Kou and myself?”

Aria asked, but Yen shook her head.

“Nay. Habi-sama was not the Scarlet Goddess. She was with the Scarlet Goddess, Nobunaga.”

…Nobunaga…?

“By Nobunaga, do you mean Oda Nobunaga?”

I asked with eyes round as saucers.

“Correct.”

This time Yen shook her head up and down as my own eyes bulged.

I think I read somewhere that Nobunaga collected all kinds of treasures from all over the world… Was there some Hihiirokane among some of it…?

Oda Nobunaga.

He was a Sengoku Era military commander who needs no introduction.

Not only in Japan, but also the entire world, his military genius is acknowledged along with his brutality–

“K-Kou has read that “Oda Nobunaga was a demon” in a Chinese novel. Was that actually the truth?”

With round eyes, Kou voiced the same question I had.

If a historian ever heard that Reki was descended from Ghengis Khan, they would just about faint. That was just about how I felt right now.

“Nay. Nobunaga was human.”

…T-Thank goodness! I let out a sigh of relief.

Whereas Aria, on the other hand, pressed further on another tack…

“Of course. That explains the crest and coat of arms you had on the cloth walls at the Cadogan Restaurant. I had Jeanne research them– the “Five-Sectioned Melon Cross” and “無” character– each of them were symbols used by Nobunaga. But what is the connection between Nobunaga and Habi? Is he one of her descendants?”

Aria continued without any unease.

“Nay. Sometime about the Eiroku Era or the Tensho Era, Nobunaga came across some Hihirokane, and the Scarlet Goddess found a kindred spirit. Greatly satisfied, the Scarlet Goddess bestowed her divine protection upon Nobunaga.”

Perhaps believing the talk of such things required more formality, Yen transitioned from sitting cross-legged to seiza.

…Kou/Son was an artificial attempt at tapping into the power of the Scarlet Goddess and by no means a natural occurrence…

Her soul and the Scarlet Goddess’ were not in harmony, so she could not draw from power Hihiirokane freely.

Last summer, Sherlock said that the Scarlet Goddess was awakened by someone with a “passionate, very prideful, and childish disposition”…

According to the history that has come down to us, that fits Oda Nobunaga’s character well.

I have no idea to what extent it might have been, but with similar personalities, Nobunaga certainly must have drawn upon some of the Scarlet Goddess’ power.

From Yen’s choice of words, I gather that it was more like the Scarlet Goddess chose to support Nobunaga herself.

Nobunaga was a heaven-sent military commander of the Sengoku Era. Quite literally it seems.

“In the tenth year of the Tensho era, Nobunaga died at Honnoji Temple. At that point it time, the Scarlet Goddess attempted to transfer his soul to one of the scarlet oni residing in Arashiyama–exchanging it for Habi-sama’s using Transference Arts.”

“Sou… Soul Swapping…!”

Hearing Yen’s words, Kou’s tail went rigid like an exclamation point in shock.

“This Soul Swapping…? What is that? Some kind of psychic power? Explain, Kou.”

“Well–when a Taoist is on the brink of death–someone with psychic powers can separate their soul from their body and store or swap it somewhere like an emergency escape.”

…Transferring your soul into something or someone else, huh? It’s making me feel dizzy.

But this is a very important topic. It’s an area that is not my forte, but I must try to understand it.

When Nobunaga died in the Honnoji Incident, the Scarlet Goddess saved him by transferring his soul to an oni–and the oni on hand at that time was Habi. That is about the size of it.

“However, Soul Swapping into stone effigies, dolls, and using other inanimate objects as a vessel for the soul sounds like a somewhat complicated technique.However, using an oni with a soul, it is more like a substitution… is that it?”

“Nay. Nobunaga’s–any person’s soul when copied comes under the control of the Scarlet Goddess. Thus, in the case of Nobunaga, part of his soul was transcribed upon Habi-sama’s”

It seemed to be a very difficult technique, but the Scarlet Goddess was able to make a perfect copy of only part of Nobunaga’s soul to transcribe it upon that of Habi.

If I have to explain it, then I would say that the aspect of enjoying the sight of battle, the power of leadership… among other things within Nobunaga’s personality had been impressed upon Habi. When it comes to her, I don’t get the sense that she has been completely taken over by Nobungaga, though.

This new consciousness defied description in 21st century terms, however… explaining it in my own way, I would have to say that only a small, weakened part of his own consciousness had survived.

As far as I can tell, a consciousness that has only been slightly diluted is still the original consciousness.

Habi was still essentially Habi.

For the time being, I will treat her as an oni with a weakened form of Nobunaga… something like a descendant.

That is the off-the-cuff way a novice in the area of ESP powers should treat it.

“It is Habi-sama’s intent to “Unify the Nation By Force”, to spread peace throughout the Land of the Rising Sun by employing the scarlet oni. To that end, we have travelled to the Land of the Raj, Persia, Land of the Nile, Nubia, Ethiopia, and Tanzania on a military expedition over the last few centuries. In every country under heaven, she had sought out the supposed best warriors, heroes, strong men, giants, and great men. In each case she has defeated them in a single blow that occurred in the twinkling of an eye. This journey of unification has become simpler over time with the use of boats and aircraft though.”

–Although the general concept of Nobunaga was different, it looks like Habi has travelled the world, seeking to grow her skills by fighting. And her oni followers have followed. All over Asia and to Africa as well.

…That being the case, it offers an explanation why the oni culture is blended with African style.

She has sought out the superhumans on the battlefield and defeated them all in one-on-one combat.

…What a pain. I feel bad for the rest of the world. As a fellow person from Japan, I feel the need to apologize.

In any case, this desire is in line with the eagerness to fight displayed by the defective Scarlet Goddess Son in Hong Kong–to engage in serious battle with superhumans.

That is to say, the answer to if Habi may harbour some portion of the Scarlet Goddess… The act of transcribing some of Nobunaga’s personality might have made her susceptible to the Scarlet Goddess’ influence.

With such a prodigious experience and heritage, dealing with Habi will be a challenge for me, Aria, and Kou–

“–Yen-nee-sama.”

Tsubaki descended from the upper level in a dignified manner while wearing a black kimono.

“Habi-sama has awakened, but her temper is as one would expect at such a time. Let us wait until she has eaten and drunk breakfast before seeing her.”

“Thank you for your attention in this matter, Tsubaki. We shall do as you say. Tohyama, Aria, Kou, we shall wait a while. Whether we regain the Karagane we desire or not is dependant upon Habi-sama’s mood.”

Yen replied, as Tsubaki began ordering several other oni in the garb of ladies-in-waiting on the lower floor about–and then they began to carry the fruit that seemed to connote Habi’s breakfast upstairs.

Yen and the rest of us received onigiri and melons, accompanied by sake… The oni’s meal preparation was sloppy as the onigiri lacked anything besides rice, the melons were simply cut into quarters, and I refused the sake for all of us due to the important meeting coming up. Especially for Aria who had proven to be a sad drunk.

After we had eaten, Yen brought out a shogi set to kill the time… however, there were pieces like “Copper General” and “The Drunken Elephant” in Chu Shogi which I had never played before. If Kaname were here, she would probably have understood the differences, but Yen explained the rules as she pointed to each piece. As were were playing, (TL Note: Chu Shogi is a variant of Shogi with slightly different pieces and rules.)

“Come to think of it, Yen, the other day… after you fell into that concert hall, how did you get back here?”

–*Clack!*

“Hmm? I swam back to Kii no Kuni.”

–*Clack!*

“Oi! You just can’t take my piece like that!”

“The “Lion” piece can take an adjacent piece without having to move. It is known as ‘The Lion’s Repose’.”

“Hmmm… Wait! Do you mean that you swam here all the way from Tokyo Bay?”

I interjected after a brief pause, to which:

“Just so. I had the aid of the currents as well. I arrived here after seven days and nights.”

Yen stretched out her hands, miming a butterfly stroke.

… Seriously, she swam for 168 hours straight and across thousands of kilometres.

I already knew this, but seriously, she is a monster. Maybe I could do it too, but I definitely do not want to find out.

Habi, a demon even among demons who has been claimed to be seven times stronger than Yen, and who once defeated all the superhuman warriors in the world with a single blow… It would be a good idea, after all, to negotiate with Habi to have her return the Karagane through dialogue and negotiation.

I breathed a small sigh of relief that negotiation was at least an option, and as I looked sideways at Aria and Kou… they were playing Chu Shogi ina prone position.

After my crushing defeat in Chu Shogi, Yen lied and said things like “Tohyama is too weak even when I’m sleepy.”

She then turned her back to me, muttering “It’s the time difference isn’t it?” and within 5 minutes she appeared to be asleep.

The sun was shining through the trees outside the window as I was putting the pieces back away in their box…

“… since I am sleeping, this is sleep talking…”

In a love voice that only I could hear, Yen muttered from behind my back.

“?”

It is a strange preamble, but it sounded like she was trying to tell me something in secret…

I don’t say anything in response, but slowly put the pieces away in the box while I pay attention to what Yen is saying.

“Recently in particular, Habi-sama has changed. Day by day, the Scarlet Goddess’s influence on her mind seems to be getting stronger. I can only guess as to her intentions, but I believe that the Scarlet Goddess wants to invade Habi-sama’s heart without being noticed by us around her, that is to say, she wants to take over Habi-sama while keeping control over us.”

Yen and the others…

Does that mean that the Scarlet Goddess is taking control of my companions as well?

Maybe the reason Yen and the other have been a little more cooperative lately is because they can sympathize with my feelings of trying to prevent Aria from being taken over by the Scarlet Goddess.

“… the power of the Scarlet Goddess is… far strong than that of us Oni’s. We have no right to resist this but… we all love the pure, uninhibited, and free Habi-sama. We want her to remain as she is forever in full bloom…”

Yen… you…

What can I say, you have parental love for Habi. Who would have known even an oni can feel that?

If I follow that belief though, it seems strange, albeit not too strange, that the child Habi is served by the parent Yen. For the general public…

Every parent is devoted to their beloved children, as if they serve them.

I cannot confirm this feeling though, since I cannot talk back as Yen is pretending to sleep talk, but… Yen and the other appear to not be willing to cooperate with the Scarlet Goddess.

Yen was following Habi’s orders while being afraid that she was slowly being taken over.

This is a complicated situation, but if I had to summarize it with my own words…

Yen and the others are also victims who were tricked by the Scarlet Goddess, who is just as, if not more cunning than the most intelligent of criminals.

When the ladies-in-waiting told use that Habi was ready for an audience, Yen and Tsubaki led the way…

We went up to the fourth floor of the keep.

Halfway up the stairs, upon reaching the 3rd floor, the feeling of being in a ruin fades away… the number of decoration increased, which apparantly were placed to imitate the inside of the ancient Azuchi Castle.

But the oni seemd out of place. On the fourth floor, steam was blowing in from the public bathhouse next door, which seems to be constantly heating water with the waste heat produced from refining oil.

The steam was flowing beneath his feet in a hall with scarlet-coloured walls, and a chair was set up in the back that looked like what I imagine a throne for a great demon king would look like…

There was Habi, sitting cross-legged on one knee and the other knee upright.

Instead of drinking water, she appears to be drinking the juice from a watermelon, or perhaps she is just devouring it and shoving her face into it.

The shoulder-length hair on her head was a reddish-bronze and decorated with a single scarlet hibiscus flower.

Her child-sized head snapped up, and…

“– I found her! Ahahahahaha!”

Habi looked at Aria with a wild expression and laughed like a schoolgirl.

On the wall behind her was the Oda Family crest painted in gold. On either side of the throne stands a banner embroidered with the kanji “無” in red on a black background, and two oni’s, not like the fighting type from before, stand on both sides, for a total of four.

“… Habi… I can understand your heart. Somehow, I can understand it deep inside myself.”

Aria, who said this next to me, stepped forward, putting her hand on her left breast area where the Hidan was buried within her.

I listen to Aria’s words, who had been acting a little more psychic lately…

And then Habi responded, who seems to have within her the same Scarlet Goddess, albeit through a different method.

“You are an innocent girl aren’t you? You are looking for someone you could love. Someone such as yourself who is willing to fight and strong.”

“–oh! Habi likes people who are strong! People who would fight the whole world, cover it in wars, and bring out the strong. Habi wants to belong to someone stronger than me!” (TL Note: this line and Aria’s before is a bit brutally translated, but I believe it is fairly accurate to initial meaning.)

Yes, Habi, who seemed to have no desire to communicate with humans…

Is now, for the first time, having a conversation with Aria. Granted her speech is a bit childish.

–Habi was looking for someone stronger than herself.

She was looking for someone strong to fulfill her love of “fighting”.

In order to find this person, she is trying to “cover” the world with “wars”, finding this heavenly warrior in her own way.

That is what it sounds like.

“It is no wonder why you were chosen by the Scarlet Goddess as a priestess. You and the Scarlet Goddess are much more compatible than either me or Kou. But, Habi. The Scarlet Goddess you are working with is a self-centred woman who does not know right from wrong, and will use you to their own ends. You know that, right?”

Did you just say that, Aria?

I was about to say “I am not sure you should be the one to say that”, but decided it was better for my health to stay my tongue.

“For thousands of years, the Scarlet Goddess has taken advantage of people, demons, and devils for her own gain. That includes me, Kou, and you, Habi. Your thoughts and goals are being manipulated by her for her own selfishness. My goal is to expose her identity and make her pay for the crimes she has done. In order to do that… Kinji told you the other day, didn’t he? I need my Karagane back.”

Aria proudly pushed out her flat chest at Habi, the king of Oni.

As expected of a real noble and the Lord of Baskerville and Devon. Her fearless personality is reliable.

But…

“No! The Scarlet Goddess told Habi that Habi must not give it! Habi wont fight now though, its boring. Tomorrow, Habi will spread war over the world, starting with Japan and Middle Earth. Let the strong ones show themself!”

– Baring her fangs, she started kicking her one-toothed red geta clad foot.

Japan and middle-earth… does she mean Japan and China?

What are you going to do tomorrow in those two countries?

I am going into hysteria mode right now for some reason…

I quickly discerned Habi’s intentions.

… this is not good. This is definitely a scenario that the Scarlet Goddess told Habi about once she saw the lineup we have here.

In China the Scarlet Goddess is turning Kou into Sun Wukong, and in Japan the Scarlet Goddess is slowly taking over Habi. The Scarlet Goddess is sending out her incarnations into different countries, to ignite a war between the two countries, who already have no shortage of tension. This is just like Minuet predicted. I am sure of this.

People like a nuclear weapon, capable of destroying a small country by themselves, such as the R rated G3… there must be multiple such superhumans in China and Japan who are like that.

If China was nudged by the Scarlet Goddess to move those people into action, Japan will respond in kind. The opposite is also true.

Without a declaration of war or war actually breaks out, the superhumans of both countries would begin destroying important facilities and assassinating high ranking people, or entering single person combat with superhumans as they try to prevent the other from doing so.

This fighting though would involve many unrelated sacrifices.

It would be like a modern version of the games Riko plays, Samurai Warriors, but it would involve real people…!

And Aria…

In this scenario, there is an unknown.

I know why this is, too, thanks to hysteria mode.

When I fought her at Nogi Shrine, the Scarlet Goddess withdrew faster than when I fought Kou in Hong Kong.

The Scarlet Goddess was being careful when she was controlling Aria.

For the Scarlet Goddess, Aria has a different purpose than Kou and Habi.

Like Kou, Habi is an incomplete agent of the Scarlet Goddess.

– Aria, on the other hand, has the potential to be a better, even perfect, agent. In other words, she has the potential to become a true Scarlet Goddess.

The timing of all this is clear from Habi’s earlier declaration. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, the Scarlet Goddess will use Son Goku and Habi as a spark to initiate a war of the superhumans from all over the world… and will then take over Aria to become a true Scarlet Goddess.

There is not a moment to lose.

This castle tower is where our fate will be decided.

We need to somehow get back the last piece of the Karagane and seal the scarlet bullet in Aria…!

In front of me, pale,

“– Habi-sama. With awe for you I humbly request this. Please reconsider this decision once more.”

Yen stepped forward and spoke to Habi.

Looking over at Yen, next to her was Tsubaki, who was barely keeping a cool expression but had a clearly sweaty forehead and her legs were shaking.

The oni ladies-in-waiting who were fanning Habi with peacock feathers also looked quite frightened.

They all had a face that makes it clear that it wouldn’t be strange if someone in this room had their head cut off at any time. A battle axe must larger than Javi herself was emitting a dull light behind Habi.

In the feudalistic world of the oni, it must be a terrible taboo for Yen to challenger her superiors.

That was exactly the mood whenever one of Oda Nobunaga’s retainers spoke out against him.

Slowly… an inexpressible tension fills the hall.

“A battle like this will not be so easy. Myself and Tsubaki were both beaten by Sion, Aria, and Tohyama. To be struck down by disrespect towards mankind is a mistake that us oni have made for a thousand years. “

“If you try to take military action against them, you may endanger the blood of the Scarlet Oni. Habi-sama, please.”

Yen and Tsubaki are…

After her experience fighting us in London, Yen told Habi not to underestimate us humans.

In fact, if superhuman warriors from Japan and China were to come out in droves like Habi wanted to, putting Habi aside…

Even those subordinate oni’s would become part of the ‘unrelated sacrifices’ I was thinking of earlier. In a game, these oni would just be a mid-game boss.

Just like there was Sion in England, there are surely many in Asia who are stronger than me. If those superhumans were to get into a war with the scarlet oni, the oni would become extinct.

Furthermore, Yen and Tsubaki,

“Us oni are in the midst of change and hesitation after our exploits in England, wondering if the way of the martial arts is the way of destruction for us.”

“Instead of causing war in Middle-Earth and Japan, why not seek a path of mutual prosperity? In other words, we must search for a way of love.”

They even understood and are now promoting the concept of “love” that I taught them during our fight on Big Ben.

Habi was being cautioned by her ladies-in-waiting, Yen, and Tsubaki…

“… well, I don’t know what that is.”

Saying that, she stuck out her tongue as if to akanbe.

And then, she stopped talking.

The silence continued.

“Ha-, Habi-sama. Please, reconsider your decision on this matter.”

Tsubaki kneeled on the spot, prostrating herself, and asked again.

“We also ask that you return to Aria the Karagane from your devil’s pouch. Us scarlet demons think and act on our own, and the Scarlet Goddess’s authority that controls us is no less than too much. I believe we should wait for Aria to be the vasal of the Scarlet Goddess’s birth, and to re-evaluate Habi-sama’s position in opposition to the Scarlet Goddess.” (TL Note: This was hard to make sense of. Basically, there are 3 demands. 1. Habi returns the Karagane. 2. the demons stop attempting to FORCE Aria to become a Scarlet Goddess. And 3. The oni’s reevaluate their relation to the Scarlett Goddess.)

– Return the Karagane to Aria to prevent her from becoming a full Scarlet Goddess and to balance the power between the Scarlet Goddess and Habi. Yen, with this logic, repeated our request to return the Karagane.

But… Habi began to pout and didn’t move.

And,

“… rebellion?”

She mumbled as if she was bored… and then…

Like a thunder cloud, she emitted a murderous intent that electrified the atmosphere.

… the ladies-in-waiting stopped moving the peacock fan.

Even though they were oni’s… they were too scared to move.

Even I, in hysteria mode, could feel sweat beading on my forehead at this killing intent.

I wish Yen’s claims were exaggerated, but… the pressure that Habi is putting out…

It cannot be less than 7x more overwhelming than Yen. And it is all packed inside that tiny body. You can feel the unspeakable pressure, as if there was a weapon here that could obliterate both battleships and aircraft carriers.

If it were to snap and explode…

“That was not funny.”

Habi spat and spoke in a tone somewhat reminiscent of Oda Nobunaga.

A bottle of western Liquor, which was next to the throne, had the top snap right off.

Biting the top of it with her fang, she took a glug of it, and then puaaa!

And a whole bunch of it ended up on her hands in a mist.

“Yen, Tsubaki, and Habi were all roused.”

Alcohol is a slippery slope in negotiations. It is what people drink when words become handguns and swords.

In other words, negotiation is…

It was a failure.

But this failure does not seem to be our fault. Aria, who can understand Habi due to their shared connection to the Scarlet Goddess, and the opinions of Yen and Tsubaki, who have been with Habi for many years, all agreed that Habi would at least listen to us in no small measure.

And yet, this immediate rejection. This is…

I cannot be positive of this, but it is obvious that the Scarlet Goddess has played her hand here. This must have been done remotely, strengthening Habi’s desires.

It seems that Yen came to the same conclusion as my hysteria mode self…

“… please take a rest after waking up. Please accept my apologies for this inconvenience.”

Although she is actively protecting herself while speaking to Habi, her golden eyes seem to relay the fact that she is against odds with the Scarlet Goddess, who is sharing Habi’s soul.

And,

“– please, hold onto these scarlet horns.”

With a thud, she pushed a metal bar that was hidden in her Africa Kimono down besides her feet.

Yen immediately held the lustrous, blood-red octagonal metal rod up.

– The rod is closer to a stick than a club than is generally imagined as an “Oni no Kanabo”, and has an almost prismatic shape.

… Ye… Yen, are you planning on fighting?

Not against an opponent who is only 2 or 3 times bigger than you, but against an opponent who is 7 times as strong?

This looks unimaginably out of place, like a kindergartner getting challenged to a fight by a professional wrestler. I don’t even want to talk about it.

“St-, Stop Yen! If Habi is your opponent, even you will be torn to pieces!”

“Stop it, what is the point of being a martyr!” (TL Note: “martyr” was chosen from a few choices, others being partisan, splitting up, etc. I chose this based on Yen’s will to achieve her goal, even at her own death. Essentially, Kinji and Aria are telling her to stop acting by herself at risk of injury/death.)

Me and Yen tried to stop her, but Yen did not even look at us.

”Awawawa”, Kou is running around in fear, hugging her scimitar and tucking her tail into her skirt between her legs.

Not wanting to watch Yen meet her demise, Tsubaki is on her knees, face to the ground, and started crying.

It-, it’s too late.

With the Scarlet Goddess’s resurrection so near, no one should be fighting!

Za, za, Yen kicked the floor, positioning her feet like a ferocious bull,

“Habi-sama, take the Haseisangabu into your hands.

It seemed to be against Yen’s warriors honour to only use a weapon herself, so she urged Habi to take up a weapon, presumably the huge axe.

“I don’t want to.”

Pyon, Habi raised up a leg-

And with a slam, stood up in front of her throne.

She then takes a step with her legs slightly crossed, leaned forward a little, and clenched her fist as if making a bicep.

Her eyebrows are furrowed, but there is a smile on her mouth – her expression is truly, truly joyful.

As I look at her face, that expression… is one that the Scarlet Goddess has made before, just like Aria in the past in the park.

“O–k! Come on!”

Habi shouted, and the next moment…

–pa–

And Tsubaki, that earlier had been crying at Yen’s feet, had disapeared.

She didn’t disappear. She moved. Tsubaki, who can run at super high speeds, had earlier entered a crouching start pose, a preparatory posture for a quick attack, which she disguised as taking a knee.

Then, Tsubaki attacked Habi, who was paying attention to Yen, with her head – specifically attacking with her horns.

Yen and Tsubaki must have anticipated having to fight Habi, and had taken an offensive formation. As soon as we entered the room, they had been talking secretly to each other.

Doonbbachu! The sound of her charge was heard a beat later by my Hysteria Mode ears–

After her attack, I was able to understand the trajectory of Tsubaki’s thrust attack towards Habi from the flow of steam that was flowing throughout the hall.

Steam swirls around Habi, forming a cloud.

Two booming impact noises were heard. The first, was the sound of Tsubaki kicking the floor into her launch.

The second was the sound of Tsubaki, who turned herself into a cannonball, piercing Habi…!

“…!”

As Aria, me, and Kou all gasp – the white steam surrounding the throne clears…

The sight astounded us even more.

Tsubaki’s horns, which she had tried to use to pierce Habi’s chest.

Habi had grabbed it with one hand and stopped it.

“Aha!”

While laughing, Habi looked a little surprised–

I don’t think she was away of Yen and Tsubaki’s plans.

And yet, she easily defended it.

The speed of Tsubaki’s attack was so fast that, even I in hysteria mode, could not even see it. If she were to catch me by surprise, there is no way I could grab her horns. At least, I could not.

And yet, Habi did it. As if it was nothing to her.

(…but…!)

Even though she did not inflict a single wound, Tsubaki’s attack was successful.

The maidens-in-waiting had run away in fear, and Habi’s balance was somewhat disturbed.

What is more, at this moment in time, Tsubaki had sealed Habi’s right hand.

The huge axe propped up behind her throne is twice as big as the one we saw last October on the vacant island. Last October she must have brought a one handed axe, but this must be a two handed one. In other words, with one hand occupied holding Tsubaki’s horns, she cannot wield her two handed axe.

“–Yen-sama!”

The screeching voice of Tsubaki that had just cried out was not a cry for help. It was a “Now!” cry, a call to action.

“–take this!”

Dodododo! And then Yen with her metal stick, Heaven’s Scarlet Horn, ran and leaped at Habi like a war horse.

Grazing the ceiling, crushing both the concrete and steel frame like it was paper and twigs, and unleashing a shock wave-laden strike, Yen released an attack with not just all of her power, but also the full weight of her massive body behind it.

GATTSUNNNNNN!

The sounds was like the sounds of crashing heavy machinery, and Habi took it with the back of her left hand.

Habi bent her legs, which were originally in a crouched over position and crossed, and is now in an even more crouched position, however…

Gattsunnnnnnnn!

“Yoiyoi, yoiii!”

Habi, with one bent knee and one leg raised, and with her right hand she guides Tsubaki as if she was dancing, and with her left hand she guides Yan like an acrobat…

After pulling them both in front of her so that the faces of Yen and Tsubaki were almost touching each other…

“Ihihihi~! —HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!“

With a loud yell, she suddenly threw the two oni to her left and white!

“–!”

“–Kyaaaaaa!”

Like stones, Yen and Tsubaki were blown away to the left and right walls.

–Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!Something like a gust of wind rushed through the middle of the room with Habi at the centre, causing me and Aria to involuntarily take a step or two back. Kou, on the other hand, fell onto her tiny bum.

And, now…

I looked at where Habi threw them, but they were not there.

And they were gone. Habi seemingly destroyed them with just raw strength.

“…Yen… Tsubaki…!”

The walls of the keep were torn down like Shoji screens or walls, and Yen and Tsubaki fell to the ground, destroying the trees and buildings outside. From this 4th floor, I cannot see them anymore.

“Yes, that must have made the Scarlet Goddess happy! So calm down now Habi!”

Aria tried to stop Habi, acting as if Habi and Tsubaki were offerings to the Scarlet Goddess, but…

“More, more! Scarlet Goddess won’t be happy with just this!”

And Habi, pyon, pyon! began jumping up and down…

–suton. With her single toothed geta, she stood on top of the massive axe.

“…happiness is…”

Under the weight of Habi, the great axe, with had been propped up, began to sway… and tilt…

…Zudooon…!

The axe, dropping to the floor, shook the entire castle tower. It must weight around 700kg. (TL Note: This is about half the weight of a typical Honda Civic.)

“Tohyama! You, fight! Scarlet Goddess, and Habi’s friend. Let’s rejoice together!”

Big, thick, and more like a block of iron than an axe, that giant axe… Gon!

Habi, lifted it up.

To be more specific, she did not just pick it up. She picked it up with one hand.

That is not all. She is waving it around, easily, like a fan…

“…50 years, is but, a dream, in the heavens…” (TL Note: What is being said here is not exact. This is a line from Atsumori, and is basically saying how the perception of time between deities is nothing when compared to mortals. 50 years, a life for a human, is bought but a dream for a immortal.)

And she began to dance and sing.

Lacking the husky voice like Yen, she does not sound as sharp, but regardless this is the Atsumori that even Nobunaga loved.

To Habi, the weight of an axe, never mind a two handed one… is nothing more than a fan.

This is not just a monstrous level of strength.

This is the strength of a demon… that is what Habi is.

Moreover, the dance is perfect.

The Kowakamai dance, favoured by samurai families, is influenced by the body movements of martial arts. Therefore, despite her dancing right now, an attack is impossible as Habi leaves no openings.

But, however…

… This is actually what I’ve been noticing ever since I entered this hall…

Habi is leaving a gap.

I say that, because… she is a girl.

And it is a serious gap at that.

First of all…

Yen and the other Scarlet Oni were kimonos, even if the pattern is influenced by African culture.

As Tamamo once said, the Kimono’s worn by girls do not have the underwear, unlike the clothes worn in modern Japan.

And Habi is not well behaved when she sits or stands up. This may be because, like Kou and Aria, the Scarlet Goddess’s power has stopped her body from growing, so she is stuck with a childish mentality.

She was kicking her legs when she sat on that throne, and even when she had that full on fight right in front of me.

Earlier as well my retinas caught not only the sight of Sarah using her tornadoes, but I recalled a visual memory of going up the stairs, regardless of the fact that I had no desire to climb them… since there is no proof that oni’s have a different body structure than humans, and the stairs were going up… (TL Note: I am not 100% positive about this sentence. I can make out a few keywords, mainly Sarah, Tornado, stairway, and structure. I tried to make sense of it and ended up with this.)

However, the fact that I am in Hysteria Mode due to Habi must be accepted as fact.

But about that…

There is no need to self-deprecate myself and regret going into Hysteria Mode over a girl who looks like a third of fourth grader. You are not that far gone yet Kinji. The theory that “even if someone looks like a young girl, if your instincts tell you that they are mentally older so you Hysterize, you are probably not guilty”, that I established regarding Kou, has not been proven false yet. (TL Note: another unsure sentence, but I am certain I got the general idea.)

Undeniably Habi is a powerful warrior. But also undeniably, she is a tiny and adorably girl, and as a girl, she is full of gaps. Because of this, in regards to Hysterizing, I feel like I have a valid self-defence…

“Kinji!”

–Aria’s voice brought me back to myself.

I noticed that Aria, with her two guns drawn, and Kou, with her blue-dragon scimitar sword held in a low position, were coming up on either side of me.

“I can feel it. The Scarlet Goddess’s influence on Habi is slowly intensifying.”

“Kou can feel it too. Habi’s connection is different than me or Aria’s, it is a new type.”

Aria and Kou communicate with the Scarlet Goddess through the presence of Irokane. Habi, though, can communicate with Irokane, reminiscent of the resonance phenomenon that Sherlock was talking about long ago, as Habi glows with a faint scarlet.

While I was thinking about this, things have developed a bit, it seems.

“–put down your weapons, Aria, Kou. Habi-sama only wants to fight me.”

I step in front of the two, with Aria and Kou to my back and Habi in front of me.

I gently stroke Aria and Kou’s cheek with a feather light touch.

Saying “Hiyaa…!” and “Fue…!” respectively, I was glad as the seemed to get their fighting spirit under control for the time being as they released a shivering voice. It was cute.

“I don’t want to see you pretty girls fighting. Even if that pretty girl is a Goddess–“

“… so you became… that… Kinji. How did that happen!”

Gau! Aria yelled at me mid sentence, and began pointing her guns at my head…

“–it was because of you. It has been and always will be because of only you.”

A lie here is justifiable. Between a man and a woman, a lie is sometimes a kind of kindness.

And so, to my gentle lie, Aria blushed, revealing her usual rapid blush.

Wagu, Wagu, even Aria’s revealed canines began to shake as if not just Aria but even her tooth lost their bite.

And then,

“–well, Habi.”

After brilliantly calming down Kou and Aria, I turned to face Habi.

Good grief, it is a handful to deal with three women at once.

“If you want to fight… then you want me. I will give you that fight.”

In London, I preached love while the Oni brought war…

In Kii no Kuni, the Oni preached love while I brought war.

This is an ironic turn of events, huh?

“Ah! Kinji! Come!”

To Habi, who had a refreshingly flat chest, I…

I am going to ask a question that has been bothering me for a bit.

“… by the way, a long time ago Habi, you chose to side with Grenada at the Bandire. Why is that?”

And then, with her huge axe on her shoulder, Habi…

“Eh? Eh…? …Ah-! I remember now! If you are Grenada, you could get the Karagane. If you had the Karagane, you can fight the mighty Kinji! That was what Sherlock said before that!”

I see. I see.

And so, Sherlock goes back onto my “I will never forgive you” list.

The list was feeling pretty lonely with Mash having being taken off of it and Seiji Harada being the only person on it, so this is actually okay. (TL Note: Bewitching Blade.)

It wold appear since the beginning that Sherlock had been a military advisor to the Oni’s. And while observing the Far East Warfare, he had been pursuing his Study in Scarlet, or Irokane, at the same time, while also giving information about Aria to the Oni to further his own goals.

And so the Oni, how that the Scarlet Goddess is descending into Aria, are gather all those related to the Scarlet Goddes… Kou, Aria, and Habi have been gathered here from all over the world.

In this room is an all-star lineup who are all related to the Hidan, all brought here to seek a “conclusion”.

But, even though Sherlock had a hard time deducing anything related to the Hidan… He thought that whatever conclusion there was, it would be tragic for Aria.

Damn that Sherlock… he brought me here to overturn that!

Thinking about it rationally, we cannot get the Karagane from Habi, the super oni, through force, nor will she give it. Therefore, Aria will be taken over by the Scarlet Goddess and that is it. This conclusion is the will of the Gods, and mere man can not resist it.

However, I, “Enable”, who exists to destroy common sense and reasoning, can overturn any logical reasoning, by making the impossible possible.

So now that I have decided my next move…

… the time to second guess is over.

Even Sherlock could not deduce what will happen next.

From here, I myself will build a future that no one other than me can foresee.

First, I must destroy the foundation of reasoning that has led to this tragic conclusion.

And then, I will build a new foundation, ensuring that it leads to a happy ending.

–I was here to get the Karagane from Habi. After that, Aria will be saved, everything will go back to normal, and we can return to Butei High as soon as possible. The final exam was coming up after all, and I nearly died during Aria’s lessons.

“Habi, use, Axe! Tohyama, use the, Tanegashima, and sword?” (TL Note: Tanegashima is not referring to the island but the Tanegashima gun, introduced to the island of same name by the Portuguese.)

Habi tilted her head as if she was a childish girl, but…

Just before this childish action, she reduced the splendid name for her weapon to merely another axe.

“I wouldn’t use a gun or a knife against a child.

I said such a humanitarian thing, but this was just a pretext.

Against Habi these weapons would be useless anyway, and according to the Tohyama family theory for combat, our bare hands are our strongest weapon anyway.

For this reason I just have to give it my all. I will just do what I always do and give it my best.

Anyway, what I am doing here is the opposite of Yen VS. Habi. Here, instead of Habi being unarmed and Yen armed, I will be unarmed and Habi armed.

“Are you sure? Habi, is the Sixth Heavenly Demon King. You can’t escape from the Demon King.”

With a thud, using the weight of her axe, rather than her own strength, Habi took a wobbly step forward.

“I won’t run away.”

I am not leaving. I am not a fan of muddling around, so I just walked through the hall, like Habi was just a normal person.

“Habi, what did you eat earlier for breakfast?”

“Watermelon.”

“Only watermelon?”

“Un!”

“Hmm… that’s fine.”

As we had such a conversation between us, Habi and I were closing the distance between us.

And then…

Quickly, the distance was closed.

The distance between us 2 was now a meter and a half.

For me, it was as if I was standing in front of a nuclear missile.

I was looking down at Habi.

Habi was looking up at me.

Well then, Kinji. How am I going to deal with a super-powered demon that boasts more than 7 times the fighting power of Yen?

“…Kinji…!”

Anxiously, Aria called out to my back, but,

“Don’t worry. Thins like this happens all the time to me.”

I answer her without turning around.

I don’t turn around… because if I did, she would see the sweat on my forehead.

– What is my path to victory?

– How do I save Aria?

Is there a path to victory, or is there not?

In life, sadly, there is no clear path. Oh how much easier it would be if these paths were told to us.

I guess I must go on a path that isn’t even a path.

There are situations where people have to do just that.

I mean, I do that all the time. I guess I just want to have fun.

I let out a small sigh of misery in my mind, and my stomach begins to tighten.

And then, one breath… two breaths…

We looked at each other, breathing at the same time and our hearts beating in unison.

“War under the heavens! Alright, come on!” (TL Note: Not sure on first sentence, should be accurate.)

With her right hand, she carried her massive lump of iron while she held her left hand out in front of her.

Her eyebrows were raised, but her smile was as bright as the sun.

She must be having fun.

“Come Habi.”

I was not saying this to be cool.

I was doing this because my own CQC was largely based on countering.

Gyu, gyu. Habi grasped the handle of her axe with her left and right hand.

“– yoi, yoi, yo-rororororoo–“

The axe was big. Very big. It was probably the largest axe to exist that was used solely for combat.

–Zuuuuuuuoooooooooo–!

She simply swung the axe straight down.

The act was simple enough to make you feel a certain kind of beauty, but when it was Habi, the size of the axe, and everything else was so extraordinary, it surpassed any imaginable dimension.

It was an unknown attack that cut through not only the surrounding air, but through space itself.

… But in the slowed down world of Hysteria Mode…

I just stood still in front of her attack.

The beauty of its power, it was mesmerizing.

Images of methods to win begin to cloud my mind, like a person just about to die seeing their life flash before their eyes.

The first think to flash through my mind was Yen’s testimony at Korakuen.

At that time, Yen had made the claim that even if there were 7 of her, she could not beat Habi.

Why did she pick such a specific number? It must be because it would take more than 7 of her to beat Habi, so 8 would have a minimal chance. (TL Note: this was butchered from original but maintains original meaning.)

– the strength between Hysteria Mode me and Yen was about even.

In other words, I should be able to compete with Habi if I was at 8 times my normal Hysteria Mode self.

And the second memory was…

The memory of our “Cherry Bomb” that I and G3 did in the Nevada desert.

That was a technique in which G3 hit me with a Meteor, which I combined with a Ouka to create a Mach 2 attack.

A Cherry Bomb made up of two Cherry Blossoms. (TL Note: “Cherry Blossom” is used a lot here, but Baka calls it a “Cherry Bomb” in vol 19. For continuity sake, I changed these last two lines a bit.)

If there were 8 of us, 4 G3’s and 4 of me, it would be possible to make an 8 fold Cherry Bomb that could possibly defeat Habi. The problem though is that is obviously impossible, I am the only person here…

I am enable though, I have to come up with a way to make this possible.

The third and final memory to win this fight though…

The Ouka attack that I did against Watson at the Sky Tree and with Sarah’s panties.

If I could do such an attack with just my arms, theoretically, I should be able to do it with just my legs or torso.

The number of actions required to reach a Ouka is 4. “Toe -> heel -> knee -> pelvis”. If this was done in two legs, mach 2 could be achieved.

In addition, starting from the waist, I could pass the velocity using 4 lumbar bones and 12 thoracic bones out of my spinal column. Here, a subtotal Mach 4 is achieved.

Finishing by adding Mach 2 with the right and left arm from shoulder -> elbow -> wrist -> fingers…

(–A Mach 8 Ouka–!)

The moment the axe touches me, I seem to evaporate and disappear.

And then…

–Gashiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii–!

With both hands, I do a bare handed catch.

A full body and soul 8 fold Ouka. An Ouka only possible in the fall wind.

I did it. I actually did it! It is too late to stop now though.

1 + 1+ 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 8. I might have made a mistake in front of Aria earlier, but I did not make a mistake in the addition here. Great job me!

“…!”

A naturally strong being, Habi has lived her life as a demon even among demons, respected by the gods…

Her scarlet eyes are wide open, looking at the point where her giant axe meets the palm of my hand.

And then, Crack.

She was surprised. She had the same face as many of my enemies, a face that says “I have just seen the impossible.”

– But this is not a victory.

All I did was catch my opponents attack.

To win, you have to actually fight back.

But Habi is a girl, and she was my trigger for Hysteria Mode this time. I do not want to hurt her.

No… There is not need to hurt Habi in this fight… from the very beginning I had another option.

My win condition here was to get back the Karagane. That is my sole condition.

And so… Biki!

First, I grab a hold of Habi’s blunt axe with my left hand.

And while I was holding the axe,

(The devils pouch is just above the stomach.)

I made a mental note of the Oni’s unique organ that I had heard from Kon, and while apologizing in my heart…

I put my hand on Habi’s chest, which had only a slight bulge but was nearly completely flat.

“Wa?”

To the young Habi, who could only open her mouth and mumble in confusion when having her breasts touched by a man…

“Sorry.”

– I apologize first.

–Once again, I will use a 8 fold Ouka, this time into a single attack–!

If a thrust is released at a super-high speech, such as Mach 8, my arm might burn up with the heat due to the friction with the air, never mind the shock wave. As I stated earlier, an Ouka of this strength could only be used during the colder Autumn.

–Uuuuuuukyudon–!

In the super-slow world of Hysteria mode, the sound produced by my Ouka rocked my entire body, and the impact sound was different than any other Ouka I have done.

But this blow was not intended to defeat Habi.

Once, when Yen used her Rakshasha on me, I had died. But when using it on her, she had thrown up.

Recalling that memory, this was an attack with the attempt of making Habi “Throw Up”.

An explosion, similar to the sound of a explosive tank shell hitting an enemy, rings out from Habi’s small body throughout the entire keep.

“Vu”

Habi then grunted and burped!

Habi then started spitting things out of her mouth, like a human vomiting… no, a Oni vomiting.

“Ueeeeeen”

Habi is now on all fours, spitting out seemingly nearly everything that was stored in her demon pouch.

Habi let go of her giant axe, Zudon!

And then she fell down beside me…

“…!”

Aria, Kou, and the rest of the oni, who were now frozen and trembling along the wall of the hall, opened their mouth in shock and ere all at a seemingly loss for words. The other demons of the keep, who had come to the hall as well, were also in a state of shock.

This was because I had beaten the unrivalled Habi with a punch. Just one punch.

“… Ahh-, this isn’t possible. This is impossible…”

For the time being, I ignore everyone’s reactions and throw to the side side large pearls, agate comb, old stamp with “Tenka Fubu” on it, etc, from the things that Habi had thrown up.

Everything was wet, but it was inside Habi’s body so I guess that cannot be helped. It does not smell thankfully. The substance was different from gastric juice that dissolves things, it is a smooth secretion similar to drool.

“Ueeeeeeee, Ueeeeeeeeeeeeeen.”

I wonder if a Oni throwing things up out of their demon pouch is disgusting to them like it is to a human to throw up in its own way, and Habi continues to gag, vomiting random things.

Golden dice, giant clam shells, small dishes, a coral flute, a silver ring…

She seemed to have something stuck on her fangs, so I gave her a light tap on the back of her head to help her get it out.

Finally, it came out.

–A ruby gemstone in the shape of a gradient ball.

Wait, this looks familiar… this… it’s the last piece of the Karagane!

..I got it…!

“No more. No more come out. Karagane, last.”

Habi turned 180 degrees on the spot in a crawling pose, shamelessly holder her head. She appeared to be protecting her horns, perhaps afraid that I might break them like I did with Yen. Because of this though, her head was on the ground, and her buttocks was raised, seemingly on purpose. Let’s not lower our gaze, Kinji.

“Ha-, Habi-same…!?” “Who is this young samurai!? ” “It’s an extermination… spare me, human…!”

There was a buzz behind me, and when I turned around…

The group of Oni were furious at me for attacking Habi. Of course they were angry, this was to be expected.

As Aria and Kou began to take a defensive stance against the Oni…

“I’m tired. I’m done. I give up, I won’t fight anymore.”

I made a preemptive move, and raised my hands to the Oni as I surrender.

I had already tucked the Karagane away into my breast pocket.

I have already achieved my goal.

After all, everything should end peacefully after having punched their leader in the stomach. Even if we are attacked, I can escape with Aria under one arm and Kou under the other using the “Senrin” technique that has been handed down in the Tohyama family. After that, I just need to steal one of the Oni’s fishing boats and escape to one of the near small island. Yen could swim from Japan to here, and I, who am comparable to Yen when in Hysteria Mode, should be able to make it back to Japan on my own.

While devising such a strategy in my brain, I told Aria “Got Karagane” with a winking signal…

“–You almost killed Habi – !”

Habi got up and turned around…

“I found it! I found it, Kinji! Stronger than Habi!”

She came bouncing back, not even a minute after being hit with a 8x Ouka.

“Strong Strong husband!”

Jumping onto my chest, holding on to me like a young Koala, wrapping her legs and arms around me, and aligning her face with mine, chu~! (TL Note: http://bitly.ws/u9B6)

Wah-

(…!)

She gave me a watermelon-flavored kiss.

The first thing the demons did, who were apparently not used to seeing such things, was say “Hiyaa-!”, “She kissed him!”, “I watched it happen!”, back and forth to each other

Thanks to this, the tension and fighting mood from the demons side fizzled out…

Aria, on the other hand, “Yooooooooou! BAKAKINJI!!” which reignited said mood, so it was a plus and minus.

Zuzaaa! Aria came around behind me and grabbed my thighs from behind, performing a double leg suplex-!

Habi, who had left her hold on me before Aria supplexed me, watched as Aria said “Tiny! To a little girl! What are you doing to her!? You lolicon! Lolicon! Lolicon! Common enemy of all girls and society!” and straddling my from my back as I laid down face first, she struck a hammer from hell to the back of my head. This head made me spit out the watermelon flavor from my mouth.

“…To, Tohyama. Do you have the Karagane?”

From the side of Aria, who stood up with a face like a Nio mask, the frightened Kou asked,

“Ah, aah…”

While I was able to defeat Habi without taking a single hit, I, Mr. Enable, who had my lifespan reduced by my own allies, stood up unsteadily and handed the Karagane in my breast pocket to Kou.

When Aria saw this, she finally withdrew her anger from me, her self-proclaimed common enemy of society. She finally realized that now is not the time.

“–Kou. Can you put that back into my chest?”

“Yes. Kou was assigned to that role by Sherlock, but… but…”

“…but? But what? Is something wrong? Is that not the Karagane”

Aria, peering into the palm of a Kou’s tiny hand,

“Nothing is wrong, and this is the Karagane. It is the same shape that Kou remembers and it fits perfectly with the Karagane Aria already has. But…”

Kou, perhaps recognizing something at first glance, looked timid and clammed up,

“… it’s losing its effectiveness.”

It’s losing its… effectiveness?

“What do you mean?”

The Oni’s on the other hand, “Habi-sama is getting married!”, “Candles, we need candles!”, “Where is Yen and Tsubaki!?”, were making a fuss, while Aria and I approached Kou.

Kou, who was dripping sweat from her forehead,

“It is now nothing more than a ruby. It must be because the Scarlet Goddess, through Habi, destroyed the functions of the Karagane. It is difficult, but not impossible, to destroy the formulas applied to the ruby and stop it from functioning.”

Kou’s story is…

So the Scarlet Goddess interfered even here?

The Karagane was put into Habi’s devil pouch. In other words, it was, for a long time now, in the hands of the Scarlet Goddess who possessed Habi.

So – to make sense of this with a metaphor – the Scarlet Goddess hacked into the Karagne, messed with the programming, and broke the software.

The Scarlet Goddess must have done this to prevent Aria’s Hidan from being repaired.

(… she took the first move…!)

Karagane… the last piece of it that we had risked our lives to collect had been destroyed.

In other words…

… there is no way to win now.

Aria cannot be saved.

I have no choice but to be forced to watch her become the Scarlet Goddess…

“– ahaha–“

Then, Aria began to laugh.

She put the back of her right hand over her mouth, her little back hunched over.

She began walking away from us, to the back of the hall.

Everyone was stunned as Aria continued to laugh, watching and not knowing what was wrong with her.

“Hahaha, hahahahahaha!”

… This… this laugh is…!

I have heard it enough times to know now.

Aria is laughing, yes that is Aria, but that is NOT Aria’s laugh.

“Ha-hahahahahahahahaha! How unfortunate, Tohyama!”

This… this is the way… the Scarlet Goddess speaks…!

Did she finish transferring to Aria!?

“I was waiting for the right time to show up, since I have been ready to become Aria for a while now. I decided now was the time to finish transferring after you all saw the Karagane that I ruined, seeing the despair on all of your face was delightful. With Kou and Habi are all here, that just makes it even better.”

Baa, Baa, making sharp, dancing gestures while twisting her left and right hands around…

This was no longer Aria.

This was the movement of the Scarlet Goddess, as grand and graceful as if she were a stage actress.

To me, who was puzzled as to what to do in such an emergency,

“–Hihi–, are you trying to catch me off guard?”

This voice was not heard as a sound, but as a direct echo in my head.

This is…

This is Ruruirokane. It was the same voice I had heard in Area 51, 89th Administrative District A.

It seems the so named Hihi, or in this case Scarlet Goddess, had heard her.

“What?”

The Scarlet Goddess fixed Aria’s annoyed gaze to the right pocket of my pants.

I looked down there as well.

“Hihi can move several avatars at the same time. Come forth.”

As if linked to the voice that once again echoed in my head, I noticed a blue light gushing out from within my pocket.

I hurriedly pulled out my butterfly knife coated in the azure Ruruirokane

“…UU…!”

–it was an intense, glowing blue.

But this light does not generate heat. This same phenomenon occurred on the Annabelle when my knife still had Hihiirokane.

With the past events and current evidence, I can intuitively understand, Ruruirokane is talking to use through my knife.

Ruru, who had been silent all the way from New York to here, as if to conceal her presence, has finally made her move. She was waiting for the Scarlet Goddess to appear…

But – if that is the case, we might both be in trouble now.

While I was focused on Ruru…

“ugh…! To-, Tohyama…! This, this feeling… Son… … Gaah…”

“Ah, Aaaaaaah…!”

Kou and Habi began to moan in pain, and along with Aria they began to emit a aura and red haze.

Things were changing at a dizzying pace, but I will still try to grasp the situation with my amateur psychic understandings, the limit for myself. Kou and Habi were glowing with about the same intensity, but Aria was glowing twice as bright as them. Their colour was the same though, with a scarlet colour reminiscent of flames even stronger than fire…!

(Did the Scarlet Goddess… just transfer into Aria, Kou, and Habi… all at once!)

Oh my God.

I have had individual battles with the imperfect Scarlett Goddess in Hong Kong and Tokyo. Neither battle was a complete victory for me, I just barely managed to win.

I had trouble dealing with only one of them…

And now, three of them have appeared.

Among the three, I could clearly tell that Aria was clearly different then when she became a Scarlet Goddess in Nogizaka.

This was not a minor difference either. The intensity of her haze-like luminescence is doubled, but this is a trivial difference in comparison… Her essence here whole being, the entire atmosphere mood, and signs, everything is different.

Yes… in a few words, this Scarlet God Aria presence is a “different calibre” than the one I had experienced previously.

This was so clear that even I, someone not familiar with ESP, could recognize this fact.

(…Aria…!)

This… it felt more like a Goddess was descending rather than merely appearing.

This fact was spoken not through Aria, but was merely proven, she had no need to say this herself.

This… this is a perfect Scarlet Goddess.

The Goddess that the scarlet oni’s have been waiting for has now descended through Aria’s body.

Damn it… What do I do…!

“Kinji, it seems that this is the end for you. You have failed. You were unable to stop Hihi and allowed her to fully resurrect. Hihi took advantage of your concern for Aria, Kou, and Habi as well, possessing them and using them in a pincer attack against you.”

Ruru’s voice rang out, as if scolding me.

The pale spirit I saw at Area 51, which resembled Dr. Sarah’s naked body, formed an image next to me.

Floating in the air with her eyes closed as if sleeping, in a praying pose…

… It’s Ruruirokane. She, too, has decided to make a physical appearance now.

“Oops! You caught me.”

With a startled look on her face, her sailor suit fluttered, and the one who jumped away from Ruru was… Kou, no, Son. As I expected, she is a Scarlet Goddess now too.

Bububun, Son spun her scimitar like a baton twirler and stood to the right of Aria, who was standing in front of the throne, and turned around to face us.

“This is not fair, Ruru. I had a lot of fun with all of my dependants, so decided to transfer into them all at once… but if you came here knowing that, you are here to kill me, aren’t you? How do you plan to deal with all three of me?”

Habi, who earlier spoke like a child, now spoke in the tone of the Scarlet Goddess. And when, with a great axe in hand, she spun around and leapt – and then, with a audible snap, she moved to Aria’s left side and turned to face us.”

Aria, the true Scarlet Goddess, stood on guard against Ruru, stood at the centre of her group, with Sun and Habi on either side.

The sight of the three Scarlet Gods, each moving with their own will, shocked me once again.

(… is it possible… for there to be… three Scarlet Gods… at the same time…!)

Once again, I was confronted with something that no human imagination could possible keep up with.

Hiten Hiyoumon. The laser. Teleportation. The tetradimension cubes. The Scarlet Goddess, who has shown us time and time again her Stealth abilities, will undoubtedly surprise us here once again.

I raised my eyebrows, and tightly gripped the Ruruirokane plated knife in my hand…

“Kinji. Just as a person cannot go to sleep immediately after waking up, once Hihi possesses a dependent, she will not leave immediately of her own will. In other words, right now Hihi cannot immediately escape. You do not have to stab her, you must just merely approach with the knife in your hand. If you do so, I will be able to take Hihi’s consciousness into a gravity sphere of my own control and crush her. I can kill even Hihi, albeit only partially.”

Like an officer ordering their soldiers to open fire, Ruruirokane, eyes still closed, indicate Habi and the other with her hands.

It made me uneasy how calmly she said that.

“Wa-… Wait, Ruru! If you do that, what will happen to Aria and the others?”

I asked Ruru about this, not caring at all if the enemy could hear us communicating.

The Scarlet Goddess had hijacked Aria and the others soul and consciousness.

While the meaning of “life” for the coloured metal goddesses seems different than that of a human being (or Oni), but if I were to kill the Scarlet Goddess, if only for a moment, while it is possessing someone, would it not kill the consciousness of Aria and the others?

I was concerned about that possibility…

It is exactly as you are thinking right now.”

–I was told that was the case by Ruruiorkane, who seemed to be able to read my mind.

“Part of Hihi’s heart and the heart of the three before you… they are fused with each other. If Hihi’s mind were to die, the mind of her dependant also dies. You may remember that Patra once brought about a similar effect to Aria with the Irokane Ayame coated bullet.”

Patra’s cursed bullet… is she talking about last year when Aria was sniped by patra during our mission at the Casino?

“Metaphorically speaking, that time it was as if it was a tranquilizer bullet, but this will be a live bullet. The effect will be permanent. In any case, you cannot keep making that same tranquilizer move over and over again. The only chance you have to end this is now.”

When she was shot by Patra, Aria was suspended in time for 24 hours.

If I were to approach Aria and the others with this knife as Ruruirokane ordered me, then… this time… the effect will be permanent. That is what Ruruirokane has told me.

If it was not possible to revert them from that state, they would have effectively died.

“… No! No, do not kill them Ruru!”

“I understand your feelings. But, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If we miss this opportunity now, it will never occur again…”

This is not good. Ruru have made it clear that she will now be reasoned with. If that is the case…

“I don’t… want to see a girl as beautiful as Ruru put her hands on a girl as beautiful as Hihi.”

Gods may be gods, but luckily the Gods of the coloured metals are Goddesses.

I am not sure if even me in Hysteria Mode can seduce them though…

“Ruru. I can see into your heart. You are crying because you do not want to hurt your sister. So let me handle it from here. It is a mans job to make sure that a woman does not ever have to cry…!”

– A line came out of my mouth that sounded rather strange, however…

“……”

Ruru looked back and forth between the Scarlet Goddess and me, with a gesture and expression that made it obvious that she was not sure how to react.

And so, taking advantage of that moment…

The Scarlet Goddess could not miss this opportunity.

“Hahaha, Ruru! What a pity! You were so close!”

Said Aria, and then Ba!

Kou and Habi ran to opposite sides of the keep.

“…!”

But I could not follow them. I did not know how Ruru would react.

Aria, Pon, Pon!, made an invisible stairway as she leaped through the air out of the collapsed window frame that Yen was sent through.

Her figure soon disappears into the shadows of the dense trees beneath us. Kou and Habi jumped out behind her, using tree branches like stepping stones to break their own fall.

Ruru, who apparently could not go too far from my knife because she was inhabiting this area with the knife as a medium is…

She reached out with her translucent hand as if to follow the Scarlet Goddess, but that was all she could do.

It was not only me, Ruru, and the demons who had watched the whole thing unfold, who were left in the hall now.

“… Kinji…”

Ruru made a slightly depressive gesture, and…

“I cannot say you were wrong with what you said. I really do not wan to kill my sister either. However… you and I missed the biggest and possible the last opportunity to destroy all existing Hihi dependants. Hihi is a bold and meticulous Goddess. From now on, each will be holed up in a stronghold beyond the reach of me and Riri’s powers, each of the three waging war on the world of mankind. Many people will die now in place of Aria and the other two. It is now impossible to stop them.”

Perhaps giving up, she let her hazy body fade away.

I was turning the knife over in my hand, which was now losing its blue light and began to put it away…

“That’s fine.”

I told Ruru.

“What is fine, Kinji?”

“”Impossible”… that was the word you just spoke.”

Hysteria Mode was still active.

“Ruru, do you still not know who I am? I am Enable. I can make the impossible, possible.”

I cannot imagine how the fleeing Aria plans to leave Kii no Kuni, but…

Fly or swim I will chase you, even to the ends of the Earth.

Let’s finish this Scarlet Goddess. And then, I will deal with Aria. (TL Note: twisted some words here, original meaning still holds true.)