Volume 4 Chapter 30 Raikou Fights Master Gyoun's Brother Disciple I
──Meanwhile, Raikou and Gen Shuuyoku──
"'Hidden Five Gods'──'Frenzied Kirin of Death'."
Bakkai's sword grazed Raikou's hair.
"Senior disciple!!"
"Don't come! Yokumai (junior sister disciple)!!"
The power of the technique is on another level.
A normal person couldn't unleash this kind of strength.
Even if they could, their body wouldn't hold up.
So, Bakkai is using forbidden techniques.
It must be the 'Four Fiends' techniques that Gen Shuuyoku, Tenhou, and Kaou fought against.
Bakkai has added 'Five Divine Swordsmanship' techniques to it.
That's why it's fast and has high destructive power.
"On top of that, not feeling pain... this is troublesome."
Raikou's sword has wounded Bakkai multiple times.
But the effect is weak.
Bakkai attacks back without caring about the pain.
If hit, it would tear flesh and crush bones with a single blow.
Normally, Raikou could have deflected those attacks.
The problem is that her legs are still affected by poison.
Raikou can only use her full power once.
After that, she needs Gen Shuuyoku's treatment.
"Senior disciple! That person is indeed using the 'Four Fiends' technique, Kyuuki!"
Gen Shuuyoku's voice echoed.
"However, she's not using 'Poison Ki.' She's eliminating pain by consuming others' 'ki' and enhancing her own physical abilities! That means──boosting her power──"
"I understand. Just keep your distance. Yokumai!"
Gen Shuuyoku's voice feels far away.
That's because Raikou and Bakkai are clashing swords while moving.
Only Raikou can fight Bakkai.
Not even the soldiers, or Gen Shuuyoku, can match Bakkai.
Bakkai wields a sword in each hand.
When facing a master like Bakkai, even Gen Shuuyoku's 'Flowing Water' technique is hard to deflect.
One sword is manageable, but 2 is impossible.
A sword that can't be deflected will surely end Gen Shuuyoku's life.
"I'm going to──find an opening──Pressure Point Technique──."
Gen Shuuyoku's voice fades away.
(I managed to separate everyone... no, is Bakkai avoiding Yokumai too?)
Bakkai probably knows that Gen Shuuyoku is a master of the Pressure Point Technique.
That's why she's moving away from her.
What Bakkai fears is a simultaneous attack from Raikou and Gen Shuuyoku.
If Gen Shuuyoku deflects one sword, Raikou can strike with the other.
She might not come out unscathed, but one of them could definitely take Bakkai down.
Fearing that, Bakkai is moving away from Gen Shuuyoku.
Still, Raikou is pursuing her.
Don't let Bakkai get close to the soldiers.
And──don't let her out of the forest.
"Bakkai! The 'Hidden Five Gods' bandit group is finished. Surrender and drop your sword!!"
"It's not over."
Bakkai's answer was short.
"My disciple will not let it end."
"...What?"
"The twins will master Kyuuki and eventually master Toutetsu. They will become heroes who survive in the chaos of history."
"Chaos, you say... What do you want from that!?"
"Only to eliminate Gyoun's disciples!!"
The twin swords howl.
Bakkai's arm whips like a whip, creating a powerful strike.
Raikou dodges it just in time and counters with her sword again.
Bakkai's limbs are crushed by Gyoun.
The fact that she is moving is definitely due to Kyuuki's power.
(...But that technique has only created the monster known as Bakkai!)
'Four Fiends Technique: Kyuuki' has made no one happy.
It has only given Bakkai a way to take revenge.
It has created the 'Hidden Five Gods' bandit group and caused many victims.
"What meaning is there in martial arts wielded for revenge!!"
Raikou shouted.
"After you eliminate Master Gyoun's disciples... what will you do then, Bakkai!?"
"I'm just watching my disciple's future. My disciple will surpass Gyoun's disciples and soar across the world. My life is enough with just that!!"
"Is there nothing in your life but anger and revenge against Master Gyoun!?"
"That person didn't see me."
"He did see you! Master Gyoun has always regretted hurting you. That's why, after raising me as his disciple, he gave up martial arts!!"
Raikou dodges Bakkai's twin swords.
Her sword cuts through Bakkai's sleeve.
A counterattack comes. Raikou jumps, holding back the pain in her leg.
The twin swords slice through the spot where Raikou was just a second ago.
"And then Master Gyoun learned medicine and saved people. You could have been helped if you met Master Gyoun!"
"It doesn't matter. Not at all."
"What?"
"Gyoun was too great. That person wasn't looking at me. He was looking far away... at many more people. In front of someone like that, I can't help but realize my own smallness."
While swinging her twin swords like a 'kirin,' Bakkai continues to speak.
"I wanted to stand beside that great person. When I realized that wouldn't happen... I decided to leave an eternal wound on him to mark my existence. I wanted to show people that this Bakkai is the only one who can hurt Gyoun."
"Is that why you attacked Master Gyoun!?"
"But even that wish didn't come true."
Bakkai's sword and Raikou's sword intertwine.
They clash. They deflect. They strike.
Raikou's clothes tear, and blood flows from Bakkai's skin.
Yet the two swords do not stop.
"Then I have no choice but to leave a name that rivals that person, right? Otherwise, I won't be able to match up to them."
"...A name that rivals Master Gyoun?"
"Gyoun saved people and left his name among many. Similarly, I will raise my disciples, and they will save the world. My disciples will carry on my name and carve it into the hearts of many. See? I will stand alongside Gyoun."
Bakkai said dreamily.
"The Golden Feather Syndicate taught me skills. I will use them and become someone who stands alongside Gyoun. I will be equal to Gyoun, who did not see me. In such a future... someone like you should not exist!!"
The twin swords accelerated.
Raikou's legs were sending dull pain signals.
Normally, it would be something she could ignore, but her opponent was Bakkai.
A slight opening could lead to a fatal wound.
Raikou continued to fight as if stepping on thin ice.
One misstep could cost her her life.
Being aware of that, Raikou kept running with 'Five Divine Steps.'
"Is that truly your own will, Bakkai?"
Raikou asked.
"Manipulating bandits, raising disciples, and standing on the stage of history. You will kill me, and then live a life just watching over the fate of your disciples. Is that really your wish?"
"Yes. That is my 'Heaven's Fate.'"
"That's not right!?"
Raikou recalled the story she heard from Tenhou.
──The Golden Feather Syndicate has taken in Zeng Taiga with the belief that 'Aika Country will perish.'
──They moved the Jinkyo Tribe to attack Aika Country.
──As a result, Zeng Taiga died.
The Golden Feather Syndicate manipulates people.
Using the words Heaven's Fate, or as bait, the 'Four Fiends Technique.'
Bakkai might also just be controlled by them.
"And... mastering Kyuuki to master Toutetsu... is that true?"
If that's the case, it explains why the Golden Feather Syndicate is spreading the 'Four Fiends Technique: Kyuuki.'
Kyuuki is powerful, but it has weaknesses.
Above all, it is weak against 'Divine Energy.'
So, the Golden Feather Syndicate probably makes many people use Kyuuki.
That way, they can learn the strengths, weaknesses, and limits of the technique.
Based on that information, they can improve the technique and aim for even greater heights.
By doing this, the users of the 'Four Fiends Technique' in the Golden Feather Syndicate might be trying to reach an even higher technique──Toutetsu.
(If that's true... how evil.)
What led the former Bakkai astray was the martial artist's skill.
Martial artists seek strength. They want to be the strongest.
That's why those who learn 'Beast Body Guidance' have been competing against each other.
Bakkai realized she didn't have the talent of Gyoun.
So, at least, she wanted to leave a mark on Gyoun.
So that Gyoun, as a martial artist, wouldn't forget her.
To gain the fame of having left a mark on a martial artist as strong as Gyoun.
As a result, Bakkai was defeated.
In the end, she was just moved by the martial artist's will.
Those who seek strength too much fall into traps.
Unable to resist the temptation of the Golden Feather Syndicate, they reach for forbidden techniques.
Perhaps the Golden Feather Syndicate is an organization that takes advantage of martial artists' will.
(If that's the case... there are martial artists who can resist the temptation of the Golden Feather Syndicate...)
...there are.
It's Tenhou, Raikou's disciple.
He said when he joined,
"I'm fine as long as I can learn the walking technique."
Tenhou has no desire for strength.
That's probably because... he is looking at a far greater height.
What he sees is the world and the future of the country.
Raikou is proud of Tenhou.
But at the same time, she feels anxious.
She worries that those around Tenhou, those who care for him, might feel lonely watching him aim for greater heights.
She wonders if they think, like Bakkai, "I don't want to be left behind."
So──
(I should advise Tenhou later. "Cherish the people close to you more.")
A smile escapes.
She almost forgot that she was in a deadly situation.
(Being a disciple is something rare. Even in a life-or-death moment, it brings peace to my heart.)
Raikou jumped with 'Five Divine Steps' using 'Storm of the Lurking Dragon King.'
Avoiding Bakkai's sword, she made her way deeper into the forest.
It was a space surrounded by trees.
There was a lookout tower in the trees.
It seemed to be a place to surround intruders and attack them as a group.
"────Where is this!?"
Bakkai stopped in her tracks.
She must have realized she was dragged into a dangerous place.
"Why am I in a place like this? I thought I was moving to a favorable location..."
"Because we were trying to move to my favorable location, it turned out like this."
Raikou knew about this place.
She had done some research before coming to the forest base.
And right now, this was the place where Raikou could show her true power.
"You have been moving away from Yokumai all along. We used that to lead you here."
Bakkai was afraid of being caught in a pincer attack by Raikou and Gen Shuuyoku.
So she had been trying to move away from Gen Shuuyoku.
Raikou had noticed that. Probably Gen Shuuyoku had too.
Gen Shuuyoku was changing her position frequently for that reason.
Each time, she called out to Raikou to let Bakkai know where she was.
By doing this, Raikou was leading Bakkai to a place where it would be easier to fight.
Raikou was also moving in sync with that.
That's how they were able to bring Bakkai here.
(Bakkai is using 'Kyuuki' to numb the pain in her body. That's why she can keep up with me running using 'Five Divine Steps.')
However, that's about lateral movement.
If it's just flat movement, it doesn't put much strain on the arms and legs.
"What about 3-dimensional movement!? Can you keep up with the up and down movements, Bakkai!!?"
Then Raikou kicked off the ground with 'Storm of the Lurking Dragon King.'
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