Chapter 151 Melt Flame
Crackle, crackle, sparks danced around. The smell of flames brushed against his nose.
For Atami Shou, fire symbolizes plunder. But there was no burnt smell, and breathing wasn't difficult. There was no sense of being robbed; rather, it felt warm, leaving the past in wonder.
Maybe it was because he got distracted by that feeling. His reaction to Shura, who was looking down at him, was a few beats late.
"Shura? What's the big idea showin' up here?"
"Isn't that my line? You're falling apart again in a place you don't even know, just like during the day. Do you have a thing for that?"
"Ugh. It ain't exactly what I planned."
"...Oh, I see."
Stamina depletion had caused him to become almost hypoxic. When he regained consciousness, Shura appeared before him. However, after cutting off the opening line of conversation, she turned away without a second thought, her tone lacking warmth in any way.
(Shura's hair. The tips are turning red? ...And what's that flaming sword?)
In his blurred vision, Hiiro noticed Shura's change.
The tips of her ash-silver hair were dyed a fiery red, and in her right hand, she held an unfamiliar flame sword. Additionally, the street had developed gashes without him realizing it. The marks, as if slashed by a giant sword, were still glowing red from residual heat.
Hiiro instinctively understood what Shura had done. The isolated aura of Shura, gripping the flame sword, prompted a primal understanding.
"Shura──"
"Just stay quiet and watch."
Shura waved away Hiiro's voice without using her hands. Could the utterly exhausted Hiiro pick up on the slight relief hidden behind her indifferent attitude? But Shura didn't care. The top priority for the girl wrapped in scorching hot winds was to eliminate those who harmed Hiiro.
"Tch. Reinforcements are showing up now. And they look like they won't be easy to deal with... This is no ordinary bad day. Damn it, what have I done?"
On the other side of the fracture, Iggy cursed his bad luck once again. Even though he was dressed lightly, which didn't fit the situation at all, he had just had his life threatened. At this point, he couldn't underestimate Shura as just a girl.
"Ah, what's this? I thought you were here to tear apart this Zetsu and Darling's relationship again after Mista Iggy."
Zetsu was trembling, hugging herself in response to Iggy's despair. It wasn't out of fear. From the suspiciously narrowed light in his eyes, a sticky, dark pleasure was weaving through.
"This is the best! Just meeting Darling is already amazing, but to run into a girl who smells just as good? Oh my, this Zetsu might just lose it! Ehehe, ehehehe."
"...What's with this guy? This is beyond just being crazy."
"Ah, you're just like Darling, so cold. Why don't you say something nice and let's love each other a lot, honey?"
"Who's your honey, you creep? And who's Darling? That's disgusting."
"...Keep yer eyes off me."
Hiiro turned away from the intensely inquisitive gaze. He felt just as fed up with Zetsu's peculiar obsession. He was a victim too. But the man standing on the needle bed had his objections ignored by Shura. A few seconds later, the sound of swords clashing violently echoed in the midnight air.
"Here I go!"
"Tch."
A madman approached with astonishing speed, slashing with an ecstatic expression. Shura quickly realized Zetsu's grounded skill, despite her floating demeanor, and clicked her tongue as he pushed back the sword.
"Kuroto Kage."
"!"
At the moment of separation, a shadow responded to the call, extending thorns from Zetsu's feet. It was a surprise attack from the shadow that had tormented Hiiro. However, the moment Shura intercepted it with her flame sword, the shadow sizzled and lost its form.
"Oh dear?"
"Ugh. Lævateinn!"
Despite her leisurely tone, Zetsu's eyes widened, clearly surprised. As Shura found a solid hit in that moment, she poured power into the flame sword, causing the flames enveloping it to swell even more. The heat and light resembled a small sun that shouldn't exist in the midnight sky.
"Haah!"
"Nnuh."
The flames wielded with a fierce spirit are no less than the breath of a fire dragon. Zetsu stretches out her shadow to act as a shield, but she probably won't be able to completely fend off the flames that are closing in, cutting through the night.
In the primordial age, it was the light of the stars, the moon, and fire that cleared the darkness. To defend against Shura's fire, Zetsu's shadow lacks the output, reason, and myth needed.
Zetsu seemed to understand that as well. In the brief moment bought by the shadow shield, she jumped back out of the range of the flames.
"Hehe. Shadows are weak against light. It seems this Zetsu's Kuroto Kage doesn't quite match up with Honey's sword, huh?"
"Hmph. Then just wave a white flag and give up."
"I won't surrender, you know? The thrill of the fight doesn't change. In fact, that just makes it even more exciting, doesn't it?"
"...This pervert."
With one arm restrained and facing an incompatible opponent, Shura raised the corners of her eyes at Zetsu's gelatinous behavior, which never ceased to revel in joy. In response to Shura's rejection, red sparks danced around them.
A thick presence of death lingered, and Zetsu writhed in excitement.
"Ahh. Honey's scent is getting even stronger. Nice. Then Zetsu has to respond too, right? Yes. Deep in the shadows. Deeper. More. More. Even deeper────."
If the Crimson Shura heightens her killing intent, the black madman suppresses her malice.
The crimson lotus grows bigger as it takes in more air.
At the same time, a dark shadow spreads out beneath it, creeping across the ground like a living thing.
Even in a place where nothing else can grow, there's an intense feeling of tension as both sides prepare to fight.
As their dense colors threatened to shatter each other's tension, it happened.
"What do you think you're doing, Mista Iggy?"
Iggy firmly held Zetsu's shoulder, who was about to leap into the flames as a massive shadow. Realizing the meaning behind that action, Zetsu suddenly wore a mask-like expression devoid of emotion.
"It's time to pull back, Lick."
"Pull back? What are you talking about? The best part is just about to start. If you're going to keep getting in this Zetsu's way... this time, I really will cut you!"
"I'm just as scared for my life. Honestly, I don't want to interfere with you in this state... Look at 'that.' Even if I don't do anything, a ton of trouble will come our way if we just sit here."
"'That?'."
The tip of the sword, which had been slowly directed at Iggy, followed the prompted gaze. In the distance, knights were rushing out from the main gate of Asgardam, holding torches in one hand.
They were probably the pursuers. Iggy clicked his tongue at Zetsu's absent-minded expression, as if it were someone else's problem, and tightened his grip on the hand that was trying to hold him back.
"It seems that huge flame from earlier caught the attention of the patrols. The knights will be here again before long. We need to get out of here already!"
"Aw, come on. It's not every day you get to have this much fun. Can't we just take them all out?"
"Damn it, you lunatic! If you don't come back, I'll end up taking the blame!"
"This Zetsu doesn't mind that at all, you know?"
"Not at all!"
"...Nope."
Iggy's desperate persuasion still didn't sway Zetsu's heart.
However, as if lost in thought, she placed her index finger on her cheek and suddenly glanced at Hiiro.
Kneeling, still out of breath, he glared at the woman under the moonlight. In those eyes, reminiscent of a hungry wolf, Zetsu found a spark of determination, and her lips curled into a gentle smile.
"──... I guess it can't be helped. Let's call it a night for now."
"! O-Okay. Then let's get out of here quickly!"
If a bud has sprouted, it's only proper to wait for it to bloom. Love isn't just about chasing; the one being pursued wants to savor it too.
Thus, Zetsu decided that tonight would end here, and she smiled like a maiden dreaming of a sweet romance.
"I love you, darling. And honey. When we meet again, let's stick together until the very end, okay?"
"Ugh. Lævateinn!"
With one eye charmingly closed, Zetsu bid farewell, and at the same time, her shadow rapidly stretched out.
Shura sensed the retreating movement. She couldn't let them escape so easily, so she intensified the flames of her sword and swept through the earth.
"Hehe."
It was like the roaring flames of a giant's arm. Yet, the creeping shadow was also slipping away, unnoticed.
The earth that had been swept away by the flames no longer held any trace of its presence.
The echoes of the madwoman fade away, and the surroundings regain a silence that feels almost unreal. It was like a dream of a summer night painted by fairies.
* * *
"...Looks like they got away."
"Damn it."
Even the fist that strikes the ground in frustration lacks strength now. Despite the gash on their chest, regret seems to outweigh the intense pain. Glancing sideways at Hiiro, who has collapsed on his back, Shura extinguished the flame sword.
"Can you move?"
"Piece of cake, just gimme five more minutes."
"Oh, really?"
Shura decided to sit down next to Hiiro, who was curled up with one knee pulled close to their chest. They both stayed silent for a moment, watching Hiiro quietly.
"You look pretty dangerous. You're covered in blood."
"And who's gonna stop me, with that fiery piece of metal you got?"
"If you say that, it's game over for you."
"What are you sayin'?"
"I mean just that, you idiot."
Maybe it's because of the blood loss, but Hiiro's complexion is bad. However, the blood from the sword wound on his chest has already stopped. It's unnatural, but it's not entirely unexpected.
Shura decided not to pry too deeply for now and shifted her gaze to the night sky. The moon is too big, making the stars less noticeable. She recalls the night sky from when she first thought she didn't want to let Hiiro die, even though it doesn't resemble it at all.
"You really have a knack for getting into trouble. Your life seems far from boring."
"Ain't lookin' to start no trouble, see?
"Yet you were happy being called 'darling'?"
"That bitch just went ahead and said it. I don't even know what she was thinkin'."
"I know you do."
When they poke at each other with their usual sharp words, the familiar banter comes back. How much this reassures Shura is something the dense one wouldn't understand.
Haa, a small sigh melted into the night, where even the lapis lazuli color hasn't shown its face yet. This time, she made it in time. She was able to protect Hiiro. To ensure that feeling doesn't fade even a little, Shura buried her mouth in her knee.
"...I hear somethin' from outta there."
"That's why they retreated."
"Gotta be the patrol gang. Tch. Captain Shidou's gonna see me lookin' like this again."
"It's a familiar sight, I'm sure."
"Shut yer trap."
As the sound of many footsteps approached, Hiiro pouted, looking a bit embarrassed. He had already been carried into the infirmary during the day. If they saw him in such a ragged state, he had no idea what they would say.
It wasn't like Hiiro had jumped into the situation willingly, but it was clear that Shura would get an earful. However, she decided that it wouldn't just end there. Sara would probably worry, Quollio would be beyond angry and just dumbfounded, Lyam might even get teary-eyed, and Sham would poke at his wounds as a punishment for making everyone worry.
The predictions of how those around Hiiro would react were all too clear. It was all too visible.
"────You know."
Shura thought. It was so easy to see that she too had become a part of that surrounding atmosphere.
"...Next time, I won't lose."
"Whatever."
It wasn't something thrown at him. It was a vow directed at herself. She wasn't the kind of guy to keep bowing down to defeat.
That was fine. Being exasperated, crying, or worrying was the job of the others. All she had to do was protect that vow. For now, that was enough.
Hiding her mouth had worked in her favor. Though she sounded curt, Shura was smiling just a little.
Just like the words of gratitude he had spilled that night, which felt so different. That smile went unnoticed by anyone.
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