Volume 1 Chapter 18 Kansai Disturbance Night V – Thunder God’s Rush
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”──Aaaahhh!?”
A painful female voice echoed as the broken left horn spun in the air before rolling onto the road with a light sound.
”My horn…! No way, this can’t be happening…!”
Kurikoma, who was watching, completely forgot about Naoshi and rushed towards the horn. It was a reckless move, exposing her vulnerable back.
”Aaaahhh!? No, no, I can’t take this, not like this! Uuuh, uaaah, uaaahhh…!”
Kneeling down, Kurikoma picked up the horn from the ground with trembling hands and hugged it to her chest, starting to cry.
Naoshi slowly stood up and approached, kicking pieces of asphalt aside.
”Oi, get up. Ya only busted the left one; the right one’s still doin’ fine.”
Ignoring the cries of the oni, he coldly said this and mercilessly raised his leg.
”Aaah! No, no! I don’t want this! Please, no!”
The oni, kicked in the shoulder, let out a high-pitched scream like a child.
Looking up at Naoshi, there was no trace of fighting spirit left in her face.
Kurikoma, her beautiful features twisted in distress, pleaded.
”I just wanted to play a little! Why is this happening, why so cruel? Oh, my horn…!”
”If ya ain’t serious, I don’t mind breakin’ it clean off.”
Of course, this didn’t resonate with Naoshi.
He looked down at the crying oni with boredom and aimed a kick at her remaining right horn. Her head snapped back.
”Eeek!”
Though it contained spirit power, the force was not as strong as the previous strike. Still, Kurikoma curled up, protecting her horn with her arms.
”Th-that’s not fair! Please forgive me, just let me go! Please…!”
Still in that position, she shouted.
”──Yes, yes, I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything I know about tonight! You were worried too, right!? So please forgive me, okay!?”
”Nope, I don’t care ‘bout that anymore. What matters now is makin’ sure ya get what ya deserve.”
”Eh──.”
”Kazuramichi-dono!?”
”Y-you’re right to be angry, but if what the oni is saying is true, ignoring it is──!”
Naoshi answered the panicking Sasara and the others with an unexpectedly calm voice.
”Nah, it’s fine. From the way she’s actin’, I get it. These types ain’t plannin’ nothin’ serious. They’re cryin’ over losin’ a horn. Normally, they’d be ragin’, right?”
”Eeek, stop it, please…!”
Kicking Kurikoma’s body like a ball 2 or 3 times, Naoshi continued.
”Earlier, ya said, ‘I just wanted ta play a bit’──and that’s the truth, ain’t it?”
”Ah──.”
”That true, huh?”
It was hard to accept at first, but it made sense.
The fact that the oni in front of him had so easily lost her fighting spirit seemed to support Naoshi’s words.
”I’m not sure if this oni is the same as the others, Kazuramichi-dono…?”
”Well, if that’s the case, this fool should say somethin’. But let’s double-check, just in case.”
”Aahh…!”
Stopping his kick, Naoshi grabbed Kurikoma’s hair and pulled her face up.
Her movements looked strangely practiced.
”Hey, ya lousy oni.”
”W-what is it…? N-no, you… I promise I won’t lie. So please, just ask me anything…?”
With a forced smile filled with fear, Kurikoma pleaded in a flattering voice.
But Naoshi’s eyes only grew colder at those words.
”Oh, is that so? Then I’ll ask. If ya got a serious reason, I’ll back off. But if it’s just some silly game, you’ll pay──so spit it out. What’s really goin’ on here?”
”──W-well, that is…”
The oni stumbled over her words, and the silence was a powerful answer.
Ayabe’s exorcists, impressed by Naoshi’s keen observation, turned their cold gazes toward Kurikoma, wondering what this tension and struggle were all about.
”Haah…”
”Eek──.”
At someone’s sigh, the oni trembled greatly.
Releasing his grip from the girl’s hair, Naoshi stood up.
”See? This is what they do. They think they’re hot stuff, so they do whatever they please.”
”Th-that’s not true! N-no, your way of asking is mean! Please ask in a different way. Please? I really didn’t mean to cause trouble!”
”You’ve already caused plenty of trouble, idiot. Sasara-san, can ya inform the district commander? We can’t let any more ayakashi endanger folks tonight.”
”──Understood. I will choose my words carefully.”
”Thanks. Now, get up, ya dumb oni. I’m in a foul mood, so I’m gonna see what works on a Great Youkai like you.”
”Uuu, uuu~! I-I don’t want to fight anymore… I’ll do anything! I can be your shiki oni! I apologize, so please forgive me…!”
Finally, Kurikoma dropped to her knees and begged as Naoshi pressed closer.
Even the exorcists from Ayabe, who had been exasperated, felt a twinge of pity at her sincere apology.
”…Alright, then hand over that broken horn.”
At Naoshi’s slightly lowered tone, Kurikoma’s face shot up.
After hesitating for a moment, she slowly offered the horn resting in her palm.
She looked like a child asked for a secret treasure, questioning with a worried expression.
”W-what are you going to use it for? A cursed tool? A sacrifice? As long as you promise to use it carefully…”
”Of course, I’m gonna shove it up yer butt and make yer teeth rattle.”
”Wha──.”
At Naoshi’s continued words, Kurikoma’s face showed a classic expression of despair.
She tightly closed her fingers around the broken horn again and slowly pulled it back to her chest, shaking her head slightly while looking down.
”Th-that, I don’t want to… No way, that’s too much…”
Her large body trembled slightly with a weak voice.
It was clear from the tone that this was a difficult decision made with the understanding of what would happen if the offer was refused.
Suddenly, raindrops fell onto the asphalt.
”Well, if it’s that important, protect it with your life. Get up and kill me, or I’ll break your other horn too.”
Naoshi, on the other hand, showed no signs of concern and remained calm.
”Ugh…! No, please, just spare me… I can’t kill you, there’s no way I can win in a fight…!”
”Ya don’t know that till ya try.”
”I figured it out just now; you’re stronger…! And even if I somehow managed to kill you, others would come to kill me…!?”
”Exactly. Whether it’s Kurosu’s girl or some old youkai, they won’t let any ayakashi stronger than me run loose.”
”Knowing that, why…! Why do something like this to me…!”
”Because people die from your nonsense. There might already be victims tonight. I’m makin’ sure you learn not to mess around here lightly.”
Naoshi’s words, devoid of strong emotion, conveyed a cold determination.
Even when exorcists and ayakashi exchanged words, they often lacked a common understanding.
”So, I’m just a warning, is that it…?”
”Yeah, it’s a lesson. You’re probably the toughest one here tonight, which is perfect. And, well, I’m blowin’ off some steam, too──”
Kurikoma understood this even more now.
”Honestly, I hate oni. Especially the female ones.”
Naoshi’s intense hostility, which he had hidden until now, revealed that he had unknowingly stepped on the tail of a tiger.
The root of this was not anger, but resentment.
It was a long-standing grudge, built up over many years that could no longer be erased.
”Ah, I see, I see… I was foolish to come out here in the first place.”
Muttering regrets, Kurikoma tucked away her broken horn into her jacket, stood up, and raised her arms in a gesture of resistance.
But there was no longer any power or spirit worthy of being called a Great Youkai.
She stood there, unable to accept her fate or even run away.
”Hope ya learned somethin’──if ya make it through this, use it wisely.”
Naoshi was filled with enthusiasm.
”If you survive.”
The aftershocks of the spiritual power coursing through him burned and shook the air like thunder.
The sound of countless thunders echoed like applause in a curtain call.
The fate to defeat the oni stood there in human form.
”Ah, I finally remembered that thunder. I recognize it. So, you are the child of the thunder dragon, the bloodline of the thunder god──.”
Since ancient times, thunder was the voice of the gods.
Then, the one who makes that sound is none other than a god──
”Die.”
The thunder god runs swiftly.
──With a loud roar announcing the end, the lightning that shot up from Ikoma Mountain reached a length of 13 kilometers (8.1 miles).
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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