Ken yo, kaku katariki – 82
(Note: This chapter was previously posted by mistake as Chapter 81. It has since been changed, so please go back in order to read the actual chapter. Sorry for the mistake!)
25 – And then…
As Aize ran down the mountain at full speed, it did not take her very long to reach the mansion.
Especially with ki arts, which had been heightened through her training at the academy. It was easy for her to move like the wind.
And the mansion…was not changed at all.
She stepped inside cautiously, and Mr. Rand rushed towards her.
“Lady Aize. Welcome back. Your clothes are quite dirty…”
“Nevermind that. Where is Mimi?”
“Huh? …Oh, Lady Mimi is in her room.”
Aize rushed past him and threw the doors of Mimi’s room open.
Mimi was there, alone. She looked up in surprise.
“Sister? What…”
She rushed forward and hugged her younger sister.
“You’re alright…”
“What? What do you mean…”
“Listen, Mimi. I need you to listen to me carefully…”
Just then.
The glass of the window shattered noisily.
She hugged Mimi protectively as she let out a small scream. And then she looked towards the window and saw that something had been thrown into the room.
(A stun granade…!?)
A flash.
And while she closed her eyes, her ears were exposed. The impact was like being punched, and her head felt dizzy.
And then the room started to fill with smoke. A smoke grenade.
(We can’t stay here!)
She immediately activated her magic.
Flames blew away the entire wall, and she rolled out of the room.
In such situations, it was better to avoid the doors. They would just be surrounded.
There was no gunfire. Perhaps they knew that the bullets could be traced.
And then someone stepped out from the smoke.
But before Aize could figure out who it was, she unleashed her magic arts mercilessly.
There was a deafening sound as the figure was blown away. It would have been enough to kill most people, but this was no time for her to be holding back.
Still, he did not die.
And then several more figures rushed towards Aize.
“Sister…”
“Mimi. Close your mouth!”
She jumped.
A desperate escape. Since Mimi was with her, this was her only option.
Thankfully, there was no pursuing attack. Like that, she jumped over the mansion walls and ran into the grove in the back.
“Aize…what is…”
“I can’t talk now. We have to go.”
That being said, she did not have anywhere that she could go.
She could not go into someone’s house when there were people looking for them.
While still carrying Mimi, she ran through the trees until she finally reached a familiar spot.
(This is…)
Arne flowers.
As the setting sun bathed the world in gold, the beautiful, pale pink flowers bloomed beautifully.
Then a wind blew, and the petals danced in the sky.
The field of flowers that their family had once visited.
Aize was speechless by how beautiful it all was.
“…It’s so pretty.”
Mimi muttered. Just then, Aize was pulling Mimi away.
“No!”
Gunfire.
The bullet that tore through the air had cut open Aize’s shoulder.
She clicked her tongue.
This would not have happened if she had not lowered her guard.
Pain was already spreading through her shoulder.
“You sure made a scene while running away.”
That voice…
“Mikhail Fravault…”
“Oh, I don’t think you want to move.”
They were surrounded completely. Even if she managed to kill him, she was not confident that she would be able to protect Mimi in this situation.
No, he probably had some countermeasures to keep himself safe. That was why he was out here like this.
“What…what is happening, Mr. Mikhail?”
Mimi asked in a quivering voice.
“Ah, there you are, my dear. Well, it just so happens that your sister suddenly attacked me… This is self-defense.”
“You tell nothing but lies.”
Aize said angrily.
“Your plan was to marry Mimi, and then kill mother and father. Then you were going to take over the family name. All in order to control the elyzium in the village.”
“Hmm…”
“You were going to kill me and Mimi from the beginning. Weren’t you?”
Mikhail continued to point his gun at them as he smiled.
“I see. Well, how about we negotiate then?”
“Negotiate?”
“I will promise to let you and your sister live. Even the marriage can be on paper alone. You two can move and live far away if you wish. How about that?”
In other words…
They had to let their parents die.
Mimi squeezed Aize’s hand tightly. Aize squeezed back.
“I refuse.”
“Why? I thought you hated your father?”
“…”
They glared at each other for some time, and then Mikhail chuckled.
“I see. So you haven’t thrown anything away after all.”
“…”
“It makes sense. If all you wanted to do was get away from your parents, you would have escaped with your sister. Your parents do not have enough money to send people after you.”
Aye…
He was right.
“…There is no day that I don’t regret that decision.”
She muttered, and Mimi raised her face.
Yes, I feel the same way.
If only I could become a noble like Gileus Marion, and become independent. Perhaps we could all move away from here.
And then we will be free.
From the cure that seemed to bind her family.
Father, mother, me, Mimi.
There was no luxury. We didn’t live like nobles. We were just like a noble family.
But why was such a simple wish so difficult to make reality?
“I don’t think there is anything you can do to save them…”
Mikhail snapped his fingers.
And then the figures who had been surrounding them stepped out of the shadows.
They were all armed with rifles as they slowly moved closer.
They are strong. She could sense it.
The same level as the previous man. Or even higher.
“Well, there is nothing else to do now. It will be difficult, but I can manage. In this world, as long as you have money, you can acquire power easily.”
The net around them was closing in.
If only she could just save Mimi…
“Aize…”
“Don’t worry.”
She hugged Mimi tightly.
The golden sky was starting to turn dark blue as the Arne petals glimmered in the wind.
With spear in hand, she stood up.
No matter how powerless and weak, she had to do something.
Or she would have no future.
And then…all sound vanished from the world.
Everyone’s movements had stopped. It was as if they were being pressed down by something that was invisible.
“Mister…”
Suddenly, someone appeared behind Mikhail.
A bald man. He was holding some kind of large, mechanical spear.
You could tell at a glance that he was strong.
However…he looked terribly frantic.
“This is bad. You must escape. Immediately.”
“…What is happening?”
“He’s coming…”
And then.
Wind blew.
As the Arne petals were taken by the wind…Aize finally saw it.
(Ah…)
Quiet footsteps. One after another.
There was a man.
He looked normal enough. Dark hair and eyes…and he was holding a sheathed sword in one hand.
It was called a katana in the east.
“Arrrrgghhhhh!!”
One of the men pointed his gun at him and tried to fire.
However, there was a blinding flash.
And the man’s arm went flying with a spray of blood.
Everyone gasped.
…He had cut him. At that distance. At that speed. They did not even see him unsheath the blade.
As the screams echoed, he looked around, and the soldiers stumbled forward.
There was fear in their eyes now.
They must have sensed it. The hopeless difference in power. What the gaze meant.
He would kill them if they moved.
That’s what his eyes said.
“…Teacher…Yukito…”
“Sorry, I’m late. Ms. Aize… But you did well.”
He placed a hand on her head.
And her body finally relaxed.
