Chapter 73
"Move that bitch roughly~ Keep in mind you'll die if there are scratches."
"Yes sir!"
"Sigh... I should be able to trust these idiot bastards. I'll follow too so hurry up and drag her."
"Yes!"
The hunting dog turned his back with a sigh.
A somewhat displeased expression.
He seemed to find his subordinates unreliable.
As he was irritably brushing off dust on his sleeve, he soon felt a stinging pain in his wrist.
It seemed he had twisted it while blocking the fox's attack.
"Ha."
He should have hit her more.
He wanted to half kill her, but had to hold back because there were watching eyes.
The hunting dog glanced at the guest standing beside him.
"Why are you looking at me with those eyes?"
"...Annoying bastard."
He chewed curses for no reason.
It was a situation displeasing in many ways.
He raised his hand to wipe off the rainwater.
Whoosh-.
Rain and wind pouring down particularly fiercely.
Perhaps due to the raging waves, the deck was constantly shaking.
The hunting dog irritably brushed back his wet bangs.
Though it was an environment difficult to even stand in, he was calmly maintaining his balance.
A trained sense of balance.
"Really fucking terrible weather... It'd be good if it calmed down soon."
He let out an annoyed mutter to himself.
Just as he was about to move his steps to an indoor space to avoid the rain.
A faint voice touched his ears.
"...Blaze."
An alien noise.
Right after.
A chilling sensation dyed his whole body.
"...?!"
Shudder-!
An intense aura was felt from behind, enough to make him forget the cold temperature.
The hunting dog hurriedly turned around.
Where his gaze fell, brilliant flames could be seen.
"What suddenly...!"
The hunting dog unknowingly furrowed his brow.
It wasn't simply because of light beams blocking his vision.
It was due to the dizzying tension flowing down his spine.
A sense directly linked to survival rang alarm bells, warning of approaching danger.
Dangerous.
No.
He'll die.
It was fear felt after a truly long time.
For the first time, bewilderment clouded the hunting dog's face.
Above his shaking pupils, only the girl standing calmly amidst the raging flames was reflected.
Whoosh-!
"......"
The night sky covered in hot energy.
Below it was a fox staring at him with an indifferent expression.
Her hair dyed red.
Her black pupils holding a blood color.
The atmosphere had changed in an instant.
"...Ha."
The hunting dog unknowingly burst into a hollow laugh.
"What is that now?"
The girl approached him.
The hunting dog muttered curses, then soon drew his sword with trembling hands from his waist.
The man's shoulders were shaking like a prey's.
"Damn it."
It was a reversal of positions.
***
What was life?
When looking back on the past years, what sentence remained with the deepest meaning?
Despite the short question, an answer couldn't be easily given.
Perhaps until now.
Or even in the future.
It might even be a question that would define life after death.
The fox struggled to find an answer.
Every time.
Endlessly.
Swoosh-!
A fiercely shot slash cut the wind.
Following the red line drawn, flames of high heat fluttered in the air.
It was a mesmerizing light.
"This bitch...!"
The man with a bewildered expression.
The hunting dog barely reacted and caught the sword.
Clang! Crack...!
Sparks flew between the clashing steel.
As painful bursting sounds rang out, suddenly added pressure pushed the man's body back.
The hunting dog gritted his teeth and tried to endure.
However, it wasn't a very meaningful struggle.
He was thrown off with just a light twist of the sword tip.
"Kugh...?!"
Thud-!
The hunting dog rapidly distancing from view.
The man collided with the ship's outer wall, then barely stopped his body and regained balance.
He panted for breath.
"Ugh, haa...!"
His legs staggered as he tried to steady his posture.
A groan painfully exhaled.
The hunting dog was glaring towards where the fox stood with disbelieving eyes.
He growled, still not broken.
"How dare a mere beast...!"
"......"
Irene was quietly holding her position.
Unlike the highly excited hunting dog, the air surrounding the girl was deathly calm.
Whoosh-.
Red hair fluttering in the wind.
The fox was blinking her red-dyed eyes amidst the blazing flames.
It was a peaceful appearance.
"This is impossible."
The man's voice was trembling.
It was understandable to be dumbfounded.
Though he had clearly attacked with all his might, he hadn't landed a single effective hit.
Irene was just standing calmly.
'This feels strange.'
The girl monologued.
As she looked down at her hand, suddenly aware of the heat, beautiful flames were covering the sword's surface.
Whoosh-!
A kind of omnipotence lingered.
She had reached a new realm.
It felt like she could cut down anything now, no matter the opponent.
The fox slowly took her stance.
"You clearly said I could never win."
Her lips moved.
Her calm voice held a clear resonance even amidst the storm.
The hunting dog reacted with furrowed brows.
"What?"
"You said it. That I'm a beast who has been defeated by you twice, and that it's my fate to be so in the future too."
"...What are you trying to say?"
"I'm curious if it will be the same the third time."
"Are you provoking me? How dare you, a mere beast?"
The hunting dog let out a hollow laugh.
He seemed dumbfounded.
Right.
This kind of experience would be unfamiliar.
With the huge backing of the businessman, holding innate power in his hands, he had always been in the position of tormenting others.
Experiences of being the weaker one could be counted on one hand.
But.
"This time will be different."
There are times when the opposite case holds true.
The fox pointed her sword towards the enemy.
"Here I come."
"You're talking shit. I'll tear your mouth so you can never flap it again...!"
Perhaps he still couldn't let go of his position as the stronger one?
The hunting dog reacting violently.
He tightly gripped the sword he had dropped.
Following the rippling green mana, the raging storm around intensified.
It was his unique ability.
Wind magic overlaid on swordsmanship.
It was also an ability that demonstrated overwhelming power in stormy weather like now.
The man rushed in with widened eyes.
"Die!!"
Such a scene.
Was playing in slow motion in the fox's eyes.
The sharply shining sword, the wind currents enveloping the ship, even the fierce gale baring its teeth.
It felt like she could count even a single speck of flowing dust.
'It's quiet.'
The girl raised her sword tip.
Crackle-!
Sparks flew from her hand.
Following the tingling sensation, a hazy radiance swallowed the sword.
The light mass gradually became clearer.
'I.'
What is life?
Born as a lowly flower, withering in a shabby state.
What meaning do we hold that makes us live?
-Find your own star.
She looked back on the path she had walked until now.
A path where she hurt from what was lost, saddened by foolishness, and lonely for not breaking.
Numerous words aligned in lines.
Grief, regret, anger, weakness, venom, despair.
But even so.
Indomitable.
In the fox's widened eyes, her footsteps so far gathered and blazed as one.
The hot heat pushed back even the chill of the typhoon.
Whoosh-!
'My name is.'
If asked what life is, she would answer without hesitation.
Life is.
A single spark.
Embers that blaze fiercely, then fade as flower petals at the end.
A beautiful single sword.
One breath exhaled.
One heart held.
Attaching a name to that lifetime.
"Crimson Flame (紅焰)."
Be a red blooming flame.
The girl recited.
Right after.
Red radiance rained down from the sword's surface.
A single strike fully containing her life.
The fox raised her sword respectfully, breathed, exerted strength, and stepped.
And then.
She swung her life as it was.
Slash-.
A single line drawn feebly.
It passed through the hunting dog's body and continued straight to the stormy sky.
The bright red flames lingered as if dividing space.
Then.
Boom-!
It spread out as if exploding and swallowed everything.
The hunting dog fell over as he was.
The corpse sprawled with its upper body separated disappeared without even leaving a single scream.
It only scattered as black ashes.
"......"
The sky that had been raging with storms was suddenly quiet too.
The fox raised her head and stared.
Only a clear sword mark remained in the sky.
Between the dark clouds cut horizontally in half, a clean background could be seen.
A sea without even a single gust of wind.
What such scenes implied was clear.
"I... did it..."
The high sky.
She had finally cut it down.
***
"Haa..."
Irene steadied herself while staggering.
Her breath was coming rapidly.
She propped herself up on the ground with her sword like a cane.
Though it was a sword with monstrous power enough to cut through a storm, there was no particular damage to the ship.
Only considerable scorch marks remained.
In a fleeting moment.
She had adjusted the trajectory with minute control.
The rooftop setting played a part too.
If they had fought indoors, the ship might have sunk with the final strike.
Probably the hundreds of enslaved people trapped would have sunk together.
'Was it luck?'
She pressed her brow.
Her vision was dizzy from a headache.
As she was swaying for a moment, soldiers who had been hiding around peeked out their heads one by one.
Were they looking for an opportunity?
"......"
When she lightly swept her gaze over them, they all stepped back in fright.
Perhaps because they had witnessed such a scene just before.
They all looked intimidated.
Though she clearly looked exhausted, the reason they couldn't approach rashly was precisely that.
Irene stood still and steadied her breathing.
'What now?'
Her stamina had hit bottom long ago.
Though she had overcome a wall, now even breathing was difficult.
Swish-.
Her hair that had been dyed red was gradually returning to its original color.
The sense of omnipotence disappeared like an ebbing tide.
The fox endured the feeling of exhaustion by biting her lip.
'Not yet.'
Though the hunting dog was dead, that wasn't the end.
Soldiers were still waiting.
The one called 'guest' was also glancing this way from afar.
Moreover, people who needed help were trapped on the lowest floor.
A situation without answers in many ways.
Could she break through?
Even if she couldn't, it was a situation where she had to.
She decided to push herself a bit more.
Just as she was putting strength into her hand holding the sword again.
Clap-!
Suddenly the sound of applause touched her ears.
It was an ominous resonance that felt somehow familiar.
"......"
The next moment.
Someone was standing behind her, embracing the girl's body.
A warm temperature melted the cold.
It was a cozy embrace.
The fox grasped that arm.
While holding it tightly, she muttered with trembling lips.
"You... were watching after all."
The answer came back playfully.
"Because the fox I was raising left home."
A gentle voice.
The snake rested his chin on the girl's shoulder.
A smile flashed briefly.
"Good job, Miss Irene."
"......"
"Lean on me and rest for a moment. I know you have a lot you want to say, but it's okay to postpone it for later."
"...Okay."
The fox nodding her head.
The boy held a joyful smile and gently took the tired, stiff girl into his arms.
Irene was buried in that body heat for a while.