◆
"Big Sis..."
Nagisa’s anxious voice pulled Fuuka back to reality.
The events she had just experienced felt like a dream, yet the weight of the katana in her hand silently testified to the truth.
"Are you alright...?"
Fuuka let out a long breath and nodded slowly.
"Yes. I'm okay. Thank you, Nagisa."
After offering those words of gratitude, Fuuka turned her back to her sister and began to walk.
"W-Wait!"
Nagisa called out, stopping Fuuka in her tracks.
"—[Heal]!"
She cast recovery magic on her.
"I'm sorry... This is the only magic I can use right now."
"Don't be. It helped. I don't feel like I can lose to anyone anymore."
Fuuka offered a small smile before resuming her pace.
She stepped through the hole Kiryuu had kicked into the wall and looked down at the front garden from the second floor.
In the center of the courtyard, Kiryuu stood in the exact same posture as when the battle began.
He hadn't pursued her, nor did he show any sign of having moved.
It was as if he had never intended to budge from that spot from the very start.
Sensing her presence, Kiryuu quietly opened his eyes.
the moment his gaze captured Fuuka, his pupils widened slightly.
"...I see. So that is your resolve, My Lady."
The girl standing before him was no longer the Fuuka he had faced moments ago.
The blade of her katana had transformed into a soft, pale cherry-blossom hue. A faint radiance shimmered along the edge, bleeding into the air like a cherry blossom haze.
And above all, her eyes had changed.
A pale cherry blossom light had pierced through the black of her pupils, and her irises bloomed with a soft, petal-like glow.
The name of the Cursed Katana Fuuka gripped was—Hakuyou.
Her current self was the very embodiment of that name.
"—I'm coming, Instructor."
"Very well. Show me, Lady Fuuka. Show me everything you are!"
Just like their first clash, Fuuka closed the distance in a flash of Shukuchi.
Kiryuu shifted his weight in response.
Once again, Future Sight bombarded her mind with an onslaught of possibilities.
Not once did their blades cross.
Rather, each of their slightest actions induced and rewrote the next future.
The paper-thin margin that Fuuka had been unable to bridge still existed.
In terms of pure skill and experience, Kiryuu was still superior.
The number of sword paths Kiryuu could choose from was far greater than her own.
To accurately counter them all, her technical skill was still insufficient.
Even so, Fuuka was no longer alone.
She now possessed the "power" to compensate for that unbridgeable gap.
(I'll cut through it all!)
She drove her blade through the glimpses of the future she saw.
She moved ahead of Kiryuu's advance, checking his movements before they could even manifest.
Yet, there were still branches of the future that her reach could not cover.
In those moments, the cherry blossom haze rising from her blade spun its own slashes, melting into the wind to fill the gaps.
The Yoryoku dwelling within her was truly supporting her.
Kiryuu chose a new future.
Fuuka cut it down, and her Yoryoku compensated for the moves she lacked.
Within the battle of wits, Kiryuu's options were shaved away one by one, until eventually, the future converged.
And then—.
Reality finally caught up to the vision.
Fuuka met Kiryuu's final sword path head-on and deflected it.
"—Ngh!?"
A momentary opening—slight, but undeniable—presented itself.
Fuuka didn't miss it.
"—Kobore-zakura."
Her blade followed a soft, unwavering trajectory.
The pale cherry-blossom-colored steel reached her master.
"To think you could achieve such a strike..."
Kiryuu smiled, looking almost as if he were savoring his student's growth.
"—Magnificent."
His knees buckled. As he collapsed, there was no trace of bitterness in his defeat—only a profound sense of pride.
◇
"Big Sis Fuuka! Instructor Kiryuu!"
Nagisa came running from the back of the manor. Still dressed in her tattered priestess uniform, she hurried toward them even as she staggered.
Fuuka noticed the voice and turned around.
Her eyes, much like the blade of her katana, had returned to their original state.
"Nagisa, thank you for earlier. Because of you, I didn't have to lose anything."
"No, I should be the one saying thank you. Because you came for me, I was finally able to step outside."
The sisters exchanged a look, their feelings silently connecting.
"...A slash that cuts only Youma—only Yoryoku and mana, is it?"
While still on his knees, Kiryuu quietly lifted his head.
His gaze held no shame for his defeat, but rather a peaceful resignation, like a man who had completed his duty.
"Yes. Instructor, you were under the influence of [Perception Alteration], weren't you? I think you were resisting it with [Evil-Bane]... but this was more certain."
Fuuka glanced at the hilt of her sword.
"Special Abilities are made of mana. This Cursed Katana can cut only mana. That’s why I was able to sever only the [Perception Alteration]."
Kiryuu had reached [Evil-Bane], the culmination of Ki.
As someone capable of crushing mana, he shouldn't have been easily manipulated.
That was why Philly had taken her time, slowly allowing the curse to seep deep into his soul.
While Kiryuu had appeared to follow Philly on the surface, he had been fighting back at the absolute limit this entire time.
"...You have truly mastered that Cursed Katana."
"It’s because of your teachings, Instructor."
"Hahaha... To hear you say that... as a master, there is no greater joy."
For a moment, Kiryuu looked genuinely happy, but his expression soon shifted into one of grim resolve.
"The role I was meant to play is finished. —Now, all that remains is my penance as a servant. I turned my blade against my Lady. For a loyal retainer, there is no greater sin."
Kiryuu reached into his robes, producing a small knife.
"Allow me to make amends here."
The blade moved toward his own body.
Before it could strike, Fuuka grabbed his wrist.
"Stop."
She stared straight into his eyes.
"I won't allow you to die."
"However, Lady—"
"If you still consider me your master, then I forbid you from throwing your life away. Use that life to protect this country instead."
Her voice held a quiet but certain anger, combined with a will as strong as a plea.
Kiryuu lowered his eyes. After a moment of silence, he sheathed the knife.
"...I understand. Then I shall fight for this nation with this body until the day I rot away."
"Instructor Kiryuu... I'm so glad..."
Nagisa watched the exchange with tearful eyes.
"Lady Nagisa, I am deeply sorry for the pain I caused you as well."
"Please, don't worry about it! It was hard, and it was scary, but I was able to see Big Sis Fuuka again because of it. All's well that ends well!"
There was no blame in Nagisa’s voice.
Her words were simple and honest, filled with a kindness that accepted the present rather than dwelling on the past.
"Big Sis, I want to fight with you. I don't want anyone else to be sad. I want to use my Special Ability for the future of this country, too!"
"Thank you, Nagisa."
Fuuka gently stroked Nagisa’s hair.
Watching them, Kiryuu quietly stood up.
"Well then, shall we go and eliminate the fools who have dared to trample upon this land?"
"Nn."
"Yes! ...Wait, but what about the Sacred Mountain?"
"You don't have to worry about that. A reliable companion is handling it. Our priority is securing the safety of the citizens."
"If you say so, then I understand!"
With their course of action decided, Fuuka began to walk.
Leading her reunited companions, she headed back into Hanemiya, where the inky rain continued to fall—.