366 363. Light or darkness.txt (2/2)

He pauses in his contemplation to check that his master has started moving.

Looking around, I find just the right stall just out of the shadows I'm in. It's a mask shop that has sensed something unusual in the city and is hurriedly setting up shop.

I approached from the back, plucked out two items without question, and threw a silver coin.

Hey, are you packing up?　I'll take this, please. Keep the change.

The young woman who owned the stall took the money, to her surprise.

After confirming this, my mentor and I moved away from the stall and took refuge in the back alley again.

Black and white. Two humble masks were obtained.

Master holds the black mask and asks me, ”What?

'Ka, the masks ......?　On the other hand, isn't it noticeable?

It's better than being seen. I don't know if it's because of the festival, but I've seen a few people in town wearing masks.

'Hmm. If you're going to do it anyway, you need to do something 'spellcraft' ....... No, change the decorations on the masks to begin with--

Later!　It's definitely going to be long, so I'll get to it later!

The elaborate master was about to perform some kind of 'spellcraft' on the mask.

It seems to be a cautious master, but now is not the time to fluently add small tricks.

When he insisted on it, the brightness of his vision suddenly reversed.

''--!　Ku, it's darkened: ......?

Suddenly, all the flames of the city's 'Flame God's Stone' disappeared, and the lights that had illuminated even the alleyways disappeared.

The meaning of this was mentioned by Master.

''Is this what 'The Night That Was' is all about?'''

Yeah, that. To be honest, it's a big help to me from now on as a hider.

He plays with the mask in his hand and is pleased that the situation has turned out in his favor.

But he also thinks it's odd.

With fugitives mixed in with the city, it's not reasonable to turn out the lights. Perhaps this night, this thing called night, is unstoppable.

'Tiara. Look over there.

As I was guessing, my master pointed out the street from the shadows.

There were a few soldiers walking there. However, unlike earlier, they had no idea where we were, and they were looking left and right with no idea where we were. And after a short time, the guards began to move towards the 'First Demonic Research Institute'.

''Hmm, retreating ......?　Maybe there was a trick to this?

I speak my mind.

The Master seems to agree with that, and with a sigh of relief, he walks off to withdraw to the back of the alleyway.

Now that I'm less worried about my pursuers, we have more time to talk.

''It looks like. This 'Fire God's Stone' doesn't just create fire, it seems to play a variety of roles.

Oh, I see. So, I guess I'll just have to run away to avoid the fire next time.

''No, there are so many 'Fire God's Stones' like this. As long as you're in the city, I think it's best to assume that as long as you're in the city, they'll know where you are.

So, do you want to go around breaking the 'Fire God's Stone' in the dark?

Then it's a complete crime. Let's not give the people of this town any trouble.

No, I'm sure they'll make up some random charge and catch him anyway.

My mentor and I walked side by side through the back alleys.

I was used to moving in the dark during the journey so far. The number of pursuers we had fought off had risen to double digits, and we were becoming more confident in moving through the back alleys.

However, even so--.

'Tiara, still no crime. I've learned that I'm free to move about at night. From now on, we'll stay put until daylight and gather information at night--

'That's right (・・・・). On a night without a fire, she can't see. But there is one caveat.

It wasn't until that voice interrupted the conversation that we realized the approach of that third party.

''--?''

Who?

My master and I quickly put our backs together and prepared for the unknown assailant.

We then moved our vision up and down and left and right to explore the location.

We stare at the wooden boxes and jars on the cobblestones and the gaps between them. He checks the stone walls, the wooden door, and even the roof top, but he can't find the owner of the voice.

''-- From the night (here), it's time for me to go.

The guy appeared out of the empty darkness as if he were emerging from the water.

A man wearing a large, charred robe, holding two daggers in each hand, and wearing a pitch-black Noh mask head - no, a monster.

The face was similar to the mask we now have, but it was decidedly different. It has no hair, eyes, ears, or nose, just a hollow space that resembles a mouth.

A muffled man's voice rang out from a part of the body that does not resemble a mouth.

''Hey. Was that you guys earlier?

I knew immediately what that was referring to.

It must be the spell 《Level Up》 that my master deployed over a wide area.

I can tell that the monster in front of me has enough power to sense it.

After all, this guy was distorting the air around his body, just like his master.

It has the 'Demon Poison' on its side, transforming and gaining power.

If you want to name it, it's 'Power of Darkness'.

So, the master speaks out.

''Ya, 'The One Who Steals the Reason of Darkness' ......?

And then, with intent, you take a step forward.

You think that talking to this man is what you are supposed to do.

'Tiara, let me take care of things here,'

The thing that soothes the secrets of the darkness ......?　What, what do you mean by that?

'Ah, 'the one who steals reason' is 'a vessel that can adapt to the demonic poison'. So you are 'the dark--'

Yeah. You must be the one.

The conversation did not last.

Master's resolve was empty, and halfway through, the man pounced on him, his dagger gleaming.

I was ready for the surprise attack, and I immediately kicked my master to the side.

Through my foolishness, the master escaped the dagger's threat by plunging into a crate in a back alleyway. He's a man who's moderately used to surprise attacks. If I hadn't learned 'body arts' from Sister Yotaki, Master would have been seriously injured.

The man is disappointed that he failed to kill the enemy and moves his head to look for any other ambush soldiers besides me.

''Tch, you're fast. ...... But are the guys from The Apostle really gone?

I silently watch the enemy's movements.

From my reaction, the man is convinced that there are two of us and holds up two daggers.

'If you're not there, you're good to go ......, but I'm not going to let anyone associated with The Apostle get away with it.

...... Hey. We're just here to talk, okay?　Seriously.

A story. Yeah, that's important. As a person, it's very, very important to talk. But do you think I could do it against a fellow 'Apostle' who dropped me from that person to a monster?　I'm in this situation now because of that totally un-listening 'Apostle'. I mean, your smell is repulsive. You know what I mean?　Now I am very, very uncomfortable. So much so that I can't have any patience with a bunch of scum like you: ......!

The more he speaks, the wilder the man's tone becomes and the more his anger is revealed.

From the look of it, you can somehow understand the scene of the encounter between him and the 'Apostle' sama. I'm sure that he was forcibly turned into the 'one who steals reason' before he could speak.

That resentment won't allow us to even talk.

As soon as the man finished, he jumped at me.

He was relentless, no matter how young I looked.

In the face of a frontal lunge, I give up the conversation and focus only on winning.

The man was holding a dagger in both hands with his opposite hand, trying to swing it out from both sides.

I back up slightly and dodge the tip of his sword with the tip of my nose.

I'm not that fast.

Compared to the Yangtaki sister, mediocre is also mediocre.

The man's expression changes when he successfully defeated the right leg kick that followed.

The air around him distorts and the darkness in the alleyway becomes unnaturally thick. Perhaps it's the conversion ability of the 'Demon Poison' that he was given by the 'Apostle'. In other words, it's the 'power of darkness'.

The man's body was assimilated into the darkness.

And in that state of mind, they attacked again.

In the face of that strange power, I was calm.

It's an interesting ability, but the man handling it isn't strong enough. Even though it's hard to see, I can hear the wind noise with the large swing of his arms. The sound of footsteps is not muffled, and there is no ingenuity whatsoever in that dagger that looks like a technique.

I thought it was an idea and a move common to those who can muffle their bodies.

It wasn't that difficult to read that poor tactic.

Most importantly, the movements seemed somewhat awkward.

I dodged as before, dodging and neutralizing, successfully finding an opening and slamming a palm strike into the man's abdomen - but I was surprised to feel it return to my hand.

”Gee--

It wasn't human flesh.

The feel of my hand in the mud-like substance made me realize my failure.

Normally, my inhuman belly strike would have frightened the other man no small amount, but it doesn't. The man swings his dagger at me while being struck in the abdomen.

I had no choice but to twist myself and shift my aim from his neck to his shoulder.

''--!

A cold chunk of iron slipped into my flesh. The wound, which rips through skin and blood vessels and reaches the bone, causes me intense pain. A child would have fainted, and even a grown man would have cried out from the depth of the wound.

But I resist it with the skills I acquired as a child.

The pain is intense, but I picture a sentence in my head and write it down tightly.

It is ”Tiara Fouzouyaz took the blade of the dark-clad assassin on her shoulder. But she had been accustomed to pain due to a painful and agonizing illness since she was a child, and she was able to endure the intense pain.

Especially important is the last sentence.

As a book lover, I believe it, assume it, and let it apply to reality.

Having survived the intense pain (・・・・・・・・), I fight back.

'Ugh!'

What?

He kicks up his left leg and aims for the man's right wrist.

The man, who, like me, believed that a blow from this dagger would surely frighten him, takes a decent bite out of it.

The impact causes the man to let go of the dagger and drop it.

The man, startled, backs up for a moment and waves his hand, which becomes an empty fist, and sends something flying at me.

Immediately I fly right to the side, but what looks like a drop of water sticks to my cheek.

--Mud?

As soon as I wiped it off with the sleeve of my clothes, thump, the wound on my shoulder heated up.

I could tell that it wasn't the pain that was growing - it was the pain that was growing.

It's my mind that's changing. It's hard to put into words, but my experience, or rather my tolerance for pain, is gone, and the pain seems to be increasing.

'-Nah!　Ouch!

But for now I add three more words in my head, ”endured severe pain,” ”endured severe pain,” and ”endured severe pain,” and maintain my battle stance.

The man sees this and clicks his tongue.

'How can it be painful, you monster ......!

Tiaraaaa--!

That's when the blown-up master finally joins him.

He jumped from behind, but his surprise attack was ruined because he shouted right before.

He was easily dodged by the man, and in the process, he was made to adhere to the mud-like substance of the example.

Shh...

......?

The master wiped the mud off his face and retreated, as did I.

But the man watching him was the most upset he'd seen all day.

He stops the chase and mutters.

'This guy is ......, my darkness doesn't get through ......?'

Apparently, unlike me, my master has neutralized the mud attack from earlier.

As I thought it was somewhat unfair, the man tucked his dagger into his cloak and gradually lost the will to fight.

'I mean, our kind ....... You, little you, are protecting our kind ....... My God, .......

With a loud sigh, the man chooses to speak.

That's what I had hoped for, and my master and I wait for the man's next words with caution.

'Huh. ....... Let's stop now. There's no point in doing it. I'm ...... and I'm sorry. He's been betrayed so much lately that he's been skeptical. My deepest apologies.

He bowed his head and asked for a truce.

We nodded back at that, and the man began to introduce himself.

'My name is Tida. I'm a vessel that can adapt to demonic poisoning and can control darkness and shadow. By the way, I'm called 'Black Hanged Man' here.

The master hurriedly replied to that.

''Oh, um, I'm Vortex Wave. Likewise, it's a 'vessel that can adapt to demonic poison' and can be converted into 'dimensional power'. I was called by the 'Apostles' from another world and I'm moving around in various ways.

Don't call me ”sir”. I get it. You and I are definitely on the same side. I'll admit it.

Tida held out her hand defenselessly.

She must have been looking for a handshake. But knowing the power of the mud from earlier, I approached my mentor to stop the handshake - and conversely, my mentor stopped me, telling me it was okay.

Master grabbed Tida's hand back, looked at each other, and laughed as if to mock himself.

'Right. I get it now. Meaning you'll know when you see me.

'If you meet him, you'll know: ....... Yeah, I do. I've figured it out too, a lot of things .......

Tida seemed to share her feelings with her mentor, and she smiled the exact same smile.

However, I had a sense of frustration and alienation in my heart, saying that I was not enough for the fight that ended so easily.