Chapter 181

Chapter 181: Aoba / The Woman that Taiyou Cannot kill

Translator: Reflet

「Taiyou……chan……」

　The fairy floated up in midair . She rose up with a hollow expression, hugging the broken sword in both hands .

　A thirty centimeter body, long blonde hair, and a grass-colored one-piece . Particles of light were spilling out of her butterfly-like wings .

　In an instant――everything had become red .

　The green, the gold, and even the light were swallowed up by the red, muddy stream spreading from the broken blade .

　A red fresher than fresh blood .

　The fantastical, lovely fairy had transformed into a sinister, red light-emitting something .

「He……」

　Quicker than Taiyou could so much as shout, the red fairy flew at him .

　The blade that she was hugging ripped through the air, letting out a groan and flying toward him .

　It was a speed like a bullet, passing the sound barrier .

　When he realized, it was already too late .

「Guah！」

　Pain raced through his right shoulder .

　It was a pain that felt like it was born from the inside of his body, burning him .

　He recoiled again and again, holding down the opening in his shoulder .

　A slippery sensation……he felt the sensation of blood .

　――Ttthump！

　What came delayed was a feeling of the loss of life and soul; completely taken away .

He felt dizzy, and his feet staggered .

「Taiyou……c h a n……」

　Hearing a murmur, he reflexively leaped to his side .

　In the space he had just been in, a red bullet surged by .

「i a m……i、a m……？」

　He desperately avoided the voice that had lost its carefree nature . Rolling over on the ground, he rose up with a start, leaping into next week .

　It wasn’t that he was able to react . It was just that he was moving all around .

　It was nothing more than the action of someone who felt they must move or be killed .

　But that somehow displayed results .

　Hera’s straightforward movements would always have her hit the most recent places where Taiyou was .

　Taiyou desperately avoided them, thinking to himself (I’m going to seriously get hit at this rate!), and soon after thinking that, there was a wall ahead of where he had dodged .

　There was no time to think .

「Uwoooh！」

　Along with a piercing shriek, he unleashed his clenched fist at the wall . He swung his stout arm and crushed the wall into very small pieces .

　Flinging his arm to the side, he sent fragments flying at Hera .

　They didn’t hit Hera . They flew past the fairy’s body as she floated up again in midair .

「Tch……that wasn’t any good！」

　Taiyou groaned . It seemed that the inorganic materials he threw would have no effect on Hera .

　Hera flew at him again, this time gouging his flank .

　Blood sprayed everywhere, and after reeling on his feet near the fragments on the ground, he lost his footing and fell over .

「Natsuno-kun！」

「Don’t come！」

　He halted Aoba, who was trying to rush over, with a loud rebuke .

　Thankfully, Hera did not go that way . As expected, holding the broken blade, she came toward Taiyou .

　His vision blurred . Taiyou could no longer see anything other than the red line .

　She flew straight toward him .

　Taiyou stuck out his hands――At that moment, a sensation spread to his palms .

　It did not feel like a blade .

　On the spur of the moment――he grabbed it with spinal reflexes .

「Stop……it」

　The small fairy struggled in his hands . Taiyou unsteadily got up, hitting the nearby wall again so as to connect with the outside, brandishing Hera and throwing her .

　The fairy began antiphase, rising to the heavens as a red falling star .

「Haah……Haah……」

　Taiyou groggily sunk down on the floor .

　Physical wounds were not an issue . The real issue was that he shouldn’t have let that katana “suck” him so much .

　Powerless, he sunk down onto the ground . It was troublesome just to move one finger .

　That was when Aoba came rushing over, crouching beside him .

「Natsuno-kun-、are you okay？」

「You just……run――quickly」

「But I want to be with Natsuno-kun――」

「Hurry up！」

　He rebuked the clinging Aoba .

　He just wanted to get her away right now . He wanted to get her away from this spot, the spot where he was .

　His opponent was one fairy, but Taiyou no longer had the leisure or determination of earlier .

　It almost seemed like a lie that he had ealier held his own against enemies while carrying her .

「But I can’t just leave you here！ Not to mention Hera-chan！」

「You……saw her didn’t you? That’s what I’m up against」

「But！」

　Continuing to argue back and forth, Aoba showed no sign of backing down .

　While gazing in the direction that Hera had disappeared, he tried to convince her .

「Ta-Ta、Ta……da」

　She had suddenly returned .

　Not from the way she was thrown, but as usual, she had come via warping out of nowhere .

「Tch、is that it！」

　Taiyou cursed his own carelessness at the scene he had watched countless times .

「This……is、for……Taiyou-chan……」

「Hera-chan！」

「It’s dangerous！」

　Hera continued to fly over . Taiyou hurriedly thrust Aoba away, also making sure to dive to the side himself .

　Running into debris, fresh wounds emerged .

　It was a pathetic dodge .

「I…………」

　The sound of the air being sliced could be heard . He immediately flung it away with his hands .

　It was a reaction of the moment . It just barely met with Hera, who had flown in a straight line .

　Knocked aside by Taiyou’s hands, Hera was knocked into the ground, bounding .

　Taiyou was startled .

　Because he had not hit her, but had once grabbed her .

　That was not the case . It was because bounding and rising up once again, one of her wings was broken .

　He saw her for the first time suffering a wound .

　There was of course her carefree attitude up till now, and there was also her non-standard size . She was indeed a transcendental existence within Taiyou .

　Said existence had suffered a wound just from being shaken off .

「Why――」

　About to mutter, he suddenly remembered something .

　The words she was always saying . The words that he had never fully taken seriously until now .

「The only one who can kill me is Taiyou-chan~」

　Her happy-go-lucky voice ran through his mind .

　And then、

「Only、Taiyou……chan」

　The same words were repeated with a vacant expression .

　And she flew at him once again .

　The red beam of light flew at him .

　He unconsciously clenched his fists――however、he could not swing them .

　For an instant, a revolving lantern raced around Taiyou’s mind .

　He thought about her being born from the broken smartphone .

　About when they had dug a hole together in the park .

　When she had pushed him to kiss the three sisters when he was in a pinch .

　Remembeing that it was

　Only him who could kill her .

　The various memories of his experiences with her raced around his mind like a revolving lantern .

　His stout arms――he could not swing his fists .

「Guaaah……！」

　The red bullet this time around gouged his thighs .

　A shout――But an anticlimax of a shout .

　Blood and soul taken from him, Taiyou became lethargic, dropping to his knees, both arms languidly dangling down .

　In order to run up, Hera took some distance, again aiming at Taiyou .

　She was about to come――Right after he felt that, a shadow appeared before him .

　A shadow covering his entire body――Aoba had both hands spread out, standing between them .

「What are……you doing Aoba、get……back」

「……」

　Aoba didn’t reply . She didn’t answer .

「Get away from――urgh」

　Standing up, he tried to push her out of the way .

　However、he couldn’t . Becoming dizzy, outstretching his hands only drained the power from him .

　Instead he ended up landing on his rear in a pathetic manner .

「Stop……it、Aoba . Even if you……try that……it is、no use」

　With even his breathing seeming to near its limits, he tried desperately to persuade Aoba .

「It’s not useless . I came with you in order to fight alongside you」

「But――」

　They argued back and forth, emotions and stubbornness clashing .

　Hera did not allow that .

　Captured by the life-sucking magic sword, she gave them no more opportunity for dialogue, flying at him once again .

　His vision again changed to slow motion .

　He felt like he had seen a future in which Aoba was pierced by Hera .

「Move……it」

　A voice sounded .

　A quiet voice from behind with its own unique breathing pattern could be heard from behind him .

　That was like gospel to his ears .

　Quicker than he could think, Taiyou hugged Aoba’s feet, pushing his weight on her to drag her down .

　And as he looked up, the vision of silver beams of light from a white girl sprinted by .