Chapter 9

“Saintess-sama! Are you hurt?!”　

“Are you all right?!”

Burley and the others panicked atop Suō’s back, but the arrow had passed through the roughly two-ken gap between Suō and Kaō, so it had never come close to striking Princess Kana. It had, however, been more than enough to infuriate the foxes.

“We let our guard down because we thought them allies. Such insolent wretches shall be cut to pieces at once!”

“To think they would loose an arrow at those who came to reinforce them! Princess, let us freeze every last one of them!”

At the same time as they spoke, wind wreathed in ice began swirling with an ominous roar, twisting as it took aim at the defensive wall ahead.

“Suō, Kaō, calm yourselves. It seems they believe we may be enemies. Still, that arrow flew remarkably far.”

As the princess gauged the distance to the defensive wall where the archer was likely positioned and remarked admiringly that they must have a very skilled bowman, the magician Norman explained.

“They probably wrapped the arrow in wind magic before firing it.”

“Magic truly is a convenient thing. Well, from their perspective, flying white foxes would surely look no different from magical beasts, so it cannot be helped.”

Indeed, although not nearly as numerous as the magical beasts on the ground, several large birdlike magical beasts were circling above the city.

Laughing that it was only natural they might be mistaken for new enemies, Princess Kana also noticed that the archer atop the defensive wall had not fired again after that first shot. Convinced they were now watching to see what she would do, she decided to attack the magical beasts instead.

“Suō, Kaō. Fire that thing you have prepared downward.”

At her words, the foxes looked dissatisfied but nevertheless released the small-tornado-like mass directly below.

Rrrrsh, BOOM!

““Ggyah! Ggvyah!””

From beneath them came explosions and the death cries of magical beasts, yet the foxes did not even look down, continuing instead to glare at the defensive wall. Seeing this, the princess gave a wry smile.

“Then, Suō, move a little farther away. After I slay a number of the magical beasts, we shall enter within the walls together. That should make them recognize us as allies.”

When Suō immediately volunteered to help as well, she made him withdraw.

“I do not yet know how effective my exorcism arts will be here. I wish to test several things, so watch. Now then, let us see how well talismans work.”

She took out three talismans bearing the words “Exorcise Evil,” breathed upon them, and sent them flying toward the horde of magical beasts all at once.

“Quickly, quickly, by imperial command—Talisman Exorcism!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Each talisman blew one magical beast apart. Around them, the remaining beasts, startled by yet another attack that seemed to come from nowhere, began scanning their surroundings warily.

““““Three at once…””””

The members of the extermination force clinging to Suō’s back stared in astonished admiration, but Princess Kana herself frowned, clearly dissatisfied.

“Hmm. It does work. But this is rather inefficient. Then let us try the Nine Cuts next. Though the angle is somewhat poor…”

Saying that she might otherwise punch a hole through the defensive wall, she instructed Kaō to change direction slightly.

“Vermilion Bird・Black Tortoise・White Tiger・Kōchin・Teikyū”

Using the edge of her hand, she drew four vertical and five horizontal lines through the air while chanting the Nine Cuts.

“Bun’ō・Santai・Gyokunyo・Azure Dragon!”

She wrapped the pattern in divine power and slammed it down toward the horde below in a single stroke!

At that instant, a glowing lattice of light tore into the magical beasts!

Sshhrrk, SLASH!

The beasts were sliced apart in a grid, leaving behind a trail of dismembered corpses roughly two ken wide and half a chō long. Along its edges, beasts that had lost portions of their bodies writhed while shrieking, “Gyaaaah! Ggiiiiih!”

This time, at least, they appeared to realize where the attack had come from. Several magical beasts glared upward and began growling. Some leaped high as though trying to reach them, but a single sweep of Suō’s forepaw unleashed a violent gale that hurled them away and smashed them into the ground.

“““How terrifying…”””　

“““So this is Saintess-sama’s power…”””

The soldiers, Burley included, stared wide-eyed and trembled. Every one of them was a seasoned veteran personally selected by the extermination commander, yet even they could only nod fervently when someone muttered, “I’m glad she’s on our side…”

“Oh, this one is quite useful. As expected of the Tsuchimikado family’s Nine Cuts. If I put a little more power into it, I should be able to reduce their numbers considerably.”

(((She can make it even stronger than that…?)))

Hearing those words made another cold sweat run down the backs of the already shaken men. Yet not a single one managed to utter anything through their open mouths. Some had even begun to feel strangely sorry for the magical beasts, though naturally none dared say so aloud.

While everyone watched with mingled shock and awe, Princess Kana changed the angle three times and unleashed the Nine Cuts at the magical beasts swarming around what appeared to be the portcullis entrance in the defensive wall, sweeping them aside and creating three more roads of corpses.

By now, the magical beasts had evidently recognized them as a new enemy, for every gaze was fixed upon the princess and her companions overhead. The beasts circling above the territorial capital were quite plainly ready for battle.

Princess Kana, however, seemed completely unconcerned. She ordered the foxes to rise even higher for the moment, then headed inside the walls with Suō following behind her.

There was an open space in front of a tall building near the center of the city, so the foxes slowly descended toward it.

Apparently mistaking their slower movement for vulnerability, two magical beasts descended after them in pursuit, but both froze in midair, fell, and shattered on impact. Kaō snorted proudly, and Princess Kana stroked his back.

The nearby residents watched from a distance, but among the soldiers were several who had apparently witnessed the princess’s attacks from the walls, so they already seemed to understand that she was an ally bringing reinforcements. A warrior who appeared to be in charge and several subordinate soldiers quickly ran toward Princess Kana and the others.

From his appearance, the princess immediately realized that the man at the front was the archer who had fired upon them earlier. She had not noticed from a distance, but his face and arms were wounded, and the armor he wore was covered in scars.

He evidently did not know how to react to the white foxes standing before him, for he stopped some distance away looking bewildered. But the moment he recognized Burley atop Suō’s back, relief spread across his face and he moved toward him.

“Commander Burley, thank you for your assistance. But I never imagined you would arrive riding something like this, so I failed to recognize you and fired an arrow. My apologies. By the way, is this some new creation of the magicians? And this girl…? She was using some strange kind of art, and those clothes are unfamiliar… But… surely…”

Burley looked almost pityingly at the man as his voice gradually faded away.

“You guessed correctly. These are Saintess-sama’s Sacred Beasts.”

The instant he heard that, the man appeared to realize what he had done moments earlier. His face went pale, and he hurried before Princess Kana and dropped to one knee. At the same time, every soldier around him knelt as well.

“So you are Saintess-sama. Please forgive my delayed greeting. I am the lord of this territory, Daryl Clutchfield. I deeply apologize for my conduct earlier. I do not know how I can possibly make amends…”

As the princess looked at the man and his subordinates bowing in apology, she understood just how desperately they had fought to defend this place.

Every suit of armor was battered, and not one man was uninjured. Some were so severely wounded that they had been sitting on the ground, yet even they struggled upright and bowed after their lord.

And it was not only them. Every nearby resident who saw the soldiers kneel had now lowered themselves before her in the same way.

(He appears to be a good lord.)

“My name is Kana. What you did earlier was done in order to defend this place, was it not? Then pay it no mind. More importantly, it seems we have kept you waiting far too long. The extermination commander and his men are here as well, so you need worry no longer.”

As she spoke, the princess dismounted from Kaō, then turned toward Suō and signaled for him to let everyone down. Burley and the rest of the extermination force finally had solid ground beneath their feet again and, apparently relieved, repeatedly stamped their feet against it.

As Henry immediately began taking relief supplies from his Magic Box and issuing instructions to the soldiers, Princess Kana told the lord to stand, then pointed toward the magical beasts circling overhead as they watched them.

“There are many things I wish to ask, but reducing their numbers must come first. Commander Burley, may I leave the magical beasts around the gate to you? I shall slaughter those outside.”

“Of course. Leave them to us!”

Princess Kana nodded at the commander’s reply, then held out a single sword toward Suō, who had returned to his normal size after letting everyone dismount.

“Suō, you should use this.”

It was a sword Princess Kana had found earlier inside her own Storage Box. The famed blade Kogitsunemaru.

It was said that long ago, during the Heian period, the renowned swordsmith Sanjō Munechika had forged this sacred blade while striking the hammer in tandem with the deity Inari Myōjin.

Princess Kana had heard that for roughly the past century it had been entrusted to Lady Akomachi, a divine attendant of Inari. Even she had been astonished when she discovered it inside the Storage Box. Since it was a full-length tachi and therefore somewhat too large for her, however, she believed Suō in human form should be able to wield it without difficulty.

“Princess, this is!…… I gratefully accept!”

With a sharp pop, Suō transformed into the form of a young warrior and reverently, yet delightedly, accepted the sword. The instant he fastened it at his waist, his body began to glow, and the armor and helmet he wore changed to a silvery white.

For some reason, decorations shaped like fox ears had also appeared on his helmet, but Princess Kana decided that was simply part of its charm. After all, Suō’s smile had only grown wider.

Then, from somewhere nearby, came a chorus of high-pitched “Kyaa!” Apparently Suō’s handsome young-warrior form had captured the attention of the women.

(Even in circumstances such as these, women certainly remain spirited.)

“Then I leave the skies to you, Suō. Now, Kaō, let us annihilate them all at once!”

At those words, Suō kicked off against the air and shot upward.

SLASH!

Without even touching it directly, he cleaved one of the birdlike magical beasts overhead cleanly in two with a single stroke. Another shriek-like cheer rose from below.

Burley and the members of the extermination force also broke into a run, roaring battle cries as they charged toward the gate.

While sheathed at their waists, their swords had appeared ordinary in size, but once drawn, each transformed into a distinctive weapon. Some were wreathed in flames, others crackled with sparks and light, and one even grew until it was nearly as long as the man wielding it was tall.

“This truly is a strange world. Now then, we cannot allow ourselves to fall behind.”

With those words, Princess Kana mounted Kaō and shot beyond the defensive wall. Since she could not risk damaging the wall itself, she now began unleashing the Nine Cuts from the wall’s side toward the mana pool.

“Vermilion Bird・Black Tortoise・White Tiger・Kōchin・Teikyū・Bun’ō・Santai・Gyokunyo・Azure Dragon!!”

The sight of her widening and extending new roads of corpses as she slaughtered the monsters was perfectly suited to the word she had used moments earlier: ≪annihilation≫.

Meanwhile, the magical beasts that had until then trampled the surrounding land as they pleased finally seemed to realize that their positions had suddenly reversed and that they were now the ones being overwhelmed. Confused, they began fleeing toward the mountain one after another, trying to escape the princess.

But a wall of ice blocked them almost immediately. Worse, sharp-pointed masses of ice began raining down upon them, leaving the beasts to flee desperately beneath it only to be crushed one after another.

“Kaō, well done.”

“I am supremely honored!”

Before long, perhaps because the magical beasts had thinned out, the center of the mana pool became clearly visible.

(That must be the source. How utterly sinister. This should be just right for it.)

For the purification, Princess Kana took out the bow fashioned by the gods, the Ame no Makako Bow, and its arrow, the Ame no Habaya. As she fitted an underglove and shooting glove onto her right hand,

(I truly am glad I checked these last night.)

She gave a wry smile as she recalled what had happened.

At Aldridge’s suggestion, the princess had gone to the magicians’ training grounds, decided it was safe enough there, and taken out the divine bow and arrow. The moment she did, however, she had found herself completely at a loss.

The bow bag contained not only the bow wrapped in its protective cloth, but also an underglove, shooting glove, kusune bowstring resin, giriko grip powder, and fudeko hand powder for maintenance—yet there was no bowstring, the one thing she actually needed. Worse, when she opened the quiver, all that emerged was a single enormous feather.

(I have no idea what I am meant to do with these. Now then, what should I try……?)

Hoping she might notice something, she held them up in the moonlight, but all she could determine was that the bow was a beautiful lacquer-black and the feather gleamed a reddish gold.

Looking more closely, however, she noticed that unlike the feathers of a hawk or pheasant, its barbs did not cling together. Every individual strand was separate.

(Could it be…?)

Deciding there was no harm in testing it, she tugged on one of the feather’s barbs. It slipped smoothly free from the shaft and transformed into a magnificent, gleaming arrow.

“So that is how it works… That must be why it is called Ame no Habaya……”

Satisfied, she tried assuming her shooting stance with it, whereupon a bowstring appeared on the bow as well.

“I see.”

Yet simply understanding the bow and arrow’s mechanism did not mean she could waste such precious, sacred ammunition by firing it into an empty training ground. In the end, she had merely gone through the motion of drawing the bow several times before stopping……

(But now is the time!)

“On Marishiei Sowaka, On Marishiei Sowaka.”

Chanting the mantra of Marishiten, she held the Ame no Makako Bow in her left hand and the Ame no Habaya in her right, raised them into position, and drew the bow.

“On Marishiei Sowaka—go!!”

Taking careful aim, she loosed the arrow directly into the center of the mana pool!