Chapter 8[แก้ไข]
— Now then, what the hell happened here, Izayoi thought.
Though Izayoi had extraordinary powers of deduction, it took him some time to grasp the tragic situation spread before him. It would seem that Willa and Asuka were relatively unharmed in the arena grounds. But Jack, Yō and Kuro Usagi were seriously injured in the spectator stands.
Normally speaking, one would think there was a large brawl amongst the audience.
However, Izayoi was clear about the true potential of Kuro Usagi’s power and for her to be injured to this extent, it would have been a difficult feat pulled off by her opponent. It would be pretty much impossible if it were simply a brawl.
So that leaves this to be the only option open to explain this scenario— The person who injured Kuro Usagi had done it intentionally.
From the first visual scan of their conditions, Yō, Jack and Asuka would have been involved in that battle as well.
“—!”
Then, who could the aggressor be?
Izayoi gave the arena grounds another sweep with his eyes.
The only one who could pull off such a situation would most probably be Willa the Ignis Faatus. That was the rough speculation that he had while in his dazed state—but when his eyes moved across the white haired lad with golden irises, that thought was instantly tossed from his mind.
Staring at His Highness with a lack of emotion in his eyes, Izayoi asked Jin who stood nearby.
“……Oi, Ochibi-sama.”
“Ye…Yes?”
“That is the guy who injured Kuro Usagi and Kasukabe right?” Izayoi stated his bold conclusion.
He used a voice without intonation. A tone so cold that it gave goose bumps to all those who knew Izayoi well enough. Be it Asuka or Yō, it was their first time hearing Izayoi speak in such a tone.
Izayoi who held his stare on His Highness continued to approach expressionlessly with gradual steps as he asked His Highness the same question.
“……Were you the one who did this to Kuro Usagi?”
He looked down at His Highness, who was shorter and younger than he was, and asked coldly.
Meeting his gaze, His Highness gave a nod of his head calmly.
“Yeah, I knocked out that rabbit.”
“I see.”
—In that instant,
Izayoi’s eyes had widened to the utmost.
“Then—There’s no reason for me to go easy on you, you White haired brat—!!!”
With a roar, Izayoi gave a kick to the back of His Highness’s head with a power capable of smashing mountains and rivers.
“Gya…!!?”
The hands that have been brought up to defend himself had been kicked aside and it connected to his head. It wasn’t that His Highness was lax in his alertness, but the sheer rage in Izayoi’s strike had made it impossible for his reaction to defend himself completely.
Although the attack had almost knocked His Highness out, he was still able to stand firmly on his feet by bringing all the strength and willpower in his body to focus on the present.
Unfortunately for him, that was the worst possible move and it was also the fatal judgement that would seal his fate in defeat.
His Highness should have flown back with the kick when he absorbed the impact.
Just a small distance away and— he would not be caught by the hand of Sakamaki Izayoi.
“You bastard……”
His Highness grabbed Izayoi’s wrist and exerted pressure on it. However, Izayoi’s wrist did not tremble one bit.
Izayoi had also made a back hand grab for the wrist of His Highness to give it a hard swing.
The impact, which was strong enough to shake the Heavens, caused the floor of the arena to be shattered and it formed a depression. The damage was also so deep that it was enough to destroy the subterranean river tunnels.
Having lost all his control in his fit of rage, Izayoi continued to pursue His Highness to launch a flurry of attacks; sparing no thought for the effects on the surrounding structures. He who usually spared a thought to avoid posing a hazard to others had now unshackled himself from thoughts of restrain.
The reason for him to abandon his beliefs and self-restrain could only be that one reason and no other.
Seeming to blot out the presence of the other two beside her—Izayoi gave a beast-like roar as he confirmed the bloodied figure of Kuro Usagi with his eyes while engaging in a melee with His Highness.
“Yahoho……? This… This looks bad!”
In order to continue the treatment for Kuro Usagi, Jack hurriedly carried Kuro Usagi and escaped into the skies. Asuka had also pulled Yō away, but her heart was still in a turmoil.
It was the first time that she had seen Izayoi in this state of rage; Asuka couldn’t help but to draw a sharp intake of breath while she watched on.
“This… This is really…”
“…… really angry.”
The both of them had long lost the sense of urgency. An enraged Izayoi was more than enough to deal with that white haired lad with golden irises and he would have excess to go around.[1]
The third punch devastated more than just the arena grounds as the damage ran all the way to the Corridor of Displays and destroying it in the process. The force of the punch had also reduced a row of brick houses in the city to a pile of rubble. Just three punches was all it took to bring damage equivalent to the heavy battering of a violent typhoon.
Being hit while in his standing position —on the back of his head, his chest, and his flank, His Highness had vomited blood while falling to the ground as his knees went jelly on him. It was amazing that his body was still intact and for him to remain conscious was already something to be feared.
Izayoi took a step forward with the intention to continue with the attacks as his face was still contorted with anger.
His Highness then lifted his head to fix a look at Izayoi— grinning suddenly.
“……That’s so slow. What have you guys been doing just now?”
With just a little more acceleration to his swing, Izayoi would have ignited the atmosphere with the speed of his punch.
Swinging down the fist that he was sure to be his last, his punch had met the air. Because just a breath away from coming into contact with His Highness, His Highness had just disappeared without a trace.
“Disappearing? Could it be that bastard from the day time?”
“Oh, it’s just as you said”, a mocking laughter that sounded like an imitation of a drama actor followed the words.
The voice that sounded like a person intoxicated with himself came from the space above the rubble that was originally the arena.
The figures were overlooking [Kouen City] that was dyed in the yellow hues of the evening. However, it wasn’t just one or two figures.