Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi:Volume 2 Chapter 4

The Moon Sways

About thirty minutes ago.

After the fight with the silver-haired monster, who had manipulated the Geinvikku, had ended, Gekkou returned to the student council room.

The student council room, a place known as the << Holy Ground >>, which could be used to manage dimensional warps, was but an ordinary looking room that did not appear to hold any particular special power.

The room had an untidy document shelf, and a whiteboard on which the idiot Mirai had scrawled a drawing of some strange dog.　On an oblong meeting desk was a thermo pot and a small cup with a teabag. As well as four caffeine tablets.

Gekkou popped one of the caffeine tablets into his mouth and took a drink of the red tea.

Since last night, until this morning, he had been writing a report for the << Military >>, and consequently, he was sleep-deprived.

With that, he leaned his body against the back of his chair,

"Hn ~"

And stretched his body. Following that,

"I'm sleepy."

He muttered.

But, it was not yet time to sleep.

Originally, he planned to submit his report to the << Military >> in the morning at the time when the ignorant students were arriving, and take the day off and head back home to sleep. But instead, after submitting the report, just as he was making the preparations to go home, a strange report reached him.

In early hours of the morning, a janitor had disappeared from the stairs. The report reached Gekkou at six in the morning. It was only after some time had passed, just before noon break, after which several students had disappeared, did he know that the culprit behind all these was snake-like monster known as a Geinvikku.

Following that, the order to exterminate the Geinvikku came from the << Military >>, and everything had ended only just a while ago.

And then.

"............"

At that moment, Gekkou looked at the pile of documents beside the thermo pot.

Those pile of documents consisted of:

- A report regarding the extermination of the Geinvikku.

- A report regarding why the Geinvikku was allowed to infiltrate the school.

- A report regarding the situation of the victims of the Geinvikku.

- A report regarding the cost of repairs to the school, and so on.

It was necessary to submit those documents to quell all those stupid questions.

Looking at them, with a vexed face,

"...... those damn useless officials."

Saying that, he raised his long legs. With the sole of his shoe, he kicked away the pile of documents. The documents fell off and scattered onto the floor.

Looking down at the messed up, scattered documents,

"....... not enough people. I need a slavesecretary to do all these dirty work for me."

He said.

And at that moment,

"Tada!"

From the rear door of the student council room, the voice of a girl called out.

"Tada tada!"

Look here, look here, the voice of a girl called out --- but, as if he had heard nothing, Gekkou did not turn around. And he folded his arms. And closed his eyes. Seemingly lost in thoughts.

"Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, why are you ignoring meeeeeeeeeeee!"

As she hollered, he felt an approaching pressure. He felt an approaching, troublesome pressure.

But, in response to that,

"Hey Mirai. If you dare kick me, I will burn away all those manga that you've bought from the money you secretly lifted from my wallet."

Said Gekkou.

"...... ah-uwu-ah."

She whimpered in fear. He looked in the direction of that voice. What he saw before him was a short high school girl with a pair of calm eyes that were somehow embedded with a strong will in contrast, and seemingly indifferent to her up-turned skirt, she was about to send a kick flying towards Gekkou.

It was the student council executive member, Andou Mirai, who had fallen off the veranda from the fourth floor just a while ago.

He looked at the sole of her shoe. He looked below that shoe. From the calf length to the thigh, the inside of her skirt seemed just about to become visible,

"U-uwah!?"

Yelled Mirai. She put her leg down and pressed down her skirt. Her childish face --- or rather, the fact was she was still a fourteen year old child, it was not like she was really that much of a child --- that small face was red from both anger and embarrassment,

"Ge-Gekkou, you pervert!"

She yelled.

Gekkou looked intently at Mirai. According to the guys in year one class four into which she had been enrolled, Mirai was a little out but cute; Gekkou looked intently at that cute face, and said.

"...... I have no interest in the panties of a brat......"

"They are not dirtyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!?"

This time for certain, Mirai had hollered with a face that was completely beet red.

Her holler was loud enough to send one's ears ringing, and Gekkou covered his right ear with his hand in exasperation. Following that, he once again averted his eyes from Mirai. He leaned back, closed his eyes, and considered ---

"Hey, as I was saying, why are you ignoring me?"

"You're annoying."

"I'm not annoyingggggggggggggggg! Jeez! Hey! The cute Mirai-chan fell off the veranda with her powers still sealed by you, but you are not even the least bit of worried?"

As she said that, Gekkou opened his eyes slightly.

"Are you hurt?"

On hearing that, Mirai puffed out her small chest proudly,

"Not a single scratch!"

"Then disappear."

"You should be praising me ~!"

She said boisterously, but Gekkou, tired of answering, merely ignored her. With that, he closed his eyes, and concentrated on thinking about the matters he needed to think about now. Bit by bit, the effect of the caffeine tablet started taking effect and the sleepiness he had started dispersing, and he began his thoughts.

And he pondered about the incident that had taken place on the fourth floor of the west area of the school premises just a while ago.

He thought about the abnormally strong silver monster that was inside of the Geinvikku.

He thought about that monster against which the Spell ErrorWicked Blade was ineffective, and which had been able to handle him, the student council president of Miyasaka High, easily.

"............"

Then, he clicked his tongue softly. However, even if he puffed out his cheeks in anger, there was nothing he could do, so he continued thinking.

Firstly, what on earth was he?

As he thought about that, once again, he opened his narrow eyes and turned his sight to the jet black sword that was leaning against the desk.

He turned his sight to that unique sword that was supposed to be able to exorcise all kinds of demonic force.

However, that unique sword seemed to have no effect against that monster.

Gekkou pondered about the reason for that.

While looking intently at his sword,

"...... Mirai."

He said.

Mirai, who had clearly given up on talking to Gekkou and was kicking the documents on the floor, playing by herself, turned around.

He said to her,

"Did you see it?"

He asked.

She tilted her head and replied.

"See what?"

"The monster who was rampaging in class 8. The one who tried to pierce you with its tongue."

On hearing that,

"Ahh, yeah. I did ~"

She acknowledged. Gekkou looked up and fixed his gaze on Mirai. And he asked.

"Is that your comrade?"

But she shook her head,

"No ~. That fella is different from me; he isn't a demon."

She said.

That fella is different from me; he isn't a demon --- if an ordinary person had heard her said that, he or she would probably cry out, Is this girl right in the mind? Even at this age, she's wearing panties with an anime character design on them......

But her words were fact.

She was not just your everyday high school girl, but a demon contracted by Gekkou.

And right now, most of her powers were sealed by Gekkou's Spell ErrorWicked Blade, but once the seal was lifted, her powers would increase immensely.

Well, according to her,

"I'm a big-shot demon who is the only descendant of Indra, and in me flows the blood of Andu!"

Even when she said that, given how little brain tissue she clearly possessed, it seemed like a lie.

But it was a fact that she was a demon.

That's why she was perfectly fine even after falling off the veranda at the fourth floor, and was allowed by the << Military >> to enroll into Miyasaka High despite her young age of fourteen.

That Mirai of Andu looked intently at Gekkou.

That petite demon who was wearing the sailor uniform of Miyasaka High looked intently at Gekkou.

And facing this one against whom Spell ErrorWicked Blade had an effect, after following a trail of his own thoughts, he continued.

"...... hm. Just from one look, you know that it isn't a demon?"

He asked, and she nodded in acknowledgement.

"I know of course. Even if I didn't catch a look, I would still know. I can tell a demon by the wavelength it carries in its blood."

"I see. So that's how it is."

"Yeah. Somehow, compared to other lesser beings, demons have a much more nobler type of blood flowing in their veins, that's what Mama said, you know?"

On hearing that, once again, hm, Gekkou acknowledged and folded his arms.

In other words, that silver-haired monster was indeed not a demon.

But just going by that, it was not sufficient a reason for Spell ErrorWicked Blade to have not worked on him.

At any rate, even though this sword was said to be one that could exorcise any sort of Demonic Force, the truth was, it was not just limited to Demonic Force, but regardless of the species, whatever kind of power, it should have the power to sever it.

That applied to even the power of gods.

That was Spell ErrorWicked Blade. And it was after knowing that the sword actually possessed such great power, did Gekkou acquire it.

It was for the sake of triumphing over his little brother, Hinata, did Gekkou acquire the sword in desperation.

Nevertheless.

"............"

Today, he had been made the fool again.

The little brother he thought he had killed was still alive. On top of that, he had sent an incredibly powerful monster against which Spell ErrorWicked Blade had no effect. Furthermore, as if he had not been made the fool enough, he had been told,

"...... a warning...... for me?"

At that moment, a smile floated on Gekkou's face. The gritting of his molars could be heard as a smile floated on his face.

On seeing that,

"What's so funny ~?"

Asked Mirai, but he did not reply.

He only thought, if that silver-haired monster were to come again, how could he kill it?

He only thought, if that irritating little brother of his were to show his smirking face again, how could he make a fool out of him?

"............"

But, in order to do that, he needed to be able to do something to that silver-haired monster, he thought.

He needed to able to do something to that silver-haired monster against which Spell ErrorWicked Blade had no effect, he thought.

Of course, during the earlier fight, he had experimented on various ways of killing him.

He thought back on those ways.

- Is it that all forms of magic will fail against that silver-haired monster?

- Or is it that only Spell ErrorWicked Blade won't work on him?

During that fight, he experimented around these two factors.

First, he had tried a Japanese talisman.

Even if it could be used to exorcise all forms of Demonic Force, Spell ErrorWicked Blade was still made in Europe after all. Thus, while it might be effectively used to exterminate European monsters, its effectiveness might be lessened when used against Asian or African monsters right? He thought, and thus tried throwing a Japan-made talisman, to which the silver-haired monster reacted.

While he showed no signs of wariness against Spell ErrorWicked Blade, he reacted when faced with the talisman of King Enn.

Did that mean that the fella had come through a dimensional rift from the Asian region and was active in that region? Gekkou deduced from that battle.

Then, this time round, he would try releasing the spell of the Inugami. The spell of the Inugami should be much more powerful than the talisman of King Enn. The amount of power it had was enough to kill off a local deity.

And he released it at a point-blank distance, but, somehow, it seemed to be completely ineffective.

That fella just laughed and stopped the spell.

The only monsters or goblins that were capable of doing that in the Asian region, should only be those of an upper tier level.

"............"

Or perhaps, when he showed fear towards the talisman of King Enn, it was actually a bluff? And he actually was a monster who had come from Europe? He had reasoned and this time round, from the inside of his leather shoe, he tossed a dartholy needle, something made from silver by the << Church >> to be easily used against the blood suckers they were hunting recently, that was soaked in holy water for twenty hours.

But, that was readily stopped too. It was stopped with a nonchalant face. Then, that fella might not be a monster from Europe as well.

Then, what the hell was that?

Was it a monster from another dimension that had yet to step into this world in history?

Gekkou pondered.

"............"

Well, there were a lot of monsters that were like that. That were still a lot of monsters that had not appeared in this world yet. There were still many monsters against which humans had yet to establish a way to counter them yet.

Speaking of this, when he read the archives, sometimes, this student council room had connected to dimensions of worlds which had never been seen before, in which lived monsters which had never been sighted before, and consequently on occasion, the student council executive members, as well as the residents of the town, were completely wiped out. Though the << Military >> had erased the relevant knowledge and memories, such a thing where the entire town was destroyed had happened twice in a hundred years or so.

For this matter to be still concealed from the public, this strange organization known as the << Military >>, was probably an official arm of the Japanese government, though that was something that Gekkou was not interested in.

Nothing can be achieved alone; the fact was he had not the slightest interest in the individuals of the swarm.

At any rate, Hinata had made an enemy out of the world all by himself.

Then, neither did he need any comrades, he thought.

Everything was a slave that he would make use of to reach his goal.

"............"

At that moment, Gekkou shifted his gaze, to Mirai, who was scrawling on the white board in the student council room while she was humming a song.

And then, he thought.

With an exasperated face, he thought.

He thought about the slight problem of the slaves, whom he was supposed to make use of, proving to be extremely troublesome and useless at times.

Then, as if she had felt his gaze, Mirai turned around happily,

"Look look Gekkou. This is Gekkou you know!"

On hearing that, he looked at the whiteboard. And on that whiteboard was a pretty good illustration, a result of her recent practice perhaps.

It was a drawing of a person with an evil gaze and black hair that reeked of a bad personality.

And beside that drawing was a bubble, and in that bubble,

"I'm a genius you know ~"

Was written.

"It's really like Gekkou right!?"

Mirai said happily. Raising both her arms, she said happily. She was saying it so happily, that a smile floated on Gekkou's face, and he acknowledged.

"Hm. Very much."

"Isn't it so?"

"Yeah. And you're a good kid. You've always been a good kid, so I'll reward you."

On hearing that, her eyes glittered,

"Really!?"

She asked.

"Really. Here."

As he said that, he threw the thermo pot containing hot water from the desk towards Mirai.

On seeing that,

"Eh? Eh? Are you kidding me? Gyaaaaaaaaaaaa!?"

She yelled. And dodged. As she did that, the flask struck the "I'm a genius you know ~" writing on the board. The cap opened. And the hot water splashed out. Looking at that, Mirai's eyes widened,

"Yikessssssssss!?"

She yelled. She rolled onto the floor and dodged it. With that, as she rolled to Gekkou's feet, he stepped on her to stop her, and said.

"...... now, you've avoided the flask just now. Why?"

As he continued stepping on her,

"Take your foot offfffffffffffffff~!?"

As Mirai yelled, he further increased the pressure of his leg. Mirai grabbed that leg with her right hand. And pushed it aside.

Mirai easily pushed away Gekkou's leg, the leg of a man. With the arm strength which a normal high school girl would not possess, she returned the favor.

That was her strength. Even if Spell ErrorWicked Blade had sealed away seventy percent of her powers, human strength was still incomparable to hers.

But, she dodged the thermo pot. With a strength that was far greater than a human, she dodged the thermo pot.

The reason was of course because it was hot. With this level of heat, it was not clear what would become of Mirai, but still, since it was hot, she dodged.

And similar to this ---

Once again, Gekkou returned to his thoughts. Why did you throw the thermo pot, What if I got scalded; Gekkou ignored those complaints from Mirai, and returned to his earlier thoughts.

"............"

Similar to how Mirai had dodged the thermo pot, the sliver-haired monster warded against the talisman of King Enn before it was activated.

That was the same for spell of the Inugami, which was neutralized preemptively.

The silver dartholy needle was also caught by its tongue before it could deal any damage.

However.

Against Spell ErrorWicked Blade, he did not nothing. It was as if he already knew from the beginning that it had no effect on him. It was as if he could not feel any sense of possible danger, such as the possible infliction of pain or heat, he did nothing against it.

In other words,

"............"

Gekkou thought.

Only Spell ErrorWicked Blade was ineffective against him.

At that moment, Gekkou recalled.

The words of the former owner of the sword, a drunkard Father.

The words:

That sword, Spell ErrorWicked Blade, should be able to exorcise all forms of Power, all but one.

It is something of a fouler nature than a demon.

It is something of a fouler nature than a god.

If Gekkou remembered correctly, when he heard those words at the age of thirteen, he had said.

"I can't think of a monster with a fouler nature than a god...... other than humans."

On hearing that, the drunkard Father, with red face full of wrinkles, laughed.

"Haha, well, you're right about that too."

"...... then, what on earth is the monster against which the sword is weak."

"Do you want to know?"

"Don't put on airs. I'll kill you, you know."

On hearing that, the Father laughed. His face flushed from the effects of liquor, carrying a white beard, the Father who appeared to be in his late sixties laughed.

"Good grief, such audacity for a brat...... well, to be able to come through the barrier, you probably aren't just any mere brat...... who are you?"

"I'm a genius."

On hearing that, the Father's eyes widened for an instant, and he laughed even harder.

"Hahaha, what an interesting fella. So, Mr Genius wants this sword?"

"That's right."

"If you have it, what will you use it for?"

"I will kill my little brother who has made fun of me."

"Hehe~. Ever since I've been made the guardian of this sword, this is the most worthless reason I've heard. Are you serious?"

He asked, and,

"If I'm not serious, I wouldn't have come up to this mountain in the countryside, to see an alcoholic old man."

Gekkou replied.

On hearing that, the old man looked intently at Gekkou. With his small eyes, intoxicated by the liquor, he looked intently at Gekkou.

And then.

"Well, whoever it is, for whatever reason one has come to take this sword, all that don't matter to me...... at any rate, you won't be able to pull the sword out of its scabbard. If you're not chosen by the sword, you won't be able to use it......"

But he was interrupted by Gekkou, who said.

"Stop the tedious talk. Hand me the sword. And tell me the name of the creature the sword is weak against."

Once again, the old man laughed and said 'Fine'. 'After all, a brat had climbed all the way here all by himself. I shall let him have a taste of a fairy tale regarding swords', he had said.

And he began explaining the story behind Spell ErrorWicked Blade.

"This sword was actually made from the melted form of a spear that was used to kill a certain holy man. Do you know? The name of the spear."

He asked, to which Gekkou replied.

"Whatever, hand over the sword."

"...... hey, you should listen......"

"Whatever, hand over the sword."

"...... this fella...... didn't you learn from your mother that you should be polite and respectful to elders......"

"Whatever, I told you to hand over the sword, you drunkard."

"............................................. this, this, this brat............ well, well, alright. Recently, I've heard a rumor that kids didn't get enough calcium. But, but if you really want to try pulling out the sword, just hear out for a little while. I've watched over this sword for such a long time that I'm kind of starved for a conversation......"

"If it's tough being lonely, just go die. Old fart. Quickly hand over the sword."

"............................"

For some reason, he could see the clenched fists of the old man shaking. He probably drank too much. Following that, with a resigned look on his face, the old man ignored him and resumed his talk.

"...... well, even if you don't know it, there was this famous spear that was used to kill a holy man. The one that starts with 'Lo', you know? With that, you should know right?"

"Hm. So, how many minutes is your boring talk going to take?"

".................. no no, you should at least be a little surprised right? That spear you know? The spear that killed the Savior, you know? That cursed spear depicted often in movies and novels in this place ---!? Such a tale, never seen......"

"Not interested."

"Hear me out anyway."

"Just tell me how the story ends. Didn't I tell you your talk is boring?"

On hearing those words, this time round,

"................. uwu, uwu, uwoahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, what's this! What the hell is with this fella! God! Why have you given me such a trialllllllll!?"

Things as they were, the Father started shouting in a deranged manner, and as a result, Gekkou decided to knock him out for now. Following that, he took the liquor bottle that the Father was carrying away from him, and tossed it away onto the ground, breaking the bottle, and said.

"What God, did you drink too much that you start to hallucinate? Didn't the bible say alcohol is one of the roots of evil? Go read the bible duh."

After that, he looked intently at the Spell ErrorWicked Blade that was affixed to the back of the cross of the church, then took it off.

He then hung the scabbard at his waist, and tried drawing the sword, which then slid out easily,

"...... I can't draw it? What a lie."

He muttered.

Following that, he splashed water onto the unconscious deranged Father to wake him up, and pointed the unsheathed Spell ErrorWicked Blade at his head, touching it,

"Now, I've gotten the sword. If there's something else important that you need to say, speak quickly. Since I don't have much time, go to the conclusion."

He said.

The Father looked at the sword. With look of extreme surprise, he looked at the sword,

"The, the one I have been waiting for...... is such a guy......"

Since he was clear digressing from what Gekkou wanted to hear, he put the sword against the Father's neck.

"...... I said to start from the conclusion. I'm different from an old man idling away his remaining years, and don't have much time. In another three years, I might be killed and devoured by a demon. If you still want to waste my time, I'm going to kill you, you know?"

On hearing those words, the Father looked at him.

"Killed and devoured by a demon......?"

But, Gekkou increased the pressure on his blade,

"I won't repeat myself. Stop with the needless talk."

And the Father laughed. With the sword next to his throat, he laughed.

"...... coming to take the sword for the sake of killing your little brother, and yet, you might get killed and devoured by a demon? I see. I get it. I get why the sword has chosen you. The both of you are twins right?"

"............"

"Bull's eye? Haha. I see. That's how it is. Then fine. I shall give you the sword. It's okay for you to use that sword to split open the world."

On hearing his words, Gekkou squinted his eyes. And then,

"...... your talk has become a little interesting. Continue. How did you know that we are twins?"

"Didn't you say that you don't need the explanation? And just the conclusion......"

"Enough of that, just continue. I'll kill you, you know?"

Going by those words, the Father had finally gotten the upper hand and could only smile delightedly.

"Do it then. Since the rightful owner of the sword had appeared, I don't have any more regrets."

"The rightful owner of the sword? What do you mean by that?"

"The prophecy has foretold of your coming. That one part of the double headed, unfortunate crow will come take the sword. Well then again, if you are the rightful owner of the sword, there's nothing more I need to say. While you use the sword, the truth will be revealed by the sword."

The Father merely snickered. And did not answer Gekkou's question. And then,

"I shall just tell you the conclusion I know. Firstly, with regards to what I've said earlier, the point about this sword being forged from the Spear of Longinus that was used to kill Christ was but a lie prepared for the Hollywood-loving Americans when they came here. The truth is it's not possible to tell what the sword is made of. At any rate, before the Vatican was established --- no, even way before Christ was born, it was handed to the << Church >>, it seems."

On hearing those words, Gekkou looked intently at the sword.

Before Christ was born, which means at least over two thousand years ago, but, when he looked at the black gleam of the blade which he held up to reflect the light that was streaming through the stained glass of the church, he could not tell that it had already existed for such a long period of time.

The Father looked intently at the sword,

"However, I know who was the one who had brought the sword to the << Church >>. Well, rather, I'm supposed to tell the master of the sword about the one who had brought the sword --- according to what was written in the ancient text preserved with the sword."

"Horhh. So, who was it?"

And the Father replied.

"Tenshi."

"Tenshi?"

"Yeah, it was the Tenshi."

The Father said.

On hearing those words, once again, Gekkou looked up at the stained glass of the church. As expected, on the glass was the drawing of the kneeling Saint Mary who was surrounded by flying angels.

And on top of that, the angels surrounding three learned men.

And the angels surrounding a baby that was born in the stable.

Basically, the angels were naked and were surrounding the humans with an insolent look on their faces.

Looking up at those insolent figures,

"Those Tenshi?"

At Gekkou's query, the Father looked up. And looked at the stained glass.

Looking at the figures of the angels, he shook his head,

"No, those are angels right? Even though I said 'Tenshi' in Japanese to you, we don't call the angels 'Tenshi'."

As he said something difficult to comprehend, Gekkou tilted his head.

"Then, what of earth is the 'Tenshi' you speak of?"

And the Father replied.

In a low voice,

"According to the ancient text, the servants of the Tenma."

He said.

On hearing that, Gekkou looked at the Father.

Tenma...... those words resounded in his head and seemed to strike a link. It wasn't really something strong. But for some reason, he became strangely uncomfortable. Not knowing why he felt that way himself, Gekkou grimaced at the unpleasant feeling.

Tenma --- this word was not foreign to him. It was a term used in both Buddhism and Hinduism.

Maara HapiyasuDemon King of the Sixth Heaven, Hajun.

But,

"Isn't Tenma from Buddhism......"

Gekkou started, but was quickly interrupted by the Father.

"It probably didn't belong to any of those. This sword did not appear in the stories of those religions perceivable by humans. It's probably something a more vile nature."

He said.

And Gekkou looked at the sword once more.

He looked at the crescent-shaped bell-guard.

Indeed, this crescent shape, in a strange way, did not trigger any link with Buddhism or Hinduism. It was clear to him it had received the influence of something else altogether.

"Then what on earth is the Tenma?"

On hearing his query, the Father shrugged his shoulders.

"I wonder. The only opponent against which the sword will not be able to demonstrate its power...... is the servant of the Tenma, that is to say the Tenshi. So, if you ever confront a servant of the Tenma, watch out...... well, even though I said that...... it's not like it's a creature that you will meet everyday. Even after having lived for two hundred and forty years, I've yet see in person that monster known as the Tenshi."

He said.

On hearing that,

"Two hundred and forty years?"

Asked Gekkou, and a smile floated on the Father's face. And then,

"Now, my job is done. The curse will be lifted as well."

He said. With that, he looked down at the broken liquor bottle on the floor sadly,

"Well, I would have wanted to take a final drink of liquor but...... it's fine. Like what you said, even the bible says that alcohol is one of the roots of evil."

After saying that, he laughed. And with that, the skin of his face started to fester. Melting like a lit candle, his body festered, contorted, crumbled, and disappeared.

At the instant the Father disappeared, the scenery around him changed as well.

Just a moment ago, before him, was the inside of a church, where dazzling bright sunlight was streaming through the stained glass, but now, for some reason, he was standing inside a dark, rotten, dilapidated house.

A headless Saint Mary sculpture. Fallen stained glass on a cracked floor. A hole opening up in the roof as a result of the rot, and from there, vines and ivy of the dark forest in the night could be seen creeping into the decrepit building.

Gekkou recalled that scene ---

"............"

In the student council room.

The scene in which the figure of the monster Father, who had lived for two hundred and forty years old, melting into nothingness like a candle.

In the end, you didn't leave me any clue right?, Gekkou wanted to retort stupidly.

However, it seemed like information about the enemy whom he had encountered in class eight could be found in the Father's words, he thought.

The words that talked about a certain monster which was the only type of monster Spell ErrorWicked Blade was ineffective against.

Regarding the Tenma and its servant.

"...... in other words......"

He murmured.

"The silver-haired fella I met today is a Tenshi......"

Following that, he took his cellphone from his pocket and contacted the << Military >>. As before, in just two rings, a woman picked up the phone.

"Yes."

"It's me."

"Yes."

"There's something I need."

"What will that be?"

"Compile all the documents which contain the word 'Tenma'."

"'Tenma', is that right?"

"Yeah."

"Understood."

"Quickly get working if you understood."

"Ye..."

Before the acknowledge could be completed, Gekkou hung up. And once again, he turned towards the Mirai who was still having fun with the whiteboard.

"Hey Mirai."

"Huh?"

"Do you know anything about the Tenma?"

"Nope."

"I thought so."

For now, he found it even a bother to say the words, This fella is useless as usual.

Well, it was probably fine to leave the thinking of a countermeasure against the silver-haired monster until after the << Military >> had sent him the documents related to the Tenma. There was nothing else he could do with the amount of information he had now.

So he moved his thoughts to the next matter on hand.

He moved his thoughts to the next matter, something which he least wanted to think about.

His little brother.

He moved his thoughts to the question on how his little brother had survived, and to the warning he had sent in a high and mighty way.

The main points of his warning were ---

If you intend to keep the mad witch Saitohimea, then, beware of the encroachment from the Moon......

The part which bothered Gekkou most in the warning was the word beware.

It was as if there was real concern and worry in that word,

"............"

Gekkou was irritated. Even though that damn Hinata had been making fun of him all this while, and on top of that, he even attempted to send a demon to devour him,

"And now you're tell me to be careful? Laughable."

He muttered expressionlessly.

Thinking back on Hinata's grinning face, and trying to imagine the darkness of his twisted heart which could not be read off the very face of his which concealed it,

"...... what motive did he have to give me that warning?"

He pondered.

Beware of the encroachment from the moon.

The moon.

"...... the moon......"

After uttering that, he looked at pitch black sword leaning against the desk. He looked at the hilt of the sword. He looked at the hilt which was adorned with a crescent moon.

"...... moon. What on earth will the moon do?"

However, even after thinking through it, it was still impossible for him to understand what he did not know. It was impossible for him to follow after the thought process of Hinata, who was always several steps ahead of him.

Gekkou was again vexed. He stopped thinking for once and looked out the window.

The sky was clear. With not a single cloud in sight. The sun in the afternoon was a little too bright, and as a result of the brightness, his sleep-deprived body could still hold out.

Of course, on such a afternoon, there was no way one could see the moon.

The moon.

Encroachment of the moon.

Saitohimea.

Tenma.

The unfortunate double-headed crow.

After those incomprehensible keywords tossed and turned around in his head for a while, he said.

"...... damn. Let me get some sleep."

With that, once again, he leaned against his chair. And closed his eyes.

"Ah, Gekkou is taking an afternoon nap ~?"

On hearing Mirai's voice,

"No, I'm sleeping."

"Don't you want to go back?"

"Uhn? Yeah...... well, going back is fine as well......"

At that moment.

He opened his eyes in surprise. He opened his eyes in surprise as he felt the rays that were beating down on his exasperated face earlier become weak all of a sudden. And once again, he looked out the window.

Dark clouds from out of nowhere were beginning to cover the sun.

Just a moment ago, the sky was clear and there was not a single cloud in sight, but yet, the sky turned dark before he knew it.

Gekkou looked intently at the sky.

From beside him,

"Erm, you know ~. On the way back, erm ~, can we drop by the bookstore again? There's a manga I want......"

Said Mirai, who had quickly gotten addicted to manga ever since having come to this world, in a timid tone. Recently, she had acquired a tasteful choice of getting into Yokoyama Mitsuteru's sixty volumes of "Romance of The Three Kingdoms". That idiot, where on the shelf can she keep that many volumes, Gekkou thought, but,

"............"

Right now, he did not say anything.

He merely looked out the window, at the sky which was quickly filling up with clouds in an abnormal manner.

Following that, he turned his sight back to the inside of the student council room. He was looking at the wall which the chair he had sat on was facing. An ordinary, cheap-looking wall of a school, with nothing appearing out of the ordinary.

As he continued looking at the wall for a while, Mirai spoke.

"Oh, I just bought one the day before, so does that mean 'no'? But but, right now, I'm at the really awesome part where Sou-Sou had caught Kan-U you know."

"............"

"Well I mean, if you were to read it, I'm sure you will also find it real interestingggggggggggggg!"

"............"

"N-no......?"

On hearing her words, Gekkou turned his sight to face Mirai. She had pretty please!!, pleading look on her face.

He looked at her lovely face. And then.

"Mirai."

He called her name.

"Hweh?"

"Come here for a while."

"Ahh...... geez, are you perhaps angry? Erm, I did take some money from your wallet, but it's just 800 yen you know? And I topped the rest with the pocket money I got from Gekkou......"

But, he ignored all that and stood up. He grabbed Mirai's shoulders and pulled her in. And his lips closed in on her cheek.

"Eh? Eh? What!?"

Shouted Mirai.

Following that, her face turned beet red. And she looked at him in surprise,

"Wah, wah wah wah, wh-why are you kissing me? Why are you kissing me!?"

She said. And she resisted just a little. She pushed her hands against Gekkou's chest, and with a frantic look on her face, she resisted just a little.

But, without being bothered by that, Gekkou pulled her close to his chest. And whispered into her ear,

"Shut up."

On hearing that, for some reason, Mirai had a troubled look on her face. She let go of the strength in her arms, which should have been greater than that of Gekkou, and shut her eyes.

She squeezed shut her eyes.

While Gekkou did not understand why she had to squeeze shut her eyes with an anxious look on her face, as expected, he was indifferent to all that. And with that, in one go, his lips pressed against the cheek of her face, and he said.

"...... I release your curse. Move as I direct you."

In that instant.

In the instant Gekkou's lips touched her cheek.

Mirai opened her eyes.

On top of that, the rubber-made hair band used to tie her hair into a ponytail sprung off, and her hair turned golden.

Flashes of lightning danced around her. Her eyes turning into a piercing golden as well, she returned to her original form.

The powers that should have been sealed by Spell ErrorWicked Blade returned to her.

After taking a look at her body which was entirely sparkling with flashes of lightning, she looked at him,

"Huh, huuuh...... erm, erm, it wasn't just a kiss?"

She said something incomprehensible, but Gekkou pay no heed to it.

Or rather, right now, there was really no time to engage in meaningless talk.

After ascertaining that Mirai had returned to her demon form, once again, Gekkou looked at the wall in the student council room.

He looked at the concrete wall that was covered with only white paint.

And at that moment, the center of the white wall started distorting, turning into a mash-like form.

Something.

Something irregular, from another world, was attempting to infiltrate into this world.

Rather, that was really not something that uncommon. About twice a month, for some reason, from this << Holy Ground >> which can connect to every single dimension, a dragon or a demon or a curse, from a dimension the << Holy Ground >> unintentionally connects to, would come through.

Occasionally, it would open a << Way >> which would allow monster of a really foul nature to come through --- resulting in a troublesome situation which not uncommon, but.

"............"

But, during the time when Gekkou stays in the student council room, this should not be possible.

As a student council president, Gekkou had given eight liters of his blood and formed a contract with the << Holy Ground >>, which would allow him to supervise the management of the dimensional portals through here.

In other words, while Gekkou is in the student council room, because of his power, dimensional portals should not open up randomly and connect to other worlds without his knowledge.

"............"

Right now, before him, a rift that was not opened by him appeared.

Something from some world was attempting to enter this world.

The white wall warped, cracked, and started turning red as if it were stained with blood.

And then.

"...... the enemy is coming."

Said Gekkou.

On hearing that,

"Heh?"

Mirai said.

"From where?"

"From behind you."

"Hweh?"

As she said that, a hole opened up in the wall.

And from that opened hole, a hand extended out. A hand that was larger than the body of a person. No, whether it was accurate to call that a hand or not was another matter. With more than twenty fingers, and claws of a different color each extending from them. Embedded in the rotting, crumbling skin, were crawling earthworm-like things of a disgusting color that were squeaking.

Surprised at the abnormal looking monster, Mirai shouted.

"What the hell is that!?"

"Like hell I know."

"Did Gekkou summon it?"

"I'm not acquainted with anyone like that."

"Then, it's an enemy!?"

"That's right. Anyway, just kill it. Demonstrate your self-proclaimed upper-class demon's power."

As Gekkou ordered, the eyes of Mirai, who had returned to her original form, glittered with an air of confidence.

"Aye aye sir ~!"

And she clenched her fist. Lightning gathered in that fist. She lowered her body. And let her lightning run,

"Take thatttttttttttt!"

She struck the trespassing giant Hand.

Consequently, several fingers of the Hand flew off. Even though there was no cry of pain, it probably took damage nevertheless.

Looking at that,

"...... alright. Can you fend it off for a while?"

Gekkou asked.

A smile then floated on Mirai's face,

"Piece of cake ~"

She said, and this time round, her hair, which was spiked into something resembling lightning, thrust at the hand. And with her right foot which was lit by flashes of lightning, she severed a finger.

After nodding at that, Gekkou retrieved his sword from beside the desk. Following that, instead of facing the monster hand, he turned to look out the window of the student council room.

The sky was becoming much, much more darker. Even though it was not like it was raining, thick clouds had cut the sunlight off from reaching the school and the schoolyard.

And then.

"............"

And then, in a gap between the clouds.

He saw something strange.

A round glow,

"...... is that the moon?"

He muttered, and looked at the clock hanging on the wall of the student council room. It was only two in the afternoon.

It was not yet the time for the moon to rise.

"............"

It was not yet the time for that kind of sinister red moon to rise.

But, at that moment, he remembered again.

He remembered the warning which he just received from Hinata earlier again.

--- if you intend to keep the mad witch, just beware of the encroachment from the Moon.

On remembering those words,

"...... interesting."

Gekkou said as a smile floated on his face. Following that he drew the sword from his waist. And he turned to face the monster that Mirai was fighting,

"...... since Hinata said that it's impossible for me to keep Saitohimea, then isn't this the time to prove him wrong?"

He said.

With that, Gekkou looked straight at the monster hand. And he further looked intently at the dimensional rift from which the hand had come out. At the end of that hand, how abnormally large a body would the owner of that hand possess? And what kind of abnormal, unpleasant world would that monster be residing in?

Even though he had no idea at all,

"...... Mirai."

He said.

Without turning around, Mirai replied,

"W-wait. I'm finishing it off right now."

But, in response to that,

"Get lost. I don't have enough time. I'll kill it."

"Eh?"

Gekkou slipped past the Mirai who was turning around, and Gekkou swung his sword. Reacting to that, the fingers of the hand came assaulting him, but were all cut off by the swing of the sword. He mowed them down. And with that, he jumped, and swung his sword down on the monster's wrist in mid-air. Spell ErrorWicked Blade readily sliced through the wrist, but while it could sever the whole hand, its movements stopped halfway.

And then he said.

"...... exorcise, Spell ErrorWicked Blade."

With that one sentence, everything ended.

A curse darker than the black color of the sword spread across the sword. And the curse spread to the wound of the monster's wrist, and encroached it. The color of the skin of the seemingly rotting hand, turned darker and darker. One of the earthworm-like bugs jumped off from the inside of the skin, bared its fangs and attempted to devour Gekkou, but,

"............"

But, he did not dodge. The reason was because, faster than the movements of the earthworm, the curse of Spell ErrorWicked Blade had invaded the body of the earthworm.

The body of the earthworm that was attempting devour him turned black, and crumbled into ashes.

At that moment, the Hand of the monster that didn't know its place and had invaded the student council room also crumbled and dropped onto the floor.

After ascertaining that, Gekkou sheathed his sword back at his waist. And then he turned his sight to the rift that was forcibly opened in the wall,

"...... now, where on earth does this connect to?"

He said. And peeked into the rift. On the other side of the rift, it was red. A scenery that was red, red, red, like the color of blood, lay before him.

No, perhaps, it was the atmosphere that was red. It seemed a little dubious for this space to be able to sustain human life.

At that moment,

"Heyyyyyyyyy, why did you interfere! Just a little while more, in just a little while more, I would have finished it off as well!"

"Quiet."

"Whatttttttttt! I wanted to finish this fella off and ask you to reward me with a 'Romance of Three Kingdoms' anime DVD box set......"

"I'll buy it for you."

"Eh <3"

"If you'd be quiet, I'll buy anything for you, so keep shut up."

He said.

"Alright!"

After giving an extremely predictable reply, Mirai kept quiet immediately. And with that, with a pair of sparkling golden eyes, she held her mouth with both hands, I'm keeping quiet!, she appeared to be demonstrating to Gekkou.

Of course, Gekkou ignored that and continued inspecting the scenery on the side of the rift. He took out a straw figure the size of his little finger from the pocket of his pants, and tossed it through the hole. The straw figure rolled along and landed at a location which appeared to be some deep red soil.

And nothing happened.

"............"

The straw figure was neither ripped apart nor broken into pieces.

By the way, if that straw figure were to be thrown into a place which could not sustain human life, it would let out an ear-splitting shriek and explode,

"...... somehow, it seems like humans can remain active in that space."

After saying that, he poked his head through the rift. And looked at the surroundings. After ascertaining that there were no other enemies, he withdrew his head back into the student council room.

And looked out the window.

The sky was still dark and the moon was out.

A deep red moon.

A deep red moon, that was of the same color as the other side of the rift in the wall.

"...... beware of the encroachment from the moon, he said......"

Is he talking about this?

Once again, he looked into the rift.

And Mirai asked,

"The moon? Is this connected to the moon?"

"I wonder."

"But the other side of this hole is totally red right?"

"Yeah."

"Uh, is the moon red?"

On hearing that, Gekkou replied.

"...... as far as I know, it's not...... well, let's go take a look. At any rate, it seems like the other side is inviting us."

On saying that, he took a step forward.

But at that moment, the cellphone in his pocket started vibrating.

"...... huh?"

Gekkou took out the phone. Opened it. On the display screen was the map of the school. And on that map, at a certain location, there was a green 'X' flashing on it.

At that juncture,

"...... what's wrong Gekkou. Let's go to the moon already."

Said Mirai.

But Gekkou did not look at Mirai. While staring at the flashing green 'X' on the map of the school,

"...... shit, this is bad."

He said.

"Bad?"

"Yeah."

"What is?"

At that question,

"Someone broke through the school barrier......"

As Gekkou said that, suddenly, Gaaaaaaaaaa, a thunder-like noise seemed to ring out near him.

But, it was not due to thunder.

Once again, Gaaaaaaaaa, a thunderous noise resembling that of real thunder, which seemed to shake the entire school, rang out.

But, that was indeed not due to thunder.

In response to that,

"............"

Once again, Gekkou's sight fell onto screen of the phone where the map of the school was displayed. And then,

Ascertained the location of the green 'X'. That was at the edge of the schoolyard. At the edge of the schoolyard where a large conspicuous camphor tree was standing.

He turned his sight in that direction. And looked at the outside of the school from the window of the student council room.

Before he knew it, rain had started pouring outside. Patter, patter, patter, bit by bit, the rain dirtied the schoolyard, dirtied the camphor tree, and before long, it started falling like a waterfall. The rain was red. Red like the blood. No, perhaps, it was really raining blood.

Gekkou looked intently at the red rain, then looked up at the sky. However, the red moon which he caught sight of just now was hidden away and no longer visible.

But, he knew. He knew that the moon was behind the clouds. He knew that the annoying red moon was behind those clouds.

Beware of the encroachment of the Moon......

He remembered those words again, and on top of that, after having dealt with the incident which began since morning, he had yet to catch up on his sleep and he grimaced at the thought of that,

"...... today is an unlucky day."

Gekkou said. Then he turned on his heel. And was about to step out of the student council room. In order to repair the broken barrier, he wanted to head out to the schoolyard.

However, just when he had taken two steps, his body stopped. Suddenly, as he realized that something had grabbed hold of his neck, he stopped moving.

"Huh?"

Gekkou looked at his own neck. Before he knew it, there were several tube-like things coiled around his neck. Drenched in a red fluid, the tube-like things were coiled around his neck.

Gekkou looked at them.

He looked at the disgusting, red tube-like things resembling a human's innards that were wrapped around his neck. Like the Hand monster earlier, they had entered the room through the rift.

"Enemies again......"

As he said that, with a tremendous strength, the red tubes tugged Gekkou towards the rift. With his neck constricted,

"Tch."

Gekkou clicked his tongue. And he tried to draw his sword. In order to sever the tubes, he tried to draw his sword. However, the hand which he was using to draw his sword was bounded by the tubes as well. He was hauled. He was hauled with a tremendous strength.

And consequently, as a result of the strong haul, Gekkou's body was in the air.

"Drat."

He groaned.

"Uwah, Gekkou is flying!"

Mirai exclaimed in surprise.

Looking in the direction of Mirai, Gekkou said,

"I'm being hauled away. Do something!"

He stretched out the hand that was not bounded by the tubes.

And then,

"Got got got, got it!"

She tried to grab hold of Gekkou's hand. Resisting the pull of the tubes, Gekkou seemed to be able to make it.

But, at that moment, Gekkou considered.

"............"

What if, in fighting the pull of the tubes, Mirai, with her idiotic strength, pulls hard on my arm, then wouldn't my arm get torn off?

He realized.

And at that moment,

"I, I'm coming to save you now, Gekkou!"

As the hand of Mirai, who had a desperate look on her face, came to grab hold of his arm,

"No, as I thought, I don't need your help."

After saying that, he struck her hand with all his might. With that,

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ~!?"

He grabbed hold of the hair of the surprised Mirai, and pulled.

"Ow ow ouchhhhh, ugh, what? What? What are you......"

"I'm bringing you along."

"Ehhhhhhhhhh ~"

"To the moon with me......"

At that moment, both Gekkou and Mirai were readily pulled through the rift, to the other side ---

And they disappeared from the student council room.

---