The Weight of Our World

Sylvan : Decay

Hanami, although gentle for a cursed spirit, had no love for humanity. He created balls of wood, now pushing them away from him. He poured all his effort into either escaping or eliminating them. He couldn't leave the veil until they had it taken down or else they might find out about Mahito and his group.

Panda and Maki realized that as he put more and more distance between them. They knew that, if allowed to escape, they may very well kill anyone. Maki gave the order,"The mission has changed from distraction to keeping it in one place. Don't let it escape!"

When Maki's weapon snapped in half, she wielded both halves as two separate weapons. She could feel herself slowing down and so she took more risks. Panda didn't tire like she did, but his attacks were getting weaker as less and less cursed energy had been put behind them. Nobara had been running out of nails so she came up close, picking some of the salvageable ones off the ground to reuse against the curse. Toge gave another stop command, feeling it tear into his throat as if he were swallowing needles.

Hanami shot several seeds at Nobara and she instinctively defended herself. Cursed Buds took root in her arms until she dropped her defenses, halting their growth. She aimed a nail at the point where the roots branched out from the stem,"If this is the game you want to play, then I'm all for it."

The hammer came down, using herself as a straw doll. The damage did nothing more than startle Hanami, the arm not being a vital limb. Several nails were pushed through, each one hurting less than the last until the seeds withered, Hanami realizing his technique had been weaponized against him.

She pried out each nail, resuming her attack from before with a little difficulty due to the damage her arm sustained. Toge took a deep breath, preparing himself mentally,"Blast away!"

That was it. His limit had not only been reached, but he went too far. His mouth filled with blood and he had to keep it open with his head down to avoid choking on any of it. It would take a month or two to recover. On the bright side, however, Hanami had been thrown across the battlefield and off balance, giving Maki another opening to exploit.

"Panda, get Toge out of here!"she said,"Nobara and I can handle this for now."

"Are you sure? This is-"

"Not the time for debate. We'll run if we have to,"Maki said,"But right now we don't. If you can, find Ieiri first."

"Alright, but you better come back in one piece,"Panda said.

"Of course,"Maki said,"I promise."

Panda took Toge and left, leaving the two girls to fend for themselves. Nobara grinned,"This reminds me of our first date. We were interrupted by some dumb cursed spirit."

Maki rolled her eyes,"You chased after it. That doesn't count."

"Yes, it does,"she said, pulled Maki back by her collar in time to avoid one of Hanami's punches,"It was like someone spilled their drink onto my dress."

There were footsteps behind them, quick and light. Maki looked back before pulling Nobara down into a lower position. Yuji came overhead, sending his heel into Hanami's face with enough power to knock the cursed spirit over. Todo wasn't far behind, in less of a rush, analyzing the situation.

"I suggest you two leave,"Todo said,"I can't guarantee your safety."

Maki huffed,"We never asked you to."

A smile stretched across his face,"Man, I have to remember to spar with you Tokyo students some time. You've got more of a spine than most of my classmates."

"No. They just don't like you,"Maki said, getting up,"And I can see why."

"They don't have to,"Todo said, walking past them,"Just stay out of my way and you'll be fine."