Yamiyo no Hotaru

Chapter 46

In a corner of Kizuki's residence in Shinden-zukuri style, in a spacious room in the east wing of the residence, stood a girl.

　She had cleared out the entire eastern wing, which was originally partitioned on all four sides by wooden walls for meditation. There, she laid a rug on the floor and prepared for meditation by placing a Karabitsu (chinese chest) and a dagger (tantō) in front of her. Nearby her is a lighted candlestick, which illuminates the entire room.

　"..."

　After a moment of silence, she removes her clothes. Without hesitation, she throws away all her clothes following gravity, and reveals her slender, delicate, white skin to the dark night. The sight of a beautiful girl standing without a stitch of clothing in a room with only candlelight was beyond sensuality and lust; it was a kind of godlike, even fantastic. A scholarly person might have compared her to the sun goddess of ancient times.

　"..."

　Silently, she sits upright. Then she grabs a small knife (kogatana) that is placed in front of her.

　The blade of the knife shines in the dimly lit room. Then she smiles, understanding the meaning of the gruesome act she was about to perform. But she understood who and for what this horrific and terrible act was, and how precious it was, so she was happy to be able to do it.

　"Ugh... Hghh..."

　The knife is slowly thrust down... and she moans from the stimulation in her stomach and in her heart. Almost a gasp. However, it was not a sound of anguish from pain.

　"Ah...haa~! Ahaha!!"

　...Rather, it was a cry of a female who was drowning in pleasure and laughing with delight.

　Sweat is pouring out of her white skin. Along with the horrifying sound of severed flesh, a fishy smell fills the air, and a sweet voice sounds out of place. The woman's face was obviously crumpled, distorted, and debauched, despite the extreme pain. And yet, her arms do what they are supposed to do, silently and solemnly. She gouges it out cleanly, vividly, and precisely, so as not to damage it. Extract the object.

　In the beginning, it didn't go well and she failed three times in a row... but now that she has had a lot of practice, she has gotten used to it, and within just one clean, flawless attempt, after retrieving it and placing it in the chest, Hina lets out a sigh of relief. She exhaled sweetly, holding her burning-hot belly and her heart.

　The next moment, her abdomen ignited. The small, dark room is filled with light.

　"Ah... it's no good. This is happening again. It's going to fire as soon as I'm weak."

　Hina muttered in some disappointment at the burning, "annihilating" crimson flame in her stomach.

　That's right. "Annihilate." It is a flame of "annihilation. It is a flame, not a fire. More precisely, concentrated spiritual power acts on reality in the form of flames, denying, falsifying, and transforming events by "burning" them. Scholars of independent capitals in the west, who have passed on advanced and systematized academic knowledge since the days of the late empire, would probably describe it as "deceiving the world by coating it with spiritual power".

　But such a detailed principle is not important for Hina. What is important is that this ability is triggered almost automatically when she is about to die, or when she dies. Thanks to this, she could not enjoy the afterglow of the feeling of accomplishment after the removal. It is a totally unattractive thing.

　"That's right. It's really not tasteful. Just when I'm thinking of him...!"

　It's a truly loathsome power. If she didn't have this power, she might not have been carried to Kizuki's house, and she might have ended up as a mere child of a concubine, without attracting anyone's attention. But then, it would have been much easier for her to meet him...