Yamiyo no Hotaru

Chapter 97

　A sudden thrust from an intruder, enveloped in immense spiritual and youkai power, permeated Kamui's body from behind. It was a complete ambush, even for Kamui. Although Kamui's attention was focused on Tamaki, it seemed that the intruder had been moving stealthily, as Kamui didn't sense his presence. The sudden attack left Kamui shocked and impressed on the inside.

　"Tch...!!?"

　Nevertheless, Kamui quickly turned his body and launched a counterattack. The dark energy from his arm swung at the intruder, but the intruder skillfully dodged it by spinning around. He then moved away without making any contact with Kamui.

　"Attacking without any greetings and not allowing me to retaliate! How tasteless...!!?"

　Slightly grimacing from the pain, Kamui glared at the figure in black robe, who held a Dagger (tantō) with a defensive posture. Kamui licked the blood on his lips and spat out mockingly.

　In reality, the intruder intended to finish Kamui off with his previous thrust, but unfortunately for him, Kamui was not entirely human. His heart didn't reside in its original place, and moreover, his physical form was irregular. Even if the Dagger (tantō) was a really well-made cursed blade, it wasn't strong enough to kill Kamui, which made the intruder pretty bummed out.

　And now, without delay, Kamui launched a counterattack. Just as his body seemed to vanished into darkness, Kamui swiftly approached the person who had attacked him. The guy wearing the Hannya mask dodged Kamui's sword swing and quickly moved with the Teguruma that was released from his side. Kamui was about to be cut in half by a horizontal strike, but he instantly disappeared back into the darkness. He then used the shadows in the tower to sneak up behind the attacker.

　"Tomobe-kun, watch out behind you!!"

　Feeling a premonition that the person who had protected her was about to be harmed, Tamaki involuntarily screamed in a voice that bordered on a scream. However, there was nothing she could do. Kamui's sword was closing in on the figure in black right before her eyes, aiming for his neck.

　However, immediately after that, the wall of the tower was blown away.

　"Huh!?"

　It could have been Tamaki or Kamui who uttered those doubtful words, or perhaps it was both of them. The only certain thing was that it wasn't the guy wearing the Hannya mask's doing.

　Just as confusion settled in, a new intruder arrived at this moment. The intruder came out of a hole in the broken wall of the tower. It was an old lady, looking tired and wearing torn clothes. She had lots of wrinkles on her face. She seemed like a mean giant, with a creepy smile and messed-up, yellow teeth. She looked around as if she was looking for something.

　"Ah!?"

　In an instant, as her eyes met the new intruder, Tamaki couldn't help but let out a small scream. It instantly reminded her of the incident in the village, the memory of facing that cunning weasel. That cold, merciless gaze that seemed to regard others as insects or something similar... Tamaki could almost intuitively understand. The figure before her was on the same level as that weasel or perhaps even more formidable.

　But Tamaki couldn't understand what was happening anymore. She couldn't keep up with the rapidly changing situation that had unfolded since before, and all she could do was cower in fear in that spot.

　Meanwhile, the old woman completely ignored Tamaki's condition and finally found what she was searching for. Two people became frozen with surprise when they saw her. Specifically, the guy dressed in black robes, wearing a Hannya mask. He could sense a strong spiritual and youkai energy coming from the old woman. On the other hand, the old woman grinned widely, showing her happiness to everyone.