Nobuyuki Sanada, Koyasan, Kiikuni, September 11th, 1908
Run through the mountains.
All I can hear is everyone's breath and the fire that burns everything. Fortunately, the black smoke didn't come because of the wind. The sky is rising straight up. If you breathe that black smoke, your life will be in danger. Lucky you, really.
However, even though it is autumn, I can't stop sweating. My chest hurts. My breath hurts. But I'll never stop. I'm not gonna stop you!
I mean, if you turn around here, you'll definitely regret it. I didn't tell everyone, but it wasn't just a good opportunity to make a move.
There must be a lot of children in that place. And the girls who were taken. And... that boy too.
There is no way that the boy could escape from the scene of the fire. They're trained to move without orders. The imagination of sitting in the indicated place is more vividly imagined than the imagination that has already escaped.
You may still be in pain. With that in mind, I couldn't turn up the sound with this much fatigue.
(I will help you, so... please, stay safe!)
When I raised my voice, I suddenly began to hear a noisy voice coming from the front. We were close to our destination.
When I quietly raised my right hand, I killed all my breaths and closed my ears.
"...... but...... not yet"
"The water... is...... ru"
"...... escaped......"
I heard him. Immediately, I turned my gaze toward the voice, and there were three shaved-headed men. They're coming towards us to escape.
At that moment, anger grew from the bottom of my stomach.
- Why are they trying to escape? "Leaving many noble lives behind..."
I continued to breathe, and as soon as one of the men entered the range, I jumped out of the bush and grabbed it.
"Naah!?...... Grrrrrr!?"
I slammed my throat against the trunk of a nearby tree. Perhaps the momentum was too strong, but the air leaking from the man's mouth was causing his body to tremble. With a slight relaxation, the light returned to the man's eyes.
Suddenly he turned his gaze to the side, and the other two were sunk in the sea of blood. Apparently, it was already processed. The only way to get information is to ask this guy. We don't have much time. It can't be helped if it becomes a little rough.
I pulled out my sword and attached it to the man's neck.
Are you a Koyasan Shingon Buddhist monk?
The man nodded tinyly as he felt horrified by the cold blade.
"What caused the fire?"
"I-I don't know... hiii?! Oh, it's true!! I really don't know! When I woke up in the morning... the boys were making a lot of noise. The fire spread quickly...... but now the fire momentum has gradually subsided....."
Lightly pressing the blade, the man opened his mouth in a hurry. No lies were found in those eyes, and the colour of fear was just spreading. Apparently, he didn't lie.
However, I noticed that it was thanks to the man opening his mouth. Inadvertently, the hand holding the small sword gets stronger.
"Why, you didn't notice the fire." Why did the children realize it beforehand? ”
"Oh, that's...... I was having a feast last night......"
………………
Yes... I could easily imagine that I didn't notice the fire because I was drunk from the smell of alcohol. My vision is dyed bright red with anger. The man's neck was also dyed bright red sometime.
"Hee!? I had no choice!! It is rare for an actor to come from Kyoto! Yes, I did drink a little too much... but it's bad that the boys couldn't put out the fire in the first place! We're not bad! The scraps you can't use are bad!!"
"...... Is that the pretext for stealing the golden object and escaping?"
"......?!"
A man dyed in amazement. I don't know why... I could see through that question. The money came out of the pockets of the men who had already dealt with it. There was no doubt that this man also had it.
And I could understand that this man was an outpost that was not worth saving.
"Finally, there is only one thing to ask." Where are the children all the time? "
"Hah, hah? He's always in the livestock hut--"
... there was no word to follow. When I crushed my neck as it fell to the ground, I squeezed straight ahead. There was a beast path that those men walked on. There's a gate that leads to the precinct.
"Let's go."
Oh!!
The rage rising from the bottom of his body restores his exhausted health. We must destroy them. We must hunt every last one of them. If we survive alone, we will repeat the same thing elsewhere.
- We must not let any more tragedies happen.
Everyone takes the same vow and pushes their legs to the chest. It was the face of a determined warrior. It was the face of a man who decided he was prepared to kill to protect his precious things.
He ran across the road without a path and made fine scratches all over his body, and finally arrived in the territory where he showed us how far away it was from us.
"... by the way, what's this about?"
Words that someone muttered reach my ears in the wind. The cool breeze surrounded by forest is what comes to mind. The mysterious atmosphere was an elegant place where everyone was convinced that he had been chosen to heal people's hearts and be chosen by his Kobo Daishi.
But now there is no such thing as a fragment.
The sharp, cool scenery that I felt on my previous visit disappears, and the ashes and soot are scattered all over the place. The fire subsided a lot, but most of the buildings were still roasted with sparks. In the sky, pitch-black clouds are spreading, and it will rain soon. It was a fire of that magnitude. It is not funny when it rains.
In such a situation, a man with a shaved head jumped out from the building in front of him in a panic. Then, she screamed as she looked at us and gave us a look of despair.
"Oh, then Oda ahhh!!? Oda army, then ahhhh!!"
.........!
That's disgusting... we'll have to deal with it quickly. Looking at us like that, the man runs away in a semi-frenzy.
"Odaaaaaaaaaaaaah!? I don't want to! Oh, no! Oh, no! Don't die yet!! I'm dying--"
At that time, an arrow jumped from the side of the bushes and pierced the man's eyebrows. A man who falls powerless. As the stains of blood spread, the one who had fired the arrow appeared. Point the tip of the spear at the shadow.
"I'm sorry, Genjiro! You're a little late!"
"... was it Saito-sama?"
Lower the spear. The man who killed him was a member of the Red Ghosts. He was supposed to have gathered his troops at the crowd fortress, but apparently he rushed in to see how things were changing. Behind him are soldiers who are equally well-equipped.
What about the other units?
"The Akimoto team is going south." The Kanzaki team is going to take a little longer. "
"...... Now, let's ask the Kanazaki team to turn back." Don't let the leaked enemy soldiers escape. Saito-sama, please join us like this. "
"Oh! Got it!" I'll send a message to Kanzaki! "
Thank you very much.
I lowered my head to Saito-sama, who slapped my chest forcefully with his right hand. Saito-sama, one of the unit commanders, was still accustomed to battle and behaved with dignity. I, like Lord Saito, have to show you that I'm not a good enough general to hold an army!
Once again, I turned to the soldiers and put my spear on them.
"From now on, no one confronts the non-humanitarians and becomes an out-of-humanity beast! Hunt every last one of them! Scratch the trees and find them! Rescue the captive woman and child! It was time to put an end to the tragedy with our hands!!"
Ohhhhhhhhhh!!!
”Charge!!!”
While screaming, we aimed at the main hall of Koyasan Shingon Buddhism and stepped forcefully.