In response to the demon's words, Shiro took a moment to confirm and finally accepted them, collapsing on the spot. And then, she began to sob softly, releasing tears of relief. It was proof of how much she had been worrying about her waiting companions.
...Of course, the demon was merely not telling a 'lie.' Indeed, that light was not an explosion, and that light wouldn't cause the servant's death. However, the danger to his servant's life was not the only concern.
"Nihihihi. Now then, what will happen from here..."
Just as the demon was about to indulge in her imagination of what would happen next, her expression suddenly turned blank. She became expressionless, gazing at the dim eastern sky.
"Some uninteresting guy has arrived."
"Huh...?"
"Well, that's the way it goes. I guess it's about time for me to leave. And you're quite amusing, aren't you, to wet yourself at this age,"
After casually uttering such words, in the next moment, the demon's figure vanished without a trace.
"Huh? Wait... Where are you... or rather!?"
Suddenly appearing and disappearing at will, Shiro searched the surroundings for the demon's figure. However, a moment later, she understood her remark and reflexively pressed her damp lower abdomen, screaming as she realized the reality.
"Eeek... No way..."
Facing reality and pondering the future, the white fox involuntarily raised her tearful voice and looked up at the sky. She sighed. And then, right after that, she spotted something in the sky.
Descending slowly towards this place was a person riding a simple form shiki...
* * *
"I'm... alive?"
As I regained consciousness, lying sprawled on the snowy field, I murmured. The last memory that flashed through my mind was the horrifying old woman's appearance and the jade light filling my vision at close range...
"I'm not... dead?"
Regardless of Iruka and the others, I was certain that being at such a close distance would undoubtedly make me caught up in the explosion...!?
"Ugh!? My body... feels heavy...!"
As I tried to stand up, I immediately collapsed back to the ground. Almost no strength coursed through my entire body. My legs couldn't support me.
"Yama... nba...!?"
Desperately scanning the surroundings, I found it. Or rather, she was right there, very close by.
A dried-up skin-only corpse was discarded there. She almost seemed like a salted slug. However, upon closer inspection, it became clear what it was. Next to her lay a mass of jade partially buried in the snow.
"No way... this thing...!?"
Perhaps Gorilla-sama had tampered with it. The jade block seemed to have absorbed the surrounding youkai aura and spiritual energy instead of exploding. The result was my pitiful state, with no strength left, collapsed beside the remains of Yamanba's skin-only corpse.
"Ah!? That's right!! Where's Iruka!? And Hikorokurō!?"
Immediately, I realized, as if it were a belated thought, about the well-being of the others. I looked around even more, mustering the remaining strength and staggering as I stood up.
"Iruka!!?"
The first one I found was Iruka, who had fallen relatively close by. Most likely, she had also lost her spiritual power and faint due to the jade, collapsing next to the old man's puppet-like figure. I desperately made my way towards the half-youkai woman.
It seemed that although she had lost consciousness, she was not in immediate danger. She let out a small sigh, her chest rising and falling. I felt relieved and sighed in response. And...
'(o≧▽<)o Papa, I'm fine too!!'
"Well, I don't really care about you."
I calmly replied to the white spider, who had climbed on top of Iruka's head and winked. Now that they were safe, there was still...
"Ugh... Guh...!?"
"Hikorokurō!? Where are you!?"
Picking up on that faint groan, I listened intently and started running desperately. After a while, I found it—a protruding arm from the snow.
"Is that it...? I'm coming right away! Just hold on!"
Ignoring the weight and pain I felt in my body, I pushed myself forward and reached the spot. When I got there, I began digging through the snow with my hands. I didn't have any tools to help me uncover him, so I didn't have any other option. I couldn't just leave him buried in the snow, risking him freezing to death.
"S-ser... vant...?"
"Hold on!! I'll help you soon!"
In response to the faint but unmistakable voice, I loosened my expression and shouted. All the soldiers who accompanied us, except for Hikorokurō, had died. I wanted to at least save him. I didn't want anyone else to die because of me. So, that's why...!
"!!?"
But I stopped digging through the snow, not because my fingers were frostbitten or my nails were torn. Those injuries didn't matter much to me. The situation was actually much worse.
Sadly, it appeared that the snow couldn't provide any relief. It covered his wound, stopped the bleeding, and numbed the pain. I couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing.
One thing I knew was that Hikorokurō had received a fatal injury but couldn't die so easily.
"S-ser... servant. How did it go? Did you do it?"
"A... yeah..."
I had been silently staring at the horrific state of his lower body for a while, desperately trying to understand the meaning behind his words and responding weakly.
"Hehe, I see... If that's the case, it was worth the trade-off."
"Don't talk too much... I'll treat you immediately."
I knew that conventional treatment wouldn't work in this situation. However, I still had something I could do, even in this circumstance. I didn't know if it would work like with Iruka. But...!!
"S-Stop it..."
"!?"
Hikorokurō advised me against biting my finger to create a wound. Most likely, he understood the implications and warned me against it.
"...You'll die, you know? Is it okay?"
"It's not good. But I don't want to become a monster... And it's not right for the sole survivor to go on living, right?"
After murmuring those words, Hikorokurō vomited. He spat out bright red vomit. His end was near. This soldier looked at me, understanding the meaning. I then brought my ear close to his mouth.
"If, by some chance, you manage to survive..."
I listened intently to Hikorokurō's words, capturing every single one of them in my memory.
"Cough!"
And as he uttered his final words, the soldier coughed. He coughed up blood. And that was the end of it.
There was no light left in his eyes.
"..."
'(・ω・`?)? Pa-pa?
In response to the call, I shifted my gaze. There was a white spider at my feet, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. It looked up at me and tilted its head in confusion. It seemed to not understand the situation. With its gaze far too low, it couldn't see Hikorokurō clearly.
"Don't wander around on your own, you fool."
'(. >д<) Ouch!?'
I gave the white spider a flick on the head for now. It jumped back and then flew behind me, rubbing its teary eyes against my head. Shrugging my shoulders in exasperation, I once again looked at the soldier before me. I closed his eyelids and I stood up.
"Alright, let's go quickly. First, I'll retrieve that Iruka... Then it's a matter of how to explain it, huh?"
I picked up the white spider and placed it on my shoulder, surveying the surroundings. Two calamity youkai defeated, although it wasn't due to my transforming into a youkai. But how should I cover it up? Truly, it's troublesome even after it's all over... Huh!?
"Ah!? It's not going to go so smoothly, huh?"
As I surveyed the surroundings, I noticed its presence and prepared myself. I cursed my own dullness, astounded by the fact that I hadn't noticed it in my peripheral vision until now.
Standing among the trees, roughly two hundred steps away, it stared at me intently. The towering giant with one arm missing, wearing a ragged straw protective garment and a red face, was fixedly gazing in my direction.
Namahage was staring at me.
"...!!?"
At that moment, an overwhelming presence bore down on me. Sweat erupted from my entire body, and I felt as if my breath was being choked.
(Hey...!? Seriously? Has it gotten stronger than before?)
Even with the power of his abilities, the entity before me was clearly enhanced. I couldn't understand it. Why? Moreover, there was only one proper means for me, unarmed as I was, to fight it...
(Is it time to pay the tribute?)
This time, I made up my mind. I steeled myself and then... Namahage turned his back on me.
"Huh? Wait...!!? Ugh!?"
Taken aback for a moment by Namahage's action, I tried to stop him. I didn't want him to attack any more villages.
However, my efforts were in vain. My body had reached its limit. Immediately after taking a step forward, I collapsed onto the snow.
"W-wait...!!"
I groaned, trying to call out and stop Namahage, but he didn't even turn around. He simply left the scene, indifferent to my pleas.
"D&mn it...!!"
Frustrated by my own powerlessness, I couldn't do anything. I was overwhelmed by my own sense of helplessness.
And even after Namahage had disappeared, the situation didn't improve. In fact, it was the opposite.
With Namahage gone, the creatures that had been hiding in fear of his presence finally emerged.
