More Valuable Than Gold

RYUUJI SWIFTLY DREW HIS SWORD AND DONNED HIS HELMET. As he did so, the magic barrier that concealed their position began to dissolve from multiple sides. Moments later, he heard a soft humming noise coming from the same directions where the barrier was breached.

“They’re resonance dampeners,” Hotaru explained. “It’s specialized equipment used to counter Kotodama. I won’t be able to get us out of here until we silence them.”

She didn’t seem surprised in the slightest, even though Ryuuji had never heard of that kind of technology. Forget the ATC, even in the Arcane Containment Unit he had little in the way of Kotodama countermeasures.

“Who are these guys?” Ryuuji asked in a low voice, feeling the presence of at least five individuals approaching them. Even as his eyes glowed with magic, it was difficult to get a good read on them.

“They’re called the Hands,” replied Hotaru. “Special forces from the Red Thread.”

Ryuuji raised an eyebrow at the name. Much like their technology, he’d never heard of them, but something different was amiss.

To his knowledge, the Red Thread was a civilian conglomerate focused on energy and technological industries. They shouldn’t have a private military at their command, yet they seemed to be Hotaru’s longtime nemesis, with the equipment to take her on.

“Stay your blade, mercenary,” a muffled voice called out, his figure partially shrouded by fog as he approached them. “My name is Sōma. I lead a task force aimed at capturing this woman, Kisaragi Hotaru. I believe you should know her as the Wandering Songstress.”

“I’m aware,” Ryuuji replied.

“In that case, you should know there is a bounty on her. One billion yen, tax-free and paid without questions. If you help us catch her, it’s all yours.”

“What, you’ll give me all that money from the goodness of your heart?”

“Of course not,” Sōma laughed. “Our patron will pay us much more than that.”

“So you say, but I’ve never heard of you.”

“Well, that’s no affront to your intellect. Let’s just say we’re a specialized force, tailor made to capture that lady over there. You may not be aware, but she’s also the one known as the Voice of Ruin. You know, back from the miasma incident in New Year’s.”

“Is this true?” said Ryuuji, turning his blade to Hotaru.

“Don’t believe him,” she replied. But before her spell could reach Ryuuji, a talisman on Sōma’s armor disintegrated with a buzzing noise, nullifying the effect.

“Come here, quick!” Sōma urged Ryuuji, who didn’t miss the chance to teleport behind him.

Hotaru clicked her tongue and took a step back, her stance low and cautious.

“Take these, use one immediately if she targets you,” Sōma said, offering him a handful of pitch-black talismans. At a glance, Ryuuji could tell they were packed to the brim with cursed energy.

“Thanks,” he replied, but he didn’t take any of the talismans. Instead, with his blade wreathed in arcane energy, he stabbed straight through Sōma’s heart.

“Guh...!” the man groaned, his eyes gaping in horror as the bloodied sword stuck from his chest. Try as he may, he couldn’t muster his voice to curse at Ryuuji.

The roar of gunfire immediately erupted and Ryuuji’s figure vanished from sight, leaving only specks of teleportation residue as Sōma’s body collapsed to the ground.

Hotaru, in turn, broke to a sprint and whispered for a spherical defensive barrier. Dozens of bullets bounced off its surface, crackling with cursed energy as they chipped away at her spell.

She zigzagged and made to the trees for cover, having a general idea of where the bullets were coming from. However, before she collected herself for a counterattack, a familiar presence came knocking on the doors of her mind.

It was Ryuuji, looking to form a telepathic link.

Hotaru allowed him to make the connection, and soon his voice flowed into her.

“There’s four of them left. They’re all shooting, but I think they’re spellcasters,” he said, surveying the battlefield from above with a levitation spell. All of their opponents had mana signatures, but they seemed to favor firearms for some reason.

“They are, but they’re holding back their magic to counter me,” Hotaru explained. “I can’t get close to them. Can you silence the dampeners?”

“Yes. How quickly do you want me to?”

“Right now, if you please.”

“Got it. Cover your ears.”

Hotaru did as instructed, and as she did, a flash of magic shone from the sky.

Then, the tremendous blast of a thunderclap erupted. The sound was deafening, leaving the unprepared men on the ground in a daze.

“Earth swallow thee!” yelled Hotaru, opening a rift beneath the feet of her aggressors. Distorted by the echo of Ryuuji’s spell, their dampening devices failed to counter her and three of the men fell into the ground’s gaping maws. Their bones grated and crunched as the earth closed on them, turning the lakeside into their tomb.

“You bastards!” screamed the last survivor, turning his rifle to Ryuuji in the air. But by the time he opened fire, he had already teleported to ground level, and was swinging his blade at the man.

The soldier dodged the attack by a hair’s breadth, his dampener buzzing at full power in case Hotaru tried something. Ryuuji pressed on, and the soldier met him with his own sword, throwing his gun away.

Their blades clashed with arcane fury, the silhouettes of their strikes dancing like fireflies in the night. Whoever this man was, he was no slouch, Ryuuji thought. Even with Hotaru at his back, he wasn’t confident on his victory in a straight swordfight.

Thus, Ryuuji disengaged with a teleportation spell and drew a summoning charm from his belt. His opponent chased after, looking to overwhelm him.

An inherent weakness of teleportation was that it prevented the user from casting anything else for a few seconds. The soldier knew he was the superior swordsman, so if he could engage Ryuuji while his magic was down, then victory would be his.

That was the plan, at least.

Somehow, a second teleportation spell triggered in quick succession before the soldier could reach him. The magic was much smaller in scale, just enough to teleport a compact item… and the soldier was experienced enough to understand he’d been had.

“You’re such a scumbag,” said the man, staring down the barrel of the handgun Ryuuji had just summoned.

“It’s nothing personal,” he replied, his hand firm on his revolver as it brimmed with magic. Then, without farewells or ceremony, he opened fire to the soldier’s chest.

Six shots, each of them meeting their mark. They punched through the man’s armor like paper, running him all the way through.

The soldier collapsed backward with a dry thud, and as the battlefield went silent, Hotaru stared at Ryuuji with amazement.

“Holy cow, you’re strong.”

“Says the one who got three of them.”

“Yeah, thanks to you.”

“Well… it was both of us,” Ryuuji compromised, hoping Hotaru didn’t mind his dirty tactics. They were a far cry from the honor and glory they preached in the military, but now as a mercenary, anything that worked would do.

So long as the law allowed it, of course. And in that note...

“We just killed five men,” it dawned on him as he surveyed the aftermath.

Forget about being an outcast, now he was a full-fledged criminal. When the Bureau realized what he’d done, just how big of a bounty would they put on his head?

“So this is why she stayed away...”

He clenched his fists in frustration, dreading how long Hotaru had been on the run alone with bounty hunters on her trail. How many close calls had she had so far? How many lives had she been forced to take to defend herself? And all of this without anyone to rely on...

Ryuuji shuddered at the thought.

An awkward silence descended on them, and Hotaru’s expression was fraught with worry and guilt. No doubt she had seen through him, Ryuuji realized.

Thus, he quietly walked to her and gently took her in his arms.

She returned the gesture, resting her head against him.

“Let’s go home, Hotaru.”

“Do you have a place in mind?”

“Yeah. I have a hidey hole in town.”

“In that case, then… let us go, my Prince.”

Hotaru pressed her lips to his cheek, and one moment later, they vanished from the bloodied shores of the mountain lake.