Chapter 20: Timely and Untimely
The battle was in a tense state. However, Haruki was panting incessantly. In contrast to Haruki, Itsuki was extremely energetic; he had entered a serious state and didn't say a single word. His face was cold and emotionless.
Suddenly, a green energy arrow flew from afar toward Itsuki. Before he could raise his sword to block, he was hit. The arrow pierced through his waist and flew into the woods, hitting a tree and causing it to explode and collapse immediately.
Itsuki clutched his waist and stood leaning against a tree trunk. Energy was constantly radiating, enveloping his body.
Kuroha ran up, holding a bow that looked like it was made from a small branch, with a few green leaves still on it. Kuroha looked around worriedly.
"Are you okay, Haruki?"
"I'm fine."
Haruki ran to where Morita was lying, his body charred like a piece of coal. Placing a hand on his chest, he felt Morita's heart still beating. Haruki hoisted Morita onto his shoulder and ran quickly toward Yuna, who was treating Himura.
"Kuroha, don't go near him. He's trying to both heal and defend; if you get close, he'll make his energy explode."
"I know."
"Ms. Yuna? How is Himura's situation?"
Yuna, exhausted from having to treat Himura's severe wounds, nodded.
"He's stable now."
Haruki knelt and set Morita down, looking at Yuna with trusting eyes.
"Save Morita quickly, he's not doing well."
Kuroha knelt on one knee. Drawing the bow, an energy arrow began to form, emitting a thick green light. Her eyes closed in total concentration. The arrow pointed straight at Itsuki, who was surrounded by dense energy.
— If I can't get close, I'll destroy it from a distance. Your energy may be vast, but I am an Elf.
Sensing Kuroha's energy, Haruki ran closer to observe.
— Attacking from a distance is probably the only good choice now.
Inside his mass of energy, Itsuki also sensed danger and sent a cry for help to Kiryuu.
— Help me, Mukuro, I feel like I can't escape.
Scene Change.
Before being hit, Kazuka had thrown his sword into the air. Kiryuu was caught off guard after receiving the distress signal from his brother.
The sword fell from the sky, aiming straight for Kiryuu's head. But he regained his senses in time, reached over his head, caught Kazuka's sword, and threw it aside. He looked at Kazuka angrily.
"Brat, with that wound, you'll probably die anyway."
Kiryuu turned and ran away, his expression changing to one of worry.
— Wait for me, I'm coming, Brother.
Kazuka was lying face down on the ground with excruciating pain from the wound on his back.
— Damn it, I only know how to stop the bleeding with energy. I still don't know how to heal myself.
His vision was fading as he watched Kiryuu run off.
— I... I can't let him reach the others. Though I don't know the situation there, if he gets to everyone, there will definitely be trouble.
Suddenly, Kazuka's eyes widened as he looked at Kiryuu.
— He's running toward my trap. I need to get up, get up now, Kazuka, I have to finish him.
Grabbing a stone right beside him, Kazuka stood up with difficulty. He swung his arm and threw the stone toward a branch; the branch was tied with a vine, which immediately received the signal.
Kiryuu was running, not noticing the bushes ahead. Just as he got very close, two wooden spears with sharp tips—prepared by Kazuka beforehand—suddenly launched.
They fired; one spear pierced straight into Kiryuu's stomach and the other into his heart. His eyes bulged, his mouth hung open. His body froze as if he hadn't yet understood what happened, then crumpled and fell back a distance.
— What the...? Did I fall into a trap?
His empty eyes looked at the starry sky twinkling above. His eyes opened wide, his body trembling. Blood flowed from the two wounds like a flood. Fresh red blood sprayed from his mouth.
Kazuka stepped forward with sword in hand.
"You're a murderer, aren't you? Why did you choose to kill? Why don't you live like a normal person?"
"Are you curious?"
Mukuro smiled slightly, his throat being blocked by blood. His voice sounded like someone choking on water.
"Why are you asking me, I'm about to die, kid."
"I can't believe I fell for a kid's trap. So, from the start, was I always in a big trap?"
Tears were flowing from the corners of his eyes.
"I hate traps, I really hate traps. Why have I always been set up since I was little? Why did this damn life turn me into this?"
"Brother... Brother... I'm so afraid of dying."
Kazuka shouted.
"Why are you crying? Did you cry when you killed people? Did you have feelings then?"
He closed his eyes as if wanting to let everything go and rest.
"I killed to survive! I was once a child like any other; I knew how to cry, I knew how to laugh. I lived with my brothers and didn't care who my parents were."
"Brother Rei was beaten to death for stealing a few loaves of bread. That's when I started having different feelings. I slowly understood that this world is not peaceful for the weak, and not wonderful when you don't have power."
"We were just rats trying to live in a human world. When I was your age, I killed for the first time. To be honest, I didn't know what my feelings were then."
"You're just a kid, you probably don't understand. The adult world is different from what you think."
"I didn't want to live a life of being hunted all the time either. I wanted to die too... to let it all go."
"But... But..."
He coughed a few times, pain wracking his whole body.
"I needed to live for my brother."
Kazuka raised his sword to finish him.
"Actually, you avoided my trap from the beginning. It's just that you suddenly panicked and ran, but I didn't expect the direction you ran to be the target of my previous trap."
"Oh, is that so? So I was controlled by my emotions at that moment."
"Although I only heard a bit of your story, that's enough to make me understand a part of the world—when I'm older, there will be many more unpredictable things."
"Let's just say that's the case."
"Thank you for using your remaining energy to talk to me."
"I feel like some of my thoughts have been cleared after talking to you. So I will call you my life teacher."
Kiryuu's eyes closed peacefully, and Kazuka lowered his blade.
He dropped the bloody sword and collapsed to the ground.
"I'm still too weak. I hope everyone is okay."
— The adult world, huh? Am I still not grown up?
As Kazuka's eyes were about to close, someone suddenly stepped forward. The pressure from his energy source made it impossible for Kazuka to breathe, and his body felt as if it were being crushed into the ground.
He tried to look up. A person in all-white clothes. Only a few details on the collar and sleeves were black. He was very handsome with white hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows. His eyes looked down at Kazuka. Those eyes were not like a normal person's. They were composed of many jet-black lines, arranged in a fan shape and pointing toward the white of the eye. Those lines only slightly overlapped the white. It looked very eerie.
He spoke in an extremely indifferent tone and walked to Mukuro's corpse.
"Oh, you're truly useless. You couldn't even find one Elf."
Suddenly, another person appeared right behind him. These two had very similar outfits, but the newcomer had long hair, looking like a prince from a comic book.
"What are you doing here with that energy source? Trying to scare a dying kid?"
"Hmph, what are you worried about? I was just bored and taking a stroll. And you call that a kid?"
"Let's go back."
Inside Mukuro's mind, he was sitting in a corner, next to Kiryuu, who had the exact same appearance as Mukuro.
"Sorry, it seems I can't fulfill my promise to help and protect you, Mukuro."
"You were distracted."
"Come on, why blame only me? When we received Brother Itsuki's call for help, you and I both reacted the same way."
"By the way, why did you talk to that kid like that, Mukuro?"
Mukuro looked away like a child.
"Who knows?"
Kiryuu smiled.
"I've lived with you for over ten years, haven't I? It seems I'm about to be assimilated by your weak emotions."
"Where are you strong?"
Itsuki's expression was a mix of worry and surprise as he suddenly lost contact with his younger brother.
— "I'm sorry, Brother... I can't get to you..."
— "What? Hey... Hey... Mukuro!"
"Damn it, I need to escape this suppression."
"Giving myself to my emotions is always the choice in desperate situations."
A loud scream echoed through the night; an enormous explosion enveloped a vast space. It was even larger than the ultimate move Asano had used.
"Aaaaaa... I can't die... I will live!"
Haruki felt this and shouted loudly.
"Kuroha, run!"
Haruki tried to carry Morita and Himura away quickly. Yuna also carried Asano with difficulty, following right behind.
Kuroha wrapped energy around her legs and jumped far away. She was still in a drawing-the-bow state, ready to fire.
Itsuki lunged out, his body fully covered by energy. His body sat inside like a furious dark shadow. He scanned the area and successfully oriented Mukuro's position.
— "This way."
Kuroha's arrow was aimed straight at Itsuki in mid-air. Kuroha released the energy-filled arrow. It launched like a rocket, hurtling toward Itsuki. He wasn't paying attention, and the arrow struck him directly.
A massive explosion in mid-air carried a green light. It brightened the entire sky. Haruki stood below, feeling skeptical.
"Why is he running in that direction? Is it because of his younger brother? Just now, the direction Kazuka and that guy dashed into the forest was slightly different from the direction he is heading. It's possible they chased each other that way."