Senano’s anger had reached its peak.
“This bastard who put in this request, I’m absolutely gonna beat them down later…!”
How could anyone possibly mistake the Aberrant Entity standing before her for an E-Class that had simply slipped away?
Her knowledge and accumulated experience were sounding the alarm that there was no way that could be true.
(If it can create a labyrinth, then it’s not E-Class. At the very least it’s B-Class or higher, and normally the kind that would require an extensively prepared operation in advance…!)
The Aberrant Entity in the form of a bride still showed no movement.
And yet, there was a definite sensation that it was watching them.
At a glance, it looked as though nothing was happening, but in truth, the situation was not at a standstill.
The Aberrant Entity and the Enri Bearer were now observing one another, gathering information.
“Um… will this be alright?”
At the words from behind her, Senano remembered Ei’s presence.
Keeping her eyes on the bride, she spoke to Ei.
“Don’t move from where you are. By the way, can you see that bride?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Then that alone is enough to pass you. Don’t do anything reckless. Operator, answer me already. You can hear me, right? The test is over.”
A moment later, a flat, emotionless man’s voice came from the smartphone at Senano’s chest.
『Yes, Mikama Senano-san. We have confirmed contact with the target Aberrant Entity.』
“It’s not ‘we have confirmed’! You said it was an E-Class that escaped during transport, didn’t you? Right? Then tell me what exactly you let escape! A less capable Enri Bearer would be dead, you know!? You dragged me into faction infighting, didn’t you? I’m not forgiving this!”
『……There are no changes to the operation. Proceed immediately with disposal of the Aberrant Entity and the Enri Bearer test――』
“Shut up, shut up! Enough already! I don’t need your support! Idiot!”
Senano ended the call.
Then, without pause, she connected to an operator she could trust.
『Is something the matter, Senano-san? I already received the report. I was just eating breakfast――』
“Raku-chan. Bride, labyrinth that turns the surroundings into night, seams.”
Without even having time to explain the situation, Senano listed the characteristics.
After a brief silence, the response came.
『Estimated class?』
“Definitely B or higher… probably A.”
『I will search the EN code. Please wait a moment.』
“As expected of Raku-chan. You’re quick, that helps.”
Senano smiled faintly.
Then she gestured for Ei behind her to move even farther back.
Almost at the same moment.
“Blessings upon you.”
A voice mixed with noise rang out, and the Aberrant Entity before them began to move.
Its robes floated softly upward, exposing a skeletal joint structure within.
Its two legs were not made for walking properly, but were like a living object assembled solely for proceeding toward the place of marriage.
Its knees bent backward and forward unnaturally, its toes rose like tall geta, and each step let out a discordant “gii, gii.”
What peeked from the cuffs of the white bridal robe were fingers sharpened like needles, no, sewing organs.
Countless metallic bone-needles protruded from its arms, and from them black thread continued to pour out while spinning like thread on a spool.
Its approach was unnaturally silent, and no matter how close it came, there was never any sound of footsteps.
Only the scent of flowers and the smell of burnt cloth grew stronger.
Looking at the Aberrant Entity coming toward her, Senano raised Hibari without fear.
“So it moved first. Fine. I’ll figure out how to deal with it while fighting. Also, add language capability to the target Aberrant Entity’s characteristics.”
『Language capability…!? It possesses both a labyrinth and language capability… no matter how you look at it, that means it’s a high-ranking Aberrant Entity, doesn’t it!?』
“Probably!”
The air made a tearing sound.
More precisely, it was the sound of cloth being cut.
Quietly, yet surely, the Aberrant Entity shifted the veil over its head.
Inside, there was no face. In its place was something like a mask of flesh, densely covered over with crimson embroidery thread.
At its center was a single eye, opened like the hole of a needle.
“――”
Its fingertips moved suddenly.
Dozens of threads running between its fingers sliced through the air all at once.
Without a sound, without resistance, the threads pierced the village buildings, cut through grass and trees, and rushed toward Senano.
In order to weave everything.
“Tch, sorry, but I’m using Hibari now!”
Only now did Senano finally decide to use Hibari.
Ordinarily, NARROW are selected with compatibility against Aberrant Entities in mind.
In many cases, the syntax each NARROW possesses can instead activate the Aberrant Entity.
And yet, even so, Senano chose to use Hibari.
Her intuition was crying out that this was what she had to do.
“Wake up, Hibari!”
The moment she called that name, the archaic circuits embedded in the feather-shaped surface of Hibari began blinking crimson.
『Recognition connection, Oath-link disclosure. Confirmed.』
“——NARROW《Hibari》, syntax release.”
In response to Senano’s command, the NARROW transformed automatically.
As it repeatedly disassembled and reconstructed itself, it changed into an ominous bird-shaped combat armament that wielded sound as a weapon.
The wings extending from its back vibrated at supersonic speed, compressing the surrounding air, and before long the aftershocks became silent killing soundwaves that split the earth.
What appeared then was a single red bird.
The crow-sized creature spread its wings wide, and at the same time, flames scattered through the area in ripples, as though sound itself were spreading.
“From this moment on, this place shall obey my norito.”
(TL Note: Norito is a type of ritual prayer. Leaving it as is cause I find it cooler as norito instead of ‘prayers’. especially since their related to something thats not like ‘prayer’ in the wester sense.)
All the threads that had been closing in on Senano were burned away.
Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, the Aberrant Entity flinched and stopped.
Once more, the two glared at each other and halted.
『Thank you for waiting. The target Aberrant Entity is EN-8773, 『Togigara no Yome』. It is an A-Class disaster-type, and should already have been contained.』
“So some idiot tried to experiment with it and screwed up, huh. Raku-chan, tell me the key points to watch out for. And also, how it was collected last time.”
『Yes. During the previous collection, we succeeded in neutralizing it by having a puppet-type remote body assume the role of the preliminary stage of the sewing act, thereby interrupting the ritual process midway.』
“I see. That won’t work.”
The moment she had laid eyes on it, Senano had already dismissed that possibility as impossible.
『The points of caution are as follows.
First, eye contact with the target is the signal for the start of the marriage ritual. Keep the location of its face out of your field of vision as much as possible.』
“I already looked.”
『Second, the moment you touch the hem, sewing begins. It prioritizes binding the legs of living beings, after which blood absorption and bone structure alteration begin.』
“I see, so it really was trying to sew me already. Which means, Raku-chan, there’s no issue with my Hibari’s syntax against this thing, right? Don’t tell me it’s gonna unlock a second form because it got burned.”
『There is no issue. Incineration of the marriage ritual is judged to be an effective measure. Please pay close attention to the target Aberrant Entity’s movements and respond carefully.』
“……I get it. They even anticipated this and assigned the request to me. Understood.”
Senano nodded and plunged toward Togigara no Yome.
Hibari circled around her, drawing spirals of flame.
She observed her opponent, gathered information, and the conclusion Senano arrived at was――
“I’ll smash it head-on!”
A high kick with full momentum was unleashed at Togigara no Yome.
It wasn’t that she had become desperate, nor had she gone mad. Her intellect had determined that this was the optimal answer.
And with Senano’s physical ability added to the equation, it was indeed effective.
“――”
Togigara no Yome reacted, creating before itself a shield made from bundled black thread.
The threads boasted enough strength and toughness to pierce even buildings, but before the flames, they were powerless.
“There’s no way a flimsy shield like that can stop me!”
Her kick burned through the shield, smashed straight through it, and struck Togigara no Yome directly in the head.
The flames climbed up through her leg.
Before long, Togigara no Yome’s entire body was engulfed in flames and began to burn fiercely.
As if in pain, it staggered a few steps backward and twisted its body as though trying to shake off the fire.
As Hibari flew around its defenseless body, surrounding it, the flames only intensified further.
“Hah, so this is all an A-Class amounts to! You’re no match for an elite like me!”
Senano puffed out her chest as she declared that.
The way she stood there made it seem as though the battle was already over.
■
Right now, before my eyes, the modern fantasy battle I had been longing for was unfolding.
S-so cool!
So it really does exist! Superpowered battles!
Those feathers turn into a bird, huh. That’s so cool, I’m jealous, I want one too.
If possible, I’d want something like a dragon or a wolf.
I wonder if they could make one for me?
『Oooh, very well done, human. Very cool.』
Behind me, Sora stood with her arms folded as she watched.
It seemed even the superior being with folded arms in the rear was pleased.
This is it, this is it! This is what I wanted most since being reincarnated!
Not old customs, not a superior being with twisted love, but a hot-blooded battle like this!
I want one of those machines called NARROW too!
『See? It was good that we let Senano-chan live, right?』
『Yes. It seems we may get to see something quite interesting. A strong-willed woman who uses fire, she is exactly a heroine, isn’t she? Let’s let her live a little longer.』
『……No, I meant maybe we could let her go……』
『Hm? Did you just defy me?』
『Ah, n-nevermind.』
『That’s right. Ei is very wise.』
Even though she’s in a good mood, the fact that the ending of being Ten’i’d still won’t change is terrifying.
Right now I’m somehow managing to delay my own Ten’i too, but is this really still a confirmed bad ending?
S-someone, give me an insanely overpowered ultimate NARROW!
Preferably some ominous sword with a nice curse on it that lets me use dark powers!
『Now then, Ei, prepare yourself. It’s almost time for our scene.』
『Huh? But that bride monster got beaten already. It’s burning up beautifully like that.』
In front of me, the white-robed monster was burning fiercely with all the force of a campfire.
There couldn’t possibly be a more complete ending than that, so what did she mean?
『Not yet.』
Sora said it as though there were still more after a manga I thought I had already finished reading.
『There are two Aberrant Entities in this place.』
『……Huh?』
Ignoring my shock, Sora clapped her hands in delight.
『First, victory over the enemy before your eyes, then carelessness. Words and actions overflowing with confidence beyond your actual ability, wonderful, human! Truly a perfect chew-toy role and heroine! How convenient that she has no idea the real battle starts here!』
Th-this girl knew and kept quiet about it…!