"I ...... I didn't do anything...... When you go in...... The lights of the trial are extinguished...... I didn't feel at ease, so I came in and had a look. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info" Natsuki explained, stammering.

Directly opposite him was a small door hidden in the wall, and in the dim light, it was impossible for anyone to detect the existence of the door if it was not pushed open from the inside.

And the reason why Natsuki is so flustered is that the person who pushed the door open was Arashi who walked into the cemetery with Emilia.

Consider your own bad relationship with the other person, and the situation that is easy to mislead people at the moment. Worried that he would be beaten up, Caiyue Pleiades quickly shut up after a nervous explanation and cautiously watched the other party's reaction.

The situation did not progress towards Nanatsuki's expectations, and Lan, who did not speak, did not even look at him, but walked to Emilia's side, leaned over and picked her up with one hand, and then carried her on his shoulder.

It seems that he has escaped a catastrophe, and Caiyue, who has relaxed, suddenly feels that something is wrong.

Why is it one-handed? and carrying?

Noticing the strange place of the Vegetable Moon Pleiades, he looked at the man passing by through the dim light. The clothes, which should have been complete and clean, were full of scratches from the sword. The white fabric looks a little disgusting because it is stained with a lot of blood. But more important than these is Arashi's left hand, which is no longer visible.

His hand, gone???

Cai Yue, who understood this, desperately covered his mouth with his hand and wanted to scream, and he was overly panicked, and hurriedly lowered his head. Although he didn't know what happened to Arashi, Nazuki didn't want to get into unnecessary trouble because of his rude gaze.

didn't care about Natsuki's actions, Arashi who carried Emilia walked straight towards the entrance, and Ram's party who were waiting there were also shocked by Arashi's appearance at the moment.

"Lord Lan, ...... you" Ram hurriedly stepped forward, not knowing what to say for a while.

"If she wakes up, she says I'm still in the cemetery. Holding Emilia on her shoulder into the other's arms, Arashi passed the jaw-dropping crowd and disappeared into the depths of the forest alone.

"Old woman, I remember that the trial should not be life-threatening. Garfield, who was hesitant, asked unconfidently. Garfield, who had deeply felt the other party's strength, really couldn't imagine what kind of situation could make that man so embarrassed.

"Did he do the same thing as little Rhodes?" Ryuori suppressed the irritability in her heart, considering that another fellow had been seriously injured by entering the cemetery. At some point just now, she felt that she must have seen Arashi there.

At this time, Caiyue Pleiades, who had just walked out of the cemetery, was obviously relieved after seeing Emilia in Ram's arms. After a brief silence, the silent crowd decided that it would be better to wait until they returned to the stone house.

Hanging from the back of the line with Garfield, Natsuki asked the other party in a whisper, "How long has Emilia been in the cemetery?"

"It's probably more than an hour. Garfield replied uncertainly, and at the same time looked at the well-conditioned Caiyue Pleiades with a puzzled expression, "Didn't anything special happen to you inside?"

"We'll talk about it when we get back. Shaking her head, Natsuki was temporarily reluctant to make public the fact that she had met her father and passed the trial.

"In any case, Mr. Caiyue can come back safe and sound, what a foolish blessing. Alto's words made Caiyue herself quite agree.

The three people who entered the cemetery together, except for themselves. Emilia fell into a coma, and the other one didn't say anything about it now. Cai Yue, who felt a little lucky for his luck, looked back at the decision to break into the cemetery in front of him, and couldn't help but be a little afraid.

……

……

Like a demon wandering alone, Lan who was able to be alone walked silently through the forest, the silent night woven by the galaxy, and the silver moonlight was like a thin silver sand spread on the treetops and paths.

As he hurried, he finally stopped in front of the pond he found this morning. Far from the dwellings of the Sanctuary, the pond is surrounded by tall and low trees, which is an obstacle that cannot be easily spotted, which may be why Arashi chose it.

Arashi, who needed to be alone more than ever, walked to the lake and sat cross-legged. The boulder behind him transmitted a cold hardness, and Arashi, who was leaning on it, began to close his eyes and meditate.

The quiet night rises and falls, and the evening breeze goes to the southeast. After a short silence, Arashi, who didn't know what to think, suddenly burst out laughing, neither self-deprecating nor self-pitying, which sounded a little strange on a night like this.

The discomfort after losing his left hand made Arashi's right hand a little difficult to untie the karma. Holding the cold black-blue scabbard, Arashi held it up in front of her eyes and looked at it again and again, and finally put it back on her crossed legs, her right index finger rhythmically tapping at the karma.

The first night after the initial defeat was not as difficult as Arashi thought. It's just a slightly diffuse stirring thought, which reminds him of a lot of past events that he can't remember anymore in such a lonely time.

……

It was Arashi's seventh year in the world, and it had been four years since he first met the Yagyu Sword Saint. At that time, he was already a famous swordsman, and Kojiro was also invited by the monarch to serve in his family. As for Musashi, he didn't know where to hide, and he hadn't heard from him for a long time.

In early autumn, the mountain flowers bloom all over the path, and the second time I visited the Yanagi family, Arashi was not obsessed with the duel with the Sword Master. Because the grandson of the Sword Master, Yagyu Hyogosuke, has become a more worthy opponent to defeat.

I won't describe that battle yet, but it's the reason why Arashi remembered it. It's because after defeating Hyogosuke, he recuperated from his injuries at the Yanagi family for a while, and then had a conversation with the dying old Juggernaut, because it was too interesting, so Arashi always remembered.

"Can I be called unparalleled in the world now?" Lan who defeated the 'New Yin Legend' looked at Yanagi Shizhouzhai in front of him, who was no longer able to sit up and could only lie on the bed and talk to himself.

He thought that this nagging old man would say some specious truths again. But this time, Yanagi Shizhouzhai had no such plans. Perhaps due to physical limitations, the old man who kept coughing stretched out his right hand from the bed and raised his index finger.

"Have you been defeated until now?"

"Can a defeated person still be called unparalleled in the world?"

"Haha... Ha ......" A short laugh accompanied by a cough echoed in the room, and Liu Sheng Shizhouzhai opened his dim old eyes and put down his hand weakly, "Defeat once, and then return to your original point! The road to the world's unparalleled has only really begun at that time." ”

Because of this conversation with the old man Yanagi, Arashi returned to Kojiro after recovering from his injuries. He knew that if there was anyone in this world who could beat him, it must be his best friend.

It's just that when he hesitates, he doesn't know that Musashi has resurfaced from there, disrupting all plans.

……

"Is the unparalleled road in the world just starting now?" Arashi, who muttered to himself, flicked his right hand, and the slender karma 'banged' out of the sheath. His legs slammed upward, and he took a step forward as he regained his standing body, his moonlit karma slicing through the air.

"No, you can't kill people like this. Lan frowned and shook his head, losing the sense of balance behind his left arm, causing the karma to deviate slightly the moment it was swung out, and this change naturally could not be hidden from the swordsman's instinct.

"Whew. With a deep breath, Lan calmed down, and the true meaning of the water flow echoed in his mind over and over again, and the karma at his fingertips conformed to the master's wishes. The three-foot sword body that slashed, slashed, or stabbed danced like moonlight in the silent darkness, fighting, fighting, and then winning against enemies that did not exist.

"Hahahaha. As if thinking of something interesting, the one-armed Lan smiled and stopped to look into the distance, and there was no longer a trace of failure on his relaxed face.

"It's more fun than when you're on the top of a mountain and climbing up from the bottom of a valley, a sword. ”

……

……

Facing the salty sea breeze, Musashi, who has been sitting side by side with Kojiro on the stone since Arashi was taken away, is looking for a topic for boring waiting.

"Kojiro, what are you talking about that guy Arashi doing now? ”

"Ah...... Ah......h

"Won't you say anything else?" Musashi, who tilted his head helplessly, and couldn't communicate with the other party at all, could only say to himself, "Maybe it's regret, after all, that guy has never failed!"

Kojiro understood this sentence. He patted Musashi on the shoulder, then shook his head firmly. When it comes to understanding Arashi, Kojiro is far above Musashi.

He believed better than anyone that that guy would get stronger and come back here to continue this life-and-death battle that was not over.

But it's just getting started.