Two hours later.

Heavy snowflakes fall in the sky, constantly swirling in the night sky with the night winds.

The trail, which was originally made up of dark gray volcanic rock, was now covered with a heavy layer of snow, and even the maple trees on the side were a little bent because they could not bear the heavy snow.

With snow covering from September and not melting until the end of June, the usual open ascent of Mount Fuji is between July and September.

Therefore, there are no climbers on the mountain trail at night in June.

Sousuke Araki, wearing a mountaineering jacket like a wild beast, bowed his body and spewed white mist, running wildly on the road on a snowy night, leaving deep footprints.

In the midst of the howling wind and snow, Sousuke Araki maintained the mysterious realm of "Kenshin Clear", keenly observing the faint traces on the ground that had not yet had time to be covered by the wind and snow, and sprinting upwards along the mountain path without hesitation.

From time to time, the tip of his nose can faintly smell the residual smell of orange perfume on the mountain road.

His instinct told him that Hanyu Mai was somewhere in front of this mountain path.

I just need to be faster...... A little faster......

"This ...... Is this guy a pervert, when did his physical strength get so good......"

Ryoma, who was left behind by him and ran desperately, was out of breath at the moment, sticking out his tongue like a dog.

"I'm Nima...... For the first time in my life...... Mt. Fuji is actually ...... in this situation."

Don't look at the fact that he likes to linger after work on weekdays, in fact, in order to pursue better endurance and skills, he has never slackened in his physical training in the morning and actual combat exercises at night, forging a quite capable body.

It was because of his excellent marksmanship and physical fitness, and his frequent awards in various competitions within the police department, that he was selected for the search class.

But as the altitude climbs and the oxygen becomes thinner, it is impossible to trot up the mountain without stopping from the 5th station like Sousuke Araki.

Second, Ryoma raised his hand and glanced at the time.

For skilled climbers, it takes an average of less than two hours to get from the 5th station to the 8th station where they are currently located.

But the two of them, so far, have only taken less than an hour.

Although the fastest race walk to reach the summit of Mt. Fuji is recorded, the journey from Yoshida City Hall to the summit via the Yoshida Trail is only 2 hours, 32 minutes and 40 seconds.

But it was also a terrible record that could only be born in the summer when the snow melted.

……

Saya Yuzuki and Mai Hanyu, dressed in down jackets, holding trekking poles and hiking boots, are now walking with difficulty towards the mountain under the escort of Matsudaira Kota and another man.

The Yoshida Route, located on the north side of Mt. Fuji, is the first choice for those who have no climbing experience and are trying Mt. Fuji for the first time, due to the large number of "mountain huts" where visitors can relax.

I abandoned the car from the 5th station platform and climbed all the way up for more than two hours, and I didn't encounter anyone except the staff who were in charge of blocking the climbers on the way.

By the way, the mountaineering equipment on several people was provided "free of charge" by the "kind" staff who were knocked out in the mountain huts.

Yuzuki Saya looked around at the seemingly endless, desperate snow, lowered his head and put his finger to his mouth and sighed.

The originally red nails on the fingertips have been frozen to a little purple.

After taking "Tamamo Mae Nails", the appearance of her nails changed.

In addition, I don't know if it was because of the sudden acquisition of extraordinary powers, or the influence of that "miracle thing", her personality was not as cunning and cautious as before, but more and more evil and bold.

Looking at her surroundings, there was a look of confusion in her eyes.

I never imagined that the climb to Mt. Fuji, which I had been looking forward to since I was a child, would be in such a dangerous and embarrassing situation.

Is this situation really what I wanted at the beginning?

Did you really make the right choice?

"Teak-sama, are you alright?"

Kota Matsudaira, who was walking in the front, looked back with concern about the situation of Yuzuki Saya, interrupting her thoughts.

"It's okay, how much longer?"

The temperature at night was already below freezing, and Saya Yuzuki's face was frozen pink, which added a bit of pity to her.

Fortunately, the "miracle things" will more or less strengthen the physical fitness of some users, so her physical strength is quite abundant at the moment.

At this moment, the place where the people are currently located is already the 9th station of Mt. Fuji wrapped in snow.

From the 8th station upwards, the white summit of Mt. Fuji is often seen as if it were milk chocolate.

“…… Please hold on a little longer, and in less than an hour up, it's the 10th station, from where we can switch to Gotemba and go down the hill to find a car and leave......"

Maybe he finally saw hope, the expression on Matsudaira Kota's face also relaxed slightly, and he turned around and urged Hanyu Mai, who was walking behind: "Hurry up, if you want to delay the time and wait for those two boys to catch up, you will miscalculate...... Not to mention that we set off more than half an hour early, and in such a heavy snow, a fool would risk getting lost and freezing to death. ”

Mt. Fuji occupies a vast area and is under the jurisdiction of different police stations, even if the two boys called the police overnight, the police did not have time to completely close the four routes at the foot of the mountain for a while.

As long as the strange spirits didn't catch up, switched to another route, grabbed a car, and they left unharmed.

"Hmph, Blackclaw's ...... Minions...... I won't...... ...... of submission"

From yesterday's being captivated by drugs and kidnapping to now not eating a drop of water, Mai Hanyu is in a rather weak state at this time.

Due to the altitude, the oxygen content at the top of Mt. Fuji was only one-third of that of flat ground, and the trio could only untie the strip of cloth from her mouth so that she could recover more energy.

Even so, she was almost forcibly pulled all the way up.

But in her eyes, for some reason, there was a burning warlike intent, as if she was fighting against a lifelong enemy she had been waiting for for a long time.

"What, do you still expect Araki-kun to save you? Araki-kun only found you after I got rid of you...... The so-called 'love' between men and women is worse than a blank sheet of paper in the face of material things and their own safety. ”

Saya Yuzuki looked at Hanyu and smiled indifferently.

"Hey...... Wasn't that arrogant that day when you tried to redeem your feelings from the 'Sleeper' at the foot of the Skytree......"

Hanyu gasped weakly, but her expression was still cold and arrogant.

"Gave up...... Such a unique man...... It's your loss. ”

"It turns out that you eavesdropped on him early in the morning, and it seems that you care about him a lot......

As if he had been said to have hit the sore spot, Saya Yuzuki frowned and pushed Hayu Mai hard.

"Wake up, how could he catch up with such a place, I'm afraid he would have given up and gone down the mountain to call the police...... Men are not to be trusted!! ”

She smiled coldly and looked at Mai Hanyu, who was sitting in the snow.

Hanyu sat on the ground without a single glance, his eyes not timidly meeting her.

"Lord Teak, this place is not suitable for a long time. It's the top of the mountain ahead, so let's take care of this woman when we get down the mountain. ”

Matsudaira Kota said softly dissuasion.

The wind and snow on the mountain became more and more violent, slowly eroding everyone's physical strength, and the wound on his wrist also needed to be treated quickly to avoid future troubles.