Kitsune In Another World's
Chapter 15 [Loneliness at Night ]

The clink of the sword facing Mio's fingernails sounded the entire time. Whatever attack Hotaru did was completely unable to scratch Mio's nail. Mio repelled all her attacks perfectly.

"Huhh.. huh...". huh..." Hotaru's out of breath. He had already attacked Mio for over 1 hour nonstop.

Funny thing is Mio didn't kill him, she hasn't even attacked him since the fight (?) commenced.

"You should know when to give up."

Hotaru did not answer. In a short moment, the girl let go of all her thoughts and took a deep breath. As his master had taught him back then, Hotaru let his sword lead him. The girl's fingers strengthened her grip, her body slightly bent and pushed her body forward. 

“Argghhhh!!!” a loud scream escaped from his mouth, sweat flowing down his wound. His black hair was fluttering like flames behind his head. The katana sword that collided with the sharp fingernails created quite a beautiful echo. The tree sighed as if influenced by something invisible.

His movements became more and more rapid, but Mio was completely unaffected by it. Their level difference was too great to be covered by techniques and strategies. Even so, Hotaru's eyes are getting brighter.

"Mio-senpai! Do you know why you're feeling so empty behind this?"

"?"

TANG CLANGG TANG

"According to our research, because the number of humans in this barrier is decreasing."

"I mean! The less humans in it. Which is forced into the body Youkai-sama will be less and less. That's why your change has been disrupted!!!" said Hotaru had his place explained in the middle of the fight.

"the evidence! Isn't senpai no longer feeling the pleasure of murder!!!"

Mio's heart throbbed, "Don't forget I don't feel her sadness or guilt either."

CLAANGGGGGS

Either out of annoyance or something like that, Mio was a little serious to the point of bending Hotaru's sword away from her.

"Give up, you can't win."

Hearing that, Hotaru simply smiled. A smile that contained sadness and despair and guilt that continued to weigh on his mind.

"From the beginning I knew I couldn't win."

"....."

"Nee, Mio-senpai.. Do you know how many humans are still alive here?"

"......"

"Only me. Only I you know. The child you killed earlier was the last of Amamiya's people" Hotaru said.

"..... Then?"

"!"

Hotaru no longer knew what to say. Every time that came out of Mio's mouth were just cold words piercing her heart.

There were no more people he could protect. Since the beginning of this massacre, he had been protected many times but never managed to protect. He was ready for his death from the beginning. His only hope of this fight was to be able to hear Mio's usual warm voice.

"It seems useless yes." murmured sadly.

Hotaru quickly pulled her hairpin. The stitch had already been greatly tapered to the point of becoming like a giant needle. The quick and nimble movement of his hand made Mio instantly alert if the needle was pointed at her.

SLAAASSSHHHH

"!!!!"

But instead of pointing at Mio, the needle actually tore his own neck.

Mio was shocked, she did not think Hotaru would hurt herself. The blood rushing from Hotaru's neck made Mio's pupils tremble slightly.

"..... What kind of stupid thing are you doing?" the tanyanya remained cold.

"I'm sorry... Mio.. senpai.." he said with his last energy.

".... I'm.. I'm not strong... no more..."

Mio remained silent while holding Hotaru's cold body. His feelings are mixed. He had no idea what kind of feeling he was in right now.

Left unconscious, Hotaru took the time to smile for the last time at Mio.

"You are indeed Mio-senpai after all..."

"......"

Without Mio alone noticing, tears flowed from her left eye. Amidst his extremely calm expression, a sense of tightness overpowered part of him.

"Why....why do I feel so weird not feeling anything now? Why do I feel angry about not stopping it? Why...the empty part in me is so stifling now?"

"Why... am I like this?"

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"!?"

The pure white fur that Mio always carried everywhere as her clothes ornament suddenly shone. The light was so dazzling with golden light that Mio could not take her eyes off her.

Right after the light faded, Mio's eyes came back as pink as before.

"......."

The first thing Mio did after that was to look at Hotaru's face that started turning blue while occasionally interspersed with looking around her.

In the middle of the calm and cold night sky, only a stifling silence remained. No sound, no movement. Remaining lifeless bodies and blood that spread everywhere. The smell of blood and the corpse that stung his nose didn't really matter. Mio seemed to need some time to respond to everything she had just seen.

This time, the girl saw both of her palms that were blood red. Hotaru's fresh blood covered her hands.

TEST TEST TEST

"Ah... i... what do... I do?" ask Mio to herself.

The embrace of that lifeless cold body was extremely tight. Mio's head was drowning in that embrace. He didn't care even if his face was alkaline by Hotaru's blood.

"Hotaru.. sorry..I'm sorry..."

Now all that's left is a Kitsune girl herself in the dark of a lonely night.

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Arc-Angel Palace, Floating Continent

TOK TOK TOK

"......."

Silence, there was no answer to the knock on the door. Gabriel and Raphael stood in front of Luciel's room with faces full of question marks. In Raphael's hand was a tray filled with food that he had deliberately brought for Luciel who had not eaten anything since he had entered the room that day.

Gabriel intends to accompany Raphael while making sure Luciel's condition.

"?"

"Is Lucy not in the room?" raphael asked confusedly.

"Cannot be. Said the Angel guarding the front, Lucy did not go out of the room at all," Gabriel replied as confused.

"!!!"

Their thoughts were immediately headed towards the same thing. Regardless of the room owner's permission, Gabriel immediately broke through Luciel's locked door.

"LUCY!!!?"

Their choice can be said to be right. The first thing they saw was Luciel's weak body lying on the cold floor. Raphael dropped his tray and rushed to Luciel with Gabriel.

Several times Gabriel shook Luciel's body while mentioning his name, but there was absolutely no reaction from the woman. His body was hot and his face looked very painful. His breathing was falling apart and his wing feathers were falling out. Luciel is not okay.

"Hold Lucy!!!!"

Gabriel immediately held Luciel in his arms and quickly carried him out of the room to treat.

Raphael had not been able to come out with Gabriel, his body stopped because he saw something. At Luciel's desk, a few books neatly open showed Luciel's reason for being like that. Raphael knew that Gabriel would save Luciel at all costs. So he chose to investigate the cause of his friend like that.

Read the book a few sentences. The more he read it, the more he didn't believe what he was reading. Not stopping there, Raphael immediately turned to the corner of Luciel's room. Things they had not realized before had been discovered.

An elaborate magic circle painted on Luciel's bedroom floor seized his attention.

"Lucy..."

Raphael was extremely unwilling to believe, yet all the facts he saw were attached too clearly. The woman came out slowly from Luciel's room so as not to damage the evidence too far.

"I have to say this to Ury and Gaby!"