KANA 9
The Fierce Saintess
episode 9
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*****
「Saintess! Are you injured?!」 「Are you unhurt?!」
Burley and the others panicked atop Suou's back, but because the incoming arrow passed right through the middle of the twelve-foot gap between Suou and Kaou, it did not hit Princess Kana. However, it was more than enough to infuriate the white foxes.
「I let my guard down, thinking they were allies! I shall slice such an insolent fool to pieces this instant!」
「To aim an arrow at us who came as reinforcements! Princess, let us freeze every last one of them!」
Simultaneously with those words, an ice-laden wind whirled with an ominous roaring sound, surging as it targeted the defensive wall ahead.
「Calm yourselves, Suou, Kaou. It seems they took us for potential enemies. Still, my, what a fine shot to fly all the way out here.」
As the princess looked on, gauging the distance to the defensive wall where the archer likely stood and admiring that they had a skilled marksman, the mage Norman explained.
「They likely infused the arrow with wind magic when they shot it.」
「Indeed, magic is quite convenient. Well, to those people, flying white foxes must look like nothing other than magic beasts, so it cannot be helped.」
In fact, although not as numerous as the magic beasts on the ground, several large bird-like magic beasts were flying around the sky above the city. Chuckling that it was understandable for them to be mistaken for a new wave of enemies, Princess Kana was certain—since the archer standing on top of the defensive wall had not fired another shot—that they were waiting to see what move her side would make. If that was the case, she decided to attack the magic beasts.
「Suou, Kaou. Release 'that' which you have summoned right now toward the ground below.」
At those words, despite putting on dissatisfied expressions, the foxes released the small tornado-like swirls of wind directly downward.
*Gogagatt, bang!*
「「Gugyatt, givyatt!」」
From beneath their feet, alongside explosive sounds, the death cries of the magic beasts could be heard. But seeing the foxes glaring toward the defensive wall without casting so much as a glance below, the princess smiled wryly.
「Now then, Suou, step back a little. After I defeat a few of the magic beasts, we shall head inside the walls together. Doing so should make them recognize us as allies.」
Saying so, she had Suou—who insisted on joining in—fall back.
「Since I do not know how well my exorcism arts will work here, I wish to try out various techniques, so watch closely. Now then, let us see how *jufu* perform for starters.」
Saying so, she took out three *jufu* paper talismans inscribed with 'Exorcism' (退魔), blew her breath onto them, and launched them all at once toward the horde of magic beasts.
「*Kyūkyū Nyoritsuryō, Jufu Taima!*」
*Pang, pang, pang!*
With each talisman, a magic beast burst into tiny splinters. All around them, following the previous strike, the magic beasts—surprised by the attacks falling out of nowhere—could be seen looking around and growing vigilant.
「「「「To think she took down three at once...」」」」
The members of the subjugation unit clinging to Suou's back gasped in awe and admiration, but Princess Kana herself furrowed her brows, looking dissatisfied.
「Hmm. It seems to work. However, this is a bit inefficient. In that case, let us try *Kuji-kiri* next. Though the angle for it is a bit bad...」
Saying that she might blast a hole in the defensive wall at this rate, she gave instructions to Kaou to shift their direction slightly.
「*Suzaku, Genbu, Byakko, Kohjin, Teikyu...*」
Tracing four vertical and five horizontal lines in the air with the edge of her hand (*shutou*), she chanted the nine cuts.
「*...Bun-ō, Santai, Gyokunyo, Seiryū!*」
Infusing it with divine power (*shinki*), she slammed it down all at once toward the horde below!
In that instant, a lattice of brilliant glowing light struck the horde of magic beasts!
*Zuzazaza, zan!*
The magic beasts were sliced into grid patterns, leaving behind a path of dismembered remains twelve feet wide and roughly a hundred and fifty feet long. Along its edges, magic beasts that had lost parts of their bodies could be seen writhing and screaming, 「Gyaaa! Gugiii!」
Noticing by now, the remaining beasts finally realized the existence of their attacker. Multiple magic beasts glared into the sky, beginning to growl. Some even made massive leaps to pounce on them, but they were blown away by a gale from a single swipe of Suou's front paw and slammed into the ground.
「「「How terrifyingly powerful...」」」 「「「So this is the power of the Saintess...」」」
Burley and the soldiers widened their eyes, trembling in awe. Though they were battle-hardened veterans handpicked by the subjugation unit commander himself, even they could do nothing but nod furiously when someone muttered under their breath, 「I am glad she is on our side...」
「Oh, this is quite usable. As expected of the Tsuchimikado family's *Kuji-kiri*. Now, if I increase the channeled power just a bit more, it seems we can reduce their numbers significantly.」
(She can make it even more powerful than this...?!)
Hearing those words, a cold sweat ran down the spines of the men who shuddered further. Yet not a single person could utter a word from their agape mouths. There were even those who suddenly felt pity for the magic beasts, though naturally they could not voice such thoughts.
Under their gazes filled with shock and awe, Princess Kana executed *Kuji-kiri* three more times at changing angles to sweep away the magic beasts swarming around the portcullis—the entrance and exit of the defensive wall—creating three paths of slaughtered remains.
The magic beasts had already recognized them as a new enemy. Now, all their eyes were fixed on the princess and her group in the sky. As for the magic beasts circling above the capital city, they were unmistakably in a battle-ready posture.
However, Princess Kana did not seem to mind in the slightest. Ordering the foxes to ascend even higher for a moment, she headed inside the walls with Suou following beside her.
Since there was an open space in front of a tall building near the center of the city, the foxes slowly descended toward it.
However, taking their movement as having slowed down, two magic beasts descended in pursuit, only to freeze mid-air, fall, and shatter to pieces. Kaou snorted, and Princess Kana patted its back.
While nearby citizens watched the scene from a distance, several of the soldiers had witnessed the princess attacking the beasts earlier, so they already understood that she was friendly reinforcement. A warrior who seemed to be the leader and his subordinate soldiers immediately ran up to Princess Kana and her party.
From his appearance, the princess immediately knew that the man at the front was the one who had shot the arrow earlier. But while she had not noticed from afar, his arms and face bore wounds, and the armor he wore was covered in scratches.
Likely unsure how to interact with the white foxes standing side by side, he stopped a short distance away with a bewildered expression. But the moment he recognized Burley's face on Suou's back, a look of relief washed over him, and he moved toward them.
「Commander Burley, thank you for the assistance! However, I never expected you to arrive atop such creatures, so I failed to realize it was you and fired an arrow. My apologies. By the way, is this something belonging to a new mage? And who is this young lady? She was using some mysterious arts, and her attire is unfamiliar... Wait... don't tell me...」
Looking with pity at the man whose voice trailed off, Burley said,
「It is as you suspect. These are the divine beasts of the Saintess.」
The moment he heard those words, he must have realized what he had just done. The man's complexion turned pale in an instant, and he hurriedly rushed forward to kneel before Princess Kana. Simultaneously, all the surrounding soldiers fell to their knees at once.
「So you are the Saintess! Forgive my delayed greeting. I am the lord of this domain, Daryl Clutchfield. I committed a grave rudeness earlier. I do not know how to apologize...」
Looking down at the man and his subordinates bowing their heads in apology, the princess understood just how desperately they had fought to protect this place.
Every piece of armor was battered, and not a single soldier was uninjured. Some were even slumped on the ground due to severe wounds, yet even so, they desperately dragged themselves up to follow their lord and bow their heads.
Nor was that all. Seeing their posture, all the townsfolk in the surrounding area were now kneeling before her just like the soldiers.
(He seems to be a good lord.)
「My name is Kana. What you did earlier was out of a desire to protect this place, was it not? If so, think nothing of it. More importantly, it seems we kept you waiting quite a while. The subjugation unit commander and his men are with us as well, so you have nothing more to worry about.」
Saying so, the princess dismounted from Kaou, turned to Suou, and signaled him to let everyone off. Burley and the rest of the subjugation unit were likely relieved to finally step on solid ground again, as they stamped their feet repeatedly to make sure.
Watching Henry immediately pull relief supplies out of his Magic Box and issue instructions to the soldiers, Princess Kana told the lord to stand up and pointed toward the magic beasts circling in the sky and watching them.
「There are many things I wish to ask, but reducing their numbers comes first. Commander Burley, may I leave the magic beasts around the gate to your group? I shall slaughter those outside.」
「Of course! Leave it to us!」
Nodding at the commander's response, the princess held out a single *tachi* sword toward Suou, who had returned to his normal size after letting everyone off.
「Suou, you should use 'this'.」
It was a *tachi* sword that Princess Kana had found inside her item storage box earlier. The famed blade, *Kogitsunemaru*.
A divine sword said to have been forged in the Heian period by the renowned master blacksmith Sanjō Munechika, who struck the steel in alternation with Inari Myōjin.
She had heard stories that it had been entrusted to Lady Akomachi, a senior fox deity of the Inari God, for the past century or so, so even the princess was surprised when she found it in her storage box. Furthermore, since it was a *tachi*, it was somewhat too large for the princess's own hands, but she thought Suou in his transformed human form would be able to handle it without issue.
「Princess, this is...! ...I humbly accept!」
With a sharp *pop*, Suou transformed into the form of a young warrior and received the *tachi* respectfully yet with visible joy. The moment he wore it at his hip, his body glowed, and the armor and helmet he wore transformed into a brilliant silver-white color.
For some reason, an ornament in the shape of fox ears had been added to his helmet, but the princess decided to view it as a charming touch. After all, Suou's smile had only grown deeper.
Just then, a high-pitched squeal of 「Kyaa!」 rose from somewhere. It seemed Suou in his young warrior form was attracting the attention of the local women.
(Even in a situation like this, women sure are lively.)
「Then I leave the sky to you, Suou. Now, Kaou, let us wipe them all out in one sweep!」
Taking those words as his signal, Suou kicked off the air and surged straight upward—
*Zan!*
With a single strike of his sword, he bisected the bird-type magic beast in the sky without even directly touching it. From below, another cheer resembling a squeal erupted.
Burley and the members of the subjugation unit also dashed forward at once, charging toward the gate with roaring battle cries.
Their swords, which had looked normal-sized while sheathed at their waists, transformed into distinct, characteristic weapons once drawn. Some were wrapped in flames, others crackled and gleamed with sparks, and one even expanded to the height of a man.
「This truly is a strange world. Well now, we cannot afford to lose to them.」
Saying so, Princess Kana mounted Kaou and leaped straight outside the defensive wall. And since she could not afford to damage the wall, she decided to execute *Kuji-kiri* from the wall's side toward the miasma pool.
「*Suzaku, Genbu, Byakko, Kohjin, Teikyu, Bun-ō, Santai, Gyokunyo, Seiryū!*」
Slaying monsters while widening and extending new paths through their corpses, her display was truly worthy of the word 'annihilation' she had just uttered.
Meanwhile, the magic beasts that had been rampaging at will until now finally realized that the tables had turned, and they were now the ones being overrun. Flustered, they began fleeing toward the mountains one after another to escape the princess.
However, they were blocked in an instant by a wall of ice. Furthermore, sharp-tipped chunks of ice rained down on them continuously from above, so as a result, they were simply crushed while running about beneath it.
「Kaou, impressive.」
「It is my utmost honor!」
Before long, thanks to the reduction in magic beasts, the center of the miasma pool became clearly visible.
(That must be the cause. My, how sinister. *This* should be just right for that.)
For the purification, Princess Kana retrieved the divine bow made by the gods, *Ame-no-Makako-yumi*, and its arrows, *Ame-no-Habaya*. As she put on her *shitagake* and *yugake* archery gloves on her right hand—
(Truly, it was a good thing I checked them last night.)
She smiled wryly, recalling the events of the previous evening.
***
Having gone to the mages' training ground at Aldridge's suggestion, the princess thought it would be safe there and retrieved the bow and arrow, which were divine items. But the moment she did, she was left completely bewildered.
This was because inside the bow bag, along with the bow wrapped in its cloth cover, were *shitagake* gloves, *yugake* gloves, rosin (*kusune*), *giriko* powder, and *fudeko* powder necessary for maintenance—yet the crucial bowstring was missing. Furthermore, what came out of the quiver was nothing more than a single large feather.
(I have no idea what I am supposed to do with this. Now, what to do...)
Holding them up to the moonlight to see if she could spot anything, nothing was discernible other than that it was a beautiful jet-black bow and a magnificent feather glowing in reddish gold.
However, looking closer, she could see that the barbs of the feather were not joined tightly together like those of a hawk or pheasant. Each individual barb was separate.
(Could this be...)
Deciding to give it a try, she pulled on one of the barbs. It slipped smoothly off the shaft, transforming into a magnificent glowing arrow.
「So that is how it works... Is that why it bears the name *Ame-no-Habaya*...?」
Understanding now, as she assumed her *yugamae* archery stance with it, a bowstring materialized on the bow as well.
「I see.」
However, even though she now understood the bow and arrow's mechanism, she could not very well fire such a precious, divine arrow into empty space. In the end, she had concluded her check after executing the motion of drawing back the bowstring a few times...
***
(But now is the time!)
「*Om Marishei Sowaka, Om Marishei Sowaka!*」
Reciting the *Marishiten no Shingon*, she held *Ame-no-Makako-yumi* in her left hand and *Ame-no-Habaya* in her right, raising the bow and drawing it back.
「*Om Marishei Sowaka*, loose!!」
Taking careful aim, she unleashed the arrow straight into the center of the miasma pool at once!
*****
I'll just add this cuz I like it.
Here are Princess Kana's techniques, featuring Japanese terminology as the primary names along with their chants and mechanics from the chapter:
1. Jufu Taima (呪符退魔)
Incantation:
「急急如律令、呪符退魔！」
(Kyūkyū Nyoritsuryō, Jufu Taima!)
2. Kuji-kiri (九字切り)
Incantation & Invocation:
「朱雀、玄武、白虎、神后、太陰、文王、三台、玉女、青龍！」
(Suzaku, Genbu, Byakko, Kohjin, Teikyu, Bun-ō, Santai, Gyokunyo, Seiryū!)
3. Ame-no-Makako-yumi (天之麻迦古弓) & Ame-no-Habaya (天羽々矢)
4. Marishiten no Shingon (摩利支天の真言)
Japanese Term: Marishiten no Shingon (摩利支天の真言)
Incantation:
「オン マリシェイ ソワカ！ オン マリシェイ ソワカ！」
(Om Marishei Sowaka! Om Marishei Sowaka!)
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