Tanuki Rise of the Yokai Clan

Chapter 131: Demon King!

The moment his match started, everything also started.

Claudia deflected her assailant's dagger with the blade in her right hand, using the one in her left to lash out with a horizontal strike.

The wound wasn't deep enough to put her assailant's life in danger, nor was it so shallow that they would be able to continue after her right away.

After confirming the situation, Claudia spun around and began to run deeper into the warehouse section. Her uniform was torn in places and stained with blood, but she was fortunate to have been able to avoid suffering any serious injuries.

The sky was hidden behind thick, leaden clouds, with rain beginning to fall. According to the weather forecasts, it was only expected to grow stronger.

Claudia carefully avoided the cameras, set throughout the harbor area at regular intervals, before deciding to hide for a while in a large, dome-shaped warehouse that was filled with row upon row of stacked shipping containers. The huge entrance door was open, as an autonomous vehicle was busy ferrying containers insidebut Claudia, of course, had already known that.

Thanks to guaranteed employment security offered by the integrated enterprise foundations, the harbor blocks belonging to the city proper were filled with workers, but in those belonging to the six schools, everything was painstakingly automated.

"Whew... this is rather intense," Claudia said to herself, leaning on a nearby container as she let out a long sigh, trying to catch her breath.

It hadn't been that long since her assailants attacked her. She thought she was ready for it, but the exhaustion was catching up with her.

The Yabuki clan was as good as was to be expected of a combat group under the Galaxy's direct control. Claudia had only been able to evade them as successfully as she had, thanks to the early preparations and Pan-Dora's precognition.

The Yabuki clan was a secretive paramilitary organization that specialized in ninjutsu, the ancient Japanese art of stealth, camouflage, and sabotage. Additionally, they belonged to and preserved a bloodline that, under the influence of a sacred piece of urm-manadite that had come to earth long before the Inverta, had long since diverged from the surrounding population. Only two such groups remained in Japanthe Yabuki and the Umenokouji.

And that Yabuki was targeting Claudia.

Being targeted by such a legendary clan, she wasn't sure how long she would be able to hold on.

"...looks like there's no signal," she murmured as she repeatedly tried to use her mobile before giving up and returning it to her pocket.

The Yabuki clan passed on a number of skills exclusive to members of their lineage. Some of the worst was their ability to create barriers that could stop anyone in their tracks and even block out sound and electromagnetic waves. Worse still was the fact that those techniques consumed hardly any mana or prana at all. As such, unlike the abilities of Stregas or Dantes, they were all but impossible to sense.

"I suppose that the situation is more or less as I should have expected..."

Claudia forced herself to smile, her hands tightening around the hilts of the twin swords.

Just a little while longer.

Just a little while longer, and her wish would be granted.

It was the only dream she had ever truly wanted.

The selfish wish of someone who no one fully understood.

It was almost within her reach.

"...I can't afford to die now, not here."

Given that she was, of course, putting everything she had into it, the only thing left for her to do was wait to see which of her innumerable overlapping plans would bear fruit.

After all, her opponent, the Yabuki flan, had hundreds of years of experience in its favor, and then there was its leader, Bujinsai.

It was probably fair to say that this was the most challenging predicament Claudia had ever found herself in.

And yet, she couldn't stop her lips from twisting into a vague smile.

It wasn't her usual, perfect smile, but something else, something purer, and

"!"

At that moment, she leaped upon a nearby container.

A barrage of shuriken tore into it, clearly flying after her in pursuit, but Claudia remained one step ahead.

She raced across the top of the container as fast as her legs could carry her, scanning her surroundings to make out her pursuers, moving soundlessly like shadows.

With her assailants being as strong as they were, she would probably have been able to prevail in a one-on-one fight, but two together was a dangerous combination, and with three, escape was the only sensible option left open to her.

"One, two, three... four. I guess this must be one of the Trinity-six Stratagems," she murmured, leaping out of the warehouse and back into the pouring rain.

She might have been able to do something if she had been willing to use Pan-Dora's precognition, but she wanted to have that ability not for attack but for survival.

That being the case, all she could do was to keep on running.

---

Tamazuki didn't lower his voice, and everyone could hear his declaration.

"..."

Once again, a silence permeated through the dome as, once again, they thought that he was really arrogant.

A second?

If he could do so, then they would walk home by handstands!

They had made up their minds, yet, without a doubt, his words angered and annoyed Amagiri and Saya.

Amagiri and Saya reached the final, showing that their respective strength wasn't weak. They were strong, yet even so, Tamazuki's attitude had never changed.

Tamazuki had always believed that he was the best of the best.

Saya and Amagiri looked at each other and nodded. They made up their minds, and they were going to make sure that Tamazuki swallowed those words in regret for underestimating them.

Yet, Tamazuki had never paid attention and only irritatedly wanted the match to start as soon as possible. Was it because he was impatient? Was it because of the protagonist's halo? Yet, he felt that the time moved so low. Unlike the two idiots in front of him, he had something to do, and he couldn't waste a single second in this place!

"BEGIN!"

The moment the announcement started, Tamazuki's body vanished as if he had merged with nature.

By now, all of the people in this place and even the world were unable to see his figure until...

"Saya SasamiyaBadge Broken!"

"....."

Saya was at a loss since, before she even began, everything had ended.

However, Amagiri quickly reacted as if he was called or pulled by something, trying to save his life, giving him a chance to counter, but even so, everything was meaningless under his presence.

"Amagiri AyatoBadge Broken!"

"..."

No one was able to say anything. They stared at all of this with disbelief. They had thought that a battle that would shake the earth and render heaven would happen, yet this battle ended so fast that they were unable to comprehend what was happening.

"End of the match! Winners: Inugamigyoubu Tamazuki and Julis-Alexia von Riessfield!"

Nevertheless, the announcement from the AI woke them up.

Those who had fought him secretly sighed in relief as they weren't defeated in such a humiliating way. At least, even if he didn't use all of his power, he gave them a chance to show their worth, even if he could end the match instantly.

Yet, before the applause began and the cheers sounded, once again, he surprised everyone. His feet were blazing with fire, pushing him off into the sky like a rocket, cutting down the barrier and the ceiling of the dome before he went somewhere.

"..."

Their mouths were wide, and they were even at a loss; what was happening, but for those who knew, their expression turned dignified since they knew the demon king was about to descend.