The crisp autumn air made it a truly perfect season for a nap. Shion lay stretched out on the soft picnic blanket, raising her hand to the sky, feeling the autumn breeze flow through her fingertips like cool, delicate river water.
“Silly big sister, if you can grab that marshmallow cloud from the sky, remember to share some with me,” Ayane said, also gazing upwards.
“No problem. But if it tastes bad, you’ll have to finish it all,” Shion replied with a yawn.
“I don’t think it would taste bad at all, especially if Shion-san picked it,” Sakuya said, shuffling a little closer to Shion.
Shion was currently lying between the two other girls. Ayane lay pressed tightly against Shion, one hand resting on Shion’s already modest chest. Sakuya was also quite close, making Shion feel a bit constricted in the middle, leaving her no choice but to gaze at the seemingly endless blue sky above.
‘A boundless expanse, stretching as far as the eye can see.’
“Eating makes me sleepy…” Sakuya stretched languidly. Being so close, her outstretched hand nearly slapped Shion across the face.
Fortunately, Shion dodged in time, narrowly escaping a slap from Sakuya. Yet, Shion’s right cheek received a light tap.
Hoshimori Ayane and Kujou Sakuya, the two girls, yawned almost simultaneously, proving the infectious nature of a yawn with their actions.
At the same time, Shion could argue that actions were equally contagious. Her strongest evidence lay in the fact that both girls, while yawning, simultaneously stretched out their hands.
And simultaneously flailed towards Shion’s face.
It seemed one side was simply unavoidable.
“Hey! Don’t both of you try to slap my face at the same time!” Shion, lying in the middle, complained.
“Alright, alright~” Sakuya yawned again, her voice already tinged with drowsiness.
“Silly, big sister is silly~” Ayane also yawned, her voice softening with sleepiness.
“Kujou-san, are you sleepy?” Shion reached out and ran her hand through Sakuya’s hair.
“Big sister!” Hearing Shion stroke Sakuya’s hair, Ayane tugged at Shion’s arm, clearly displeased, demanding she stroke her own hair instead. “I’m your little sister! Stroke mine first!”
“Alright, alright…” Shion extended her other hand, gently stroking Ayane’s white hair.
Sakuya said nothing more. Shion only heard faint, gentle snores beside her.
‘Sakuya’s fallen asleep,’ Shion thought.
Before long, soft breathing sounds came from her other side as well. However, Ayane’s sleeping position was particularly… uncomfortable for her big sister. She was using Shion’s arm as a pillow.
‘Silly little sister, you could at least lose some weight!’ Shion complained internally. Still, she didn’t make any move to pull her arm away, allowing Ayane to rest comfortably on it.
Though her arm was uncomfortably pinned, the drowsiness of the two girls beside her gradually spread to Shion.
“The sky today is truly beautiful…” Shion murmured softly. Soon, she too felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier.
“Perhaps… a good nap… is in order…”
The white-haired girl closed her eyes.
****
In a hazy, dream-like state, Shion heard a clanging and banging sound.
There was a scorching heat, as if something incredibly hot was searing. ‘Is it grilled meat?’ Shion wondered, imagining a fragrant steak waiting for her when she woke. Heavens, with her wallet growing increasingly thin, she hadn’t even made hamburger patties for Ayane much lately.
Her sense of hearing gradually returned. But as it did, Shion suddenly felt the surroundings filled with fierce roars, like…
Malevolent spirits, born from the grievances of the deceased, ceaselessly strengthened their presence. But now, these spirits were also being subjected to some form of torment and harm!
“What you are forging now is our lord’s treasured blade. With it, we shall surely win this war!”
…
“Tired? If this blade isn’t forged, we will all perish! Get up and continue working!”
…
Shion’s vision remained blurred. These roars mingled with the howls of malevolent spirits, making her eardrums feel as if they might burst.
She saw sparks flying from beneath the hammers, scattering across the glowing red blades that had been heated in the fire.
She saw the blacksmiths, emaciated and skeletal, yet still spurred on by soldiers wielding whips.
She saw countless malevolent spirits swirling around them, howling and roaring.
…
Shion seemed to make out the appearance of the blade.
There were many blacksmiths forging here, and the blades they forged were the very Spirit Cutters Shion now wielded.
However, this was no ordinary forging. Each time the blacksmiths’ hammers struck the blade, a wisp of black mist would merge into it. That black mist was visible to the naked eye, not even requiring a Spirit-Sealing Physique to perceive it.
The surrounding malevolent spirits howled and roared, but due to the numerous talismans drawn on the ground, they could not directly rush in and kill those who were forging.
Yet, those talismans… Shion rubbed her eyes. She couldn’t make out their precise patterns, only barely discerning some peculiar designs upon them.
“Quick! Faster! The war on the front lines rages on; what right do you have to rest?!”
A figure clad in samurai armor roared at the shirtless, emaciated blacksmiths. In his hand, he held a katana, gleaming with a cold light.
“Lord Samurai, the malevolent spirits are about to breach the barrier,” the lead blacksmith pleaded with the sword-wielding samurai, pointing at the barrier formed by the talismans. “If we don’t leave now, we’ll die here!”
‘Could he… see those malevolent spirits?’
Normally, ordinary people couldn’t perceive malevolent spirits. After all, not everyone possessed a Spirit-Sealing Physique. Yet, Shion didn’t sense any Spirit-Sealing Physique within this person.
However, perhaps the surge of malevolent spirits was truly dire. If that barrier were breached, given the scale of these spirits, everyone would perish here.
‘Everyone will die here…?’
His eyes widened in fury. He lashed the whip in his hand harshly against the ground, terrifying the blacksmith, who immediately scrambled back to his post. But the blacksmith still watched the roaring malevolent spirits frantically assailing the barrier outside the talismans with immense dread.
The other blacksmiths dared only to continue hammering the blades in their hands, harboring fear.
The sword-wielding samurai also looked behind him with some apprehension. Though from his perspective, he saw nothing.