Chapter 49- Miharu KozukiHollow Night“Scarecrow attempts to lock eyes with Red, his kusarigama slicing through the air as he unches it toward her, downstage-centre.”

  The words guiding me danced across my vision like autumn leaves cascading in the breeze, their elegance masking the dire weight of their meaning.

  At first, these directions frightened me. The notion of surrendering all control over my fate, my actions dictated by unseen forces, living each second on the razor's edge of life and death—it was no small feat to accept.

  The image of tiptoeing through a minefield, where the slightest misstep could mean a gruesome end, often haunted my thoughts. There would be no second chances.

  But tonight… tonight, I began to see this foresight as a gift, something to be cherished and wielded with purpose. With the favor of the gods on my side, who could possibly hope to challenge me?

  As I stood motionless, something within me stirred. The power my ally and I had acquired from a roaming beast on the way here was awakening, vibrant and potent.

  Instantly, a new hue burst to life beneath the crimson directions.

  "[Perform a clockwise 90° side-step, pivoting on your left foot, with your eyes fixed on the kusarigama.]"

  Before I could even register the words, my muscles responded with uncanny precision. My body moved with meticulous efficiency, my feet stepping lightly as the billhook flew past me.

  My gaze followed the kusarigama, the metal chain linking the sickle on one end to the heavy iron weight on the other. In its slight reflection, I noticed a gentle blue tint staring back at me.

  I recalled being told that my body pulsed red whenever my foresight was in py—perhaps executing these new directives would alter that pulse to blue?

  No matter. I was preparing to strike when I realized with a jolt who was directly behind me—the sickle's next target. My hand shot out, seizing the chain and halting its deadly arc.

  A metallic ctter echoed as something fell to the ground behind me. I gnced back to see Cordyceps, cowering with his hands raised. He lowered his arms cautiously, peering over them to see the threat neutralized.

  "Impressive as always, Red," he croaked, clearing his throat. "Good work."

  "Stay vigint," I warned, my gaze snapping back to Scarecrow. The red glow in his eyes had faded, but his smirk remained.

  "Aww, did the little council prez get scared?" he jeered. "If not for your little sidekick here, you'd be—"

  The crow's taunt was cut short by the sharp whistle of something slicing through the air.

  In the time it took him to boast, I had hurled the kusarigama back at him, the sickle aimed squarely at his head.

  His eyes widened briefly, but he quickly masked his surprise with an impassive expression. Without even looking, he caught the sickle's handle.

  "...Yeah, stick to the whole Musketeer thing you got going on, redhead. The kusarigama's not your style."

  I met his taunt with a confident smirk, deciding to save my retort until after I'd retrieved the enigmatic journal and uncovered its secrets.

  I unsheathed my rapier and the bde I’d won from st night’s battle against the Samurai, and subsequently Reaper. My rapier’s slender gray steel gleamed with the reflection of my crimson eye, complementing the fractured yet lethal edge of the new white bde in my right hand.

  "As you wish," I said, raising both bdes, their pointed edges aimed at Scarecrow.

  Scarecrow’s reaction to my rapid charge was unexpected—he ran straight at me. We were mere centimetres apart when I swung my bdes forward, meeting his taut metal chain with a resounding cnk!

  A powerful gust tore through the underpass, knocking over bins and sending patches of grass swaying toward the road, as though fleeing from the epicenter of our csh.

  In the corner of my eye, I noticed the moon gazing down at us, a silent witness to our duel.

  "You're stronger than you look," Scarecrow grunted, struggling to hide his exertion as he searched my eyes. "Why stick with that wet wipe? You know he's just using you!"

  I ignored his misjudgement, focusing instead on the new strings of red and blue hovering above him.

  "Scarecrow activates his powers and attempts to make eye contact with Red."

  "[Headbutt Scarecrow.]"

  I pulled my head back and closed my eyes, then unched forward with reckless abandon. A searing pain exploded in my skull as I collided with his head, stumbling backward from the impact while he groaned in agony.

  When I opened my eyes, a small rivulet of bright, viscous liquid trickled from his nose. I realized I had aimed slightly lower than intended.

  His teeth clenched, his face contorted in rage. But his gaze wasn’t focused on me—it was directed past me, at someone else. Whatever Cordyceps was doing, it was only fuelling Scarecrow’s anger.

  With a wordless growl, Scarecrow began spinning his chain in a circur motion, like a tornado gathering strength. He then hurled the bded edge at me. As the bloodthirsty weapon streaked toward me, I gripped my bdes tight and read the directions that appeared.

  Dodging with precision, I felt a sinking realization as the kusarigama curved back toward me, its terrifying speed threatening to cleave my chest open.

  I left the ground with a small leap, leaning back into a flip and watching the kusarigama retract beneath me, strands of my hair caught in its wake.

  Landing steadily, I wasted no time and shot off into another sprint.

  Scarecrow, assessing that he had no time for a counterattack, hooked onto a nearby streetlight. The journal was tucked under his arm, illuminated by the amber light.

  Seizing the moment, I leaped forward, guiding my white bde into a quick ssh as he ascended. Landing on the ground, I spun around to assess the damage.

  Before my eyes even reached him, I noticed red droplets raining down into the streetmp’s spotlight, forming scarlet pools on the concrete. The sight was eerily beautiful, holding me in a trance.

  A pained groan, tinged with surprise, snapped me back to reality. I looked up to find Scarecrow, still clutching the journal despite the open gash on the left side of his stomach. His grimace of pain confirmed that my strike had hit true.

  "Relinquish the tome this instant," I demanded, my voice cold. "And no further harm shall come to you."

  If he heard me, he gave no indication. Instead, he simply released his grip on the kusarigama and dropped down into the pool of his own blood. The kusarigama clinked to the ground, its chain unfurling with a miserable ctter.

  A shiver ran down my spine, though I couldn’t tell if it was from the crisp wind blowing through the backstreets or the unnerving, bnk stare Scarecrow now directed at me.

  "Where did you get that sword?" he asked ftly, as though the st few minutes had not occurred. He now stood at his full height. "I don't remember seeing it on you before."

  I exchanged a puzzled gnce with Cordyceps, who furrowed his brow but remained silent. I took stock of the situation before replying.

  "That does not concern you, Scarecrow. Release the tome. Now."

  At my command, he shrugged, sighing flippantly.

  "Oh, brother. Haven't you realized by now?"

  His behaviour at that moment was strange, and perhaps it was due to this confusion and my momentary hesitation that he managed to do what he did next.

  I blinked—just a simple, involuntary blink—and Scarecrow vanished, leaving the tome to plop onto the concrete.

  An equally involuntary gasp escaped me as I desperately scanned the area. The underpass was eerily silent, with only my rapid breaths breaking the quiet. The pilrs holding the train tracks above were cracked, worn by neglect and torment. Vines and undergrowth crept along the shadows, silently expanding their reach.

  A sudden impact smmed into my right shoulder, sending me crashing against something metal. I fought the urge to succumb to the sleepiness that threatened to overwhelm me, forcing myself to my feet. I had collided with a bin, but no one was there—except for Cordyceps, who stood a few meters away, his expression a mix of shock, concentration, and fear. He was reaching for something in his cloak, though I couldn’t tell what.

  Again, I was hurled back into the road, tumbling like a discarded ragdoll. But this time, I caught the slightest glimpse of him.

  My foresight had abandoned me! The only times the directions would cease were when there was nothing I could do to change what was about to happen.

  No more directions, no more warnings, no more guidance. I had been thrown into the lion's den, with no hope of escape.

  By the time I noticed the kusarigama was no longer on the ground, it was too te. A cold breath brushed against my ear.

  "...Did you really think that was a fight?" Scarecrow’s voice was a venomous whisper. "I just wanted to see how far along you were—but boy, are you sorry."

  I felt the cold, silent rustle of the metal chain as it coiled around my neck, the scythe’s razor-sharp edge hovering just millimetres from my throat. In my mind’s eye, I could already see it cutting through my flesh.

  "Looks like someone skipped the instruction manual before pying with their shiny new toys. That fancy little sword of yours? It didn’t do a damn thing."

  Suppressing a gasp, I forced my gaze downward to where Scarecrow had bled moments ago—only to see that the blood had transformed into a dark, effervescent mixture, bubbling and evaporating into the night air.

  "EXS," Scarecrow sneered, as if answering the unspoken question burning in my mind. "You didn’t spill my blood—you spilled my EXS. Though even then, these aren’t really our bodies, so none of us are actually bleeding. But you get the picture, don’t you? That sword of yours seems to drain EXS."

  I stayed silent, my grip tightening around my weapons. What I had believed to be a victory was now revealed as a bitter defeat.

  "But your speed—"

  "Oh, that?" he drawled, his tone dripping with condescension. "To someone as weak as you, it must look like I’m vanishing. I bet you wish you’d spent time mastering your powers instead of pying dress-up. Too bad it’s too te."

  Bored of our exchange, Scarecrow yanked his arm against my throat, and in a moment of weakness, I dropped my weapons, my hands scrambling to pry his arm away. My lungs burned as I struggled to breathe.

  "Now do you get it?" he shouted across the space to Cordyceps, who stood several meters away, eyes wide with a mix of fear and focus.

  "You can’t win against me, weakass. Now leave, and take your little toy with you. The sword stays with me. I’ll come for you both when I’m good and ready."

  Cordyceps didn’t hesitate. "And what if I refuse?"

  "Then your little pet over here dies," Scarecrow snapped. "And a few minutes ter, so do you."

  Cordyceps didn’t respond, but his gaze didn’t waver.

  "You better think fast, Prez," Scarecrow taunted. "Who knows what I might do if you take too long?"

  I couldn’t see Cordyceps, but I could feel the weight of his silent despair. My heart sank as I realized the gravity of our situation. Was this how my tale would end? As a helpless victim, utterly defeated?

  I grit my teeth, cursing the fate that had so cruelly abandoned me. But then, like an answer to my desperate prayers, a familiar pulse of red and blue fred before my eyes.

  My breath hitched as I gnced at the hovering red directions, a cold sweat trickling down my forehead. The situation was dire, but my foresight had never failed me. If this was the best course of action, then there was only one thing to do.

  [Buy time.]

  I exhaled slowly, accepting the role fate had handed to me. It was time to act.