NoWaYu Ch. 13 Preview

Great power comes at a great cost.
As they use the power of the fairies,
trump cards could possibly cause a buildup of 〇〇 in the heroes' bodies.
Hero Diary April 2019
Iyojima Anzu

Chapter 13 -Falling Petals-
The technique we call the "trump card" is thought to be inherently related to a certain kind of necromancy.
It imbues the human body with an inhuman entity. So far, we have summoned the following fairies: Yuuna-san's Ichimokuren, Chikage-san's Shichinin Misaki, Tamacchi-sempai's Wanyudo, and Wakaba-san's Yoshitsune. Each of them has aspects of demons or vengeful spirit. Yoshitsune is renowned as a hero, but there are also legends of him becoming a vengeful spirit, cursing his elder brother Yoritomo to death.
Supernatural phenomena like séances and spirit possession have existed in human culture from time immemorial. Shamans. Blind spirit mediums. Animists. Polytheists. Such practitioners would evoke the inhuman into their own bodies. There are also phenomena of inugami or kitsune possession. Each with their own dangers. Inugami and kitsune possession were said to be curses.
The boundary between human and inhuman sometimes becomes blurred. In Japanese mythology, the Chibiki no Ishi (Thousand-Lugged Stone) placed at Yomotsu Hirasaka is known as one such boundary. Using the trump card is akin to soaking half your body beyond the boundary, and thus--
Anzu thought to herself at her desk in her room as she scribbled things like "Fairies = vengeful spirits? Dangers of the trump card" in her notebook. She had been studying for mathematics, but ended up getting distracted. She was worried about the other day when Tamako said something felt weird about her body.
Apparently Tamako had been feeling some discomfort ever since her second trump card use.
(We have been told that the trump card was dangerous...)
"Heyyyy! Anzuuu!"
As if to interrupt Anzu's thoughts, the door suddenly opened and Tamako entered the room. Anzu closed her notebook in a hurry.
"Oh, you're studying?"
"No, I was just about done. I thought it was about time I went to sleep."
Anzu tried to pretend everything was normal as she shook her head. She didn't want to say anything to agitate Tamako's anxiety.
"Oh, okay. Then Tama's gonna sleep with you too!"
"Tamacchi-sempai, I think you're just about the only one who can eagerly announce they're going to sleep like that."
Anzu smiled wryly.

The two girls got in bed together and turned off the lights.
The bed was only sized to accomodate one person, but since Tamako was small, they were able to sleep together by squeezing up next to each other.
This way they looked like real family. They were often told they looked like sisters. Neither Anzu nor Tamako were displeased to hear it.
"Anzu, if you and Tama were sisters, then that'd make Tama the big sister."
"Hmm, you sure, Tamacchi-sempai? I'm taller than you, so maybe I'd be the big sister."
"What!? Tama's the sempai, so she's the big sister, duh!"
"But we're the same age."
"No, but Tama's more big sister-y! Anzu's the little sister!"
Anzu chuckled as Tamako's childish words and demeanor belied her assertion of being the elder sister. That said, Anzu honestly didn't believe herself to be the elder sister figure either.
"Yeah, you're right. I think I'm the little sister too. You're the big sister, Tamacchi-sempai."
"I know, right! Okay, now that that's settled, why don't we become sisters for real?"
Tamako hugged Anzu. Anzu hugged tightly back.
"Ahahah, yeah. I'm sure we'll get along great as sisters."
"Yeah, I know we'll be better than any other sisters in the whole world."
Tamako nodded in satisfaction. But her expression soon clouded over.
"But... what I don't know is how our next battle with the Vertexes will go..."
Just the other day, Hinata had received a new oracle. The first oracle since the heroes had returned from their expedition outside of Shikoku. According to the oracle, the next Vertex attack would soon occur. The enemy numbers would apparently be less than what was seen in the previous "Battle of Marugame Castle". However-- the circumstances would be unprecedented.
"Unprecedented circumstances? But each battle's been unprecedented."
"Yeah... but I feel there must be some sort of meaning behind dedicating an oracle about it..."
Anzu spoke with a heavy voice.
The oracle had spread an air of anxiety and unrest among the heroes these past few days. Chikage was even more on edge than usual, and Wakaba seemed tense.
"Man, it's April already and yet the mood's just not right for flower viewing."
"True. It's such a pity seeing as how the sakura blossoms are so beautiful around Marugame Castle."
Marugame Castle was a famous sakura viewing location. Now that April had come along, the seven hundred sakura trees of Kameyama Park within the castle grounds were beautifully in bloom.
"Let's sweep away those pesky Vertexes and go view the hell out of those flowers! It'd be too much to tama take if we just let all those petals fall."
"Yeah. But if we're going to go flower viewing, we need to prepare a picnic. What should we make?"
"Anzu, you can cook?"
"As long as it's something simple. If we're going to go flower viewing, we might as well prepare something ourselves rather than get something ready-made."
"Alrighty! In that case, Tama will catch fish in the nearby river and cut out their little tama tummies! I'll show you the deliciousness of freshly cooked fish!"
"Somehow that doesn't seem quite right for flower viewing..."
"But why not? It's fun."
"Yeah."
Anzu nodded with a smile.

In the classroom the next day, Tamako and Anzu discussed holding a flower viewing party with the others.
"Sounds fun! Let's do it! Let's do it!"
"Yes, that sounds good. We simply cannot stay in Marugame Castle and NOT go flower viewing."
Yuuna and Anzu seemed on-board. Wakaba nodded too, saying "Not bad. Sounds like a good way to relax."
"But... we don't know when the Vertexes are coming... Is it really okay for us... to let our guard down like that...?"
Chikage objected.
But Yuuna simply pinched Chikage's cheeks to make her relax her tensed face.
"L-lleggo mah heeks..."
"Gun-chan, you look too serious. What's wrong with a little flower viewing!? I wanna go flower viewing with you, Gun-chan."
Yuuna said that before letting go of Chikage's cheeks.
"... Well, if you say so, Takashima-san..."
Chikage nodded in resignation as she rubbed her reddened cheeks.
"Okay, then once our next Vertex battle's over, let's go flower viewing to celebrate!! I suddenly feel pumped up!"
Tamako cheerfully raised her hands in the air.
Planning a victory celebration before the battle might seem hasty, but victory was the only option afforded to the heroes either way.
Anzu gazed outside the classroom window down below to the sakura trees blooming in the Marugame Castle grounds.
"Hopefully we can go flower viewing soon..."
For flowers' lives are short.
So before they fall--

That evening.
The forestization warning sound rang from the heroes' smartphones.

As they donned their battle garments, the heroes stood upon the vegetation-covered land of Shikoku. From beyond the Seto Inland Sea-- from outside the barrier, they say the Vertexes advance.
"Oh, seems kinda wimpy for 'unprecedented circumstances'."
Tamako slumped her shoulders at the anticlimactic turn of events.
The enemies probably numbered less than a thousand. The heroes had claimed victory against larger numbers in the "Battle of Marugame Castle".
"Don't let your guard down, Tamako. It's easy to slip up while under a false sense of security."
"Yeah yeah. You gotta lighten up, Wakaba."
Despite her lax demeanor, Tamako held her bladed yo-yo close.
Yuuna gripped her tekko and Chikage readied her scythe. As everyone prepared for battle, Anzu spoke up.
"Umm! Everyone, please listen!"
All the heroes turned their attention towards Anzu.
"What's wrong...?"
Chikage sent her a quizzical gaze.
Anzu responded with a serious look on her face.
"Let's not use trump cards this time."
"Okay... but why...?"
Chikage looked at Anzu somewhat confused.
"The Taisha have already told us to avoid using the power of the fairies... so there might really be a risk associated with them."
"... But depending on the circumstances, we might have no choice but to use them... you know..."
Anzu couldn't object to Chikage's reasoning.
The fact of the matter was that in all of their battles so far, defeating an evolved Vertex often required relying on the power of the fairies. There was no guarantee the enemy wouldn't evolve this fight, and thus there was no guarantee the heroes could fight without using trump cards--
"But I think An-chan's right. We'd be better off not using them. You know what they say. A wise guy keeps away from danger!"
Yuuna nodded vigorously.
A faintly wry smile formed upon Wakaba's lips as she said
"You mean a wise man, right?"
"Oh, was that it?"
"Anyway, Anzu has a point. Let's avoid using trump cards as much as we can this time."
"..."
After Wakaba and Yuuna agreed with Anzu, Chikage had nothing more to say.
"More importantly, the enemy's coming, guys!"
Tamako's words brought everyone's attention back to the swarming Vertexes.

Anzu and Tamako worked in tandem to face off against the Vertex horde. Anzu shot down the enemies with precise marksmanship while Tamako cleaved down the enemies with her bladed yo-yo.
As they fought, Anzu looked about their surroundings. As usual, Wakaba was exterminating Vertexes with relentless strength. Yuuna was fighting recklessly as well, and Chikage was destroying enemies with an even more bloodcurdling intensity than before.
Fighting common Vertexes had become second nature to the heroes. They had fought against countless hordes of Vertexes to protect Shikoku already. Not even a thousand of them would be any trouble.
Anzu cautiously observed the enemies' movements. If she spotted any Vertexes threatening to fuse, she shot them down immediately with her crossbow. She would not allow them any time to fuse into an evolved form. It was a strategy well-suited for a long-range specialist like Anzu.
(We should be fine as long as we don't let them fuse...!)
Anzu fought with that prayer in mind.
If any evolved Vertexes were to appear, Tamako would surely use the power of the fairies to fight it. As they had seen in the expedition outside of Shikoku, Tamako was the type who gave into the momentum too easily. She had little restraint to using trump cards.
Anzu didn't want to let Tamako use trump cards. She was unsure if the power of the fairies did in fact have a negative influence, but if there was even the smallest possibility that were the case, then Anzu didn't want to expose Tamako to that risk.
But Anzu's prayers were left unanswered.
Nearly a hundred Vertexes began gathering at the same place.
"Oh no...!"
Anzu fired her crossbow, but even though she shot down several of the fusing Vertexes, she could not fell all of them. Since the other heroes were too far away, their attacks wouldn't reach.
The vertexes fused--
"We got no choice! I'm gonna use a trump card!"
"Wait! I'll do it!"
Anzu shouted for Tamako to stop and then closed her eyes and focused her concentration within herself.
The heroes had a spiritual connection to the Shinju. Anzu traced that connection back to call forth the power of the fairies from the Shinju and imbue it within herself.

The fairy Anzu imbued within herself-- Yukijoro (the snow woman).
An embodiment of all-freezing snow and cold. A symbol of death.

Enveloped in the power of the fairy, Anzu's hero garments transformed.
"Tamacchi-sempai, please stay put. I'll take these guys down myself...!"
Anzu raised her crossbow to the sky, shooting out not arrows, but multitudes of white particles.
Or rather, particles of snow. The crossbow snow blotted out the sky.
And not a moment later, the snow became a blizzard. The relentless cold and the furious flurry rained down over the forestized Marugame City in its entirety.
"S-so cold!!!!"
Tamako's shouting echoed in the snow storm.
"An-chaaaan!? What's with the blizzard~~?"
"There's zero visibility! We can't see either friend or foe!"
"It's... cold..."
The voices of Anzu's teammates echoed in the snow storm's blinding whiteness.
"Please stay still everyone! It's too dangerous to move! I'll sweep up all the enemies! Leave it to me!"
The power of Anzu's Yukijoro was to cover a wide-reaching area in intense cold. If it weren't for their hero clothes, the other heroes would not have been able to withstand the cold either. They would likely have frozen to death in mere seconds.
Conversely, the merciless cold would freeze the Vertexes.
After a few minutes, the blizzard finally settled. When visibility cleared up, just about all of the Vertexes had been frozen solid, including the dozens that were trying to fuse, right before they could complete their evolved form.
One by one, the frozen Vertexes fell to the ground, shattering along with the ice. Few Vertexes had escaped becoming frozen.
"Ohh, pretty nice... Anzu."
Tamako muttered in blank surprise at the majesty of Anzu's attack.
"Way to go, An-chaaan! There are only a few enemies left now!"
Yuuna started beating up the surviving Vertexes.
Wakaba and Chikage likewise swung their weapons to sweep up the remaining enemy forces.
"But Anzu, you said not to use trump cards! Are you sure you're okay!?"
Wakaba shouted to Anzu as she swung her sword.
"Ah, yeah, that's right, Anzu! You said it was dangerous..."
Tamako scolded Anzu out of worry as well.
"Umm, I'm okay, probably... That was my first time using fairy power after all. It was safer for me to have used it than anyone else."
Anzu replied with some risky reasoning. There was no proof that fewer uses meant lesser risk, but it was better than risking Tamako use it considering she had already displayed irregularities. To prevent the others from using trump cards, Anzu had to use one herself.
"Well, whatever. Lecturing can come later! Right now we need to take care of the remaining--"
Right as Tamako spoke, she turned towards the Seto Inland Sea.
And there, beyond the barrier, she saw something bizarre.
A Vertex horde-- incoming reinforcements. But most conspicuous out of the whole group was what was spearheading the flock of common Vertexes: a giant monster. It was most likely an evolved Vertex, but they hadn't seen anything of that scale since the incomplete evolved Vertex that appeared in the final minutes of the "Battle of Marugame Castle".
"... That doesn't look good..."
Even the optimistic Tamako turned pale at the sight of that evolved Vertex. Just a single look was enough to tell that it was on a whole new level compared to the enemies they had fought before.
The other heroes began to take precautions about the giant Vertex. They began to question whether or not they should commence an attack.
"It kinda looks like... a giant shrimp, doesn't it...?"
"I think it's more like a scorpion... Takashima-san..."
The monster had an abdomen containing an ominous liquid, An organ resembling a scorpion tail, complete with a giant needle.
Imbued with Yukijoro's power, Anzu kicked off the ground and leapt towards the scorpion-type Vertex. She then turned her crossbow towards it.
"Freeze!"