4. THE STONE BIWA MONSTER ------------------------------ 121. Four - The Stone Biwa Monster ------------------------------ 122. -OuKijin: JI!! -Taikoubou: She's flying!! -OuKijin: This ShijuHagoromo isn't like any other! Tsuuten Kyoushu, one of the Sandai Sennins (Three Great Sennins) wove it from the silk of a poison moth!! -Taikoubou: Wait! Why are you after me? I can't fight you without knowing who you even are!!! ------------------------------ 123. -OuKijin: Don't play dumb! I know you are after Dakki! I am here to stop you! -Taikoubou: So she IS one of Dakki's servants... -OuKijin: Here I come, Taikoubou!! -Taikoubou: Wh... what? Powder...? ------------------------------ 124. -Taikoubou: Uh... no! It's... -OuKijin: You're right, it's the powder from the poison moth!! Breathe in enough and your body will rot away!! -People: Uhh... -People: My body's numb... -Taikoubou: Why...! They were still here!? -SiPuXiang: They were there the whole time watching us!? -SiPuXiang: I'll take these people somewhere far away... so Goshujin, hurry and get rid of OuKijin!! ------------------------------ 125. -Taikoubou: Got it! -Taikoubou: DASHINPUU!! -OuKijin: That's nothing... -Taikoubou: What? ------------------------------ 126. -OuKijin: ...but a gentle breeze... -Taikoubou: Hmm... -OuKijin: Unless it's something like that annoying Shinkouhyou's Raikouben, you can't destroy this Hagoromo with a Paopei that ONLY controls wind!! -Shinkouhyou: Kokutenko, I think we're being complimented. -Kokutenko: ...Yeah, but where did you get this? *oxygen tank* ------------------------------ 127. -OuKijin: Ha ha ha ha! Let the powder spread through the cities of Chouka!!! -People: Uh... -SiPuXiang: Hang on!!! Hang on for just a little bit longer!!! -Boy: I can't breathe... -SiPuXiang: Goshujin~~... ------------------------------ 128. -Taikoubou: Stop it!! Think of it -- if you kill off the people, you won't be able to live off of their taxes!! -OuKijin: Oh!? Humans multiply so quickly, they'll never die out. They breed faster than roaches! -Taikoubou: I don't like your way of thinking!! -OuKijin: It's useless!! -Taikoubou: ! -Shinkouhyou: Taikoubou's Paopei is now completely confined. ------------------------------ 129. -Shinkouhyou: That Hagoromo is certainly a nuisance. Taikoubou has no chance of winning if he doesn't get rid of that thing. -Kokutenko: What, Shinkouhyou, are you supporting Taikoubou? -Shinkouhyou: I'm not supporting anyone! All that matters is if I can enjoy it or not! -Taikoubou: This isn't good. I have to get rid of this powder first! -Taikoubou: DASHINPUU MAXIMUM POWER!!! ------------------------------ 130. -OuKijin: A tornado...!!! Are you trying to blow away the poison powder with this!? -SiPuXiang: *thinking* ...? The powder's gone... -OuKijin: *thinking* But!!! -Shinkouhyou: A tornado this big wouldn't last that long. A Paopei is something that makes miracles happen by absorbing the owner's life energy. -Shinkouhyou: Within 5 minutes, Taikoubou will be drained out of energy... ------------------------------ 131. -Taikoubou: Daaaa~~ I'm exhausted~~~ -Kokutenko: That was 5 SECONDS... -Shinkouhyou: Has he no will power!!? -OuKijin: Ha ha ha! Are you giving up already? -Taikoubou: No~~~~! I don't want to die~~! Help me, Tenson-sama~~!!! -OuKijin: .... -OuKijin: Prepare to die! I'll cut off your head and give it to Nee-sama as a gift!! -Taikoubou: *thinking* Nee-sama...? ------------------------------ 132. -OuKijin: I'm sure Dakki Nee-sama will be pleased. -OuKijin: What? Do you still want to fight? -Taikoubou: No... Fighting would be useless. Just kill me. -OuKijin: Oh, you're rather understanding. -Taikoubou: If I had served Dakki-sama, this wouldn't have happened... But I guess it's too late for that... -OuKijin: W...well, that's true... -Taikoubou: Please tell Dakki-sama! That Taikoubou reformed right before his death... ------------------------------ 133. -OuKijin: *thinking* I hear this Doushi doesn't have much physical powers but he does have the brains... Maybe if I make him one of us, we could take over the Sennin world with his intelligence... -OuKijin: *thinking* If Nee-sama puts him under her Temptation spell, we won't have to worry about betrayal... -Taikoubou: ---Please! May I tell you Dakki-sama's fortune before I die? -Taikoubou: A great woman like Dakki-sama should run into many obstacles in her life! But if she knew about it beforehand, she might be able to avoid them! -Taikoubou: This is my way of apologizing for all the troubles I have caused... please!! -Shinkouhyou: .... -OuKijin: W... well, I guess a little fortune-telling can't do any harm... -Taikoubou: Thank you so much!!! -Taikoubou: And there happens to be a piece of firewood a wood-seller dropped here... So I'll tell the fortune with this... ------------------------------ 134. -OuKijin: Fortune telling with firewood? How strange... -Taikoubou: Firewood~~~ Firewood~~~ -Taikoubou: FIRE!!! -OuKijin: !!! -Taikoubou: Yes!!! -OuKijin: Damn you, you deceived me!? ------------------------------ 135. -Taikoubou: You said earlier that the Raikouben could destroy your Hagoromo, so that gave me an idea!! That Hagoromo is vulnerable to Paopeis that emit heat!! -OuKijin: *thinking* I would've never thought... That he would make a fire by sending air to the sparks he produced with his Paopei!! -Taikoubou: Give up! Your Hagoromo is gone! -OuKijin: W... wait, Taikoubou... I lose. You win! -Taikoubou: ! -OuKijin: Your power is unbelievable. How about it? How would you like to make your power useful by working under Nee-sama? I'll let you become a Buseiou!! (Buseiou - one of the highest ranking government officials who is in complete charge of the country's military affairs) ------------------------------ 136. -Taikoubou: B... Buseiou!? -OuKijin: ---!! He's falling for it! -OuKijin: It's the highest rank that anybody has in military affairs! You can become rich, too!! -Taikoubou: Uhhhh---! Just a second, let me think it over! -Taikoubou: You see, I was born in a very poor village. When I was little, my dream was to become someone important... -Taikoubou: Hmmmm--- Should I cut off my connections with the Sennin world...? No, but... -OuKijin: *thinking* What an idiot! I won't let you go this time!! -Taikoubou: Nah, forget it! -OuKijin: !! ------------------------------ 137. -Taikoubou: JI!! -Taikoubou: ...Idiot. I guess I'm more talented than you when it comes to tricking people! -OuKijin: *thinking* I can't lose... me, of all people!! -OuKijin: AAAAAAAH! -Taikoubou: ! ------------------------------ 138. -SiPuXiang: Goshujin---!!! -Taikoubou: Ooh... SiPuXiang! -SiPuXiang: Are you all right!? -Taikoubou: Aaah well, I was certainly scared this time. -SiPuXiang: So where's OuKijin? -Taikoubou: This stone biwa here is OuKijin! This is her true form! (biwa - a lute-like musical instrument) -SiPuXiang: What!? This was that beautiful woman? -Taikoubou: Yes! She herself was saying that she was Dakki's younger sister, but... -Taikoubou: I've heard rumors that Dakki is a Youkai-Sennin, and her true form is a fox. They must be sworn sisters or something. ------------------------------ 139. -Taikoubou: This biwa is still alive. If I destroy it, we could seal it into the Houshin-dai... -SiPuXiang: Then you should destroy it right now!! -Taikoubou: No! -SiPuXiang: What!? -Taikoubou: It took all that trouble to capture OuKijin as a hostage! I can use her to lure Dakki out! ---------- Translations 1999ŠAkane Araragi