Gaiden 5: Pisces and Scorpio
(外伝5:魚座と蠍座)
Did you hear? Of the quiet beautiful woman that rests within the lilies? Maybe it was a man? She wore clothes like one. It's probably a rumor, but she seems to appear when least expected. Was she a true Saint? She hated war and cries tears when her flowers kill someone. When it was witnessed lately, it felt like a Goddess emerged from the hermit hills to punish the wicked.
One witness said that the man, or woman, chased down a group of bandits before it reached a village. How was someone so refined in looks and so powerful? And it may be conjectured that the woman shed tears because she was alleviating, or she harbored fear. Whatever the weapon, the lilies that touched those brutes tore the limbs that were used to touching those that did not ask for them.
It can't be talked about now but there's a stinger that induces great fear. Even though a scorpion could be toppled by others, by creatures smaller than itself, it still has the insurance to fight back. It will kill.
Some are immune to venom—to find such an opponent, but is anything immune to fear? Such as an inspiring warrior? Surely, fear could not be ignored; it could be overcome.
The enemy was called "J". He felt something puncture his forehead and he tried to intellectualize that pain. He only remembered seeing a crimson bullet with a tail.
The amygdala was a tiny thing, but to be hyper-responsive without other brain functions? To make it find a means to calm down? J's anxiety began to pool inside his body, like pressure building inside a ticking bomb. Maybe it all came from his impulsiveness or his lack of fighting experience. Or maybe it came from his furious desire to not lose again.
"Do not hold anything. Learn to die before going to battle." J's master said.
But that wretched Scorpion…it was beyond expectations.
