새벽녘의 사수 슌란/14권

Chapter 14: The Rage of a Beast
There was no reason to hesitate. Having been freed from his own fate, Chunlan could now dedicate every last bit of his remaining strength to helping his companions. He fired off several more rounds, and Dau, either knowing Chunlan's intent or inspired to act through Sayu's cry, rushed to his feet and darted through an opening in the Oni's defenses.
'Hmph. Always so quick to flee, mouse,' the Oni spat.
'Hey! I'm your opponent now,' Chunlan demanded. 'You know—the one who stole Raiju's kill from you!'
The Oni turned toward the call and gunshots aimed at his back, watching Dau flee from the corner of his eye before presenting a bloodthirsty smile to his opponent. 'You think you can fight me alone, Matagi?'
'Damn right, I can! It's my duty to protect this mountain, so you gotta get through me first!'
A dark laugh was elicited from the man. 'I've always appreciated those who don't know their own limits. Come, and let me have a taste of the power that took down the king of thunder!'
The Oni had completely fallen for Chunlan's provocation—but something didn't feel right about it. A shadow of doubt crossed Chunlan's heart as he wondered just how this man, of all men, could fall for such a simple ploy.
'This man kills Woodland Wanderers to make himself stronger,' he thought to himself. 'But is he really after their artifacts? Is it just about the hunt?'
Chunlan ran, bidding the Oni to follow. As he did, he pondered on his questions further, creating yet more questions about this strange enemy they faced. On the surface, he hunted for artifacts on behalf of some unknown clan. This later turned into an excuse to hunt the Woodland Wanderers and kill them for his own personal gain.
Which was his true purpose now, then? Was it orders or lust for blood?
'Well, whichever one it is, I still can't let him off the hook,' Chunlan shook the question off with a final thought on the matter. He had to defeat the Oni, purpose known or unknown—even if he felt a twinge of pity toward a human who somehow lost his sanity to war-hungry impulses.
Guiding the enemy with carefully aimed shots, Chunlan brought him to a stretch of mountain barren of outcroppings or trees, its flat terrain creating a thick, undisturbed blanket over the ground. Its slant made it an ideal spot for sledding, but it had been left untouched by humans.
'And here I thought you'd lead me on a merry chase,' snarled the Oni. 'Did you underestimate me? Because I may well have overestimated you.'
'You sure about that?' In the same instant, Chunlan's rifle fired as he whirled around to avoid the Oni's fist striking the ground. The bullet that flew through the air was reduced to a harmless spark by a rock wall—or would have been had all gone to plan.
'Impossible! My wall! Why?' The wall formed by the Oni was too low to cover his body, and the bullet instead grazed off the very top of the wall and pierced the target's shoulder. 'How did it stop? What did you do?!'
'Nothing. Take a look around.'
Their current battlefield was a sea of snow—a place where the rocks so desperately needed for the Oni's defense were buried deep enough to be difficult to retrieve on the fly. The man's face twisted with enough disgust at the revelation that it seemed to change the script of the arcane writings tattooed over him.
'I'm going to ask you again: what are you?' Despite revealing just how he bested him in their current environment, Chunlan felt he was in no position to take further advantage of it. 'You're hungry for more power when you don't even have a full grasp of the power you already have, so you murder Woodland Wanderers. I know you're not all there, but even then...I'm having a hard time understanding you.'
The more he spoke, the more his anger fell to pity. He knew the emptiness of having lost one's purpose in life as much as he now knew the joy of finding value in purpose again. This man's purpose—simple in declaration yet far more complex than claimed—had at some point become distorted.
'Somewhere along the way, your reason for fighting and your reason for living somehow got...jumbled together.' Realizing this, Chunlan felt if he prodded further, he might just see into the man's heart. He noticed the color drain from the Oni's skin—a kind of apprehension that came when one's self was being exposed. 'You said your power was 'gifted' to you, right? Did that inspire you or give you purpose? ...Or were you just told what your purpose was?'
'SHUT UP!' All of the Oni's tattoos began to flash a reddish-black glow while giving off a heat strong enough to burn his very flesh. Chunlan had never seen anything like it; he felt dwarfed in the shadow of this sinister glow before him.
'Bullseye, huh?'
'Don't you taunt me! What could you possibly understand about me?!' the Oni spat. 'I should have died when they took my home! But I'm here—so who could condemn me for wanting power? For wanting to feed this hunger?!'
'The Woodland Wanderers took your home? That doesn't sound like them at all...or was that something someone told you, too?'
Chunlan had no interest in his opponent's life story, sorrowful as it appeared to be. The Oni, his driving forces being laid bare, in turn spoke in a low but powerful snarl as the madness of his movements grew more frantic.
'Kill! Hunt! I love to devour the Woodland Wanderers—but you should understand this hunger, fellow hunter, why I would want to make a meal out of you!'
'This isn't some hunt! I could never accept what you're doing as hunting!'
They fought on, evenly matched in offense and defense. Despite having been robbed of his advantage and reason, the Oni showed no sign of slowing his frenzy. He could not throw makeshift spears in an instant, so he raised what he could of a shield as he rushed the Matagi. Chunlan fell back, step by step, all the while firing at the wall barreling toward him.
Chunlan was struck by the hollowness of the Oni's existence as they continued. It appeared his hunger was only a terrible greed that would never be satisfied.
'We Matagi hunt to live—to accomplish our goals—to face life! Don't lump our traditions with your meaningless slaughtering!'
'Then what have I been fighting for? Are you saying I really killed and killed for nothing, Matagi?!'
Chunlan knew he could never lose against such a man. How could someone fighting to discover his own goals, someone fighting to protect others, someone now fighting to inherit all his people had to give ever lose against one who destroyed to fill an impossible void?
Leaning his weight onto the rock wall built up, the Oni rushed headlong down the slop. It was as though he wanted to use all of his destructive self and all the pressure building within to crush Chunlan whole. 'How should I know if you don't know?! But what I do know is you not knowing the answer will spell your loss on this mountain!'
Chunlan felt none of this pressure, however, for it all rang as hollow as the Oni's self in his eyes. He was full from reason for being and forged bonds, and he could draw from those strengths however he needed to conquer his foe.
The Oni lashed out with a hard, heavy stone pole, but the attack did nothing but send the air and snow dancing. 'I missed? ...Where are you?!'
'Right in front of your face!' Chunlan was gliding over the snow on a wooden plank—a piece of a cabin that once stood on the remote slope. In his rage, the Oni cared not if his own sight was blocked by his rock wall and had continued charging forward wildly, completely missing that Chunlan was preparing his getaway.
'N-No matter!' stuttered the Oni. 'The snow around here is more shallow! The advantage is mine again!'
Indeed, seeing the ground starting to poke through the snow in pockets gave the Oni the confidence to boast. If he could take down this brat who managed to see through the bravado that sustained him, then all would be well again.
Little did he know, Chunlan had a good reason for leading the Oni to an area where his advantage would be lost.
'A cave?' As they came in sight of the cave, Chunlan, ready to place his faith in the next step from his companions, threw aside the board and pushed the last of his energy into his legs.
'What?' Chunlan immediately felt something was off in the place that should have brought him hope. 'White haze? Is she not ready yet?'
He had not expected the cave to be obscured by white fog. He turned back to his foe and, perhaps noticing Chunlan's confusion or simply basking in favorable terrain, the Oni shivered with delight. His tattoos began to pulse with light, shining so brilliantly even the gleam in his eyes was lost from view.
To Be Continued.

第14回　不条理なる猛り
　迷う理由は何も無い。因縁から解き放たれたシュンランが、その力を新たな仲間のために捧げる事に。
仲間の離脱を促したシュンランは、銃を放ちながら《鬼》に突撃した。その意図を悟ってか、同時に響いたサユの呼び声に呼応したダウは力を振絞って飛び起き、《鬼》の隙を突いて姿を消した。
　　　「フン、逃げ足は相変わらずよのう、山猿」
　　「《鬼》！　次は《雷獣》を狩ったこの俺が相手だ！」
《鬼》は背後からの声と銃弾を振り返る。去るダウを横目にしばし逡巡するも、やがてシュンランに暴虐な笑みを返した。「面白い……一騎打ちを望むか《マタギ》の小僧！」
　　「ああ、山を守ると決めた以上先陣を切る！」
　　　「フハハ、面白い。身の程知らずは嫌いじゃない。
味わわせてもらうぞ、《雷獣》を狩りしその力を！」
《鬼》はまたしてもシュンランの挑発にまんまと引っかかった。だが、この男のかような単純性は、シュンランの胸中にどこか薄気味の悪い違和感の影を差す。
　　　（……こいつは古代遺物の奪取と戦いそのもの――
ひいては、《森の遊人》の駆逐と自ら強くなる事。
そのどれを優先して動いているのか、まるでわからない……）
シュンランは《鬼》を誘導すべく走りながらも、相対する敵の秘める異様さを改めて実感する。
この男、何らかの組織のために古代遺物の奪取を担っているかのように見えて、その実《森の遊人》を狩る事、そして力を得るための糧を得る事と、目的が混在しているのだ。そしてその都度、優先度が乱高下している。
　　（……何を標的にしだすか判らないって意味でも、
放っておく訳にはいかないが……）
故に自分が《鬼》を討たねばならない。だがシュンランは、あまりにも歪(いびつ)な闘争心と欲望、そして使命感に支配されて暴れ続ける敵を前に、一種の哀れみも感じつつあった。
――かくも哀れな存在には、なおの事負けられない。
やがてシュンランは、牽制(けんせい)射撃で《鬼》を引きつけつつも、山肌の凹凸や木の少ない斜面に到達した。その地形故に深い積雪が、そのなだらかな表層を維持した一帯。滑るにはまさに最適だが、その手の開発は行われず手付かずで残っている雪原だ。
「フン、姑息な《マタギ》の事、
どんな迷路に誘われるかと思えば。甘く見られたものよ」　「それはどうかな？」
振り向きざまに火を噴くシュンランの猟銃と、地面に叩き込まれる《鬼》の拳。遮るものも無い空間を疾走する弾丸は、岩壁によって無為な火花に姿を変える――はずであった。
　　　「馬鹿な……何故オレの岩壁が……！？」
《鬼》が形成した岩壁は彼の身体を覆い隠すには低過ぎる代物であった。岩壁の上辺を掠った事で僅かに軌道が逸れただけの銃弾が、《鬼》の肩の肉を抉ったのだ。
　　　「岩壁が不完全だと……貴様、一体何をした！」
　　「俺は何もしていない。周りを見てみろ」
　二人の立つ新たな戦場は、深い積雪の残った平面上だ。《鬼》は地面への干渉を雪に阻まれる環境に誘われていたのだ。
刻まれた呪文の帯びる意味すら変えんが如くその顔を歪める《鬼》。とはいえ、相対するシュンランも、余裕を表情に出す事ができる状況ではない。
　　「……改めて問う。お前は何だ？　自分の力の限界も分析せず、
更なる力を求める。古代遺物の奪取はついでの仕事で、
《森の遊人》を皆殺しにしようとする。
お前がまともじゃないのは判るが、それを差し引いても……」
シュンランの敵への哀れみと怒りの双方が昂る。かつて目的に迷い、そして目的に価値を見出す少女に出会った自分だからこそ判る。この狂人の歪さの本質が。
「お前の戦う理由やら目的やらは、何かの都合で……
“継ぎはぎ”でもされてるみたいだ」
《鬼》の貌(かお)の歪みが増す。遠目にも、そして刺青(いれずみ)の存在にも関わらず血の気が引き、冷や汗を流しつつある事が見え始める。「そういや、その能力も貰いものだみたいな事言ってたが……
あんた、戦う目的も生きる意味も“貰いもの”――
いや、“借り物”に過ぎなかったりするんじゃないのか？」「……黙れェ！　黙れ、黙れェ！」
《鬼》の身体を覆う刺青が、これまでよりも一層強く赤黒い光と熱波を迸らせる。その禍々しい光の中心に影を浮かべる彼自身すら灼かんほどに。
　　　「図星か……」
「黙れ、黙れ黙れ！　貴様に、オレの何がわかる！？
故郷を、全てを連中に奪われた“はず”のオレの！
力を、糧を求めて何が悪いか！」
　　「《森の遊人》が故郷を？　そんな連中とは思えないが……　
そいつも例によって借り物の記憶か？
それに分かるさ、あんたが哀れな奴だって事くらい」
《鬼》は最早、口から言葉にならない魔獣の如き唸り声すら漏らし始めた。彼を突き動かすもの、その皮を剥がされた骨組みが暴走し、無秩序な行動を加速させる。
　　　「殺す……狩る！　オレは《森の遊人》を狩るため……
糧のためとにかく貴様を狩る……！
判らんか、貴様も狩人ならばこの飢えが……！」
「何が狩りだ！　断じて違う！
俺はお前の所業を狩りとは決して認めない！」
一進一退の攻防。優位と理性を喪失しようともその身を焦がす衝動が消える事の無い《鬼》は、岩の刃を射出できずとも、強引に全能力を以て壁を作りながら突進する。そしてシュンランは、迫りくる壁に銃撃を加えながらも下方へ下方へ、ただ敵を見据えたまま退がり続ける。
《鬼》は空虚な存在だ。彼が糧を喰らうがために戦うのは、永遠に満たされぬものに偽られ、そして駆られるため。
　　　「俺達の“狩り”は生きるため、何かを成すために……
命と向き合う事だ！　お前の空っぽな衝動とは違う！
その身勝手で空虚な暴力と一緒にするな！」
　故にシュンランは負けないと、改めて確信していた。何かを見つけるため、守るため、受け継ぐため……価値のために戦う者が、己の空虚がためだけの破壊者に何故届かぬか。
　　「ならば、オレの戦いは……
オレが壊してきたモノは何だったというのだ、小僧！」
《鬼》は防御に集中させていた岩壁を纏ったまま、その重みに身を任せ、斜面に沿っての突進を始めた。自らを保つ欺瞞(ぎまん)、膨れ上がるその内圧諸共シュンランを押し潰さんがために。　「知った事か！　それを知るためにすら戦えない、
だからお前は負けるんだ！　この山で！」
それでもシュンランが、かくも空虚なものに圧壊される事は無い。今のシュンランは、人間を支えるものが、自らを保ちながら戦う所以が何であるかを学んでいる。そして、自分よりもそれを深く知る者と手を繋いでいる。
《鬼》の空虚な岩の一撃は、硬く重い支柱に満たされし青年を捉えられず、虚しく雪と空気のみを掻き乱す。
　　「躱(かわ)した！？　どこだ！？」
　　　「相変わらず前を見ないな、お前は！」
シュンランは、木の板に――かつてこんな僻地(へきち)にも小屋程度はあった時代の残滓にその足を乗せ、雪面を滑走していた。　
怒りに任せ、自身の眼前を覆った岩壁ごと猪突する《鬼》は、その予備動作すら見抜けなかったのだ。
シュンランは雪上を疾走しながらも振り向きざまに銃撃を繰リ返し、着々と《鬼》を引き離していく。
「だが……だが雪さえ浅くなれば形勢逆転だ！」
しかし、山を下るにつれ地肌が散見されることに気づくや、《鬼》は再び虚勢を見せる。この青年さえ、自分を支える欺瞞に触れた者さえ狩れば――
彼は知らない。シュンランが《鬼》に有利なはずの岩地へ迷い無く駆ける理由を。
　　「洞窟……！」
何故ならば、その先にシュンランと支え合う仲間が待っているから。そこに信じられるだけの意味が、価値があるから。　
その目印が目に入るや、シュンランは板を投げ捨て、残る体力をその両足に注ぎ込む。
　　「……？」
　しかし、捉えたはずの希望の中にシュンランは違和感を見出す。
　　「白い靄(もや)……まさか、まだ――」
そこは、あるはずの無い霧に満たされていたのだ。
そして振り返れば、《鬼》はシュンランの狼狽か環境の変化が引き金となったのか。最早言葉も発さず、生物の様に脈打つ刺青の光は、彼の瞳の輝きすらも呑み込んでいた。
　　続く