Seeing the arrow pointed at him, Lancer reacted immediately. This woman was the owner of the strange presence he had occasionally felt at Bamboo Mountain. She was the reason he had felt like needles were at his back multiple times.
"Kaguya! Hide! Yukari is coming soon, leave with her first."
Lancer didn't know why Kaguya had become like this, but he knew she had no fighting ability. Through long observation, he found she was no different from a normal girl. This aggressive woman was clearly no friend. Even if she hadn't harmed Kaguya while staying near Bamboo Mountain before, her current aura suggested that even the shockwaves of battle could injure or kill Kaguya.
Releasing Kaguya from his right arm, Lancer gripped his spear with both hands and stepped in front of her. The scene froze.
Looking at the broad back shielding her, Kaguya didn't react for a moment, but then—
"Kaguya! Come back with me!"
The woman's shout jolted Kaguya from her daze. She looked at the woman in the air with shock.
"Master?!"
"Master? That woman is your Shishō?"
Kaguya words stunned Lancer. He hadn't expected Kaguya to actually know her.
"Yes, Master... she is the person closest to me. Could it be..."
Looking at the red pill lying among the furnace fragments, Kaguya had a bad premonition.
"What's wrong?"
"The Hourai Elixir is the taboo of taboos in the Lunar Capital. I left because of it———Master might be this angry because she saw me refining it."
She instinctively gripped Lancer back.
The person Kaguya was closest to in the Lunar Capital was Eirin Yagokoro, even more so than her own family. In all these years, she had never seen her this angry—not when she broke medicine as a child, nor when she asked her to help make the elixir.
Feeling lost, she instinctively leaned closer to the man who gave her a sense of security. She didn't realize that this very action made Eirin even more furious. Eirin noticed her tone was scaring her disciple and tried to soften it.
"Kaguya, I am here to take you back. I will help you with Tsukuyomi."
Though she tried to be calm, the taut bowstring and her murderous gaze showed it was all a facade.
Lancer didn't understand the politics of the Lunar Capital, nor the relationship between Eirin and Kaguya, but he pieced together a plot based on Kaguya words.
He knew Tsukuyomi was the Japanese Moon God. Since he was involved, Kaguya status must be high (until now, Lancer only knew she was a "Celestial," not Tsukuyomi's daughter). She came to Earth to refine the elixir, and now she was caught by her Shishō...
'Is she taking Kaguya back to be punished?'
Lancer gripped his spear. He knew Kaguya could be unreliable, but he also knew she was smart; she couldn't have ignored the consequences of her actions.
'Kaguya is in this mess because I asked her to make the elixir for Mokou...'
As if responding to Lancer resolve, the Gáe Bolg in his hand began to glow. As Kaguya started to speak, Lancer held her back again.
"Don't worry. I won't let her take you!"
He took a combat stance against Eirin.
This movement acted like a fuse, causing Eirin to finally lose all control over her rage.
"Is that so? Then die!"
As Eirin spoke, Lancer pupils contracted. He thrust his spear to the side.
Screech~
Whirr~
The sound of the spear blade scraping the arrow reached his ears before the sound of the bowstring. He had no time to worry about that, as his hands were trembling from the sheer force of the arrow.
"Yukari!"
At Lancer call, a small gap appeared next to the "Hourai Elixir." A hand reached out and grabbed it. Before Eirin could react, a pair of arms hugged Kaguya from behind, and Yukari vanished from the battlefield with her.
This abrupt sequence left Eirin stunned, but she quickly realized one thing.
Her disciple had been "stolen" by this man!
For the second time!
Without a word, a terrifying mana destroyed the ground around her. The guards behind her fled into the distance without hesitation.
Though the "Sage of the Moon" hadn't fought in years, no one in the Lunar Capital would underestimate her. Not only were her "legends" older than most residents, but her attitude toward Tsukuyomi—respectful, yet nothing more—was proof enough.
'That man is dead.'
This was the thought echoing in everyone's mind.