Chapter 34 Part Two: The Thunder Card
Facing this death notice practically plastered to his forehead, Kazama Chiba simply nodded thoughtfully, even wearing that kind of submissive business smile on his face.
But beneath that calm exterior, he was almost laughing internally.
Threaten him? Strip away his life?
Did this woman have some misunderstanding about the cards up his sleeve?
These words might scare a pure, kindhearted Kinomoto Sakura from the original story into tears.
But for him, Kazama Chiba, it was practically a joke with zero intimidation factor.
Never mind the Rat Talisman in his hand—with proper operation, he could completely resurrect a bunch of characters to use as suicide bombers.
Just considering the other eleven talismans he hadn't obtained yet—
Like the Dog or Horse talismans—any one of them could exhaust the opponent to death.
More importantly, what were the prerequisites for the Final Judgment?
Collecting all the Clow Cards.
Which meant as long as he deliberately left a few Clow Cards uncollected, that so-called Judgment would never trigger.
Some Clow Cards were completely useless and wouldn't cause any societal harm.
Like The Light and The Voice cards.
These garbage cards—even if given to Kazama for free, he wouldn't want them. Worst case, just leave them out there.
So Kaguya exposing herself early seemed rather stupid. Because if she hadn't mentioned the Judgment, Kazama might have collected all the cards out of completionist compulsion.
Now that she'd said it, Kazama definitely wouldn't do that.
As long as I don't submit the test, you can never fail me.
Watching Kaguya's confident expression of "I've already controlled everything," Kazama almost couldn't suppress his laughter.
But he couldn't laugh. Had to hold it in. If the opponent saw through him, it would ruin everything.
So Kazama Chiba forcibly suppressed the urge to smirk and put on a "deeply shocked, currently reflecting" pained expression, his tone as heavy as someone who'd just learned they had to move bricks at a construction site tomorrow.
"I see."
"Looks like I truly have no way out. Thank you for the reminder, sensei, for helping me understand the gravity of the situation."
"Since it's for survival, I'll definitely give it my all. After all, I do cherish my life."
Though this performance was slightly exaggerated, it barely passed.
Though she didn't see through Kazama's inner thoughts, Kaguya still sensed something odd about his attitude.
Kazama Chiba's emotions were too calm.
That calmness didn't seem like resignation—more like calculating something that displeased her.
"Hmph."
She snorted lightly, picking up her sake cup and casually sipping that clear daiginjo.
"Nice words."
"But from my observations, ever since you obtained that little lion, your work efficiency has been appallingly low. Either playing house with those little girls at school or running around for boring club matters."
"You've adopted a completely passive 'waiting for rabbits by the tree stump' attitude toward those scattered cards. If I hadn't come knocking, were you planning to wait until next century to collect them?"
"Humans have inertia—I understand that."
Kaguya said with a half-smile:
"But since you're now my observation subject, that kind of slacking off will make me bored."
"That is indeed a problem." After hearing this, Kazama Chiba smoothly picked up the conversation thread.
Kaguya wasn't wrong—he'd been slacking lately, mainly busy adapting to life and dealing with various messy school matters.
Now that he had the Clow Cards as basic combat power, perhaps it was time to use the Rat Talisman to summon some powerful anime characters to expand his arsenal.
Just as he was still planning his grand future blueprint in his mind, Kaguya's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"So, to make that lazy brain of yours spin a bit faster, sensei has decided to help you speed up."
"Clap."
She clapped her hands lightly.
The instant the sound fell, the lighting in the entire private room seemed forcibly twisted by some power.
The originally dim, ambiguous lamplight suddenly vanished, replaced by a blinding pale blue electric light.
The sizzling sound of electrical current filled the air. That distinctive ozone smell of high-voltage electricity instantly overwhelmed the alcohol and food aromas.
"Hey! That's cheating!"
Kerberos jumped up in fright, pointing at Kaguya and demanding why she wasn't following the rules.
"As the exam proctor, you're personally taking action! This is rule violation! I'm going to file a complaint with Clow Reed!"
"Hehe. Making a fuss over nothing."
Kaguya sat in the center of the electric light, that exquisite face wearing a mocking smile, not a single hair out of place.
"I didn't take action. It came looking on its own."
She pointed at the private room entrance.
Kazama Chiba narrowed his eyes, enduring that blinding electric light as he reached out and slid open the door.
The hallway outside was no longer that lively izakaya corridor.
Standing there was a beast.
A fierce beast entirely composed of blue lightning, resembling a wolf or some feline predator.
Its four limbs planted on the wooden floor, each contact point sizzling and leaving scorched marks. Those pupil-less white eyes stared fixedly at the two people in the private room.
"The... The Thunder card?!"
Kerberos released a pitch-altered shriek.
"This is one of the top-ranking attack power cards! How did it appear here?!"
"Of course I called it here."
Kaguya rose and walked to the doorway, explaining with a smile:
"To prevent you from continuing to slack off—if you won't go find them, then let them come find you."
She turned her head, showing Kazama Chiba, still sitting unmoved in his seat, a demonic smile.
"From now on, whenever I sense a Clow Card nearby, I'll use some methods to drive them toward you."
"If you don't find a way to subdue them, then wait to be subdued by them."
She even maliciously winked those golden eyes at the stunned Kazama.
"How about it? Aren't you moved? Sensei has worked herself to the bone for your growth."
However, what responded to her was silence.
Whether it was Kazama Chiba sitting in the chair or Kerberos floating in mid-air, both maintained their previous postures without a sound.
Like two statues that had suddenly lost their souls.
They didn't even show that instinctive fear response toward the powerful—rigidly frozen in an eerie way.
"Hm?"
Seeing the abnormality in those two, Kaguya instantly sensed something wrong.
"Go."
She restrained her smile and issued a command to the thunder beast beside her.
"ROAR—!"
The thunder beast released a deafening roar.
A thick blue-white lightning bolt as large as a barrel thunderously shot from its mouth.
That energy could instantly melt a tank into molten iron.
"BOOM!"
The lightning precisely pierced through the chest of "Kazama Chiba" sitting in the chair, then continued with undiminished momentum to blast through the padded wall behind, exploding a large hole that revealed the brightly lit night street scene outside.
Cold wind rushed in through that hole.
But there was no scene of blood splattering, no smell of charred flesh.
That struck "Kazama Chiba," the instant it contacted the lightning, shattered like a broken mirror into countless crystalline glass fragments.
Immediately after, the nearby Kerberos and the continuously sleeping Hiratsuka Shizuka also shattered and dissipated into the air.
Only two slowly falling Clow Cards remained in place.
The smile on Kaguya's face didn't disappear—it became even more playful.
She reached out and caught the two cards trying to fly away, examining them carefully.
The Illusion.
The Mirror.
"Illusion" created the scene camouflage, making everything here appear normal.
"Mirror" created physical substitutes to stay here as targets.
As for the real Kazama Chiba—
He'd probably already escaped with that unconscious Hiratsuka Shizuka while she'd been delivering her long-winded "death declaration" or when that thunder beast appeared, taking advantage of her distracted attention to slip away.
"Hahaha... well done."
Kaguya looked at the two cards in her hand.
"To play this empty fort stratagem right under my nose—I've truly been outmaneuvered."
"Using substitutes for the golden cicada shedding its shell while I was lecturing? This kid seems even better at using Clow Cards than me."
Examining the cards in her hand, Kaguya suddenly discovered an even more interesting detail.
On both cards, front and back, they were completely empty—no name "Kazama Chiba" written anywhere.
Meaning though that boy could use them, even use them so skillfully, he hadn't completed the master recognition ceremony at all.
"Not even signed his name?"
Kaguya couldn't help laughing aloud.
"Looks like that counterfeit Beast of the Seal forgot to tell him the 'only signing makes you the master' rule."
"Or maybe this kid never intended to take responsibility? Use and discard? Truly the behavior of a complete scumbag."
She didn't choose to confiscate these two cards. Instead, she released her fingers.
"Go."
Kaguya said softly.
The two cards, as if pardoned, immediately transformed into two streams of light and flew through that large hole blasted by lightning into the night sky, chasing after Kazama.
Kaguya turned around and said to that thunder beast anxiously clawing the ground after losing its target:
"Don't worry. Though the prey escaped, this game has only just started getting interesting."
"Follow them. Give him a little surprise."
"ROAR!"
The thunder beast understood the command.
It transformed into a blue electric light, closely following the trajectory of those two Clow Cards ahead, bursting from this izakaya-turned-ruin and disappearing into Kamimizu City's prosperous night.
Leaving only Ougihoshi Kaguya standing alone in the wrecked private room, looking at that unfinished daiginjo cup while humming some unknown tune.