Good work . ”
“Ah, that was fun . ”
Daniela said as she returned . As for Neyti, it was as if the ghost that had been haunting him was gone . He seemed refreshed .
“Miss Daniela . Thanks to you, I feel a renewed sense of purpose . ”
“That’s nice . Well, it’s my turn now . ”
I said to the grinning Neyti as I got up from my seat . When I looked over my shoulder, my opponent, Kapricorn Shteiner, also stood up and then proceeded to stare at me for a second before moving forward .
“Asagi . Are you all right?”
“Well, I’ll manage . Besides, it’s not like I can be killed out there . ”
“That is true, but… There is something odd about that one . Be careful . ”
“Yeah . Thanks . ”
Daniela looked anxious as I patted her on the shoulder . Then I walked towards the stage, sword in hand . I would fight with a one-handed sword today . Of course, I had practiced and fought with many weapons, but for days like these, it was best to use what you were the most familiar with . And the Glampanzer, with its double-edged armor stone blade, fit perfectly in my hand . It was heavier than steel and more durable as well . It had cut through many enemies up until now, and yet there wasn’t a single chip in it . That reminded me of just how skilled Kasil the blacksmith from Valdorf really was .
Now, we were up on the stage . Kapricorn was standing still with crossed arms and had eyes fixed on me .
“Sorry to keep you waiting . ”
“Don’t mind that . I wouldn’t even call it waiting . ”
“You’re a lot more talkative than I thought . ”
“Well, I have my moments . Perhaps it is because of you . ”
“Haha . I’m flattered . ”
We bantered as if we were old friends .
“And now, we fight . Let it be a good one, without holding back . ”
“Yeah, to a good fight . ”
We shook hands then . Kaprikorn’s grip was tight . And something about the hand felt feminine . We were about the same height, but I was definitely the less modelesque one .
“And now, the fifth battle will begin . ”
As the referee’s voice boomed, I lowered my posture and unsheathed my sword . I was used to this solid weight now, and it felt like an extension of my own arm . On the other hand, Kapricorn had at some point, produced the same dark blades which were held between the fingers as in the preliminaries . Three blades in each hand . Six in all . The thumbs were free .
“Begin!”
And with that, I activated Legs of the God Wolf on both legs and shot forward . As I was still taking stock of my opponent, I didn’t go at full speed . Of course, I was still on the fast side . My current speed was actually quite similar to Legs of the Forest Wolf . It was like when I was running towards Spiris as the wyvern chased us .
Kapricorn’s facial expression remained the same . Well, the eyes, anyway . And so I raised my sword and swung down .
“…Eh!?”
Clang! The sword struck the ground and chips flew in the air . Kapricorn had been in front of me until the last possible moment; then there was no one .
At the same time, I sensed a presence at my back . Relying solely on that feeling, I rolled forward . Two short swords stabbed into the floor where I had been .
“Nice one . ”
Kapricorn was standing behind me . A cold sweat ran down my back . I didn’t think that anyone but Rachel could move faster than me at this point . Even that blackened Loup-garou had seemed slow to me .
However, something seemed odd… Was Kapricorn really that fast? Maybe that’s not what it was . I don’t know . I could ask .
“How did you do that?”
“I don’t think it will make for an interesting fight . Telling you things . ”
I suppose so . I hadn’t really expected to be told anything either . Well, there was one thing I learned within that last few seconds .
This was not the kind of person to toy with or assess before going all out .
“You are quite fast yourself . Your legs are quite famous, but I am still surprised by them . ”
“Liar . You didn’t look remotely surprised!”
I made a mental note to not pay this banter too much attention as I swung my sword again . This time, Kapricorn stayed in sight and merely lept back to dodge it . And so I pressed in and raised my sword for another swing . That’s when the short swords came flying .
“Woah!”
I frantically hit them out of the air . Thanks to this, there was now quite a distance between us .
Ugh . I was becoming nervous . I had never faced someone so skilled before . I didn’t have much experience in these kinds of fights . My skills would usually allow me to trample over enemies or take them by surprise . But facing another swordsman as we glare at each other…it did a number on your nerves .
Even the decoy bracelet was little comfort .
“…Hmm?”
As I desperately watched Kapricorn’s every movement, I noticed something strange . The hands . They were holding six blades .
“…Eh?”
I took a few steps back and glanced towards the ground . Three swords had been thrown at me . And yet, they were nowhere to be seen .
“Hehe . ”
“…How did you do that?”
“There is beauty in mystery . Asagi boy . ”
“Perhaps you have too many secrets . ”
“Secrets are the key to a woman’s appeal . Hah!”
Now that the mystery of her gender was out of the way, she attacked . This time, she kept them instead of throwing them . Her arms were crossed firmly in front of her as she dashed forward .
I stood my ground and held the flat of my blade towards her to block the attack .
“HAHH!”
Her charge turned into a front sault . The turning force gave power to her left hand as it swung down .
“Huh…!”
It was harder than I was expecting as I received it with my sword . However, that wasn’t the end of the attack . A series of kicks assaulted me . Then she jumped back and landed on the ground . To return the favor, I too did a front sault with the help of silver and green wind and swung at her .
“…There!!”
However, she dodged it . It was as if she had completely vanished from the spot . And then her blades would suddenly shoot towards me from the side .
However, I had been watching out for such an attack, and was able to knock them down . I still didn’t know what was happening, but I had seen the moment she disappeared .
“Still not sure how you did it, but I did catch it this time . ”
“Oh…?”
“Most people would think they were seeing things…”
I hadn’t even blinked the first time . And there was a small part of me that doubted it was due to incredible speed . It had been a mystery . But after the second time, I was sure that it wasn’t speed .
Besides, I remembered how I hadn’t seen her at all during the preliminaries .
“It’s shadows, isn’t it? You can travel between our shadows . ”
“…It’s nice to meet someone with good instincts, once in a while . ”
“Uh, thanks . ”
She raised her hands and shook her head in admission . She seemed a little disappointed, but not angry .
“You are probably the only one in the group who would figure it out . ”
“Flattery won’t get you anywhere in this fight . ”
“Haha . Oh, I agree wholeheartedly . ”
She readjusted her swords with a pleased expression as she continued to talk .
They entered my ears in a way that no words had done before . It was almost familiar, like a voice I had heard during my childhood . They were words I never expected to hear in a place like this .
“Shadow diving . Yes, no one in this world would think of something like that . Why, it’s straight out of a comic book . Don’t you agree? Asagi?”