Chapter 11 |
Side Story 2 Chapter 11: The Oni Princess
"Marvelous! Simply marvelous, Silver-sama!!"
Reina swung her sword with unbridled joy, the kind that could only be described as pure elation. Each strike was powerful enough to alter the surrounding terrain with just the residual force.
As I parried her attacks, I maintained a certain distance from her.
"To think that a single blow infused with magic could have such power. I wonder what would happen if she were to get serious."
For now, Reina was just swinging her sword with force and she wasn't using any special techniques… yet. Even so, with a power like this, she might not need any special techniques at all since there must have been very few individuals who could withstand this kind of onslaught.
That would explain her overwhelming joy.
"More! Let’s dance some more!!"
Reina charged straight at me while wearing a smile. Her speed was on a completely different level now as she seemed intent on closing the distance between us.
But Reina...
She easily dodged them.
"Damn...!"
I had arranged the bullets so densely, yet she managed to exploit the slightest gaps between them, moving with an impossible level of agility to avoid my attacks and keep advancing toward me. Sometimes she would slither along the ground, other times she’d twist her body mid-air. She was constantly moving, evading my barrage of bullets without even slowing down or trying to deflect them with her sword. Initially, I had thought she might be on the level of a lower-ranked Knight Commander, but she might actually rival the higher-ranked ones. In adventurer terms, she was close to S-rank.
Finally, Reina slipped through my barrage and got into close range. She moved so close that I could feel her breath on my mask, and then she spoke.
"What kind of face lies behind that mask of yours...?"
"If you’re curious, why don’t you try to take it off?"
"Oh, I look forward to it!"
Reina's joy exploded as she lowered her sword into a stance.
This time she held the sword with both hands, unlike before when she had been using just one.
"Orcan Sword Technique Ultimate Skill... Serpent Blade."
Reina slashed upward with her sword, but contrary to the sword's linear trajectory, the blade of condensed magic energy twisted and coiled in a bizarre pattern, making it impossible to predict its movement.
The physical sword followed a straight path, but the magical part of the blade was weaved in a curve. You had to avoid the attacks coming from both sides, but dealing with both attacks simultaneously was a challenge. It was a troublesome technique that forced one into a difficult choice.
In a duel between swordsmen, this move would likely be the finishing blow.
However, I am a mage.
If it's hard to dodge, then I just need to block it from all directions. I formed a spherical barrier to intercept Reina's attack right where it was. The magically enhanced blade which was writhing like a serpent while aiming for my back… and the straight sword aimed at my neck were both stopped by the barrier.
"This is the first time anyone has blocked this technique...!"
"And yet you seem happy about it."
"Yes... because if you fell to this technique now, then I can’t try anything else on you."
Reina chuckled softly while switching the sword from her right hand to her left, changing her stance to one that favored her left hand.
"Even when I held back over and over, my enemies would still crumble and fall. I’ve been searching for someone who could withstand my full strength... all so that I could test just how strong my martial skills truly are."
It was truly a warrior's mindset, all she wanted was to test her strength as she grew more powerful. However, the opponents she encountered were too weak for her.
Her dominant hand was likely her left, but she had been using her right hand to deliberately handicap herself. If she didn’t, then her opponents would die too quickly.
She couldn't even test herself properly before her opponents fell.
There was no one to challenge her, no one strong enough to let her go all out. She had grown stronger to defeat powerful foes, but those foes were not strong enough. Her strength had now become a burden, preventing her from fully expressing it.
Reina was troubled by the plight of the strong. She longed to compete with someone, to challenge and be challenged. It was a desire anyone who was strong might have, but Reina was so strong that her wish couldn’t be fulfilled—that is until she found me.
"My heart is overflowing with joy right now."
"I'm glad to hear that, but I’m short on time… So let’s get serious."
I had been limiting my magical power to minimize the collateral damage around us.. But Reina had a tendency to hold back in order to prolong the fight to avoid defeating her opponent too quickly.
If I kept going at her pace, the battle would never end.
I was here to finish this brawl quickly, so I released the restrictions on my magical power. The density of magic around me increased to the point where it became visible, causing those with weaker spirits to find it hard to even stand near me due to the overwhelming pressure.
I wasn’t releasing the magic intentionally—as this was just a minor leak, like water dripping from a crack.
Upon seeing this, Reina’s eyes widened in shock before her expression grew serious.
"I apologize for my rudeness... It seems that I made a grave miscalculation."
"As long as you understand. Then come at me."
"—Here I come."
Reina’s smile was gone.
She now fully understood who was superior and who was inferior… who held the reins in this battle… and who was lending their strength to whom.
The battle was no longer about enjoyment. From here on, Reina would fight with everything she had and with all her strength.
Because in this fight, she was the challenger.
TL's Notes: This reminds me of the Gojo v Sukuna fight and the "You are the challenger" from Gojo.... Yea, you should know what happens next.
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