Thot 76.2

Chapter 76: Proving One's Strength
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
R1[1-2], R2[3-5], R3[5.5- 7]

Part 3

　... This girl.
　They would say whatever they like if I didn't say anything.

「'Tis no great matter. Thy complexion is fair this day. See to it thou keep them company for a while.」

　Meltya spoke without moving her gaze from the book.

　However, she seemed to be really focused on the content of the book before her.
　She must be replying nonchalantly just now, right?

「Got it.」

　Well, not that I really care about it.
　It just happened that I've got some inspiration during my recovery periods.
　If she was willing to humour me, I suppose I'd give it a try.

　And she was right about my condition being much better today.
　And I was also itching to swing my sword.

「Humph, finally.」

　As I stepped closer, Shirayuki pointed her drawn sword at me.
　The edge of the blade was dulled. So that means this sword was for training.

「I seem to be in good shape, at least. So, how do we decide the winner? You're not seriously suggesting a real sword fight, are you?」

「Ah...! W-Well, how about using this?」

　When I looked down at the voice by my feet, I saw the female demon, who had been getting scolded by Shirayuki, offering me a sword.

「It’s a training sword with a blunted edge. The match is decided by a single clean hit, a clearly decisive advantage, or surrender.」

　I took the sword and looked at it for a while.
　The edge was certainly blunted, but it didn't mean that it was less dangerous.

「If someone gets hit with something like this, they won’t come out unscathed. What if it struck the wrong spot?」

「Don’t say such pathetic things. Hmph. If you don’t fancy getting hurt, you’d best surrender quickly.」

　I guess she was pretty confident with her skill.

　I couldn't afford to make Mia worry any more than she already was.
　Let’s finish this without anyone getting hurt.

「Yeah, hurry up and come at me. I’m ready whenever you are.」

「Oh? You've got some nerve underestimating me like that.」

　Not one to let that slide, I retorted, and Shirayuki lowered her stance.
　It was a stance that I've never seen before.
　I’d better be careful not to be caught off guard.

「Do your best, Shirayuki-sama!」
「Beat him, Shirayuki!」
「Don’t go losing in some pathetic way after boasting like that, alright!?」

　That was only natural, but man they sure hate me.
　As expected, most of the gazes directed at me are laced with hostility.

　Amid the jeers and shouting, I drew a quiet breath, locking at Shirayuki, my opponent, squarely in my sights.

「Blessing of the goddess...!」

「DREAM ON!」

　Shirayuki closed in and swung her sword straight to my neck.

「!」

　What a terrifying speed.
　But I managed to parry it, albeit barely, after having read the trajectory from her gaze.

「Guh...」

「You're not all talk... Not bad!」

　My arms were left numb due to the impact.
　Grimacing instinctively, I glared back into Shirayuki’s eyes as she smiled at me from just inches away.

　Nice try, but pulling that face won’t scare me off you know?

　Unfortunately for you, this wasn’t my first time in a fight to the death.

「TAKE THIS!」

『Boost Accel』

　And besides… No matter how hard you struggle, there was no way I'd let you beat me.

　By the time I noticed, my mother’s voice and the ringing in my ears, my vision had already drifted gently out of focus.

　With this, I shouldn’t be thrown off by her speed anymore.
　All that was left was...

「... Fast」

　I put more strength into my limbs that refused to move the way I wanted.

　My body, which had just begun to slightly increase its speed, started to move slowly within the slowly moving surroundings.

　It was slow, but this would do in my current condition.
　Shirayuki was faster, but this should be enough.
　All that mattered was catching up to her.

　The way I’ve figured out to handle this power was simple.
　There was no need for my thoughts to keep up with my body.

　I’ve simply gained an extraordinary level of dynamic vision as a bonus.

　As long as I could reliably seize the initiative, there was no need to far exceed the natural limits of my body’s movement speed.

　I just need to do it in my own way.
　I just keep coming up with the best possible response to my opponent’s movements.

「Huff... Huff!」

　Sliding the swords that had been clashing, Shirayuki twisted her body and unleashed an incredibly fast thrust.

　Was this still not fast enough!?

　Faster... Faster, Faster!!
　I accelerated three times and turned my face away, dodging Shirayuki’s thrust.
　I've got some leeway after accelerating even faster. If it's at this speed...

「HAH! HEYAH! HAAAAAAAA!」

　Shirayuki unleashed barrages of attacks with a frustrated look on her face.

　I can easily track every single one of them with my eyes.
　I dodged just in time by a paper-thin margin.
　However, I couldn't maintain this state for too long.

　Knowing that if this continued I would surely be caught off guard, I, disliking the continuous assault, leapt backward.

「Uhm?」

　To my surprise, she didn't go after me.

　Looking over, I saw Shirayuki standing still, brushing her long hair aside and glaring at me.

　Pausing the acceleration of my thoughts for a moment, I spoke to her.

「What's the matter?」

「... Why aren't you attacking me?」

　She was visibly irritated.
　It seems she was annoyed by my refusal to retaliate.

「I hope you’re not holding back just because I’m a woman. If that’s the case, I won’t forgive you.」

　Uhm.
　The reason I jumped back was to get my body used to this power.
　If I say that, I’m definitely going to make her angry.

　...I guess I’ll have to bluff with a half-truth.

「That’s not my intention. It’s just... I need a little time to unleash my full strength.」

「Hmph... very well, then. But don’t underestimate me, alright? White Wolf Flash Style! First Strike!」

　Shirayuki sharply kicked off the ground and raised the sword she held.

　After spotting it, I resumed accelerating my thoughts, clashed swords with the approaching blade... and parried it.

「Kuh...!」

　Alright, good. It was not as strong as I thought.

　Having successfully deflected the attack, I stepped forward toward Shirayuki, who had lost her balance.

　This is it.
　If I could accelerate to my maximum all at once right here!

　Faster... Faster, Faster!!

『Accel Limit(Acceleration Limit)』

　Watching Shirayuki frown, I accelerated my body all at once, flipped my sword in my right hand, and thrust it at her throat.

　The pressure of the sword sent her white hair fluttering.

「... Huff. Huff, huff... Huff.」

　This was surely the end of the match... Right?
　When I relaxed the tension in my shoulders, my vision returned to its natural flow.

「Ah... Eh? ... Eh?」

　Shirayuki stood there, stunned, looking down at the sword pressed against her own throat with a bewildered expression.

「Hah... You're the one who underestimated me.」

　My gaze met with Shirayuki's as I lowered my sword and spoke.

「I have no room to hold back against an unknown opponent like you. It’s fine to be confident in your skills, but be careful... Don’t let that arrogance get you killed.」

「Eh, ah... Uhm.」

　Honestly, hearing me saying those corny remarks made me really embarrassed inside.

　I mean, even I’m trying to find a way to use this power while limiting it, because I don’t want to hurt my body.
　Moreover, I tested it for the first time against a formidable opponent like her.
　I’m hardly in any position to be able to say such bold claims.

　Come to think of it, I really went too far, cocky even with that remark just now..
　I understood the great risk I was taking, but if I had failed to adjust my power, it might not have ended with just a serious injury.

　At the very least, she came at me with everything she had to win.

「Hmm? Wha-what dost thou here?」

　Noticing the voice, I looked up to see Meltya's pale face.
　Geez, she finally snapped out.

「As you can see, I've been asked for a bout.」

「What!? A-art thou truly alright? For thy body doth...」

「It’s not a question of being alright, you were the one who told me to do it, weren’t you?」

　As I thought, she hadn’t been listening properly.

「...Sheena is fine, Meltya-sama... I’m sorry. I was completely outmatched by him.」

　Shirayuki looked down with a frustrated expression and muttered so.

「It's as she says. Here you go, I'm giving this back, and thanks.」

「Ah... Y-Yes.」

　Watching her like that, I handed the borrowed sword to the female demon who was still in a daze.