When I asked Megiddo-san for a detailed explanation of this mental battleā¦ā¦ Megiddo-sanās answer was that I would understand when I experienced it.
[ā¦ā¦Eehhh.]
[Well, it certainly is the best to experience it for yourself.]
[Ah~~ Kaito-san, itās alright. You can leave the Mind Competition at any time you like.]
[Ahh, I see.]
In that case, I feel a little relieved. If I can escape at any time instead of not being able to return until the conclusion is reached, just as Megiddo-san said, it might be better if I just experience it.
However, hmmm. Mental battle huh. I donāt really see myself as strong at allā¦ā¦ but Megiddo-san seems to expect quite a bit from me, and I can feel that emotion from her.
For the time being, I guess Iāll just try my bestā¦ā¦ If push comes to shove, I can just escapeā¦ā¦
[Alright! Well then, letās get this started.]
[Well then, Kaito-san, do your best. Incidentally, that thing seriously doesnāt listen to others, so if you think itās impossible, you might as well give up quickly.]
For the time being, Iāll try it out myself, so Megiddo-san brought forth a complex magic circle at her feet and held her hand over me. Thereupon, a rather dazzling light was emitted, and seemingly as if absorbed within it, my consciousness sank within the light.
When I came to, I found myself standing in an arena. There were no spectators around, just a large arena.
āā¦ā¦Kaito, can you hear me?ā
[Megiddo-san? Is this the Mind Competition?]
āYeah, youāre somewhat in a state where youāre inside my mind. You can move your body without any problems, right?ā
[Yes.]
āThen, let me give you a quick explanation. In the space of the Mind Competition, the strength of a personās mind becomes your physical ability. Of course, at the time you feel weak, your physical ability will also decline, so be careful.ā
[ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦]
āAlright then, Iām going to remove a part of the seal in my destructive impulse, so Iām counting on you.]
[Eh? No, waitā¦ā¦]
Wait right there! This is somewhat different from what I was expectingā¦ā¦ I mean, this mental battleā¦ā¦ In the end, isnāt this just using your mental capabilities to beat up your opponent!? Wouldnāt that be no different from a normal battle thenā¦ā¦
As I was feeling flustered, thinking that, a black fog appeared in front of me, and it morphed into Megiddo-sanās appearanceā¦ā¦ Her true, female form.
The impulseās appearance is almost the same as Megiddo-san herself, but there are these strange ring-like restraints on her body, and with her eyes glowing red, sheās snarling and threatening me with her bared fangsā¦ā¦ S- Scaryā¦ā¦
āThen, letās start.ā
[ā¦ā¦Eeehhhh.]
The moment Megiddo-sanās voice resounded, the Megiddo-san in front of meā¦ā¦ The destructive impulse fiercely rushed towards me. This is something obvious, but thereās no way that I, whoās never even gotten into a fight, can react to her actions, and the fist of the destructive impulse struck my face.
Ouchā¦ā¦ Owā¦ā¦ Arehh? That doesnāt hurt at all, it felt more like a slight impact.
āAs expected, your ability greatly exceeds the destructive impulse. Get for it, Kaito!ā
[Eh? Ah, yes!]
I see, so with my mental power being converted to my physical power, even the untrained me would receive almost no damage from a punch of the destructive impulse huhā¦ā¦ T- Thank goodness. It didnāt end up being very painfulā¦ā¦
Having such a thought in mind, I swing my fist to counterattack. I had punched at a speed that I canāt imagine could be unleashed by the real meā¦ā¦ but the destructive impulse side steps and slams its counterattack fist into my face.
Its attack dealt almost no damage to me, but there was still that slight impact, and while my head was knocked back, I sent out my fist to counterattack againā¦ā¦ but this time, it caught my hand and was sent flying with something that felt like a circular throw.
However, even when I was thrown to the ground, I still didnāt feel any pain. I donāt feel any pain butā¦ā¦
[ā¦ā¦Errr, doesnāt it feel like it has good fighting skills?]
[Yeah, it is still one of my emotions after all. It would be on the same level as me when it comes to technique and other stuff like that.ā
ā¦ā¦I see, even though my physical ability was overwhelmingly better, the destructive impulse apparently possesses the same fighting skills as Megiddo-sanā¦ā¦ Isnāt this impossible? No matter how much my physical ability has increased, isnāt it impossible for me to hit an opponent who has the same skill as Megiddo-san, who is a master in martial arts?
In the conversation up until now, we had been talking about making it surrender on the premise that I can win against itā¦ā¦ but in the first place, can I even win against it?
Ahh, I see, the people Megiddo-san had asked so far are Kuro and Alice, and they have exceptional combat skillsā¦ā¦ but isnāt that something impossible for me then?
[Ouch!?]
āKaito!? Donāt loosen up! If your way of thinking weakens, your abilities will decline!ā
The strike unleashed by the impulse just now was quite painful. T- Thatās right. My mentality is especially important hereā¦ā¦ If I become weak-minded, feeling like Iām unable to win or that I think of this as impossible, my ability will declineā¦ā¦
What I should rather do here is to be strong enough that it couldnāt contend against meā¦ā¦ A- Alright, letās get fired up!