CHAPTER 93: MISSING CLUES

~Themis’ Perspective~

“Wha…”

　

　The sight left me speechless.

　In the my eyes, crashing into a house was fatal.

(Even if he is alive, he can’t go back to fight…) (Themis)

　Themis grabbed his back teeth.

　You should never directly accept such a powerful attack.

　It is the fundamental rule to parry such attacks

　Especially with the recent attack, I could see that the man was trying to apply more “force”.

　However, Toru received a direct attack.

　Toru, who was technically on the offensive on the man, should have been able to parry.

　This was a spur of the moment choice mistake.

　People with little combat experience often make this kind of mistake.

(If he had a little more combat experience…) (Themis)

　I couldn’t help but curse the fate of a promising boy who met a strong enemy at this time.

~Toru’s Perspective~

　Toru, who was thrown by that man, was crawling out of the collapsed house.

“Hey… That was dangerous…”

　I am covered in dust, but I am not injured.

　I was blown away with a pretty strong attack, but all of that force was passed on to the house’s wall by using [Aikido].

　That is why the house collapsed completely.

　If I had not been able to do this, I would have been seriously injured.

The difference in [Aikido]’s level was significant.

“You can’t make up the difference in the basic level, after all?”

　I foolishly received the attack in order to see how far I can compete with my opponent’s strength.

　The moment I was attacked by that man, I felt a dull impact on my arm.

　If I endure it, my arm will surely break.

　After making a quick decision, I kicked the ground and flew backward on my own volition.

　In that way, the burden on my body was reduced. [T/N: But the bricks? The impact?]

　What I learned from this blow is that the physical ability of that man is overwhelming.

　And if I don’t have good movement, I can get crushed by his strength.

　I used the skill board to greatly enhance my skills.

　However, it should not be a brute force approach such as raising the level of my physical attacks.

　It was possible if my opponent was some half-baked fighter.

　However, my opponent is not in the slightest.

“OK!”

　I regained my fighting spirit and jumped out of the collapsed house.

　The strategy has been decided.

　The only thing left to do was to defeat the man without taking too much time.

　Themis-san, who had sealed the man, was covered in blood all over.

　I had seen him vomiting blood from his mouth earlier too.

　It is not clear how he, who is full of wounds, has prevented that man’s attack this far.

　But I understand this.

　Themis-san has no time to spare.

　I used my [Magic Sword]’s bow form and shot an arrow.

　Three arrows were shot. It all headed straight to the man.

　But the man parried the arrow quite easily.

“I can’t use arrows, huh.”

　I can’t imagine a scenario of an arrow piercing that man.

　It should be no wonder. A bow and arrow’s attack only travels in a straight line. [T/N: Arrows actually follow a parabolic path. Just saying.]

　I can’t get through to a person with this level of ability without using a surprise attack.

　I immediately changed my plan.

[Magic sword] is back in sword form, so I approached the man.

“Uoooooo !!”

I swung the [Magic Sword] while activating [Intimidation].

　Cut, thrust, evade, parry.

　I attack while adding feints.

　But my attacks are easily received.

　This man can really fight back.

　I avoid his wide slashes.

　However, my movement was too wide.

　I showed him an opening.

“Ku…”

“Oraoraoraora!!” (Devil)

　The man wielding a great sword slashed at me continuously.

　It was a great sword that is two or more times larger than my [Magic Sword] is swung so quickly that it does not look heavy.

　It will be bad if I receive a single attack.

　I desperately avoid the slashes.

　The opponent’s attack are too fast for me to make a counterattack.

　There was too much waste in my evasive maneuvers.

(I have to avoid it more compactly)

Analyzing, adjusting, and applying; making full use of [Thought Acceleration].

　My body gradually performs the ideal movement.

>> [Evasion Lv1] acquired

(Is it a little too easy?)

　I can’t let my guard down.

　However, I was able to keep up with the man’s attack even by a little at a time.

(More… more!!)

>> [Evasion Lv1] → [Evasion Lv2]

　There are signs that I can make counterattacks.

　I wielded my [magic sword] in time with my opponent’s attack.

>> [Counterattack Lv1] acquired

“–Shhh!!” (Devil)

“Ku!”

　My attack was swung at the right moment.

　However, it was just a close call.

　The man avoided my attack.

(OK, how about now–)

　Now I began to get on the offensive.

“Die!!” (Devil)

　The man casts fire magic with [Chant-less Casting].

(This is bad !!)

　I immediately halted my attack.

　I took a step back quickly.

　If I had continued my attacks, I would have been burned by plunging into the fire magic that the man casted.

“Disappear as ashes- [Flare]!!” (Devil)

　The man held his hand and fired [Flare] at me.

(How do I prevent this? What should I do!?)

　I thought about countering [Flare] with [Water Ball].

　But this is the city center.

　Although heavily destroyed, the buildings still remain.

　If I use [Water Ball], I won’t be burned with [Flare].

　However, there is a possibility that the magic will collide with each other and cause a steam explosion instead.

　If an explosion occurs, the buildings around this area will disappear.

　Within a fraction of a second.

　Using by maximizing [Thought Acceleration], a scene from the past emerged.

(This is it!!)