Elsa twisted her neck, and a hint of excitement flashed in her eyes as well.
“Ara ara.
It seems I’ve encountered an extraordinary fellow today.
Let me test whether your strength matches your big talk.” “My thoughts exactly.” The moment the words fell, the two of them rushed forward simultaneously, their short blade and greatsword colliding head-on in mid-air, and brilliant sparks burst forth from the point of impact.
Immediately after, during the brief second when their weapons were deadlocked, Kenma’s free hand clenched into a fist and then smashed out.
Elsa sensed his intention and raised her arm to block in advance, but she was still sent flying.
A crisp cracking sound came from the forearm she used for blocking, and her legs sank into the ground, leaving two deep gullies before she managed to steady her retreating figure.
Pressing his advantage, Kenma raised his right hand holding the greatsword high, then leaned his body backward and hurled the weapon toward Elsa like throwing a javelin.
Boosted by his formidable strength, the greatsword was imbued with immense kinetic energy, rapidly enlarging in Elsa’s pupils.
Elsa had no intention of taking it head-on but just as she prepared to dodge, a figure had already arrived in an instant.
Kenma kicked out, and although Elsa timely swung her blade to block, her body still uncontrollably staggered backward to her previous position.
It was precisely this retreating movement that made Elsa perceive the arrival of immense danger, a chill shooting straight from the soles of her feet to her crown.
Not good!
She turned around without hesitation, shielding her chest area with her short blade.
The next second, the greatsword speeding through the air had already flown right in front of her, its blade edge colliding with her short blade.
Crack!
The last Kukri blade in Elsa’s hand shattered in response.
Such great power…
Amidst the splashing metal fragments, a trace of bewilderment flashed in Elsa’s eyes.
Immediately after, her body behind the Kukri blade was pierced by the speeding greatsword, pinning her to the stone wall behind.
Boom!
The stone wall collapsed and amidst the rolling smoke, Elsa raised her hand to pull out the greatsword stuck in her chest, bleeding from everywhere due to the impact force.
Her internal organs suffered severe damage, and her body had almost turned into a pool of mush, but this kind of injury could only be considered minor for her.
In just a matter of seconds, Elsa’s battered body had already mostly recovered.
Taking advantage of the thick smoke, she was trying her utmost to heal her physical body.
She lifted her hand to wipe away the blood at the corner of her mouth.
The severe injuries caused a flush to appear on Elsa’s face, and that feeling of excitement grew stronger and stronger.
A figure had somehow already stood outside the thick smoke, bending down to pick up the fallen greatsword.
Kenma looked at the dust and raised the greatsword in his hand high.
He knew that the so-called Bowel Hunter was currently hiding in the dust, lingering on her last breath and trying to buy time to heal herself.
How could I let you succeed?
He took a step forward, his waist and abdomen driving his entire body to exert force together, and the greatsword swept through the air with violent might, carrying howling gales as it rushed straight up.
Boom!
The wind blew away the thick smoke.
When Kenma clearly saw the scene inside, his expression inevitably paused.
He saw that in the area originally covered by the thick smoke, there was only a pile of rubble and a pool of blood.
There was no sign of Elsa anywhere.
“Ran…
ran away?!” That’s right, upon determining that the man before her was someone she could not defeat as her injuries gradually recovered, Elsa chose to retreat without hesitation.
As for why she chose to fight Kenma to the death in the previous loop?
The reason was very simple: back then, Kenma had already sustained fatal injuries, being a mere thread away from death.
Under such an almost guaranteed winning situation, Elsa didn’t mind having a bloody and crazy mutual slaughter.
But this time’s situation was completely different.
Kenma chased and beat Elsa from the very beginning, recovering completely in an instant even when receiving fatal injuries, and completely crushed Elsa.
Not holding an advantage in health bars, and with her defense and strength being far weaker than the opponent’s, Elsa analyzed the situation and ultimately chose to retreat.
For an assassin, the evaluation of interests is the most important link.
When the difficulty and risk of a mission far exceeded the benefits it could bring, giving up was undoubtedly a wiser choice.
Just like the moment in the original work, facing the formidable Sword Saint Reinhard, when Elsa was no match for him, she decisively abandoned the mission and chose to flee.
Looking at the empty ruins, Kenma clutched the greatsword, standing stiffly in place like he had been petrified.
After a long while, an angry roar resounded through the night sky.
“Fuck!!!” His overflowing fighting spirit and thoughts of revenge all fell through.
Feeling aggrieved in his heart for quite a while, he let out a long sigh and carried the greatsword back to the dilapidated tavern.
He grabbed the unconscious Felt, rummaged through her pants pockets, and weighed the royal selection insignia, Dragon Jewel.
Suddenly, as he grasped the Dragon Jewel in his hand, a dazzling red light burst from the gem.
“Eh?” Kenma suddenly recalled a certain setting from the original work.
If he remembered correctly, Natsuki Subaru seemed to have the qualifications to become king, and when touching the Dragon Jewel, it would glow and shine brightly.
It seemed that even with his soul residing inside this body, the Dragon Jewel would still react to it.
Looking at the glowing ruby, Kenma stabbed the greatsword into the ground, rubbed his chin with his right hand, and a bold idea appeared in his mind.
How about I establish a new faction and become a king just for fun?
After all, there was no explicit rule stating that traveling to the Re:Zero world meant one had to join a certain faction.
Moreover, if he wanted to battle everywhere in this world and challenge various powerhouses, villains were one thing, but it was often very difficult to find a proper reason to challenge righteous figures.
But wouldn’t they have no reason to refuse if he became a king?
I am a genius!
Just as Kenma was imagining this, two figures came from the edge of the slums’ periphery.
Under the enhancement of his powerful perception, Kenma quickly sensed the appearance of the two and abruptly spun around.
Coming into view, first and foremost was hair of distinct colors.
Dazzling silver, and a fiery red.