That was when I noticed rain had started to fall.
It was a hazy rain, almost like mist.
Beyond it, Levi was crouched low. Shirogamine had blown her away, but the woman had taken the fall with infuriating skill. She was already getting back up, staggering, cautious. Slow.
The problem was not over, I told myself.
I shifted my grip on the training blade with one hand and glanced back at Shirogamine out of the corner of my eye.
“I told you to run.”
“Yes!”
I already knew this, but Shirogamine’s replies always sounded excellent. Only the replies. I was starting to get pissed.
“Are you screwing with me?”
“I am serious.”
Shirogamine’s breathing was rough as she answered, sweat standing out on her pale forehead. She had moved that much while on <E3>. The bill for the strain on her body would come due later.
“It is true that I fled once. However, you never told me not to come back.”
“Spare me the word games. What happened to Indo?”
I asked the question in search of one last shred of hope.
“She is fine. Knowing Yukine, I am sure she has made her escape safely.”
“That is not what I meant.”
Why the hell would I have to worry about Yukine Indo’s safety?
“I meant you should at least have brought Indo with you. She’d be useful, if nothing else—or rather, read that much from my thoughts!”
“No. I thought this would be a good opportunity to raise your opinion of me, Master.”
With a face full of confidence, Shirogamine raised the training buckler she apparently still had not thrown away. In her right hand was a training one-handed sword. Neither looked especially useful.
“I rushed here in secret, alone. I imagine you must be very happy to have such an adorable and intelligent disciple.”
I stayed silent.
The fact that I was angry enough to feel like breaking out in hives had to be getting through to Shirogamine perfectly well—and yet that confident smile remained on her face. Which meant the hide on this girl’s face was thicker than anything I had ever seen.
Besides, this was no time to play around.
In the misting rain, Levi had risen completely to her feet. She held the curved blade as if slung over her back, hiding the length of the steel from us. The distance was about ten and a half steps. From her posture, I could roughly guess what technique she would use.
In other words, a full-power downward strike.
Or she might turn that into a feint, reverse the blade, and cut in.
Either way, she would take the initiative and attack. Of course she would. The question was when she would step in. If I failed to catch that timing, I would have no choice but to defend, and that would be very bad.
In a straight exchange, I was clearly at a disadvantage.
My weapon was this crappy training blade, and our raw strength was different. I had learned that from our earlier clash. The power Levi drew out through ether was definitely above mine. On the other hand, if this dragged on, the Academy security guards might make it all the way out here. If only I had my bastard sword.
I had to think again.
What now?
Most of a Hero’s strength is supported by meticulous preparation. You make a plan to kill a Demon King, prepare your tools, and manage the risks. You create a situation where killing the target is something you can reliably do. Then you kill them. That is what a Hero does.
This kind of chance encounter is not where Heroes shine. This is work for soldiers, street fighters, and people like that. I cursed inwardly.
And all of this was because I had gotten dragged into dealing with these useless students, starting with Shirogamine.
“—It’s smell, Master.”
Suddenly, Shirogamine murmured. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“It appears that woman follows ‘scent.’ Or rather, she identifies ‘scent’ decisively—yes. For example, like a well-polished mirror, no, like paint on wet sand—wait. Watercolor paint. Yes, like when watercolor paint is dripped onto—”
“Shirogamine.”
I cut off Shirogamine’s barren explanation.
I saw Levi narrow her blue eyes. Killing intent is real. Levi’s reminded me of an animal—no, a bird of prey. She was clearly wary of Shirogamine.
“Well done.”
I had no choice but to praise her, so I looked back and did just that. She had created an opportunity.
“But from now until the end of time, you are banned from using analogies.”
Because they were long, boring, and roundabout. From now on, I would call this a Shirogamine Presentation and mock her for it.
That instant, Levi moved. She kicked off the asphalt hard enough to throw sparks and lunged.
Straight toward Shirogamine—planning to silence her with the first blow, was she? Same as me a moment ago. Most Heroes get shaken at least a little when someone closes in on the secret of their ether perception. Ether perception, secrets included, is one of a Hero’s most important professional tools.
“Just this once.”
I’ll show you a killing technique.
I told Shirogamine that only in my head.
I gripped the training blade in both hands and stepped in to block the straight line between Levi and Shirogamine.
The moment I did, Levi’s curved blade instantly shifted its aim toward me. The sharp line of her cut changed course with terrifying smoothness, slicing through the misting rain.
Or maybe she had meant to draw me out and dispose of me first from the very beginning.
Against the descending curved blade, I received it from the side with my training blade, deflecting its force. A razor-thin exchange, but I could do it.
The instant was sliced into hundredths of a second.
At a speed slower than frame-by-frame, the curved blade closed in.
Whether it was a feint or not, that one instant mattered. Just before the curved sword came down, I slammed my training blade into it. Stopped it. The impact numbed my hands.
My master had called this state, where two sword blades collide and stop against each other, a “bind.” A situation where each sword restrains the other.
This was my territory.
“—Shirogamine!”
I shouted curtly.
I saw Levi’s blue eyes narrow hard. Even so, her gaze did not move. Impressive. She ignored it and tried to cut me down through the training blade.
Since she had me overwhelmed in both physical strength and weapon quality, it was a valid option—not bad. At the very least, she was not stupid enough to let her attention be pulled away just because I called Shirogamine’s name.
That was exactly why this technique would work.
At the same time, I pushed the opponent’s curved sword, locked in the bind, inward by the barest amount. About the width of a finger. Levi reflexively tried to push back. The way she applied force and turned her wrist, ready to flow straight into a cut, was excellent.
That instant, I swiftly drew back my training blade and twisted my body.
Levi’s curved blade cut empty air. She had put too much momentum into it. Of course she had. She had tried to push back hard enough to cut through me and my blade together—Levi pitched forward off balance, and even so, she somehow managed to turn and tried to cut me.
But naturally, since I had applied the technique expecting exactly that, I was faster.
I struck her right forearm with the training blade. Bone broke, and the curved sword fell from her hand.
Then I hit her jaw with the pommel. Rattled her brain.
Finally, at the same time as I swept her leg, I smashed the heel of my palm into her nose and broke the bone. I saw Levi’s eyes roll white from that blow. If scent was her clue for tracking, this was over. By the time her nasal bone healed, the rain would have washed away the trail.
I let out a deep white breath.
Levi collapsed on the spot. Following the impulse to attack, I desperately held back the urge to crush her head under my foot until there was nothing left. It was the <E3> making my mind run hot. I focused on good things. It was all right. I could go back to that world now.
“My master…”
I knew Shirogamine was looking at me with expectant eyes, but I absolutely did not turn around. Find the original chapter at g.com.
“…called that a ‘closing’ technique. One of the basics from a bind. The trick is to use your opponent’s reflexes.”
I started walking quickly. Security guards would probably make their rounds here any second. Behind me, Shirogamine trotted after me.
“Once you have a bind, push just a little. If your opponent reflexively pushes back, you draw your sword away and break their balance. If they pull back instead, the bind comes undone, so strike them as they move.”
Saying it was easy, but actually doing it would probably be hard. Sometimes an opponent sees through the closing technique and refuses to move at all. But that was something she would have to overcome through practice and real combat. This was as much as I could teach.
I kept walking fast and stepped into the nearest alley. I chose the darkest, dirtiest one available.
“Master.”
Shirogamine’s voice followed me.
“Was that lecture a special lesson in recognition of my devoted and admirably brave conduct?”
“Out of the three of you, you’re the one I understand the least.”
I stated my honest impression.
“What the hell happened? What influenced you so badly that your brain cells formed like this? Too much <E3>?”
“The same thing as you, Master.”
“Quit joking. Are you screwing with me?”
“No. I am serious. I have been your fan for quite some time.”
I had no idea what she meant. I stopped and turned around. Shirogamine’s face was dead serious.
“My father often told me about you, Master. When I first met you, I was slightly shocked by the gap and became confused—‘Surely not this useless street-punk-looking man?’—but as I read deeper into your memories and thoughts—”
“Wait.”
I cut Shirogamine off. Troubled situations often accelerate. The moment you think, No way, they have almost certainly begun plunging in a worse direction.
When I first ran into Shirogamine, I had thought I had seen her face somewhere before.
“What’s your father’s name?”
“Kiyoto Takamiya.”
At that moment, Shirogamine may have been reading the anger and hatred inside me, and the sullen bitterness on top of them.
I felt like taking it out on the nearest thing I could find, so I did. I kicked over a trash can rolling nearby. Rotten-looking leftovers spilled out, giving off a terrible stench.
Kiyoto Takamiya was my master.
“When my parents divorced…”
Whether she noticed the foulness of my mood or not, Shirogamine went on by herself.
“…my mother took custody of me. However, I was still allowed to see my father once a month, and each time, he told me about how wonderful the work of a Hero was. He also told me about his talented disciple.”
“That master? He said the work was wonderful?”
“Yes. That is why I—”
“Go home.”
I laughed despite myself.
“I’m going to drink beer, play games, and sleep.”
The <E3> was hitting me a little too hard. I felt violent. If this went badly, I might beat Shirogamine to death.
I focused my mind on the good things in this world. I would go back to Ed Silas’s bar, <The Goonies>. At this hour, somebody would be drinking there, and I would play games with them. Right, I still had to buy the ticket from Marta. Then I could go watch King Rob’s match.
The world was full of joy.
If I did not think that, I could not keep doing this.