Chapter 374.1 |
Hovering between two World Trees, Yggdrasil Shin and I face each other in mid-air.
"If our bodies are destroyed, it's all over, huh?"
"Yeah, I think so. Let's say no hard feelings, whoever wins."
Shin responds to my words with a genuine smile. Well, he truly has the ideal personality of a protagonist in the original story. He seems to have a broad-minded nature.
"A strong sense of justice, kind-hearted. Protecting the weak and defeating the strong. I'm a protagonist who's oblivious to a girl's heart. A classic protagonist, but I can't help but admire him a bit."
An ideal protagonist. An existence that is impossible in reality. And yet, such a protagonist creates a world of plants. It's a strange story.
[Well, it's a situation where we have to fight seriously.]
[Yeah. Then, full power Mii-chan will do her best!]
I respond with a wry smile to the slightly embarrassed old man's words. But that's why I can't afford to slack off.
The power within me completely controls even a single grain of sand. I don't waste it by releasing it outward as an aura.
I harbor the platinum light.
"Well then, here we go, Shin-kun!"
"Yeah! This is what a battle is all about!"
With a slight kick in the air, my body blurs and disappears. Since our powers are evenly matched even with the deployment of god realms, they cancel each other out and disappear. So, it's a straightforward power struggle.
"Teiya!"
[Three Flashes]
My preemptive attack. Closing the distance to the front, I swing the God Sword. Three white beams are generated, attacking Shin. A frontal strike and then a slightly shifted, unavoidable attack from the left and right.
"I'll counter with martial arts!"
[Blink Parry]
Shin's figure blurs into several people. Waving his sword, the beams' trajectory gets shifted, deflecting my attack.
Kiiin, a metallic sound echoes, and the beam is distorted and disappears in an unexpected direction.
"Teitei!"
"Haha!"
Ignoring the deflection, I retract the God Sword and thrust forward. As Shin holds his sword sideways to deflect, I step in, twist my hips, and cut in a horizontal sweep.
Although my attack gets repelled by the upward swing of Shin's sword, I continue my relentless assault.
"Toi toi!"
With spirited attacks, I try to push through with a flurry of strikes. Even if my posture falters, I forcibly regain it with excess power and continue the onslaught.
Aiming for the legs, trying to slash the shoulders, attempting to slip into the side. Bringing down the sword on the head, piercing through the arm.
"Not bad!"
In contrast, Shin wields his sword with enjoyment, calmly deflecting my attacks. His defense is flawless, and he accurately identifies the fulcrum of my strength, intercepting, deflecting, and blocking.
"Mmm! Impressive!"
"How many times do you think I've fought? I have more combat experience than anyone."
Shin shows off his top-notch sword skills. It's unfair since this is my first battle!
"You may have power, but you lack sword skills!"
[World Flower Sword Dance]
Turning the sword as if petals are fluttering, Shin uses a martial art. The sword becomes transparent, and petals dance around me.
[Mii-chan Eye]
I immediately try to analyze the enemy's attack and glow my eyes. He swings horizontally, but the speed is slow. Thinking it was easy to block, I tried to cross my swords.
"Huh?"
However, the swords I thought were aligned pass through each other. The moment they touched, the sword, or Shin, turned into petals.
Surprised, my side becomes hot. Pain surges, and I grimace in agony.
"Kuu!"
Shin, who appeared as if seeping from the air, cut my side. It's a shallow wound, but it hurts quite a bit.
Are the petals acting as a disguise?
"In that case, I'll burn it all!"
[Flame Dragon]
With one hand outstretched, I gather magic power and create intense flames. The flames transform into a dragon, opening its jaws wide and spiraling around me.
The super-high-temperature flames distort the space, burning everything to ashes. Shin's created petals are easily swallowed by the fiery dragon and disappear, revealing Shin, who had concealed himself in the space.
"A magic showdown, huh?"
[World Icicle Ivy]
With his hand's swift motion toward me, Shin releases icy ivy. The produced icy tendrils have sharp tips like the spearhead of a spear, branching out countless times as Shin pours magic power into them.
Then, they pierce into the roaring and burning dragon, attempting to freeze it.
"My dragon won't lose to ice~"
Because it can melt ice and everything. My power shakes the world~
"Teiya~"
Pouring magic power into the fiery dragon. I melt away the icy tendrils! Bracing my limbs, I shade both hands over the fiery dragon, pouring magical power with determination. Like jet fuel injected into flames, the dragon increases in power.
It was supposed to work, but the dragon began to freeze along with the pierced area.
"Huh? Why is it freezing? Come on, dragon, do your best~"
I tilt my head in confusion, but in the meantime, the fiery dragon freezes and turns into an ice sculpture.
"I aimed for the magic core. No matter how much power you pour, it's useless!"
[World Icicle Ivy]
Shin explains with a smile. I see. He targeted the magic core.
This time, Shin shoots ice fragments like a machine gun. If they hit me, it'll be quite painful.
"Ice wall~"
The incoming ice fragments freeze the surroundings, creating a low-temperature mist as they approach.
So, I hastily moved away from the spot. Flying at high speed, I evade the pursuing ice fragments while keeping an eye on Shin.
Shin is chasing from behind, continuously firing ice fragments. Diving straight down, I pass over the ice fragments. Since the next round is approaching quickly, I dodge to the left, making a turn.
"Too slow!"
Accelerating towards me as I evade, Shin swings his sword with the speed of a hurricane.
Oh no, it seems Shin is faster even in speed.
"Ku! Snake Belly Sword!"
Frantically transforming the God Sword into a snake belly shape, I rotate it at my side to deploy it spirally.
Flexing it like a whip, I block Shin's attack. With a metallic sound, Shin, whose sword got deflected, shifts half of his body and takes a thrusting stance.