The pincer attack that awaited me after breaking through the blindfold was sudden. Kuon, armed with what seemed to be an iron rod, attacked from the front, while two shuriken closed in on Sera from the rear. Aerial combat seemed to favor Sera, who possessed flight ability, but her current positioning was undeniably disadvantageous.
“Nightmare Ruby!”
Despite the situation, Sera remained calm. She instantly generated a mass of blood and scattered it around.
“Alright, well done!”
Sera’s ‘Blood Dye’ was effective against Kuon’s magic. Therefore, it should logically be effective against the weapon Kuon wielded. Although there was a possibility it wouldn’t work on the iron rod Kuon held directly in her hands, it would at least allow her to deal with the approaching shuriken. Furthermore, by taking control of the shuriken’s trajectory, Sera could increase her offensive options.
“Too bad.”
“Wha—?!”
My and Gordiana’s voices, swallowed by surprise, vanished into the sky. The glimmer of hope I’d seen was short-lived; the shuriken, after coming into contact with the blood scattered around, inexplicably continued their attack on Sera. As Kuon swung her iron rod, the shuriken from behind slashed at Sera’s wings and legs. The iron rod in Kuon’s hand remained unaffected, and Sera, unable to defend against its powerful blow, was sent crashing to the ground.
I was astonished not only by the shuriken’s offensive power, which easily broke through Sera’s defense enhanced by the ‘Mad Empress’ persona, but more so by why ‘Blood Dye’ had no effect. While the iron rod might have been within the scope of Kuon’s nullification ability, shouldn’t the shuriken, once released from her hands, have fallen under Sera’s control?
“Tch…! You’re still hiding something, aren’t you…!”
Sera rose from the ruined wilderness, bearing significant damage. The state of the battle was far from ideal, but it was fortunate that she could efficiently recover with ‘Blood Manipulation Technique’ and ‘Natural Healing.’
“Well, it was an attack carefully considered after analyzing Sera-chan’s abilities. Here I go.”
Kuon descended to the ground, followed by the shuriken that trailed her like escort machines. It appeared she could freely control the shuriken’s trajectories. What was that? That’s not the shuriken I know… Wait, Kuon’s eyes are back to normal? Her demeanor has softened somehow?
“What is this? Have you lost your will to fight?”
“No, I just want to talk for a bit. This is a proposal from your elder sister, how about we compare notes here for a moment? I’ll tell you about the nature of this black weapon, and Sera-chan can tell me about your red fighting spirit—and your blood, perhaps? If we have time, it’s fine to fight while analyzing each other, but we are in the middle of a wedding ceremony, aren’t we? Let’s consider it a time-saver.”
“…Even if you lie, I’ll know by my intuition.”
“Hahaha, I won’t lie. Well, I understand your hesitation, initiating such a sudden proposal. If so, I’ll share some information.”
“Are you serious?”
“Deadly serious~. So, to get right to it, this rod I’m holding, and the shuriken circling me are made from a special mineral that exists in my world. It’s called ‘Black Magic Stone,’ and it rejects any property other than the magic initially infused into it.”
“Rejects properties?”
“Exactly! Well, you could say it’s similar to my ‘Paramita.’ At first, it just rejected magic, but as the artisan’s skill level increased, it began to nullify skills as well—but, this part is unnecessary. Also, it’s incredibly hard. Perhaps if a monster of Maria’s level were to attack with full force, it might be different, but it’s so hard that ordinary people like us can do nothing about it. I think trying to destroy it with an attack would be a foolish move?”
“…You don’t seem to be lying.”
“That’s what I keep saying~.”
…Whoa, I’m pretty shocked here? Does such an amazing mineral exist so casually in Kuon’s world? Something that nullifies magic and skills like Kuon herself… I really hope it’s a rare item… Ah, my blacksmith soul is igniting! I’m trying so hard to suppress my combat spirit, but what is Kuon saying?! The camera, the camera is shaking! Gerard, on its stand, is babbling away!
“Hmm, not including the initially infused magic… does that mean your magic can be applied normally? For example, can you increase the rotation speed of the shuriken with that thing called Vector?”
“Ooh, as expected of your keen intuition. Yes, to these shuriken, I apply the power of Vector to each blade, increasing their rotational force to the limit. We can also adjust their direction of travel with varying degrees of strength. Like this.”
Above Kuon’s head, the two shuriken began to trace trajectories different from their previous ones. They suddenly swerved and moved in a zigzag pattern, like a performance.
“Even if Sera-chan’s mysterious power removes the applied Vector midway, the rotational power will remain for a while. If needed, I can reapply Vector. As someone who has mastered the magic of Vector, I can do that with ease.”
“I see…”
“Are you satisfied? This is my ‘Bestyle Dogan Shuriken.’ Though small in size, they are incredibly hard objects rotating at ultra-high speeds, so getting hit won’t just be painful—Oh, Sera-chan just experienced that, didn’t you? My bad, my bad.”
“…Fine. I’ll tell you about my abilities too.”
Perhaps convinced by Kuon’s demonstration, Sera began explaining ‘Blood Dye’ and ‘Blood Manipulation Technique.’ Of course, she provided a completely honest explanation.
“—That’s all. Any questions?”
“No, but the control over things touched by blood or aura… if the opponent wasn’t me, wouldn’t that be an instant kill ability? In some cases, it might even work on Maria? Isn’t it, in a way, more troublesome than simple nullification abilities…?”
“I don’t need flattery. Having fought monsters on distant heights recently, I’ve realized they can easily deal with this level of power.”
“Haha, you seem to be having quite the intense life.”
“More importantly, our objective for exchanging information has been achieved, right? Isn’t it about time our chat ended?”
“Yes, it is. Well then, let’s resume our battle—”
As she said that, Kuon threw something resembling a kunai she had hidden in her sleeve. True to form, this kunai was also jet black, appearing to be made of ‘Black Magic Stone.’
“Starting the fight again with a hidden weapon, seriously!?”
Ah, her fighting style is similar to Sera’s, is it? No, it’s a hybrid of Sera and Ange. But, grrr…! It’s approaching in a straight line, and this one is even faster than the shuriken. It’s at the very limit of my visual tracking. Sera, can you dodge this…!
“Oh, right. There was one more thing I needed to tell you.”
While I was panicking, Sera, as seen through the camera, remained perfectly calm. In fact, she was doing something rather inexplicable. As the thrown kunai closed in, she slowly—but incredibly swiftly—placed her hand on the kunai’s blade. Yes, she didn’t dodge, nor did she deflect, she simply placed her hand gently.
—Whoosh!
Then, the kunai’s trajectory subtly shifted, narrowly passing by Sera’s side. No, did the kunai avoid Sera…? My eyes widened in disbelief. Gordiana beside me mumbled something like, “She has reached the truth…” and nodded repeatedly.
“…Where did you learn that?”
“What are you talking about? Didn’t you just drill it into me until I was sick of it? ‘Thousand-Hand Fist,’ wasn’t it? That technique wasn’t just about blindly throwing punches and relying on sheer numbers. Each individual punch was a killing blow—that’s the fundamental principle. What I saw at the tip of your fists was the culmination of techniques that accurately identified the flow of power and weak points, allowing for the most precise and efficient application of force. And like this, how to penetrate an opponent’s body with power, how to immobilize an opponent with just one arm, how to destroy the human body… In short, it was a truly valuable lesson! What I forgot to mention earlier was my gratitude for it! Thanks to you, I can move on to the next stage!”
“Umm… My ‘Thousand-Hand Fist,’ didn’t it get completely nullified before you got to experience it?”
“It did. In that regard, I compensated with the number of blows received and my intuition, just sort of sensing it. Ah, so this was the intention, they were planning to use this move! Yes, something like that!”
“…Hmm, this is problematic. I don’t really understand what you’re saying.”
Kuon, unfortunately, I feel the same way. I truly don’t understand what you’re saying.
