Her katana, drawn before I even noticed, traced a trajectory aimed precisely at ending my life.
(Ah, that was close…)
As I landed, I wiped away the cold sweat in my mind. I had fought her many times in the game. To recruit Hisame, I needed to defeat her in a one-on-one duel. Hisame’s attacks came without any preparatory movements, her expression never changing. I had died to her surprise attacks countless times, but eventually, I learned how to gauge her attack timing. Naturally, it was by observing her cat ears.
Hisame herself remained completely expressionless when attacking, but her cat ears would tense up slightly. The moment her ears twitched with a “kyuu,” I could discern the timing of her attack. “The ears speak louder than words,” they say, but I never imagined my cat ears would actually save my life.
At that moment, Ena, who had been staring at Hisame’s sudden action with wide eyes, jumped between Hisame and me.
“W-wait! It was me who posted about Soma-san on that bulletin board! It was just a joke…”
“Ena! Get back!”
But it was useless. I knew. Hisame’s cat ears were twitching happily. That was how she moved when she was enjoying a fight. She was probably thinking she could hear Ena out after defeating me. Or perhaps she wasn’t thinking at all.
“You can’t reason with her right now,” I said.
“But…”
“Just get behind me.”
As I drew my Shiranui, I said that firmly and made Ena step back. Perhaps sensing something in my words, Ena, though looking worried, complied.
(But what should I do?)
While I could gauge her attack timing, I couldn’t think of any means to defeat Hisame at this point. Moreover, I couldn’t kill someone for a misunderstanding like this. Concealing my inner panic, I kept my gaze fixed on Hisame, but contrary to my expectations, Hisame didn’t move at all.
“I struck you by surprise, after all. I shall cede the next first move to you.”
Instead, she made a statement of confidence. But for me, it was a godsend. Gripping the Shiranui in my right hand, I drew a wakizashi from my bag and held it in my left. Last night, excited about acquiring new weapons, I had used Torch Sisyo to slightly raise my Ninjato and dagger skill levels. I never thought they would be useful so soon, but it’s good to be prepared for anything. Confirming Ena had scurried behind me, I considered my next course of action.
For now, her target seemed to be only me. It would be foolish to get hurt over something like this. I’d have Ena escape, and then I’d run too. I whispered to Ena.
(Ena. When I make my move, run into the inn.)
(But…!)
(Just do it! We can’t escape if we both stay here.)
(…Understood. Please, whatever you do, don’t get killed.)
That’s a promise I can’t make… I looked at the girl with cat ears again. I had fought her many times in dueling events. But I had never imagined she would truly turn against me. In the game, she only helped the Player. But if the game had become reality, it stood to reason she would help other humans too. My own thinking had been insufficient. Even so, I wished she wouldn’t take a prank request on a bulletin board so seriously.
Even as we whispered, Hisame remained still. However, if I made her wait too long, she might say something cliché like, “Aren’t you coming? Then I’ll come to you,” and attack. I steeled myself and moved forward. Fortunately, as if sensing the impending conflict, any nearby people had moved away. The area was also quite spacious, allowing me to use my skills to their fullest.
(Make my move, then.)
Here, where it wasn’t a formal match, there was no signal to start the fight, no words of challenge. I simply raised my Shiranui and activated a Skill. The one I used, of course, was…
“Invisible Blade!”
It’s an Odachi skill, Wide Slash. Due to a setting error with my Shiranui, it hits even in areas beyond the reach of the blade. To the opponent, it’s like being attacked by an invisible blade, and it should be unavoidable, but…
“Hmm?”
Immediately after the skill activated, Hisame dodged backward with a fluid movement. She instantly moved out of the attack range, and the Wide Slash missed.
“You use peculiar techniques.”
Hisame, unfazed by the invisible blade and maintaining her composure, remained on guard. If that’s the case, I have a way to deal with it.
“Hm?”
I canceled the end of the Wide Slash with a forward Step. To Hisame, who showed surprise with her cat ears at the skill cancel, I immediately canceled the Step as well and unleashed another skill.
“Void Heart, Ghostly Sword!”
The range of the slash created with my cry was… seemingly greater than the previous Wide Slash. Hisame, looking slightly perplexed, leaped even further back. And there it was, a priceless opening.
“Ena!”
I shouted sharply, urging her to flee, and then I began to escape myself. I canceled the end of my skill with a Side Step and tried to enter an alley, but by then, Hisame was already preparing to pursue.
Too fast! And too fast! Her catchphrase, “The only one whose movement speed decreases when using Step is her,” flashed through my mind. That meant her movement speed was faster than Step itself.
(Godspeed Cancel Movement won’t be fast enough to catch her!)
My decision was instantaneous: I short-canceled my Step and transitioned into a High Step, plunging into the alley. High Step is an enhanced version of Step, allowing for faster movement than Step and can be activated by canceling a Step, but it cannot be chained into low-rank attack skills like Slash. Still, with astonishing speed, I entered the alley.
(Jump, Shuntou!)
Instead of Slash, I used Jump, which has high cancelability, and immediately canceled it with the dagger skill Shuntou, exiting the alley at maximum speed.
“Kya!”
“Whoa!”
Because I burst out with a bladed weapon in hand, I startled the people on the street, but I didn’t have time to spare. Weaving through the crowd…
(Guh, Step!)
I further canceled Shuntou and chained it into Step. My Stamina was running critically low. I wanted to catch my breath, but I couldn’t relax yet. Moving in a straight line would leave me vulnerable if my Stamina ran out and she caught up. I moved laterally with Steps, zigzagging. Finding another alley…
(High Step!)
Mustering my last bit of strength, I canceled Step and transitioned into High Step. My chest ached from overuse of skills. Any more consecutive skill usage was impossible. I deliberately entered the alley at a shallow angle and…
“Kuh!”
I intentionally crashed into the wall, forcibly interrupting the skill to cancel its recovery lag. The impact stole my breath, but stopping now would be pointless.
(Invisibility!)
Regaining my composure with great effort, I pushed my panting body harder and activated the Ninjato’s first skill, Invisibility. For a moment, a dark light burst around me, enveloping my body.
“…Haa, hoo!”
Finally, I could catch my breath. Invisibility is a skill that makes one slightly harder to detect by an opponent who hasn’t found you yet. It was only a small comfort, but hopefully, it would be enough…
“You do interesting things.”
Drip. A cold sensation touched my neck. Instantly, my entire body bristled.
(Did she follow me?! After all those skills I used?!)
I didn’t even need to turn around. A cold voice descended from behind me.
“I was watching from behind you. It looked like you were using skills consecutively. What is the mechanism behind that?”
“…I’m afraid I can’t answer that question.”
Watching from behind meant she had kept pace with me perfectly. Just as expected of a cheater, too much of a cheat. Even though there were dueling events, she was a rare character who never caused complaints from players no matter how much of a cheat she was because she fundamentally didn’t act antagonistically. Losing my footing to her like this felt like a bitter irony.
“I’m also curious about your first blow, the invisible slash. It seemed like you used Wide Slash for your second strike. I thought it was a useless skill, but to use it like that…”
The second skill. I had masked it with the cool-sounding technique name “Void Heart, Ghostly Sword,” but it was indeed a Wide Slash. It’s a pathetic skill, nicknamed “Hollow Wide Slash” by the Nekoneko Players, which has an attack effect of nearly five meters but only actually attacks about two meters. However, few people in this world, which has become almost a reality, can ignore attack effects, unlike in the game world. Especially someone whose specialty is evasion, like her, I thought she would dodge the effects with high probability, even if it felt a bit strange.
“Your fighting style is very peculiar, unlike any swordsman I’ve ever seen. You are a swordsman, yet not a swordsman. If I were to give you a name, it would be something like a ‘Strange Sword User’.”
She even started giving me a chuunibyou-esque nickname. I was happy she valued me, but if she did, I wished she’d take the sword from my neck.
(At this timing, it’s the worst. Of all times, right after I used Invisibility…!)
I had no means of defense. My Stamina hadn’t fully recovered, and if I were attacked now, I couldn’t hope to evade. Cold sweat trickled down my cheeks.
“For reference, may I ask how you managed to dodge that first attack?”
I asked a question to buy time. The first attack was Invisible Blade, in other words, the Wide Slash. I was genuinely curious about how she managed to evade it.
“I could see the air rippling.”
…The words of a master are truly something else. But, it was fortunate that she conversed with me. If I could buy more time, something might happen.
“Well then…”
“If you’re trying to buy time, it’s useless.”
However, my words were mercilessly cut off by Hisame, and…
“Unfortunately, it’s time for us to part.”
As I glanced back over my shoulder, I saw her sword raised. And…
“Farewell, forever.”
As that sword swung down towards me—
“Let’s duel!”
—just before it struck, I shouted.
“A duel?”
My desperate words seemed to have successfully caught her attention. The sword stopped just short of me. Terrified by this fact, though I didn’t show it, I yelled,
“Yes! Mitsuki Hisame! I challenge you to a head-on, true duel!”
