Ephemeral Ability Reflects the Heart

After a pause of less than a second, there is a heavy bang! and Kamishiro falls back as if blown halfway out into the air.

The next thing that knows, Minamoto is standing there in a posture that suggests he has just swung his spear.

「Just a graze, huh? You're lucky」

He slowly readjusts his spear.

In the meantime, Kamishiro had regained his posture. He seems not to have been fatally wounded, as Minamoto said, and after a slight wobble, he stands firmly.

「Earlier, it wasn't like he just disappeared, right...?」

「Hmm, it seems, he accelerated suddenly」

It looked like he disappeared because he was going much faster than he expected.

But speed can be converted into power if it can be used to strike without killing. The spearhead of the spear that was swung out at the end must have had a great deal of power.

If it was not struck properly, a single blow could have crippled the fighter.

It would have been terrible to see such a thing displayed so soon after the opening of the battle. It is really fortunate that it was not a direct hit.

――However, the unnatural speed and the attack with it.

「Vector Manipulation...?」

「It's certainly worthy of an absolute ace...」

「If they bring something like that, there's almost no way to win」

Chihiro's sister, Kaede, has the ability [Vector Manipulation].

This ability, which has been certified as A-rank, is almost absolutely strong in a one-on-one match format. Of course, it depends on the skill level of the fighter, but if Chihiro's guess is correct, this fight is doomed.

Kamishiro, who has fought directly against Kaede, knows this.

「That was a close one」

Kamishiro says, takes a stance, and both of them start to move at the same time.

Boom!

Another impact sound.

Kamishiro was defending himself against a side swipe from the left side of his body. It seems that he had extended his defensive range by putting his left and right arms out to both sides.

But, of course, even if he was protecting himself, he could not kill all the damage.

「Ggh...」

「...I understand. You're really good. Even if you were betting on where it would come from, a normal guy can't defend himself in time」

Minamoto puts his spear back in his hand in admiration.

He seems to be a battle junkie as well, smiling at the presence of a strong enemy.

「You too. I wonder what kind of ability is responsible for your speed」

「Isn't it boring to say that? To both of us?」

「Surely」

「...No, it's easier if he explains it carefully」

『I agree』

Chihiro thinks exactly what Hana and Marika are saying.

It's too hard to fight against a strong enemy while trying to figure out their abilities.

Still, Kamishiro showed a fearless expression.

「I'm used to fighting against opponents whose abilities I don't really know」

「I wonder who are you talking about?」

「...well, who knows...」

While they were saying these things, the boys started to move three times.

As expected, the exchanges took a similar turn.

Minamoto swung the handle of his spear like a staff at high speed and attacked Kamishiro. Kamishiro blocked the attack with his arm, but this time the attack did not stop there.

Kamishiro was left with no choice but to defend himself against two or three more attacks.

「You can't win just by defending!」

Minamoto was right, but he was too fast to attack.

Even thought Kamishiro could prevents Minamoto's spinning hilt strike to his right flank, when he tries to strike with the opposite fist, Minamoto moves out of the one-foot gap with a light step.

He then moves to Kamishiro's left side, turns backward, and strikes from above. Kamishiro raises his crossed arms to block the counterattack, but it's inevitably delays the counterattack by one move.

Prior to that, Minamoto moves out of the way, and then strikes another blow, this time to the side of Kamishiro's head, as if he is scooping him up from below.

The position of his turn and the trajectory of his attack are also different. It is hard to keep up with him when he does this at high speed. And to this, Chihiro has to say that Kamishiro was amazingly able to keep defending himself.

In spite of the name "spear," Minamoto uses it like a walking stick.

It is a wooden imitation, so it may not have a blade, but this is probably because there are more variations in its use by swinging it instead of thrusting it.

The upper and lower levels can be done as desired, and the reach is wider than with a wooden sword. By using centrifugal force, it is more powerful. Although it is a longer weapon, it requires more muscle strength and skill, but if one can master its use, it can be a deadly weapon.

「It's not a good match for me. I can't see him while defending myself」

Chihiro can ignore the damage by using [Pain Reduction], [Stimulation Sharing] combo, but it is doubtful if he can deal with Minamoto's speed this time.

All in all, it seems that Kamishiro was the right choice.

「If this continues, even Kamishiro-kun's body...」

「No. It's time to start the battle」

For the first time in several turns, when it began to become impossible to follow from a distance, it happened.

Thuck!

Kamishiro's left arm firmly caught the handle of the spear that was swung down from the upper left corner. Immediately after that, an uppercut of the right fist struck Minamoto, who just barely dodged the attack.

「Finally, my eyes are getting used to it」

「Hmm? You are a good fighter. And you're also very strong」

「I've trained as hard as I can」

Kamishiro's dynamic vision has been considerably enhanced through repeated combat training.

In addition, his [Body Strengthening] makes it possible for him to react while his opponent is moving, or to counterattack while blocking an attack.

「Then, I'll give it a try!」

Minamoto shouts, and resumes his attack.

Again, the hilt of the spear attacks in all directions, but Kamishiro guards against it precisely.

If it came from above, he held up one arm to block it, while aiming at the shoulder with the opposite fist, and if it came from the side, he aimed at the stomach. If it came from the bottom, he blocked it with the arm closer to the opponent and immediately threw a roundhouse kick.

Minamoto also repeatedly hit and away to prevent counterattacks, but finally he struck.

「Ugh...」

Kamishiro's roundhouse kick bit into Minamoto's side.

His well-trained kick was not light. Still, with a cluck of his tongue, Minamoto took a long step back and readied his spear.

「I'm surprised」

A sharp look shot through Kamishiro.

「No matter how much you defend yourself, you'd be exhausted if you'd been hit that hard」

「Unfortunately, I've experienced more unreasonable damage」

Maria's [Retaliation] returned his attack damage, and Chihiro's [Stimulus Amplification] hit him with a strangely heavy blow.

It's a terrible thing to think about, but it's what feeds Kamishiro now.

「And your ability is acceleration, isn't it?」

「......」

Minamoto's arm moved slightly as he held his spear.

「It's also basically the ability to accelerate your own linear motion. For circular movements, you should make a turn」

「Damn, you know it very well」

Surprisingly, Minamoto acknowledged it honestly.

――It seems that it is not Vector Manipulation. If it can only be used for its own movement and cannot deflect an opponent's attack, it is basically a backward compatibility with Kaede's ability.

If it is just speed, then there is a high possibility that Minamoto is superior to Kaede, although the power of a single blow is not so great.

But this can't be the end of the absolute ace's hand, can it?