It wasn’t that they hadn’t been taking their fights seriously, just that they were fighting with self-imposed restrictions. At least, that was how I saw it. They’d put shackles on themselves by not allowing themselves to use their special moves or something like that. The pair had lost without even using anything surprising. They weren’t beginners who were unable to spot the deciding moment of a fight, so it seemed odd that both had gone out that way.
“Our full strength,” Sauzan began, “is only to defend against threats to humanity. It isn’t something we can aim at a regular person. Even during my match today, I almost accidentally released an attack that could’ve killed my opponent. I still have a long way to go. My inexperience is even more reason that I can’t participate in a silly fight like this.”
He must have been referring to that thrust toward Anzel’s neck. That attack could have been incredibly lethal, far different to what he had shown up to that point.
“Are the threats to humanity you’re thinking about along the lines of demon kings?” I asked.
Tohaulow looked at me with a measuring gaze. “Yes, something of that level.”
“Then you’ve no need to worry,” I immediately vouched for myself. “I’m stronger than any demon king you can find. Come at me with all your strength. Don’t worry about hurting me.”
Not that there were actually demon kings just anywhere. I wish there were. They seemed like the perfect sparring partners.
“Uhh... What’s the call, Sauzan?” Tohaulow asked uncertainly.
“I don’t think she’s joking, but whatever the truth is, if we end up killing her, we can’t rewind time. We’d never be able to face anyone again.”
Ugh, stop with this already.
“Fine then. You know of Leeno the adventurer.”
“Huh?”
“How about I imitate her?” I pointed at Tohaulow. “I’ll fire you out of the ring with one punch. I’m sure you won’t die and you have fast reflexes.”
I was sure she could jump back herself. She hadn’t died even after that punch from Gandolph, and she had the natural toughness that came with being a beastkin. And of course I’d make sure not to completely let loose.
“Weeeell...if that’ll make you happ—” Tohaulow looked reluctant as she went to accept, but then she suddenly prepared herself.
I had bared my hostility.
“You ready?”
It was cold, and I had to hurry and get back, and I wanted to let my students go already.
Let’s see... This should be okay, right?
Boom!
I punched Tohaulow with a boom as loud as thunder. Since Tohaulow had been using a proper defense, I punched her from above.
Good reaction. I could tell from how the punch felt that she jumped back at the last second to reduce the damage. Rather than punching her, I suppose it was much more like I pushed her. The arms she was guarding with were very soft—she’d pulled them back to soften the blow. It was a very advanced defensive maneuver.
After being sent flying back, Tohaulow rolled out of the ring and fell off the edge.
Very good. Forcing herself to resist my strike or stand her ground would’ve made a clear opening. Given the speed at which I’d attacked her, she must have realized that if she wasn’t careful, I could easily have continued into a follow-up attack. As such, she had chosen not to stop rolling.
And then—
“Toha!”
By the time Sauzan’s piercing yell rang out, Tohaulow was already right beside me.
She was fast. Far faster than she had been during the tournament. She’d fallen off the ring and went out of sight and yet had immediately returned.
Suddenly, there were metal boots on her feet.
With those metal boots, she was already entering a motion for a dropkick.
I felt the wind—a wind against my back trying to suck me into her attack.
“I see now.”
I blocked the incoming high kick aimed at my head with my palm.
“Huh?!” Tohaulow’s eyes widened in surprise and she immediately jumped back. “What the hell are you?! Are you seriously a demon king?!”
Well, it seemed I’d gotten her to believe me, at least.
Actually, no, not quite yet.
“I’m not a demon king. I told you, didn’t I? I’m even stronger than a demon king.”
The boots on Tohaulow’s legs were a kind of sacred weapon. This had to be why I sensed divine chi from them both. I had the feeling they were working on the same logic as Anzel’s attuned weapon, able to equip it through just a single thought. How convenient.
Were the weapons stored inside their bodies? It would explain why it felt as if the divine chi was coming from them.
Sacred weapons, hmm? I believe it made sense to regard them as holy weapons imbued with powerful magic. As far as I could recall, holy swords were a different matter altogether, though.
“Toha! You know that’s breaking the rules! We’re not supposed to use our Divine Technique on humans!”
“Wake the hell up already, you godsdamned idiot! You absolute glutton!” Tohaulow loudly cursed at the complaining Sauzan. “This freak didn’t just block my kick, she stopped it! I tried to do a full kick, but she didn’t move an inch! How could we not investigate such a weirdo?! What if she’s a demon king?! And even if she isn’t, she could be a threat to humanity! If we don’t fight here, we have no right to say we’re part of the Heroic Star Assembly!”
Oh hey, she just said it outright. I was pretty sure the reason they hadn’t been saying it was because they were sworn to secrecy, but, uh... It was fine. I’d just pretend I hadn’t heard anything.
“It’s up to you to decide whether or not you want to fight,” I said to the hesitating Sauzan. “Your partner looks fully prepared to fight, but you don’t want to, right? You can just sit and watch her get beaten up. Oh, but could you step out of the ring? You’ll just get in the way if you don’t want to join in.”
Now, back to the beastkin.
“Holy wind magic is imbued in those weapons of yours, isn’t it? That’s why you can move so fast, yes? Oh, and consequently, it has the power to gather wind too, I believe?”
“I’ll tell you about that once we’re done!”