Yomibito closed in, picking Hijiri as his target. Itsuki’s lightning pursued him, but the disciple was firm as he swung his katana at Hijiri.
For how massively Yomibito is built—he’s fast.
Unsure whether she could dodge in time, Hijiri parried and deflected the blow with her longsword, then jumped back to put some distance between them.
“…”
My hand is cramping… No… It’s numb? This isn’t from Itsuki’s electric attack; it’s because I parried one of Yomibito’s swings. This isn’t going to work, Hijiri decided. It would be reckless to go sword to sword with him.
She looked down and saw that there was a crack in her longsword. It looked as if one more strike would destroy it entirely. Hijiri discarded her sword, letting the blade she had used for so long drop to the floor with a clang.
Once I’ve put a crack in that outer armor, I need to immediately follow up with a series of powerful skill attacks so I can open up another. I can’t give him a moment to regenerate. That is what I just conveyed to Itsuki…
With her target able to regenerate, Hijiri knew that hit-and-run tactics wouldn’t work. She chose instead to deliver a series of powerful attacks in a very short time frame to deal a finishing blow to Yomibito’s insides.
It’s simple, but that’s my goal for now…
But Yomibito wasn’t about to let Hijiri put two holes in his armor that easily.
How can I distract him enough to land that critical blow? How can I create an opening? That is what this fight has come down to, in the end. I do not currently know if I have the strength to make it through…or whether Lokiella’s analysis of his abilities is accurate.
I need to keep testing… Act, gather intel, analyze, formulate a strategy for striking a decisive blow. Just like I did in the old world.
Hijiri made a move. Itsuki seemed to notice the change in her sister’s patterns and adjusted her own movements to match. The two of them locked eyes for a moment. Itsuki was in position, catching Yomibito in a pincer move between Hijiri and herself. The pillar attacks continued, but the sisters evaded them.
Yomibito can see us, Hijiri concluded. She could no longer see the golden eyes within his sockets, but she could sense the way in which his eyes were following her.
The most effective way to create an opening will always be having one of us positioned at his back. I know what I need to do. All that remains is working out how to pull it off. Itsuki’s Lock End skill consumes a huge amount of MP, but my Gungnir skill has a cooldown. If possible, we need to do this on the first try. Yomibito has probably heard about Gungnir and Lock End from Vicius. Even if the Goddess thinks that I’m no longer alive, she will have told him about my abilities…bragged about them, even. We can’t rely on our skills surprising him.
Hijiri continued observing the disciple as she dodged his attacks.
Yomibito’s movements… It doesn’t look as if he’s hurt by my wind blades chipping away at his armor. He isn’t even flinching as the attacks hit him.
Most living beings would usually have some reaction to being struck, but as far as Hijiri could tell, Yomibito was completely unfazed. He didn’t reacting at all to any of her strikes, except when she went for his eyes.
I suppose it’s possible that he’s so unaffected by these attacks that he just isn’t paying them any mind, but…it’s possible he doesn’t feel anything at all. He didn’t react to any of the hot or cold elements in my attacks. It’s possible.
Hijiri concluded that her enemy had no sensation in his outer armored shell—but that he had a distinct will or focus that he could turn in certain directions. He also appeared to have the ability to process information and was capable of thought.
It’s not just his lack of sensitivity to heat and pain, though. He seems to have a sort of sixth sense. The ability to detect danger… Maybe that’s how he was able to judge so quickly that my wind blades aren’t a threat to him. He’s got good eyes too… I can see in the way he moves that he’s watching. That sixth sense and keen vision give him an incredible ability to process information and react.
I need to throw him off balance and force him to open up. If he can think, then I should be able to take him by surprise. It’s an attack he doesn’t expect. He probably has information on the skills of ours that he might need to watch out for, Gungnir and Lock End…but that might limit what he anticipates that we’ll do. If only there was something new we could pull out—something to create an opening.
Itsuki…
Hijiri shot a glance at her sister, and Itsuki looked back. Hijiri held her hand down and to the side, showing two fingers. Itsuki didn’t even need to nod to show that she understood. She answered with her eyes in the affirmative.
I should’ve expected as much…
Hijiri was so proud of her little sister, her twin.
First—get close and create an opening.
“Blizzard Wind.”
Hijiri created lumps of ice in the air, then exploded them. They burst around Yomibito, creating countless little shards of ice. The area around the disciple turned almost completely white, robbing Yomibito of his vision. Expecting him to be blinded, Hijiri dashed in—but as she drew close, a katana blade lunged out from within the thick ice fog. Yomibito’s strike was smooth, and he had completely concealed his presence before he attacked. Coating her legs in electricity with a technique similar to Itsuki’s Unlock, Hijiri sped herself away from the attack and somehow managed to dodge it.
The ice fog dissipated. Yomibito observed Takao Hijiri—watching and thinking.
I can feel him trying to read my next move… And now I know it’s possible to get in close to him.
Hijiri wasted no time in firing a fiery wind at Yomibito’s face. At that exact same moment, rounded pillars appeared to Hijiri’s left and right, but she dodged them using the same method as before previously. She then went straight into a compressed electrified wind attack at Yomibito. Her goal was to create enough noise to cover the noise of her younger sister’s Unlock One skill approaching.