Yomibito’s evolution had begun in response to Itsuki’s attack. No part of his body’s instincts reaction anticipated what Hijiri was doing. His survival instincts quickly tried to shift focus to Hijiri but, in doing so, lost their momentum. The evolution missed its opportunity—the only one it had.
Yomibito’s evolution was not stopped by the thunder bird of beginnings.
He was put down by the Spear of the Gods. By one who had once bared her fangs at the Goddess…
Takao Hijiri
TAKAO HIJIRI thought about the information that Vicius might have shared with Yomibito.
It is quite likely that she has told him something following our previous fight. She would have talked about me, even if she did presume I was dead… Talked about how she used her poison to eliminate a pathetic hero who rebelled against her, bragged about her accomplishments.
Hijiri had confirmed during their fight that Yomibito’s eyesight was excellent and that his field of vision was surprisingly wide. She had moved to place him between herself and her sister precisely so that she could determine the extent of his vision. She also detected that he was adaptable enough to respond to threats that he couldn’t see. It appeared that he could sense the presence of enemies behind him and the danger they posed before reacting accordingly.
Excellent sight and an instinctive sense for danger—Yomibito is equipped with both.
That was Hijiri’s base premise.
Is it possible to create an opening, based on these assumptions?
As she thought the situation over, Hijiri came to a realization.
Yomibito’s movements are precise. When that precision falters, an opening will be easier to find. Then how should I cause him to falter?
“He has good eyes.”
The observation is not limited to just his eyesight and field of vision. Yomibito’s reflexes, perception, and insight are all superb. Another way of looking at the situation… I can use those senses to feed him certain pieces of information.
Hijiri had elected to let him see her react slightly whenever his katana caught her. She always had advance notice of the injuries from the flow of the air around her, and she performed little twinges of pain whenever the strikes came. It seemed that Yomibito noticed—just as she had intended.
The body cannot completely resist reacting to pain. Even if one’s fear has been conquered, the body will react of its own accord. There is nothing to be done about this, so long as the sensations exist. It is inevitable.
Hijiri understood this well. She had felt pain during her fight against Vicius, of course. She had just endured it.
When there is pain, there will always be an instinctive reaction to it. But what if I could eliminate my ability to feel pain? If every response I let him see were a lie? How would that be possible? My HP stat modifier reduces the amount of pain I feel, but it is not capable of eliminating it completely. Then how did I do it? Well…
“Ability buff skills that affect multiple targets, and single target debuff skills.”
“A skill that, on touch, brings a target’s stats down to be equal with the caster’s.”
Those are Ikusaba Asagi’s unique skills…but she has one other. Back during the great invasion of the Demon King, it’s said she used it on those who were injured in the battle to defend the capital of Yonato.
—Queen Bee: Pain Block—
Hijiri had heard about the unique skill and asked Asagi to cast it upon her before she entered the labyrinth.
“Take it that you askin’ me for help means that you totes trust me-ow, Hijiri-tan?”
“As Mimori-kun has chosen you to be one of those who will be entering the labyrinth, I have no choice but to do so. In which case, I will take every advantage that you can offer me…if you are willing, of course?”
“I might turn it off just for the lols, y’know?”
“I will cross that bridge when I come to it. You need not do this if you don’t want to. Let us both try our best in there. Goodbye.”
“Hey, now, don’t go trying to walk off all cool like Speedwagon-san or somethin’! Then like…can I ask you something? Asagi wants a bit of a treat for her help, y’know!”
“Go ahead.”
“So like, Hijiri-chan, romantically speaking… Are you into guys at all?”
“Hm? Well… Yes, I suppose so?”
“Ah, really? Hmm…”
“Why ask me that now? It is quite a strange question too. You ask as if you assumed I only had interest in the other gender.”
“But, like, you’re totally an onee-sama type, Hijiri-paisen!”
“Well, I am a big sister, I suppose, although the two of us are technically twins. What does paisen mean, in any case…?”
“Are ya a bit of an airhead? Have I, like, totes misread your vibe? Eh, seriously? I thought you were perfect, but you’ve got this side to you too? For real~?”
Hijiri had endured that strange conversation, but Asagi had cast the buff upon her. As a result, during her battle, Hijiri felt no pain whatsoever. She listened to the wind around her, sensed the presence of the blade, and created a pretend response. It was, in a word, an act. Pretending to feel pain, however, was much more trying than Hijiri had imagined it might be. She had to not only dodge Yomibito’s attacks but also line her reactions up with the moments at which she allowed her skin to be slashed, all the while avoiding any fatal blows. When her fingers were sliced off, Hijiri felt her blood freeze. It was so unexpected that she panicked a little, anxious that her reaction to the blow would come too late. She only just managed to respond in time.
It didn’t seem as if Yomibito noticed that she felt no pain. His attacks were easier to dodge than she had expected, as the wind that surrounded her constantly provided her with information on the trajectory and range of the disciple’s strikes. She was not easily dodging him by any means and had a number of close calls.
When Hijiri’s longsword had blocked Yomibito’s katana, she had felt a numbness in her hands—or at least believed that she did. She judged that the numbness must be pain, and that the sensation in her trembling yet sensation-less hands was the result.
But when Hijiri launched her final attack, she stopped lying. Stopped feeding Yomibito false reactions. He had been factoring her pain into his own movements and using them as cues to hone his responses—and that was exactly how she threw him off balance. Yomibito expected a reaction and got none.
Hijiri considered what Yomibito must have thought in that last instant before she moved in for her final attack. He must have thought attacking her even as she struck at him would throw her off. He had succeeded in wounding her so many times throughout their fight. He must have thought the pain would delay her attack a moment, giving give him a little extra leeway to respond. He must have been more concerned with Takao Itsuki in that moment.
He made a judgment, realized that his timing was wrong…and knew that he had presented Hijiri with an opportunity, however slight. An opening to get in close to him.
Well, then, how was Yomibito’s outer armor cracked?
Hijiri had used her wind blades like a drill to open up a hole just large enough for an arm to enter and had done it all as fast as she possibly could. She had been chipping away at Yomibito’s armor during the fight.
As for why Yomibito’s instincts for sensing danger didn’t detect what was happening—he was ignoring the wind blades the whole time. They were attacking him almost continuously throughout the battle, but he paid them no mind. He must have been under the impression that he could regenerate any small chips to his armor in an instant, meaning such attacks would never have the power to make it through to his core. That must have been why he altered his perception of the fight. There was no sense in devoting attention to unnecessary things.