—Hmm. So my regular guidance is a hindrance to you. If that’s the case, you’re the same as her— Ah, wait!
I ignored Proto even though it was in the middle of trying to say something and took the Gear off my neck.
“I know this thing is convenient and all, but it’s just noise to me. I’m taking it off for now, so can you hold on to it, Leonie?”
Saying this, I went over to the spectator seats and tossed the Gear I had just taken from my neck to Leonie. She had gone totally pale. Why?
“Don’t be ridiculous, Ruchika! You can’t possibly fight without Gear!”
“That’s not true. I like it better this way. And besides, what’s with it telling me to use magic counterattacks over and over when I’ve never been any good with magic?”
It was super annoying to have those recommendations popping up nonstop in the back of my mind and the corners of my vision.
“Because it’s the optimal tactic! You may just not know it yet, but you must have some kind of magical ability—”
“No way. I know myself. And I’m gonna do this my own style. You don’t mind, do you, Danita?”
When I turned to ask her, Danita was glaring at me like an angry ogre.
“Wh-what? What’s with the scary face, Danita?”
“Are you messin’ with me again, you twerp? You think you can fight against me without Gear?”
“I’m not messing with you, I swear. I just like this way better.”
Why can’t everyone else understand? It’s like they’re obsessed with sticking to what their Gear tell them.
“Ruchika, please reconsider! Put your Gear back on!”
Leonie was practically screaming as she pleaded with me. But why? Based on Danita’s reaction, it seemed like most humans assumed you would fight using a Gear. But Leonie’s reaction was too extreme—like she had some kind of strong emotional attachment to the whole issue. But if I kept that thing on my neck, there was no way I’d be winning against Danita.
“I’m telling you, don’t sweat it. Just calm down and watch, okay, Leonie?”
I gave her a wink before turning back to Danita again.
“Sorry about that, Danita. I’m ready to fight for real, now.”
“You kiddin’ me?! Get over here—I’ll insta-kill you!”
That seemed to have really ticked her off. She raised her greatsword back over her head… It was the same overhead strike from earlier. But this time, she looked like she was attacking for real. I knew I’d be in trouble if I took a hit from that thing. The next moment, Danita started rushing at me so fast, it was almost like she had disappeared.
But—
“Wha—?!”
“Heh-heh! You may be plenty strong, too, but there’s no way I’m losing to you in that area!”
—I had stopped Danita’s overhead sword attack, binding her sword by crossing the backs of my hands and pushing upward against it. She wouldn’t be able to move it one bit in this state.
“Back atcha!”
“Gwah?!”
I took her greatsword, which was wedged between my hands, and pulled it over to the side, making Danita lose her balance. Then I hit her with a well-placed roundhouse kick to send her large frame flying.
“Whoa, you didn’t let go of the sword that whole time—you’re good.”
“Argh…! Don’t get cocky!”
Danita had flipped her body in midair and landed defensively on the ground. Her red eyes were burning with anger.
“I’m done with you underestimatin’ me. Now I’m gonna slaughter you for real.”
As soon as she declared this, a malicious battle aura flooded out from her body. It was extremely rare for someone to have such a tangible aura, the kind you didn’t even need to look for. Danita was the real deal—and any regular person would have probably lost the will to fight at seeing that display of hers.
But me? I was a different story.
I looked at Danita again. Yeah, this is awesome. Once you get serious, you’re a great opponent. Plus, I’m starting to get hungry, and you’re starting to look like one hell of a lunch. That means there’s only one thing left for me to do.
“Time to dig in!”
“?!”
Danita’s eyes widened in surprise. Well, no surprise there. I basically looked like I was coming straight at her, practically begging to be cut down. But sorry, Danita, this isn’t gonna go how you expect.
“Tch…!”
Her sword came sliding toward me nimbly. It was a beautiful side slash, like something out of a swordsmanship textbook. And so, I sidestepped—toward her attack. I spread my hands vertically and slammed them down like jaws closing on her greatsword.
“Gluttony.”
The sound of something stiffening boomed around us.
“No…way…”
I heard Danita’s dazed voice. My hands, which had been hardened by her dense battle aura, had become sharper than any monster’s fangs, and I’d used them to tear off a chunk of her greatsword. A sense of omnipotence welled up within me.
“Gimme more, Danita. You’ve got more than this in you, don’cha?”
“Ugh…graaahhhh!!”
Danita probably had no idea what I had done to her. Her mental state was growing closer and closer to derangement. Even so, her reflexive attacks had unparalleled accuracy, and it was obvious how much she had trained to get to this point.
Her battle aura looked mouthwatering.
With every deadly slash she dealt, I kept biting and tearing through her greatsword bit by bit. Each time my hands clashed with it, the sword grew more and more battered.
“Ruchika… Her movements really have become sharper after she took off her Gear… But to think she’d be able to overwhelm Danita…”
“That’s not all, Leonie. It looks like Ruchika is…feeding off Danita’s battle aura…?”
The first person to see through my trick was Nor. Since her fighting style was close to a mage’s, she must have also been able to sense the flow of aura around her opponents. And she was right. Gluttony was a power that allowed me to devour energy from my opponent’s mana and battle aura and use it as my own.
“That ability of hers… Do you think it’s a Gift?”
“What?! You mean to suggest that she already fulfilled that requirement even before joining the Hero Institute?”
I had no clue about these “Gifts” or hero requirements or whatever they were talking about, so I brushed it off and kept focusing on my battle. Danita’s face was twisted with frustration.
“You monster…!”
“Now, that’s just not nice. But if that’s what you think I am, then maybe I should show you something really monstrous.”
“…Huh?”
I focused my consciousness on the energy I had charged up in my stomach and visualized myself spitting it all back out.
“Danita, put up your best defense, okay?”
“Wh-why you…!”
The next moment, I breathed out a mass of flames that engulfed her.
“Gaaaah?!”
Danita tumbled to the ground and rolled, putting out the flames that had covered her body. Her light leather armor was charred all over, and smoke rose from her.
“You… Seriously, what the hell are you…?!”
“What am I…? I could have sworn I already introduced myself. I’m Ruchika. I’m from the race of demons that humanity defeated.”
“?!”
After I introduced myself again, the people of the gallery all began to buzz.
“That black hair, and those black eyes…”
“So that’s the savage power of a demon…”
I heard everyone start whispering behind my back. While Gluttony was active, all five of my senses were sharpened, so it was no use for them to try to hide what they said. Geez…turns out humans are still pretty prejudiced against us.
“Okay, Danita. Can you keep going?”
“…’Course I can…”