Rin slashed his two short swords and abused his teleportation to rapidly strike at Yanagi. He defended himself—if it could be called defense. It would be more accurate to say he was overwhelmed. Rin struck his back, sides, legs, and shoulders with his swords.
Amidst the assault, Yanagi hissed at him, “Instant chain teleportation! Speed that disregards speed itself and elevates your swordsmanship to godly realms! Admit it, that’s your power, Amane Rin!”
If used creatively, it could be one of the most phenomenal abilities out there. Faced with a power like this, Yanagi felt speed—his one advantage—slip like sand through his fingers. There was only one thing he could do against Rin’s attacks. He used Enemy Detection to nail down Rin’s position and avoid lethal blows in the fractions of a second that they came. But the more he avoided them, the more stamina he lost. His HP had already fallen below 50 percent, and One-winged Flight drained it further, drip by drip.
He’ll beat me at this rate! I have to find a moment to counterattack, but then—! Yanagi glared at the yellow gleam on the short sword in Rin’s left hand. I need to consider his counterattack. He can strike with magic on top of regular sword attacks, and I doubt I can handle that. If I could just get him to waste that magic!
He desperately searched for an idea, but he didn’t have time to settle on one. His step snagged on the ground and dragged his rapid speed to a near halt.
“Rghhh!”
In a fight of this level, sloppy mistakes could cost his life. Rin wouldn’t let this opening get away.
Short swords tight in his hands, Rin rushed Yanagi head on. His intent was clear; this was the finale. No reason to teleport, no reason to evade. Yanagi raised his daggers in a defensive stand, intending to block, but Rin suddenly changed tactics.
“Release.”
“H-huh?!”
Yanagi was prepared to absorb a melee strike. At this close range, the spell would engulf him.
Candescent lightning crackled above him. It was impossible to dodge—or was it? In what should have been a moment of disaster, Yanagi smirked.
“You fell for it!”
Surprise flashed across Rin’s face. Yanagi bent with remarkable speed and slipped under the lightning by the skin of his teeth. Everything from his stumble to defending was a trap to lure Rin into wasting his last magic attack. Yanagi used that momentum to race toward him.
But Rin wasn’t so easily caught without a plan.
“Time Zero,” he said, vanishing from sight.
Enemy Detection revealed his location to Yanagi. Behind him!
“You’re a one-trick pony!” Yanagi snarled. He’d anticipated this too. Everything about Rin’s attacks telegraphed he would teleport into Yanagi’s blind spot once again. Knowing that, he reacted in time.
He whirled around and struck out with his dagger. There was no way Rin could counter that!
He swiped at the air.
“What?”
Rin was two meters away, just out of reach of his blade. His short sword pointed at Yanagi, still gleaming yellow.
“Release.”
Lightning flashed and struck Yanagi head on. He screamed as every nerve in his body convulsed with heat and light. The smell of burning filled the air as his HP fell below 20 percent.
What was that, what happened?! I dodged that magic! Didn’t he waste the spell? Don’t tell me—?!
An unfathomable thought came to him. There was no other explanation.
Did he use teleportation to reabsorb his magic attack?!
A magic-stealing sword and teleportation magic: those two powers made an impossible fighting style possible. Rin was living proof.
He’s a monster!
Yanagi saw the writing on the wall. Rin’s strength, weapons, skills, and ingenuity surpassed his own. Rin’s next attack would end everything. Yanagi had thrown everything he had at Rin, but nothing stuck.
I’ll admit it, Amane Rin. You’re stronger than I am. But you’ve forgotten one key detail!
Yanagi flung the dagger in his left hand with as much power as he could muster. It swiped past Rin without fanfare, but that was fine. He wasn’t aiming for him.
Amane Hana shrieked as the dagger sailed toward her. Until that moment, Rin had been level-headed, but Hana’s scream spurred him to move with panic. Yanagi regarded them with scorn.
You might be stronger than me, but only in battle. I’m a survivor, and survivors win. Sorry, but victory is mine!
Forget obtaining Stock from Hana: killing Rin was his priority. Once he was no longer targeting her, honestly, he didn’t care about killing her. She wasn’t the target of Plunderer. Besides, since Rin had taken his bait, the odds of Hana dying before him were suddenly much lower.
You wouldn’t let your precious sister die, would you, Amane Rin?! You’ll use teleportation and your short sword to protect her! Your stupid sappy sibling bond will open you up to a decisive killing blow!
Predictably, Rin said, “Time Zero.”
As he expected, Rin cared more about defending Hana than attacking him.
Now!
Knowing this was it, Yanagi sprinted—and choked on shock when Rin cut him off.
Why did he teleport in front of me, not the dagger?! He abandoned his sister?!
He couldn’t understand Rin’s actions, and with Rin in his path, he stretched to see Hana—
Clang!
The hard sound marked the dagger deflecting off Hana’s body.
Is his sister cloaked in the same barrier?!
The invisible barrier around Rin’s body that nullified Yanagi’s blows…he never imagined Rin could activate it around Hana. When Yanagi threw his dagger, Rin made an expression of alarm. That was a ploy. Rin had fooled him in return.
The racing of Yanagi’s thoughts halted. He was drained. None of this—he predicted none of this.
Rin faced Yanagi with stone-cold eyes. These were surely his final moments.
In an instant, Rin was right in front of Yanagi.
“Amane Rin…!” he barked, like it was a curse. His face was twisted with desperation as he swung at Rin.
“You made the wrong choice,” Rin said.
“What?!”
Rin deflected Yanagi’s dagger strike with the Speed Sword in his left hand. Yanagi lost his grip and his second dagger skittered across the floor.
Rage, hatred, bloodlust—Rin suppressed all of it and spoke with an even voice. “You put your hands on someone you never should have touched.”
In the back of his mind, Yanagi remembered Hana’s warm smile.
Rin drew his left hand—the one holding Greed—back like a bow and arrow. He poured the spiteful emotions in his chest into that one movement. Just like the magic, it seemed as though Greed devoured them.
“Some choices are unforgiveable!”
Rin released his fury. Yanagi tried to escape, but he was far too slow. A torrent of blows rained down on him faster than the speed of sound. One stab that could rend the heavens sank deep, deep into Yanagi’s heart.
He gasped.
Rin withdrew the sword.
Yanagi slowly slumped to the ground. He coughed, blood leaking from his mouth, with the expression of a man who knew his life was over.
Rin looked down at him, Greed tight in his hand, and said, “I win.”
The curtain closed on their performance, and Amane Rin was the only one left standing.