160. Allen Cell and Political Marriage [11]
While I assumed Seigan no Kamae, Zeon held his sword loosely as usual.
(At a glance, he’s full of gaps, but…)
Zeon’s reaction rate is otherworldly.
If I jump in poorly, I will get cut down in a split second.
(Here, I have to close the distance in the usual way, after all…!)
After deciding on the next move, I acted promptly.
「First Sword – Flying Shadow!」
I quickly swung the sword three times and shot three jet-black slashes in succession.
(Against this guy, testing him out with one slash is completely useless…)
At my present strength, I just have to unleash the most powerful slashes I can and rain down First Sword on him.
The three Flying Shadow tear up the dry earth underneath, moving in a straight line towards Zeon.
I hid myself in one of them and closed the distance while not letting him grasp my position.
「Ha, what the hell is that? That’s a pretty weakass darkness… Yo!」
Zeon stopped the approaching three slashes with his left hand and easily crushed them.
(As usual, a monstrous physical ability…)
The smoke screen of Flying Shadow disappeared, and our gazes met.
And this time, I made the first move.
「Eighth Sword – Yatagarasu!」
Eight black slashes bared its fangs with immense force.
And among them, I shot two aimed at the ground.
As a result a cloud of dry soil rolled up, clouding Zeon’s view.
「Tch, impertinent brat!」
He squinted his right eye and released a side sweep, erasing Yatagarasu and the cloud of dry soil.
(Yoshi, right there!)
Zeon squinting his right eye created a blind spot to his right.
I took advantage of that slight opening and immediately slid my body to his right side, unleashing the ultimate fastest slash I had.
「Seventh Sword – Instant Flash!」
The godspeed Iai slash, cut the sound barrier, and tear into Zeon’s right shoulder.
「Shitty braaat!!」
Without even flinching, he immediately counterattacked.
I evaded the killing blow by leaping far back, creating a wide distance between us.
From Zeon’s right shoulder, thin red blood trickled down.
(The wound is shallow… But damage is still damage!)
It doesn’t change the fact that I cut Zeon with a frontal assault.
「First strike done to begin with…!」
Confirming that, I assumed Seigan no Kamae again.
「Haa, throwing sand into my eyes. The way you swing the sword is unrefined, like a mediocre bastard…」
He gathered darkness on his right shoulder and quickly treated the wound.
「My sword is self-taught, after all. Unrefined is its core.」
A free sword that is not bound by any type or form, this might be one of the few strengths of being self-taught.
「Well, I guess it’s slightly better than a sword bound to a form, but with that level of swordsmanship, you can’t make up for the overwhelming difference in power, ya know…?」
The moment Zeon cracked his neck, ten tentacles of darkness rose from his body.
(Is this… Dark Shadow?)
When I saw it, I immediately developed my Dark Shadow of ten darkness.
「Kukuku, it’s the same『ten darkness』, but I wonder how the results will turn out, naa!?」
Zeon, with a ferocious smile, attacked with explosive force.
There was a clear hint of carelessness and self-conceit reflected in his eyes.
It was plain obvious that he was looking down on me as an inferior opponent.
「Damn, don’t underestimate meee!」
After that, I made full use of Dark Shadow and Black Sword, and fought back against Zeon with everything I had.
As a result of using every tactic available to me, swinging the sword with all the power I could muster, and desperately pursuing the slightest chance of victory, I was tragically defeated.
「Haa, haa-」
The Black Sword was broken, and I was face down on the ground, breathing roughly.
(Damn… It’s frustrating, but this guy is strong after all…)
Zeon’s darkness was ever changing.
Darkness as sharp as a sword.
Darkness as soft as a flower.
Darkness as flexible as a whip.
(I knew I couldn’t match him in『output』, but…)
I didn’t think there was such a difference in the『dexterity of darkness』.
「Haa… so damn weak! Oi, can’t you put up more of a fight… Aa?」
That guy, who won an overwhelming victory, hurled those words at me with a smug smile.
…I am so sick and tired of this guy’s provocations for some reason.
(An irritating fellow, but I’ll『study』from him…)
Zeon displayed the『reshaping of darkness』on this occasion.
(I understand it clearly due to having experienced it first hand.)
That’s a very useful technique.
It’s a little annoying to copy Zeon’s technique, but I’ll practice it in secret later.
Every time I fight with this guy, I feel that I’m getting stronger little by little.
The distance with Zeon, who is as strong as a monster, is shrinking little by little.
(This is about as long… as I can maintain consciousness…)
In the fading consciousness, I mustered my last bit of strength and held up『three』fingers.
「Aa…? What’s that?」
「Three times… This is the first time… I’ve cut you『three times』!」
「Haa, what the hell are you so proud of for simply scratching my skin.」
「Up until now…『one time』was the limit, so… What do you think…? I’ve gotten a little stronger, haven’t I?」
「Aa? Let’s see… you’ve grown up to at least the level of a tiny bug.」
「Fuu, whatever… Well, just wait and see. I’ll definitely overtake you soon.」
Everything begins with each small step, after all.
「Fuu, I’ll give you a small hint in honor of that useless effort. This darkness is mine, and at the same time, it is not. Do your best to think about the meaning of these words!」
Zeon’s Black Sword came down on me.
「Ka, ha…」
And my vision went blank.
Then my consciousness returned to the real world.
The 𝘮ost uptodat𝑒 novels are pub𝙡ished on fre(e)webno(v)el.𝒸𝑜𝘮