Chapter 117

The first move was just a moment of carelessness, but after that, the Witch of Wind and I exchanged blows without any issues.

Of course, I also managed to deflect her sword and counterattack without being pushed back.

The shockwaves from our clashes were powerful enough to blow away the surrounding area, even the mountains.

—

“It seems you couldn’t block the mana inside my body.”

“Of course not. I’m not a superhuman who can control 「Concepts」. And considering your mana control, it’s impossible to block that too.”

“Hmm, that was a pointless remark.”

—

The Witch of Wind’s swordsmanship is incredibly refined.

And my swordsmanship, honed through real combat, has no fixed form, which seems to be throwing her off.

Of course, her aggressive approach is threatening, so I can’t let my guard down either.

Having a structured swordsmanship style makes it easier to read, but only if the opponent fully understands it. Coincidentally, I’ve memorized all her attacks so far—even her stances and when she uses them.

If I don’t remember them on the spot, I’ll just keep getting hit.

That said, she might have new moves, so it’s not foolproof.

—

“…Impressive. To think you memorized everything in such a short time.”

“I’ve spent my whole life fighting, so memorizing things like that is almost a habit. I’m not some genius who remembers everything at a glance.”

“Even so, memorizing that quickly is still abnormal.”

“Well, I guess that’s just how it is.”

—

Her sword is a bit annoying.

No, actually, it’s my sword that’s the problem.

It was designed with the assumption of using it as a lightsaber, so the part without the energy blade is a bit short.

This puts me at a disadvantage in reach, and the feeling of clashing swords changes with the length, leaving an awkward sensation.

Damn… I should’ve trained with this in mind.

…Well, I’ll just train in real-time during this fight and overwhelm her.

And your swordsmanship, it’s been polished to an extreme level, but I’m handling it well.

—

“…!!”

“How’s that? Feeling the sting of your own swordsmanship?”

“…You seem to have a low self-evaluation, yet you’re still arrogant. I can’t understand you.”

—

I managed to slightly deflect her technique by matching it head-on, and it worked better than I thought.

She probably didn’t expect me to do something like that.

My swordsmanship is mostly improvised based on the opponent, so it doesn’t follow a set pattern.

Well, what I just did was a bit off-script, but still.

That’s why she was slow to react when I did it.

No, isn’t it hard to resist doing something like that when you’re deflecting attacks to create openings?

Such actions are easy to exploit.

…Or is it just me?

—

“By the way, you seem stronger. What did you do?”

“Not really? My 「Concept」 is 「Rampage」, so maybe that’s why.”

“…I see. Even basic 「Physical Enhancement」 is affected by the 「Concept」 in this situation, causing it to go berserk. You’re in a completely advantageous position.”

“Maybe? But I’m at a disadvantage with my weapon, so it’s even. It’s not that big of a difference anyway.”

“Right, that was a lame excuse. Let’s continue.”

—

By the way, the wounds aren’t too deep yet.

As I said earlier, the limit is 10 minutes.

If I try to push beyond that, I’ll revert to square one.

It’s a technique I copied from Magical Sis, right before her legs were about to tear apart, so it’s inherently unstable.

And the remaining time is about 5 minutes… This isn’t good.

Magical Wind is holding up better than I thought.

Is this what a ‘real’ witch is like, unlike the mediocre ones I’ve faced so far?

Still, if a real witch is only this strong, I might reach Pandora faster than I thought.

—

By the way, she seems to rely heavily on her right hand.

Her main attacks are slashes, thrusts, and lunges, right?

Of course, she uses them more frequently, but overall, she’s surprisingly balanced.

Still… I might want to target that more.

But she might switch up her attack patterns if she realizes, so I need to be careful.

I have no idea how much real combat experience she has.

—

“…You’re sweating. Do you really hate the idea of humans getting hurt that much?”

“……”

“I see. So that’s why you’re going this far against me despite your level. Behind that arrogance is a desire to protect humans. How amusing. Even if you die, you won’t be able to protect anything, yet you still weaken yourself to protect them.”

“I can still win like this. If I couldn’t, I would’ve taken the damage.”

“Really? Is that so? …Stop bluffing, Rampage. I don’t want to lose possibilities with such foolishness.”

—

…Honestly, I did underestimate witches a bit.

The ones I’ve met so far were all mediocre.

So I thought even if she used this, I wouldn’t be at a disadvantage, and in fact, I’m still slightly ahead.

But the problem is that this state doesn’t last long, and the fight is dragging on.

If it lasted longer, I could definitely finish her, but with the remaining time, I have no idea what will happen.

……I guess I have to use it.

I wanted to win in my normal state, but I have no choice.

—

“…There’s one thing I didn’t mention.”

“What is it?”

“That heightened state of concentration people talk about… I can use it at will. It’s mentally exhausting, but I’ve trained enough that the penalty isn’t too severe.”

“…I don’t understand what you’re saying. If you can use it at will, why haven’t you used it until now? More bluffing? And why tell me? To make me wary?”

“No, it’s not a bluff. If I use it, I can finish you quickly, so I’m telling you. Even if you know, you won’t have a counter.”

“Stop with the nonsense. I can’t listen to this anymore.”

—

The ‘it’ I’m talking about now isn’t the one from my senior.

It’s the extreme state of concentration… what people commonly call the ‘zone’.

I don’t like the name, so I call it [State of Extreme Focus], but it’s a bit cringy, so I don’t say it out loud.

Anyway, I can enter it at will.

Of course, entering such a state consumes a lot of mental energy, so I rarely used it except during training in the past, but now my mental endurance is at its peak.

If it were the old me, I wouldn’t last long, but the current me can maintain it for hours… no, dozens of hours easily.

If I’m lucky, I might even maintain it indefinitely.

But the reason I don’t use it… well, that’s it.

If I can’t defeat my enemies in my normal state and have to rely on this, it’s meaningless.

—

So, this is literally my trump card.

I use it when I’m struggling in my normal state or when damage is inevitable… like in this situation.

There’s no need to show all my cards from the start.

This is something to use at the very last moment… to turn the tables.

No matter how easily I can use it, relying on it every time is a bad habit.

—

“I didn’t plan to use it originally. But I’m a magical girl, a warrior protecting humanity. Even if I don’t deserve love, I love this world. That’s why I don’t want any harm to come to it or humanity.”

“…It seems it wasn’t just arrogance. The atmosphere has completely changed.”

“…So, consider it an honor to witness this, Magical Wind.”

—

Looking back, maybe my senior trained me in mental endurance for this very reason.

And in that regard, her methods were spot on.

Well, more importantly, it’s time to finish her off quickly.

To prevent further damage, I’ll end this in the remaining 2 minutes… no, 1 minute.

—

“…!!!”

“What’s wrong? You’ve slowed down quite a bit.”

“You… you’re insane. To think you’d enter that state so easily…”

“I told you.”

—

In this state of concentration, her openings are even clearer.

Even the ones I thought were nonexistent now appear as small gaps.

And I exploit each one, swinging my sword.

Each time, the Witch of Wind grows more flustered, and the gaps widen, making it easier to strike.

I deflect every sword strike, leave countless wounds on her body, and eventually sever her limbs.

—

First, the left arm.

Swordsmanship prioritizes the hand holding the sword.

So, Wind, who relies heavily on her right hand, naturally has a weaker guard on her left.

I exploited that, and cutting off her left arm wasn’t too difficult.

—

Next, the shoulder.

With one arm gone, her balance is off, and the gaps keep widening.

Her reaction speed and response patterns have also changed significantly, showing her panic, so breaking her shoulder was easy.

—

Then, the ear.

She tried to dodge my attack aimed at her neck, but with her injuries, it’s impossible to evade my current speed.

To perfectly dodge my attacks, she’d need to enter the same state as me.

Since she can’t, my sword naturally grazes her, and this time, it’s her left ear.

And so, the left side of her body continues to be whittled away by my attacks.

—

“Kuh…!”

“Looks like you’re out of breath, Wind.”

“…Heh, hehe… ‘Jackpot’, huh?”

“Is that all you have to say?”

“…Whether that ‘jackpot’ is first or second place… no, I hope it’s first. I’ve lost. Kill me.”

“…Fine. Die.”

—

In less than a minute, just 20 seconds, Wind was completely torn apart.

She muttered something incomprehensible until the end, and then her head fell to my sword.

Even then, she was smiling.

—

“……”

…Why did you die with a satisfied look?

What did you want from me? What did you expect… to fight me and die with that smile?

Pandora… what exactly is the Demon Realm planning now?

I really… don’t understand any of this.

—

“…Ah, I should head back.”

—

Come to think of it, Pretty Heart must be anxiously waiting.

Witches are still a mystery, so Pretty Heart, who likes me so much, must be worried.

So I’ll hurry back… go back and reassure her, then enjoy this peaceful time again.

Of course, I won’t skip training.

—

“Rampage~!”

“Yeah, Chubby. What’s the damage?”

“There’s been some disasters in India and Uyghur, but nothing major!”

“Really? That’s a relief. Any casualties?”

“There are some injuries, but no fatalities from the fight’s aftermath yet!”

“Good. Using that was the right call. Let’s head back.”

“Roger!”

—

Whatever it was, using that was definitely the right move.

If I hadn’t, a few countries might’ve been wiped out.

She probably had more magic up her sleeve.

And since it’s elemental magic, there were definitely more wide-ranging spells.

So, in the end, it was handled safely.

—

“Dabin unnie~!”

“Ugh.”

“I was worried!”

“Ah, right…”

—

Anyway, I’m back home, and as soon as I returned, my face got buried in Pretty Heart’s chest.

I expected it, but it’s sad that I couldn’t avoid it.

—

“You’re back.”

“Aren’t you worried?”

“Nah, well… you’re unnie, so I didn’t think you’d lose.”

“Is that so…”

—

Diamond Dust has reached the point of being completely unfazed.

It’s not like I’m invincible or the strongest.

And… Gravity is just thoughtless.

She’s really… the kind of kid whose future is uncertain.

—

“…Ah, you’re here~…”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“…Soft?”

“What?”

“That…”

—

Gravity pointed at something, probably Pretty Heart’s chest…

Well, it’s a girl’s chest, so it’s really soft.

I’m not touching it directly since she’s still in middle school.

If I did, Pretty Heart’s brakes would probably snap.

—

“…Very soft.”

“Unnie?”

“Me too…”

“…Nari, hug Ame too.”

“Sure~.”

—

Seriously… Gravity just drains my energy…