I’m trying to find the optimal way to resolve the situation.
What could the opponent be aiming for? Can this be resolved through conversation?
But I can’t speak anyway.
Suddenly, I find it amusing that I’m having such a foolish thought, and I smile wryly behind the mask.
The questions I’ve had earlier are of no help in resolving this situation.
No matter who the opponent is, or what their goal is, it doesn’t matter.
The opponent is an intruder.
Surely, they must have come with impure intentions.
An unwelcome guest who entered without permission must be expelled.
How?
I return to the beginning.
Should I lure them outside and deal with them?
I glance beyond the opponent. That seems a bit difficult.
Outside the orphanage, a faint domed barrier stretches around the orphanage.
It looks pretty sturdy; they must have prepared an expensive one.
Breaking it shouldn’t be difficult, but I need to raise my magic power.
The Grim Reaper’s magic leaves traces easily.
Even if I break through the barrier and defeat the enemy, I could accidentally reveal that I’m the Grim Reaper.
I have to hide my power as much as possible to avoid being discovered.
Hmm…
Wait?! Why am I overthinking this? There was a very simple solution.
I can’t help but smile as the solution flashes in my mind.
‘I just have to hold out until Rene comes back.’
I don’t necessarily need to defeat them myself.
I just need to keep them occupied.
Time is until Rene defeats the other intruders and returns here.
There’s no need to use the power of the Grim Reaper. If I control my magic power well, I won’t reveal my identity.
Of course, I don’t know what will happen if they turn out to be someone beyond my expectations.
Well, for now, there isn’t any good method anyway.
Once I’ve decided, I should act right away.
Before the opponent makes a move.
I pose.
I place my hands on my waist and raise my middle finger.
The opponent flinches at my action.
Then, I immediately dashed to a wide area.
I heard a sound of pursuit. I never thought such a simple provocation would work.
I quickly scanned for something that could be used as a weapon and found something suitable.
I ran towards the flower bed, grabbed the trowel, and got into position.
The intruder stopped in their tracks at the sight of me.
They covered their face with their hands and lowered their head, their shoulders trembling.
After a moment, the opponent raised their head and removed their hands.
“Hey, kid. Do you really think that will work?”
There was a tone of mockery in their voice.
And it was a voice I had heard somewhere before.
As I tried to remember who it was, I stopped my thoughts and tightly gripped the trowel.
I need to focus on what’s in front of me now.
Surely, dealing with such a shabby thing would be difficult.
Even if I enhance my body and the trowel with magic, it would be insignificant compared to the total amount of magic they possess.
But they say a weapon can change depending on who wields it. So I won’t know unless I try.
I shrugged lightly at their sneering laughter.
I could hear the faint sound of their derisive chuckle.
‘Now…!’
I quickly grabbed the watering can from the flower bed and threw it at them.
The watering can, with the momentum of a projectile, soared fiercely towards its target: their head.
For an ordinary person, it would be no surprise if their head burst open from such power.
But the watering can came to a halt just inches away.
Sizzling─.
The watering can froze slowly in mid-air.
‘Is that their power…? Ice magic… What a troublesome ability. I have to be cautious in this fight.’
The watering can cracked and shattered.
Normally, I would have been surprised by their ability, but instead, I stomped the ground.
The opponent showed signs of astonishment at my bold move.
In an instant, I dove into their space and thrust the trowel towards their heart.
At that moment, I felt their magic gathering towards the area of their heart.
Defense, is it?
They must think it’s difficult for me to pierce through with this power.
Without hesitation, I changed my actions.
While flipping backward, I aimed a kick at a new target.
The opponent appeared to be flustered by the sudden change in attack, and as a result, my kick connected to their chin.
The opponent cradled their reddened chin, losing balance and stumbling.
Not missing the chance, I charged at them the moment my feet touched the ground.
And once again, I thrust the trowel.
Whack! But it was blocked by something solid, failing to pierce their heart.
‘Damn…!’
“How dare you…!”
With a voice laced with anger, the opponent quickly extended their arm toward me.
I pressed my hand against their arm, using it to lift myself up and seamlessly roll behind them.
The moment my feet touched the ground.
I followed up with a spinning kick.
Thud! The opponent groaned as I struck their side.
With a slight wobble, the opponent screamed and turned, swinging their arm widely.
I simply ducked to dodge and quickly grabbed the swinging arm, pressing my back against their torso. With all my strength, I lifted them and slammed them to the ground.
Boom!
Enhancing my body with magic allows even a child’s physique to perform a move like this easily.
“Gah…”
I mounted their body, clenching my fist tightly, and repeatedly struck their chest.
Thud! Thud! Thud!!! The heavy sounds echoed.
Though my fists belonged to a child, the strength with which they were reinforced with magic hurt far more than any normal punch.
The opponent let out pained groans, their body twitching.
‘Damn, it’s tougher than I expected.’
I did feel a connection with my strikes.
Normally, it would be perfectly normal for bones to be shattered and organs to be damaged, leading to death.
But perhaps because the opponent also enhanced their body with magic, I didn’t feel any breaking bones.
Rather, the more I hit, the more my own fists hurt. Still, since they were in pain, I didn’t stop.
“Urrgh!”
The opponent exploded with magic, their body flying through the air.
As they fell to the ground, I quickly positioned myself to land safely by using my hands on the ground and dashed back towards them.
The opponent had just barely managed to rise to their feet.
I must not give them a chance to breathe.
Their fists came charging towards me savagely. I twisted my neck to dodge and surged angrily towards them.
I struck them directly in the chest.
Urgh, the opponent recoiled two steps back.
Without a moment’s delay, I unleashed a barrage of attacks.
The opponent groaned, gradually being pushed back.
Despite attempting to block my strikes and counterattack, their blows barely grazed me.
In fact, their attacks were so large and full of openings that it gave me the opportunity to increase my own strikes with even more force.
‘What the…? I thought they would be strong. But it’s nothing special.’
The opponent also seemed to not be revealing their true power.
Rather, it looked like they were trying to refrain from using magic, perhaps to not call attention around them.
It was essentially a fight based on our martial skills.
‘Given their level of magic, I thought they were seasoned fighters. But they fight like total amateurs. Is it a clever strategy to throw me off my guard? Or… well, whatever. For now, I need to focus on the fight in front of me.’
“Urgh, this little brat…!”
Clearly irritated at being repeatedly hit by a child, I could feel the opponent’s anger rising.
However, perhaps because they let that anger control their movements, they became much more vulnerable than before.
In other words, it became easier to strike.
“Struggling… Just one hit! Just one hit…!”
Certainly, the opponent’s wild punches and kicks were destructive.
However, their movements were too broad and predictable, making them easy to dodge.
Even thugs wouldn’t fight like this.
“Ugh…! Why can’t I hit you? Why do I keep getting hit?”
Well, that’s because I’m mixing in feints with my attacks.
They seem to be able to read my attacks, but their body reacts slowly.
It’s easy.
Honestly, I don’t think I am particularly skilled in martial arts.
Everything I learned over time in this world was through experience. So I’m just at a normal level.
That’s why I fell short in martial skills when I faced Red.
But this guy is different.
They’re weak.
At least as long as I continue to press on with martial skills, I’d definitely win.
‘If things go well, I might just end this right here.’
As that thought crossed my mind, I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.
“Haap!”
I quickly halted my attacks and jumped back.
The ground I had been standing on promptly froze.
Continuing to retreat, the ground beneath me kept freezing as I moved back.
As I stepped back, I also picked up the fallen trowel once again.
As I retreated, the opponent’s attacks ceased.
The distance between us widened.
As we faced each other, I had a relaxed demeanor while the opponent was breathing heavily.
“Phew! Damn it, I didn’t expect you to have this kind of skill. Truly, you’re not just an ordinary brat…”
The opponent sounded frustrated, as if they were encountering a troublesome foe.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at their demeanor.
It’s not that I’m strong; you’re the weak one.
“Enough of this child’s play. Kid! I don’t have time to fool around here!”
I raised my guard sharply.
Tch.
I had intended to finish this before they could use magic.
Around them, cold air gathered, solidifying into form.
Dozens of small icicles appeared in an instant.
The opponent snapped their fingers, and the icicles shot toward me en masse.
I crouched down, kicked off the ground, and charged forward.
“No way…! You’re going to dodge all of that?!”
‘The direction of their attack is blatantly obvious.’
Dodging all the icicles, I burrowed in and soon arrived right in front of them.
I swung the trowel towards their ankle. However, my target was covered in ice and my attack was blocked.
Quickly leaping up, I aimed the trowel at their neck. But once again, my strike was neutralized by ice.
I must not give them the chance to counterattack. I continued my relentless assault.
Each time, my attacks were halted by ice.
The opponent was so preoccupied with defense that they couldn’t counterspell.
Then here…
I loosened my attacks for a moment.
As if they had found an opening, the opponent extended their arm, and I deflected it with my hand.
A freezing sensation enveloped my hand, causing me to furrow my brow slightly. I pivoted my body and aimed a kick at their side.
The opponent caught my foot with their hand.
My foot began to freeze.
I swung the trowel down towards their hand.
Crack!
Blocked by ice again.
“Now it’s over. Kid. You’ll turn to ice for just a moment.”
With a sinister voice, I returned a slight smile.
This is not the end.
I swiftly shifted my other leg, targeting their temple.
The strike landed, producing a heavy sound, causing the opponent to lose their grip in shock and stumble backward.
Of course, with the ice around, it seemed they narrowly avoided a fatal blow, but they were clearly shaken.
“What the…!”
Coldness gathered at their feet.
Crack! As I dodged, ice spikes shot up from where I had just been standing.
Channeling magic into the trowel, I hurled it toward their head with all my might.
As expected, ice materialized and the trowel was lodged in.
I kicked off the ground, clenched my fists tightly, and with all my strength, I slammed my fist toward the trowel’s handle.
The ice shattered, and without missing a beat, I dove in and tackled them with my head.
Thud!
My mask cracked, and a part of the opponent’s mask shattered.
“……!”
My eyes widened.
As I halted for a moment, the opponent seemed to notice something, touching their mask in realization, their eyes widened in comprehension.
And they narrowed their eyes, looking displeased.
“Tch! This is absurd. Something’s wrong. How could the protagonist like me be reduced to this by such a brat.”
Those eyes.
It’s Isaac.
Why? Why? Suddenly, my head flooded with confusion.
Yet I pulled myself together to continue fighting.
“Lily…?”
My body, which had been about to spring forward, froze.
Lena had come out into the yard.
Her voice was still heavy with sleep.
Lena rubbed her eyes.
I was momentarily stunned, my thoughts nearly breaking down. Did I make too much noise while fighting?
What should I do? Should I keep fighting? But if I do that…
Just then, Isaac’s eyes glinted.
I felt an ominous sense.
As he prepared to snap his fingers, I quickly picked up the fallen trowel and threw it at him.
Isaac let out a pained gasp.
Originally, I had intended to sever his wrist, but it only lodged into his arm.
His finger, however, did not stop.
Is he about to use the power of the Grim Reaper now?
With no other choice, I was prepared to raise my magic and incinerate Isaac in an instant.
However, in that moment, the daily life I had spent here flickered in my mind, causing my actions to hesitate just a fraction.
‘Hah…This is frustrating…’
That moment of hesitation caused a full half-beat delay.
Smack!
A crisp sound rang out.
I quickly dashed toward Lena and embraced her with all my might.
