Chapter 102-2 Tsuchimiya vs Asagiri 2nd
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
There should be 6 of them, but just before disappearing, there were 4 left.
I couldn’t clearly tell when they started to decrease, but why is there a need to reduce the number?
A way to save, huh…
Thinking it over, whether it’s magic or techniques, it probably consumes magic power if used continuously.
That ability is powerful, but it clearly exceeds beginner level.
So, the magic consumption shouldn’t be small.
If I think about it that way, it makes sense.
Himeno initially challenged me to a short game.
However, since I held out longer than expected, she switched to a long game as if it were play.
But what if her line about taking plenty of time is a bluff to hide that her magic power is running out?
In my fluster, she set up little tricks to lure me out.
I believed it was just play because of that line, but when I showed signs of escaping to the neighboring area, it was Himeno who panicked and charged out.
…Should I just ask her directly?
”You’ve done well to hold on. But I’m getting a bit bored. It’s almost time to end this.”
”Himeno really can’t hold back, can she? You should work on that, seriously. You’re going to play with me, right? Or are you already running out of steam?”
Himeno bit her lip tightly and glared at me.
”Did you notice…?”
”If you hadn’t charged out like that or been cheap by reducing the count, I wouldn’t have noticed.”
”Still, the outcome won’t change! Tsuchimiya-senpai cannot defeat me!”
Himeno let out a shout and dropped into a stance from a distance.
”Dark Craft!”
A dark sphere appeared 3 meters in front of me.
Just when I was about to activate a blast at the soles of my feet, Himeno surged forward.
I won’t make it in time!
Miraculously, I canceled the blast in a split second and managed to redirect her strike.
Himeno charged in and collided with my shoulder.
As I was blown away, I activated the blast and jumped into the air.
But Himeno was kicking off the ground, closing in on me.
I changed direction and accelerated with another blast.
For a moment, I created some distance, but it quickly began to close again.
My speed peaks the moment I accelerate, then it just keeps falling.
Meanwhile, Himeno’s speed, continued by her kicks against the ground, doesn’t drop.
She’s planning to attack me the moment I land, when I can’t concentrate on offense or defense!
I change direction again and speed up.
As a streetlight grazes my shoulder, I raise my body and activate the blast on my back to brake quickly.
It’s quite a shock, but thanks to the body enhancement and defense barrier from the Title of Brave Warrior, I manage to endure it.
Himeno, who had charged toward the streetlight, widens her eyes.
There’s no distance left to stop now.
Whether I dodge right or left, I’m a perfect target.
With my pole ready and focused, Himeno lands on the streetlight with both feet together.
Bang!
She uses the impact to spring back in a backflip.
The streetlight bent and swayed greatly.
Is this still not enough?!
I want to create a situation where I can take the initiative somehow.
Himeno always takes the initiative with her speed, and by the time I can counter, she’s already gone.
Instant transmission from darkness to darkness is powerful, but even without it, my chances of winning are slim.
I wanted to find an opportunity while Himeno was fixating and losing her cool, but she was calmly catching her breath, staring at me.
Has she already cooled her head?
In this gap, I check my condition.
I was concerned about the blast I canceled earlier.
The two blasts were on the verge of filling the magic circuit with magical power.
They are still there, lingering.
I’m not entirely sure where “there” is, perhaps floating inside me or nearby.
Just one more push and they’ll activate immediately, already in standby mode.
Is this what they call pre-casting?
Time-wise, it’s a tiny difference, but against Himeno, this tiny difference is significant.
If I can time it right, I might make it in time to evade, unlike last time.
Sensitively, if I increase the number of standbys any further, I won’t be able to control them.
It’s not guaranteed that I can do the same again, so I’ll keep these two as my cards.
”How clever of you. All that effort is pointless. It seems Tsuchimiya-senpai is in need of some tough discipline. After I immobilize you, I’ll show you plenty of love, so be prepared. I’ll train you until you can’t live without me!”
Whoa… she’s really angry.
It’s an incredible intensity, like a vice grip on my heart.
Cold sweat is starting to form, but if I back down now, I’ve lost.
”What? You didn’t know? I can’t live without Himeno anymore!”
”Wha!? N-no way…!!”
Huh?
Himeno’s face is beet red and she’s flustered?
”If that’s the case… then Tsuchimiya-senpai will have to retire right here!”
Himeno is circling around with her stick, but I’m using the streetlight as a shield and moving around it.
Just having a column in front gives the defender an advantage.
For Himeno, who relies on charges, this must be difficult.
”Ugh…!”
Himeno’s face twists in irritation, showing she can’t hide her frustration.
I can only wait for her to make a mistake in her panic, so this is a good sign.
But in her desperation, Himeno raised one hand and shouted.
”Dark Craft!”
Four dark orbs appeared, surrounding me along with the streetlight.
Is she here to decide the match!
The moment Himeno dove into the dark orb in front of me, I turned with my back to the streetlight.
I expect an attack from either side without interfering with the streetlight, but I can’t tell which one.
As Himeno burst out from the dark orb in front of me, I instinctively reacted with a start, but she didn’t come toward me and instead dove into the left dark orb.
At the same time, Himeno burst out from the front dark orb and dashed toward the right one.
The moment I witnessed that trick-like scene, I gave up on intercepting and activated Blast, jumping straight up.
Simultaneously, Himeno zipped past the spot where I was standing like an arrow from her left hand.
If I had hesitated for even a moment, I would have been hit.
I was briefly thrown into confusion; there’s no way I could have responded to her charge from that distance, no matter the direction.
I kicked the streetlight and jumped in the direction to break free from the encirclement.
If I stay here, I won’t last even a few seconds.
But if I can just get past this point, Himeno’s magic should be nearly depleted!
However, the moment I thought I had escaped the encirclement, a black Shooting Star shot out from the dark sphere and charged at me in mid-air.
Oh no…!
I swung my stick sideways at the approaching Himeno, but it was too late!
The stick thrust out by Himeno was faster and struck the center of my chest.
If I get hit with that momentum, I won’t come out unscathed, but Himeno won’t show any mercy.
I’ve been hit!
In just a fraction of a second, the outcome will be decided.
There’s no way to turn this situation around now.
I let my guard down, thinking I had escaped the encirclement.
No, I had been mentally worn down by Himeno’s pressure, and my concentration had slipped away.
A devilish smile appeared on Himeno’s lips, confident of her victory.
The stick extending from her outstretched right hand was aimed straight at my chest──
?
The figure of Himeno in front of me froze like a still image.
It wasn’t just Himeno.
I couldn’t move a single finger, and everything in the world had come to a halt.
Only my consciousness was gazing at the world, which seemed to have been ejected from the timeline.
Then, the ringing in my ears began to grow louder, echoing in my head at a deafening volume.
An image floated beyond that sound, spreading before my eyes while painting over reality.
I know this sensation.
It’s a divine revelation!
Why now, of all times!?
Ignoring my doubts, the image began to move.
* * *
A fierce sense of déjà vu and discomfort washed over me.
Under the starry sky, Himeno stood there, glaring at me.
I knew this place—the rooftop of Dormitory C.
In other words… this was it.
”You’ve come back to me, haven’t you? I’ve been waiting for you, Tsuchimiya-senpai.”
Himeno said in a sultry, terrifying voice.
Her short hair, which should have been styled, had grown down to her chest, and her youthful features had transformed into an extraordinarily seductive allure.
Draped in a black cloak over her Academy uniform, she held the black spear Izayoi in her hand.
And just getting closer felt like being physically crushed by an overwhelming aura.
I approached Himeno with a rugged face carved by sorrow, undeterred by that oppressive aura.
”Long time no see, Himeno. I came to stop you.”
Raising my head, I noticed I was wearing a tattered uniform, gripping an early model of the Kondou Spear with a knife tied to the end.
My long hair was carelessly tied at the back of my head.
Catching sight of the light blue ribbon holding my hair, my chest tightened painfully.
That’s Higurashi’s *keepsake*…
At that moment of understanding, the compressed memories flooded my mind.
”It’s useless. Tsuchimiya-senpai can’t win against me. Don’t you understand yet? It might hurt a little, but please bear with it. I’ve prepared a big house for Tsuchimiya-senpai. It’s our love nest.”
What was visible in Himeno’s eyes now was just a hint of that.
In those eyes, which smiled so happily, madness was swirling clearly.
”You have no intention of listening to me, do you…”
”We’ll have plenty of time to talk in bed later. But first, I have to catch Tsuchimiya-senpai. Hehe, I won’t let you escape anymore.”
The air between Himeno and me grew thicker with pressure.
Yet, the overwhelming influx of information drowned out that scene.
My head began to throb with a pain from information overload.
I could barely grasp just a fragment of it.
Even so, I got the general flow of things.
Today, I lost to Himeno and was thoroughly taken, as she had declared.
It was an act to impress upon me both mentally and physically that I couldn’t win against Himeno.
When I woke up, I found myself in some basement, and I wasn’t allowed to leave.
At night, Himeno would come to embrace me.
Himeno was kind, and I was never in need of food or shelter, but I was completely cut off from outside information.
I felt that Himeno’s glimpses of madness were getting stronger by the day.
Himeno wouldn’t listen to any inconvenient stories.
When I expressed a desire to go outside, she would get upset and I would be thoroughly drained.
Even after a long time, the situation hadn’t changed much.
After they found out that I was pretending to play games during the day while I was training, multiple women were constantly hanging around me, and I was immersed in pleasure 24 hours a day.
One day, I lost track of how much time had passed, but I managed to escape from the basement of Building C with the help of an unfamiliar girl.
The scene outside exceeded my imagination.
Himeno was not just the queen of the Academy but ruled over more than 20 schools, fiercely competing against 2 other massive factions.
Her reign was nothing short of brutal.
She was feared as a demon lord, showing no mercy to either enemies or allies.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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