Chapter 102 Tsuchimiya vs Asagiri 2nd
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
As I opened the door and stepped onto the rooftop, a sky full of stars rushed into view.
However, before I could focus on such things, the tense air that pierced my skin chilled my heart.
”Thank you for coming, Tsuchimiya-senpai.”
Riding on the night breeze, a familiar voice with an unfamiliar tone reached my ears.
I understood from its cold resonance that there was no intention of showing any mercy.
An image of a pure white hand reaching out from the darkness floated in my mind, and fear began to rise within me.
Turning my gaze toward the voice, I saw Himeno standing under a distant streetlight, clad in a black robe and holding a wooden stick longer than her height.
Though she had been in my line of sight, I could only recognize her as part of the background because Himeno had completely concealed her presence.
”Is something wrong, Himeno?”
As I slowly advanced, I focused on suppressing my emotions so that my fear wouldn’t be noticed.
I had always done this since I was a small child, but I didn’t really like this mode.
”Is there something… you could say that I’ve reaffirmed my love for you, Tsuchimiya-senpai, more than anyone else.”
”I see.”
Those words lightened my heart, and along with the white hand, my fear began to dissipate.
It seemed I hadn’t worn out my welcome with Himeno after all.
However, it was clear she intended to take me down for real.
Himeno, staring intently at me, wore no familiar friendly smile, but rather a cold smile as if she were wearing a mask of ice.
That only served to highlight her beauty even more.
”I’ll apologize in advance.”
”Huh?”
”From now on, I’m going to beat you, Tsuchimiya-senpai, and thoroughly violate you right here. It might hurt a little, so please bear with it.”
With an icy smile, Himeno quietly declared.
Was she planning to destroy my dignity?
If that happened, I would never be able to hold my head up in front of Himeno again.
Himeno seemed to think it was only natural that she could do this, showing no sign of considering losing.
The aura of an absolute strong person made my legs feel weak.
But I can’t run away.
If I do that, I’ll end up running for the rest of my life and won’t be able to look Himeno in the eye.
When I stood in front of Himeno, she nodded with a satisfied expression.
It was as if she wanted to say, “You came without running away.”
I guess that new technique of hers is complete.
Even without that, winning against her is going to be quite tough.
But I love a challenge.
I have no choice but to face it head-on.
If there’s a chance to win, it would be in close combat, but catching Himeno with my speed seems pretty hopeless.
I can’t hit her directly with my attack magic, but I can use it for movement.
I watch Himeno while confirming my own rules.
The only way to find out why this is happening is to win and ask her.
Himeno, wearing a mask of ice, looked pained in my eyes.
She’s forcing herself to suppress her true self.
Since I’ve done that for a long time myself, I can understand it all too well.
──Please take care of Himeno-san.
Kanon’s words echoed in my head.
”Shall we get started?”
Himeno raised her voice in irritation at my stillness.
Her right hand, which she swung down silently, gripped a wooden stick.
”I wish for your guidance.”
As I straightened my posture and bowed, Himeno widened her eyes in surprise and returned the gesture with a serious expression.
”I wish for your guidance.”
When Himeno lifted her face, we both slowly took our stances at the same time.
My senses sharpened rapidly, paying attention to every breath of Himeno, down to her fingertips.
From here on, even blinking could be dangerous.
If I let my guard down even a little, she could close the distance in an instant from far outside my attack range and decide the match.
I won’t get a chance unless I can survive that first attack.
Himeno jumped back to create distance.
It was clear from her relaxed expression that she wasn’t pressured by my presence.
Himeno jumped back 2 or 3 more times, increasing the distance.
This is already the range for projectile attacks.
Once she had enough distance, Himeno relaxed her stance and raised her right hand high, as if to show off.
”Dark Craft!”
At the same time as Himeno’s words, a shadow fell around me.
Something was blocking the light from the streetlamp.
Simultaneously, a dark sphere, less than 2 meters in diameter, appeared to the left of Himeno and in front of me on both sides.
The darkness magic that Himeno had revealed before.
There were 3 within my line of sight.
I couldn’t look away, but there was likely one above me and probably behind me as well.
A chill ran down my spine from a bad feeling, with cold sweat flowing.
Himeno slowly assumed her stance, wearing a confident smile of victory, and dashed into the darkness to her left at an incredible speed.
In that moment, I threw my body sideways.
Thud!
A heavy sound echoed from the area where I had been standing.
Desperately rolling to gain some distance, I tried to regain my stance.
When I turned around, Himeno was trembling slightly with her shoulders, having swung down a stick onto the place where I had been.
”Kuh… ufufufu… you dodged it, Tsuchimiya-senpai,”
Himeno slowly raised her face.
Her eyes were a mix of ecstatic joy and delirium.
”You’re amazing. I was planning to finish this with just this one strike. Just this alone makes me able to respect you for life, Tsuchimiya-senpai.”
I didn’t have the luxury to respond.
The reason I reacted to a completely blind attack from above was that I had considered this possibility beforehand.
The Shadowstride Cloak, which had an outrageous price.
It couldn’t just be an ability that lets one see through darkness.
I was now convinced that its true power, as the name suggested, was the ability to move from darkness to darkness.
This meant I had to be on guard not just for the attack from the front but from all the dark spheres the moment Himeno moved.
”But you’ll be fighting for the last time today, Tsuchimiya-senpai. From now on, I’ll fight in your place. You will stay hidden in a safe place until everything is over.”
”…That won’t do.”
”No way. I’ll make you listen by force. So you won’t feel lonely, I’ll love you every night, so please behave. If you’re a good boy, I’ll take you out on a date sometimes.”
So she’s planning to lock me up somewhere.
This is seriously getting out of hand.
Damn it, what happened to you, Himeno?!
Himeno’s twisted grin spread as a surge of pressure blasted from her.
So she’s finally getting serious.
The force almost overwhelmed me, but I used the blast to drive myself forward, closing the gap in a flash.
”!”
But Himeno’s eyes widened as she swiftly leapt back, my thrust missing its mark.
I’d only shown her the jumping technique so far, but closing in head-on still wasn’t enough—she slipped away.
”I’d heard the stories, but you really are fast. Even so, I’m faster. That trick won’t work on me!”
Seeing a new dark sphere form beside Himeno, I quickly retreated, putting distance between us.
It was a fair gap, but for Himeno, that might as well be nothing.
I braced myself, watching for her next move—
and the four dark spheres that had surrounded me earlier began to shift toward me.
Not good!
She can move them?!
They crept forward at a slow walking pace, but they were closing in for sure.
Two of them veered to cross paths between me and Himeno, weaving into my line of sight.
No matter what I did, I couldn’t keep her in view.
Meanwhile, Himeno—able to see through the darkness—had me in plain sight.
Through the gap between the dark spheres, I saw her take a slow, deliberate stance.
Then the two spheres overlapped—
and the next instant, I sensed killing intent from behind.
Twisting my body sideways, I barely deflected Himeno’s thrust.
I swung for a counter—
but hit nothing.
She was already dashing past me.
That first dark sphere beside her…
I’d reacted thanks to the distance, but of course she’d strike from a blind spot.
Even with that timing, my counter couldn’t land…
She’s watching me too closely—
trying the same thing again would be dangerous.
No guarantee she’d let another miss slide.
But maybe I could bait her with that…
I just had to hold out—
long enough to turn the tables…
but how long could I last…?
To mask my timid self, I pull up the corners of my lips in a smirk.
”…That’s amazing. Do you have eyes on the back of your head? But I’ve come to understand Tsuchimiya-senpai’s reaction speed. Next, I’ll make it a bit faster for you.”
Himeno grins with a smirk.
Though she’s saying something to break my spirit, there’s probably some truth to it.
Right now, simply dodging her is all I can manage; if we were closer, facing her directly would be dangerous.
What I can do now is aim for a counter from Himeno’s straightforward charge, but focusing too much on that is risky.
Himeno can play the game well.
She’s surely plotting to outsmart me somehow.
In the end, I’m being cornered without any moves left to make.
”Since I couldn’t finish you off quickly, I’ll take my time. Please hang in there. If you can’t hold out, you’ll be punished later.”
The dark sphere catches up to Himeno, engulfing her.
The dark sphere approaches me while still swallowing Himeno.
I step back to create distance, but the dark sphere behind me is also moving toward me, and at this rate, I’ll soon be trapped.
If Himeno suddenly jumps out from 3 meters away, will I be able to react?
If I’m surrounded and swallowed by darkness without being able to strike, it’s game over.
I feel nasty sweat trickling down, but I can’t wipe it away.
I can’t see Himeno, but she is watching me.
From the dark sphere on my right, I hear the sound of crunching small stones, but I ignore it.
That’s a trap.
There’s no way Himeno would make such a noise.
Knowing her position makes me want to strike first, but trying to locate her moving from shadow to shadow is meaningless.
Even if Himeno is there, the moment I launch an attack, she’ll move to another dark sphere and counterattack the missed strike.
Himeno isn’t in all of these dark spheres; she’s lurking within all of them.
Is this much simply impossible?
I’m keeping my distance from the dark sphere behind me, so for now, there’s no dark sphere at my back.
But I can’t let my guard down; it might be created without my knowledge.
I’m focused constantly──it’s been mentally exhausting.
A quick glance at the corner of my vision confirms that the iron fence at the boundary of the neighboring special room is closing in as planned.
If I can jump over that, I can buy some time.
”!!”
The moment I thought that, Himeno jumped out from the dark sphere right in front of me.
Maybe she thought I had let my guard down, but I was still cautious enough.
Still, it was all I could do to deflect her.
When I turned around, I saw Himeno pausing at the fence.
Is this a chance!?
As I tried to close the distance, Himeno moved sideways along the fence and quickly put more space between us.
As expected, her speed was too different for me to catch up.
I leaped over the fence and landed on the rooftop of the neighboring special room.
Himeno also clicked her tongue as she jumped over the fence.
The dark sphere that had been in my room vanished with a puff.
It probably disappeared because the distance became too great.
However, when I recalled the image of it disappearing, there weren’t many of them.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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