Chapter 8.1 - Black-and-White Princess and Soul Dress [2] – part 1 (1/2)

8. Black-and-White Princess and Soul Dress [2] – part 1

As I enviously admired her soul dress,

「Hey! What are you standing around for? Quickly bring out your soul dress too.」

She said that ridiculous thing as though it was a given.

「Ha, haha… Sorry to disappoint you but, I can’t perform such an amazing feat.」

As I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head, she stared at me in wonder.

「…Eh? Are you… being serious?」

「Yeah.」

Unfortunately, I can’t summon a soul dress.

On the contrary, this is the first time I have ever seen a real soul dress.

As I said so,

「Puh… Ahahahahaha! Hi,hi-hi-… My, my stomach… my stomach hurts…」

She held her stomach and laughed really happily.

「HaaHaa…Haaaa… To think that a novice who can’t even summon a soul dress, gets to fight me, who is revered as the『Black-and-White Princess』…is unpleasant.」

As I thought that she would continue laughing just like before, she sharply glared at me.

(A princess with a wide range of emotional expression…)

I’m sure everyday will be fun with her.

And one more thing – I didn’t even want this duel. She coerced me into accepting it.

However, I predicted that it would be even more cumbersome if I argued here, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.

「Well it doesn’t matter. I will at least acknowledge your courage and guts. ーfufu, don’t think it will end in a moment, alright? I will fry you slowly with low heat, ok… I will simmer, and simmer, and simmer you!」

Unlike her elegant appearance, she seems to have a simple personality.

The gentle and dignified figure that I saw at the entrance ceremony was probably an act.

(…Certainly, I can’t summon a soul dress.)

But that doesn’t lead to an instant loss.

There are many other fighting methods other than a soul dress.

「ーHere I come, Ria-san?」

I asked, without the slightest carelessness, while still holding on to – Seigan no kamae.

「Eh, by all means.」

On the other hand, she was being cocky.

She released one hand from the sword and beckoned me with with her finger.

…Even I have my pride as a swordsman.

I can’t just stay silent after being underestimated to this extent.

「First Sword – Flying Shadow!」

Much faster than usual.

Much stronger than usual.

I shot a feint.

「Wh! A flying slash…!?」

She was surprised for a moment, but immediately entered into a defensive posture.

「-White Scale!」

The white flame formed a coil-like big shield and burned out the flying shadow.

「Hee… Seems like this will be a little enjoyable…!」

I used the blind spot created by her shield – to close in instantly.

Then, I immediately unleashed the next strike when I entered the inner side of the shield.

「Eighth Sword – Yatagarasu!」

「Eight simultaneously…!?」

Ria-san stiffened for an instant at the eight imminent slashes, but

「Kuhー Black Breath!」

She immediately burned the eight slashes with black flame.

(…As expected, really powerful)

Her soul dress ‘s ability to deal with every situation far exceeded my expectations.

When I confirmed by sight that all the slashes were knocked down, I tried drawing closer to perform a follow-up attack.

「Don’t come closer! – Draconic Roar!」

She spread black and white flames over a wide range.

In the face of an irregular ranged attack, I can’t help but put distance between us temporarily.

There was a big distance between us, and we fell into a stalemate for a little while.