Chapter 117 - Senior Holy Knight and Sunny Land [8] (1/2)

117. Senior Holy Knight and Sunny Land [8]

After the surprise operation failed – we immediately moved on to the next operation.

Ria, Rose, Ben-san and the rest surrounded Rain, and I faced him in the center of the encirclement.

「Here I come, Rain!」

「Aa, come.」

Clad in dense clothes of darkness, I dashed with my sword in its scabbard.

The other party is one of the Thirteen Knights of the Oracle. I don’t have the liberty to wait and see what he does.

(Don’t think about pacing! Go all-out right from the beginning…!)

I stepped into the certain kill range and,

「Seventh Sword – Instant Flash!」

Gaining enough acceleration from within the scabbard, I unleashed my fastest slash.

(…Yoshi, it’s a success!)

Unable to react to the speed, Rain stared blankly at the Instant Flash approaching his side.

「-Hou, that’s fast.」

He muttered and pulled back his waist.

The horizontally unleashed Iai-slash, cut the air in vain.

(No way! He dodged it?! At this timing?! At this distance?!)

I was speechless. That agile movement did not match his big frame.

「Next is my turn…!」

Rain raised the long sword overhead, and swung it down with all his strength.

(Here it comes!)

I dropped my center of gravity and held my sword horizontally – and I defended the blow straight from the front.

「GUOOOOH…!」

From arm to shoulder, shoulder to foot – a tremendous impact ran through my whole body.

But I stopped his blow!

The difference in physique is obvious, but I am not completely defeated in a contest of strength.

「Huh, aren’t you quite strong? Or… Is it the power of that strange darkness?」

Rain said, staring in wonder. He probably didn’t think I’d be able to stop it.

「Well, I wonder which it is…!」

I sidestepped to the left and parried his sword to the side. And unleashed an attack with my full strength.

「Eighth Sword – Yatagarasu!」

A jet-black flash, branching into eight slashes, aimed at Rain’s whole body.

「Hou, that’s a good technique!」

He had a heinous smile on his face. And displayed a defensive technique frighteningly faithful to basics.

(This guy… It’s not just his soul dress and physical ability…)

A defensive technique so beautiful that it was like a dance. I was almost fascinated by it.

This is not something one can learn over a brief period of time.

It’s something you learn after repeating it endlessly day after day.

「Let’s continue.」

When Rain assumed a forward-bent posture, and took a big step forward,

「High King Style – Strong Strike!」

「Sakura Blossom One-Sword Style – Evening Sakura!」

「Flower Blossom Style – Turbulent Flowers!」

From the side, Ria, Rose, and three other swordsmen, attacked at the same time.

「Tsk…」

Rain dodged, parried, and cut down the looming slashes. It seemed like he cut through them perfectly.

However,

「Tsk… Did it graze me?」

A drop of fresh blood trickled down Rain’s cheek.

It seems that even Rain could not come out unscathed if it’s a surprise attack from five swordsmen with remarkable ability.

「…I see. Allen ties me down in one-vs-one, and when I show an opening, the surrounding『insects』will strike, huh…」

Understanding our strategy, he evaluated it as『not bad』.

「But still… I’m surprised, Allen. To think you can hold your own in a one-vs-one against me…」

I threw a question when Rain said that.

「You seem to have a lot of confidence. Do you even understand this situation?」

『Numbers advantage』in battle creates a tremendous difference in power.

At present, it can be said that the battle is leaning towards us.

「Oh, of course. Surely, I am at a disadvantage as is…」he said, shrugging his shoulders.「It can’t be helped. Let’s increase the number a little – Mimic Drop」

From the tip of his sword, two silver drops of liquid dropped to the floor.

The next moment, it gave off a mercury-like luster and the water droplets changed shape greatly and transformed into two life-sized Rain.

「「「Wha!?」」」

Our eyes widened before the unexpected situation.

(I never thought he’d create a clone of himself…!)

This is completely beyond expectations

Two Rains with an eerie silver body, stood side by side with the main body.

「Now it is three-vs-one hundred -『Numbers Advantage』still belongs to you. How troubling…」

The guy said so on purpose. Smugness plastered on his face.

It seems that those two clones have considerable power.

「…You’re using a lot of unusual abilities.」

「Huh, the same goes for you too, doesn’t it? Even your darkness can be counted as a second body.」

The conversation was cut short. And then,

「Do it.」

Rain snapped his fingers. With that as the start signal, the two clones rushed at Ria and the others.

(……)

I focused on the Rain in front of me, suppressing my rash thoughts.

(If I tried to cover them… That would be a poor move.)

If that happens, this guy will be free to rampage around as much as he likes, and there will be more damage.

So there’s only one thing I need to do, which is to hold down the main body by myself.