Chapter 39 (1/2)

Chapter 39

That’s that settled . Neither Misa nor the fan union can fight any more .

With the entertainment over I turn to Ray .

“……<Jie Gureido> huh? Could I cut it?” Ray mutters to himself .

“If you beat me I’ll let you have a go at it . ”

Ray returned a cool smile at my provocation .

“Don’t you need to collect that sword you lent to Misa?”

“It’ll take me too long to go and get it . Anyway, I’ve got another sword besides Initeio . ”

Ray showed me the sword hanging at his waist but as far I can tell it’s got no magic . It’s a simple iron sword .

“Are you using that poor looking sword to play with me? I can wait until you get Initeio . ”

“I’m happy but is that true?”

“Is what true?”

Ray unsheathes his sword .

“Your face is saying you want to start now . ”

Yare yare . I give up . That fellow sees straight through me .

“I’m fine with this sword . ”

Apparently, he’s serious .

He’s a thoroughly interesting guy .

“Then to return the favour I’ll only use a sword as well . ”

I pick up a handy tree branch that had fallen nearby .

“Even for Arnos-kun I think you’d be better using a normal sword”

“Why? You think you’re going to cut this branch in two with one strike?”

No denial or affirmation . Ray just smiled .

“If you have the confidence then try it . ”

I take a step towards Ray with no hesitation or caution .

His hand disappeared and the iron sword flashed momentarily .

“… . . Fuu… . . !?”

“Naive . ”

I swing the branch with all my strength colliding with Ray’s sword and overwhelming it completely .

A loud sound rings out and Ray is blown away . He’s sent rolling across the rumbling ground .

“What happened? I thought you were easily going to cut this branch?” I say to the fallen Ray .

This tree branch is reinforced with my magic . It’s much stronger than iron at the moment .

“… . Yeah……that’s right . ”

Ray stands up like nothing had happened .

“It’s the first time I’ve lost a point to an opponent with an inferior weapon . ”

“You look happy though . ”

“Do I? I’m completely afraid you know . ”

“Stop lying . Your mouth’s gone all loose . ”

Ray lets out a laugh and at the same time, he steps to the side but appears before me as if he’d used magic .

Besides its speed its a movement technique that cuts waste to the limit .

“Fuuuuu!!”

I could only see a flash of his blade like a trail of light .

“Fumu . A perfectly good blow . ”

I use all my strength to react to Ray’s strike .

Sword and branch collide and again Ray is blown away .

“Was that your limit just now?” I ask the fallen Ray who gets up easily again .

“Overwhelmed again . I thought I’d exceeded my limit then . ”

There’s no anger or offence in his voice only pure fun .

I felt like I could understand Ray’s feelings somehow .

“Is it okay to have another go?”

Ray sets his sword up . The movements so natural it’s like his sword is just another limb .

“Come at me again and again if you want . ”

Ray breathed in and stopped .

He concentrated his power in his feet and this time it wasn’t just his sword that turned into a flash of light but his entire body .

Ray accelerates at such a speed that even my demon eyes can barely see him .

“Fumu . This speed is far superior . ”

I up my power a level and strike Ray’s sword . As they collide their powers struggle against each other .

Ray had been one-sidedly taking my attacks for a while now and getting blown away .

“Splendid . ”

This time however, despite the fact I’d doubled my power he only fell to the ground in a defensive stance .

“Amazing . Your plan just now went very well . ”

First stage then the second stage and now the present which is better than the second stage . I’m having to put more and more power into the branch .

Ray seems to be getting gradually better at handling my attacks .

I’m not hiding my ability . It’s a real iron sword against me . I don’t have that much room to play around .

His words about surpa.s.sing his limit don’t seem to be a lie .

In other words, in the small intervals between our clashes, Ray is growing at a fearsome rate .

“……It almost feels like I’m remembering something…… . . ”

“What?”

“How to use the sword . ”

Ray comes again but this time there’s no speed instead there’s a strange thirst for blood in his eyes .

“Fuuu…… . !!”

“Slow . ”

I release my strike against Ray’s strangely gentle blow . His sword takes my power and wards it off .

That blow was probably strong enough to destroy a castle but Rays no longer receiving it head-on and is instead parrying and diverting the force of the blow .

Yare yare . I’m actually surprised at how quickly he’s adapting .

“You’re actually a big deal huh?”

He can’t divert all the force of my second blow though and loses his balance .

“I’ll give you a reward . ”

“… . Haaa…… . !!”