Chapter 183 – Aoba / The Desperate Magical Sword (2/2)

A secret technique that huge…that didn’t work. Hera returned silently after being knocked away.

「Taiyou…chan…a new…face…desu.」

「You need to…take care of yourself.」

A comment like that at a time like this.

Even with a response like this, Taiyou could smell something sour.

Hera began flying quicker back to Taiyou with no look at any of the others there.

Also, Shirokiyami had cut Hera back with a strong slash. You could see it was a long, sweeping cut from the wall behind, but Hera came back without any damage.

「She even…fell back when I cut…her.」

「I was told that she can only take damage from me.」

「Oh…」

「A strange thing though. You can physically hit her, but she can’t take any damage.」

「I guess that’s why you can call her the joker.」

「…geez, what should we do? I can’t go easy on her, and if anyone else attacks her, she doesn’t get a scratch.」

「It’s…fine…」

Shirokiyama nodded and walked forwards. You could see confidence in her face.

「What are you going to do?」

「Another 『Hakutei-hachirin』.」

As soon as she said that, she cut Hera again with her 「Gyakuten」.

She followed Hera bouncing along the ground, and cut her again.

The same scene occurred as before, a one-person rally.

After eight slashes at her, the last strike hit the ground.

Of course, Hera flew around not damaged by this at all.

「Impossible, I guess.」

Taiyou’s head hung.

「No…look.」

「Wha? What do you mean?」

「The eight…cut.」

「What do you mean, the eighth cut?!」

He reacted in amazement as the girl frowned back at him.

He remembered how strongly he had kissed her, and felt a bit guilty.

Without thinking, for a different reason, he was going to fall prostrate in apology.

But Aoba stopped him before he could.

「Natsuno-kun, maybe something…」

She said as she continued staring at Hera.

「Is the red light coming from Hera, getting weaker?」

「What?」

He jolted and looked at Hera.

Shirokiyami looked at Hera too after Aoba’s remark.

It was hard to see at first, but after staring for a while, they watched the red light from Hera pulsate weaker and weaker.

「So the power she took is getting weaker?」

「Power…she…took?」

Quietly, Shirokiyami turned her head to ask.

「Yeah, I don’t know the reason, but the thing she had before. She was hit by it and drew some kind of power, and it became power for her, somehow. I guess the words for it is…life…or spirit, something like that.」

「I…see.」

She nodded slightly and said,

「A magic…blade.」

「A magic blade…it does seem something like that.」

「So…a measure…of last re-sort.」

「Last resort?」

「Yes, against the magic…blade.」

After she whispered this, Shirokiyami walked forward and began her one-person rally again.

The same way, the same rally, and both returned.

Hera was at her wit’s end as Shirokiyami slashed away at her again.

Even more than eight time, never hitting the ground, the rally continued and seemed that t would go on forever.

Sometimes you could hear shouting, but not anything from damage.

They would have seen whomever it was cut to ribbons if it were anyone but Hera.

Shirokiyami continued slashing with a whuff, whup, whuff, whup.

Changes eventually occurred.

The red color emanating from Hera was now fading bit by bit.

It began to dull and the pulsation disappeared.

After this, Taiyou finally realized what Shirokiyami was doing and felt relief.

Dozens of minutes passed, and the broken sword finally dropped out of Hera, who now no longer shone red.

Just before it hit the ground, Shirokiyami kicked it and slashed at it endlessly in the air, cutting it into powder.

After all this was finished, Taiyou said,

「Don’t move, I’m going to strike.」

「Wha?!」

「With a punch.」

「You have no mercy, Natsuno-kun.」

With this, Taiyou finally felt that everything was finished.