27 Chapter 27: The Sword Sain (1/2)
I managed to parry the first few blows from Minamoto Kureha, but she delivered a vicious series of attacks that almost knocked my staff out of my hands. Dropping down, she sliced from below, presumably to get under my guard, but I succeeded in blocking her blade with the thick shaft. Undeterred, Kureha spun around with a slash at my neck, which I barely deflected in time by hastily pulling my staff back and blocking it.
Twisting her body like a serpent, Kureha spun around and kicked my knee, almost bringing me down. I dropped to a kneeling position, but managed to raise my staff in time to block her next strike, which would have cleaved me from my shoulder if I didn't react fast enough.
My staff glowed as I prepared to unleash a Shadow Lunar Fang at pointblank range, but sensing the danger, Kureha leaped up and kicked me in the chest, catching me by surprise. I stumbled back and rolled, managing to shakily rise to my feet before parrying Kureha's next blow. She twisted her blade and slashed again, forcing me on the back foot.
Minamoto's good, I thought grudgingly, impressed. She's not giving me any time to cast any of my spells.
Without my magic, I was inferior to Kureha in terms of melee combat, and she was capitalizing on her advantage. I felt myself being pressured, perspiration forming in my brow as I struggled to fend off blow after blow.
Fortunately, my magic wasn't the only trick I possessed.
While Kureha was occupied with killing me, my zombies had circled around for an attack from the flank. Silently, stealthily, they swung their swords from behind, their dead bodies still retaining a measure of their martial skills from when they were alive.
But their opponent was a hero.
In a movement I thought impossible, Kureha spun around to parry their strikes in swift, precise movements. She kicked out at me before I could swing my staff, catching me off guard and sending me stumbling back, and then knocked away the zombie knights. Despite their heavy armor, her blade found gaps in their defense and carved through their rotting flesh and bones, causing them to stagger or retreat while moaning.
They couldn't feel pain, but the instinct that was hammered into them during training when they were alive stuck true and they fell back before Kureha could do any real damage. She made to pursue, but I was swinging my staff at her from the back. As usual, she responded with godlike reflexes, spinning around to knock my staff away and even had the luxury to retaliate with a counterattack. I twirled my staff, knocking her blade away from my heart, and took a step back.
Kureha glared at me, revulsion clearly etched across her pretty face.
”Desecrating the dead…that's quite the foul magic you have.”
”You should have just let us kill you and stay dead!” she snapped.
”Why?” I snorted. ”Why do I have less a right to live than any of you? What's the difference between you and me?”
”You're just Tanaka,” Kureha sneered. ”A pathetic, weakling loser. That's how the world works. The strong eat the weak and live. The weak succumb to the strong and die. Know your place.”
”Somehow you have no idea what the concept of strength is, or you are so delusional that you refuse to acknowledge the possibility that I might be stronger than you.” To emphasize my point, I slowly spun Tsukishima's staff to taunt Kureha. ”You can deny it all you want, but the results speak for themselves.”
Kureha shrieked in fury, realizing that I was indirectly admitting to having killed her best friend, and lunged forward in rage. Her blade disappeared into a silver blur, her movements far too fast for me to follow. Despite my best efforts, blocking with my staff, cuts and wounds ripped open in my hands, shoulders and body. I stumbled back, bleeding profusely from multiple cuts. They were mere flesh wounds, but at this rate I might bleed out.
If I wasn't an undead.
”Huff…”
I knocked away another powerful slash from Kureha before jumping back to place as much distance between us as possible. Panting, I watched my opponent from afar while using the opportunity to take a breather. Even though it was a short moment, my superficial injuries were rapidly healing, closing up and disappearing.
”You…”
Kureha's eyes narrowed when she noticed my unnatural rate of regeneration. She instinctively understood that it was not a normal healing spell.
”It matters not,” she murmured, holding her sword parallel to the ground. ”Heal yourself as much as you want. I'll just make sure to deal so much damage that even your rate of regeneration can't keep up with my attacks.”
I stepped back, and then braced for the next strike. However, Kureha literally disappeared from view. Blinking, I stumbled back and raised my staff instinctively, but a fountain of blood spurted from my body. Realizing that I had been viciously eviscerated, I fell to my knees. Another slash appeared, severing my arm from my shoulder and causing both the amputated limb and my staff to fall onto the ground helplessly.
When did she…?
I stumbled back and turned around, only to see that Kureha was now standing behind me, flicking the blood off her sword. She stupidly had her back to me, acting cool and all that. It would have been a fatal mistake, had I been in any position to do anything about it.
As it was, she was easy prey for my zombies.
Kureha narrowed her eyes as my zombie knights pounced on her from all directions. Raising her sword, she uttered a vow.
”Don't worry. I'll make sure you all rest in peace.”
I almost couldn't see her next movements. She sashed up so swiftly at the first one that he was in pieces before he could reach her. Before his many body parts even reached the ground, Kureha was already moving on to the next zombie, slicing through his armor and sending him spinning to the ground with a groan. She kicked a third one before taking his head off, then spun around to block the attacks from the fourth and fifth one. Her blade twisted slightly, and suddenly both assailants stumbled back, their arms detached from their shoulders.
Amazing.
Even though Kureha was an enemy, I couldn't help but be impressed by her display. Knowing that I would lose more zombies if I pressed the attack, I called them off. Reacting to my mental command, the remaining seven jumped back, returning to where their horses were. Kureha frowned as she warily watched them retreat, but she made no move to pursue. Instead, she turned to glower at me.
The supposedly fatal wound that she had dealt me was now closing up, the huge gash across my chest and stomach knitting and mending along with my internal organs. My right arm had reconnected to my stump by strands of blood, which was pulling the limb together and restoring it to its original condition, almost as if I never had my arm cut off in the first place.
Kureha scowled.
”You…what manner of monster are you?”
”A different kind of monster from you, Kobayashi and the others,” I replied. ”A monster that doesn't go around bullying and murdering someone just because you perceive him as weak and pathetic.”
”Shut up!”
Unable to believe that she couldn't defeat or kill me, Kureha lunged at me again. I fired off a Doombolt, but she gracefully twisted her body in midair and dodged it. Landing on her feet, she bounced off the ground to propel herself toward me again, her blade slashing at incredible speed. By now, I had slightly acclimatized to her godlike speed and was able to properly parry her strike this time. I dug my feet in as I struggled to endure Kureha's strike, but even though she was a girl with a slightly smaller frame, she was physically stronger than me.
”Whoa!”
I found myself actually lifted off my feet. Making use of my momentum, I allowed myself to be hurled backward, widening the distance between us. Kureha, refusing to give me a moment's rest, sprang at me once again.
”Huff…!”
I blocked her slash, but just barely. A cut opened up on my cheek and shoulder, but they quickly closed up a few seconds later. Kureha scowled at the sight and intensified her attacks. While she did so, the zombie horses that I reanimated charged from behind.
”You…!”
Kureha turned around and decapitated the first horse, sending its skeletal head flying. She jumped and sailed over the second horse, slashing its flank, but because it was an undead, a wound that would be mortal to a…well, mortal, was otherwise shrugged off. Feeling no pain or fear, three horses charged at her, neighing terrifyingly, but she cut them down in short order. Her sword flashing, she spun around to snarl at me.
”I swear, I'll destroy you and your foul magic! How dare you desecrate the dead?!”
”Funny hearing that from a hypocritical bully like you.” I shook my head in disgust. ”You really should get off your uh, high horse.”
As I said that, one of the zombie horses sought to trample her, but without even looking back, her blade lashed out and sliced the undead beast into two.
”Welp…” I muttered. ”Seven zombie knights and seven undead horses left.”
Kureha wasn't listening. She was lunging at me again, her sword turning into a brilliant, divine display of slashes. I managed to fend off the first four attacks, but her next three attacks gouged out huge chunks of flesh from my chest and body. Grunting in pain, I fell back, dodging under her sword, but she kicked me in the solar plexus and sent me flying through the air.
”Gah!”
I crashed onto the ground, sliding and leaving a broken trail in the soil. Heaving, I closed my eyes for a moment as I let my Regeneration kick in and heal my wounds. Kureha wasn't patient or merciful enough to give me the opportunity, for she was closing in almost immediately.
I flipped over whole skidding backward, throwing out one hand to grab the ground while raising my staff with the other. Kureha slashed forcefully, her blade clashing against mine. Sparks flew as metal screeched against metal, and I was forced to use two hands to endure her superior physical strength. Grunting, I twirled the staff to force her off, but Kureha managed to leave a deep scratch on me somehow.
”Kuh…!”
I stumbled back, clutching my wounded shoulder with my left hand. Blood dripped from beneath my fingers, but it closed up soon enough. Kureha scoffed when she saw that, and she wasted no time coming at me again.
I stood my ground as she lunged, but this time, she switched her tactics. Her hand seemed to almost disappear as she delivered countless thrusts that moved at the speed of light. Try as I could to block the pinprick points, I was unable to avoid no less than a dozen stab wounds where her blade found openings with uncanny precision.
”Argh!”
Staggering backward, I swung my staff to knock her away, but Kureha casually deflected my heavier weapon before countering with a riposte that opened up a new wound. Huffing, I unleashed a Corrupting Darkness spell at close range by slamming my staff into the ground. Despite being buffeted by the encroaching miasma, Kureha didn't seem affected at all.
Her pristine, silver armor blazed, defensive runes gently glowing as they reacted against the dark curse. Never mind her unblemished snow-white skin – there wasn't even a smudge on the white and red dress and miniskirt she wore underneath her armor.
”Your pathetic spells won't work against me.”
With a sneer, Kureha slashed me. A blast of divine energy sent me tumbling away, smoldering. This time, I allowed the momentum to carry me away to a safe distance. Dropping to the ground, I rolled away before slowly rising to my feet.
”Huff…”
Breathing heavily, I glanced up at Kureha mercilessly closed in on me. Twirling my staff, I smacked her sword away before getting another slash across my chest. Blood dripped from my wounds as my breathing grew labored, and I allowed myself to be pushed back. Kureha launched another heavy swing that exploded with holy magic, and I allowed the blast to hurl me backward. My body singed, I flipped in midair to land on my feet.
”Hah…”
I exhaled. The old wounds were already closing up, leaving no trace of a scar. Kureha frowned, a hint of frustration creeping into her expression.