83 Chapter 83: Schemes and Conspiracies (1/2)
A few minutes ago, in the forging room, Lilith was seated across Nagano Nanaka. Aoyama Aoi stood beside Nagano, his figure giving off assurance in what seemed like an otherwise tense confrontation.
However, Nagano continued to smile warmly, placing her cup of tea back on the table in an elegant manner.
”Give Tanaka-kun's broken sword to me, Lilith-san.”
Lilith watched her, her face seemingly devoid of emotions.
”I'm sorry.”
She rose to her feet and drew her blood-red spear.
”But Tomoyuki-kun never told me to so.”
She calmly leveled her spear and pointed it at Nagano, as if issuing a challenge. Lowering her head apologetically, she continued.
”Also, I would like to apologize again for this discourtesy.”
She swung her lance.
At that moment, Aoyama also made his move and lunged forward.
Crossing his scythes, he parried Lilith's spear and held firm, narrowing his eyes as he scrutinized her.
”Did Tanaka-kun tell you to attack us?”
”Hmm…”
Lilith smiled mischievously.
”You don't need to know that~”
With a single swing of her spear, she forced Aoyama back, causing him to stagger several steps from the sheer force of her blow.
However, Aoyama was not to be outdone.
He unleashed a counterattack of his own, his swift strokes disappearing into a blue blur that was too fast for the normal human eye to follow.
Unfortunately, Lilith was not a normal human.
She parried his strike, twirling her spear almost casually. The two of them charged at each other, disappearing into blur and red blurs that zipped across the room.
Right in front of Nagano's eyes, the two superhumans' exchange sliced the table apart into pieces. However, Nagano didn't seem the least bit fazed by the violent duel, and calmly remained in her seat to sip her cup of tea, which she had taken off her broken table.
She smiled, already knowing the outcome of the duel.
”Give up,” Aoyama commanded.
Lilith merely smiled as she parried another strike from his scythes. This time, it was Aoyama who forced her back with an incredibly strong blow. Skidding backward, she spun her spear around and slammed it into the ground to stop her slide.
”Why should I?”
Lilith lifted her spear from the large crack she had just pierced into the ground and elegantly twirled it back into an offensive stance, her lithe body curled and poised to strike.
Aoyama merely stared at the glowing digits that had appeared on the back of her left hand. Lilith followed his gaze and snickered when she saw the blue 17.
”I see.”
Even with the revelation, Lilith remained unmoved. She tilted her head as she analyzed the situation, her smile never leaving her face.
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”And since the one you guys need is Tomoyuki-kun and not me, you have no compunctions teleporting me away from here.”
Aoyama nodded. ”That is correct. Don't worry. We have no intention of killing or hurting you.”
Lilith's smile widened. ”Can you even hurt me in the first place?”
Back in the underground lair, Suzuki Shirou continued to engage the Demonic Shadow Dragon in furious combat.
”You dumb oversized lizard!”
With a yell, Suzuki slashed at the dragon with his golden spear while unleashing lightning on his foe.
”I'll show you what the true power of a dragon is!”
Lighting danced and spiraled around his spear, taking a life on its own and transforming into a bestial figure.
Divine Gate Chaotic Battle: Lightning Dragon Summon.
The lightning took the form of a ferocious dragon before it leaped out of Suzuki's spear and struck the hapless Demonic Shadow Dragon. The monster bellowed before it vanished in a golden explosion, tendrils of lightning spraying out and scorching the surroundings.
Suzuki landed behind the Demonic Shadow Dragon, his spear dripping with blood after he delivered a particularly vicious slash. Straightening himself, he continued to turn his back on the shrieking Demonic Shadow Dragon.
”Hmph.”
Lightning and thunder blasted out of the flailing Demonic Shadow Dragon, illuminating the dim cavern and temporarily turning its dark interior into day. With one final cry, the Demonic Shadow Dragon collapsed, the life leaving its body.
A distance away, Nishida Kensuke whooped and cheered.
”You won!”
Throwing a fist into the air, Nishida triumphantly crowed, watching the spectacle excitedly. But Suzuki merely stood there without turning to face the fallen dragon.
”Boss, what are you waiting for? Finish him off!”
Nishida urged Suzuki, who remained stationary.
”Idiot…”
Suzuki glared at the bewildered Nishida, and then turned to sneer at a shadowy corner of the cave.
”Couldn't you tell that someone has been watching us all this time?”
Swinging his spear, he pointed it at the corner, lightning erupting from the deadly tip of his treasure weapon.
”Hey…get out of there!”
With a single blast of lightning, he blew up the corner of the cave with impudent fury.
”The person hiding over there!”
Here, I had no choice but to interject, using my first person protagonist privilege.
”Uh, if you blow the place up and tried to kill the person hiding there, how do you expect him or her to get out and talk to you?”
”Ugh! Don't mind the details! And I'm not talking to you! Go back to fighting Takeda! I'll take care of the winner after the both of you're done!”
Back in the forging room, Aoyama continued to aggressively pressure Lilith, who was defending his blows with astonishing ease. However, Lilith wasn't toying with him. Even as she parried or evaded his strikes, beads of perspiration rolled down her face.
As expected of a hero. Aoyama wasn't going to make things easy for Lilith.
With another strike, Aoyama sent Lilith skidding backward. The vampire queen grimly lowered her spear and righted her balance before she counterattacked. Aoyama deflected her strikes and then dodged a thrust from her spear before lashing out with a kick from below. Lilith used her left elbow to block his foot, and then jumped back to widen the distance between them.
Aoyama refused to give her a breather and he pressed on. Realizing that she had no choice but to accept this confrontation, Lilith abandoned her efforts and met his charge head-on. The two of them collided in the middle of the room with such force that the ground caved in, turning into a cracked crater under the tremendous impact.
The both of them then sprang apart, widening the distance between them. As Lilith paused to catch her breath, she glanced at the back of her left hand.
The number had grown to 24.
”A few more attacks and this will be over, huh?” Nagano was still spectating the battle calmly. ”Good work, Aoyama-kun.”
”No.”
However, Aoyama shook his head and remained where he was, his expression perplexed.
”Something is off. That girl should have been forcibly teleported out of here already. She should have surpassed the 33 mark long ago.”
Lilith smiled, her eyes hooded. Aoyama felt a chill run down his spine.
”This is a trap…”
”Are you sure?”
Nagano furrowed her brow, puzzled by Aoyama's remark.
”But her hand shows that she needs nine more hits, doesn't it?”
Aoyama's eyes widened.
”Damn it!”
He glared at Lilith, who was slowly dissolving. Her body was melting away, turning into a human-shaped blob made entirely of blood.
”We've been tricked!”
Back in the lair, after Suzuki blew up the corner with his little tantrum, Nishida was reacting rather frantically to the person who emerged from the shadows.
”Aren't you that beautiful girl who is Tanaka's comrade?! Are you here to steal the kill on that dragon?!”
Unlike the flustered Nishida, Suzuki remained calm, but he continued to emanate a murderous aura.
”Speak…what do you want?”
”I need a favor,” Lilith replied as she stepped forward and lowered her two blood-red spears.
Back in the forging room, Aoyama was glaring at the transforming blob.
”This…”
”Looks like Bloody Doppelganger.” Nagano sighed. ”We've been had. That's a vampire ability, to create a clone of herself using her blood. She was never here from the start. And now it appears that the doppelganger ability has expired.”
At her words, the shrinking blob of blood was imploding and slowly disappearing from sight now that its purpose had been fulfilled.
”Eh? This is…?”
Aoyama noticed something strange. Even though the Blood Doppelganger had disappeared, the spear had not.
”A favor from me?”
Back in the Demonic Shadow Dragon's lair, Suzuki was staring at Lilith incredulously, unable to believe what he had just heard.
”Not you…” Lilith smiled sweetly. ”You will be forcibly teleported out of here soon, and will be of no use to me.”
”Boss!” Nishida shouted frantically as he pointed. ”Look at your hand!”
”Eh?”
Following Nishida's gaze, Suzuki noticed the blue, glowing digits of 33 etched across the back of his left hand.
This number…isn't it Aoyama's ability…!?