Popular title version: Tough Girl (Part 2)
If Aruba's only opponent was Fujino, maybe he could really escape successfully.
After all, Fujino is not a magician, nor is she like Ryougi Shiki, who has received training since childhood and possesses excellent skills. Apart from the magic eye and women's self-defense techniques, she has no other means of attack. Aruba is determined to run away, and she really has no other way.
However, Aruba's opponent is not only Fujino, but also Sakura, whose magic talent and strength are even higher than Shinji. During the time when Fujino was "hunting" Aruba, she did not stand idly by, but hid behind Fujino without saying a word, using Fujino's body as a barrier and writing three lines of spells in the air.
When Aruba thought he was out of danger, Sakura had just finished writing the last rune.
Before Sakura could move her hand away, these spells written in special grammar and sentence structure could not wait to penetrate into Sakura's body - no, not Sakura's body, but the shadow cast by Fujino on Sakura.
The moment the spell disappeared, Fujino's shadow suddenly bulged, as if it had changed from a two-dimensional plane to a three-dimensional solid. The position of the three-dimensional solid was not fixed, but moved between the shadows at a speed that was difficult for the naked eye to see.
One second he was in Fujino's shadow, the next second he was in Sakura's shadow, and the next second he moved to the wall of the courtyard... After several changes, the three-dimensional shadow image came to Aruba's feet.
Sakura, who had caused the shadow to mutate, slowly raised her right hand, and between her thin lips came out a language that did not belong to this country: "Shadow Apostle!"
As soon as the words fell, the raised shadow finally revealed its true appearance.
It was a monster between black and gray, about the same size as Sakura, with a spherical upper body and a group of long, stretched-out, fluffy lower body. It looked a bit like a jellyfish, but also a bit like an octopus's head with squid's tentacles. In short, it was a very stretched-out-looking monster.
The monster emerged from Aruba's shadow and silently struck him in the back.
◇◇◇
"Who are you?"
Araya Soren stared at the opponent standing in front of him, not even bothering to look at his own wounds.
The previous blow could be said to be a fatal one. If Shiki's second blow had killed three barriers instead of two, Araya's body would have been cut in half.
The first barrier that guarded the magician, Fearless, slowed her pace slightly because of its protection, so the magician could avoid the fatal blow. What surprised the magician even more was that the girl in front of him seemed to be a completely different person compared to ten minutes ago.
She re-adjusted her posture, changing from holding the sword with both hands to holding it with one hand. With just one change of movement, the girl turned back into the girl that everyone was familiar with. She coughed and spat out blood. If she hadn't been injured, she might have chopped the magician without stopping and cut off his head.
"Why? Is it because of the difference in weapons?" Araya was stunned.
The reason why Shiki became another person was nothing more than the method of controlling his fighting will that he had trained to the limit.
Long ago, when samurai drew their swords, they took killing and being killed for granted. It was not because of the mentality of being a samurai, but because they woke up the moment they grasped the hilt of the sword. The body existed only to kill, and the mind existed only to survive. This was not the level of concentration before the game, but the brain's function was switched by drawing the sword. It was not simply switching the body to fight, but changing the brain and body together to fight.
From that moment on, muscles began to move in ways not intended for biological use, blood vessels changed the direction of blood flow, and even breathing seemed no longer necessary.
That's right, they completely eliminated the "human" parts that were useless in combat and replaced everything with combat parts.
"The changes caused by self-suggestion are really amazing."
Hearing the magician's painful words, the girl answered him with a "hmm". The moment Shiki opened his eyes, this was the true face that Araya was afraid of.
The magician cursed his own ignorance. He had never thought that there was a tribe that had passed down this method to the present day. He knew that for the ancient swordsman, the distance of three ken (1 ken = 6 feet = 1.818 meters) was like nothing. The previous style might even be able to cover the distance of five ken in one step.
No one knows what she was like originally. Almost everyone identifies "using the Mystic Eye" and "fighting with a knife" as Ryougi Shiki's fighting style, but this woman is actually a killer with a samurai sword. Compared to her current state, her normal state is not worth mentioning at all.
"I was deceived. It seems that your fight with Arima Shiki was not serious."
Hearing the magician's words, Ryougi Shiki muttered, "No." and shook her head in denial. Her cold eyes showed that no matter what weapon it was, she was always serious.
This look made the magician realize - now, what did this woman answer? What is the container here? Since when did this opponent become unskillful
"So that's how it is... I finally encountered it...!" The magician roared while pressing on the huge wound that could no longer be called a wound.
The woman in the white kimono, the real Ryougi Shiki, smiled a smile that could not be more feminine than that, and rushed towards the magician.
Araya had no means of avoiding this move, nor did he intend to. He had only one goal - to get the current Ryougi Shiki. Even if he lost his body and only had his brain, he had to get what he dreamed of.
Gambling on the chance of victory, the magician moved forward.
"Scorpion!" While the magician was using the mantra to drive the barrier, he blocked Ryougi's sword with his left hand. The left hand with the Buddha's relics was still on his body. Even Ryougi Shiki could not cut off the saint's protection.
At the same time, the severed right hand moved, slid across the floor like a snake, and pounced on Ryougi Shiki's neck.
"!" A hand with a strength of a thousand pounds grabbed Ryougi Shiki's throat.
In this split second, the magician stepped back further and stretched out his left hand.
"Shh!" The last barrier was compressed with a momentum of collapse. Impacts from all angles came towards Ryougi Shiki's body with a force that could crush all the bones in her body.
"Ah" sounded before death. The leather coat was shattered, and the girl in white kimono fell to the ground. No, it should be said that she fell to the ground - the girl who made Araya wait for many years disappeared very simply, but Shiki did not want to let this opponent go. In the state of losing consciousness, the white shadow jumped up. She just wanted to kill Araya Soren.
The knife swung forward and stabbed the magician in the center of his chest.
The feeling of life disappearing makes the magician feel disgusted.
"What a joke!" Araya kicked towards Shiki at the same time.
It was a kick to the abdomen, like a gun, that seemed to penetrate it.
In an instant, blood splattered.
PS: In terms of footwork, Origin Shiki is stronger than Kirei. Kirei can take five steps in one step, while Shiki can take nine steps.
PS2: The real "two-timing ritual" is the "root ritual"