Chapter 116 - Circulatory System (18)

Since Sion accelerated to push forward, he had no choice but to be pushed back in strength while blocking from a stationary position.

The ankle artifact glowed again and she swung her sword at the masked man without giving him time to breathe.

He blocked above his head and barely managed to block the following continuous sword strikes.

After crossing swords a few times, she could tell immediately. What she had vaguely sensed during the entrance exam was now clear.

He didn't have what could be called proper sword techniques.

But he wasn't all show. Though rough like a wild beast, he occasionally showed proficiency seemingly forged in real combat.

The two pushed each other away after locking swords in a contest of strength.

Creating a ten-pace gap and entering another standoff, Sion furrowed her brow.

The man switched his sword grip and flexed his palm to work out the pain.

Magic sword Sibelin flickered repeatedly as if wanting a more intense fight. But she couldn't pour out all her power. There was no meaning in winning if the conditions weren't equal. Even delaying pursuit for a day after seeing the monster's corpse in the valley was to let him manage his stamina.

"...How long do I have to go easy?"

"..."

The man took a comfortable defensive stance holding his sword in one hand. 

Is he being leisurely?

Just then, carried on the breeze came a faint scent of perfume incongruous with the current environment. It was an expensive perfume worn by noble daughters.

"Where have you hidden the other one?"

When tracking traces, there were always two or more. This meant he had stationed a woman somewhere on standby.

"..."

Growing frustrated, Sion rushed at Candy again. This time she launched three consecutive strikes which he roughly managed to block with difficult movements.

Fighting him gave her a frustrating feeling.

Though she clearly had the advantage in power and technique, she couldn't completely overwhelm him.

It felt like slashing at a formless liquid.

After the three strikes, Sion spoke while locked in a contest of strength with their swords, "Going easy is now..."

Just as she was about to properly draw out Sibelin's power, Sion sensed something strange and hopped back like a skipping stone.

Then, she checked her sword.

Though she hadn't even properly exerted power, the light had dimmed as mana drained away.

Sion spoke as if finding it strange, "What did you do?"

The man was also looking at his wooden sword as if finding something strange.

When he wouldn't fight seriously, she glared and poured mana into Sibelin before giving a warning in a cold tone, "Last warning. Fight properly. Otherwise, you'll be badly hurt."

"..."

Seeing words weren't getting through, she changed tactics.

"I'll deal with your friend first."

She briefly concentrated and examined the airflow, looking for movement hidden in the fog that couldn't be seen with mere eyes.

And there was someone watching their fight from far away.

She immediately activated her artifact and rushed toward the figure hiding diagonally to the left rather than at Candy.

Then to secure visibility, she drew out the sword's power and swung it through the air.

Along with a strong wind, the fog in that area was temporarily swept away.

At the edge where the fog cleared was a blonde girl. Luna, the top seat of the Magic Department, sat demurely on a rock.

Their eyes met briefly.

Sion hesitated momentarily at the unexpected figure's appearance.

"...!"

Sensing killing intent at her temple, Sion quickly retreated backward with a backstep.

Soon after, a dazzling sword wave swept across the ground between Sion and Luna.

Rumble—Bang!

The sword wave swept through the fog before making contact with something, exploding with a sound that numbed the eardrums.

Where the sword wave passed was split as if by an earthquake.

It was a strike that surely would have left nothing of her bones had she taken it head-on. Even the strong-hearted Sion had to hold her breath for a moment.

Sion looked toward where the sword wave came from.

A pure white sword gleamed in the air through the hazy fog.

And eyes glowing like a beast watched her. It was exactly the same as what she had seen at Mount Grace's peak.

The man spoke from within the fog, "That's enough."

"...What?"

Soon after, Luna in front repeated the man's words.

"Yes... enough."

Luna swung her arm through the air. As if controlling the wind, a sudden gale followed her gesture.

Though Sion activated her artifact to move immediately, the wind direction changed and a powerful counter-wind interfered with her movement.

"...!"

The gale began to wrap around Sion's surroundings before enveloping everything like a tornado.

It swept up everything—dirt, gravel, fog, fallen leaves—trapping Sion in the center. The wind was so rough it was hard to keep her eyes open. She covered her eyes with one arm and swung her sword through the air, but it was no use.

She couldn't cut through magic with her sword.

"What is this...!"

She couldn't move. Her sight, smell, and sense of direction were all erased.

She hadn't expected Luna, the top seat of the Magic Department, to be grouped with the masked man. And she hadn't calculated that she would possess this level of power.

It was Sion's oversight.

When the wind finally calmed after a while, the masked man and Luna had vanished without a trace.

Sion stood alone in the devastated clearing, stamping her feet on the ground.

"..."

Her cheeks puffed slightly as anger rose at being completely played.

***

I held Luna's hand and ran for a long while.

After shaking off Sion, we continued even further.

Like that, we left the dangerous zone and entered our destination—the interior of the circulatory system's primeval forest.

Avoiding the fight was the best choice for now. Though Sion seemed eager to fight regardless of circumstances, using the magic sword would consume too much stamina and the fight's scale would become unmanageable.

This practice's true purpose was obtaining the fantastical beast's horn, not having sword fights to determine the strongest. We needed to save strength for more important matters.

We were safe from pursuit for a while since Luna's spirits were set to watch Sion.

Having shown the difference in power, perhaps her momentum was dampened. Even Sion couldn't handle Luna and me at the same time.

We took a brief rest in the shade of a large moss-covered tree.

I sat on a tree root, repeatedly clenching and unclenching my right hand. My sword hand still tingled.

I had engaged in the fight as a test, but after crossing swords a few times, I could clearly feel it.

In swordsmanship, I was still far behind Sion.

Well, since she was a Sword Master's direct disciple, it was inevitable that my foundationless swordsmanship would fall short.

I briefly checked Luna's condition.

Like me, she was wiggling her fingers while looking at her hand like an unfamiliar object. It was the hand that had contact with me.

Ah. The situation was urgent so I just grabbed her hand and ran…

I hadn't considered that she wasn't yet used to men's bodies.

"...Are you okay?"

Luna's expression relaxed as she answered, "Ah, yes."

Though fine for now, what worried me most was after practice ended. Now that Sion knew Luna was involved with me, she might go harass her.

Just as I was considering whether to negotiate with Sion to keep Luna uninvolved.

Luna carefully asked me, "Did we run away... because of me?"

"No, we already agreed to shake off Sion, remember? It went just as planned."

"Yes..."

Did she think we fled without settling things because her position was discovered? Though Sion's keen senses threw our plan off slightly, that wasn't Luna's fault.

Luna thought for a moment then spoke again, "Um... next time with Sion..."

"Yes?"

"...I'll fight too."

"No, there's no need for that."

"I was careless for a moment. Next time... I'll face her properly so she won't underestimate us."

Though she didn't show it much, Luna seemed somewhat frustrated at being caught off guard by Sion.

Is that why she did that? 

When we fled, she went beyond just disrupting Sion's senses to completely overwhelming her. With that level of power, even I would have been helpless like Sion.

I thought perhaps Luna might actually have good compatibility against Sion.

"Alright. But since it could be dangerous, don't step in front of me."

Luna nodded.

"Yes...!"

I brushed off the dirt and stood up, spreading out the map for our next destination.

Though we'd succeeded in optimizing our bodies for the circulatory system by consuming local food, we still had more tasks to solve.

We needed to enter the circulatory system's core. It would be nice if we could solve it by following the map, but that wasn't possible.

There were no paths inside the primeval forest and no landmarks to confirm our position. The trees were too dense to even check the sun's position. Even Luna's spirits were having trouble exploring paths due to the earth's overwhelming mana.

Moreover, our final destination—the fantastical beast's territory—wasn't even marked on the map.

The map only roughly showed the circulatory system's area in a fried egg shape. We had to enter the yolk and find the fantastical beast's territory with only a few hints.

Those hints were only two: that having a spirit summoner would be good, and that Blue Soul Herb would help.

I had come empty-handed when others got Blue Soul Herb from Rigbed since I planned to gather it directly inside the circulatory system.

I wasn't sure what it meant that having a spirit summoner would be good. Though I was already seeing Luna's benefits...

Should we start by looking for Blue Soul Herb first?

While absorbed in the map, Luna called me in apparent surprise, "Damian... there..."

I turned to Luna.

An unidentified pure white doll-like figure stood before Luna.

It was small, about the size of a cucumber with a semi-transparent body. Its eyes were small like embedded peas.

It was quietly looking up at Luna.

"...?"

"...?"

And it wasn't just one.

The unidentified things began revealing their forms gathered around Luna.

As if feeling an affinity with her, they climbed onto her shoulders and laid on her crown. They casually settled on her knees like sparrows on tree branches.

Before we knew it, they numbered over ten and filled the area around Luna.

When I approached Luna, some of them were startled and fell from her body, frantically running away, while others vanished their forms.

What are these things? Could they be spirits?

"They don't seem to be bad children..."

"..."

I slowly backed away from Luna again.

Soon after, those unidentified things revealed their forms around Luna again.

"But... they're very afraid of you."