Henson’s arm moved so fast it was nothing but an afterimage—
The Pitch-black Branch transformed into a dark meteor, hurtling toward Cassia.
Under normal circumstances, an object striking Cassia at this speed would blast a massive hole through the left side of her upper body, sending a spray of pink viscera everywhere.
“–!”
Cassia shifted to the right—by about 5 centimeters.
The Pitch-black Branch silently sheared through the fabric on her shoulder, passing through her fluttering blue hair before slamming into the area behind her with an explosive gust of wind.
First, the steel reinforcements supporting the platform deformed, followed by the frantic clatter of shattering glass raining onto the ground.
As the glass fell, Cassia swung her Sword.
To be precise, her brainwaves drove the Wraithblade to strike.
Hertanid unleashed a pink slash that ignored all air Friction.
Fresh pink intestines elongated into a whip-like blade, reaching Henson’s neck and embedding into his flesh.
“Kgh—”
In the nick of time, Henson dodged to the left with a speed so frantic it looked like frames were being skipped in a video.
Yet, he didn’t manage to dodge completely.
Shing—
Thud—
The former was the sound of the Wraithblade being retracted.
The latter was the sound of Henson’s entire right arm being severed and hitting the floor.
The first round ended.
One dodge, one strike; the two were like players in a baseball Game, except this version was lethal.
“Eh… Why… can you… still move? Is this why… the Master… took an interest in you…?”
Henson’s expression was distorted, his body drenched in sweat from the pain as blood sprayed wildly.
He pulled a tourniquet from his pocket and quickly bound the stump of his arm.
“Thanks to you… now that my left hand is holding the Blessing, it’s not convenient… to pull the S33 from my left jacket pocket… If I took the time to do it… that strange Skill of yours would hack me into pieces…”
Had he interpreted the slash from the Wraithblade as a Skill?
“……”
Cassia stared at him in silence.
She estimated there were still 56 seconds before the slowing effect completely wore off.
Beads of blood rolled down her forehead, and her clothes were stained with large patches of crimson.
This wasn’t caused by the enemy’s attack.
Just now, by using her Talent [Friction] to accelerate her internal metabolic circulation to flush out the gas effects, her blood vessels had ruptured under the pressure, causing her to bleed.
Her body could move slightly now, but it was still incredibly slow.
[How stinky… When we get back, I want to eat green Banana to wash away the taste. Cassia, this guy’s reaction speed is exceptionally fast. I should have been able to take his head off just now… What a shame.]
Hertanid lamented without a hint of tension.
[You’re still as ruthless as ever, Hertanid. Can you pull off a few more of those invisible attacks? Just cut off his legs so he can’t run away.]
[You have the nerve to call me ruthless? I can do it, but your current Magic supply is very slow. I estimate it’ll take another 20 seconds before I can swing as fast as I did just now.]
[Not at that speed? Then he’ll dodge it.]
After that exchange, Cassia deeply understood how fast her opponent was—so fast that even Hertanid almost couldn’t keep up.
But it didn’t matter.
With 20 seconds left, if she could just endure that time, she would have the power to counterattack.
Since the Wraithblade could cut him, this man’s defense couldn’t be that strong.
He could be defeated.
Just as Cassia was having Hertanid switch to a defensive mode—
“Haah—?!”
An ominous BGM seemed to play in Cassia’s mind.
Henson pulled out three more items shaped like branches from his pocket, identical to the one before.
“I have to end this quickly… There are 8 left… with 15 seconds remaining… that’s enough for me to… complete the Pastoral Service…”
Using his remaining left arm, Henson pulled back to throw.
[…I was wondering why the smell was like fermented herring cans that have been aging for fifty years. That man has more than one on him. Don’t touch even a single splinter of that debris; someone with a weak spirit could easily be devoured.]
Cassia wasn’t really listening; she was racking her brain for a solution.
8 shots.
If this man could fire 8 consecutive shots at that speed, Cassia wasn’t confident she could dodge them all—at least not with this slowed body.
The neutralizing speed of [Friction] couldn’t keep up; she would definitely be wounded.
Right, wouldn’t it work if she let Hertanid take the form of Ailulu and have her fight Henson?
As long as she could hold out for 15 seconds…
[It’s fine by me, but I’m connected to your Magic. If your speed is slow, my speed won’t be fast either.]
Dammit!
Cassia prayed for her body to recover quickly, even if just by a single millisecond!
Henson’s arm blurred into an afterimage as he threw.
Three shots arrived all at once!
Cassia’s concentration was absolute.
She desperately used her Talent [Friction] to accelerate the flow of the S33 gas in her body, but the black meteors were already before her eyes.
The edge of the Wraithblade attempted to intercept their trajectory—
The black meteors turned.
“—??!”
In Cassia’s vision, the Pitch-black Branches took a sharp 45° left turn, flying straight out of the platform.
Shortly after, a strong wind brushed her face, and her left ear caught a violent explosion.
The source of the sound was about 20 meters away.
“AT Field Defense.”
A slightly bored young girl’s voice rang out.
Cassia forced her neck and eyes to turn toward the sound.
Under the streetlights of the dark night, the dust from the impact cleared, revealing a girl with pale blonde hair.
She held a Small Leather Shield in her left hand, while her right hand held two ice creams. As she licked a strawberry-colored one, a chocolate ice cream was hooked between her fingers.
She looked at the ice cream with a look of regret as she slowly walked toward the platform:
“It looks like some dust got on the ice cream… Sister Tiya, what are you doing? Playing a Street Fighter match?”
Seeing his second attempt fail, Henson reached into his pocket, preparing for a third assault.
At the same time, Hill pulled an Anti-wolf Alarm.
Beep-beep-beep—!!!
An incredibly piercing alarm blared, drawing the gaze of many passersby.
“Ugh.”
Due to the sudden noise, Henson’s hand slipped, and the Pitch-black Branch dropped to the ground.
“Hill.”
The piercing sound didn’t affect Cassia much.
The time it bought allowed her body to nearly recover. She shouted a warning:
“Don’t—don’t come over! Call the Tuners!”
9 seconds left.
“How… surprising.”
Whether he was commenting on Hill’s Skill or the Anti-wolf Alarm was unclear, but knowing he was now the center of attention, Henson had no choice but to retreat.
Just as he took a step back—
“Both of you, stop right there.”
A deep voice rang out.
A tall male in a grayish-black uniform—one of the Tuners—appeared at the station ticket gate and raised his hand toward the two of them.
Transparent walls composed of dark purple hexagons rose, separating the two.
Cassia shouted immediately:
“That man is from the Evil Demon Society, be careful!”
The Tuner’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Henson’s actions, however, were faster than the opponent’s.
Hiding his hand behind his back, he crushed all the remaining Pitch-black Branches in his grip at once.
He also stomped on the branches on the ground, grinding them until they dissipated into the wind.
What kind of attack was this now?
Cassia kept her eyes locked on Henson through the protective layer.
Her body could finally move. She leveled her Sword in a defensive stance, preparing for Henson’s next move.
However, Henson’s behavior was completely unexpected.
Henson raised his one hand and knelt on the ground preemptively.
“I’m sorry… Mr. Tuner… it was my fault… an impulse of the moment.”
He broke into a cold sweat, explaining to the Tuner with a bitter smile.
“—?”
Cassia looked confused.
The Tuner glanced at the severed arm on the ground and approached the two.
The three of them stood in an isosceles triangle formation, with the Tuner at the sharpest point.
“Do you know him?”
The Tuner faced Cassia, his tone flat and indifferent.
“No, I’m meeting him for the first time. He told me his name is Henson.”
Cassia saw Henson shrug with his remaining left hand, showing a helpless smile.
She realized why Henson had crushed those blackish branches.
She couldn’t help but click her tongue inwardly.
He had destroyed the most direct and powerful evidence!
With a Tuner on the scene, she couldn’t strike him down.
“That was fast. You arrived before Hill even made the call. Uncle, you’re so tall. So it turns out there aren’t just beautiful girls among the Tuners.”
Hill came to Cassia’s side, remarking on the tall Tuner.
He glanced at Hill, said nothing, and instead manipulated the tablet in his hand to check information.
“A cold and aloof character, I see. Here, Sister Tiya, this is your ice cream, and this is a Healing Potion.”
“Eh? Th-thanks. Mm! I can drink it myself!”
Holding the ice cream in one hand, Cassia was force-fed a blue Hawaii-flavored Healing Potion by Hill.
Hill then used a Quick-Dry Towel—a Sacred Tool designed to absorb liquid rapidly—to wipe Cassia clean, making it look as though she hadn’t been injured at all.
The Tuner raised his hand toward Hill, and a dark purple Barrier wall rose in front of her as well.
“Huh? What are you doing, Uncle? Hill and Sister Tiya are together.”
“Because she said this person is from the Evil Demon Society, you also need to be isolated just in case… Also, I’m only 24. I’m not an uncle.”
The Tuner kept his eyes on the tablet while simultaneously deploying a light blue Barrier across the entire station.
It served to prevent outsiders from approaching and to stop those inside from escaping.
In a station splattered with blood (mostly Henson’s), Hill maintained a casual expression as if she had just seen a Cat or dog fight, nibbling on the waffle cone of her ice cream.
Cassia had occasionally heard that Siloque took his Sister into the Dungeon, but this mental fortitude…
Siloque had clearly been a bad influence on her.
Cassia licked her cold ice cream with her left hand while clutching her Sword of Love in her right.
“Sister Tiya, can you tell Hill why you two started fighting?”
Hill finished her ice cream and licked her lips.
Her left hand, equipped with the Small Leather Shield, was hidden behind her back, as if she were concealing something.
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