Frire shot out like an arrow, but meeting that arrow was another arrow, so the only result could be a violent crash.
There were no tactics nor strategies here, only the unadulterated contest of raw power.
Two warriors aiming for the other’s head as they gave birth to a symphony of sparks.
One laughed madly in delight, while the other smiled wryly with a tinge of playfulness in his eyes.
It was a battle between two powerful swords.
Swords so powerful they could only be called absurd.
With a thunderous roar akin to an explosion, the earth hollowed out and cracked.
In their onslaught, trees were thrown, the air rippled, and the mere residues and fragments of their clashes were enough to send raybeasts scattering.
These creatures normally known as threats to the everyday lives of people were – in this moment – mere victims.
That was how terrifying this disaster was, and it grew by the second.
“H-Ha ha ha ha! Good! Very good, Nakamura!! To have an opponent that wouldn’t break after doing this much, I’ve never felt better!!”
“Hah, it’s my honor, you
The two warriors yelled as their blades met in the air.
The woman laughed madly, while the boy’s face twitched despite his serious gaze.
“More, more! You can keep going, right!? Shirayuki, activate!”
〈Roger that. 〉
When she unleashed an attack powerful enough to create a small crater on the land, even the boy was forced to jump out of the way.
During that opening, Frire
There stood a silver exoskeleton with a beautiful luster deserving of its name.
It was so exquisitely designed that it could already be called a work of art.
Any other time, it would surely draw attention, but the person within it was laughing without any semblance of sanity.
“Hey, hey, don’t roger me. An AI that can think for itself shouldn’t be so submissive!”
“Ahaha, let’s go, Nakamura!!”
“You realize I’m not wearing any armor, right?”
Shinichi complained as he dealt with the blow that had become several times heavier.
Though Frire was once again clad in Shirayuki, not a hint of that divinity that resembled a valkyrie could be seen on her.
What was here was merely the mad blade of silver that could instill fear into any and all who so much as beheld it.
With eyes like that of a blood-starved beast, her attacks mercilessly swung down like a tempest.
Perhaps, even the boy could not afford to take that on directly, so he parried it instead, and stepped toward her.
“Hey, are you listening!? This is clearly against the rules!!”
Shinichi yelled as he suppressed her by catching one of her arms under his own and grasping the other.
〈 Potential Enemy N is recognized to be on the level of an S-rank raybeast; hence, there are no errors in this AI’s decision. 〉
But the only voice that responded to him was a nonchalant explanation.
Despite the nonchalance in the voice, Shinichi thought it was full of character.
“You think you’ve won just because you caught my arms!?”
With the female berserker unable to see anything but the battle, she activated the gimmick on the abdominal part of her armor.
As her armor there slid off, a hemispherical object appeared and shone in golden light.
This was a weapon the assault armor Shirayuki was equipped with for times when it found itself in a fierce fight.
“D-Don’t tell me! Hey! Let go!”
Before the boy knew it, the one who couldn’t escape was him.
It might’ve been because she had never had the opportunity to use it before that a crazed smile appeared on her face.
She was truly having the time of her life, but as far as the boy was concerned, there was nothing to be happy about here.
“Take a flight!!””
“No, you!!”
But before the hemispherical
As that headbutt descended right into her chest armor, the impact from it passed all the way into the pith of her body, sapping whole body of its strength.
Shinichi used that opening to jump back, but the moment he did, his back shivered.
The crazed color and ecstasy on Frire’s eyes had yet to disappear. She staggered, but she wasn’t out for the count just yet.
“You’re still in range!”
In the next moment, a golden light of destruction shot out of the nozzle straight for Shinichi.
With this timing, Frire was certain that her attack would land.
Murder was of course unacceptable, so Shirayuki wanted to reduce the output of the beam, but before it could, the boy took a step forward in defiance, and the golden light that sought to pierce him was split in two.
“Hmph, who do you think taught you this?”
As the divided lights fell, small explosions erupted behind that hollowed the earth.
the boy glared sharply at her as blazing flames and scattering dust erupted from behind.
Frire shivered at the sight of that, while Shirayuki’s AI just calmly analyzed.
“Ha ha ha, you excite me so much, Nakamura!””
〈 Revised threat level to SS-class. 〉
Excitement reaching a crescendo, Frire extended her blade horizontally against the ground, armor wings deploying behind her, and photons shining brightly as they waited for ignition.
Such a posture was no different from declaring her intention to charge, but when she bolted off, it became apparent that it didn’t matter whether she declared her intentions or not.
She was too fast.
In fact, she was so fast that even if they had enough to distance to jump back between them, it would not be enough to dodge or intercept her attack.
But of course, that would only be the case if her opponent were normal.
“Enough with those eyes already… Sigh, it can’t be helped. Consider this a special treat.”
Those crazed eyes were full of conviction – that even all of this would be nothing to him.
As he muttered amidst sighs, he changed his grip over his sword with both hands, then placed it over his shoulder and dropped his waist.
As he leaned slightly forward, he showed his resolve to meet her attack head on.
〈 Master, a high concentration of pure photons has been detected from the target. Caution is advised. 〉
“Ku ku, I knew it! You’re the best! Ahahaha!!”
〈 Unable to establish understanding. She’s not listening, is she? 〉
“You realized that just now!?”
It was curious if it was her crazed smile or his tsukkomi that acted as a signal, but either way, the arrow that was Shirayuki was released, and a ferocious assault propelled by a massive burst of photons charged toward the boy.
Just the afterglow left by that terrifying charge was enough to scorch the trees and crack the air as it approached the speed of sound.
Meeting it – if one could see – was a condensed and sharpened jet-black blade.
The dense concentration of pure photons that Shirayuki detected was none other than the black mana the boy released.
The strengthening of his body inside and out along with his equipment through his Magic Raiment Battle Law allowed him to surpass even first rate warriors.
“HAAa!!!”
“—!!”
The silver brilliance shot through the air as though it were trying to tear it apart as it sought to cut the darkness, while that darkness drew an arc with its blade like a sword cutting down an arrow.
A piercing silver and a slashing darkness. The two warriors seemed to blend as they collided, and then everything exploded, giving rise to thunderous roars and an impact strong enough to shake the whole field.
For a moment, the staff investigating the fields thought they were under attack again and panicked.
“…Yeah, I guess that’s about it for this. It may be Garesto-made, but in the end, it’s just for practice.”
At the center of that explosion was a crater with a diameter of 1km and two shadows.
The sword belonging to one of those shadows turned into dust before approaching the staggering shadow.
Despite staggering, though, she still had Shirayuki.
“Are you satisfied now, princess?”
“Ha, ha ha… It, felt great…”
Despite her eyes being covered by a visor, the happiness on her face was all too clear, but this was her limit, and very quickly, she lost consciousness.
At that, Shirayuki deactivated the exoskeleton, and Frire fell into the boy’s outstretched arms.
Shinichi quietly watched the girl’s vulnerable and innocent sleeping face as he held Frire, who was taller than him, intimately. Just awhile ago, such a face on her was unthinkable, and yet now…
“That’s good to hear… Unfortunately, my arms are all numb and my whole body is aching.”
The boy held her properly, but if one were to look closer, one would see that his arms were shaking a little.
Despite the smile on his face, it was evident that he was merely enduring the pain.
Although her attack didn’t hit him, the rebound and impact from it was just too fierce.
His armor of mana had blocked most of it, but it wasn’t actually possible to block everything.
But of course, considering the damage to the surroundings, just the fact that he got out of that exchange with just some aches was plenty abnormal.
〈 Thank you for helping my master release her pent-up stress. However, do be warned that should you decide to use your numbness as a pretense to move your right hand 5cm down and your left hand 3cm up, I will not hesitate to sue. 〉
Suddenly, an inorganic sound resounded to both thank him and warn him, causing the boy to knit his brows.
Frire was presently dressed in an inner suit that revealed her body lines.
His right hand was embracing her waist, while his left hand was supporting her from her side.
If he were to move his hands according to the instructions of the AI, his hands would surely find their way on her butt and her chest.
Though Frire was not known for her sexual appeal, that was only because of those unflattering jerseys she loved to wear so much.
In fact, she possessed enough curves to make any man salivate over her.
Presently, one of those men were holding that woman, who was in an unconscious state, in this place with no people.
That’s why Shirayuki’s concern was indeed justified, and were the other person in question not Shinichi, such a warning would’ve worked.
“You misjudge me. There’s nothing interesting about teasing an unconscious woman. Besides, just being able to embrace her like this feels plenty good on its own.”
After all, he was a man who would say such things with a serious face and even enjoy the sensation of embracing her.
How could threatening to sue work against such a shameless man?
〈 Although just barely, by a thread, in fact, I shall consider that a foul. Video and voice data are now being recorded. 〉
“Sounds great, show it to me later. If you want I can even forge a video of myself examining her thoroughly. I’m sure she’ll lose her mind when she sees it, ku ku ku.”
In fact, he was enjoying the situation and was even toying with Shirayuki.
The AI desperately racked her head for a way to deal with this situation, and in the end, chose to concede.
The priority here wasn’t the law, but the mind and body of her master.
〈…The master’s mental state has been judged to be of higher priority, the report is thus canceled. The recorded video and audio data will be promptly deleted, so please show leniency. 〉
Shirayuki was not human, so there was no need to mull over the issue, but while it took only a moment to arrive to an answer, Shirayuki still decided to note down Shinichi as a person to watch out for… For reasons other than his combat prowess.
“More importantly, do you know a place nearby we can rest at that people won’t happen into?”
Not knowing that Shirayuki noted him down as such, Shinichi asked that question.
No, even if he did know, he surely wouldn’t change his attitude.
He didn’t even pay any heed to Shirayuki’s request, as he skillfully changed his hold over Frire and carried her on his shoulder. Unfortunately…
〈Running a search for unsolved incidents of vulnerable women dragged to improper establishments. 〉
That was too problematic of a statement given the current situation.
To make matters worse, the way he carried the unconscious Frire just reeked with experience.
There was nothing wrong with Shirayuki’s judgment. Shinichi might not like it, but he was in the wrong here.
“You know, if you’re like that, even I’m going to get mad. There’s no way I could let her lie down in a place like this, now, could I? She may have asked people not to come here, but if she is seen like this, how are you planning to explain it?”
〈There is logic in your excuse, but the likelihood of it being nothing more than pretense is high. It is suspected that you are merely enjoying the master’s chest on your back. 〉
The exoskeleton may have been stored away again, but Shirayuki could still sense the situation around.
And those pair of mountains were indeed crushed flatly as he piggybacked her.
Surely, the boy must’ve been enjoying that.
“Ahahaha… Eagle eyes, but unfortunately, you missed the thighs.”
And yet of all things, the boy actually smiled fearlessly, while his hands caressed her thighs and firmly grasped her flesh.
But of course, there was indeed a need to grasp her legs to ensure she wouldn’t fall.
All the more so when she was unconscious.
However, depending on how one saw it, his actions could be taken as him taking advantage of her just as he said.
〈…Acknowledging the lack of data and the futility of further questioning. A search that matches the criteria provided will be run. For the meantime, exiting the crater is advised. 〉
The AI once again struggled to find an answer in this situation, but in the end, perhaps realizing that they would only be going in circles, the AI concluded that the any further arguing would be unprofitable, and so responded positively to the boy’s request instead, however…
“Roger that.”
Shinichi said while imitating Shirayuki’s voice. For a moment, noise appeared in Shirayuki’s logic circuit.
In this moment, a man that could annoy an AI was born.
Unfortunately, no one realized it.
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