The battle between Shinobu and the man began on a deserted street.
Shinobu rushed in. At the same time, she throws a kunai. The man dodged the kunai by shifting his body slightly to the side. In that short movement, Shinobu closed the distance to the man and swung her short katana(å°å) in her left hand at him. The man dodged easily and swung his katana(å) at Shinobu.
Shinobu dodged by shifting her weight to her left and moved to the manâs left before attacking him.
Obviously, she was going to attack from the eye-patched side of the man. Shinobu attacked while moving to the left side of the man.
[Do you perhaps think you can attack me from my blind spot?] Jubei
[Weaknesses should be exploited.] Shinobu
[I thought you said you donât fight cowardly?] Jubei
[Itâs called a tactic.] Shinobu
Swinging a short katana and a katana at each other while conversing. Their katanas cut the air.
Shinobu, who has a shorter reach, is at a disadvantage, but she uses his blind spot and fast movements to make the fight even. The man is dodging Shinobuâs short katana even in his blindside.
The two sides continue to attack and defend.
Itâs amazing.
They dodged each other by a paper-thin margin as if they both knew what attack was coming.
The man dodges Shinobuâs short katana and swings his katana in a wide horizontal slash. Shinobu jumps backwards to dodge.
[Fu ~u] Jubei
The man exhaled and smiled happily.
[As expected of that manâs daughter, youâre very strong.] Jubei
He said that, but the man seemed to be relaxed. I canât see any room on Shinobuâs side.
Even with half a vision, the man seemed to have the advantage in close combat.
[Do you not use magic because you think Iâm not worth it?] Shinobu
[If I use it in a place like this, it will be a nuisance to everyone around me. Besides, youâre not using it either.] Jubei
Wooden houses lined up on either side.
She said her opponent uses wind magic, but I wonder if Shinobu can use magic.
But this is not the same battle of warriors and samurai in my former world. In this world, there is a magic that surpasses the skill of handling weapons. With magic alone, one can even surpass swordsmanship.
However, since magic requires imagery, that momentary thought is a weakness. Technology imbibed in the body is faster than the activation of magic.
It is difficult to use magic in a close combat situation. Thatâs why wizards use it in the rear.
Besides, if her opponent started using magic without paying attention to the surroundings, Shinobu would be at a disadvantage.
But then, if Shinobu couldnât use magic, she would still be at a disadvantage. Even if she could use it, she wouldnât be able to use strong magic because of her surroundings.
[Thatâs not the case.] Shinobu
The wind swirled around Shinobuâs right hand that held a short katana.
[Iâll just use it in a way that doesnât bother others.] Shinobu
With a quick movement, Shinobu closed the gap between her and the man. Again, from the left side of the manâs blind spot.
Shinobu swung her short katana sideways.
At that distance, the short katana cannot reach. But a blade of wind shot out from the short katana. But even that wind attack was cut off by the man with his katana. Shinobu stepped in further to close the distance pulled back her swinging arm and swung it straight at the man. The man flicked it with his katana.
The momentum of being flipped threw Shinobu off balance. The manâs leg kick hit her.
Shinobu got kicked away and fell far backwards.
[Shinobu!] Yuna
[Iâm okay.] Shinobu
Apparently, she jumped backwards to break away.
The man was more aware of his surroundings than Shinobu because his leg was outstretched. Thatâs how much room he has.
I still donât know what the manâs true intentions were in killing Shinobuâs father, but Iâm pretty sure that Shinobu was going to lose this fight.
Should I take over?
[Heâs strong.] Shinobu
Shinobu exhaled a small breath and regulated her breathing.
[Shall I take over?] Yuna
Looking at Shinobu now, you can see that she has no intention of backing down. But I asked just in case.
[Itâs okay. I want Yuna to watch us fight and learn the moves of that man.] Shinobu
Does that mean she wants me to observe their fight, analyze how that man fights, and prepare for battle?
That would mean she doesnât think she can win.
[But if youâre really in trouble, call out to me.] Yuna
Without confirming or denying my words, Shinobu smiled. Then she gripped her short katana in her hand and ran towards the man.
Shinobu used magic to attack, but the man dodged. Shinobu increased the number of her attacks. Iâd like to think here we go, but the man still didnât use magic. He also raised his cheeks every once in a while and seemed to be smiling.
Shinobuâs movements became even faster.
Sheâs cornering the man. Gradually, Shinobuâs speed surpassed the manâs.
Shinobuâs wind blade and short katana attacked the man.
Heâs cornered.
As I was thinking of that, the manâs katana increased in speed and repelled Shinobuâs attack. Shinobuâs attack stopped, and the man stepped back significantly to get some distance.
[Youâre stronger than I thought. It looks like Iâm going to have to get a little serious about this.] Jubei
[So, youâre using magic now?] Shinobu
[No, Iâll just do this.] Jubei
The man then put his hand over his left eye and removed the eye patch. A closed eye appeared from under the eye patch. I wondered if there was a scar, but there was none. Then, the closed left eye opened.
[Can you see with it, by any chance?] Shinobu
[Yes, I can see you clearly.] Jubei
[Were you just mocking me?] Shinobu
[No, I was simply holding myself back. But I only took it off out of respect for your strength.] Jubei
That meant that he was not only handicapping himself by not using magic but also handicapping himself by not using one of his eyes.
The man opened both of his eyes and held up his katana. Shinobu shot a small wind blade and ran towards the man. The manâs movements become faster. He easily dodged Shinobuâs attacks. Shinobu threw another kunai at him. The man flicked it with his katana and then flashed his katana again.
The man, who now has two functioning eyes, no longer had a blind spot, and Shinobu could no longer fight to her advantage.
Shinobu canât handle him anymore, and the number of times she received his attack with her short katana increased. The man was clearly superior in terms of the weight of the attack, the power of the attack, and the speed of the attack.
Shinobu still kept her distance and fought back with her wind magic, but it didnât hit the man, probably because she was suppressing its power out of concern for her surroundings.
Her legs seemed to be moving even slower. Shinobu was moving around, but the man was just fending off Shinobuâs attacks, so heâs moving his body less than Shinobu.
[Ku~] Shinobu
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Shinobuâs movements were getting dull, and she couldnât attack nor go backwards.
[You seem to have reached your limit. Iâll end it now.] Jubei
The man sat down and held his katana out as if thrusting it.
Wait, thatâs!??
[Shinobu! Run!] Yuna
At the moment I shouted, the man stepped forward. The distance between me and Shinobu was suddenly narrowed.
Too fast.
Shinobu jumped backwards, throwing some kunai. The man flicked off the kunai with a thrust. I thought the attack would stop there, but it did not. The man pulled back his arm and thrust his katana out again.
Shinobu blocked it with her short katana. Even so, the manâs momentum did not stop. He pulled his arm further and thrust his katana out.
Three-step thrust? ( ä¸æ®µçªãï¼)
The manâs katana struck Shinobu, causing her body to tumble to the ground.
[Shinobu!] Yuna
When I tried to run to her, Shinobuâs body moved. She supported her body from the ground as she tried to get up with her trembling arms.
[I, Iâm okay.] Shinobu
Shinobu stood up, a bit dizzy, and holding her stomach.
[Are you sure youâre okay?] Yuna
Shinobu flipped the clothes on her stomach area.
Chainmail? ( éããã³ãï¼)
[Itâs made of mithril. I also jumped backwards and somehow avoided a direct hit.] Shinobu
I felt relieved.
Oh, good. I thought she had been stabbed.
[Did you dodge that thrust? Well then, do you still want to fight?] Jubei
[Of course.] Shinobu
[Then Iâll make sure itâll go through next time.] Jubei
The man moved to a thrusting stance as if to do a follow-up. Shinobu held up her short katana with her weak hand. At the same time, I made my move.
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The man stepped forward from his thrusting stance. The distance between him and Shinobu closed in an instant. I stepped in between the two of them and flicked the manâs katana with my Swaying Bear knife.
I flicked it hard. I wonât let him do the three-step thrust.
I stood in front of Shinobu as if to protect her, and the man jumped back.
[Yuna?] Shinobu
[Itâs time to switch.] Yuna
I donât know why the man killed Shinobuâs father. We donât even know what kind of man he is.
Maybe heâs just a battle junkie.
Maybe Shinobuâs father was the same.
Maybe they fought because they wanted to fight each other. Maybe thatâs why her father died. Whatever the reason, there is one thing I do know.
[I donât want to see Shinobu get killed, so youâll have to switch places with me. Iâll deal with him from this point on.] Yuna
I said to Shinobu, who looked like sheâs in pain.
If I defeat this man, everything will be revealed, and this bewildering feeling will be cleared up.
[â¦â¦Yuna, heâs strong.] Shinobu
[Iâve been watching your fight, so I understand that.] Yuna
In addition to his strength, he has a trump card, magic.
Even though Shinobu had a magic restriction on him, she still couldnât defeat him even with her magic.
On top of that, her opponent fought while giving her a handicap.
[Take it easy, Shinobu. Get some rest.] Yuna
I let Shinobu move to the back, then I confronted the man. The man waited, not attacking, while Shinobu and I were talking.
[Iâm sorry, but Iâll be your opponent from here on out. Donât let my appearance catch you off guard.] Yuna
[No, I wonât. Not with the speed in which you come between us, the skill with which you parried my thrusts accurately. Above all, a girl who can walk in front of my katana without fear is no ordinary girl.] Jubei
Apparently, itâs unlikely that heâll be fooled by the appearance of a bear. He doesnât seem to cut corners.
I was both disappointed and happy.
[If so, donât wear that eye patch nor preserve your magic, and Iâll let you taste the full experience.] Yuna
I point my Swaying Bear knife at the man and declare.
[Then I wonât go easy on you, either. Also, I donât care if you die.] Jubei
The man held up his katana.
[Iâm not going to die, but if I win, youâll have to tell me everything.] Yuna
[Itâs all right. If you can beat me, Iâll tell you everything.] Jubei
[We had a deal then.] Yuna
I also held up my Swaying Bear knife.
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Authorâs Note:
So, Yuna will be the one fighting next.
For a while, I will be posting in 3-4 days.