Chapter 444

The man and I faced off each other.

The road we were fighting on was only wide enough for two carriages to pa.s.s, making it difficult to make any significant movements.

Furthermore, like Shin.o.bu, I cannot use big magic. If I use wind magic, I will destroy buildings, and if I use fire, I will burn everything. Even water magic and earth magic would cause damage to buildings. More importantly, using bear magic would be on the level of disaster.

Then the fight would be centered mostly on blade clashes and weakened magic.

If possible, I would like to fight freely in a larger place.

The man made his move, and when he closed the gap, the man swung his katana.

I parried it with my Swaying Bear knife.

I can see it.

Thanks to the bear gear, I can see the man’s movements clearly. Right, left, backslash, and upthrust. Then he pulled his katana back, and another thrust came.

I blocked all the attacks and dodged the last thrust as if I was spinning. Then I spun my body and did a spinning kick.

If this. .h.i.ts you, you’ll be blown away.

But the man stepped back a little and dodged my kick.

It was a girl’s kick, you know! You should have at least caught it! Although, if you had, I would have blown your guard off.

[Still, you’re so fast for someone wearing such a hard-to-move outfit.] Jubei

[It’s not good to blame your opponent for your slow movements, you know.] Yuna

[In that case. Can you avoid this, then?] Jubei

The man lowered his hips and made a thrusting stance.

It’s the three-step thrust.

I prepared myself.

The man stepped in. At the same time when the man moved, I made an earth wall in between us.

But the man broke through the wall and came at me.

I had expected this, but I guess the wall I built on the spur of the moment wasn’t enough. I parried the man’s katana with my Swaying Bear knife in the same manner as before. By flicking it wide, I made him lose his balance and prevented him from striking the third thrust.

But the man forced his katana back and with a powerful step, he thrust again.

I punched the side of his katana with the white bear puppet in my left hand.

The sword flew out of the man’s hand as if he hadn’t expected it. That’s when an opportunity arises. I punched the man, who’s now defenseless, with a black bear punch.

All right, got him!

I thought so, but it was blocked.

The man held his arms out in front of him, blocking my bear punch.

The man got sent flying backwards a few meters, but he’s still standing on the ground.

I can’t believe he can defend himself at that moment, his reflexes are so fast.

[I didn’t expect a girl dressed as a bear to take it easy on me.] Jubei

[I’m taking it easy, you say?] Yuna

I didn’t mean to go easy on you, though.

[You just hit me with a black glove, even though you have a knife. That’s called holding back, you know.] Jubei

Certainly, the black bear puppet has a Swaying Bear knife in its mouth. But I used the bear puppet to hit him. I could have stabbed him with my knife if I wanted to, but that would have been a fatal blow.

[I promised Shin.o.bu I’d beat you to a pulp without killing you.] Yuna

The goal is to defeat him, not to kill.

[So I’m not going easy on you.] Yuna

[Fufu] Jubei

The man chuckled.

[I’d still call it holding back. But even if you attacked me with a knife, I will be able to defend myself with my mithril gauntlet, just like that girl over there.] Jubei

Mithril Gauntlet?

Even Shin.o.bu has it. You must be a wealthy person to afford Mithril armor and yet… I want to tell Toya about it.

[So, there’s no need to go easy on me.] Jubei

But mithril knives and mithril gauntlets.

It may not be the strongest spike and the strongest handguard in the world, but which one is stronger?

I guess it all comes down to the skill of the user.

[Also, I’m going to make it impossible for you to take it easy on me.] Jubei

The man picked up his katana that was lying a short distance away, and he also touched his Wakizashi( 脇差 ).

Dual-wielding?

What kind of samurai are you, with your three-step thrust?

[If you go easy on me, you’ll die easily.] Jubei

[Well, you can tell me that after you hit me.] Yuna

I took my Hugging Bear knife out from my bear box and held up two knives. If my opponent was a Dual-wielder, I’ll use two knives against him.

I’ll beat him at his own game.

I hold a knife in both hands and the man smiles. The man and I rush in.

=====

The four blades intersected.

The speed of the man’s swordplay increased, and he’s attacking with two katanas.

Two swords were more effective than one.

And they are fast. He attacked me with the right, left, right, left, and more thrusts, right, right, left, and more irregularly. I blocked them with my Swaying Bear knife and Hugging Bear knife.

The man’s attack continued.

Because of the difference in reach, my attacks would not reach him.

But I’m less worn out than he is.

Thanks to the bear puppet, my hands don’t get numb from prolonged fighting, and I have more strength than him. My legs don’t get tired from moving around.

On the other hand, the man was fighting Shin.o.bu earlier. In an endurance battle, I have the advantage.

The man increased his speed, but I was able to catch all of his attacks.

The man looks at me incredulously.

[How much more do you have? You can use magic, right? Why don’t we move to a place where magic is easy to use?] Jubei

But if we move there, I’ll have the advantage.

Can you keep up with me, though?

[How about it? Would you like to change the location?] Jubei

Are you sure?

The man said and swung his arm down. At the same time, smoke came out of the ground.

Smokeball?

You’re a ninja all this time?!!!

Just when I was thinking he was about to attack, the man on the other side of the smoke ran in the opposite direction.

Is he trying to escape?

[Yuna!] Shin.o.bu

I heard Shin.o.bu’s voice behind me.

I summoned Swaying Bear.

[Swaying Bear, take care of Shin.o.bu.] Yuna

I asked Swaying Bear to take care of Shin.o.bu and I ran as soon as I used my detection skill. I don’t look away from the reaction of the person I’m chasing.

=====

He’s fast.

He’s running away at a tremendous speed.

You won’t escape.

I headed straight for the fleeing man and ran after him on the roof.

I can see you.

Then the man stopped moving and turned around.

[You’ve kept up with me, did you now?] Jubei

[Don’t think you can get away from me that easily.] Yuna

[I ran as fast as I could, you know.] Jubei

[Were you tired from running, by any chance?] Yuna

I knew he didn’t want me to say that, but I still said it sarcastically.

Although, without my bear gear, I doubt I could run 100m with all of my strength.

I’m even confident that I will lose to Fina.

[Well then, shall we continue our match here?] Jubei

The man held up his katana.

We are on the outskirts of the city, with no houses or buildings.

I can use magic without worrying about my surroundings. I have the advantage.

I looked at the man and saw that his sword had wind magic flowing on it.

[You don’t think that if you come to a wide area, you’ll have the advantage of being able to use magic, do you?] Jubei

[Who knows, how about finding it yourself?] Yuna

From a distance, the man swung his katana horizontally, and the blade of the wind flew towards me.

I offset it with the same wind magic.

The man once again swung his katana and sent wind blades flying at me. I shoot them all away with my wind blade. A tremendous whirlwind rose between us, and sand and leaves flew about.

In the midst of this, the man moved, and the battle between me and him using magic has begun.

=====

A number of magic and weapon attacks occurred, and both sides kept their distance.

[Fu ~u] Jubei

The man slowly inhales and exhales, then he set up his katana and swung it down.

At the same time, a blade of wind flew from him.

It’s faster than before.

Moreover, the men moved at the same time.

I dodged the blade of wind and intercepted the man.

The katana and knife collided. At that moment, a blade of wind was released from the katana.

It’s a magic attack from very close range.

I twisted my body to dodge the wind blade. However, the man’s katana immediately came at me. I created an air bullet and shoot it at the man.

The air bullet hit the man in the stomach and sent him flying backwards.

But it’s not fatal.

I chased after the man.

Using the same method I used to capture Kamaitachi, I created dozens of chibi bears with earth magic and shot them at the man.

The chibi bears head for the man. But before they could hug the man, the chibi bears got cut down.

Even though they were made of clay, it doesn’t feel good to see the chibi bears getting cut down.

I pulled the chibi bear back altogether and conjured up a wind spell from under the man.

I’ll make him do a ropeless bungee jump, and it will be over.

The wind gathered beneath the man, and his clothes were fluttering in the wind. As I was attempting to make the man fly up into the sky, the man pointed his katana down and swung it in a circular motion.

Then, a wind arose at the man’s feet, and my wind magic disappeared.

Did he offset it?

Apparently, he’s not going to let me beat him up so easily.

=====

[Did you perhaps think that was the end?] Jubei

[You’re going to wish you hadn’t done that.] Yuna

[Will you entertain me further then?] Jubei

[You’re not going to enjoy it, though.] Yuna

I’m a little upset because my chibi bears got cut down and the wind magic I used to scare him was interrupted.

[Let me tell you something first. I’m holding back because of my promise to Shin.o.bu.] Yuna

[You can’t beat me unless you intend to kill me.] Jubei

[Then, I’ll defeat you with a single blow.] Yuna

While I was talking to the man, Shin.o.bu came riding on Swaying Bear.

[That’s the spirit! But what would you do if I did this, though?] Jubei

The man glanced at Swaying Bear and Shin.o.bu. At that moment, he shoots a blade of wind at Swaying Bear.

[Swaying Bear!] Yuna

The moment I looked away from the man, he attacked me.

He caught me off guard, didn’t he?

The man instantly closed the gap between us, and his katana was closing in on me.

I put back the Hugging Bear knife I was holding into the bear box. I caught the man’s katana with the mouth of my white bear puppet. The man was startled, but I kicked him in the face

The man let go of his katana and jumped away backwards.

I looked at Swaying Bear. He seems to be fine. I’m glad.

[Do you know what you just did?] Yuna

[……]

[You just did something you shouldn’t have.] Yuna

[……]

[When people go easy on you, you should be glad.] Yuna

[……]

[Shin.o.bu. I won’t hold back anymore.] Yuna

[……Yuna.] Shin.o.bu

[You attacked Swaying Bear, so you must be prepared for that.] Yuna

[Yuna, don’t do it!] Shin.o.bu

At the sound of Shin.o.bu’s voice, my anger subsided a little.

[Half-dead, would be fine.] Yuna

I’m going to finish this.

I will not let Swaying Bear get attacked again.

I threw away the katana that the white bear puppet holding in its mouth.

I won’t forgive you, even if you apologize now.

I made a large wall of bears to keep him from escaping.

This was the same bear enclosure I built when I cooked the Kraken. It’s not as big as that one, but it’s enough to keep the man from escaping.

=====

Several stone statues of bears formed a wall, and the man got surrounded by them. The only way out was behind me.

The man fired his wind blade at the bear statues, but it couldn’t cut them.

[As I said, you won’t escape.] Yuna

[Yuna, I need you to wait!] Shin.o.bu

Shin.o.bu was saying something, but I couldn’t hear her.

I dashed.

The man held up his katana. The man swung his remaining wakizashi and sent a wind blade flying at me. I crushed the wind blade with my white bear puppet. I head straight for the man.

I come in front of the man. The man timed it right and swung his wakizashi down at me. I parried it with my Swaying Bear knife, and the man’s body became defenseless.

There, I swung my white bear puppet in my left hand.

My fastest punch. A punch filled with rage hits the man.