7. Crimson-haired, green-eyed swordswoman


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Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist


 

7. Crimson-haired, green-eyed swordswoman

[Haaaa!]

With her battlecry, Nadja rushed at Logan, holding her sword in a straight line. Logan readies his four arms and intercepts her, throwing away any kind of defense. But just before his thick, log-like hand could blow her away, it got stuck on an invisible wall. It was a magical barrier that Sharl had erected to protect her comrade.

Barely dodging Nadja’s attack, he tried to break the barrier that surrounded her, but Wikia bombarded him with the rain of concentrated ice shards. There was no way for him to avoid it.

If he was a human, that is.

[Whoa whoa, that was dangerous.]

[You’re wide open!]

Wikia dances in the air, continuing the barrage of ice bullets. She wasn’t able to maneuver in the air as freely as demons or other winged creatures, but she was getting better at flying with magic.

[Wikia, sword!]

[On it!]

Logan tried to get some distance between himself and the girls, but Nadja closed it in the blink of an eye, and she swung down her sword, which was entwined with the light emitted from Wikia’s wand.

[Uooooh!]

Logan attempted to throw the sword out of her hand, but he forgot about Sharl’s barrier. Before he regained his footing, dodging Nadja’s sword was almost impossible.

Logan had no choice but to sacrifice one of his arms.

[Kuh…]

The girl’s weapon cut Logan’s arm from the palm of his hand all the way to the elbow, where it got stuck. She wanted to throw it away and get some distance, but she was a moment too late.

[You’re not getting away!]

Logan grabbed her by the head and lifted up without any problems. At the same time, her whole body erupted in
flames.

[Nadja!]

Wikia screamed.

To answer that scream, Nadja grabbed Logan’s arm and kicked him in the jaw with all her strength.

[Gueh!]

Freeing herself from Logan’s clutches, Nadja recovered her sword, held it with both hands and leapt into the air.

[Wind!]

[Power!]

Wikia’s wind increases Nadja’s speed, and Sharl’s spell increases the strength of her arms.

[Uuuuuuuuuuooooohhhhhhh!]

And with a single strike, she knocked his head off his shoulders.

[We’ve won… somehow.]

Exhausted, Nadja fell to the ground and looked at Logan’s head, rolling around in the dust.

[Nonononononono!]

Logan’s body got close to the head, picked it up and placed it back on his shoulders.

[No matter what you might think, you should have been dead the moment my flames enveloped you!]

Meanwhile his hand that was split in two by the sword mended itself back to its original shape.

[That was no problem, thanks to Sharl’s defensive magic.]

[But if you end up fighting the enemy alone and they just so happen to breathe fire, then what?]

Their heated argument was stopped by the sound of clapping.

[Great work everyone, it was a splendid match.]

And when they looked that way, Yunis was standing at the entrance to the training room, not noticed by anyone.

[Yunis! When did you got home?]

[A little while ago. I thought I could move my body for a little bit.]

It was very unusual for Yunis to express the desire to use the training room.

[But if you guys are using it, I will wait until later.]

[No, it’ all right with us.]

Nadja didn’t want to lose such a rare opportunity.

[Could you please spar with us?]

[Huh? W-well if it’s okay with you then sure, why not?]

Yunis agreed to her suggestion after thinking for a moment.

[Thank you, Yunis. Wikia, Sharl, you don’t mind, do you?]

[Well it’s not that often that we get to fight heroes.]

[Of course I don’t mind!]

As expected, Nadja’s comrades agreed to the sparing with great enthusiasm.

[With that said, please don’t go easy on us.]

[Um….]

Drawing her sword and coming into the center of the room, Yunis looked a little confused.

[You want me to fight all three of you at the same time?]

[Would it be better if I was alone?]

[No no, that’s fine.]

Yunis assured her that she was good with the current setting.

[Or do you want to add Logan and make it a four versus one?]

Nadja thought about it. She didn’t want to face Yunis one-on-one, as it would undoubtedly end in her loss, but all of them together were a force to be reckoned with. And they just confirmed their abilities in that practice battle. Besides, they couldn’t allow Yunis to think lightly of them, saying that she had no problems with taking them on all by herself.

[Just to let you know, everyone, it’s too late to back now.]

Logan apparently felt the same. He made his hands into fists and took place it their formation behind Nadja.
[Everyone, let’s go!]

Nadja was the one to take the lead. While she and the other girls rushed at Yunis from the ground, Logan approached her from above, igniting his four arms. It was a simultaneous attack from all directions.

But none of the attacks ever reached her. Nadja’s slash and Logan’s fiery claws cut through nothing but empty void. Yunis has simply slipped right past them and came straight at Wikia.

It was not magic or any kind of cheap trick. Yunis was simply faster than her opponents. But Wikia was ready to receive her. Two people in the vanguard and two in the rearguard. It was a basic formation in which Wikia was the most dangerous as she was able to use offensive magic. That’s why she knew she was going to be targeted first, and was ready for it.

[Lightning Bolt!]

A bolt of lightning shaped like an arrow came out of Wikia’s hand and flew straight at Yunis with a wheezing sound. Yunis’ reaction speed was inhuman, but even she shouldn’t be able to dodge magic coming at her at the literal speed of lightning.

And as with every living thing, she should stop moving after being hit by it. No matter how big a person’s magic resistance was, the electrical impulses were the thing that makes our bodies move. Even the smallest disruption to that process would cause a paralysis.

But Yunis simply brushed the lightning arrow aside with the palm of her hand. When she saw that, Wikia’s thought process came to a crushing halt, as if someone had struck her to the head with a hammer. Yunis used that opening to lightly strike her to the head with the handle of her sword, making her lose consciousness.

When she gently hugged her and placed her on the ground, a magical rope wrapped itself around her body.

[Interpersonal Bondage!]

The rope extending from Sharl’s fingers bound Yunis’ every limb. She could only held someone of the hero’s caliber for a moment, but that moment should be enough for Nadja and Logan.

Yunis was effectively held in place and unable to move her sword for even a little, so Nadja took that chance.

Putting strength into her feet, she moved in for the kill, and Logan did the same.

What are you going to do now, Yunis? Try to avoid Logan’s attack to reduce the damage?

Thinking that, Nadja held her sword with both her hands.

But Yunis avoided that as well by switching into her spirit form.

[Wha-?!]

Sharl’s rope might have bound her body, but it didn’t drained her magical power. So there was no problem with her using her powers as a spirit.

[I see, this is certainly useful.]

Unbinding herself from Sharl’s rope, Yunis raised her hand. She used her own ropes of light to seal Nadja’s movements.

[You sure you want to do this, Logan?]

Yunis gave him a naughty smile as she pulled her sword out of its sheath and took her fighting stance.

[No no no, I’m good!]

But even when he tried to retreat, she didn’t hesitate to slash him up.


[Who would’ve thought that the difference in our skills is going to be so great?]

After everything was over, Nadja was lying on the ground, dizzy with exhaustion.

Sharl tried to support Logan for a while, but the battle ended without them scoring a single hit on Yunis. But they managed to decently hold their ground against her.

Compared to Nadja who lost so quickly, theirs was a pretty decent fight.

[Well I don’t think it was that bad.]

[Was that supposed to cheer me up?]

Wikia and Sharl consoled Nadia, but she could still sense dissatisfaction in their words.

[You regret it ending so fast, don’t you?]

[I would be lying if I said that I’m not, but I’m glad about one thing: that Yunis is not our enemy.]

[It should be obvious now that just brute force won’t be enough to win against her. Next time we need a better strategy.]

Nadja agreed with their words.

Maybe it was really not possible for an ordinary human to win against a hero all by himself.

Even if it was just a practice match and they were all friends, defeat still tasted the same. Bitter and hard to swallow. Putting magic aside, Nadja wanted to believe that she could at least beat Yunis when it came to pure swordsmanship.

After everyone left, she secretly returned to the training room.

She stood in the middle of it, adjusting her breathing. She slowly breathed in and out, and got a firm, but no to strong grasp of her sword with both her hands. And then she swiftly swung it down with a sharp sound of the blade cutting through the air.

On a battlefield, such a sound meant that the blow was wasted. But in Nadja’s case, it helped her to calm down and collect her thoughts. If only it helped her to win in a duel against Yunis even once. Telling herself that, she continued to practice.

[Flame Bullet!]

Nadja reflexively turned when she heard the sound of incoming spell and felt the swelling of magical power. She had no time to think, and she swung her sword. As a result, the ball of flame was torn in two and landed behind her.

[Wha-?!]

[Oooh, not bad.]

It was Yunis who was clapping her hands with her eyes wide open.

Nadja didn’t know what to be more surprised about, the fact that she was attacked by her of the fact that her sword
managed to cut through that spell, so she just stood there, dumbfounded.

[I’m sorry for that, but judging by the sound that your sword made I thought you’ll be able to cut through magic for sure. And boy was I right!]

Yunis laughed mischievously, clearly amused by her own words.

[Well what did you expect? You surprised me there.]

[I know. I’m sorry.]

Yunis lowered her head apologetically.

[Nadja, you’re one of my people, right?]

[Yes. I was born in Grandiera.]

Red hair, green eyes, tanned skin, those were all the characteristics of women hailing from Grandiera. So they were from the same country, and in addition Yunis was that country’s princess, which technically made Nadja her subject.

[Please tech me the way of the sword!]

[Hahahaha… come again?]

Now Nadja was just outright confused.

[Oh, you mean… um, but… you know, Yunis, I don’t really think there’s anything that I could teach you.]

[That’s not true. You’re an outstanding swordsmen!]

Yunis was nodding with a serious face. But such were the facts. Since they were from the same land, they studied the same techniques from the same schools of swordsmanship. And in terms of power, if they were to fight one hundred times, Yunis would come out on top every single time.

But it was true that when it came to pure technique, Nadja was above Yunis.

[But, my techniques, you don’t need them.]

It was the same as if a lion asked a mice to show him how to hunt. There was no need for such a thing. Because the lion was stronger than the mice.

It was the same with heroes. There was no need for Yunis to learn how a technical swordsman fought, because she had all the power she needed for each and every one of her blows to be a deadly one.

[You know, I once thought so too.]

Yunis admitted it without sugarcoating.

[But this time power alone won’t cut it. If Ellen hadn’t come, I wouldn’t have been able to protect Aur. That’s why

I need to get stronger.]

And she clenched her fist tightly. Ah, so that’s it, Nadja thought.

[So please, Nadja, teach me how to properly wield my sword!]

Both heroes and humans alike always aimed for the top, wishing to become stronger with all their hearts.

[Okay, I’ll do it, but on one condition.]

[Whatever you say, I’ll do everything!]

Yunis nodded her head eagerly. Knowing her, she’ll probably best Nadja when it comes to technique in no time too.

But it didn’t seem bad to her anymore. For a hero such as Yunis to be learning from a lowly adventurer, now there’s a story worthy of a thousand songs.

[Just stop acting so formal around me and relax a little, would you? After all, we’re fellow countrymen!]

[Roger! Thanks, Nadja!]

With warm feelings in her heart, Nadja shook Yunis’s hand.


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