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High School Hack and Slash Chapter 167

Overtakers

―― Territory 『Kenzan Promontory』 ――

―― countdown: 09:23:29:59 ――

 

「Kaka, kakakaka!!」

「Kaaaah!!」

The area jutting with a series of strange, thorn-like rocks was called Cape Rib.

When the sea wind blew through the group of stone pillars, where not even grass grew, a scream-like wind sound echoed.

However, at the moment, as opposed to such a sound, the sounds of the rocks getting smashed up and landing on water in the cove continued on.

Touma’s body, which was shot off like a cannonball, crashed into one of the stone pillars.

A radial depression was created around Touma, who had sunk deep into the rock.

His winter coat was already in tatters.

Spewing a light spit of blood, Touma stuck Bhaudhara he held in his right hand into the stone pillar.

「Gah!」

As he was, he dragged his body out of the rocky area and poured the electric shock running through his right hand into Bhaudhara.

Layer upon layer of trails of flashes were engraved in the hollowed circle.

From the shadow of the stone pillar that broke with Bhaudhara serving as the starting point, the figure of Akura-Ou flashing his naked blades could be seen.

As it was only natural, he ran through the sky, and the flashing slashes gave off sparks.

Touma, wielding his atypical double-bladed spear, 『The Ripper (Bhaudhara)』, was offsetting the slashes in the state of being unable to even tell up and down, left and right.

From one rock to another, sometimes crushing the stone pillars, he pressed forward as he stepped on and crushed them.

「Kakaka! This is what you call pleasure! Let the blood boil even more!」

The slashes that were delivered in the intervals between breaths were all imbued with the principles of swordsmanship (natural way of things).

Even though he was the incarnation of overwhelming violence, his blade was based on accumulated skills.

It was not swordsmanship wrought by man and handled by man.

It was an atypical form of swordsmanship honed by onis in order to wield their abilities to the fullest.

Therefore, it was only logical that Touma could not dodge it.

His arm was shredded, his leg was ripped open, and the blade pierced his belly.

The divine sword penetrated his GP barrier like paper.

「Ka, kaka! Kakakaa!」

He launched a diagonal downward slash with the right arm, launched an aia slash with the left hand, let go of the tachis in both hands, and then launched a double drawn aia slashes.

Blood spray splattered from Touma’s body and he forcefully broke away backward.

Sheathing the tachis in both hands to his waist and back, he grabbed the ones he had let go of.

Even such a juggling-like katana wielding method could be established as an art principle as long as one had the physical strength to overcome gravity and inertia.

A truly atypical principle.

However, if one were to categorize it between offensive and defensive, it would be one of the techniques that leaned more on the offensive side.

In the momentary opening, in the space where a counterattack was allowed, a red line was engraved.

A bright red spray of blood splashed from Akura-Ou’s chest, which had been sliced open in a horizontal line.

「How lukewarm.」

Akura-Ou muttered as he put away all the tachis and patted his chest.

Wounds and shattered bones were restored in an instant.

Physical destruction could no longer even be called damage.

Such was the nature of fighting in the realm he had reached.

Staring at Touma, whose breathing was in disorder, he laughed scornfully.

「You, do your human make-believe in moderation. It’s too much of a killjoy, you know?」

「… Stop, saying such incomprehensible things.」

The bloodied, phlegm-spewing Touma set his weapon at the ready.

「Have you lost your mind, you fool?」

Akura-Ou, his figure blinking and appearing right behind Touma, launched a kick at him.

Touma, sent flying, once again crashed into a stone pillar.

『Shukuchi』, a step through space, did not require a power word (trigger word).

Akin to a bird flying in the sky or a fish swimming in the water.

Manifest possibilities (skills) in the world, that one that possessed the jurisdiction to do so was ancient 『Authority』.

It rewrote the world and painted over reality.

In the reddish-black sky, thunder clouds were gathering.

The lightning turned into white serpents poured down upon Akura-Ou.

「Kakaka! Now, let’s continue. Come at me!」

Shattering the rock with his entire body covered in fire and lightning, Touma raised a war cry.

◇ ◇ ◇

―― Territory 『Kenzan Promontory』 ――

―― countdown: 09:22:50:59 ――

 

An incandescent fighting spirit surges out.

I mow him down with my arm, leaving trails of white lightning.

As I kick or run through the air, a crash of thunder reverberates.

「Is this it? Mm, I guess this is just how it is.」

With the hard sword in his right hand, he brushes away my lance strike.

With the soft sword in his left hand, he’s mowing down the raining down, falling thunder.

It’s like a barrier of a slashing sphere.

My violence is offset with equal violence.

He’s an enemy of the same rank as me.

An enemy standing on the same stage as me.

Not the kind of uncouth enemies that simply get swayed by violence or pour out violence.

Putting all my strength into it, I slam 『The Ripper (Bhaudhara)』 into him head-on.

「Only at this level, huh?」

Is it disappointment that floats on that yaksha face of his, I wonder?

My surefire blow, which I believe capable of smashing all sorts of things, is smoothly slashed away.

It’s neither taken on nor repelled, but the 『momentum』 of the strike itself is cut off.

Well, Saki sometimes does it, too.

「Hmm.」

Letting go of Bhaudhara, I step on the lightning that scattered in the surrounding area.

I dive into the blind spot in his right where he wields the hard sword.

A right-handed sword strike or a left-handed elbow strike?

I press the momentary choice on him.

Furthermore, the mental opening of disappointment gives rise to a gap.

I launch a fist with the middle finger raised toward his flank.

No need for power, only speed.

Hooking my finger that has gone through a gap in his ribs, I snap one of the bones.

The bone is incidental.

But something on that level won’t even amount to a sizable damage.

Action inhibition due to pain is, none.

Naturally, there’s no way the enemy, who stands in a realm that surpasses the flesh, would flinch from such a thing.

I dodge the elbow as well as the blade swinging down at me.

The moment he’s regenerating himself, his power is dulled by just as much as air escaping from his punctured lungs.

Even if he’s a being that transcends living things.

A light hit to the kneecap.

Still at zero distance, I transcend gravity by using the lightning as a foothold.

My incandescent thought flashes, stepping into the realm of the lightning.

Since he’s a being inhabited by flesh.

Palm heel to the solar plexus.

Twisting the body, my palm hits his bulky abdominal muscles.

I miss the vital point.

Prepare for counterattack damage.

Me-style No-Tempo, twisting style.

Interlocking all the muscles and joints in my whole body, I slam a spiral impact into the diaphragm.

There is no escape from the laws of the human body.

「Kaaah!」

Akura-Ou, spitting out a spray of blood from his mouth, bends backwards.

The throng of swords that slip out following the momentum are shot out like a shotgun.

On my side, I’ve gone for a full bet on No-Tempo with all the muscles in my body.

My rigid body cannot even choose between the options of evasion and pursuit.

Manifesting Gaki Lord War Casket (Over-Greed Gear) as a shield, as it is, I’m sent flying by the momentum of the sword bullets.

The momentum of the shot makes me crash into a stone pillar.

As for Akura-Ou, who ends up only getting lightly stroked, well, I guess no damage is done to him.

「Hmm.」

Looks like there’s room for improvement in the fuzzy cloud-style three-dimensional killing method and the crackling-style four-dimensional killing method.

It’s a fighting technique I’ve been developing since my battle against Diana, one designed for use against the God-class opponents.

However, regrettably, I’m still lacking in proficiency.

It’s mostly a performance without prior practice.

Even if I were to try to catch him off-guard by strong-arming it, I don’t think the same move will work against him.

「… Kakaka.」

Akura-Ou, who has stiffened while still bending backward, begins to twitch and jerk about.

「Kakakaka, that was one unbearable blow… I ended up ejaculating!」

Spreading both arms and legs as he looks up to the heavens, he laughs to his heart’s content.

「I see.」

Amend your fetish.

Don’t go into heat because of me.

How should I put it, somehow, I can’t hate this guy at all.

He’s a homicidal maniac like a slasher who attacked me with full-blown killing intent.

There is no doubt that this guy is an enemy, and I have no qualm in killing each other, either.

However, his sword is not clouded with excess emotion.

It’s not imbued with flab-like hatred.

If it’s a strife or a battle to the death, I will accept it no matter what the circumstances are or what the reason is.

But this guy’s this is, yes, he just wants to play.

「Good, very good. Come now, come now, more, let’s clash even more fiercely!」

「Yeah.」

My thought has caught up with his reason-less excitement.

Yeah, let’s do it.

If you don’t acknowledge it, you’ll end up thinking about unnecessary things.

If you can acknowledge it, you can discard your unnecessary thoughts.

Killing each other doesn’t require a reason, but fighting requires acknowledgement.

Finally, the preparations are in order.

「Sorry for the wait. Let’s do it.」

How long has the battle continued on, I wonder?

Strangely enough, my strength never runs out, it just keeps surging out copiously.

「Oh! Let’s do it!」

We face each other on top of the rocky area.

Raising my right fist, I clench Bhaudhara in my left hand.

The atypical oni, who is holding tachis in both hands at the ready, shakes the air simply by standing facing me.

Maybe, it will end here?

That, too, is inevitable.

Gradually, the two of us close the maai between us.

Not the physical distance, as what we’re engaged in is a mental clash.

*Crackle crackle* The air vibrates and rocks explode and shatter.

It may be an effect similar to that of supernatural battles in manga and anime, but it’s not like we’re creating such an effect because we like it or anything.

It’s the aftermath of our respective air colliding against each other.

Before the clash exceeds its limit, I get sent flying from the side.

「Uoooooo!!」

A huge beast arm, carving claw marks on the rock, chases after me.

The one charging at me is an oni so huge that I can’t help but look up at it.

The arms, covered in black fur, swell up like that of a bear.

「Guarararaaa!!」

The second intruder, who comes down spinning, kicks me down in mid-air.

It’s an oni clad in tiger-striped fur.

「Akura-Ou-sama!」

「…..」

The third and fourth onis stand in the way in front of the homo oni samurai.

Compared to Akura-Ou, they’re lower-ranked.

But if the four were to work together, I guess they would be comparable to him.

「—tah!」

Having bounced around like a pinball, I kick the ground I cashed into and break away.

It’s not a strategic retreat, but a simple escape.

I have no such pride to feel ashamed due to running away from a battle in which my loss is set in stone.

I guess that guy and I both feel that nuisances have jumped in.

As proof of this, there’s no follow-up attack on me, whose both arms have broken from guarding against those attacks.

It would make me a sore loser, but let me daringly say it.

For a while, I’ll leave the win to him.

While we’re at it, I’ll crush those four stupid onis later.

◇ ◇ ◇

　Kaminari no Hassei 【Lightning Speaks Up Its Voice】.

An energy that dyed the field of vision completely white exploded.

The bursting lightning roared and soared into the sky.

Dragon-like flashes ran through the thunderclouds and turned into distant thunder as they faded away.

「… W, what divine majesty.」

Hoshikuma-douji, the great oni who had a club in his hand, wiped away his cold sweat.

「What? It seems he was afraid of us.」

「So it seems. I don’t know what manner of brazen soul he is, but he sure is fast at running away.」

Torakuma-douji and Kanekuma-douji, each with animal-like limbs, laughed.

「Liege Lord, are you all right?」

The last of the Four Heavenly Kings, Ishikuma-douji, expressed his worry at Akura-Ou, who was looking up at the sky.

Other worlds (raids) sometimes clashed and fused with each other.

It was an encroachment of worldviews, which was also akin to a struggle for survival.

『Onigashima』, which lied in the dungeon deep stratum, too had swallowed a number of worlds in the past.

The other worlds (raid) had a defensive instinct to maintain their purity.

That was a natural instinct (system) for a being in possession of an ego.

They, Onigashima’s finest forces, were the antibodies as well as the guardians of the world.

「Good graciousness, for there to be an invader in the middle of a festival. There’s a limit to how incapable one at reading the air could be.」

「Mm. But it seems that he could sense our military might.」

「Yes, yes. We, the Four Heavenly Kings of Onikuma (Ogre Bear Brothers), are invincible. Gahaha!」

「Gahahaha, habuu!」

Kanekuma-douji, his face crumpled, was blown away.

「L, Liege Lord. W, what might you be doing?」

「The boorish ones incapable of reading the air are you guys, no?」

Seeing his brother passing out while still floating a gahaha smile on his face, Torakuma-douji fell into panic.

「We beg your pardon, Liege lord. We did not mean disturb your enjoyment.」

「Y, Yes. Under the order of the young master, we have been looking for you, Liege Lord.」

Hoshikuma-douji added to Ishikuma-douji’s words.

「… If I might say, Liege Lord, none of the 『Lords』 have gathered for the eve of the festival. We were all at our wit’s end, so…」

「Hmm. Well, very well. It’s a festival, so let’s take it easy and enjoy it.」