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Chapter 135: Kinu vs Astrue ①

~Kinu’s point of view~

A few ten minutes ago, the demons appeared at the conference hall as expected by Aun and His Highness Ruzark. However, we didn’t expect two of them to show up.

It is deeply engraved in my memory that Shinku and I weren’t able to deal much damage against the demon named Zoa during the ranking battle.

Aun’s grandpa apparently said that “Demons are strong”. And I fully realized that after fighting one. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say Zoa could’ve killed Shinku and me if we had made even a small mistake.

But this time it’s different. I have leveled up and evolved. I have even learned the magic barrier. Be more confident.

「Is this area okay for you?」

The demon woman, who was called Astrue, had surprisingly calmed down. She must have regained her composure while moving away from the conference hall.

If she was still as angry as before, that would’ve given me some gaps to exploit…

But thanks to the time it took for her to compose her mind, we were able to move out of the city. I won’t have to worry about destroying surrounding buildings or getting bystanders involved. I can fully exert my power.

「Nn. No problem.」

「You’re surprisingly fast… I didn’t expect you to keep up with my flight speed while running on the ground.」

「Did you not want to fight?」

「Well, had you not been able to follow me, I would’ve just destroyed the buildings around me. You would have surely come to that place, wouldn’t you? But more importantly, can a mere beastfolk even measure up to me?」

「You’ll find out soon enough. If you’re not careful, you’ll get burned.」

「Your mouth just never shuts up, does it? Fine, I’ll play with you for a while…」

I should fight with the assumption that Astrue is superior in combat. Besides, it’s the first time I’m going to have a serious battle after my evolution. I still haven’t fully grasped my new body and my sense of magic. The sudden double buffs make it even more difficult to grasp a sense of my grown up body.

「[Light and Fire Life], [Fire Lance].」

As usual, let’s first use a buff and shoot magic from a distance to see how things unfold.

But contrary to my expectations, the force of my magic was stronger than before I evolved.

「Hmm… not bad. You cracked my barrier with just one shot.」

「I haven’t gotten serious yet.」

「Fufufu, I’ll go this time!」

Astrue’s magic was completely chantless. Moreover, it seemed to be of the wind attribute. I had the feeling that an invisible blade of air was hitting my magic barrier.

Fortunately, my barrier was not damaged, but I can’t imagine that this was her real power.

「Tsk… you can use a barrier too? How troublesome.」

「The feeling’s mutual. Let’s continue.」

We continued exchanging magic attacks and defended with our barriers. My magic seems to have a higher power, and I can destroy Astrue’s barrier with three direct hits from my Fire Lance. However, Astrue is faster at controlling mana. She immediately re-erected her broken magic barrier.

I have to hit it another three times to break it again.

At this point, we took turns with offense and defense. My barrier can withstand Astrue’s wind magic about 5 times. But my mana control speed isn’t fast enough to rebuild the barrier before the next attack comes.

After my barrier was destroyed, I managed to dodge the next wind cutter, but there was a slight cut on my left cheek with blood rolling down.

I had pride in my mana control speed, but… it seems that I’m still lacking training.

「Kyahaha! You’re bleeding, aren’t you? I’ll continue cutting you up like this.」

「You got so happy just by getting a little hit in… You have a cute side to you as well, huh?」

「Next attack will make you not able to open your mouth again!」

The wind swirled around me and transformed into a giant tornado. This must be the cyclone magic that Drake uses. Not only was it difficult to avoid as a wide range attack, but countless wind blades attacked in succession. I was able to re-erect my barrier, but at this rate, the attacks are eventually going to break through the barrier. And there’s no guarantee that Astrue won’t launch a follow-up attack.

Which means the number of hits I can take are currently limited.

「[Flame Blade].」

7 flame blades manifested forth and forcefully cut through the wall of wind created by the cyclone to create a path. As I closed in on Astrue, I launched 9 consecutive attacks, and the last one caught Astrue’s left arm and lopped it off.

「Gyaaaa!! Kuh, my arm… how dare you!!」

「That was dangerous… But now the situation is reversed.」

「Fufu… Unfortunately for you, this kind of wound is nothing.」

Saying so, Astrue picked up her severed arm and pressed it against her wound. The wound gradually closed up, and within a few seconds her left arm was back to normal.

「Muu. That’s a mean ability…」

「Oh, please don’t say such cruel things. I like this ability. It keeps me looking beautiful.」

「…Our perspectives don’t align..」

Even so, what are the demons’ objectives? …Destroy the city, let the nations fight each other, and cut down the power of the human race? I wonder if it has something to do with the resurrection of the demon king that Quereble mentioned?

This female demon seems loose-tongued, so it might be worth probing her.

「Hey, why are the demons starting wars and destroying human cities? Is it related to the resurrection of the demon king?」

「Hmm, well, you guys can’t do anything about it even if you know. Guess I’ll teach you about it. Do you know when the Demon King will be resurrected?」

「I know it’s been about 2000 years since the Demon King was sealed. So it should be in a few more years.」

「Hmm… you know surprisingly well. The Demon King’s resurrection is probably five years from now. At that time, the demons will hold the real power in this world. That’s why, it’s our role to reduce the power of the human race, who are likely to resist.」

「That means you guys are still underlings.」

「You’re not necessarily wrong. There are many demons who are stronger than me. But that’s not what’s important right now. There’s no human here who can beat me.」

「Are you sure you want to be saying something like that when your arm was just cut off?」

「Fufufu… I haven’t shown half of my ability yet.」

「I see. Then please continue underestimating me.」

As we reconstructed our magic barrier, we both took out our weapons from our magic bags and switched to close combat.

From there, the battle intensified.