NBAA Vol. 6 Chapter 4 Part 4
“Thrust!”
“AUGH!”
Hanzo’s outstretched blade collided with Reito’s left shoulder.
Reito let go of both weapons and went flying backward. Hanzo, on the other hand, was breathing roughly. The crowd cheered and screamed at the sight.
“She’s been hit!?”
“Is she dead!?”
“Wait, she’s alive!?”
“What’s going on? In the blink of an eye, Hanzo had snuck up on Luna, and Luna, who had been unscathed up until now, was blown away!”
“Wow. You’re really making me work for it,” Reito said.
Hanzo looked at Reito and returned her sword to its sheath, sweat pouring from her entire body.
Reito held his left shoulder and frowned at the deeper-than-expected wound.
“Ngh…”
“Would you do me the honor of surrendering? You can’t fight with that shoulder, and I won’t do you the honor of letting you recover.”
Hanzo approached with her hand outstretched over the hilt of her sword, not letting her guard down against the weaponless Reito. Reito smiled and released the sacred treasure wrapped around his waist.
“Entangle!”
“What?”
“What’s this?” the announcer shouted.
Reito released the “Chain” attached to his waist and wrapped it around Hanzo’s body, which was exhausted from the previous blow. Hanzo, who had assumed that the chain was just an adornment, was late in her response and hurriedly tried to cut the chain, but the legendary weapon was no ordinary chain.
“What is this chain!?”
“It’s the ace up my sleeve… ‘Enhancement Boost’!!!”
With the chain clutched, Reito activated “Enchantment Boost” through his palms, sending Lightning Magic through the chain. An electric shock was also sent into Hanzo’s body, which was wrapped around the chain, and her scream echoed through the air.
“Abba-ba-ba-ba!?”
“Come here!!”
Hanzo, numbed by the electric current, was pulled by Reito with all his might. While his right hand clutched his immobilized opponent, Reito delivered the final blow.
“Wind Blast!”
“AUGH!!!”
“Woah woah woah woah!” the announcer chimed in.
A blast of wind surged forth from his outstretched right hand like a shockwave. It struck Hanzo in the abdomen, leaving her stunned and motionless. The crowd erupted in cheers at the sight, and Reito, having achieved an unexpected victory, sighed in relief while cradling his left arm.
Because the wound treatment depleted his magical power, Reito was thankful for the recovery medicine Dain had provided him before the match. Undoubtedly, this had been his most challenging match to date.
“Phew… that was exhausting.”
When Reito descended from the arena carrying Hanzo, she let out a moan.
“Owwy… my tummy hurts.”
“Oh! I didn’t know you were still conscious.”
Hanzo, pale from the significant damage she’d taken, needed attention. Reito used “Ultra Recovery Boost” to treat her.
“Watch this, ‘Ultra Recovery Boost.'”
“Oh… allow me the honor of saying thanks.”
“What’s this? It seems that Hanzo has regained consciousness. Huh? Luna is also using Recovery magic!”
“What the hell?”
“You’re a swordsman, but you can do recovery magic too?”
“I wish she was in our adventure troop…”
People skilled in recovery magic are so valuable that any adventuring group would desperately want them. Unbeknownst to him, Reito had garnered significant attention. However, their hopes would have been dashed if they discovered that “Luna,” the representative of the Dalton Trading Company, was merely Reito in disguise.
“Well, I’m going to heal my shoulder too… Hmm?”
“Is something wrong?” Hanzo asked
“No, it’s just that the bleachers over there are noisy… What’s going on!?”
As Reito started healing his shoulder, he sensed a stir amongst the audience. Through the noisy crowd, he spotted a masked figure, covered from head to toe in a hood, observing his use of recovery magic. This individual then leaped from the spectator seats – a height of nearly seven or eight meters – onto the arena field.
“Aaaaah!
“Did they just fall down!?”
“No, they’re floating!”
The crowd screamed, as the masked figure’s body levitated delicately to the ground and a strong wind blew across the arena field. At this sight, Reito remembered when Aria used “Spirit Magic” and figured that his opponent was an elf.
“Hey! You’re gonna have to fight with me now!”
“Huh?”
“Are you interrupting the match, sir?” Hanzo asked.
The masked swordsman, who had a familiar voice, pointed at Reito and issued a challenge for a match. Hanzo looked taken aback. As for Reito, he was bewildered by the opponent who was challenging him to a match just after he had finished his match with Hanzo. Unsure of how to respond, he hesitated.
The hooded figure shouted at Rabby in the commentary box: “Signal the start of the match! This arena allows for intrusion matches, doesn’t it?”
“No, in the case of an intrusion into a match, you need the consent of both parties… and permission from the arena manager. I can’t do it at my sole discretion…”
“It’s all right! I have the manager’s permission!”
The masked swordsman threw a wooden tag at Rabby, who was in charge of signaling the match along with the play-by-play announcements.
She hurriedly accepted it and was astonished when she checked the wooden tag.
“I-, indeed, this is the manager’s signature… but without Luna’s consent…”
“Are you good with it? If you run away now, you’re a coward!”
“Ngh…”
Reito frowned at the masked swordsman who suddenly appeared and made cheap provocations out of nowhere. He wondered how the man in front of him got what looked like a permit for intrusion, but he was worried that it would damage the reputation of the Dalton Trading Company if he backed down.
“Got it. Let’s go.”
“Heh, I’ll pay you back for what I owed you from before…”
“What?”
“You don’t even remember?”
Frustrated by Reito’s confused expression, the masked swordsman pointed to the stage and urged him to come up. Reito left Hanzo behind and ascended to the arena field toward his awaiting opponent.
The masked swordsman rushed forward, lept with great force, and drew the longsword at his waist.
“W-, What!!”
“A surprise Attack!?”
“Damn it!”
Hanzo was surprised by the masked swordsman’s actions, but Reito drew his Extermination Blade and intercepted the attack. However, the moment the blades collided with each other, Reito felt a discomfort. The blade of the longsword held by the swordsman was swirling with magic wind power.
“I’ll show you my secret skill… Tempest Blade!”
“Whoa!”
The moment the swordsman swung his sword, a gust of wind like a shockwave was generated and blew Reito out of the field.
“The signal to start the game has not been given yet… Oh, my God! Fine! Just start the match already!!”
Rabby was surprised and signaled for the match to begin. Hanzo left the arena field to avoid getting caught up in the fight but stayed a short distance so she could spectate.
“Let’s go!”
“You little shit… Gravity Strike Blade!”
In response to the swordsman who landed outside the ring as if to launch an attack, Reito unleashed his crimson magic power and met his opponent’s blade head-on. The longsword enveloped in wind pressure was parried by Reito’s broadsword longsword, both imbued with gravity. A fierce swordfight ensued outside the ring.
“Hmph!”
“Kuuuh… ugh!!!”
“Don’t fight outside the ring! You’ll get in trouble with the count!”
Each time the blades met, a wind blast was released like a shockwave, and Reito had to hold his ground to keep himself in position.
The swordsman took advantage of Reito being off balance and kicked him to one knee, knocking him out of position.
The other swordsman tried to swing his longsword down, but Reito quickly intercepted him with his Reflection Sword. The moment the mirror-like blade of the Reflection Sword touched the swordsman’s blade, a strong wind blew the masked swordsman away as if repelled by the mirror itself.
“Oh, wow!”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right… This sword repels magic.”
Having forgotten the characteristics of the sword despite his own equipment, Reito turns his gaze to his blown-up opponent to find a chance to win the fight. The swordsman cloaked himself in the wind just before he crashed to the ground and then positioned himself to make his landing.
“Damn… what the hell was that?”
“What are you talking about…”
“So that’s what this is. You can also use magical sword-fighting techniques!! Shit!!”
“Magical?”
Realizing that his opponent did not know what the Reflection Sword was, he got his sword ready. His opponent held his palm on the blade of his own longsword and again cloaked it in a tornado of wind spirit magic. At the sight of this, Reito held up both swords and inched forward, believing that the Reflection Sword could nullify his opponent’s magic.
“Aaah!”
“Ohhhh!”
Reito wielded the Reflection Sword with one hand. The swordsman took a step backward to avoid the blade and immediately swung his longsword at Reito. Reito activated a battle technique with his right hand, which was clutching the Extermination Blade.
“Gale Strike!”
“Whoa!
Regardless of whether his opponent had a tornado on his blade or not, Reito dared to swing his Extermination Blade.
The swing was unleashed with terrifying speed, clashing with the swordsman’s blade as if cutting through the wind. It sent his opponent flying. Hanzo shouted in admiration at the display while the swordsman clicked his tongue in frustration.
“Woah!!”
“Tsk… I hate you!”
“It looks like we have a bit of a gap in our abilities…”
It turned out that the adamantine Extermination Blade, which was highly resistant to magic, could also counter his opponent’s magic sword if the attack was launched with the right momentum. Reito approached the swordsman by overlapping his Extermination Blade and his Reflection Sword.
“Gale Strike!”
“NGH!
Reito activated his battle technique with both swords at the same time and swung his swords outward. The swordsman tried to intercept it but could not withstand the hit and was blown away. The swordsman felt the impact more than expected each time Reito’s sword hit him, and his arms began to tremble.
The masked swordsman was thrilled to encounter an “adversary” who would stand against him even when he wielded his magic sword. Amplifying the tornado that enveloped his blade, he brought it crashing down with force.
“You’re pretty good at this… but how about this! Tempest Strike!”
“Is that a Tornado!?”
“You’re in trouble if I do say,” Hanzo chimed in.
A powerful tornado was released from the swinging blade and approached Reito.
Judging that a direct hit would be fatal, Reito activated “Shrink Ground” to get as much distance from the swordsman as possible.
“Shrink Ground… Wow!”
“Don’t let her get away!”
The swordsman expanded the tornado’s attack range and directed it toward where Reito moved to. Judging that he would not be able to avoid the tornado this time, Reito thrust his sword into the ground and clutched the hilt tightly.
“Gaaaah!”
“Lady Luna!
“Whoooooa!”
“Eeek!”
Hanzo shouted in surprise as the tornado enveloped Reito, and the masked swordsman continued to release the tornado from his blade with a roar. Rabby’s screams echoed through the arena.
Eventually, when the tornado released from the blade subsided, the only thing on the ground was the Extermination Blade.