Chapter 52: Her Talent

The trees throughout the forest were cut down one after another. Trails of silver light streaked through the air, and moments later, the "Water Spears" followed after them. The trees collapsed helplessly, unable to resist in the slightest. Even as her hiding places steadily disappeared, Hikari kept her eyes fixed on her opponent without panicking.

"!!"

(From what I can tell, her mana reserves aren't actually that high. If I keep moving around, she'll eventually run out of mana... though she's probably not dumb enough to let this drag on that long.)

Her opponent was, at the end of the day, still a girl who had fought as a candidate for the title of Spear King. In terms of combat experience, she was unquestionably above Hikari. Which was exactly why she understood how dangerous the current situation was.

The destructive power and cutting force of the "Water Spear" were immense, but the mana consumption was equally severe. Its true purpose was to finish off enemies who had retreated beyond the spear's reach. The more continuously it was used, the more openings it created.

And in fact, once Hikari realized the attack could only emerge from the spear tip, she had been dodging flawlessly ever since. Even an outside observer could tell it would be smarter to stop after the attack had already been avoided once, yet Leyla stubbornly continued using it.

"Wind Slash."

Hikari's quiet voice echoed softly.

She was still immature when it came to magic, so she couldn't use spells unless she spoke their names aloud. But the advantages far outweighed that drawback.

The wind wrapped around her sword burst forward, slicing apart the incoming "Water Spear" before surging toward Leyla. Leyla instinctively leapt backward and barely avoided it, but the flow of water from her spear tip was interrupted.

It was an unmistakable opening.

At a speed completely incomparable to before, Hikari instantly closed the distance.

Leyla thrust her spear from outside Hikari's range, but Hikari almost mocked the attack as she stepped over it in a single bound. Spinning through the air, she brought her sword down. Leyla didn't even have the spare attention to turn toward the blade, instinctively blocking it with the shaft of her spear instead.

Cold sweat ran down Leyla's face as she became certain of one thing.

This silver-haired girl unquestionably possessed natural genius.

There was no technique to her swordsmanship—only instinctive movement. A kind of violence that felt as though a naturally formed diamond had surpassed forged steel. The fact that raw, unpolished Hikari was stronger than the current Leyla, despite all her training, struck her deeply.

And for Hikari, that brief clash had barely mattered at all.

Missing simply made her think, Guess that didn't hit.

She had participated in countless practice matches, but this should have been her first real battle. And yet she fought as naturally as breathing. There was no fear of injury. No fear of hurting her opponent.

There was only one certainty in her mind:

These people are Toma's enemies.

That alone was enough for her to swing her sword.

It was a dangerous mindset—but right now, it was also an incredible weapon.

If this had been a one-on-one duel, the outcome would've been decided before long.

But this wasn't a duel.

This was the "King's War."

"That's enough, Leyla. You've spread enough water."

"Finally. Now I can actually fight properly."

This wasn't a one-on-one battle.

It was a team fight.

"...You've multiplied like crazy."

"We had to go this far. You people are troublesome otherwise."

In the clearing formed by the fallen trees, countless Leylas appeared.

Every single one raised their weapon in perfect synchronization.

From their wavering forms, Hikari guessed they weren't physical clones, but some kind of illusion.

And she was right.

"Heat Haze."

One of Julia's fire spells.

The magic artificially created mirages, and the effect was amplified by the paired spears she carried in both hands.

Combined with the water Leyla had scattered using "Water Spear," the range expanded even further. On top of that, they minimized every possible inconsistency between the illusions so the real body couldn't be identified.

While constructing this entire setup, Julia had continued defending herself against Shion's attacks with every ounce of her concentration.

"So I can't land even a single hit...!!"

"If getting hit means instant death, then of course I'll keep dodging—even if I have to roll around pathetically to do it."

Even without suffering a direct wound from the "Poison Spear," her body was already covered in scrapes.

Although wielding two spears gave her superior attack volume, that advantage was cut in half when she focused entirely on defense. But she trusted that the moment she tried to attack, Shion would exploit the opening without fail.

That was why she'd thrown herself across the ground just to keep escaping the spear tip.

Nobody could dodge the "Poison Spear" forever.

Even so, she'd chosen this strategy because this battle absolutely had to be won. Betting everything on the fact that even a graze would mean defeat—and the strategy had succeeded beautifully.

"Enough talking――Die."

The illusions created by "Heat Haze" attacked all at once.

Both Hikari and Shion immediately judged that the real body was definitely mixed among them, but distinguishing it would be extremely difficult. So both of them retreated from their positions.

Even while being pursued by the illusions, they continued running. If these phenomena were created by magic, then once the mana powering them ran out, they should disappear.

They tried to buy time.

But naturally, even that had already been accounted for.

"A wall of fire..."

"A measure to keep you from escaping. Try passing through it and you'll be injured. And we won't miss that opening."

"So the reason you dumped ridiculous amounts of water everywhere was also to cool the surroundings and hide the heat from the flames."

"Exactly. Though ideally, we'd already have finished things with that alone."

What awaited Hikari after retreating was the reality that the wall of fire left her nowhere to escape.

Leyla, accompanied by illusions created by "Heat Haze," surrounded her from all sides as countless spears pointed toward her at once.

Even knowing only one of them was real, Hikari broke into a cold sweat because she couldn't tell which one it was.

In a straight fight, defeating Leyla wouldn't be difficult.

But Hikari had obviously never experienced a situation like this before.

Meanwhile, this wasn't Leyla's first time fighting alongside Julia. In fact, they'd fought together many times before and had used this tactic repeatedly.

They even mixed "Water Clones" among the illusions created by "Heat Haze" to make identifying the real body even harder.

The side that had been toyed with earlier had now become the one doing the toying.

Once again, offense and defense reversed.

And countless Leylas attacked Hikari all at once.

The density of spears rushing toward her was far too high to dodge individually. But since she had no clue which one was real, she desperately moved her body, trying to avoid as many attacks as possible.

She tried batting away a spear with her sword—

Only for it to pass through empty air.

The moment she realized it was an illusion, sharp pain stabbed into her back. Instinctively, she twisted to avoid being skewered by the spear and slashed at what she assumed was the real Leyla.

"Fake!?"

"We'd obviously prepare decoys that can attack too."

Splash!

The Leyla she'd cut apart burst into water and soaked into the ground.

For an instant, Hikari couldn't even understand what had happened.

And the countless spears wasted no time exploiting that opening.

Before she could process it, she swung her sword, rolled across the ground, and desperately leapt away from the incoming spears.

Even so, the wounds carved into her body steadily increased.

If Toma had been here, perhaps the instincts granted by the power of the "Strong Ones" would've allowed him to identify the real body immediately.

If Shion had been here, perhaps her experience and understanding of Leyla would've let her determine the answer.

But the one standing here was Hikari.

Though gifted with talent, her only real combat experience came from the "Forest of Magic Mist."

She couldn't think of a way to overturn this situation. Even sweeping away the battlefield with wind-coated sword strikes was impossible now, because the relentless pressure was steadily eroding the concentration she needed to generate that wind in the first place.

"Damn it!!!"

"Your mouth is filthy!!! Just fall already!!!!"

Even so, Hikari continued avoiding fatal wounds through sheer physical ability and instinct.

Leyla wanted to regroup with Julia as quickly as possible, but she knew that if she left this wind-sword user alive, the battle could still turn around later.

Grinding her teeth at the fact that she herself was being pinned down, she chose to slowly wear Hikari down instead.

The separation strategy had already succeeded.

As long as Julia could plunge Shion into despair, the final outcome hardly mattered anymore.

Then they could safely continue living in that lukewarm hell once again.

And that was exactly why the sight of the bloodied girl desperately struggling before her irritated her so much.

It pissed her off.

Her grip on the spear tightened hard enough to make it creak.

"Stop getting in our way already!!!"

The shout burst from her throat before she even realized it.

No matter how much blood flowed from her body, Hikari refused to collapse. She still stood on her own two feet, glaring at Leyla with fighting spirit blazing in her eyes.

That sight pierced directly into Leyla's heart.

The jealousy that whispered, Being able to live like that is unfair.

The confusion asking, Why would you go this far?

All of it was drowned beneath the anger of being obstructed when she was trying to save Julia—her friend.

"We're only sacrificing that woman so we can remain ourselves!! So why are you people fighting this hard while getting torn apart!!! Is that woman really worth this much to you!? You've only known her for a few months, and you started out as enemies!!!!"

"How the hell should I know?"

Hikari dismissed every bit of her anger, shouting, and doubt.

Because none of that mattered.

"Honestly, I don't even care that much about Shion. If this were Alicia, it'd be different. But I barely know the girl."

"Then why go this far!?"

"Because if we abandon Shion here, Toma won't be able to smile anymore."

For Hikari, the most important thing was that Toma could remain Toma.

She never wanted to see him again the way he had been when they were children—small, curled up, crying.

Once had been more than enough.

She never wanted to see that again.

Even when he was hurting, he'd force himself to smile. He'd ignore his own wounds while worrying about everyone else.

And then, somewhere nobody could see him, he'd quietly cry alone.

Never loudly.

Always suppressing his voice.

Maybe because he didn't want anyone worrying about him.

But to Hikari, that lonely figure had looked unbearably sad.

And she never wanted to see it again.

That was why she picked up the sword.

"That idiot keeps reaching out endlessly. Even when he knows it's impossible, he still wants to somehow save the 'Spear King.' This whole 'King's War' probably isn't fun for him at all. But he's still fighting because the future he wants only exists beyond this battle."

That was why she'd decided to stand beside him.

"I just want him to smile. As long as I can stay by his side, I don't care where we are. But if Shion gets taken away, he'll be devastated, right?"

That was why she wished for him to keep smiling.

"That's my reason for fighting. So if you get it now, hurry up and come at me already, you loser mutt who forgot how to struggle. I'll hand you another defeat right here."

She bared her teeth like a beast and grinned.

Pointing her sword forward, she made her intentions clear:

I won't lose to you.

And more than that—

You're so irrelevant to me that I just want to finish this already.

"I'll take the bait. This ends now."

Even fully understanding it was provocation, Leyla charged forward.

She was furious.

Furious furious furious furious.

What could someone like you possibly understand? You've lived peacefully in a place like this without knowing anything.

That frustration twisted across her otherwise beautiful face as she rushed in.

Mixing more "Water Clones" among the illusions, she used them as decoys while the real body relentlessly pressed in for the killing blow.

The scene looked no different from before.

And the wounds carved into Hikari only kept increasing.

Hikari continued resisting, swinging her sword again and again, but every target approaching her turned out to be another "Water Clone."

Without any method of identifying the real body, there was nothing she could do.

No matter how many she cut down, what splashed onto the ground wasn't red blood—

Only clear water.

And so, for a brief instant, Leyla felt relief.

Even against an opponent like this, defeating her wasn't difficult so long as she cooperated with Julia.

Even if Hikari possessed greater talent, effort, tactics, and strategy could still surpass her.

Leyla was certain of victory.

"――Found you."

Until Hikari's savage grin exposed white teeth like a predator as her gaze locked directly onto the real Leyla.

Hikari's eyes had been fixed on the muddy ground formed from all the destroyed "Water Clones."

No matter how perfect the disguise, illusions were still illusions.

They had no physical substance.

No weight.

And from the sensation of cutting through the "Water Clones," she'd realized they also didn't weigh as much as a real human body.

Which meant only one thing could leave footprints in the mud.

The real body.

The moment she figured that out, Hikari—who had endured everything while waiting for this chance—burst forward.

The "Water Clones" and the illusions created by "Heat Haze" all turned in panic and chased after her.

Too late.

Realizing she wouldn't make it in time either, the real Leyla gripped her spear tightly and thrust forward.

As if declaring that her reach was superior.

It was the fastest thrust she'd unleashed yet.

But it failed to hit Hikari.

Placing one hand gently against the spear, Hikari calmly redirected the tip aside and stepped directly into Leyla's guard.

Then she swung her sword.

Feeling the sensation of cutting through a human body—and the warm blood splashing across her face—Hikari grimaced as she confirmed the battle's conclusion.

Leyla was still conscious.

And the wound wasn't fatal.

But after confirming she wouldn't be moving again for a while, Hikari immediately sprinted away at full speed.

Her destination was the battlefield where Shion Ace and Julia Deuce were fighting.

Toward that place where nobody knew what would happen next—

she ran.