Mochi adjusted her stance and bent her knees slightly.
"I don't have any other choice," she said with a smile overflowing with confidence. "I'll knock you out quickly and go help my friends."
Shimamoto clenched his teeth. A vein bulged on his forehead as an irritated expression took over his face. The confidence with which that girl spoke was unbearable to him.
"Damn brat! You're barely a kid and you dare look down on me?!" he roared, completely losing his composure. "I used to be a third-rank agent!"
Without waiting for a response, he launched himself forward.
He lacked the refined elegance of an experienced swordsman, but his speed was still considerable. He closed the distance in an instant and unleashed a horizontal slash aimed at Mochi's neck.
She slipped to the side, feeling the air displaced by the wooden sword brush against her cheek.
Shimamoto didn't stop.
He pivoted on his heels and chained a second attack immediately. The wooden sword whistled as it cut through the air. Mochi ducked on pure instinct, letting the strike pass over her head.
But the third attack came almost at the same time.
It was aimed directly at her side, and there was no room to dodge. Mochi reacted instantly. Instead of reinforcing her body with ether, she channeled the energy into Kero.
During her training, she had discovered something interesting: for defense, strengthening Kero produced better results than reinforcing her muscles directly.
The impact echoed throughout the room.
CRACK!
The sword struck her protected forearm.
Pain shot through her arm like an electric shock. Her fingers went numb for an instant, and she had to grit her teeth to keep her concentration.
Even so, Kero absorbed most of the damage.
If that sword had been sharp, she probably would have lost her arm.
"Tch..."
Shimamoto smiled when he saw the hit connect, but his satisfaction lasted only a second. Mochi used the momentum of the attack and launched an uppercut, the blow striking the investigator squarely on the chin.
Shimamoto's head snapped backward, and his body staggered back several steps.
"NRGH!"
Before he could regain his balance, he formed a hand seal.
"You damn brat... Acceleration!"
His figure became a blur. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from Mochi's sight.
"Got you!"
He reappeared behind her with his sword ready to pierce her back.
But Mochi had already moved.
—"You're not as fast as you think," she whispered.
Her reflexes far surpassed those of a normal person.
The instant she sensed Shimamoto's presence behind her, she spun around, her hand closing around the man's wrist.
Before he could understand what was happening, Mochi used his own momentum against him.
With a clean, precise motion, she lifted him off the ground and threw him over her shoulder.
—"W-What?!"
Shimamoto was sent flying. His back slammed violently against the floor, and he rolled several times before coming to a stop, the air escaping his lungs.
He didn't even have time to get back up. Mochi was already on top of him, her fist coming down like a hammer.
BAM!
The punch landed directly on his nose. The investigator's head bounced against the floor, and a thin stream of blood began running down his face.
—"Damn brat!" he spat as he sprang back to his feet. "I swear I'll make you pay for this humiliation!"
He wiped the blood away with the back of his hand, his eyes bloodshot with fury.
Mochi kept her guard up. Something didn't add up.
Her punches were strong enough to seriously injure even C-rank anomalies. Yet Shimamoto kept fighting as if he had received nothing more than a few bruises.
She watched carefully as the golden aura beginning to surround him grew stronger.
Ether was gathering around his body, forming an almost invisible protective layer.
His attacks were crude and predictable. It was obvious he lacked the technique possessed by fighters who spent their lives in combat, but he compensated for that lack of experience with sorcery.
A twisted smile appeared on Shimamoto's face.
—"Enough games."
He raised his wooden sword in front of him.
—"Let's see what you can do against ranged attacks."
He slowly ran two fingers along the blade. Golden particles began to peel away from the wood.
At first, they looked like simple specks of light. Then they condensed, compressed, and finally took on a solid form.
Beside the original sword, a second blade made entirely of golden energy appeared. The replica floated in the air, suspended a few inches above the ground.
Mochi narrowed her eyes. She had never seen anything like that before.
—"Die!"
The luminous sword shot forward like an arrow, tearing across the room and leaving a brilliant trail behind it. Mochi reacted immediately, throwing herself to the side in a swift dodge.
The sword passed close enough to graze her shoulder before burying itself into the floor exactly where she had been standing a moment earlier. The impact tore splinters from the wooden boards and kicked up a cloud of dust.
Mochi landed on one foot and raised her fists again, her eyes fixed on the golden sword embedded in the ground.
Now she understood why Shimamoto had regained his confidence.
This fight was far from over.
—What made you think that would hit me? —Mochi mocked, recovering her provocative tone as she straightened up again.— That sword is just as slow as you are.
Shimamoto did not respond. He did not even seem offended. Instead, the smile already painted across his face widened.
—Your lack of knowledge is what will kill you.
Mochi frowned. Something about that answer immediately put her on guard. She lowered her gaze toward the luminous sword embedded a few meters away.
At first, she noticed nothing unusual.
Then she heard a sound.
Beep... beeeep...
A sharp, steady beeping.
The golden particles that formed the sword began to vibrate. Its glow gradually changed color, shifting from gold to orange, and from orange to a deep crimson red.
—Huh?
Mochi's eyes widened.
—Wait...!
BOOOOM!!
The explosion was instantaneous. A sphere of fire expanded violently through the room.
The shockwave swept across the floor, ripping up fragments of wood and sending a storm of debris flying in every direction.
Mochi barely had time to shield herself. The force of the blast struck her head-on, hurling her through the air.
CRASH!
She slammed into a side wall, the air forced from her lungs, then dropped to the floor amid a cloud of dust.
—Agh...!
Small chunks of plaster and wood rained down on top of her. Several parts of her clothes were scorched, and a few strands of hair carried the faint smell of burning.
—Ugh...
She planted a hand against the floor and tried to stand.
Everything was spinning.
A loud ringing filled her ears, as if she were underwater.
Sounds reached her distorted and distant.
—Mgh...
She clenched her teeth. Her vision had become blurry as well.
The lights in the room seemed warped while the world slowly rotated around her.
As she struggled to regain her bearings, a shadow began advancing through the cloud of dust.
A figure was slowly walking toward her.
Shimamoto.
A barely concealed satisfaction showed on his face. He had regained his confidence.
He had found an advantage.
—You don't look so arrogant now —he said as he continued forward.
Mochi tried to focus her vision. The man's silhouette split into two, then three.
She could barely tell which one was real.
—Tch...
Shimamoto raised his wooden sword, and golden particles once again peeled away from the blade.
They swirled around him like fireflies before beginning to condense once more.
A new shining sword took shape beside him.
Then another appeared.
And then a third.
The blades floated silently around him, all pointed toward Mochi like predators waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Mochi's heart began to race. Her balance was still impaired, her head was pounding, and Shimamoto clearly had no intention of giving her time to recover.
Through her blurred vision, she saw one of the luminous swords slowly turn until it was aimed directly at her chest.
The investigator's smile widened.
—Now let's see how long you can keep dodging.