"Ggggg…!"
A shockwave made my body tremble violently as I was dragged backward, leaving two furrows of dirt in the ground.
If it had been a normal sword, it would have surely shattered. So I felt deep gratitude toward Aqua and the cheated item she had given me.
Clinging to Kronos's hilt, I began pushing upward. Until I finally let out a euphoric shout. And, gathering all my strength, I sent the beam of light upward. It didn't take long to disappear into the clear sky, leaving only a faint glow before vanishing.
However, the danger was far from over, because Mitsurugi took advantage of the moment I had lowered my guard to close the distance between us and unleash a series of frantic attacks.
"You really are extraordinarily strong, Kaizer!" the master swordsman said. "But even so, I refuse to hand you the victory! Especially not in front of my Lady Aqua!"
Oh, so that's how it is, huh? Well, I suppose I can't blame him.
And that was when the idea came to me.
"But… what are you talking about?" I asked, playing dumb. "Lady Aqua returned to the city a while ago."
"What?"
Surprised, the hero of the cursed sword raised his eyebrows, and for half a second his gaze shifted to the side, searching for his goddess. Who, of course, was still standing in the same place with an expression of boredom.
That was all I needed.
I closed my fist, which began to shine with an incandescent light.
"DIVINE SMITE!" I shouted.
And I drove it straight into the middle of his stomach.
In fact, I had connected so perfectly that I could even feel Mitsurugi's armor creak and cave in against my steel-covered fist. A clear critical hit.
A spray of saliva splattered my face as Mitsurugi went flying, leaving a trail of bright light in the air. Like a shooting star.
"UAAAAARGH!" the young man screamed in pain before crashing into the grass with a heavy thud.
As for me, I couldn't stop gasping. Using Fast Speed to save Aqua and now this high-level technique had consumed more MP than I expected. Not to mention everything I had been fighting earlier in that stupid competition to see who could eliminate more monsters.
I just hope Mitsurugi doesn't get back up, because I barely had any energy left.
"That blow… was incredible…" my rival said as he got to his feet.
Goddamn it!
"If you're so satisfied, why don't you do me the favor of staying on the ground?"
The young man wiped his mouth with his fist.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. When I find an opponent this strong… I give everything I have until the end."
And then he began to stagger.
"You think so? You look pretty messed up to me. I mean, do you really think you can continue?"
"Oh. You're very kind, Kaizer. But don't worry… ever since I lost my duel with Kazuma, I decided never to underestimate my opponents again and…" Mitsurugi made a grimace of pain and spat to the side. "…to come prepared."
He reached into his armor and when he pulled his hand out he produced a small vial with a blue, glowing liquid. He opened it and downed it in one gulp.
Mitsurugi's body shone faintly, and all the exhaustion he had shown until just now disappeared completely.
"Son of a bitch… Did you seriously have an Elixir?"
"You seem surprised."
"Of course I am. You're cheating!"
Mitsurugi looked confused.
"Cheating? It's strange to hear you say that when you're also a reincarnated."
"What do you mea—"
"Eeeeey! Kaizeer!"
When I turned around I found Aqua, who didn't seem the least bit surprised by what my opponent had just done.
"He's right," she said. "Didn't you say that in your world you'd played a lot of RPGs? Then you should already know. In boss battles the player can use items to recover health. Well, this would be something similar."
Well, looking at it that way, what Aqua was explaining made quite a bit of sense. After all, this world has many things typical of those kinds of games. Levels, classes, quests…
But even so, that didn't take away from how screwed I was! I didn't have any items on me! The last mana potions I had were used up fucking Aqua the previous nights!
"Well, now that the matter is cleared up, how about we continue?" Mitsurugi already had Gram ready to attack.
Aaaah! Why does that damn goddess's pussy have to be so addictive?!
With a fully revitalized Mitsurugi, I tried to resist his attacks as best I could. Deflecting the blows of his powerful sword with Kronos while waiting for an opportunity to counterattack.
But as expected… I lost.
"Shit!" I shouted in anger, punching the ground.
I had been so close.
"Phew, you almost beat me," Mitsurugi said in a calm tone, resting his sword against his shoulder. His lips curved into a satisfied little smile. "I admit that at one point I had to go all out. It seems I still need to train more. In fact, if I hadn't used that Elixir I might have lost this duel."
Might? I would've wiped the floor with you if it hadn't been for that stupid item!
"Who knows," was what I said out loud. I didn't want to look like a sore loser. A loss is a loss, no matter how you look at it.
"Beyond that, I can't help but admire the enormous potential you've shown me today, Kaizer. Perhaps Lady Aqua is safe under your care after all."
"Oh! Really?" My words were barely laced with a touch of sarcasm.
Who does this clown think he is?
"Yes. At least until I manage to become stronger."
"Hey, if you're done, can we leave already?"
Aqua, who seemed to care absolutely nothing about Mitsurugi's determination to protect her, took a step toward us. She looked even more irritated.
And she was so dirty. Now that I think about it properly, being eaten by a giant toad can't be pleasant at all. So maybe the best thing would be to return to the guild and, if we're lucky, take a bath together!
Without saying anything, I took her by the wrist and started walking.
"Ow!" she complained. "You don't have to pull so hard!"
"You know what, Aqua? You're absolutely right. It's gotten really late. How about we head back to Axel?"
"Huh? Y-Yeah. I guess that would be fine."
"Well, Mitsurugi, see you around!" I greeted the swordmaster and began walking toward the city without looking back.
"You'd better get stronger, Kaizer! I'll train even harder and surpass my limits as well! Take care, my lady Aqua! I'll be watching over your safety!"
"Ah, sure, sure. Bye, Katsuragi."
"Uh… it's Mitsurugi, my lady. Hey! Wait! I'm going the same way as you!"
I started walking faster. Practically dragging Aqua along.
***
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