Chapter 43 . 2 : Battle For The Bond

「Sorry…… . . Electric-type attacks won’t work on me anymore . 」

I already prepared a counter measure against that kind of attack . Maybe things would have gotten really dangerous if I hadn’t prepared that countermeasure .

When I thought that she used that kind of dangerous skill on me without even a shred of hesitation a s.h.i.+ver ran through my spine .

The woman called Kaya was tottering on her feet . With this, she wouldn’t be able to do anything for a while .

I had to go to that confectionary castle immediately so I left her behind and ran .

「W……… . Waai-……」

I wouldn’t stop just because the woman called Kaya told me to do so .

Please, please keep her safe . I ran as I prayed for her safety .

◆Sword Maiden, s.h.i.+rone

「FLYING SHADOW BLADE! ! 」

Several magic blades produced by her scythe chased after me .

I erased them all with the swing of my sword .

「Not bad, s.h.i.+rone! ! Then, how about this, VOIDLESS BLADE! ! 」

And now she used teleporting magic blades . But, this technique was too easy to dodge as long as I paid attention since there was a time lag between the moment she created the blade and when it made its move .

This was like a seesaw game .

Despite her stupidly high defensive power, the Silver Witch seemed to have limited means of attack . For this reason, none of her attacks could finish me off .

But, my attacks were also unable to penetrate her solid defense .

And yet, the one being chased around was me . I was bound to be defeated if things kept going on as they were .

「FLAME BLADE! ! WINGS BLADE, BLAZING SWALLOW!」

I sent my attack towards her but it stopped by one of the Silver Witch’s magic barriers .

The magic barrier power varied in accordance to the power of its user . Despite not being as powerful as Rena’s, the Silver Witch’s magic barrier was still quite a powerful one .

「What a tough magic barrier…… . . Reiji-kun should be able to tear through this magic barrier, but it’s simply impossible for me . 」

Reiji-kun’s sword was fast, and heavy . He could easily tear even Rena’s magic barriers if they were just one or two . But, unlike Reiji-kun’s, none of my attacks could reach her .

Despite slightly lacking in the power department, my swinging speed was around the same as Reiji-kun’s . So the main reason I couldn’t tear through her barrier must have been just that – my lacking power .

「None of your attacks can reach me, s.h.i.+rone! ! 」

The Silver Witch swung her scythe again as she yelled, sending several magic blades towards me again .

The magic blades with auto-tracking function chased after me like my own shadow, so  I couldn’t just dodge them . Since I had no choice I intercepted all of those magic blades, while the Silver Witch controlled another magic blade to attack me . I flew past the magic blades to leave my previous position in a hurry .

I could somehow avoid her attacks for now, but dodging them became increasingly more difficult each moment .

「It seems you realized that you’re slowly driven into a corner, s.h.i.+rone . With this, Kuroki will be MINE and MINE alone . Your existence is just an eyesore . So BEGONE!」

The Silver Witch yelled as she swung her scythe . [ED: d.a.m.n Yandere, you scary!]

「KUROKI ISN’T YOURS! ! 」

I replied while stopping her slash with my sword .

You can’t treat a person like a thing . And most of all, manipulating a person will with a magic drug makes it even worse .

「Then, does that make Kuroki yours? ! 」

「He isn’t MINE! ! 」

「Then just shut your mouth and begone, you’re just an eyesore! ! 」

I deflected her scythe with my sword and then took some distance from her . We were glaring at each other .

「Fuh」

I started laughing .

「What are you laughing for? 」

「I see now……… . In short . You can’t make Kuroki completely yours, is that it? 」

When I said so, the Silver Witch’s cute face became sullen .

It seems my remark was a bull’s eye .

I was convinced . Kuroki wasn’t completely under her control yet . There was still a chance to save him .

「Certainly, sometimes………… Kuroki is leering at Regena’s b.u.t.t . 」

The Silver Witch said with a vexed tone .

I was astonished to hear her say those words .

What the h.e.l.l is that closet pervert doing in Nargol . It seems he needs to receive strict re-education in his conduct .

「BUT! ! MOST OF THE TIME, HE’S PEERING AT KUNA’S BREAST AND b.u.t.t! ! THERE’S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT! ! 」

Saying so, she charged at me and then swung her scythe again .

Though her attacks became faster than before, her movements were sloppier .

I could cope now, with her attacks becoming sloppy .

I dodged her slash and then chanted sending a counter as I said the name of my skill .

「THOUSAND SWALLOW WINGS BLADE! ! ! 」

「KUH！  ! 」

But, the Silver Witch’s barriers repelled my attacks .

The momentary delay in erecting her magical barrier allowed me to seal her movements .

NOW! !

I forcibly fixed my stance and charged towards her . My body was screaming in pain, but I couldn’t let go of this chance .

I charged my entire magic power in to the sword on my shoulder .

I was about to unleash my finis.h.i.+ng attack, the Thousand Swallow Wings Blade, in succession . This was, in fact, quite a reckless action . But, I wouldn’t be able to beat the Silver Witch unless I forced myself to do this .

「HA! ! 」

Along with my yell, I swung my sword from the overhead stance in a forward spin .

My sword was blocked by her magic s.h.i.+eld, but without caring about that, I kept hacking on the s.h.i.+eld .

「WHAT!  ? 」

One of the magic s.h.i.+elds was broken under my continous onslaught, like a dispersing mist . The Silver Witch wasn’t reacting fast enough to erect another magic s.h.i.+eld, defending herself against my attack with the handle of her scythe . At this rate, we were going to crash against each other .

I gained the upper hand, literally, as I started attacking the Silver Witch from above .

「As expected, you can’t erect your magic s.h.i.+eld and form your blades at this distance! ! 」

I declared so to the fallen Silver Witch .

It went according to my plan . This plan might have failed if she could deploy double the number of her current magic s.h.i.+elds .

Yosh, let’s call this skill “Heavenly Wings Decapitating Demon Sword” . I must say – it’s quite a wonderful name .

「KUH……… . 」

The Silver witch tried to repel my sword that was interlocked with her scyth with a vexed expression .

But I wouldn’t let her do that . I put more power into my sword .

「Ufufu, even if you lost in other areas, it seems that your brute power is still above mine . 」

Though I wanted to retort to her remarks just now, I was not in a position to do so .

I put more power in my swings .

「Now then, release Kuroki at once! ! 」

「Gugugu…… . . W-What are you…… . Talking about?」

「Don’t play dumb in front of me! ! You’re the one who brainwashed Kuroki with your magic! ! 」

There’s no way that kind and gentle Kuroki would serve under that atrocious demon king unless you brainwashed him .  You’re going to die if you keep feigning your ignorance .

I had no power left after using my finis.h.i.+ng move in succession . I was going to lose if she suddenly turned the tables on me .

And not just that, I was basically out of power to even press my sword an inch further towards my opponent .

And just like that, we were glaring at each other from our positions .

「EH! ! 」

「AH！  ! 」

After who knows how long, I suddenly felt an extremely powerful force from behind tearing me off from the Silver Witch and tossing me to the edge of the room . Looking at the one who threw me I saw the figure of the Dark Knight, standing there as he held the hand of the Silver Witch .

「Kuroki! ! 」

When I saw the figure of the Dark Knight, I was petrified, unable to move my body .

The Silver Witch was screaming . It seems they were talking about something . When I saw them talking to each other so intimately, It felt like my limbs were being tied to the floor .

So when the Silver Witch backed down, Kuroki finally walked towards me . His sword was still in his sheath, he had no intention to fight at all .

「s.h.i.+rone! ! Let’s talk outside! ! 」

◆Dark Knight, Kuroki

Somehow I managed to arrive and prevent the worst scenario from happening . After convincing Kuna to step back from this for the time being, I looked at s.h.i.+rone .

Oh, c.r.a.p she…… . .   was really p.i.s.sed off right now .

I made up my mind as I walked towards s.h.i.+rone, who was glaring daggers at me .

　Please stop with that glare, I’m getting cold feet over here .  What should I do? What should I do now?

I unintentionally tore s.h.i.+rone off from Kuna when I thought that she almost killed her . I never thought of what was going to happen after that .

「Now then s.h.i.+rone, it’s 2-On-1! ! 」

Kuna said, as she fixed her stance with her scythe .

At least don’t use edged wea——– F$ck, what in the world was I thinking just now .

I couldn’t keep my composure anymore . Anyway, I couldn’t let these two start another battle here .

「Kuna, let me tend to her . During that time, please withdraw from Algore along with this castle . 」

「Mu~ . Why Kuroki? The two of us can certainly finish her off! ! 」

I shook my head to deny her . No…… . . Only I may accompany s.h.i.+rone and no one else… . . Not in her current condition……

「It’s okay, I’m more powerful than her . That’s why, please wait for me in Nargol, Kuna . 」

「No! ! 」

I looked at Kuna with a surprised face .

She never said no to whatever I asked of her until now . [:O]

「Kuna…… . . 」

「There’s no way I can let Kuroki be together with that woman . That woman is dangerous……… It feels like she……… . Will take Kuroki to somewhere far, far away . 」

Kuna looked at s.h.i.+rone with eyes filled with hostility .

「……… I won’t do that you know, Kuna . Even if I did that, I would take you along with me . I promise . 」

I was really clear with the meaning of my words just now, but I had to say this .

Kuna looked at me . We gazed into each other’s eyes .

「I understand…… . I’ll wait for you in Nargol . 」

Maybe because she understood the meaning behind my statement, Kuna lowered her scythe as she unwillingly gave in .

After confirming that, I went towards s.h.i.+rone . s.h.i.+rone kept her stance without moving at all .

「s.h.i.+rone! ! Let’s talk outside! ! 」

Hearing me, s.h.i.+rone sheat her sword back to its scabbard .