Chapter 29: Those epic martial moments

ED: Sup guys, as usual here’s a chapter, me and X3al proudly present our translation. As always feel free to point out errors and comment below.

Real t.i.tle: Mira vs Devil

“But Mira-chan, you’re going to fight against a devil. We saw you’re strong, indeed… however!”

“Yeah. At least let us to buy you some time to summon Alfina.”

Emera held her breath, Asbar tightly grasped his hammer and told that to Mira who was going to fight the devil.But Mira said without looking at them:

“I doubt there will be enough time for that!”

and summoned the Dark Knight in front of her. A high-pitched metalic sound instantly rang, spreading waves of repelled air around. The next moment Emera and Asbar saw the Dark Knight holding the devil’s sickle with a sword.

“He just…”

Cold sweat ran down Asbar’s cheek. Emera, unable to react in time, could just lift her sword after the fact. This clash had shown them their gap in strength with the devil.

“Step down already!”

Once again Mira warned the members of the Écarlate Carillon.

“But then…”

As adults, not only Emera, but Asbar as well couldn’t simply leave all the fight with the devil to a little girl. However, the enemy was out of their league and even if they try to distract him by buying time for everybody to escape, judging by that strike they probably wouldn’t last even a dozen seconds.

“Both of you, let’s retreat to the castle!”

“Yeah, it’s better than staying here.”

While Asbar and Emera hesitated, they were called to from behind. When they turned back, Frica waved them in while looking somewhat impatient. 

Nevertheless, when they were going to argue,

“We’re getting in the way here!”

Frica said that. She already saw it. The fluctuations from the magic power shaped like a ghost soul. And outs.h.i.+ning it the magic rising up from Mira. 

At her words, Emera and Asbar looked at Mira again. Her small yet huge back without words was telling them that Frica was right.

“Sorry, miss. We are leaving it to you!”

“Mira-chan. Run when you feel you’ll not win. We’ll somehow hold him back!”

Entrusting such will to her, they joined Frica and Zef and ran away to the castle. At that time Asbar felt that this still small back of a girl resembles to him the heroes he saw once.

“I’m seeing things.”

Asbar muttered that and, convincing himself it was forced on him by the atmosphere shook it off from his thoughts.

“No matter where you run, mere humans can’t get away from me.”

Revealing a smirk, he clanged his weapons together and, glancing at the dark knight jumped away from him. He didn’t put in all his strength, but it still was enough to recognize the Dark Knight, who stopped it, as a worthy opponent.

“Let’s start with the greetings, warrior. I am Wolfton Bane. A third-rank Earl from Varnaless soul hunting knights.”

This time the devil held a distance from Mira without looking away and made a deliberately formal greeting. Despite being a devil, Wolfton was a knight and held the pride of the n.o.bility. That said, the pride of devils wasn’t accepted by humans since it was inhuman and low.

“I’m Mira. A summoner, as thou can see.”

Mira, pointing at the Dark Knight with her eyes, faced Wolfton and returned the greeting.

“Hahahahaha, a summoner. Then it’s over after I cut down this knight.”

Not finis.h.i.+ng his words, Wolfton kicked the ground and jumped, putting gravity and his own weight into one blow on the Dark Knight. This time, there was a dull metal sound and a sound of something breaking. The Dark Knight stopped this blow by lifting his sword, but the ground couldn’t withstand that force and collapsed under his feet. He lost balance and Wolfton wasn’t going to overlook this chance. 

As he landed on his feet, Wolfton made a half-turn, his scythe roared and sharply pierced the body of Dark Knight, sending him into a flight.

“Hehehehehe! 　That was all!”

Still rotating further on the inertia, Wolfton distorted his face in joy and like a kaishakunin hit towards the girl. (TN/ED: basically the guy who helps someone commit seppuku which is suicide)

But the black blade pierced only stone. The girl who was there a moment ago vanished from his eyes.

“Where…!”

【Xian Sky：Knead Impact】

Wolfton was twirling his head when his face deformed and with a breaking sound his huge black body took off to the sky. In the moment when Wolfton turned away, Mira sneaked by his chest and hit with a Xian skill. A multilayer shock wave unloaded its rage into the stomach of the careless Wolfton and brought him down.

(Hmm. So-so.)

Checking the response of the blow, Mira lightly gripped her fist. This fist told her that the battle feels almost the same. The reach became shorter, but she could just stay a half step further. And, compensating for the smaller body, concealment in the shadows became easier. That’s what Mira knew from the first touch.

Mira was worrying the most about the differences in physics. The air resistance and uncalculated wind. But even if it changed, it wasn’t enough to hinder her movements. 

Moreover, she could feel the presence and movement of air with the five senses, and reflexes made her reactions faster. And she still had her strength. Her own mastered skills and abilities that she could turn into strength.

The reason for that all was nothing but Arc Earth Online. 

The game world was absurdly realistic, it answered to player skills with unbelievable for online games flexibility.

Even at the start, experienced martial artists and karate champions could throw themselves against mid-level monsters or players. Thus, it was necessary not only to train in the game but also in real life. 

Actually, this game had a veteran, who fist-fight with monsters in the game and got a prize in high rank match of a national karate tournament while being a complete amateur. Although, he lost after that due to the lack of physical strength.

That’s why Mira who was good at close range fights as a Xian fighter had world-cla.s.s fighting skills, discounting her muscles.

Right, it would work. Just by doing it like always, like usual she can fight the devil. 

Mira took another deep breath and switched her thoughts. She remembered how she did it in game and was applying it to the fight.

“Wrench, what did you do!”

Wolfton yelled at Mira after he twisted his body in the air and angrily landed.

“I just gently touched you. Why are you so angry, brat?”

As Mira naturally said that, she felt how her feelings returned to Dunbalf’s times. When a fearless smile changed her pleasant complexion, flames on the scythe showed Wolfton’s anger when he charged at her.

“La.s.s, don’t underestimate me!”

Mira just kept dodging the burning scythe attacks with footwork, sidestepping to the left and right. She felt uneasy at the beginning, but her movements opened an excessive safe distance and she gradually approached the best position. 

Her ability was backed up by skills she ingrained in her body and her reliable experience. As she regained her posture, Mira kept dodging the scythe with the minimum movements and naturally guided her punches to Wolfton’s openings. 

After enduring all her weak hits, Wolfton completely lost himself. That wasn’t strange. His opponent was pet.i.te, a child and, to add to that, a woman. His n.o.ble devil’s pride could not allow him to lose 1-on-1 combat to an inferior race, humans.

With a loud roar the scythe slipped to Mira’s side and, scattering crimson sparkles, pierced the ground. Mira largely inclined her body to avoid it and, using this movement, kicked the black skin that guarded the back of his knee. Wolfton lost his balance and Mira quickly jumped on his wide open back, grasping the horn growing on his head.

【Xian Earth：Crimson Grasp】

Mira concentrated her will and released flames that sparkled and wrapped around his head.

“AWOOOO!”

When Wolfton, covering his burned head, stood up after rolling on the ground, madness finally filled his eyes.

“Hmm. I felt that simple strikes didn’t work.”

No matter how many punches she exchanged with the devil, with the toughness of his sh.e.l.l Mira barely felt a response. On the contrary, she hurt her fists. And it proved it further. After she gave her equipment for close combat to Creos, her own physical strength wasn’t much different from the usual mage. 

Most of the Xian skills were affected by the muscles, though Mira could considerably compensate for it with her abnormal magic strength. Still, the most efficient Xian skills mostly depend on physique and lacked power. 

Originally, the battle style of Xian masters displayed the worth of combining close combat with the Xian skills. Mira was going to double this fight as a martial arts practice. But now her punches don’t work so there’s no reason to care about it. And, thanks to her high magic power, she could actually do damage.

【Xian Inner：Awaken】

Mira completely regained the old feelings of Dunbalf and, like she finally went serious, used the secret skill of Xian to open the true eyes. After she shortly closed her eyes and opened them again, her pupils were painted into a more clear blue than sky. During the awakening she got buffs to all stats and a bonus to the Xian skills.

The magic power of Mira skyrocketed even further and reached the eyes of Frica, who overlooked the fight from the castle. Frica reflexively collapsed, overwhelmed by the scale of this magic flow she never felt before.

“What happened, Frica?”

Emera reached out to the suddenly collapsed Frica and asked that.

“Thanks. It’s just… the atmosphere around Mira-chan changed. It became stronger… deeper.”

Everybody there silently gasped, hearing the words of the swaying Frica.

The fight between Mira and the devil became more fierce. Still angered, Wolfton returned to his senses and, covering his arms in a black blaze, launched a wave of flame with his scythe attack. 

MIra dodged the scythe swing and unleashed an attack that repelled the black blaze attack.

【Xian Earth：Wind Cloth】

Contrary to the black blaze, Mira put the wind on her hands and repelled the black blaze with her hand, at the same time the vacuum and whirlwind’s turbulence wounded the side of Wolfton.

Nu~o~o~oｰｰｰ!

However, without regard to that Wolfton sw.a.n.g up his scythe. His wound was shallow enough to not affect his movements. The blaze tail sharply cut the air, flas.h.i.+ng right before Mira who promptly pulled herself back.Furthermore, not finis.h.i.+ng that swing yet Wolfton stuck out another hand making another attack with the black blaze.

“Huh! 　 Thou aren’t half bad, brat!”

Mira crossed her arms and received all the attack with her winds while staring at Wolfton with her clear blue true eyes.

“How much are you going to mock me, la.s.s?!”

Shouting his yell, Wolfton flew backwards and quickly raised his magic power. At the same time the black blaze swelled up and wrapped his entire body.

“Forget about the souvenirs. I’ll burn you right here!”

Wolfton rored and dashed to the ground as a jet black flame. But Mira could clearly see the quickly approaching devil who had enough speed to smash through bedrock with her true eyes.

“Rot away here!”

When his scythe bluntly s.h.i.+ning with black flames went downwards,

“I refuse!”

【Xian Step：Shrink Ground】

Without any preparations, Mira instantly flew to his bosom and punched with 【Xian Air：Knead Impact】.

“Wha..!?”

Scattering the black flames, Wolfton was thrown to the skies and, anguis.h.i.+ng, he was trying to quickly brake, flapping his wings. The damage itself wasn’t so bad.His body, strong as expected from a devil of his rank, allowed him to be confident in his defense. A usual devil already should have lost the ability to move after all those attacks.

“La.s.s… how did you?!”

Even though the attacks barely worked, he couldn’t stay calm when a human child treated him like that. Wolfton was grinding his teeth, staring at the ground. But the sight he saw there for a moment made him s.h.i.+ver.

【Xian Step：Sky Stride】

Like climbing a ladder, Mira was closing up to him.

“You!”

He had no time for a swing. Wolfton took the handle of his scythe and promptly mowed the shortest distance to drive her away. But Mira jumped even higher over his desperate strike and, looking down on him, touched his head from an upside-down posture. 

When her skirt softly rolled up, revealing the skin from her thighs to the abdomen, Mira focused her mind.

“How about this.”

“Wha….!”

【Xian Earth：Furious Impact Grasp】

A lump of impact appeared inside her palm and, becoming an resistible shockwave, it raged, trying to blow away the head of Wolfton. This overly violent force threw Wolfton who was unable to firmly stay in the air to the earth below.

The rock crumbling echoed around and a moment later Mira landed on the ground. Her pupils were focused on the black devil crawling out of the rubble.

“I had no idea such people exist.”

Even after receiving two strikes of high-power close range Xian attacks, the devil hasn’t shown any signs of significant damage. His st.u.r.diness clearly was erratic.

(I didn’t know such tough devils exist.)

Still, Mira without showing any concerns fixed her look on the devil.

“But it doesn’t work! 　I don’t even feel it! 　Such attacks can’t do anything to my trained body!”

Wolfton declared it to keep his will intact. The Xian skills themselves indeed worked to some extent, but it wasn’t enough to make him worry about his body.

“It was a good match, but it’s already time to finish it. Brat.”

【Secret Xian：Unseal The Eye】

With those words Mira triggered a skill changing her right eye to black with a gold pupil. 

Filled with magic her changed eye seemed like an ominous moon s.h.i.+ning in a pitch black dark night.And under the gaze of that eye Wolfton felt like the gaze alone could pierce him, he unconsciously s.h.i.+vered, feeling the superiority from the girl in front of him.

(Impossible… Feeling fear…. It can’t be!)

“An impudent lowly huma….!”

Wolfton yelled, raising the scythe along with black flames to the heavens. But the scythe suddenly slipped out of his hands and Wolfton found an abnormality in his body.

(Is that..gr…paralysis!? 　Impudent, impudent!)

【Xian Eye：Look of Numbness】

The ultimate Xian skill that paralyses the opponent you’re focused on and furthermore crushes him from the inside. The condition is capturing the subject into a magical eye’s stare for a specific time. Mira landed a bit distantly to keep him inside her field of view.

“Nu …… ~O~o~o~o~oo Oh oh!”

“As expected for a devil. I can’t hold it long.”

Fingers, arms, shoulders, gradually the paralysis left Wolfton. Devils as a whole have a high resistance to control effects. He was paralyzed despite it just due to the sheer amount of Mira’s magic power.

Of course Mira understood that. Her aim was not the damage to his internal organs combined with the paralysis. She just wanted to buy some time. 

No matter how much Mira dominated him, dealing with that excessive toughness was hard. It would take quite a lot of time to break this armor with her own strength.

“Yet it’s already over.”

The next moment Wolfton felt a dreadful presence behind. But the paralysis was not over yet so he could only grind his teeth when a jet black blade appeared from his chest along with drops of a black fluid.

“Gu…o~o.Impossible!”

Wolfton, chewing the body fluids he spew from the mouth, turned his head backwards despite the paralysis and showed a confused look on his face.

The black knight that he defeated at the beginning stared at him with red eyes. 

Her fists can’t do a thing now, but Mira’s dark knight is way more hard. Still, due to the hardness of Wolfton’s body, there was the need to focus the power only on the attack. The paralysis helped there.

“Why… since…. when…he…”

“My dark knight doesn’t falter that easy, brat”

Mira calmly approached him. Her steps were small but each of those steps uncontestedly engraved her victory.

“Not expected… my…defeat…like that”

“Haven’t I told thou first? I am a summoner.”

“Ahh…indeed”

Wolfton stood in front of her and Mira gazed at him with a true eye and a magic eye. Wolfton, looking at those eyes, faintly smiled. His face showed the contentment that he fought with a true warrior and lost. 

The Dark Knight pulled out the sword piercing him and readied it.

“…Splendid…”

With his last words the sword beheaded him, shooting the black fluid in the air. Next to the fallen down body, his head in satisfaction looked up to the heavens.