Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no “Kokoro”-

Volume 4 Chapter 4.1

With the Strength of Our Bonds Part 1

Translator : PolterGlast

"Jihad-sensei is quite capricious, huh? That guy might be a bit lucky and managed to survive the Special Comprehensive Exercise, but there's no way he'll ever be a match for a hero like Jihad-sensei, no matter how hard he tries......"

A section of the waiting area, protected by a barrier of light.

In the place where the 1st-class had gathered, Ken was snickering as he looked at Jihad and Nozomu, who were facing each other.

Next to him, Lisa gazed at Nozomu standing in the arena with an empty expression on her face.

"In the first place, it's strange that that lousy bastard was chosen to be Jihad-sensei's opponent. It's as if that bottom-feeder qualified to be the representative of our grade."

"Yeah, you can say that again......"

"Even this morning, he suddenly ambushed me in the girls' dormitory, just like a stalker. I wonder why he hasn't been expelled yet."

Lisa's cold words were uttered along with her lifeless gaze. The other students around her began to whisper and make a fuss over her words, all of which were generally in agreement with Ken's words.

Certainly, Nozomu's reputation was briefly swayed by his attempts to confront Lisa before the Special Comprehensive Exercise, but it soon fell to the ground again. This was the result of Mefi's manipulation of Lisa's memories of the Spasim Forest.

A dark glee welled up in Ken's chest.

However, if one were to say whether he was able to completely ruin Nozomu's reputation ...... it was not the case.

"......What a load of crap."

The buzzing atmosphere was cut short by a dignified voice.

The attention of the surroundings then focused on the owner of the voice, Irisdina.

"B-But, Irisdina-san. Lisa-san is his childhood friend, so-......"

"How many of you here have actually spoken to him? How many of you know who he really is? Even she, as his ex-girlfriend, doesn't know who he actually is."

One classmate spoke up timidly, but Irisdina brushed off her words without even making eye contact. Her eyes were fixed on Nozomu, who was in the arena, and they were filled with intensity and light, something that Lisa, who was being manipulated by Mefi, lacked.

Complete trust and immense credibility. She paid no heed to others' frivolous talk. Seeing her appearance, all the students who had been gossiping fell silent.

The tension increased. Inevitably, the atmosphere of the place turned vague and ambiguous.

Ken gnashed his teeth inwardly at the reaction of those around him.

Recently. Especially after the recent Special Comprehensive Exercise, whenever Irisdina and the others heard bad things about Nozomu or rumors that had been circulating, they kept denying them.

As a result, gradually, the number of students who began to doubt the rumors spread by Ken has been increasing again.

(But this is just the right time. Let’s make him unable to recover himself here. Mefi......)

(Sure~~, but I can't do much with this girl's mental restraints, is that okay?)

(No problem, as long as we can make it look like an accident, that's all that matters.)

(I'll leave it to me......~!?)

However, right after hearing Mefi's words, the image of a blue-haired elf girl and a small lapis lazuli-colored bird popped into Ken's mind. They were with Nozomu when they fought against the [Cracked-Crown] Giant Centipede. Apparently, they were keeping an eye on them. This meant that he could not use Mefi's power. Ken clicked his tongue and gave up on the idea of conducting a backstage operation here.

He then turned his attention to the two standing in the center of the arena with his arms crossed.

A confrontation between a hero and a student. Almost everyone who came to this Martial Arts Garden, including the rest of the students, let out a disappointed sneer at Nozomu's lack of reliability.

But Ken was aware of it. Nozomu, facing Jihad, was bewildered, but not nervous.

In his mind, the scene of his abominable childhood friend fending off the [Cracked-Crown] Giant Centipede resurfaced.

Ken gritted his teeth to stifle the frustration that was rising up within him.

?

Jihad stepped forward and completely killed the distance that had been open in an instant.

An ultra-fast flash step, reflected in his enormous amount of Qi. A perfect step with no hint of any movement.

The great sword swung downward from above and fell toward Nozomu's head at such an extraordinary speed that it was hard to believe it was being controlled with only one hand.

Nozomu twisted his body and shifted himself out of the sword's trajectory. The sword strike flew past him and grazed his cheek.

In the next instant, the muscles in Jihad's arm bulged, and the blade of the great sword slashed out horizontally.

"~!?"

As soon as he could, Nozomu bent his upper body while leaning backward.

The blade grazed his chest, popping the buttons of his clothes and leaving a single tear in his uniform coat.

With cold sweat running down Nozomu's cheeks, Jihad drew back his great sword, which he had flung out further, and released a thrust.

A gust of wind accompanied the thrust, and in an instant the tip of the sword was right in front of Nozomu's eyes.

Nozomu, however, did not show any signs of weakness. He relaxed his knees as he crouched down. Jihad's great sword passed right over Nozomu's head. Nozomu slammed the sheath, which still held the katana within, into the belly of the great sword. Then, while Jihad's right arm was still fully stretched out, Nozomu slid into his feet.

"Hm......!?"

"Sei!"

Nozomu unsheathed his katana and drew it. He ran past Jihad and delivered a sharp slash to Jihad's exposed flank.

*Clang!* Along with a high-pitched metallic sound, a hard feeling was felt back on Nozomu's arm.

His slash was blocked by the tower shield that Jihad deftly slid into place.

The tower shield is a huge curved shield. It boasts overwhelming defensive power, but because of its weight and poor maneuverability, it was not originally intended for use in such one-on-one battles.

Despite using such a shield, Jihad's defense was surprisingly swift.

"Nuuun!"

Jihad rushed forward with his shield at the ready. He swung his greatsword at Nozomu with a mighty force befitting his outward appearance. Nozomu, although in an unstable posture, attempted to deflect Jihad's slash by raising his katana.

"Gah!"

The moment the katana and the greatsword made contact, a powerful shock struck Nozomu's entire body. It was a pressure he had never felt before. He managed to prevent the blade from making a direct hit, but there was no way that Jihad's offensive would end with just a single sword strike.

"Ugh......!"

A huge shadow loomed. Nozomu, still staggered backward, was directly hit by a blow from the tower shield.

While his vision was distorted by the impact of being hit and slammed to the ground, Nozomu desperately moved his body and jumped back. Immediately afterward, Jihad's greatsword pierced the ground where he had fallen.

"You dodged it well."

"Haa, haa...... I'm used to being blown away......"

Penetrating sword-Qi and a sense of tension. The overwhelming difference in ability, shown in the few moments of attack and defense.

A smile naturally appeared on Nozomu's lips. Seeing him like this, Jihad's cheeks loosened slightly.

"You seem to be enjoying this."

"Eh?"

"I see, so it's subconscious. Nevertheless, you have a good eye. You also have a great instinct for reading the flow of battle. You are a good swordsman. As expected of the great swordsman's last disciple."

"T-Thanks......"

"But it's not enough. Show me a little more. Here I go."

With those words as a signal, an unbelievably vast amount of Qi was concentrated at Jihad's feet.

A blast resounded through the air. Jihad, having once again activated his [flash step], rushed toward Nozomu once again.

"Zei!"

The greatsword was swung out at a speed so fast that it was hard to believe it was a one-handed swing.

Nozomu ducked with a gliding body movement, but the barrage of slashes kept on coming.

A combination of a backhanded right cleave, a downward and upward slash, a diagonal slash, and a thrust.

These are all based on accumulated experience and solid technique. The harmony of his blessed physique and swordsmanship woven by his unrelenting training, he quickly drove Nozomu into a corner.

"Kuh......"

Nozomu focused his concentration. Predicting his opponent's movements based on his line of sight and the movement of muscles throughout his body, Nozomu devoted himself solely to evasion by diverting his body axis away from the sword slashes.

However, the moment his attention was drawn to the rigidly wielded blade, Jihad took up his shield without a moment's pause and lunged forward with a charge.

"Tch!"

Nozomu quickly put his katana in between him and the shield, but the difference in physical strength was so great that he was unable to resist and was instantly pushed back at once.

"Crap...... ugh~!"

A pseudo tree created by ritual magic loomed behind Nozomu and he slammed into it as it was.

The tower shield and the tree made of rock caught Nozomu between them, and a grunt of anguish escaped from his mouth.

A sense of crushing pressure assaulted his entire body. Jihad threw the greatsword in his right hand up, grabbed Nozomu by the collar, and threw him into the air. He then grabbed the falling greatsword back and swung it with all his might.

Nozomu raised his katana in his spinning vision, trying to avoid a direct hit. Immediately afterward, he was struck by a shock as if he had been slammed into by a horse-drawn carriage that was running at full speed. His body was blown horizontally to the ground like a piece of wood, and he rolled, slamming into the ground repeatedly, finally coming to a stop near the center of the arena.

"Cough...... haa, haa."

While breathing out roughly, Nozomu managed to raise his upper body by putting pressure on his arms.

His hands inside his vision looked blurry, perhaps he had hit his head when he was blown to the ground.

He shook his head and looked upward, as if telling himself to get a hold of himself.

In his blurry vision, he could see Jihad, with his back facing the spectators in the Martial Arts Garden, approaching him with slow, steady steps. His figure resembled that of his master, who had usually trained him.

"Come on, Nozomu, why aren't you getting serious!?"

While he was once again realizing Jihad's strength, his best friend's voice echoed throughout the arena.

Surprised by the sudden voice, Nozomu turned his attention to the waiting area to see Mars leaning forward and yelling.

"Hurry up and use your techniques already! The guys upstairs have been yapping for a while now! To shut them up, you'd better get serious now!"

By "the guys upstairs", is he referring to the people in the distinguished guests' seats? Such language was extremely disrespectful to the city's most influential people. In fact, some of the people in the distinguished guests' seats are raising their voices and starting to argue with Mars.

"Don't worry, Nozomu. Your opponent is Jihad-dono, there is no need to refrain yourself!"

"You can do it if you are serious. Do your best!"

Next to speak up were Irisdina and Shina. The talented next head of the Francylt family is the center of attention among the aristocracy. And Shina, a mysterious race loved by spirits and the only elf in Arcazam. The cheering of these two celebrities caused the people in the distinguished guests' seats to begin to murmur.

Nozomu once again turned his attention to Jihad.

He is one of the swordsmen who became the spiritual pillar of the soldiers during the great invasion 20 years ago, slashing through the onrushing monsters with a giant sword in his hand. He is also a skilled swordsman of the same rank as Nozomu's master, Shino.

(Now that I think about it, I've hardly ever used shishō's techniques properly at this academy......)

Many of the techniques of the Mikagura school are highly lethal, and since Nozomu himself had originally been on escapism, the only time he had seriously demonstrated the techniques was during the last Special Comprehensive Exercise.

"It's okay, even if I use it, huh...... -wait, isn't my life in danger if I don't?"

His monstrous master, who used the same technique to cancel out Qi-jutsu and Phantom Slash, which is difficult to even see with the naked eyes. Nozomu still remembered that afterward, while he was stunned, he was hit by a blow that was full of killing intent. In the face of such a monster equivalent to his master, Nozomu's thoughts began to drift in a strange direction.

Of course, Nozomu was overthinking things, but he was too traumatized in mind and body to notice.

"Nozomu-sa~~n! Go for it~~!"

"Somia-chan......"

The cheers of Somia in the spectator's seats brought Nozomu, who had begun to break out in a cold sweat, back to reality.

The maid beside her also voiced a tranquil, but clear voice that echoed in the Martial Arts Garden.

"Nozomu-sama, there is no need to hesitate. Even if you wanted to kill him, you wouldn't be able to."

Jihad's expression turned unusually sour in response to Mena's words.

"My friend, isn't that a terrible thing to say?"

"Who was it that fought a demonic beast for three days with a hole in his stomach? That’s why, Nozomu-sama, I am asking you to be serious."

Jihad let out a sigh so loud that others could hear it.

"You hear that, Nozomu, you don't have to go easy on him!"

"Don't be intimidated by Jihad-sensei's sword fights! If you do, you will be crushed instantly!"

"Your skills are by no means inferior to Jihad-sensei's! Be confident!"

"Nozomu-kun! Give it all you've got!"

In the midst of all this, not only Mars and Irisdina but also Kevin, Karanti, the 10th-class Jin and the others were cheering for Nozomu.

Something hot that he had never felt when he was all alone welled up from deep within his chest.

"Phew......"

He closed his eyes and relaxed his whole body. The mock combat is still going on. It's a reckless action in the face of armed Jihad. However, the current Nozomu did not care if he was lying down or not.

He lightly swung his katana once. *Whoosh!* sound sounded in his ears.

The slash was not fast. But now, he felt as if he could cut through steel with just one swing.

The numbness in his body is gone as well. His whole body was filled with power, and he felt as if he could go anywhere once he started to run.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes. This time, I'll be serious ...... phew!"

Despite being overwhelmed earlier, Nozomu was not intimidated and chose to advance. Instantly raising his Qi, he infused it into both of his legs and let it explode. He rushed toward Jihad in a straight line with his [Qi-jutsu?Flash Step].

The greatsword was swung out in a diagonal slash, and due to Nozomu's own speed, it approached him in the blink of an eye.

"~!"

However, that thick blade did not reach Nozomu.

His body swayed, drawing a smooth curved trajectory as it veered away from Jihad's sword slash.

[Flash Step?Curved Movement]. A technique that allows the Flash Step, which originally could only move in a straight line, to move in a variety of curved lines by twisting the torso and exquisite sense of balance. Nozomu dove into Jihad's chest and swung his katana horizontally.

His blade was then firmly blocked by Jihad's shield and a deafening sound was heard.

"Fuu......~!"

With metal sparks flying, Nozomu ran past Jihad's flank.

Seemed like, he was sure that his earlier attack would be deflected.

Nozomu, who had slipped behind Jihad, turned around and swung his katana sideways in a backhanded motion. Jihad, however, had already expected it. He immediately turned around and swung his great sword in a cleave.

A clash resounded with an impact as if the air had burst.

For a moment, the sword and the greatsword were locked in a fierce rivalry. However, because of the difference in physical strength, the blade of the greatsword immediately began to push Nozomu's [Mumei].

"Fuu......!"

But suddenly, the pressure on Jihad's arm suddenly vanished along with Nozomu's figure.

"!?"

At the moment of the collision, Nozomu's entire body relaxed and he dropped his body. Using the greatsword as a pivot point, he slipped underneath, slipping past Jihad's side, and delivered a quick slash. *Ching!* with a crisp, clear sound, the two crossed each other.

The hero turned to see the white-silver armor he wore. On his flank, there was a distinct mark.

[Mikagura-style?Rolling Talon]. A technique in which one drops one's body at the moment of contact and releases a slash while slipping past the opponent's side. Just like [Mikagura-style?Oscillation], it is one of the pure swordsmanship techniques that do not use Qi.

"Did he just ...... land a hit on Jihad-sensei?"

"You are kidding, right......?"

Surprise and bewilderment filled the Martial Arts Garden. It was understandable, a student who was called the bottom of the barrel just landed a hit on a swordsman whom everyone in the whole continent recognized as a hero.

".......It's been a really long time since someone landed a hit on me."

Jihad stepped forward with a smile akin to self-mockery on his face, but with an even more heightened fighting spirit.

The momentum was even greater than before.

"You still have more to show me, don't you? Your swords, show me more of them."

A flash of a horizontal cleave unleashed. Nozomu also immediately drew his katana and tried to intercept the greatsword.

They originally had a disparity in physical strength. If one were to think about it, it would be impossible for Nozomu to withstand Jihad's powerful blow. One could only imagine a future in which Nozomu would be blown away.

However, after seeing the previous scene, the audience thought, "Could it be.......".

"~......!"

And reality turned out just as they had expected.

Jihad's blade cut through empty air without hitting Nozomu's body.

The greatsword swung again as a returning strike, and the katana intercepted. This clash was repeated two or three times, and in all of them, Jihad's slashes were deflected. At the moment of the fourth clash, the trajectory of Nozomu's blade, which had deflected, changed, and it fell toward Jihad's head.

"!?"

Reflexively, he repelled Nozomu's blade with his tower shield. The expression of the hero of many battles was tinged with astonishment for a moment.

(That slash just now, it was completely parrying my sword and then turning directly into an attack......)

[Mikagura-style?Willow Blade]. It is a sword technique that combines offense and defense, deflecting the opponent's blow and switching to attack.

Like the previous [Rolling Talon], this is also a pure swordsmanship technique that does not use Qi.

Although captivated by this outstanding technique, Jihad immediately resumed his attack. Five or six times, he unleashed another slashes, but they were all still completely parried.

Jihad's mighty blade has the power to easily sever his opponent's weapons in two, even with a single swing of one hand.

However, Nozomu was undaunted and stepped forward on his own, carrying even his momentum into the slash to intercept the greatsword.

Sometimes resisting the onrushing impact, sometimes being swept away by it, he perfectly adjusted his timing. With sharp eyes fixed on the trajectory of the greatsword, he swung his katana without hesitation, accurately capturing the equilibrium point where the slashes balanced each other.

(It's a wonderful sword technique. Every time we exchange blows, it seems as if my sword and his body are repelling each other. On top of this perfect parry, he added that [returning strike] to it. How is it possible for a human being to do this kind of movement?......) 𝒻𝓇ℯ𝘦𝘸𝑒𝑏𝓃𝑜𝓿𝘦𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓶

Because Nozomu refused to just be passive on the receiving end, he took the initiative to be aggressive offensively while also parrying the enemy's attacks. With the addition of [Willow Blade] here, the three elements of attack, defense, and evasion are in perfect harmony.

(Guh......!? Furthermore, has he increased his accuracy?)

At this point, the frequency of the [Willow Blade] gradually increases.

What used to be one slash for every five slashes became one slash for every four slashes, and finally, a counterattack was unleashed once every two slashes.

Even Jihad was no longer holding back. Making full use of the experience he had, he tried to mislead Nozomu by deception and trickery.

However, all of his attempts were completely thwarted by Nozomu, and the frequency of his counterattacks increased.

This is a feat of extreme concentration and a body that can instantly respond to one's thoughts without the slightest deviation.

The weapon that Nozomu possesses also plays a significant role in this technique.

[Mumei]

Nozomu inherited this katana from his master. The katana, made by a certain master craftsman, meets the demands of the reckless Nozomu. Nozomu has a superior weapon and the skill to make full use of it. With these two things, Nozomu was able to fight head-to-head against Jihad.

They slashed at each other without taking a single step back. Before they knew it, more than 40 slashes had clashed between them.

?

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