11 011
WOOOSH
The clouds over the city of Takido violently parted as a beam of blue light shot up forcefully into space.
A shockwave rippled through the territory dominated by a small forest near a church on the outskirts of Takido.
The progenitor of such power was none other than the young Shinka Kusaka.
"That will be enough to get their attention," he thought.
That was an ability of the holy sword that Shinka had stolen. It was possibly a trait that most holy swords possessed.
In the few hours since their initial fight, Shinka had investigated Shizumi and Kaede Namikawa.
Both were daughters of Raymond Namikawa, the son of a Japanese and an American, raised abroad and currently the religious leader of the church in the city of Takido.
Just by knowing that Raymond had been to the Vatican, Shinka understood that essentially exorcists were an organization that spanned the globe.
It also meant that the reach of devils was negligible compared to that of angels on planet Earth.
Now with all that in mind, Shinka had to take more things into account.
If Raymond had done things right, then it was likely that he had already informed the Vatican about Shinka's sister, but there was still a chance that he hadn't disclosed it, in which case, he would only have to eliminate Raymond and his daughters to protect his family's identity.
Shinka's eyes narrowed for a moment.
"I was expecting them," he said calmly.
Shinka began to hear footsteps behind him. Three people stood in a row.
Two girls and a man.
"It's good to see that I'm paving the way for the visits, Mr. Kusaka," Raymond was the first to speak.
"Let me ask you something, Raymond. Was it fun investigating me?"
"It was an interesting read."
Shinka's face darkened as he continued training with the sword.
"Did you share that information with anyone else?"
"Not at all," Raymond said confidently.
Shinka's grip on the sword tightened.
"I see," he whispered.
Shinka knew he had no intention of deceiving him. For someone who knows they have the battle won, why would they lie about not disclosing the information?
Perhaps if Shinka were more powerful, and were on equal terms with Raymond, he could have lied for the possibility of Shinka killing him, and as insurance that they would soon hunt him down, but if that's not the case.
Why lie?
"Stop doing that with the sword! You don't intimidate anyone with such poor handling!" Kaede shouted when she saw that Shinka hadn't even turned to look at them.
In an instant, the boy's body stopped abruptly.
Calmly, Shinka turned towards the Namikawa family.
"Shinka Kusaka, due to your blood relationship with a human reincarnated as a devil and your strange display of power, we must detain you for questioning," Raymond said authoritatively.
"You are a potential danger to normal people," Shizumi remarked, assessing the situation.
Shinka closed his eyes. His body was enveloped in a strange blue light.
"You shouldn't have mentioned her," Shinka said as he looked the man in the eyes.
[Magic Enhancement Lv.15] [Fencing Lv.20] [German Fencing Lv.10] [French Fencing Lv.10] [Spanish Fencing Lv.10] [Kendo Lv.10] [Sense Augmentation Magic Lv.20]
Shinka's eyes gleamed.
[Unable to use magic inspection ability. The target far exceeds the user's ability.]
'He's still stronger than me, but I won't lose. I can't afford to.'
'Impossible...' Raymond's eyes tensed as he saw Shinka's posture and aura.
"Shizumi, take cover, without a weapon you're dead weight. Kaede."
"Yes, Father." Kaede understood her father as soon as she saw Shinka take a fighting stance.
BOOM
A giant crater formed in the ground.
Shinka's body suddenly disappeared.
He reappeared in the middle of father and daughter. With a circular cut, both were quickly repelled.
Of course, that hadn't been a regular cut.
BOOM
Another explosion was heard.
"Energy slash!" Kaede shouted, noting the strength.
"Be careful!" Her father warned as sword blades flew towards them.
The blades generated cuts around Kaede and Raymond, but they managed to successfully repel the fatal ones.
'How did he learn that?' Raymond couldn't help but wonder.
The grass violently moved around them.
Shinka's immense skill running impossible to see where he was.
WOOSH
CLANK
Kaede almost fell to the ground repelling Shinka's blade.
"M-My defense," she whispered, seeing how effective Shinka's attack was.
'He looks nothing like the skill he showed this morning!'
The boy disappeared and reappeared again.
CLANK
The blade wavered greatly.
Shinka almost pierced her if it weren't for Kaede managing to avoid a cut in vital areas using her armor to deflect the blade.
CLANK
With another cut, Kaede was forced to kneel.
CLANK
The ground beneath Kaede cracked forcefully.
'I'm going to die!'
CLANK
CLANK
CLANK
Three consecutive cuts were successfully repelled.
THUD
A kick from Raymond sent Shinka several meters back.
THUD
The boy was forced to plunge the sword into the ground to avoid being thrown.
'Too much strength.' Shinka and Raymond thought of each other.
"Your improvement with the sword is unnatural. I can only think of a Sacred Gear," Raymond frowned, trying to see Shinka's reaction.
'Sacred Gear... Is that how they refer to the system?' Shinka kept his expression neutral, showing no hint of doubt or confusion.
"Don't waste saliva right now. Save it for the interrogation." Shinka disappeared from where he was.
CLANK
"The same goes for you." Raymond stopped Shinka's sword forcefully.
"Kaede, you're no match for Kusaka. Stay on the sidelines and attack when you see an opportunity."
CLANK
CLANK
CLANK
"What level of fight is this?" Kaede wondered as she watched Shinka and her father suddenly disappear and reappear in a different place, clashing their swords.
'Are they still human?' Shizumi was weaker than her sister in terms of technique, but she had worked hard alongside her sister to match their father.
They both knew they were far from it, maybe in a decade they could match his level, but witnessing such a monstrous spectacle.
For them, it was unbelievable. That someone their age, with no apparent background other than a sister who sacrificed her existence to a devil, could suddenly match their father.
"I-It's impossible for Father to lose, right Kaede?"
Shizumi looked at her sister.
"That boy, Shinka, is very strong. He surpassed us in a matter of hours, but it's impossible for our father to lose this battle. No matter how you look at it."
Shizumi nodded, her sister was right.
SLASH
Locks of Shinka's brown hair floated in the air after a quick slash.
Shinka had jumped to dodge Raymond's furious cut.
In a matter of microseconds, while still in the air, he changed the way he held the sword and aimed it at Raymond.
With his other hand, he aimed at the man's feet, and a halo of blue light enveloped them.
'I can't move!' the man thought.
'Energy can be launched from the sword in many ways.' Shinka's sword suddenly shot out.
The energy had been expelled to the other side, causing the sword to transform into a furious spear of light.
Raymond had just tenths of a second to take his sword and plunge it into the ground, nullifying Shinka's magic.
WOOSH
BOOM
The sword was embedded in the ground. Raymond had come close to death.
Agilely Shinka landed and disappeared into a blur towards where Raymond was.
CLANK
A few drops of sweat ran down Raymond's cheeks.
'He's getting nervous.'
Shinka suddenly left an opening.
Kaede's eye tensed.
WOOSH
In a blur of light, she disappeared and reappeared at Shinka's side, while her sword spun towards the boy's neck.
"No!" Raymond shouted to his daughter as he saw the scene.
Kaede reacted to her father's voice.
Suddenly, she changed the direction in which the blade was aimed to repel Shinka's attack.
WOOSH
Shinka's sword sliced Kaede's sword in half.
Kaede managed to save her neck thanks to the friction slowing down Shinka's blade.
Raymond and Kaede were still paralyzed by confusion, so Shinka took advantage of the moment.
SLASH
He tried to cut Kaede in half but she moved out of the range of Shinka's sword, yet she didn't manage to save herself completely.
THUD
A kick sent Kaede flying.
The blade of the sword that was cut still spun in the air from the impact.
Shinka's hand glowed blue, and a halo of light enveloped the half of the sword that was spinning in the air.
WOOSH
The sword was aimed at Shizumi.
She, seeing the blade flying violently towards her, knew that her legs wouldn't move quickly, but her hands would.
Opening her palms, she nervously watched as the blade approached her face.
'Not this time!'
PLAF
With a clap, Shizumi stopped the sword in the palms of her hand.
Raymond breathed a sigh of relief seeing that his daughter was safe.
'This bastard has an obsession with throwing swords like spears,' Raymond thought as he watched the development.
SLASH
CLANK
The man easily deflected Shinka's sword.
"Just because I'm not looking at you doesn't mean I'm not paying attention," he said confidently.
"This fight has lasted longer than it should have. I must admit, I'm impressed by your improvement with the sword; you're certainly very strong."
Raymond paused.
"And you may be someone with a very promising future, but if that future involves a possible catastrophe in Takido, then I can't allow you to keep growing. Not until I know if you're colluding with the devils."
Shinka was paralyzed.
Not by the man's words.
But because Raymond's body began to emit a strange golden luminescent aura.
"I shouldn't use this ability, but if I don't, this battle will continue dragging on. From what I've seen, it's a magic that you and I have in common."
The ground under Raymond began to crack.
"MAGIC ENHANCEMENT!"
An explosion of energy spread through the forest, shaking the leaves of the trees, and even Shinka's heart.
In less than a second, Raymond's body disappeared from where he stood.
Shinka's entire body felt the imminent danger and tensed up.
With a quick hand movement, a translucent mana shield formed in front of Shinka.
BOOM
Raymond's fist landed on the shield.
CRACK
The shield cracked completely.
BOOM
Shinka was sent flying with a single blow.
'He's using his fists because he knows that if he uses the sword, he'll kill me!'
Shinka hit the ground with his back and tried to get up, but a hand prevented him from doing so.
An open hand landed on his face, gripping him tightly and dragging him along the ground.
BOOM
He was sent flying into the trees.
"UGH," Shinka spat out blood.
He fell to the ground like a rag doll and tried to get up, but his legs wouldn't respond.
As best he could, the boy raised his head to see the battlefield, but it was not possible.
BOOM
A kick made his head hit the ground.
"D-Damn it..."
Shinka felt his hair being forcefully pulled out, and consequently his head.
Raymond held Shinka's head by his hair, staring at him intently.
"You've lost, Shinka Kusaka," Raymond said authoritatively.
[HP 10/50]
'...'
Silence filled the forest for a few seconds.
"The moon is pale tonight," Shinka whispered.
At that moment, Raymond noticed something and looked directly at the sky.
A magic circle in the sky suddenly appeared and broke.
"Invisibility?!" Raymond looked in horror as a sphere the size of a building formed in the sky.
"Father, that's not the moon!"
"It's a super-condensed energy sphere... Kusaka is willing to commit suicide with us," Raymond spoke calmly again.
Shinka's heart skipped a beat. He didn't understand why Raymond was so calm.
"Alright, Kusaka. Even if you kill us, the Vatican will send people to investigate why I'm dead. Naturally, they will investigate you and your family."
"Perhaps that's the most logical thing, but what if I manage to make it look like you fought a devil to the death?"
Shinka struggled to catch his breath.
"If the Vatican thinks you fought to the death against a devil, they won't even investigate my disappearance. As soon as that sphere touches the ground, it will disintegrate everything nearby, including our bodies."
Raymond looked at Shinka impressed, but immediately began to laugh.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
Shinka didn't understand.
'Did I break him?' he innocently thought that by putting Raymond in check, he had lost his composure.
"I'll tell you a secret, Kusaka..." Raymond leaned his face towards Shinka.
"The Vatican already knows about your sister. Even if I haven't spoken, they are aware."
Shinka's eye contracted in horror.
"Your sister is part of the nobility of a devil from a famous clan. It's impossible for us not to know the basics about her."
Shinka swallowed hard.
"I can see you doubt my words. Shitori Souna, that's her name on Earth, but she is from the Sitri clan, and her real name is Sona. She is Sona Sitri."
"N-No, you must be lying to save yourself. It's impossible..." Shinka was surprised.
"You saw my speed before. I can take my daughters and leave here in less than a second."
"A second ago, you seemed very intelligent, but I see you've lost your composure now."
Shinka's eyes widened.
[Rationality Lv.40]
Shinka's expression relaxed.
"I lost... I lost before it even started," he whispered as he looked at the ground, seeing the blood flowing from his body.
"That's right. So it will be easier for both of us if you simply surrender."
Shinka nodded and clumsily got up. He wasn't actually upset about losing.
He was happy with the last information he had obtained.
If the Vatican knew about his sister from before, and they haven't done anything, then it's simply because they can't or it's not convenient for them.
Maybe his battle had been meaningless, but at least he gained more power and more information about the world.
"By the way, can you dispel the giant mana sphere? I don't want it to explode and destroy the forest. That would be a real problem."
"Of course." Shinka extended his left hand, his right was broken.
WOOSH
Particles of light began to emanate from the sphere and spread in the forest, bathing the place in a faint blue light.
Suddenly, something seemed to tie Shinka's hands.
[Mana restricted]
They looked like magical handcuffs.
"Shinka, you are under the protection of the Vatican as a possible suspect of colluding with devils in the city of Takido."
The boy raised an eyebrow at such an act.
"It's procedure," Raymond whispered.
Shinka sighed and simply nodded.
"Shinka wasn't a bad guy after all," whispered Shizumi.
Kaede, with an astonished look, turned to her and met her eyes.
"I'm not justifying that he tried to kill us all! I'm just saying that in his situation, I would do the same."
Kaede pondered her sister's words.
"I think even Dad would have done it," she whispered as they walked behind.
Shizumi slowly walked towards the battlefield to retrieve her sword, but before she could grab it, an electrical surge was expelled from it.
"OUCH!" Shizumi cried out in pain.
"What's wrong with Muramasa?" She asked, confused.
"Ah, it must be the demonic energy sealed inside," Shinka replied disinterestedly.
"I see. So that's how you planned to deceive the Vatican. You were going to make the energy sphere absorb the demonic energy so that there would be no doubt that you fought against a devil."
'This man really used the system as it should be...' Shinka thought as he saw that, like himself, Raymond had nourished his mind with the system.
'Anyway, now that I know my family is out of danger, at least temporarily, I must exploit the knowledge that Raymond has. I can also somehow use Shitori Souna, or rather Souna Sitri, to persuade them not to do anything strange to me.' thought Shinka as he looked at the full moon.
