…This is a self-healing ability.
I glance briefly at Kurashiki. She also had enhanced physical abilities and a high self-healing capacity. The wounds he inflicted on herself when she erased Kiridou healed by that evening. Compared to that, Shinzaki’s abilities are virtually identical to Kurashiki’s.
…But there’s more to it than that, for both Shinzaki and Kurashiki.
Physical abilities and healing powers are just the basics.
The true difference in their abilities lies… in what comes after this.
“…Hmm.”
I’m a little curious about this ability of his.
If Shinzaki uses his ability, I’d like to experience its “depth” for myself.
Although I had that slight interest, my thoughts immediately spur me into action.
The interest is there, but there’s no need to take unnecessary risks.
If he’s going to use his ability,
I’ll strike before he can activate it.
I quickly close the distance to Shinzaki and raise my fist.
–That was the moment.
At such close range, my eyes met Shinzaki’s.
His eyes were deeply, murkily clouded over.
It was as if I was looking into a mirror.
“You’re an idiot, aren’t you?”
A shiver runs down my spine.
Sensing an unpleasant premonition, I withdraw my fist and brace myself with both arms.
But Shinzaki’s fist easily pierced through my defense.
“Wha-…!?”
Even the attacks from before were unbelievably powerful.
But this one blow was different. The impact was literally an order of magnitude greater.
My bones creak. The unstoppable impact reverberates through my body, causing an unpleasant sound as my flesh and blood convulse.
I somehow manage to keep from falling, but the damage is severe.
Leaving my defense open, I face Shinzaki, and he starts walking unsteadily.
“Well then. Against you, I wonder how much of my power I should use…”
From his words, I gather that what I witnessed before was him holding back.
And even now, he’s probably not going all out. Judging from his composure, maybe around 30%? And he hasn’t even shown the “depth” of his ability yet.
Meaning, this level of physical ability is just a “bonus” to his power.
“…You’re a monster, aren’t you?”
“That word… I’ll just throw it right back at you.”
As soon as he says that, he suddenly dashes towards me.
I brace myself reflexively, but I detect a slight irregularity in his movements.
–He’s not going to punch. Convinced of this, the next moment, he touches the ground with his right hand.
Instantly, countless blades sprout from the floor, rushing to attack me.
“Blade generation… troublesome.”
So this is Shinzaki’s ability – creating blades.
I estimate there are seven blades approaching and retreat backwards to avoid them.
By then, Shinzaki has circled around to my back, and a knee strike comes flying at me.
However, crisis and opportunity are two sides of the same coin.
Those seven meaninglessly summoned blades that obscure my vision – that’s just a feint. And if it’s a feint, the next attack will surely come from my blind spot.
…An attack from behind, huh? That’s the first thing I’d counter.
Shinzaki, your textbook-perfect strategy. I’d almost want to include it in a manual.
I’ll time it perfectly. If I know the attack is coming, I can land a counter with certainty. I clench my left fist and spin around, driving it straight into his face.
A dull impact, and a spray of red blood.
However, the one who was wounded was not Shinzaki, but my own fist.
“…What?”
My fist was blocked by the [shield] that Shinzaki had manifested in front of him.
It seems to have a considerable strength, as my fist could not crush it even after hitting it.
Rather, it is my own fist that is starting to hurt. There is even a bit of blood coming out…
“Sword… and shield?”
Is this some kind of contradictory ability?
I thought so, but somehow it felt like that explanation wasn’t quite right. I tried to distance myself from him, being wary, but–the moment I stepped back, an electrical shock ran through my body.
“…?”
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The first thing I thought of when I felt the electrical shock was Asahina Kasumi–but this didn’t have nearly enough power for that.
Looking at my feet, I see an unfamiliar magic circle laid out.
Thinking about who could be responsible for this… there’s no one else it could be other than Shinzaki standing next to me.
“Is this a trap-type ability…?”
Sword, shield, and traps. The first two could still be explained as some kind of “contradiction” ability, but traps?
If he has the ability to create and activate traps… how does that relate to the swords and shields?
And if, hypothetically, those abilities are completely unrelated–
“…No way.”
“Oh, you’ve figured it out already? Maybe you know someone else with similar abilities?”
With a terrifying smile, Shinzaki comes at me with a barrage of punches.
I hastily try to deflect them with both hands, but with each blow my bones creak. I manage to punch back, but the wounds start regenerating from the injured areas. By the time I’m ready to attack again, the wounds have disappeared.
Enhanced physical strength, automatic regeneration, sword generation, shield generation, trap manipulation.
So far, he has demonstrated at least five different abilities. Using five abilities simultaneously… just thinking about it makes my head hurt. What a complete cheat!
“Guh–”
“There’s more where that came from!”
Emphasizing his immortal durability, he continues his relentless barrage of punches.
I try to match him with my own flurry of strikes, but his speed and power are clearly superior.
Gradually, but surely… I’m being pushed back.
His punches are starting to carve into my body.
This power, this onslaught. There’s no way I can completely deflect it all.
“There you go!”
His fist lands squarely on my face.
At the same time, I’m sent flying backwards, but the damage is zero. However, I hear cries from the surroundings.
“Ah, Amamori-kun!?”
I hear Asahina’s voice.
As I regain my footing and land, Shinzaki tilts his head, looking puzzled.
“…? Huh, that’s weird. I thought that would feel really good, but…”
If it had “felt really good,” it probably would have hurt a lot.
Thinking about that, I roll my shoulders.
His physical abilities are even greater than I imagined. Using multiple abilities… Shinzaki is a rather mysterious individual.
In this situation, I decide that continuing to fight him would be too risky.
–It’s like turning a faucet.
Just a little bit… I’ll release the power I’ve been holding back.
A faint heat starts to emanate from my entire body.
Shinzaki seems to sense something and his eyebrows twitch, but that’s all.
“What, you’re getting serious now?”
“…I’ve been serious from the beginning.”
Just not as serious as this.
With a little bit of motivation, I start to move.
The first step is incredibly leisurely.
–But from the second step onward, my figure would have disappeared from sight.
“…!?”
I can feel the urgency coming from Shinzaki.
This speed is a different kind from before. Just a little faster than his current pace.
He looks around, but by that point, I’ve already circled around behind him.
The same “beautiful textbook” maneuver he used earlier. But in my case, the feint is unnecessary.
I glance at the wall clock. There’s about three minutes left.
I let him hit me for nearly seven minutes. I think he’s had enough satisfaction by now.
My body is starting to hurt in various places, so I decide it’s time to end this.
“Well then, Shinzaki.”
Hearing my voice, Shinzaki is surprised and tries to turn around.
In that moment, I use both arms to tightly squeeze his neck.
It’s a good old-fashioned chokehold, a sleeper hold.
“Guh…!? Wh-what are you…?”
“Shut up and pass out.”
I say, pouring strength into my arms.
I have confidence in my own strength, but I’m not too sure about my stamina.
That’s not to say I’d lose to Shinzaki, but if it turned into an endurance battle, I might lose a little bit, like a speck of sand.
But after showing off this much, it would be embarrassing to genuinely lose, right?
So I’m going to eliminate that possibility.
“I’ll cut off the oxygen supply to your brain. Sorry, but you’ll have to take a nap before too long.”
No matter how strong he is. No matter how advanced his abilities are… he’s still human. If I can just cut off the oxygen to his brain, his actions will be stopped immediately. I can snatch his consciousness in an instant.
It’s been just under seven minutes since the start of the battle. This is the limit for the “drawn-out” pure combat.
If I push it any further in earnest, the “kill” option might start entering my mind.
It seems like he was intent on killing me from the start, but let’s keep things tame at school, okay? At most, expel someone you don’t like or something along those lines.
“…Ugh, …!”
Shinzaki puts his hands on my arms.
I put more force into it, and the urgency coming from Shinzaki increased.
He grabbed my arms with both hands and struggled desperately, but… the more he struggled, the tighter the chokehold became, and the oxygen gradually thinned out. …Eventually, his resistance became smaller.
Could it be a surrender? I hoped for that, but…
I felt his muscles swell with a gushing sound, and I bit my lip.
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