CHAPTER 327: DOUMEKI AUN VS. ONIGAWARA GANTETSU②

 

If I beat this guy, I’ll definitely reach the next level.

The moment I thought that, something deep inside me… shifted.

「What’s wrong? You coming or not?」

Gantetsu grinned, his fists still raised.

「Where’d all that fire go, huhhh?」

「Nah. I was just thinking about something.」

I raised my fists too.

「Oh?」

「You’re not just predicting my moves, are you?」

The corners of Gantetsu’s mouth curled upward.

「So you noticed! But that doesn’t mean you can do anything about it right away, does it?」

Any attack a person made was preceded by ‘preparatory movements’.

A punch, for example. Before the fist shot forward, there was a step in, a twist of the torso, a drop or lift of the shoulder. Even amid our blindingly fast exchanges, Gantetsu read those movements and kept adjusting his body to respond in the best possible way, with almost reflexive speed.

In other words, he was like an incredibly high-performance counterattacking machine. But what really made him dangerous was that going on the offensive was where he truly excelled. If he took control of the pace, he could beat me senseless, countering every attempt I made to fight back.

「You really are one hell of a pain in the ass.」

My feints so far probably hadn’t involved enough of those preparatory movements. Or rather, it seemed he’d already factored in that any attack I didn’t put my hips into wouldn’t do much damage, even if it connected…

「…In that case, I’ll try a different approach.」

「Gahahaha!! Hurry up and come at me!! Let’s trade blows!!」

Gantetsu roared, and I kicked off the ground.

My lightning-clad body accelerated in an instant.

Right.

Gantetsu’s gaze shifted.

Then left.

—Just as I thought.

His fist was already in the path of my attack. …But I lowered my stance and drove my fist forward with all my strength.

「Raaaaaaah!!」

—Booom!!

My punch, aimed at breaking his guard, knocked Gantetsu’s left hand upward with a solid impact.

But—

「Still not good enough!!」

Gantetsu caught my extended right arm with his right hand and pulled me toward him.

So close there wasn’t even room to throw a punch.

「Gahahaha!! Got youuu!!」

But so far, everything had gone as planned.

By grabbing me and pulling me in so close, Gantetsu had narrowed his own field of view.

…The real problem started now.

At this distance, he had basically two options: transition into a throw, or wear me down with knee strikes that could still do damage at point-blank range.

Knowing Gantetsu…

Convinced a knee strike was coming, I quickly twisted my body.

An instant later, Gantetsu’s knee came hurtling toward my side.

Tch, that hurts! But I can’t pull away now!

Using the arm he’d grabbed as leverage, I rotated my body and drove my elbow down onto the right wrist holding me.

「Raaah!!」

「Ngh!?」

Gantetsu’s grip loosened.

I used that opening to put some distance between us and catch my breath.

Just as I thought.

He was watching how my body moved. But continuing to fight like that would be foolish. We were both taking damage, but in terms of risk, I was at far too great a disadvantage.

Can’t be helped… Guess I’ll use it.

Teleportation through dark magic. It wasn’t an offensive spell, but I’d wanted to win without using it if possible. Still, if I wanted to secure the win, I couldn’t afford to be so picky.

「【Thunderclap】.」

I rushed straight at Gantetsu and threw a punch with all my strength, without so much as a feint.

I saw him raise his left hand to guard as naturally as if the movement were ingrained in his body.

「—【Gate of Eternal Night】.」

The moment I activated it, gates appeared in front of and behind Gantetsu. I plunged through one without losing any speed, and the next instant, his back came into view.

「GO FLYING, DAMN IT!!」

—Crack, crunch!!

My fist sank into Gantetsu’s cheekbone as he turned around.

「Guh…」

He went flying. But the impact hadn’t felt as solid as I’d expected.

He seemed to have managed to roll with the blow the instant it landed.

Anticipating that move the first time he saw it should have been all but impossible. Especially for Gantetsu, who’d grown accustomed to the straight-line movements of 【Thunderclap】 I’d shown him over and over.

Still, he’d be on guard against it from now on.

Gantetsu rose from where he’d landed, spat a broken molar onto the ground along with the blood in his mouth, and slowly walked back toward me.

「Well done. That one hurt.」

「Doesn’t look like it. You still look pretty relaxed to me.」

「Gahahaha! Of course! We’re just getting started! It’d be a waste to end a fight this fun so soon, wouldn’t it?」

「Can’t argue with that.」

We faced each other, both of us grinning.

Still, that’s all well and good, but how am I going to break through his defenses…?

At my current speed, he’d read every attack. Even if I tried to put my hand-to-hand combat skills to work, he was leagues ahead of me in technique. He wasn’t someone I could catch off guard with Gate of Eternal Night over and over again, either. But if I unleashed my full power when I still couldn’t control it, there was no guarantee my body would withstand the recoil.

Hmm… Am I out of moves??

As my thoughts went round in circles, an image suddenly came back to me—Zombie-senpai’s back as he gnawed on a tree trunk.

Even though he was undead, he had a stubborn, single-minded hunger for ‘life’.

He didn’t spare a thought for whether his teeth might break.

He sank his teeth into anything and everything at full strength, without a moment’s hesitation.

—I see. So that’s it… That’s Zombie-senpai for you!!

The problem was that I’d been holding back on speed.

The problem was that I’d been worrying about the damage from the recoil instead of going all out.

So I’m the one who’s been putting shackles on myself…!

I had to go all out, break through, burn myself out, and squeeze out every last drop of strength I had.

Only beyond that point could I truly set myself free.

It felt like I’d been punched in the face with a truth I couldn’t argue with. All those muddled thoughts cleared away.

Seriously, Zombie-senpai, you’re something else!!