ca-book #140 - When did you get the illusion that I didn't use my inherent spiritual equipment? (Two in
#140 - When did you get the illusion that I didn't use my inherent spiritual equipment? (Two in
While Zunzun was greeting his friends, Kirihara Shizuya began to speak on his own.
“I didn’t expect you wouldn’t run away, so I’ll praise you a little. How dare you humiliate me like that before, I will definitely… …
“Oh, right, Kirihara Shizuya-senpai.”
Zunzun suddenly interrupted him.
Then, with an apologetic tone, he said: “I remember you went to the police station for questioning the day before yesterday, right? I’m sorry for making you go all the way there.
But there’s no helping it, after all, you are the one who ‘completely’ solved the incident. But senpai, don’t worry, I’ve taken good care of your girlfriends too.”
Then, the corners of his mouth curled up in a wicked smile, and he said, word by word: “Senpai has good taste, your girlfriends… …are very moist.”
“You bastard… …!”
Kirihara Shizuya’s handsome face flushed red.
Warning! Warning!
Zunzun certainly didn’t touch Kirihara Shizuya’s girlfriends, he just wanted to avoid being sarcastically mocked, the best way was to sarcastically mock back first.
This was undoubtedly a very effective countermeasure.
At least, it was very effective against Kirihara Shizuya, this arrogant and jealous person.
“A large number of spectators are pouring into the venue! As expected, this match is quite eye-catching! Next, Tsukuyomi from our broadcasting station, and Professor Nishikyou None, who is responsible for commentary, will broadcast live for everyone!”
At this time, the commentator’s voice also sounded.
“Next, let me introduce the two highly anticipated players! First, C-rank knight Kirihara Shizuya, who won the Seven Star Sword Art Festival participation right as a first-year student last year! So far, all official matches and exchange matches have been won without a scratch, hence the name Hunter!”
Kirihara Shizuya on the battlefield cooperated with the announcer’s live report, raising his hand in greeting.
The audience burst into ecstatic screams.
“Next, the one who will fight this Hunter today is the secret weapon of Hagun Academy! He didn’t go through the academy’s assessment, but entered the academy as a transfer student!
But he must not be underestimated, if you ask why… …Zunzun, this player with a slightly strange name, is actually a Super A-rank knight! He is indeed a strong favorite to win this year!”
Hearing the announcer say this, Zunzun didn’t deliberately give a cold shoulder.
He raised his right hand and pinched out a heart shape, reaping even more enthusiastic cheers than Kirihara Shizuya.
No need for pleasantries.
The two stood on the starting line.
“It’s hunting time, Oborozuki.”
Kirihara Shizuya summoned his own Device, a verdant longbow.
[Well then, the fourth match of today, officially begins!]
[— — Let's go ahead!]
The starting gun fired.
At the same time, Kirihara’s figure disappeared from the arena.
A large forest occupied the entire arena, completely surrounding Zunzun within it.
The commentator in the studio immediately shouted: “Oh! Kirihara has made his move immediately! Hunter’s Forest! Once this move is used, no one will be able to find him with the naked eye anymore!”
“What a troublesome ability~ If there is no large-scale attack, I’m afraid there is no way to deal with him~”
Nishikyou None immediately discovered the advantages and disadvantages of this move.
“Yes!”
The commentator nodded, explaining to the students as if: “Last year at the Seven Star Sword Art Festival, the third-year student from Bunjin Academy who faced Kirihara Shizuya in the first battle, his forte was close-range one-hit kills, but because he didn’t have large-scale attack skills, the battle situation was one-sided. Does Zunzun have large-scale attack skills? This will be the most important key to the match!”
Everyone watched the big screen nervously.
Just as they were thinking about whether Zunzun should show off a large-scale attack, unexpectedly—
“Oh my! Zunzun, he actually chose to run towards the outside of the forest! … …Wait, running towards the outside of the forest? Why is that, Professor Nishikyou!”
“Hmm, a good countermeasure. Everyone should know that fighting in the enemy’s home ground is the most disadvantageous, I think he plans to go to a place not covered by the forest.”
“As expected of a Super A-rank knight, he thought of a way to counter it in an instant! But… …
“Ah, although Hunter’s Forest doesn’t completely cover the entire arena, the landing place is completely on the edge, if he is not careful, he will be knocked off the arena, that will also lead to defeat.”
The conversation between the commentator and Nishikyou None made Stella and the others frown.
Hunter’s Forest is indeed a troublesome Blade Art, in the forest he would be attacked from all directions, outside the forest there is also the risk of falling off the arena and losing, it is really a headache.
“… …No, that’s not right! Look quickly!”
“I see, so that’s how it is~”
On the big screen, Zunzun was constantly dodging the magic arrows shot by Kirihara Shizuya.
Although he didn’t organize any effective means of attack, they soon discovered a strange thing.
That is, Kirihara Shizuya’s magic arrows will always only shoot from the front.
In an instant, they understood the reason.
Zunzun was now standing on the edge of the arena, which meant that in a one-on-one battle, there would definitely be no one appearing behind him, so he only needed to concentrate on dealing with the magic arrows shot from the front.
“Could this be the way to break Hunter’s Forest!?”
The commentator shouted loudly in the studio.
Just as someone breathed a sigh of relief, Nishikyou None shook her head again and said: “No, now he has only solved the problem of not having arrows from behind, to win he still needs to see if he has a large-scale attack, and once he enters the forest, he will fall into the same predicament as before.”
“What, is that really so!? Zunzun, an unprecedented crisis! What should he do, how should he achieve victory!?”
The commentator shouted alarmingly.
And Zunzun on the edge of the arena expressed—
What nonsense is she talking about?
He could have ended the battle long ago if he wanted to, but the reason he was dragging it out—
“Hey hey! What’s wrong, don’t dare to come in?”
Kirihara Shizuya’s provocative trash talk came from deep within the forest.
Sometimes near, sometimes far, it was impossible to figure out his position, but the voice entered everyone’s ears without missing a beat.
“You’re not planning to stall for time, wanting the effect of Hunter’s Forest to disappear, are you? Too bad! This is the ability that my Device Oborozuki comes with, it doesn’t consume my magic power, your plan has failed!”
The selection battle has no time limit.
After all, a one-on-one competition includes skills, Devices, magic power, and luck. If skills are used well, it’s not impossible for the weak to defeat the strong.
Kirihara Shizuya must have thought that Zunzun was stalling for time, consuming his magic power.
Hmph, boring.
Zunzun didn’t feel like arguing with him, but flicked away the constantly shooting magic arrows one by one, which instead made the audience think that Zunzun was at a loss.
“As expected, it’s no good.”
“After all, it’s Kirihara’s Hunter’s Forest, without large-scale skills it will become like this.”
“No, Zunzun!”
Stella, Kurogane Shizuku, and Arisouin Nagi also began to worry, after all, even if they said they were relieved, their hearts would inevitably become uneasy.
Just like that, time passed little by little.
Half an hour later.
The fourth match in the other venues had ended, and the one-sided matches had already started the fifth match, but Zunzun and his battle couldn’t even be considered heated, it was just a simple war of attrition.
At this time, the door of the arena was opened, and a person rushed in, coming to the front of the viewing platform to meet with a few people.
“Everyone, what’s the result?”
“Ikki?”
“Onii-sama, congratulations on your victory.”
“As expected of Ikki, you finished pretty quickly.”
Stella and the three greeted Kurogane Ikki, who had rushed over, and didn’t ask if he had won, they all had absolute trust in Kurogane Ikki.
“It’s okay, it’s just because it was the first time standing in the arena and fighting someone, I was a little nervous, which delayed a little time.”
Kurogane Ikki then looked at the battlefield, concerned and asked: “What’s the situation now?”
“… …Not good.”
Arisouin Nagi shook his head.
Kurogane Ikki was a little surprised, he knew Zunzun’s strength very well, but if he was in a dangerous situation, wouldn’t that mean… …Eh?
Stella and the others might not be able to see it clearly, but he was very clear that Zunzun was not in a dangerous situation at all. He looked relaxed, even a little sleepy.
“Heh, that kid… …so that’s how it is.”
Seeing Kurogane Ikki rushing over, Nishikyou None instantly understood why Zunzun wasn’t making a move.
“Professor Nishikyou, what did you just say?”
“Nothing, look carefully, it’s about to begin.”
As soon as her words fell.
Zunzun’s eyes caught sight of Kurogane Ikki, he nodded slightly to him, then stretched out his right hand, aiming at the forest.
“Light of Saber!”
Dense lightning shot out, covering the entire Hunter’s Forest.
This was a large-scale attack!
“Oh my! Zunzun suddenly launched an attack at this moment! He deliberately paralyzed Kirihara Shizuya, like an excellent hunter ambushing at this moment! Kirihara Shizuya, could he have been completely paralyzed!?”
It must be said, the commentator was quite interesting.
She hinted at the exchange of roles between the two, and also hinted that Kirihara Shizuya might be paralyzed.
But—
“Heh heh heh… …Hahahaha… …Hahahahaha————”
Kirihara Shizuya’s triumphant laughter came from the forest.
Clearly, he was not injured.
“Did you think I didn’t see your ability when we were in the open square? Too bad! Wood and electricity are the worst matching attributes! Your lightning is ineffective against me!”
His triumphant words were undisguised.
“I didn’t expect it to become like this!”
The commentator quickly shouted: “Zunzun’s long-prepared killing move, unexpectedly it is ineffective against Kirihara Shizuya! How could this be, can Zunzun only admit defeat like this?”
Indeed, in other people’s eyes, Zunzun was out of options now.
However—
Zunzun acted as if he wasn’t affected at all, and walked straight towards the forest.
“What!?” Could it be that Zunzun has given up? He is walking towards the forest, completely putting himself in danger!”
The commentator shouted in panic.
Kirihara Shizuya was also slightly stunned, but soon laughed loudly: “Hahaha, to actually walk right into the trap, how foolish! But… …alright, since you are so sensible, I will treat you well!”
After saying that, he drew his bow and shot an arrow at Zunzun.
With a whoosh.
The sound of the arrow was very loud.
Normally speaking, Kirihara Shizuya would not make such a low-level mistake, unless he did it on purpose. That’s right, in order to give Zunzun tremendous psychological pressure.
But unexpectedly—
“The arrow, it actually missed!?”
On the big screen, the magic arrow grazed Zunzun's hair and embedded itself in the tree trunk behind him, without causing him any harm.
"C-Could it be… that Kirihara Shizuya deliberately did that…?"
As he said this, even the commentator didn't believe it himself.
Just now, Kirihara Shizuya had said he would give him a good welcome; at least, that wasn't the impression his tone gave, and he wouldn't be so kindhearted.
"W-What!?"
Kirihara Shizuya also wore a very surprised expression.
He had clearly aimed, but why couldn't he hit?
Not believing it, he drew his bow and nocked another arrow, but as expected, he missed again. Not just this time, but the next few times as well, he didn't hit!
"W-What!?"
Kirihara Shizuya absolutely didn't believe it was his mistake. He was a natural-born hunter, and his accuracy was absolute.
Then that meant there was only one reason—
"When did you start using your inherent spiritual armament!?"
"When did you start having the delusion that I wasn't using my inherent spiritual armament?"
Zunzun's leisurely reply made Kirihara Shizuya's hair stand on end.
Just like being exposed and no longer hiding.
Zunzun interlaced the ten fingers of his hands, lowered his head like a praying saint, and the brown-gray vines above his head wriggled slightly.
"You are a sinner, and also a great man."
"You are a villain, and also a hero."
"This is a curse, and also a blessing."
"This is a thorn, and also a crown."
"What will happen if you go forward another centimeter, even I don't know. But in the torrent of calamity, no one in the past could attack me."
Zunzun seemed to be telling, explaining, and even declaring.
"The barrier of luck is added to me, and you have already fallen into the torrent of calamity…"
"—Wonder of U!"
Miracle with You!
…
Crown of Thorns.
Zunzun's inherent spiritual armament.
The effect is to exchange more luck by hurting himself. The more damage he takes, the higher the luck value he gets, and at the same time, he will also be protected by luck and will not be harmed by others.
The more injured, the less likely to be injured.
…
"D-Damn it!"
Kirihara Shizuya bit his lip, drew his bow, and used his enhanced skills from this year—invisible magic arrows!
"Die!"
In the past, he would definitely attack the opponent's limbs first, torturing them little by little.
But Zunzun's unexpected dodging skills made Kirihara Shizuya no longer have the idea of teasing his prey. His arrow aimed at Zunzun's chest, wanting to kill him with one blow.
Of course, not really killing him with one blow.
In the era of magic knights, where medical treatment was extremely advanced and there were also healing inherent spiritual armaments, as long as they didn't die on the spot, they could be saved, so Kirihara Shizuya dared to aim at Zunzun's vitals so recklessly.
But—
"Missed again!?"
Kirihara Shizuya didn't feel the sensation of hitting. He had clearly aimed, but he still didn't hit.
"What the hell is going on!?"
An exasperated voice echoed in the forest.
Not to mention the students watching the match, even the commentators in the studio were confused. Zunzun realized he was being attacked, but he still mocked maliciously: "Did you attack just now?"
"Ugh…!"
Kirihara Shizuya stomped his feet in frustration.
Then Zunzun walked forward step by step, while holding his hand up to the front, and said: "Your Hunter's Forest is very strong, but it has three obvious shortcomings.
1. Although you can hide your voice, smell, and even the shape of your arrows, it's a pity that you can't hide your own magic power. In other words, in my eyes, who can sense magic power, you have nowhere to hide."
As if to prove it.
Zunzun's fingertip shot out a bolt of lightning and went straight to the tree trunk in front.
There was an aura of magic gathering there.
Without a doubt, it was Kirihara Shizuya.
But he didn't hit. Several lightning strikes were like this. Although Kirihara Shizuya jumped up and down on the tree trunk in a rather embarrassing manner, he was not injured.
Zunzun looked at his palm.
Clearly, his luck value has increased so much, but his accuracy is still so poor. If there was an accuracy rating standard, then he would definitely be F level.
After Kirihara Shizuya could no longer hide, the two immediately switched offense and defense. It became Zunzun chasing, and Kirihara Shizuya running back and forth.
Then…
"2. Your arrows can't turn, which means you and I must stand on the same line.
You may think that this is nothing, anyway, you can hide your figure and aura, and the enemy will not find you.
But I can turn around and use the terrain, just like just now, forcibly turning the original attacks from all directions into only one or two fixed directions."
As he said, Zunzun shot lightning towards the front and left, once again forcing out Kirihara Shizuya, who was adjusting his posture and wanted to attack, proving that what he said was true.
Unknowingly.
This selection battle has become a teaching session.
"Oh! Look at the field. It's clear that Kirihara Shizuya created the Hunter's Forest to gain an advantage for himself, but he didn't expect to be used by his opponent instead! Is this the way to crack the Hunter's Forest!? Nishikyou-sensei, what do you think?"
"I'm watching while sitting."
Nishikyou None rested her hands on her cheeks.
Her eyes were filled with mist, and she was full of affection for Zunzun, who was walking in the forest as if he had returned home.
In the forest.
Kirihara Shizuya's face was gloomy.
He really wanted to undo the Hunter's Forest, but he forced himself to calm down and didn't do that.
Because this was his only advantage. If he undid it, he would lose even faster.
But if he doesn't undo it…
Zunzun was talking eloquently in the forest. He was like popularizing his sword-drawing skills to his classmates and teaching them how to crack it. Maybe more people will be able to beat him in the future.
"Damn it…!"
Kirihara Shizuya was already thinking about whether he should admit defeat.
Actually.
The main reason why he has won all official matches and exchange matches unscathed so far is because he decisively admits defeat after seeing that there is no hope of winning.
The so-called hunter is not an appreciation.
But a contemptuous name.
Surrender?
No, impossible…!
This is the first round of the school selection battle, and he is last year's academy representative. If he admits defeat here, what will the people of the academy think of him?
This is a disgrace!
Absolutely, absolutely cannot surrender!
"That's right, we have to find a way…"
Kirihara Shizuya looked at Zunzun, who was walking towards him step by step, and the expression on his face finally entered the collapse stage.
Faced with the situation in front of him, the hunter made his last resistance. He used all his strength to draw his inherent spiritual armament Oboro-zuki, concentrated all his magic power on the arrow, and shot it into the air.
Suddenly, the arrow shot out exploded in the air, turning into hundreds of invisible light arrows that fell like a torrential rain, attacking Zunzun below.
The rain of arrows crashed into the floor of the arena, shattered bricks and tiles, and shattered pieces flew around. Rain of destruction descended from the sky, with no rules to speak of.
Sword-Drawing Ultimate Skill.
—Sudden Rain of Fierce Light!
Hundreds of arrows form a indiscriminate range attack. If his arrows can't hit, then he will just launch a carpet-like attack without thinking.
This is Kirihara Shizuya's conclusion.
That's right, it's true.
But—
"Why, why can't I hit!?"
Zunzun didn't even dodge. He just walked step by step through the rain of destruction and through the sandstorm that swept over him. Of course, he didn't suffer any damage, as if he was protected by the world.
"It's useless, you can never hurt me."
Zunzun looked down at him, and his red eyes were deeply reflected in his eyes.
"—From the moment I used my inherent spiritual armament, whether it's thousands or tens of thousands, it won't work against me."
All resistance loses its meaning.
Just like an excellent chess player can predict the game a hundred steps ahead, Zunzun had already seen the result of this battle.
Kirihara Shizuya opened his mouth wide, and he kept shrinking back and shouting: "Stop! Stop it! Don't come over! Don't come over here ah ah ah!!!"
Unable to stop, unable to resist.
"Are you kidding me! Wait, I was last year's seeded player, I am the one everyone expects! Wait, wait… If I lose in the first round, I will lose everything! No… absolutely not…! Let's stop fighting, let's stop fighting! Okay, I beg you!"
Kirihara Shizuya begged bitterly.
Zunzun turned a deaf ear.
When he was playing tricks, playing with, and doing evil to those people, did he ever think that he would have such a day?
"I surr… ugh cough cough—!"
He had already known that Kirihara Shizuya would shout surrender, but Zunzun would not give him this chance. The water flow blocked his throat at an extremely hidden angle.
Under Kirihara Shizuya's fearful gaze, Zunzun did nothing to him, but stood with him in the center of the Hunter's Forest.
"Forgot to say.
Your third weakness is that you can't resist large-scale attacks."
Then, Zunzun put his hands together.
Horrifying magic power continued to gather in his hands, and under his feet was a strange magic circle (fake).
He slowly opened his mouth and said:
"Feel the pain, think about the pain, accept the pain, understand the pain. People who do not understand pain cannot understand true peace! From now on, let the world feel the pain, Shinra Tensei!"
Boom—
A pillar of magic power soared into the sky.
The battle circle was fifty meters in radius, and this pillar of light was also fifty meters in radius. The audience in the first row of the stands could clearly feel this majestic magic power, and their hair and clothes were flying up and down.
"No way!"
"This magic power…"
"Inhuman."
Stella and others looked at all this in disbelief, while Kurogane Ikki slightly opened his mouth. It was the first time he felt the huge difference between people.
And Nishikyou None on the stands couldn't help but lick her lips with her little tongue. She couldn't wait to taste the other party's magic power.
—
Key plot, no split broadcast.