Translated: Sei, MTL-sensei-tachi
Edited: Sei, Grammarly no Danna
Source: Syosetu

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Chapter 265


　I knew it, but the man Nero Agence is so out of place in this era that he is a very powerful man.
　He is as powerful or more powerful than the powerful people of my time.
　It could be said that he was born in the wrong era.
　Jumping from tree to tree, I somersault to avoid flying slashes.
　Then, a series of blades of winds come at me.
　Seeing them as I fell, I spread my arms wide and swung my right hand, which was clutching the black sword.

"Kannagi-ryuu! Ootori Mawashi (Great Rooster Spin)!"

　It's the same defensive form as the Mikakushi-Gaeshi (Unhidden Flip).
　Using the rotation of the sword, I repel all the wind blades backward and intercept Nero with the Inu Hashiri (Dog Run).
　The black sword and the sword collide, creating sparks.
　I take a stabbing stance with the momentum of a bullet, and I imbue the blade with a flaming spell.

"Consecutive Flame Thrust!"

　Thrusts are released while leaving a residue of flame.
　I fire them in rapid succession, but he rolls to the side and avoids them.
　———His judgment is also extraordinary...!
　As the sword is swung, wrapped around the wind, the two of us clash with each other in a sword lock.

"To think that there is someone other than Rose who possesses this much power...!"
"That's what I was supposed to say, but...!"

　Pushing the sword in with a powerful technique, I leap from the spot, spin through the air and slam down with a kick.

"Gojokyaku (Horse Spin Kick)!"

　Using the momentum of the kick, I hit him with a spinning kick with the opposite leg, forcing Nero backward.

"You're not only skilled in swordsmanship, but also in martial arts...!"
"For me, foresight magic is the only way to fight!"

　If I don't stall him here, Usato and the others will never reach the Demon King.
　Nero possesses such extraordinary strength, but Usato's master, Rose, is of the same type.
　We've seen it all through his gauntlets, but Rose herself is a monster born in the wrong era. To begin with, she's a strange healing magician, even stranger than Nero, who excels in pure fighting power.

"Hmph!"

　Holding my sword at the ready, I slash at Nero to pursue him, but before I can do so, he shoots four whirlwinds at me on the ground.
　Then, using my sword and its scabbard, I cleave them away with the Ushi Sawagi (Ox Cleave) and unleash Wakumi-tachi (Snake Illusion Slash).

"Swinging Slash!"
"I'll deal with it!"

　Just before it hit him directly, Nero's arm was wrapped in the wind and blocked my sword, but my sword cut through the wind armor and only slightly sliced Nero's arm.
　His wind armor prevents any kind of attack.
　However, if you break through it with brute force, there's no problem.

"Ohhhh!"
"!"

　Using foresight magic, I sense a gust of wind and evade it by rolling on the ground.
　After evading the wind blade, I leaned my body to the side to avoid it and attacked Nero again.

"———!"
"———"

　Sword fights to the point where they can hardly even breathe.
　With each repeated close combat, the slashes released by the blade of the wind cut through the surrounding trees, knocking them down.

"Ittora (Bravery Tiger)!"
"I've seen that technique!"
"!!"

　The wind-cloaked sword swept my blade away.
　I immediately tried to take evasive action, but before I could do so, Nero released a blast of wind from his palm that blew my body far back.
　As I positioned myself in the air and quickly readied my sword ——— visions of a few seconds of foresight flashed through my mind.

"Ugh! That's bad!"

　If this continues I will die!
　Checking the future a few seconds after her own torso has been cut in two, she immediately runs to Nero, moving through the scene.
　Nero's sword was filled with an overwhelming amount of wind blades, and each time he swung it towards me, a blast of overlapping wind blades was released all at once.

"Ha, that's fun! I'll avoid them all!!"

　Sliding on the ground as if slipping through a mesh, I avoided the first blade, and with my hands on the ground, I pushed myself up with only the strength of my arms, soaring into the air and slipping through the next slash that came at me.
　Sliding on the ground, flying through the air, and tilting my body, I ran past the figure of Nero, who was clad in even denser magic power than before———!?

"———System Strengthening"
"So, here it comes?"

　The approaching blade of wind forced me to use foresight magic and I was one step too late!
　System Strengthening was like a secret weapon.
　The refined magic is released before my eyes.
　This is bad, I can't dodge at this distance!
　The blade was swung horizontally and sent flying towards me.
　To avoid a fatal blow, I readied my sword and tried to weaken the force with my might. At that moment———,

『———It's disappointing, me.』

　I hear a voice from within, and without warning, a large amount of my magic power disappears.
　With it, a whirlpool of white light appears at my side.

"Hah!?"
『Get in there quickly!』
"Wa-Wawa!"

　Beyond the whirlpool was a different landscape.
　I quickly jumped in and teleported myself a short distance away from Nero.
　W-Was that a teleportation spell?!
　If I was the one who used it———,

『How long are you going to keep struggling?』

　———I-Is that the me inside me?
　I couldn't help but look up at the sound of a dismayed, yet mocking voice.
　Nero looks at us with a surprised expression on his face and remains wary, not attacking yet.

"You can't use the reason that you haven't been in combat in a long time as a reason to be dull."
"I-I know..."

　I groan, having been hit right on the mark.
　Seeing me like that, the me inside me lets out a bored sigh.

『Pathetic. Is that really me? That's why you are such a loser in love』
"But that's irrelevant now, right?!"
『If you show any more disgrace, I'll switch consciousnesses with you for a while』

　Th-This girl...
　Rather, that's what you're after.

"If we were to switch places, that wouldn't be good because I don't know what you'd do!"
『Then, you must win. I'm not going to be able to help you with the transfer spell anymore if I'm low on magic power』
"Yeah...!"

　I can't show any more disgrace than this.
　I stand up and grip the black sword with both hands.

"From now on, I'm going to get completely serious."
".... Come"

　Nero begins to gather magic power in his sword, as if he is trying to activate the system strengthening.
　I can't use system strengthening.
　No, even if it could be used, it would require a tremendous amount of magic power and could cause loss of sight, and above all, it is a dangerous thing that interferes with parallel worlds.
　It had no offensive power to begin with, so it was basically useless.

"But I've made up for that with my skills...!"

　In an era when fighting was all around, I had defeated many who used system strengthening.
　And that was all thanks to the techniques I had thought up and devised.
　That hasn't changed at this time.
　However, I must also play my trump card against Nero Agence, who is so good that he ranks among the best, even including in the past.

"Shhh..."

　I take a deep breath in and lower my posture, keeping both hands clutching the sword.

"Derivation of “Dog Run”, Secret Technique ——— 4th form, Gyokuto Kaikin (Rabbit Bullet Released)."

　This technique was created based on a story that Hisago once told me about a rabbit living on the moon.
　The Dog Run is a technique of running on the ground with one's head hanging down, but this is a technique of bouncing off the ground.
　It is a technique of stopping even breathing, stepping on the ground, and using everything as a foothold.

"———"
"Wha?!"

　Instantly, I leap in front of Nero with my first step, leaving behind a sound so loud that the ground explodes.
　As Nero's face contorts in astonishment, I swing my sword in passing and slash shallowly at the side of his face along with his entire wind armor.
　Nero turns around with astonishing reflexes and swings his sword ——— but I have already used the tree behind me as a foothold and moved in the same way with such force that the trunk snapped.

"I can't keep up...! Guh!"

　I kick Nero's body from the side, and then leap around in the other direction as it recoils.
　Destroying everything just to gain a foothold, I only increase my speed———a forceful movement that even I myself have difficulty perceiving visually.
　If I didn't have foresight magic, my own speed would likely destroy me.

"———!"

　Exceeding even Suzune's speed, I use Nero as a foothold to slam in kicks from all directions.
　However, my opponent is one of those extraordinary superhumans.
　He immediately strengthened his defense and countered my kick —— but this technique was merely a connecting move.

"Gyokuto, kick!"
"Kuh! That's not enough...!"

　With a kick from the side, I jumped up vertically.
　With the moon in the sky at my back, I put all my strength into my black sword, which I held in both hands.

"Dragon (Shin)———"

　Kicking the air and accelerating, I thrust forward to the ground.
　　From a continuous attack in all directions ——— pouring everything I have and cutting down with a single slash.

"———Beast Hunt (Kemono Gari)!!"
"System Strengthening!!"

　Nero's sword, wielded from the ground, and mine, swung down from the sky, and collided at the same time.
　In the next moment, a powerful shock wave and wind blew around us, blowing Nero and I both away.

——— seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———

Author's Notes:
Introducing Kannagi-ryuu techniques.

[Tenth Form: Otorimawashi (Big Rooster Turn)]
Also known as Hou Mawashi.
An anti-aircraft defensive technique.

[Seventh Form: Gojokyaku (Horse Spin Kick]
A kick that breaks down the defense, can be used even from a sword-fighting distance.

[Fourth Form: Gyokuto Kaikin (Rabbit Bullet Released)・Gyokuto Shuugeki (Rabbit Bullet Kick Attack)]
This technique leads into the fifth form and is the same movement technique as Inu Hashiri (Dog Run) and Saru Mai (Monkey Dance).
It allows you to continue accelerating by using your surroundings, enemies, and everything else as footholds.
It is a technique that is unleashed with the full physical power of Kannagi, so without foresight magic, it would immediately self-destruct.
The Gyokuto Kick makes her flying into the sky, completing the fifth form.

As a single technique, it is used to annihilate groups.

[5th Form: Dragon - Beast Hunting (Shin Kemono Gari)]
Also read as Shinju Gari.
A technique that Kannagi possesses that is considered a secret technique.
In the fourth form, after delivering successive attacks, the user leaps into the air and slams the opponent with all their might in one slash.

*Since this is a technique exclusive to Kannagi, Suzune's fifth form was thought up by herself.

Perhaps this completes the Kannagi-ryuu.
I apologize for the lengthy explanation of the techniques.
(Translator's Notes: I also apologize if the naming of the technique is confusing or wrong. Reminder, Kannagi's technique is named after Chinese zodiac)