Chapter 40 Steel Yourself!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!

"Eh?--W-W-What happened?"

While hunting beasts in the nearby forest, Kai and James got startled as they heard a loud explosion, followed by a column of billowing smoke that could be easily seen from afar.

James asked. "What was that...did a fire broke out in a building over there?"

"I don't know," Kai replied. "But, I'm sure it wasn't due to a simple fire."

Although the prevalence of fires in a large city such as Barchen are at peak at this time of the year, Kai ruled out that possibility from the real cause of that explosion.

"By that you mean...a terrorist attack?!"

"Maybe...--I think it would be better if we check the situation by ourselves." Kai said as he started to run. James then followed after him.

"Yeah, let's go."

An explosion in the middle of the city. For a person like Kai, this could mean one thing--

There are people currently in danger. Although the residents have access to the underground passages of the city in case of emergency, his mind wouldn't stop worrying about their safety.

Combined with having certain gruesome images in his mind, his stomach tighten up as his footsteps gradually become heavier.

BOOOOOMMM!!! BOOOOOOOMMM!!! BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!

"M-More explosions?!"

Gritting his teeth, Kai spoke. "James, I'll go to the place where the first explosion came from. You watch over here."

"W-Why all of a sudden?!"

"I don't know, but my instinct's telling me that..."

At that instant, the ground in front of them suddenly burst as if a landmine was buried there. Then, from the resulting crater a bunch of horned creatures appeared in front of them, all having their jaws gaped at them.

"Demons...?" James let out a shocked cry.

Seeing their horrid appearances unexpectedly made James let out a sour expression on his face.

Kai shouted. "James! I'll be going now!"

"E-Eh, ah--?! W-Wai--"

"[Lightning Leap]!"

Before he could even grab the hem of Kai's shirt he already finished casting a spell, using lightning to propel him in an upward trajectory.

"Sorry! I'll leave those guys to you, James!" Kai shouted at him from the rooftop of a three-story building before he left him as he continued on his way jumping from building to building.

Having been left behind by Kai without him knowing the reason, James yelled in fury. "Kai, you bastaaaaaaaaaarrrdddddd!!!!!"

BBBBGGGGSSSSHHHH!!!!!

Another ear-deafening explosion came from behind him, and he saw an even greater number of demons wielding weapons such as clubs and chains.

"Hey, seriously..."

'How did it came to this?!', he groaned in his mind. He couldn't believe what's going on, did he really just left him behind while asking him to deal with the demons surrounding him, he asked to himself.

With no other choice but to defend himself, James cracked his knuckles as he switched into an offensive stance. In a rage he shouted:

"All of you...really pisses me off--come at me all at once!!!"

-----

Inside an already vacated cafe at the center of the city, a storm of blade techniques raged on furiously between two adversaries.

While Rin herself is someone who already made a mark in the history of Arandel as one of the country's most formidable swordmaster even though only living for a few months in the country, the demon's blade skills is nothing to be laughed at either.

"Ehh...not bad Mr. Mantis-Demon, it's been a while since I faced an opponent as strong as you." Rin said as she looked at her opponent with eyes of scorn. The demon however, apparently incapable of speaking or understanding human speech, didn't say anything as he charged at her with a swift downward strike.

Sensing the killing intent behind the attack, Rin quickly took a step back while blocking it with her sword.

During the past months of continuous training and encounter with the demon forces from who-knows-where, Rin has already acquired enough strength to take on tens, even hundreds, by herself. But as capable as she is, she still didn't let herself become complacent with her abilities.

Especially now that the opponent she's facing right now is even more powerful than a hundred ordinary demon soldiers, she has no time to be complacent.

A question sprouted in her mind. 'However, how did this guy appear all of a sudden?'

Even a person like her who has naturally a keen sense of danger got startled also for a bit when she saw the appearance of the demon just outside the cafe. Seeing the crowd instantly falling into chaos after a few explosions that came afterward, Rin surmised that the fellow in front of her isn't alone when they start appearing. While Kai and others would certainly rush to the scene as soon as the alarms from the military triggered, it would still take them a few minutes to arrive.

Knowing such fact, Rin had no choice but to stall the demon's advance while waiting for them.

*whooooosh*!!!!!

"Kuhh--!!!"

Dodging a sideward slash aimed at her neck by a hair's width, Rin prevented herself from getting decapitated by the mantis-blade demon. Using her free hand to soften her landing after making a backflip, she quickly regained her stance to prepare herself for another attack.

"Y-You..." She muttered in shock.

As if listening to her complaints, the demon's movement gradually became faster with each strike.

Without wasting another second the demon dashed quickly towards her then swung its bladed arms diagonally downwards with such force that, she felt the impact transmitting from her blade up to her nerves.

Rin thought, if it not for the quality of her sword she would be already eternally resting in pieces now.

Even after she managed to cover the employees and the remaining customers of the cafe as they evacuate using the establishment's hidden access to the city's underground passages, she only managed to keep a state of battle into a stalemate. Now that the enemy started 'heating up' she soon started to struggle defending each attack from the demon.

'This guy...really is different from the ones I fought before...'

Parrying the demon away from her with her sword, Rin then followed a series of rapid thrusts aimed to pierce through her enemy's defenses.

"[Six Needle Strike]!"

An upgrade of her usual Three Needle Strike, she thought that with that speed she could land at least four hits on her target, but she realized something's off while she's about to make the sixth thrust. With a twist of her wrist that's faster than a normal person could perceive, she changed the trajectory of her sword and deflected an attack coming at her from the left side. The demon, however, didn't stop after that as he weaved a series of slashes intended to also crumble her defenses.

'So quick...' Rin gasped her breath with every blow she blocked from the demon.

It was like she's fighting more or less against a mirror image of herself, she thought. While the demon may not have a wide variety of attacks that an experienced twin kama user would have, his speed was something enough to make her grit her teeth in irritation.

'If I knew that I would be facing a formidable opponent beforehand, I should've stepped up my game right from the start!' She complained to herself while taking some distance from the enemy.

This time, she would make the offensive.

Suuu...haa...suu...haa...

After taking in a few deep breaths for a moment, Rin spoke.

"Alrighto, time to turn the tables upside down! Haaaaaaaahhhh!!!!!"

Holding her sword downwards as the tip of her blade raking through the flooboards, she ran towards the demon. Then, Rin twisted her body while still holding her sword with two hands, and made a spinning slash which the demon effortlessly dodged by taking a step backwards.

At first the demon thought that was all she had but--

"I'm not done yet!!!"

With her first attack as a feint, she successfully landed a sword strike coming from below, using the momentum from her axial turn to knock the demon off the ground as he was caught off guard.

A two-axis swathing attack, [Blooming Cresencia].

Just like a certain flower that blooms only once there's a crescent moon in the night sky, Rin's sword carved sharply and 'bloomed' against the tough skin of the demon before he crashed to the pile of debris, sending wood chips everywhere.

"This time, just to defeat this guy I mustn't hold back..."

Compared to the ones she had learned from the times she spent in Arandel, the sword technique that Rin used was one of the techniques that she modified to fit her own personality and style of combat. Adapting to the ever-fluid and unpredictable tide of battle, using just her imagination alone she could create a series of sword attacks that could leave her opponents shocked and impressed.

Although it puts her body into a greater amount of strain, she deemed that it would be difficult for her to defeat him if she were just to use basic techniques.

"Hmm, how do you like that, huh?" She asked while gasping lightly.

A fhoeseconds later, the demon got himself out of the debris. With the demon showing an even more ugly expression after taking Rin's attack, he crossed his twin blades as he launched himself for another attack.

Zoom! Rin couldn't believe her eyes. Did the demon just...appeared right in front of her almost instantly?

"N-No good--GAAAAAAAH!!!!!"

Just as she was about to retreat a few steps back, the demon slashed her in her left thigh. Rich blood then dripped out from the cut.

"Guhhh...he's becoming faster and faster every minute..." She lamented.

Even with her speed, if the demon keeps on being faster, it won't be a long time before she gets overwhelmed.

"This...do mantises also jump around like a grasshopper?" She asked to herself.

Rin noticed after dodging a few slashes from the demon that whenever he starts to attack, its legs would contract for a short moment like a spring before launching himself forward. She thought, that in order for her to defeat the demon, she must use that barely perceivable delay to land a crucial hit on the demon's body.

"He launched himself again!"

Anticipating such pattern of attack, Rin took a step sidewards to clear herself out of the way. Just at the time when the demon is right in front of her, she landed four, five, six hits in a flash with her sword.

"Khaaaaaaaaaagggghhh!!!" The demon let out a howl upon taking damage from Rin.

"Hmph, even with your speed you're still no match for me." She harrumphed as she spoke to the demon.

While the demon could only cause a gash at her thigh, she already landed several strikes on his body. Judging from the current situation it was clear who has the upper hand.

Even though the demon didn't understand any of her words, he still could see through its meaning ion looking at Rin's provocative smile. His blood boiled even further, as he prepared to attack once more.

"You dare! [Breaking Current]!!!"

With a vicious slash, Rin stopped the brunt of the demon's attack. Although the technique couldn't stop it completely, it gave her enough opportunity to make a follow-up with her own attacks.

"Kaaaaaaahhh!!!" The demon roared furiously when his attack got neutralized by Rin. He couldn't believe that a single girl could stop his seemingly unstoppable charge.

"[Butterfly Flash]!!!"

Before he could even recover, Rin landed another flurry of attacks so fast, even the winds made from the attack also makes a cut on his flesh.

Like dancing in mid-air, Rin didn't stop yet with her onslaught. No matted how thick the demon's skin is, the lack of additional armor made it easier for her to cut through her enemy.

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BLAMMM!!! Rin's explosive bladework caused the demon's body to fly in an arc before crashing down a long table just meters away from her.

With almost half of her stamina used up due to her sword abilities, she started to become anxious when she started checking the condition of the demon.

"Haaah...I think it's over now..."

Seeing that the demon didn't moved after a few moments, Rin let out a relieved sigh.

"But still, there are still some more demons out there. I have to go and find the others..."

Just as when she was about to go out to the street, she felt a strange oppressing aura coming from behind her.

"Ah," Rin gasped in disappointment. "Just like what the novels say, you don't turn your backs against an enemy as easy as that."

Even though she already considered beforehand not to commit that mistake, Rin couldn't help but to laugh at herself for being too carried away with the desire to get out of the place as soon as possible.

And now, the supposedly defeated enemy is still standing on two legs as if nothing happened, killing intent leaking out of him.

Hiding her shock, Rin spoke. "Hey, judging from that malicious aura just now, isn't this your final form, right?"

Without replying to her words, the demon bent his back down as cracking sounds started to resonate the place as his body started to grow larger. Then, from his back two pairs of night-colored mantis wings sprouted, each pair vibrating at a very high frequency. Cracking sounds didn't sound right there, as from his sides emerged another pair of arms, each having their own blade. From the head up to his last extremities, the demon's form became more and more resemblant of a huge mantis.

Such disgusting scene made Rin felt really shocked and uncomfortable.

"Ara..."

Rin thought, maybe it was really stupid to ask an enemy if they still have such tricks up their sleeve. Now that the enemy is standing tall at about three meters, the hairs at the back of her head started to rise in terror.

"Now..." The huge mantis demon started talking in a rough, hoarse voice all of a sudden. "Let's see if you can still catch up with my attacks."

"Are you challenging me?" Rin asked, showing a strained smile at the demon.

With the domineering aura of the demon starting to inscribe deep fear into her heart, Rin gripped on her sword as she steeled herself in order to fight the demon once more.