Chapter 2.5

Where Mars took Nozomu was the outer suburbs of the city. The sun has already risen high, and the rays of the sun were gradually spreading the spring weather across the city.

Arcazam is surrounded by walls to prevent the invasion of demons and beasts that live in the forests around the city.

The walls were built quite a distance from the city. This is because it allows large-scale troop deployments in the event of a large-scale invasion, and also serves as a storage area for supplies to maintain the troops.

Also, because it is located far from the city, the possibility of being seen by people is quite low, although not as low as in the forest.

There Nozomu and Mars are facing each other.

Mars pulled out the greatsword on his back and suddenly started coming towards Nozomu.

"Kuh!"

Nozomu hits the side of Mars's greatsword while drawing his katana out, and at the same time dodges it by circling the opponent's side.

Mars's body is full of Qi, and he is clearly in a combat stance, it's not the time to take it lightly.

"Wait, what does this mean!"

Nozomu doesn't understand why and asks Mars. Nozomu thought he would be questioned about things in the forest and about himself, but he never thought Mars would suddenly hit him with his sword.

"Nothing, I just want you to answer my question."

"Then why did you point your sword!"

Mars did not answer Nozomu's question and started slashing. Nozomu is forced to intercept. The sound of 2 weapons clashing reverberated.

Mars uses his enhanced physical strength to fire a series of attacks that make it look like he doesn't wield a greatsword.

He shot three consecutive slashes of vertical slash, horizontal low-strike, and reverse vertical slash. There is no delay in the movement of his slash, and it has sufficient power, suggesting that Mars's ability as a greatsword wielder is at a considerable level.

Continuous attack with heavy weapons such as a greatsword is a fairly advanced technique. With half-hearted physical strength, he would be swung around by the weight of the greatsword, and he could never be able to release a flowing continuous attack.

However, Mars fired such powerful slashes at a considerable speed.

Nozomu dodged the first slash by turning his body sideways and crouching down.

In the final reverse slash, while raising the katana diagonally against Mars's blade, he stepped forward, changed the vector of the force that he received from diagonal to lateral, and moved to the side of Mars while moving his body in the direction he was stepped on.

Nozomu used the momentum of Mars's slashes, however, Mars was also reading him, the greatsword interrupted the trajectory of the katana, and it is parried with a high-pitched sound.

Nozomu doesn't care that he was parried, and continues to shoot a series of attacks. There is a slight opening inside Mars's greatsword space, and Nozomu's katana almost reached him.

Nozomu's continuous attack is less wasteful than Mars's, although he lacked speed and power, Mars could not counterattack because there was no chance.

Mars, who couldn't counterattack, had no choice but to use his greatsword dexterously to handle Nozomu's continuous attacks.

While holding his greatsword in both hands, Mars, whose hands were full, raises his body's Qi and releases it at once. There is no name to this technique, it was just a release of Qi, but the release of Mars's abundant Qi delays Nozomu's continuous attack, albeit slightly.

In that gap, Mars focused his attention on one hand and hit Nozomu.

Mars's fist, which has an excellent physical ability and is strengthened with Qi, is comparable to the blow of a demon beast.

It's a blow that can't be ignored by Nozomu, who is under the influence of Ability Suppression and doesn't receive much of the benefits of strengthening skill.

Nozomu blocks Mars's fist with his scabbard. And he flies backward to fend off the force.

The moment Nozomu lands, Mars pursues. He closes the gap with a quick move, he activates the Qi technique "Dust Blade". The wind blade enveloping the greatsword tries to hit Nozomu, but at the moment of landing, Nozomu activates his instant move like Mars. He focuses his Qi on his legs, strengthens his leg strength to the limit, and screams at Mars at once.

"Naa !!"

Mars didn't expect Nozomu would rush in from the front.

It would be natural. Even though Nozomu has been attacking until now, but he had always been focused on parrying more than attacking.

Nozomu rarely attacks even in mock battles.

This is because the instantaneous power required to attack was limited due to the influence of Ability Suppression.

Mars swings down the greatsword, and it's so strong that Mars could not take any other action.

But, Nozomu's speed exceeds the speed of the greatsword that approaches overhead and erodes Mars's opportunity. That unexpected movement of Nozomu causes Mars's sword to blunt slightly.

Before Mars's sword reached him, Nozomu invaded the inside of the greatsword's space. Nozomu hits Mars's arm, which is still swinging the greatsword, with his elbow.

"Guh!"

Mars's expression is distorted because he was attacked on a part that was not protected by the gauntlet.

Mars releases one hand from the greatsword and focuses his attention on it, creating a mass of wind in his fist.

Mars releases the mass of wind at a close distance to Nozomu.

Qi technique "Wind Mass Palm"

A wind-type Qi technique that releases a mass of wind at once and blows away the opponent.

It is a technique that can be applied effectively, such as increasing the striking force.

The released wind blows away Nozomu, and the distance is widened again, so it is back to square one.

They gaze at each other beyond the gap and measures the distance between them. However, only time passed without moving with each other.

***

Mars’s POV

Mars is once again admiring Nozomu's skill.

(I see ... As I thought, he is better at pure sword skills ...)

Although I was overwhelmingly superior in power, I couldn't attack. After the first slash, I fired a series of speed-oriented attacks, but they were avoided or parried. If I tried to push it all the way, he would immediately released a counterattack.

My sword hunted him down, but I couldn't reach him.

I want to know. The reason he can be so strong like this, so I can also become stronger.

More, and more, stronger ……………….

Therefore, I have to know. About this guy who became incredibly strong ………….

***

They turned their swords at each other, kept their eyes on the other, and remained ready for battle.

However, Mars sheathes his sword in, and dissipates his Qi while exhaling with "fuu".

"It was my bad. Suddenly slashing."

Nozomu doubts that Mars, who was so motivated, sheathed his sword, but for the time being, he also sheathes the katana.

"... I have something to ask you .......... When did you start entering the forest?"

Mars stares straight at Nozomu. His eyes clearly said he wouldn't let it go.

Honestly, Nozomu had no concrete idea what to do after he killed a dragon. He thought it would be unpleasant to be known, but he couldn't think of what he wanted or should do with that power.

He realized that he had been running away and thought that he shouldn't stay like this, but he lost the purpose of "supporting Lisa's dream" and lost the reason for being in this school. He had no idea what to do.

The loss of this "purpose to become stronger" as well as the "escape" was also a concern for Shino, and now that he is aware of his own "escape", the loss of this "purpose to become stronger" becomes the biggest factor that Nozomu still could not move forward.

That's why Nozomu gives a strong admiration for those who move forward toward their goals, like Irisdina who said "I'll help if I find someone in need" and Somia who said, "I want to catch up to my sister".

"That's right ... I started entering the forest from the first-year summer season .......... Well, at that time ... Lisa ... there were so many things going on..."

With Mars's pursuit, Nozomu decided to talk about something unimportant for the time being.

If he thinks about it, the sign that Mars had been following him yesterday disappeared when he entered the forest, so Nozomu thought that Mars did not directly see the power of dragonslayer.

"......... I am shocked. Did you enter the forest alone since that time?" 

Mars was amazed at Nozomu who nodded and looked up at the sky. Because it is dangerous for students, the school does not allow them to enter the forest unless they meet the requirements, and students did not do that either. Sometimes, some students got crazy enough to go and ignored the warning, but most of them were badly injured, or at worst, eaten by the demon beasts and disappeared.  

After all, the students are inexperienced. No matter how high their grade and fighting ability are, they cannot survive unless they can make an accurate judgment. That fact was made known to students each year at the expense of some reckless students.

"I'm quite convinced, that you've cultivated that extraordinary precise movement and judgment in the forest."

Certainly, Mars is correct. After studying under Shino, he was running through the forest for a while and was naturally attacked by demon beasts.

All of the demon beasts that attacked were low-ranked demon beasts. At that time, Nozomu had the same physical ability, but his swordsmanship, Qi technique, tactics, and judgment were all immature. No matter how low the rank the demon beasts were, there were no elements to win.

That is why, it was important to know how to get away from any circumstances.

Enter the river to eliminate the odor, attach leaves on the body to mimic the surrounding, and climb the tree to get through.

Nozomu's judgment on the battlefield was naturally acquired as he thought, judged, and executed various things in order to live at that time.

The same was true for movements during the group mock battle the day before yesterday. Repeat one-on-one while constantly moving so as not to be surrounded.

This was acquired while fighting against the group of demon beasts such as the Wild Dog.

And the mock battle with Shino.

The battle with Shino who had extraordinary abilities. He would faint immediately if he acted even a little late, and if he made a mistake, he would sink to the floor.

He was in such an environment. He couldn't chose even if he didn't like it.

"So Mars, why did you call me here? No way, just because you wanted to hear such a thing, you suddenly started slashing at me, Oy"

Nozomu glares at Mars. Naturally, there is nothing wrong with Nozomu. It's a natural reaction. He was suddenly called and suddenly slashed.

"Uh, well, that is... what is it?"

Mars's tone becomes muddy. He may be aware that he has done something insane.

"???"

Mars suddenly stutters.

As far as Nozomu can see about Mars's atmosphere, he doesn't seem to know that Nozomu is a dragon slayer, he simply feels awkward about the sudden slashing.

When he saw that Nozomu had entered the forest, He didn't seem to have hesitated because he was convinced by Nozomu's sword and his power.

Nozomu is a little relieved because Mars doesn't seem to know he is a dragon slayer for the time being.

"In, In other words, what I want to know is..."

"Ahhhhhhhh! Onīchan, what are you doing !!"

"-Ge, This girl!"

The sudden ringing loud voice interrupted Mars's words. Looking at the source of the voice, a girl with a face similar to Mars rushed over here. She has an angry look on her face, and her gaze goes toward Mars. Looks like, this girl is Mars' little sister.

"Onii-chan !! What were you trying to do by calling someone to such an unpopular place !!!"

"I, I didn't do anything! By the way, why are you here!"

"Onīchan went out in the morning with a face full of grimaces, so I thought it wouldn't be a good thing, so I followed him. Then, as expected, he is trying to do something bad in a place like this ...... "

The girl said so while lifting her eyebrows, Mars argued that she was out of her mind.

"That's not it! Why am I doing such a bad thing !!"

"It's a natural conclusion considering what onīchan has done so far! Just think how many times I and obasan have bowed to the people who onīchan bothered!"

"Uh!"

It is true that Mars is recognized as a defect that cannot be touched by the people around him. Although he has the ability to be in the upper class, he is still in the 10th class, which shows how bad his daily behavior is.

On the other hand, Mars has been blamed since earlier, perhaps because he is weak against his sister.

Even if he argued a little, he will immediately be killed by the correct theory, and Mars himself knew that his behavior was bad and knew that he was annoying his family, and eventually he could not argue anymore. A one-sided word attack by his sister is developed.

"I was banned from my favorite shop because Onīchan went wild!"

"I was treated as a boss by a child of the same age in the neighborhood because of Onīchan!"

"I apologized to the neighbors all day and night because of Onīchan!"

Mars moaned "Gut!" or "Muu!" every time she talked, and it seems that something like a spear is stabbed into him.

Eventually, it shifted to Mars's embarrassing past story.

"His last bedwetting was slower than me." Or "He said he wanted to ride a horse, and when he jumped on a horse-drawn carriage, the horse was surprised and went out of control. It became a big catch for all the men in the neighborhood."

Mars can't bear it anymore. Perhaps because of his shame in the past, he hangs his head and puts his hands on the ground. Although he did it himself, it is still pathetic to see.

After confirming that Mars had sunk, the girl who was making fun of Mars came in front of Nozomu.

"I'm sorry. My foolish onīchan caused you inconvenience."

"A, no, I don't mind ......... Is your brother okay?"

"Yes. If I don't do this, my brother won't regret it. And because of him, I've had a lot of trouble. This is his natural punishment."

"I, I see ........."

Mars, whose heart was broken, looked pitiful, and Nozomu tried to appease the girl, but the girl cutting in as to cast it aside.

Nozomu was angry at Mars who suddenly slashing at him, but no matter how bad he was, the girl had cast her brother away and abandoned him.

"Oh, I'm late to introduce myself. I'm Ena, the younger sister of a foolish brother who died there."

"Oh, thank you. I'm Mars classmate Nozomu Bountis."

Unlike Mars, she is a girl who greets people properly and politely. She is a very solid girl, probably because her brother made her struggle a lot.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience caused by my brother today. I'd like to apologize, so would you please come to my house? We have an inn with a bar so you can have lunch. "

She wants to apologize. Nozomu said she didn't need to apologize, but Ena stubbornly said, "I have to apologize properly because of the inconvenience." He thought it would be a bad idea to refuse, so Nozomu decided to accept her invitation.

"Well it's okay, but what about Mars?"

"Oh, that's right.  Onīchan, you're in the way, so walk fast!"

Ena kicks Mars. Mars gets angry, "What are you doing!", but he is depressed by his sister's glaring eyes, then he followed her trudgingly.