< John Doe POV >

(Fly King He isnt an opponent that I could be negligent at all.)

Fly King casted his Sorcery on the Sixth and the fake John Doe.

However, Fly King didnt become negligent at all.

He never lowered his guard.

If he had thought that they won and let his guard down, I would have been able to finish him off already.

Now, the other side is looking for a way to win.

They are probably already aware of my capabilities to some extent.

However, that also goes for me

That Sorcery of his requires a number of conditions and steps before they can be activated.

And the enemy is unable to keep up with my current speed right now.

Indeed, he is able to react to my attacks.

However, only that Princess Knight has the physical capabilities to respond.

And even then, all she could do was defend.

Earlier, I used the blood of a soldier to block her sense of sight.

However, it seems that the Princess Knight can cope with the loss of vision.

There werent any changes with her stance at all.

It seems like she could fight without relying on her vision.

Fortunately, all she could do was defend.

Other than them

Theres also that slime lurking inside Fly Kings robe.

It doesnt seem to be a monster that excels in combat.

It seems like hes making use of that slime to watch over his back.

Its safe to assume that it doesnt have any offensive capabilities.

If thats the case It would really be about when he casts that Sorcery.

I have my aim already in mind.

It would be that moment when he casts his Sorcery.

After I continued to attack several times, the enemy made a move.

Fly King appears to have something to that Princess Knight.

Can you match with me?

Ill try.

That was about all I could hear.

However, I could easily guess what they were talking about.

Thereupon, something flashed.

Our blades clashed.

I then withdrew in that instant.

From the enemys point of view, it probably seemed like I was teleporting away.

My offensive continues.

During this time, I tried to understand the enemys capabilities more.

And starting with their abilities

Their habits

Their speed

The pattern of their movements.

Shaking the enemy with my offense, I tried to determine various things.

[Piii.]

(? That things been doing that over and over again What the heck is with it?)

Disappearing from sight, I continued to attack.

[Pipiii.]

( ? )

With each attack, that slime of his chirped.

The sound of blades colliding with each other resounds in the air.

Now, as that Princess Knight blocked my attack

(Her reaction speed increased?)

Attack

[Piii.]

Attack

[Pipipiii.]

That slimes strange cries continued.

It seems like those cries were linked to the movements of the Princess Knight.

(Theres a single chirp and it sometimes does three chirps)

Did Fly King figure something out?

He already grasped my attack habits huh.

That within such a short time?

I kept on attacking.

(-I see, I understand now. That chirping really is linked to that Princess Knights movements. The Fly King is telling that Princess Knight something with his slimes cries)

The reaction speed of the Princess Knight was visibly increasing.

If this keeps up, she might catch up with my speed.

In that case

(What is it that he grasped?)

I dont know.

It would be hard to know your own habits unless someone else points them out to you.

That slimes cry

What is it that its signals convey?

Even so, there are some things I figured out.

That slimes chirps were linked to that Princess Knights movements.

On the other hand, such actions would make their movements more standardized.

If the opponents movement is linked to my movements

It also makes it easier for me to grasp my opponents movement.

And there

I could possibly find the key that leads to their opening.

I also grasped the other partys aim.

Fly King grasped my habits and attack patterns.

Using the slimes cry as a signal, he mobilizes that Princess Knight.

Can you match with me?

Those words earlier mean this.

The more those signals pile up, the more the enemy would try to deal with it.

[.]

However, I understood it.

That link between that slime and that Princess Knight is just a preparatory step.

All this time, I had been observing him.

The Fly King.

His real coup de grce is his Sorcery.

If he wants to certainly finish off something, he would need to use his Sorcery.

The one I should really watch out for is the Fly King.

Most probably, he would commence whatever it is that hes planning when I turn my attention towards the movements of the Princess Knight and that slime of his.

I know it.

Were the same kind of person after all.

(However What is it that hes planning? How exactly does he plan to cast his Sorcery on me?)

It needs him to utter at least one syllable to cast his Sorcery

(T/N: Originally three syllables for Da-a-ku, changed to one syllable for Dark. This kinda makes John Doe seem even faster though.)

Yes, it seems like it is required for him to vocalize a word of at least three syllables.

Moreover, he needs me within his recognition and has his arm pointed towards me.

Once I understand the characteristics of his Sorcery, it could be said that the battle becomes easier.

All I have to do is move at a speed that matches the nature of his Sorcery.

Above all, the enemy sees the situation wrong.

Thereupon, he has already fallen into my trap.

Yes

Im also preparing my own steps against the enemy.

The attacks I have unleashed thus far

The speed I have shown to them actually wasnt my maximum speed.

All of my attacks so far were just preparatory steps.

The speed of attacks so far are the highest speed that John Doe could exert.

In order to convince the enemy of this, I had been attacking at a reduced speed, especially for my last few attacks.

I was unable to exert my full speed on my first attack.

However, I should be able to exert greater speed now.

Why?

It was because the nausea and vertigo I had been feeling minutes ago had finally subsided.

Thats why I can reach my maximum speed now.

But even though I had recovered to the point where I could exert my maximum speed, I continued to attack at a speed close to that of my initial attacks.

All in order to make sure that my best strike would be the decisive blow.

The time to settle this matter is close.

The question though, was at what point and what kind of Sorcery would Fly King use?

How does he plan to cast his Sorcery on me?

Since hes wearing a mask, his expression was unreadable

Most probably a sense of peril and relief.

I knew it because we are the same kind of person.

Because were the same kind of person, I can see through his thoughts, even when I couldnt see his expression.

I can see through his thoughts, all at the palm of my hands.

In a sense, it could be said that my thoughts are currently synchronized with the Fly Kings.

I understand.

How dangerous that Fly King is.

[Seras.]

The Fly King spoke.

[From here on out, be in complete sync with me.]

[Acknowledged.]

[Seras Ashrain.]

[Yes.]

[For my sake Are you willing to lay down your life?]

[Yes, of course.]

Thereupon, stretching out his arms, the Fly King stood ready.

[I thank you for your resolve.]

(..)

Remaining out of their sight, I kept my gaze on Fly King.

I could already see what it is that theyre aiming for

I mustnt be negligent.

I mustnt overlook anything.

His movements

His thoughts

At that moment

My earlier nausea and vertigo

All of it completely disappeared.

And this is the moment

That I would unleash my attack that could be said as my final move.

Inwardly, I was amazed.

So thats how it is.

Fly King.

Plunging into striking distance, I launched my attack.

And the moment that I was about to swing my sword

I understood everything.

If that Princess Knights sword blocks my attack

As soon as our blades collide with each other, John Doe will withdraw almost simultaneously.

Thus, the Fly King wouldnt make it in time.

As soon as he finished saying the name of his Sorcery, I would already be out of sight.

He only had a paper-thin of a time, and thats why his Sorcery was unable to make it in time.

However, what if they struck me at that moment?

His Sorcery might make it in time.

Seras Ashrain isnt showing any signs of blocking my attack.

She didnt look like she would be blocking my attack.

Her eyes dead set on her goal to strike me down with her sword.

All so that Fly King could launch his decisive strike, his Sorcery.

Letting me cut through her flesh, letting me slash past her bones

Using an ally as a sacrifice- He would then crush the enemy.

Cutting off the standardized pattern.

This is an act of taking the opponent by surprise.

Therefore, to make it easier for one to draw out an opening

Fly King pulled down the previous standard, the Princess Knight blocking my attack.

However, I am not surprised by this move.

Within my mind, the same thought repeats over and over again.

I knew it.

Yeah, I knew already.

You and I are the same.

Within a state that seemed like the time had stopped-

Im clearly seeing another me before my eyes.

We- Yes, the both of us.

We both have the ruthlessness to easily cut off our comrades.

For my sake Are you willing to lay down your life?

The words the Fly King said earlier.

Thats right.

The both of us are such people.

Even if he had to sacrifice that Princess Knight, he would settle this with his Sorcery.

Just like how I sacrificed the Sixth, all to observe your Sorcery.

But even so

Fly King You can only curse your misfortune.

Your misfortune that you were the same as this John Doe.

Because of this, Ive seen through everything. That plan of yours your thoughts.

That moment indeed happened in less than a blink of an eye.

Sensing the enemys aim almost reflexively, I already pressed my attack towards the Fly King.

[ <Da

I could see through your thoughts.

The opening you were hoping to create will not be created.

Ill only unleash a feint towards that Princess Knight.

And then, I would unleash my own coup de grce towards my real target, the Fly King.

-Slaaaaash-

[-]

?

What the?

Ive been struck?

This speed

rk > < Paralyze >!]

Retreat.

I need to retreat

[]

but I cant move.

(Thats right, if I remember correctly Its his Sorcery that steals away my movement)

At that moment

I finally turned my attention away towards her

Towards that Princess Knight.

[I finally- got you.]

The words said by Fly King sounded like hes finally free from a heavy burden.

[Hiding the maximum speed It isnt just you who is doing that. Above all]

As I felt blood gushing out of my wounds, the Fly Kings gaze descended on me and he spoke.

[Just as I planned- All you could think about would be me.]

< Mimori Touka POV >

In the middle of the battle, I noticed something.

I noticed that John Does attention was focused on me a lot.

Seras was the one blocking his attacks.

But it seemed to me that he was constantly focusing his attention on me.

In other words, he was thinking that I was planning something against him huh?

On the contrary, he only sees Seras as my shield, blocking all of his attacks.

In other words, he doesnt think of her as a sword

Ive also noticed subtle changes in Seras.

Little by little, it seems like shes getting used to John Does attacks.

Her reaction time is also increasing.

Using my resources, I formulate a plan.

However, Seras is able to focus all of her efforts on direct exchange against John Doe.

I wonder if John Doe is aware of this slight omen?

I wonder if John Doe noticed Seras Ashrains prodigious combat sense.

Those three

In the beginning, Humanitys Strongest had high hopes for her as her future enemy.

The Strongest Blood Champion, Eve Speed, described her as a genius.

The Strongest of the Four Warlights, Gio Shadowblade, appraised her as someone on a different level.

The battle talents of this High Elven Princess Knight.

Since that battle against Civit, Seras has grown to a level where it could be said that her battle talents had blossomed.

She may not have been flashy with her means.

But behind the scenes, she has been active and her talent has blossomed at an unusual rate.

Seras had followed me through all the fierce battles we had gone through.

She had always been by my side.

Five Dragon Warriors.

Ashinto.

Golden Demon Zone.

Human-Faced.

Great Demon Emperors Army.

Heroic Sword.

Together, weve been through it all.

And thus I decided to bet on my Deputy.

In the middle of a battle, I decided to take a gamble.

First, while John Doe was out of sight, I called out to Seras.

Thereupon, I quietly whispered to her.

The enemys recognition inhibition is nullified while hes within about 5 meters away from me.

Conversely speaking, he would always be at a distance of over five meters.

So, there is little danger of being overheard if I speak with whispers.

Moreover, after that time when he appeared because of my < Slow > and escaped

It seemed like he became very cautious and kept a large distance.

In addition, the intervals between John Does attacks were gradually becoming known.

At first glance, it may seem like his attack intervals were random.

But surprisingly, there is a certain amount of time before his next attack.

The enemy must be thinking after each attack.

It seems that by repeating his attacks, the enemy is trying to measure something.

If thats the case

There shouldnt be much risk of being overheard-

I can make time to have a secret talk with Seras.

With him being at a distance where hes worrying about my range, I could turn the tables against him.

This secret talk only consists of me talking by myself.

The mask Im wearing makes it impossible to visually tell if my mouth is moving.

However, Seras has already taken off her mask.

It would be unnatural for her to wear it here for us to converse.

Thus, I decided it would be better if Seras didnt wear hers.

From time to time, Seras responded with silent signals.

She was doing a similar approach as to what she usually did when shes judging whether someones speaking the truth or not.

Upon hearing my words, Seras immediately gave her acknowledgement.

It could be said that regarding this matter, were completely harmonized with each other.

Just like that, I also told her about the idea of hiding her maximum speed.

I also told her that I wanted to bet on the strike brought upon by her maximum speed.

It seems like hes completely into me I think its worth a try. Youll be alright. Ill prepare the stage for you.

Seras denoted her acknowledgement.

However, I could see a hint of unease on Seras face.

Dont be so nervous Its okay if you fail. When that happens, well just figure out our next move. However I want to bet on you. Your battle talent that Civit, Eve, and Gio recognizes the genuine battle talent that I had seen for myself.

With these few words, Seras anxiety vanished.

As she had gathered her resolve, I declared.

Ill tell you this again and again. You are the best Deputy there is.

From this point on, I used Pigimarus cries as a front.

I hoped that the enemys attention would be drawn by Pigimarus voice.

It might also somewhat distract his attention from the whispered instructions I made to Seras.

After that

I gave Pigimaru instructions in my robe, using my fingers.

With interchanging squeals of 1 to 3

I instructed him to squeal in time with Seras movement.

Yes..

Seras wasnt matching with Pigimarus cries.

However, it would be most satisfactory if the enemy misunderstands.

That Seras movements are in tune with Pigimarus cries.

However, the reality is different.

Its just that Seras is adapting to the enemys speed on her own.

Its not like I saw through something about my opponent.

Those cries Pigimaru makes doesnt hold any meaning at all.

But by doing this, the enemy will think that I had seen through something

This will make him pay more attention to me.

In short, the purpose of my plan was

How can we draw the enemys attention away from Seras?

-To hinder their awareness of Seras.

In a sense, you could say that Im doing that recognition inhibition as well.

Weaving along this plan was me, always acting nonchalant.

Acting all aloof, I kept giving off the vibe that I was on to something.

The atmosphere around me exerts the thought It wouldnt be Seras, but me who will deal with you.

However, I tried not to be blatant about it.

Until the very end, the atmosphere around would be as if Im trying to hide my plans.

From the information I had gathered so far, I had analyzed the enemys character.

The enemy is probably the type that thinks properly

He would be cautious, trying to read the intent hidden beneath the other sides thoughts.

In that case

There would be a high possibility that he would come to the conclusion that Seras and the slimes actions was just a front to allow Fly King to deal the decisive strike.

However, such a thought would exactly be his pitfall.

Yes.

This is just like a face down card in that card game.

Whenever someone had set a card

They would think that they have something prepared against them.

Thats why, they keep paying attention to their face-down cards.

In other words, what I did was that I had set a face-down card.

I also threw out a lot of other baits that would make John Doe think of the situation wrongly.

By doing so, John Doe would devote most of his attention towards me.

It never even occurred to him that Seras may be hiding her maximum speed.

Or perhaps, in the mind of someone with a sense of values like him, he might see it as if I would be sacrificing Seras to defeat him.

Hes someone who abandoned the Sixth without a second thought after all.

That would be entirely possible.

Thats why

For my sake Are you willing to lay down your life?

So that my voice could reach John Does ears, I said.

And at that moment- I was already prepared for the decisive blow.

From here on out, I had Seras be in complete sync with me.

And the word complete I had told her at that time

Was the signal for go for it, just as I told her in advance.

Your next move will be to attack at your own discretion.

At this point, Seras dropped her defensive stance.

Seeing such an action, the enemy will probably think that

By having Seras slash him, the repeated pattern will disappear and taking advantage of the opening, I would cast my Sorcery.

And the result

In the end It seemed like everything fell into place.

Seras Ashrain, who was almost never in his sight

The Princess Knight, who had adapted to the enemys movement through repeated exchanges

With a maximum speed greater than John Does

She had slashed him down.

It seems that her speed being even greater his disturbed John Does consciousness even more than Seras slashing him down.

Moreover, the cut wound he received was deep.

In that case, what he would be doing was his withdrawal speed that hes so proud of

[ < Dark > ]

but it was already too late.

The first thing I need to do is to use my fastest skill.

It seems that with that wound, he can no longer focus his consciousness.

Even so, John still somehow tried to retreat but

I can now see him fairly well.

And there would be no way I would let him get away.

Perhaps, because of his injuries and agitation, his withdrawal speed isnt as fast as before.

So, before he reached 20 meters away from me

[ < Paralyze > ..!]

Crickle, crackle

The probability of dealing with him like that incredibly increased.

And then

[I finally- got you.]

Yeah.

In a way, it is as you think, John Doe.

In the end, Ill be the one settling this matter.

In a way, that isnt a lie.

I dont know why is it that youre so focused on me.

I dont even know why is it that you just didnt leave this place when you had an ability like that.

However

[Hiding the maximum speed It isnt just you who is doing that. Above all]

The reason for your defeat

[Just as I planned- All you could think about would be me.]