Breakthrough with the Forbidden Master

Chapter 169 - Intermission (Dark Valkyrie) ③

Never in my life has there been a fool who dared mock me to this extent.

Although they were my hated enemies, I believe I’ve at least had a proud clash of souls with those dross Hiro and Mamu.

Their son is making a fool of me like an infant, and even dared to insult God.

For that, there will be comeuppance!

“Hah! Thou can’t hide in the forest and run around anymore!”

I’ll end it in an instant. My fist, empowered by this breakthrough……

“Unh!?”

His fist, his shoulder moved. Is this fellow aiming to counter me?

The opponent is a man who countered Machio’s fist without fear.

That said, against me? He underestimates… hmm? Nay. The toes and knee orientation to use the counter…… isn’t it? Shockwave?

Wait, before that, this fellow, why is he facing elsewhere…

“Hehe, 【Great Demon Look Away】”

“…… ah…”

Drat!? I was so taken aback by the ‘look away’ that I also looked away, and stopped my attacking hand.

“You’re a Six Supremacy, and yet you still fell for it.”

“Braaaaaat!”

By the time I noticed, Earth Lagann went around behind me… a flicker!? Nay, that shoulder movement is… a left feint followed by his right…… this fellow, the line of sight is on my body… huh? But by his footwork, will he step back next? Why? Is thou unwilling to attack as I am full of gaps?

“【Great Demon Back Slide】!”

“…… Ha?”

What? This is…… I remember, about hundreds of years ago, a mysterious masked dancer who appeared in the Demon Realm … The King of Pop of the Demon Realm who performed what was called the Moonwalk… why here? What is the point?

“………”

“Soui, soui, soui”

“…… Is thou mocking me?”

There is no point. It’s just a provocation! A prank on me… gah, to what ends does he act in that manner?! But for Lady Kron, I would bleepbleepbleep… eh!?

“Come on! Get me”

“Tsu!”

Drat, is this his aim? To distance himself from me while taunting me, have me run straight at him in anger, and then he intercepts with a counter?

Moreover, his sudden increase in magic power… the Great Demon Spiral!? What’s more, this time he intends to hit me directly rather than with shockwaves!?

Naturally, he would immediately drive it into me…

“Just kidding!”

“… Huh? … wh,at?”

What? The moment I sensed the Great Demon Spiral incoming and stopped, this fellow released the attempt to activate the technique and went around to the side… what? What are his intentions?

“Right~, I’m ‘in’. From now on, my sharpness will get better and better, and I’ll weave in and out in various ways.”

“What?”

I don’t understand. This fellow, what will he do? Right punch? Left punch? Move to the right? Move to the left? Or back? Shockwave? Wh, what is it? Eyes, head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, tips of fists, knees, toes, body orientation…

“Th, this is…”

“Come on, catch me if you can.”

At that moment, I suddenly realized.

In the first place, it is impossible that I, with my Heraldic eye, would end up “not knowing what Earth Lagann would do next”.

With the Heraldic eye activated, I can look ahead to what the opponent is always trying to do due to my basic eyesight and dynamic visual acuity being greatly improved in addition to the ability to copy the other party’s magic.

However, apart from in the forest earlier, Earth Lagann stands right before me, a one-on-one, in a place with no obstacles, but I do not see what Earth Lagann will try to do next.

“Nuo, ah, oh…”

Earth Lagann moves constantly, his arms, legs, eyes and head direction.

Moreover, there were no regular movements or rhythms, everything is random and has a different rhythm.

It’s as if I’m watching an unpleasant dance.

I could not predict which way his foot would move next, or what punch he’ll throw next with his fist.

Why is that?

A feint.

The whole body is feinting all at once, and not merely a feint, there is so much momentum, acting ability, and genuine signs and bloodlust that it seems “he really will move next”, so I can’t help but react to them.

Yet another nuisance is the eye guidance, which is done in conjunction with the feints.

Knowing a left fist is coming from the start, one can focus solely on the left fist. However, this man also interweaves movements that seem to be done by the motions of his right hand and feet at the same time, and I also react naturally and my glance is guided momentarily.

Guidance of the glance… What was it called? This technique. Mis…… Misdi…?

In any case, as my Heraldic eyes see everything “all too well”, my body naturally reacts to all feints and movements. Even as the brain reacts to visual stimuli, new information comes in steadily, and even if I try to anticipate it, the amount of information is too large to process and my head gets befuddled.

Even the slightest movements that a normal person would not react to, because I could see everything, I would inevitably react to it.

“But after all, it’s but a trick! Don’t think about anything, don’t worry about being hit a little, just push through it with force and capture thee―――”

“【Great Demon Sonic…”

“Drat!? …… Ah…”

Useless. Even if I do not think about anything and try to plunge in without fear of being hit, my body reacts naturally so long as the opponent’s movement is visible. Even now, I predicted Earth Lagann’s counter, stopped involuntarily, and in the meantime he took a distance from me again.

Hundreds of years of fighting have ingrained in my body the ability to “anticipate the opponent’s movements with Heraldic eyes and fight without getting hit”, making me unable to take action with abandon.

“Ku…”

“【Great Demon Cossack】! Hora~, yo, ho, yo, ho!

“Nuh, what is that dance!? Will thou take this fight seriously?!? “

And, if there is any leeway, he makes some strange movements that I don’t understand and can’t even make sense of, as if to provoke me.

What shall I do? Preferably, do I release the Heraldic eye?

“Oh? Can I mix in attacks now? Osu! 【Great Demon Sonic Jab】!”

“Huh? …… tch!?

No good. He’s weaker than I, but… the fellow’s fist can’t be seen through without the Heraldic eye… no, but don’t be afraid of being hit… then again, he suddenly spoke to himself as if he were talking to “someone”.

“【Great Demon Sonic Flicker】!”

“This… this braaaatt!”

Nay, before I gather my thoughts, more and more new information flows into my head through my eyes … drat! Better, do I erase everything with magic? No, but I can’t kill the key… besides, it takes me a little time to unleash powerful magic. This fellow won’t miss it.

Even if I fly into the air, I would fall prey to shockwaves and the Great Demon Spiral.

“When eyes are too good, they can be a problem too?”

“Eh!?”

“This is my new Special Move! The results of my efforts to further improve my footwork…… fusing continuous feints and footwork using the entire body …” 【Great Demon ? Earth Misdirection Shuffle】!”

“Miss… Direct, shuffle?”

His cocky, self-confident look is now abhorrent!

However, this man’s tricks are more than mere tricks.

It is complete as a technique.

“Tch… impudent…”

There is another matter that baffles me. Has this man ever fought the Heraldic eye? The overly observant eyes of the Heraldic eye are rather exploited as a weakness.

When I see him shouting to himself, is someone instructing him? Nay, I don’t sense any telepathic flow of magic.

However, I doubt this lad is thinking of all these strategies by himself.

“Thou, apart from that skill… who in the world…”

“Hmm?”

“Whose wisdom is it, whose strategy? It’s as if he knew all about me… enough to come up with such a manipulative and unpleasant strategy, such an indecent fellow!

“……………”

What? To my question, he shifted his eyes to the side and looked on with tremendous pity.

However, it does not answer my question, and the movement of Earth Lagann does not stop during that time.

For the first time in a way, I didn’t know “what I should do”.

And at the same time, to think that he had this much strategy and skill, and this man has a good overall balance in combat and I cannot find anything that seems to be a weakness.

I realize that… this man… not that I underestimated him, but…

Truly……

He’s strong, isn’t he?