Chapter 355: Perfect Lily

――――Nom nom nom.

There are three people who make such a chewing sound with a popcorn cup in one hand. Those are Alezel, Nell, and I. After that, we evacuated to where Alezel and the others were so as not to get in the way of Haru and the others. But as soon as we arrived, Alezel gave us this bucket-like cup.

「This is for Deris and Nell, the one with the size for a couple that I came up with. Since it’s a good opportunity, just grab it in one hand and watch the battle. Ah, no, both of you will be holding it together, so in a sense, you’ll grab it in two hands, I guess? It’s hard to find another couple who’s more passionate than you two, so let me hear your impression later, kay~?」

This promotional talk seemed to be effective, and Nell readily agreed to this request in a good mood. My wife, what happened to your enthusiasm? I feel a little awe that Alezel is gradually learning how to handle Nell. Let’s warn Nell later.

「This snack is pretty delicious, isn’t it? How should I put it… I can’t stop eating once I grab it.」

「I know what you want to say, but don’t eat it all at once like Alezel.」

「Deris, your hand isn’t stopping either, you know? Come on, you have to focus on the battle.」

「Right back at you.」

Seriously though, the popcorn is delicious. That damn Alezel is steadily transforming knowledge of another world into reality, isn’t she? I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but I’m pretty sure she’s got one or two people from another world. And I’m sure she’s handling them better than Joseph.

Oops, even I got absorbed in the popcorn. The battle against Lilyvia is about to begin. Let’s remind Nell and focus on it.

Haru and the others are facing Lily in the center of the steel square, waiting for the battle to begin. That said, it’s not that we’ll give that signal. They’re just waiting for each other to be ready and they will start on their own.

「I’d like to remind you that no matter what kind of situation it is, don’t do anything stupid like holding back or stopping the attack. You are the challengers, so you don’t have the leeway to care about your opponent. If you’re going to do this, you’d better come at me with the intention to kill me. If not, you will only ruin my fun, so keep that in mind.」

「Of course! I will beat you without hesitation, so please don’t worry!」

「Haruna, that’s my line.」

「Um, Shishō and the others are in spectator mode, so why don’t we start now?」

「That’s right. Do we need a signal?」

「No need. I’ll let you guys have the first move, so you can start whenever you w――」

「Take this.」

Haru threw two iron balls before Lily finished her words. She’s doing her best and shows no mercy as usual, huh. With that as the signal, Touko rushed forward.

「Here I come, Lily-shishō!」

While the two iron balls were approaching from the left and right, Touko kicked the steel ground while shouting. Her right foot, wearing the compressed ki

, pierced the steel and gouged it.

「Take this!」

Then, Touko kicked up and sent the gouged lump of steel to Lily like a soccer ball. It seems that Touko matched the timing with Haru’s attack that the lump of steel also functioned to hide the iron ball.

「Hee, you’re really using your head, huh, Touko?」

However, Lily doesn’t even try to move from the spot. It seems that she decided not to evade the first attack. Just before the lump of steel hit her, she moved her arm lightly as if to brush it off. Then, it bounced off in a completely different direction while maintaining its speed. In that direction was one of Haru’s iron balls, and they collided with each other. At this rate, the other ball is unlikely to hit her either.

「Be careful, it seems that she really can use Haruna’s aiki!」

「You’re the one who needs to be careful.」

「!?」

Lily, who has moved ahead at a tremendous speed, grabbed Touko’s face. Touko would have been able to react a bit if she had focused solely on Lily, but she was too distracted by her aiki defense and the incapacity of the iron ball.

At this rate, Touko’s head will be slammed against the ground at a tremendous speed. To prevent that, Chinatsu and Hund-kun rushed immediately. Hmm, in this case, maybe it’s better to say that they were lured by the bait.

「Touko, if you don’t hold on to my arm, your neck will be in big trouble.」

「Ugh…!」

Instead of slamming Touko against the ground, Lily swung Touko around with her arm. Touko, who’s treated as a substitute for a weapon, grabbed Lily’s arm as hard as she can to withstand the impact, and she’s desperately enduring it so that her neck doesn’t break. Let alone an apple, the grip strength of Touko is so amazing that it can crush even a big tree. However, Lily is very calm even though she’s receiving it directly.

Chinatsu and the others are wondering how to deal with this situation. Whether they attack or defend, the current Touko is like Lily’s weapon and shield. Touko’s shoes are reinforced for attacking, so she’s simply effective as a weapon. If they make a mistake here, they could hurt Touko. And then, they don’t have time to think. After all, the blunt weapon (Touko) is already in front of them.

「Nuh!?」

「Kuh!」

If so, it’s better to step back from the time being. Chinatsu and Hund-kun avoided it just before Touko touched her. However, it’s obvious that what comes after that will be troublesome. Once Chinatsu and Hund-kun have stepped back, Lily tries to slam Touko against the ground. That’s why the action Haru took was the best.

「Got you…!」

「Hee, you sure have the guts.」

Haru caught Touko, who was swung by Lily, with her body. Yeah, she didn’t avoid or defend, but she caught Touko. She went into the trajectory of the attack, caught Touko, and succeeded in suppressing the impact on herself and Touko. However, it would not have been possible with Haru’s power alone. After all, they are against Lily’s monstrous strength.

Actually, Touko also played a part. At the same time when Haru went to catch her, Touko sensed Haru’s intention and deployed soft ki on the spot where they would collide. And Haru showed no hesitation as if she knew that Touko would do that. I’m not sure if this is proof of trust, but the accuracy of their cooperation is definitely increasing.

「We’ll have you――」

「Release Touko!」

As evidence of this, Chinatsu and Hund-kun returned to the front line at the fastest speed, and they swung their sword and fist to Lily, whose weapon (Touko) was caught and became defenseless. Chinatsu was aiming at the arm that was grabbing Touko, and Hund-kun was aiming at Lily’s body. As a result, Lily released her hand from Touko’s head before being slashed, and she repelled Hund-kun’s fist with her arm.

「!?」

At that moment, Lily’s face was slightly distorted. Then, she saw fresh blood dripping from her palm that repelled Hund-kun’s fist.

「To think that you would stick out a bone from your fist, you are surprisingly dexterous, huh. I’m impressed, Hund Lind.」

「Lilyvia Irygal, you’re not an opponent I can win against if I mind about my appearance after all.」

Hund-kun, who’s standing next to Chinatsu, has a sharp bone, which is as long as or longer than Chinatsu’s katana, protruding from his both arms. It’s a sign that he has no intention to fight only with his fists.

「Hmm, then, should I fight you in that field as well?」

Lily, who showed a devilish smile that’s unbecoming of a lady, used 『Mutation』 on her injured hand. It wasn’t a woman’s hand that was formed, but a sword with an ominous shape.