Chapter 356: Mutation

The clear white skin was dyed black, and the elbow tip of what used to be her arm turned into a blade. I’ve already told Touko and the others that Lillyvia’s Mutation can’t change mass, but it can turn into the inorganic matter like that. Although it looks like a large blade, it is actually quite light doesn’t weigh much. However, because it’s a part of Lily, the black blade is much sharper than the famous magic swords. Moreover, Lily herself has witnessed the battles of swordsmen many times, and Chinatsu’s swordsmanship is no exception.

「I’m sure there are plenty of swordsmen for her Acting. In some cases, Chinatsu may have to fight herself.」

「Hmm, if it’s swordsmanship, it could be mine. As a disciple, the hardest thing to face against would be her master after all.」

「No, your swordsmanship is only possible due to your power, so Lily won’t be able to use it as a reference.」

「Eh, is that so? Hmm, do you think so?」

After all, the way Nell handles her sword is basically by using a rushing technique. That’s only possible due to her firepower.

「Let’s use this one.」

Lily took a peculiar stance, hanging her sword tip down. It’s neither Chinatsu’s stance nor Nell’s stance, of course.

「Hmm? I feel like I have seen that stance before…. I wonder where did I see that?」

「Me too…. Ah, I know! That’s Galdevalan’s Warrior King’s swordsmanship!」

The Warrior King’s? Hmm…. Ah, that’s right! There was something like that!

「How nostalgic. It was when Galdevalan’s desire for domination was still strong, right? It was when Nell went to discipline them because they had a bad attitude toward Adelheit. My~, I still remember the look on Joseph’s face the moment we reported the results to him.」

「Fufu, I was still wild at that time. Thinking about it now, I feel like I overdid it and I feel sorry for them. Still, that swordsmanship didn’t leave a strong image because I knocked it down the moment he took out his sword and took a stance. I remember it only because the stance was peculiar. I wonder what kind of swordsmanship was it?」

「The Warrior King was defeated instantly and had no chance to show it off after all. I don’t know how Lily knew about that.」

I remember it, but I don’t know what kind of swordsmanship it is. According to the rumors, the Warrior King is the best swordsman in Galdevaran, his skill is unimaginable, he could even tear dragon scales, etc. I don’t understand even if he’s said to be the best by Galdevalan standards, and there are many kinds of dragon scales. It would be amazing if it was Rimudo’s scale, but that’s unlikely. In the end, it’s just a rumor, and it’s faster to actually see it. Let’s ask Lily-sensei to tell us what kind of swordsmanship it is.

「Graviton!」

That said, this is a battle against multiple opponents. There’ll be interruptions, of course, and Chinatsu and Hund-kun have no intention to fight head-on. After returning, Haru gave her support by gravity manipulation, and Touko jumped on Hund-kun’s shoulder.

「Hmph!」

With an extremely enlarged arm as a shield, Hund-kun rushes toward Lily, who’s trapped in the net of gravity. The surface of the giant arm is covered with his bone and is coated with Touko’s ki, so it’s sturdier than usual. Chinatsu also follows him from behind while hiding in that shield.

Then, the attack happened in an instant. The moment when Hund-kun’s shield was about to hit Lily, her figure disappeared from the spot. After all, Lily rushed up while swinging her sword from the shield to the shoulder where Touko was. The big arm that was supposed to be specialized in defense was cut off easily, and it fell to the ground while making a loud noise. I don’t know the principle behind it, but I wonder if that stance has the effect of increasing the instantaneous force when launching the attack?

「That was close!」

「Hmm, what a shame.」

Haru’s interference seemed to work, and Touko, who was on the shoulder, barely dodged the attack. However, because it was really close, a red line was slightly engraved on her cheek.

On the other hand, Chinatsu was soaring into the air when Lily flew after the attack. Taking advantage of Lily’s defenseless state after the attack, Chinatsu launched her best attack at the perfect timing that even Lily can’t evade it.

「I’ll take that blade!」

Lily’s one arm, which has turned into a sword, is cut off cleanly from around her upper arm. Iwatōshi could cut that sword as long as it’s used correctly. But for some reason, there was no blood coming out of the cross section.

「I’ll take yours too, Chinatsu.」

「Eh, ah!?」

When Chinatsu was about to attack again, she finally noticed that something was wrong with her katana. The blade of Iwatōshi was disappeared from the root, and the lost blade was held by Lily’s other hand.

「Nothing could be done if I couldn’t avoid it. In exchange for one arm, I took Chinatsu’s weapon. I’ve thrown it away already, though.」n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

At that time, an iron ball thrown by Haru was approaching behind Lily, but Lily deflected it by throwing the blade of Iwatōshi. The delicate blade couldn’t endure it, of course, so it was shattered into pieces when collided with the ball.

Even though the blade can be restored, this is still quite a blow to Chinatsu. However, unhappiness continued, and Lily’s slashed arm began to move. The cross section of the sword and Lily’s upper arm, which was cut off, mutated into a slime-like object, and as if drawn together, they instantly merged and returned to the original woman’s arm.

「I didn’t expect to be hit by a sword. This is your reward, Chinatsu.」

「Gah…!」

Lily squeezes Chinatsu’s neck with her arm that was just connected. Then, the succubus’ wings flapped greatly, and the two plummeted straight down. As they fell to the steel ground, Lily extended the arm that grabbed Chinatsu to the ground.

――――Daaaan!

Along with the roaring sound, serious damage and intense pain spread over the back and the back of the head that collided with the ground. Blood came out of Chinatsu’s nose and mouth, and her face distorted in pain. She couldn’t make a voice because she was grabbed by her neck, and she probably couldn’t even cast magic. Even though the hand has been released from her neck, it seems that she’s still unable to speak due to the pain. I guess it would take a few more seconds before she could heal herself.

「She used Alma Divine Bless before the fight started, so she barely escaped death. Even though she received serious damage, it isn’t a fatal wound.」

「Well, that’s right. By the way, Deris――」

When Lily stood up, Touko, with her ki concentrated on her fist, and Hund-kun, who grew new arms and became Asura, attacked her. It was a pincer attack, but their power was returned to them with aiki and the two were blown away easily. Since their bodies reached both ends of the wall, it must be a considerable power.

「――they are going to lose, don’t you think?」

「………」

Chinatsu, who’s lying on the steel that was damaged by the impact, tries to return to the battle by chanting her recovery magic while regaining her breath. However, Lily is looking down on her from above, and she slowly raises her one leg, perhaps to trample Chinatsu.

「Haaaa!」

「Hmph!」

The one who prevented it was Haru with her Doggan Staff. The black lump was swung down, and Lily caught it with one arm. Perhaps the impact was released to the ground, cracks began to run from Lily’s feet.

「With this many people, I don’t have the time to use pinning techniques, huh. What a shame.」

「That’s regrettable, but I want to experience it again at a later date. Right now, winning is my top priority…!」

The Doggan Staff and the hand that’s grabbing aren’t moving. If anything, the two show no sign of moving at all. Is that the same technique as when she fought against Hund-kun? It’s the aiki battle that Haru said she would be at a disadvantage, a state where both are pushing each other’s force.

「No, the match starts from now. After all, Lily is inside the range of Haru’s Unique Skill.」