Chapter 61: Raging Dragon
TL: Akabane
***
"What the?! That was a loud noise!"
"Don't panic. I'm sure that Mirialia has been performing some kind of advanced magic."
"Oh ..... Mirialia can handle advanced magic, huh? I wish I could have seen it."
While Dale, Athena, and Mirialia were working hard to solve the case, Frey was waiting in the dojo until it was time for the match.
She wanted to go on a rampage herself, but she had no choice but to stay where she was because she couldn't leave the injured Meimei and Grandpa Pai behind.
There was another reason: if she couldn't return by the noon hour, there was a possibility that Tao Ron would tell her that she was a no-win situation.
I don't think such a foolish thing would happen in an emergency situation of the town, but Tao Ron, who had attacked Meimei in advance and then proposed a match, might do it.
"Frey ..... sorry about that. If it were true, I would have had to fight, but because I lost to Ryu, I had to leave it to Frey."
"It's a little late for that, but you don't have to deal with our troubles. You have no right to fight for the Kikagei-ryu."
Meimei was still recovering from her wounds from the fight with Ryu, and she felt a sense of guilt towards Frey for fighting for the signboard of the Kikagei-ryu instead of her.
It was the same for Master Pai.
Although he didn't say so yesterday, there was no reason for Frey to fight in this match. As a result, she was involved, but she could still get off the stage now.
Frey clicked her tongue in annoyance at the two guys who were looking down apologetically,
"Don't be so bitter. I've decided to fight, not anyone else. This is my fight now. Even if you guys tell me to stop, I'll fight on my own."
"Thank you Frey .... I'm very happy to hear that. But Ryu is really getting stronger. Among them, the techniques of the Haten-ryu--"
"Don't say any more."
Frey interrupts Meimei as she tries to talk about Ryu's countermeasures.
Surprised as to why she would stop her, Frey tells her with a serious expression.
"Don't put a damper on my fight. I don't care who it is, I will win. So you just sit back and watch."
"Frey......"
As Meimei is moved by Frey's manly words, she hears footsteps coming from outside.
"Here they come!"
A moment later, the dojo door is rattled open.
In the light, two martial artists were there. The backlight made it difficult to see them, but they were Tao Ron and Ryu. As Meimei had expected, Ryu seemed to be the representative of the disciples of the Haten-ryu.
When Tao Ron spotted Frey and the others inside the dojo, he turned up the corner of his mouth with a grin.
"Well, well, I didn't expect you to be here. I thought you would have folded up your belongings and run away for the night."
"Who's going to run away scared of you guys? I was just itching to get the hell out of here."
"Meimei, you're alive!"
"Ryu....."
"And old man, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to go inside the dojo. I'm already a Haten-ryu and after today, there will be no more Kikagei-ryu."
"Do what you want."
Meimei and Master Pai had mixed feelings about their former friends and former disciple.
A year ago, they were like family, working together here, but now they are enemies. How cruel fate can be.
They took off their shoes and entered the dojo, and Frey and the others stood up to confront them.
"There's no need for small talk, let's get on with the match, shall we?"
"You're talking too fast. Let's fight quickly."
"Let's go over the rules. Magic cannot be used, only physical enhancements. The one who surrenders or becomes incapable of fighting loses. The defeated dojo must give up the signboard gracefully. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes."
Tao Ron confirms, and Master Pai agrees.
Tao Ron continues,
"The representative of the Haten-ryu is Ryu here. The other one is--"
"That's me."
Frey announces herself.
Tao Ron says, "Okay."
"Then both of you go forward. Ryu, I leave it to you."
"Yes, I'll get this over with in a minute."
"Frey ...... please!"
"Oh!"
Tao Ron placed his hand on Ryu's shoulder, said a few words, and stepped back. Frey returned briefly to Meimei, who cheered her on, and went to the center.
Then Frey and Ryu confront each other for the first time.
"So you're the disciple who recently joined the Kikagei-ryu. Ha, to finally make even such a fake disciple just because you don't want to lose your signboard, the old man is getting fuzzy."
"Shut up with your chattering, you octopus. Stop talking and get on with it."
"......All right, I'll kill you as you wish."
"Enough chatter, let's get this over with. Let the games begin!"
At Tao Ron's signal, the match between Frey of the Kikagei-ryu and Ryu of the Haten-ryu finally began.
Ryu was the first to set up. He used a walk without lifting his legs to keep his body in contact with the opponent, and then unleashed a sharp thrust.
Frey, who was able to discern the trajectory of the attack, parried it with one hand.
"Well, you're doing a good job, aren't you?"
"......"
"Then how about this!"
Without delay, Ryu unleashes a barrage of strikes.
A fist strike to the face was repelled by a hand sword to the wrist. A hook to the side was struck down with a lowered elbow.
A spinning kick was avoided with a lowered knee. Ryu, however, interrupted the attack with his strong torso, and then unleashed a heel drop to the head of Frey, who was planning to counterattack.
Frey quickly stepped to the side and avoided the heel drop with just a touch of paper. With a thud, a powerful kick hit the floor and a heavy sound rang out.
Frey, who had taken a large distance, took a stance on the spot without attacking from his own side.
Ryu grinned at Frey, who didn't attack.
"A defensive fight, huh ...... it looks like you've mastered the Kikagei-ryu style. But the martial arts are not so sweet that you can do it with such a imitations."
"Haa...... Haa......."
Frey was breathing without Ryu's provocation.
Ryu's attacks were faster, heavier, and better than Meimei's.
But for swiftness alone, Athena was better. They had trained together all the way until they arrived in town, and thanks to Athena's familiarity with the swiftness of her attacks, there was no delay in her reactions.
As for the weight, Athena's physical sturdiness has paid off. It is well within the range of endurance. If it had been Meimei or Athena, the impact would have caused more than a little damage.
And Ryu is good at building attacks.
He always aimed at vital points and chained his attacks without any pause.
The fact that she was able to respond to these attacks was the result of her kata training with Meimei. Although it was only for a short period of time, the kata had become ingrained in her body as she continued to work hard at it every day. By moving her body before her head, she was able to cope with Ryu's continuous strikes.
"I'm amazed ...... that Frey has mastered the kata of Kikagei-ryu in this short period of time."
"That's right. That's because I have been following and teaching her. Frey is too stupid to understand even if I tell her, but she learns quickly with her body. I was still surprised that she was able to keep up with Ryu's attacks, though."
Master Pai and Meimei are astonished at Frey's level of growth.
They had not expected her to have mastered the kata so well.
As Meimei said, Frey didn't understand the kata even though she was taught by mouth, but she had learned it in her body by desperately imitating Meimei and continuing to work on it until she was satisfied with it.
"Play is over. I'll show you the techniques of the Haten-ryu!"
Ryu again closes the gap and unleashes a fist strike. She try to parry it away,
"--Ga!"
Her hand was bounced off and she was slammed in the nose.
The blood dripped from her nose. Frey was puzzled as to why she had failed, but without a moment's pause, Ryu unleashed a rush of blows.
Frey tried to parry, but she was completely knocked out of the game.
"Spiral kick!"
"Ggh!!!!!!!"
"Frey!"
Frey eats a strong kick to the body and is blown away. Thanks to her crossed arms, she was able to avoid a fatal wound, but she took considerable damage from the current rush.
(It worked...!)
Staggering to her feet, Frey wipes the blood from her nose with thumb.
Meimei looks at her with concern as she is fatigued.
(I knew this would happen. That's why I wanted to tell her about the techniques of the Haten-ryu before the match, but she refused to do so, saying it was tactless.)
(I regretted that I should have told her at that time.)
"Oh, do you want decide now, huh? I'm glad you're so stiff. But it's only a matter of time, if you can't see my moves, you're no better than a sandbag."
"Don't be stupid, I've already got the seeds. You know, the rotation."
"What?"
Meimei and Ryu are astonished. They didn't think that Frey was aware of the technique of Haten-ryu.
Frey wasn't just vaguely receiving the attack. While receiving the attack, she had discovered that the characteristic of the Haten-ryu was rotation. The price for that, though, was high.
"Ha, even if you know the trick, it's useless if you can't respond."
(That's right. ......I couldn't respond to Ryu's attack until the end and was beaten.)
Even if you can figure out the moves, it's a different story if you can attack him or not.
Frey knows that. Even if she could figure out the trick, she wouldn't be able to figure out how to attack.
Still, she had no choice but to try.
"Next time, I'll finish it---"
"Oh, I guess it's not over yet."
"I'm just glad I got here in time."
"What? I thought I'd see you disappointed in defeat."
"Y-You guys?"
Just when Ryu was about to make his move.
Dale and the others returned to the dojo after solving the case. All of them were injured - Dale in particular was badly hurt - and the extent of the damage could be seen.
Frey smiled at her dependable friends who had solved the case.
"Aniki! Are you sure the monsters are all resolved now?!"
"Yeah, it took a little while, but it's done. The damage to the town is minimal."
"As expected of Aniki!"
"Aniki ...... I knew that adventurer in the dojo was Dale......."
Seeing Meimei hugging Dale as he enters the dojo and rejoicing in his greatness, Ryu realizes that his guess was right.
His appearance and atmosphere had changed a lot since they had met in the past, but his facial features and voice were Dale's.
(Is the commotion in town over? Don't tell me that "Witch" has failed?)
Tao Ron, who was listening to Dale's story, looked doubtful.
He had been told beforehand by "Witch" about the attack on the town. Although he had not been informed about the details of the attack, the fact that Dale and his group had prevented it made it highly likely that it had ended in failure.
(Oh well, I'll just carry out my mission.)
"WTF, Frey, you're losing?"
"Go for it!"
"Come on!"
"Just shut up and watch!"
Yelling at her friends, who were already sitting by Meimei in spectator mode, Frey takes a deep breath to calm herself down.
(They did what they had to do. Then I can't lose either!)
She fired up her spirit and raised her concentration to the utmost limit.
Frey was not looking at the scenery around her. She was focusing only on her enemy, Ryu.
She was unimaginably quiet, her appearance like a leaf swaying in the wind.
Frey's mental state had now reached "emotional stillness."
"Are you feeling better now that your friends have rushed over? Fighting is always lonely, don't think you can beat me if you're that spoiled!"
Ryu, who had instantly crushed Frey's and the distance between them, struck while spinning his fist. In response, Frey didn't wait for him, but stepped forward himself to catch the fist strike.
"What?!"
""Oh!""
The spectators are excited as she surpasses Ryu's attack for the first time.
Ryu's eyes widened, but he didn't care, as he unleashed a barrage of attacks. However, Frey was able to handle all the attacks.
(What the hell is going on? Why are my attacks being swept away?)
(I see. You're doing it, Frey.)
Unlike the bewildered Ryu, Dale saw through the mechanism.
The trick depended on the timing of the parry. Instead of receiving the attack with a full rotation, Frey stepped forward and received the attack before it's power was fully exerted, thereby making it possible for her to parry.
Frey remembered what Meimei had told her during the waterfall training, which she was not good at.
--- "How can you keep getting hit for such a long time?"
--- "Well, I'm just used to it, but if I had to say, I'd say it's a fine tuning."
--- "Fine-tuning?"
--- "Yes. Even though it is a waterfall, it is still water flowing, so there are times when the impact is light and other times when it is heavy. When I feel a heavy impact, I strengthen the steel plates and change the angle of my body just a little bit. That alone will make it much more bearable."
--- "Heh~ I didn't know that was possible."
With Meimei's advice, Frey was able to grasp the flow of the waterfall, and the time she could endure it was extended.
That can be applied against Ryu's attack. If the rotation makes the impact heavier, the flow is changed at the stage before it becomes heavier. Frey got the hint to defeat the Haten-ryu technique through the training of the waterfall.
"Damn! Why is it being passed off?!"
Ryu, impatient because he couldn't figure out why he was still being denied the attack, unleashed a big move in an attempt to break the deadlock.
"Haten-ryu Spiral Penetration!"
(Here!!!)
This is a swirling, approaching penetration. If it bites, it is fatal, but the gap is large because of the haste, and the trajectory is easy to understand.
Frey calmly assesses the situation, and then delivers a palm strike as if scooping it up from below and passing it off. Aiming at the point where the stance slightly collapses into a forward bend, she links it up with her next move.
"Kikagei-ryu, Willow Break!"
This kata was the kata she had practiced most up to that point.
She put her own foot between the floating legs and swept it outward. While relaxing her body, she grabbed the collar of his clothes, pulled it, added a weight drop, and threw it away with all her might.
"Gah!!!"
Thrown away, Ryu slammed into the wall and fell to the ground.
Frey, who was firmly on the receiving end of the blow, slowly stood up and made a face that said, "What's it like?"
"Great! Isn't that great, Frey!!!!"
"You're doing pretty well."
"You look like a martial artist."
"Frey ...... I'm going to show you some of my tricks......."
While Dale and the others were excited by Frey's technique, Tao Ron looked down at Ryu with icy eyes.
"Stand up Ryu, I will not allow you to lose. Don't disappoint me."
"Haa ...... haa ...... I won't lose. I can still do it."
Frey smiled ferociously at Ryu, who had not given up on the game.
Then, he let out a tremendous fighting spirit from his body.
"This proves that Kikagei-ryu is no match for Haten-ryu. From here on out, it's my fight."
"Athena, watch Frey's battle carefully. When it comes to emotion, I don't think anyone can match her."
"Yeah ...... got it."
Athena nodded at Dale's words and focused her attention on Frey's fight.
Ryu's fist strike, which was released in the flesh, was not passed off as before, but Frey returned it with a fist strike as well.
The fists met with a thud.
Ryu's eyes widened, and Frey bared her teeth.
"I've been pissed off from the beginning. I was pissed off from the start at your dirty and cunning ways! And when my friend Meimei was beaten, my stomach was boiling!"
"Ooooh!"
With an angry shout, Frey unleashes a furious rush.
There was no technique. It was simple violence.
She was a rampaging dragon, living up to her name.
Ryu didn't pass the fight off, but struck back with blows. If he had been rational and defended himself in the Kikagei-ryu style, he might have still had a chance to win.
Dododododo! The heavy sound of fists colliding with fists rang out.
However, it soon changed to the sound of a beating. The weight of Frey's fist and the speed of the rush couldn't catch up with him and he was eaten.
Ryu, trying to break the deadlock, unleashed a full-throated blow.
"Haten-ryu Spiral Penetration!!!!!!!"
A penetrating move to the face. Frey wasn't afraid at all, but moved forward and ducked by tilting her head.
The thin skin on her cheek peeled off, but she didn't care about the wound. She just want to punch the pissed off guy in front of her with all her might.
Then,
"Die, you octopus!"
"Wha?!"
She raises her fist.
A strong uppercut catches Ryu in the jaw and blasts him away.
Ryu, who fell to the ground, was completely knocked unconscious by the blow.
Frey, who was breathing heavily, laughed and said, "Heh."
"Kikagei-ryu wins!"
She thrust out her fist and declared victory.
0 Comments