Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume11 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 12===

"Haruaki-kun, stay there for now and don't move!"

Konoha ordered firmly. Because the enemies' fighting styles were unknown, it was better to play things safe.

Readying a knifehand strike, she charged into the enemy ranks. The knights attacked fiercely by swinging their sword, axe and spear respectively. Although not fodder in level, they did not pose much of a threat either. Konoha parried using her bare hand.

In a battle against many, defeating the leader was the basic solution.

Rushing past the three knights' attacks, Konoha charged Lilyhowell head on. Instantly&mdash;

"&mdash;!?"

A strong gust of wind. Without any hesitation or fancy tricks, it was a horizontal slash powered by nothing except power and speed. As soon as Konoha entered the attack range of the greatsword, Lilyhowell instantly performed a slice. Naturally, Konoha was unable to counterattack. Not only that, but even evasion was impossible. While she used her hands, imbued with a blade's traits, to block, the entirety of the sword's great mass weighed down on her. Without absolutely no exaggeration, Konoha was blown away, flying into the air. However, she somersaulted in midair, stepped on the wall of the school building to ease her momentum, then landed with her numbed legs.

"Konoha!"

"I'm fine! I was just a little careless!"

Lilyhowell swung the greatsword along a massive arc, returning it to its original position. Her feet had hardly shifted at all.

"&mdash;I shall praise sincerely. That is truly a good sword."

"Of course. I have always maintained and sharpened it diligently."

"That's not what I meant... Whatever, I'll just add that the sword itself is excellent. Although apparently not cursed, it is a fine sword indeed."

"As a knight, I hope to pursue the right path. As one who exists  to destroy Wathes, using Wathes as weapons should be the last resort. Hence, I do not use Wathes."

"Splendid. What I meant initially was that your swordsmanship is excellent. With neither hesitation nor malice, you simply swing your sword with extreme candor. Are you mistaken in what you ought to attack with your sword? What a shame."

"I shall not be deceived by your fancy words."

Lilyhowell held the «Wathe Breaker» in a stance on her side while staring at Konoha. The other three knights stood slightly in front of her, paying attention to Konoha's movements. Those three men aside, Lilyhowell presented absolutely no openings. She did not close in forcefully, instead approaching slowly, advancing centimeter by centimeter or even smaller increments. Although it sounded very contradictory, she was advancing by staying still. Lilyhowell was predominantly in a state of inaction, but by the time one noticed, she was already shrinking the separation.

&mdash;Amusing.

Konoha felt something tremble in the depths of her heart and decided to allow Lilyhowell to play with her again. Just as last time, she toyed with the three knights then invaded Lilyhowell's attack range again. As monitoring close with radar, the «Wathe Breaker» instantly shot out a straight flash of the blade. Just when Konoha saw through the opponent's movements, the enemy used the orthodox sword's power to counter as though saying "So what?" She was like a baseball player who only pitched fastballs at 170 kilometers per hour.

Konoha dodged the first strike but the second swiftly followed, leaving her no choice but to block it and getting blown back like the last time. Not bad, she praised Lilyhowell in her thoughts. The opponent was a pure swordswoman. No fancy tricks, just plain strength. Konoha imagined the joy of defeating her. Those three fodder became a hindrance. Step aside. No, there's no need to step aside. I'll kill you all first before slowly dealing with that swordswoman&mdash;

(...I... must... calm down... quickly!)

Konoha mustered all her strength to suppress the wavering in her heart. Not bad&mdash;Now was not the time to be making such comments. That was not the kind of comment she made. The danger unleashed during the battle against Hinai Elsie, the desire to see fresh blood, the danger of the cracks in her sanity that had yet to mend&mdash;want to see blood, want to see blood, to make my heart pound nonstop... No no want to murder no! Hurry and suppress it. Hurry and suppress the curse that had not been lifted at all!

Haruaki rushed towards Konoha. She had not revealed her true colors. She must not reveal her true colors. She absolutely had to conceal to the very end.

"Hoo... That person is very strong."

"Don't force yourself. Since you're chopping with your hand, your attacks are short-ranged and light. Not only are you outnumbered but that woman's attack range is far and she can rely on weight to pressure you. All of these are disadvantageous factors."

Token excuses. Haruaki had a point, but to her, these were merely token excuses.

"It's probably better if you turn back into a Japanese sword. Perhaps we can use the Sword-Kill Counter to destroy that «Wathe Breaker». Let me help too."

"Okay... This also... cannot be helped."

Konoha held his hand. So warm. Simply by touching him, a blissful feeling was spreading inside her.

Ahhh, she absolutely did not want to be devoured by her curse when in front of him. As long as she touched him, she was never going to forget this resolve, to be more intensely aware. Currently, that was what she needed greatly.

Hence, Konoha chose to turn back into the Japanese sword that allowed her to hold hands with him continuously.

To be frank, the difficulty of the battle was completely irrelevant. Indeed, those were all token excuses.

Her true feelings, indeed&mdash;there was only one, she simply relied on him.

"Please... Don't let go of me..."

"Of course."

He had not understood the true meaning behind Konoha's words. Nevertheless, his answer was extremely important.

Konoha transformed back into a sword. The feeling of clothes sliding off her body. The feeling of being surrounded by his palm. Becoming one with him. He had entered her body to merge with her. What a nice feeling, so warm. Will there come a day eventually when she could become one with him like now, but not in her Japanese sword form?

The three knights attacked. Controlling Haruaki's body, Konoha deflected all the weapons. She could feel a sense of dissonance, but still, she saw through the movements of the first person's sword, the second person's axe and the third person's spear.

Haruaki's breathing and her own breathing were mixed together, resulting in a type of simultaneous joy. She stopped his steps. Seeing this as an opportunity, the three knights swung their weapons simultaneously. However, she had already seen through everything.

"Sword-Kill Counter!"

Three pieces of steel were instantly shattered, dead. Immediately, the scabbard of black iron struck the knights' bodies. They collapsed to the ground, disarmed and in pain. Probably suffering fractures, but with their lives intact, they should count their blessings already.

"So, taking of the fodder is all fine and good, but..."

"Indeed, what are you scheming...?"

Konoha looked towards the source where her sense of dissonance was coming from.

Lilyhowell remained completely still. Ever since Konoha turned into a sword, Lilyhowell had not taken a single step, unlike the the attacking knights. The way she held the distinctively shaped greatsword, the «Wathe Breaker», was also different from before, turning into a stance that seemed about to sweep her own body into it.

"Clearly your subordinates were attacking with such vigor, so what happened to the boss? They'll be disillusioned with you."

"They all know how I do things, so there is no disillusionment."

Lilyhowell's sincere eyes did not show any wavering. However, staring each other in the eye did not help.

Konoha cautiously closed in. Now that she had returned to her true form as a sword, both sides were almost equal in reach. Konoha waited for the very instant when the critical point was breached to perform a thrust, switching from stillness to motion. In concert with Konoha's attack, Lilyhowell also swung the «Wathe Breaker». However&mdash;

(&mdash;This is wrong!)

Konoha trembled, frantically halting the attack and retreating backwards. Haruaki gazed down at her in puzzlement.

"Konoha, what's wrong?"

"I... see... So that's what's going on?"

Lilyhowell withdrew the step she had taken, resuming a stance identical to just now, standing there like a knight statue.

"What's going on? I don't get it at all."

"In this regard, that person is the same as me right now."

Konoha was focusing her attention on the enemy's attack range, speed and power&mdash;while also committing her mind towards the enemy's reaction towards her own attack.

"Currently, that person will only counterattack. And her target is me, the sword itself. She intends to use the power in my attack to break me."

"So what you mean is...?"

"Of course, that sword is not slim or agile like me. She is counterattacking with all her strength by using the greatsword's shape and mass. Accuracy may not be high... But it's dangerous."

"Hence its name, the «Wathe Breaker». We exist to destroy Wathes, so destroying the Wathes is good enough. There is no need to harm the Wathes' owners to begin with. Consequently, Yachi Haruaki, I can promise you. I will not harm you."

"Oh my, how noble-minded. If you were not lying, I would really like to say thank you."

Konoha grumbled sarcastically. An excessively straightforward enemy turned out to be unexpectedly troublesome.

"Konoha, this is bad, right? Maybe you should turn back into human form..."

"Then the situation will just go back to the previous disadvantages when I was repelled by the enemy's attack range and weight. Right now, we are equal, so this is how we must continue."

In the current situation, both sides were looking for an opportunity to counterattack. Konoha cautiously closed in and stopped just before entering attack range.

Using the Sword-Kill Counter required the enemy to attack, but if the enemy did not attack, she would be in a dilemma. All she could do was counterattack after waiting for the opponent's counterattack. But she still had not fully collected the necessary information to perform the Sword-Kill Counter. Speed, angle, mass, habits, all such details could only be gathered gradually.

While carefully preventing her own blade from getting shattered, she had to set up the opponent's blade to be shattered.

Konoha thrust the blade forward as bait. The «Wathe Breaker» reacted. She did not intend for the attack to contact Lilyhowell's body in the first place. Letting the blade tips clash, Konoha swiftly withdrew and bided her time again.

This looked like they had entered stalemate. However, it was not a complete stalemate. Very slowly, Konoha was collecting information. Conversely, her concentration was slowly getting consumed.

Ultimately, the battle was going to be decided, an ending shall arrive.

Whether the opponent's sword or herself as the Japanese sword, one of them shall break&mdash;This kind of ending.

Impatience and anxiety were one's bane. Concentration must absolutely not be interrupted. The side lacking in composure shall lose. This was a battle of such high tension.

But was she composed?

Konoha suppressed this question that surfaced in her mind, feeling this pressure that would probably cause her human form to break out in cold sweat nonstop, at the same time moving the tip of her blade continuously.