The Battle Experience

— Emilia —

While watching the two Elder Elves who stood before us… I remembered.

"Nee-chan, how's your mana?" (Reus)

"It's alright. I can still fight." (Emilia)

"Understood. Even so… I remember that time." (Reus)

"Yeah…" (Emilia)

I guessed we were siblings after all since we were thinking about same thing.

We recalled the time when dove into the labyrinth of Elysion's school.

We were done by the adventurers called 'Dragon Fresh Blood'. At that time, Sirius-sama was so angry and he fought the enemies alone…

"At that time… we could only look at Sirius-sama's back." (Emilia)

"Yeah. But this time is different. We are standing up like this." (Reus)

We weren't able to prevent several magic and Sirius-sama was injured because of that. We envied Hokuto-san because he could prevent them all, but we certainly had grown up.

Plus… even though Sirius-sama could entrust the enemies to Hokuto-san, he allowed us to fight.

Because the enemies hurt an important person to us, Fia-san, we really appreciate the opportunity given to us.

"Sirius-sama is relying on us by entrusting this. Reus… we definitely can't lose." (Emilia)

"Of course!" (Reus)

Gathering mana, I cover myself with a wind in order to receive a tailwind at any time, and then, I spoke to Reus who was hesitating a little.

"But, Nee-chan… are you sure you are alright? If it's a person, I can manage it somehow, but…" (Reus)

Yeah, he was right. It was certain that Reus' pure strength was already at the top, so I understood why he was worried.

Perhaps, the only aspect that was better than the Elder Elves was my instant acceleration, but they were better on the other aspects.

If I went on a one-on-one basis, the possibility of losing would be high, but…

"That is unnecessary worry. Besides, I am your sister. I also have no problem matching with your movement and habit." (Emilia)

Yes, I wasn't fighting alone.

I was fighting together with my younger brother, Reus, who had grown up together from when he was born.

Whether the enemies are strong enemies, if we were siblings, let's emerge with the victory.

"So, don't mind me and fight with all your strength. And fight the Elder Elf on the right." (Emilia)

"Understood. But, why the right one?" (Reus)

"This is because the magic unleashed is from the earth attribute." (Emilia)

If it was about slicing magic, it was easier to deal with visible rocks than invisible wind.

After completing a brief meeting, Reus prepared his sword and I held my knives while adjusting breathing.

I wasn't so sure about the details why Fia-san had to suffer, but the Elder Elves were already enemies of Sirius-sama. In other words, they were my enemies, and I couldn't forgive those who hurt our sister, Fia-san.

However, it was true that they were the enemies who drove Fia-san in a corner even though she could use Spirit Magic, so I definitely couldn't afford to be careless.

"Let's do this!" (Emilia)

"Aah, I'm going, Nee-chan!" (Reus)

As we confirmed magic were converging, we split into left and right, and approached the Elder Elves.

I approached it while speeding up by a tailwind, but it seemed that the magic of the Elder Elf was faster.

"Are you finally making moves? However…" (??)

"What a fool." (??)

There were countless magic raining on us again, but it wasn't necessary to shoot them all down this time. Hence, the number of magic that shot at us, who scattered earlier, was halved.

"Don't think your assault can hit us many times!" (Emilia)

"If it is this much, I can do it!" (Reus)

I avoided the hurling magic, and when Reus jumped into the bosom while slicing the magic with his sword, the enemy also stopped using magic and got ready with a weapon.

And I got the incoming blue-hair Elder Elf aimed at me and stabbed his small sword, but I twisted my body and avoided with paper-thin difference.

What a sharp and fast attack…

Apparently, they were not only good at magic, the close combat ability was also excellent.

"Compared to the speed of Sirius-sama and Reus…" (Emilia)

There were too many wasteful movement compared to Sirius-sama who I always observed, and the sharpness of the stab was one degree lower than Reus' thrust.

However, that didn't change the fact that he was an unsparing enemy for me. Although I somehow succeeded in evading, several of my hair flew due to the continuous piercing stab. In addition, I couldn't completely avoid his attacks and I suffered with small wounds on my arms and legs.

"What's wrong, outsider. You can energetically jump only?" (Blue Hair Elder)

"Say what you want!" (Emilia)

Nevertheless, I swung my knife while evaded his attack, but instead of repelling using the sword, it was avoided and it didn't even grazed him.

Moreover, since I could see the opponent taking his own time, I might be toyed around, but… I wouldn't give up!

"In that case, here you go… [Air Shotgun]." (Emilia)

"Wha!? Oh, wind!" (Blue Hair Elder)

When I unleashed shots of wind that imitated Sirius-sama's magic at close range, the enemy was blown away. I wasn't sure whether the opponent received a direct hit. However, he quickly made a wind barrier, and it seemed my shot strength was reduced.

I immediately pursued by releasing [Air Shot] at the opponent who was rolling on the ground, but he intercepted with magic while turning around.

Although he was an enemy, there was nothing else could be said other than the reflexes and the way he reacted were within assumption.

Of course, the response to the magic they saw for the first time was dull. Alright, let's aim for that.

If this was Sirius-sama, he would crush before the magic unleashed by predicting beforehand or he would avoid it by leaping sideways at the right moment.

When I was thinking about strategy and closing the distance with my opponent, I noticed the figure of Reus fighting at the edge of my sight.

"You can do nothing but charging, huh? The outsiders are barbarian after all." (??)

"You can't run away from me!" (Reus)

The Elder Elf kept his distance away from Reus while continuously unleashing magic. It might be because he felt disadvantageous in close combat. It seemed that he didn't escape into the trees because he was afraid that the trees would be cut down.

With Reus' abilities, he would know the opponent's movement at the time of collision, so he would be a winner if he could bring the Elder Elf to close combat again.

Because of that, Reus desperately kept chasing him and sliced the magic unleashed. However, it seemed that he was somewhat falling behind when chasing the Elder Elf.

I want to support him by stopping the opponent's movement even for an instant, but…

"Do you think you can win by running away? Oh wind, cut her!" (Blue Hair Elder)

"Such a conclusion–… [Air Slash]." (Emilia)

I was also trying my best to pin down the Elder Elf before me.

Although I was somehow offset the magic hurled and immediately rearranged my posture, it was disadvantages for me when having opponents who didn't seem going to be exhausted because of mana. I had to defeat him before my mana ran out…

Without a moment delay, I greatly jumped to the side, and I pointed my finger while avoiding his windblade.

"One more time… [Air Shotgun]." (Emilia)

"That's pointless. I already–… uhh?" (Blue Hair Elder)

I was already aware with the speed of their reaction.

So, the magic shot was aimed at the opponent's feet, and I changed the plan to bring up the dust and block the visibility.

"Are you going to hide? You are really a fool." (Blue Hair Elder)

The Elder Elf mocked me with that kind of word. After clearing the dust with wind, he created windblade again.

While avoiding it, I countered it with magic, but I wasn't able to avoid it and half of my left shoulder was cut.

However… with this, the preparation was completed.

I shouted to Reus while enduring the shoulder pain.

"'Second Helping', Reus!" (Emilia)

"Ouh! Oraaa–!" (Reus)

After receiving the signal of rallying, Reus used [Break Thrust] to the right side of the Elder Elf he pursued. By making the opponent moved to the left on purpose, he moved to the target position.

[Second Helping]… It meant to lead the opponent to the left side.

"With that extent–… What!?" (??)

"Hey! Don't get in the way!" (Blue Hair Elder)

And the place where Reus guided was where the blue hair Elder Elf who was fighting with me.

However, their bodies were not colliding to each other. They calmly moved to avoid a collision, but…

"This is something unexpected, but this time… ugh!" (Blue Hair Elder)

"Guhaa!?" (??)

The moment when the positions of the Elder Elves overlapped, a compressed wind exploded behind them and created a shock wave.

They couldn't react with the shock wave from behind because they were distracted by the positioning of each other, and the Elder Elves who were hit by the shock wave flew toward me.

The shock wave this time was caused by [Air Impact]. It had been unleashed with the time difference so that it would be activated after the opponents went pass by.

The earlier smoke dust was a step stone to secretly release this magic.

This magic moved slower compared to other magic, so I had to take my time to prepare for the positioning expected for both Elder Elves.

"But, at this degree… Oh wind, Slice!" (Blue Hair Elder)

"We are still… Oh earth, Pierce!" (??)

However, even in the state of being blow toward here, the Elder Elves were hurling magic toward us.

Since I was gathering mana at that time to a certain magic, I was not only unable to counter, but also it was difficult to evade it.

But, there is no need to avoid it.

Because…

"I'm not going to permit that!" (Reus)

I was fighting together with Reus.

Needless to say, Reus who stood before me slashed all the incoming magic. In that way, their assaults were dispersed.

Reus swept away the Elder Elves who were flying here altogether, but the enemies immediately put magic on their feet to change the trajectory, and the managed to avoid his sword.

"I have expected that!" (Emilia)

I went past the side of Reus, and I unleashed the magic loaded in my right hand at the blue hair Elder Elf who avoided Reus' sword.

'The mana should be thin… sharp… and sever everything!'

"…[Drawn Wind Blade]!" (Emilia)

I swung my right hand and unleashed a windblade by imitating a Katana. As a result, I cut off the left arm and the left foot of the blue Elder Elf.

The remaining Elder Elf probably tried to unleash magic before me, but I crouched because I had already expected it.

Because… our attack hadn't ended yet.

"Dorashaaaa–!" (Reus)

At the same time of crouching, Reus' sword passed over my head.

Yup, Reus rotated without killing the momentum when he swung the sword sideways, and by the time my spell ended, he made a turn and made another frontal swing.

Since the opponent was distracted because of me, he couldn't avoid Reus' assault and his feet were slashed away. In addition, he was blown away by wind pressure generated by the sword.

"Guh… my… arm.." (Blue Hair Elder)

"What… is this…" (??)

As one would expect, they couldn't hide their feeling shaken after losing some of the limbs. Both of the Elder Elf hurled collided against trees and stopped moving.

Their stamina and mana were seemed limitless, but apparently, they were not able to regenerate limbs.

With this, I was saved because it would unfavorable if they were recovered. It seemed that we didn't need to ask for Hokuto-san's assistance.

"How was it!? Nee-chan's and my attack…" (Reus)

"Guh… It's impossible." (??)

"For us… to be done… by outsiders who are inferior to us…" (??)

"…We are surely inferior to you." (Emilia)

However… I'd been observing forever.

Starting with Elina-san's movements, and then, Sirius-sama's habit and breathing, and after that, giving him necessary things before he asked… As an attendant, observing the surroundings was a must skill to have.

Even if the opponent was superior in everything, it was possible to cope if I could read ahead.

It was the result of observation, but the weakness of the Elder Elves was that they didn't try to understand their own partner.

They were overconfident with their superior reflexes and abilities. They thought that they could cope with anything, so the vigilance was loose and their judgment was slightly delayed.

"If that's the case… why can't you win?" (Reus)

"Since you couldn't understand it, that's why you are lying on the ground." (Emilia)

"Well, for you to say that… But, we haven't lost yet. Our comrades who punished that foolish outsider will dispose you." (??)

"Yes. To challenge us alone… that is truly stupid." (??)

"Fool… is it?" (Emilia)

Comrades… they were probably three people who were fighting behind me.

We could struggle at most with three people.

But their opponent was…

"No, you are the foolish ones." (Emilia)

"Aniki is not going to lose, you know?" (Reus)

Sirius-sama was the one who taught us how to live and how to fight.

As what Reus said, I didn't think even a single fragment that Sirius-sama would lose.

More importantly, I wonder what I should do with these two.

Although I had severed their feet, since they still had their arms attached, they could still use magic.

I had a lot of things I wanted to hear from them even if they were detestable enemies, but when I was thinking how I could bind them… a roaring sound began to spread from the rear.

When we instinctively looked, the battle was…

—

—    —

"But… I see every of your movement." (??)

"Outsider, we'll end this in the next move." (??)

I(Sirius) kept thinking about the short hair Elder who held a bow at the inner part of their group, rather than the two Elder who stood in the front.

First off, I wanted to reduce their number, so I was thinking how to shake off the two Elder and took the one behind them, but the Elders said that they had already seen my movement.

Since I was aware that they weren't bluffing from their physical abilities, it would be difficult to shake off the two Elder who stood in the way.

If so, I had to deal with the two before me, but it was highly likely that I would be hit by arrows if I took too much time.

The situation was a bit harsh, but… a long range assistance was always a threat. Let's go for the Elder at the inner side.

"You're right… let's end this soon." (Sirius)

Using [Boost] to the limit while unleashing mana, I kicked the ground to run through the Elders who stood in my way.

I would be caught if I just straight ahead, so I repeatedly decelerated and accelerated to change the pace while on my way through, and I changed the speed by matching the timing of the opponent.

However…

"Is it a trick? I have already seen it." (??)

"You can't escape our eyes." (??)

The calm Elders completely read my movement. They exercised their weapons as they came close by pinching me from the left and right.

The leader swung his sword at my neck and the long hair Elder stabbed his short sword at my heart.

Even so… my movement would not stop.

I struck the gap where the weapons were swung, and got through the Elders. And then, I approached the short hair Elder while repelling the arrows shot with the knife.

"I am not sure the reason, but it is easy now to…" (Short Hair Elder)

He was surprised for a moment that I came straight between the two Elders. Based on the experiences being grabbed and beaten on the face, this time the Elder prepared a knife in hand for close combat, and pulled the arrow.

This short hair Elder probably wanted to say that he had seen my movement.

He tried to release the arrow at an exquisite distance that was difficult to avoid, but whether he started to hesitate at the sight spread before him, he stopped his movement for an instance.

"What… is this!?" (Short Hair Elder)

Although he was shaken, he still shot the arrow. However, that timing delay was fatal.

I already moved away from the arrow's trajectory and heading toward him from the side.

"Bastard!" (Short Hair Elder)

The short hair Elder turned while swinging the knife, but I moved according to his turning point. I went around behind him, and then, I swung my sword while getting away from the spot.

"…Wha…" (Short Hair Elder)

"You guys said that you have seen my movement just now, but have you misunderstood?" (Sirius)

And when I swung the sword to brush off the blood stuck… the neck of the short hair Elder fell and was rolling to the ground.

I used [Search] while watching the situation, but I couldn't feel mana from the Elder who had his head severed, and there was no sign of movement. Even though they could recover stamina and mana, it seemed they couldn't do it when the neck was cut off.

"…What do you mean?" (??)

"My sword was certainly connected…" (??)

However, even if their comrade had fallen, the feeling of tragic completely couldn't be seen from the remaining Elders. It seemed that they were more interested in me.

"What a heartless bunch. Your comrade just died, you know?" (Sirius)

"So, what about it?" (??)

"Dying is a proof of being weak. There is no need to grieve." (??)

"More importantly, why the outsider is still alive?" (??)

Although they slashed the neck with the sword, and pierced the heart with small sword, they were surprised why I was still alive.

It was true that they completely grasped my movement, but they were attacking my illusion… or afterimage.

To be exact, I was misleading the opponents' vision by adjusting light by using [Light] magic. It was a technique to released mana from my whole body and left an afterimage for a moment on the spot.

It was similar to Beowulf's [Heat Haze] that I met during the Fighting Festival, but because my figure became blurred due to the mana remnants, it was a bit weak to be used as a diversion.

However, by referring [Heat Haze] with Marina's abilities, the technique was completed with the help of Reus and Emilia during the testing. The possibility of being deceived was very high because my afterimage was perfectly visible.

I named it [Mirage].

At that time… the Elders came close to me when I was trying to get through them, but while I activated [Mirage] by aiming the moment when their weapons were swung, I kicked the ground and I was one step back from the spot. I decelerated in order to reduce the momentum going forward.

And then, only the afterimage remained on the spot, and the Elder who didn't know that was killed in one hit.

"I am alive regardless, and what you attacked was my afterimage." (Sirius)

"Afterimage? I don't really understand that, but you're using nothing but strange technique and magic from the beginning." (??)

"But, I remembered it. We won't be deceived next time." (??)

"Really?" (Sirius)

Although they were expressionless, they prepared weapons while displaying the confidence of victory. However, there was one thing I wanted to say.

"So… what did you remember?" (Sirius)

There was no more danger from long range attack. With this, I finally could concentrate the opponents before me. It was slower than bullet, but the arrow attack was a considerable threat when considering the time delayed attack and the techniques of the Elder.

I finished recovering my mana during the conversation, and I purposely declared to do the same thing while approaching the two Elders.

After that, I ran with a zigzag pattern while activating [Mirage], and from the opponents' vision, it felt like I was approaching with clones.

Actually, I did this even when I approached the short hair Elder earlier. Because of that, he was agitated because he saw multiple figures of me.

The remaining Elders didn't felt shaken probably because they said that they remembered my movement. They chose the tactic of waiting for me as they gave up trying to attack that strange movement.

"Even if it seems to be more than one, the outsider is just one person." (??)

"We won't be defeated since we have seen that movement." (??)

"Say… did you really see my movement?" (Sirius)

First off, I leaped into the leader's chest, and I asked the question while furiously hit the opponent's sword.

"I was wondering what you wanted to say. It can't be helped to see the movement of the outsider who is inferior to us, right?" (??)

"It is true that I am inferior than you guys, but…" (Sirius)

There was no doubt that the Elders were way better in term of basic abilities.

I would definitely lose by the differences if I normally fight them, but I was fighting with the techniques fostered and with [Boost].

However, I have something better than these people that made me would never lose to you.

And that was… battle experience.

Even if I matched the age of the previous life, I might be young compared to the Elves, but without doubt, I could concluded this fact.

In other words, the Elder Elves didn't have any life and death battle experiences.

The sense of crisis was lacking and without those superior abilities, I wasn't sure how many times they would be killed by us. (TLN: 'Us' as in Sirius and Third Switch)

They were in trouble because of my observation ability.

"Your movement… I already remembered." (Sirius)

Saying that they had seen my movement, but that was my line.

Reading all information of them such as the breathing, footwork, wrist, eye movement… I read ahead the opponents' actions while processing the information with parallel thought.

By reading ahead, the movement, that completely crushed the opponent's assault even before they did it, was almost like predicting the future.

With such a sudden change of my movement, the leader was starting to get confused.

"Wha!?" (??)

"Bastard!" (Short Hair Elder)

The short hair Elder came with a small sword from behind me while I was slashing the leader, but I rotated my body 180 degrees to avoid it.

His aim was still at my heart, huh?

With the nature of a small sword, the trust point was the main point of the weapon. Therefore, it wouldn't cause a fatal injury unless it connected to a critical point. It was easy to predict because it was his established tactic of aiming at the heart.

"Kuh… my aim..!" (Short Hair Elder)

Moreover, the Elders were getting disturbed as I continued evading while leaving afterimages through [Mirage]. Whether they understand the afterimages, it became harder to catch me by eyes.

Nevertheless, the Elders' movements and abilities were amazing. They were doing all they could even if the only thing they could do was to give a slight resistance.

So, while attacking, avoiding, and repelling with the sword and knife on both hands… I continued waiting for the opportunity.

"If that's the case, let's release attacks which can't be avoided." (Leader)

And then… the irritated leader took one hand off the sword that was held with both hands, and pointing his right hand at me to shot magic. It was the same as before. He was going to use Wind Magic to clear the whole front area.

But, I was waiting for that.

The moment he pointed his unprotected hand…

I had been waiting for long time. My sword was swung faster than his magic, and I sliced his right hand. At the same time, I kicked the leader's stomach with right foot to blow him away and he was forced to take a distance.

I thought that he wouldn't immediately became a hindrance, but as I was lagging by that two actions, the long hair Elder's protruded sword had already come close before me.

"Got you!" (Long Hair Elder)

'But… I told you that I already remembered your movements.'

I turned my body toward the front by the kicking reaction. And then, I extended my left hand to the small sword that was approaching my face, and I grasped the blade of the small sword with the grip strength of my fingers and palm without touching the blade part.

I successfully grabbed it, but I couldn't stop the thrust loaded with his weight with the grip strength of my left hand. It was thin, but with the power hidden in the Elder Elves, the impact would be more.

It was impossible to stop, but… it was possible to slightly divert the trajectory of the small sword.

When I loaded strength in my hand and moved my body to the right while diverting the small sword to the left, the tip of the small sword put a small cut on my cheek and went past my face.

"Wha–… guhh!?" (Long Hair Elder)

And then, the abdomen of the long hair Elder, who open eyes wide because I stopped his sword with bare hand, was penetrated with my sword.

"To this extent… guhoo!?" (Long Hair Elder)

However, he tried to release magic with opposite hand even though he was pierced by the sword. So, I pushed the sword even further, and knocked the Elder to the ground. I pointed my other hand while looking into his eyes.

"…You tried to kill us. But, are you prepared to be killed?" (Sirius)

"Preparedness? Such a thing will never exist in us, Elders. For us, death is just a story of us returning to the Sacred Tree." (Long Hair Elder)

"…I see." (Sirius

It was pointless to talk to anyone who didn't understand preparedness.

While pulling out the sword from the opponent's stomach, I shot [Impact] with every remaining mana I had.

The released shock wave enveloped the Elder's body without any surplus, and with the roar of the earth, he was destroyed without any trace on the ground.

And…

"… I overdid it." (Sirius)

Even though I was angry because Fia was beaten, it seemed that I made a slight mistake.

And… I said so to myself in the center of a crater-like hole where the Elder's shadow and shape disappeared.

—

Hokuto-kun and Asha-chan.

At the time when Sirius-kun and the Elder Elves were fighting…

The stray magic shot by the Elders who were fighting the siblings flew toward Reese who was treating Fia-san…

"Woof!" (Hokuto)

Hokuto-kun immediately leaped, and beautifully knocked down the magic with feet and tail.

Not only he crushed the flying rocks, he utilized the tenderness of the paw to evenly absorb the impact. He was displaying a fine technique that crushed rocks to small pieces. It was a consideration of not letting the magic to hit Fia-san, not even a small piece of rocks.

As for Hokuto-kun, the technique was such a small matter… No, it was before the brushing in the morning.

Since there were not many stray magic flying, Hokuto-kun was doing well in protecting Fia-san…

"Ugugu… although the one that should protect Onee-sama should be me!" (Asha)

He couldn't help feeling concern about the dark jealousy eyes he felt from behind every time he knocked down a stray magic.

"…Woof." (Hokuto)

Nevertheless, he couldn't leave it to Asha-chan.

Regardless of that, Hokuto-kun kept knocking down the magic. Not only stray magic, the Elder Elf arrow shot were also approaching.

Those came from the front and the back at the same time.

Many of them were magic, so Hokuto-kun first shot down the magic and headed toward the arrow.

"You…!" (Asha)

Asha shot an arrow and shot down a flying arrow.

Her technique was amazing, but because she was focusing too much on that one, she was late for noticing another arrow that flew behind the shadows.

"Kuh! I will protect Onee-sama!" (Asha)

She had no time to shot the next arrow… so Asha quickly decided and spread both hands toward the arrow to make it like a shield.

"Woof!" (Hokuto)

However, Hokuto-kun came down from midair, and dropped the arrow with a tail swing.

Although Hokuto-kun didn't really do the favor, when he looked back, the jealousy eyes should settled down…

"Aah… although I was planning to hug Onee-sama by protecting her from the arrow with my body…" (Asha)

"Woof…" (Hokuto)

…Hokuto-kun decided to give up in many ways.