With explosive speed, Corin dashed forward.
Followed by a strong swing, she thrusted her knife on her targets chest. But instead of feeling her attack connect, her knife only sailed through the air as Subaru sidestepped.
Nevertheless, she isn't planning to let Subaru even take a stance as she sent out a wide kick.
In connected but had little effect as Subaru absorbed the impact.
Months of being beaten by Julius, Subaru learned how to absorb the impact as it hit.
But unlike Julius, Corin wasn't attacking solely for torturing. Subaru couldn't help but feel sweaty as her bloodlust aimed at him.
And her obviously angry expression gave Subaru the inkling that he definitely pissed her off.
How? He has no time to think about it.
Subaru had to raise his armored hand as Corin swung faster. A clang reverberated as his Energy Field clashed with her knife.
Subaru focused, his vision trained at Corin's entire figure.
Corin's upward slash, Subaru deflected with his knife. Her swipe stab ducked by him. Her left high kick blocked by his right arm.
Subaru, despite actually managing to not get hit, was truly having a hard time keeping up.
It's not due to reflex, rather it was due to his body not being able to keep up.
Days of rest wasn't enough to fully restore his physique, and as a result, even with the help of leveling up, he isn't fast enough.
But his problems only arise as Corin started getting faster and faster.
Training in the art of hunting and combat for 8 years, Corin's skills and physical strength easily outmatched a weakened Subaru.
The only factor that helped Subaru not fall was his newfound battle reflex, his armor and his added extra strength.
"Guh!" Subaru grunted as a foot found itself on his stomach, also pushing him backwards.
As always, the Energy Field and the armored layer helped dampen the impact, but Corin's attacks are heavy enough that it pushed the air out of his lungs.
But Subaru was forced to put his arms on an "X" shape, effectively blocking a swing aiming to stab his head.
And as predicted, the strength behind it was strong, as Subaru's knees buckled.
"Hgk! Hyaaah!" He pushed back with all his might.
Corin jumped back, but remained in place where she landed, eyes still glared at Subaru. Said opponent was catching his breath.
'Damn, I'm so weak right now!' Subaru clicked his tongue.
Corin stared at her armored opponent, before sighing.
"Surrender already, I can tell you're already at your limits." Corin stated.
Subaru raised an eyebrow.
"You were so intent on killing me just now, what gives?" He asked.
Corin scoffed.
"Look at you! A short amount of time and you're already breathing heavily! I'm not in favor in tormenting my prey, even if you are an insufferable man." She pointed her knife at him.
"Insufferable?" In truth, Subaru needed to continue this conversation for him to get as much rest as he can.
"Tch. Why didn't you use that metia of yours? Were you completely underestimating me because I'm a woman?" Annoyed sneer was her reply.
Subaru frowned, wasn't she pretending to be a man?
"So you weren't trying to hide it? That you're a girl?" As soon as Subaru said that, Corin's expression changed into indifference.
"Goa!" Without even saying anything else, Corin sent a fire blast towards Subaru.
Subaru leapt to his left as the flames whizzed past him.
But he didn't have time to relax.
"Just die already!" Corin somehow unstrapped her bow and have already aimed an arrow at Subaru's head.
'She's a psycho!' he screamed internally as he ran the opposite direction.
Subaru didn't know this, but Corin wasn't pretending to be a man, rather her voice merely sounded a little manly, and her attire was their village's standard outfit for young hunters.
So basically telling her that she is trying to be manly only fanned her anger towards him.
While Corin's arrow was dodged, Subaru grunted as he pushed his legs. The reason why, was because Corin was sending arrows after arrows at him. Most of it were narrowly dodged, some managed to hit him at the back, almost making him fall forward due to the force of the impact.
Subaru was gaining distance when...
"Gyahh!" He let out a scream as he felt a searing pain right on his left hip.
And arrow managed to pierce through the suit, as it hit the part that wasn't protected by an armor plating.
"Wha-" Subaru then remembered, there was an EFP bar.
Sure enough, when he looked at his top left, he saw the Energy Field bar depleted.
He cursed under his breath before he grunted as he reached to the arrow embedded in him.
With a pained cry, he pulled out the arrow and then tried to stand up.
Only to fall as he lost the feeling on his legs.
"What the he-ughak!" He didn't finish his statement, probably because Corin already reached him and kicked him in the abdomen.
The force of the kick sent him rolling 2 meters away.
"It's no use, the arrowheads are coated with paralyzing poison. It's pointless resisting." Her voice made Subaru's eyes widen.
Reaching the downed prey, Corin kicked lightly, making him face up.
"I normally wouldn't even consider telling you this but I'll enlighten you so hear me well. I.Am.A Girl! And I take pride in it." Corin uttered with annoyance as she unstrapped a rope on her hip.
Subaru was out of options, as he stubbornly ruled out killing her with a gun as one.
His mind raced. What could he use? Flash bang? Smoke grenade?
He could move his hands but can he even get away if he used one of his grenades?
'Wait, there's one more.' His eyes widened a bit as he realized something.
Although he didn't like it as it reminded him of a certain dead Archbishop, he literally have no other choice as he chose not to kill Corin.
"Who are you?" Subaru asked again, bracing himself for what he's about to do, and feel.
"Hmph. I am Corin Festuna, an apprentice hunter under the tutelage of Ermita Stria." Corin uttered, finally untying the rope.
"Good, nice to meet you Corin. I am Natsuki Subaru, a broke nobody who will restore those who are forgotten!" Subaru stated loudly.
Corin's eyes widened in caution as she tried to jump back, she never knew what he will do next so she tried to gain distance , but she was too late.
"Invisible Providence!"
...
...
...
Worried for her student, Ermita followed her tracks.
With permission from the village chief, she was allowed to be a rescue just in case Corin couldn't handle the supposed Archbishop.
Despite the 2 day distance, she managed to reach her student fast.
Decades of hunting and trekking the forest made her efficient in seeking her target fast.
Imagine her surprise when she saw her student fighting a warrior of some sort with a strange armor.
The design itself was odd, it was a silky light grey thick cloth matted with multitudes of dark grey armor plates, with a silver highlight all over.
There too was the helmet, metallic grey with a dark glass face plate that had no hole.
She watched as her student and the man fought on a stalemate, however, her student managed to overwhelm the man.
Though she sighed as she knew that Corin let her anger surfaced, but ultimately let it go as she did manage to defeat the supposed Archbishop.
Or so she thought.
"I am Natsuki Subaru, a broke nobody who will restore those who are forgotten!" The man's voice had this grinding sound to it.
"Invisible Providence!"
She didn't know what that meant, but as soon as the man yelled those words, her student was suddenly flung upwards.
Stunned, Ermita tried to understand what happened. But she snapped out of it as she heard Corin land with a thud, now unconscious.
Worried, Ermita took out her blade, a longer hunting knife.
She cautiously approached, and once she reached Corin, checked her neck if she had a pulse.
She sighed in relief as she felt life still coursing through her student's veins. The only damage there was a bruise right on her chin.
Now she stared at the shivering man.
Approaching, she trained her eyes at him, not risking getting her guard down.
When she was in his field of vision, she knew he could see her despite not seeing his eyes, as it was blocked by the visor.
"I commend you for your tenacity, but there's something I'd like to know." Ermita waited for a reply.
"W-wh-what?" The man was having a hard time speaking, understandable as the effects of the poison was keeping the man from speaking properly.
"You had multiple chances to swing your knife at her, yet you only used it to defend yourself. Why?"
There was this doubt on Ermita's mind, and that is the evidence that this man or boy was truly an Archbishop.
She found none.
"B-B-Becausssee, I- I do-don't want ttto k-kill her." The man replied through gritted teeth.
Ermita was silent, still processing what she heard.
She then sighed then wordlessly bent over to pull Subaru up.
It was funny seeing an armored figure easily get tossed on top of an aged woman's shoulder.
The man couldn't move any more, even trying to clench his fingers proved too difficult.
Ermita found a tree with a thick branch.
"This place will be good. Murak." Upon saying that, she jumped with the man in tow and landed on the branch.
"This forest only has wolgarms, if you're unlucky however, a Guiltylowe could wander here. But I doubt that will happen. This branch is high enough, the wolgarms can't reach you here." She answered the wondering gaze of the man.
Ermita then took out a rope, and tied the man to the tree trunk to make sure he doesn't fall.
"This is goodbye Natsuki Subaru, it would be best if you leave as soon as you recover."
With that, Ermita jumped down and headed towards her unconscious student.
Ignoring the wondering gaze of the Subaru.
...
...
...
Why did she spare him? Why didn't she take him back? Who was she?
Subaru didn't know.
Subaru looked at the empty place where Corin was. Still wondering what was happening.
Thinking back, Subaru thought of what would have happened if he used the gun.
The result would have been detrimental, to his mental and emotional state.
Again, Subaru just couldn't bring himself to kill. Even the thought of doing so didn't sit right with him.
But will he actually live through with that kind of mindset?
He proclaimed it himself, that he will restore the memories of those who were forgotten.
But that also meant that he has to kill Lye.
But that's the thing, like Petelgeuss, he didn't hate the idea of killing an Archbishop. Especially ones like Lye who was the sole reason for his situation and Rem's sleeping beauty state.
He knew that it was his disdain towards the Witch Cult was the drive for him to kill.
But in a scenario where he wasn't facing an Archbishop, but someone who will kill him regardless, will he have the stomach to finally point the gun and shoot?
'I can't stay like that forever, I- I don't want to go back there.' he thought as his mind wandered to a certain prison cell.
"Kkhh...D-D-Damn ittt." A frustrated grunt left his mouth.
He's sick of it, being in these kind of situations.
"Dammnitt!" He cursed through gritted teeth.
He's sick of these suffering forced to him.
"Damn iiiiiit!" A pained cry left him.
Rem, his Father and his Mother, the only people he still cared about felt so far out of reach.
"Kuh..." Tears flowed.
He tried to move yet found himself still unresponsive.
"Wwwwwhy! Whhyy aaam I-I so...Weak!" His slurred voice only proved that the poison has spread all over his body.
"Ddddaaammn! Iiiiit!"
In the orange glow of dawn, an anguished squeal echoed throughout the forest.
A cry of hatred, towards self.