Chapter 8: Who's The Bigger Monster?
[Tenbi Academy Forest Grounds]
The progress for today's preparations towards the festival's official opening tomorrow had gone smoothly and in no time, the day had already gone by. The serene and intoxicating brightness of the forest had now been transformed into a dark and mysterious jungle that shadowed over Tenbi Academy.
A group of people were gathered around a large oak tree and stood on the side lines as they observed the showdown between two specific individuals. Takeshi, Aki, and Gen had taken up the role of observers of the bout between Minori, who standing on the right side, and Nagi who was standing on the left.
Minori grinned happily as she pounded her open palm with a fist, directing a confident smile towards her opponent. "You ready to rumble?"
Instead of a similar reply, she was met with a yawn from the clearly uninterested Nagi, causing an angry vein to show on the annoyed Minori's forehead.
"That son of a..." Minori was beginning to get tired of Nagi's lacklustre attitude as she recalled how many times she had been disrespected by him. She side glanced over towards her sensei who was smiling in delight at seeing the bout and frowned.
"Just what does sensei see in this guy? Is he really as strong as he claims?"
While Minori was attempting to size her opponent up to see if he would meet her standards, Nagi on the other hand was far from excited about his upcoming bout and had more "pressing" concerns at the moment. His attention was drawn towards one of the nearby trees where he gazed upon the sight of a short blonde student who was famous for her use of Shikigami; Kodama Himegami had crossed her arms and took a seat upon the tree branch with an intense look.
"The hell's that shrimp doing over there?" Nagi thought inwardly, clearly not all that happy to have another spectator watching the duel. He faintly recalled the memory of their second encounter with one another in the principal's office right after Minori had challenged him.
[Minori's Office, Several Hours Ago]
Minori pounded her fist as she glared at the baffled Nagi. "It's simple; me and you are gonna throw down and we'll see if your good enough to help us"
"...Hah?"
Nagi wasn't taking what Minori had just said seriously and let out a sigh of bewilderment. She really wanted to fight him? Seriously?
"Minori!" Aki was the first to speak up against the anxious principal as she stood up from her couch with a troubled expression. "You can't just start issuing challenges to guests!"
Minori cocked her head. "Why not?"
"You're being rude! Besides, sensei has already verified his strength so there should be no need to-
"I think it's a fantastic idea"
Both Minori and Aki whipped their heads around towards Takeshi who held a proud smirk on his face.
"Not you too sensei!"
Takeshi shrugged his shoulders. "Oh come now, what's the harm in a friendly match? Isn't that how we've always settled matters in Tenbi?"
"W-Well that may be true..." Aki couldn't refute against that claim as one of Tenbi Academy's golden rule was that any and all disputes would be settled in a proper duel.
"Haha, I knew you'd have my back sensei!" Minori gave a thumbs up to Takeshi, who returned the gesture.
"Anytime"
Aki was beginning to see these two wouldn't change their stubborn minds and turned to her last life line. "Say something to them, Gen-san!"
Unfortunately for Aki, Gen wasn't following her same train of thought.
"Sorry Aki, I've gotta side with sensei and Minori on this one" Gen wasn't going to lie; he was dying to see if Takeshi's claim of Nagi being a superior combatant was an exaggeration or the actual truth, and what better way to confirm that then with a good old fashioned duel.
"First sensei and now Gen-san..." Aki was beginning to lose her marbles from her friend's eagerness to fight. Why did she have to have such brutish colleagues?
"So it's settled!" Minori was practically jumping for joy as she thrust her finger out towards Nagi who mildly blinked in response. "Have a battle with me, Nagi!"
"Hell no"
Minori was comically crushed at such a straightforward decline as she wracked her brain around why the arrogant guest was refusing her challenge. "W-Why not!?"
"Because I don't want to, tomato head"
"Tomato head!?" Minori's rage was flaring again at Nagi who had dared to give her such a demeaning nickname as she was just about ready to send him flying straight to the moon.
Takeshi caught on to Minori's ever growing wrath and tried to defuse the situation. "C-Calm down Minori, don't go crazy on us now" He then turned to the uninterested Nagi. "Nagi, what's the matter? You had no problems sparring against me earlier"
Nagi snorted. "That's a different story old man; that was before I knew how weak you guys were. I mean, if I could beat your ass easily enough and you're their instructor... well I'm sure you can figure it out"
"... He has a point" Takeshi grumbled under his breath at that logic as his memory of being utterly trounced by Nagi back at his dojo was still fresh on his mind.
"Hey" Gen was beginning to get annoyed at Nagi's arrogance and how he was underestimating not only himself but his close friends and directed a fierce gaze towards him. "I don't know who you think you are, but you're dreaming if you think Minori would lose to you that easily"
"I won't lose at all! Let me teach this guy who he's been screwing with!" Minori was practically flailing like a boar as she looked ready to go at anytime.
"Just take a deep breath..." Aki had attempted to calm her friend once again, not sure whether to scold or congratulate Nagi for pushing Minori's buttons so much in a single meeting. Not even Akaya had managed to get Minori this angry and she had to deal with him for years.
"Nagi" Takeshi had placed a firm hand on Nagi's shoulders who merely side glanced at him. "I think it'd be in your best interest to accept the challenge. She may be stronger than you think"
Nagi didn't look all that convinced but weighed his options at the prospect of fighting her. Could she beat him? Not a chance in hell, but could she be an amusing opponent to kill some time? That was a possibility. In any case, without any leads on how to get back home, it wasn't as if he had a busy agenda ahead of him. Still, they were trying to get him to join their little group to fight against some super secret organization and that was something Nagi had no interest in taking part of. Getting involved in some sort of school yard turf war wasn't any of his business; he just wanted to go home.
Coming to the conclusion that this was a waste of time, Nagi abruptly stood up and made his way to the front door.
"Nagi!" Takeshi shouted in an attempt to get the man to stay. "Where are you going?"
"I'm out of here; it doesn't seem any of you know how to help me get back home so I don't see why I should stay. I'm not joining your little group, later"
"Wait god damn it!" Minori tried to act fast by running towards Nagi who had grabbed the door handle and was about to leave. "You're not going anywhere!"
"If you help us against Kamigari, you might find what you're looking for!"
That sudden outburst caused all those inhabiting the room to turn around and stare at the person who had said it; Aki Nijou who held a firm but also nervous gaze towards the surprised Nagi who was mere moments from opening the door.
Both Takeshi and Gen looked at Aki with amazed faces as they were surprised at the tone of voice she rarely if ever used. Aki was a very respectful but also timid type of person so it came as a surprise to hear her speaking with such assertiveness.
"Is that true, cleavage girl?" Nagi asked with a hint of amusement at his choice of a nickname.
"Oi, stop being rude!" Minori threatened but her demand didn't even seem to go through as Nagi ignored her and focused solely on Aki.
Aki, who was a bit offended by the nickname she had just given began to calm down and walked forward towards Nagi who was still waiting on an answer. "Yes, given enough time and resources, I'm sure that the answer you are looking for is connected to Kamigari"
"Hmm..." Nagi wasn't completely buying it but the woman he was now facing didn't seem to be the sort to lie. Even so, he needed to know why she had changed her mind so quickly. "Weren't you the one who was trying to stop a fight between us? Why the sudden change of heart?"
Aki swallowed her spit at the reasonable question and quickly glanced at Minori, Gen, and Takeshi but sighed immediately after. "These three stubborn acquaintances of mine won't take no for an answer which really drives me insane but... I decided to trust them"
"Aki..." Gen and Minori simultaneously said that while Takeshi nodded his head with approval. The bond between the three of them hadn't wavered even in all these years.
"That's nice and all but what does me fighting her have anything to do with that?" Nagi stated bluntly as he pointed towards Minori, causing Takeshi to face palm at Nagi's inability to read the mood.
"Kamigari is an organization with powerful ability users, we're afraid that the students enrolled here might not be able to defeat them. Having someone who sensei recommended himself would greatly benefit us which is why we are asking for your help" Aki bowed her head towards Nagi, earning an annoyed reaction from Minori.
"Aki! You don't have to bow your head for someone like him!" Minori wasn't all too pleased at seeing her friend show such respect to a person who had been nothing but rude and arrogant while being a guest. If he didn't show them respect, why should they?
"Look..." Nagi started as he didn't seem all too eager to leave anymore. "I just want to know if fighting those Kamigari guys or whatever will help me get home. Can you promise me that?"
Aki bit her tongue as she could not make false promises but she didn't need too as Takeshi already had an answer waiting for him. "I can guarantee that"
Nagi now turned his sights towards Takeshi. "Hoh... and how would you know that, old man?"
"Think about it for a second Nagi, within this world, Kamigari is one of the largest and most influential branches to acquire information on nearly anything. You don't have a better chance at finding a way to get back home then you do now"
"..."
Nagi remained silent as he studied the man's words. He had told the old man earlier that he'd search the whole planet if he had too to find a way to send him home and he definitely meant it. However, exactly how long would that take? The planet was a big place; it would probably require an enormous amount of time to find a good lead. If what the old man said was true, then forcing those Kamigari guys to feed him information might be in his best interests.
"And the only requirement to join their group to fight those guys is..." His eyes wandered over towards the idle Minori who noticed his gaze and met his eyes with a ferocious one of her own.
"What, having a change in heart?"
The two exchanged glares with one another before Nagi decided to put an end to the silence.
"Since you've resolved yourself for this, as a man, it would be shameful to decline your challenge." A smirk appeared on his face which startled Minori. "Bring it on"
Sighs of relief came out from Gen and Aki while Takeshi laughed in good fashion, truly glad Nagi had accepted. Minori on the other hand was stunned for a few seconds, not used to feeling the way she was now. She had many challengers over her lifetime and she crushed them all without a second thought, doing so gleefully. However, this feeling of challenging someone else and trying to see how truly powerful they were new to her and she couldn't hide it; she was beyond joyful.
"That's the spirit! I won't hold back!"
As Nagi snorted in amusement at the woman's excited demeanour, he turned his attention to the door handle and opened it.
"I'm gonna go look around the school for a bit, call me whenever you decide on the details of our-
"Himegami-Kick!"
As the door flung wide open in front of Nagi who got a chance at seeing the same colour panties from earlier in his face, Kodama Himegami bust through the room in a timely fashion to deliver a drop kick towards the standing Nagi.
"It's time for some payback! Prepare yourself, Nag-Huhhh!?"
Expecting her glorious foot to firmly place itself onto Nagi's face, Himegami was baffled beyond measure when she somehow ended up upside down and hanging by the leg she had just used to kick him with. She briefly looked up and met Nagi's eyes with a stunned expression as he appeared as calm as ever.
"Oh look, it's the shrimp. How's it hanging?"
"L-Let me go you jerk! Let me go!" Himegami struggled to break free as the uncomfortable position of being held up by a single leg frustrated the girl to no end.
"Kodama? The hell are you doing here?" Minori asked as she walked over towards the two of them.
Himegami was hard pressed to answer her as she tried to avoid the principal's curious gaze. "N-No reason..."
Minori held her suspicions and made a note to discipline the girl later for coming into her office unannounced before turning to Nagi, recalling how he had seemed to know her.
"You know her?"
He shrugged. "Sort of, I met this shrimp hanging upside from a tree and said hello"
"I-Is that so..." Minori side glanced towards Himegami's angered expression and had a rough idea on how things ended up the way they are now. Nagi was a man who had a... way with words and she assumed he got on Himegami's bad side just as much as herself. Well, it wasn't any of her business so she didn't give it any more though as she then pointed a finger towards Nagi.
"Back on topic, I'll meet you tonight at ten o clock in the auditorium; that's where we'll duke it out"
Aki immediately spoke up against such an idea. "You can't do that! You might accidentally destroy the entire building!"
"Oh yea..." Minori felt a bit embarrassed from Aki's adamant claim and rubbed the back of her head shyly. "T-Then where are we supposed to fight?"
"What about the large forest near the Oyama Dojo?" Takeshi suggested.
"Perfect!" Minori brightened at such a wonderful idea. "There's plenty of space there to go all out! Man, I can't wait!"
Nagi wasn't excited in the same way as Minori but smiled nonetheless. "Alright, ten o clock it is"
"Hey, what's going? Are you two going to fight each other?"
Nagi turned his eyes towards Himegami, whom he had completely forgotten about by the way, and snorted.
"That's not really any of your business shrimp, I'd be more worried about the view you're giving me again"
"Huh" Himegami was confused about what he was blabbering about until she took a minute to look up and realized that once again, her panties were in plain sight. Her face lit up like a jack o lantern in embarrassment and she shouted with all of her might.
"You assholeeeeeeeeeeee!"
[Present Time]
"There's something familiar about that girl... that quick temper and that height... she reminds me of someone" Nagi searched his mind for anyone that resembled the shrimp but couldn't piece the puzzles together. He eventually got bored and decided it wasn't worth investing into anymore.
As Nagi continued to stare at Himegami, she was getting irritated at being the looked at for so long and furrowed her eyebrows. "What are you gawking at?"
Nagi blinked. "Huh? Oh... I was just wondering why you decided to follow us" He shifted his body to rid himself of the drowsy feeling he was getting. Today had been one hell of a long ass day for him so he was feeling a bit sleepy, not that he couldn't shrug it off and keep going.
"Do you have a problem with me being here?" Himegami asked in a rather aggressive tone.
Nagi wasn't one for idle chit chat so he shrugged and turned his attention back to Minori. "As long as you don't get in the way, you can do whatever you want"
Himegami felt insulted at that last comment as she gritted her teeth at Nagi's remark before huffing away in annoyance. "I-I don't need you to tell me that...!"
She didn't know why but it bothered her so much whenever Nagi acted so smug like that, as if he was too good to waste his "precious" time to at least acknowledge her presence. It was a strange feeling for her; she had always been treated with the utmost respect from all the guys she knew and there was no one that spoke to her so informally like that, not for as long as she had been a student at Tenbi.
Himegami quickly snuck a peak at Nagi's idle figure and her curiosity towards his origins was beginning to eat away at her. That strength he had displayed earlier today was still plaguing her mind and she decided to watch this duel to see just what he was made of. Though, she was beginning to doubt his intelligence if he believed he had a chance at beating the principal. The woman was a monster in disguise, capable of even challenging the likes of Ouken Yamato who was one of if not the most powerful ability user known to exist. Unless he had some sort of trump card to play, this little match would be over before he knew it.
Of course, Himegami was right to believe that the match wouldn't take long... the only difference being, the outcome she predicted would be completely opposite of what she originally believed.
On the spectator's side, Takeshi was observing his former student preparing for what he believed to be the toughest fight of her life and wondering how much she had improved since he last sparred with her. While he could accurately estimate what level of power she was on now after factoring her growth over the years, Nagi was a complete mystery to him. Even after briefly sparring with him, he was confident Nagi was holding back substantially, enough so to make him worry about Minori's safety if Nagi went all out and forgot to hold back. Well, that was what he was for anyway; he'd make sure to stop them if they got out of hand.
He stepped forward and looked at the two of them. "I'll be the referee of this duel, is that fine with you both?"
Minori grinned. "No problems here"
Nagi shrugged. "Don't care"
Nodding his head in satisfaction, Takeshi proceeded to raise his arm. "Then, the duel between Minori Rokujou and Nagi will now commence! The winner will be decided when the opposing side is either unable to continue or forfeits the match! Also, I know there's supposed to be that long winded chant we're supposed to do but honestly, I can't remember so we're skipping it"
Everyone face palmed at the lack of seriousness in Takeshi while Nagi chuckled in good humour. That was one of the reasons Nagi favoured Takeshi; he was a pretty funny guy.
"Don't worry about it sensei, it's not as if Nagi is a student here anyway. I think we can bend the rules for him" Minori proposed as she was met with approval from Takeshi.
"Very well. One last thing, the use of Maken in this battle will be allowed so Minori, I expect to see your best"
"Eh?" Minori felt a bit uneasy at having the advantage of using a Maken when her opponent not only didn't have one, was utterly clueless on what they were in the first place. "Are you sure, sensei? I think it'd be fair if-
"Oi, stop complaining and start the match already. Your Maken won't make a difference in the outcome anyway, tomato head"
"Oh... Is that a fact... ?" Minori was practically seething as she had just about enough of Nagi's smartass remarks, preparing herself in a formal martial arts stance and directed an intense glare towards him. Meanwhile, Nagi casually stretched his body and did a few basic exercises to rid himself of the stiff feeling he was getting.
"I can't expect too much from her but I might as well keep my magic on standby just in case. Shit, I can't remember most of the ones I memorized and I lost my cheat sheet card. Aw screw it, I'll just wing it"
After Nagi had finished his basic stretches and threw his arms to the side, the two combatants were ready to get things underway as a momentary silence befell both of them.
"Please be careful, Minori" Aki prayed that not only Minori but also Nagi wouldn't get hurt in this battle.
Gen however, was having different thoughts than his friend. "Now, let's see what this guy's made of and why sensei favours him so much"
Up top, Himegami was also eagerly awaiting the battle as she wanted to confirm with her own eyes how powerful Nagi was.
Takeshi took one final look towards Minori and one look towards Nagi and nodded his head.
They were ready.
"Begin!"
"Ha!" Minori sprung forward like a rocket straight towards Nagi at an astounding rate, surprising all those presently watching. Takeshi compared Minori's tactic of going in head first to his own sneaky and slippery style of manoeuvring behind an enemy. Minori had always been known as the "Human Volcano" so it didn't come as a surprise to him that she started off like this but Minori was making one fatal mistake against Nagi.
She assumed he was weaker in raw power.
Closing the distance between them, Minori drew her right arm back and concentrated focusing the elements coursing through her veins to maximum her accelerated strike. Once she had finished entangling those elements from her elbow all the way to her fist, she shot it forward at a frightening speed that even caused the air around her fist to tear itself to shreds.
Minori wasn't pulling any punches as she decided to end the battle as quickly as she could to humiliate Nagi and bring him down a peg. "Take this!"
Unfortunately for her, that just wasn't going to happen.
That powerful fist that everyone watching assumed could overpower anyone easily was stopped by Nagi with a single hand as his body didn't even budge from the impact. All those present, especially Minori had their mouths hanging wide open at the unrealistic spectacle.
"Wha...!"
"N-No way!"
"Minori's fist was stopped!?"
"As expected..." Takeshi hummed in amazement as he was the only one among the spectators who wasn't stupefied at what just happened. Having been the only one to spar with Nagi, Takeshi's expectations for the mysterious young man were much higher than the others and he was thoroughly looking forward to seeing Minori try to bring out his best.
As Minori struggled to get her emotions back in control while continuing to push forward with her fist, a menacing smile enveloped Nagi's face as he leaned in closer towards the flustered Minori. "Hoh... you're definitely stronger than the old man... but..."
"Woah...!" Minori felt her heart almost burst out of her chest as Nagi's body posture changed instantaneously and was now aiming a punch directly at her face.
"Shit, he's fast!" She ducked her head at the last second, narrowly avoiding the heavy blow from Nagi's fist and tried to counterattack by placing one hand on the ground and pushing her body weight on it. This allowed her to position herself perfectly for a double frontal kick towards Nagi's torso but Nagi had already moved out the way and raised his leg into the air, planning on slamming it down the unprepared principal.
Grunting in annoyance, Minori mustered all of her leg strength and pushed back while throwing her hands behind her head in order to back flip away from her current position. Nagi's leg came down where Minori's body used to be, destroying the ground underneath and creating a massive crater that shook the forest to its very core.
Minori's body continued to rotate backwards from the momentum of her back flip until she twisted her body in mid air and skid across the ground, coming to a stop in front of a burly tree.
Nagi, who had gotten out of the crater he had personally created, dusted himself off and whistled in surprise. "Nice reflexes, tomato head"
Minori felt irritated at the disrespectful nickname but knew better than to let it get to her head and concentrated on staying focused. She didn't let her guard down for a moment while she impatiently waited for Nagi to come at her.
"Good, she's beginning to take this seriously. Let's take this up a level"
It was now Nagi's turn to go on the offensive as he shot himself forward and attempted a roundhouse kick at the startled Minori. She barely had time to block it as she threw up both of her hands together to intercept the attack aimed right at her head. The moment Nagi's leg made contact with Minori's arms; she felt her entire body shake from the magnitude of phenomenal leg strength and grunted in agony before attempting to counter attack.
"Not bad, let's keep it going" Nagi followed up his blocked kick by swiftly rotating his pivot leg and spun around, aiming to use the same leg but backwards. Minori quickly ducked under the leg and threw out a punch towards Nagi's stomach but Nagi also dodged it and jumped high into the air with a mocking grin, as if saying "Come and get me"
Minori took the bait hook line and sinker as she also jumped upwards, closing the distance between them and threw a flurry of punches towards the sky born magician. Her speed was definitely a cut above the rest as it looked as if she had several arms but Nagi saw through all of them and nimbly dodged them all in midair, even seeing a quick opportunity to counter attack as he landed a solid punch against Minori's face.
The principal was sent flying down as she tried to ignore the stinging pain that plagued her cheek where Nagi had struck and slowly opened her eyes. Seeing Nagi following her down and ready to inflict another blow on her was enough to snap her back to reality and she tucked her stomach in to begin flipping in mid air, the momentum building up as she landed on the rough surface of a tree. Squatting down, she uses her legs like a human spring and bounced back right towards the incoming Nagi and the two collided their fists together in mid air, sending a shockwave through the forest that alerted all forms of wildlife nearby to run the hell out of there.
"I-Incredible!" The tree Himegami was sitting on was also beginning to shake as she tried to gain her footing, lest she wanted to fall off.
After their two fists had collided, Minori was having trouble ignoring the pain in her knuckle that couldn't handle the impact of Nagi's clearly superior strength. Nagi wasn't letting up as he quickly followed his initial attack by grabbing her hand so that she couldn't escape and brought her closer in before kicking the woman straight in the stomach, causing Minori to spit out some blood before her body was sent spiralling downwards.
"D-Damn it... that fucking hurt..." Minori didn't have time to bitch and moan about the pain as she tried to regain her balance and spun herself around before landing on the ground and slid across the surface with her hand clutched to her stomach. Nagi slowly landed to the ground himself as he didn't look winded in the slightest; how could he after proving how exceptionally skilled in hand to hand combat he was?
As Minori got back to her feet and began to calm down, she wiped her forehead that was now dripping in sweat not from exhaustion, but from fear as she hadn't fought an enemy in such a long time that made her as anxious as she felt now. She looked over towards her sensei, ignoring the awe struck looks of her fellow faculty members, and observed his cheerful mug.
"So he wasn't exaggerating..." Minori now understood why Takeshi regarded Nagi with such respect and could definitely believe he defeated her sensei with moves like that.
Himegami, who was sitting on the tree branch near the battlefield, sighed in amazement as she too was thoroughly surprised at Nagi's level of skill. She suspected he was a lot stronger than he looked but to think he could force the principal back like that; it was a hard pill to swallow.
Floating next to her, her flame shikigami Kagezuchi was also impressed. "Wow! That red haired guy is really strong!"
"Mhm, I can see how he defeated us so easily now" Igazuchi, Himegami's lightning spirit was also showering Nagi with praise.
Himegami snorted at them. "Don't be stupid, in your true forms he wouldn't last a second against you guys. Still, I'll admit he's much better than I thought he was"
With how the match was going, it was only a matter of time before she was defeated as Nagi's skill was greater than her's. To prevent that, she had come to the decision of relying on her trump card to defeat Nagi. Similar to her bout with Ouken Yamato, Minori would only resort to using her Maken against a worthy adversary and Nagi had proved himself to be one with that short engagement just now.
Nagi was of a different viewpoint as he clearly wasn't satisfied with Minori's level of skill. "Is that really the best you got? Quit holding out on me" Nagi complained as he began to move forward towards the stationary Minori. In Nagi's mind, Minori was no threat to him but he still wanted to see her Maken at least once before he ended the fight.
Taking a deep breath, Minori slowly opened her eyes and concentrated on unlocking the seal on her Maken. "Very well, you asked for it"
The temperature around Minori's body rapidly began to change and it looked as if the air itself was beginning to burn. Nagi narrowed his eyes as he thought he was beginning to see things but sure enough, it wasn't an illusion.
"What's going on...? Why is it so hot around her?"
Aki, Gen, and Takeshi already knew what was coming as the heat was also beginning to affect each one of them. Releasing the seal on her Maken wasn't as simple as other Maken's due to how overwhelmingly powerful it was.
Minori stretched her right arm to the side in an oddly dramatic fashion and from it; a swirl of energy began to condense itself from the tip of her fingers to just short of her elbow. In no time at all, her arm was covered completely in a crimson red gauntlet with a large circle in the middle. Minori, who was observing Nagi's surprised facial expression, grinned in delight at finally seeing Nagi flustered and got herself into another fighting stance.
"Surprised aren't ya? Allow me to introduce you to my very own Maken,『Dragon Ace!』"
"Hoh..." Nagi wouldn't lie, out of all the Maken's he had encountered so far, which weren't many to begin with; Minori's was by far the most intimidating. You could visibly see the amount of pressure the gauntlet emitted as smoke was still surrounding it.
"Oi, Nagi"
Nagi side glanced towards Takeshi. "Hm?"
"Some words of advice, don't let that thing hit your or else you'll be sorry"
"...I'll keep that in mind"
Judging from the old man's tone, he was being completely serious with that comment just now.
As Nagi was preparing himself, Minori had decided to go on the initiative and squatted down, focusing her element between both of her powerful thighs. "Here I come!"
Like earlier, Minori shot forward like a rocket and quickly closed the distance between herself and Nagi. Nagi, who could watch her movements, decided to play around with Minori to see just how much stronger she had gotten and prepared himself to block the attack once again with his palm.
"He's not dodging!? That idiot!" Takeshi thought worriedly as his warning towards the foolish young man had been ignored.
Minori was all smiles as she pulled her arm back, activating her Maken's thermal drive immediately and in one swift motion, threw her fist forward which created enough friction in the air to launch a gigantic fireball towards Nagi. "Ignition Burst!"
Nagi, who had smiled initially, fully prepared to intercept the flashy technique with minimal effort, was taken completely by surprise when the impact of the attack was astronomical and he found himself catapulted backwards through the forest. The surrounding area behind the blast radius was scorched and Nagi's body traveled for a good while before he crashed head first into a tree, sending it tumbling down afterwards.
"Haaaa..." Minori let out a heavy sigh as she studied the damage her Maken had caused and smiled approvingly. She was confident that overconfident bastard was feeling the pain now.
A face palm was seen coming from Takeshi who shook his head in disappointment. He tried to warn that idiot but he wouldn't listen.
"Y-You did it Minori!" Aki beamed happily at her friend's victory, though she was a bit worried about Nagi after having taken a direct attack from her best friend's unstoppable Maken.
"I thought you were in trouble there for a second before you brought it out. Jeez, don't scare us like that" Gen was a bit disappointed that the fight was already over but glad no one was injured seriously, well Nagi might be after that.
Minori grinned as she gave them a thumbs up. "Piece of cake! Now, we might wanna start looking for his body and begin treating him"
Aki nodded accordingly as she looked at the damaged forest, unable to even see where Nagi's body would have landed. She really hoped he wasn't too injured.
Himegami, who had witnessed the short scuffle between them, sighed in disappointment as she expected this outcome but was still bummed about it. For all of his arrogance, Nagi was utterly defeated today which did make her feel a bit happy for what he did to her but ashamed because she believed he might prove her wrong.
"Might as well get out of here... huh?" Himegami stopped short as she was about to leave when her eyes immediately caught something out of the ordinary. The tree that had fallen over after Nagi had crashed into it was launched straight into the air and landed with a large thud a few meters away from the group's location.
"I-It can't be...!"
Over on Minori's side, she felt the shake of something large crashing into the ground and looked over in the direction of where she had sent Nagi, feeling something was off.
"What's wrong Minori?" Aki asked out of the blue.
"..."
She remained quiet, her eyes not wandering anywhere else than what she was currently focusing on. If her instincts, that were usually spot on were correct, this battle wasn't over yet.
As if on cue, the sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the narrow path of where Nagi was launched. Everyone remained quiet in order to properly here the approaching sound and after almost half a minute of waiting, the figure of an annoyed Nagi emerged from the forest with several specs of dirt scattered across his clothing.
"Damn, you really got me there. I didn't expect your power to increase that much, shit it still hurts" Nagi cracked his neck as a frown came onto his face.
"S-Seriously...?" Minori couldn't believe what she was seeing, that same technique that was able to push Ouken to his knees and almost knock him out for good looked like it had no effect on the young man standing before her. What was he, some sort of demon!?
Minori wasn't the only one in utter shock as Aki, Gen, and Himegami were all speechless on how Nagi was able to ignore the damage after taking a direct hit from Minori with her Dragon Ace. That shouldn't have even been physically possible!
Takeshi on the other hand was startled but relatively accepting of the fact that Nagi wasn't injured as he knew all too well that the crimson haired man was abnormal.
Nagi finally came to a stop as he finished cracking his sore body parts and then grinned at the nervous Minori. "It looks like deciding to fight you was the right decision. I'll admit, I underestimated you because I wanted to see the true power of these so called Maken. Now that I know what you're capable of..."
In an instant, the gravity around Nagi took a sky dive as a surge of power could be felt coming from his body. All those present instinctively flinched as they could feel that tremendous power leaking out as if it was a can of soda just waiting to burst open. What terrified them more was the look in his eyes; the fearsome eyes of a predator ready to devour its helpless prey.
"I can now show you why they call me the strongest!"
"Wha...!?" Minori was flung backwards from the sheer pressure emitting from Nagi as she crossed her arms together and skid across the ground. Takeshi moved quickly and grabbed both Gen and Aki's hands, directing them towards the back of a sturdy tree to shield them from the immense pressure, as if a giant tornado was heading their way.
"S-Sensei... what is this!?" Gen asked with none of his earlier confidence being present, sounding more like a frightened young boy.
"I-It's too much...!" Aki was almost beginning to lose her mind at the swell of power and fell to her knees as if she had been a puppet who had its strings cut. She was sweating all over and panting heavily, unable to handle the intensity.
"Stay strong! My『Casting』is already up so we should be fine!" Though he said that, Takeshi was having troubles of his own as he mustered all of his inner strength to keep himself from succumbing to the intoxication. When he estimated that Nagi was an existence beyond normal, he never expected something of this magnitude that made a veteran combatant like himself feel terrified. Just what the hell kind of power was this man hiding?
Minori, who was the closest to the surge of power, was receiving the worst of it as her body trembled but stayed vigilant through nothing but sheer willpower.
"What terrifying pressure...! H-How could someone be hiding such fearsome power...! Even Ouken didn't make me feel like this..."
The forest itself seemed to also share everyone's sentiments as the leaves blew violently and the sound of wild animals howling in fear was heard in the stillness of the night.
"Oi, tomato head"
"...!"
Minori stopped being petrified for a second as she noticed Nagi holding his right arm outstretched, similar to how she had done it when she summoned her Maken. A stream of pure white electricity radiated from the air as Nagi's shadowed out face was seen smirking menacingly.
"I'll give you one last chance to hit me with everything ya got. However, you better not dare think of holding back otherwise... you'll die"
It was a voice filled with absolute confidence in one's own strength, something Minori knew all too well during her youth. Regardless, she wasn't going to back down as she steeled herself for the worst.
"I wouldn't have it any other way, Nagi!" Minori agreed as she pulled back her arm and activated her Maken's ability to create thermal energy, storing that manifested energy within the center of her gauntlet. The technique she was about to use was the same she had used against Ouken and the one that she assumed had defeated him but because of her lack of element, wasn't powerful enough to finish the job. However, this time was different. This time, she was practically at full strength and she was going to use all of it to defeat the monster standing right before her!
"T-This is looking really bad..." Himegami gulped internally as she was a good distance away from the battle but could still clearly fill the intensity of the battle. Judging by both of their stances, the two of them were preparing to unleash their most powerful techniques and Himegami was no fool; that was her queue to scram.
"Ojou, are you not going to stay?" Kagezuchi asked with a hint of disappointment.
Igazuchi lightly tapped the flame spirit on the head. "Don't be dumb, Ojou knows what she's doing"
"We're leaving, now!" Himegami ordered and instantly, her two spirits had vanished and she began taking off in the opposite direction, heading back to Tenbi. Once the collision was over, she'd come back to see the result of the battle but in her heart, she had an idea of the one who was going to be victorious.
"『Ignition Cannon』...!"
Minori yelled with all our might as she thrust her fist forward, releasing the stored pressure of thermal energy in her fists towards Nagi. From it, an enormous tunnel of flames erupted from her gauntlet that spiralled in a straight line and looked ready to completely incinerate anyone that stood in its way. She was confident; she wasn't going to lose this contest of strength!
"You've shown me your best" Nagi stated as the electricity that surrounded his arm disappeared and he jumped forward, using the momentum of his charge to draw his arm back in a similar fashion to Minori.
"Let's see if it was enough! 『Odin's Spear』!"
As Nagi shot his fist forward that was enchanted with lightning magic, a gigantic stream of electricity erupted from his fist that took the shape of a spear of lightning that completely dwarfed Minori's flame pillar. To compare the two techniques would be like trying to compare the difference between a mouse and a lion.
The collision between the two opposing forces lasted no longer than a few seconds as the spear of lightning eradicated every ounce of flames and made a b-line straight for the unresponsive Minori, who was mentally crushed at having her most powerful and signature technique defeated so easily.
"I... I understand now... why sensei spoke to this man with such respect... I... I was a fool... He truly is a monster even I cannot face... how funny, I used to be called a monster... looking at it from the other point of view now really shows how small I truly am... my bad, everyone..."
Minori had closed her eyes and resigned herself to her fate as the incoming stream of lightning was mere seconds away from devouring her. It didn't take a genius to figure out that if Minori or anyone for that matter was hit by that thing, their chances for survival were almost nonexistent.
"M-Minori! Move!"
"Minori, what are you doing! Get the hell out of there!"
"Please, Minori get away!"
The pleas from her two best friends and sensei didn't reach Minori as the only thing she could now hear was the screeching sound of lightning entering her ears. Being so close to it, Minori practically felt as if she was dead already and eagerly awaited the pain that was soon to follow. However, the voice of one person in particular would make Minori open her eyes wide in astonishment.
"Outta the way dumbass!"
At the moment of impact, Minori felt her body being forcibly moved out of place as she caught a glimpse of the spear of lightning narrowly missing her body and shred through the forest. Anything that was caught up in the blast radius, sentient or not, was instantly vaporized and the spear almost seemed to go on forever until it came to an abrupt halt when it collided with a nearby mountain, nearly destroying the entire foothold and leaving a defining mark in the dead center.
It was strange, Minori knew that she saw the attack hit but for some reason, could still feel her body working. Her eyes were closed shut and she hesitated to open them out of fear of seeing something she'd regret.
"Hey"
"H-Huh...?"
Minori slowly but surely opened her eyes to see the unbelievable seen before her.
She was flying in the air, or at least seemed to be as she looked down and saw an endless line of trees below her. When her eyes moved upwards, the beautiful moon that illuminated over the forest was now in her sights and she confirmed it right there and then that she was indeed, flying.
It only occurred to her that the position she was in was quite comfortable, something that she had never experienced before as her arms were tucked into her stomach and her legs were dangling.
"Aw, did I scare you too much?"
That annoying but familiar voice rang in Minori's head and she turned sideways to be meet face to face with none other than Nagi who was smirking as he looked down at her. She momentarily blushed when she got a look at his handsome features but regained herself before realizing that Nagi was carrying her bridal style through the air, as if she was some sort of princess.
"W-What the hell are you doing!" She had never felt this embarrassed before in her life.
"Hm? Carrying you obviously?" Nagi answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I'm aware of that stupid! I meant why you are carrying me!?"
"Dunno" Nagi deadpanned, cocking his head in bewilderment as to why he was still carrying her.
"This guy..." Minori felt herself getting another headache from this man's denseness.
"Hey, is that anyway to speak to the guy who saved your ass?"
Minori raised her eyebrows in an innocent manner. "Huh?"
"Look over there" Nagi inclined his head in a certain direction that Minori soon followed. She didn't know what he was talking about until her eyes popped wide out of their sockets and she felt her heart skip a beat. The damage caused by Nagi's remarkable technique had cleared everything that was unfortunate to be caught up in the spear's trajectory and a narrow path had been created that stretched all the way to the far away mountains. It couldn't even be compared to the minuscule damage that Minori had produced with one of her strongest attack.
"... Amazing..."
That was all that leaked out of Minori's mouth as she felt genuine admiration towards Nagi's strength for the first time. This was all the proof she needed that Nagi had come from another world as no one on this planet could produce such an attack, not even Haruko's『Murakumo』could do so even after being unlocked.
"I guess I went a little too overboard... good thing I held back on that one hehe..." Nagi explained with an awkward smile.
"What...!? Y-You were still holding back? S-Seriously!?" This couldn't be happening, how could someone do so much damage and still claim to be holding back? How!?
"Hm? Well yea, I'll admit you were alot stronger than the old man but back in my world, the enemies I've fought are capable of this kind of carnage no sweat. Of course, I'm still the strongest of them all" He puffed his chest out in a prideful manner at just admitting to be the strongest of a den of monsters.
"...Just what kind of terrifying monsters exist in the world this man comes from..?" Minori didn't voice her thoughts but came to accept that if this was normal in Nagi's world and he was the strongest, then she truly was out of her league when going up against him. Now, it made sense to her why Nagi was such a cocky and arrogant jerk with power like this, it was mind blowing.
"You're incredible... I've never faced someone who was so much more powerful than me... it's a weird feeling... I guess I know how it feels to be weak for once" Minori's self confidence had definitely taken a blow as her body slumped in Nagi's arms.
"Hmm... yea you're right, it was hopeless to fight against me after all" Nagi admitted bluntly, causing an angry vein to pop into Minori's head. Even if he was right, he still needed to learn some damn tact!
"But you know..." Nagi's voice was noticeably gentler than usual and he turned to the startled Minori, her heartbeat slightly rising when coming in such close proximity with his face; it was so close that she could practically feel his breath on her.
"You impressed me out there, Minori"
A charming smile graced Nagi's lips as the moon perfectly highlighted his features and allowed the radiance of his smile to shine even brighter.
Thump!
"E-Eh?"
Minori felt as if someone had just squeezed her heart with full force as it was now beating faster than ever. Her cheeks felt hot as she could feel that she was blushing madly and her face was becoming flustered as she immediately looked away from Nagi, unable to bear keeping eye contact with him.
"W-W-What's going on!? W-Why is my heart thumping so fast, what kind of magic did he use!? Why can't I even look him in the eye anymore!? Someone explain this to meeeeee!"
While Minori's mind was trying to process the unfamiliar feelings she was beginning to have, it had finally dawned to her that she was still being carried bridal style but for some reason, it was far more embarrassing now than it was before. "H-Hey, do you think you could be down n-now!?" She didn't mean to shout but in her current state, it had just blurted out clumsily. She felt like she wanted to die.
"Ah, sure"
Nagi descended below to where the group had taken cover and admired his handiwork. Though he had no doubt about his victory, he had been quite impressed with Minori's raw show of strength and wondered if there were any others in this universe that were on a similar level.
Well that wasn't his main priority anymore, for now, getting information from Kamigari was his top objective and he would stop at nothing from finding the answer to return home.
Has Nagi gained a potential Harem Candidate?