Chapter 12: Heaven’s Ability
I was at Chester’s house, and the place that Cheryl had told me to wait at was the courtyard of Chester’s residence.
Courtyard, when you hear that word, you would think of flowers inside──it seems to be to the tastes of the master of the mansion──but it was empty, designed for flashy movements. Compared to the gorgeous landscape of Chester’s mansion, this one area was terribly bland.
However, the ground was leveled well, with enough space to exercise if one wanted to, and was the most suitable place for a fight.
Under the blue sky, it could be said to be drab.
Without hiding her bloodthirst, the white girl stood in the center of the yard.
「….Slow.」(TLN: Can mean late too)
What happened to the innocence from a while ago? The bloodthirst being emitted would have made someone else submit if they didn’t have a certain degree of strength.
….Fumu, maybe I should give a longer sermon to Chester.
Chester and this girl were really similar; they get easily agitated when someone is slow. It seems like it runs in the blood.
「Sorry to make you wait. However, you didn’t tell me about the destination?」
But, after all, she was only 15. Even though I was like this right now, I still had strength comparable to her grandfather.
It was like the duel between Chester and I. You couldn’t be daunted by the degree of difficulty.
While I was contemplating without minding her state, Cheryl’s eyes flared up in anger.
….This child really has intense mood swings.
「That is….I mean, uh.
….I’m sorry?」
I, who was instantly looked at with bloodthirst, was a little startled.
They say that a woman’s heart changes very easily, but this is just overkill.
Really, Chester didn’t teach her anything. The future seems worrying.
「….Ne.」(TL: Hey)
「Mu? What?」
Yareyare, after I dispelled a cold breath, I noticed that Cheryl’s red eyes met with mine.
She tilted her head, her face showing an inquiring expression.
「Slava-kun is strong….?」
Well then, how to answer.
Although I had enough confidence that my strength was strong to a certain extent, this strength wasn’t enough, if I were asked.
….Above all else, I had just suffered a defeat from Chester.
Strong, I couldn’t be called that.
While I was searching for an answer to give to her curiosity, Chester walked up to me.
What do you intend to do. While looking at Chester with suspicious eyes and this thought, he put his hand on my shoulder.
「Strong. Therefore, put all your energy into this, Cheryl.」
To this unexpected action, my eyes unintentionally opened wide.
That’s too much of a stretch, isn’t it?
Though, I knew I had troubles with my unyielding spirit.
As far as I knew, I had just gotten the official guarantee of the strongest man in history. Even so, I didn’t grow timid.
「Aa, I’m strong. Therefore, don’t hesitate.」(TL: Hold back)
Making this compromise, I walked a bit, leaving some distance between us, and took up a stance.
Cheryl, who looked at both Chester and my face, smiled a bitter smile.
「….Is that so, I’ll be looking forward to it.」(TL: “Sokka”, the first part of this, is said in a rhetorical way, as if mocking herself.)
Cheryl’s cheeks then split open, just like a crescent moon.
As expected from a Majin. Their radar for the smell of blood is something they excel in.
Murderous intent──the same type a child would release when killing an insect. Such a pure and evil intent and aggressive smile were given out by Cheryl that you wouldn’t have believed that this was the same girl from a while ago who looked innocent.
──Weakness of the whole body. To change the body into a whip, while punching with the left fist, as if it weren’t enough, this was Chester’s handed-down version of the「Primo Style」.
This was the first person to take up this stance that wasn’t Chester, in my lifetime. No, my second lifetime.
However──this posture was more than what I had expected from a 15 year old.
There was a dark aura, magical power surrounding her like a muddy stream and a stance──surpassing perfection──but still not even half-way from Chester’s perfect posture.
Of course, it was because I had fought Chester for such a long time, so I could see that there was some roughness in the stance.
But──
「（Still, that’s some terrifying talent.）」
If the person were a normal Martial Art expert, then he or she may not have been able to overcome this girl.
Innate talent.
「Come at me.」
Seriously, I found something really interesting.
If this was my grandchild, I might not stop laughing.
Speaking of 15 years old, I had yet to encounter the arts of the 「Shijima Style」. Having a mentor to study under really made me a bit envious.
「──Go.」
But, still.
If this was the me of my previous existence, I would have been jealous of the ability of this ‘next generation’.
But now, I’m also one of the Martial Artists of the ‘next generation’ now.
The goal of reaching the realm of the strongest──mine.
Chesters’ inherited skill came at me, only to accurately graze my cheek.
I probably wouldn’t have received damage, had I used all my magical power. However, there wouldn’t be anything in it for me, had I won due to difference in magical power.
I must win in terms of ability(skill) when fighting someone with 「Martial Art」capcity. This was what my mentor always used to say.
That’s why, I want this to become a match which only tested our ability(skill).
Putting out my fist, I took up a posture as if I were creeping. (TL: Like a tiger when hunting prey)
Sky-Cutting Fist. The move that the 「Primo Style」had used to finish off many opponents in one round. Because the fist that usually brought sure victory was dodged, Cheryl’s countenance was stained with slight surprise. (TLN: ‘Sky-Cutting Fist’, sorry for the chuuni-like name. This was probably the only way to make it sound ‘cool’ and shorten it.)
But, it was only for an instant. Certainly, it was one of the 「Primo Style」’s strong fist attacks, but it wasn’t the only one. (TLN: Here’s the Google Translate for the second sentence…“It is in the certainly prime flow duel surgery with a strong first attacks, but Thus it is not a martial art only Hatsu撃 excellent.”)
That single strong blow retracted, as if it were never used, and the strange illusion of two, three fists came at me; this was the true essence of the 「Primo Style」.
The girls’ fist looked delicate, her fair-skinned slender body bending, as if it were a whip・・・.
The blow had been retracted returned at a tap of a heel, as if it were a dream, a trick──nonchalance and laughter, both feelings that could be felt from the girl’s fist. (TL: I need help with this line…)
It isn’t used to me.
It certainly was fast. As a person who pursued 「Martial Arts」, the speed, as well as mind-game were all evidently there.
However, I have already seen where it’s going. It was nothing more than elaborate trickery…to me.
「──Eh?」
Bending even further from my bent posture, I brought my right elbow low, low enough to touch the ground, and took a low posture.
When a punch is thrown, there’s no way to stop the body from continuing forward following the fist’s inertia.
So, if that’s the case.
In case an obstacle is interposed before the feet, it’s inevitable to trip.
Due to her own inertia, Cheryl’s posture collapsed forwards.
Bound by her body that had lost its freedom, her chalk-white hair swayed.
However, she’s Chester’s pupil. Promptly rearranging her stance with her astounding sense of balance, she threw a punch with her left.
「──Ha, nice.」
To regain awareness when her field of view swayed at high speed, while totally unprepared, and even turn into counterattack deserves praise.
However, her body was still in the process of regaining its balance.
A punch forcibly thrown from a broken stance can be regarded as easy as stealing candy fro a baby for someone from Shijima [Style].(jogelotr: That last one is a pun. To receive an attack can be said in Japanese “to eat” an attack, so by using “gochisou” from “gochisousama deshita” he’s saying that it does no harm and is even welcomed, something easy to avoid, deflect or counter)
I, instead of using my right hand to balance myself, used it to stop the left fist coming at me.
This was because if I did this, I wouldn’t be able to stop the bold move fully, but I would be able to change the direction of the power coming at me.
The fist of the girl, no matter what kind of magical power or weight was behind it, it would be something. However, now that it’s been shot off in a collapsing state, the fist doesn’t amount to much.
Without any trickery, it was just a simple fist. Gradually, weight was building, but it was still incomplete, then I pulled the fist lightly.
If this was the fist of Chester, the fist would have definitely have had weight when it was exposed, but it seems that the inexperienced Cheryl couldn’t pull it off.
As a result, the sudden pulling of mine was unexpected and the expected payout of hers turned out to be herself on the floor at my feet.
No matter what kind of altitude control she had, the posture had originally been broken, and as a result, Cheryl went face-first into the lawn.
「──Tsu!?」
Of course, Cheryl was surprised.
Not to mention me, who returned the skill, even Chester was able to predict what the result was going to be halfway in without missing the flow of the match.
Therefore, the only one who didn’t understand what happened was Cheryl.
If this was a duel, then I would have crushed the head and it would have been over, but this was a match after all, so I didn’t.
Without counterattacking, Cheryl got up holding her nose.
From the porcelain skin, something drips from the nose.
While trying to subdue the blood coming from her nose with her fingers, blood droplets stained the ground red.
「Aah, Cheryl, right now… Haven’t you lost?」
Somehow or other, it doesn’t look like his usual pampering.
Cheryl wiped her nose in a manner that showed that she didn’t know what had just happened, and turned around towards Chester.
….After all, a Martial Artist is a sadist through and through. It would do no good if one wasn’t harsh, even if it was towards ones’ grandchild.
Oh, I intentionally didn’t stop as well. ──At any rate, Chester said not to stop.
「Lie, I didn’t lose. ….I’m still standing.」
「He has allowed you to stand up, pathetic. This guy, if he felt like it, could have smashed your head with a stomp, you know?
How shameful, how shameful, don’t you understand that?」
Plain anger surfaced in Cheryl’s emotionless face.
… From that smile, some childishness could also be felt.
What surfaced from her, who was somewhat detached from the world, was a very real anger.
──A gust of wind blows.
An unpleasant wind, both warm and full of moisture.
A wind that was too strong, that although it was outdoors, it still hit the tall walls of the courtyard and run up them.
From the body of Cheryl, massive amounts of magical power(energy) raged on. (TLN: Will be interchanging them.)
I see. So this was the reason I was given permission to offend.
「You have a bad hobby, old man.」
「Hahahakakakka! Bu~t, isn’t this great? Really super great?」
Be silent, old man. Even while complaining, I didn’t take my eyes off Cheryl.
….It couldn’t be compared to a while ago, this storm of magical energy.
Strangely, the magical power was now furiously raging.
If one were to say that the magical power emitted earlier was a muddy stream, then it was now a waterfall.
In complete disarray from genuine anger──they said that Majin raise their magical power by arousing their spirits, but to such an extent?
「──Do it slowly and gently so that it won’t snap. It’s okay, it’s okay.」
Laughing while angry, it seems like she’s snapped.
Giving out my impression on her state, I was in an innocent state of high spirits, as if I forgotten.
This was the reason why Majins were all hated.
When directed with such pure murderous intent, one would shrink in fear.
That is, if one were a normal person.
Being that I was a Martial Artist, I was fairly happy about it.
Unlike the single blow from before, which was like a taste-test, there was a clear urge to kill and enormous magical power running amok behind the fist.
Speaking of the quantity magical power, it should be comparable to Almas’. An amount of magical power that was second to none.
It was nothing in comparison to Chester, but I would be foolish if I underestimated the power of the blow.
If that power was to used on the jaws, it could knock out the opponent.
Well, this was all hypothetical.
The fists’ power undulated with the power of anger.
The speed and power of it was way faster than a while ago. Power aside, if it was in terms of speed, it ranked somewhere around Chesters’.
But, it was quite obvious where the fist was going.
The 「Primo Style」 that possesses the complexity of a snake.
With this she becomes a machine that will just deliver the best punch.
I dealt with, parried or outright nullified each an every one of the punches of her barrage.
To the me who was neutralizing all Cheryl’s’ blows, not allowing her a single decisive strike, she started to gradually smile.
「Ahahahaha! Great, why haven’t you broken yet? Hey, why!?」
It seems like her heart has pleasant feelings, but there’s that unmistakable underlying murderous intent behind every single blow.
….Fumu. Although there weren’t going to be any outside interventions, isn’t this too much.
This isn’t the type of insanity that a girl in her tender years should be able to emit.
Once this is over, I’m going to have to complain to Chester.
Now then, let’s end this as gently as possible.
Tired, I launched a zero-to-maximum velocity punch with held-back 「Strength(勁)」.
The explosion of magical power hit Cheryl’s’ stomach, blowing her body away.
It’s a punch that squashes the internal organs, though not to the extent of leaving injury.
I should make one feel such an agony so as to make them want to writhe about on the floor, but──even so, Cheryl kicked herself up from the ground without showing any concern.
The distance that was created by my blow shrinked in a moment, and Cheryl’s fist finally moved.
──Just right. Show me what you’ve got.
I pulled out all the power from my right arm, from the shoulders to the fingertips.
As if a thread was cut, the fist fell out of posture.
Due to our childish bodies, our ranges overlapped.
Just when I put myself into range, Cheryl’s left arm melted into thin air.
I have good eyes. Seeing everything inside my range in this situation, that’s 「Vision」.
However, I couldn’t perceive Cheryl’s fist that melt into thin air.
But, the fist of Cheryl’s that melted in the sky, hit empty air.
Echoing──dry sound, as if a balloon popped.
When Cheryl’s fist came down, simultaneously──Cheryl, fell slowly towards the lawn.
I, swinging my fist, came up as the victor.
Why didn’t Cheryl’s fist hit me?
──It’s a simple story.
「Slava, you bastard… That punch right now…!」
My fist hit, with it’s target as Cheryl’s chin, of all things.
Acceleration from nothing to the highest speed. Original instantaneous countering, with a shining fist, I countered it.
So──
「Wasn’t that my 「Vanishing Transparent Fist」…?」
「Primo Style」’s secret art.
The extreme of nothing produced from weakness.
Originally, the 「Vanishing Transparent Fist」was supposed to be used by the whole body, but under my tutelage, I changed it into what could be called the「Slava Style」.
「Since I was only using it on my arm, the power and speed would be inferior to yours.
Also, I can release it with both hands.
──With this difference, should I name it 「Evening Snake」?」
The single blow, like a snake dissolving its body in the darkness of the night.
I imitated it, from 「Shijima Style」’s one step 「Rigid(剛)」fist.
Showing off such a bad imitation, it agonized me.
Once I knew the theory behind it, I could imitate it.
As expected, it was inferior in terms of speed when compared to Chester, but it was enough to take care of a young girl if I imitated it and used it effectively.
Fumu, to give myself a good reputation and scare the old fool who had a score with my 「Shijima Style」, it only took 10 minutes.
I carried Cheryl, who had fallen on my stomach, using both hands.
Although the power when using only the arm fell short of the [State of Passing Through], it was still able to kill if it landed on the head.
「To be able to receive my fist, be unhurt, and automatically counter it…」
I approached Chester with Cheryl, who was unconscious and looked like a girl her age, in my embrace.
Carrying her in the so-called ‘Princess-style hug’, Chester began to tremble all over.
….As expected, did I go too far? But if I hadn’t knocked her out, it would’ve gone on forever.
Now then, how will I excuse myself out of this situation?
I was thinking, while gently embracing Cheryl, when Chester suddenly erupted.
「Baaaaastard! This was a trick I painstakingly made in order to deal with you! Idiot!」
….What?
What did this guy just say right now?
Maa, whatever. I wonder if the matter with his granddaughter is okay.
It was surely a situation that wouldn’t have stopped if I hadn’t stopped it. I wonder if there was an understanding in this area.
….But, this should be overlooked.
「Ha! If I see it and experience it, I can learn it, to this extent!
If it was so important, then you should’ve kept it under lock and key!」
「Aaaa!? You incompletely imitated it and knocked her out, you little shit!
It shouldn’t have been used on Cheryl, how about we settle this !?」
An adult who was old enough to know better, raised a huge clamor.
There are no exclusive rights to tricks, so what are you grumbling about, old man.
A situation where we stepped closer and closer to each other.
This decades-old quarrel lead to waking up Cheryl and making Chester to turn back to a senile old man. (jorgelotr: Meaning is that he went back into that doting old man)
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