Chapter 66 – ６６ – Their Respective Debuts: Naru vs. Tomoe – Part ２

Debut Match Arc

Skill: ‘Enchant Flame.’

A type of firepower enhancement skill that allows the user to shroud their weapon in flames that burn only targets other than themselves. This causes the weapon to radiate heat and increases its destructive power through additional magical power loading.

While it maintains a good balance between magical power consumption, duration, and effect, it also possesses drawbacks inherent to magical power that mimics fire, making it a skill that requires careful timing.

Skill: ‘Vertical Down.’

Literally translated: a vertical downward strike.

As the name suggests, it is a skill that simply involves swinging a weapon vertically downward. However, by completely fixing the user’s movements, it ensures that anyone can swing their weapon with proper and maximum power; furthermore, it provides additional magical power enhancement to the user’s entire body, including the weapon, during the action.

As a result, even with the same motion, the attack gains a level of destructive power incomparable to one performed without the skill.

Because the fixation of movement creates a fatal opening, this is also a skill that requires careful timing.

Now, what happens if these two skills are combined?

And what if they are used by a girl who earns an A-Rank Evaluation for her Magic Capacity?

The result is now being laid bare before the eyes of the crowd.

“Seiyaaa!”

Tomoe’s naginata, shrouded in flame and magical power by her skills, is swung down with force, striking Naru’s shield.

Due to the heat of the flames enveloping the naginata, the surface of the shield—which, despite being made of and enhanced by magical power, was modeled after reinforced plastic—deforms and softens.

Unable to resist the hardness and sharpness of the naginata, the softened shield… is sliced through.

“Ugh!?”

The blade of the naginata, having eaten through the shield, continues its downward trajectory, cutting through everything in its path.

Naru’s hand, his clothes, his arm, and his bone are sliced and scorched.

Finally, the blade strikes the stage floor, penetrating several inches into the boards before coming to a halt.

“—————!!”

“…”

The venue erupts in cheers as Naru’s defense, which had seemed absolute, is shattered.

The expressions of Tomoe, who broke the defense, and Naru, whose defense was broken, are starkly contrasting.

However, it was in the opposite direction of what the crowd expected.

“Kuh… I couldn’t finish him…?”

Tomoe lets out a frustrated voice and leaps back from the spot, still holding her flaming naginata.

“That… actually hurt. But it’s within the expected range.”

Immediately after, the edge of the shield slams into the spot where Tomoe had been standing, cracking the stage floor.

The one who attacked was, of course, Naru, but the expression on his face is not one of panic or humiliation at having his defense broken, but a smile.

A beaming smile, no less.

“Now, was it really okay not to follow up? It’s only because you didn’t move that I was able to counterattack.”

“If I had followed up, you would have counterattacked with ‘both hands,’ wouldn’t you?”

“Naturally.”

“—————…!?”

The crowd begins to stir at the conversation and the change in Naru’s body.

Naru’s right hand had undoubtedly been sliced open by Tomoe’s naginata.

Everyone had seen the massive amount of blood.

And yet, Naru’s right hand was already devoid of a single scratch.

Moreover, even his uniform had already been repaired, and the destroyed shield had returned.

As if he had never been attacked in the first place, the wounds Naru sustained had vanished.

“A shield with enough durability to allow you to step back once, even after the enhancement of two skills, the assistance of physical laws, and the luck of me taking the hit head-on… it’s beyond the level of ‘troublesome’ now.”

“Well, this is the only way I can fight. If my opponent is a timid Duelist, it becomes a bit awkward for the audience, but with an excellent Duelist like Tomoe who attacks aggressively, it looks great. So please, have mercy and keep challenging me.”

“Tch…”

Tomoe lunges at Naru with her flaming naginata.

Naru catches the attacks head-on with his shield.

Attacks from a flaming naginata seem to be a weakness for Naru’s shield; the blade sinks deeper than it would in a normal state, and the shield is destroyed.

However, the attacks never reach Naru himself.

Even if she succeeds in destroying the shield through second, third, or fourth consecutive attacks, Naru maintains enough distance that Tomoe’s follow-up cannot reach him in time, and a new shield immediately appears.

“Furthermore, even if I manage to reach your main body, you can nonchalantly reattach an arm. Since you didn’t announce the skill name, is it a Passive Skill?”

“No, I handle the healing myself. I did have something like that among my Passive Skills, but the fuel efficiency was terrible and it was too slow. It’s faster, cheaper, and above all, higher quality if I do it myself. I wish I had a skill for it, but with the combination of me and the academy-designated Device, normal skills just don’t manifest…”

Tomoe attacks, and Naru defends.

At a glance, Naru is the one continuously receiving a one-sided assault, but in reality, the one feeling panic, surprise, and fear is Tomoe.

The reason is simple.

Because it has become clear that, up until this point, Naru hasn’t even used a Passive Skill.

Healing the damage of a Masked Form is not a simple task, nor is it a common necessity.

Partly because if one simply reactivates the Masquerade, a pristine Masked Form reappears, making it unnecessary.

Partly because magical power varies by individual; healing using another person’s magical power requires time and training, which there is no room for during a Duel.

Partly because few people have a precise enough grasp of their own body, including internal structures, to heal wounds without the standardized templates provided by a skill.

And above all, the average Duelist does not have enough of a surplus in their Magic Capacity to allocate it toward healing wounds.

That is why recovery-type skills are precious, and even a Passive Skill limited to oneself is rare.

So, what if someone is doing it entirely by their own power?

“A Unique Skill…!?”

It would be no exaggeration to say that he is manually reproducing a skill, which is by definition a singular method of manifesting magical power.

“If this level of stuff is ‘Unique,’ then I’m a walking mass of Uniques.”

“!?…No, I believe that is actually the case.”

As she thought that, Tomoe realized.

Just as he said, if this level of ability counts as a Unique Skill, then Naru is indeed a mass of Unique Skills.

In fact, he is practically covered in them.

Even now, the shield damaged by Tomoe’s attacks is regenerating, and upon closer inspection, his uniform and hair, which had been singed by sparks from the naginata, are returning to normal.

Or perhaps… a certain kind of “perfection,” a constant realignment to a form he has decided is correct—that might be Naru’s Unique Skill.

Tomoe reached this conclusion, though she kept it to herself.

“Well, the flames have gone out.”

The effect duration of ‘Enchant Flame’ ended, and the fire vanished from Tomoe’s naginata.

Because of this, Tomoe leaped backward to create distance.

“Your skills are ‘Enchant Flame’ and ‘Vertical Down.’ Since you didn’t use them in that moment, your Masked Form likely has no other special functions.”

“…”

Tomoe took a stance.

However, it was not a stance for attacking, but one for interception.

The reason?

“Now, it’s my turn to attack!”

“Then, I shall meet your challenge!”

Now that Tomoe’s hand had been revealed, it was possible for Naru to go on the offensive.

And Naru charged toward Tomoe.