Chapter 67 – ６７ – Their Respective Debuts: Naru vs. Tomoe – Part ２

Debut Match Arc

“Here I come!”

Naru charged forward at nearly full speed, closing the distance between them in an instant.

“‘Enchant Flame’, ‘Vertical…!?'”

In response, Tomoe entered the stance to unleash ‘Vertical Down’, enveloping her naginata in flames via ‘Enchant Flame’, just as she had when she broke Naru’s shield earlier.

“I heard about this from Suzu. There’s a skill with extremely high power, but in exchange, the movement is completely fixed. That’s the one, right? Then it’s simple. I just need to move to a position where that fixed movement can’t reach.”

She realized it.

If she tried to correct her trajectory now, Naru was already in a position where ‘Vertical Down’ could not hit him.

The only thing Tomoe could do was cancel the activation of the skill itself and counterattack using another means.

“You…!”

“And the only thing I’m afraid of is that naginata.”

However, that alternative attack—a backhand strike—hit Naru’s shoulder, but he didn’t budge an inch. On the contrary, the sensation Tomoe felt upon impact was as if she had struck a giant tree.

In the next instant, as if returning the favor, Naru’s left hand caught Tomoe in the ribs. With a clever trick, he manifested his shield at the moment of impact, slamming the hard edge into her and sending her flying.

“I’m coming at you full throttle!!”

“Guh!?”

Naru chased after the airborne Tomoe, launching a follow-up attack.

His method of attack was bare-fisted strikes.

If he had the luxury, he might attack with his shield, but he generally just punched her as he was.

Since Naru was unarmed and Tomoe was wearing traditional armor, the power of the blows wasn’t immense, but even if each hit was weak, the damage was steadily accumulating in Tomoe’s body.

Tomoe attempted to counterattack in return.

Her methods were varied, primarily using the flame-shrouded naginata, but also incorporating punches, kicks, and tackles.

But nothing worked.

The naginata, merely shrouded in flames, was blocked by Naru’s shield.

Simple martial arts didn’t even phase Naru; they failed to serve as even a distraction.

And whenever she tried to launch ‘Vertical Down’… the moment she attempted to activate the skill, he was already out of range.

“My attacks… aren’t working!”

“It’s not that they aren’t working. I’m just healing!”

A strange situation had developed: they were trading blows and cuts at point-blank range, yet only one side was accumulating injuries.

Tomoe’s armor was gradually becoming dented and soiled, and her movements were growing slightly sluggish.

Naru’s shield was scarred, and his skin and uniform were occasionally sliced, but within seconds, they returned to their original state.

Of course, this was only on the surface. Since maintaining a Masquerade requires the consumption of magical power, the actual advantage or disadvantage should be judged by the amount of remaining magic.

But if one judged by that, the result was even more despairing.

Several minutes had passed since the duel between Naru and Tomoe began—enough time that a person with B-Rank Magic Capacity would have run out of magic even if they had just stood still.

During that time, Tomoe had been moving violently and using skills; her Magic Capacity was already less than half of what it was at full strength.

Naru, however… he still had over seventy percent of his full capacity remaining. Moreover, whenever Tomoe faltered in her offense, he would recover.

Tomoe didn’t understand this with precision.

However, she realized that unless she could land a massive blow—ideally one that could defeat him in a single strike—she had no chance of winning.

That was why she decided to gamble.

“Narcissus!”

As the flames on the naginata vanished once more, Tomoe created distance and called out the name of Naru’s Masked Form.

“If you truly intend to become my husband… then try to take this head-on! ‘Enchant Flame’!”

The thought of being called cowardly did not enter Tomoe’s mind.

She simply felt that there was no other possibility of victory.

It was a decision made to steel her resolve, knowing there was no turning back.

And… somewhere in her heart, there was an expectation that if it were Naru, he might actually be able to take this head-on.

“Since you went that far, I can’t exactly back down. Come at me; I’ll take it.”

There are various psychological approaches to the Masquerade.

One theory suggests that while a Masquerade is active, the Ego takes precedence over the Super-Ego.

Because of this, it is said that during Masquerade Activation, a user might sometimes prioritize something else over victory.

Whether that is true or not is unknown, but the current situation between Naru and Tomoe was exactly that.

If the fight continued as it was, Naru’s victory was inevitable.

However, Tomoe demanded that Naru take her attack head-on, and Naru decided to comply.

Irrational as it was, there was something he wouldn’t compromise on—something more important than the outcome of the duel, influenced by the interactions they had shared before the fight.

“Come whenever you’re ready, Tomoe.”

A visible amount of magical power poured into Naru’s shield, increasing its density.

“Then, I shall hold nothing back.”

Most Tomoe’s remaining magic poured into her naginata, and the intensity of the enveloping flames surged.

“…”

The spectators, caught in an unexpected turn of events, held their breath without making a single sound.

“‘Vertical Down’!”

Tomoe sprinted across the stage and swung her naginata down at Naru with all her might.

It was a strike that contained not only the movement fixation of ‘Vertical Down’ but also Tomoe’s own fierce determination.

If it landed directly, it was a full-power blow that most active professional Duelists would be unable to withstand.

“!”

“!?”

But Naru’s shield stopped it—stopped such a blow.

Though the blade had cut halfway through, it did not reach Naru’s body.

The magical power of the shield, melted by the heat, wrapped around the blade of Tomoe’s naginata like mucus, slowing its movement and eventually bringing it to a complete halt.

“Hmph!”

“!? “

Then, with a motion as if throwing the shield, Naru shifted it to wrench the naginata from Tomoe’s grip, sending it flying far away.

Naru’s shield vanished immediately after the throw, so Tomoe could still potentially retrieve the naginata and fight.

However, having her full-power strike stopped had already left Tomoe in a state of semi-broken morale; she couldn’t move immediately.

✧

If Tomoe had surrendered right then, the tragedy that followed would not have occurred.

✧

But that was only an “if.”

✧

The duel continued.

Naru understood this, and he thought about how to definitely defeat Tomoe—without letting her retrieve the naginata, without letting her use skills, and while taking as few counterattacks as possible. He came up with a plan.

And then, he executed it…

“Wha—”

“Yeah, this should do it.”

“Mmph!?”

He grabbed Tomoe’s head and pressed her mouth and nose into the voluptuous, soft breasts of his Masked Form, implementing a method of suffocation.

“Mmph! Gwah! Sdfghjkl!?”

“Thrash all you want. I’m not letting go.”

Naru was 185cm tall, and Tomoe was 160cm.

Since both were humanoid, the difference in muscular strength was largely determined by physique and remaining Magic Capacity—and Naru was superior in both.

Furthermore, fearing that Tomoe’s body touching the stage floor would provide a starting point for a counterattack, Naru stood up and grabbed her legs with his other hand, leaving her with nothing to hold onto except Naru’s body.

“These clothes are in the way. Cast Off!”

“—————#$ %& +* }{ <> =!?”

To reduce any possible gap where she could breathe, Naru’s clothes burst away by his own will, with the areas that should not be seen hidden by the light generated by ‘P-Un White Light’.

Tomoe struggled desperately.

The sentimentality she had felt moments ago vanished completely; she fought back with everything she had.

Part of it was simply the agony of not being able to breathe, but more than that, she intuitively understood that she was being subjected to an incomprehensible humiliation.

“…”

“Oh, almost there.”

But alas.

If she had been in peak condition, it might have been different, but Tomoe was already exhausted. Naru, on the other hand, was still vibrant—no, perhaps he was even more energetic than when the duel began, now that he had stripped. The gap between them was insurmountable.

“…”

“Alright, I win.”

The result:

In an attempt to compensate for the suffocation, Tomoe’s remaining magic was sucked out in an instant. Unable to maintain her Masquerade, her Masked Form was deactivated, and she was teleported from the stage to a safe location.

Narcissus was the victor.

Obviously, the spectators could not utter a single word, stunned by the sheer catastrophe of someone being suffocated by “breast-locking.”

Just like the plot, check!