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Feeling the accident boiling over, Shia managed to extricate herself from her body, which had unceremoniously crashed into a tree ten meters away, letting out a hollow laugh.

“Seriously… that’s just too much…”

In front of her eyes, two monsters clashed in battle.

She couldn’t interfere; the speed of their movements made it seem impossible to help, just like during the last entrance exam.

Yet, it was unmistakably clear—Anubis was being pushed back.

“Is it acceptable for a mage of the hero party to smash the empire’s seedlings like this?”

Shia silently analyzed the fight, keeping her eyes locked on the two.

At first glance, they seemed evenly matched, but…

In terms of strength, speed, the finesse of techniques, and the number of attacks, Stella was absolutely overwhelming.

Thanks to that monster-like resilience and stamina, the fight continued, but how long could it last?

“To break this situation…”

Just then, a man popped into Shia’s mind.

The one who boldly stepped forward and cleared the way in an overwhelmingly difficult situation.

The one whose face beamed with excitement rather than fear in front of an unbeatable opponent.

“Even though the situation is worse than back then, if it’s Nova…”

—Bang, bang!!

“Gah!”

While she was still lost in thought, a blinding spinning kick came crashing through Anubis’s defenses, slamming straight into his abdomen.

Anubis flew off for dozens of meters, colliding with a gigantic tree near Shia.

The massive tree shook violently, spewing down leaves like rain as Stella slowly walked in through the shower of foliage.

“Ugh… ha…”

Anubis, trying to rise unsteadily, did not look well.

“The spot I got hit in isn’t good… Or was it intentional?”

He felt the parts of his muscles that hadn’t been hardened taking a beating.

Anubis suppressed a surge of something rising inside him and took a deep breath again.

For now, he could still manage. The attacks through the pressure were being read, and his usual attacks weren’t working.

“If that’s the case…”

With his deep breath completed, Anubis took his stance.

Then with a thud, he stepped firmly.

For an ordinary person, this kind of weight shift would certainly be enough to crush the knee cartilage.

The distributed center of gravity downwards was more than enough to cause the earth to tremble.

“Finally using the technique you taught me…”

In terms of physics, a strike is about delivering mass energy to the opponent by shifting one’s weight.

Take boxing footwork as a prime example. In footwork, the straight punch…

Similarly, by dropping the body’s center during a strike, energy generated from weight movement is transferred to the striking area through joint rotation.

This also explains why seemingly frail fighters can send large opponents flying, amidst the knowledge and techniques acquired from her experiences in various worlds.

This was the moment that technique was about to be unleashed by another.

“Alright… I won’t let this one go.”

Her actions facing a blow that seemed to bend the air were not evasive.

In the basic stance of Taekwondo and karate, the ‘parallel stance’…

“Are you really planning to take that hit?”

Shia gasped in disbelief.

“No! That’s too dangerous! Stella!”

No matter how strong she was, it looked like a death wish to take a direct hit at that weight class.

“Seriously… you always manage to surprise me, Stella.”

“Scared? Enough with the idle chat, just try to hit me.”

“Well then, here I go.”

“No way!”

Kyokushin Karate – Straight Punch!

Shia screamed and extended her hand, but his fist had already left his waist, driving straight into Stella’s abdomen.

With a bang, that straight punch launched forward as if it would pierce through the small girl.

Unable to bear to see that scene, Shia squeezed her eyes shut.

“…Stella?”

Peeking through her tightly closed eyelids, Shia couldn’t help but be shocked once more at the sight before her.

“Phew… that stung, I’ll admit it.”

Despite taking that hit squarely, Stella’s expression remained completely unchanged.

Seeing this, Anubis let out a resigned sigh and smiled.

“I did everything I could…”

“That’s more than enough. Good job.”

With those words, Stella pressed her fist against her side.

“Well then… I guess it’s my turn to show you?”

Stella assumed the exact same stance as Anubis, but the energy radiating from her felt entirely different.

Perfect movements, breathing, and mental focus unified in her technique.

– Stella’s Style, Kyokushin Karate, Collapse Fist!

– Boom!

Anubis’s body trembled as Stella’s fist struck.

With a satisfied grin, Anubis fell forward.

“Seems like one is decided.”

Stella turned her head and smiled at Shia.

“Take the kid somewhere to rest, she’ll feel better in no time…?”

In that moment, Stella caught a slight tremor in Shia’s gaze.

It wasn’t because of her; those eyes were targeting something else.

Just as Stella had made up her mind to aim her staff at Shia—

“Like this?”

“Hyah…!”

– Stella’s Style, Kyokushin Karate, Collapse Fist!

The straight punch shot in a perfect line, piercing into Stella’s side.

Caught off guard by the sudden strike from an unexpected angle, Stella’s body was sent flying.

“Seriously, what a joke… you slipped your hand in during that split second?”

Even though he had successfully landed a hit, Nova couldn’t help but chuckle.

It had been a critical attack, aimed at her moment of relaxation, yet Stella had blocked it by slipping her hand between the fist and the point of impact.

Moreover, whether it was instinct or foresight, her movement to slightly lift her body to absorb the shock was astonishingly impressive, almost infuriatingly so.

Somewhat surprised, Stella’s eyes widened.

“Wow… Nova, I didn’t expect this from you…”

“Time out, I’ll be back.”

*

‘Where the heck did he come from?’

She hadn’t noticed his arrival at all until just now.

Was Nova really that skilled at hiding his presence?

Not a single sound of footsteps…

Like a ghost… no, it was impossible to believe that.

Still, she was genuinely startled by the sudden voice from behind her.

She had trained her perception abilities to avoid things like this. He couldn’t be a ghost, right…?

In any case! An ambush right after knocking someone down? How rude!

“Nova… you’re going to pay for startling me, right?”

“Ha… this is really a mess.”

Sighing, Nova drew his sword, and his eyes turned a deep crimson.

‘Is he trying to use his abilities right away?’

The energy emanating from Nova rapidly intensified.

At this level of energy, copying Anubis’s would be just one tier below him.

Copying my (ability) should be impossible; it’s likely he just copied Anubis’s strongest move.

“Come to think of it, this is our first time fighting each other like this, huh?”

“Well… it seems that way.”

“Just so you know, there’s no mercy just because we’re childhood friends.”

“My wish is for a fair duel.”

“What? You sly little Demon King!”

In an instant, I plunged into Nova’s embrace.

He was undeniably different from the others; his eyes were locked precisely onto me.

The Insight Eye is certainly a ridiculously powerful ability.

It allows one to track the opponent’s movements and predicts their next attack.

Those crimson pupils felt as if they peered deep into my soul.

“But it’s slow.”

I reversed my grip on the knife and launched an upward strike.

If it were someone else, they would be too busy defending, but Nova was different.

He positioned the blade at an angle, effortlessly deflecting my attack like flowing water.

Not bad; after all, he’d been a wandering adventurer for seven years, so this was a clean counter.

“Did you predict this too?”

“What?”

I swiftly switched the knife in mid-air.

Barely a breath after launching the upward strike, I aimed down at Nova’s collarbone with my knife.

“Gah!”

The knife, being dull, wouldn’t cut; however, it was enough to bring him to his knees.

I hesitated as I saw the pain on Nova’s face, but I steeled myself.

‘This is all for your sake.’

Just as I pressed down hard, Nova seized my wrist.

“I’m borrowing your technique.”

With those words, my vision flipped 180 degrees.

Now he’s using Aikido too? He had only shown it to me once, and now he’s pulling it out in battle.

I had to admit, he certainly had talent, but this was still my technique, wasn’t it?

“…? Gah!”

As the rotation took place, I landed a back kick squarely into Nova’s abdomen.

The counter-attack method using rotation was something I had devised long ago.

With a groan, Nova crashed against the tree behind him.

“Not a bad attempt. But experience makes the difference.”

As Nova slowly walked toward me, he spoke up.

“Ugh… you’re really painfully strong! But you know…”

“Huh?”

I caught sight of the bell Nova was shaking and instinctively checked my waist.

As expected, the string the bell was hanging from was cut.

‘When did that happen?’

“This test isn’t about determining who’s stronger, is it?”

I didn’t give him an opening. I had taken enough precautions to ensure he wouldn’t touch the bell!

Looking closely, there was something strange about the bell’s color.

“That’s… blood?”

Nova had a grin on his face as he pointed upwards.

Above us, a ring of blood encircled around us.

“…Seriously, your tricks are endless…”

Kaboom!

 

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