Chapter 38: 16.1

「I knew you had it right」

「Yeah. I'm a man of my word」

「Thank you」

　They face each other head-on, and Chihiro stares into Kamishiro's eyes.

　――Right at the start of the fight, he moves straight ahead and kicks with his right leg.

　He could read him.

　He seems to be a very honest person, though Chihiro never had the chance to read his mind before. Still, Kamishiro is not underestimating his opponent, nor is he burning with enthusiasm for victory, but he has a clear idea of his battle plan.

「Start!」

　As the teacher announced.

　Kamishiro is moving straight towards Chihiro, just as his mind reading tells him. But he's fast. As expected, his basic physical ability is different from Chihiro's.

　He seems to be competing without using his abilities as a [Lost Item].

　Chihiro stood there and waited for Kamishiro to come to him. He opened his legs a little wider, so that he could stand on his feet. Then, he stepped back with his right leg.

　But Kamishiro does not change his plan. He maintains the information from the mind reading.

　Kamishiro smiles and approaches Chihiro.

　Then.

　Kamishiro steps forward with his right foot and throws a counter right fist.

　The impact is almost simultaneous. A moment earlier, Chihiro's fist also dug into Kamishiro's chest, sending a solid shock through him.

　However, Kamishiro's body did not even wobble a little.

　Shortly after, a kick from Kamishiro struck him in the left side. And in spite of his preparations, Chihiro is blown away and scrapes the floor for almost a meter.

「...I give up」

　Chihiro half-raised himself and told Kamishiro.

　He had been beaten completely head-on. It's an indisputable defeat.

　Exhaling softly, Kamishiro walked over and held out his hand. He grabbed Chihiro's hand, causing him to shake it.

「Really, feinting and stuff, it didn't affect you at all. Kamishiro-kun might be able to beat Fukami-san」

「No, it was a good match. If your fist had been more powerful, the result would have been different」

　After helping Chihiro up, Kamishiro turned his gaze to the distance. There, he saw Maria, almost completely subduing her opponent with a self-destructive strategy.

　Can he win? Can he beat that girl?

　Chihiro waited for the battle to begin, unsure of who he should be rooting for.

　The match between Kamishiro and Maria is the final match of the day.

　After greeting his classmates, Chihiro went to watch Maria's fight.

　But what he found there was an unexpected sight.

　Maria is pinned down on the floor.

　Kamishiro had taken her arm and was performing a joint move.

　Chihiro understands.

　Maria has the ability to return damage to her opponent and heal her own damage with her healing ability. Therefore, while she can put her opponent at a one-sided disadvantage in a normal melee, restraining attacks are her weakness.

　She cannot attack if her movements are blocked, and she cannot return damage if her opponent does not attack her. In that case, she has no choice but to give up.

　It seems that Kamishiro is getting a small amount of damage back because of his excellent joints, but he is not shaken by that.

　Could she have been so easily defeated?

　Chihiro thought so, but Maria took an unexpected action.

　She moved her right arm to make the joint tighter. She did so with such force that her arm dislocated with a sound that echoed around the room. And because of that, the startled Kamishiro let go of his hand, and Maria stood up, distancing herself from Kamishiro.

「...I can't believe you did that」

　Kamishiro muttered, unable to hide his surprise.

　Maria, on the other hand, replies with a smile and a bead of sweat on her forehead.

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「Unfortunately, I'm confident in my patience」

　In fact, that's not a trick that anyone but her can easily imitate. Maria would not have done it so lightly without a guarantee that she could fix it.

　And then, using her left hand, Maria forcibly fitted the right joint, and took a stance.

「I don't want to eat the same move twice, but what are you going to do?」

「...Oh. I don't have a choice. Then I'll go with a frontal assault」

　It's a battle of attrition from there.

　Both sides came at each other in close combat. Kamishiro seemed to be careful not to hit Maria in the face or stomach, but he is mercilessly hitting her everywhere else.

　*ka-pow*

　Every time Kamishiro's kick or fist hit Maria, her body emitted a terrible sound. Just by listening to it, someone could tell that the power of the attack is tremendous.

　...It's completely different from when he fought Chihiro.

　That's because he's now using his abilities as a [Lost Item]. Kamishiro Yuuki's ability is physical enhancement. It's a simple and supreme ability that "only" strengthens muscle power, athletic ability, and physical sturdiness.

　Despite the fact that Maria's bones are creaking from the damage she is receiving, Kamishiro's movements do not slow down. This is proof that the body's level of defense and durability is completely different from Maria's.

　The girl is able to heal even after taking damage.

　The boy who could take damage and not be harmed.

　And before he knew it, most of the students who had finished the game are watching the battle, which could be called the top battle of the class.

　Even the teacher didn't stop the fight even though five minutes had passed by default.

　But Maria is losing the fight.

　Because the fight is going too fast for the healing to catch up. The damage is coming in so fast that she's already in a state of wounds.

　Any sane person would have given up long ago.

　But she keeps moving. She continues to attack Kamishiro's body, despite the pain in her body. She knows she's not doing much.

　And then...

　The girl's resistance begins to bear fruit.

　Kamishiro's body jolts. He quickly holds his ground, but his movements show that he's not at ease.

「You can give up if you want」

「I hope you're not joking」

　Kamishiro laughs and answers Maria's call. He is sweating all over, and his face is a little tight, but he still looks straightforward.

　Kamishiro begins to move again. He rushes with a mixture of fists and kicks.

　Maria defends with her arms, or dares to take a hit and counterattack.

　Slowly, but steadily, both fighters began to slow down.

　The damage is reaching its peak. And if the pace slows down and they spend more time at a standstill, the battle situation will turn the other way.

　If it's an endurance battle, Maria would have the advantage.

「Then, I'll decide at once」

　Kamishiro took a deep breath and sank deeply into the ground.

　His arms and legs, his whole body, building up strength.

「...」

　Maria kept her distance from Kamishiro and just stared at him. She didn't brace herself, didn't try to block the killing blow, but simply stared at him.

　Instead of holding back, she is trying to pass it off.

「...Hey. Don't you think they're going to die?」

　Someone muttered.

　In fact, it's almost impossible to die during this training. As long as there is no organ damage or excessive bleeding, the teacher or the school doctor will take appropriate measures, and Aika who is here can also provide first aid.

　Therefore, neither Kamishiro nor Maria is in a critical condition.

　...although their conditions are probably similar to that.

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