Tactician's Battle

Yuki took flight away from the battlefield that the old Demon Lord looked to be drawing in their battle with Yumi. He looked back at the woman following him, a demon like the rest, but with the same perfect human appearance as the others. ‘I don’t really have much of a choice in this.’

Selecting a spot by the wall of the Capital, Yuki landed dismissing his mist with his Field. The demon woman seemed to be taking it easy on him, not putting much effort into her speed. Reality of the world that they currently lived in, he understood what he was up against. ‘I’m far outside of my range here. There’s nothing I’m going to be able to do to compete on her level…’ Yuki didn’t like the situation, but he knew there was no escaping it. ‘Had Yori stuck around, he probably could have fought in my place.’

The same issue that he had before didn’t change. He continued to be reluctant about using his powers in the virtual world. One reality altering power against another, he wasn’t sure what they might do. So far he had been safe and things held together. But if he made the wrong move, he might break the world and lose Yumi’s only chance at solving the mystery of her personalities.

It was something that Yuki refused to allow himself.

Lord Anumera dropped down on the earth a short few meters away from him. He hadn’t really gotten that close to her and only saw her in comparison against the others. So that threw off the scaling of them, when they were all unusually tall humans. For their perfect human forms, they didn’t really seem to try hard to keep within normal proportions for a human. It clearly made them seem strange and a little over the top despite it all. Within a manga, they would have fit right in place and not seemed odd at all. But this world didn’t work on those rules.

For a world not working on those rules, Anumera was an oddity. She wasn’t the tallest of the Lords, that went to Guri, but also not the shortest, which was Hokuren. But after a certain height it stopped to really mattering the specifics. She towered over Yuki making his neck hurt a little to even look her in the eyes. “Seiji’s right, you guys are tall. Feels a little unfair to be fighting you like this.”

“You’re not that worried about fairness though, are you?”

A bit of sweat slid down Yuki’s face as he stared up at the woman. ‘She’s got good eyes. It’s rare to find someone that can read through me only having just met me…’ Yuki felt even more certain about his concerns with fighting against the demon.

“I took an interest in you because of your eyes. So I hope you don’t disappoint with how frail you appear.” The demon never looked to be smiling, even though her voice remained soft and almost cheerful in presentation. It ran in complete contrast to the person behind the mask. A serious and calculating person watched and analyzed every movement and action.

“Perhaps we shouldn’t fight then. I’d prefer it for you to not find out how frail I actually am.”

“No, you have my curiosity. You’re weak, but your eyes are strong. There’s a contradiction about you that I want to understand.”

‘Damn, she really is good at reading people. And even more, she wants to see it. She’s going to know if I trick her.’

“And you’re a dark one, despite that placid expression.”

Yuki internally let out a verbal tic. He really didn’t enjoy having someone read into him so well, especially after he spent so much of his last year trying to craft such a carefully designed mask. This sort of individual was the worst for him and not one that he was used to dealing with. It had managed to convince even someone like Eudokia, who was used to reading deeper into people due to their training. ‘Seems I’ve still got a long way to go. But I’m also dealing with a demon that’s far outlived my lifespan…’

The demon kept vague in dealing with him though. It wasn’t like she was a mind reader. So she couldn’t actually see into his past or know what about him gave him such an appearance. Yet they still knew that he hid something darker inside him, that only Saki knew small amounts even. No one really had seen fully into his soul, yet this demon seemed to pierce through to it better than any of his closest family and friends. “What gives you that idea?”

“You’re the one that came up with the tactics used.”

‘Figured that much out already?’ Not answering the demon, Yuki continued to be impressed and worried about the fight that would come soon.

Even a non-answer was enough of an affirmative for her. He didn’t deny the claim. ‘He really is the most dangerous one of the group, more than even that woman that slew the rest of our soldiers.’ Anumera had made her assessments early based on what she knew from the reports and rumors, then with the whole group she finally managed to put the pieces together. Yuki was the only candidate that she had for the role of tactician, none of what she saw lined up with the history of Yumi. She knew it was someone new that they hadn’t seen before.

Each new piece of information that she pulled out of Yuki watching him only increased her concerns about the man. He might not have been an original sort in her history. She had seen plenty of humans hiding darkness within them. It seemed to be a common theme in reality. But there was something darker than most that she felt bothered her. Something that her instincts as a warrior told her to be wary of.

“You’re quite the frightening individual. I’ve never met a human like you before.”

‘I feel like my reputation’s getting a little blown out of proportion… Though I did want this result. Even if it was more destructive than I would have wanted.’ Yuki worked on trying to improve his mask for as much as it was worth against her. It was already leaked out. “It would be a shame to kill someone like me then.”

“You’re continuing to reinforce the opinion that you’re weaker than me. You’re making it even more clear that you’re hiding something. There is no certainty in the battle. Anything can happen.”

Tensing up, Yuki saw that nothing he was trying worked against her. ‘She’s not falling into arrogance. She’s not like the one that went with Seiji. She knows something’s not right about me. She’s going to be cautious. She really is the worst sort of opponent for me…’ Even if it wasn’t working, he only had it to go with. He shrugged a bit for her. “I am just a mere human up against a Demon Lord. Even in the centuries past, you remain undefeated. I don’t really see my odds as being very good with that sort of reputation.”

“And yet you remain unflinching. I can see you’re nervous, but not because I’m a Demon Lord, but rather that you’re not used to dealing with someone that can read through the layers of subterfuge that you put up to distract your enemies.”

“You certainly are a troublesome person.”

“Yet you still stand here with a plan to fight me. You’re a very curious human.”

“So we’re not getting out of the fight, huh?”

“Not unless you know that place for fried tofu,” she teased.

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s really an option right now.”

“Then I think you know what is next. You did wipe out the entire army.”

“I guess you would want to get revenge for that.”

“I’ll admit I’m more personally interested rather than professionally at the moment.”

“Now you’re making me nervous.”

“I’m seeing confidence slip in now. Feeling ready?”

“You’re not really giving me much choice. But don’t take it out on me if I disappoint you.”

“I suspect that won’t happen.”

“Don’t blame me if it doesn’t turn out how you think it will.”

“I don’t have any expectations right now. I haven’t seen what you can do in a fight.”

“Right, a practical one. Very well, let’s get this started then.” Yuki released his Field quickly in anticipation of the start of the battle.

Chapter 447 – Tactician’s Battle

Anumera watched Yuki carefully to see what action he would take first. She preferred to monitor her foe in battle before going on the offense. Yuki brought out this cautious nature of her in full. More than any human before, he demonstrated unusual powers with mist that she had never seen before. It felt like she hadn’t even seen the tip of his power.

Yuki waited for the demon to make a move. He matched her caution having never seen her do anything before. Everything about her was completely unknown. Before their fight, he slipped out a little bit of what he was using as power, though that didn’t really do justice to what he had planned for the fight. If anything it would give her overly calculating method an inaccurate assessment. He would be able to take advantage of that. Though the first move would be what would leave her the most surprised.

“Not using that mist of yours?” she noted, seeing that while he was in a fighting stance he didn’t have the same sort of power on display. Rather, Yuki didn’t present any power for her.

He smirked a little in confidence. “I’m saving that for later. I’ve got other things in mind for now.”

The Demon Lord could see well enough through Yuki’s front to know that things weren’t so simple. ‘He’s got something in play already. A trick or a trap, something that he plans to use against me. He did lead me to this location. Perhaps, he planned out ahead of time how the battle would play out. And he set up traps in advance for our fight.’

‘Already knowing what I do about her, she’s the sort that’s going to analyze everything I do. Which puts me at a disadvantage for my usual methods. But I can still exploit it. Because what I’ve got in play is not anything that she will be able to analyze to an answer, this will throw her off. For now, she’ll be absorbed in trying to figure out what I could possibly have in store. She’ll over analyze every action I take to try to glean clues to what I’m doing. And she’ll only be further confused because I’m going without any of my powers.’

Like Yuki planned, Anumera mired herself in confusion and plans. She tried to calculate everything that he had done so far to understand what trap he set. It clearly read on his face that he had a plan in mind. She could see that he did that on purpose to tell her. The deeper that she went to analyze things the less things made sense.

She found nothing that she could use to get any sort of clues to what he planned. Nothing that he showed tipped to anything. Even mixed in were feints that he showed her intentionally. The more that she watched their mental battle play out the more she understood what was happening. He had confidence in his play and there was no lie in that.

He had a play.

A play that she couldn’t see no matter what.

‘So the first move is yours…’ she conceded finally after the mental juggling that she went for a while before arriving at that conclusion. ‘Whatever you have set up you know I can’t figure it out no matter what I do. You’re even taunting me with fakes from your body language.’ Anumera found Yuki even more interesting now that their battle began. It was a surprisingly more exhilarating encounter than she expected. “You’re not like the rest of the humans. It’s like all of you don’t belong here.”

“You’re not the first to come to that conclusion. We just were a little more sheltered from the world than others.”

“Still not telling the truth at this point.”

“Maybe at the end, you’ll get it.”

She sharpened her defense further with the battle reaching the breaking point. “Either way, you’ve won the first move. So make your play.”

‘That’s her conclusion? She’s figured that much out. Didn’t keep her as hung up as I hoped, but nothing I can do about it now.’ Yuki slid his right foot a little more forward. “Don’t be too surprised then.”

‘Is this his play? He’s going for an attack? Is it something that’s unblockable?’ She had a more complex expectation of what he planned to do than a straightforward attack. It seemed to be contradictory to what she had seen from him so far. ‘Why would he drop it all now?’ If that was all it was, she had confidence in her ability. However, amongst that confidence carried doubt. The look in his eyes told her that he would succeed, he already had won in his play. It only made her more curious to know what it was that he had to play.

Defying any sort of thoughts she might have had about this move, it was indeed a completely straight charge for her. She saw it all coming easily, he did nothing fancy to try to trick her about his move. There was no deception in his movements even as his eyes spoke nothing about it, but lies.

Yuki’s fist extended out, moving far faster than she expected. His speed suddenly seemed to increase within the proximity of her defense. Somehow he was matching or maybe exceeding her demon enhanced human attributes. Anumera didn’t understand how his human form could match her so effortlessly. And even more, she couldn’t block his skillful maneuver that slipped through her defenses.

A clean hit landed on her jaw knocking her back and tripping her up in surprise. The Demon Lord fell down not expecting to be floored in a single punch by a human using no powers. ‘What happened?!’