Limited Exam

It should have worked. That was her thinking as she stared at Hokuren. Everything that she did was timed tightly. All she needed was one good hit to end it all. None of it mattered how powerful he was if he slipped up. She could still kill him even with their difference. That was the way it should have gone.

Yumi recalled her debate with the last Demon Lord that she had a casual conversation with before all of this. He made the claim that she couldn’t kill him even at full power even with him being unguarded. Despite what she saw, she still had her doubts about it. It just seemed impossible that they were that different. ‘I’m stronger than I was then, not by a lot, probably, but I’m stronger…this must be what he was talking about though…’

Their power was so different. Even with her pushing ahead of him it wasn’t enough. ‘We were equal, so how? His defense shouldn’t have been up. What is this difference of power?’ So many questions filled her mind trying to understand what happened in that moment. She had him, he couldn’t react to her. She completely disappeared from his sight. That should have been enough to end the fight.

Yet he just stood unaffected by it all and stared at her with the demand of actually starting to fight as though everything before wasn’t even a fight. Considering that she had only been fighting, it seemed like it would be pretty easy for him not to consider what they were fighting in his mind. Such a thought only aggravated her further.

This was exactly what she wanted in the end. It had been one-sided with him just dodging and her attempting to make an attack that actually connected. It hardly felt like much of a fight if it was only one person engaging in it. Yumi stepped away with her forcing herself back into an offensive stance ready to move if he did at a moment’s notice. “That is the point of what we’re doing.”

Opening his hand the air transformed and condensed forming a simple broadsword in his hand that he gripped tightly. “Then let’s continue with the method you favor.”

Chapter 458 – Limited Exam

Yumi felt a bit of pressure from him. It might have been his demonic aura that was now visible or maybe the look that he gave her. Despite his casual expression remaining unchanged, there was something that she left coming out of his words that gave a different atmosphere than a moment ago.

However, she didn’t have long to consider the meaning as he made the first move against her. His high speed movement effortlessly matched the one that she tried to kill him. Her eyes could still barely see the blurs of his movement, but the force still pushed back on her even with her parrying him. If she didn’t hover off the ground her feet would have been dragged through the earth from his strength.

The heavy weight felt like it would cleave through her sword as she poured more of her power into it until it stabilized. ‘So this is his strength…and only a small drop of it too…I’m going to be forced to make that move sooner than I wanted at this point…I have to hold out as long as I can before using my trump card.’ Yumi dropped her feet into the earth to firmly plant herself. Channeling her resolve into her body, she ground his push to a stop with their swords rattling.

“You’re not too bad. But this isn’t the strength to kill a demon lord.”

“You’re no different!” She pushed back with a kick that he dodged. Another clash, this time forced by her testing her strength against him. She barely got a movement out of him, firmly planted to the ground. Only the rumbling earth of the underground turbulence nudged him and he balanced that well.

Yumi formed another sword in her free hand, slashing down at him, but he blocked it while still holding her first back. He matched her move for move keeping the pace even. She struggled with his strength, but kept up with him.

They bounced around the ground clashing and parrying with their blades not making it through their defense. Each collision rattled and sparked with energy from their powers smashing together. Their feet crushed the earth beneath them struggling to keep their power from completely crumbling it.

Her body recalled her matches with Saki starting to incorporate it into their fight as they continued. She jumped around doing flips to the side and over top of him trying to get his guard off balance. It was never enough to break his guard.

She parried his sword with sparks sliding off as she drew her blade downward trying to open his guard. Countering her second sword, they fought briefly with their blades. Yumi turned around the sword and redirected away his blade. Out of the hilt of her sword a new blade formed thrusting straight for him. However, he slid up his sword catching her new blade with the pommel of his sword.

A disappointed groan came out of her as she struggled with him trying to break through his defense. ‘Even that wasn’t enough! Damn him!’

“You’ve got talent and creativity in your style.”

“I’m not interested in your compliments.”

“As a warrior you should take them with pride.” It was going to have to be a difference of opinion, Yumi decided. She couldn’t see things in the same way as him. This wasn’t about being praised for putting up a good fight. It wasn’t about earning recognition from her enemy or even someone like Saki that trained her. It wasn’t even about something internal needed to be satisfied. All this fight was about was killing the one in front of her and moving on so that she could find Masa, the mysterious woman that called to her.

He was merely a stepping stone to that end goal. Likely, the Lord wouldn’t have been pleased to be told that she only saw him as a step to her goal and that she wasn’t even looking at him. Ever since she heard about Masa, she was drawn to her for some reason. There was something that she had she wanted from her. That was all she knew. And she would find it when she got there. Yumi was certain of that fact, even if she couldn’t articulate it to anyone else in a way that would satisfy them.

Yumi resumed their fight charging back into the melee with him. The Demon Lord despite his age and appearance held his own very well. Like many of the other demons that she fought, she never would have imagined him to be talented in swordplay, not that she was that skilled. But she could tell from his movements, no wasted efforts and perfect defense, that he knew what he was doing. She just imagined it not being something that he would be able to do so easily. It felt like a contradiction as a skillful swordsman that was a demon. But perhaps she let too many of her prejudices cloud her mind like Manekamaru often reminded her.

Their blades clashed and she felt herself feeling a little better with their pace having adjusted to something of a comfortable pattern. Yet it hadn’t changed or made any serious progress against him. She countered his blade, sending both of their weapons into the earth. Using the weapons as support, she lifted herself up doing a mid-air spin kick at him trying to get any sort of hit on him that she could. He dodged rather than block her, separating him from one of his weapons.

She pressed her position to charge at him. A horizontal swing blocked, rotated around into an upward thrust and parried off the hilt. Their swordplay rapidly intensified with their speed making the blades blur, almost disappear. Each clash sounded like thunder with the earth rattling under the pressure. Yumi ceased to even think about her actions, she only followed the flow of her blade countering and parrying in succession seeking the opening that she so desperately sought.

The Demon Lord found Yumi more interesting the longer that he watched her fight. He could see her eyes absorbing everything that he did. ‘There’s a soulless yet child-like wonder in her. She’s still too linear and easy to read, holding herself back from discipline and training, as unpolished as her footwork is…she’s trying too hard to be something that she’s not right now…’ Her continued push made him want to keep seeing more. Where did the well end?

No matter the angle and side that she attacked from, nothing broke through his guard. Any feint that she made he could see through. Any ploy was too simple to trick him. Her eyes followed everything even at the high speed that they elevated to now. Tracking his movements on instinct, she kept moving and pressing for an opening.

Earth began to crack under the pressure as they crushed their feet into the ground. The weight of their swings pushed them down. Even Hokuren couldn’t budge Yumi anymore in their exchange. Flurries of swings went invisible with their movement exceeding their previous speed. They started to dash around in the small space with Hokuren starting to press an offense against her. Each of his blows went heavier and faster, drawing more out of Yumi until she didn’t even notice it. She simply responded to the need that he demanded of her.

They finally broke from their constant clashing that seemed to go on for an hour, but only lasted for barely even thirty seconds. Every second saw at least thirty swings, maybe even more. A slight shortness of breath came from them having finally gotten into the fight. Nicks and dents riddled Hokuren’s blades from their battle.

“Damn, you’re a tough old man.”

“Sounds like you’re starting to enjoy yourself a little.”

“I’m not!”

“Regardless, are you ready to step things up again?”

“I won’t be left behind!”

“Pleased to hear that. Keep impressing me, girl!” Hokuren could see it in her eyes and the way she moved. His swords suddenly cleaned up with the edge returning to them. ‘Perhaps she might be the one…guess it’s time to test it.’ His demonic aura intensified sharply with the ground quaking from the pressure it released. Cracks ripped through the earth with rumbling digging up behind him.

‘Dammit! He’s getting stronger!’ Yumi knew this would happen, but she still didn’t like it. Her body had progressively adapted to the pace, but she felt it starting to strain her. ‘I don’t know how much further I can go like this…’ The demon’s climb only made it harder for her to have a shot at killing him. He built a high wall for her to cross. “I’ve still got more left!”

White aura covered around Yumi as she forced everything that she could out of her power. Their amassing pressure ripped apart the earth and ignited the volatile lava beneath them. Columns of magma shot up into the air as they tore the earth apart. Dirt and rock crushed under them dropping them into a crater.

“You’re going to need more than a little left in you.”

“I’ll be fine!” Hokuren made the first move. The speed and strength had multiplied several times over what he had displayed before. Yumi couldn’t even see his dash anymore. His sword was invisible to her. She only managed a defensive block that sent her flying backwards.

Her body punched through the earth digging deeply into the ground before she came to a stop. The strike hurt more than the impact for her. Ringing in her hands still stung for her as she saw blood dripping slowly over her hands from holding her blades. “Dammit!

Once she recovered enough of her strength, she charged back out of the hole and immediately attacked the Lord. It was like they had returned to the start. He saw through her moves with ease. Nothing that she did could keep up with him. They no longer parried, but he dodged with no effort her swings. The wall he built was beyond her reach.

Hokuren struck back between her strikes, throwing her back into the crater creating a different hole. A bit of blood started to drip down her forehead as she stood back. She held on to her resolve in the fight.

“If this is your limit, then the fight ends here.”

Yumi’s body flinched, nearly collapsing on her. ‘Those two hits did more to my body than I thought!’ She caught herself in time maintaining her stance. It shook her body more than she expected. Even with resolve, she couldn’t fight against him as she was now.

Releasing her swords, Yumi composed herself before him. The Demon Lord paused for her, admitting to some curiosity to what she had planned. She rubbed her neck thinking back to Saki briefly. Images flashed through for her. “I figured I’d have to use this in our fight. I just hoped that I had improved enough to hold out longer.”

“Still have a move to play?”

“The move that will turn the tables on this battle!”