NOVEL NEXT Chapter 25
Chapter 25. Resolve
“Strong!”
I can’t even tell how many arrows I’ve shot by now.
Yet, all of them are deflected by Toudou-san’s wind.
Somehow, we’re maintaining a balance with just the four of us, but it’s a situation where things could break down at any moment.
“How annoying!”
A violent storm, filled with frustration, assaults us.
“I’ll stop it!”
Yura-san uses [Psychokinesis] to deflect the storm, but the aftermath causes my hair to whip and dust to rise.
Sweat trickles down my cheek, a testament to the tension of the battle.
Through the gaps, Nene’s clones race forward in three directions.
“Shh!”
They attack from the front and both sides, surrounding Toudou-san.
“Useless!”
Just before the clones’ attacks reach her, invisible wind slashes, originating from around Toudou-san, fly in all directions, wreaking havoc.
Nene’s clones are shredded by the blades and scattered into mist without retaining their form.
“Tch!”
I can’t help but click my tongue.
One more move is needed to defeat her.
Should we all attack at once, or should we take down the two who are enhancing her first…?
“None of them seem like a decisive blow.”
I can’t see a future where any of these attacks will break through her wind. With normal attacks, it’s impossible to get past that wind. Her enhanced ability is probably nearing a value of 30,000.
So what do we need?
As I organize my thoughts, I begin to charge energy into my bow.
“Everyone, buy me a little more time! I’ll release a full-powered shot!”
A focused attack to pierce her wind.
This is my best plan.
“Got it!”
“Understood!”
“Alright.”
Each of us moves with our own resolve.
The three of them work to buy me time to charge my attack, and I focus all my energy into the bow to make sure their actions aren’t wasted.
“You think I’ll let that go so easily?!”
Toudou-san’s storm rages toward me.
“I won’t let you through!”
Yura-san deflects the storm, and Yamada-senpai cracks the ground to destabilize her stance.
“Ah!”
As Toudou-san falls onto her backside, Nene’s clone charges at her.
Though it’s again torn apart by wind blades, that’s fine.
If we can buy time, that’s enough.
After several rounds of battle, we’re finally ready.
The bow, having reached its critical point, begins to tremble.
“Everyone, move back!”
The moment the three of them step out of my line of fire,
“Pierce it, [Sagittarius]!”
A golden arrow is released from the bow, gleaming with an aurora-like light.
Moving at a speed exceeding the sound barrier, there was no way to dodge that strike from such a short distance.
It struck the target directly.
“…”
The dazzling light leaves me unable to see the outcome yet.
When the light from the impact fades, wind blades fly toward us.
“What?!”
I narrowly dodge, but a few strands of hair are sliced and flutter in the air.
“You really did it…”
As the light completely dissipates, the full picture becomes clear.
There stands Toudou-san, her clothes torn, but still standing firm on two feet.
However, with no sign of the other two, it seems like they were taken out by that one shot.
The formidable opponent still stands, but taking down the enhanced ability users is a significant win.
“Just a little more! Let’s all attack at once!”
At this point, it’s a battle of numbers.
I activate my ability and charge toward Toudou-san.
“Don’t underestimate us!”
Toudou-san, not giving up, summons a violent wind to clash with us just as we close in.
At that moment, a mysterious object crashes into the ground between us at High School speed.
“What?!”
Dust rises, and I can’t see what the object is.
“Ugh… damn it… there’s no way a powerless person did that!”
“…What power…”
From the dust, voices are heard.
The voices are strained, full of panic.
“What the hell happened to you?!”
Toudou-san’s words heighten my tension.
(If reinforcements from Unryu High School have arrived, that means more High-level users, over 10,000 in ability…)
After getting so close to cornering Toudou-san, the appearance of even more powerful opponents at this timing drains my resolve.
But despite our tension, they look toward the trees ahead, focused and desperate.
It’s as if they’re staring at something enormous, knowing that any lapse in concentration could be fatal.
“Toudou?! Where the hell did we get thrown to, damn it! Watch out! We’ve already lost one—he’s coming for us—”
“Hey, are you kidding? You still don’t get it, huh?”
A voice, calm and authoritative, cut through the tension in the air.
None of us had noticed his presence.
For a moment, I braced myself thinking it was Unryu High School’s reinforcements, but the face of the player who had flown in made it clear that wasn’t the case.
His face was painted with shock, confusion, and fear.
He stood quietly, arms crossed, behind the players from Unryu High School.
“Huh?”
It was someone I knew very well.
Always unmotivated, with a sense of resigned acceptance toward life.
Yet, despite his appearance clearly being him, I couldn’t bring myself to say his name: Yanagi Hayato.
His presence, his sharp, killer gaze, didn’t match the Yanagi I knew.
Unable to withstand his oppressive aura, the players from Unryu High School begin to move.
One turns and tries to strike with a punch, another tries to blow him away with wind, and the last attempts to crush him with a barrier.
Each attack is incredibly powerful, something no powerless person could ever handle.
Before these attacks, his movements leave me breathless.
“At this level, Ao can’t be beaten. You’ll have to kill me in an instant for this to even be worth talking about.”
With his left index finger, he stops a punch with overwhelming destructive power, ignores the violent winds that troubled us, and the barrier that tried to crush him vanishes with a crack as his right arm flicks it away.
It’s overwhelming.
This is beyond any kind of battle—it’s on a completely different level.
Then, suddenly, Hattori-san’s words from the gymnasium flash through my mind.
[No, you all couldn’t even scratch Yanagi-kun. He has that much power.]
I couldn’t believe those words at the time.
He’s powerless, his ability is 0.
That’s why I still can’t understand what’s happening before me, frozen in place.
His actions, twisting two ability users like babies, is something I cannot comprehend.
“Damn it! Hiding that kind of power is cheating!”
“My reason to hold back is far less than my reason to fight seriously. That’s all.”
His words and expressions clearly convey his feelings.
Anger at himself, regret, and—
An overwhelming resolve.
What it’s directed toward, I don’t know.
But I can see from his eyes that he will no longer hesitate.