Chapter 69: A Mock Battle with Claudia
The academy’s training grounds. I slowly exhaled, readied my sword, and stared straight ahead. My opponent was Claudia. She was more than a worthy opponent.
The only person besides Cornelia who made me this serious was Claudia. Claudia possessed strength second only to Cornelia.
Normally, Claudia is calm and elegant, but when it comes to mock battles, she moves with such seriousness and agility. The gap between her usual self and this was astonishing.
“I look forward to this, Dietfried. I’ll be in your care.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Princess Claudia.”
“You can call me Clau, you know?”
“But…”
“You call Eleonore ‘El’, don’t you? I shall permit you to use a nickname for me as well.”
“Thank you very much. Then, you can call me Dee.”
“You can speak to me as you usually do, you know? There’s no need for such formal language.”
“Understood. Well then…”
“Yes. I look forward to our match.”
Claudia’s weapon was a spear. I’d have to let her take the first move. She was a difficult opponent.
“Then, begin!”
At our homeroom teacher Bonifatz-sensei’s signal to start, I instantly closed the distance to Claudia.
“Haste, Protection, Regeneration.”
“Haaah!”
As I charged in while buffing myself, Claudia chose a sweeping attack. A spear isn’t just for thrusting.
A sharp sweep, like a whirlwind. It was aimed right around my waist. A perfect height that made it difficult to dodge by ducking or jumping. I had no choice but to halt my advance and take a light step back.
VWOOSH!!!
The heavy sound of the spear cutting through the air as it passed before my eyes struck my ears. The tip of the spear, amplified by centrifugal force, carried considerable power. If I took it poorly, it would be a fatal blow.
The moment the spearhead passed before my eyes, I kicked off the ground and lunged forward with all my might.
CRACK! CRACK!
As the sound of my right leg shattering echoed, I charged at Claudia.
“?!”
Claudia’s eyes widened. Even with Haste active, the speed I gained from using my [Un-Limited] was extraordinary. Without giving her even a moment to blink, I closed in on Claudia.
“Seah!”
My target was Claudia’s flank. At this height, it wouldn’t be easy for her to duck or jump over it. I’d won.
CLANG!
However, the Zangeki I was sure would win was stopped by the shaft of Claudia’s spear. No, this is—!
The impact that returned to the arm that swung the wooden sword was surprisingly light.
That made sense. Claudia hadn’t taken my Zangeki head-on; she had deflected its force by leaping backward herself.
Damn it! The distance between Claudia and me is widening!
Using the force of my Zangeki as well, Claudia retreated a great distance. I tried to pursue her, but…?!
VWOOSH!!!
As Claudia touched one foot to the ground, she spun around completely. What resulted was a sweep with considerable momentum. Had I been completely lured in?!
“Haaaaaaaah!”
I put all my strength into my right arm holding the wooden sword. At this point, if I retreated poorly, I’d be torn apart by the spearhead. Evasion was impossible. I had no choice but to receive the spear.
CLAAAANG!!!
The wooden sword, swung upwards as if to scoop up the approaching spear with power beyond its limits. My right arm was already screaming even before it received the spear.
Would my arm break first, or would I repel the spear?
CRACK!!!
“Wha-!?”
“Eh!?”
However, the conclusion arrived in a rather anticlimactic fashion. They had broken. Both my wooden sword and Claudia’s spear.
Clatter, clatter, clang!
The broken tip of my sword and her spearhead rolled onto the ground with a dry sound.
“In this case, how is victory or defeat determined…?”
Claudia, holding the broken spear in her hand, asked with a troubled expression.
“Who knows? A draw, no contest?”
“A draw. Let’s consider it as having grown, rather than a defeat. I will win next time.”
Claudia looked at me with a fearless smile. The only opponents Claudia had yet to defeat were me and Cornelia. As for Claudia, she probably wanted to seize victory somehow.
Still, I don’t know what Claudia’s Gift is, but it seems to be quite powerful. This increases the possibility that those afflicted by the Curse of the Evil God are bestowed with powerful Gifts.
I haven’t dispelled the curse for anyone afflicted by the Curse of the Evil God since Claudia, but perhaps I should consider actively searching for them myself, rather than just spreading rumors and waiting.
“Still, Dee, you’re strong. Your original Gift was Healing, so Sage probably isn’t a combat-type Gift either, right? How are you so strong?”
“Maybe because I trained? More importantly, you’re the one who’s something else, Claudia. Have you really only been wielding a spear for a month?”
“Yes. You know, don’t you, Dee? I wasn’t in any condition to exercise, so…”
“That’s true, but… Were you bestowed some incredible Gift?”
“About that, not here… Shall we talk about it later?”
“? Understood.”
Eleonore was watching Claudia and me talk with a difficult expression, as if she were jealous. I hadn’t noticed her presence.