Chapter 22: Conclusion
The four of them, unaware that Gouda had been defeated, simply stood there dumbfounded. It had been a sudden surprise attack, but Gouda shouldn’t have lost so easily. That’s what the four of them thought, but no matter how long they waited, Gouda didn’t reappear.
Kaori and Megumi, having predicted the worst outcome, turned pale. And Satou, who had always been protected by Gouda, was as white as a sheet, as if all the blood had drained from her face. Kyoko looked at the unmoving Kaori and the others, then at the building where Gouda had been taken.
“Kaori-chan…”
“Yes, I know. No sounds of fighting, and he’s not coming out… that means…”
With Gouda still not appearing, the two of them sensed that he had been defeated. It was unbelievable, but the fact that Gouda wasn’t coming out meant just that.
The two began to panic at this unexpected development. If they stayed here, the enemy who defeated Gouda would attack them again. No, perhaps they were already prepared to strike.
Judging it dangerous to remain there, Kaori gave an order.
“Let’s get away from here! Follow me!”
However, that decision was a little too late. Just as Kaori was about to move, the female student who had defeated Gouda burst through a window on the second floor of the building and flew towards Kaori and Megumi.
“Hah-hah! Gotcha!”
The sound of shattering glass echoed, and the female student’s laughter, confident of victory, reached their ears.
“No way!?”
“I won’t let you!”
The surprised Kaori couldn’t react instantly, but Megumi, who was being carried on Kaori’s back, created a Wind Barrier at full power.
The female student, who had launched a flying kick at the two from the second floor, was blocked by the Wind Barrier Megumi had erected and was sent flying. Although the female student was blown away, she skillfully somersaulted in mid-air and landed gracefully.
“Tch. I thought I had ’em.”
The female student, who had been convinced it was a perfect hit, was frustrated that Megumi had blocked her and scratched the back of her head.
“Oh well. This time, I’ll just break through from the front.”
Though somewhat frustrated, the female student quickly shifted her mindset and licked her lips. Deciding to finish them off for sure this time, the female student took a crouching start position.
“To think Miyazono-san would be the last opponent…”
“Kaori-chan! This isn’t the time for that! Get ready! She’s coming!”
When Miyazono took a crouching start position, Kaori lamented that Miyazono was their final opponent. Megumi, hearing this, encouraged Kaori.
“Yeah, I know. Megumi! Cover me!”
“Leave it to me!”
In that instant, Miyazono shot off. Megumi met Miyazono, who launched like a rocket, with a Wind Cannon, but Miyazono’s momentum didn’t stop.
Kaori, paying her respects, met Miyazono head-on as she charged straight forward.
The impact of two Body Enhancement Gifted clashing head-on blew away everything in the vicinity. Cars parked on the roadside overturned, building windows shattered, and Satou and Kyoko, who were watching the two clash, were sent flying.
“Uwaaah!”
“Kyaaah!”
Kaori, with no leeway to worry about the two tumbling away, grappled with Miyazono. Megumi, merely being carried, could only cling desperately to Kaori to avoid being blown away by the impact of their collision.
“Grappling with me? That was a foolish move, Natsume!”
“Ugh…!”
They were both Body Enhancement Gifted, but naturally, there was a difference. The multiplication factor for Body Enhancement ranged widely from two to ten times, with the world’s strongest Body Enhancement said to be thirty times, an entirely different order of magnitude. To that extent, Body Enhancement, where the difference in multiplication factor could be so large, meant that one’s true strength was dictated by this enhancement factor.
Of course, a higher multiplication factor was advantageous, but movements differed between martial arts experts and novices. However, no matter how experienced a martial artist was, if there was a large difference in the enhancement factor, they could easily be defeated.
And Miyazono’s Body Enhancement was four times, while Kaori’s was three and a half times. The difference was a mere 0.5. Kaori was experienced in martial arts, so she could overturn a slight difference. But, the same applied to her opponent. The reason Miyazono was so confident was because she was an active wrestler.
Kaori was also experienced in martial arts and wielded a Naginata, but when it came to wrestling, Kaori was at a disadvantage. Moreover, her Body Enhancement factor was also slightly lower. If it had been the other way around, she might have been able to overpower her with pure strength alone, but reality was harsh.
However, if Kaori had been alone, the match might have already been decided, but Megumi was also here. To help Kaori, who was being overpowered and about to be pinned, Megumi aimed her hand at Miyazono, preparing to unleash a Wind Cannon.
At the same time, Miyazono grinned. Reaching out, Miyazono grabbed Megumi’s hand, which had been aimed at her. Because Miyazono suddenly released a hand (from her hold on Kaori), Kaori lost her balance.
“Eh!? Wai-!”
“Kizaki! You’d be a pain if you were around! So I’ll take you out first!”
After tripping the unbalanced Kaori, Miyazono lifted Megumi with one hand. Megumi, now caught, tried to somehow escape Miyazono’s grasp, but her opponent was a Body Enhancement Gifted. Although a wind user, Megumi, whose physical abilities were no different from an ordinary person’s, found it impossible to escape from Miyazono.
“This is the end!”
Raising the arm that held Megumi, Miyazono slammed her forcefully onto the ground. Megumi tried to reduce the impact even slightly by creating wind to slow her descent, but she couldn’t overcome Miyazono’s strength and crashed into the ground.
Megumi, who fell face-first, was immediately judged as “dead” and disappeared into particles of light.
With this, their numerical advantage was gone. Against a single opponent, two of them had been taken out, and Kaori was driven into a corner. With no weapon at hand and within her opponent’s range, Kaori took a deep breath.
The Naginata Kaori had was with Satou, so she didn’t have it on hand. Moving only her eyes, Kaori searched for her Naginata.
And she found the Naginata, but it was far away. The Naginata lay on the ground in front of Satou and Kyoko, who had fallen. As expected, it would be difficult to slip past Miyazono and retrieve the Naginata.
Just when Kaori was about to give up, thinking this was as far as she could go, she remembered a certain man. Even without the power to fight, he had bravely stood his ground until the very end.
“Then, what am I doing giving up when I have the power to fight and haven’t even lost yet?” she thought, inspiring herself to stand up.
“Heheh, that’s right. If I give up here, I won’t be able to face Satsuki-kun!”
“Who’s this Satsuki? Oh well. As long as you’re in my range, you have no chance of winning!”
As Kaori stood up with a fearless smile, Miyazono lowered her stance and went for a tackle. Her speed was such that an ordinary person could never catch her. Even for Kaori, who was also a Body Enhancement Gifted, it would be difficult to dodge.
But, the current Kaori was just a little bit stronger. Of course, it wasn’t that her Body Enhancement factor had increased; it was a matter of her spirit.
“Gotcha!”
“Kuh…!”
Unable to completely dodge Miyazono’s tackle, Kaori’s waist was firmly held by Miyazono. From this position, Kaori couldn’t escape. Just when it seemed like a desperate situation—Kaori grabbed Miyazono and let out a war cry.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
Kaori, letting out a roar as if her throat would burst, leaped into the sky while still holding Miyazono. Miyazono’s eyes widened as Kaori jumped about ten meters into the air, and she let out a cry of astonishment.
“Wha-!? Where did you get that kind of strength!?”
Miyazono, who knew Kaori’s Body Enhancement was weaker than her own, couldn’t believe the current situation. However, Kaori had indeed jumped ten meters into the air while still being held by Miyazono. Experiencing that feeling of suspension, Miyazono had no choice but to believe it.
“Kuh! But I still have the advantage! I’ll slam you into the ground just like this!”
“You should know that if you have no footing in mid-air, even I can throw you!”
“What did you say!?”
While her own waist was still grabbed, Kaori lowered her stance and, from above, firmly gripped the waist of Miyazono, who was holding her, as if to cover her.
“This isn’t a wrestling ring, nor is it the ground! That’s why I can do something like this!”
Yes, if this were the ground, Miyazono might have been able to use her legs to do something, but this was mid-air. In a place with no footing, Miyazono was showing her back to Kaori.
“N-No way!?”
“You should know this one better than anyone! Take this!”
“Wha-! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”
In mid-air, Kaori lifted Miyazono, then, clamping Miyazono’s head between her thighs, she plummeted. The reason Kaori had said Miyazono would be more familiar with it was because Miyazono was an active wrestler, so Kaori thought she would know the pro-wrestling move, the piledriver.
And then, Miyazono was slammed headfirst into the ground. Of course, it was an instant kill. Being slammed headfirst onto the asphalt from several meters above, death was unavoidable.
Watching Miyazono disappear into particles of light, Kaori thrust her fist towards the sky. Her figure was truly that of a victor.
Then, immediately after Miyazono vanished, an announcement rang out.
“Winner, National Defense Force team. Logging out from the Virtual Space in thirty seconds.”
And so, Kazuma’s first practical training ended in victory.
＊＊＊＊
Kazuma and the others in the monitor room
Kazuma: “A-amaaazing!”
Shunsuke: “Seriously…?”
Kaede: “No way… I thought we’d won.”
Gouda: “Ooh! Splendid, Natsume!”
Inoue and Tamura: “Tch…”