Ryuu Kusari No Orishin No Naka No Kokoro
Chapter 2 Part 5

...Mars takes Nozomu to the outer suburbs. The sun was already rising high, and its rays were gradually spreading the spring weather throughout the city....

Arcazam was surrounded by walls to prevent the invasion of demons and beasts that lived in the forest around the city.

The wall was built far from the city. This is because it allows large-scale deployment of troops in the event of a large-scale invasion, and also serves as a storage area for supplies to maintain the troops.

Because of its location away from the city, the chances of it looking are very small, although not as low as in the forest.

There, Nozomu and Mars face each other.

Mars pulled out a large sword on his back and suddenly ran towards Nozomu.

“Kuh!”

Nozomu hits the side of the great Martian sword while taking out his katana, and at the same time avoids it by circling the side of the opponent.

Mars' body was filled with Qi, and he was clearly in a fighting position. This is not the time to take this lightly.

“Wait, what are you doing!”

Nozomu did not understand why and asked Mars. Nozomu thought he would be asked about things in the forest and about himself, but he never thought Mars would suddenly come to him with his sword.

“Nothing, I just want you to answer my question.”

“Then why did you point your sword at me and attack!”

Mars did not answer Nozomu's question and began to slash. Nozomu was forced to intercept. The sound of 2 guns clashing resounded.

Mars used his enhanced physical strength to fire off a series of attacks that made it seem like he was not using a great sword.

He fired three consecutive slashes: a vertical slash, a horizontal low slash, and an inverted vertical slash. There was no delay in the movement of his slash, and it had sufficient strength, indicating that Mars' ability as a great sword user was at a considerable level.

Continuous attacks with heavy weapons like great swords were quite advanced techniques. With half-hearted physical strength, he would be swung by the weight of a great sword, and he would never be able to unleash a continuous onslaught that flowed.

However, Mars shot out such a powerful slash with considerable speed.

Nozomu dodged the first slash by turning his body to the side and crouching down.

In the final inverted slash, while raising the katana diagonally to the Martian sword, he stepped forward, changing the force vector he received from diagonal to lateral, he said, and moved to Mar's side while moving her own body towards her step. .

Nozomu used the momentum of the Martian slash; however, Mars also read it. The huge sword interrupted the trajectory of the katana, and it was fended off. The sound of metal is crisp.

Nozomu did not care that he fended off, and continued firing a series of attacks. There was a slight gap within the space of the great Martian sword, and the Nozomu katana was about to reach it.

Nozomu's continuous attack is less wasteful than Mars. Although he lacked speed and strength, Mars was unable to counterattack as there was no chance.

Mars, who could not counterattack, had no choice but to use his greatsword deftly to deal with Nozomu's sustained attack.

While holding his greatsword in both hands, Mars, whose hands were full, raised his Qi of body and released it at once. There is no name for this technique. It was just a release of Qi, but the abundant release of Martian Qi delayed Nozomu's sustained attack, albeit slightly.

In that gap, Mars focused his attention on one side and hit Nozomu.

The fist of Mars, which originally had incredible strength and was now strengthened with Qi, was comparable to the blows of demonic beasts.

It was a blow that Nozomu could not ignore, which was under the influence of Ability Suppression and did not receive much benefit from strengthening skills.

Nozomu blocked Mars' fist with his scabbard, and he flew backwards to absorb that power.

When Nozomu lands, Mars is in pursuit. He closed the gap with a quick movement, and activated the Qi “Dust Blade” technique. The blade of wind that enveloped the greatsword came towards Nozomu, but just before the attack landed, Nozomu activated his Mars-like instant movement. He focused his Qi onto his feet, strengthened it to its limit, and shouted at Mars at once.

“Naa!!”

Mars did not expect Nozomu to invade from the front.

It's going to be natural. Although Nozomu had attacked until now, he had always focused on fending off more than attacking.

Nozomu rarely attacked even in mock battles.

This was because the instantaneous power required to attack was limited due to the influence of the Suppression Ability.

Mars swung his greatsword down, and his power was so strong that Mars could not take any other action.

But, Nozomu's speed exceeded the speed of the approaching greatsword and eroded the chances of Mars. Nozomu's unexpected movements caused the Martian sword to blunt slightly.

Before the Martian sword reached it, Nozomu invaded the interior of the great sword space. Nozomu struck the arm of Mars, who was still swinging his greatsword, with his elbow.

“Guh!”

Mars' expression distorted as he was attacked on the part that was not protected by the gauntlet.

Mars removed one hand from the greatsword and focused his attention on it, creating a lot of wind in his fist.

Mars releases wind masses at close proximity to Nozomu.

Qi Technique “Wind Mass Palm”

(Wind-type Qi Technique that releases a large amount of wind at once and blows away the opponent. This is a technique that can be effectively applied, such as increasing attack power.)

The released wind blew on Nozomu, and the distance widened once again. It's back to the starting point.

They stared at each other outside the gap and measured the distance between them. However, only time passed without moving on from each other.

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The POV Mars

Mars once again admired Nozomu's skills.

(So ... As I thought, he is better at pure sword skills ..)

Although I am very superior in strength, I cannot attack. After the first slash, I fired a series of speed-oriented attacks, but they were avoided or repelled. If I tried to push him completely, he would immediately unleash a counterattack.

My sword was hunting him, but I couldn't reach him.

I want to know. The reason he can be so strong is like this, so I can also become stronger.

More, and more, more powerful ……………….

Therefore, I must know. About this guy who became so powerful ……….

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They brandished swords, stared at each other, and remained ready for battle.

However, Mars sheathed his sword, and removed his Qi while exhaling with “fuu”.

“That's my fault. Suddenly slash.”

Nozomu doubted that Mars, who was so motivated to destroy it, meant it, but for now, he also sheathed a katana.

“...There is something I want to ask you..When did you start entering the forest?”

Mars looked straight at Nozomu. His eyes clearly said he would not let her go.

To be honest, Nozomu did not know what to do after he killed a dragon. He thought it would be unpleasant to know, but he could not think of what he wanted or had to do with that power.

He realizes that he has escaped and knows it is not good to stay like this, but he lost the purpose of “support Lisa” dream, and lost the reason to be in this school. He doesn't know what to do.

That's why Nozomu greatly admires those who are moving forward towards their goals, like Irisdina who says “I'll help if I find someone who needs” and Somia who says, 'Irisdina who says, 'I will help if I find someone who needs and Somia who says, “I want to chase my sister”.

“That's right.. I started entering the forest from the summer of the first year. Well, at that time.Lisa...there are many things that happen..”.

With the pursuit of Mars, Nozomu decides to talk about something unimportant for now.

In hindsight, the sign that Mars had followed him yesterday disappeared when he entered the forest, so Nozomu thought that Mars did not directly see the dragon-killing power.

“...I'm shocked. Have you been in the woods alone since Lisa left you?”

Mars was amazed at Nozomu who nodded and looked up at the sky. Because it was dangerous for students, the school did not allow them to enter the forest unless it met the requirements, and the students remained unwilling. Occasionally, some students went crazy enough to go and ignore the warning, but most of them were severely injured, or at worst, eaten by demonic beasts, never to be seen again.

After all, the students were inexperienced. No matter how high their grades and fighting abilities were, they could not survive unless they could make accurate judgments. That fact is told to students every year at the expense of some careless students.

“I'm pretty sure that you've developed incredible movements and judgments right in the woods.”

Of course, Mars is right. After studying under Shino, he constantly ran through the forest and of course, he was attacked by demonic beasts.

All the attacking demonic beasts were low rank demonic beasts. At that time, Nozomu had similar physical abilities, but his swordsmanship, Qi techniques, tactics, and judgment were still immature. No matter how low ranked a demonic beast was, there was no element to win.

That is why it is important to know how to escape from any circumstance.

Go into the river to get rid of the smell, stick the leaves on the body to mimic the surrounding environment, and climb the tree to get through it.

Nozomu's skill on the battlefield was naturally gained from the thought, judgment, and execution of his various actions in order to survive in the forest.

The same was true for the movements during the mock battle of the group that Nozomu had done with the Mars entourage. Repeat one on one while continuing to move so as not to be surrounded.

This was obtained when fighting against groups of demonic beasts like Wild Dogs.

And a mock battle with Shino.

A fight with Shino who has extraordinary abilities. He would instantly faint if he acted a little late, and if he made a mistake, he would fall to the floor.

He was in an environment like that. Even though he didn't like it, he had no other choice.

“So Mars, why did you call me here? No way, just because you want to hear something like that. You suddenly started slashing at me, Oy”

Nozomu glared at Mars. Naturally, there was nothing wrong with Nozomu. It was a natural reaction. He was suddenly summoned and suddenly slashed.

“Eh, well, that...what is it?”

Mars' tone became cloudy. He probably realized that he had done something crazy.

“???”

Mars suddenly stuttered.

As far as Nozomu knew based on Mars' expression, he didn't seem to know that Nozomu was a dragon slayer. He just felt awkward about the sudden cut.

When he saw that Nozomu had entered the forest, He did not seem to hesitate as he was confident in Nozomu's sword and power.

Nozomu was a little relieved that Mars did not seem to know that he was a dragon slayer for now.

“In other words, all I want to know is..”.

“Ahhhhhhh! Onichan, what are you doing!!”

“-Ge, This girl!”

A loud ringing sound that suddenly interrupted Mars' words. Turning to the source of the voice, a girl with a Mars-like face rushed over. He had an angry expression on his face, and his gaze was focused on Mars. This girl is Mars' sister.

“Onii-chan!! What are you trying to do by calling someone to such a remote place!!!”

“A-I didn't do anything! And, why are you here!”

“Onichan came out in the morning with a restless expression, so I thought it was not a good thing, so I followed him. Then, as expected, he tried to hurt someone in a place like this.”.

The girl said so while raising her eyebrows. Mars thinks he's crazy.

“Not it! How I did a bad thing!!”

“That's a reasonable conclusion considering what onichan has done so far! Just think about how many times Auntie and I bowed to the people that onichan bullies!”

“Eh!”

It is true that Mars is recognized as a handicap that cannot be touched by those around him. Even though he had the ability to be in the upper class, he was still in the 10th grade, which showed just how bad his daily behavior was.

On the other hand, Mars is allowing himself to be blamed now. Maybe because he was weak to his sister.

Even if he argued a little, he would soon be killed by the correct theory, and Mars himself knew that his behavior was bad and knew that he was disturbing his family. He finally could not argue anymore. His sister attacked him with a one-sided statement.

“I was banned from my favorite store because Onichan went wild!”

“I was treated as a boss by a child of the same age in the neighborhood because Onichan!”

“I apologize to neighbors all day and night because Onichan!”

Mars groaning, “Usus!” or “Muu!” every time he spoke. Every word he spoke pierced deep into him like a spear.

Eventually, it shifts to the embarrassing story of Mars' past.

“He wetted longer than everyone.” Or “She said she wanted to ride a horse, and when she jumped onto the horse carriage, the horse was shocked and out of control. It became a big catch for all the men in the neighborhood.”

Mars can't take it anymore. Perhaps due to his shame in the past, he lowered his head and placed his hand on the ground. Even though he did it himself, it was still sad to see.

After confirming that Mars has sunk, the girl who made fun of Mars comes in front of Nozomu.

“Sorry. My stupid Onichan makes you uncomfortable.”

“A, no, I don't mind.. Is your brother okay?”

“Yes. If I don't do this, my brother won't regret it. And because of him, I got into a lot of trouble. This is his natural punishment.”

“I ... I understand ..”

Mars, whose heart was broken, looked pitiful, and Nozomu tried to calm the girl down, but the girl cut in as if throwing it away.

Nozomu is angry at Mars who suddenly comes to him, but no matter how bad he is, the girl has dumped her brother and abandoned him.

“Oh, I'm late to introduce myself. I'm Ena, the younger sister of the foolish brother who died there.”

“Oh, thank you. I'm a classmate of Mars Nozomu Bountis.”

Unlike Mars, she was a girl who greeted people kindly and politely. She was a very mature girl, probably because her brother left her with a lot of problems to deal with.

“I'm sorry for the inconvenience caused by my brother today. I want to apologize, so can you come to my house? We have an inn with a bar so you can have lunch.”

He wants to apologize. Nozomu said he did not need to apologize, but Ena stubbornly said, “I have to apologize properly for this inconvenience.” He thought it would be a bad idea to refuse, so Nozomu decided to accept his invitation.

“Well that's okay, but what about Mars?”

“Oh, that's right. Onichan, you're in the way, so walk fast!”

Ena kicked Mars. Mars was angry, exclaiming, “What are you doing!”, But he was distressed by his brother's bulging eyes. He followed her with great difficulty