Fractal Plane: Beyond Public Eyes

Chapter 14 - Beautiful, Dangerous, and Strong - Heated Showdown!

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"Hiyaaaaa!"

Uehara closed the gap on her opponent as the world around her moved in slow motion. Fighting off the heat consuming her body, she set her sights on the blue and green hue taking the shape of a woman.

It was all the effect of her Armament's ability: Crimson Lust.

Getting the head start on an opponent was such a big boon in battle. It was for that reason that she considered her Armament's ability the perfect fit for her fighting style.

It taxed her body, but in exchange, her perception abilities became second to no one. Few had been able to match her reaction speed in this state.

Uehara gripped her sword and swung it at the woman who had only begun raising her hand.

Diagonally upward, a cut that will finish her opponent.

"What?"

Her ears rang with the sound of successive clanging sounds, and without warning, her arm recoiled.

Her world returned to normal, and as she hopped back out of reflex, she stared at the lavender-haired woman. The arrogant form of the woman nonchalantly staring at her seemed just a bit aggravating.

The feedback from the surge of energy drew her to cover her coughing mouth. Her body tingled, a known side-effect of Crimson Lust being abruptly interrupted.

Not taking her sight too far away from the woman, the black-haired girl looked at her own arms.

Then, the pain dawned on her.

Cuts.

Three or four of them. Small ones on her forearm and upper arms.

It took little to piece together a quick explanation of what just happened. When she had raised her arm to make the diagonal swing, the knives that orbited Utara had all focused on deflecting the force of her attack. They flew like a whirlwind of petals, swarming her sword and slicing all that was in their path.

It also broke her concentration and caused her to deactivate her Armament's ability.

If she had not pulled herself back, those blades would have found their way through her body.

However, for that to happen...

A reaction speed that matched Crimson Lust?

She grimaced upon the realization that Reiya Utara was not just an ordinary foe. That much should had been obvious several minutes ago. No ordinary foe would have lasted this long against the combined forces of her and Amagi.

Even as her breathing turned heavy, she noticed no such effects on her opponent. She and her friend had tried all sorts of combination attacks, but Reiya Utara remained unharmed.

Still on her stoic expression, Utara pointed at the black-haired girl trying to recover.

Uehara barely had enough time to calculate the trajectory of the projectiles before deflecting the blades involuntarily. Not long after four of them went down did she see four more headed her way.

In front of her, the flying blades were overcome by several beams of light, and the same beams forced Utara to return her knives into a defensive formation before disappearing in a crash and a cloud of energy.

"Uehara, are you alright?"

Amagi visibly suffered with each breath, and she shakily held her bow.

"Why do you pests keep standing in my way? The past few minutes should have made it clear. You will not win against me."

Emerging from the cloud of magical energy unharmed, the manager had a very displeased expression on her face. She spread both of her arms, and more knives spawned and hovered around her.