Luna also heard Vega’s introduction.
“(8th Strongest?)”
Kasumi started to feel intimidated. She’s remembering how much she struggled inside that infinite maze, and the fact that she didn’t even defeat the Game Master. Fighting someone ranked 8th in the world is such an impossible spike in difficulty.
“LET’S DANCE, DARK BLUE-HAIRED WOMAN!!”
*FWOOOOMM*
*!!*
Vega launches himself towards Kasumi, and his entire body catches fire. He also emits large fire, acting as thrusters, from under both of his feet. He puts his hands together and does a vertical two-handed bash towards Kasumi’s head.
Kasumi does a backflip and swings her leg towards his hands.
*DAHK*
She planned to deflect his hands, but they wouldn’t budge at all.
“(Are you saying that my Vein armor can’t even compare to his brute physical strength?)”
“BUUUUURRRNNN!!!”
*FWOOOOOMMMM*
Vega unleashes a flamethrower from his joined-hands at Kasumi.
“URGH!!”
Kasumi immediately jumps backwards and narrowly dodges the flamethrower as she feels the sharp, immense heat on her body.
*BWOOOSSHHH*
*ZRRRTTT*
As soon as she lands, Kasumi jumps high towards the sky, reaching 3 meters off the ground. She points her katana downwards, and its blade sparks purple lightning.
“Elegant Bolt!”
*ZRAAARRR*
She shoots a purple thunderbolt below, towards Vega’s flamethrower.
*ZRRRKKSSS*
*BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM*
*BWOOOOSSHHHH*
“URGH!!”
“AAKHH!!”
A giant and powerful explosion occurred the moment her thunderbolt hit his flamethrower. It pushes Kasumi 10 meters away from her spot in the air.
*THUD*
She does multiple backflips before landing on the snow below on her two feet, crouching. The explosion was so powerful that it also blew all the snow from the ground in a 20-meter radius, revealing the ground underneath. Luna was also sent flying two meters behind where she crouched.
Kasumi sees Luna in the distance.
“(Thank God, she’s okay! I have to make sure she is not involved in this fight! Speaking of which, where is he? There’s just absolutely no way he was done after that explosion!)”
Kasumi focuses her glare on the aftermath of the explosion. It leaves a giant cloud of smoke that flows upwards high towards the sky. She also enters her battle stance once again to anticipate his next move.
“. . .”
The cloud of smoke eventually lets up, and Vega emerges to just stand there. He sustained zero damage even though he never moved to avoid the explosion.
“I was waiting for your next move, but it turns out so are you! You’re patient, woman! And I applaud that!”
“I can say the same to you! For someone who seems hot-headed, you’re surprisingly patient as well! I was expecting you to keep charging at me relentlessly without giving me any moment to think!”
“Hm? Didn’t expect you to give me an actual suggestion, but at the same time, I feel like you’re baiting me? HAH!! You’re amusing, dark blue-haired woman! State your name!”
“My name is Kasumi Coldhart!”
“Well then, Coldhart-san! Pleased to meet you!”
*FWOOOOOMMM*
*!!*
Vega once again launches himself towards Kasumi, reaching her in no time using the same manner. He has his right palm open, thrusts it at Kasumi’s hand, and it looks like he’s trying to break her right wrist with his grip.
Kasumi swiftly moves her hand out of the way and immediately swings her katana towards his right wrist.
*!*
But when her katana almost grazes his wrist, it is stopped by something invisible.
“(W-WHAT? WHAT IS THIS? THERE’S SOMETHING INVISIBLE SURROUNDING HIS WRIST!! I CAN’T PUSH MY KATANA FURTHER!! WHAT IS GOING ON?)”
“. . .”
Vega didn’t say anything.
*FWOOOOMMM*
*!!*
“AARRGGHH!!”
But then Kasumi’s katana was pushed back by something invisible. The force was so strong that it sent Kasumi herself flying away for three meters.
*FWOOOOOOMMMMMM*
Vega immediately follows after her, and before Kasumi hits her back on the snow below, Vega is above her, with an axe kick ready to hit her belly.
*FWOOOOOMMMM*
“BLAZING AXE!!”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Vega’s right leg burns bright, and he swings down his leg, doing a burning axe kick down at her belly.
“Kasumi style!”
*ZRRRRTTT*
Kasumi reacted quickly and activated her purple lightning on her katana.
“ELECTROCUTED RISING WATERFALL!”
At the same time, his axe kick came swinging down, Kasumi also swung her lightning-imbued katana upwards towards his leg.
*ZRRAARRRRR*
*DAHK*
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM*
At the moment of impact, another giant explosion occurred, but this time, it only created a thin cloud of smoke. The force of the explosion is slightly weaker and pushes away all the snow below in a 13-meter radius.
*THUD*
Vega landed three meters on the ground, north of the explosion, but Kasumi was nowhere to be seen.
. . . . . .
“K-KASUMI-CHAAAAAAANNNN!!!”
Luna shouted in worry after realizing that Kasumi never escaped that explosion.
“. . .”
After thirty seconds of loud silence, the thin cloud of smoke let up, revealing a two-meter-wide hole in the ground.
“KASUMI-CHAAAAAAAAAANNN!!! ARE YOU OKAAAAAYYYY??”
*Srrrks srrks srrkks*
There were some sounds coming out of the hole.
*!*
“I. . .I’m fine. . . Luna-chan. . .”
It was the sound of Kasumi, crawling out of the hole with one hand. Her entire body looks slightly burned all over.
*SRRRKSSS*
*THUD*
She finally crawls out of the hole and lies face down on the ground.
*pant pant pant*
She’s already having trouble breathing.
“(My whole body was burned, but thanks to my Vein armor, the damage is a lot less than they should.)”
*COUGH COUGH*
Kasumi also started coughing up blood that spilled to the ground.
“Oi, oi, oi! Are you okay, Coldhart-san?”
Vega approaches her without any intention to get a cheap shot. He crouches down to her level.
“We barely started fighting, and you’re already like this! What is wrong with you? I sense more strength from you! I couldn’t have possibly wrong about it! My senses were never wrong!”
*pant pant pant*
Kasumi did not answer him as she just tried to regain her normal breathing.
“Hm, I see. You’re the type that can’t get serious unless someone you care about is in danger, huh?”
*FWOOOOMMMM*
*BWOOSSHH*
Vega quickly flies towards Luna and lands behind her.
“Heh?”
Luna realizes too late, and Vega is already behind her. He raises his right hand, and it catches bright fire. She turns around to him and just sits frozen on the snow from fear.
“COLDHART-SAN!! IF YOU DON’T GET A MOVE ON, I’LL KILL THIS BRAT THAT YOU CARE SO MUCH ABOUT!!”
“. . .”
Usually, those provocative words are effective to rouse Kasumi up, but currently, Kasumi was simply too exhausted to even respond.
“I see. So this is your limit after all. *SIGH*”
Vega lets out a huge sigh.
“And I got my hopes up, thinking that you would provide a decent fight! Guess I was wrong this time.”
*!*
Vega takes a look at Luna’s appearance, and he is reminded of something.
“Wait, a minute! Didn’t I take a mission to capture you and send you back? Hmm, I completely forgot about it because of how excited I am over that dark-haired woman!”
*!!!*
But without Vega ever expecting it, Luna suddenly stands up and jumps towards his face. She activates her Faith power and stares deeply into his eyes.
“. . .”
*Thud*
Luna lands on the snow and quickly runs the other way towards Kasumi.
“KASUMI-CHAN!!”
She reaches her and quickly crouches down to check on her.
*COUGH COUGH COUGH*
Kasumi has been coughing up blood the whole time, and she’s struggling to regain her breathing.
“Kasumi-chan! W-What should I do to relieve the pain?”
*pant pant pant*
“Luna-chan. . . My back hit the ground so hard, and I started coughing up blood. . .”
*!*
Luna quickly lifts up Kasumi’s hoodie and shirt, revealing her bra and her bare back, which was bleeding a little bit.
“(This looks horrible! And it’s just from that one explosion! Not to mention her Vein armor was pierced!)”
Luna started panicking and sweating as soon as she saw her wound.
*!!!*
But then she looks towards the direction where Vega was, and she saw him already moving again.
“Tch!! WHAT DID YOU DO, YOU LITTLE BRAT? HOW DARE YOU LOCK ME INSIDE MY HORRIBLE PAST!! YOU’RE GONNA PAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY!!!”
*BWOOOOOOMMMMMMM*
*FWOOOOOOOOMMM*
Vega shouts loudly in anger that his entire head is leaning upwards, spreading both of his fists to the side, and his body emits a large amount of fire to his surroundings, in one meter diameter as well as three meters to the sky.
“(This is bad! So bad! That guy is seriously bad news! He can conquer his own fear? Why do I keep meeting people who can overcome their past that renders my Faith power useless? What should I do? Kasumi-chan can’t possibly win, and Quroe-san is in that building away from us! Think! Think! THINK!!)”
“YOU’RE TOAST!!”
*FWOOOOOOMMMMM*
Vega lifts his right hand above his head, and flame trails gather above himself, creating a giant fireball, seven meters in diameter.
“(OH, RIGHT!!)”
Luna activates her Faith power from a distance and keeps her gaze towards Vega.
*!!*
*BA-THUMP*
“(W-What is this? That brat’s eyes changed, and the moment I looked at them, my heart felt like it skipped a few beats?)”
Vega felt that he was sweating for some reason, not because of the heat, but because of fear.
“(Am I. . . feeling scared? But why so suddenly? This is so unlike me to be scared! GET A GRIP ALREADY, DAMMIT!!)”
“. . .”
After thinking quickly, Vega deduces that the fear that he felt feels unnatural and something that was enforced upon him.
“(Is this that brat’s Faith power? Are those eyes her Faith power?)”
“. . .”
“(TCH!! WHY ISN’T ANYTHING MANIFESTING? DOES THIS GUY NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING? HOW RIDICULOUS!! Don’t tell me that he’s just like Kasumi-chan who’s fear aren’t exactly something or someone specific. . . This is bad! This is so bad!)”
“TCH!!”
Luna turns off her Faith power, and her eyes turn normal. As soon as the fear that Vega felt was gone, he immediately tried to throw his giant fireball above.
“STTTOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!”
*!*
Luna immediately stands up in front of Kasumi, spreading both of her hands to the side, shouting really loudly at Vega. He stopped himself in the middle of his throwing motion.
“YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO TAKE ME HOME UNSCATHED, RIGHT!! THEN DROP YOUR ATTACK AND LEAVE KASUMI-CHAN ALONE!! I’LL GO WITH YOU!!”
“. . .”
Vega stands still, thinking about Luna’s suggestion.
“Nah! I am someone from the Ten Commandments of God! Money isn’t a problem for me. I currently have more than I ever need in my bank account now that I think about it! I merely accepted this mission thinking that you are someone who’s very strong whose identity and Faith power are being kept secret! Turns out it’s just a brat with a scary pair of eyes!”
Vega enters a stance to throw the giant fireball above him once more.
“B-But, Kasumi-chan can no longer fight! There’s no reason for you to go after us anymore!!”
“She’s someone who will pull through the moment someone she cares about gets hurt! Wanna see it?”
“STOOOOPPP!!! KASUMI-CHAN SHOULD NOT FIGHT ANYMORE!! SHE’LL JUST BE STRUGGLING IN VAIN FOR MY SAKES!! I DON’T WANT THAT!!”
“And why should I care about that, brat? ALL I WANT IS THE THRILL OF A FIGHT!!”
*FWOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM*
Vega mercilessly throws his giant fireball at Luna and Kasumi, and it moves at 75km/h; it will reach them within seconds. Luna instinctively runs towards the giant fireball. She thought that at least Kasumi wouldn’t be as close to the center of the flame explosion as possible if she were to run ahead into the fireball.
*GRAB*
But Luna was suddenly grabbed from behind.
*BWOOOOSSHH*
And she was pulled backwards, away from the giant fireball, really fast.
*BWOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM*
The giant fireball hits the ground below and explodes into a giant fire tornado, 12 meters in diameter and 25 meters tall.
*THUD*
Luna was safely carried away from the explosion, and she is about 20 meters from the giant fire tornado.
“I apologize, Luna-chan! I feel ashamed that you were the one who had to protect me.”
Kasumi was the one who carried Luna all the way here. She gently puts Luna down on the snow. There is a trail of blood coming down from both sides of her mouth. She quickly wipes them away with her right hand.
“K-Kasumi-chan! Is it okay for you to be moving?”
*!!!*
Luna sees that Kasumi’s Vein armor is glowing brightly.
“W-What is this, Kasumi-chan?”
“Hm? Didn’t you see me use this inside that infinite maze?”
“Eh? Really? This is my first time seeing it, though!”
“Is that so? I guess you were quite a distance when I used it. . . But that’s not important, now!”
Kasumi walks to Luna’s front. She raises her right hand and summons her unsheathed katana.
The giant fire tornado from earlier has dispersed as per Vega’s will.
*step step step*
He has already walked forward, approaching Kasumi and Luna. He stops about 2 meters away from them.
“THERE YOU GO!! YOU MOVE WELL FOR SOMEONE WHO’S SUPPOSEDLY DYING!! YOU EVEN SAFELY RETRIEVED THE KID AS WELL!!”
*?!*
But then Vega saw Kasumi’s glowing Vein armor.
“What is that? Why is your Vein armor glowing?”
Kasumi smiles, realizing that even someone as strong as he is doesn’t know about her new power.
“This is the power I gained from Lord Jesus! From now on, I’ll give you a real fight!” said Kasumi as she entered her battle stance.
“NOW THIS IS MORE LIKE IT!! COME AT ME, COLDHART-SAN!!”
Vega also enters his battle stance once more, with his two fists and two feet burning brightly.
