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“…So they lost every time.”

Subaru had logged out earlier, and then came back to tell everyone that dinner was ready…and was greeted by a perplexing sight.
There…lying on the couch, were Kou and Suzaku, completely exhausted and burnt out, almost like they were fresh out of an oven.

***

By the thirteenth defeat, Suzaku could no longer go on, so Crim swapped places with him…and soon four fights were over, all ending in her defeat. Time for dinner was also fast approaching, and in the fight…

“You might be moving faster, but you’re still just as predictable!”
“Ah…okay!”

Rage’s sword seemed to predict Crim’s movements, who just barely managed to avoid a direct strike, followed by a backflip as she acknowledged Rage’s reprimand.

“You have good eyes, but you’re relying on them too much, try to think about your movements ahead of time!”
“O-Okay!”

While internally gritting her teeth at the constant reprimands, she once again acknowledged it, while desperately trying to get a sequence of weapon arts to connect…but Rage’s two swords moved faster than one could see, parrying all of them. All of his movements were faster and more precise than Crim’s.

*No, he just knows everything I’ll do!*

The reason why Rage’s movements appeared faster than Crim’s, was because he anticipated and moved ahead of anything she did. In terms of raw physical ability, Crim was clearly ahead after evolving species.
But raw speed alone was not enough to win here. This was the first time she was completely outskilled.
Feeling such a defeat in an environment where she once dominated filled her with frustration…and all she could do was hold the flat side of her blade to guard against Rage’s incoming onslaught.
A terrifying amount of metal clangs rang out, and then Crim’s black sword broke off as her small body was sent flying away.

“You rely so much on your eyes that you only try to block when I’m already halfway through my attacks.”
“Ack…”
“But that’s not enough time to put all your physical abilities to use, you’re just erratically going with the flow, try to read your opponent properly!”
“O-Okay!”

Rage reprimanded her harshly again, as she broke her fall and regained her footing… She already had a faint idea of what she was lacking, so having it confirmed made her give a reassured response while creating a new weapon.
Ever since she had evolved species, she had focused so much on controlling her body properly that she had focused less on being efficient. She had brute forced her way through everything before, so even she knew she had gotten sloppy.
…And this was the first time her bad habits were being exploited so much.

*But it doesn’t feel bad.*

As far as she could recall, the last time Kou was able to fight like that while being taught by someone else, was back in elementary school, when she went to the dojo.
After that she just learned from the AI Sora gave her, constantly trying to figure out her own ways of defeating it, to no avail… And after that, whether in games or just virtual spaces, there was no one she could learn from anymore.
So this rare experience for her was…

*This is so fun.*

The feeling of someone pointing out her flaws, a stronger opponent cornering her, forcing her to really think about the fight and how to win, improving her own skills, it was all so enjoyable.
At first she could only muster a few attacks before being defeated, but now, in the third match, she had been able to fend him off better, even if she was still largely being chased around.

*Right, I have to anticipate what he’ll do and then act on it.*

She had to pay attention to both her opponents stance and movements, as well as her own position…being always careful to not get carried away with her overly mobile body, considering countless choices, and pinpointing the optimal one.

*Let’s see if I can do it.*

Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Kou firmly grasped her sword and stood ready.
She felt like her thoughts were becoming much clearer.
All her brainpower was focused entirely on landing a single hit on him, and while her thoughts seemed to cool down, her battle sense only increased.
As a result, Crim’s body began to emit those red particles again, just like she did in Fort Vargan when she evolved species.
Now she would be able to move just like she did there…or at least she subconsciously felt that way, as Crim kicked off into a dash with enough force to leave a crater under her foot on the colosseum’s floor.
Her hair trailed behind her together with the red particles, her small body accelerating further as she rushed at Rage.

“Ohh, now you’re moving better. Show me your best!”
“I was planning on it, and this time..!”

She anticipated countless possibilities, reading more than ten moves into the future, and picking the best ones at high speed.
All her previous attempts had ended as soon as they began, but this time Crim could also see Rage’s movements, they were finally exchanging blows.

*…I can do it!*

Everything around her seemed to be moving in slow motion, ignoring any surplus information like the color of things… But in the end, she made a wrong read and Rage’s blade ended up resting on Crim’s slender neck.

“…Umm, could I use this opportunity to at least land a single strike in response?”
“Hahahah, you’re ten years too early for that. Better luck next time.”

Crim laughed nervously, while Rage smirked like a mischievous brat and completed the swing of his sword. For the fourth time in a row, all of Crim’s life was depleted in one strike.

***

“…So we had to cut things short since it was almost dinner time, but we’ll get to keep going later tonight.”
“…Huh, whatever you say.”

Kou looked completely disheartened as she said that, while Suzaku lay down, barely able to move his eyes to stare at Sora, ectoplasm leaking from his mouth.
Seeing both of them in such a beat down state was a completely new experience for Subaru…