Black Iron Magician

Chapter 357 Little Peerless

Poisonous liquid from Haru’s magic dripped from the blade of her Doggan Staff. Lily, who’s grabbing the Doggan Staff, received the poison directly, but she doesn’t seem to be in pain.

「Haruna, aren’t you a bit careless? You know the difference in our power, right? That’s so unlike you.」

「Yes, I thought it was careless, and I know the difference in our power. But I think it’s very much like me, you know? After all, sometimes you can’t win a match if you don’t be reckless!」

「It sounds plausible, but how is it in reality? You see, I don’t like unrealistic thinking.」

「Then, why don’t you try it? I think it’s kind of you to hold back your power to match my aiki, but it’s sad and annoying that you don’t take the fight seriously. Also, if you don’t get out of here soon, Chinatsu-chan and the others will come back, you know?」

「Hmm. I’ll praise you for the courage to say something like that when facing me. Well then, you can regret it to your heart’s content…!」

Lily was probably holding back, but she started to push Haru seriously. Even though the techniques are the same, the difference in status will break the equilibrium. As if to show the difference in power in an easy-to-understand manner, Lily’s pressure increased. However――

「……?」

――The equilibrium, which moved slightly at the moment Lily got serious, was returned to the original position. It was as if Haru was also strengthening her power as Lily increased hers. Perhaps this mysterious phenomenon was unexpected, Lily’s expression began to change for the first time here.

「Ooh, ain’t she amazing!? She’s competing with Lily-han head-on! That’s impossible even for me and Zex-han! Is that some kind of ability!?」

「Haruna-san is amazing!」

「Hmm, something strange is happening. However, there’s no way Deris-dono will tell us…. *Glance*」

「I don’t care how many times you look at me, I’m not going to tell you, okay?」

The only people here who know what’s going on are me and Nell. It seems that these Great Eight Demons didn’t expect this development, so they’re somewhat excited. Of course, I’m not going to tell them about Haru’s Unique Skill. Instead, I will check it again in my mind.

The distance between Haru and her opponent is the key to activating the 『Little Peerless』 that she acquired when she reached level 8. As the name implies, the range of effect is a little from Haru or from her weapon. To put it simply, it’s about 3 centimeters. If Haru can recognize that the target has entered this range, her power will be activated.

「You…!」

The situation has completely changed, and the superiority is clearly leaning toward Haru. No matter how much Lily squeezes her power or uses the same technique as Haru, she can’t surpass Haru. After all, Haru’s Unique Skill is an ability that makes her status one step higher than the target’s status.

「It was pretty shocking when Haru won against Nell in an arm-wrestling match as an experiment. I was so surprised that I couldn’t even stand.」

「H-Hey, forget about that already. Still, it’s true that it was somewhat shocking….」

Yeah, by activating this ability, Haru won against Nell in an arm-wrestling match. It’s a rough estimation, but I estimate that Nell’s power is comparable to Maria’s. And then, that Maria is a terrifying fashion girl who boasts the top physical power among the Great Eight Demons. In other words, as long as Haru can activate this power, she can win in a simple clash of power no matter what kind of Great Eight Demons she’s up against.

However, not everything can be conveniently targeted by the ability. As mentioned before, Haru must recognize that the target is within the range. It’s impossible for her to respond to an attack that comes at her faster than what she can recognize, or an attack from outside her awareness. She also can’t apply this ability to her iron ball because it’s released from her hand when thrown. If Lilyvia hadn’t caught Haru’s attack and put all her power into attacking from the beginning, Haru’s ability wouldn’t have been activated.

But once the opponent is caught by Haru’s aiki and got into that kind of contact state―― the little distance becomes meaningless and Haru’s peerless time will begin.

「Cough!」

Lily was calm when she received the poison before, but now blood is dripping from her mouth. Not only Haru’s strength, but magic power and other stats are increased as well. The water that was harmless has now turned into a deadly poison that could even kill the Great Demon King.

「Now that I see it again, it sure is a powerful ability.」

「If it weren’t Haru, it would be difficult to meet the conditions. Well, at this rate, it’s clear that Lily will lose. Now, what will she do?」

「She has to escape from that state first even if she would receive an attack from Haruna.」

「Will her pride allow it when she’s facing a lower rank opponent? I mean, she’s the Great Demon King right now.」

「Hmm, then, is she going to self-destruct? If it were me, I would do that.」

「A whole country will disappear, so please don’t do that….」

As I was talking with Nell, I saw a figure approaching Lily from the edge of my field of vision. It was Touko, who was blown away by Lily’s aiki before. Looking closely, I can see that she’s concentrating her ki on one foot while running.

「Uryaaaaa!」

The moment she stomped on the ground with one foot, Touko jumped forward. Looking at the floor that cracked due to the impact, it seems that she kicked the floor with considerable power. And with that power added to her speed, she goes straight toward Lily.

「Kuh, Touko…!」

「Lily-senpai, looking away is not good, you know!」

Seeing that Touko is clearly launching an attack, Lily tries hard to escape. However, Haru is not soft enough to let her do it. The merciless girl, who’s greedy for victory, continues to use her aiki on Lily. No matter how hard Lily struggles, it’s impossible to get out of this in a straightforward manner.

In the end, the flying kick, with Touko’s ki accumulated on it, hit the flank of Lily, who couldn’t move her body. Lily’s endurance was ignored due to Berserk, and Touko’s pure destructive power penetrated her body as it is. An unpleasant sound was heard in the contact area, and the damage was serious even though Lily was able to endure the pain.

「Hell yeah! Nice, Haruna!」

「No, it’s not over yet! There――」

「――Yeah, we have her there!」

Receiving the flying kick directly, Lily was blown away. She flapped her wings and tried to stop, but there was already a figure waiting for her.

「…… Hardship Clearing Sword.」

It was Chinatsu. It seems that she has completely repaired her Iwatōshi when Haru was stalling for time with her aiki. There’s not a single scratch on the drawn blade. However, there’s one difference. The katana, which normally has a dazzling divine light on it, is now covered with something black as if it has been covered with ink.

「Finally!」

Nell is getting awfully excited. Well, yeah, it can’t be helped. Following Haru, it’s time for Chinatsu to show her Unique Skill. Now, spit out the thing you have accumulated to your heart’s content!

「My stress, I will give it to you!」