A truly strong person would never believe they were already strong enough.
To improve, one had to find every possible way to keep moving forward, to make one's blade a moment faster, a little heavier.
Only then could you—
Clang—
Sakumura spun as he landed, then immediately rolled to the side without pausing.
The arrow behind him had already come flying—he had sensed it.
Tomoe Gozen, a Seed of Demonkind, a terrifying evil demon who had come to hate the entire world because of her boundless love.
If she had been the true Tomoe Gozen, she would undoubtedly have been a woman who cared for the whole world. But the one before them was merely the dregs left behind after her soul had been shredded.
The kindness that had once remained had vanished without a trace, while malice had been amplified by endless means. The result was what stood before them now.
Musashi blocked the arrow Tomoe Gozen had fired, but the fire serpent unleashed by her naginata followed close behind. Musashi frowned and leaped to the side, evading Tomoe Gozen's attack.
"Unlike Lord Inshun, Lady Tomoe Gozen's attacks may not be especially fast, but their range—it's unimaginably vast!"
Musashi and Sakumura landed on opposite sides of the field and exchanged a few brief words.
And aside from swinging that naginata to command roaring flames, those rapidly fired arrows were also extremely troublesome.
"Archers with such wide-ranging, destructive attacks generally have one fatal weakness."
Sakumura raised his blade and slashed vertically, cutting apart the flames rushing at him. He licked his slightly dry lips.
"That is, they can't possibly be fast."
"Understood!"
Musashi understood what Sakumura had in mind and nodded.
She rose to her feet and took a deep breath. Niten Ichi-ryu erupted, and Musashi carved a cross-shaped opening