Its crimson eyes widened into perfect circles. Black Bear glanced incredulously back and forth between the Gourd at Yui's slender waist and her face before finally realizing something was wrong.
"Y-you, you..." It pointed at Yui, so agitated that it opened its mouth to say that name. "That's..."
But when the word reached its lips, it could not say it, as though its voice had been blocked.
The firelight illuminated only a few meters for a few seconds before fading back into darkness.
Yui frowned at the stunned Black Bear and murmured in puzzlement, "What's going on with this bear? It seems to anticipate my attacks every single time."
"And why has it stopped moving now? It kept staring at me in the firelight, too. Has it gotten angry? Is it about to get serious?"
At that thought, Yui immediately grew wary. Her entire body tensed as she guarded against a surprise attack from Black Bear.
Human and bear stood locked in a standoff for a long time. After five minutes, Yui finally could not hold out any longer.
I can't waste time here. I need to end this quickly. Her expression grew solemn. Gripping the long sword Hakutaku with both hands, Yui raised it as Fire Release gradually coated the blade. Her figure flickered, and she vanished from the spot.
She trailed dazzling flames, beautiful yet dangerous. With the Body Flicker Technique taking effect in an instant, Yui appeared a few meters in front of Black Bear and swung her sword, sending a fierce wave of Fire Release Sword Aura flying.
"Fire Release: Fang-Coating Slash!"
Seeing the fiery attack suddenly appear before it, Black Bear gradually snapped out of its daze. As the attack was about to strike, its heart raced, and it burst into incredible speed. With a