Bang!
Sparks sprayed again as Hayashi intercepted Tagitsuhime's crushing strike. He even began slowly lifting the energy blades along her arms.
Those two arms, which had trembled incessantly during their desperate struggle moments before, now braced firmly against the blade without budging.
Crimson light pressed furiously down along the edges locked against each other!
Yet Hayashi's Ice Blade showed no sign of yielding!
"Wh... what?"
Before Tagitsuhime could finish gasping, Hayashi abruptly pulled his blade away and turned.
His right foot stamped hard into the gravel beneath him, and the left side of his body whipped upward.
From left to right, a roundhouse kick swept toward her with a howling gust!
Tagitsuhime drew back her forearm to block, but there was no stopping that kick.
The instant it connected, Tagitsuhime was sent flying backward. The energy blades along her arms kept extending, plunging deep into the ground as she flew.
Only after carving two deep furrows through the ground did she barely manage to steady herself.
She lowered her head and stared at the trench beneath her feet, white vapor rising from it, and said nothing for a long while.
The canyon was utterly silent. Even Tagorihime's gale tactfully quieted at that moment.
"What's going on... how did he suddenly become a completely different person?"
Disbelief showed on Tagitsuhime's face.
To be honest, in all her long years, she had certainly seen sages of Ryūchi Cave before.
But she had never seen a human use natural energy to make his flesh this resilient.
"Is it that strange?"
"Tagitsuhime."
Hayashi slowly raised his face.
For the first time, those clear eyes held solemnity and unparalleled seriousness.
"I hate pain, and I hate having my mind hurt by other people."
"But I hate being swallowed into someone's stomach even more."
As he