Haimo lowered his eyes, watching the girl whose muscles had instantly tensed to their limit.
"Then come at me."
Whoosh-
The instant Haimo finished speaking,
Sasamori Aya moved.
No, it was something faster than movement.
Her center of gravity dropped instantly.
Her right foot slammed down, shattering the floor beneath it.
Like a fully drawn bow, she unleashed years of accumulated brute strength without holding anything back.
Both hands became knife-hands, her fingertips gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen.
[Ryukyu Kobujutsu: Uechi-Ryū].
It was an ancient martial art that honed the flesh to its absolute limit, turning every inch of the body into a killing weapon.
Spear-hands, elbow strikes, knee strikes...
The moment she assumed her stance, thousands of attack trajectories, techniques for generating force, and patterns of muscular movement unfolded, broke down, and reassembled in Haimo's mind with the clarity of a holographic projection.
The authority of [Lord of Arms] let him instantly grasp every secret of this martial art.
His understanding was even more thorough than that of its founder.
"Too slow."
Haimo spoke softly.
Boom!
A muffled blast erupted between them.
An instant before Sasamori Aya's knife-hand, powerful enough to slice through steel, could touch Haimo, an overwhelming force knocked it away.
That brutal force tore her stance apart.
It penetrated the steel-hard muscular defenses she took such pride in and struck straight into her body.
That much force was enough to cripple a seasoned LV.1 adventurer.
Splat-
Blood blossomed from her fingers.
Her blood vessels had burst, unable to withstand the sudden pressure.
Sasamori Aya flew backward and slammed into the desk behind her.
The solid wooden desk shattered instantly.
She landed in a disheveled heap among the splinters, clutching her fingers. Bright red blood ran through the gaps between them and dripped onto the floor with a steady drip, drip.
Pain.
Excruciating pain.
How long had it been since she had felt anything like this, after reaching the pinnacle and forging a body as tough as iron?
Three years?
Five?
Ever since those so-called strong fighters had fallen at her feet one after another, her world had held nothing but the boredom of crushing her opponents.
But now...
That long-forgotten agony, as though it would tear her very soul apart, made her body tremble uncontrollably.
Not from fear.
But from excitement.
"Ha... hahaha..."
Sasamori Aya staggered to her feet. Looking at the blood covering her hand, her smile only grew wider, even becoming a little twisted.
"So this is blood?"
"So this is pain?"
She raised her head, her black eyes fixed on Haimo as he stood where he had been, her gaze brimming with fervor.
Watching the girl whose fighting spirit had only risen despite her injuries, a flicker of admiration crossed Haimo's eyes.
She was worthy of his interest.
The strength behind his last blow had been enough to break a seasoned LV.1 adventurer's bones and tear their tendons.
Yet Sasamori Aya had taken it with nothing but her flesh and suffered only minor injuries, with scarcely any broken bones.
Her physical toughness already rivaled that of low-level adventurers wearing light armor.
Once granted a falna, her potential would be immeasurable.
That was Haimo's fair assessment.
However,
Haimo had yet to voice it.
Instead, Sasamori Aya, who had been brimming with wild fervor as though she would throw herself back into the fight at any moment, did something that surprised even him.
She did not hesitate.
She bent one knee.
And dropped heavily onto the debris-covered floor.
She bowed the head she had never lowered to anyone, kneeling before Haimo in a posture of near submission.
"O god."
"Please take me with you."
"To that place you spoke of, where I can truly live."
Sasamori Aya respected only the strong.
Chapter 6: One of the Five Swords, Onigawara Rin
Ultimately,
For creatures that revered strength, words were the feeblest thing of all.
Just as when two male lions met on the plains, their standing was never decided by which one roared louder or had the smoother mane.
It was decided by whose claws and fangs were sharper, whose could tear open the other's throat.
Thus, as a martial arts fanatic, Sasamori Aya not only understood this principle, but followed it with fervent devotion.
"A wise choice."
"I have heard your desire."
"Though you are still nothing more than an uncut stone,"
"If you follow me, the day will come when even the gods in heaven marvel at your edge."
"Now rise."
With that, Haimo looked toward the glass window.
His gaze passed over the overlapping school buildings and settled on a quiet spot deep within the academy.
There,
An extremely faint yet unusually keen presence was probing the disturbance here.
Meanwhile,
Hearing his words, Sasamori Aya rose briskly without fuss and casually wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.
"Next,"
"Come meet the others with me."
Haimo wasted no more words. He turned and left.
Sasamori Aya paused, then took a couple of steps after him, her tone carrying undisguised arrogance.
"The others?"
"In this academy..."
"Is there anyone else worthy of your attention?"
This was not conceit.
It was a statement based on fact.
After all,
Within this academy, which she had ruled for so long,
Every one of the so-called Five Heavenly Swords had already suffered defeat at her hands.
In response,
"Whether they are worthy is not for you to decide."
"It is for me."
Haimo's calm voice drifted back.
Sasamori Aya's doubts vanished at once, and she followed him with utter obedience.
After all,
This was the judgment of the god who was stronger than her.
The corridors of Aichi Kyosei Academy were spacious and bright.
Yet now, the corridors that should have been bustling with noise were eerily silent.
Although the divine might that had felt like the sky collapsing had already subsided,
Its lingering terror still kept the ordinary students hiding in their classrooms, afraid to show themselves.
In the corridor now,
Only two figures walked, one behind the other.
Their footsteps echoed through the silence with unusual clarity.
"They're here."
Haimo suddenly stopped.
His gaze shifted toward the corner at the end of the corridor.
There,
Two figures blocked the path ahead.
The one on the left
Had short black hair and wore a black school uniform with a red collar.
What drew the eye
Was the white hannya demon mask covering the upper half of the girl's face.
Hideous and contorted, it exuded an ominous air and concealed her features completely, leaving only a pair of unfathomable eyes and tightly pressed lips exposed.
Besides that,
The girl's right thumb rested against the guard of the katana at her waist.