The Bloody Valkyrie

Having decided his next attack, Brain trained his eyes on Shalltear’s neck and returned his katana to its sheath. Once launched, he could accurately hit his 「God Slash」 even with his eyes closed. Then the obvious plan would be to deceive the enemy with his eyes.

“—I’m going to crush you.”

Once again, Shalltear stepped forward with light steps.

The first time, Brain had eagerly waited for her to enter his 「Field」. But this time was different. If possible, he didn’t want her anywhere near him.

How his heart had weakened. Realizing this, Brain furiously tried to reignite his spirit, to no avail. It was like the fire that burned inside him had run out of fuel. Left in such a state, he waited for Shalltear to enter while observing with his 「Field」.

Three steps, two steps, one step—

—she entered his range.

While staring at his opponent’s neck, Shalltear’s face entered his vision.

—he only had one real target, her right ankle in mid-motion.

He slightly dropped his katana, still in its sheath, all in an attempt to accelerate himself even a tiny bit faster.

After breaking his concentration, he confirmed that the speed of this slash would be even faster than the previous one. If he himself were on the receiving end, he would not be able to defend against it.

This could work!

Just barely visible beneath the edges of her skirt, as he was about to blow away the thin ankle that suited the girl so well—

—the katana slipped out from his hand.

Having regained his senses, Brain had no idea what had happened just then. His 「Field」 that blessed him with absolute awareness finally caught up and revealed the katana that rolled onto the ground, with the girl’s heel pushing it into the dirt.

Impossible, but it was reality.

The reason the katana had slipped from Brain’s grip was due to the high heels’ force that was transmitted through the blade.

There was just one reason why he didn’t want to believe.

Even with his concentration raised to the utmost limit, even within the 「Field」 that he was so proud of; Brain could not perceive the moment when she blocked the attack.

From a distance close enough to touch by simply reaching out a hand, Shalltear looked down at him with an icy gaze. Brain felt an incredible pressure that threatened to crush him into the earth.

He was panting now.

Sweat flowed profusely down his body, he felt an urge to vomit. His mind grew dizzy as his vision twisted and turned.

He had been in plenty of situations where he was pushed to his limit, they were commonplace. However, compared to now, they seemed fake— like memories of a children’s playground.

The high heels released the blade, and Shalltear wordlessly jumped back.

“—Are you ready now?”

“!”

The third time hearing that voice, more than anything, he felt absolute despair.

Expecting her next words to be the usual “I’m going to trample you now”, what flowed into Brain’s ears next was something different.

“Is it possible… you can’t use any martial arts?”

Hearing her sympathetic voice filled with pity, Brain inhaled sharply.

He was at a loss for words. No, what could he possibly say in response? That was it just now but you defeated it easily. Could he sound any more like a clown?

While biting down on his lips, Brain picked up his blade off the ground.

“… Were you not that strong, after all? I thought you would be stronger than the ones at the entrance… Oh, I’m sorry. It seems the lowest metric I can use to measure strength is a meter. The difference between one or two millimeter is just impossible for me to discern.”

His unrelenting effort.

His fight with Gazef was when he was confident in his own talent. The man who did not put in the effort lost to the man who did. Because of that, the failure engraved into his heart was channeled into a motivating force.

That renewed earnestness he poured into his training was what defined his existence. Everything he was, this monster before him made a mockery of it.

I must seem pathetic. I, after all the monsters that I’ve killed, the arrogant fools who underestimated me just because they believed themselves to be stronger—

While harboring such thoughts, Brain forcibly suppressed his self-deprecation. Instead—

“—AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!”

With a scream, he charges at Shalltear with his sword raised high. Towards Shalltear, who had been looking at him with a peculiar expression — he swings down his katana with the weight of his entire body.

A slash with the power of all of his muscles would have easily cleaved a human in two, even with the protection of a helmet. Against such a powerful attack, Shalltear stares at him with no intention to move.

This time for sure, he had her; such thoughts flashed through his head.