Capítulo 36: Raynare
Stepping to my left and then sharply moving to my right, I dodged the two light spears that came my way. I leaned forwards, bracing my hands against the ground, almost laying flat against it as more spread flew overhead, all the while I kept my eyes upon my opponents.
Both Dohanseek and Kalawarner had taken to the skies, out of reach from me. Spears formed in their hands constantly, thrown right at me in a never-ending stream. Yet it was laughably easy at this point. I couldn't see the spears, but I knew where they were aiming and it made dodging a simple matter from that point.
Unfortunately, that seemed to be about all they could do, throw spears that is. Disappointing really, I had honestly expected more from them, but I suppose they are just mobs, one-off villains. No point developing their powers if they were going to be killed off straight away. A waste of time and creative effort. Again, it's unfortunate, I had gone and gotten my hopes up for something much more interesting and challenging.
The only problem I faced right now was finding a way to get them down to my level.
Going up onto my hands, I flipped myself over, once again dodging the spears that had been aimed for where I once was. As soon as I landed, I quickly flipped over the next hail, landing in a crouch and using this proper foothold, sprinted full tilt towards the wall. Spears made a rhythmic thunk on the floor behind me, but I moved quick enough to avoid them as I closed in on the wall.
Leaping forwards, I placed my feet flat against the wall and began to run straight up it.
It's not an easy thing, the chances of you gaining traction as you run up a wall are slim to none. On top of that, you have the bitch, gravity that is forcing you down. As a result, the ability to run up walls often relies upon the momentum, the runup to the wall is used to increase one's speed which carries you up the wall. There's also a certain technique behind it, but me, I just used pure speed.
I rushed up the wall, farther than any human ever could and upon reaching a certain height, leapt backwards. Only to spot a third figure coming at me from my left, I barely had time to raise a guard before a foot struck it.
Take a guess at who this third figure was?
Issei's Fallen Angel, killer girlfriend, Raynare was stronger than I expected, but nothing I couldn't handle. On the ground, with a proper footing, I would have been able to tank this blow with ease, even with the added momentum of flight. However, I have no proper foothold, I'm in midair, falling with style as a certain toy would have said, and therefore, no way to ground myself.
As a result, I was launched to the ground, body barreling through numerous rows of pews before rolling to a stop. "Ow," I murmured, feeling a few splinters in my back, looking up to see Raynare joining Dohnaseek and Kalawarner. "Did no one ever tell you it's rude to not announce yourself? And since when did people not shout when they do a sneak attack? Isn't that like the most basic rule of a sneak attack?"
Raynare rose a brow as if generally amused by the statement, though she did look upon me as if I was lesser. "I don't think you understand that shouting would defeat the purpose of a sneak attack." Oh, she's actually got some banter in her, but that's a little tidbit of information to store for later.
Not only are these people more developed than their anime/manga selves, acting more like real people than said fantasy characters, they're also not suffering from PIS or plot-induced stupidity. It's not good news for me, I was kind of hoping that they would have some measure of plot-induced stupidity because while normal people can have serious moments of stupidity, there's no guarantee it will be when I need it to be.
PIS would have been a great way to increase my chances of survival, but now that's officially out the window, I'd have to recalculate my future actions a little more. "So, you're Raynare, I forgot the name you used to seduce my brother. He kept going on and on about you that I just started to tune him out."
Right now, I need to think a bit more carefully.
I was still confident in my victory, but I was not unaware that I was outnumbered and they were still out of reach as they floated in the air. Their spears were also a frustrating thing to deal with, not to mention that from Raynare's kick I knew that she at the very least had some measure of training in martial arts.
"And you are the older brother, Mikoto Hyoudou who miraculously turned up alive." Raynare returned.
"Funny how things turn out, huh?" So to review, the spears I can't see, but I can predict where they're going to go. Physically, I am stronger than Raynare from what I can judge of her previous kick, but she and possibly the other two have some training in martial arts. Finally, they can fly and I have found one possible way to get to them, though as showed by my failed attempt, I am left vulnerable if caught midair.
"Enough of you're talking!" Dohnaseek growled out. "Let's just kill him."
Though, perhaps I could take out one of them without having to fight the other two. "Aw, what's wrong little Do." I mocked, my voice taking a high-pitched tune that I remember Miki used to use when talking to me and Issei, it was something that had been quite annoying to listen to all the time. "You feeling all confident now that mommy's here to rescue your ass?"
Raynare's smile widened at my words, Dohnaseek on the other hand scowled angrily. "You dare!" He roared, arms spreading wide and before my eyes, dozens of spears formed.
Not two, but dozens.
Well, shit, I thought I had seen everything, but this, well...shit.
All of them came at me and much like always, I couldn't see them and unfortunately, I couldn't predict where they were coming either. He wasn't holding onto them and his eyes were unfocused so I couldn't use either of those as indicators as to where they were going.
So, I raised my arms, protecting my head as I tensed up all my muscles in the signature technique of the Niko Style Adamantine Kata, Indestructible. I did it just at the right time, the spears striking my body as soon as I had and that alone was the reason I survived. But not without a cost, my hardened body may have managed to avoid any fatal wounds however, the spears still dug in slightly.
Keeping my guard up, I took stock of my surroundings.
There were spears all around me, further proof that Dohnaseek hadn't been aiming properly, they dissipating along with those sticking into my body. As for the Fallen Angel in question, he was panting heavily, dipping slightly lower than the two ladies, sweat dribbling down his cheeks.
That at least explained why he hadn't done this before.
It was a move that took a lot out of him.
"You're not human, are you?" Raynare questioned, looking upon me with a curious glimmer in her eyes.
"I am." A lie, but I'm not going to reveal that to her. There was me, Ingrid, Saeko and Sona, possibly even Rias that knew of my inhuman nature, more people than I was comfortable with. I was not about to tell anyone else. "Just not like any human you've met before."
"Enough!" Dohnaseek roared out, once again interrupting us and honestly, it's starting to piss me off.
Raynare is an attractive and sexy Fallen Angel. She may look upon me as if I'm an inferior being, but I still want her. Can't he just shut up and let me flirt in peace? Is that too much to ask?
"Say, Dohnaseek, how about we do this like men?" I spoke up. "Just me and you, one-on-one. Let the best man win."
"Not likely." Raynare scoffed, clicking her fingers and a similar amount of spears forming in the air, though far less exhausting for her by the looks of things. "You're little ploy of picking us off one by one won't work."
Yeah, I excepted that much, no PIS and all that.
However, Raynare was focused and not enraged like Dohnaseek. Her gaze may not be much to go off, but it was certainly more than before and it was then I realised I was not going to come out of this unscathed. I was picking up multiple target areas, each of them fatal spots, but also covering my immediate surroundings.
No matter where I moved, I was going to get hit.
She's good.
Despite that though, my lips twisted into a smile as I once again tensed up my muscles on the point of impact, peppered by the assault of spears. This was exactly what I wanted when coming to this church, it was not a close-quarters fight, I had plenty of those with Ingrid. This was a fight where I was at a disadvantage, going up against multiple long-ranged fighters who knew exactly how to stay out of reach and used that to their advantage.
It had been a long while since I had felt this in a fight.
Where the odds were stacked against me, but there was still hope. Against Ingrid, I knew there was no chance of me beating her just yet. However, against these three? It would be difficult, but there was a chance and that's exactly what I wanted. A fight that would push me to adapt and grow stronger, a difficult fight that would push me to my limits in a new way.
As the spears of light dissipated, I lowered my arms, smiling joyously as I saw another dozen spears of light forming behind Raynare, Kalawarner also summoning two into her hands to join this third hail.
I was not going to retreat nor was I going to back down.
This was my first test, the first obstacle that stood between me and my goals.
There was no way to go but forwards and that's exactly what I was going to do.
As the spears rushed towards me, I didn't stay still, this time worked on dodging, my muscles were tensed avoiding fatal wounds, but I was still struck. Yet the spears kept coming and I kept moving, more and more spears embedding into my body, tearing apart my clothes and piercing into my skin.
The pain didn't bother me.
The adrenaline that pumped throughout my body made sure of that.
I just focused everything upon moving, on pushing myself to dodge those spears. I moved as fast as I could, I used no techniques besides Indestructible, I refused to use them. Neither Fallen Demon nor Possessing Spirit. If I did, this fight would be over, but I didn't come here to end this fight like that.
I came here to see where the limits for me lay.
Those techniques enhanced what was already there and so, it only made sense to improve my base skills to make them more effective. That rang true here because as I moved, as I strained all my sight to see, I began to pick up flashes of light rushing past my head.
I was beginning to see the spears, register and track their movements.
Thanks to that, I was able to dodge more effectively.
That was all the proof I needed, even now, I was getting stronger and I would keep getting stronger.
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