Published: July 4, 2025
"Ugh..."
Ryo immediately cast a layer of ice to stop the bleeding.
However, the damage was greater than he had imagined.
His wrist and elbow had been cleanly severed.
But that was a sacrifice he had to accept.
"I was supposed to decapitate you, yet you went and changed Kotetsu's trajectory with your right arm... That arm must hurt, right?"
"It hurts a lot."
Marie grimaced as she said this, while Ryo twisted his face in pain in response.
Of course it was painful; his arm had been severed.
In some cases, even death from shock was possible!
"You know how to wield a Japanese sword, so you understand. You can't swing a sword with one hand."
"Yes, I understand."
Ryo had thought about this before.
He couldn't swing it with one hand.
That was after his arm had been chopped off by Demon Leonor.
At that time, he had managed to decapitate the opponent at the same moment his arm was severed, securing victory... but this time was different.
He found himself in an overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation, but the fight was still ongoing.
"Surrender."
"Surrender?"
Marie suggested surrendering, and Ryo frowned.
"What would happen if we surrendered?"
"Well... I'll try to ask the leader not to take Ryo's life."
Even as she said this, Marie's expression was grim.
In other words...
"What are the chances that request will be granted?"
"...Ninety percent."
"That's not good."
That's right; there were no Geneva Conventions here forbidding the abuse of prisoners.
The likelihood of being killed after surrendering was higher.
As a warning.
"But if you resist, I will definitely kill you."
"I'll resist and gamble on that one percent chance!"
"There isn't even one percent left!"
For some reason, their banter felt surprisingly fitting.
"You have some nerve to joke around in this situation."
"I'm being trained daily by my strong comedic partner. It doesn't seem like much of a crisis to me."
Saying so, Ryo glanced at Abel, his comedic partner, who was watching from outside the window.
Following his gaze, Marie looked at Abel too.
"I don't understand this world at all."
"Winning the world through comedy isn't easy, is it?"
"Indeed... so you two intend to conquer the world with comedy?"
"Yes, of course!"
Ryo was engaged in what seemed like a pointless conversation.
Of course, it was a tactic to buy time.
But time for what?
(I've roughly constructed a form!)
And then he chanted.
"Ice Create — Right Arm."
In that instant, an ice right arm sprouted from Ryo.
"...Huh?"
Marie was understandably surprised by this unexpected development.
Ryo lightly flexed and opened his fist to gauge how well it worked.
(Moving each finger is impossible. The limit is managing two states, opening and closing the palm, using magic. Even though I'm repurposing technology I used for the ice golem, I can't help that it's a rushed job...)
He had considerable dissatisfaction, but it was better than nothing.
Ryo's foundation was kendo.
Murakumo was firmly gripped in his left hand, guiding the movement with his right.
He could swing the sword with just his left hand... although the speed would be lacking, and he wouldn't be able to execute attacks that bypass the opponent's defense.
However, even if it was far from perfect, having this ice arm made a significant difference.
"I never expected you to grow an arm of ice. And it can move properly."
"Of course. It's not an exaggeration to say I've dabbled in alchemy just for this."
For some reason, Ryo said this with confidence.
"By the way, Ryo, when did you reincarnate into this world?"
"Huh? Well, about twenty years ago?"
"Oh, you're young!"
"Young? Hmm? You seem young too, Marie."
"I'm probably over four thousand years old."
"...Huh?"
Ryo exclaimed in astonishment.
"Basically, phantom beings don't vanish."
"They don’t vanish?"
"Even if the body is gone, they float in this world in a state like a soul and can enter another body somewhere."
"That's incarnation?"
"Exactly. That's why I can have various experiences. It's interesting."
"This world has too many long-lived races."
Ryo shook his head slightly at Marie's words.