Published: July 5, 2025
On the other side, Ryo and Garwin.
The start here is also quiet…
No, is "quiet" the right word?
Ryo stands with Murakumo held in a ready stance, feet positioned front and back as usual.
Garwin, too, is as he always is, wearing only the bracers and greaves generated by his own magic.
(What is this feeling?)
Both are acting as they normally would, yet Garwin feels a sense of discomfort.
He knows the reason.
It's because Ryo is holding his sword right in front of him.
If he closes his eyes, he feels like he could forget he's there.
That's how little presence Ryo seems to have.
No presence at all?
No, that can't be true.
Garwin is a demon, a spelno.
A person could not lose presence to the extent of slipping through that sensation.
Yet, it is happening.
Thus, the sense of discomfort.
Something impossible is becoming possible, causing this unease.
Garwin looks at Ryo once more.
(Is he sleeping?)
He seems to have his eyes closed… but upon closer inspection, his eyelids are slightly opened.
Half-closed eyes.
It looks like his gaze isn’t capturing Garwin.
It seems like he’s not capturing it, yet…
(No, it's different. It feels like he’s capturing everything about me…)
It’s not rational.
But Garwin recognizes it with a kind of certainty.
He should take the initiative.
Garwin's rationality tells him so.
He understands.
He knows, but when he tries to move his feet, his emotions hold him back.
Why?
He has the power, he has speed, and his skills are on par.
As long as he doesn’t let his guard down, there is no element that could lead to defeat.
Of course.
He’s a demon, and Ryo is human.
The difference is clear.
But… his feet won’t move.
(Is it power? Speed? It's not something so superficial. Deep within me, my instincts are screaming that it's dangerous.)
A warning bell is ringing loudly in his head.
It's bright red.
In stark contrast to the blue or perhaps transparent water attribute mage standing before him.
Once, he exhales sharply yet deeply, and for a long time.
He calms his heart.
Garwin has fought many strong opponents throughout his life.
When facing a formidable foe, naturally, his heart wavers.
He certainly has methods to forcibly calm such a wavering heart.
However…
(The warning bell in my heart won’t disappear. Still, I have to go for it!)
Garwin takes a lightning-fast leap.
He launches a thrust driven by that speed.
Slash.
His right side is cut deeply.
Almost simultaneously, the area where he’s been slashed begins to freeze.
“What!?”
“Secret sword: ice binding sword.”
Garwin is surprised while Ryo strikes a smug smile.
But…
“[Evaporation]”
As Garwin chants, the frozen ice instantly evaporates.
“That’s the magic that evaporated [downpour] before…”
“Every time I’m slashed, it freezes? How troublesome.”
Ryo grimaces as he receives the returned "secret sword," and Garwin also frowns, recognizing the hassle.
Once again, Garwin leaps with lightning speed.
He unleashes an uppercut that rises as if from the ground.
A left backfist, a right hook…
Ryo dodges, dodges, and dodges all of Garwin’s consecutive strikes.
And then, one hit.
“Ugh, [Evaporation]!”
Garwin halts the ice binding, taking a large back step to create distance.
Garwin's attacks do not reach Ryo.
However, Ryo is dealing effective blows to Garwin.
He understands why.
In that moment, Ryo disappears from Garwin’s sight.
From a blind spot, Garwin is slashed.
“What’s going on?”
Garwin cannot comprehend why this is happening.
Ryo, as always, holds his sword in a ready stance, and once again, he has half-closed eyes.
How is it that Ryo can disappear?
Ryo has fought Garwin once before.
So, Ryo knows Garwin's habits.
What kind of habits?
In the midst of battle, he knows where Garwin will look in "that moment."
If he moves while avoiding that…
As a result, it appears as though he has vanished from Garwin.
For example, where Garwin looks when he throws a right straight after a left jab.
Or where he looks in the moment he begins a right roundhouse kick motion.
And so on.
In the final stages of the demon lord war, Ryo fought Garwin.