Kanna no Kanna Chapter 67

author-san said: its a pretty crazy t.i.tle (yep i agree. had a long staring match b4 i could type anything out of it)

i use preemptive instead of dopan! in the chap, couldnt fit it in. also, a hint of the ident.i.ty of someone in this chap. explanations for monikers at the end

100% accuracy and grammatically correct not guaranteed. revisions, corrections and edits are periodically done. only on my site tho. corrections are welcome

obligaroty text waga migi te o. mezamero!……hazu!

The rabbit that entered a tiger's den goes [dopan!] against a conspirator who's not packed with dreams, hope and romance along with various other hopes pyon

「 usa usa pyon~ 」 『s.h.i.+nee!』「eh nande pyon?–guh–」

「Let's move on now that we've taken down the most powerful general. We can leave the remaining magic beasts to the others. You and Chloe can head inside the cave without worrying about the matters outside…………gh!」

Real's expression distorts and she falls down to her knee. She even drops her sword, causing it to produce a strange [garan] sound as it fell to the ground. Real managed to steady herself on one knee but her breathing is pretty rough. That erased my pink mode as I rush up to her.

「Real!?」

「Haa haa haa………Don't worry. It's the recoil of [Dragonic Rage]. The spell grants its user unparallelled power but the duration is short and an intense feeling of fatigue ensues after each use. Even if I recover to some extent afterwards, my physical ability will regress to less than half of my optimal condition for about an hour.」

She told me about her trump card earlier but I never would've thought it would produce that kind of result and aftereffect. That surprised me. The price might be a steep one but as a decisive blow to conclude a battle in an ultra short turn, it's a rather reasonable choice.

Now then.

With this, I don't have to worry about things out here.

「I'll leave the rest to you.」(kanna)

「P-Please wait for a moment de gozaru yo, Kanns.h.i.+. Are you possibly thinking of leaving Ryuuken-donoーno, Real-dono behind de gozaru ka!?」

I stand up and tried to turn towards the cave when Chloe grabs my shoulder.

「You want to bring along someone whose one step away from getting injured all over?」

「There are still numerous lizardman left on this battlefield de gozaru. We can't possibly leave Real-dono in this place de gozaru.」

Did this girl pay any attention at all to my explanation just now? If we tarry anymore than this, a fresh wave of magic beasts will stream out of that cave.

If that happens, then I'll agree that Real will be in a really dangerous situation. And that is exactly the reason why Real unleashed her trump card despite knowing full well of the consequences.

I'm the only one who can prove her action wasn't the wrong move.

「I fulfilled my role. Now, you go complete yours.」(real)

「kah Those words sounds like they popped out of a fairy tale.」(kanna)

「Isn't this the scene where you're supposed to be silent and just nod? Well, that's just like you I suppose.………We're pressed for time. Go, do what you must!」

「Yeah!」

I shake off Chloe's hand that was still grabbing my shoulder and sped off towards the cave after creating an ice board. There's no sign of any new magic beasts yet but there's no time left, that's a fact.

In my impatience, I shout out loud all the irritation I bottled up to this point towards the cave interior.

「You're gonna regret making me work this hard. I dunno jack who's plotting what but I'll make sure to thoroughly enjoy messing up your plans.」

ーーー 《pov 3rd person [them]》

「ororo?」

「…………What is it?」

They are at the depths of the cave, a s.p.a.ce devoid of any external light.

One of them is a short man.

His face is plastered with a smile but it emanates a mysteriously eerie atmosphere instead of the usual gentle countenance. There is a suspicious light dwelling at the back of his eyes, which was narrowed to a slit.

The other person is a tall woman.

Although expressionless while facing the man, she is clad in a sharp bearing that indicates he will be cut down without warning should he ever try touching her. A more eye-catching aspect of her would be the six swords on both side of her hips.

The one who talked first is the man. The latter question comes from the woman.

「Dear me, it seems that the leader general goblin we deployed at the forefront was taken out nee.」(man)

「What? Wasn't it a reinforced specimen that you knave personally worked on?」(woman)

「How strange nee. I raised the overall ability of a B-rank goblin and its fighting strength has unmistakably reached rank. Even that improved lizardman its mounted on should have possessed B-rank level of strength.」(man)

「………hmm, you knave and that [Puppeteer] who relies on tamed magic beasts cannot be relied upon after all. Declaring yourself as [One Man Army] is fine but there is no point in leading a disorderly crowd of mobs.」

「Well~ of course~ almost all in existence would be considered as merely [mobs] if you compare them to the likes of you, the [Heavenly Sword] or the [Flame Emperor].」

The woman's words contain unconcealed contempt but the man inclines his head without minding it at all. The woman who was named [Heavenly Sword] frowns a bit after being allegorized as inhuman but the man -[One Man Army]- keeps on talking without changing his tone.

「The [ogres] that I should've entrusted to a.s.sistant-kun still haven't come yet. In no way~, this isn't strange at all~. Originally, it should've been the Lizardman and General Goblins from the front, and then Ogres would appear from behind to annihilate~ every last one of those humankind~」

「Is it possible for the spell to fall through?」

「As a precaution for that unlikely event~, I I placed [various] fail-safe measures inside a.s.sistant-kun's body. The ogre summoning itself should have been successful even if something happened~ because there's shouldn't be anyone in the encampment capable of subduing an ogre ne~」

「………What if the ogres were killed?」

「That is clearly impossible ne~. That was done under the instruction of the [Seer]. If we move according to [her] instruction, failure is surely [impossible]. You know that, don't you~?」

[Heavenly Sword] clicks her tongue as a response to the words of [One Man Army]. The man who perceives that as a confirmation chuckles in return.

「If I go out there and kill all those knight and adventurers, it will be finished easily though.」

「I cannot permit that~. This time, you're a.s.signed as my escort, right~? Besides, if you go on a rampage, this mine or rather, this whole area will be decimated, wouldn't you agree~? We still need to use this [magical formation] laid here for a while longer after this operation so I want you to hold back on that thought~」

[One Man Army] points out to the only light source in this place devoid of sunlight.

A huge magical formation drawn on the ground. It's even larger and more complex in design than the one drawn at the encampment.

「Well, there's no helping it~. Once it comes to this, there no choice~ but to move ahead of schedule and call in the [big one]. If we mess up again, some will be able to escape and who knows what problems might occur in the future should that happens ne~」

[Heavenly Sword] once again became annoyed and clicks her tongue at the antics of [One Man Army] who acted like he is not at all troubled by their circ.u.mstance.

She had no choice but to acknowledge the fact that he has the capability to manipulate an army of thousands, befitting of his moniker but in no way does she feel compatible with the man who does not forge himself and relies on others for protection.

If an order from [above] did not explicitly came for her, [Heavenly Sword] would not have accepted this mission.

『In the first place, if it weren't for [Seer's] instruction, an [escort] in the [worst case scenario] would only be a needless increase in the number of personnel.』(sword)

Despite thinking so, there was a part of her convinced that it was not an unreasonable decision.

『………The breakout of [Ryuuken] which happened a month ago. The [Flame Emperor] whom we lost all contact with after going on a mission. And above all else, the [resurrection of the sealed Devil]. There is no way that [Seer] could have failed to notice all these [irregularity] that had occurred so far.』(sword)

There were strings of strange incidents occurring lately, hence the inevitable demand for caution.

Although reluctant, she was the one chosen for this mission. She cannot suppress her inner grumbling but revealing further dissatisfaction would be too childish of her.

She cut off her emotion to focus on what currently needs to be done which is to protect [One Man Army] who is merrily working on the giant magical formation under his feet.

ーーーHer body reacted before thinking.

Slightly later after [Heavenly Sword] started running, a sound of something hard clas.h.i.+ng echoes from the entrance of this s.p.a.ce.

Upon hearing the sound, [One Man Army] raises his face and goes [hn?], but before he can ascertain what was going on, [Heavenly Sword] grabs the scruff of his neck.

「guhee!? Hey, what are you doing!?」

「Shut up! You'll bite your tongue!」

Unfortunately, he already had.

[One Man Army] who was pulled down by force tried to protest the rough treatment that resulted in his tongue stinging but he was drowned out by a roaring sound.

Surprised by the sudden occurrence, [One Man Army] went wide-eyed. [Heavenly Sword] on the other hand, understood everything that happened.

An [ice sh.e.l.l] that flew from the entrance of this s.p.a.ce at a tremendous speed aiming for the s.p.a.ce where [One Man Army] had just been moments ago crashed into the cave wall behind it. If [Heavenly Sword] did not grab [One Man Army's] by his scruff to pull him away, he would have been pulverized by the ice sh.e.l.l and killed instantly.

As soon as she cast away the man, [Heavenly Sword] unsheathe two swords from both side of her hips.

Why did she not notice until now?

A clearly [hostile] presence is approaching the entrance of this s.p.a.ce. The [ice magic] just moments ago must have been their doing as well.

However, a huge sense of incongruity a.s.sails her.

There is no doubt about the existence of an approaching hostile. If it is a magician capable of using magic of the ice element, they are definitely a person of ability who should possess an appropriate amount of mana. But [Heavenly Sword] could not sense even a speck of mana from that direction.

For someone proficient in magic, it is easy to conceal one's own mana presence but immediately after invoking a magic, traces of mana will definitely leak out no matter what. Even that trace could not be felt by her.

Before she could arrive at a conclusion, the [hostile] appears.

A white-haired man.

Oddly enough, he is standing on an ice-like slab and although not as fast as his attack just now, he is entering this s.p.a.ce at a considerable speed.

She immediately moves to intercept at the sight of him. Rus.h.i.+ng in at that speed indicates an action done under the belief that the [surprise attack] was successful.

He is trying to push his advantage all at once. If that is so, what she has to do is to take advantage of that self-conceit and turn it back against him by delivering a coup de grâce during what he thinks is his highest moments.

However, she noticed her line of thinking was a mistake after seeing the face of the white-haired man. Neither the sword wielding [Heavenly Sword] nor the thrown aback [One Man Army] is registered in his eyes. From the very beginning, his was only targeting one particular location.

「Oh s.h.i.+ーーーー!?」

Faster than [Heavenly Sword] realizing her misconception, the white-haired man leapt from the speeding slab and while retaining the speed, he flew across the s.p.a.ce towards the giant magical formation drawn on the ground.

With an ice axe that appeared without anyone noticing, he drives it onto the magical formation. From the impact point, an ice sword mountain protrudes from the ground, riddling the magical formation full of holes. The large amount of mana inside the magical formation dissipates into the air after it glowed brightly for the last time.

「That man's aim from the beginning was the magical formation!?」

She completely misunderstood the enemy's aim from the initial surprise attack. By making his opponents ready themselves for a counter attack, thus halting their movement, he took the opportunity to destroy his real objectiveーthe magical formation.

Getting caught up in the enemy's tactic made [Heavenly Sword] tremble with rage due to humiliation.

「Nooooooooooooo! The magical formation I had poured my utmost intooooo!」

[One Man Army] screams while holding his head. For once, he forgot to apply his sticky way of talking.

His loud voice made [Heavenly Sword] frown and her face muscles further stiffens upon witnessing the white hair's behavior. He completely ignores both of them and proceed to return the way he came from once he got on board his ice slab.

Other than the initial surprise attack, he does not pay a single bit of attention towards [Heavenly Sword] and [One Man Army]. He went too far in making light of his opponents.

「Some nerves you have. If you want to die that much, I'll cut you into pieces myself.」

Although the speed in which the white-haired man entering and escaping this s.p.a.ce is considerably fast, it was still somewhat inferior to [Heavenly Sword's] fastest speed. As soon as she catches up to him, she will slice him to shreds.

Driven by her enthusiasm, she starts das.h.i.+ng with enough force to smash the ground underfoot and burst into the pa.s.sageway where the white-haired man had disappeared into.

Faster than her brain could tell her, [Heavenly Sword's] own body judged the decision as a [mistake].

As soon as she steps into the pa.s.sageway, she can see that the white-haired man is waiting for her with an ice hammer on hand and an ice block as big as a person's head floating near him.

ーーー《back to kanna pov. rewinding time for a bit》

One of the Kannstyle winning strategy is…

「A preemptive strike [before] the opening event is a rather polite thing to do.」

It's a strategy full of refres.h.i.+ng feeling that will decide an outcome of a battle straightaway by using maximum firepower from outside of the opponent's perception.

I'm an acknowledged authority on [the faction where I use my maximum power from the get go outside the door and destroy it all before it becomes a battle] with the last boss in a dungeon, if it's doable.

First of all, the target of my preemptive strike this time is the two mana presence I detected earlier, or more specifically the one who's crouching.

However, the other person -a woman with mult.i.tudes of sword- demonstrated an unearthly reflex, flinging my target away from the trajectory of my ice sh.e.l.l.

Perhaps it's because of the unexpected echo caused by the sh.e.l.l being hit for the extra acceleration. That echo promptly revealed my ambush, rendering its surprise element moot. My ice sh.e.l.ls are easy to avoid for various reasons after all.

When I stormed into the cave, my head starts blaring an alarm due to the mana that summoning magical formation emits. And the moment I entered the wide open s.p.a.ce where the magical formation was located, I can sense two terrifyingly huge amount of mana presence.

『Yup. That's a big no-no』

I was planning to crush the unsuspecting ringleaders along with the magical formation if the situation permits but now I must say that it was a naïve plan.

I'm able to ascertain the vast disparity in our strength even from a glimpse at this distance.

I feel like a rabbit who wandered into a tiger's den by mistake. But by no means I'm as reckless as a horn rabbit. And so, I kept on my course following the original plan, or at least half of it, which was to quickly destroy the summoning magical formation.

The reason why I use an axe instead of the usual [sword] to produce an ice mountain is because I thought it'd be easier to drive it into the ground while leaping through the air.

『ーーー!! I'm getting dangerously close……』

A headache warns me of my encroaching limit.

Beginning with the ogres, I fought in a series of battles afterwards against the lizardmen and those general goblins. In addition to that, I exhausted a considerable amount of mental strength to destroy that magical formation just now. Immediately after launching a surprise ice sh.e.l.l, I manifest an image of the Ice Sword Mountain (decided on the name just now) without so much as a break.

The backlash is quite severe.

ーーーI'll learn about this later. The frequent use of the newly developed [ice board] while I'm still unfamiliar with the fine control is a bigger burden on my mental strength than expected.

Slight dizziness a.s.sails me but I shake it off through fighting spirit.

I manage to calm down just for a bit compared to when I rushed in, taking that chance to observe the two mastermind in this place.

The one I aimed at is a small man wearing a magician-like robe. He's probably the one who set up the magical formation back at the camp and the one I destroyed just now. According to the mana I can sense from this man and the formations, both are connected to him.

And next to him is that incredible woman who rescued him from my ice sh.e.l.l earlier. She's holding two swords with four more strapped to her waist. Those are unquestionably her equipment huh.

Even with my high encounter rate with beauties lately, she's a stunner with a little bit of an intimidating image. She has an alluring model figure but she wasn't packed with dreams, love and romance along with various others hopes. Even though she's tall, her [wall]-like condition is the same as Ayana.

《lol kanna》

More than anything, I really don't wanna get close to her because of the razor sharp vibe she's clad herself in. And above all else, both of them are markedly thick with [their presence]. They're definitely related to the magician whom I'd fought in the valley.

『This is no joking matter.』

The battle in that valley was a narrow victory which I only managed to achieve through combinations of a surprise attack and loads of luck piled together. If I were to fight these two up front, I'm confident that I will lose 100 battle out of a 100. And that's not even taking into account of their difference in level and ability.

If this were a tale of a righteous hero, right now would be the scene where the hero ask various questions to be answered by the two mastermind but the role a.s.signed to me would be the protagonist's friend A or B at best.

And so, I get on my ice board to hurry back where I came from.

The moment I turn my back to them, a [bloodl.u.s.t] that made me feel like I'm being shredded engulfs me.

If I'm not gliding the ice board, my senses would've paralyzed by the crus.h.i.+ng bloodl.u.s.t, making any escape by foot d.a.m.n near impossible. I can't even turn my head to look back.

The source of the bloodl.u.s.t is probably that beauty armed with six swords. Suppose if bloodl.u.s.t can be manifested into a physical phenomenon, I'm sure my back would've been impaled by now.

Right, change of plan.

She has such a fierce murderous intent. Even if I manage to run away this time, I will be chased to the ends of this world.

I have no choice but to crush her here and now. It's no time to be frugal. If I think about dealing with her later, this bloodl.u.s.t will turn physical and kill me. At the very least, it's necessary to corner her until she's unable to act.

My current location is inside a cave pa.s.sageway.

It's wide enough for five general goblins walking side by side but unfortunately its height doesn't extend as much.

Even if I manifest a superma.s.sive sledgehammer here, I don't have any s.p.a.ce to swing it around.

I jump off the ice board and slid on the ground for a bit as I turn around to prepare launching an ice sh.e.l.l. In order to minimize energy dispersion and maximize acceleration as much as possible, I freeze my soles to the ground. I also pour the [maximum] amount of mental strength possible into creating an ice sh.e.l.l.

I remember this feeling. It's the same feeling I got when I was against the flame magician back at the valley. A surge of power is overflowing from the depths of my soul, reinvigorating my limbs and spirit.

Just as I finished manifesting a sledgehammer and getting ready to swing it, the woman armed with six swords appeared at the pa.s.sageway. Our distance notwithstanding, the spot she's standing at is right in front of me.

I'm surprised to see her eyes. Despite the overwhelming bloodl.u.s.t and the rage burning in her mind, a deep [coldness] can be seen hidden in her eyes.

That is not an eye of a person driven by mere wrath. That is the eye of a person with a sound mind seeking out [how to kill the enemy] efficiently.

I've never seen a person with eyes harboring both rationality and intense bloodl.u.s.t at the same time.

I realize all that on the brink of launching my ice sh.e.l.l.

She's smiling naturally and her eyes are br.i.m.m.i.n.g with the intention to kill me. It's a gaze that believes in one's victory unwaveringly. Regardless of what type of attack I would unleash, she would be able to deal with it leisurely, that's what those eyes are telling me.

Certainly, the difference in ability between us is obvious. If I were to fight against her 100 times in an upfront battle, I'd lose 100 times, no two way about it.

But have you forgotten?

No matter how you strategize and manipulate this entire battlefield from the shadows, I'm the one in control of this fight from the very beginning.

This is not [your] stage.

It's mine.

No matter how fast an attack is, one would be able to avoid it if they can determine its preliminary move. Launching an ice sh.e.l.l with an emphasis on power and speed will undoubtedly be avoided by the six sword woman.

At least, that's what a genius karate girl I know [pulled off] against a pistol shot. From the insight gained from that incident, I chose this type of attack by reflex.

「Try to avoid this!」

On the brink of launching my ice sh.e.l.l, I release the [image] I poured into it.

After a brief moment, the fired ice sh.e.l.l [expanded to a size big enough to fill the pa.s.sageway].

Beyond the accelerating translucent sh.e.l.l, the face of the woman who harbored a 100% pure bloodl.u.s.t cramps up to an amusing sight.

I wonder if she's angry, surprised or dumbfounded?

Before I could confirm anything, she ate a direct hit from my ice, causing her to fly backwards to the large s.p.a.ce where the magical formation was drawn. 《reword rview flow》

The ma.s.sive ice lump continued its course as is and crash into the far end of the s.p.a.ce, shaking the entire mine with a thunderous roar.

kanna ras.h.i.+ ze. good jobu

author-san said (as usual, i rephrase): turmoil ends in a few chapter. (2 more to be specific) and as expected, kanna doesnt hit the boss from the front lol (that lol from author-san. this one is mine. lol ??)

seer -『時詠み』 tokiyomi. more literal trans would be time reciter/time reader. my options are seer/oracle/time seer. time is kinda redundant there

puppeteer -『糸使い』 ito tsukai. literal is string user. thats basically a puppet master. it can possibly mean sth else but tenken did mention sth along the line of utilizing magic beasts

one man army -『万軍』man gun. literal is 10k army/force/troops. cant think of any 1 word moniker for this. suggestion?

heavenly sword -『天剣』ten ken. easy enough

flame emperor -『剛炎帝』 tsuyos.h.i.+ honoo mikado. literal is blazing flame emperor. i omit the blazing cuz it lost the chuuni factor in english imo, so flame emperor it is. he died tho, didnt matter much at this point