Black Iron Magician

Chapter 262 Ki Arts

The name of the Skill that Touko has is 『Ki Arts』. It’s the ability to control the invisible power of the human body that’s called aura, chakra, or ki. In the modern world, it doesn’t have a magical meaning, but rather represents the culmination of techniques such as breathing techniques. In this world, however, ki is the real embodiment of the spiritual power that resides in the body. It can be used in various ways, such as being a shield just like when Touko was defending against Haruna’s attack, or shooting it as a long-distance attack.

Depending on the user’s proficiency, the ki can become soft or hard. It also can be spread over the entire body or concentrated on a part of the body. When defending against the attack from the Doggan Staff, Touko judged that she would receive damage from the recoil if she hardened her defense, so she made the ki like a rubber ball to absorb the impact and concentrated it on both arms. On the contrary, when she shot the attack, she hardened the ki and imagined shooting the straight punch. The way of using this power can change it into something that poses a threat even for Haruna. It also led to a satisfactory result for Touko.

「If it can become like what I imagined, I think it’s not bad to use my head. Well, I still hate studying, though.」

「Y-Yep, that’s right….」

「…… Ah, right, you are the same.」

It’s hard to imagine for the people in this world, but for Touko, who likes battle manga and fighting games that use martial arts as the theme, she could immediately understand the application of this power. Anyway, this power has many kinds of presentation in Japanese entertainment that she won’t run out of ideas. Touko mobilized that knowledge, tried whatever that seems to be usable, and repeated trial and error.

In addition to that, it was also the way to entertain the customers she learned under Lilyvia that raised the level of Touko’s Ki Arts. Instead of acting as she pleases, she would try to understand what the other person wants and respond to their expectations. She would notice the slightest change in the target and read the mood. Paying attention, using ki――

Was Lilyvia aiming for this from the beginning? It seems to have nothing to do with ki, but it became a fine training for Touko. Not only the Skill of Ki Arts, but Lilyvia pushed Touko to reach Ki King and even above it, Ki God.

「W-What a wordplay.」

「It’s not entirely wrong. You need to be sensitive to read the mood, and if you excel at figuring out what the other person is thinking, it will become something like mind reading. Even if they have nothing to do with the growth of the Skill, all of these were something that the past Touko was lacking. She has grown mentally and her tactics have broadened, mainly in the area of martial arts that she’s good at. As a result, she has become quite formidable.

Lily is somewhat proud of Touko’s result.

(After all, maybe Lily-san has a talent for teaching…?)

Chinatsu thought so from the bottom of her heart.

「This much is enough for wait-and-see, don’t you think? Let’s battle.」

「Haha, I wonder when was the last time you see me with those eyes? It makes my heart flutter.」

Haruna kicks the stage. She can’t wait to ascertain Touko’s power. While being excited, she gazes at Touko.

「Oraa!」

As for Touko, she begins to shoot the previous long-distance attack continuously. If one shot can’t defeat Haruna, she just needs to increase it to two, three, or more. It’s a simple but quite reasonable solution.

However, Haruna is still rushing head-on. It’s probably because the old gentleman said that they should decide it in a short-term battle. Without any wasteful movements and without wasting her time, Haruna is rushing through Touko’s attack.

「Hah!」

「Wha!?」

Haruna repelled Touko’s attack through the Doggan Staff. No, to be exact, she parried it.

It’s a well-known fact that Haruna was able to use aiki even through her Doggan Staff in the battle with Hund. Also, this Doggan Staff can withstand the direct hit of Touko’s Berserk attack. Even if it’s an invisible attack, if she scattered the black smoke with the magic of Diese beforehand, she can grasp where the attack is coming and the scale of it.

Using all of them, Haruna parried Touko’s attack with aiki. Use aiki against ki. Yeah, it’s a reasonable solution. The parried bullet of Touko collided with the barrier, and Haruna reached before Touko with almost no damage.

「Haha! Are you for real!?」

「If I know that the one flying is a fist, the distance doesn’t matter!」

Haruna attacked with her Doggan Staff. If a huge weapon is used by Haruna, it can be swung at a speed like a jab. What’s more, this time it’s not a slamming attack, but an attack that focuses on slashing with the decorative blade. With the same defense as before, the aura that serves as a shield will be sliced through. So, Touko defends against it with a super-hard aura.

「Tch!」

Immediately after that, a blow from the sole of the staff came, and then another slashing attack approached. It’s like a storm of blows and slashes. Not only Touko, but Haruna also has gotten stronger. Inevitably, Touko is forced to deal with both and she has to choose how to defend herself each time, kneading the ki on her left and right arms separately.

To survive the attack of Haruna’s Doggan Staff unscathed, Touko needs to focus all her ki on her arms. So, she must not take any hit elsewhere. A mistake would immediately lead to a fatal wound. However, the same can be said for Haruna. She must not get touched by Touko’s Berserk other than the Doggan Staff. Even if she uses aiki with her hands, she would receive damage when she touches it. Haruna seems to be pushing Touko in that fierce battle, but actually, it’s a close match.

「!?」

Haruna mixed aiki among those attacks. Haruna’s attack, which is neither a blow nor a slash attack, directed the right arm of Touko to the surface of the stage with tremendous momentum. However, Touko doesn’t think that her arm would touch the stage. Her arms are wrapped in ki, so she doesn’t have to worry about contact unless she removes it.

「It won’t work――!?」

Touko suddenly lost her balance. Looking at the situation, the stage at her feet has changed to a swamp. She realized it in just a millisecond, and she also realized that it is Haruna’s magic. She doesn’t panic and stays calm. Even so, she deals with it using the strong points of her instinct.

(A mass of black water is coming from the front, but it’s slow! Another black spear from my blind spot, I can catch it barehanded!)

With her superhuman insight and flexible response, Touko is able to see through the surrounding situation. Even though she lost her balance and her right arm is parried, she still can fight back. First, she caught the spear, and then――

――――Whoosh!

「Whoa!?」

Something pierced through the mass of poisonous water and flew toward her. While losing her balance, Touko evaded it by greatly bending her upper body. In the midst of doing so, she saw what was passing in front of her.

(Haruna’s staff…!?)

Yes, Haruna used the Doggan Staff as a throwing bullet and threw it through the magically generated poisonous water. …… It was the usual thing.

「Magic is something you throw, Touko-chan!」

「Guh…. Damn you!」

Next was a tackle from Haruna herself. The torso of Touko was suddenly being held firmly by Haruna. Touko strengthened her legs with ki, but she could stand firmly because of the swamp at her footing. On the other hand, the swamp at the footing where Haruna was advancing disappeared and the stage appeared instead. Touko kept being pushed, and her back collided with it――.