A hero who wants to help others wants to live a normal life - Chapter 63

Chapter 63   Tenmangu

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“Well then, from here on, we’ll begin hand-to-hand combat training… It’s been a while. Come at me with everything you’ve got.”

Kidnapped by Tenma and likely thrown into the middle of a mountain somewhere on the grounds of the Kamiarizuki family estate, I found myself here with Inori, who had followed Tenma.

With arms crossed confidently, Tenma boldly declared this to us.

Tenma might appear to have plenty of openings, but he had already activated his skills, leaving no real vulnerabilities. If we attacked, he’d be able to move instantly.

At this point, running away wasn’t an option, nor was refusing to fight. With no other choice, Inori and I exchanged a brief glance and immediately activated our blessings before launching an attack on Tenma.

But…

“What’s wrong?! What did you two learn at the academy?! Didn’t you also study weapon techniques? Then use them!”

Even though both Inori and I were using our blessings—albeit not at full power—we couldn’t land a solid hit on Tenma. Inori’s attacks were effortlessly deflected, and my arm was stomped into the ground.

The crushing pain shot through my arm each time, but I endured it, maneuvering my limbs to aim for Tenma. Yet, even then, the best I could do was graze his clothes, unable to so much as brush his skin.

It’s true that we both learned weapon techniques at the academy. In my case, it was the use of standard double-edged swords and knives. I was better than an amateur, sure, but nowhere near someone who’d trained professionally.

Still, it’s undeniably better than continuing this fight barehanded.

The only problem is…

“I appreciate the advice, but… we didn’t bring any weapons with us!”

Right now, I didn’t have so much as a single knife on me. It wasn’t a matter of using them or not—I simply didn’t have any.

“What? That’s unacceptable. You two have grown complacent! What do you plan to do without weapons?”
“Who in their right mind brings weapons on a trip with friends?!”

Sure, I knew this trip was for training from the start. But that didn’t mean I’d stay armed at all times. Once training started, sure, I’d use a weapon, but there was no reason to carry one before that.

“We weren’t told what we’d be doing or what to bring, so how could we possibly have prepared weapons?!”
“Hm, when you put it that way, I can understand. But still, you’ve grown complacent. You knew there was a chance you’d be targeted by enemies. Shouldn’t you always carry at least one or two weapons in case of emergencies?”
“Fine, we’ll do that next time!”
“Very well. Then, no weapons for today. We’ll stick to hand-to-hand combat for now.”

And with that, the conversation ended. At the same moment, Tenma slightly lowered his stance. Immediately after, the ground beneath his feet shattered, and Tenma vanished.

Where did he go? Before I could even think, a loud crashing sound and a powerful shock struck from the side. Looking over, I saw Inori had caught Tenma’s fist head-on.

“Ugh—! Even with two ‘Blessed Ones,’ we can’t beat him? Is this guy actually a ‘Blessed One’ too?!”

While shouting, Inori aimed a body blow at Tenma, but her fist was effortlessly deflected with a soft sound, and instead, Tenma’s elbow struck her squarely.

“Referring to your master as ‘this guy’—your manners are lacking.”

With that strike, the distance between Tenma and us widened again. But the moment Tenma finished speaking, Inori dashed forward once more.

“Then stop moving like some kind of monster! If you behaved like a normal human, we’d actually have a chance!”
“What are you saying? Any seasoned warrior can do at least this much.”

Tenma parried Inori’s attacks with a relaxed smile on his face. I carefully extended my arms, making sure not to interfere with Inori, hoping to at least slightly hinder that monster.

But no matter how many times I stretched my arms, not a single one could catch Tenma.

There’s no way anyone could just casually do something like this!

“No one can do this! If they could, ‘Blessed Ones’ wouldn’t be held in such high regard!”

If everyone could pull off these kinds of feats, they’d focus on raising someone with real talent instead of bothering with a kid like me.

“The value of a ‘Blessed One’ lies not in their raw strength, but in their ability to create skills and in their potential to become far stronger than us skill holders through training. No one starts out strong. If you’re frustrated, then train harder! Besides, you two call yourselves ‘Blessed Ones,’ yet you’re not even using the true power of your blessings! What are you hesitating for?!”

Tenma’s voice carried a faint hint of anger, freezing Inori in her tracks. I stopped moving in sync with her.

“But… this is supposed to be hand-to-hand combat training, right? You’re using your skills, so we’re using ours to an extent, but if we went all out, it wouldn’t even count as training anymore.”

It might sound like a poor excuse after how badly we were being beaten, but the truth was, just as Tenma had said, neither Inori nor I were fighting at full power.

We were serious, of course. But since there were two of us, and since Tenma had said we’d be focusing on hand-to-hand combat first, we had been holding back. At most, we were only using abilities within the limits of our skills.

“Oh? So that’s what you were thinking? How utterly disrespectful…”

The moment Tenma muttered those words with a displeased tone, we felt an overwhelming pressure unlike anything we’d ever experienced before.

“—!”

“I told you at the start, didn’t I? Come at me with everything you’ve got.”

It wasn’t physical strength. It was just that Tenma’s sheer presence was so immense that it felt like it was physically weighing down on us.

I’ve never felt pressure like this before. Honestly… could this guy be even stronger than a ‘Blessed One’…?

“Come on! If you don’t defend with everything you’ve got, you’ll die!”

With those words, Tenma stepped forward.

“Opening Again!”

Sensing the immediate danger in Tenma’s words and movements, Inori and I instinctively chanted our blessing incantation before he could make his next move.

This time, it wasn’t half-hearted. We drew out every ounce of power we had access to.

“Yes! That’s how it should be! Now, at last, this will actually count as my training!”

Seeing our change in demeanor, Tenma let out a deep, hearty laugh. But in the blink of an eye, that smile transformed into something feral, like the grin of a savage beast.

This… this is bad.

“Wait, isn’t this supposed to be our training?”

I voiced the question not just to break his momentum but because I genuinely wondered. What does he mean by his training?

“Hm? Of course, it’s also your training. But wouldn’t it be unfair if only you two benefited while I gained nothing? Surely, I’m allowed to gain something from this too?”

“Just make sure we don’t die before you get your benefit!”

While speaking, Inori suddenly dashed forward, launching a frontal assault. But as expected, her attack was effortlessly deflected.

However, this time, she didn’t allow Tenma an opening for a counterattack. Without pausing, Inori unleashed a relentless barrage of strikes.

“Don’t say such ominous things as dying against an old man.”
“Easy for someone to say who probably wouldn’t die even if you were killed!”

What an incredible battle… He hasn’t moved far from his original positions, but his movements are so fast I can barely keep up. Even if I tried to grab him with multiple arms, there’s no way I’d be able to catch Tenma at this speed.

“Well, Seiji? Are you not coming?”
“I’m coming now!”

It’s hard to avoid interfering with Inori, but at the very least, I can try to limit his escape routes by surrounding him. He might break free by sheer force, but if I brace myself and prepare to take some damage, I might be able to slow him down a bit.

Sure, having my arms destroyed will hurt, but it’s not like my real arms are actually being damaged. I just have to endure it. If I’m going to do this, I’m doing it at full power!

“I once encountered a similar monster before… I hope this turns out to be even more entertaining than that.”

Facing hundreds of monstrous arms and overwhelming brute strength, Tenma laughed gleefully as he raised his fists.