A hero who wants to help others wants to live a normal life - Chapter 72

Chapter 72   Kujou vs Seiji 2

“Sahara-kun. Here I come. This strike… is heavy.”

With those words, an arrow was released—one far thicker and more radiant than any ordinary arrow.

That’s the kind of thing you use on a giant monster!

Seeing Kujou’s arrow, clearly brimming with intent to kill, I was shocked but had no choice but to stretch out my “hand” desperately to do something about it. And then—it pierced through me.

“Ugh!”

Because the arrow had pierced my “hand,” the pain was shared with my arms, making them throb in agony. I felt bad for Inori, who was also sharing my pain.

But whether she had complaints or not, I’d have to hear them later. If I needed to apologize, that would have to come later too. Right now, I had to endure and deal with what was in front of me.

Even as the arrow ran through my palm, I manipulated my “hand” to grasp and stop it. But realizing that stopping it completely would be difficult, I instead focused my strength on deflecting it.

The strategy worked—the arrow Kujou had fired veered off and flew past me.

“It’s not just Sakura, you know!”

But before I could catch my breath, the other members, who had finished their incantations, came rushing at me.

The first to attack was Toudou.

Come to think of it, I’d seen her fight before, but I’d never actually faced her in combat.

With that thought in mind, I realized getting surrounded would be bad news, so I grabbed a nearby tree and swung myself away like something out of a wire-action stunt.

“What!? You can do that!?”

Toudou was shocked, but I ignored her and continued moving, stretching out dozens of “hands” toward the opposing team.

“I’m not letting you escape!”

Of course, such an obvious attack wouldn’t work. Kujou’s team members swiftly defended themselves, striking at the “hands” that targeted them.

During this training period, I had been told to refine my ability control, and I had been working hard at it. But even so, controlling this many hands as if they were my own real arms was impossible.

So, it was only natural that they managed to counter my attack. However, I had still succeeded in stopping Kujou’s movements.

She was strong, but she was a backliner. Chasing an enemy while dealing with the “hands” at the same time wasn’t going to be easy for her.

That said, for the other members, handling the “hands” didn’t seem to be much of a challenge. They continued countering my attacks without slowing down as they pursued me.

I could keep running and widen the gap between myself and their team, but if I took too long, Kujou might come up with a new way to deal with me. Before that happened, I had to produce some kind of result.

Making that decision, I suddenly changed tactics. Instead of continuing to flee, I abruptly turned and charged toward them.

The enemy team, who had been chasing me, hesitated—some stopped in their tracks, while others tightened their grips on their weapons. But all of them, including Toudou, were caught off guard, staring at me in surprise.

I took advantage of that moment. Pushing my ability even further, I unleashed hundreds of hands, scattering them in all directions.

With this many, there was no way I could control each one individually.

But even with rough control, I could still send them toward the enemy and capture them.

“Ahhh!”

“Whaaa!?”

The unexpected move, combined with the overwhelming number of hands—several times more than before—completely shocked Kujou’s team.

They tried to fend them off, but in the face of sheer numbers, they stood no chance.

They couldn’t possibly deal with a swarm of hands that filled their entire field of vision.

One by one, three of them were captured and restrained.

“That just leaves Toudou and Kujou.”

Though I had managed to capture three, Toudou had cloaked herself in flames, burning away the hands that reached for her.

She had pulled back for now and was standing in front of Kujou, glaring at me.

She had avoided being captured, but she hadn’t escaped unscathed.

It seemed even her skill wasn’t enough to completely incinerate the blessed hands in an instant. Her clothes were torn in places, and her arms and legs bore scratches and bruises from the struggle.

“Burn already!”

Staying at a distance would only work in Kujou’s favor.

I sent out more hands as decoys and shields while closing in on them, but before I could reach them, Toudou unleashed a massive wall of flames, blocking my path.

“As if I’ll let myself burn—!”

A direct hit would be bad, even for me.

I quickly leaped backward to avoid it—but as if predicting my movement, countless glowing arrows burst through the flames, all aimed straight at me.

There was no time to dodge.

Even if I twisted my body, at least one of them would definitely hit.

But—

Just before the arrows hit, I extended a “hand,” grabbed the ground, and yanked myself away, narrowly dodging them.

If it were my real arms, gripping the ground like that would be impossible. But these “hands” could exert force to the limits of my body, and even if they had claws, they wouldn’t break off. That’s why I could pull off a move like this.

“Damn… that was close.”

A sigh of relief slipped out as I successfully evaded the attack.

But while it was good that I survived, I had to prepare for the next move.

Still, just enduring wouldn’t get me anywhere. If I kept playing defense, I’d be pushed into a corner sooner or later. After all, they had two people while I was alone. Not to mention, the two remaining were long-time friends, meaning their coordination would be flawless. There would be no more easy openings like before, and forcing them into a mistake would be difficult.

I knew all that, but how was I supposed to deal with them?

Would I be able to manage if it was just this level of fire?

Toudou’s flaming wall was still burning. A normal person wouldn’t be able to get past it, but with the right approach, I might be able to.

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I sprinted straight for the wall of flames.

If I went right through it, my opponents wouldn’t expect it. They’d never imagine someone would charge through head-on, and I could launch a surprise attack.

Taking a long way around would only increase the distance, and they’d be on high alert.

So even if I took some damage, forcing my way through the fire was the better option.

“Huh? You—”

“Wha—!?”

However, it seemed they had the same idea.

Just as I was about to burst through the flames, Toudou came rushing from the other side, and we ran right into each other. Instinctively, I shot out my arms.

Toudou, startled, tried to resist. But being suddenly swarmed by a hundred “hands” was too much for her to handle, and she was completely restrained.

“That makes it one-on-one now.”

“…Seems like it.”

With Toudou eliminated, her skill deactivated, causing the wall of flames to vanish. Now, it was just me and Kujou, facing off.

“What do you want to do? If we keep going, things are gonna get serious.”

“I suppose so. But since we’ve come this far, I don’t think stopping is necessary. If it becomes a problem, I’m sure Tenma-sama will intervene.”

As we spoke, more of my arms multiplied around me, while Kujou conjured several floating arrows of light, keeping them at the ready.

With that many arrows prepared… I could probably handle it.

But if things escalated, I might have to use my “other” ability.

“So that’s how it is. Alright, let’s do this.”

“Yes.”

I crouched low, gripping the ground and nearby trees with several of my “hands,” keeping myself ready to move at any moment.

Opposite me, Kujou drew her glowing white bow, surrounding herself with floating arrows made of light, prepared to fire at any time.

The first to move was Kujou.

Without any warning, the light arrows shot toward me. They moved silently, streaking through the air in a straight line, aiming directly at me.

To be honest, I wanted to dodge. But this attack wasn’t dangerous enough to warrant that—not yet.

If I dodged now, Kujou would release the real attack, the one she had already nocked in her bow. And if I was caught mid-movement, avoiding that shot would be far more difficult.

So instead of dodging, I swung my “hands” from the side, striking the light arrows mid-air and deflecting them.

“As expected, this level of attack won’t even slow you down.”

“Well, not when we’re facing off head-on like this.”

Kujou fired more light arrows, replenishing those I had deflected. But as I moved my “hands” to intercept them again, I also sent a wave of “hands” lunging toward Kujou.

However, the dozens of “hands” I sent were instantly pierced by her light arrows, each one shot down before it could reach her.

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I pressed forward, keeping an eye on Kujou’s bow, still aimed directly at me, its arrow not yet released.

Just standing here and staring her down wouldn’t change anything. In fact, the more distance between us, the more advantageous the battle was for Kujou. If I hesitated, I’d only be backing myself into a corner.

By moving in, I’d inevitably expose more openings and make it harder to avoid attacks. But knowing that, I had no choice but to push forward.

I tightened my grip with the “hands” I had planted on the ground, then yanked myself sideways with a sharp pull, launching myself forward like a slingshot.

Perhaps caught off guard by my sudden acceleration, Kujou’s eyes widened in surprise—but only for a split second. She quickly regained her composure, her gaze turning sharp once more.

Then, at the exact moment Kujou planted her feet firmly to steady her shot, I extended as many “hands” as I possibly could from my entire body.

The sheer number was the highest I had ever managed—perhaps even reaching a thousand. And every single one of them was aimed straight at Kujou—

“That’s enough.”