Chapter 532 - 一秒先の世界
Five minutes had passed since the battle between Simon and Damian began, and Parfait and the others were speechless as they watched the bizarre spectacle.
Simon's slashes were fast and sharp. They were truly faster than the eye could follow, yet Damian was parrying every single one of them. To be more precise, his extended red claws were deflecting every strike.
If it were just that, one could call it a battle between two powerful warriors, but Damian's movements were strange. For some reason, Damian would move, and then Simon's slash would follow. Conversely, one could say Simon's movements were strange, but Parfait and the others were in a state of Confusion at a defense that seemed to know exactly where the attacks were coming.
"How terrifying. How many seconds ahead can you see?"
"We've known each other for quite a while. I'd say about one second ahead."
Parfait, having no idea what their conversation meant, looked toward Benitsuru, who didn't seem particularly surprised. While it felt like a waste to miss even a moment of this fight, she didn't think it would be settled immediately and sought advice.
Perhaps noticing Parfait's gaze, Benitsuru's lips curled into a smile.
"Dami-cchi can see a few seconds into the future, you see. Like a... mononoke?"
"He can see the future?"
Everyone who heard those words turned their gaze toward Benitsuru. What she was saying made no sense, but given the situation, it wasn't strange to think so, as Damian was intercepting and defending against Simon's attacks before they even happened.
"Of course, it's just a metaphor, or rather, he's not actually performing future prediction. It's not a game skill either."
"I understand that. But what do you mean?"
"Well, Dami-cchi analyzes and predicts Simon's physical movements, actions, and personality. He can probably predict everything about Simon's movements one second ahead, or maybe just slightly less than that. That's why Dami-cchi can defend even though he's slower than Simon's movements."
"I-Is such a thing even possible?"
"He's a genius surgeon with a deep knowledge of the human body, and he's also well-versed in psychology. Besides, his brain's processing power is high, so I guess he can manage this much."
There's no way, everyone retorted in their hearts, but since he was doing it right in front of them, they couldn't voice a denial. It was like being shown a magic trick without knowing the gimmick; everyone watched the battle between Simon and Damian, searching for something.
Damian, moving slowly with the absolute minimum effort required, and Simon, attacking with rapid movements while mixing in feints. Simon was the one pressing the attack, but no matter how one looked at it, it only seemed as if Simon was going out of his way to attack exactly where Damian's claws were.
One hears stories about reading several moves ahead in games like shougi, but there was no way he could repeatedly predict Simon's attacks, which involved slashing several times in less than a second. Parfait strained her eyes, thinking there must be some kind of trick, but she couldn't figure out the mechanism at all.
What Benitsuru said was starting to feel realistic, but Parfait simply couldn't accept it.
"Benny-shishou, what you said just now was a lie, right?"
"Which part?"
"That Damian-san is predicting about one second ahead. There's some kind of trick, isn't there?"
"I told you, there isn't. Simon's movements are beautiful, so they're easy to read, and his personality is serious and upright, so from Dami-cchi's perspective, he can probably predict two or three seconds ahead."
"Even so—"
"Dami-cchi is a Doctor, you know? Even though this is inside Virtual Reality, the range of motion of the human body doesn't change, and between eye contact and footwork, he can predict every aspect of the opponent's movement."
"I feel like he's not human anymore..."
"Well, I guess so. On top of that, Dami-cchi is holding his left claws forward to take the attacks, right? But take a look at the claws on his right hand too."
When Parfait was told this and observed again, it was true that he was only using his left hand for defense. And while he wasn't particularly using it to attack, the claws on his right hand were also moving slightly.
"He's using those right-hand claws to restrict Simon's movements. Simon is attacking, but it's more like Dami-cchi is using his right claws to guide Simon's attacks. If he ignores those right-hand movements, he'll definitely be attacked."
Damian, moving as if he were a conductor waving a baton, began to look elegant, while Simon appeared to be the one in a desperate struggle. Simon was undoubtedly the one attacking, but considering Benitsuru's explanation, the situation was that Simon was being made to attack by Damian.
While the likes of Abel and Lion seemed to have no thoughts other than "amazing" even after hearing the explanation, Wilnel and Luty were shocked as if they had seen something they shouldn't have, their eyes wide and their mouths hanging open.
"Once it gets like this, it's a contest of endurance. It'll either be Simon overturning Dami-cchi's predictions, or him losing his patience and going for a suicide charge."
Benitsuru said this cheerfully, but from Parfait's perspective, Benitsuru seemed quite relaxed. The battle between Simon and Damian felt like they were evenly matched, or perhaps Damian was slightly superior, but she wondered about Benitsuru.
"Could you win, Benny-shishou?"
"It would take a little time, but I could win. Even if he knows my movements one second ahead, I just have to create a situation where he can neither block nor dodge."
It was the kind of line one only heard from martial arts masters or in combat manga, but for Parfait, it was a story that made sense.
"Besides, I fight people far stronger than Dami-cchi. At Luna-cchi's level, it's beyond human, and I think Dami-cchi is still within the human realm."
"By Luna-cchi, you mean Lunaria-san, right?"
"Yeah, yeah. Luna-cchi is probably better than Dami-cchi. Though you might not be able to imagine it."
"It certainly is difficult to imagine."
Parfait had only seen the Lunaria who occasionally put plenty of milk and sugar in her Coffee at the cafe, blowing on it repeatedly because she had a sensitive tongue, and yet still getting teary-eyed because it was too hot. However, no matter who she asked, they said Lunaria was the strongest. She had never seen that strength, but she wanted to see it at least once. For some reason, there was also information that her own mother had won against that strongest person, but she had no idea what that was all about.
"Oh, is he finally going to step forward prepared for a mutual kill?"
As Benitsuru muttered that, Simon charged, and for the first time, Damian shifted to the offensive.
Damian's red claws on his right hand struck Simon's left shoulder directly, causing damage, but Simon didn't care and swung the katana he held in his right hand alone.
The moment everyone thought it had hit, Simon's movement stopped.
Before anyone realized it, skeletal hands had seized Simon's legs and arms.
"Forgive me. I'll have you yield the victory to this old man this time."
"...I forgot this was Virtual Reality and got too absorbed, it seems."
Even though it was a player-versus-player battle, they were free to use skills. What Damian used was Create Undead. It was the magic to create Undead that Natsu also specialized in, but he must have set it up beforehand, as the Skeleton minions interfered the moment Simon's attack was about to land.
The fact that the surroundings were shrouded in thick mist played a part, but it was Damian's strategic victory for having them lie in wait near his feet so they wouldn't be noticed and using them at the critical moment—or so everyone thought, but before anyone knew it, a Matchlock was grasped in Simon's left hand. Not a long type, but a Pistol. However, its muzzle was pressed against Damian's chest. Even if he could see one second ahead, there was no way to dodge.
"I'll have you yield the victory to me, who is just a little bit younger, this time."
"Good grief, I couldn't predict that. That's why people call you a troublesome fellow."
"You're the only one who says such things."
Damian seemed happy for some reason. Simon likewise wore a smile as he pulled the trigger without hesitation.
With a thudding sound, Damian was blown backward. Before he could fall onto the deck, he turned to ash and vanished. At the same time, the Skeleton that had been restraining Simon's right hand and legs crumbled away.
It was clear that Simon had won, but because it happened in just a few seconds, the timing to cheer was lost. However, Abel, who didn't really read the room or care about such things, let out a cheer.
"Simon-sensei, that was awesome! And you even had a gun!"
"It's a trump card I haven't told anyone about. The problem is that I can only use it once."
"Isn't winning once enough?"
"What are you saying? Damian is a Vampire. By now, he's undergoing Resurrection in a coffin deep within the Ghost Ship. Besides, in a normal fight, I would have lost. This is what they call winning the match but losing the battle. My training is still insufficient."
Simon laughed as he said this, but everyone except Benitsuru was quite shocked, thinking, "Even with that, his training is insufficient?"