The scene shifts to an abandoned construction site. Hiyori and the middle-aged man face each other, with Ryuto standing aside.
With their overall plan already exposed, the middle-aged man decides not to beat around the bush anymore. The target is right in front of him, and although he may be hindered by the Eastern Sword Magician, it might actually be a good opportunity. Even if he doesn't gain any advantage, at least there won't be any disadvantages. After all, this situation isn't much different from the beginning. In the end, it seems inevitable that there will be a battle against the Eastern Sword Magician.
After considering this, the middle-aged man decides to go all out from the beginning. He injects Kinesis into his legs to strengthen his leg muscles, giving him several times the normal strength and agility.
Taking advantage of this momentum, he kicks off the ground, generating a powerful force that propels his large body forward in an instant.
As his body quickly approaches his opponent, he injects Kinesis into his arms, empowering his already strengthened fists. He swings his fist forcefully towards the opponent.
Hiyori doesn't attempt to directly block this fierce attack. Instead, she uses her clairvoyance to see through the opponent's movements and easily dodges to the side. Ryuto realizes that there's no need to confront the middle-aged man head-on, as he clearly has the advantage in terms of strength. In this situation, it's best to utilize their speed advantage. However, both sides are incredibly fast, making it difficult for Ryuto, who is observing from the sidelines.
The middle-aged man seems impatient as his first strike is avoided. Instead of stopping, he continues to launch attacks, but his movements become chaotic. Faced with another attack from the middle-aged man, Hiyori lowers her body and evades it skillfully.
Meanwhile, she quickly closes the distance between them from below. Taking advantage of the opponent's temporary inability to move flexibly due to his large movements, Hiyori seizes the opportunity. She takes a large step forward with her left foot, using the momentum of her body to increase her speed.
"Meirei."
She firmly strikes the middle-aged man's chest with her right palm.
Meirei works on the same principle as Shunshan, which is to gather magic power in the hand, or more accurately, in the palm. However, they have different effects. Shunshan allows for high-speed movement through the accumulation of magic power, while Meirei increases the impact force by gathering magic power, making it an offensive technique. Compared to Shunshan, Meirei is slightly easier to perform, as the impact force is determined by the amount and density of the gathered magic power.
It seems to be quite effective, as the middle-aged man shows a pained expression after being hit. His movements also become sluggish. Hiyori takes the opportunity to jump back and create some distance between them.
The pain seems to have calmed the middle-aged man, as he doesn't charge recklessly like before. Instead, he picks up a discarded piece of steel nearby and, after assuming a good posture, throws it directly at Hiyori. It's a dangerous move.
If she dodges, the middle-aged man can launch another attack while she's vulnerable. If she doesn't dodge, it will be difficult to avoid the subsequent attacks. Either way, she can't escape the middle-aged man's attack.
Instead of dodging the attack, Hiyori stands still, seemingly ready to receive the attack. The middle-aged man interprets it as her intention to catch the attack.
After throwing the piece of steel, the middle-aged man follows closely. Hiyori seizes the opportunity to slightly lean her body and narrowly avoids it. While avoiding the attack, she uses her palm to strike the piece of steel to the side. Following that, the middle-aged man's attack comes rushing in.
In this situation, Hiyori can only tough it out and withstand the attack. It proves to be quite challenging. Although she is able to block the opponent's move, she can't completely negate the impact force. After receiving the attack with the back of her knife, Hiyori's body naturally moves backward.
As a result, pebbles roll and dust fills the air. She slides several meters backward before coming to a stop. After stopping, there are two black marks left on the ground, resembling tire skid marks on a road.
Due to Hiyori receiving the attack head-on, the middle-aged man lands slightly in front of where she was standing just a moment ago.
After the middle-aged man's feet touched the ground, there was only a brief moment of pause before, as if unable to bear the weight of the man's massive body, the ground at the man's location collapsed, and the unsupported middle-aged man fell down along with the broken stones.
Seeing this scene, Ryuto, who had been standing aside all along, touched the back of his head and said in a slightly weary voice, "Oh, finally took the bait, huh? I was starting to get a little anxious. After all, I've always been lacking in confidence."
