“Oh? So Little Garden Vampires have wings?”
Mondaiji-tachi ga isekai kara kuru soudesu yo v01 205.jpg
“Hm. Although it isn't flight with the use of wings……does it make you dissatisfied to see me having the skies at my disposal?”
“No, we didn’t rule that out in the rules.”
Izayoi shrugged his shoulders indifferently. Although this meant that Izayoi was in a less favorable position, Izayoi did not discuss it further but merely got himself into a defensive stance.
And Leticia started to evaluate him from this response.
In Gift Games, assuming that the opponent was an unknown factor is a basic rule.
Take for example if a monkey had brought up a complaint that the bird was being unfair for having the ability to fly freely in the skies, in a Gift game, it would be seen as the fault of the monkey for being unable to fly and the monkey’s complaint wouldn’t have been a valid argument. To see the opponent whose abilities remain a mystery take the first step in displaying a skill and come up with a counter with one’s own Gifts on hand, that was the true essence of Gift Games and the greatest joy.
(I see. He does have the right attitude towards the game, let’s see if he has the strength to back that up……!)
With her back facing the full moon, Leticia smiled as she unfurled her Black Wings while taking out her own Gift card.
Seeing the Gift card that was adorned with the contrasting colors of Black, Red and Gold being drawn out, Kuro Usagi had turned pale and shouted loudly:
“Leti…Leticia-sama! That Gift card is……”
“Stand down, Kuro Usagi, although this is a test of strength, it is equivalent to a duel.”
The Gift card gave off a bright light as it materialized the Gift’s true form that was sealed within the card.
As the light particles condensed to form the outer shell of the item, it suddenly shattered outwards to reveal a weapon fashioned like a lance.
“We will just toss a lance at each other and if the opponent is unable to block it, it would be counted as an immediate loss. Excuse me but I will be starting first.”
“Fine by me.”
Leticia raised the lance, which was to be thrown, high into the air.
“Hu—-!”
Leticia took a deep breath to adjust her breathing while spreading her wings even more.
Rotating her whole body to add to the momentum of the toss, the impact of the throw caused the air to ripple and the lance pierced through the air with such force that ripples of air could be seen spreading to the sides of the lance’s tip as it flew towards its intended target.
*Ha!*
The lance that was thrown with a fierce shout had already started to heat up due to the resistance of the air and was rapidly closing in on Izayoi in a straight line.
Facing the lance tip that was flying towards his face while vibrating the air around it like a meteor, Izayoi parted his lips in a smile.
“Hmph!—What’s there to be cocky about?!” And swung his fist to smash into the lance.
“—Shwat……?”
Leticia and Kuro Usagi had both given out a shout that was seriously out of tune.
But it’s because the following description is not metaphorically speaking and there’s no other way to describe it fully. The tip of the lance that was sharpened to the point where it could be thrown at a speed that would allow it to pierce through all air resistance…its shape, from the sharp lance tip to the intricately designed handle with its beautifully crafted patterns, was twisted into a lump of iron in just one strike and had shattered to form countless shrapnel that seemed like pellets of a shotgun as they flew back towards Leticia.
(This …This is bad…..!)
Such a crazy destructive power! Leticia did not have the ability to defend against such a strike and that only left her the option of dodging.
But her body did not catch up to the speed of her thoughts. No, it wouldn’t have mattered even if it were able to catch up.
If it were a normal bullet, Leticia, who was a Pure Blood Vampire should have the ability to use her hand to swipe it away. But currently in the face of these wicked sharp shrapnel that were travelling at a speed similar to the Third Cosmic Velocity and rapidly approaching with a speed that was faster than humanely possible, it was impossible for her to do the same.
(To…To actually be that strong to this extent……!)
And as Leticia was about to be made into a dartboard, she gave a wry smile. Having witnessed Izayoi’s extraordinary strength, Leticia felt a little ashamed for having naively requested a visual assessment and at the same time, she felt relieved.
Since this guy holds such a strong talent, maybe……when Leticia had just mentally prepared herself to fall to the ground torn up to shreds and covered in blood—
“Leticia-sama!”
Simultaneously, Kuro Usagi who had leaped out of the window helped her to block the metal shrapnel that had nearly reached its target. In her surprise and shock, Leticia had also retracted her wings while hugging Kuro Usagi as they descended.
“Kuro…Kuro Usagi! What are you doing?!”
All of a sudden, Leticia shouted loudly. However, it wasn’t to protest Kuro Usagi’s intervention in the battle. But it was due to Kuro Usagi’s act of snatching the Gift card from her hand and holding onto it tightly.
Ignoring Leticia’s protests, she stared at the Gift card in her hand and following that, she turned back to face Leticia while saying in a trembling voice:
“Gift name [Pure Blood Kyūketsuki Hime]……as I thought! The Gift name has changed! Although retaining its demon species, it now lacks the Divinity!”
“Uu……!”
Leticia immediately looked away, being unable to meet Kuro Usagi’s gaze. Izayoi who had stridden over to them, seemed a little disappointed but he shrugged his shoulders with a disapproving expression on his face.
“What’s this? Could it be that you do not have the former Demon Lord-sama Gift anymore and have only been left with a Vampire Gift?”
“……Yes, Most of the weapons are still retained but the Gift that used to be held in her body……”
Izayoi did not bother to hide his frustration as he clicked his tongue harshly.
It’s most probably due to him feeling displeased by the thought that Leticia in her current weak state had challenged him as his opponent.
“Hmph! No wonder there wasn’t even a bit of fight put up from your end! So this means that after becoming the possession of another person, the Gifts will also be taken?”
“No……The Demon Lord only took away talented individuals from the Community and wasn’t after the Gifts. Different from the Gifts that can materialize as weapons, what we call [Grace] is the miracle that has been given to various Gods, deities, Buddhas and Spirits. In other words, it is a part of the soul and is unable to be forcefully removed from the holder of the Gift without their consent.”
It meant that Leticia had consented to give up her Gift. Seeing how the both of them were focusing on her with their gazes, Leticia seemed to turn away her eyes with a pained expression.
Kuro Usagi wore a grim expression on her face as she asked:
“Leticia-sama, your former power that was equivalent to that of a [Demon Lord] was due to the dual possession of both the pure blooded Demon type and Divinity, hence earning you the title of one. But with your current abilities, it seems like it’s not even a tenth of your original strength. Why did it become like this……”
“……This is……”
Leticia started her words hesitantly before stopping and she continued that way for a few more times. But in the end, she was still unable to be honest with them and had relapsed into her silence while looking down at the ground.
Izayoi scratched his head in irritation as he gave a suggestion:
“Forget it, how should I say it…If you have something to say, let’s just head back to the room first.”
“……I guess you are right……”
The both of them nodded their heads gloomily.