Danmachi: Unalloyed Blade Works

Clashing Souls

Lefiya couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had lost count how many swords the red-haired killer had broken. With every sword that was broken in a single slash, another was formed out of thin air into Muramasa's hands and countered a blow. And each swing was too fast for her eyes to follow. If anything, they looked like blurs wildly trying to cut one another down. The winds generated from their swords hitting against each other cut down everything in their immediate vicinity, and Lefiya was too scared of getting close out of fear of getting killed by accident.

There was no way this was the power of a Level One. If anything, she thought she was looking at two First Class Adventurers fighting to the death. The speed and power behind Muramasa's strikes reminded Lefiya of when she saw her Familia Captain fight for the first time. And she had never heard of a chantless magic that allowed the user to create top-quality swords in an instant. Not to mention the woman who claimed to have killed Hasharna.

The more she saw Muramasa fight, the more her head began to ache at trying to figure out what kind of person he was. Was he a friend? An enemy? How could someone so powerful slip under the radar? What kind of blacksmith actively threw himself into a fight?!

"...Fourty pairs. I broke over forty pairs of swords, and to think you still have more." the woman growled.

"I ain't gonna ask again. Where the hell did you hear that name?" Muramasa asked in a low voice.

"Confident enough to talk during a fight to the death, Emiya?" the woman spat.

Muramasa didn't reply to the woman's words with his own. Instead, he formed another katana and raced forward. Flames poured from the steel he wielded and the woman's eyes grew wide from the sudden burst of speed Muramasa displayed. Instead of attempting to block the flaming sword, the woman ducked to the side to avoid the strike and kicked out with her leg. Muramasa quickly reacted by blocking the strike with his free arm, but the power behind the kick was more than enough to send Muramasa flying back. His body crashed through the crystals that grew from the ground.

"Tempest!" Ais yelled out.

With the aid of her magic, Ais dashed forward and slammed her Desperate onto the ground, creating a large crater and forcing her adversary to jump back. The two exchanged rapid fire blows with one another, though Ais quickly found herself being pushed back by her foe's superior strength.

"Hm...that magic..." the woman muttered.

"Kh...!" Ais grunted as her sword and the woman's were locked against each other.

"Unleashed streak of light, bow limbs of the holy tree. You are an expert of the bow. Shoot, sniper of the fairies. Penetrate, arrow of absolute accuracy!" Lefiya chanted.

The woman quickly noticed Lefiya chanting behind her. Ais quickly capitalized on the brief opening to knock the woman's arm aside and delivered a quick kick at the woman's knee. She buckled, silently cursing.

"Arc Ray!" Lefiya finished, aiming her staff at the woman. A bright beam of light shot out from her staff and sailed toward her target. It was far too fast for anyone to dodge, and even if they could, it tracked whoever it was aimed at and ensured a direct hit. The only way to counter it was by confronting it.

Which was exactly what the woman did. Instead of attempting to evade, she simply held a hand out and the magic washed over her hand. 

"I-Impossible! To stop it head-on?!" Lefiya gasped in shock.

In a simple motion of closing her fist, Arc Ray was completely neutralized and the residues of the spell flew around wildly, decimating everything around her. Lefiya found herself being blown back as part of the spell crashed near her.