With a bang, water is poured over my head again. I've gotten used to it by now, but I feel like its frequency is increasing.


''Huh ... it's cold ...''


　I continue on, walking through the courtyard. Apparently it's the same members of the group doing this, and they're grinning at me from a distance. Perhaps it's escalating because they're not rebelling in any way. I'd like to give him a little sermon around here, but I didn't want to show off more than anything else.


　Maybe it's egotism, but I'm pretty strong in this academy. That's what living in the twilight for two years is all about. But I don't want to show off that strength. That's because I don't want to be lonely. To be honest, the two years in the twilight were lonely. I was scared of death every day, and it was just a painful day. That's why I want to be involved with someone right now.

　If I flaunt this power, people will stay away. I can see it in Shelly, but she's used to being alone. But I am ultimately a weak person.






　After school. But it's already night. It's not twilight, it's time for darkness to take over. There is moonlight, but it's still dark. I've been studying at the library until late, but I thought it was time to go home, so I left.


　Am I being watched?


　It wasn't my imagination that I felt that way. The feeling of being watched by a wild beast. A sense of deja vu. It's the same as or even more than the demon race I met in the twilight.


　Don't tell me that there are demons and demonic tribes within the ward city?


　I followed my gaze as I walked out, assuming the worst possible situation.


''Well this place...''


　We came to a park. It's a nondescript place. However, that gaze brought me here as if it were leading me to this place. I had the thought that it might be a trap, but I wasn't so peaceful that I could ignore the gaze that was so full of murderous intent. Back in the warded city, I was enjoying a bit of peace, but then I remembered. I, we need to fight that twilight, reclaim our land and bring back the light.


''.........!


　A killing atmosphere behind him. Rather, it appeared suddenly. It was a momentary event, but I rolled forward as it was as I rolled my body down and rolled forward, taking the distance for now. The sword streak that passed over my head was obviously unusually sharp.


''........Hoho, let's avoid that one. It's as good as the information.
Human...?
Well, let's see how good you are.


　The man in front of me. It was someone I didn't know. But I could tell at a glance that he was strong. He had short black hair and a beard on his face, and he was probably in his thirties, to think. But what's worth noting is his skill in wielding the great sword he carries with sharp speed on his body covered in thick muscle. There are demons with large swords. But the required skill level is unusually high. It's true that the blow is heavy, but it's too badly handled. Considering the continuous battles with demons, the broadsword is the most efficient. And yet, this man was wielding this great sword.......probably a bastard sword, but he wielded it as lightly as if it were a broadsword.


''Who are you........?''
'I'll tell you about that when I'm done, wow!


　In front of me. Again, the bastard sword is wielded. It's too fast. I can only marvel at the physical performance and even more so at his sword skills to achieve this kind of speed.

　The Bastard Sword is a long sword that can be used with both hands or one hand, and is usually about 1.2 to 1.4 meters long. But this man's was more than 1.5 meters long... no, that means it was a claymore?　The reach is too long and the turnaround is too fast, perhaps using inertial control as well.


''.........''


　With a click of my tongue, I take out the knife in my breast pocket and activate the Invisible Sword 《Invisible Blade》. And I catch that sword head-on.


''Gu, ugh!


　My Invisible Blade, the Invisible Blade, is thin. It has a knife as its starting point, so it extends vertically but cannot change its width. More than anything else, it emphasized speed, which was the iron law of living in the twilight. That's why there wasn't much to take on such weight. Some of the demons were ridiculously large, and I've fought some of them, but they were as heavy as that. But even then I..........managed to take it head on.

　I pull my body strengthening up even more. My body screams, and my skin breaks down and rips apart. Strengthening beyond the limit would cause the body to disintegrate. But I can't even say that right now.


''Don't........do it. You're the second person to take my sword head on.
Thank you for that...


　For some reason, I took the compliment in stride, but blood was flowing from both of my arms. The weight was too much for me to bear, and I felt like my arm was going to break, but I still accepted it. But that was just this once. Now I'm going to take it all in and take that head.


　 This is a unique feeling when hunting. It's that feeling you get when you're in a life-and-death battle in the twilight, that feeling you get when you're in the zone.

　Then I concentrate and measure the distance between me and my opponent. I'll be able to measure the distance of about ten meters.......is the range of the Invisible Blade sufficient?　We could stretch it out but let's go with that one here.


　And then we'll kick the ground out as hard as we can and run, run, run!


You're fast!


　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time with the Invisible Blade, but I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time with the Invisible Blade. But it is blocked by the defense of the large sword. Then.........

　Thinking so, he activated the Invisible Blade from the little finger of his left hand.


''d*mn it!　You can even activate it from your fingertips!


　Do you see it?　Can you trigger it?　The former assumes that the opponent has some perceptual system ability. However, I'm not sure about the latter. Do you know about my Invisible Blade, the Invisible Blade?　Where the hell did you get that?　

　And it seems that my Invisible Sword 《Invisible Blade》 is visible, and it ducks slightly. But even if I could see it, I was confident that I could get it next time. I'm going to use inertia control to cut back the Invisible Blade and swing it as if to slice through my arm, but the next moment a wall of ice was created in front of me.

　I couldn't help but step back, but the killing spirit calmed down at once. I can feel the tense atmosphere easing. Who the hell is this person...?


Come on, you two. That's enough, Gil. You almost got us killed.
'Ha, not yet. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.
'It's the same with this girl, isn't it? Obviously, now, one of your arms was flying off.
''Gu ... well, it was bad, I'm sure...''


　Suddenly, a wall of ice appeared, and the one who appeared was a woman. She had scorching red hair, and her behavior was somewhat elegant. But somewhere in this person's face........

''Ah.........I believe it's the person who was watching the match with Shelly, right?''


　I asked as I applied a healing spell to myself. There's no more killing now. That's why I'll go calmly as usual.


'Oh?　You remembered it, Yulia-kun.
Well what about you two?
I'm Gil. I'm a master counter-magician.
My name is Claudia. I'm also an extra-specialist demoness.
Eh....


　Poking around. Thinking back, that skill was not that of a mere anti-magician. I was almost going to kill each other for real too. But since I've beaten Shelly, a first-class anti-magician, the only serious opponent I can think of is a special-class anti-magician... When I think about it, it becomes a little clearer.


Hey Claudia, how much combat time do you have?
I mean it's got to be over a thousand hours, right?
''That's about it for me too, but two years means this guy has been in the twilight for over 17,000 hours. As expected, I don't think he's more than ten times as strong as we are, but you were right.
I told you. I told you I was strong.
So be more specific.
Because I wanted to see him for what he was really doing.
What the hell? She's just an old woman in her thirties.
What?　I'm only 27 years old!


　I stared at the exchange between the two of them in dismay and was approached again.


'Well, you've passed. I'll let you meet that guy.
But who is it for?


　Ms. Gil says so, but who's that guy?　Who the hell are you talking about...?


"Exclusive-grade antagonist, number one on the pecking order. The most powerful man in humanity, Silas.


　And I was going to meet face-to-face with the strongest special class of demons in humanity.