The chief led us to a place that looked like an arena.

''It's amazing to see a place like this in the village of the spirit race.
'This is primarily a place for magical training. It's a place for magical training, which is why it's been given such a large space.
Also, there are wards in place at all times so that if your magic fails, there will be no damage to your surroundings.

　Luna and Sora explained it to me.

　So this is where the 'ordeal' that the chief says will take place?
　What kind of content is it?
　I'm starting to get a little nervous.

'Get on stage.'

　I went up to the stage of the arena as the chief told me to.
　Following me, Kanade tried to climb up, but....

"Daughter of the cat spirit race. And the others. You can't.
Meow?　Why?
'I don't need to test your powers. Because I'm sure the strongest species would have the power to do just that.
Am I the only one who has to go through that ordeal?
Yeah. Are you nervous?
No, it's not a problem.

　I look at Kanade and the others.

'So that's why ... everyone stay back.
But....
I'll be fine. I'll be fine. Wouldn't you ever?
Nya........Rain tends to lie a little bit about things related to himself, doesn't he?

　...was it?

'But... yeah. I believe it!　Good luck!
Thank you.

　Kanade and everyone else waited at the side of the arena.

'You are about to fight a certain opponent,'
A guy....?

　I'm worried about the way he's being pompous.
　Is he a very strong opponent?
　Naturally, your guard goes up.

'If I can fight and defeat you one on one, I will acknowledge you, Lord.
What are the terms of victory?
Literally, it's about taking him down.
It's...
What. Do you think you've already won?
I'm not saying that.
I'm sure you're not going to be able to get away with it. Your opponent is a magically created object that you are fighting. They don't have lives. So there's no need to worry about that.
That's a relief to hear.

　I don't know what we're dealing with, but....
　I'm going to give it my all.
　I really need to get your approval.

　And we don't have a lot of time.
　If it's possible, I'd like to call it a short-term battle.

　...That's what I was thinking about, but...
　It's not going to be that easy, and I was reminded of the naive nature of this idea.

"Your opponent........is this guy!

　The space is distorted.
　A huge mirror appeared.

''Is this...?''

　My image is reflected in the huge mirror.
　My reflection in the mirror had a quizzical look on my face.

''Huh?''

　Suddenly, I smirk at my reflection in the mirror.
　But I'm not smiling.

　The me in the mirror starts moving on its own.
　From the mirror to the real world.
　The other me appeared from the mirror.

"Nya, nya?
Two Rains...?

　I could hear Kanade and Tania's surprised voices.
　Although I don't say it out loud, I'm also very surprised.

　What in the world is this...?

That's who you're dealing with.
It's me... right?
Yeah. I mean, you're at war with yourself.
"I'll fight myself...
A man's true nature can only be discerned when he is confronted with himself. Therefore, I ask you to fight against yourself. Now, power ... show me your heart.

　The elders clapped their hands in a pan and...
　That was the signal for the start of the fight.



----------



　The other me....
　It's hard to say, so let's call it 'The Shadow'.

　The shadow rushed over with a signal.

''Huh!''

　Fast!
　It's like the wind.
　You can't stop the shadow from running out and allowing it to be in your pocket.

　The shadow came out with a fist with the same momentum.
　One blow.
　Two blows.
　Three blows.
　With a flowing motion, he unleashes a series of blows.

"This guy........!

　The first blow was avoided by tilting his face.
　The second blow was caught with his left hand.
　The third blow he couldn't avoid or catch it, and he took a decent hit.

　It's a heavy blow.
　The impact seems to resonate to the core of my body, and I stagger involuntarily.

　Without missing the opportunity, the shadow moves to chase after it.

　It stays close to me as I try to keep my distance and never leaves.
　It's like a swoop.
　Once you've been bitten, you won't let go again.

You're so persistent!

　Shake off the shadow legs...
　He slams his knee into the spot where his body leans.
　He doesn't stop there, but spins on the spot.
　He drops his heels from top to bottom.

　The shadow that received the painful blow staggered for a moment, but.......
　The visible changes were just that, and he quickly regained his position.

　This power.
　And this durability.

　It's like the shadow is copying my status exactly.
　And then.........

Huh?

　Right after I had a bad feeling about this...
　The shadow chanted three fireballs at the same time and released them at us.