Chapter 42: Reluctant to Let Touch, Yet Pinpoint in a Grasp

After Kobayashi revealed the real reason, he thought Tatsumi would tell Najenda, but Tatsumi was neither controlled nor assassinated.

Everything remained as usual.

Only Tatsumi seemed a bit off, constantly zoning out as if pondering something.

The training ground.

"Yo, Kobayashi, I am your sparring partner today."

Leone stood opposite Kobayashi, stretching her arms and legs vigorously, looking ready for a brawl.

Considering the battles ahead, in her view, this should be no different from a street fight.

"Sorry, can I request a substitute?"

Kobayashi made no effort to conceal the look of disgust on his face.

Leone said with dissatisfaction, "What, are you that disappointed to have me as your sparring partner?"

"How could that be? It's just that I feel my combat style is more compatible with Bulat."

"Kobayashi, sometimes you really act a bit weird."

Leone was beginning to suspect that he, much like Bulat, was a man whose preferences leaned toward other men.

"Too bad, though. Bulat is giving Tatsumi a special training session today, which is why he asked me to be your sparring partner."

"Actually, you're the one who volunteered, right?"

While making a sarcastic remark, Kobayashi looked toward the other side of the training ground. Bulat and Tatsumi were engaged in a fierce clash, an area filled with an exhilarating masculine aura.

To be honest, it was somewhat enviable.

However, Bulat must have discovered something unusual about Tatsumi, which was why he wanted to impart a lesson born of love... well, brotherly love.

Hearing him say that, Leone did not deny it. Licking her slightly reddened lips, she tempted him, "So, are you going to do this, or not?"

"...Please go easy on me."

After thinking for a moment, Kobayashi agreed. After all, having a sparring partner was better than none, right?

"But we have a prior agreement: no Imperial Arms allowed!"

"Of course! ...As if that's going to happen!"

She had wanted to fight Kobayashi for a long time. To ensure her absolute advantage, how could she possibly give up an Imperial Arms that enhanced her physical abilities?

A flash of light crossed Leone's body, instantly transforming her into a wild beast-eared maiden.

"Here I come!"

With a fierce stomp of her feet, she leveraged the reaction force to close the distance instantly. At the same time, her furry hands formed fists and smashed toward Kobayashi like a fierce tiger descending the mountain, whipping up a chilling wind.

Tsk, she completely ignored advice.

Kobayashi had no choice but to adopt a defensive posture passively.

However, the beast-transformed Leone experienced a surge in both speed and strength, with every punch and kick carrying immense power. Moreover, her attacking style was extremely erratic, with no discernible patterns, as she specifically targeted the enemy's weaknesses.

To put it nicely, her movements were unpredictable and unfathomable; to put it harshly, she was throwing wild, undisciplined punches.

Yet, augmented by her Imperial Arms, her speed and strength far exceeded those of an ordinary person, making it practically impossible for the average person to subdue her.

This was precisely why Kobayashi hated sparring with her.

Because Leone did not know how to hold back, she was his natural nemesis, and most importantly, he learned nothing from fighting her!

"Take this, take this, take this, take this!"

As the battle progressed, Leone grew increasingly excited. Straight punches and thrusts came in a continuous stream, growing faster and faster into a flurry of left and right blows. Her swinging fists were powerful and forceful, driving Kobayashi back step by step.

If she hadn't omitted the "Ora Ora" shouts, one would have thought she was using a Stand attack.

Coupled with the occasional inclusion of whipping roundhouse kicks and low kicks, Kobayashi was forced into a passive and hasty defense, where the slightest carelessness would result in him taking a hit from a fist or a foot.

Mindlessly absorbing blows defeated the purpose of sparring; he wasn't training to build up his tolerance for beatings.

Seizing the gap when Leone's whipping roundhouse kick left her momentarily rigid, Kobayashi pulled back to create distance, then executed two lightning-fast kicks targeting her waist and abdomen.

Unfortunately, both were blocked by Leone with her acute perception.

Yet, the true killer move came next!

Retract the leg, twist the waist, pivot the body!

The moment he saw Kobayashi twist his waist and pivot, Leone knew what he was about to do.

Although his form was more standard and powerful than before, in her eyes, it was still not enough to pose a threat.

"Hmph, I was watching right beside you when you fought Bulat. Did you really think this trick would work on me?"

Leone grinned, revealing a look of disdain.

The next move should be... a spinning back kick!

...Or so she thought.

"Idol, of course I knew that you knew what my next move would be, but you fell for it."

Instead of kicking after twisting his waist and pivot, Kobayashi crouched down and executed a low side-sweeping kick—a favorite of veteran brawlers—forcing Leone to feel pain while simultaneously throwing off her center of gravity, causing her to involuntarily lunge forward.

It wasn't over yet!

Seizing this opportunity from his crouched position, Kobayashi drove his legs hard against the ground while twisting his waist to increase rotational force. Clenching his right fist tight, he unleashed a powerful upward hook from the ground into the air.

——Dragon Punch!

"Puff————!"

Taking a heavy blow to the chin, Leone's head jerked up as she was sent flying backward through the air.

"Hah!"

Kobayashi let out a light breath.

Although Leone liked to throw wild, reckless punches, her perception of danger was exceptionally keen, making her wary of any standard attack.

However, if it was a move she had already witnessed, she would let down her guard out of sheer contempt. His feigned kicks combined with the waist twist and pivot were all a setup for the low side-sweeping kick and the dragon punch that followed.

"It hurts, it really hurts so much. I feel like my chin is about to shatter."

Leone cried out loudly in pain as she pushed herself up from the ground.

The power of that dragon punch was immense, but for Leone, whose regenerative abilities were similarly multiplied by her Imperial Arms, it didn't cause lasting damage.

Rubbing her chin, she complained, "Kobayashi, that punch hurt way too much. You really don't know how to treat a lady with gentleness."

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

Kobayashi shook his numb arms as well, saying with disdain, "If it were Sheele or Mine, I might hold back. As for you, a violent tomboyish lion-girl, forget about it."

"Violent tomboyish lion-girl... Heh, heh-heh, heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh............"

Leone's laughter was chillingly uncanny. Her long hair, elongated by the beast transformation, fell disheveled behind her back as a terrifying aura emanated from her.

Danger!

Alarm bells rang wildly in Kobayashi's mind. Sensing the danger, he turned and ran.

However——

In a single instant, a yellow flash swept across his peripheral vision. Before Kobayashi could even react, Leone had already tackled him to the ground, pinning him in the posture of a lioness subduing her prey during a hunt!

He tried to shake off the restraint, but Leone firmly pinned his shoulders down with both hands, locked her legs around his waist, and sat squarely atop his thighs, rendering him completely immobile.

Uh-oh!

Looking into Leone's eyes, which had transformed into beast-like pupils from excitement, Kobayashi felt that his immediate future was looking very grim indeed.

She clenched her fists, a dangerous smile spreading across the corners of her mouth.

Before he could even plead for mercy, a furry fist smashed down. In the nick of time, Kobayashi instinctively tilted his head to the side. The wind of the punch swept past his cheek like a blade, slamming into the ground with a resounding roar.

Sizzle——

A gash appeared on Kobayashi's cheek, from which a thin stream of bright red blood began to trickle.

"Hey! Are you trying to kill me?!"

Kobayashi roared in terror.

Yet Leone couldn't hear him at all, muttering under her breath, "Violent, am I? Tomboy, am I? Lion-girl, am I..."

Fists rained down upon him like droplets, with both frequency and force far exceeding her previous blows.

It appeared she had been holding back earlier.

Still, she shouldn't go completely berserk just from a few insults!

Unable to dodge in time and forced to raise his arms in passive defense, Kobayashi cried out continuously in misery.

Leone was like an endlessly energetic electric motor, swinging her fists at high frequency against Kobayashi's arms. Taking such a heavy volume of blows in a short time caused his arms to turn red and burn with heat; if this continued, they would soon bruise or even fracture.

No, I have to fight back!

Seeing Leone completely losing control, Kobayashi felt extremely disgruntled as well.

You started this!

He had intended to fight her purely using physical combat techniques, only to be met with a relentless beating. Screw it, the disguise is off—I can use magic!

——[Barrier]

Channeling magic, a transparent film manifested between the two of them. Now it wouldn't matter even if Kobayashi dropped his arms, but to maintain the cover, he had to keep up appearances.

What should he do?

Wait until her stamina ran out... unrealistic.

With Leone's formidable regenerative powers, throwing high-frequency punches for an hour was effortless.

Although Kobayashi could block all of them, doing so would expose his magical capabilities.

Since that was the case, he had to take the initiative!

Take this, Heaven King Holding the Pagoda!

Huh?

...Wait?!

Kobayashi, who had grabbed hold of a sheer cliff edge, stared in mutual blankness at Leone, whose movements had suddenly frozen.