The assassin didn't utter a sound, retreating in a flash as though he felt no pain at all.
Eiji flipped midair, landing lightly on the ground.
Since he'd been in mid-leap, he couldn't adjust his angle perfectly—only managing to sever the opponent's right hand.
But the price was steep.
Eiji glanced at his own right hand gripping his blade. The web between his thumb and forefinger had clearly split open, crimson blood trailing down his arm.
The force of his own full-power strike being reflected back had left his arm heavily battered. Judging by the pain, something might even be fractured.
He switched his Device to his left hand, his sharp gaze locking onto the assassin.
The assassin rapidly withdrew, realizing he'd been baited—and immediately sank into the shadows beneath him.
Eiji's eyes narrowed.
Abandoning the chainsaw-wielding matchstick figure coming at him, he stomped hard and shot toward the retreating assassin.
At the same time, he activated his Absolute Godspeed ability—setting his movement speed above the activation threshold of the assassin's power.
His figure flashed like lightning, closing the twenty-meter distance in a single heartbeat amid swirling shockwaves, slashing a horizontal arc toward the assassin's upper body.
Caught off-guard by the sheer suddenness, the assassin could only reflexively raise his left hand.
Clang—!
In that brief clash, the assassin was blasted away like a cannonball, skimming along the ground like a stone skipping over water before he finally came to a halt.
"A second device?"
Eiji's gaze sharpened.
In the assassin's remaining left hand was a dagger identical to the one he'd just lost—yet the severed right hand on the ground still gripped the original.
A matched pair?
The assassin struggled to his feet, swaying unsteadily. He spat a mouthful of thick, black blood, clearly severely injured.
In that last moment, drawing a second Device had barely saved his life—but even so, his left arm now twisted unnaturally, its joint broken from the impact.
Eiji shook out his numb left arm, driving out the lingering ache. Without hesitation, he rushed in again.
He was determined to take down this assassin first.
The chainsaw woman's speed couldn't match his—she'd never make it in time.
This strike would land for sure!
Clack-clack-clack—!
But the assassin wasn't some random scrub.
Just ahead of Eiji's sprint, the ground suddenly shimmered into an inky black liquid. From beneath its surface, dozens of jagged spikes thrust upward, halting his momentum for a crucial instant.
A closer look revealed they weren't spikes at all.
They were daggers.
Each one a Device.
"Not a matched pair—no limit to how many?"
Eiji was stunned.
Devices capable of splitting or multiplying weren't unheard of in rumors, but seeing it firsthand was another thing entirely.
In an actual fight, a Device that could divide like this would grant a massive advantage.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!
In the next instant, surging force from beneath the shadowy surface sent the daggers hurtling upward, controlled as if by telekinesis.
A storm of blades rained down on Eiji like a deadly sword formation.
He was forced to retreat several steps, dodging the volley that came from an upward diagonal angle.
And in that moment—the assassin once again vanished into the shadows.
Eiji instinctively wanted to chase, but his battle-hardened sixth sense screamed danger, making him abandon the thought immediately.
"Tch!"
Eiji clicked his tongue in frustration.
Not just that chainsaw freak, even this shadow assassin was ridiculously tricky to deal with.
Who the hell were these people?
To dispatch two executioner-class warriors of this caliber one after another…
Each of them was easily B-rank or higher—the kind of Mage-Knights who could serve as trump cards at Hagun Academy—yet he'd never even heard of them.
Still, with the assassin's arms destroyed, silent ambushes should no longer be possible.
If he could just take out the chainsaw woman, the rest would be easy.
And that dagger barrage from earlier likely required preparation beneath the shadowy water—it couldn't be fired off endlessly.
If it could, he'd have been buried under a storm of blades by now.
Eiji shifted his gaze to the distant chainsaw woman.
Like some tireless machine, she coldly advanced once more.
Without fear, Eiji raised his blade in his left hand and charged head-on.
As a swordsman, training the off-hand was basic discipline.
Given his control over his own body, his left-handed swordsmanship was just as refined as his dominant hand.
But mid-charge—
Eiji's expression suddenly tightened. He pivoted on his heel, spinning aside like a top to evade.
"Raaaawr—!"
A thunderous roar split the air.
A wave of force swept out like a hurricane, sending rubble, trash, and debris flying—leaving the street in the wake of chaos, as though a typhoon had passed.
Landing steadily, Eiji cast a cold glare toward the source of the roar.
A massive lion, roughly man-sized, stood there.
Its muscles bulged like stacked stone, and its long mane spread like a corona around its face.
Just like the others—its entire body was pure black.
A matchstick lion.
Chainsaw woman ahead, the black lion behind—flanking him.
On one side, a whirling chainsaw; on the other, a gaping maw ready to unleash another roar.
"A special individual…?"
Kanata's voice rang out from the side.
Her expression tense, she stepped up beside Eiji, preparing to fight at his side.
Possessing Blazer abilities wasn't limited to humans.
Around the world, rare cases existed of animals awakening similar powers.
Once awakened, such beasts experienced a massive boost in intelligence and magic power, becoming like mythical creatures.
These Blazer beasts were known as "special individuals."
Normally, they were managed under strict supervision by the League—it was rare to encounter a rogue specimen.
Yet here one was.
Glooop, glooop—
Suddenly, the ground once more rippled into shadowy liquid.
The slender, tall form of the assassin resurfaced from beneath—with both hands fully intact.
"…What the hell?"
Kanata's dumbfounded voice broke the tension.
After minutes of fighting, they hadn't taken down a single enemy.
Worse, their numbers had only increased.
Even a half-defeated foe had reversed their injuries like time itself.
What was this nonsense?
"What do we do?"
Kanata's grave voice reached Eiji.
At this rate, things were getting dangerously out of control.
Eiji took a deep breath, his gaze steeling.
"…There's only one way."
***
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