Cid - One with nature

With that, Shadow returns his black sword to its original length.

This is his preferred distance.

“Here I come.”

As soon as he speaks, he instantly steps forward.

The field between them vanishes.

“…?!”

Then the impact.

The moment he closes the gap, Beatrix immediately abandons attacking and shifts all her focus to defense. However, she can’t even see his sword.

It’s not just her. Nobody can.

And his assault doesn’t cut so much as a single raindrop.

“—Rgh!!”

The impact sends her flying, and she collapses in the rain.

She can’t see the blow but manages to block it on instinct alone.

***

The thunder roars, and as the lightning flashes, Shadow disappears.

In that one instant, he’s right in front of her again.

He swings his imperceptible blade.

Beatrix focuses every cell in her body on Shadow’s sword, then finds herself besieged again.

“—!!”

She can’t see it.

Ignoring the mud caked on her face, she stands back up and leaps away to put some distance between them.

Instinct and luck are the only things that let her narrowly deflect the strike.

She has no reason to believe she can fend off the next one.

No follow-up comes.

As she looks at Shadow readying his blade beneath the lightning, she thinks, Why can’t I see it?

It’s not just that he’s fast. There’s something off about his sword.

After searching her memories of a lifetime of battles, she finds the answer.

Shadow’s techniques are natural.

Of the many types of swordplay in battle, fast swords are certainly menacing. However, even a quick swing starts with some preliminary action. Even if it doesn’t, you can still tell when the attack will land with enough experience. As long as you’re conscious, you can react to it.

No, the most dangerous type of attack is the kind that comes from outside your perception. It doesn’t need to be fast. You just need to be unaware of it.

And Shadow’s performance is natural.

There’s no bloodlust, no hesitation, no swagger. His swings are just…natural.

And people can’t pick them out.

Just like she isn’t actively conscious of the individual raindrops falling, she isn’t cognizant of Shadow’s sword.

***

Volume 2, Final Chapter