Water Magician

Editor: Tseirp

"Why is it always so sudden…"

Ryo muttered in frustration.

He understood why the world had inverted.

He had been pulled into a 'Sealed Corridor'.

Being pulled into the Sealed Corridor meant Akumas were involved.

"Heh, just as I planned. Perfectly executed—as expected of me."

As the voice spoke, the person… no, the Akuma who referred to themselves as 'me'—revealed themselves.

The figure was a woman with pale blue shoulder-length hair, glasses-like accessories, and wearing white clothes that looked like a lab coat from a distance.

"You're… Pastra, right?"

"You remembered! Fascinating! Let's dissect you!"

"Please don't."

This Akuma, Pastra, who wanted to dissect Ryo.

He remembered her from their battle against the death dragon.

She had seized control of his magic. A bitter memory.

But Ryo noticed something else.

There was another presence in the Sealed Corridor aside from him and Pastra.

And that person now revealed herself.

A silver-haired woman with matching silver eyes, hair tied in two bunches.

She wasn't very tall.

Taller than Rin, the magician of the 'Crimson Sword'… but likely under 160 cm.

"So this is the Ryo?"

She eyed Ryo from head to toe.

As if assessing his worth.

"I told you, didn't I? That Ryo would be easy to drag into the Sealed Corridor."

"Indeed."

Pastra puffed up with pride, and the silver-haired woman nodded.

"I'm sorry, but I've got my own business to attend to. Could you let me out right away?"

"Oh, don't worry. Once the Corridor unravels, you'll be returned to the same moment. Well, technically 0.1 seconds later, but humans don't notice that."

"That's not the point…"

Ryo's request was rejected.

The ground beneath him was the same as before.

He had been riding Andalusia, but now stood on foot.

Andalusia was gone.

So were Captain Lu Yao and Abel, who had been right in front of him.

"Actually, we're measuring the combat durability of the Sealed Corridor. I'd like your cooperation."

"Why me…?"

"Because Jean-Jacques said you'd help…"

"Jean-Jacques?! I'll beat him to a pulp next time I see him!"

Jean-Jacques—the Akuma Ryo fought in the Western countries.

He recalled recently boarding a ship with that same Akuma and Leonor.

"Geez…you Akumas sure act without considering others. That's pretty inhuman."

"We're Akumas, after all."

"Ah, well, then I suppose that's fair."

But is it really?

"By the way, may I ask the silver-haired lady's name…?"

"My name is Argenta Arda Morantinos. Pleased to meet you, Ryo."

"Yes, likewise."

Ryo paused.

Then looked to Pastra.

"You said you wanted to measure combat durability. Why not fight another Akuma? Like Argenta versus Leonor?"

"Already done. Also did Akuma vs. Elf. Akuma vs. Dragon is… a bit much. So now we need Akuma vs. human."

Pastra pushed up her glasses, clearly pleased with herself.

"But there are plenty of other fighting species. Devils? Vampires?"

"Devils don't give good data. No point. Vampires probably can't enter this corridor."

"They can't enter?"

"Yes, some species are like that. Technically, humans disintegrate after being here for several seconds."

"…Excuse me?"

He had just heard something ominous.

"Sorry, did you say humans disintegrate?"

"Yes. If a human stays here for several dozen seconds, they vanish."

"Then why am I…?"

"You haven't vanished, right? That's why we chose you."

"Why am I okay…?"

"Who knows? Maybe because of that overflowing droplets?"

Pastra's answer was shockingly sloppy, especially for a researcher of magic and mana.

"You mean fairy droplets? Fairy factors? These mysterious terms. Someone should research them properly."

"I'll take that task! So let me dissect you…"

"Denied!"

Akumas really are bizarre.

Ryo's conviction remained unshaken.

"Also, are you sure about Leonor? If Argenta kills me, won't she get mad?"

Ryo's words were a desperate attempt.

An expression of his desire to avoid combat.

Surprisingly, it worked.

Argenta widened her eyes and looked at Pastra.

"Leonor getting mad would be bad."

"Yeah, very bad."

"How can we keep her from getting mad?"

"She won't know if we don't tell her. And if she doesn't know, she won't get angry."

"Then it's fine."

"No, it's not fine!"

Unable to stay silent, Ryo retorted at their ridiculous exchange.

And let out a deep sigh.

"And for some reason, whenever I talk to Akumas, I end up playing the straight man. I'm supposed to be the silly one… this is unjust."

Ryo lamented the absurdity of the world.

"Are you sure Leonor won't get mad as long as I don't kill Ryo?"

"Maybe."

"Can I go easy?"

"No. We need accurate data."

Pastra and Argenta conversed matter-of-factly.

Words like "kill Ryo" echoed ominously—he hoped it was just his imagination.

"If I go all out…he's human, right? I might pierce his heart…"

"Oh, that's fine. I heard Ryo once got his heart pierced and didn't die."

"No way! That's amazing! I've never heard of a human like that."

Yup. Ominous words again. Still…

There was something he wanted to ask.

"I'm sorry, what about piercing the heart?"

"You know, last time you fought that Spellno… or Djinn in human terms. You got your heart pierced but kept fighting like nothing happened, right?"

"How do you know that?"

"Leonor and Jean-Jacques saw it. They told me later."

Pastra nodded repeatedly.

"They saw it?"

"Yep. Leonor went into a rage afterward. 'I want to fight Ryo! I'll be the one to kill him!' —that kind of thing."

Seems Ryo's battles have been under surveillance.

"Ryo, you're loved, you know?"

Argenta was deeply mistaken.

"That's a twisted kind of love."

Pastra too, wildly off-mark.

"Even if you survive a pierced heart… surely a decapitation would kill you, right?"

"I've never been decapitated. Nor do I want to be."

Ryo scowled as he answered Argenta's inquiry.

"And if I do decapitate you…"

"No worries. I'll reattach the head. Leonor won't find out."

"Oh. Then we're good."

"We are not good!"

Ryo snapped again.

It seemed unlikely he could reclaim his role as the jokester.

"Anyway, give it your all."

"Understood."

Pastra and Argenta suddenly grew serious.

So much for avoiding the fight.

"Well then, Ryo, en garde."

"No helping it."

Thus, the battle between Argenta and Ryo in the Sealed Corridor began.

CLANG!

A loud ring of clashing blades.

Argenta lunged in like the wind, swinging down hard.

Ryo caught the blow with Murasame.

Her sword glowed with a faint green light.

None of the other Akumas he fought—Leonor, Jean-Jacques, Pastra— had used glowing swords.

Ryo had seen glowing swords before—Abel's magic sword, Hugh McGrath's holy sword… though most holy swords don't glow.

None of them emitted a green light.

Green reminded him of Sera, but her sword didn't glow either.

It was clearly a fine weapon, one of superb craftsmanship, but not a magic sword.

Which made Argenta's glowing green sword all the more intriguing.

But there was no time to ponder.

A relentless combo of attacks left him no room for thought.

(What is this combo?)

Ryo parried Argenta's blindingly fast flurry.

But he was far from calm inside.

It wasn't just fast.

(Each strike is powerful and fast. And unlike Leonor's brute force or overwhelming natural ability, her swordplay is meticulous—refined to the core. This is someone who's trained endlessly. A master. An absolute menace.)

But Ryo wasn't the only one thinking that.

"You blocked my combo…Ryo, you're not human, are you?"

"I am human, thank you very much."

Ryo flatly rejected Argenta's words.

"It's a compliment! Only a few Akumas can block my combo. Aside from Leonor, who relies on instinct, the rest are sword masters. You're on their level."

"So Leonor really is all instinct…"

The way Ryo could accept such absurd statements without question was strange.

"She's a monster. Truly. A real, honest-to-goodness monster."

"An Akuma calling another Akuma a monster… what kind of world is this?"

They joked, but inside, Ryo was in full panic.

(She's as strong as Sera… no, maybe even stronger?)

"Yep, good, good. I'm getting great data!"

Pastra beamed, staring at the alchemy tool in her hand.

She'd seemed uninterested in anything else until…

She suddenly looked up.

And saw the clashing swords before her.

"Whoa…"

Her eyes were glued to the clash.

It was that intense—and that beautiful…

There was no sense of beauty at all for the two who were fighting.

Especially not for Ryo.

His mind was filled with nothing but anxiety.

Starting with swordplay rather than magic clearly indicated that Argenta specialized in close combat.

And the proof was in her overwhelming strength.

Power, speed, skill, and likely stamina as well—she surpassed Ryo in all of them.

Moreover, she showed no intention of ending the fight quickly. She remained calm.

How could he possibly win against such an opponent?

He didn't know.

He didn't know… but all he could do was defend, defend, and wait for a crack to appear.

Ryo had always had absolute confidence in his defense.

But even that confidence was being shattered by Argenta.

The reason was her one-handed thrust.

Like fencing, she held the sword in her right hand, adopted a half-body stance with her right side forward, and launched a series of thrusts.

And they followed a smooth, curving trajectory.

They were shockingly hard to dodge.

Normally, this kind of continuous thrust would be weak.

Using only one arm, each blow lacked power, relying solely on that arm's strength.

In other words, they lacked hip movement… no shift in center of gravity.

So even if one were to pierce a shoulder, it wouldn't go through the muscle.

But the opponent before him was an Akuma.

And Ryo was a human.

The very standards of 'power' were entirely different.

This high-speed one-handed thrust—even one hit would likely pierce Ryo's shoulder with ease.

How outrageous!

But then again, a battle is inherently unfair.

Saying, 'Let's fight under equal conditions' only applies to sports.

Faced with her overwhelming thrusts, Ryo's confidence crumbled.

And that became a crack in his defense.

"Damn…"

Too late.

With a supple twist of her wrist, she changed the sword's trajectory—and a thrust pierced Ryo's left side.

Through the robe of the Fairy King.

TLN: Please read my translations at tseirptranslations.com, I did not give permission to any site to host my translations.

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