Ignoring Mirai, we closed the distance at a rapid pace. In the blink of an eye, Alex was already standing before Mirai, swinging his spear at his neck.
Mirai anticipated his attack and simply dodged by moving a single step to the side. However, Alex continued his assault with a flurry of spear thrusts, each one meticulously calculated yet failing to land even a scratch on Mirai.
"You must be wondering why none of your attacks reached me," Mirai remarked, effortlessly evading another spear thrust aimed at his heart. Ducking under the spear, he swiftly kicked Alex's legs out from under him. Caught off guard by the unexpected move, Alex lost his balance and fell to the ground. "Your moves are roughly calculated and flawless, but even that isn't enough. The reason is simple."
As Alex struggled to regain his footing, Mirai continued, "It's all about footwork. Movement is the essence of all martial and weapon arts. Though yours is perfect, I can still read and predict your next moves. You lack deception. As a knight, your honest nature is evident in your fighting style, making you easy to read for those who fight slyly, like Gracefell."
Before Mirai could land a finishing blow on the fallen Alex, Gracefell seized the opportunity. Utilizing the range of his blood-soaked scythe, he nearly slashed Mirai's throat. he dodged the lethal strike by an inch, maintaining his composure.
"Clever of you," Mirai acknowledged. "Watching from the sidelines, analyzing my fighting style while waiting for a chance to strike."
This time, Gracefell took the lead, attacking Mirai and giving Alex time to recover. One of the butterflies landed gently on Alex's broken leg, healing it. Gracefell's attacks seemed to almost slash Mirai, but he evaded each strike at the last second. Unlike Alex, who enhanced his body with mana, Gracefell did not, making him much slower. Despite his lack of speed, he managed to keep up with Mirai, dodging his punches and kicks.
However, as Mirai began to increase the speed of his attacks bit by bit, a delay in Gracefell's evasion became apparent. His strikes started landing on him, and though he saw them coming, he couldn't dodge in time. Mirai raised his leg, feigning a kick. When Gracefell moved to block it, he swiftly changed his stance and delivered a powerful punch to his solar plexus, breaking ribs in the process. Gracefell coughed up blood, staining Mirai's kimono.
Seeing his comrade in such condition, Alex rushed to Gracefell's rescue, carrying him away and widening the distance between them and Mirai.
Mirai spoke calmly, "You rely too much on your eyes, to the point that your body and senses can't keep up. You trust them excessively, making it easy to fool you by changing moves before your eyes can process them. You must focus on honing your body and senses, but they are dull, like those of a dead man ."
Mirai felt a strange sensation on his hand. Upon closer inspection, he saw his flesh and skin rotting off from the fist he had used to punch Gracefell. Silver butterflies fluttered around, returning to Gracefell.
[The butterflies were absorbing the miasma as well,] Mirai thought. [He kept some of it hidden under his robe. Smart move. Well, I can use my flames to burn the rot off, but that wouldn't be as fun. Let's see how this plays out.]
Gracefell had more than enough time to heal, and he and Alex took their stances, launching themselves at Mirai once again. This time, Gracefell led the assault, unleashing a barrage of slashes. Though none of them landed, Mirai found himself soaked by the blood covering the scythe's silver blade. When Gracefell was close to cutting off Mirai's neck, Mirai effortlessly caught the blade with two fingers, stopping it dead in its tracks.
Gracefell's eyes widened in surprise as his attack failed. Mirai seized the opportunity, landing a powerful kick on Gracefell's jaw and sending him flying away from his weapon. In the same instant, Alex appeared where Gracefell had been, thrusting his spear at Mirai.
As Mirai tried to dodge, he found himself unable to move. The blood soaking his clothes and the blade he was holding had transformed into thorns, binding him in place.
"So this was their plan?" Mirai mused.
Seeing Mirai's lack of mobility as their chance, Alex augmented the intensity of his mana, enhancing himself even further. He thought they might finally be able to land a strike. Mirai's hand was already rotted off, and his other hand and body were tightly bound by the thorns, preventing any movement. But to Alex's horror, a gentle, radiant glow appeared on Mirai's rotted hand, healing it at a rapid rate.
When Alex's spear was just an inch away from striking Mirai, Mirai's healed palm reached out and grabbed it. Before Alex could process what had happened, Mirai snatched the spear from his grasp, rendering him weaponless. In a swift motion, before Alex could defend himself, Mirai knocked him out cold.
———————–———————–————
"Hmm, what do you think, Ed?" Mirai asked cheerfully.
"They are monsters. There's no doubt they will surpass us one day," answered Edward.
"I can't deny that. They remind me of my younger self. They just need to be pushed to the edge to fully bloom," Mirai replied with a happy smile.
Edward nodded in agreement but asked curiously, "Didn't you say that you only knew how to use purification? How come you were able to heal yourself?"
"I didn't lie. Before this fight, I only knew how to use purification. I simply learned it in the moment because I needed it," Mirai answered nonchalantly.
Edward thought inwardly, [You are the true monster.] It takes years to master the divine healing arts, yet Mirai had healed himself at such a rapid rate the moment he learned it
Mirai switched his attention as he sensed a giant creature approaching. He spoke calmly, pointing to the unconscious Gracefell. "Don't worry, he is in my care."
Sensing no deceit in Mirai's words, the mythical creature returned to its nest, but not without leaving a large quantity of high-grade silk for Gracefell.
Mirai, seemingly unsurprised by the sight, set up a camp while Edward healed both Alex and Gracefell. It was thanks to Edward that the miasma didn't affect them when they lost consciousness.
As they sat around the campfire, Mirai smiled softly, looking at a small scratch on his skin.