Challenge: The Fool with the Surname Okayamine

Chapter 195 Neighborhood Arc: "The Savior of the Despicable"

"Haa!!"

"No! Please don't kill me! I don't want to die!!"

Faced with the spear and axe hurtling towards her from mid-air, Rion could only desperately close her eyes as her body was bound by ropes, her saliva flying out of her mouth without any idol etiquette.

As she felt the cold light about to slide down her neck, the girl stopped and continued to plead for help, recalling the few friends she had in her life, eventually stopping at Wuming.

The girl in the cheongsam, who was about to chop down, paused slightly.

"Ah...what a pity. Although you have a foul mouth, you really are my last friend after I can no longer sing..."

The expected pain did not come; instead, she felt a chill all over her body. She slightly opened her eyes and saw that the steel wire binding her was frozen instantly, and the puppets carrying her below her were also suspended in mid-air for a moment.

Rion felt a powerful impact on her side, as if she had been kicked by something very heavy.

The steel wires binding her shattered, and she was sent flying backward, tumbling sideways in the air before landing safely on the rooftop of a nearby building.

(Note: Rionmu was only unharmed because she was a pseudo-Pokémon. From a physics perspective, even disregarding the kick itself, the impact on a person from being hit on the ground and then rolling around several times would be risky.)

"Ouch! That hurts!"

Rion Meng struggled to her feet, clutching her kicked side, wincing in pain.

When she looked up and carefully gazed at the sky above where she had just suffered, all she saw were crystal-clear ice fragments drifting slowly down from mid-air.

"Huh? Am I... saved?"

Before he could even calm himself down, a huge, dark blue, spear-axe-shaped, nameless angel came straight at his face.

"Ugh! Ahhhhhh!"

Rion was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground. Just as the spear and axe were about to fall, a slender hand suddenly grabbed the blade of the spear and axe.

It was that red-eyed girl with a bun hairstyle, wearing a blue cheongsam and armor. Her eyes were cold, and although her weapon was completely out of place with her cute appearance, the terrifying way she approached made even someone like Rinemu, who had no sense of danger, feel genuine fear.

"...Was it you...who disturbed my sleep?"

"I'm...I'm sorry! Please let me go!"

The next second, Rion sat up without hesitation and frantically banged her head on the ground, making loud noises as she prayed to survive.

"Hmm... I remember this is the Battle Date, right? So you were trying to kill me just now?"

"Waaah...no way! They brought me here tied up!"

Rion explained loudly, and the girl in the cheongsam in front of her nodded.

"Indeed, it seems that sparing your life just now was the right thing to do."

"Um...can I leave?"

"Probably not."

The girl in the cheongsam touched her chin and spoke with an adorable face devoid of any expression.

This left Rion Yume completely bewildered.

"Um... why can't you let me go?"

"Didn't I already say? Because this is a battleground."

"Just because of that?!"

"I suppose so, because my master once taught me that everything is a battle, everything is worth fighting for! The winner is king, the loser is a bandit. So if you want to leave, you should at least fight me until the end. If you survive, then you can leave."

Rionmu wore a mournful expression, inwardly groaning. But then again, she felt like she'd heard that famous quote somewhere before…

The girl in the cheongsam had already raised her spear and axe, waiting for Rion to reveal the Nameless Angel and begin the battle.

"war?"

"Wait a minute! Let me think about it."

Because she didn't want to die, Rion Yume was pushing her brain to its limits, rapidly recalling everyone she had met in her life, from her student days to the present.

That's right! I've definitely heard that famous quote! But not this one… Ah! Which one is it?! It has to be someone I know! It's okay, I may not have many friends, but I certainly don't have many enemies! Yes! It's her—

“...Gokharaka...Yes, that's her! Miss Gokharaka!”

The girl in the cheongsam paused slightly, then her thoughts seemed to freeze, and she withdrew the spear and axe she had been pointing at Rion.

"You know Master?"

Rion nodded hurriedly.

"If that's the case, then who is it...?"

"Huh? You don't recognize me!"

Pointing to her own face, Rion looked somewhat puzzled, believing she had become the target of everyone's criticism since arriving in this field.

"do not know."

"Although I have a bad memory, I can still remember Miss Halaka. We were colleagues before, right?"

"Ok?"

"Ah, still no impression? Oh right, then I should introduce myself. I am the super cute representative idol of the former ruler of the Ninth Domain—Kiri Rinemu! Do you remember me now?"

Suddenly, Rion patted her bare chest with a proud expression, as if she were trying to draw the attention of the girl in the cheongsam.

"I don't know. I'm not interested in idols or anything like that in the Ninth Realm. But if I was ever a Dominator, I guess I would be considered my master's colleague."

"Yes, yes, although it's sad to be ignored, that's really the case. And if you want to verify it, the 'Puppet Master' introduced me before, right?"

"I still don't remember much. At that time, I was paying attention to the monster beneath you that was emitting an aura of fear that even I could feel..."

"So you were concerned about Wuming all along?"

"Because they are very strong, I will remember them. I am still thinking about whether to challenge the one who calls herself a spirit first—Tokisaki Kurumi, or the one you mentioned, the one who looks very strong at first glance—Wuming."

After exchanging names, Rion also learned the name of the girl in the cheongsam: Aoi.

It's a very simple name, but because it only has one character, it's quite easy to remember.

"Uh...can I leave now?"

After some deliberation, Rinemeng still wanted to leave quickly to find Wuming, but as soon as she stood up, her hand was grabbed by Cang.

"Forehead?!"

You can't leave.

"Miss Cang, why? I know your master."

"No, that's meaningless. I respect my master and I will naturally respect his friends, but one thing is one thing. You can only leave after you fight me, regardless of life or death."

"This……"

This was something Rinemu never expected.

Of course, it wasn't that she didn't want to fight, but with her physique, no matter whether her opponent held back or not, a single blow from that spear and axe would at least leave her half-paralyzed.

Rion Meng's eyes met Cang's serious gaze. She understood that if the disciples of Zhenhalaka said anything more, it would be of no use. For these guys who prided themselves on fighting, this was an unparalleled honor.

Just as her body was already imagining the pain of being hit and having her bones crack, Rion suddenly seemed to realize something and had an epiphany.

"Wait a moment!"

"what's up."

"Do you absolutely have to duel me?"

"Yes."

"Can I tell you a secret?"

"please say."

"It's like this. Actually, my Nameless Angel, that Nameless one, he... is the legendary humanoid Nameless Angel who appears only once in ten thousand years. You see, even his name has 'Nameless' in it, right? Since you want to duel with me, then at least go back to my prime, right?"

With her broken words and trembling body, Rineme tried to deceive Cang, word by word. With the expectation that she would be killed if she failed to fool him, she closed her eyes in despair once again.

"There's nothing I can do, I'm just terrible at lying!"

Without a doubt, Rionmu's type, even among pseudo-spirits, is ridiculously naive and simply not suited to lying, making the current situation utterly hopeless.

But the only response she received was a nod of affirmation from Cang:

“I think that makes sense. Alright, I’ll take you to retrieve your Nameless Angel now. I’ll fight you with all my might then.”

Oh... she actually believed it?

"Good... good!"

She was lifted by the back of her collar, then hoisted onto his shoulder, and sped through the buildings at night.

Meanwhile, on Kurumi and Wuming's side...

Above the warehouse ceiling, all eyes were fixed on the girl in the red and black Lolita dress hanging upside down, who, in their eyes, once again proclaimed:

"The hostage idea is great, but the location is terrible. It's like you're just defending here and have no means of counterattack."

Silence reigned. Though there were no lights, Shirley's nameless sky still gathered sunlight to illuminate the surroundings, thus not hindering the exchange of glances between everyone present.

...including a corpse watching the show from the sidelines.

Next to Kurumi was a modified spirit armor trap. It was created using the vibrations of sound, representing the ninth spirit attribute, and could temporarily paralyze the opponent's body.

In their eyes, even a monster like Kurumi Tokisaki would have a momentary weakness.

With this in mind, neither of them would let this opportunity slip by.

"Now's the time!"

Sherry focused intently on controlling the [Flame Demon's Eye] of the Ninth Middle School, shouting loudly while Rinpo swiftly threw out the [Wind Whisper Battle Wheel] in her hand.

"Oh my gosh~ This is so much fun~"

As the two expected, Kurumi seemed to be sucked in and jumped towards the trap.

Libo immediately pressed the switch in his hand, and in an instant the ceiling in mid-air exploded, causing a dizzying sensation.

"This girl has a great talent for strategy, but she still lacks skill in killing a wild beast."

Wuming, who was standing to the side, commented as follows.

Sherry unleashed all the sunlight stored within the Nameless Angel until it was almost depleted, then delivered a powerful, all-out attack in that direction.

pity--

"Ahhhhhh!"

At the same time as the explosion occurred, a terrifying scream came from Sherry's direction. Looking in the direction of the sound, it was clear that the enemy paralyzed by the shockwave was not Kurumi.

"impossible!"

"As you two rushed toward the void that was struck."

"He...he saw through the trap in that instant? How could that be...that's ridiculous..."

"No, I saw through it from the very beginning. And it started when you began setting the trap here."

"Was it 10 days ago?!"

Before this horrific battle even began, or even earlier, before Tonami Sie had decided to ally with Sherry, had already transformed the factory into her own fortress and set up many traps.

There were absolutely no traps, mechanisms, or even spare spirit garments that Sherry was told about; they were as numerous as hairs on a feather.

"Because you guys are very strong, extremely... extremely strong. You'll seriously plan to frame your opponents, to lure them into traps step by step, and plot against them. So it's best to be on your guard."

Even if you set up more traps, it seems that 99% of them are now in vain.

She simply lived cautiously, so cautiously that others would laugh at her as obsessive, and insult her as a coward.