After that, Naoki, Musashi, and Tomoe began discussing how to deal with the Heroic Spirit Swordsmen.
Although in the storyline Naoki knew, Musashi ultimately defeated all the Heroic Spirit Swordsmen, the current situation wasn't fixed and wouldn't always unfold as he expected.
Thus, even with her swords reinforced by Naoki, Musashi could still lose.
To win in the end and defeat all the Heroic Spirit Swordsmen wreaking havoc on the world, what Musashi needed most now was—
*SLAP!*
Swatting away Musashi's incoming fist, Naoki shook his hand, looking at her as she got back up from a distance with slight frustration. "That was completely useless. Are you seriously using the power of my Protection?"
The Protection Naoki had placed on Musashi's weapons, and through them, on Musashi herself—Fairy Protection.
To boost Musashi's strength in the most direct way, this was the only thing he could think of.
To help Musashi wield this Protection's power more skillfully, Naoki was training her now. But the results…
"Of course I'm serious about using it! But I can't do it like last night!" Musashi said with an innocent expression.
The Fairy Protection could grant Musashi a physical enhancement equivalent to Mana Burst. That was its most basic ability, its lower limit. And based on Musashi's thoughts, it would also respond by granting new power.
Take last night, for example.
Driven by Musashi's resolve to land a fatal blow on Inshun, the Protection gave her speed far beyond her norm and pushed the Magecraft inscribed on her swords—targeting spiritual entities and Quasi-Eternal Slaughter—to its limits, allowing her to cut Inshun down with a single slash.
Naoki hoped Musashi could reach a level where she could make the Protection grant her new power at will.
But…
"Deep down, you don't see me as an enemy."
"Because this is just training and sparring. I can't genuinely have killing intent toward you, Naoki~~~"
After all, Naoki was the benefactor who'd let her freeload for a month, fed her for free, and given her new power. Musashi felt that unless Naoki truly hurt her feelings, she couldn't muster killing intent toward him.
Why should friends kill each other?
"You're impressive for not falling for it so far." Naoki sighed in resignation. "Can I only rely on your spur-of-the-moment breakthroughs?"
"Hehehe, maybe I'm just the practical type. Training's so-so, but on the battlefield, I'll be super awesome!"
"I'm worried you'll get killed before you can even activate the Protection's power."
Naoki poked Musashi's forehead. "It's fine once or twice, but if you keep thinking like this, something's bound to happen sooner or later. Please value your life a bit more and think from every angle."
"Naoki, you sound like a nagging mom." Musashi teased. "Instead of me, what about your own preparations, Naoki? You're facing that Oni."
The Oni—Shuten Dōji.
In their pre-assigned battle plan against the Heroic Spirit Swordsmen, Naoki took on three of them alone, one being Shuten Dōji.
According to legend, she was the child of Orochi, the Dragon God's offspring, also known as Ibuki Dōji—essentially, a different aspect of the same existence as the Servant Ibuki Dōji, but more focused on her Oni nature.
Drunk on wine, drunk on slaughter, drunk on corpses… A cruel demon obsessed with such things. That was Shuten Dōji, leader of many demons on Mount Ōe.
Even so, in terms of Servant class, she was undoubtedly a powerful foe—but only for Musashi and Tomoe.
"I could probably take her down in an instant?" Naoki said casually. "Not that I'm underestimating Shuten Dōji, but to fight me, you'd need to be at least on the level of a Divine Spirit entity. Otherwise, they're not strong enough to withstand even one of my attacks."
The first requirement to fight Naoki was to resist his Imaginary Manifestation. It was an authority of creation, equivalent to or even surpassing Divine Authority. If someone couldn't even put up minimal resistance, the fight would lack any tension.
After that, physical capability was also a crucial factor.
Shuten Dōji had neither.
"Honestly, it's no big deal for me to take down all five Heroic Spirit Swordsmen alone. It's just a matter of five attacks."
"Ugh… If only you were a bit weaker…"
Musashi felt a blow to her pride but quickly bounced back. "Wait, since you say the Heroic Spirit Swordsmen can't withstand a single hit from you, doesn't that mean I, who just took your punch—"
*BOOMMMMM!*
Before Musashi could finish, the desert created by Naoki's Imaginary Manifestation was torn apart by his fist, leaving a massive rift.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Musashi's forehead.
"Think before you speak, idiot. Common sense should tell you I wouldn't use my full strength in training. If I did, the shockwave from my punch alone could kill you seven or eight times over."
"Don't just throw punches that can kill people!"
"That's why I held back. I controlled it to a level just enough to pressure you." Naoki said, shaking his hand. "By the way, you should be able to do something similar with my Protection. For example, the airflow from your sword swings could cleave everything like a Musou—"
"Really!?"
Musashi's eyes lit up.
Defeating enemies with the airflow from her sword swings… Musashi could hardly contain herself just imagining it.
"Come on! Naoki! Let's keep going!"
Leaping from the ground, Musashi gripped her twin swords with excitement and fighting spirit!
Naoki gave a slight smile. "Good. That kind of fighting spirit is great. Keep going, then. Activate the Protection I gave you as much as you can."
"Got it! Here I come!"
Musashi charged at Naoki, swords in hand. Whether due to a shift in her mindset, golden light began flowing from her blades, enveloping her body.
The Protection had activated!
But the next moment—
*SLAP!*
The overwhelming gap in strength sent Musashi flying again with a single blow.
Naoki: "…"
He was sure he'd held back his strength.