Eternally Regressing in Another World

Chapter 15: Square 12: The Beyonetta Bloodline

The nausea finally started to settle. I wiped the vomit clinging to my mouth with my handkerchief, none too carefully, and staggered forward.

”...I hope Elizabeth’s still doing alright.”

As I desperately made my way back toward Yu’s house, an oddly carefree voice reached me.

”Ah, there you are, there you are. No injuries?”

Jogging up to me was the butler, who was supposed to still be fighting near the entrance.

”You’re already done over there?”

”Well, someone like that only took a moment. More importantly, you look surprisingly worn out. I would have guessed the fat man was the weakest of them.”

Was I supposed to take that as a jab? Sorry, but my body wasn’t built to keep up with a bunch of superhumans.

”Ah, whatever, forget about me. More importantly, your master’s still fighting, isn’t she? Why aren’t you back there helping?”

”I would love to lend a hand, but they’re fighting inside a cramped house. If I move carelessly in there, I’d just end up getting in the way, no matter what.”

He called himself a liability, but this butler had just made short work of a knife wielding thug himself. He was clearly no pushover.

”...Is that young lady, by any chance, absurdly strong?”

”Strong, you say... wait, you don’t know!? Elizabeth, eldest daughter of the renowned Beyonetta family!”

Not that it meant anything to me. All I knew about the power balance of this town was how dangerous that monster woman Nest was.

”No matter how strong you think she is, you don’t know what Nest is capable of! How vicious she...”

”Yes, I’m well aware of how dangerous she is. She’s the only person with a level 5 bounty on her head, after all.”

Tender, the butler, took on a slightly more serious look, glancing toward the direction where Elizabeth was presumably still fighting.

”But it will be fine. With the field this cramped, debris everywhere, and the fight forced into close range, I don’t see her losing under these conditions.”

There was nothing but trust and overflowing confidence in those words.

”How can you be so sure? Even if she’s decent with a blade, she’s still just a girl!”

”Yes, a girl, but a level 5 girl. One of the strongest young ladies in the entire world!”

Inside the house, the destruction had gone so far that nothing remained to suggest anyone had ever lived there. Neither side was giving an inch in their exchange of attacks. Yet neither of them had broken a sweat.

”That’s quite the sturdy parasol you’ve got. Not cloth, is it?”

”This is a custom piece made from cyclops hide. Not even your prized blade could put a scratch on it.”

”The Beyonetta bloodline... maybe I underestimated you a little.”

Nest studied the edge of her curved blade. From the intensity of the exchange, the edge had already started chipping in several places.

”Ohhohohoho! This is what happens when you take me lightly!”

”Ufufu, but I think this might be coming to an end soon.”

”What are you talking ab—” Elizabeth started to say, then glanced down at something wrong in her grip.

”I see... you got me there.”

Elizabeth’s parasol let out a cracking sound and refused to open any further. A piece of its frame dropped loose through the gap, clattering onto the floor. It seemed a crack had been worked into it somewhere along the way.

”Now then, with her weapon broken, what kind of desperate struggle will this poor princess put on for me?”

Nest let both arms hang loose, paused for a single beat, and then charged straight at Elizabeth.

”How naive.”

A flash of silver in an instant. Blood sprayed, and Nest’s shoulder was sliced open. Caught off guard by the unexpected counter, she kicked off the floor immediately to put distance between them.

”What is that thing!?”

The parasol in Elizabeth’s hand was, without question, broken and useless. And yet she had drawn something out from inside it.

”A hidden blade! A blade hidden inside a parasol!? Ufufufu, how interesting, you just keep surprising me. I love that kind of thing, ufufufufu.”

The sword in Elizabeth’s grip, having been concealed inside the parasol, was extremely slender, closer to a rapier than a proper sword.

”A capable lady hides her blade. That is my own aesthetic philosophy.”

Elizabeth reset her stance with the thin blade, speaking quietly.

”Ufufufu, wonderful, this is wonderful.”

Nest removed the gray robe she had been wearing the entire time. Revealed for the first time, her figure carried a bewitching, dangerous kind of beauty. Her body’s lines were clearly visible, a top that clung tightly to her skin, short black shorts, a red scarf around her neck. Black and gold clothing, paired with black boots that emphasized her striking figure.

”Honestly, I was thinking of tossing this at you to use as a blindfold.”

She said that while flinging the fluttering robe onto the floor.

”Ufufu, but never mind that now. I don’t feel like playing any more tricks with you...”

A creaking sound came from her right arm. The bleeding that had been steadily flowing from her cut stopped instantly.

”...Recovery magic? But the wound itself hasn’t healed.”

Elizabeth glanced briefly downward, at the ground beneath her own feet. Debris was scattered across the floor, and she noticed a stick shaped piece of wood near her feet. She quickly brought her gaze back up, lowering her stance slightly in preparation for the next attack.

”If you can still stand after this, I’ll give you some credit.”

Nest threw the curved blade forward like a boomerang. The blade curved through the air, heading straight for Elizabeth’s throat. Naturally, Elizabeth’s eyes followed the blade. She twisted her body slightly, preparing to block it with the thin sword in her grip. But the curving blade suddenly veered off its path, flying past her toward her back.

”...A bad throw? No, that’s not it!!”

Elizabeth spun around instantly. There stood Nest, already having caught the flying blade, poised to lunge at her with it raised overhead.

”Oh my?”

The instant she turned, the thin sword in her hand happened to catch the strike just in time, protecting her throat. If she had been even a moment slower to notice, Elizabeth’s head would have been rolling on the floor. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Her fan had been knocked away by the impact, but there was no time to worry about that.

”Aww, so close. Ufufufu.”

With their blades still locked together, Nest smiled. But Elizabeth smiled right back.

”...Is that really all you’ve got?”

”Oh? Sore los—guh!”

Right before she finished speaking, a piece of wood struck up under Nest’s chin. Elizabeth had kicked the wood at her feet up with precision.

”Not finished yet!”

She immediately dropped low and swept Nest’s legs out from under her. With Nest thrown off balance, Elizabeth gave her no chance to recover. Elizabeth swung her blade up with full force.

”Ooh, that was close~”

Nest evaded, floating lightly through the air. Looking closely, she had driven the curved blade into the ceiling and was using it to support her weight there.

”A target like that is an easy shot!”

A thrust straight upward, as if aiming to pierce a single star. Nest slid her blade free and skillfully defended herself midair. Even so, Elizabeth pressed on relentlessly with a barrage of upward thrusts. An absolute, merciless assault that refused to let her feet touch the ground. The tip of her blade was already moving faster than the eye could follow, occasionally letting out a sharp crack. For just an instant, it was breaking the sound barrier. But that relentless assault soon reached its limit.

CRACK!

Under the sheer intensity of the attack, the thin sword shattered at the hilt.

”Guess the sword couldn’t take it. Ufufu, what a shame.”

”Tch, that was careless of me...”

Elizabeth immediately retreated out of Nest’s striking range. In that opening, Nest landed back on the ground and reset her stance.

”Now then, what will you do?”

Nest spun the curved blade skillfully in her hand, wearing a confident smile. With their skill so closely matched, and Elizabeth now without a weapon, her odds looked slim. But Elizabeth picked up two stick shaped pieces of debris from the ground.

”I still have options left. Come, then, if you dare!”

Her tone carried a threat, but her weapons were nothing more than two pieces of rubble. In front of Nest, they were as good as scrap paper. It was an almost hopeless gesture.

”Well then, since you insist. Here I come...”

Nest readied herself to finish Elizabeth off. She had not yet noticed. That just outside the nearby window, a man was already plotting, watching closely for the right moment to charge in.