The water wave extended straight toward me, its leading edge faintly gleaming with a sharp, cold light.
—No matter from which angle one looked at it, that was definitely not ordinary water flow.
I immediately flapped the light wings on my back, using the reaction force to shift my body backward.
This should let me dodge it, right?
Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief with a bit of luck, that water wave made a subtle turn in mid-air. It brushed past my right shoulder, almost following my predicted trajectory exactly.
“…!”
There was no impact sound.
No sense of explosion either.
But in the next second, my shoulder was engulfed by an utterly unreasonable burning heat, followed by a dull pain intense enough to make my internal organs tremble.
In BHAO, aside from a very small number of “curse-type skills” with malicious tastes, the pain feedback from attacks to the body was directly proportional to the actual damage received.
I immediately checked my status bar.
The result was just as expected.
My HP had been cut in half right away.
“Man, getting half my HP taken out right at the start. This is really bad.”
“Yae Yoruichi! Your fighting style is just too flashy! As a warrior, you’re making my blood boil with excitement!”
After the water flow and bubbles dispersed, my vision became clear once again.
WATER FENCER’s figure had already appeared directly below me.
What do you mean warrior… Looking at me now, I look more like a magical girl.
Taking advantage of the brief opening, I quickly glanced at the Dawn Witch’s skill list.
The offensive skill “Witch’s Scythe” and the highly practical “Voodoo Doll” from the Night Witch form had all been replaced.
In their place were skills clearly leaning toward a magic system—“Rainbow Light Staff” and “Light Shadow Doll.”
This setup feels way too overpowered. Even the Night Witch’s assassination-style combat was already exciting enough.
I muttered softly, then canceled LIGHT WING and slowly descended toward the ground.
At the same time, I quietly summoned the Light Shadow Doll.
I hadn’t fully grasped the specific effects of this skill yet, but from the description, it seemed to “generate a mana prism at the designated location.”
“How was that WATER SWORD PATTERN just now? Hehe, pretty impressive, right!”
Chiyo Haori flashed a brilliant smile while giving a thumbs-up without hesitation.
“…”
I could only twitch the corner of my mouth and respond with silence.
No, does this guy seriously have zero awareness about hiding information? He just casually revealed the name of such a key skill?
He should at least keep a dangerous trump card like that properly hidden!
“But next, I still have even more amazing moves!”
“Ah, yeah yeah, got it.”
I nodded perfunctorily.
Compared to the opponent who was releasing his battle enthusiasm without any reservation, the “light-attribute witch” on this side appeared unusually calm due to my cautious nature.
Rainbow Light Staff…
The name sounded very magical, but would it really be compatible with the “Unknown Name Warrior” identity?
I didn’t want to reveal too much here.
Light rapidly gathered under my meditation and guidance.
At first it was just an unstable light orb, then it was quickly compressed and shaped. Finally, it coalesced into a golden short sword in my hand.
“Phew… Good thing that although it’s called a ‘staff,’ it’s essentially still a sword.”
I glanced at Chiyo Haori, who was about to say something else.
I had to admit that encountering him in the very first match actually gave me quite a bit of time to adjust my rhythm.
At the very least, the compatibility between a sword weapon and “warrior” was one hundred percent.
No matter how fancy the name was, as long as the appearance fit, it wouldn’t stand out too much.
“Yae Yoruichi, you’re finally willing to take out a weapon?”
So this guy… was waiting for me to show my weapon?
In the next instant, spiraling water pressure pressed down on me.
Almost at the same moment I gripped the short sword tightly, WATER FENCER’s virtual model had already closed in to melee range.
“So fast!”
I barely had time to think.
Chiyo Haori slightly bent both hands, positioned them with one above the other in a clear “gripping posture.”
It wasn’t empty-handed.
There was definitely something in his grasp.
The water pressure slammed wildly against my body. My eardrums were filled with roaring sounds, and the sense of danger shot up to the peak in an instant.
Clang—!
I raised my arm almost purely on instinct. The short sword collided with something “invisible.”
The powerful recoil pushed my entire body backward until my back slammed into a coral reef and stopped.
“Invisible sword… No, that’s not quite right.”
This was ATLANTIS.
It was the seabed.
Even though there was a special structure overlaying air and gravity, this place was still fundamentally a domain of water.
The sword had completely merged with the surrounding water flow.
That was why it couldn’t be seen.
“But… what about the sword’s length?”
“Your intuition is quite sharp, Yoruichi. I really didn’t misjudge you as an opponent.”
Chiyo Haori withdrew his right hand and casually shook it. The white sand on the seabed was stirred up, creating a murky area of water.
Got it!
My gaze had never left his hand.
In the dim seawater, the clean white sand particles were dragged by the current, clearly outlining the movement trajectory.
“I understand now, Haori. Next, it’s my turn to counterattack.”
“Really? That’s great! I’m already so excited to see you go all out!”
I quickly made my judgment in my mind.
The effective length of the water sword was probably about half a body length.
And my most stable attack method at the moment was to fire rainbow light rays using the Rainbow Light Staff.
Compared to the one-hit-kill type skill like “Witch’s Scythe,” the advantage of the rainbow light ray lay in its range.
“Then… let’s create some distance!”
The light wings unfolded once more, and the white energy bar dropped sharply.
“Hey! We agreed on a head-on fight, Yoruichi! This is too sneaky!”
The water sword stabbed straight forward, its speed even slightly faster than when I was flying.
But as long as the gap was like this—
“Aaaaah!!!”
I flapped the light wings with full power, pushing the distance to the absolute limit.
“Ooooh!!”
A pure speed contest.
Just as that water sword was about to close in again, the corners of my mouth finally curved into a slight smile.
“Your sword should have already reached its limit, right, Haori! Now it’s within my attack range—”
However, the water flow did not stop.
It continued to extend. It continued to approach.
!!
“You’re wrong, Yoruichi.”
Chiyo Haori’s voice came clearly through the water.
“The extensibility of water is originally infinite. Therefore, the attack range of the water sword is also infinite.”