The Eye That Sees the Future

I already knew one thing for sure.

Golden armor was way tougher than I expected.

Honestly, when they said it couldn't block physical damage past a certain threshold, I was scared shitless. But it actually held up against that slash?

"So this is what an S-rank item can do, huh."

"Kyuu!!"

Well, good performance is good performance. Moving on.

'He's not attacking again?'

After smashing Elena and Priya's Magic Tools with the first strike, he'd sent that insanely powerful slash meant to cut me in half and turn me into a summer hunt trophy. That was his last move. He hadn't attacked since.

I'd gotten super tense when that squinty-eyed bastard opened his eyes, but maybe they were just naturally small?

'No way that's it.'

I kept my gaze locked on the demon. He was back to that narrow-eyed look, but his right hand now rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist. This demon was clearly on high alert for me.

I drew my own sword and held the standoff. One thing was crystal clear now.

'This guy's fucking strong.'

Normally, any half-assed boss monster would go berserk the second their opening attack got blocked, right? But not this one. He was only briefly surprised before calmly analyzing my full strength.

Shit. This was dangerous.

My one weakness was figuring out boss patterns. Whatever. I'd just have to test it myself.

I adjusted my grip on the sword, kicked off the ground, and closed in on the demon. Then I swung purely on instinct.

Arm, head, leg, waist, arm again.

Kiren-style swordsmanship—there wasn't a single proper technique to be found even if you scrubbed your eyes raw looking for one. But the demon easily knocked aside even my completely patternless swings.

-Clang! Clang-clang-clang!!

The deafening clash of metal against metal rang out. With no other choice, I took a step back and reset the standoff.

The demon seemed intrigued by my style and spoke first.

"Oh? You use a sword? That's unexpected. I was certain you were a mage."

"Why would I need to waste magic on trash like you?"

"How arrogant."

"It's your own incompetence. Priya!"

Baton touch!

The moment I called her name, Priya dropped from the sky. Why did she always make her entrance by falling from above? Whatever.

Priya swung her massive greatsword. The demon blocked it. When he countered with a slash, Priya casually deflected it. For now, she was keeping him occupied.

'I need to come up with a strategy.'

One thing was already obvious: I couldn't beat him with swordsmanship. I should've realized it the second I saw he was a squinty-eyed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠swordsman character. His understanding of the blade was on another level. He perfectly read exactly how to block or parry any kind of swing.

'Was there a swordsman like this among the demons...?'

I'd never seen one in the Demon King's army. Those guys all had such shitty, memorable patterns that I remembered every single one. Whatever, I'd think about it later.

'If swordsmanship doesn't work, maybe magic will?'

I approached Elena, who had been watching us from a distance.

"Elena, hit him with the strongest magic you can muster."

"Got it!"

Elena pulled out her staff, chanted the spell, and fired. Blue blades shot forward at a speed that would make F1 drivers scream in terror.

With Priya ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠holding aggro from the front, there was no way he could block blades flying at the back of his—

"A surprise attack? Not bad, I'll give you that."

He could? He didn't have eyes in the back of his head, so how the hell did he block that?

Okay. Second discovery: Elena's magic doesn't work either.

And even if we all rushed him at once, our attacks probably wouldn't land. The way he handled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that incoming slash earlier showed he was used to fighting multiple opponents.

'By the way, what the hell are the professors doing right now?'

It was suspicious how they weren't doing anything. Were they just sitting back eating popcorn and watching the show? They had to be seeing this through the screens, right? Yet none of them were trying to intervene.

'...Or maybe they can't?'

I slowly chewed over what the demon had said earlier.

'We're having a bit of trouble ourselves.'

"We" meant there was at least one more besides him. That other one was probably the culprit preventing the professors from coming.

In that case...

"Elena, you said you're confident in your magic, right?"

"Of course. I didn't get second place in the class for nothing."

"Then find the demon mage somewhere on this island and kill him."

"...What?"

Elena looked utterly bewildered, but before she could respond—

"Plotting behind my back, are we?!"

The demon's shout came from behind me. I spun around and reflexively blocked the blade rushing toward me.

What was Priya doing? I thought she might've already been taken out, but that wasn't the case. She was leaping toward us from far away, meaning he'd shaken her off and jumped straight at me.

'He's really good at handling opponents.'

There was only one path left. Priya and I would hold off this demon while Elena killed the one blocking communication with the professors.

There was no guarantee there was only one more demon, but we'd just have to go for it.

"So hurry up and go, Elena!"

"U-Understood!"

Elena hesitated for a moment before dashing down the mountain at high speed.

"You think I'll let you—"

-Clang!

"Where are you looking? Your opponent is me. Or are you scared?"

"Haa... Fine. I'll get serious now."

In an instant, the aura radiating from the demon changed completely. Before, it had felt like the faint stench of a public restroom. Now it was like that toilet was backing up and overflowing.

A sticky, repulsive magical power burst from his entire body. At the same time, he sheathed his sword and immediately drew it again.

-Shing.

A slash came at me faster than the eye could follow. But—

-Slice.

"You cut my slash?!"

"To boast with such pathetic swordsmanship... How embarrassing."

Knowledge I'd never seen before flooded into my brain. The proper posture for swinging a blade, how to grip it, shoulder width. The direction, speed, and weight of every cut. It felt as familiar as if I'd spent decades—no, centuries—training.

I put the sword I was holding back into the ring.

"What the hell are you—"

"Come."

I clenched my fist tightly.

"I don't even need a sword to deal with the likes of you."

"Haaah!!"

The demon charged at me with a low stance. His hand moved to the sword at his left hip, and as soon as the distance closed, he drew and thrust it forward.

But—

-Clang!

"So slow. Even your draw speed is pathetic."

"W-What?! You blocked a sword with your bare hands?!"

"What are you talking about? Ah, I see. You can't see it."

What is a sword?

What is the purpose of swinging one?

There is no purpose in swinging a sword.

There is no reason to carry one.

A sword that is always by your side and swings without any reason at all.

Isn't that no different from your own body?

"The body itself is a sword."

"That's ridiculous—"

"It is possible."

Because that is what a sword is.

I put even more power into my right arm. The katana in the demon's hand went flying.

I didn't miss the opening. I lowered my stance, closed the distance, and—

"Gaaah!!"

I sliced off the demon's right arm cleanly.

"I was aiming for your head. What a shame."

"Kuh...!"

The demon tore part of his top with his mouth and left hand, twisting it into a makeshift cord to tie off the stump and stop the bleeding.

"Not bad with the improvisation."

"I will never forgive you!"

The demon yanked the sword that was stuck in the ground. It was a two-handed weapon. This just got a bit more annoying. I'd thought cutting off his right arm would neutralize him, but apparently not.

I glanced at the message window floating beside me.

I'd already used four minutes? Was the status window lying to me?

Six minutes left. I had to settle this within six minutes, or Elena had to kill the remaining demon.

"You still have time to be distracted?!"

"I've been waiting for this!!"

The demon's sword whipped toward me in a relentless storm, not giving my brain a moment to think. It was fast. And brutal. The swordsmanship was clearly different from what he'd used with his right hand.

Still, it wasn't impossible to keep up. We were exchanging blows, but...

'How the hell is he blocking my attacks?'

My sword was invisible. Because my entire body had become the blade. Yet he was reading exactly where I would attack and blocking perfectly. He was even mixing in counterattacks whenever he saw an opening.

'If it weren't for Golden, I'd already be a bloody rag.'

Thanks again, Golden.

Anyway. If I couldn't figure out how he was blocking my attacks, I would lose. The duration was almost up, too. Priya was pulling aggro here and there so I could see attack windows, but a surprise attack like before probably wouldn't work anymore.

'If I could just learn how he's blocking...'

Then one idea hit me.

What if reading my attack direction was a skill?

If so, there was only one thing I could do.

"All Under Heaven, No ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Self!"

There is no skill in this world that I don't know.

Target for copying: that demon bastard.

Foresight Eye? Whatever, just do it!

'Accept!'

In that instant—

"Ah... So that's it! That's what it was!!"

"...What?"

The demon looked shaken. But I had no time to pay attention to him. My entire brain was busy processing the flood of new information pouring in.

A leaf was falling. One centimeter per second. It would hit the ground in exactly ten seconds.

Water was flowing. The trajectory of the waves was crystal clear.

"With eyes like these, of course my attacks didn't work."

I drew the sword from the ring and swung. The demon blocked it easily. No—I could see him blocking it!

I adjusted the trajectory of my sword to match his movement.

"What?!"

-Stab!

The tip of my blade pierced through the demon's left shoulder.