I fought with Deam

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“Catch me…? Who…are you?”
“I don’t need to introduce myself to you.”

I said, feeling like a hero who had come in to save the day.
I had always wanted to do this.

“Tsk… Do you know what will happen if you defy me?”
“Yes, I do. You’re some scoundrel called Deam, aren’t you? Smallfry that can only bully beastkin.”

I knew that I was getting carried away a little as I observed Deam.
He had a longsword and was ready to attack.
Now that I had told Leo that I would deal with him, it would look pretty bad if I let my guard down and lost.

“Smallfry!? You won’t get away with this… You will regret your words!”
“Well, all you’ve been doing is surrounding boys and bullying a beastkin girl… That’s what smallfry does, no? You won’t be making anyone feel regret, I think.”
“You bastard! I’ll kill you!”

As I purposely provoked Deam, the blood rushed to his head, and he came dashing towards me.
Previously, Mr. Ekenhart had told me…that one must never lose their cool during a fight.
And while there was a part of me that was angry for Liza, I did manage to remain calm.
Otherwise, Leo would have likely jumped out ahead of me.

He had also told me that it was good to try to anger an enemy in order to make them lose their calm.
Once they were angry, they would always move in a straightforward way, and it would be easier to deal with them… However, I might have made a mistake.
Mr. Ekenhart’s strategy was effective when used by someone who was skilled, but I was still…
Deam was very muscular, and clearly stronger than me. And he moved towards me at a speed that was faster than expected.
In my heart, I grumbled towards myself for getting carried away, and then I raised my sword and faced him.

“Hmm. I guess you were all talk then?”
“I could say…the same about you!”
“Tsk!”

As he rushed towards me, Deam raised his sword with both hands and slammed down with all of his might.
I held my sword horizontally with both hands and somehow managed to block it.
Deam continued to press down, but I managed to push upwards and sweep the sword to the side.
Deam frowned as he was pushed back. And then he stumbled a few steps back.
…Apparently, he really had been hurt after being hit by Leo, and his legs were still weak.
Perhaps even his arms were weakened compared to how they usually were.

“You blocked my sword… In spite of your strange appearance, you are not half bad… And now I will kill you!”

He spat as he raised his sword again.
…Why was he so angry… Well, because I had provoked him…
He likely just had a short temper.
Also, he was the one who was bare chested with lines on his body while out in the rain. He should not be able to criticize my appearance.
I was just wearing a coat.

“Die!”
“Not today!”

Once again, I blocked his blade with my sword.
But he did not have the same momentum from running, and so his attack was weaker.
However, my hands had also grown a little numb from the impact of the first attack.
And though I tried to hold my sword up, Deam pushed with his body weight.

And so I shouted and pushed back, not wanting to lose.
But even with both hands, I could not push him all the way back like before.

“Gah….aaaa!”
“Tsk…”

Deam shouted and pushed harder.
If this continued, my arms would give in and I would be cut!
I could heal mild wounds with some Loe, and Leo could handle the rest.
However…I wanted to do something about this person who had targeted Liza!

What should I do…
My feet were planted too firmly into the ground to move them or try to kick.

In any case…perhaps I should just ask Leo for help?
No, Leo had already done enough.
I didn’t want to ask for help after saying I would do it…
What to do then…
Just then, I noticed something on the right side of my waist. That’s right!

“Gah…Gaaahhh!”
“Oh? Just a little more and you will be cut!”

I used all of my power to stop Deam.
He seemed to detect that I was nearing my limits.
I just needed a brief opening!

“Grau!”
“!?”

Just when I thought that, Leo barked.
Deam must have thought he was going to be attacked, as he looked towards Leo for a moment.
Now!

“Gaaah!! Hah!”
“What… Ah!”

I let go with my left hand and shouted while continuing to block his sword with my right hand.
Thanks to the momentary distraction, I was able to hold him back for a few seconds.
And then I reached down to my belt with my left hand.
I gripped the thing and unsheathed it swiftly!

It was the katana.
And then I slashed horizontally with it.
As the blade was curved, it was good for slashing, and not cutting down.
And so that was how I used it against Deam.

Next Chapter

My Beloved Dog is the Strongest in Another World