The "Master swordsman” who was reincarnated, wants to live freely - Chapter 113

Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse

Iris’ blade and Ruino’s blade were interlocked. The sound of clashing metal was resonating. This didn’t just occur once, but multiple times.
When Iris uses her Purple Lightning she didn’t just imbue the blade, but also herself with lightning, cladding her body with it.
However, this time was different. She didn’t clad herself with lightning. The lightning was pouring out of the tip of her blade, and it could be heard well. She was controlling “that” very lightning.
But to haphazardly fling this power isn’t effective against all opponents.
She had watched Ruino fight. And judging by what she had seen she can’t restrain herself much.
Ruino would channel magic throughout her body to enhance her swordsmanship. That’s her fighting style. She wouldn’t use her magic to battle – She would simply slash and slash, increasing her power with every swing. There was barely any difference between the speed at which Iris and Ruino swung.
There was a high chance that one swing would decide the outcome of the battle.

“Nihihi, quite good! This is what fighting should be!”
Ruino said, as she laughed happily. She barely manages to exchange blows with Iris, causing her Kimono to be torn.
That small detail does not stop her what so ever.
Ruino takes a step forward and thrusts at Iris’ bosom.
Iris quickly responds and blocks with purple lightning – No, she fended it off. She barely bends the blade and manages to put some power behind her own attack.
She then takes the opening she had made and answers with a quick counter-attack.

“Huu!”
“Nihi, that won’t work!”
Ruino manages to bend her body in such a way, that she can dodge the attack and exchange attacks with Iris again. In the heat of the moment, she puts both her hands on the ground and lunges with a kick.

“!”
This forced Iris’ arms upwards. Ruino is already back onto her feet and makes herself small by retreating her legs and bending her knees.  She quickly kicks herself off the ground and leaps at Iris, aiming for her throat.

(So quick–)
And attack right after an evade. And the speed behind it is incredible too. Ruino has quite an edge on Iris when it comes to “actual fighting experience”.
Still, Iris has plenty of one-on-one experience.
Iris has been praised by many in hand-to-hand combat.  To be called one of the strongest when she was only ten years old was quite a load for Iris.
However, even younger than herself, Alta is deemed the “Kingdom’s strongest”. This showed Iris the goal she should be aiming for.
To “protect” that person, she stands here – And there is no way she will lose now.
Iris had lost her balance and didn’t manage to get her posture back soon enough. She struggled because of this. She barely managed to deflect Ruino’s blade which came at her with high speed.
Iris twisted her body around and moved backward.
As Ruino rotated mid-air she soon noticed where Iris was headed.
And then,

“Nihi! This is – My real power!”
Ruino conjured up something at her feet called a “magical wall”. It was quite a low-level form of magic which didn’t really amount to much – But to serve as a place to place one’s feet it was more than enough.
By using both her feet as springs, she once more leaped forward towards Iris. Again with high speed.
It was an almost horizontal jump. Iris entered a state of defense right on the spot, but this wouldn’t break Ruino’s momentum.
It wasn’t a lethal blow, but Iris’ shoulder was cut.
It wasn’t deep either, and Iris managed to shake off the pain. However, this wasn’t the end of Ruino’s attack.
Iris instantly turns around – Ruino came leaping at her once more.
Ruino’s blade nearly got into her eyes. But Iris managed to defend against it last minute again. The sounds of clashing metal sounded again, and their swords were locked once more.
However, Iris can’t really hold this for long, her shoulder was still cut.

(It’s not… Enough….!”
Next was a flurry of three attacks.
Ruino had no intention of stopping her momentum and she manages to strike onto Iris from a bit higher on up this time.

“Huuuu—-”
Iris took a small breath and regained consciousness.
Don’t be dazzled by the speed and momentum – Ruino’s attacks are nothing special.
That is to be said, the attack that will be the end of Iris will be one of those simple ones.
Again her response was ever so slightly too late – But this time she could defend against her attacks.
Iris could see Ruino’s expression changing ever so slightly as they passed one another.
The first and second attacks were able to hurt Iris. However, the third attack was blocked, and the fourth one Iris managed to strike first.
Once again, Ruino lept away with momentum, and she locked blades with Iris again in order to block her strikes.
She then rolled over the ground but managed to get her posture back up.

“Nihi… I’m a bit surprised. There was no way you’d be able to catch up to my attacks, let alone go beyond that”
The fourth attack managed to wound Ruino instead.
During this fight, Iris had managed to grow. Her growth was showing, and the worse the fight was going to get – The more powerful Iris would become.
With Purple Lightning in her hands, she faced Ruino. Ruino had made her body small, but she too faced Iris again.
“I told you, right? That I will stop you”
“Until there is nothing left, right? Doesn’t seem you can make that happen though”
“…It seems that way. However, that’s fine. The one who will win – Is I”
“Nihihi, good, good. It would be even more fun if you were actually willing to kill me. You’re this strong. Why don’t you think more fondly of battle? Don’t you like the thrill of barely hanging on to your life, and almost taking that of another? I won’t slow down now you know”
Ruino swayed her sword in an inviting manner. She’s still hoping to make Iris want to kill her.
The right response was extremely simple.
Iris had decided that she’d kill Ruino without any thought behind it – That’s all.
That might be the easiest way to deal with this. 
It’s far easier to wield power mindlessly than to think about it too much.
Still, Iris’ chosen path… It’s hard, but it will make her dream come true.

“My thoughts won’t change”
“…Is that so? That’s a pity”
“I too want to confirm something though”
“…Confirm something?”
“Right. Ruino, why did you — Why did you fight Zenas?”
She’d been wondering for a while.
It was supposed to be like this when Iris and Ruino met each other here.
Ruino fought Iris because she had declared she would fight.
However, as soon as Ruino saw Zenas she moved over without hesitation.

“There was no real reason, really. The Swordsman Gang was going after Alta Schweiss. And because they would impose an obstruction, I dealt with them… That’s all”
“Well, I am the same kind of obstruction then. After all, I am fighting you here because I am protecting Mr. Schweiss”
Ruino talked about obstructions, but Iris was nothing different from the Swordsman Gang in this situation.
Yet even though they were almost getting into a battle just before, she chose to battle Zenas instead.
In the Kingdom, she didn’t do anything to fight with Zenas, to begin with, yet right here she gladly took him on.
Ruino’s movements are restricted by something.

“What are you trying to say?”
Ruino’s expression became sharper.
The conclusion that Iris was getting to might be incorrect. Still, the reason why Ruino fights isn’t just because she likes to battle.

“I heard that you went into cooperation with the Knights Order in order to fight with Mr. Schweiss. That’s no doubt your real intent”
“Of course, that is what I am after. That’s why you’re trying to stop me, right?”
“That’s correct. The reason why I am trying to stop you without killing you – IS because you don’t just enjoy to kill, I figured”
“…HMmm?”
Ruino’s expression was steepening.
Iris continued talking.

“If you just liked fighting then you would’ve made sure something extreme would’ve happened back in the Kingdom. However, I heard that the only ones that suffered any real damage were the Knights Order. This town is the same. The only ones you’ve killed… are the Swordsman Gang members. 
Aside from the fact that you’re aiming at Mr. Schweiss, your actions have been quite considerate”
It seems like Ruino’s actions have no consistency, yet they follow one law.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You want me to tell you that I barely fight others and am some sort of “ally of justice”?”
“…You can’t use the word justice like that so easily. But the reason you decided to fight Zenas was because he was attacking Alia and Lotto, right? You are “the enemy of the strong” and “protector of the weak”. That’s why… I will stop you”
Iris didn’t try to take her speculations too far. After all, Ruino’s standing before her attempting to take her life.
However, yesterday – Ruino didn’t even attempt to fight her then.
She admitted she had strength, yet they didn’t fight.
That raised some questions in Iris and made her get to this one answer.
She aims to fight the strong, and hates to hurt the weak – Isn’t that just the kind of person Ruino Tomura is?
Ruino had listened to Iris’ words, yet decided to laugh it off.

“….Nihi, nihihihihihih! You’re really funny, you know that? You’re trying to say that my actions are justified by just that?”
“You’re.. similar to me”
“…Similar you?”
“Yes. You think you can do it all by yourself, without relying on anyone else – That’s why you wanted to get strong. And if you noticed someone stronger than yourself, then you must fight them. You have to prove that you’re stronger than them. I told you I would become “the strongest knight”. Don’t you have something like that that you would like to become?”
“Nihi, like that? That does sound important. But you know –”
The laugh from Ruino’s face disappeared.

“Talking like you know me… That won’t work forever”
Ruino prepared her blade and went out again. With an unusual speed, she came out again, this time with a ten-attack flurry.
Iris, who’s swordsmanship almost became like dancing – Managed to defend against every single attack. As their swords locked, so did their eyes.
Ruino’s face was filled with surprise.

“Why are you suddenly…”
“Not suddenly. My strength didn’t change. It’s because your blade is in turmoil”
“In turmoil… Don’t joke around. Your words are…!”
Ruino was visibly filled with anger. She right now filled with more emotion than ever before – It’s really hard to figure out what she’s thinking.
But she’s angry, so that makes one thing clear.
Iris’ words were right – And she couldn’t deny it.
That is why she had begun to show her anger.
And Iris, who was also pointed out in the same way by Alta when she was looking for revenge, knows this feeling all too well.
Ruino is definitely the same as Iris.
Iris deflected Ruino’s blade and attacked her instead. Ruino blocked and eluded the attack.
She wanted to immediately counter this, but Iris wouldn’t let her.
Iris attacked her back, giving Ruino no time to respond. Their speed was mostly on par – However, this time Iris had the upper hand.
Ruino jumped, creating distance between herself and Iris.
She prepared her blade again but caught herself out of breath. Unlike the surplus she had before, she was now completely without it.
Iris didn’t press her though. And that made Ruino angry once more.

“Ha…. Ha… Why won’t you come? This was the perfect opportunity”
“…I never intended to win from you by swinging away at you. I never imagined you’d be as flustered as you are now”
“Flustered? Nihi, don’t just decide that by yourself. I am… “Protector of the weak”? Don’t make me laugh. I never think much about weaklings anyway. All they get it to be weeded out anyway. They die on the battlefield you know. That’s why—-”
Ruino talked until this, then was hit by something in her mind, and stopped talking altogether.
As it was almost slipping out of her mouth she stopped.

“…That’s why…?”
“…Nihi, how boorish”
Bon- — And Ruino kicked the ground.
She was flying perpendicular, created a magical wall at her feet, and then went straight for the heavens. After ten meters or so she turned around again, and created a magical wall just like before.
This time she had flung herself towards Iris. Her blade was now filled heavily with magic.

“Talking with you is nothing but an annoyance… Time to finish this.