Campione: Strongest# 437: Just a Few Tricks

Haru’s voice shattered the standoff, causing both women to instantly shift their gaze.

For SHIKI, looking away was a relief. She touched her cheek, feeling a slight flush of embarrassment from having stared at another girl for so long without realizing it.

But for Fujino Asagami, breaking her focus was nearly fatal.

The monumental burden of sustaining her Mystic Eyes of Distortion proved too much for the newly courageous girl. As her sight landed on Haru, the twisting spiral of scarlet and emerald green in her eyes flared violently.

This time, Fujino was quicker. Realizing her focus had landed on him, she instinctively snapped her gaze backward, centering it on the landscape painting hanging on the wall behind him.

Creak—! Crunch—!

The wooden wall groaned, centered on the painting, as the power of Distortion took hold. In an instant, a three-meter-wide hole appeared, at the center of which was a vortex of splintered wood. A fine dust rained down from the severed edges, stirring up a small cloud of particulate matter.

“That is seriously overkill,” SHIKI said, her eyes wide as she stared at the constantly groaning, still-twisting wooden sphere.

That kind of power would annihilate anyone it touched. If she wanted to kill this girl, she’d have to maintain constant high-speed movement, avoid her gaze, and wait for a single opening to land a fatal blow.

SHIKI subconsciously began calculating the safest way to assassinate Fujino, various strategies flashing through her mind.

‘SHIKI!’ a cold, subtle reprimand sounded in her head. The original Shiki, observing through her eyes, was growing restless.

‘My bad, my bad. Pure instinct,’ SHIKI apologized nonchalantly.

The original Shiki fell silent. She was starting to wonder if allowing this personality such frequent contact with the outside world was a good idea. Its homicidal instinct was clearly unchecked.

“Fujino!” Haru snapped. The commanding, magical tone of his voice immediately broke her concentration.

Fujino’s pupils constricted, and the Mystic Eyes of Distortion retreated. The wooden sphere, which had been frozen by the twisting force, slammed against the fractured edge of the floor below, then bounced and rolled back toward Haru.

“Watch out—!” both SHIKI and Fujino cried out in warning.

Haru casually turned his head, glancing at the huge wooden sphere. His deep gray pupils instantly flashed a brilliant gold.

Time froze.

The wooden sphere paused for a fraction of a second, then, at a speed far faster than it had rolled in, it shot back to the wall and leaped into mid-air. Then, like a film played in reverse, slivers of wood flew back to the fractured opening, slowly filling the void.

In just a moment, the hole was completely repaired. The landscape painting was once again hanging on the wall, as if nothing had ever happened.

“Time… reversed?” Fujino covered her mouth, a look of utter shock on her face.

SHIKI quickly took a few steps forward, pressed her ear against the wall, and gently tapped it, listening to the echo.

“It's solid. Even if it's not time reversal, it’s a terrifyingly powerful repair technique.” With that, she looked at Haru with keen interest, her tone light and casual. “You really know a lot of tricks, Uncle!”

The ability to phase through walls, conceal his aura, possess a body harder than steel, and now, a technique that seemed to reverse time—SHIKI was duly impressed.

‘Seriously, every time I think I’ve figured him out, he pulls out something new,’ she lamented to Shiki in her mind.

‘…’ The original Shiki remained silent, tacitly acknowledging the observation. It was precisely because she couldn’t figure out his limits that she had been so helpless against his stalking.

“Well, I’m currently frustrated by how many little tricks I know. I can think of a hundred different ways to deal with an enemy. It’s so annoying,” Haru said, scratching his head, his face a mask of bitter misery.

“…”

Fujino, SHIKI, and the silent Shiki all looked at Haru with undisguised contempt.

Time reversal is a ‘little trick’? A hundred different ways?

They would endure this insufferable arrogance.

Feeling their intense, resentful gazes, Haru’s lip twitched.

He quickly changed the subject. “Anyway, forget all that. The most important thing now is to teach Fujino how to control her Mystic Eyes of Distortion. I don’t want to be constantly worried about the house collapsing on me.”

“Control her Mystic Eyes? You even know how to do that?” SHIKI raised an eyebrow. Judging by his words, Fujino was now his student.

The already powerful Mystic Eyes, now coupled with his guidance… she had a feeling Fujino would become even more difficult to deal with.

“Just a little,” Haru replied, waving his hand with feigned modesty.

“Um, Miss Ryougi, Brother Haru is going to teach me my family’s inherited ability,” Fujino said with a soft smile. But the look she gave SHIKI was clearly one of rejection.

‘Don’t disrupt our private time.’ SHIKI keenly read the meaning in her eyes.

She raised an eyebrow. This girl, barely a child, was already trying to claim him? And she was the one who had been half-naked earlier. Had she initiated that? The thought sent a wave of warning through SHIKI’s mind.

“Speaking of which, Uncle, you have so many tricks. Do you know how to use a sword to kill?” she asked, turning her gaze to Haru.

“Just a little,” Haru replied, the modesty routine continuing.

“Perfect. I seem to have hit a bottleneck in my swordsmanship lately. Since you’re going to be stalking me anyway, instead of wasting time on useless surveillance, why don't you teach me a little about the sword?” SHIKI glanced at Fujino, her tone light and casual.

“Oh, I can do that.”

Fujino frowned, wanting to object, but she refrained, mindful of Haru’s opinion. She could only glare at SHIKI with resentment.

The young woman returned the glare with a wicked smile.