Clang! Clang clang!!
In the courtyard, Ieyasu and Tatsumi were desperately dodging Sayo's repeated attacks.
Sayo's archery was incredibly precise, her shots rarely missing their mark. Each arrow flew towards their vital spots—hearts, heads—without a hint of hesitation or any lingering sentiment for their past friendship. Had they not narrowly avoided each shot, they would have perished countless times over!
Conversely, Tatsumi and Ieyasu found themselves completely unable to go all out against Sayo. Whenever a rare opportunity to strike arose, they couldn't bring themselves to follow through. The slightest hesitation allowed Sayo to regain distance and resume her assault.
Thus, the battle had left Tatsumi and Ieyasu battered and wounded in several places. In terms of raw skill, Tatsumi was the strongest of the three, with Sayo and Ieyasu being roughly equal. Together, Tatsumi and Ieyasu should have been able to subdue Sayo long ago!
"Hah... Hah... Damn it! Tatsumi, we can't go on like this. Sayo is showing us no mercy. If this continues, she'll kill us both!"
Executing a desperate roll to narrowly evade another sharp arrow, Ieyasu gasped for breath and called out to Tatsumi nearby.
"There's no other way, Ieyasu. We need to split up. I'll draw Sayo's attention, and you take the chance to get close and subdue her. If you get close, her archery won't be effective."
"This time, we absolutely can't miss our chance!"
His expression grim, Tatsumi knew they were bound to lose if this dragged on. After a moment's thought, he addressed Ieyasu.
"I understand."
Ieyasu understood Tatsumi's implication. He knew he had squandered a previous opportunity to subdue Sayo due to his last-minute hesitation. A flicker of sorrow crossed his features as he nodded resolutely.
Tatsumi knew it was somewhat cruel to task Ieyasu with potentially harming Sayo, but having himself draw her fire was far too perilous. Perhaps it was due to the longbow she now wielded, but Tatsumi could clearly sense that Sayo's archery prowess had grown significantly stronger!
Seeing Sayo draw her bowstring again, Tatsumi didn't dare linger and quickly leaped to the side to attract her attention.
"Trying to use tactics again? Then I'll just kill you first, Tatsumi!"
The astute Sayo instantly discerned their strategy, a contemptuous smirk gracing her lips. Just as they intended, she aimed her arrow at Tatsumi.
TWANG!!! Without hesitation, she loosed her slender fingers. The long arrow transformed into a silver streak, hurtling towards Tatsumi.
"Now!!!"
The arrow was too swift to evade. As Tatsumi brought his sword around in a horizontal slash to intercept it, he yelled to Ieyasu nearby.
"Damn it!!! ARGH!!!"
He truly didn't want to fight his former companion, didn't want to harm Sayo, with whom he had grown up. But this was an opening Tatsumi had risked his life to create. With a furious roar, Ieyasu kicked off the ground, his form rocketing towards Sayo.
"Sayo, don't move!!!"
Eyes bloodshot, sword pressed against Sayo's throat, Ieyasu snarled fiercely.
Seemingly unperturbed, a faint smile graced the young woman's lips. She casually brushed back a few strands of her lovely hair, disheveled from the battle, with her left hand.
"Ieyasu, we all know, you could never hurt me, right?"
Her beautiful eyes sparkled as she looked at Ieyasu, Sayo smiling mischievously.
"..."
Gazing at her, the killing intent vanished, as if she had reverted to the Sayo he once knew, Ieyasu was momentarily lost.
But, in that very instant, a cold glint flashed in the eyes of the still playfully smiling Sayo. Without a moment's hesitation, she kicked Ieyasu squarely in the stomach.
THUMP!
"Argh..."
Sayo showed no mercy. Reeling from the heavy blow, Ieyasu's eyes bulged as he coughed up bile, collapsing to his knees with an agonized expression, his weapon clattering to the side.
"See? I told you, didn't I? But I, on the other hand, will kill you!"
Looking down imperiously at the kneeling Ieyasu, Sayo spoke while nocking another silver arrow and pressing its tip directly to his head.
"Farewell, my former companion..."
Gazing at the despairing and anguished Ieyasu, a bloodthirsty smirk touched Sayo's lips...
However, just at this moment—
"SAYO!!!!!"
Tatsumi's furious roar erupted from behind her. Instinctively, Sayo whirled around. Seeing the longsword cleaving towards her, her expression changed dramatically!
He'd made it just in the nick of time. Tatsumi breathed an inward sigh of relief. He hadn't used the cutting edge, but the flat of his blade, so he wasn't worried about seriously injuring Sayo.
Just as he was on the verge of success, a figure suddenly flashed before him. Before Tatsumi could react, he found himself struck in the chest by a sweeping kick!
"Argh..."
BOOM!!!
Transformed into a bullet, Tatsumi's body was directly shot into the ground not far away!
Stunned, neither Sayo nor Ieyasu could recover from this sudden turn of events for a long time.
"Uh… I accidentally used too much force. I hope that kid isn't dead, right?"
Standing beside Sayo, it was Sora's voice as he touched his nose.
"Tatsumi!!!"
Finally reacting, Ieyasu let out a roar and, ignoring his own injuries, rushed towards Tatsumi like a madman.
"Sorry, Master, Sayo failed to complete the task."
Sayo also came to her senses, but the girl showed no concern for Tatsumi's life or death. Instead, she knelt on one knee, filled with guilt, and spoke to Sora.
"Sayo, you've done quite well. Your current strength is still weak, but don't worry, Master will slowly train you in the future."
Helping the girl to her feet, Sora smiled wickedly.
"Thank you, Master."
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, completely different from her previously cold and ruthless demeanor. The girl answered softly and then voluntarily nestled into Sora's arms.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Ieyasu finally dug up the pitiful Tatsumi from the dirt. With a cockroach-like vitality, although Tatsumi had broken many bones and was severely injured, there was no life-threatening.
Sora naturally had precise control over his strength. This guy was just putting on a show earlier. If he had accidentally kicked Tatsumi to death, there would have been a lot less fun later!
"Sayo, you…"
Tatsumi was unable to speak, and Ieyasu temporarily laid him flat on the ground. However, when Ieyasu saw the scene on the other side, his anger flared up again!
"Did you do something to Sayo? You bastard!!!"
Seeing Sayo voluntarily nestling into Sora's arms, Ieyasu finally understood. All that talk about kindly taking them in was a lie, a complete lie!
"Tehehe, only now you realize it? You're really slow, dear Ieyasu-san!"
It wasn't Sora who answered, but Chelsea, who appeared beside Sayo while eating a lollipop.
"Who are you? Could it be…"
Looking at this woman who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, Ieyasu frowned deeply. But when he saw the lollipop she was eating, he suddenly of something and was greatly shocked.
"Tehehe, it's exactly that 'could it be'! Ieyasu-san, although you're quite dumb, I've had a lot of fun these past few days."
While playfully giggling, Chelsea activated her transformation ability. In front of the astonished Ieyasu and the lying Tatsumi, with a burst of energy, she transformed into Sayo's appearance!
Two Sayos stood together, completely identical, with no difference at all.
Now it all made sense…