Why Is Everyone in This Dating Sim Trying to Kill Me?!

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: Hunting (8)

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"Hyaaaaaaaah—!!"

Rebecca roared and charged, like a beast howling.

A sharp, chilling blade, trailing a jet-black sword aura, surged forward.

Claang—!

The recoil from the clash of swords reverberated through my hands.

I frowned for a moment.

Then, she brought the sword, held in a reverse grip, down towards my arm.

Whoosh—!

The blade sliced through the air.

As I pulled back, Rebecca wielded her blades with terrifying speed, as if determined to give me no respite.

Whoosh!

Swish!

Swoosh!

The two blades moved independently, as if possessing their own wills, blurring before my eyes.

Both blades swung horizontally, simultaneously targeting my upper and lower body.

Like an acrobat, I twisted my body sideways, slipping through the narrow gaps in her sword paths.

The chilling edge of a blade sliced through the air, grazing past the tip of my nose.

'…She's strong, alright.'

I straightened up, thinking to myself.

When she got serious, she was undeniably powerful.

Well, she *is* the final boss of an entire episode, so it would be strange if she *weren't* strong.

Among all the enemies I'd faced so far, she possessed the highest stats.

And from my perspective, having only gotten the initial starting growth resources in this place, she was more than a formidable opponent.

Swoosh—

The blade tore violently through the air as it lunged forward.

I tilted my head, dodging the blade.

Whiz!

The tip of her blade grazed my cheek, drawing blood.

'…She's definitely strong, but…'

A blatant killing intent, strong enough to fill the air with the metallic scent of blood, combined with her high-level dual-wielding.

Rebecca had clearly made up her mind to kill me, seriously.

However.

I found myself frowning instinctively.

'It's too light.'

Yes, light.

And by 'light,' I didn't mean the weight of her blade or the depth of her swordsmanship.

It was her will.

The killing intent—that absolute resolve to kill the opponent before her—was light.

A sword, by its very nature, is a tool whose ultimate purpose is to kill.

Any swordsman wielding a blade must possess the will to end their opponent with a single strike.

But Rebecca's blades, while high-level in terms of skill, power, and experience…

…her killing intent was simply too light.

To put it another way, if Instructor Baek Seol-hui's sword was a Nuclear Buldak Bokkeummyun with a Scoville rating of 10,000, Rebecca's was, at most, a Jin Ramen Mild—no, perhaps more like the spicy flavor of Tempura Udon.

—If you don't truly understand that, you will eventually be swayed by the blade.

'Ah.'

Instructor Baek Seol-hui's casual remark during training finally began to make sense.

"You—you damn blood-clot bastard!!!!"

Perhaps reading my expression, Rebecca gnashed her teeth and charged.

CRASH—!!

The blades clashed, creating an explosive roar.

The shockwave spread outwards, sweeping through the surroundings.

* * *

Clang! Claang! Claang! Claanggg!!!

In the blink of an eye, dozens of sword strikes were exchanged.

Rebecca intensified the frenzy of her attacks.

From an outsider's perspective, it clearly looked as if Jin Yu-ha was being pushed back.

However, it was Rebecca's blade that was slowly tinged with impatience.

'…Our skill is comparable.'

Her mind felt as if it were being shredded by a judgment that negated all her past efforts and the desperate experiences of being immersed in pools of blood, but it was the truth.

Jin Yu-ha, merely a cadet, was already wielding a blade on par with hers.

Even his mana reserves, a domain of time, seemed to be no less than her own.

Yes, she could concede that much to his exceptional talent.

But even so, it shouldn't have been this equal.

A blade that had never killed a person.

A blade that had never faced a strong opponent, bracing for death in battle.

A blade always wielded casually in a space where life was guaranteed.

That weak, soft blade wasn't losing to her own, a blade that had grown by devouring blood in real combat.

'Why.'

'Why.'

'Whyyyyy!!!!'

Whoosh!

Rebecca's blade once again sliced through the air.

Whiz!

Of course, he couldn't completely avoid it, and minor cuts opened up on his body.

Wounds that would have been life-threatening if he'd been careless.

But the boy before her didn't change his expression, continuing to unleash his own swordplay.

It was she who felt pressured by his composure.

'This won't do…'

Rebecca bit her lip until it bled.

Then, she explosively drew forth her demonic energy and activated a skill.

"Bloodflow Acceleration"

The blood throughout her body began to circulate rapidly, and her demonic energy, in turn, surged through her blood vessels, tearing them apart.

Her body grew hot. Soon, white steam billowed from her entire form.

"Kuh—!"

Rebecca swallowed a groan, enduring the terrible pain inflicted by the skill that gnawed at her own flesh.

However, it was an unavoidable choice, as she couldn't gain the upper hand without using this skill.

Swoosh—!

The tip of her blade, now easily twice as fast as before, swung with a brutal momentum, aimed at his neck.

This strike was absolutely unavoidable.

And soon, Jin Yu-ha's expression also hardened grimly.

'Haha! Just as I thought!'

Rebecca inwardly cheered.

'I'll admit it. You truly are an incredible opponent. Enough to make even me feel a sense of crisis.'

She offered her opponent an honest compliment.

Who would have expected a mere male cadet to push her this far?

She truly never dreamed she'd have to resort to a skill like Bloodflow Acceleration, which damaged her own body.

However,

Jin Yu-ha's eyes sank heavily.

Instead, he lunged forward.

As if he had no intention of dodging the blade aimed at his throat.

And Rebecca's eyes widened.

'He—he's holding the very tip of his hilt…?'

Jin Yu-ha held the very end of his hilt in his palm and thrust it straight forward.

A thrust that maximized the length of both his arm and his blade.

'This—this crazy bastard!'

The two blades extended, as if playing a game of chicken.

If things continued like this, even if Rebecca's blade succeeded in severing Jin Yu-ha's neck, she wouldn't have time to pull back.

Ultimately, his belatedly thrust blade would also pierce her heart.

'Is he trying for a mutual kill?!'

Who would make such a choice in a situation where their life hung by a thread?

Before either attack could reach its target, it was Rebecca who pulled back first.

Thwack!

Thunk!

Her blade, wavering as she pulled back, still buried itself halfway into Jin Yu-ha's shoulder.

And then,

Though she avoided a fatal thrust to her heart by pulling back,

Jin Yu-ha, never losing focus, extended his blade and successfully pierced her abdomen.

"Guh—!"

With the blade lodged in her abdomen, Rebecca's mouth fell open and her eyes widened in shock.

Crunch—!

Jin Yu-ha twisted the blade as if turning a key, then wrenched it out.

"Keugh!?"

As the blade was withdrawn, blood gushed from the pierced wound in her abdomen.

Clutching her stomach, Rebecca retreated further, unable to hide the shock on her face.

Uweeegh—

The psychological pressure. And the surge of congested blood, a reaction from her pierced abdomen.

She couldn't hold it back and vomited blood.

"You—you monster…"

"Hehehe, why are you scared, baldy?"

Jin Yu-ha bared his teeth and grinned.

"In the end, this fight is either you die, or I die. It's one or the other. You knew that from the start, didn't you? So why the face?"

"…"

"Weren't you planning to kill me anyway? So why that expression?"

Goosebumps ran down her spine at the sight of that smile gracing his handsome face.

"You… you monstrous bastard…!!!"

Rebecca roared and brought her blade down from above.

But a blade wielded in fear loses its sharpness.

Jin Yu-ha lightly twisted his body sideways, dodging the blade, then immediately lunged forward and kicked.

Thwack!

His foot connected with the pierced wound.

"Gah!"

Rebecca clutched her wound and tumbled to the ground.

Thump.

Thump.

The heavy sound of approaching footsteps pounded in her eardrums.

Rebecca looked up at him, her eyes trembling uncontrollably.

And on his face, looking down at her, there wasn't a trace of warmth.

"H-how… How could you possibly…?"

Rebecca's voice, as she uttered those words, trembled like an aspen leaf.

Scrabble, scrabble.

Unconsciously, her legs were ugly scraping against the ground, trying to push her away.

As if to get as far away from him as possible.

Then, in her mind, the humiliation and helplessness she had felt recently overlapped with this moment.

Rebecca lifted a trembling finger and pointed at him.

"You… you're…"

Black hair, bob cut.

Yes. It was that woman.

That woman had also looked down at her with the exact same expression.

—Is your leader inside?

At that, Rebecca had nodded, crouching down and hoping for leniency.

And that woman, as if thinking 'trash like this can be dealt with later,' quickly lost interest and headed off to slaughter the boss.

Why was that woman's face overlapping with this boy's?

It was then that a voice echoed in her mind.

[ Do you desire power? ]