The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet

Chapter 388: Going Through the Trials, Part 2

(TL:By Rafael,valhallatls.blogspot.com)

"Ugh!?"

A barrage of fighting spirit arrows rained down like a storm.

Because of the rapid fire, the power was likely weaker than the first shot, but I had no intention of confirming that with my body.

"That's way too unfair! Take this… Fireball Multi-Shot!" "I'll join in... Levain Thunder!"

I fired multiple fireballs again, aiming at Shigure-san as she flew through the air.

Chiffon cast a wide-range lightning spell that seemed to cover the entire sky.

With our combined attacks leaving no gaps, it felt like we might have her... but reality isn't that simple.

Shigure-san increased her flying speed even more.

And that wasn’t all.

With sharp curves, sudden stops, reversals... she dodged our attacks with acrobatic maneuvers that could be performed in a circus.

"What!? N-no way... I didn't expect all of our attacks to hit, but at least one should have!" 

"This... maybe we were deceived from the start." 

"What do you mean?" 

"We were told the Wolf tribe can do anything with their fighting spirit... but that’s probably not the full story. Rather than saying it's a lie, it's more like they didn’t tell us everything. They don’t just ‘do anything.’ The true strength of the Wolf tribe is their super high-performance mobility, which allows for tricky movements like the ones we just saw." 

"...Did they anticipate this and hide that from us on purpose?" 

"I think so."

As if to confirm our suspicions, Shigure-san, still flying, grinned at us.

"Hmm, you caught on, huh? You seem to be pretty sharp." 

"That's not very nice of you." 

"Sorry about that. Even though Sakura has taken a liking to you, I don't easily trust humans. I wouldn’t reveal all my cards so easily to someone like that."

It's a fair point.

The issue here is that I trusted Shigure-san too much.

I should have been more skeptical.

But... I’m not good at that kind of thing.

Maybe I'm being too soft, but I still want to stay true to myself.

"Now then, shall we continue the battle? We Wolf tribe specialize in mobility... whether on the ground or in the sky, we can use everything as our foothold and move through it all. For example, I can even do this."

"What...!?"

Shigure-san vanished.

It was as if the person we were just talking to was an illusion, disappearing completely.

It wasn’t just me seeing things—Chiffon, standing next to me, was just as shocked.

A magic spell to make herself invisible?

No, this is...

"Chiffon!"

"Eek!?"

I instinctively pulled Chiffon toward me.

Right after, there was a loud whoosh, as if something had torn through the air.

When I looked up again, Shigure-san had reappeared.

"Wow, you actually dodged that. I’ll give you credit. You sensed the slightest disturbance in the air and instinctively moved to shield her, right?" 

"Was that... Shigure-san just now?" 

"Indeed. Skilled Wolf tribe members can move so fast they're invisible to the naked eye. Plus, it’s not just two-dimensional movement; we can operate in three-dimensional space. Not to brag, but no one’s ever caught me before. So, shall we keep going?"

"Of course."

Shigure-san raised an eyebrow in mild surprise at my immediate response.

"I'm going to rescue Iris. No matter how difficult the path, giving up is not an option."

"Hmm... very well. Let’s see how long you can keep saying that."

Once again, Shigure-san accelerated to an unimaginable speed, disappearing from sight.

Sounds echoed all around, and the air was disturbed.

It seemed like she was deliberately trying to unsettle us by moving unpredictably.

Chiffon and I pressed our backs together, prepared for an attack from any direction.

"Rain-kun, what should we do? Honestly, I can't think of any way to catch her... Can you do it?" 

"If everything goes well." "Wait, really!?"

"But I need your help. Do you trust me?"

"Of course."

Chiffon answered immediately, and her trust was incredibly reassuring.

I won’t betray that trust—I’ll do my best.

"Oh? So you’re claiming you can catch me. Go ahead and try."

The pressure from Shigure-san intensified, and I could feel a prickling sensation in the air.

"Chiffon, when I give the signal..." 

"...Yeah, got it."

I explained the plan, and then we waited for the right moment.

We stayed on full alert... and then, the moment arrived.

"!? "

Shigure-san suddenly appeared right in front of me.

This time, I couldn’t perceive her at all. It was as if time itself had stopped.

But it went exactly as planned.

I figured that if I provoked her by claiming I could catch her, she’d come after me.

That prediction hit the mark perfectly.

However, just luring her into an attack wouldn’t be enough to win. I had to seal off her overwhelming mobility.

**Magic Eye... Activate!**

And then—

"Stop!"

"!?"

I hurled a powerful command with my voice.

Even though she was hit by two binding techniques at once... Shigure-san’s movements didn’t come to a complete halt. Though her speed had slowed enough for me to perceive her, she was still incredibly fast.

But I had expected that.

"Material Creation!"

I conjured walls of earth, enclosing both Shigure-san and myself.

"Chiffon!"

"Yeah, here we go! **Paralyze Thunder!**"

White lightning rained down from above.

No matter how impressive her mobility, there was no way she could dodge this.

Just in case, I held on to Shigure-san, ensuring she would take the lightning strike with me.

"Gah!"

Even though it wasn’t an offensive spell, it still hurt quite a bit.

But it wasn’t unbearable.

"Ugh... Wh-what is this...!?"

The combination of my Magic Eye, my powerful command, and Chiffon’s paralyzing spell had taken its toll, even on someone like Shigure-san. While she was still conscious, she could no longer move. She sank to her knees on the ground.

I had also been struck by the same spell, but thanks to my **Status Ailment Immunity** ability, I was perfectly fine aside from the pain.

"...To think that I, of all people, would be brought to my knees. I did underestimate you a little, but to this extent... That was a truly impressive combination. Did you two plan that in advance?"

"No, we came up with it on the spot."

"In such a short amount of time, to pull off something like that... A power with clear intent. A strong will. The kindness to instinctively protect your comrades... Yes, I’ve seen enough. I admit defeat."

Raising both hands in surrender, Shigure-san signaled her defeat.

In that moment, the crowd of people—both the onlookers and the other members of the Wolf tribe—who had been holding their breath, burst into loud cheers and applause.

TL Note: In my defense, It was 2 vs 1........

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