Unwilling to give up, Tachibana Koneko attacked again. Although she wasn't the strongest, she didn't believe she would lose to a human.
But no matter how she attacked, she couldn't hit Inaba Tsukiyo; each time, her strike was evaded just before impact.
Even when she secretly used magic to enhance her speed later, Tachibana Koneko still couldn't hit Inaba Tsukiyo. In the one instance where she was most likely to connect, her attack was even neutralized by a special technique that redirected its force.
The battle continued for over ten minutes. During this time, Tachibana Koneko constantly attacked, while Inaba Tsukiyo dodged Tachibana Koneko's attacks, and when she couldn't dodge, she used techniques to hinder her attacks.
'Is this… my current ability? Although Koneko didn't use all her magic in the fight, is my body already completely on par with a devil's?'
Inaba Tsukiyo compared her current combat abilities with her past ones, realizing that her current physical fitness was many times better than before.
If her current self had appeared in the zombie apocalypse back then, she could probably have single-handedly cleared out the entire Megurigaoka City without any pressure.
After continuous training across multiple worlds and gaining some spiritual power from the spirits, although her body could still be called human, she was no longer within the scope of humanity.
"Monster… You're human, so why?"
Finally, Tachibana Koneko sat on the ground, looking somewhat aggrieved at Inaba Tsukiyo.
The battle just now was like an adult playing with a child, only Inaba Tsukiyo was the adult, and she, the child, was completely being toyed with by Inaba Tsukiyo.
It was too frustrating. She even suspected that Inaba Tsukiyo's request to spar was deliberately meant to gain a sense of superiority from her.
"Yes? Why indeed? Perhaps it's because Koneko, you didn't use your devil powers, only your physical abilities, which is why it turned out this way."
"That's not it! Even without using magic, a human's physical abilities simply can't compare to a devil's. If humans could surpass a devil's physical fitness through training, why would anyone bother becoming a devil?!"
If ordinary humans' physical fitness could surpass those who reincarnated as devils, then those reincarnated devils would truly die of shame.
If they couldn't even surpass humans after becoming devils, what good were they? Just wasting air, that's all.
"Besides strength, there are many techniques. Koneko, didn't you say you studied martial arts? I'll show you what human martial arts are like. This was taught to me by a certain immortal for helping her with gacha rolls. I'll show you."
Although it wasn't a glorious matter, she had learned many special martial arts through this opportunity, allowing her to possess considerable combat power even when unarmed.
Taking a deep breath, under Tachibana Koneko's gaze, Inaba Tsukiyo's aura suddenly retracted, and she reverted to being an ordinary human again.
But having learned her lesson, Tachibana Koneko no longer dared to underestimate Inaba Tsukiyo. She stood up from the ground, reinforced her body with magic, and waited for Inaba Tsukiyo's next attack.
Just as she finished reinforcing her body with magic, Inaba Tsukiyo appeared before her with a *swish*.
She saw Inaba Tsukiyo take a small half-step forward with her right foot, and her right hand, placed at her waist, slowly extended in a punch.
Despite the incredibly slow motion, Tachibana Koneko simply couldn't dodge it and could only watch as Inaba Tsukiyo's fist rested at her waist.
"Inch Force: Sky Splitter!"
An explosive attack spread across Tachibana Koneko's abdomen. Even with the reinforcement of magic, her body felt as if it had been hit by a high-speed truck, sending her flying backward.
[Shukuchi]
Using the Shukuchi technique, Inaba Tsukiyo appeared behind Tachibana Koneko. Just as she was about to use a Magic Bullet, Tachibana Koneko was already out of commission.
Feeling that she had been too unfair, Inaba Tsukiyo carried Tachibana Koneko out of the basement and into the living room, placing her on the sofa.
"Yo~ An Inch Force warning? You really are merciless. If a human took that hit from you, they'd probably be dead."
"That's why I didn't use this move on a human. Besides, I only used this move with my original physical abilities, so the power was still within a controllable range. Koneko probably didn't expect me to use an attack that causes internal damage, did she?"
Inaba Tsukiyo ruffled Tachibana Koneko's small head. Like a real cat, Tachibana Koneko rubbed against Inaba Tsukiyo's palm, then turned and took her hand, placing it against her cheek.
She even wondered if Tachibana Koneko was a cat demon.
Tachibana Koneko had mentioned before that she transformed from a yokai into a devil. While asleep, she acted like a kitten, so Inaba Tsukiyo wondered if she was a cat demon.
"Oh, right. You're a swordsman, so why are you playing with fists with her? Aren't you worried she'll be discouraged when she realizes you can defeat her without even using your primary weapon?"
"No, that won't do. If I used Mikazuki Munechika, Koneko would definitely get hurt. Besides…"
"Besides, she's still asleep. It will be a while before she wakes up. If I haven't miscalculated, she should be waking up soon."
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