Catgirls And Dungeons-Chapter 265: Combat sense!

(Hahaha! Alter! Alter! Kick her ass!)

(I'm so excited right now—wooohooo!)

I'm practically screaming with excitement inside my head.

Eris has been bullying me this whole time. But now that Alter is awake, it's finally our turn to bully her back!

Muahahaha!

(LET'S GO!!!)

(Tch—quiet. I'm trying to focus here.) Alter snaps, closing her eyes and letting out a slow breath.

(O-oh… sorry! I—I was just too excited!)

(Haha, I know.) Alter grins. (Honestly, I can't wait to see her reaction when she gets her ass kicked.)

As we chat, a wide grin spreads across our face. With Alter in control now, it's her expression too, and I can tell she's just as excited to finally face Eris through our soul connection.

Then a thought hits me.

(But Eris is really strong… and you just recovered.) I hesitate. (Is it actually possible to beat her? We've got less than a minute left!)

Even with Alter's strength, this feels like an impossible feat.

(Nah, don't worry.) Alter replies confidently. (It won't even take thirty seconds.)

(What?! Really?!)

(Hmph. Who do you think I am?)

With Alter sounding that confident, my own worries vanish instantly.

Eris…

Just you wait!

***

Meanwhile, Eris seems to notice something off. Her expression tightens, turning sharp and serious as she stares at me, like I've suddenly grown something weird on my face.

"Hmmm…" Eris furrows her brows. "Felicia, did you do something? You seem… different?" she asks.

(Eeeek!)

I panic instantly.

(Oh no, Alter! She noticed! We're busted!)

(Haha, relax. There's no way she can figure it out that easily.) Alter replies with a grin, though I can feel a bead of sweat sliding down our temple. (But I have to admit… she has frighteningly sharp instincts.)

(Yeah…) I nod inside my mind.

It's like she has a sixth sense or something. Honestly, that's a little scary.

(Alright. Stay quiet and leave this to me.)

(Nn!)

And so—

"Oh, come on," Alter says with a sweet smile, looking straight at Eris. "I'm your cute little Felicia. Can't you go easy on me just this once?"

"Hmmm…" Eris still looks cautious. "I don't know why, but I feel like I might lose if I do that."

"Awww, come on!" Alter presses, swinging the sword a couple of times to loosen her wrist. "There's only one minute left. There's no way you could lose, right?" she narrows her eyes dangerously.

"Hmmm… sure then." Eris smiles—and then—

Vzzt!

Vzzt!

She vanishes again, leaving a trail of afterimages behind!

(Aaaa!)

(Damn it!)

I scream inside my head.

I knew it! Eris is such a liar! She said she'd go easy on us—so why does it feel like she's moving even faster now?!

But whatever—none of that matters now!

(Alter, get her!!!)

(Tch, what am I, your pet?)

And almost at the same time—

WOOSSH!

I hear it, the sound of Eris attacking!

Before, every time I heard that sound, it was already too late. Eris was moving faster than sound itself or something!

Aaaa!

It's so over! 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

But then–

Whoosh!

Eris… missed again?! Her fish sword struck nothing but air.

Somehow, with Alter controlling my body, we moved so fast it shocked even me, completely slipping out of Eris's attack!

Yes—Alter dodged her strike from behind!

Then — Woosh!

Another one!

WHAT?!

I'm utterly bewildered.

She didn't even look back.

How the heck did she do that?! Can Alter see behind her back or something?

(Two things, Felicia.) Alter grins.

(First— You don't need to see Eris to know what she's about to do. You can read her actions just by watching the afterimages.)

Ooooooh!

The moment she says it, I get it!

Afterimages!

By observing their stance shifts, spacing, flicker rate, and even how sharply they form, Alter can tell exactly when Eris is about to strike. Just a tiny change, a split second, is enough to act!

(And second.) Alter continues. (Your idea of channeling demonic power into your eyes was good. But vision isn't always the best sense, you know?)

(Huh?!)

…Not the best sense?

Then what is it?

(You mean… hearing?)

(Uh-huh!) Alter confirms.

Right…

RIGHT!

How the heck did I not think of that?

If I rely only on vision, then first, enemies can easily fool me with visual tricks and afterimages! And second, my eyes can only see what's in front of me. I can't guard against attacks coming from every direction!

But sound?

Sound fixes both problems.

If I can hear better, I can tell which movements are real and which are fake. I can react to attacks from behind, from the sides, from everywhere! It's a much better indicator in a fight like this!

Of course, learning how to rely on sound and react to it properly would be insanely hard…

But that's something I'll have to work on later! I will have Alter teaches me, as she has now woken up!

(Hmmm… looks like you can be pretty smart sometimes, huh?) Alter teases.

(Yeah! Thanks, Alter!)

But then—

As Eris attacks again, and Alter dodges just as effortlessly—

(Wait a minute…)

I suddenly realize something else.

(What?) Alter replies.

(What if an attack is faster than sound? Then how the heck do you dodge that?)

Yeah…

I can't shake the feeling that Eris is moving faster than sound itself. And if that's true, then no matter how sharp my hearing is, I'd never be able to sense her in time!

…Right?

(Well, there are things that's even more reliable than image and sound, you know?) Alter grins.

(Huh? Like what?)

(Mana.)

(Ma… mana? How?)

But Alter doesn't answer.

Guess she needs to focus on the fight now!

WWWOSH!

Eris swings her fish sword again, but Alter spins halfway, slips past the strike, and—

Squish!

Her foot comes down right on top of Eris's plush fish, pinning it down to the ground!

"WHAT—?!" Eris's eyes widen in shock.

She tries to yank the fish free from Alter's foot—but she can't!

Alter doesn't hesitate. She follows up with a wide side kick so fast I can barely register my leg moving.

WWWWOOOOSH!

Eris does dodge it—by a hair's breadth—bending backward just in time, but—

BOOOOM!

An explosion erupts.

A mana arc, born from Alter's kick, tears through the air, shatters the sound barrier, and detonates among the trees hundreds of meters ahead!

The world trembles.

Utter DEVASTATION!

(W-what—…)

I'm frozen in shock.

Eris is frozen too.

Only Alter remains calm.

She grins.

Then—bop—she casually plants her heel on top of Eris's head.

"I win," she smiles, fangs peaking out.

…

…

(AAAAAA! ALTER!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!)

(WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ERIS?!)