To become a king and a magician

however--

(If this continues... I'll die!)

As he continued to suffer injuries, Miyamoto Musashi, whose body had developed numerous small wounds, thought to himself.

Even though the two are now roughly evenly matched due to various reasons, Miyamoto Musashi is human, a human with limits, and cannot fight endlessly like Hozoin Inshun.

If she continues to be injured like this, she will die from excessive blood loss!

"laugh--!"

The spear tip flashed past Miyamoto Musashi's eyes, and a sharp pain shot through his forehead. A crimson tinge gradually appeared in Miyamoto Musashi's right eye.

(Forehead injury! Vision obstructed by blood... Damn it, I didn't dodge completely!)

Emerging from the high-speed offensive and defensive battle, Miyamoto Musashi gasped for breath—obstructed vision was the worst possible situation for her, making it difficult to judge distances and detect attacks from outside her field of vision.

not to mention......

(There's been a lot of blood loss, and consciousness is starting to return...)

Holding his slightly dizzy head, Miyamoto Musashi took a deep breath and bit his tongue to force himself to wake up.

We can't drag this out any longer; we must decide the winner as quickly as possible!

We must ensure that Hozoin Inshun is killed!

"Buzz~~~~~"

Golden light suddenly shone on Miyamoto Musashi's twin swords, swirling and floating around her like a cluster of asteroids orbiting her planet, before surging into the swords.

(Is this... the knife responding to my thoughts? No, it's... the tiger?)

For no apparent reason, Miyamoto Musashi felt as if Natsukawa Torato was gripping the sword from behind, just like him.

The [Spirit's Blessing] from Natsukawa Torato doesn't simply enhance Miyamoto Musashi's power; it provides her with power based on her thoughts. The stronger the thoughts, the greater the power provided.

Releasing magic power is merely the minimum limit of power.

"Buzz~~~~~"

Light shimmered on the twin swords as Miyamoto Musashi raised his blades and instinctively unleashed a slash!

The streak of light transformed into a shooting star, piercing through space!

"Pfft!"

With the enhancement of his power, Miyamoto Musashi's speed increased several times over, and he pierced Hozoin Inshun's chest with a direct strike, then slashed down!

A sensation of something being severed reached her palm, and at the same time, the body of Hozoin Inshun, which had been cut in two, turned into countless specks of light and began to drift into the sky.

"Did I... win?"

Miyamoto Musashi was somewhat stunned; the excessive blood loss had impaired her judgment.

Natsukawa Tora, who had been watching from a distance, reached out and supported her swaying body: "Well, it's alright. Good job, Musashi. I've taken care of things on my end too."

A vibrant green light shone in Natsukawa Tiger's palm, gently covering Miyamoto Musashi's wounds and healing them.

(Even with the sword I upgraded for her, she still got beaten up like this. It seems she still has a long way to go to reach the Miyamoto Musashi I know... Oh well, she fought a really hard battle, so it's a good thing for her.)

"Lord Tiger."

Tomoe Gozen walked over: "Would you like me to help her up?"

"Okay, I'll leave it to you. I'm a little nervous helping her up; my hand might touch something inappropriate." Natsukawa Torama tossed Miyamoto Musashi to Tomoe Gozen, and at the same time summoned a strong gust of wind that lifted the three of them into the sky.

"Then, let's go back."

"Yes."

In one night, two heroic swordsmen were eliminated, leaving five riders remaining.

(If I remember correctly, there should be a few riders in Tuqi City... I'll check on them tomorrow, that's enough for tonight.)

12. You were originally Cao Cao's traitor?

Miyamoto Musashi woke up to the aroma of food.

The moment she opened her eyes, her nose immediately detected the aroma of rice and cooked meat.

Is someone cooking?

Looking at the familiar wooden ceiling, Miyamoto Musashi knew he was currently lying in that wooden house in the castle town, and as for the person who would cook for him here—

"Tiger?"

Turning his head to look in the direction from which the aroma was coming, Miyamoto Musashi saw Natsukawa Tora and a woman in white clothes with white hair standing next to a stove that was clearly not from this era, busy preparing food together like a couple.

Hearing the voice behind him, Natsukawa Torama turned around: "You're awake, Musashi. You slept until now, are you a pig?"

"I slept until now... Oh right, I remember I was..."

The last memory remaining in his mind was the image of him killing Hozoin Inshun with a single blow.

"Did I kill Lord Yinshun?"

“Yes, after that you lost too much blood and just fell into a deep sleep. You’ve been sleeping until now, and it took quite a bit of effort to drag you back from outside.” Natsukawa Tora said as he moved closer to Miyamoto Musashi. “It’s unbelievable that you would do something like that. Although I didn’t expect you to defeat Hozoin Inshun without getting hurt, to injure yourself like that, are you just a muscle woman whose mind is only focused on attacking? Is Miyamoto Musashi’s swordsmanship all about attacking and trading blows?”

"Um...uh...this..."

Natsukawa Tora's aggressive manner made Miyamoto Musashi shrink back and look away: "Well... should I say I got carried away, or that I overestimated myself... Yin Shun's spear technique is so beautiful that I can't help but want to fight him a little longer."

"So you ended up getting yourself all injured?"

"Um......"

"Are you an idiot?"

"I'm so sorry..."

Miyamoto Musashi lowered his head so much that it was almost buried in his chest.

Meanwhile, the white-haired woman—Tomoe Gozen—also turned around: "Alright, alright, Lord Torata, don't make things difficult for Musashi. To be able to fight that Yin Shun to this point and still win with the final blow is already a remarkable achievement. She should be praised."

"Then her butt will be sticking up to the sky right away."

"It's not a butt! If I had to say, it's a nose—no, you're..."

After instinctively retorting, Miyamoto Musashi belatedly realized who was speaking, and quickly rolled to the side to pick up the two swords leaning against the wall: "ArcherInferno!? Why are you here!?"

“She’s no longer the Heroic Swordsman,” Natsukawa Torama said. “Well, that’s a long story, Musashi, calm down first, and I’ll explain it to you slowly later—Aba, is lunch ready?”

"Yes, Lord Tiger, everything is ready."

"Let's talk while we eat."

——————————————————————————————————

A few minutes later.

"Awoo awoo... So you mean... awoo... Lord Hanago... awoo... you're back to normal?"

After listening to Natsukawa Torato's explanation starting from the Seventh Singularity, Miyamoto Musashi spoke while eating his rice.

Natsukawa Tora nodded: "After shattering the karmic burden buried in her spirit core, Aba returned to normal. The reason she still exists now is because I gave her a new spirit core—and Musashi, finish your meal before we talk."

"Aww... Hmm!"

After swallowing all the food in his mouth, Miyamoto Musashi took a sip of water: "Alright, I understand. It's a pleasure to meet you, Tomoe Gozen-sama. I've long admired your reputation. I am Miyamoto Musashi, and for now, I'm working alongside Tora as a guest in his house. Please take care of me."

"I am the one. Please take care of me from now on, Miss Musashi. If there is anything you need, please feel free to ask Tomoe for help. It is something that Tomoe, who has survived to this world with a serious crime, should do."

"Hmm!" Miyamoto Musashi nodded with a smile. "But... Tiger, you're really amazing."

"what do you mean?"

"Once a Servant's spirit core is shattered, they disappear, right? I've heard you mention that before, but you managed to give Lady Tomoe Gozen a new spirit core, allowing her to remain in the mortal world. What amazing method did you use?"

"this......"

"Waaah..."

Upon hearing Miyamoto Musashi mention this matter, Natsukawa Torato was speechless, and Tomoe Gozen blushed, fidgeting with her hands and feet as if she didn't know what to do.

Completely oblivious to the change in the two, Miyamoto Musashi continued, "With such formidable skills, it would be great if you were there when I killed Lord Yinshun. That way, Lord Yinshun could also—"

"I would rather die than do that!"

Natsukawa Torato abruptly interrupted Miyamoto Musashi's reverie.

Giving Hōzōin Inshun a new spirit core? Well, rationally speaking, that's fine. He's a top-tier spearman whose spear skills have reached the realm of gods and Buddhas. Restoring him to normal would definitely be a great help.

But Natsukawa Tora couldn't accept it physiologically. This might sound like a double standard, but he absolutely refused to have any mucous membrane contact with a man!

Seeing Natsukawa Torata's sudden strong reaction, Miyamoto Musashi was somewhat taken aback: "What's wrong with you? Why are you so resistant...?"

"Lord Musashi," Tomoe Gozen, still blushing, whispered in Miyamoto Musashi's ear, "Actually, the method Lord Torata used on me was..."

"Oh, oh... Eh!?"

Upon hearing the method, Miyamoto Musashi, like Tomoe Gozen, instantly blushed deeply: "Is...is this method?"

"What else did you think?" Natsukawa Tora said irritably, "That was the only method at the time, okay?"

"But that's not right... I remember that Tomoe-sama is the same as Minamoto no Yoshinaka-sama..."

Miyamoto Musashi looked at Tomoe Gozen: "Is this alright for you?"

"Tomoe thinks it's fine, after all, the situation was urgent at the time. Although I feel sorry for Yoshinaka-sama, I think he will understand after he understands the situation," Tomoe Gozen explained. "Moreover, for this one time in the world, Tomoe has already decided to fight for Torara-sama and live for Torara-sama."

"Wow... such a mature reaction... that's what adults are all about..."

Hearing Tomoe Gozen's sincere heartfelt words, Miyamoto Musashi couldn't help but lean closer to Natsukawa Torato and lower his voice.

"Tiger, I have a question for you. Answer me seriously."

"what's up?"

"You...you don't actually like widows, do you?"

Natsukawa Torato: "??"

What is this stupid swordsman saying?