0p0 #153 - Raikiri vs Raikiri
#153 - Raikiri vs Raikiri
【First year, Zunzun student. Third year, Todo Tōka student. The match time has arrived, please enter the arena.】
Zunzun slowly opened his drowsy eyes.
Body ok, magic ok, spirit gear ok.
Ready Perfectly!
Before him was a dark passage, extending straight ahead towards the entrance gate of the competition arena.
Zunzun pushed open the door without hesitation.
“Waaahhhh——!!!”
“Zunzun student!”
“Go for it!”
The cheers surged like a tidal wave, the transition from silence to noise causing him some slight discomfort.
There are a lot of spectators today.
But that's to be expected, a selection battle between the academy's current strongest and the strongest dark horse. It's a rare opportunity to witness a battle between the strong, this time it would be worth the ticket price even if I died.
“First to enter is the competitor Zunzun, and his achievements can only be described as luxurious…”
The commentator was introducing his glorious history.
But Zunzun wasn't listening, because due to the large number of people and the lack of seats, several students were selecting standing tickets at the entrance, and their conversation attracted his attention.
“Hey, hey, hey, is it for real?”
“The student council president and Zunzun student…”
“What if the student council president loses? She is the pride of our Hagun Academy, if she doesn't advance, how will she compete against the other academy's competitors?”
“—It's simple.”
Zunzun came to their side and said with a smile: “I'll just become the Seven Star Sword King.”
“Zun, Zunzun student…!?”
Amidst the others' astonishment, Zunzun ignored them and walked briskly onto the battlefield.
“So handsome!”
“I'm smitten with him…”
“Me too!”
Arriving at the battlefield, Zunzun's consciousness was completely focused on the person before him.
Approximately 20 meters ahead.
Brown hair danced in the wind, the strongest knight of Hagun Academy slowly walked onto the battlefield, the commentator's shouts also reaching her ears. However, there was no need to elaborate on her achievements.
Student council president, the academy's strongest, semi-finalist in the Four Arts Tournament, Hagun Academy's proudest strongest lightning mage, known as the Lightning Flash.
These titles were loud enough.
This duel was unrelated to fame, both had reasons to defeat their opponent.
The air was thick with tension.
Being stared at by those slightly dim eyes, Zunzun's hair stood on end, without a doubt Todo Tōka had raised her momentum to its peak, without holding back in the slightest.
Zunzun slowly extended his hand.
A bolt of lightning continuously gathered in his hand, the crackling sound growing louder and louder, the audience in the arena subconsciously covered their ears.
“Wh, what's this?”
“This sound is…”
“It's so noisy!”
At a certain moment, the buzzing sound disappeared, the audience's ears experiencing a sense of distortion, the Lightning Sword quietly held in Zunzun's hand.
But if you thought the violent lightning would become gentle, you would be gravely mistaken. The constantly dissipating yellow flashes indicated its restraint, it would only reveal its fangs at the crucial moment.
“Lightning versus lightning! Who exactly is the strongest lightning mage in Hagun Academy!? Then, the fifteenth match—start!”
The buzzer rang loudly.
Announcing the official start of the battle.
Judging from the knight ranking, Zunzun's rank was A, much stronger than Todo Tōka's B.
But what was strange was that most of the Seven Star Sword Kings each year were B-ranked knights, indicating that even if evaluated as A, it wasn't necessarily truly strong, not to mention that Todo Tōka also had the actual achievement of reaching the Four Arts Tournament semi-finals.
After all…making it into the top four was considered a success.
However—
This strong confrontation within Hagun Academy experienced an unexpected turn from the very beginning.
“Wh, what's going on! Why…even though the match has already started, neither side has moved forward to attack! What exactly is happening!”
The commentator shouted in confusion.
Today her partner was still Saikyō Nene, but the nature of that loli old woman was well known, so no one could answer her doubts.
But someone knew.
“—Mutual Stance.”
Kurogane Ikki slowly opened his mouth and said: “It's not that they haven't attacked, but that they already have.”
“What do you mean?”
“Entering another realm of swordsmanship, Mutual Stance. It refers to the state when the deadly grounds of two people with similar strength combine, making it impossible for them to fight even if they want to.
Surrounding the opponent's mental strength with sword intent, this is swordsmanship without using a sword. Facing the pressure of death, the mind will feel fatigued, and aim to attack at that moment of loosening…!”
Kurogane Ikki explained very clearly, but the more Stella and the others listened, the more confused they became.
But he clenched his hands tightly, trembling.
“Right now, President Todo is in a state where she can't move even if she wants to, Zunzun student has a trick up his sleeve…”
From his words, it could be heard.
That Zunzun was in control.
In reality, it was indeed so, Todo Tōka only felt that there were countless invisible swords all around her, aiming at her weaknesses and forcing her to be unable to move.
“Ugh!”
A drop of cold sweat flowed down her forehead.
She was very clear that this was just mental pressure, not a substantive attack, but she always had the illusion that as long as she dared to move forward, she would definitely be killed.
Zunzun student, has your sword intent reached this realm?
…Not really.
This wasn't sword intent, but pure mental pressure, which might be difficult for others, but was very simple for Zunzun, who possessed the innate Great Magus physique.
Stella looked at the battlefield.
“Could this be a battle of endurance?”
“No, right now Zunzun has the absolute advantage, President Todo must make a choice if she wants to win.”
Was she going to recklessly charge forward at the risk of being cut down?
Or break this mental pressure?
“No matter which one, the moment President Todo takes action, the battle situation will immediately undergo a leap in development.”
At the moment Kurogane Ikki finished speaking.
Todo Tōka took action.
“My Crossing Domain is invincible, so no matter what kind of slash, I will destroy them all one by one!”
She bent her knees and leaned her body forward.
Then her body directly propelled forward, instantly increasing her speed to the maximum.
Clearly she had chosen the former.
At this distance, Todo Tōka could approach her opponent in an instant, so even the most skilled person could only attack once, and if that attack was destroyed, she would be the victor!
“A beautiful decision.”
Zunzun praised her for her confidence to the extreme and her unwavering choice to charge, but he wouldn't let his opponent get close so easily.
“Light of Saber!”
The lightning sword in his hand instantly grew longer, like a long whip sweeping towards Todo Tōka.
Not a shot that was easy to dodge, but a wider range, more powerful sweep, forcing Todo Tōka to tumble back and forth, greatly slowing her progress.
In terms of endurance, Zunzun was definitely stronger.
Todo Tōka knew that Zunzun had once competed with Kurogane Shizuku in magic control for half an hour, if things continued like this, she would definitely lose!
So…accelerate again!
She immediately formed a plan in her mind, from evasion to counterattack, stepping on the ground and spinning like a top, aiming at Zunzun in the distance, and drawing out her unique spirit gear, Narukami, hanging at her waist.
The lightning released from the blade instantly transformed into a crescent-shaped magic slash, heading straight for Zunzun's neck.
Not for killing, but for disrupting his stance. Forcing the opponent to simply shoot blasts was not something a swordsman should do, as long as his stance was disrupted…
Zunzun took a step to the side.
In that gap, Todo Tōka instantly seized it, lightning coiling around her legs, and arriving in front of Zunzun in the blink of an eye.
“This is…?”
“Silent Steps.”
As Kurogane Ikki was surprised, the voice of a young girl came from beside him, it was Saikyō Nene, who was originally supposed to be commentating in the studio.
She smiled and greeted everyone.
“Teacher Saikyō, that thing you just said…”
“Yes, that move is called Silent Steps, it is a technique produced by combining the breathing method and footwork of ancient martial arts. If I had to say it…”
Saikyō Nene instantly appeared in front of Stella, five meters away from her. Just as she was about to get handsy, her hands were held down.
“…Little boy, you seem to be able to see me?”
“Barely. Because I have also had the honor of seeing this move, and I roughly understand what the principle is.”
Saikyō Nene originally wanted to tease them, but she didn't expect that someone could see through it.
“You said you understand, could it be…”
“Ah. This move is ineffective against Zunzun.”
This was one of the usages of line-of-sight guidance, although Silent Steps added the breathing method and footwork, it was hard to say which was stronger.
She succeeded!
Just as Todo Tōka arrived in front of Zunzun, her hand on Narukami about to unleash that sure-kill technique, she suddenly saw Zunzun's red eyes, clearly reflecting her figure.
“H, how could this be…?”
“Light of Saber!”
Zunzun's hand slid down, almost touching her lower abdomen, and released his attack magic with all his might.
“Cough!”
Suffering a violent blow, Todo Tōka was instantly sent flying backwards, rolling several times on the ground, and only stopping her backward slide by propping herself up with her unique spirit gear, Narukami.
“Cough cough…you can see me?”
Her confusion went unanswered, but clearly this move had already been broken.
As expected of Zunzun.
It must be known that this was a technique created by the Fighting God Nangō Toraji, a technique that even if you knew the principle, you wouldn't necessarily be able to break.
It was impossible for humans to collect all the information completely like machines.
Silent Steps, on the other hand, used a special breathing method and footwork to slip its existence into the opponent's subconscious.
So ordinary people, even if they captured her movements, their consciousness would be classified as unnecessary information, and therefore unable to identify it.
But Zunzun—those eyes just now were indeed chasing after her.
“As expected, it's the same.”
Kurogane Ikki pondered and said: “Although Silent Steps utilizes the breathing method and footwork, it has great limitations. It can't let the opponent discover it, it must carefully perform half-step breathing (meaning taking half a step with each breath), and then gently move the body to quietly slip into the subconscious from the cracks in consciousness…”
“Are you saying that Nangō Toraji's technique is not worth mentioning!?”
Saikyō Nene stomped her feet angrily, her tall wooden clogs clacking.
Stella had a confused and puzzled expression.
“Why is Teacher Saikyō angry?”
“Because this guy once received guidance from him.”
The one who answered was the chairwoman, Shingūji Kurono.
Hearing that name, Ikki Kurogane couldn't hide the surprise on his face. The Battle God, Tatsuya Nanjō, was his grandfather Ryōma Kurogane's lifelong rival, a veritable living legend.
Becoming his disciple already says a lot. No wonder she's the current third-ranked Yasha Princess in the Knight League.
"It seems Master Nanjō took considerable care of her during the middle school training camp, and she started receiving his guidance afterward."
"Hold on a minute, Kuro! I've never once considered that old man my teacher!"
"Stop being shy. Isn't your wooden clog style imitating his?"
"That's not true!"
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Nene Saikyō stomped her wooden clogs again, sounding like an adorable but stubbornly contrary little girl.
"Speaking of which..."
The chairwoman, Kurono Shingūji, looked at the two in the arena and said, "Takeru can see through 'Silent Steps.' Now it's Tōka Tōdō who's in trouble."
"Yes, I think that's likely."
Ikki Kurogane agreed.
Regardless, given Takeru's nature, he will definitely retaliate in kind.
Sure enough.
In the arena, Takeru took only one step forward and was already in front of Tōka Tōdō, his Thunderclap Sword mercilessly swinging towards her neck.
Exactly the same move Tōka Tōdō had used just now!
"Wh-wh-what!? Takeru is using Tōdō's move! Could it be that their master is the same person!?"
The commentator shouted.
Tōka Tōdō barely managed to block the attack, but because she couldn't gather her strength in time, she was sent flying by Takeru's powerful blow.
Just as she tried to stand up again, Takeru appeared behind her and attacked again. This repeated several times.
"Silent Steps" itself has a way to be countered.
Just consciously face your subconscious.
Although it's difficult to actually put into practice, she still knows how to break it, not to mention she also has the "Flash Eye!"
"Flash Eye" observes the flow of electromagnetic currents instead of using sight, so even if Takeru can use his line of sight to mislead and hide his figure, he will be exposed under the electromagnetic flow!
So, manifest yourself—
But just as she used Flash Eye to observe the entire world, her body instantly stiffened, and she abruptly jumped back to create distance.
"—You fell for it."
Takeru smirked.
The Flash Eye's ability is well-known, and under Tōka Tōdō's use, it's even more masterful. How could he not guard against this?
Takeru and Tōka Tōdō continued to clash.
However, the student council president, who should have been invincible within her Interception Range, became hesitant and unable to attack.
She didn't even dare to draw Narukami.
"What on earth is going on!? Is President Tōdō holding back? No, that's impossible! Then what's happening? Takeru has sealed President Tōdō's Narukami!"
The commentator's shout caused an uproar in the audience. They had no idea what was happening.
Even Ikki Kurogane was at a loss.
Nene Saikyō smirked and said, "Wakaka, that kid's pretty clever!"
"Yes, to think he'd come up with that."
Chairwoman Kurono Shingūji also praised him slightly.
"Um... Teacher Saikyō, Chairwoman, what's going on?"
"It's a disguise."
Nene Saikyō seemed very pleased, and she explained to the others, "You know Tōka has the Flash Eye ability, right?"
"Yes, Flash Eye observes the flow of electromagnetic currents instead of using sight. This move allows President Tōdō to determine the opponent's true location and can break through all illusionary skills."
Ikki Kurogane nodded.
This is information that almost everyone at Hagun Academy knows, but no one has been able to break it.
"But that can also become her weakness."
"...What do you mean?"
"That kid (Takeru) has created many illusions using lightning in the arena."
"How is that possible! That requires an incredibly high level of magical power control... Ah!"
"Looks like you've figured it out."
Nene Saikyō laughed.
Indeed, everyone has their own magnetic field, and no matter how much they disguise themselves, they will be broken through by Tōka Tōdō's Flash Eye. But Takeru used his extremely high magical power control to create a false image, confusing Tōka Tōdō's eyes.
Unable to discern the enemy's location, she doesn't dare to attack rashly and expose any openings, indirectly sealing her strongest move.
"A genius-like method!"
"The prerequisite is having extremely high magical power control to support it."
It requires even stronger control than Shizuku Kurogane.
Stella innocently asked, "Um... why can't we see it?"
"Because Takeru only simulated the magnetic field."
Each attribute has its own characteristics.
If it were Shizuku Kurogane's water attribute, she might be able to simulate a water clone of her appearance, but Takeru's lightning element is not possible. Even if he were to condense one, it would just be a little yellow man.
I wonder if this will become foreshadowing.
No, it has already become foreshadowing.
Although Takeru simulated clones, it doesn't mean he created something from nothing. At first, Tōka Tōdō was indeed a little flustered, but she quickly found Takeru's true body and continued to entangle and fight with him.
By fighting, she gained a better understanding of Takeru, thereby distinguishing the difference between the main body and the clones.
This President is very strong.
The two sides separated.
No, they had to separate.
Unbeknownst to when, Takeru had already been forced to the edge of the arena.
"Here it comes! Takeru's unfavorable start, frequent blunders, desperate struggles, and inevitable defeat! Will he deliver a victory speech as usual next! Let us wait and see!"
The commentator shouted loudly.
Takeru looked at Ikki Kurogane and the others in the audience, and found that they all had slightly nervous expressions, seemingly worried about whether he could win.
And in front...
Tōka Tōdō had already assumed her stance.
That was her ultimate technique.
The strongest weapon Tōka Tōdō possesses is within the attack range of the long sword in her hand—the Interception Range.
The name "Ultimate Technique" is by no means an exaggeration.
That move is too powerful, too distinct, leaving a deep impression on others, and people use her Blade Art as her title.
—Lightning Flash.
Tōka Tōdō can use the power of lightning to generate a strong magnetic field between the scabbard and the blade of the Narukami at her waist, ejecting the blade from the scabbard.
The slash unleashed by drawing the sword possesses dimensional power and speed, even enough to cut through falling lightning. It is almost impossible for mere humans to cope with such an attack.
Hence, it is called a "sure kill."
"In the matches President Tōdō has participated in so far, as long as she uses Lightning Flash, that match ends in victory without exception. Once her Lightning Flash is drawn, it will surely kill the opponent, a veritable family heirloom."
"But Ikki, isn't the student council president one of the top four from last year? The knight who won against the student council president at that time should have successfully broken through Lightning Flash, right?"
"No. The current Seven Stars Sword King is a spearman, and he has never stepped into the attack range of Lightning Flash. In other words, even the Seven Stars Sword King is afraid of her Lightning Flash. So far, no one has been able to break through President Tōdō's Interception Range. Her ultra-fast slash that surpasses lightning will kill all who step into it."
"How could this be...!"
Stella looked worriedly at Takeru, who had been forced to the edge of the arena and had to face Tōka Tōdō.
"Doesn't that mean..."
"Ah, this is the end."
Ikki Kurogane also didn't have much hope for Takeru.
After all, Tōka Tōdō has actual combat results. The opponent's Interception Range is a domain that even the previous Seven Stars Sword King dared not set foot in. He doesn't think Takeru will win.
However—
Takeru was calm and composed, without any of the panic of being cornered. He slowly raised his right hand, and the Thunderclap Sword that was enough to fight Tōka Tōdō continued to shrink, condense, and finally hover in his hand.
Zzzzzz!
The chaotic sound reappeared. Because the current was very strong, it made a sound like a thousand birds chirping.
Although Tōka Tōdō was also accumulating power with lightning, the chirping sound was not as strong as Takeru's. Even Tōka Tōdō herself noticed the terrifying pressure contained within.
I have to dodge!
...Dodge?
What a joke!
Her Interception Range is the territory dominated by Lightning Flash. It has never been breached once. Even if the enemy invades the territory, how can the lord shamelessly escape from their own territory?
Not to mention that she was the one who forced the enemy into a dead end this time!
For Tōka Tōdō, Interception Range is her strongest range. Where else can she fight after giving way?
Therefore!
She strode forward, inputting lightning into the scabbard of Narukami. That stance was exactly the move made with the family heirloom.
An undefeated strike!
Once unleashed, no one will be left alive, all will be killed.
Takeru felt her determination. The Thunderclap Sword, which had been constantly shrinking, condensing, and swirling in his right hand, condensed several degrees further.
The lightning had become substantial, changing from yellow to pure yellow, then to bluish-white, and even with a hint of black inside.
To express respect.
I will use all my magical power to perform this move.
"Haaaah— — — —"
"Haaaah— — — —"
Both sides charged from the shortest distance! Takeru used his hand as a sword, charging in the form of a thrust. The powerful current broke through the slash condensed by lightning with a point-to-surface attack.
His unmatched momentum stepped into Tōka Tōdō's absolute domain, using this sharpest lightning sword (arm) to fiercely seize her heart.
In the next moment, the two embraced.
The Inherited Device Narukami shattered.
A hand pierced through her chest.
"Cough cough... A beautiful move... The name... is?"
"—Lightning Flash."
"Just like... mine..."
Tōka Tōdō's mouth was bloody, her hands drooped weakly, and she closed her eyes contentedly in Takeru's arms.
"The winner has been decided!"
"The winner is Takeru!"
Under the commentator's shouts, the next moment, applause thundered, and amidst the cheers like a torrential rain, Takeru, holding Tōka Tōdō, slowly raised his free left hand, announcing his victory.