Chapter 1017 - Since the Day My Heart Was Stolen
────I'd always been good at putting in the effort.
It wasn't that I had some abnormal mentality where I didn't feel the hardship. How should I put it? I was good at igniting a motivation that outweighed the pain. That's probably it.
Come to think of it, I was like that long before I met my master.
Long before I adopted the mantra, 'If you can do it, you can do it, so believe you can and work hard.'
When I decide to do something, I see it through.
I just keep running, single-mindedly, until I get there.
Whether it was dedicating three years of my youth to fighting the part-time job war, or balancing that with my studies to get first in my grade and pass the entrance exams for a top-tier school, or any of the other over-the-top results I've achieved.
Looking back now, it all feels inevitable.
I need to properly evaluate myself, as someone once said. Not out of conceit, but with pride, I will now declare it loud and clear… I will proudly proclaim that I am undeniably 'special.'
I am────a genius at making effort bear fruit.
"Keep up, Ashe!!"
"…────!"
It's precisely because I'm the one who pretends to be normal, yet is less normal than anyone, that I was able to meet you all.
One minute since the battle began, and we're evenly matched. Wielding the jade blade of [Samidorizuki] myself, in concert with the twin blades of my two subordinate arms, I'm finally able to achieve this three-pronged assault. I can't help but thrill to my very core.
The platinum sword of my right arm rushes forward. She dodges it by a hair's breadth with a hazy, fluid movement.
The gray-scaled sword of my left arm flashes. Riding the recoil from our clashing 'swords,' her repelled form vanishes into thin air.
And then,
""Tch…────!!""
We cross in an instant. At the culmination of having completely read each other's thoughts, a silver flash and a jade flash meet with a resounding roar. Amidst the shockwave and sound that tear through space, we are locked in yet another of countless clashes────neither of us yielding an inch.
Yes, a clash. In other words,
I can now go head-to-head with the one and only [Sword Queen].
"Tch…!"
"Stop smiling! You think you've got this in the bag?! HRAAAGH!!"
The dual arms—the Trams—follow up. With my avatar's output at maximum, I press the blade of [Samidorizuki] forward, making her 'sword' waver ever so slightly, and bring down the raw violence of mass that is a greatsword swung as lightly as a dagger.
In short, two fist strikes from above. As expected, there's no feedback.
Yeah, I knew it, I knew it!!!
I pivot and react instantly. My answer to the sword aura flaring behind me—that is, the follow-up to her counter—is already loaded. Kesshiki Ittoryu, Third Strike────!!
"Ngh, guh…?!"
Habakiri────the sole defensive sword of the Kesshiki Ittoryu style, which strikes down any and all approaching threats with countless instances of Flying Water. When the very start of your technique is battered like that, even the 'strongest' is bound to have their sword arm waver, if only slightly.
Or rather, my wish for that to be the case was successfully granted, because,
"'Weiss Schwarz.'"
"Tch…"
I don't let up the assault.
I switch my grip on the sword from my right hand to my left. Unleashed from my five fingers are threads of shadow. As she dodges the 'sword'—which, however minutely, has lost its precision—by tilting her head, I simultaneously weave the threads into────
"Dual Tail!!"
Using the two arms of my Angalta on my left and right as substitute towers, it's an impromptu solo recreation of a combo I do with my partner. A binding chain of shadow threads, established with the massive wedges as its anchor points.
Just tying her up directly with the threads of [Nine Tail] wouldn't be enough to seal Ashe's movements, since her raw power is far superior to mine. But────!
A power struggle against a [Raid Boss], even she should be stopped for a moment, right?!
"Fourth Wind Sword────"
"Tch!"
"Hayate!"
A merciless flash, dashing through────…and what spills out is, of course.
"Hey, what was that? I've never seen that before."
"…Even I have one or two, or maybe three, hidden moves."
"That's too many. Keep it to two, please."
A smile of trust.
The moment the sword, easily surpassing the speed of sound, reached her throat, her captured body began to glow and flicker. My eyes saw her slip through both blade and shadow threads to make her escape, but…
Like I said, I don't know that one. What is that, some relative of [Flash Traveler]?
While I was mulling that over, on my guard, she casually explained.
"…Lethal Protector. It's a lightning-attribute insurance magic."
"Oh?"
"If you cast it beforehand, you can erase your own hitbox for a single instant at any timing you choose. The cost is a continuous MP drain while it's on standby, and an additional cost on activation…"
"Ooh…"
"And after that, a forced ten-second stun."
"Ooh…………wait a sec. So that means,"
"Mhm. It just ended."
The 'Princess,' having expertly baited me with curiosity and wrapped me around her little finger, smiled playfully and shook her body, her paralysis presumably gone. She looked to be in a very good mood.
She's so damn cute────that's not the point!
"If I'd attacked, I would've won…!!!"
"True, what a shame. Next time…"
Regret and renewed vigilance deploy simultaneously. Ashe lowers her stance and,
"This time, it's my turn."
Her 'sword' flashes, and she becomes the wind.────Yes, literally,
"Tempest!!"
A single flash of her sword becomes a storm.
"Guh, that was close…?!"
My escape was successful. A last-second Rocket got me out by a hair's breadth, letting me flee the storm zone that would have sliced me to ribbons in the blink of an eye.
But even though I avoided instant death────
"Tch…!"
That storm is homing in on me… damn.
"Tch────Regalta!!"
I dismantle my left arm for a temporary Full Armament. Releasing the gray-scaled greatsword, one half of the 'Trams of Platinum that Open the King's Road' becomes a phosphorescent light, enveloping my avatar in zero-point-one seconds.
"Tch…………hehe, it doesn't… suit you…!"
"You're just not used to seeing it! It's super cool, damn it…!"
Another hair's breadth. My 'Platinum Armor' materialized just in time against the 'Armor of the Gale,' which would have diced me to pieces had I taken it with my bare body. We trade another playful blow as our swords cross once more.
I made it in time────but that doesn't change the fact that I'm taking damage.
"This is bad…?!"
Multiple hits, even through the armor. The full armament's 'Reversal' is active, but there's a limit, especially given my opponent. I can't completely nullify the impact, I can't mov—
"Perfect────"
—e.
"────Espada!!"
A flash of light, a thunderous roar.
A sword flash that isn't swung, delivered from point-blank range. A momentary refrain, referencing the previous strike. From a position where evasion is impossible, the 'guaranteed kill' attack is unleashed in a shower of golden light────
"…………Hehe."
This time, it was Ashe who smiled.
"That is seriously cheating."
"You're one to talk. You just did something similar."
That was none other than [Flash Traveler]. A skill that places my body at a chosen coordinate, completely ignoring the preceding situation. She voices her complaint as I use it to escape my predicament.
""………………""
And so, from behind the wind, from behind the armor, for the umpteenth time, we,
"…Hehe."
"Haha."
We just laugh, purely and simply────as if there were no end in sight.
Because we both know that's not what either of us is looking for.
"────'The Red Circle (Color) Remains in this World (Here).'"
"────[Little Braver]."
For now, it's enough to have only each other reflected in our eyes.
Because we understand ourselves.
Wondering what's happening in the background? You don't need me to spell it out. It's a chaotic symphony of screams. They look like they're having fun.