Chapter 583 - The Peerless Ice Blade and the Eternal Warbler, Part 1
Here I go.
Overlapping Outer Force with a leading Inner Force—the `Matoi` footwork, a technique that uses multi-stage acceleration to approach the `Sword Saint`'s `Shukuchi`. I’ve executed this countless times since mastering it; it's no longer a skill I need to consciously use.
One step, as natural as breathing.
With a stride that casually flirts with the sound barrier, I kicked off the battle—and in a flash, less than the span of a blink, a single, perfectly executed sword stroke met my charge.
Crimson and azure clashed, and a piercing shriek echoed through the air.
And then,
""—…!""
At point-blank range, neither of us yielded an inch, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. A head-on brawl had begun.
Irori met my charge head-on. Our opening exchange, a clash where we both poured our strength in wantonly, sent our right hands—and our weapons—recoiling sharply. A spin, followed by a reverse-grip thrust.
Just as the samurai's left hand caught my wrist mid-motion, glowing with a pale blue light, his blade, having absorbed the recoil with practiced skill, began to trace an upward diagonal slash.
"—[Piercing Water Nail]."
"Tch—"
In response, my counter was a mere word. I crossed my left hand over my captured right and thrust it forward… a hand clad in a gauntlet that was every bit as tough as plate armor, presenting him with a choice.
To push or to pull. The answer from the Peerless warrior was,
"[Force Stop—…!"
Neither. He would stop me.
He avoided my left hand, which would have acted as a cage had he pressed forward. A vortex of extreme cold erupted from the frost-covered blade, which had come to a dead stop in an instant.
Ice is the natural enemy of water magic.
By standing his ground, he countered my counter. With frustrating composure, Irori had judged and cut off my incantation… Well, I suppose I have to admit he cleanly won the opening exchange.
The light that had been dwelling in the hand gripping my own finally took effect after that momentary tactical dance. The activated skill robbed my body of its weight and any other form of resistance, and—
"[Floating Castle]."
My body was flung like a piece of scrap paper, thrown with a force that rivaled my initial charge. The destination was not horizontal, but vertical.
Up or down? Down, of course—straight to my feet.
It was a slam, executed along the shortest possible path. Against this mercilessly efficient attack, the optimal solution I could employ in the fraction of a second I had was—to activate [Shadow Leaf].
"—…!?"
Just before I was slammed into the floor, Irori's arm changed direction, completely independent of his will. It tossed me in the exact opposite direction he had intended, scooping me up and launching me high into the air.
It was a vector-jack, one that hijacked another person’s body on contact.
His surprise was understandable; this was the first time I had shown it. And besides—just tossing me into the air won’t do a lick of damage, as I’m sure you’re well aware!
Full power.
"—[Rocket]!"
No longer requiring a price, I unleashed the legs that had truly become a part of me, a gift for soaring through the heavens. The insane propulsion granted by one aspect of my [Rega-Lielta] ability naturally brought about one thing.
Violent, excessive acceleration that turned my falling body into a meteor.
Another choice. The last time the samurai faced a similar situation, what did he opt for? As expected—a perfectly calm and rational evasive maneuver.
He used a skill that made his steps seem like teleportation. His flicker of surprise at my unfamiliar trick lasted less than an instant before he executed an immediate retreat. And into the spot he had just vacated… my high-speed spinning heel drop, supercharged with the full output of [Rocket] and `Matoi`, made impact.
The heel of my [An=Vogalta] armor grazed the arena floor as if it were soft sand—and in that moment, a deafening roar, followed by an explosion.
This was no mere playful stomp like before. The floor, taking the full, unrestrained force of my blow, burst apart, the stage's structure disintegrating into a cloud of dust.
Haha, I’m a total monster, even if I do say so myself. And speaking of which…—
"…Seriously, you’re way too unfazed. Act a little more surprised, would you?"
"A slight worsening of your habits with your hands and feet is hardly cause for alarm. If I reacted to every little thing you did, there would be no end to it."
As the thick dust settled, he stood there, watching me with a frustratingly cool expression. I think it’s safe to certify him as the same kind of monster as me.
"Besides, I was plenty surprised. What was that disgusting trick from before?"
He was probably talking about [Shadow Leaf]. Irori didn’t even try to hide his look of displeasure as he shook his left arm—...I see, so it's time for some banter, is it?
He must have sensed that all this has already blown away my tension.
"Heh, that’s hidden card number one. It’s super effective in PvP and the cooldown isn’t even that long. I’ll be spamming it every chance I get, so you better be ready."
"Hmph. The condition is most likely contact… direct physical contact between our avatars. In other words, I simply need to avoid touching you. The counter is simple."
"Could you please not analyze it perfectly in a single second on your first time seeing it???"
And I'm sure he's already seen through the fact that my taunt was just a verbal attack meant to make him wary and restrict his movements in close combat. The smile on his face was one of complete confidence.
This guy, I swear… Just then.
"Hey, Irori, is this okay? Did I mess something up?"
"This is just a temporary construct in an instance field. There will be no trouble with repairs or anything of the sort."
"That's a relief. So, that means I can just go ahead and smash it all to smithereens, right?"
"That does not mean I can approve of you behaving so crudely. While the finesse of your technique has improved somewhat, your fundamental approach to fighting is just sloppy—"
"Yeah, yeah, I don't need a lecture on a public stage like this. Can't be helped, can it? I'm trying to handle a whole stable of wild stallions. When I go all out, this is usually what happens."
As we continued our lighthearted exchange, my focus shifted back to the fight.
The reason was simple: the audience, who had fallen into a momentary hush, was slowly recovering from their stupor and starting to roar with excitement.
Now that the gallery was ready, it was only natural to begin—
"Alright, let's kick it up a notch. Try and keep up, senpai."
"Who do you think you are talking to? Do not be the one to slip and make a fool of yourself, kouhai."
The second act, beyond the initial probing. Now then, just as I declared…
"Let's unveil it—[Nine Tail]."
Let’s crank this up to our hearts' content.
Are the spectators able to properly see and comprehend all this? They're just getting swept up in the atmosphere and cheering.
To share a bit of supplemental lore, the spectator seats for the Four Pillar selection matches are equipped with a function that provides all players with a slight boost to their vision and thought acceleration. This feature is almost always active during matches involving high-agility players or rankers.
So, they can probably see it, just a little.