Chapter 586 - The Peerless Ice Blade and the Eternal Warbler, Part 4
My hand summoned the sword without hesitation, and I spoke the name I had been granted without doubt.
As I drew the [Samidorizuki] with my left hand, I reached for a fraction of the power hidden within the skill that bore the king's name—the name I wove was,
"[Ignition]—!"
Instantaneous acceleration, with no price to pay.
From zero to a hundred, a top speed that bypassed the process of acceleration. My rival closed in, reacting as if it were a matter of course, his left ice blade rising to meet me—but I swung with my right scabbard.
[Nine Tail].
"Senten."
The shadow that once again overflowed from the bracelet on my right arm painted the black scabbard an even deeper black. The scabbard, now overwritten into a jet-black blade, moved to meet the Peerless warrior's symbol, the blade of absolute zero—and just before contact.
""—""
Our gazes clashed, and we read the intent that sparked between us. Both our blades changed trajectory.
[Hyouka]—I already figured out the power of Irori's white blade back at the last Four Pillar War. Its true nature is like a grand ice magic spell compressed into the shape of a sword; a single, absolute-zero strike that freezes its target solid in an instant upon contact, even through a weapon.
In other words, since my shadow and his blade were mutually untouchable, it was only natural for what came next…—a hellish, zero-distance deathmatch where even a defensive move could be fatal.
White avoided black, and a blue thrust slipped through the gap. Green parried, and white closed in on the parrying green. I activated [Rocket], [Ignition], and `Matoi` in parallel—achieving a pseudo-`Shukuchi`. After two feints, I circled behind him and, leaving behind lethal power, kicked off for a third time. As the samurai spun to face me with a flash of white, I chanted an Art above his head.
"Fourth Strike—"
"Tch…—"
"[Amayuki]!"
A `Shukuchi` technique performed in mid-air, without need for a foothold. From a horizontal posture, I rolled again, pouring all the centrifugal force of my body into a series of rotating strikes that rained down from the zenith.
A block with the white blade—was impossible. The black I had left behind had already ensnared it in shadowy shackles.
This was it, the killing blow. The Peerless warrior's response was,
""—Heh…!""
The same ferociously determined face as someone else I know.
One, two, three, four. The two-bladed demon laughed as he struck down the Art woven by the `Sword Saint`, using only his right arm and a single sword.
The white blade, having escaped the black chains, was in his left hand in the blink of an eye.
"Kashiki Nito, Fourth Strike—"
A counter of four to parry four. From his deeply crossed arms, two blades shot straight for the heavens like the horns of a demon—and flashed.
"—[Ushimitsu]."
"Ugh, gha—…!?"
Two swings, four flashes.
The blades, feinting with the speed of `Shukuchi` itself, delivered not a combo but four simultaneous strikes, swatting my hastily recovered [Samidorizuki] aside and blowing my body away like scrap paper.
The damage was light, but the impact was immense. My body was sent spinning upwards, and before I could regain control—his presence was right beside me.
"Sixth Strike…!"
"Tch… you bastard, First Strike—"
"[Kagamizuchi]!"
"[Hisui]!"
I forcefully seized control of the chaotic energy and repurposed it, channeling the centrifugal force into my sword to hastily form the fastest technique I knew. As I unleashed it, I saw an overhead strike—
No, that's not it—!
"Heh, you saw through it…!"
"Shut up, are you insane…!"
A single strike with two swords. The downward swing of the blue sword in his right hand was a feint, a lure.
The true attack was the slash from the white blade in his left, hidden along his arm in a reverse grip, unleashed by using the power of his opponent's own counter to the overhead blow.
An unorthodox, bizarre strike—yet the power packed within it was a refined, forceful blow that was in no way inferior to the `Sword Saint`'s own.
The pressure from the flash I had surely dodged ripped through my right shoulder without even touching it, scattering red light like fresh blood. Extending your range without even using [Water Enchant]? You monster…!
Pseudo-`Shukuchi` activated.
The ability to kick off the air alone makes this a technique that can't be called a mere deterioration of the `Sword Saint`'s. I headed for the ground, scooping up the scabbard-blade I’d left behind—and activated `[Desperate Crimson]`.
Alright, my turn…!
"Seventh Strike—"
"Tch… Come."
"[Nanahoshi]."
Seven flashes in a single instant, a god-speed technique. A storm of lethal sword flashes assailed him from all directions.
…Hey, are you serious?
"Aside from her herself—"
"—…"
"I have looked up to the `Sword Saint`'s techniques more than anyone else in this world."
The Peerless warrior roared as he struck down every single sword flash, having seen through them completely.
"Second… Strike…!"
He brought his two swords together, back and to his right.
The samurai’s feet found the ground before I could shake off the recoil of my own technique, and—
"—[Shiguruma]!!!"
Unleashed, a spinning flash arced through the air and caught my avatar.
One swing. The azure frost blade slid off the hastily-raised [Samidorizuki], grazing my side—and another swing. The white ice blade slipped past my lagging black defense, and—
"Dammit, gah—!"
It ran from my shoulder to my opposite flank, feasting on its enemy's life to its heart's content. And in the next moment, after the one-hit kill blade had done its duty.
A massive ice prison erupted from my avatar, which had been infused with a core of absolute zero.