kscans

Chapter 233 - The Sword That Wishes, The Sword That Hopes, The One Awaited is Here, Part Four

""—!""

Words had long been lost between us. The field where we threw our full speed at each other was filled with nothing but the relentless, ceaseless clang of battle.

Her talent and favor, a body utterly loved by the world—even if I couldn't see the wielder, her stance, habits, and movements leading up to an invisible flash… the 'accumulation of memory' was more than sufficient.

I dodged, attacked, and if possible, struck down her attacks at their inception.

My avatar, enhanced by `[Desperate Crimson]` and now commanding the principles of `[Shukuchi]`, was definitely holding its own against the [Sword Queen]—but that was as far as it went.

Fighting desperately, I had managed to catch up to her. But any further than that… surpassing the exchange of blows to actually land a hit on her was impossible.

It was a stark reminder of the overwhelming difference in our fundamental skills. I knew it from the start, but the wall separating me and her wasn't just about the magnitude of our 'Gifts.'

'Three years' since the service began—the genius acknowledged by the world as 'the real deal,' whatever emotions she may have held, had undoubtedly put in relentless effort to become the [Sword Queen] she is today.

…I might be reprimanded for speaking as if I know her.

But you see, I get it. I have to get it, right?

After all, I am the 'disciple' of someone who single-mindedly pursues her own ideal—who continues to put in endless effort for the sake of what she 'loves.'

If I can't even recognize an opponent worthy of respect, I can't call myself the Sword Saint's disciple.

"—…Hh!"

"Guh… Rrraaaah!"

In a clash I'd lost count of, even with a pre-emptive, overhead, two-sword strike, I was still overpowered and parried. Iris's eyes were indeed looking straight at me, but—

In those garnet eyes, the emotion I wished for had yet to appear.

I'd managed to make her face me, but that wasn't enough—

My blades weren't just deflected; they were drawn in as if reeled in by her sword, and my posture crumbled. A familiar technique—one my 'master' had also demonstrated, a jujutsu-like technique with a sword.

"D-damn it…—!"

I was the only one letting out a cry of impatience. The girl who was one step ahead of the [Sword Saint], the embodiment of the 'Supreme Blade,' was—

"—!"

—with no words, but with everything else, manifesting the 'Strongest Sword.'

She blocked, broke my stance, and returned a flash of her own. It was undoubtedly a technique at the pinnacle of its art, born from an amount of training that would make one's head spin.

My last-second activation of `[Breath Moment]` was just barely in time, and I managed to escape with my life—but that meant I was now one step closer to a game over.

A little over one hundred seconds remaining. The special title's cooldown reduction would let me recast it in time, but that meant I could only use my semi-absolute dodge one more time.

I had already used `[Foresight Eye]` to deal with her switch to full-power mode. As I thought, I was critically short on trump cards from the very beginning.

Shields… would probably be useless against her. The only reason I was even able to trade blows with Iris at all was entirely due to a skill I had recently acquired.

`[Cutting Body, Unyielding Advance]`—a skill that provides a percentage-based cut to the chip damage from weapon clashes, scaled to the ratio of total self-inflicted damage to my max HP. It even lets me cover the excess damage with MP.

It's a god-tier skill that's almost too convenient for a player like me, but the origin of its acquisition—the cause, or rather, the trigger… well, it probably came from getting beaten to a pulp in endless sparring matches with the [Sword Saint].

Anyway, thanks to it, I can trade blows, but 'blocking' is impossible. Even if I raised my [Revolving Aegis], I can only see a future where I'm obliterated right through my guard.

And as for the trading blows part—my MP was running low, and I was nearing my limit.

Should I have used `[Rabbit Rapid]` instead of `[Desperate Crimson]`? No, using `[Shukuchi]` and 'Red' together would be unsustainable. I could see myself hitting my control limit and falling apart after just a few steps.

'Red's' protection, which inevitably causes self-destruction damage different from self-inflicted damage, is incompatible with `[Crown Crown]`, which requires dropping my health to the limit. I had to choose one or the other for the cooldown reduction, and prioritizing the latter wasn't a foolish decision.

Then did I choose the wrong timing? Should I have saved the [Crimson Rabbit Hairpin] and relied on its instant-death avoidance to go for maximum firepower—that, too, would be reckless.

The hairpin's protection activates only once.

And as is clear from `[Desperate Crimson]` and `[Crown Crown]` activating almost simultaneously during this self-inflicted wound, 'Immunity to Instant Death' only negates a fatal blow once; it doesn't grant any invincibility frames.

If I keep the blade that pierced my heart embedded in my chest, my HP will vanish in an instant.

Similarly, it's useless against damage over time, consecutive hits, or multi-hit attacks from aftershocks. To be precise, it would probably work for someone with decent durability, but for me, who has mastered the art of being a glass cannon, I usually can't withstand it and die anyway.

Like `[Withered Flame]`, which looks like a single strike but is actually a rapid series of hits, or `[Yuikaze]`, whose aftershock from its otherworldly power incidentally takes the form of a multi-hit attack—I've lost count of how many times my own master's blade has pierced through this 'instant death immunity.'

There might be situations where an unexpected activation saves my life, but unfortunately, I no longer have enough faith in 'instant death immunity' to incorporate it into my intentional strategies.

In the end, I don't think I could have held on this long against her with my base stats—so I can't say it was a mistake to play my hand early.

Which means, it's just as I thought—I cannot beat Iris.

…But hey,

"I knew that from the start…!"

More than anyone, I myself—

"—accepted that before I even started this fight!"

"—…!?"

A `[Shukuchi]` right in front of her. Iris reacted with the same precision she had countless times before—but the sword she swung painted a grand arc through empty air.

I dove headfirst not just in front of her, but more precisely, at her feet.

Charging in on a trajectory that would have me crash into the half-empty waterway, I slammed my jade blade into the floor with all my might—and using the rebound to launch myself upward, I transitioned into a three-dimensional maneuver with a switch jump.

I know that a splash of water won't be enough to blind her. But,

"—Rabbit Shortswords!"

`[Flip Stroke]` activated. I tossed a rabbit shortsword overhead while running through the air, scattering crimson blades as a diversion, then kicked off a wall to break through the pillar of water—

"Second Strike—"

"Hh…"

"—[Striking Iron]!"

A flash of the jade blade, followed by—`[Ignition]`!

"Guh—Ah, guh…!"

Contact, deceleration—and then, I bit the trigger of the [Panga Fool] held in my mouth, creating a pseudo-combo with its zero-to-hundred acceleration.

The only two-handed stance in the Kesshiki Ittoryu. A peerless 'hard' strike that can blow away a several-hundred-kilogram iron mass like scrap paper.

Furthermore, the follow-up push from `[Shukuchi]` and the driving force of the swing that skipped the acceleration process rocked even the [Sword Queen].

Blind her with a water pillar, distract her thoughts with a barrage of shortswords, and catch her off guard with a new trump card—don't stop, keep moving, confound her!

Though slightly off-balance, Iris's counterattack was instantaneous. She pushed back the blade of my [Samidorizuki], which she had managed to block even while reeling—

"!?"

Her eyes widened as the jade blade, offering no resistance at all, simply vanished.

[Blink Switch]—having your opponent's weapon disappear mid-clash… you've never experienced that before, have you?

Got your back, Princess!

Using a multi-stage `[Shukuchi]` to switch directions and get behind her, I raised my hands and summoned them, one in each: the [Giant's Hand Axe] and the [An-ri Galta], two massive weapons.

A split-second lag before the weight registers—my arms, gripping the hilts, are running on a full-throttle dual output, already past their limits at top speed!

"Ngh—…"

"Hh… Th-this—!"

"—Rrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!"

A deafening roar, vaporization—and impact.

Completely off-balance, she let out a voice of clear agitation for the first time.

And I, without mercy, slammed the violent mass, weighing a combined total of nearly one ton, into her—and with 'trust' in my move, I kicked aside the very concept of stopping.

My talent falls short, so what?

My experience is lacking, I already know that.

My skill is inferior—doesn't matter, I'll smash through it.

I know I'm lacking, that I fall short. I understood that before she even showed me.

For me, this was never a fight to win—it was a fight to make my playmate, who looked bored, lonely, and on the verge of tears, finally smile.

If everything I have is hopelessly inferior—then I'll just have to slam her with something she doesn't have.

Luckily for me, I'm an Acrobat. I have a reputation for being good with my hands, something a princess wouldn't know about. Underhanded tactics are the complete opposite of my 'master's' sword style, but… my master is a generous person. I'm sure she's watching over me with a gentle smile.

So come on—you too, smile a little more.

Bracing against the immense recoil, I charged forward again. Beyond the steam from the vaporized water, created by the massive energy release—I saw a faint smile on her face, and,

I couldn't suppress the ferocious, unstoppable grin spreading across my own.