kscans

Chapter 591 - The Acrobat's Explanation: Part 3

"That failed incantation was Kareha, right?"

"Right. I only meant it as a feint, but he didn't even let me cast it."

"Well, if he got so much as grazed by that while you were right in front of him, it would have been fatal."

"Oh, and this, this, this! The part where Irorin's arm went all weird!"

"That's a skill I was saving as a hidden trump card, called 《Shadow Leaf》. It's a crazy one that forcibly changes the direction of an action taken by an opponent you're directly touching, to any direction you choose."

""Huh?""

"Eh?"

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not the one who designed the skill."

"That's just plain broken... So, this ridiculous axe kick is also that thing you were talking about?"

"Yep, it's the result of unleashing the 'Outer Force' I'd stored up. I got the hint for this kind of technique, which combines with martial arts, from Rinne, who does something similar."

"Ah... well, she does do something like that with her [Anima]."

"Doing something that should require an Anima with pure technique is just not right."

"What's with the looks from you two? Don't look at me like I'm some kind of monster."

"...You don't realize it?"

"I do."

"And it's not just his personal specs, his equipment is insane too... I already knew about this [Ninefold Shadow-Woven Gauntlet], so I wasn't surprised, but..."

"Irori-senpai is seeing it for the first time, so he's surprised. I guess it was worth keeping it a secret."

"Yeah, thanks for helping me train. It was a huge help."

"Speaking of shadows, Tetra-kun."

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't lump this and my humble shadows together."

"Calling a Terror Armament humble..."

"That's not 'Shadow' attribute, it's 'Darkness' attribute. They're different."

"That sounds so cool."

"Hey mister, stop getting starry-eyed and slow down the playback. I can't see a thing."

"Ah, sorry."

"You're both amazing."

"How does a close-quarters battle of this dimension even work without thought acceleration?"

"What's going on in your heads?"

"Even if you ask me that, it's like ninety percent instinct and reflexes..."

"And the remaining ten percent?"

"Hype and adrenaline."

"Boys are such idiots."

"That includes me, you know. Don't lump me in with him."

"And... here it is. The ultra-sadistic part."

"This would definitely be traumatic for some people."

"You have to be careful who you use that on."

"Of course I choose my targets. Like Istians, who don't sweat the small stuff."

"Irori-senpai is... well, he'll probably be fine."

"He'd probably find it 'interesting,' that battle maniac."

"And he actually endured it... Damn, I can see a faint effect, but I can't make out the details. It must be some kind of emergency defensive skill..."

— — — ...

— — ...

— ...

"—Alright, here comes the main event. Better get ready to explain properly."

"You got it."

At the same time as my on-screen self drew my sword, Mi-na, who had at some point started using my head as a 'table' to watch the video, started patting my shoulder.

Ri-na, who had been pushed aside by her partner, was sitting primly to my right, one hand on my knee, maintaining the activation and loan of 《Anhelmia》.

Including Tetra, who was sitting with his knees drawn up on my other side, I was perfectly surrounded by the junior group.

One pipsqueak on my head might be one thing, but the sight of me being surrounded by these chattering youngsters must look incredibly peaceful from an outside perspective.

Incidentally, they are all 'Rankers' who reign at the top of this virtual world, and they are all my 'seniors.'

—And so, my carefree thoughts lasted for about ten seconds.

"Alright, mister, rewind it."

"Yeah, yeah."

Watching from the sidelines, the movements of my on-screen self and Irori were so crazy that it made me think, "These guys are insane." I rewinded the footage, back to the start of what Mi-na called the 'main event.'

And then we played and rewinded it several times...

"...I can't see it."

"Ah, nope, this is impossible. Let's try ten times slower, please."

"...Maybe we should just make it twenty times slower."

Alright, let's split the difference and go with fifteen times slow-motion.

I fiddled with the dial using thought commands, and me and Irori, who had been nothing but blurs, were now clearly visible on the screen.

Now then... the amazing thing about Arcadia's video recording. No matter how much you increase the slow-motion magnification, the frames don't get choppy or turn into a slideshow, so even at 1/15th speed, our movements are extremely smooth and perfectly clear—

"...Still fast."

""Let's just make it thirty times slower.""

"Alright, alright..."

...Following the order, I increased the slow-motion magnification even further and went back to the beginning again.

And indeed, it seemed to have become much easier to see. For ten, twenty seconds, the three of them silently and intently watched the video...—it was Ri-na who raised her hand first.

I mentally hit the pause button to answer her question, and the scene on the screen was me against Irori's... fourth strike, was it?

It was the moment I instinctively parried a technique called something like 《Ushimitsu》 with [Samidorizuki].

"Here, you're blocking the white blade."

"Ah, what? You're right, seriously?"

"...That's true, now that you mention it. Wasn't Irori-senpai's thing supposed to be an instant out if it makes contact, even through a weapon?"

Her two companions nodded at Ri-na's words, and I nodded in return.

As Tetra said, Irori's white blade, 《Hyouka》, means game over the moment it 'hits' in close combat, whether you block it with a weapon or a shield. That much is true.

So normally, I should have been trapped in that ice prison at this moment, but... well, this part is simple.

"Right before this, he dispelled it to escape the black blade I'd left behind him, right? The instant freeze of 《Hyouka》 requires a bit of a 'charge,' and he can't activate it right after using resources to form the blade. That's all there is to it here."

"Huh..."

"I, see."

"Wow, I didn't know the details. I thought that thing was just plain unfair, but I guess it has its limitations—...'here'? Does that mean it's different in other situations?"

"Well, you'll see as you watch."

I gave a casual reply to Mi-na, who was now both satisfied and curious, and started the playback again.

The three of them watched with exasperated looks at the ridiculous power of Irori's fourth strike, the unorthodox movement of his sixth strike, 《Kagamizuchi》, that followed... and my own perverted maneuvers to escape them—at the moment I had anticipated a hand would go up.

The scene where I unleashed the seventh strike, 《Nanahoshi》, with my two blades of jade and black, and Irori knocked it down with his two blades of blue and white—in other words, the scene where both of us were doing something ridiculous.

As expected, all three of them raised their hands at once.

"Here."

"Isn't this weird?"

"You're both touching each other's black and white blades. Why didn't the black's 'Unceasing' or the white's 'Freeze' activate?"

"Okay. Let's zoom in on the moment of the clash and increase the magnification again."

Fifty times... should be good enough for now. I rewinded, increased the slow-motion, and pressed play right before I lunged into 《Nanahoshi》—

"—...Huh...?"

"...Ehh..."

"You know... you're both just disgusting at this point."

All three of them had faces that expressed pure 'incomprehension.' More than the scathing words from the red-head at the end, I found myself laughing at Tetra's rare, genuinely stunned voice at the beginning.

Anyway, that aside.

"Well, as you can see. Both me and Irori... or rather, Irori intentionally blocked my black blade with his white one. I didn't realize it at the time, but he must have turned off his thought acceleration too."

I believe it was the type with a very short duration but high magnification.

His eyes, which had momentarily shone blue, could be seen clearly tracking the trajectory of 《Nanahoshi》—a sword that traced the sides of a pentagram around the target.

I swung the 'black' blade in my right hand four times: on the first, third, fifth, and seventh flashes...

Each time, Irori struck it with his 'white' blade, parrying it—and each time, he dispelled and reformed 《Hyouka》 to escape the binding chains of the black blade.

So, what do you think, you three? Say it.

"You're you, mister... but Irorin is just as nuts..."

"...Well, I knew it already, but his personal specs are really bugged, aren't they?"

"...They're both, amazing."

I nodded at the three of them, who were a mix of stunned and terrified, and added a little extra.

"Just so you know, he probably could have activated 'Freeze' on the very first strike he intercepted. Even if it needs a charge, it only takes a few seconds."

"That's... because he wanted to take it, wasn't it? Your Kesshiki technique, senpai."

Tetra was probably suggesting that Irori 'intentionally didn't activate it' because of his feelings, or his mood, or just for the thrill of it. From an Istian perspective, that's a pretty convincing argument, but—I can say for sure that's not it.

"Both me and Irori, this time of all times, would absolutely not hold back."

"...That, is... I see."

"Yeah, if he had an opening to strike, he definitely would have. He wouldn't pull a stunt like that just because of his mood or adrenaline. ...So, well, in this case, it was the result of my bluff working."

"A bluff...? Did you do something?"

"Basically, from the very beginning, Irori was the only one moving to avoid contact between his white blade and my black one. I, on the other hand, didn't hesitate even against his white blade, and in fact, I swung my black one as if I was aiming for it."

"Ahhh..."

"Now that you, mention it?"

My intention was clear. I acted as if the 'Zanten' form of my [Ninefold Shadow-Woven Gauntlet (Nine Tail)], which was new to Irori, was a 'counter' to his white blade.

'As if' it was, meaning—

"It was just a plain old bluff, but he fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Not just during 《Nanahoshi》, but also in the scene where the black blade I'd left behind touched him right before 《Amayuki》. If Irori had activated 'Freeze' then, I would have been instantly frozen with no way to resist."

Even if I left it behind, the 'shadow' is still connected to my right arm even after I let go of the hilt. Of course, if he'd wanted to, the 'ice' would have reached me in an instant.

...And so, when I once again provided the answer to their question, the reactions of the three were as follows.

"Yep, you're crazy too, mister."

"Your guts are bugged."

"...They're both, amazing."

Hahaha, I'll take that as a compliment.