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"That Kurogane kid must be in a real bind right now," Nangou Torajirou clicked his tongue in mock astonishment. "His entire strategy has completely fallen apart. At this point, the battle's trajectory has completely slipped beyond his control."
"What exactly was his strategy?" Shinguuji Kurono asked, utterly bewildered.
"In a swordsman's duel, the brat would never use his Blazer's special ability first, unless he's being utterly overwhelmed," Nangou Torajirou explained, pointing out the crucial factor. "That's both a blessing and a curse for Kurogane."
By not immediately resorting to Absolute Speed, Kurogane Ikki had a chance to engage Ryoji in a prolonged exchange, avoiding the need to decide the outcome with a single, lightning-fast strike, a scenario highly unfavorable to him.
However, if Ryoji didn't use it first, Kurogane Ikki wouldn't dare use Ittou Shura, as he needed to reserve it to counter Ryoji's Absolute Speed.
Absolute Speed, as a special ability, was far too reliant on Magic Power.
Because his Magic Power was finite, his speed ceiling had already been determined. Against a speed that was simply incomparable, Absolute Speed would become useless, like a blind man with open eyes.
"So, the kid Kurogane's plan is to repeatedly force the brat to use his special ability during the engagement, draining his Magic Power bit by bit, until finally he can unleash the full speed of Ittou Shura to secure victory!"
By gradually depleting his Magic Power, Kurogane Ikki could drastically reduce Ryoji's speed limit. This would give him a decisive advantage when using Ittou Shura.
To achieve this, he was prepared to endure severe injuries, even if it meant losing limbs, enduring the pain bit by bit.
That's why he repeatedly used Lightning Ray, forcing himself to evolve with each strike, pushing the spell's speed higher and higher. His goal was to force Ryoji to reveal his special ability with his relentless, lightning-fast sword attacks.
"Absolute Speed's special ability has a limitation," he thought. "If the opponent doesn't unleash an ultra-fast attack, he can't achieve Divine Speed that surpasses it!"
'If I just fight you with basic attacks, even if you use your special ability, you'll only surpass my basic strikes. I can easily evade you.'
So, as long as Kurogane Ikki refrained from using Ittou Shura, he could continue his protracted battle with Ryoji.
His plan was perfectly viable.
It was indeed the best tactic against Ryoji.
What he hadn't anticipated, however, was his complete inability to force Ryoji to use his special ability.
The prerequisite for forcing Ryoji's special ability was gaining the upper hand in close combat!
Against any other contestant at Hagun Academy besides Ryoji, even Toudou Touka, Kurogane Ikki was confident he could surpass them in pure swordsmanship and dominate the fight.
But against Ryoji...
The situation was painfully clear.
With Ryoji constantly shifting his fighting style, imitating sword skills and Perfect Vision proved utterly useless. Instead, his own sword techniques and progress were being constantly stolen.
He was completely suppressed.
Forced to resort to Ittou Shura as his opening move, he sought to gain the upper hand!
That's right.
His initial tactic had failed, leaving him with only one last resort.
It was a desperate gamble: abandoning all reliance on speed and relying solely on raw power and hidden force techniques.
Specifically, he would activate Ittou Shura the moment their blades clashed, just as he had done before, using absolute power to crush Ryoji and drive overwhelming penetrating energy deep into his body.
This would inevitably inflict severe injuries on Ryoji. Even if Ryoji activated his Noble Art first, seizing the advantage would still give Kurogane a chance to win!
But he could never have anticipated what happened next.
Even this last-ditch strategy had failed.
The moment his blade struck, he felt an utterly unnatural sensation.
It felt less like cutting through flesh and bone and more like slicing through paper or a ball of cotton.
The outcome only deepened his despair.
Ryoji had completely neutralized the force of the blow, leaving him seemingly unharmed, save for a layer of gray dust.
"This technique is called Harmonizing Light with Dust," Ryoji said, his voice calm. "It's a new technique I created."
Ryoji walked back to the center of the arena and stopped in front of Kurogane Ikki, his face radiating a warm smile.
"Just a reminder," he said, "don't mistake this technique for Judo's ukemi (breakfall)."
Harmonizing Light with Dust.
This technique was Ryoji's creation, born from days of special training with legal loli to counter reflection special abilities.
Its core principle wasn't rooted in Judo's ukemi, but rather the profound truths of Tai Chi, representing an evolved form of the Tai Chi Sword.
"Inhale, !"
Kurogane Ikki took a deep breath, his eyes narrowing sharply.
He unleashed his full-force assault!
"The battle resumes! Kurogane's offensive power has surged dramatically! Will this attack break through?"
"Kurogane has been driven to the brink... Activating Ittou Shura means this fight will end within a minute. He has to seize his chance now!"
His tactics had failed.
Even his last resort had proven utterly ineffective.
Every plan he had painstakingly devised had come to nothing.
But he absolutely couldn't stop now!
Though he had less than a minute left to fight, as long as he kept pushing, he was certain to find a winning opportunity!
This battle wasn't just for himself, but even more for Stella!
He had to fight to the very end!
Boom!
A blade as thick and heavy as a road roller slammed down on his Vrring Blade.
Tremendous force crashed down from the sky.
Centered on the point where the two blades crossed, a violent shockwave roared outward, shattering the sound barrier with a thunderous roar!
The power is immense!
Ryoji clicked his tongue inwardly.
Originally, Kurogane Ikki's physical abilities had been quite ordinary, at least, they seemed so to Ryoji now. He'd estimate them to be around Level 3 in Danmachi, or perhaps early Level 4 at most.
But the Ittou Shura technique was utterly monstrous, amplifying Kurogane Ikki's physical strength by dozens of times!
Dozens of times!
In this state, Kurogane Ikki's physical abilities had been massively amplified, far surpassing even Level 4 and rivaling Level 5. He might have even reached a level above 6!
In other words, Ryoji was now facing an opponent at least on par with Finn and Gareth!
Under normal circumstances, he would have already been forced to use his Blazer's special ability.
But!
Ryoji gritted his teeth.
His body became as weightless and yielding as paper, while his feet slammed into the ground with tremendous force.
Boom!
Boom!
He staggered back two steps.
A closer look revealed that the ground beneath his feet had cracked like veined leaves.
Yet Ryoji himself remained rooted to the spot like a steel rod, unyielding beneath Kurogane Ikki's overwhelming force!
"What?"
Kurogane Ikki was astonished.
His current power far surpassed Ryoji's, yet his attack had been deflected so effortlessly?
A body as soft as paper, feet as hard as steel, this was the realm of perfect harmony between flexibility and rigidity.
"Is this Harmonizing Light with Dust?"
Kurogane Ikki gritted his teeth, a wave of helplessness washing over him.
(End of Chapter)