"Incredible, he can actually fight Twin Wings to this extent!?" Arisuin Nagi had been staying far away the whole time. Only, he kept gripping that dark-purple dagger in his hand. The moment he sensed something wrong, he was prepared to activate his ability and save Ryoji.
Whether he could actually save him was another matter, but he would never just stand by and do nothing.
During the joint training camp, when he had intended to defect at the last moment, it was Ryoji who persuaded Toudou Touka to trust him. That was why he could remain at Hagun Academy and stay by Shizuku's side.
So even if it meant risking his life, he would save Ryoji.
After all, his own life wasn't worth much to begin with, but Ryoji had a bright future ahead of him. It couldn't end here.
However, for now, it seemed he didn't have that opportunity.
At the entrance of Akatsuki Academy,
Ryoji was clashing with the world's strongest swordsman.
He charged forward again and again, only to be beaten back each time. It looked miserable and unproductive, yet his body had not suffered any real injuries.
That's right.
Wave after wave of charges, every time he was attacked, he executed the most perfect defense. Even with the massive gap in strength between the two sides, he used Harmonizing Light with Dust to continuously disperse the impact, stubbornly refusing to fall.
"Only… Twin Wings is holding back to an extreme extent…"
Arisuin Nagi turned his gaze toward the world-renowned Valkyrie.
Although she kept swinging her sword and every strike precisely targeted the flaws in Ryoji's techniques, completely breaking his advances, her feet had not moved an inch.
That's right.
She neither stepped back nor forward.
In fact, given her sword speed, if she had simply stepped forward while Ryoji was retreating, she could have decapitated him in a single stroke. With his special ability nullified, there was no way Ryoji could have dodged.
But whether out of the pride of being the world's strongest or for some other reason, she remained rooted in place, fighting him head-on without moving.
Not only that, she never used her full body's power. Each time she repelled Ryoji, she relied solely on the strength of her arm.
If she were serious, a single strike would have been enough to instantly kill him.
Such behavior could only be described as holding back to the extreme.
One might even joke that the Pacific Ocean itself was formed from how much she was "holding back."
"Only… isn't Ryoji-kun's backward movement getting smaller?"
Arisuin Nagi sharply noticed the change on the battlefield.
As Ryoji repeatedly charged and got knocked back, the only thing changing was the distance he retreated.
At first, he was pushed back ten steps. Now, only five.
Each time he was blown back by tremendous force, the distance kept shrinking.
Correspondingly, the cracks in the concrete beneath his feet became more evenly distributed.
"His force-dispersing technique is improving!"
Arisuin Nagi saw through it.
And the improvement was incredibly fast.
In just thirty seconds, his technique had already reached a whole new level!
It was even faster than when he had fought Kurogane Ikki!
How was he doing it?
Arisuin Nagi couldn't understand. But Edelweiss knew exactly what was happening. She could feel an extremely brazen gaze sweeping across her body. It wasn't a lewd gaze, but one that saw through all her muscle movements and skeletal motions, like X-rays, making it feel as though her clothes served no purpose at all.
Though, admittedly, her outfit didn't cover much to begin with.
As she continuously swung her sword to drive him back, Ryoji's eyes captured every movement of her muscles.
Indeed, her control over her body far surpassed Ryoji's by leagues, but muscle movement could not be perfectly concealed. With Ryoji's keen perception, it was impossible for him to see nothing.
Because he had seen through her muscle movements and learned her exquisitely precise bodily control, his technique for dispersing force had improved so dramatically.
"Clang!"
Another thrust was launched, and once again, it was blocked.
If she simply stepped forward at that moment, Edelweiss could have beheaded Ryoji.
But she still didn't move her feet. She calmly watched him, showing no sign of anger even though he was openly copying her techniques.
According to his previous pattern, once he steadied himself, he should have rushed forward again, defending purely on instinct while using his wandering gaze to steal her skills.
But this time, after being knocked back, Ryoji didn't charge again.
"Is it over already?" Edelweiss seemed to realize something and spoke.
"…Yeah, it's over." Ryoji forced a slight smile.
He had already used every sword skill he knew, whether self-created or copied. But every single move had been completely dismantled by Twin Wings. With just a casual swing, she could find the flaw in any technique and force him back.
Aside from Lightning Flint, he had no moves left to use.
But without being able to designate Edelweiss as a target to surpass, Lightning Flint had lost its effectiveness as well.
Of course, his gains were equally substantial.
The greatest of them all was,
He had seen through Twin Wings' sword.
And precisely because he had seen through it, Ryoji felt an overwhelming sense of disbelief.
Twin Wings' sword was fast, like a flash of light.
But it wasn't truly as fast as light.
After all, he had previously set himself to surpass her sword speed. While it was incredibly fast, it definitely wasn't lightspeed; otherwise, the Earth would have been destroyed long ago.
The reason it appeared as fast as light, so fast that even Ryoji's eyes couldn't track it, was that there was something fundamentally wrong with her sword speed.
To put it simply, she could jump her sword speed directly from 0 to 100.
There was no acceleration in between.
One frame it was completely still; the next, it had already reached its maximum.
Human vision has inertia and cannot adapt to such abrupt acceleration, causing the brain to mistake it for light and rendering it impossible to track.
At the very instant she initiated the motion, the maximum acceleration was already complete. There was no wasted energy, every strike was flawless, despite delivering 100% of her power, all her movements were utterly silent.
This kind of sword technique had already surpassed the laws of physics, breaking through the principles of motion. It simply wasn't something a human could achieve.
In other words, Twin Wings' sword had transcended the domain of humanity.
It practically challenged one's entire worldview.
And yet, Ryoji had still seen through it.
Yes, unbelievably, with his sword technique talent maxed out, he had completely grasped the principles behind Twin Wings' sword.
At the moment Edelweiss swung her blade, every muscle in her body moved simultaneously.
To clarify: humans control muscles through electrical signals transmitted via the nervous system. But because these signals propagate step by step, there is always a sequence when activating muscles, for example, one muscle is engaged first, then another.
But Twin Wings was different.
She could activate every muscle in her body at the same time.
This meant that within her body existed an extremely special kind of electrical signal, capable of transmitting the brain's commands to all muscles simultaneously, allowing her entire body to move in perfect unison.
That was how she achieved maximum acceleration instantly, eliminating acceleration altogether, making a stationary sword reach its peak in a single moment.
Newton, are you there?
Someone's dancing on your coffin lid!
(End of Chapter)
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