Little did both of them know, that both of their ears were bleeding from the stun grenade Rio just used earlier. But the adrenaline makes them unaware of the pain.
("Triple Lightning Slash, he managed to counter all of the strikes in such a short time. His ears are bleeding, so he might have a problem hearing steps now.")
"Lightning Darts!" Rio throws two lightning darts at Hutogi, but it was blocked by the steel katana. Hutogi could see it coming, but the darts weren't Rio's main plan as he sprinted to his side.
"Triple Lightning Slash!" Rio swings another of three slashes in less than a second, but Hutogi parries it, again. At the same time, Hutogi realized there was something being thrown at him.
Then, it explodes…
("Firecrackers?")
Hutogi takes a backstep to move away from the firecrackers, but there was more. From the left, from the right, front and behind, the sound of firecrackers echoes through the room, surrounding Hutogi right in the middle of it.
At that moment, Hutogi perceived there was an object thrown behind him, and he knew it wasn't the firecracker because it made a different sound from fireworks when it hit the floor.
*BOOM!!!*
The grenade Rio throws has blown an area of 20 meters upon exploding. Rio, whose quick feet managed to run out from the 20 meters radius before it exploded. But Rio wondered, what happened to Hutogi? The grenade was blown right next to him.
Even then, will that kind of monster survive? Despite having the grenade blown beside him?
Rio gets his answer as there's a shadow behind the smoke. Hutogi stands on two feet, unscathed. Hutogi, slowly walks to Rio with his sword stance. Rio, on the other hand, sprints toward Hutogi. But the moment Rio gets into a certain range, he feels cold on his neck.
("This is it, this feeling! Coming from this side!")
Rio parries Hutogi's katana. And Hutogi, seems surprised. Not many have seen his attack, nor were they able to parry it.
("Yes! I managed to see his attack! But it's not over yet!")
Rio tried to counterattack, but Hutogi parried his attack. Hutogi tried to counterattack, but was parried by Rio. In the next 10 seconds, a series of attacks and counters from those two leave a mark on the wall and the floor.
Two katana clashing at high density and speed, a child would mistake it for fireworks if they were to witness it.
But Rio feels overwhelmed the longer the clashes go on, so he decides to backstep and manages to get out with only a scar on his face. The next thing, he does is throw a smoke grenade, covering the whole room with smoke.
Hutogi, on the other side, can feel Rio's aura coming to him from the smoke. Considering he always closed his eyes. He doesn't need to see them to detect them. Hutogi is prepared to counterattack Rio, who's been hiding inside the smoke. But what happens next is unexpected.
Hutogi cut Rio through the smoke. But a second later, Hutogi realized it wasn't Rio he just cut.
"Balloon puppet, the one I took from that Ten guy. Seems quite handy at moments like this, no?" The moment Rio speaks, Hutogi turns around to where the voices are coming from.
("This power, the density of it...") The electricity overflows from Rio's body to his sword. Rio tried to swing his sword like a baseball bat. Creating an aura of electricity shaped by the bat.
("Is he trying to beat me with a power?!")
Hutogi is prepared to block the huge attack from Rio. And a second later, the two clashes and the aura of electricity almost destroyed the whole room. 2 seconds later, the two were sent to their back.
But that wasn't the end of it as the aura of electricity began to flow inside of him...
"Pride of Lightning and Thunder!!!" Rio began using his body enhancement technique and sprinted at Hutogi at full speed. Hutogi sees Rio coming and blocks him. But from another perspective, it seems like Hutogi was being pushed back.
("He's gotten stronger... Wait, my grip!")
The momentum of being pushed back almost makes Hutogi lose his grip on his sword. And then there comes a consecutive attack from Rio. Each attack makes Hutogi take a back step.
("I see what's happening right now. My body is being electrocuted from that huge attack of electricity, numbing every nerve in my body. And right now, he's trying to use every last bit of his wits to end me himself.")
("Yes, that's right, Hutogi! That attack wasn't meant to hit you, but it's to immobilize you! Leaving your movement limited. For the next 12 seconds, the electricity within my body will begin to slowly fade due to the lack of mana. Until then, I have the chance of defeating you... So within these 12 seconds, I have to defeat you at all costs!")
Rio opens the hole in the ceiling and goes to the upper floor. The next thing that happens is that the whole ceiling is blown off by the grenade.
10 seconds...
Covered in dust and hit by the rubble on the head, Hutogi closed his breathing system so as not to breathe in dust. At the same time, the firecrackers were to be dropped from above. Creating a massive fireworks display on Hutogi.
7 seconds...
Rio threw his Inazumei at Hutogi. Hutogi's senses were blurry from the fireworks and failed to perceive the sword. But thanks to Hutogi's instinct, it lets him block Rio's swords by the handle, but it also comes at the cost of his pinky finger.
5 seconds...
Rio dropped down from the upper floor and clashed against Hutogi using his shortsword. At the same time, Rio tried to call back his sword.
3 seconds...
Hutogi sees the sword coming to him from behind and dodges it. But the sword managed to take some part of his rib. Holding a sword and shortsword, the mana of electricity flowed around the two swords. The density of the aura becomes stronger. And thus, the condition is met.
0 seconds...
"THUNDER X!!!" The attack hits Hutogi as it sends him flying into the wall. Covered in a speck of dust, the condition of Hutogi is unknown until a second later.
-1 seconds...
After all of that, Hutogi still managed to stand on his two feet despite the deep wound Rio gave him. But that's not all. Rio caught sight of what was beside the wall behind Hutogi.
It was led to the outside. Fresh air comes into a smoke-covered room as the smoke comes out. Hutogi, on the other hand, takes a deep breath.
("He still manages to stand after all of that? But fret not, he's not in the condition to fight anymore. He lost a lot of blood already. I can finish him!")
With that in mind, Rio charged at Hutogi to give him a finishing blow. But what happens next is what Rio will never expect in his whole life.
The bright red pupil alongside the dark sclera with some weird symbol on it. Hutogi opens his left eye.
"Devil Eyes: Soul."
Rio's attack didn't reach, but gave a small scar on Hutogi. But Rio, on the other hand, was stabbed in the heart by 'something'. The figure who stabs Rio has a vivid red plus black image. But it was too blurry for Rio to see it.
"I see you have finally revealed your Unique... A shame that I lost, but it was a great fight..."
The figure disappears, and the sword that stabbed Rio has gone. Making him drop to the floor. Hutogi looks at the dying Rio.
"Yes, it was a great fight for me too..." Said Hutogi as he sat beside the wall. Besides the wall that was destroyed...