Chapter - 14

The instant the signal to begin was given, Ikki kicked off the ground, charging Moroboshi head-on.

「Oh, wow! It's representative Kurogane with a quick attack right off the bat!」

The crowd roared, echoing the surprise of the play-by-play commentary at Ikki's taking a swift offensive against the Seven Stars Sword King. A maneuver that did not consider the situation, they felt. Was he thoughtless, perhaps? Rushed, hasty?

But Arisuin on the other hand called out in praise of his decision.

"Good judgment!"

"Alice?"

"In any case, Ikki can't do anything at a distance—he has no abilities with reach. So the key to victory is to get through the attack range of a spear and put the battle within the range of the sword."

Thus, a quick attack was a good tactic.

"The spear's long reach is simultaneously its advantage and shortcoming. If the spearman's guard is breached, then one would gain an advantage in a single blow!"

"But Moroboshi-kun definitely knows that as well. He will not let someone breach his guard that easily."

As though to confirm Kiriko's words, Moroboshi shifted from his defensive stance. Leisurely bringing his spear Tora-Ou to bear tip first, he stood ready, and then—a chill ran down goosebumped spines throughout the spectator stands of the Bay Dome.

This included Shizuku.

"What… what a guy, to be able to exude such pressure just from taking a stance…!"

Yes, the source of the shivers was the pressure exuded by Moroboshi to the surroundings even as he took up his stance. Even the uproar of the crowd from earlier was silenced by that presence—tens of thousands devoured in an instant by one man standing in the ring.

Even Ikki, who had been closing for a quick attack, was forced to a halt before that pressure. This was that which had stopped Yui Tatara in her tracks two days ago: Moroboshi's Yuudai's Happo Nirami.

But it was only for a moment. Putting more power into his legs, Ikki continued his charge.

「Representative Kurogane! Despite stopping once, he's unafraid! He charges in bravely!」

「That's a strong heart he has there. A normal person would be left trembling and immobile before that kind of presence, but he is not slowing down at all.」

But this was known to Moroboshi—that this level of scare tactic could never work on the Worst One. He stood stoically till the moment Ikki entered his weapon's range. Then—

"Shii!"

—steel flashed.

Tora-Ou bared its fangs, piercing the air. Ikki backpedaled out of range, trailing wisps of his hair as they scattered gently to the wind. Perhaps he had just been a little slow to react to the spear's speed.

Moroboshi's reaction filled the crowd with cheers.

「It's, it's razor sharrrpp! It's like you can hear the sound of the spear splitting the air from up here in the commentator's box! Kurogane, he's had to fall back—with just one strike, Moroboshi has blunted his assault!」

「It's not only one strike.」

「Eh?」

「Zoom in on the Worst One's chest.」

Having been told this by Muroto, Iida zoomed the camera in. And there on the dome's giant LCD screens, indeed—nicks in Ikki's uniform could be seen.

「Th-This is…! There are spear-point cuts on his clothes in two different places!」

「Yes. Including his hair, that makes three. That is the Seven Stars Sword King's Sanrensei a high-speed spear technique that from a bystander's point of view may seem like only one thrust, but in fact strikes three points at once. It's easy to pay attention to Moroboshi as a fighter possessing the strongest anti-Blazer ability, the destruction of magic. But his well-honed spearmanship is, in my view, his greatest weapon. Getting past his guard is an extremely tall order. The Worst One was strongly wary of this, and that's why he didn't step within Moroboshi's range.」

This was common sense. After all, rushing headlong at a spearman who had you in his line of sight was reckless, for a spear was a weapon that boasted unrivaled strength when engaging opponents in a straight line. If a frontal surprise attack did not work, then one should find a way to engage from the flanks—again, par for the course.

That was why Ikki's next course of action took everyone aback. He neither ran nor leaped, but merely walked as if strolling, closing the distance between himself and Moroboshi. His movements devoid of all killing intent, he stopped about one and a half metres away from the latter. Not close enough to reach him with his sword, but close enough for Moroboshi to reach him with his spear!

「Wh-What!? What does Kurogane mean to do? It's almost as if he's just saying 'come on, hit me!'」

The commentators were also in confusion. Indeed, it was an incomprehensible action. Just by looking, one would think he was provoking Moroboshi. Some members of the audience took it up.

「Hoshii! You gettin' licked! Go kick his ass!」

「Don't let some punk from Tokyo look down on ya!」

An outcry poured forth from one section of the stands. And as though responding to their voices—

「Moroboshi's made his move! The Seven Stars Sword King initiates a furious assault upon his fearless foe!」

—he displayed once again his technique, a continuous barrage with Sanrensei too fast for the eye to catch. Spear-tips formed a dense rain of death descending like a volley of machine-gun fire.

It was undodgeable. Or it should have been undodgeable, and yet—

「It's not hitting! It's not hitting! Even with its famed speed, Sanrensei can't even graze him! What graceful footwork! His movements are so elegant as he dodges the spear's point that one would think he was dancing!」

While standing within the range of Sanrensei, a technique that could pierce three points in a single breath, Ikki was—unlike before—moving from side to side and dodging all the strikes.

He had not closed the distance without thinking. Sanrensei was an amazing technique. It could even be considered superhuman. But he knew of something that was faster and keener by far: the Sword Eater's Marginal Counter. Reflexes and speed so beyond human ken that they could create the illusion of eight simultaneous slashes at once. Compared to that, his eyes were more than sufficient to follow Sanrensei, which did not have the same pressure as a technique that could make you see eight simultaneous, illusory strikes. As long as he read the spear's trajectory with a calm mind, he could easily deal with it.

Before long, their engagement had lasted ten seconds, with Moroboshi attacking and Ikki evading. Then, judging that Ikki was handling his attacks with ease, Moroboshi took large strides backward, opening the distance between them once again.

「Unable to stand his ground, Moroboshi retreats! What is this? As if returning the favor for the pressure put on him before, Kurogane has pushed the Seven Stars Sword King back without striking a single blow!」

「What… what's going on?」

「You kiddin' me…!?」

「A-Awesome! Is that knight really an F-rank?」

「So cool!」

「Reactions are mixed here in the stands! These two really know how to put on a good show!」

「As expected, his blowing away past Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival representatives in both the 'Hunter' and Raikiri isn't just for show. This is the first time I've seen a representative who can move this intensely and swiftly at mid-range. Nonetheless, neither of the two have gone all-out just yet.」

Muroto mumbled. He spoke the truth. Though Moroboshi looked like he had been beaten back, a smile tugged at the edges of his mouth.

"You've got serious balls to use me as a warm-up tool. You all good now?"

He asked.

"Yes. Thanks to you, I've realized it."

Indeed, during their exchange of offense-defense, neither of them had pressed their attack. Ikki had remained within the danger zone, continuously taking the risk of dodging Sanrensei by a hair's breadth in order to confirm that his body would not lock up from fear.

And having realized Ikki's intentions, Moroboshi had accommodated him. It was for this kindness that Ikki was thanking him.

Indeed, thanks to him, he was able to confirm this—

"—that I am without a doubt at my best today!"

The extension of his legs were optimal, his body's movements crisp. His sight was broad and clear. He had evaded Moroboshi's spear-strikes by the skin of his teeth, but felt no fear in his heart. The abnormalities that had presented themselves when he had faced Ouma the previous night were gone.

He would be fine. He could fight! Having felt this, he took up a stance, allowing killing intent to infuse him for the first time since arriving here. Seeing Ikki like that, Moroboshi nodded.

"Nice. Then, free service time is over. I'm gonna get serious from 'ere on out!"

The pressure he exuded doubled. As expected of the Seven Stars Sword King, even locking gazes with him made breathing difficult.

But I can do this. I can win.

After all, he had divined a certain truth from their previous clash.

It's just as I felt when watching the videos of him from before… there is a fatal weakness in Moroboshi-san's spearmanship!

"He's got a good look on his face. It seems that Ikki has seen through it—the Seven Stars Sword King's flaw."

Touka murmured from her bed in Hagun Academy's infirmary as she watched the TV broadcast of the back-and-forth exchange between the two.

"A flaw?"

"Yes. I'd say that he researched Moroboshi's replays many times, and then confirmed his suspicions during that engagement."

"I can't claim to understand anything about that. What could his weakness be?"

"Hmmm… Kana-chan, what do you think are a spear's offensive options?"

Having been asked a question in turn, Kanata thought briefly before answering.

"It's the thrust, naturally. Isn't it?"

"Well, it is true that the spear is a thrusting weapon. But it has another option that derives from its absolute reach advantage, and that is the sweep."

Spears only had blades at their tips, so one would not make as strong an impression as a sword as a sweeping weapon. But in truth, it would be folly to thusly think less of a spear sweep. A blow powered by the centrifugal force of a robust rod well over one meter in length could break human bones with ease. In fact, some forms of Chinese spearmanship regarded thrusts as feints. In other words, these schools of martial arts used the thrust as a decoy to cause the opponent to dodge before using the spear like a staff as the main means of attack.

"However, the sweep is a non-entity in Yuudai Moroboshi's spearmanship. It's not just this match. Ever since his comeback, he has relied on a thrust-only setup and has not used a sweep even once—that includes the match with me."

"Wow, I didn't notice that."

Kanata expressed her surprise in an elegant manner upon hearing the truth.

"Still, why does he only use thrusts? Does he feel that he does not need to use anything else?"

"It's true that the thrust is very strong since it requires little movement to achieve the speed it does, and it focuses all one's strength on the spear tip, giving it great offensive power. Especially when one considers that Sanrensei has almost no delay between retracting and thrusting with the spear, you could call it the ultimate attack form. So it is as you say, Kana-chan. He doesn't need the sweep—though it might be a different story if the opponent is an expert like Kurogane-kun."

For all its speed and sharpness, the thrust was a point-type attack, and lacked the area control abilities a sweep would have. A point attack was easy to see through, and once unleashed would put one's body in a forward extension, open to counterattack.

"This is something similar to what is called a 'dead blade' in kendo."

"In other words, it shouldn't be difficult for Kurogane-kun to defeat Moroboshi-san's style with his reflexes, should it?"

"That's so… normally, that is."

At that moment, Touka gave an impish grin, a rare sight.

"Normally?"

"Unfortunately, the man that Kurogane is facing isn't normal. If Kurogane-kun's thoughts are as I mentioned just now, he's in for a lot of pain… just like me last year."

「Oh my! Once again, Kurogane takes the initiative!」

Just as Touka said that, battle was joined once again in faraway Osaka. Having ascertained that there was no fear in himself, Ikki closed the space between them, intent on taking advantage of the flaw that he had seen in their previous clash.

「But Moroboshi isn't going to let him get close this easily! He meets him with Sanrensei!」

Of course Moroboshi would take advantage of his reach to strike the first blow.

One!

He juked to the right, evading a first blow aimed at his brow.

Two!

A step to the left, the stab for his heart elegantly evaded.

A technique that launched three strikes in a breath. It was brilliant, but ultimately it was something built up from training. It was not as flexible as Sword Eater's Marginal Counter, a superhuman technique derived from unique natural bestowment. He could deal with this and still have room to spare.

That's the second. The next is the last! After the next blow, Moroboshi will have to breathe.

Most likely, three strikes in one breath was his limit. Thus, Ikki chose the third and final blow as the timing for his counterattack.

With this strike, I will score the opening hit! It probably won't take him down, but it will allow me to take the lead in this battle!

The very third blow he was aiming for was flying towards his thigh.

Three—now!

Regardless of how amazingly fast it was, it was still a point attack. If he moved but a millimeter away from that point, it would miss. He would take another step to the left, move into range of his sword—

Then cut his body as I pass him—

At that moment when Ikki had evaded the path of the spear with his sidestep and was stepping in range to cut Moroboshi—he saw something impossible.

The Tora-Ou that he should have evaded had made a hard left. Like a snake seeking its prey, the spear-tip sought him out.

"Uuh!"

Even though he was surprised by this unexpected sight, he made the call in an instant. Forsaking his charge, he made a great leap to the left, getting out of the spear's range.

But it was a risky evasion… and an imperfect one, at that.

「Wh-What!? With Kurogane dodging the three strikes gracefully, and Moroboshi only defending, one would think that Kurogane had the advantage—but it was reversed in an instant! He's been cut across half his ear! The Seven Stars Sword King Yuudai Moroboshi has the first strike!」

The stands were in an uproar from that opening blow. Ikki on the other hand shivered slightly, heedless of the blood dripping down from his ear.

Wh-What was that last thrust? I didn't see that in any of his replays!

He had studied Moroboshi's replays countless times in order to come up with a way to exploit this flaw, but Tora-Ou had never never showed him anything like this. Was this a new technique? No. There was something very odd going on if that was the case.

Why didn't the commentators mention this technique?

Could it be that—

—They can't see it?