Chapter - 16

"Man, what a pity. Jus' a little more and I could've devoured that dull blade whole."

"Kuh…!"

So this is the Seven Stars Sword King…!

Moroboshi stood before Ikki with a fearless grin as Ikki bled from the shoulder.

Seven Stars Sword King・Yuudai Moroboshi

The Moroboshi who stood before Ikki now had lost all trace of the panic he had shown before—no, it was with a fearless grin that he eyed Ikki as Ikki bled from the shoulder.

At this point, Ikki was certain. That this man Yuudai Moroboshi whom he was facing seemed rough in speech, brash and bold… but in reality he was so clever it gave one chills. His every action and every move was executed in order to reel Ikki in. Regardless of what opening Ikki tried to exploit, the depth and flexibility of his strategy meant that he acted as he wished, closing in all the while.

He really thinks far ahead….

Only five meters lay between them, but to Ikki it seemed a faraway, foggy destination.

So this is the domain of Japan's number one student knight, the Seven Stars Sword King…!

"This situation looks quite dire."

Arisuin muttered as he watched the two of them separate, creating another stalemate. Now that Moroboshi had started to use Tiger Bite, Ikki could not parry his strikes and advance. In other words, he had lost the ability to deal with Houkiboshi, and though Arisuin and the others did not know of its existence, watching Ikki have trouble dodging several times they too knew there had to be some secret behind that thrust. Thus Shizuku could only nod, troubled, in response to Arisuin's muttering. Already, he had twice been on the cusp of victory only to suffer an instant reversal. Ikki was clearly the one on the offensive, but Moroboshi had yet to be scratched even once. From an observer's perspective, it was obvious who was controlling this battle.

"To think that Onii-sama would be played so thoroughly…."

At that moment, someone from the side piped up, questioning Shizuku's pessimistic remark.

"I wonder about that."

It was a tall woman in a suit.

"Madam Chairman…."

It was Hagun Academy's board chairman Shinguuji Kurono. She stood beside them, lit cigarette in hand as she corrected Shizuku's miconception.

"It's true that from here it seems as though Ikki has been dancing in the palm of Moroboshi's hand, and to be honest the flow of the battle has been in the latter's hands up to now. But it hasn't proceeded as he had planned. So while he looks quite composed now, he probably isn't as calm inside."

"What do you mean?"

"That Tiger Bite was supposed to be the result of layer upon layer of traps, the ace that decided the match. But the match didn't end there. Kurogane noticed at the last possible moment that his target was Intetsu all along, and used his body to shield his Device."

As she said, Moroboshi was probably rueing the missed opportunity. Such a surprise attack could not be counted on a second time. Ikki would not let Tora-Ou strike Intetsu again.

"In other words, Moroboshi's best-laid plans have gone awry, thanks to but one moment of quick wit on Ikki's part."

In that case, the match was back to square one—indeed, considering that Moroboshi had revealed more of his aces, he was at a disadvantage.

"In any case, Moroboshi isn't the only one here capable of outsmarting his opponent."

Of course, Ikki could not hear Kurono from where he was in the ring. But coincidentally enough, they seemed to be thinking the same thing at that moment.

"As expected of the Seven Stars Sword King. You really gave me a fright there, Moroboshi-san."

"Hope you ain't gonna call me a coward. 'Hoistin' em by their own petard' is a real old trick."

"Of course I wouldn't say that. In fact, I'm quite fond of that tactic myself."

As they spoke, Ikki lifted his head, a cheeky smile—almost as one about to pull a practical joke—on his face.

"Hence, now it's my turn to give you a fright, Moroboshi-san."

Indeed. Ikki too prided himself in being able to incorporate tactics and trickery into his martial arts. He wasn't about to be outfoxed and leave it at that. He would get Moroboshi good once, he would not settle for less.

And he had already thought of a way—a way by which he could fake Moroboshi out and end this match.

Oh my! Kurogane has just issued an unexpected challenge! Even after being shown the distance between himself and the top of the Seven Stars, he's not afraid! He's not backing down!」

「Tha'ssa way, Kurogane! Don't lose in terms of spirit!」

「Do your best! Ikki—!」

Despite the match having taken a turn for the one-sided, Ikki's unquenched fighting spirit caused cheers to rise in the spectator stands. Ignoring them, Moroboshi thought carefully on the words of the man before him instead.

He… doesn't seem like th' sort of guy who'd bluff.

But he couldn't imagine what the play would be. Ikki could no longer parry Houkiboshi with his sword. With Tiger Bite activated, that would be like suicide, no different from surrendering the match. Ittou Shura changed nothing. With Tiger Bite, Tora-Ou was a voracious eater that could even devour Kusanagi with ease, much less magical power of Ikki's level. It was also a technique with a time limit, not something to be used against an opponent with the power to dispel magic like himself.

So where did his confidence stem from? He could not imagine it. And precisely because he could not imagine it—

—That's why it's interesting.

His lips turned upwards in delight.

"So, weren't you gonna scare me?"

It wasn't often that someone would come up with a plan that he couldn't see. It would be a pity if he didn't witness it. In preparation for whatever he was going to do, he once again leveled the point of his spear at Ikki with a heave of his shoulders.

"…I say that, but I won't let you off if you show me somethin' borin'. We Osakans hate borin' stuff."

"Do look forward to it."

Saying this, Ikki bent low, his legs readying to kick off.

"Then… here I come!"

He kicked off the stone flooring, as though trying to break it, and charged towards Moroboshi.

「Kurogane initiates! And he's fast! His speed hasn't gone down at all since the start of this match! He's already been repelled twice by the pinnacle of the Seven Stars! This is his third attempt—will it be a success?」

Iida's commentary was full of excitement, as was the expectant crowd as they wondered what the meaning of Ikki's challenge was.

「Well, if you want to say it's fast, it is… but, this….」

The professional knight Muroto on the other hand was doubtful. Ikki's course of action had not changed at all. He was still just charging ahead like a wild boar. Moroboshi, naturally, was similarly annoyed.

He's charging ahead? Hasn't he learned his lesson…!?

And he was even doing it without Ittou Shura. It should have been proven to him quite thoroughly that he could not break through Houkiboshi with just physical skill. Thus, to simply go for a full frontal strike again the third time was a little uninspiring.

"Kurogane. I said it before. I won't be satisfied if you show me something boring!"

Naturally, he met Ikki with Houkiboshi, the homing spear that had given him so much trouble earlier. And—

"Rip em' to shreds! Tiger Bite—!"

Enchanted with the ability to destroy magic, Houkiboshi became a blow that could neither be evaded nor blocked. Ikki's attempt to dodge to his right to evade the oncoming spear was something Moroboshi had seen too many times. Not missing a beat, he adjusted Houkiboshi towards that side. This time, it would pursue the fleeing Ikki and pierce his throat.

Then at that moment—Ikki, whom he should have had precisely where he wanted him, dissipated like a mirage.

Haa!?

The foe he should have given a mortal blow to had disappeared. Unable to comprehend that, Moroboshi was speechless—and then he noticed.

Ikki, whom he had stabbed leftward towards, had circled him to the right and stepped into the attack range of his sword.

Wh, what is this!?

「Moroboshi has made a terrible mistake! Of all things, his spear missed! This is big, too big a mistake!」

That was wrong. Moroboshi had not made a mistake, but rather he had been played by Ikki. Shizuku and company, who had witnessed that very technique before, realized that.

"Shizuku, that was—"

"Yes! It's definitely Shinkirou, which he used in the match against Ayatsuji-senpai!"

Indeed, this was one of Ikki's self-created sword techniques, the fourth secret sword Shinkirou.

It was a special form of footwork that alternated between quickness and slowness, creating afterimages in front of himself that deceived his opponents into cutting thin air. In this case Shinkirou utilized not front-and-back afterimages but side-to-side ones, fooling the Seven Stars Sword King.

Goddamn it! I was fooled by an afterimage—!

Moroboshi too was a first-class student knight. He knew what had gotten him, what his opponent intended. And having analyzed this, he immediately executed the best possible counterattack. Having no time to sweep his spear back around, he had to use the butt of his spear to strike.

This was his best course of action… but it wouldn't make it in time. Moroboshi knew this. Ikki had chosen this tactic based on the enemy-chasing Houkiboshi's blind spot, and having completely outplayed him, he had stepped into range. This would be the fatal blow, irrecoverable even with the most suitable counteroffensive. Ikki's blade would reach him faster than his own strike would. He could no longer avoid it either.

At the moment, Moroboshi knew that he had been beaten.

Thus he was shocked when the next moment, the butt of his spear connected with Ikki's cheek, sending him sailing away.

「Ohhh! What brilliance from Moroboshi! Realizing that he missed, he immediately executed a reverse thrust with his spear butt! He's knocked Kurogane, who circled around to the left, beyond sword range again! Kurogane was once again unable to stay within the reach of his weapon! This is the Seven Stars Sword King's imposing defense!」

The applause rained down upon Moroboshi for his third successful defense. But it did not enter his ears.

That… wasn't my play!

He understood that in that moment, even though he had done all that he could, his counterattack would not possibly have landed first. That is, if Ikki had not committed a fatal error in those final decisive moments.

Could it be that—

Moroboshi's heart wavered in doubt. Naturally, he remembered the previous night. The figure of Ikki's body freezing up during the battle with Ouma.

As I thought, there's somethin' off 'bout you, Kurogane!

And unfortunately, his guess was spot-on.

Ikki's mind reeled from the spear-butt hit that he had taken to the skull. His brain juddered, his vision swam.

Again…!

The symptoms that had emerged in the fight against Ouma the previous night had lain dormant till now. At that critical moment when he was about to defeat Moroboshi, they had resurfaced, causing Ikki's body to not move as he desired.

Damn! What's happened to my body?

「Surely you do not think that you could continue as-is after having fought the world's strongest swordsman? Even if your body is fine, she left her mark on your spirit.」

Did I really… break?

Did his terror of Edelweiss unknowingly become a fatal wound? Ikki broke into a cold sweat as thoughts of that affliction that was at once unknown and unknowable passed through his mind. His companions recognized the abnormality.

"What's going on? That was the moment to finish the match, but I could see that Ikki's movements suddenly dulled."

Kiriko concurred with Arisuin.

"Indeed he did. Moroboshi-kun's counterattack was very quick, so it was hard to notice, but he clearly slowed down."

"So Onii-sama… really is too nervous…."

Kiriko shook her head in response.

"No, that's not it. If he was nervous, he should have frozen up a lot sooner, and in any case I doubt that your brother is the sort of knight who would freeze up due to mere nervousness. Even if there were something wrong with him, he would still perform the right movements… but it's precisely because of this that his problem might be more serious."

"S-Serious!? What do you mean by that? Has something happened to Onii-sama's body!?"

"At the very least, he doesn't have any visible injuries. There can be no mistake in my diagnosis. His body was perfectly fine, and the injuries that he has sustained in the course of this match… well, they're not serious. Therefore, I think it is likely that the problem lies within instead. I'm not an expert in patients with mental conditions and thus can't give you a clear answer, but there is an affliction among fighters that is known as 'Punch Eye'. Harboring an extreme fear for their opponents attacks, the bodies of the affected fighter will freeze and become unable to move. It's a severe illness that can end the fighting careers of the afflicted."

"Are you saying that Onii-sama has that condition!?"

Shizuku cried out, realizing vaguely that something out of the ordinary had happened to her brother.

"Calm down. As I said before, this isn't my specialty. I'm just giving my opinion on the possible causes…. That said, he did fight and lose to Twin Wings Edelweiss, the strongest swordswoman in the world, didn't he?"

The blood drained from Shizuku's face. She understood the meaning behind Kiriko's words. Her brother was indeed strong. However, he was not yet so strong that he could face the strongest in the world. That he came back in one piece was by itself already abnormal.

"It would not be unreasonable that he still bears wounds in his heart, where we cannot see."

"Th-That's…."

"It does seem that it might be as you say, Kiriko-san. And even if it isn't 'Punch Eye', Ikki's expression says it all—that sudden dulling of his movements at that timing was in one way or another abnormal."

Even from afar, Ikki seemed shaken. In fact, Arisuin believed the situation serious precisely because of how he fought to suppress that wavering and school the expression on his face, and yet it seemed to be beyond his ability to do so.

However—

Shinguuji Kurono, who was standing somewhat further away, had a different opinion on the matter.

This isn't 'Punch Eye' or some PTSD of that kind.

With a glance, she had found that which was afflicting Ikki even where he himself had not been able to… though perhaps it might be better to say that she had foreseen this turn of events ahead of time. Since the end of Ikki's fight with Edelweiss, she had guessed that something like this might happen. Thus she knew that this affliction would not result in the end of his career as 'Punch Eye' would.

However, that doesn't change the fact that his movements have become dull. Additionally, it is likely that Moroboshi has noticed it too. Given that, the situation is indeed a dangerous one.

Indeed, Moroboshi could read that much from Ikki's face from where he was in the ring.

He's desperate to maintain a calm front, just like last night.

His expression was that of one afflicted with a condition he himself did not understand. It was definitely a relapse of the trouble he had had the previous night.

Moroboshi sighed inwardly at this revelation. He had meant to defeat Crownless Sword King at his best, and thus prove his strength to Koume.

But we're already in the ring.

To see an opponent's weakness and yet not strike at it was to make a mockery of their battle. He felt that it was a pity, but he would not hold back.

You showed me your fatal flaw yourself… don't think ill of me now, but I'm gonna attack without holding back!

Without reserve, Moroboshi moved to seize the victory.

「Moroboshi's moving in to attack Kurogane, who's still reeling from that heavy blow! You're backed into a corner now… can you get out of this fix, Crownless Sword King—!?」