Trackless Step 1.

A sudden wind roared, and Shizuku saw Touka's figure brandishing Narukami before her eyes.


Shizuku goggled at that sight, and almost screamed. It was understandable, because in a blink, the enemy who had to be tens of meters away had gotten close enough to extend a hand and touch her with their sword.

"Guh―!"

But even if she was surprised, she didn't freeze up. Shizuku threw her body backward without breaking her fall or any thought, and evaded the sword flash that was swung in a horizontal line. And then like that she turned her body, and placed her left hand on the ground. From the palm of that left hand, high pressure water exploded outward, pushing her body far from Touka.

It was simply a composed judgment that didn't stop at evasion. However, that was Shizuku generally using her reason and somehow decisively acting with composure. Right now, her head was half-panicking.

The reason, I don't understand it!

She couldn't understand what was occurring. Her gaze could not have slipped for even a moment. Despite that, Touka had shortened a distance some tens of meters without a sound or sign, and abruptly appeared before her eyes.


「Oh, contender Kurogane! She just made a dangerous evasion just now! Even though she was able to cope with contender Toudou's movement, what the heck happened just now!? It looks like she's somehow lost concentration, but…!」


I've lost concentration?

To the voice of the live broadcaster, Shizuku knit her brows in puzzlement. It was impossible for her to lose concentration in the middle of the match. However, the words of the live broadcaster made what looked like that apparent to everyone else. That she had overlooked Raikiri, who just now made an attack.

Even though that kind of thing couldn't have happened.

In any case, it had been unfavorable just now. She had to concentrate so that it'll never happened again. Shizuku told herself so strongly, and gathered her awareness into her eyes.


The next instant, her eyes that swung downward saw the blade of Narukami approaching.


"…Uu!?"

It cut deeply into Shizuku's clothing, and she had no time to dodge or think.

「Aaaaahhh! Contender Kurogane Shizuku took a hit from Contender Toudou's sword just now! And it was quite deep! Could this be a fatal wound!?」

However, the instant that everyone thought the match was decided, Shizuku's body suddenly turned pale, turned to ordinary water, and spilled onto the ring. And the real Shizuku was already behind Touka, standing quite a large distance away in the arena.

「I-It was some kind of water clone! Contender Kurogane has avoided Raikiri's sword splendidly… no!」

The live broadcaster's voice suddenly cut short. Why? Because the scarlet color flowing across Shizuku's left hand was visible.

「Blood is dripping from her left hand! She wasn't able to dodge perfectly! In the end, Contender Kurogane was struck! The first one to get in a damaging hit in this match is 'Raikiri', Contender Touka Toudou!」

"Kuh…!"

I didn't see it at all.

Shizuku moaned as she held the light wound on her left arm. She didn't know what kind of mechanism had been used. What kind of method was used to move invisibly, Shizuku completely could not comprehend it. However, the scarlet flowing down her left hand told her only a single certain truth.

I can't catch the movements of this enemy…!

Right. In this instant, it was obvious to anyone's eyes that the even struggle between these two people was broken.

Part 6
Once the struggle for supremacy was broken, in the situation afterward, Touka pressed forward just like that. Shizuku started a one-sided defensive battle, and ran around the ring single-mindedly. However, the pace of the pursuing Raikiri was swift, and her own reaction was slowed by the burden generated from her evasive movements. She was gradually becoming tired, and now if she was pressed she'd be driven to exhaustion repeatedly to the degree of collapsing.


「What's going on? Lorelei and Raikiri seemed to be even matched in the beginning, but now Lorelei is running around, and it seems that's the best she can do. Why in the world has the balance up to now become so different!?」


The bewildered live broadcaster hadn't grasped that Shizuku had lost sight of Touka. Because of that, she couldn't comprehend why the match up to now had progressed so one-sidedly. However, there was one truth everyone at this battlefield could understand together. That was―who would be the winner of this fight.

「Even though it's fine for her to surrender already….」

「Guess this was a heavy opponent for a first-year after all.」

「Even though I thought there was a possibility she'd be able to compete….」

「Well what? Gonna leave?」

「Yeah, I figure the match is already decided. She's really strong, that Prez is.」

The venue whose atmosphere was cooling; the enthusiasm from the start was nowhere to be found. That was how it was. If one thought about it, no matter how exceptional she was, she was still a first-year. Was there a reason for Hagun's best knight to lose to that kind of opponent? There had been an off-the-mark enthusiasm, but that kind of apathetic atmosphere now drifted through the venue.

In the middle of that, Stella asked Ikki in a moaning voice.

"…Hey Ikki. How is Shizuku doing?"

"How, meaning?"

"I can tell by looking. It's obvious that her response to her opponent's movements worsened all of a sudden."

"It's just as Stella-chan says. Even though the President is moving normally, it looks as if she can't see it."

Arisuin also felt that there was a problem with Shizuku's movements. And of course, Ikki did too. But Ikki could already see a few more things than the other two.

"…It's exactly like that, probably."

"Eh?"

"Shizuku really can't see her. I've also seen something like this once before."

It was that time before his debut battle, when he met the Yaksha Princess Nene Saikyou at the reception desk.

"That time, Saikyou-sensei got right in front of me in an instant. Even though I didn't let her out of my line of sight for even a moment, she got to my chest before I knew it. Right now, Raikiri is probably using the same body technique, I think."


"Ahaha. As expected of Kuro-bou. You noticed it after all, huh?"


A voice descended from an angle above. Ikki turned his eyes in that direction, where a bewitching petite woman dressed in a kimono and an imposing woman clad in a suit were descending the bowl-shaped stadium's stairway.

"Hey there~. It's been a while ♪."

"Saikyou-sensei, and Madam Director. The two of you together, I wonder if something's going on?"

"What, she just called out because she saw you guys, not because there's a reason."

The board chairman, Kurono Shinguuji, answered Arisuin's question. These two only came to see the duel between fellow B-Ranks in an ordinary Selection Battle. They only greeted them because Ikki's group was having an interesting conversation.

"…Hey, Nene-sensei. The thing that Ikki noticed, is what he's saying correct?"

Saikyou-sensei confirmed Stella's question with a nod.

"Yep. That is an ancient Japanese martial arts technique called Trackless Step that merges breath control and footwork. Or something like that―"

"…Eh?"