sara puppet seeing

Before the flourished blades of Hagun Academy, all of them fell. In their defenseless condition, they had taken fatal hits. Unable to guard, they could not dodge either. It was victory with no room for doubt.

Thank goodness… now then.

The hopes of Shizuku, of his precious little sister, had been protected. Their Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival had not been tarnished. Arisuin rejoiced about that. And everyone else was the same―

「Wh-Whew…. I didn't know what to do if you really attacked us from behind.」

Everyone leaked a similar breath of relief, and let the tension out from their shoulders. It was probably because each and every one of them had felt the response against his or her own blade.

Except for one person.


Except for Ikki, who was looking with a stiff expression down on his older brother, Ouma Kurogane, who he had cut down himself.


Impossible.

Ikki, at the reality stretched out before his eyes, remembered a chill that made him nauseous.

What is this?

No matter how he looked, this was really his older brother Ouma. In behavior, in aura, in spirit, voice, and face, surely this was the real thing. The response of Intetsu also told him that he had defeated the opponent without a doubt.

But because of that, no matter how real it was―it was absolutely impossible.


That his older brother, the Sword Emperor of Wind Ouma Kurogane, was stretched out at his feet so unsightly!


―At that moment, what caused him to realize it was the recollection coming back to his mind. Many days ago, the memory of that shopping district in the mountains―that fragment―

「Wah! Wait, wait! You can't do that!」

On that day, that young boy had, faster than Ikki's trained body, grabbed onto the man who had started attacking people in the street. And the boy had said it was a Blazer ability. Under that state of affairs, taking the boy's physical fitness into account, he must have started to act before the attacker moved. If not―Ikki should've been faster.

That ability could've been one of two types.

One was penetrating sight. If he saw that the man was carrying a blade, it was possible to start moving before the man began his action.

But one factor precluded this possibility. Kagami had said the boy's reason for being selected as a Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival representative was because he was a Blazer of the causation-intereference system with a rare skill. Penetrating sight was neither a rare skill nor part of the causation-interference system.

In that case, there was only one possibility remaining.


Future prediction―


Realizing that possibility, Ikki felt the revelation. In that instant, a shudder spread through his throat and gut.

"Watch out, Alice! This is a trap!"

He turned in Arisuin's direction, the shudder erupting with his voice.

But―it was slightly too late.

"Eh―?"

Faster than Arisuin could act on Ikki's words, countless swords flew into Arisuin's body from behind.

"Ha…?"

"Ali…ce?"

With a thud, Alice fell to the ground with ten silver swords piercing him. Everyone's breath was taken away by the abrupt situation.


"Not quite, huh? You might've made it if you were just a little bit quicker."


That boundlessly cheerful voice was heard.

"But figuring out my ability just from seeing it once! That's Ikki-kun for you!"

The voice came from behind Arisuin. Standing there smilingly innocently with countless silver blades in both hands, it was Amane Shinomiya.

Alice's powerless body fell to the ground. His body had been pierced by weapons in illusionary form, and he had blacked out.

At this situation, Shizuku was the first to act.

"Alice!"

Shouting, she tried to rush over to where he was. But that act―

"Shizuku, don't be careless! Watch out in front of you!"

Ikki's warning was just in time, unlike previously. In front of Shizuku's eyes, in what should be empty air, there were twists in space.

This is―!

Shizuku who recognized it immediately covered her head with both arms. In that instant, something hit Shizuku's petite body, and sent her bouncing back like a ball. As if something invisible had sent her flying.

And that was entirely the case.

"Eh…!"

Was the surprised from someone on Hagun's side? Or was it from everyone? But that was understandable. It was that astonishing a sight. The students of Akatsuki Academy who should've been defeated were walking out from the entirely transparent smoke, completely unharmed.

"H-Huh!? What is the meaning of this!?"

"Copies of the same people…!? Impossible! Then who are the ones we defeated―!?"

Renren and Saijou once again confirmed the forms of the Akatsuki students at their feet.

And they opened their eyes wide. The things lying there were painted wooden puppets.

"Wh-What is this!?"

"Trick Art[8]. My art that is even more real than the real thing."

At Renren's cry, one of the people from Akatsuki Academy coughed lazily. It was a topless young lady whose large breasts were hidden under only a painting apron. Like Arisuin, she was hired by Rebellion, the Bloody Da Vinci, Sara Bloodlily.

***
"Of course, she is terrifyingly frail. But that does not mean she is in fact weak. For the truth is that she possesses power enough to mitigate these shortcomings, should she choose to fight. Pedestrian 'art', no matter how lifelike or intricate, is a mere counterfeit of 'reality', that spawn of an accursed god. But the art of the Bloody Da Vinci overturns reality. Before it, the works of gods and their ilk cannot even be considered third-rate. You would do well to heed this for your own sake."

At her words, Ikki and Shizuku remembered Sara's hand in the attack on Hagun. Those puppets of the Akatsuki members had seemed indistinguishable from humans, though it was also precisely because they were too lifelike that Ikki had been able to see through them.
- Volume 4, Chapter 3
[Ikki sees through Sara's dolls that are completely real (even "more real than real") because of how good they are. This is reinforced explicitly in volume 5, chapter 1]