Ikki vs Sara

A hundred muzzles pointed at him. Seeing that, Ikki on the ring smiled bitterly.



That Necro Battalion was once defeated in the second round.



By Sword Eater, Kuraudo Kurashiki’s Ten’i Muhou.



And Ikki could use the exact same technique.



However......it was only that. He could use the same technique, but he could not do the same thing.



The feat of diverting away the storm of lead from a hundred muzzles was due to Kuraudo’s special physique.



Ikki could not do it.



(What I can do, and what I cannot do, huh. Sara has properly observed me.)



Ikki felt it deeply. However...



“However......that’s only if all of them hit!”



Ikki’s lips curled slightly upwards.



The expression he showed was......confidence.



And in the next instant, he took an action that shocked everyone in the venue.



「W-What! Contender Kurogane, instead of evading the hundred muzzles, he actually walked forward!?」



That’s right. Not evading, not defending, he just leisurely walked towards the muzzles of the skeleton formation.



Slowly, casually, he was relaxing his body as if he was taking a stroll.



Of course, the army of skeletons would not let such a foolish prey escape.



All of them in the formation pulled the trigger of their assault rifles together.



「Simultaneous fireeee────! The merciless gunshots have rushed towards the defenseless Contender Kuroganee!」



The surface of the ring was struck with a storm of lead.



The scrapped off stone blew white dust up.



The dust that raised up devoured Ikki’s figure immediately.



「D-Don’t tell me, it is decided so easily like that!?」



The anxiety of the announcer was probably shared by all the audiences.



However ── they all knew immediately.



That worry was unnecessary!



「W-Whaaat!?」



「Unbelievable!?」



Voices of surprise came from the audience seats.



The announcer also witnessed it a moment later.



From within the raised white dust, showing up leisurely without a single injury, the figure of Ikki continuing his advance.



「They are not hitting!? Despite being showered in that number of gunshots, Contender Kurogane did not lose a single drop of blood! W-What kind of magic is this!?」



To the words of the announcer, Yaotome shook her head in denial.



「This is not magic.」



「Could it be, this is the Ten’i Muhou that we have seen from Contender Kurashiki in the second round!?」



Yaotome denied that as well.



「No. That’s also wrong. In the first place, Ten’i Muhou is an anti-personnel technique. It cannot divert that amount of gunshots. What Contender Kurashiki had done was relying on his superhuman reflexes, Marginal Counter, which he is blessed with from birth. It’s a feat that nobody else can imitate......Just now, what Contender Ikki has used is a completely different technique. It’s not a technique that receives the gunshot and diverts it away, but not letting it hit in the first place. Does Iida-san remember the second match of second round in D-Block?」



「Of course! It’s the match between Contender Momiji Asagi and Contender Shizuku Kurogane! Ah.」



Iida raised a voice as he noticed.



「It’s Trackless Step!?」



Yaotome nodded.



「Yes. He used normal steps and Trackless Step intermittently just now to disorientate his presence, making the skeletons’ aim go haywire. If they target a spot that’s different from where he is, of course they won’t hit. Even if it is an assault rifle with a low bullet-concentration property, the bullet path will still slightly stray.」



「T-That’s how it was! As expected of the body technique of the God of War, Torajirou Nangou!」



「Well, that’s obvious, but the most incredible thing is Contender Ikki’s sense for body technique and being able to use the Trackless Step, which was originally used against a person, against an army. The only other knights who can use it like this are probably just God of War and Yaksha Princess.」



As Yaotome leaked a voice of admiration ── a change occurred right after that.

- Volume 7
[Ikki using Trackless Step against 100 gunmen, all actively firing at him and all with perfect LoS on him and avoiding every bullet with ease while casually walking forwards]
-----------------------------------------------------
Instead of focusing on one spot, the formation switched to firing horizontally together.



「This will make Contender Kurogane’s disorientation meaningless!」



A desperate situation.



Before Iida could comment that, Yaotome muttered.



「It’s a really foolish judgement.」



The reason for that mutter was understood in the next moment.



In accordance to the Necro Battalion switching from concentrated fire to horizontal fire, Ikki, who was mixing Trackless Step in a casual manner lowered his center of gravity deep down.



And then he leapt from the ground in that posture and dashed towards the formation with a soaring speed.



The skeletons faced against him with guns in a matter of course ── but their previous judgement was already mistaken.



Ikki used Trackless Step because the density of bullets was beyond the limit of what his body could handle.



When they switched to a large area horizontal shooting attack, the most important factor, the density, thinned out!



(If it’s this level of barrage, my Ten’i Muhou can also divert them away!)



There was no need to misguide them anymore!



「Uproar! Contender Kurogane! He broke through the barrage and cut into the formation from the front!」



Ikki had rushed into the middle of the formation and swung his blade to mow down his sides, shredding the skeleton soldiers to countless pieces of paper.



The Necro Battalion shot back in response, but could not capture Ikki’s quick movement at point blank distance.



That’s obvious. Regardless of how strong the gun was, it was a point attack.



That advantage would not be useful if it was not used at a long distance.



Once the distance was shrunk, the sword would be stronger and faster!



「I-Incredible......!」



The figure of Ikki cutting down the army of skeleton one after another.



With a single blade, not even using magic, that figure trampling down the modern weapons caused the audience to tremble.



「A person......can actually do something like this without using magic......!」



「C-Cool............」



And it was the same for the mage-knights, feeling touched by Ikki’s sword handling.



The Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Thunder of Judgement, Yuuzou Kaieda, while watching the match, talked to Itsuki, who was sitting at the adjacent sofa.



“Goodness gracious, your son is really something. With just his body technique alone, he has reached up to this point, there probably aren’t even five people in Japan at his level.”

- Volume 7
[Ten'i Muhou lets Ikki dodge the bullets from 100 gunmen with ease as they're now spread out horizontally instead of concentrated. Decimates them all at close range]
-----------------------------------------------------------
......The 「F-Rank」 of Ikki meant he was 「out of evaluation」.



For example, if he had the power at the level of E-Rank, the Blazer would only get a bruise from receiving gunshots.



That was because the magic power would mobilize to project the flesh.



However......F-Rank could not do that.



And half of Mage-Knights’ jobs were close-combat types.



In other words, for an F-Rank to become a Mage-Knight was a very dangerous job.



Hence 「out of evaluation」.



It was the same for the Blazers that were obliged to enroll into the mage-knight academies in countries that joined the League.



In other words, the 「F-Rank」 that was the international standard would not be treated as a Blazer in the first place.



It was just that......weak. It was too fragile to survive in the world of mage-knights.

- Volume 7
[Context of mage-knight strength. An E-rank knight would only get bruises from receiving gunshots, but Ikki's strength would generally be considered too low to even qualify as a mage knight]
---------------------------------------------------------------
「What is this about!? Contender Bloodlily’s figure disappeared from the ring!」



That’s right. She disappeared.



The circular ring with a diameter of 100m.



Bloody Da Vinci, Sara Bloodlily was nowhere to be found!



The spectators were confused about that fact.



Did she escape? Out of the field? Then what about the counting, etc.



However......



(No, she’s here.)



Ikki noticed.



She would not escape.



That was without a doubt......Sara’s Color of Magic.



It was a magic to deceive the eyes of the surrounding people.



Able to cause people to see her like a stone on the roadside, stone gray.



(We were still able to see her at that time, but......this time, I cannot see her at all.)



She probably used that much power in her technique.



It was difficult even for Ikki to capture her figure with his naked eyes. However...



(But if it’s just at that degree, you won’t escape from me.)



Even if he could no longer see her with his eyes, there was another method.



It was not complete stealth like Hunter.



At best, she could not be perceived by sight only.



In that case ── he just needed to hear her.



The field was circular. From the bowl-shaped audience seats, the usual cheers roared.



The wave of that sound had a void............a human-shaped void!



“Over thereee!!!!”



The time taken for the search was just a few splits of a second.

[Detects a void of sound to detect an invisible person within a few splits of a second]
--------------------------------------------------------
Fake Edelweiss leisurely raised her pair of wing-like swords horizontally, putting up a stance.



“A-ha-a──!?”



In that instant, Stella, who was watching over the match in the audience seats, hugged her body and squealed.



She felt it.



Just by getting into a battle mode, Twin-Wings released a demonic sword pressure that made her very soul resist looking directly at her.



(S-Scary......!)



That sword pressure was not pointed at her.



What Stella felt was just the side effect.



Even so, her whole body trembled uncontrollably, cold sweat pouring out non-stop.



(Even though she’s so far away, it feels like having a sword pointed at my throat! )



She could clearly feel the icy coldness of a blade.



It was that much of a dominating pressure.


Just from seeing her figure, she could tell the absolute difference in ability without even thinking!



(This is the world’s strongest swordsman......)



「W-What has happeeened! The world’s most infamous criminal, standing on the highest summit of the swords’ world, Twin-Wings, Edelweiss! Contender Sara Bloodlily, unbelievable, she has just materialized a super powerhouse!」



「I-I’m shocked......she can even bring something like that out......!」



「S-Serious-ly............!」



「This is......foul play......!」



Stella was not the only one shaken by the materialization of the pure white swordsman on the ring.



The announcer, commentator, everyone in the audience seats, voices of shock trembled everywhere.



It couldn’t be helped. The Edelweiss on the ring was a fake born from Sara’s ability, but the majestic aura she carried was not any weaker than the real deal.

- Volume 7
[Sara manifests Edelweiss, Edelweiss' weird soul manip thing spooking Stella as a side-effect]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sara declared her victory in a tone mixed with her strong determination. And then ── In that instant, the figure of Twin-Wings swinging down her blade appeared before Ikki’s eyes without any sound.



“!!!!”



「Fas────」



A speed that even the broadcast could not follow.



The pure white blade was swung down with a speed similar to a white thunder.



Edelweiss’s actions, from stepping in to attacking, all of it was soundless.



Her movements that were honed to the limit wasted no energy.



All of it was spent only on movement.



Due to that, the atmosphere would not vibrate at all, and sound would not be transmitted.



In addition, with an instant acceleration from 0 to 100%, such exchange between stillness and quickness made the swords of Twin-Wings difficult to be captured using sight.



A high speed and soundless slash that could not be detected by sight and hearing.



If he was a normal person, his life would have been ended without even noticing the slash.



The fake created from Sara’s image also had such a trait.



However...



“Zuah!”



Ikki had already experienced that fact with his body.



Hence, he was able to defend against the white thunder-like first strike from the fake Edelweiss.



However, he did not have any room for relief after defending against it.



The instant Twin Wing’s left wing was blocked by Intetsu, her right wing had already reached Ikki’s nose tip!



“────Fuu!”



However, Ikki had already seen through the thrust from the right.



Although his cheek was grazed, he calmly tilted his head to evade.



He even swung his Intetsu and intercepted fake Edelweiss within his sword range.



In response, she also spread her two swords ── and delivered her attack!



“UoOOOOaAAAAA────!!!!!!”



The sword flash of pure white and darkness intersected.



They collided, and sparks immediately scattered as the gales of steel clashed.



That’s right. Ikki clashed with her.



He had to rely on Ittou Shura in the past, but he could finally keep up with Twin-Wings’s swords!



──That was because of the performance of the fake was lower after all.



Wrong.



Ikki could tell as he clashed swords with her.



At least, fake Edelweiss could not be weaker than the time he fought against her at Akatsuki Academy in the past.



The clarity of her swords, power, presence, they were all the same.



Even so, to be able to match up without Ittou Shura...



(That’s just how much stronger I have become!)



He had obtained Edelweiss’s sword technique from Blade Steal.



And the brain signals for battle that he switched in order to execute it.



He obtained a large amount of experience from that one fight.



Thanks to that, Ikki’s basic battle strength had increased tremendously compared to that time.



Even without relying on Ittou Shura, he could already keep up with the battle in that territory!



(With this, I can at least endure through!)



“Haaa!!!!”



And finally, fake Edelweiss stepped back from the clash of swords with Ikki.



「UoOOOO! I-Incredible! Twin-Wings’s swords, he has pushed back the world’s strongest swords!」



「GOOO! Another One!」



「Ikki-kuuun! Wiiiin it!」



Although Ikki did not respond to the cheers, he intended to do just that.

[Ikki is able to keep up with Edelweiss now instead of having to fight for his life. Another description of her swordsmanship and how poggers it be]
[Should be noted that he's keeping up now without Ittou Shura, something that made him dozens of times faster than he is in base]
------------------------------------------------------


Therefore, Ikki powerfully kicked off with his legs, and chased after the faltered fake Edelweiss. However...



(No, not good──!)



He should not have done that.



“────Gah!?!?”



The moment Ikki stepped in, his field of vision dyed red.



His whole body felt hot as if on fire, and large amount of fresh blood sprayed out.



Ikki Kurogane was cut.



And it was not a single stroke, but countless.



(This...is............!)



「Contender Kurogane’s body suddenly started to bleed as soon as he stepped forward! What exactly caused that!?」



「This is...a gap in air!」



「Yaotome-pro!?」



「I have heard about this before......! Twin-Wings’s slash is, in other words, the world’s strongest slash. That speed, sharpness, everything is out of the norm! Due to that, the places her slash passed through will constantly leave a vacuum gap! Because of that sharpness, even the atmosphere cannot detect that it has been cut apart......!」



The truth was just as Yaotome said.



The area that Ikki had rushed into after chasing the fake Edelweiss had vacuum slash scars from the crossing of swords before, like wind blades stalling in air.



It was exactly like Ayase Ayatsuji’s Noble Art, Mark of the Wind.



Fake Edelweiss only had to swing her swords to create that phenomenon.

[Edelweiss' swordsmanship is so fuckin poggers that her cuts leave vacuum slices in the air because the air itself doesn't even recognise that it has been cut]
-------------------------------------------------------------------


The fake Edelweiss before his eyes was much stronger than the one he had fought against before.



The Edelweiss back then was never serious until the last strike.



She was just fending off Ikki, and not seriously aiming for his life.



However, the woman before his eyes was different.



It was clear that the speed and sharpness was different, and more than anything, she was merciless.

[Sara's fake Edelweiss is a stronger opponent than the real one that Ikki fought previously]
--------------------------------------------------------------
As Ikki took a certain distance away and thought about it, fake Edelweiss took a strange action.



She did not chase after Ikki, instead, she lightly turned the sword on her right hand and stabbed it into the ground.



*Katsun.*



And right after that.



“Ah ──── Gah!?”



20 meters away from fake Edelweiss, blood sprayed out from Ikki’s entire body again.



A pain as if his every part of his body was pierced by lighting at the same time.



It could’ve be some sort of magic attack.



That wasn’t the case, though.



Ikki, who had received the attack, immediately remembered what it was.



(This...is...Dokuga-no-tachi............!)



In the past, the real Edelweiss had shown him the same technique as Ikki’s sixth secret sword.



Using the blade to transmit vibration into the opponent’s body, causing a wave within his body to destroy it from the inside, a penetration technique using the sword.



Ikki’s Dokuga-no-tachi transmitted the vibration by connecting with the opponent’s Device.



However, just then, the fake Edelweiss used the ground of the ring as the medium, beating the vibration into Ikki’s body from far away.

[She can somehow use Dokuga no Tachi using the ground as a medium from 20 metres away, and with enough precision to target a single person instead of being omnidirectional]
--------------------------------------------------------
Crushing away the distance between the two with a flash-like speed, she swung down her twin swords with all of her strength.



“............!”



Despite having spasms all over his body, Ikki reacted to it.



Holding Intetsu above his head horizontally, it defended against the falling pair of white lightning.



However ── the strikes he desperately defended against did not contain even the strength used when stroking someone.



Seeing that the slashes from above would not hit, fake Edelweiss controlled the muscles of her body diligently as she swung down her swords, and all that energy ── was transferred to her feet!



“Guh! Ha!”



As Ikki shifted his guard towards above, she kneed his defenseless body.



A step from the world’s strongest swordsman. The kick that gathered the intensity and all the energy, which had an impact that could pierce through the stomach, sank into Ikki’s solar plexus, sending his body flying backwards.



Ikki’s body that was blown away as if he was hit by a large truck slid past the lawn outside the ring, crashing into the fence separating the audience seats and the ring. However, it didn’t stop at there, the fence was bent from the root and launched towards the audience seats, crashing onto the steps in between the audience seats, climbing up with that intensity, eventually stopped at the top row.



「「「........................」」」



The impact from the scene that looked like a fatal traffic accident had just occurred caused the nearby audience to not even be able to raise a scream.



They were just staring blankly at the broken staircase, and the trail of blood looking like a red carpet, swallowing their breaths.



The fallen Worst One facing the night sky was......lying immobile.


****
They noticed it. There was no meaning in continuing the battle anymore.



As an F-Rank, Ikki had fought well, but in the end, the world of mage-knights was determined by magic. Anyone would think that such an ending was inevitable.



And because of that──............Not a single person had noticed.



The man that should be in the greatest despair was...



The man who had lost all of his strength and was facing the sky was...



Showing a confident smile from his mouth────

「Eigh────!?」



The main referee’s voice clogged as he was about to count eight.



That was because, standing up with a voice as if he was just getting up from his bed, Ikki leapt out from the top row of audience seats, past the bent fence, then continued until the top of the ring and landed back on it.



「W-What! Contender Kurogane! He stands up on the eighth count as if nothing had happened, and just jumped back into the ring like that! And what a light movement! Even after taking on that kind of an attack, it’s as if there was no damage!? How is this happening!?」



The announcer Iida could not believe it and was confused.



On the other hand, the commentator Yaotome had properly understood the situation.



「In fact, he is more or less not damaged.」



「Eh, even though the intensity of his flight dug a path in concrete!?」



Yaotome nodded.



「That’s the reason why he’s fine. A normal knight would’ve probably crashed into the audience seats with the fence and received fatal damage. However, Contender Ikki purposely rolled grandly like that, and dispersed the energy that normally should’ve destroyed his body into the ground.」



It was exactly as she explained.



All of the energy that had bent the fence and destroyed the staircase along the audience seats was originally something that would’ve affected Ikki’s body.



However, Ikki cleverly shifted his body weight to escape to the off-side of that energy, making the surroundings shoulder the damage.



「Hence, the damage from the attack just now was lower than what it seemed.」



「That kind of thing, is it even possible......!」



「In theory, it is closer to judo’s receiving technique than sword technique. It is a basic body technique that non-Blazers also can use. Of course, it was a super difficult feat to avoid all of that damage. Only Contender Ikki, who is well-versed in martial arts in order to reach the extreme of his sword technique, has such innovation.」



And after completely escaping from that damage, Ikki fixed his breathing until the count of eight.



Hence, he was able to recover for a bit longer than if he had returned right after being blown away.

[Ikki gets rolled, but tanks the hit but actually somehow tanked the damage with no real injuries because he rolled(???)]
--------------------------------------------------
“Purple Caricature is indeed not the real thing. But it is able to reproduce the exact same potential as the real thing. Stop with the useless bluffing.”



She knew the performance of her Purple Caricature.



Therefore, she could assert that there was no opening for Ikki to take advantage of.



The reason was that the sword technique Ikki was using had been stolen from Edelweiss.



That would never win against her Purple Caricature which had equivalent performance as the original.



There was a relationship of absolute superiority-inferiority between them.



That’s why Sara had drawn Edelweiss.



She should not lose. Sara had absolute confidence in it.

[Purple Caricature again showing to have the strength of the real Edelweiss]
-------------------------------------------
As if responding to her heart’s voice, the fake Edelweiss kicked off the ground.



And as expected, she reached Ikki without a single sound and launched consecutive strikes with her twin swords.



“Haaa!”



Ikki retaliated.



Black steel dealt with the falling white flash.



However, there was a difference of one sword and two swords. And more than anything, there was a difference between their fundamental specs.



As the number of rounds they crossed swords increased, Ikki was being constantly pushed back.



And finally, with a high pitch of metal clashing, Intetsu, along with Ikki’s right hand, were repelled back in a big arc.



Ikki was defenseless before fake Edelweiss.



Despite being an image, such a fatal opening would not escape Edelweiss!



The right sword was about to split Ikki from his head to his bottom.



(It’s settled──)



Sara was sure of her victory, but──



Ikki lightly swayed sideways and evaded that strike which would’ve split him into two.



With tranquility, without any signs of panic.



And with his deflected right hand, he slashed back horizontally with a great momentum, forcing Edelweiss, who guarded against it, out of the sword range with his strength.



(Eh............)



Sara was dumbfounded at the unnatural ease with which he had dodged the decisive strike.

[Ikki's adapting, having seen through the limit of the fake and can now fight Edelweiss on equal ground, actually pushing her back this time]
----------------------------------------------------------

The audience probably did not believe that Ikki had overcome Edelweiss either.

Their reaction was completely skeptical.

It couldn’t be helped. He couldn’t fight back at all until a while ago.

However, that was only until the first retaliation.

Fake Edelweiss released a light speed thrust between Ikki’s brows as she closed in again.

In response to that, Ikki leaned back as he lightly dodged it, and in that posture, he returned the same strong slash in retaliation, forcing Edelweiss back again.

「「「～～～～～～～～～～～～～!!!!」」」

Anyone would have noticed up to that point.

The one who was superior in the match currently.

The confused chattering received confirmation one after another......and changed into a storm of cheers!

「S-Surpassed! We thought that the fake Edelweiss retreated on purpose at first, but there’s no mistake on the second time! There’s no doubt that, currently, Contender Kurogane has pushed back against fake Edelweiss at close range!」

「Incredibleee! That was not even a millimeter away from his nose tip just now!?」

「He really saw through it......! He wasn’t putting up a front!」

The unexpected attacks from Ikki had caused the slightly chilling atmosphere in the venue to rapidly rise in temperature.

However, those cheers could not be heard by Sara’s ears.

Because the confusion in her head had already caused her to be unable to recognize them.

(Why, all of a sudden......!)

Until a while ago, her image’s speed and sharpness had suppressed him. Why!?

Thinking about that, Sara had suddenly reached a conclusion.

She had heard about it.

Ikki Kurogane was able to read his opponent’s thinking pattern to a scarily accurate degree.

“Don’t tell me, this is Perfect Vision......!?”

“There’s no need to use that.”

The person who denied Sara’s thoughts was......Ikki himself.

That’s right, in fact, he did not need to reach such a deep level of thinking at the moment.

Rather than that......there was no need to think at all.

“Even if I don’t think that deeply about it, I will realize after thinking about it a little. Blazer’s ability is unique for each individual. That’s absolute. No matter how versatile the power seems to be, Sara-san’s power is only the ability to ‘materialize your own image’ if you trace it back to its origin.”

Color of Magic was a Noble Art that materialized the image Sara connected the color to.

Purple Caricature was a Noble Art that directly materialized the image she drew as it was.

In other words, her ability was not the power to create a fake exactly like the original.

It was only the power that materialized the imagination sketched out from her image.

“But how accurate can your image be? The outer appearance is the same. That’s probably not a problem. Physical ability as well, from Sara-san, the world’s number one artist’s observant eyes, you can draw it out without any error. However......after that?”

Be it Ikki’s sword or Edelweiss’s sword, one strike after another, they were swinging their swords at a super high speed that normal humans could not even recognize with their sights.

In addition to that, the instant their swords met in attack and defense, there were feints with their gazes and presence. They were vying for control with their presences.

As they executed their strikes, there was a process of exchanging a battle of wits back and forth, that had been repeated many times.

That way of thinking, the sequence of thinking ── could Sara’s image achieve all that?

“There’s no way you can do it.”

Ikki declared.

It was not a territory that a person, who had never held a sword before, could imagine.

It was a world of instinct reserved only for those who actually shed blood and tread along the line between life and death.

In other words, that fake Edelweiss did not have it in her body.

Only her specs were reproduced

Since she couldn’t imagine the inner contents, they couldn’t have been reproduced.

“However, there is a question in that case. There is no content inside, then why is she moving? Why is she fighting? I have one hypothesis regarding that. And then I have confirmed my hypothesis in the midst of fighting. When I received the attack from above, I purposely left my body’s guard open.”

“Purposely......?”

“That’s right. And then......thanks to that, I have confirmed it.”

In response to Ikki’s action, fake Edelweiss chose to kick him out of the field.

Dealing damage to the opponent, and expecting a countdown for out of field, it was a pretty good move.

──However, in the case when used against an opponent at Ikki’s level of body techniques, it was hard to say if it was really a move with certainty.

Even though he would be blown out of field, he would not continue to take hits, rather, there was the risk of him taking the chance to adjust his breathing due to the interruption for out of field countdown. In fact, Ikki had done just that.

Based on the result, the loss from that confrontation was on fake Edelweiss’s side.

If she was the real deal, she would not have made such a naive mistake.

Instead of the victory before her eyes, she would’ve probably prioritized defeating her opponent with certainty.

However, the fake made her move. She priotized the possible victory from out of field countdown that she saw before her eyes.

──From that behavior, Ikki confirmed that his hypothesis was correct.

“What you have projected is ‘Edelweiss who will win against Ikki Kurogane’. That’s why she seeks victory recklessly. She will bite onto the slimmest opening she sees.”

“............!”

“And then......it’s been easy once I understood that. I just have to purposefully create the shortest route towards victory. I just have to purposefully attack and create an opening to show her a glimpse of victory.”

If he did that, she would stupidly rush in straightforwardly just like then.

Time and time again.

She wasn’t a living creature that could think in the first place. She was just an image seeking victory.

She couldn’t even learn from experience, and couldn’t stop herself once she saw a glimpse of victory.

“Such an easy and naive attack, no matter how fast, how sharp, or how many times she performs it, it doesn’t matter. ──It’s not scary anymore.”

“Kuh!”

At Ikki’s confident smile, Sara could not hide her overflowing agitation.

The reason was obviously because Ikki’s deduction was right on the mark, seeing through the true colors of fake Edelweiss made from Purple Caricature.

[Ikki dodging Edelweiss' ""light speed"" attack and explaining how purple caricature works after clashing swords a couple times]
------------------------------------------------

Even if the gap between them was so ridiculously huge...

(If it’s just neutralizing the first strike, when I know where it will be coming from, then it’s not impossible!)

“──────!”

It was the instant fake Edelweiss swung down on the crown of Ikki’s head in order to seal the victory.

Ikki moved all of his muscles at the same time using the technique stolen from Blade Steal.

Using the highest instant speed, the fastest strike Raikou from the secret swords he possessed, he swung horizontally at the pure white killing intent, aiming to cut her into two.

──With both his hands.

That’s right, that was Ikki’s chance of victory.

Certainly, like what Sara had said, they had a superior-inferior relationship in their sword techniques. The difference in perfection between the two was unshakable.

However......it was wrong to say that they were both using the exact same sword techniques.

That’s obvious. Edelweiss’s Device was two swords. Ikki’s was a single sword. In the first place, their battle styles were different.

And then if their styles were different, then of course there was a difference in ease of use.

Edelweiss’s twin sword style was a super attack type sword technique that shut out her opponent with an overwhelming number of strikes.

Once the opponent was captured by that circle of storm, it would be uncontrollable, but as she could only swing her swords with a single arm, each strike’s power and speed would be lesser.

On the other hand, Ikki used single sword style.

He fell short in number of strikes, but each strike’s power and speed would be above hers.

In other words, before Edelweiss’s consecutive strikes started, if he had just limited it to the first strike...

(I have the upper hand────!)

“HAaAAaAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!”

And then, both sides swung their magic swords at a speed that was impossible for eyes to follow and cut through the night, crossing in a brief instant.

The pure white blade split Ikki’s scalp, and the moment it was about to cut through his skull...

The pure black blade split a horizontal line across the body of the fake of the world’s strongest knight, reducing that image into paper scraps.

 「C-C-Cut apaaaaaart!!!! Contender Kurogane! Although it’s a fake, he has cut that Twin-Wings, Edelweiss into two! He has retaliated against that hopeless difference in battle power with one strikeee!!!!」

「O-Oi oi, seriously!」

「He really won......!」

「His opponent is already defenseless! Finish it in one go like that!」

“No...way............”

In the midst of the echoing cheers from the excited audiences after seeing a reversal, Sara leaked out words of astonishment.

To an amateur of sword techniques, she could not understand why fake Edelweiss had just lost.

[If Ikki combines Edelweiss' sword skill with his own Raikou, he can do a single attack faster than her. He uses this and the weakness of purple caricature to beat fake edelweiss]
-----------------------------------------------------------
“Purple Caricature, Another One!!!!”

With a drawing speed that could be even faster than Ikki or Edelweiss’s swords, she created a fake Ikki.

What’s more ── four of them.

Ikki opened his eyes wide in surprise.

After defeating her strongest hand, he stepped in because Sara had no more means of opposing.

Such a counterattack was completely out of his expectation.

However, he wavered only for an instant.

“Seiyaa!!!!”

Ikki immediately recollected his confused mind from seeing the fakes, and decapitated one of the four fakes that challenged him with Ittou Shura, rendering it to paper scraps.

On his second breath, he easily cut down another one.

However, that’s also obvious. Since his opponents were none other than Ikki himself.

What he was good at. What he was poor at. What would be coming from that posture.

His advantages and disadvantages. His habits and tendencies ── he knew them all better than anyone.

Those half-heartedly made fakes would not be a match even if there were four of them at the same time, no matter how close to perfection they were.

[Ikki casually decimates multiple fake Ikki's simultaneously, even when they're using Ittou Shura and thus are dozens of time better than him in stats]
------------------------------------------------------------
Ikki took an assault stance by sinking his center of gravity down.

However, even faster than Ikki could inject power into his legs to kick off, with a speed that was not any worse than fake Edelweiss, Mario Rosso closed in and swung the huge sword in its hand at Ikki’s head.

The slash produced from that overwhelming arm strength contained power that could split the ring in two with only a single strike.

However, it could not reach Ikki.

In response to the incoming powerful strike, Ikki kicked off the ring with all his strength and leapt.

Then he used his extraordinary eyesight to evade with a hair’s breadth...

“Saigeki────ii!!!!”

A secret sword that concentrated all his momentum onto a single point, Ikki stabbed towards the center between the bloody gladiator’s eyebrows.

A clean hit with no room for complaint.

Even so...

“────!?”

The rock-like body of Mario Rosso did not budge even the slightest.

On the contrary, Ikki’s sword could not even pierce into a single layer of its skin.

[Sara's summon tanks Saigeki]
-----------------------------------------------------
In the next instant after Sara believed so, fresh red blood spilled onto the ring.

The blood was......boiling like magma.

“!?”

Sara opened her eyes wide in shock.

The body that was cut apart was not of Ikki, but her passion.

However, how was it done?

Even though Ikki did not have a weapon anymore.

Thinking until that far, Sara noticed.

Ikki’s movement while he was rolling, the positions the two of them were standing were──

(Oh...no............!)

Over there was the vacuum distortion that, though a fake, the world’s strongest swordsman had carved with her slashes.

That’s right. After knowing that his own slash could not pass through, Ikki had intentionally lured Mario Rosso towards that location.

[Edelweiss is strong enough to easily cleave through the summon with just her space cuts that were left in the ring. Also, these things hang around for ages lol]
-------------------------------------------
She was............able to comprehend it because she had that level of power.



The real reason for the victory of that battle.



Certainly, it was a fact that Ikki used the advantage of one sword style.



However ── the reason of his victory was not that. It was also not the difference in battle style.



As for the reason why......aiming at the weakness of Purple Caricature, even after using the advantage between their battle style ── in the instant they crossed each other, the side that touched the opponent first with the blade was none other than fake Edelweiss.



That’s right. Heart, technique, body, despite missing two out of the three, the world’s strongest sword still did not allow the young samurai to take initiative.



Stella definitely witnessed that instant.



Hence, she resolved herself for Ikki’s loss.



However......the result was as it was shown.



Ikki’s blade severed his opponent’s life first.



Why exactly was that the case?



Stella was confused, and after that............shivered.



She noticed.



At the instant of that contact, Ikki took a devil-like tactic.



(Ikki has probably realized it too............)



It would be impossible for Ikki Kurogane to misjudge the difference in strength between him and his opponent. He knew it.



Even if it was a fake without inner contents, even if he used the advantage of the first strike, his opponent’s slash would reach him first.



That’s why he covered up for that delay......by using the characteristic of Purple Caricature.



He lured the slash towards his head, taking it with his skull, which was the hardest bone in the human body!



Of course, no matter how hard it was in terms of human bone, Edelweiss’s sword could easily split it in half.



However, its speed would drop regardless compared to cutting flesh.



That was probably a fraction of instant not even reaching 0.1 second, but──



Both of them had a slashing speed that normal people couldn’t even see.



Just filling up that......the outcome was reversed.

[Ikki's victory over fake Edelweiss happened due to him inviting a hit on his skull and having his swing complete without the fraction of a fraction of a second he gained from the force required to get through his skull]