Ikki vs Kirihara

Both parties summoned their Devices. Ikki called a black steel katana to his right hand, and Kirihara took a green bow.

「And now, today's fourth match. Begin!」

The starting signal for the match came. And at the same time, Kirihara's body disappeared from the stage.

「Ooh! It's suddenly out, Area Invisible! Using this, Contender Kirihara can't be seen by the naked eye!」

「What a bothersome ability~. It can't be dealt with except by a wide-range attack.」

「Yes! In the first round of last year's Sword-Art Festival, the third-year from Bunkyoku Academy who fought with Contender Kirihara was the type to specialize in close-range single-hit kills, but because he didn't have a wide-range attack skill, he was defeated easily. Does Contender Kurogane have a wide-range attack!? We're not exaggerating when we say these things, you know!」

The hunter concealed himself in the deep forest, and from cover drew his bow on his prey. Seeing that hunter was already impossible, so there was no one to stop that shot, and from what should be empty air, magic arrows suddenly appeared and drilled into Ikki's back from his blind spot!

That was how it should have worked.

"Over there!"

「Knocked away! Contender Kurogane has used his katana to knock away the unseen enemy's arrow!」

「No, it's not over yet~. Look!」

As Saikyou said, Ikki hadn't just deflected the arrow coming from his blind spot. He immediately spun his body half-way around like a top, and ran in the direction those arrows were flying from.

Kirihara was certainly impossible to see. However, the arrows were different.

The location of the hand sending those arrows can be calculated from where those arrows fly. That's Area Invisible's weakness!

If one carefully determines the arrows' moment of appearance, it was possible to spy out this location. Ikki's strategy against Area Invisible was to calculate the opponent's direction and distance from the force and angle of those arrows.

"Take this!"

Ikki swung Intetsu's blade, aiming at the place where the enemy must be. But the edge scythed down empty air, and from empty air, scraps of a uniform fluttered down gently.

"Ha, so close. Not only deflecting an attack from a blind spot but even guessing my position after I disappeared? That takes real concentration. Is this what they call seeing without sight?"

"It's hardly something that great."

Ikki returned humility to the voice that had become vague in both range and direction. However, unlike his humble words, Ikki was feeling quite confident.

- Volume 1, Chapter 4
[IKKI DEFLECTING ARROWS FROM AN INVISIBLE ATTACKER AT HIS BLIND SPOT AND INSTANTLY TRACING WHERE THE SHOT CAME FROM, CLOSING THE DISTANCE QUICKLY ENOUGH TO CUT OFF CLOTHES]
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Bloodlust filled Kirihara's voice, and Ikki knew it was time to focus on the second shot. Sharpening his concentration to take in all possible angles, he stretched out his perceptions and provoked an attack.

"If you think it's disagreeable, you should nock an arrow into that bow and shoot to kill. I'll brush it away entirely."

He'd use Ittou Shura the moment he perceived the next arrow, before Kirihara could escape. Victory would be decided here!

"Heh… a face with fighting spirit. Surely your sword arm is terrific. That's something even I'd acknowledge. But how sad, it's only so great as far as peasants go. For Blazers, humanity's new chosen breed, battles are all about ability! I wonder if an F-Rank who's not much more than garbage can break my Area Invisible?"

"We won't know unless we try."

"True enough. Then from now on, I'll do this."

In that moment, blood spurted from a hole in Ikki's right thigh.

"―Wha?"

A hot metallic pain raced through Ikki's thigh and stabbed into his brain.

"Guaaah!"

Ikki let out a cry in shock. But astonishment outweighed the pain.

What happened!?

Despite sharpening his concentration and checking possible lines for every attack, how had he just been injured? Holding together his disordered consciousness tightly, Ikki looked down at the hole which had been suddenly opened in his thigh. Where he looked, there was a spray of blood hanging unnaturally in midair, as if the blood was coiling around something transparent. Reaching out with a hand, he grasped something solid there.

"It can't be…."

For Ikki, this was the worst case scenario.

"Exactly. This year, the arrows I shoot can also be hidden. Do you understand? In other words, my attacks can strike invisibly!"
[KIRIHARA INVISIBLE ARROWS IKKI NO DETECT OH NO HOW EVER WILL HE COUNTER]
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「…Cruel….」

It was ten minutes after the start of the match, and the voice of Tsukuyomi, who was providing live coverage, was faltering. In the ring, Ikki could just barely raise his sword with bloodsoaked hands. He had been reduced to this after Kirihara's invisible arrows destroyed his strategy. Yet the battle still continued, because while arrows had been driven through every part of his arms and legs, none had pierced his vitals. Was that mercy? No, everyone watching knew that it wasn't. This spectacle showed only a Hunter tormenting prey.

***
Well then, what was the best option? What should he do from here on? How would he capture this invisible opponent?

"Heh heh heh. Not giving up even this late in the game… it's beyond amazing."

"…Withdrawing over just this much… would be even worse than repeating a year."

"Yes, yes, that's quite like you. Alright, to show a little respect, I'll give you a handicap. I'll tell you the place I'll pierce you next. Try and avoid it. Now, here I go. To start with, the left thigh."

"Gah!"

"What's the matter? Your reaction is slow. There, right shoulder!"

"Guh…!"


"Come on, try to dodge! The next one is your right ear!"

"Uwa!"

"Your movements are slow, Kurogane-kun! Don't you have some motivation? Put more spirit into it and run around! Here, left shoulder! Right thigh, right palm, calf, right knee, small intestine, stomach! Liver! Kidney! Large intestine! You'll die, you'll die! If you don't dodge well, you're as good as dead!"

"Guaaaaaaah!"

Ikki's knees finally collapsed as Kirihara's arrows started to fly at the internal organs in his torso.

"Hehehe, ahahahaha! So disgraceful and dirty! You have a miserable face on, don't you Kurogane-kun? Now now, keep fighting, keep fighting with a smile. You should have a reason to keep fighting, isn't that right? After all, Kurogane-kun, you're in this match because you want to graduate."

***
Rising to his feet, Ikki gazed at the red-haired girl who had scolded him. Large bright teardrops were spilling from Stella's crimson eyes. For whose sake were those tears pouring out? For whom was she grieving? Ikki wasn't so thickheaded that he didn't know. But even in her pain, Stella was saying this.

Fight.

Stella knew how hard and painful Ikki's path was, but she still wanted him to keep fighting.

So there's someone other than Ryouma-san saying that….

Ikki thought that if he lost this fight, everything he had suffered would become meaningless, and he was afraid to think on that loss. But he was mistaken. His goal of becoming a mage-knight might have taken great effort so far, but those days of trying hard and moving forward wouldn't become meaningless at all.

Because I met a girl who says that she loves the way I've lived!

The instant he understood that, *click*, Ikki felt his heart and body joining together. His thoughts that were clouded by tension and dismay turned alarmingly clear. His body that was injured and bleeding was already on the brink of collapse, but it moved as he wished. Ikki's fighting condition had finally reached its zenith.

Then it was still too early, much too early, to give up. He couldn't, not yet. There was still something to try. Something that he, Ikki Kurogane, must do. He would move forward, no matter how punishing that was supposed to be. If he was defeated while using all his power, he could recover from his injuries and fight again, but….


But losing his nerve and running away, that would disgrace a knight for the rest of his life!


"Oooooooo!!!"


Ikki raised a war cry and fired himself up. From his flesh, from his blood, from every single cell, he gathered magic power and ignited it all in a flash. Ikki Kurogane's body shined with a blue flame that flowed like wind, radiating the glow of his Noble Art, Ittou Shura. And in doing so, Ikki declared his determination to finish this bout right here.

[IKKI GETS UP AND CONTINUES FIGHTING AFTER THESE INJURIES - LIKE 30 ARROWS WOUNDS, INCLUDING DAMAGE TO HIS ORGANS - PARTS SKIPPED WERE DIALOGUE (MAINLY THE CROWD CALLING IKKI BAD AND STELLA DISAGREEING]
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Indeed, it might look that way. Right now, he had no effective strategy against Area Invisible, a stealth that concealed sound, indication, odor, and shape. He couldn't even tell if an attack was coming until it was too late.
[KIRIHARA'S AREA INVISIBLE ALSO COVERS SOUND, INDICATION, ODOUR, AND SHAPE FOR PERFECT CAMOFLAUGE]
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"You've already struggled in futility long enough, I think. I'm also pretty tired of watching something so uncouth, so it's about time I bring it to an end. …Hmm, which reminds me, I promised to tell you where I aim, right? That's right… the next one is―"

There was a certain bloodthirst dwelling in Kirihara's voice as he nocked an arrow on his bowstring. Perhaps his move would be deathblow to decide this fight.

"―to the crown of your head. If you don't want to die, dodge it, you held-back failure!"

A destructive killing intent shot invisibly, an arrow capable of even snatching away life, was racing directly toward Ikki. But―killing intent was inconsequential now. Of the arrow, there was nothing that could be seen, nothing that could be heard, so rather than try for the arrow, Ikki would only see what he could see, hear what he could hear.

Remember it―

The order he received his wounds, the direction―

Remember it―

The depth of his injuries, the angle―

Remember it―

Kirihara's words at that time, the voice―

Everything about this match was packed into those details. As if perusing the history of its fencing from the sword style technique, derive the enemy's process from the order and direction. As if collecting the school's knowledge from its swordsmanship, reverse-engineer the position from the injuries and angle. As if stealing the principles of its invention from its tricks, expose the patterns of thinking from the words and the voice. And then from everything there, investigating the previous degree of piercing's tendency, the personality, technique, design, by integrating, analyzing, understanding, exhausting data on all kinds of things―grasp everything about the person called Shizuya Kirihara!

There was no reason he couldn't do it. It wasn't difficult. Because all along, since long ago, Ikki Kurogane had fought that way!

In that instant, the arrow shot from Oborotsuki bit into Ikki. The place it pierced… was not the crown of the head, but the heart. Yes, Kirihara had set a trap into the last blow with a Hunter's composure and cool-headedness. His opponent was already in a hopeless situation, but just in case none of the injuries had occurred, he had shot an arrow at Ikki's heart while saying he was aiming at Ikki's head. A feint in addition to invisibility, his attack permitted no evasion. And exactly as the Hunter planned, the invisible killing intent pierced Ikki's heart―

"…Oh?"

That sound spilled out from Shizuya Kirihara's mouth at the inexplicable sight before him, and his mind went blank. He had sent an arrow of certain death that couldn't be avoided or blocked, but―Ikki's left hand had grabbed it, stopping it on the verge of penetrating Ikki's chest.

"H-How…."

How was it possible? Did such a thing really happen? To the astonished Hunter who was confronting a reality beyond his comprehension, his red-soaked prey coughed and said―


"…As I thought, there's no way you'd tell me the truth."


"What… are you saying―!?"

In that moment, Kirihara shuddered as if a worm had burrowed into his back. Ikki's eyes, without the slightest wandering, were staring him down even though he should be imperceptible.

"It… can't be…."

He had never experienced this, and icy sweat was pouring from all over his body. A chill crept up his spine, and his limbs trembled with a clatter. In Kirihara's swaying field of vision―

"…Yeah, I caught it. And I won't let you get away again."

―the bloodstained knight before him laughed weakly.
[RECONSTRUCTS KIRIHARA'S ENTIRE FIGHTING STYLE EVEN THOUGH HE DIDN'T SEE ANY OF IT TO THE EXTENT THAT HE COULD PREDICT AND REACT TO AN INVISIBLE ARROW THAT WAS FIRED AFTER A BLUFF]
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「W-W-What happened―!? Contender Kurogane just caught the arrow that he shouldn't be able to see! What the heck is going on!? Even I, reporting live on location, still can't find Contender Kirihara! Area Invisible, the perfect stealth, is still going strong, but the images from our camera are being delivered now… and they reveal that Contender Kurogane reacted to the arrow flying at him! Is he seeing what we can't!?」

「Aha, wahahaha! Are you serious!? That guy really did it!」

Saikyou, who was also giving commentary to the arena, abruptly clapped her hands and gave a resounding laugh.

「Saikyou-sensei? Did you just figure something out!?」

「Heh heh heh…! Yeah, I figured it out. It's exactly as it looks. Area Invisible is already useless.」

Kirihara countered Saikyou's words reflexively.

"D-Don't be ridiculous! My Area Invisible is unbeatable! There's no way this F-Rank garbage has seen through it!"

「Ahaha. Yeah, that's right. That's also what I think. Kiri-yan's[8] Area Invisible is the strongest Noble Art against individual fighters. It's fine to be confident about it, because after all, Area Invisible can't be seen through. The thing that's been seen through is… the Hunter himself.」

"What the hell does that mean!?"

「Oh goodness, you're exceptionally dull, aren't you Kiri-yan? Haven't you seen the fight between the princess and Kuro-bou[9]? At that time, Kuro-bou saw and stole the princess's Imperial Arts, but stealing a sword technique isn't an ordinary feat like imitating a style. From something like a style or swordsmanship, the accumulated history is studied, taking the ideas arrived there, and exposing and returning with the principle of its foundation. That's what we call stealing a sword technique. And just now, he did the same exact thing to you. During the fight, he stole the person called Shizuya Kirihara. Isn't that right, Kuro-bou?」

At Saikyou's nonsensical words―

"Eh, well. It was something like that."

Ikki affirmed her analysis with a nod. He had employed his anti-personnel technique, Blade Steal, against Kirihara.

"R-Ridiculous! How can something like that happen!? Especially since I must have been invisible to you…!"

"I didn't see you, but knowing 'where Kirihara-kun is right now' isn't that difficult, because you've left a lot of clues, you know?"

"Clues…?"

"The wounds you've put on me. Your procedure from the sequence of wounds I took. Your direction from the angles. And the distance from the power. They all tell me where you are. Tracing the Hunter's position at any particular moment is easy if I follow these markers, and if I understand that much, it's the same as being able to see you. In that case, it's fine to do what I usually do. Whether it's sword technique or people, there's a principle that fundamentally governs all their actions. You can call it a system of values. By using that―the person's actions and plans, what that person is thinking right now, how I myself should move, what countermeasures should be taken, whether to move forward or draw back, to attack or defend―every possible action is completely and quite clearly predictable. For example, at this moment, I know that you've taken three steps back."

Kirihara's body froze in fright at Ikki's light declaration, and he leaked out a soundless shriek, because what Ikki had said was unmistakably true. But of course Ikki could know Kirihara's response. The principle he spoke of wasn't a notion limited to the here and now. That predictability of human thought was a firmly-rooted identity, not something that could be changed in an instant. However much the person himself wants to outsmart that identity, even the thought of outsmarting it arises from the identity itself, and therefore couldn't escape Ikki's perception. By stealing the opponent's identity, Ikki seized all those thoughts and feelings.

If Ikki had to name this technique, it would be Perfect Vision[10]. Before its power, Kirihara finally understood. The true dreadfulness of the knight called Ikki Kurogane wasn't sword technique, a one-minute boost, or anything else like that. It was his ability to expose and reflect the true nature of everything he sees, a discerning eye like a shining magic mirror. That mirror could capture even the invisible Hunter. Therefore―

"I see everything you're capable of doing. In this match, I'll take the win!"

With that declaration, Ikki burst forward to thrust a fang at the Hunter who had lost his refuge!

[EXPLANATION OF IKKI'S BLADE STEAL - IT WORKS SO WELL THAT IT ESSENTIALLY GIVES HIM BATTLE PRECOG/MIND READING ONCE IT'S FINISHED, EVEN AGAINST AN INVISIBLE OPPONENT]
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In response, Kirihara put up one final resistance. Drawing Oborotsuki so forcefully that it creaked, he faced the sky above and shot one arrow that had all of his magic loaded into it. A moment later, the arrow exploded in midair, becoming a hundred slivers of iron shining with light invisible to the naked eye. Overtaking Ikki as a sudden shower, they homed and poured down on him, drilling into and smashing the stone floor of the battleground, heaving it up and smashing it again.

There was no pattern to the destruction. The Noble Art Million Rain[11] was an attack of indiscriminate scope made of more than a hundred pieces of iron. Kirihara had concluded that if his thoughts were being read, he should carpet-bomb the area without thinking. The idea had to be correct, but even so―

"Why!? Why doesn't it hit!?"

―Ikki cleared away the invisible arrowheads, running through the destructive rain without slowing the slightest and darting through the rolled-up cloud of dust. In truth, he had already seen all of it.

"It's useless, you know. No matter how much you try to keep your heart clear, you want to beat me. You want to kill me. The urge for that frightened heart to shout its killing intent can't be restrained. No matter how much you want to attack with an unreadable mind, the killing intent dwells inside you."

And Perfect Vision accurately captured that intent. Attacking an enemy without consciously aiming to kill was a mental state taught by certain martial arts, but it wasn't a skill that someone like Kirihara could use. He had only increased the number of arrows he had shot.

"Whether a hundred arrows or a thousand, my Ittou Shura won't fall to such things!"

Every resistance was already meaningless. Like a superior player who predicts a hundred moves ahead, Ikki had already seen the endgame!
[DODGING INDISCRIMINATE ATTACKS PERFECTLY BECAUSE OF KILLING INTENT OR SOMETHING IDK IT'S A BULLSHIT SKILL FEAT]
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Ikki wasn't going to listen. Who was it that asked if he had prepared himself in coming onto this stage? From the moment a knight entered the ring, he was resolved to kill or be killed. Therefore, Ikki would have no mercy.
[IKKI IS WILLING TO KILL OR BE KILLED WHEN HE FIGHTS]
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Ikki swung downward with a flash, and in that moment, the space Ikki sheared through shined bright. Kirihara's body was visible in the middle of that light, and he fell on his back onto the ground already unconscious, turning up the whites of his eyes, spouting foam from his mouth, but… without injury. He had been cut so shallowly he wasn't even bleeding from the skin on the tip of his nose.

Ikki understood that Kirihara was giving up, and had no intention of killing Kirihara from the beginning. And yet―

The predicted distance was off by a millimeter, huh.

―yet even though he hadn't intended to wound, the sword edge did slightly touch skin. It was only because the power of Kirihara's arrows made reading the distance difficult.

My training's still lacking, I guess? There's still a long way to go.

[LMAO HIS READING WAS OFF BY A MILLIMETRE SO BAD LOL]
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