If her sword style was seen through, then she could exploit that fact. Stella took the stance to swing Lævateinn downwards. Ikki swung Intetsu upwards in response. She had sent her downward arc to crush his guard, and Ikki had already grasped the speed and power of the strike when she took the initial stance, so his response was inevitable. But that itself was Stella's trap!

It worked!

Stella abandoned the swing and jumped backwards with a grin. If Ikki had seen through her style, then he should surely be caught off guard, because Stella, who had only attacked thus far, was retreating for the first time.

Ikki had taken the initiative after seeing through her style, and he immediately fell for the feint. His slashing attack missed by a wide margin. Aiming for that moment, Stella struck with her Lævateinn at Ikki's exposed flank. It was a sudden variation of tactics for Stella, who had only been attacking straightforwardly until now.

Intetsu's black blade, which was slashing empty space, could not respond to this change in timing. Lævateinn's blade smoothly scythed toward Ikki's unguarded torso.

It had to work, but―

"Your sword is half-asleep, you know."

―Lævateinn's blade never reached Ikki's side. It had been blocked.

N-No way!?

He had changed her rhythm, stopped her approach, and even entered her blind spot. Intetsu's blade was supposed to be too far off to possibly react to her cut, but her cut was still blocked!

How!? The answer to that question was―his hilt. Ikki had blocked Stella's feint-enabled strike with Intetsu's hilt, using the slight gap between his hands as they clasped the grip.

Just what kind of motion perception does this guy have!?

"Aiming for victory carelessly after feeling pressured? Slashing while retreating isn't your style. Even someone like me can stop such a weak attack. That move was your downfall."

Saying that, Ikki pushed Lævateinn away, creating a large opening in her guard.