The Absolute Godspeed of Infinite Worlds

The moment the match was declared to begin, a figure shot forward, as if responding to a rhythm, charging out before anyone else could even react!

"It's Ikki Kurogane! He's the first to make a move! But he hasn't used Ittou Shura!"

"That's a wise decision… cough, against someone like Eiji, opening with a finisher like that would actually be a disadvantage!"

"Indeed!"

Amidst the commentary, the two fighters had already clashed.

"—Seventh Secret Sword: Raikou!"

Ikki spread his legs in a wide stance.

He unleashed an explosive burst of speed within a short range, pouring everything into his opening strike and pushing it to his absolute limit!

So fast it was invisible to the naked eye, the sword sliced through the air with such friction that it sparked ice-blue lightning-like flashes!

This was a sword technique that pushed speed enhancement to the extreme, aiming to reach the pinnacle of sword velocity at close range.

While sprinting at high speed, Ikki locked eyes on Eiji's figure.

His gaze, like a high-precision camera, captured every subtle movement and reaction of his opponent.

Had this been the Eiji from just over a month ago, he would've been caught off guard by this strike and forced to rely on his Blazer abilities.

However—

The instant Ikki unleashed his strike, he suddenly saw Eiji's gaze shift.

In that moment, his eyes locked precisely onto the tip of Ikki's sword!

"He predicted it!"

Ikki's heart tightened.

Clang!

Just as expected, the sword that surpassed the limits of vision was intercepted from the side by a sudden blade.

Clack!

As their blades clashed violently, sparks flew.

Their weapons were locked, pushing against one another with brute strength.

"I'm not the same as I used to be. I won't go down so easily!"

Eiji wore a composed smile, completely unfazed.

"As I thought—I knew you'd gotten much stronger!"

Ikki's gaze burned with passion.

He had long looked forward to a sword fight with Eiji.

If he had won that easily, it wouldn't have satisfied him.

But now wasn't the time to get lost in the thrill of battle.

If this were just a spar, he would've happily enjoyed exchanging more blows with Eiji—but this time, he carried far more weight on his shoulders. Losing was not an option!

"—Second Secret Sword: Rend Armor!"

While locked in their blade struggle, Ikki twisted his lower body.

An extremely subtle force transferred through his waist and hips to his upper body, unleashing a point-blank slash with Intetsu!

At such close range, there was no room to build power for the swing—it should've been impossible to deliver a proper strike.

Yet Eiji suddenly felt a powerful force surge from the blade, knocking his Furinkazan violently aside!

"Short-force strike?"

Eiji raised his eyebrows.

Ikki gave him no time to think. With Eiji wide open, he raised Intetsu high and swung diagonally toward Eiji's chest!

Clang!

But the strike never reached its target.

Looking closely—in the blink of an eye, Eiji had pulled back his arms, gripping his sword with both hands and using the hilt to block what should have been a finishing blow.

"What…?"

"Your technique!"

Eiji smirked.

Using the hilt to block a slash was an extremely difficult maneuver.

The space between both hands is narrow, and if mistimed, it could injure one's own fingers—too risky for most to attempt.

But since Ikki had mastered it—so had Eiji.

"Hah!"

Eiji gave a low grunt.

His lower body suddenly twisted, channeling power from his waist and hips straight into the sword hilt.

Then—he unleashed a zero-distance slash!

Bang!

Ikki's hands trembled as Intetsu was naturally knocked out of his grip.

"My Rend Armor…?!"

He actually copied it?!

Ikki's eyes widened in shock.

He possessed a unique technique known as 〈Blade Steal〉, allowing him to perceive the flow and principles behind an opponent's swordsmanship and replicate it within mere minutes—even deducing its weaknesses.

Until now, he had always been the one imitating others. This was the first time someone else had copied his sword technique!

Only now did he finally understand how those he'd copied before must have felt!

While Ikki was wide open, Eiji grinned.

Then he stomped his lead foot forward, spreading his stance wide and raising his blade in a level line.

"Damn!"

Ikki's heart tightened in alarm.

He quickly stomped both feet and leapt backward in a retreating motion.

But that wouldn't be enough to dodge this slash!

In the middle of his retreat, Ikki improvised—a flash of inspiration struck him. His feet rapidly shifted rhythm mid-motion, alternating speeds to create several afterimages on the battlefield!

Fourth Secret Sword: Mirage Wolf!

A technique that uses rapid footwork transitions to produce visual afterimages while sprinting, confusing the opponent—then launching a deadly strike from outside the mirage's path.

It was meant to be used while advancing. After all, people can usually only control their steps while moving forward; running backward made falling a real risk. But under the intense pressure of Eiji's offense, Ikki managed to use it while retreating.

"—Raikou!"

It flashed like lightning.

A strike faster than the eye could follow exploded from Eiji's blade!

The forward-most afterimage was instantly pierced through by the lightning-quick thrust, vanishing like a mirage in the desert.

After destroying that image, Eiji did not pursue the others. He halted, remaining where he stood.

"As expected of the technique's creator—you know all of its weaknesses."

Thud!

Ikki landed from mid-air with a heavy breath.

"If I hadn't known the flaw in that technique, I'd probably be on the back foot by now."

He panted slightly, adjusting his breathing, a strained smile on his face.

Raikou was a thrusting technique.

It required a wide stance, an explosive launch from the ground to achieve extreme short-range speed—but because of that, it could only target opponents on the ground.

If the opponent jumped into the air, the lack of a repositioning chain meant the attacker would be unable to follow—he'd have no choice but to abandon the chase.

And that made things very dangerous.

"What an intense clash! Ikki Kurogane's attacks are incredibly fierce—just one slip, and Eiji would've lost his shot at victory! But Eiji's not falling behind in the slightest! He's blocking everything Ikki throws at him and even launching counters!"

The commentator's voice rang out through the arena speakers, full of excitement.

"Both have pulled back momentarily after their exchange—for now, it seems they're evenly matched!"

"No, to be honest… cough, I wouldn't say they're evenly matched!"

"Huh? What do you mean by that, Yuuri-chan?"

"Normally, a proactive assault like Kurogane's should create an opening—at the very least, the first few clashes should help formulate a strategy! But Eiji's defenses are airtight… bleh! Not only has he shown no weakness, it's possible there may not even be a strategy to beat him right now. Kurogane must be feeling pretty frustrated!"

***

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