[Rakudai Kishi no Eiyuutan]

Before long, their engagement had lasted ten seconds, with Moroboshi attacking and Ikki evading. Then, judging that Ikki was handling his attacks with ease, Moroboshi took large strides backward, opening the distance between them once again.

「Unable to stand his ground, Moroboshi retreats! What is this? As if returning the favor for the pressure put on him before, Kurogane has pushed the Seven Stars Sword King back without striking a single blow!」

「What… what's going on?」

「You kiddin' me…!?」

「A-Awesome! Is that knight really an F-rank?」

「So cool!」

「Reactions are mixed here in the stands! These two really know how to put on a good show!」

「As expected, his blowing away past Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival representatives in both the 'Hunter' and Raikiri isn't just for show. This is the first time I've seen a representative who can move this intensely and swiftly at mid-range. Nonetheless, neither of the two have gone all-out just yet.」

Muroto mumbled. He spoke the truth. Though Moroboshi looked like he had been beaten back, a smile tugged at the edges of his mouth.

"You've got serious balls to use me as a warm-up tool. You all good now?"

He asked.

"Yes. Thanks to you, I've realized it."

Indeed, during their exchange of offense-defense, neither of them had pressed their attack. Ikki had remained within the danger zone, continuously taking the risk of dodging Sanrensei by a hair's breadth in order to confirm that his body would not lock up from fear.

And having realized Ikki's intentions, Moroboshi had accommodated him. It was for this kindness that Ikki was thanking him.

Indeed, thanks to him, he was able to confirm this…

"…that I am without a doubt at my best today!"

The extension of his legs were optimal, his body's movements crisp. His sight was broad and clear. He had evaded Moroboshi's spear-strikes by the skin of his teeth, but felt no fear in his heart. The abnormalities that had presented themselves when he had faced Ouma the previous night were gone.

He would be fine. He could fight! Having felt this, he took up a stance, allowing killing intent to infuse him for the first time since arriving here. Seeing Ikki like that, Moroboshi nodded.

"Nice. Then, free service time is over. I'm gonna get serious from 'ere on out!"

The pressure he exuded doubled. As expected of the Seven Stars Sword King, even locking gazes with him made breathing difficult.

'But I can do this. I can win.'

After all, he had divined a certain truth from their previous clash.

'It's just as I felt when watching the videos of him from before… there is a fatal weakness in Moroboshi-san's spearmanship!'

"He's got a good look on his face. It seems that Ikki has seen through it—the Seven Stars Sword King's flaw."

Touka murmured from her bed in Hagun Academy's infirmary as she watched the TV broadcast of the back-and-forth exchange between the two.

"A flaw?"

"Yes. I'd say that he researched Moroboshi's replays many times, and then confirmed his suspicions during that engagement."

"I can't claim to understand anything about that. What could his weakness be?"

"Hmmm… Kana-chan, what do you think are a spear's offensive options?"

Having been asked a question in turn, Kanata thought briefly before answering.

"It's the thrust, naturally. Isn't it?"

"Well, it is true that the spear is a thrusting weapon. But it has another option that derives from its absolute reach advantage, and that is the sweep."

Spears only had blades at their tips, so one would not make as strong an impression as a sword as a sweeping weapon. But in truth, it would be folly to thusly think less of a spear sweep. A blow powered by the centrifugal force of a robust rod well over one meter in length could break human bones with ease. In fact, some forms of Chinese spearmanship regarded thrusts as feints. In other words, these schools of martial arts used the thrust as a decoy to cause the opponent to dodge before using the spear like a staff as the main means of attack.

"However, the sweep is a non-entity in Yuudai Moroboshi's spearmanship. It's not just this match. Ever since his comeback, he has relied on a thrust-only setup and has not used a sweep even once—that includes the match with me."

"Wow, I didn't notice that."

Kanata expressed her surprise in an elegant manner upon hearing the truth.

"Still, why does he only use thrusts? Does he feel that he does not need to use anything else?"

"It's true that the thrust is very strong since it requires little movement to achieve the speed it does, and it focuses all one's strength on the spear tip, giving it great offensive power. Especially when one considers that Sanrensei has almost no delay between retracting and thrusting with the spear, you could call it the ultimate attack form. So it is as you say, Kana-chan. He doesn't need the sweep—though it might be a different story if the opponent is an expert like Kurogane-kun."

For all its speed and sharpness, the thrust was a point-type attack, and lacked the area control abilities a sweep would have. A point attack was easy to see through, and once unleashed would put one's body in a forward extension, open to counterattack.

"This is something similar to what is called a 'dead blade' in kendo."

"In other words, it shouldn't be difficult for Kurogane-kun to defeat Moroboshi-san's style with his reflexes, should it?"

"That's so… normally, that is."

At that moment, Touka gave an impish grin, a rare sight.

"Normally?"

"Unfortunately, the man that Kurogane is facing isn't normal. If Kurogane-kun's thoughts are as I mentioned just now, he's in for a lot of pain… just like me last year."

「Oh my! Once again, Kurogane takes the initiative!」

Just as Touka said that, battle was joined once again in faraway Osaka. Having ascertained that there was no fear in himself, Ikki closed the space between them, intent on taking advantage of the flaw that he had seen in their previous clash.

「But Moroboshi isn't going to let him get close this easily! He meets him with Sanrensei!」

Of course Moroboshi would take advantage of his reach to strike the first blow.

'One!'

He juked to the right, evading a first blow aimed at his brow.

'Two!'

A step to the left, the stab for his heart elegantly evaded.

A technique that launched three strikes in a breath. It was brilliant, but ultimately it was something built up from training. It was not as flexible as Sword Eater's Marginal Counter, a superhuman technique derived from unique natural bestowment. He could deal with this and still have room to spare.

'That's the second. The next is the last! After the next blow, Moroboshi will have to breathe.'

Most likely, three strikes in one breath was his limit. Thus, Ikki chose the third and final blow as the timing for his counterattack.

'With this strike, I will score the opening hit! It probably won't take him down, but it will allow me to take the lead in this battle!'

The very third blow he was aiming for was flying towards his thigh.

'Three—now!'

Regardless of how amazingly fast it was, it was still a point attack. If he moved but a millimeter away from that point, it would miss. He would take another step to the left, move into range of his sword—

'Then cut his body as I pass him…'

At that moment when Ikki had evaded the path of the spear with his sidestep and was stepping in range to cut Moroboshi—he saw something impossible.

The Tora-Ou that he should have evaded had made a hard left. Like a snake seeking its prey, the spear-tip sought him out.

"Uuh!"

Even though he was surprised by this unexpected sight, he made the call in an instant. Forsaking his charge, he made a great leap to the left, getting out of the spear's range.

But it was a risky evasion… and an imperfect one, at that.

「Wh-What!? With Kurogane dodging the three strikes gracefully, and Moroboshi only defending, one would think that Kurogane had the advantage—but it was reversed in an instant! He's been cut across half his ear! The Seven Stars Sword King Yuudai Moroboshi has the first strike!」

The stands were in an uproar from that opening blow. Ikki on the other hand shivered slightly, heedless of the blood dripping down from his ear.

'Wh-What was that last thrust? I didn't see that in any of his replays!'

He had studied Moroboshi's replays countless times in order to come up with a way to exploit this flaw, but Tora-Ou had never never showed him anything like this. Was this a new technique? No. There was something very odd going on if that was the case.

'Why didn't the commentators mention this technique?'

Could it be that...

'...They can't see it?'

Ikki's estimation had been spot-on. The curving spear had gone unseen by the audience.

"Aah! What a pity! I had a good feeling about him going in there…!"

Arisuin's lips quirked downward as Ikki failed to seize the opportunity at the very last moment of his attack. What a pity—he had been so close, too. So Arisuin said, for he could only see that Ikki had failed to evade Sanrensei's final thrust. If he had known what had happened in that instant—of how Ikki had sprung a trap as he struck at the apparent weak point of Moroboshi's thrust-only spearmanship style, and how Moroboshi had shattered the premise that a sidestep out of the spear's range would render one safe with his surprise attack—he probably would not have said that. Many besides Arisuin were similarly fooled.

"Was it really 'just a pity'?"

But Shizuku had doubts, even though she could not see that curving thrust.

"What do you mean, Shizuku?"

"Look at Onii-sama's face right now."

Even from that far away, they could see that Ikki was shaken.

"If he had merely failed to dodge, his wariness wouldn't be this blatant. Something happened in that ring, something we couldn't see—and that was surely Moroboshi-san's intention."

There was someone else who had predicted this turn of events from the beginning. That was Touka Toudou, Raikiri, back in Tokyo.

"As I thought, he used it…"

That she could predict this was a matter of course. After all, she had faced the exact same in her turn the previous year.

"…Though I couldn't evade it and took a rough hit in my side."

"Um, President. Is there some sort of secret to that thrust? I couldn't see anything except that Kurogane-san seemed to fail in evading Sanrensei's last strike."

"As I said before, the weakness of the thrust lies in the ease of dodging it. However, Moroboshi's thrust has overturned this logic by… well, Kana-chan, his thrust can bend in the direction in which an opponent evades and pursue them."

"A bending thrust, you say?"

"Yes. Moroboshi has eliminated the vulnerabilities of the point attack through the use of this homing thrust."

"But, President, I couldn't see it bending. And besides, Blazers should only have one ability, and Moroboshi's has nothing to do with changing his reach. I don't think he possesses a Noble Art that would allow him to manipulate the shape of his Device like Sword Eater either."

"I suppose it can't be helped that you didn't see the spear bend. From the first, the spear itself isn't bending. It is as you say, Kana-chan. This was not the result of using Noble Arts—in other words, it is a martial art, just like Sanrensei. At any rate, Moroboshi-kun has control over the flow of the battle now that he has scored the first strike. This is now do-or-die for Kurogane-kun."

Just as Touka had said, the battle began once again.

「The Seven Stars Sword King has stepped forward! He's going on the offensive!」

'Attacking while I'm still in confusion. He knows it's his time!'

Ikki frowned as Moroboshi advanced towards him for the first time since their match had begun. Moroboshi undoubtedly knew that he was wavering.

*Swish!*

The spear shot out once again, aiming for his legs. He was trying to limit Ikki's mobility.

'Let's not think about attacking for now and just focus on evasion! I'll get back in the swing of things as I dodge!'

Dodging the thrusts by taking half a step backward, he attempted to calm himself down. Each thrust seemed to split the air—he could not stop. He had to wait for the decisive opening when the spear, having missed, would stab into the stone floor…

The opening he imagined occurred in that instant. And yet, the spear that should have aimed for his legs suddenly shot upward, making for his face!

Uwaaa!

Jerking his head back, he narrowly avoided it, but still received a shallow graze to the cheek.

'There's no mistaking it! While I don't understand the principle behind it, Moroboshi-san's thrust bends!'

A spear, ramrod straight as it should have been, was as fluid as clay. It was an impossible sight, but seeing it twice had cleared all his doubts. And it was not just twice; all of Moroboshi's thrusts thereafter curved. Up and down, left and right, ever changing according to his will—chasing Ikki wherever he fled.

'This is nuts. If I just sidestep, I'll be skewered!'

This technique was not one to use knife-thin dodges on. He had no other option apart from seeking to completely escape the spear's attack range, and this he did with all his might.

「What's happening to Kurogane? Watching him flee helter-skelter, it's almost as though the beautiful dodges from before were a lie! It's like it's taking all he has just to escape!」

'That's really true!'

Ikki made a wry grin at the commentator's scathing remarks.

But escaping was not the same as losing. To flee was to avoid losing. No matter how unseemly he looked, he still sought victory. He did not run because he was afraid. Even as he scurried about he continued to observe Moroboshi, the gears in his head turning as they sought to come closer to the secret behind Moroboshi's homing thrust.

The commentators have made it quite clear—the audience can't see what's happening.

If they could see the homing spear, the commentators wouldn't have said what they had. Rather than commenting on Ikki's desperate scurrying, they would have praised Moroboshi's amazing technique.

Which means that the mechanism behind the homing thrust has to be...

"What's wrong? You ain't gonna win just by runnin' away, Kurogane!"

Once again, a flash of steel pierced the air. All this time, it had been this oncoming flash of silver steel that had been the focus of Ikki's attention. Which was normal; a mysterious technique was bound to attract attention after all.

'But that's a mistake. I shouldn't be focusing on the tip, but rather on Moroboshi's hands!'

In that instant, Ikki saw through the homing thrust. It did not escape his notice that Moroboshi would change the way he angled his elbows and flicked his wrists, changing the trajectory of the spear mid-thrust.

'As I thought… so that's how it is!'

Indeed. From the first, the spear itself did not bend. The 'bending' phenomena was an optical illusion caused by the subtlety of the switch-up.

To bend as one thrusts, and pierce as one bends. Easily said, but to perform that action while performing a series of three thrusts so swift that an outsider would only see one was no simple matter. This was beyond human reaction speed. It was not something one could do just by dreaming it up in one's head. It was something Moroboshi had carved into himself through an astounding amount of training, into his flesh, his bones and his blood. This spear needed no orders from his brain to pursue the enemy.

This was Yuudai Moroboshi's technique Houkiboshi, a martial art so expert as to seem like magic.

'What amazing technique…'

Even without the natural sense that the Sword Eater had been born with, he had managed to create a miracle, a move had surpassed the boundaries of humanity through sheer hard work. As a fellow martial artist, Ikki had to respect Moroboshi. It moved him above all else to see someone reversing the weakness of the thrust—the simplicity of evasion—and even working that flaw into his combat style. It was wonderful to have been able to come to the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival and face off against such an amazing knight.

'But I won't be satisfied by just crossing swords!'

He now knew that Houkiboshi was a purely physical technique. Thus, he too could attack. It was simple—Houkiboshi's strength lay in pursuing and attacking the opponent while they were in a defenseless post-evasion state.

Therefore...

"...I simply won't dodge at all!"

He switched up his battle plan suddenly. Houkiboshi, which had been aimed for his throat, was batted aside by Intetsu. He no longer paired evasion with retreat, but rather advanced in defense.

"Kuh…!?"

Moroboshi immediately retaliated with his Sanrensei —Houkiboshi combination, but the secret was out — if one did not attempt to dodge, then it was just like any other thrust. Ikki closed the distance slowly, parrying each strike and sweeping them away as they came.

「Whaaat! Kurogane has changed things up! Giving up dodging, he's breaking through bravely from the front! Sparks fly as the flashing blows rain down, but he's pushing them aside and approaching steadily!」

At this change of pace from Ikki, Moroboshi frowned for the first time since their match began. For a normal opponent, the act of advancing while knocking the high speed thrusts of Sanrensei aside should have been impossible even if they understood the principle behind Houkiboshi.

But Ikki could do it. With his powers of observation, capable of such things as Perfect Vision and Blade Steal, he had already seen through Moroboshi's habits and technique to a certain extent. By chasing Ikki down as far as he had, he had shown Ikki too much.

"Haaaa!"

「Moroboshi does his utmost to keep delivering high-speed strikes! But it can't stop Kurogane! It can't stop him! That phalanx of spears is being cast aside!」

「Like this, the Seven Stars Sword King will have trouble. The strength of the spear is its reach: if an enemy gets inside his guard, then its combat ability will be reduced by half! Moroboshi has to push him back somehow!」

But now that Ikki had a read on him, Moroboshi could not prevent his advance regardless of how quickly or often he struck. As it stood, it was only a matter of time before he would enter the sword's attack range. And having gained such an advantage, a swordsman of Ikki's caliber would never miss his opportunity. Once he got within Moroboshi's guard, this battle would be over!

Finally, Ikki breached the threshold. He was only one step away from the extent of his sword's reach.

"Shit…!"

In a last ditch effort to stop Ikki in his tracks, Moroboshi once again unleashed Sanrensei. But it was no use. Having stolen Moroboshi's technique, Ikki could instantly read the trajectory of Sanrensei from the angle Moroboshi's elbows were set at and the shifting of his gaze.

Deflecting the first and the second strikes, he matched his timing with the prelude to the third—and stepped into range!

「With this Kurogane's got Moroboshi in his sights!」

Seeing the Seven Stars Sword King being hunted down, a cry went up through the stands.

「Run, Hoshiiii!」

But there was still one strike left in Sanrensei. Like Houkiboshi, it was a high-speed maneuver honed from untold amounts of repeated practice, the process of which was carved into the body and left no room for thought. Even if they wanted him to flee, he could not. His body moved to aim its last blow at Ikki's chest!

But Ikki had already seen this—Moroboshi's habits, his angle of attack, the spear's trajectory, all of it. He could not possibly miss striking this blow!

'Once I deflect this last strike, I'll be in range! In one go, victory will be…'

…But in that moment, a flash ran through his brain.

'No, wait, this is bad…!'

And then, something unbelievable happened in the ring. Ikki, who should have succeeded in his pursuit of Moroboshi, was pierced in the shoulder by Tora-Ou and knocked back out of his sword's reach.

「Whaaaaat!? What happened here? It was apparent to everyone that Kurogane's assault was about to succeed, but he was suddenly knocked back! Taking a hit to the shoulder, he was sent flying out of range in one go!」

"That's not possible! Onii-sama would never slip up in that situation!"

Shizuku was clearly flustered by this unexpected development. But beside her, Arisuin had gone pale as he witnessed something even more unbelievable.

"Shizuku! Look at Intetsu!"

As he cried out, Shizuku too saw that impossible sight.

"That… that can't be…!"

「This… what would you call it? Kurogane's Device, Intetsu, is broken! It's as though a huge beast just took a chunk out of it!」

Indeed, the crystallization of Ikki's soul, his blade Device Intetsu, had a large part of it sliced off.

「What happened? A Device shouldn't even bend, let alone break, unless struck by a great force, but…!」

The commentator was again in confusion. This was only natural. A Device was constructed by crystallizing magic power with incredible density. Even after having broadcasted matches between knights for a long period of time, Iida could only count the number of times he had seen a Device break on one hand.

On the other hand Muroto, who was in charge of the analysis, was enthusiastic.

「No, there is an exception!」

「An… exception?」

「Yes. Please look closely at the Seven Stars Sword King's Tora-Ou!」

At Muroto's words, all eyes were on Moroboshi. And then everyone noticed. At some point, his spear had become clad in a golden aura.

Everyone knew what that aura was.

「This, this is! The Seven Stars Sword King had activated Tiger Bite at a certain point in the fight!」

This was the same anti-Blazer Noble Art Tiger Bite for which Yuudai Moroboshi was famed, and which had even dispelled the Sword Emperor of Wind's Noble Art Kusanagi the previous night.

「But why would he have activated Tiger Bite? Kurogane wasn't even using any Noble Arts…!」

But even as Iida said this, his faced changed as he seemingly came to his own conclusions.

「It couldn't be…!」

「So you noticed, huh. That's it. To dispel a Noble Art is to dispel the magic therein. And that which a Blazer invests magic power into is not limited to their Noble Arts. Their weapons, the Devices, are also made of magic power! It seems that the Seven Stars Sword King has somehow learned such a frightening technique in the one year since he took the title. Last year, his Tiger Bite had only been able to dispel Noble Arts, which a Blazer only puts a portion of their power into. But this year… it can even shatter a magic construct of such high density as a Device!」

Even in faraway Tokyo, Touka Toudou gasped as she witnessed this development in the battle.

"For such a thing to…!"

"President, this… is this going to be fairly hard for Kurogane?"

"…'Fairly' doesn't even cut it."

Yes. "Fairly" didn't even begin to describe it. The Device represented a Blazer's soul. If damaged or broken, the mental feedback was painful enough to easily render them unconscious. With Tiger Bite possessing the power to destroy even Devices, even the very act of crossing blades with him was like exposing one's heart to him and requesting death.

Luckily, Ikki's blade had not been completely shattered this time, but there would not be second chance. His Intetsu could not take another hit from Tora-Ou.

This also meant that Ikki had lost his means of dealing with Houkiboshi.

'There is no target of opportunity...!'

They all felt a shiver at the terrifying nature of Tiger Bite—Touka and Kanata, who were watching the broadcast together, as well as Ikki's companions on-site.

Ikki thought differently. More so than the technique—it was the person called Yuudai Moroboshi who caused him to tremble.

'What a terrifying person…!'

Tiger Bite was indeed a formidable ability. Even if he only possessed that ability, he would be able to dominate the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival.

But this knight he was fighting did not do so. He did not revel in that overwhelming power, but instead planned intricately, reeling Ikki in. From the first Sanrensei, all of his actions had been but foreshadowing. First had he used Sanrensei to lure Ikki into range, and then use the weakness of the thrust as bait before retaliating with Houkiboshi.

Of course Ikki would feel that he had been had, realizing that Sanrensei had merely been a bait for the real trap to be the sprung in the form of Houkiboshi, the real killing move. And then he, as a fellow Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival representative, had been able to quickly see through the fact that Houkiboshi was a physical technique that needn't be dodged but rather parried—and he would attack thusly, entering Moroboshi's guard.

But this was all according to Moroboshi's scenario.

Houkiboshi was not the killing blow. Indeed, it had never been meant to be the finishing blow, but rather bait to coax Ikki into the situation where Intetsu would meet Tora-Ou head on… all so he could drive Tiger Bite into the Blazer's critical weak point—their Device!

One would think that with such an ability, he would be more rough.

But instead he planned meticulously and efficiently, striking at the gaps in his opponent's thought process. If he had not doubted himself in that instant—thinking "If he can destroy Noble Arts, he could destroy Devices as well"—and thus delayed his attack, Intetsu would surely have been shattered and he would have been defeated.

"Man, what a pity. Jus' a little more and I could've devoured that dull blade whole."

"Kuh…!"

The Moroboshi who stood before Ikki now had lost all trace of the panic he had shown before—no, it was with a fearless grin that he eyed Ikki as Ikki bled from the shoulder.

At this point, Ikki was certain. That this man Yuudai Moroboshi whom he was facing seemed rough in speech, brash and bold… but in reality he was so clever it gave one chills. His every action and every move was executed in order to reel Ikki in. Regardless of what opening Ikki tried to exploit, the depth and flexibility of his strategy meant that he acted as he wished, closing in all the while.

'He really thinks far ahead…'

Only five meters lay between them, but to Ikki it seemed a faraway, foggy destination.

'So this is the domain of Japan's number one student knight, the Seven Stars Sword King…!'

...

"This situation looks quite dire."

Arisuin muttered as he watched the two of them separate, creating another stalemate. Now that Moroboshi had started to use Tiger Bite, Ikki could not parry his strikes and advance. In other words, he had lost the ability to deal with Houkiboshi, and though Arisuin and the others did not know of its existence, watching Ikki have trouble dodging several times they too knew there had to be some secret behind that thrust. Thus Shizuku could only nod, troubled, in response to Arisuin's muttering. Already, he had twice been on the cusp of victory only to suffer an instant reversal. Ikki was clearly the one on the offensive, but Moroboshi had yet to be scratched even once. From an observer's perspective, it was obvious who was controlling this battle.

"To think that Onii-sama would be played so thoroughly…"

At that moment, someone from the side piped up, questioning Shizuku's pessimistic remark.

"I wonder about that."

It was a tall woman in a suit.

"Madam Chairman…"

It was Hagun Academy's board chairman Shinguuji Kurono. She stood beside them, lit cigarette in hand as she corrected Shizuku's miconception.

"It's true that from here it seems as though Ikki has been dancing in the palm of Moroboshi's hand, and to be honest the flow of the battle has been in the latter's hands up to now. But it hasn't proceeded as he had planned. So while he looks quite composed now, he probably isn't as calm inside."

"What do you mean?"

"That Tiger Bite was supposed to be the result of layer upon layer of traps, the ace that decided the match. But the match didn't end there. Kurogane noticed at the last possible moment that his target was Intetsu all along, and used his body to shield his Device."

As she said, Moroboshi was probably rueing the missed opportunity. Such a surprise attack could not be counted on a second time. Ikki would not let Tora-Ou strike Intetsu again.

"In other words, Moroboshi's best-laid plans have gone awry, thanks to but one moment of quick wit on Ikki's part."

In that case, the match was back to square one—indeed, considering that Moroboshi had revealed more of his aces, he was at a disadvantage.

"In any case, Moroboshi isn't the only one here capable of outsmarting his opponent."

Of course, Ikki could not hear Kurono from where he was in the ring. But coincidentally enough, they seemed to be thinking the same thing at that moment.

"As expected of the Seven Stars Sword King. You really gave me a fright there, Moroboshi-san."

"Hope you ain't gonna call me a coward. 'Hoistin' em by their own petard' is a real old trick."

"Of course I wouldn't say that. In fact, I'm quite fond of that tactic myself."

As they spoke, Ikki lifted his head, a cheeky smile—almost as one about to pull a practical joke—on his face.

"Hence, now it's my turn to give you a fright, Moroboshi-san."

Indeed. Ikki too prided himself in being able to incorporate tactics and trickery into his martial arts. He wasn't about to be outfoxed and leave it at that. He would get Moroboshi good once, he would not settle for less.

And he had already thought of a way—a way by which he could fake Moroboshi out and end this match.

「Oh my! Kurogane has just issued an unexpected challenge! Even after being shown the distance between himself and the top of the Seven Stars, he's not afraid! He's not backing down!」

「Tha'ssa way, Kurogane! Don't lose in terms of spirit!」

「Do your best! Ikki...!」

Despite the match having taken a turn for the one-sided, Ikki's unquenched fighting spirit caused cheers to rise in the spectator stands. Ignoring them, Moroboshi thought carefully on the words of the man before him instead.

'He… doesn't seem like th' sort of guy who'd bluff.'

But he couldn't imagine what the play would be. Ikki could no longer parry Houkiboshi with his sword. With Tiger Bite activated, that would be like suicide, no different from surrendering the match. Ittōu Shura changed nothing. With Tiger Bite, Tora-Ou was a voracious eater that could even

devour Kusanagi with ease, much less magical power of Ikki's level. It was also a technique with a time limit, not something to be used against an opponent with the power to dispel magic like himself.

So where did his confidence stem from? He could not imagine it. And precisely because he could not imagine it…

'…That's why it's interesting.'

His lips turned upwards in delight.

"So, weren't you gonna scare me?"

It wasn't often that someone would come up with a plan that he couldn't see. It would be a pity if he didn't witness it. In preparation for whatever he was going to do, he once again leveled the point of his spear at Ikki with a heave of his shoulders.

"…I say that, but I won't let you off if you show me somethin' borin'. We Osakans hate borin' stuff."

"Do look forward to it."

Saying this, Ikki bent low, his legs readying to kick off.

"Then… here I come!"

He kicked off the stone flooring, as though trying to break it, and charged towards Moroboshi.

「Kurogane initiates! And he's fast! His speed hasn't gone down at all since the start of this match! He's already been repelled twice by the pinnacle of the Seven Stars! This is his third attempt—will it be a success?」

Iida's commentary was full of excitement, as was the expectant crowd as they wondered what the meaning of Ikki's challenge was.

「Well, if you want to say it's fast, it is… but, this…」

The professional knight Muroto on the other hand was doubtful. Ikki's course of action had not changed at all. He was still just charging ahead like a wild boar. Moroboshi, naturally, was similarly annoyed.

'He's charging ahead? Hasn't he learned his lesson…!?'

And he was even doing it without Ittou Shura. It should have been proven to him quite thoroughly that he could not break through Houkiboshi with just physical skill. Thus, to simply go for a full frontal strike again the third time was a little uninspiring.

"Kurogane. I said it before. I won't be satisfied if you show me something boring!"

Naturally, he met Ikki with Houkiboshi, the homing spear that had given him so much trouble earlier. And...

"Rip em' to shreds! Tiger Bite—!"

Enchanted with the ability to destroy magic, Houkiboshi became a blow that could neither be evaded nor blocked. Ikki's attempt to dodge to his right to evade the oncoming spear was something Moroboshi had seen too many times. Not missing a beat, he adjusted Houkiboshi towards that side. This time, it would pursue the fleeing Ikki and pierce his throat.

Then at that moment—Ikki, whom he should have had precisely where he wanted him, dissipated like a mirage.

'Haa!?'

The foe he should have given a mortal blow to had disappeared. Unable to comprehend that, Moroboshi was speechless—and then he noticed.

Ikki, whom he had stabbed leftward towards, had circled him to the right and stepped into the attack range of his sword.

'Wh, what is this!?'

「Moroboshi has made a terrible mistake! Of all things, his spear missed! This is big, too big a mistake!」

That was wrong. Moroboshi had not made a mistake, but rather he had been played by Ikki. Shizuku and company, who had witnessed that very technique before, realized that.

"Shizuku, that was…"

"Yes! It's definitely Shinkirou, which he used in the match against Ayatsuji-senpai!"

Indeed, this was one of Ikki's self-created sword techniques, the fourth secret sword Shinkirou.

It was a special form of footwork that alternated between quickness and slowness, creating afterimages in front of himself that deceived his opponents into cutting thin air. In this case Shinkirou utilized not front-and-back afterimages but side-to-side ones, fooling the Seven Stars Sword King.

'Goddamn it! I was fooled by an afterimage…!'

Moroboshi too was a first-class student knight. He knew what had gotten him, what his opponent intended. And having analyzed this, he immediately executed the best possible counterattack. Having no time to sweep his spear back around, he had to use the butt of his spear to strike.

This was his best course of action… but it wouldn't make it in time. Moroboshi knew this. Ikki had chosen this tactic based on the enemy-chasing Houkiboshi's blind spot, and having completely outplayed him, he had stepped into range. This would be the fatal blow, irrecoverable even with the most suitable counteroffensive. Ikki's blade would reach him faster than his own strike would. He could no longer avoid it either.

At the moment, Moroboshi knew that he had been beaten.

Thus he was shocked when the next moment, the butt of his spear connected with Ikki's cheek, sending him sailing away.

「Ohhh! What brilliance from Moroboshi! Realizing that he missed, he immediately executed a reverse thrust with his spear butt! He's knocked Kurogane, who circled around to the left, beyond sword range again! Kurogane was once again unable to stay within the reach of his weapon! This is the Seven Stars Sword King's imposing defense!」

The applause rained down upon Moroboshi for his third successful defense. But it did not enter his ears.

'That… wasn't my play!'

He understood that in that moment, even though he had done all that he could, his counterattack would not possibly have landed first. That is, if Ikki had not committed a fatal error in those final decisive moments.

'Could it be that…'

Moroboshi's heart wavered in doubt. Naturally, he remembered the previous night. The figure of Ikki's body freezing up during the battle with Ouma.

'As I thought, there's somethin' off 'bout you, Kurogane!'

And unfortunately, his guess was spot-on.

...

Ikki's mind reeled from the spear-butt hit that he had taken to the skull. His brain juddered, his vision swam.

:Again…!'

The symptoms that had emerged in the fight against Ouma the previous night had lain dormant till now. At that critical moment when he was about to defeat Moroboshi, they had resurfaced, causing Ikki's body to not move as he desired.

'Damn! What's happened to my body?'

「Surely you do not think that you could continue as-is after having fought the world's strongest swordsman? Even if your body is fine, she left her mark on your spirit.」

'Did I really… break?'

Did his terror of Edelweiss unknowingly become a fatal wound? Ikki broke into a cold sweat as thoughts of that affliction that was at once unknown and unknowable passed through his mind. His companions recognized the abnormality.

"What's going on? That was the moment to finish the match, but I could see that Ikki's movements suddenly dulled."

Kiriko concurred with Arisuin.

"Indeed he did. Moroboshi-kun's counterattack was very quick, so it was hard to notice, but he clearly slowed down."

"So Onii-sama… really is too nervous…"

Kiriko shook her head in response.

"No, that's not it. If he was nervous, he should have frozen up a lot sooner, and in any case I doubt that your brother is the sort of knight who would freeze up due to mere nervousness. Even if there were something wrong with him, he would still perform the right movements… but it's precisely because of this that his problem might be more serious."

"S-Serious!? What do you mean by that? Has something happened to Onii-sama's body!?"

"At the very least, he doesn't have any visible injuries. There can be no mistake in my diagnosis. His body was perfectly fine, and the injuries that he has sustained in the course of this match… well, they're not serious. Therefore, I think it is likely that the problem lies within instead. I'm not an expert

in patients with mental conditions and thus can't give you a clear answer, but there is an affliction among fighters that is known as 'Punch Eye'. Harboring an extreme fear for their opponents attacks, the bodies of the affected fighter will freeze and become unable to move. It's a severe illness that can end the fighting careers of the afflicted."

"Are you saying that Onii-sama has that condition!?"

Shizuku cried out, realizing vaguely that something out of the ordinary had happened to her brother.

"Calm down. As I said before, this isn't my specialty. I'm just giving my opinion on the possible causes…. That said, he did fight and lose to Twin Wings Edelweiss, the strongest swordswoman in the world, didn't he?"

The blood drained from Shizuku's face. She understood the meaning behind Kiriko's words. Her brother was indeed strong. However, he was not yet so strong that he could face the strongest in the world. That he came back in one piece was by itself already abnormal.

"It would not be unreasonable that he still bears wounds in his heart, where we cannot see."

"Th-That's…"

"It does seem that it might be as you say, Kiriko-san. And even if it isn't 'Punch Eye', Ikki's expression says it all—that sudden dulling of his movements at that timing was in one way or another abnormal."

Even from afar, Ikki seemed shaken. In fact, Arisuin believed the situation serious precisely because of how he fought to suppress that wavering and school the expression on his face, and yet it seemed to be beyond his ability to do so.

However...

Shinguuji Kurono, who was standing somewhat further away, had a different opinion on the matter.

'This isn't 'Punch Eye' or some PTSD of that kind.:

With a glance, she had found that which was afflicting Ikki even where he himself had not been able to… though perhaps it might be better to say that she had foreseen this turn of events ahead of time. Since the end of Ikki's fight with Edelweiss, she had guessed that something like this might happen. Thus she knew that this affliction would not result in the end of his career as 'Punch Eye' would.

However, that doesn't change the fact that his movements have become dull. Additionally, it is likely that Moroboshi has noticed it too. Given that, the situation is indeed a dangerous one.

...

Indeed, Moroboshi could read that much from Ikki's face from where he was in the ring.

He's desperate to maintain a calm front, just like last night.

His expression was that of one afflicted with a condition he himself did not understand. It was definitely a relapse of the trouble he had had the previous night.

Moroboshi sighed inwardly at this revelation. He had meant to defeat Crownless Sword King at his best, and thus prove his strength to Koume.

'But we're already in the ring.'

To see an opponent's weakness and yet not strike at it was to make a mockery of their battle. He felt that it was a pity, but he would not hold back.

'You showed me your fatal flaw yourself… don't think ill of me now, but I'm gonna attack without holding back!'

Without reserve, Moroboshi moved to seize the victory.

「Moroboshi's moving in to attack Kurogane, who's still reeling from that heavy blow! You're backed into a corner now… can you get out of this fix, Crownless Sword King...!?」