Swordsmanship Genius Sees the Future

Chapter 42 - Sea of Illusions (5)

But the puppet was too fast.

Faster than I expected.

It scurried up the strings, and at some point, it even became significantly faster.

He must have activated additional Aura, probably from 3-star to 4-star.

His eyes changed.

He relentlessly performed counter-movements at incredible speed, avoiding the pouring Illusionary Swords along the shortest paths.

And he slowly closed the distance, coming towards me.

If even a small opening appears, I'll be done for in an instant.

Perhaps I'll lose consciousness without even realizing I've been hit.

It's terrifying.

The mere fact that a human can move that quickly is horrifying.

I've seen it many times, but it's amazing every time.

Excuse me, Young Master of the Black Luna family?

Why are you so serious?

Why are you putting in so much effort?

Why do you keep getting faster and faster?

I'm still slow and sluggish, but he's drawing out more Aura, becoming faster and stronger.

It's unfair.

All I can do is scatter more Illusionary Swords along his predicted path, from all directions.

But the limit is clear.

Illusionary Sword is a technique of the mind, a blade of illusion created by thought.

But what if the opponent's speed surpasses the speed of my thoughts?

"..."

It's surreal.

But it's actually starting to happen.

Ah.

So this is how it was going to be.

The speed of thought was slower than I imagined.

It couldn't overcome speeds beyond the limits of the physical body.

Is it natural?

Is swordsmanship alone really not enough?

Against the overwhelming power of Aura?

He's getting faster and more skillful.

I forced open a gap by scattering more Illusionary Swords into the narrowing distance.

Then a new illusion appeared before my eyes.

"…!"

My mind wavered as reality and illusion overlapped.

Wavering creates openings, and openings create opportunities.

He didn't miss the chance and immediately plunged in.

Clever, isn't he?

But this too is part of the future I saw.

In a fleeting moment, just before future and reality merged into one, I unleashed a new storm of Illusionary Swords.

"Gah!"

Dozens of Illusionary Swords pierced his body.

He instinctively recoiled.

But he'll charge again soon.

I simultaneously scattered Illusionary Swords along his new charging direction and the potential retreat path he might choose.

Illusion, future, prediction, spacing.

I use everything I can.

I anticipate every possible attack direction he might attempt and prepare new Illusionary Sword paths.

As illusions overlapped, the world slowed down slightly.

For now, I can respond to his speed.

But.

Even like this, it won't work in the end.

All I see are illusions of my defeat in the future.

But...

Something's off.

It doesn't end with just a simple loss anymore.

I die simultaneously with defeat.

"..."

Why?

Why did it suddenly change to death?

Just a moment ago, there was no future where I died.

It was just a matter of getting heavily injured, or less injured, and losing.

But that possibility has vanished.

Now, mostly I die.

Or I only see futures that are almost as good as death.

What is this?

Why did the situation get worse?

I just gritted my teeth and struggled to change the future where the academy would fall and my friends would die...

Ah.

That's it.

That desperate struggle was the problem.

The problem was pushing to a new level of Illusionary Sword in an attempt to win.

Thanks to that, he, who was going easy on me, got provoked and started using more power.

From 3-star to 4-star.

And again, from 4-star to 5-star.

Now, it won't end with just broken bones or torn flesh.

The moment any of his attacks touch or graze me...

I die. I die. I die. I die. I die.

I barely survive, but my right arm is torn off.

I die. I die. I die.

I survive, but one leg is crushed.

I die. I die. I die.

My head explodes.

Brain matter splatters on the arena floor, and the spectators scream.

I die. I die.

My neck twists in the opposite direction, dangling backwards.

I die. I die. I die...

"...Ha."

A sigh escaped me.

My future was already stained with blood and death.

It's still okay.

For now, I'm unleashing Illusionary Swords to block his approach.

But it won't be long until he breaks through and charges me.

The future of death approaches.

Little by little.

But surely.

Ah... Damn it.

It's unfair.

Please stop.

Please stop.

Save me.

Why do I have to keep going through this?

I'm still just a helpless child curled up and collapsed in that poison cave...

My mind scatters.

Why do I have to do this here?

Why do I have to hate the world?

My will erodes.

The hatred for the Poison King Cult that made me like this, that slaughtered countless children and killed my entire family, is running dry.

All those moments are gradually fading and disappearing.

Have I used too much?

My consciousness can no longer keep up with his speed.

I can't even see illusions of surviving, even if it means being crippled.

I'll die.

Left with an empty shell, having lost all hatred and resentment.

But...

Is that really true?

Does the mind truly disappear when it's consumed?

Then does everything that happened back then become undone?

Do the pains of those who died protecting me, the futures of everyone I was forced to abandon, all become nothing?

Would Tiber's heart, who endured desperate hunger and split a found piece of bread to put in my mouth, disappear?

That can't be.

Everything is still inside me.

So I still hate the world.

"Graah!"

The opponent, who had plunged in to close the distance, screamed and recoiled.

Yes.

It must have hurt.

The dozens of Illusionary Swords that just struck him must have really hurt.

Because I created them while remembering Tiber, who lay cold beside me.

Even amidst that, the opponent composed himself and reacted to my new offensive.

Front.

Side.

Even behind.

He dodged and dodged and dodged again.

But he couldn't react to the sea of Illusionary Swords that poured down from above his head with a slight time delay.

Thudthudthudthud!

Countless illusory blades plunged down.

"Aaaargh!"

He screamed and thrashed.

Yes.

Does it hurt?

It must hurt.

Because just now, I remembered my sister, who blocked the flowing ley line poison for me.

Yes.

That's right.

It doesn't deplete when you use it.

At least, that's how it seems for me.

The mind is like that.

A question suddenly arose.

Has my mind, that is, the speed of my thoughts, truly been caught by the opponent's speed?

Could I have been mistaken about something?

Could I have just trapped myself within some limit and lamented?

Does anything truly exist in the world faster than the speed of thought?

"Ah..."

Gloria, watching the match, shed tears.

She could see the Illusionary Swords.

Illusionary Sword is a technique that isn't visible to third parties.

Even if it's occasionally seen, it's just a faint trace that's barely noticeable.

But Ray's Illusionary Swords were perfectly visible.

Transparent and sharp blades.

And in immense numbers.

He poured dozens, even hundreds, of transparent blades like a shower across the entire arena, toying with his opponent.

"Ray..."

She had never heard of anything like this.

There must be many people in the world who use Illusionary Sword.

But she had never heard of anything as miraculous as this.

It was beautiful.

And it was desperate.

Why was Ray pushing himself so hard?

It was just a first-year academy inter-class competition, wasn't it?

Why was he fighting so desperately, as if he would die if he didn't win right then?

"...My goodness," Professor Totten shook his head.

"What on earth is happening in the arena?"

"..."

"I've never seen anything like this. It's rare for Illusionary Swords to be faintly visible to third parties, but... why are they so clear now?"

"Aaaargh!"

"They keep pouring down!"

"So this is Illusionary Sword!"

"I thought Illusionary Sword was a bit exaggerated, but..."

"It wasn't exaggerated, it was understated! How many is he even unleashing?"

"Awesome, Ray Granvelle!"

"Whoa! Granvelle is the best!"

"Incredible! How many swords are pouring down?!"

"Can I do that if I reach 6-star too?"

"Is he even human? How does he do something like that?"

It seemed to be equally visible to other spectators.

Then the old professor, watching the match, sighed deeply and muttered, "Illusionary Sea... That's the Illusionary Sea."

"Illusionary Sea ? Does that mean a sea of Illusionary Swords? Was there such a stage for Illusionary Sword?"

"Every stage has an extreme, young man. Didn't I tell you before?"

"Before... Are you perhaps talking about Illusionary Sword Dance?"

"No. That's a higher stage than Illusionary Sword Dance."

"You said before that Illusionary Sword Dance was the ultimate truth of 6-star Illusionary Sword..."

"I did. That's right. It usually ends there."

The old professor's eyes moved rapidly without pause as he watched the match.

Totten, who was talking to him, also couldn't take his eyes off the arena.

"It's because almost no one reaches beyond that. So it's no exaggeration to say that Illusionary Sword Dance is the end."

"Then what is Illusionary Sea?"

"It's a kind of domain."

"Domain? What do you mean by that?"

"What you're seeing right now is the domain of Illusionary Sea. It unleashes Illusionary Swords within a certain space, regardless of direction. This isn't something you can achieve just by training. It requires a special enlightenment. I've only seen it once in my entire life."

"You've seen it before? Who else used something like that?"

"Who else could it be?"

"...Surely you don't mean His Excellency, the Sword King?"

Professor Totten swallowed dryly.

The excitement in the arena grew more heated as time passed.

"It was before you were born. I had a chance to see it on the battlefield. And later, I even had a brief conversation with him."

"You directly spoke to His Excellency about Illusionary Sea?"

"It was an honorable moment. Anyway, it's not a technique you can learn through training. Even if you know it exists, most people, like me, just give up and move on. It's faster to train for the next stage, Union Sword. But that child, what on earth..."

It was at that moment.

"Whoa! Aaaargh!"

The momentum of the Illusionary Swords pouring into the arena intensified even more furiously.

"Aah! Faster! More!"

"More! More! More pouring down!"

"It's getting stronger?!"

"Is he crazy! That's amazing!"

"That's swordsmanship!"

"Who said swordsmanship is inferior to Aura?!"

"Aaaargh!"

The roar of the crowd also grew fiercer.

On the other hand, the old professor shook his head with an uneasy expression.

"Hmph... No matter what, is he really going that far?"

"Why are you asking? Is there a problem?"

"Illusionary Sea is a technique that comes with extreme exhaustion. It literally creates a sea of Illusionary Swords, so it requires harboring killing intent not just towards the opponent but towards a certain area..."

"Wait a minute. You mean harboring killing intent towards the surrounding area, not the opponent? Towards space, not a person?"

"Well, I don't know exactly either. Cough cough cough..."

The old professor chuckled strangely and shook his head.

"I don't know how that's actually possible. I even tried training for a while, but I just couldn't get the hang of it. It was over 40 years ago, anyway."

"So, what's the problem?"

"After all, Illusionary Sword is a technique that consumes mental power, isn't it? I doubt if that child's mind possesses such mental power. No, if he does, that's even more unfortunate."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You can't maintain the domain with just ordinary pain. Or ordinary hatred, I suppose... It's a technique that squeezes a human's mental image to its limits. And for him to keep doing that... Sigh."

The old professor sighed and lowered his voice.

"It's best to end the match. Someone's going to get seriously hurt. What on earth is the referee doing? Why isn't she stopping the match and letting it continue?"