I figured that was the end of the fight. Setsuna seemed to think the same, because he sheathed his sword and stepped closer. Ragi gasped for breath and forced himself upright, lifting a hand to stop Setsuna.
“That’s an unbelievable technique. I would guess the sword flash was moonlight and the shield was the clouds hiding it… But the idea that the shield itself would drift like a cloud never crossed my mind.”
“Are you all right, Ragi?”
“I’m fine, I’m fine. I concentrated all my strength in my right arm to block it. But I’m nearly spent.”
“Shall we stop here, then?” Setsuna asked, apparently concerned about how hard the older man was breaking. But Ragi shook his head.
“Would you indulge me in one last round?”
Setsuna stepped back, picked up his shield, and drew his sword again.
“Thank you.” Ragi paused to catch his breath. “This technique is called Falling Mountain. Please watch closely.”
Instead of responding, Setsuna simply returned to the Gathering Clouds stance, as if to say it wasn’t his place to answer that wish. He kept his eyes locked on Ragi, who slowly approached.
“Why isn’t Gramps charging in to attack like before?” Alto whispered beside me.
“For one thing, I don’t think he has enough strength to do that anymore.”
“Oh, right. He was breathing pretty hard a few seconds ago.”
“The other reason is that he probably decided he can’t completely evade that thrust and planned to block it again. See how Ragi’s got both arms up to protect his face?”
“Isn’t that dangerous?” Alto asked, sounding worried.
“Sure, if he were wearing ordinary steel bracers, which would break. But those are forged from bluesilver, so he trusts that they’ll protect him.”
We both held our breath as we watched Ragi creep forward little by little, his toes gradually sliding forward, closing the distance. The next moment, Setsuna swung the small shield. Shockingly, Ragi got one more step in during that fraction of a second before Setsuna’s thrust could reach him.
But why would he…?
While that thought was still running through my head, an earth-splitting crack! rang out.
I expected Ragi to be blown backward again, but instead he twisted his body and planted his left foot against the ground, absorbing the force close to his chest and redirecting it. He used that momentum to spin faster and swung his right leg into a sweeping kick aimed at Setsuna’s shoulder.
Setsuna saw it coming and lifted his shield to block.
But Ragi abruptly stopped the spinning motion of his supporting leg and altered the trajectory of his kick, ending with his foot right above Setsuna’s shield. Then—unbelievably—he pinched the rim of the shield between his big toe and second toe and used it as a pivot point to launch himself upward.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye.
Somehow, in that instant, the roles had reversed, and Ragi’s left knee was driving straight toward Setsuna’s face. But Setsuna’s reflexes surpassed those of a normal human, and he tilted his head to the right just in time to evade the strike.
Now that Ragi had lost his target, his body passed over Setsuna’s left shoulder. He twisted in midair to face Setsuna again, landing in a handstand. I wondered again if that was the end of it, but I suddenly saw Ragi’s arms circling Setsuna’s waist, and I realized everything up until now had just been the lead-up to this attack.
His legs wrapped around Setsuna’s neck. The momentum from his jump knocked Setsuna off-balance, causing him to stagger. Ragi was trying to throw Setsuna down and smash his head against the ground.
It looked like there was no way for him to withstand it, but Setsuna reversed his grip on his sword and drove the blade into the earth. His entire body seemed to creak under the strain, but he anchored himself to withstand the momentum.
A few seconds passed, then the force from the technique dissipated. Realizing his last attack had failed, Ragi finally unhooked his legs and collapsed to the ground.
Setsuna quickly let go of the sword, turned around, and caught Ragi as he fell. Ragi murmured something into Setsuna’s ear, but I couldn’t hear what he said.
Whatever he whispered caused Setsuna’s face to fill with sorrow. When he spotted Alto running toward them, however, his expression immediately changed into a soft, gentle smile.
Alto ran up to them, his eyes sparkling. Ragi sat on the ground to catch his breath while the young boy hopped around excitedly. “Gramps! I—I’m never gonna forget that fight! Not for as long as I live!”
Ragi gazed at him silently.
“I promise! I’m gonna be just like you one day! Watch me!”
Ragi opened his arms and pulled Alto into them. I glimpsed tears spilling down Ragi’s cheeks as he hugged the boy, but Alto couldn’t see his face from where he was, so he couldn’t tell. I glanced over at Setsuna. He was standing there facing away from us.
✦ ✦ ✦
Most of my life has been spent in battle, so I never doubted I would also die in battle. And somehow, even at the very end, I always wished I would.
My right fist punched through a monster’s leg, and its tail came swinging down at me.
Oh, my wish is finally coming true, I thought.
But then one of my allies shoved me aside, and she’d been the one struck by the tail and sent flying. Soon after, the monster’s shadow vanished, and I was left holding the woman’s hand.
“I thought you wanted to buy something to take home to your daughter,” I said.