It was clear that simply hitting Lynette wouldn’t be enough to take her down.
Show your next move, Kenki. If you have nothing, then it’s over for you.
“Both sides are trying to find the perfect time to unleash the finishing blow. When will this equilibrium shift?”
Oh, here it comes.
Just as I said that, the stalemate moved. The Kenki tilted. He’d stepped on one of the broken pieces of shield and lost his balance. At that same moment, Lynette gripped her sword with both hands and held it by her waist.
You made him step on that, didn’t you, Lynette?
This was another sign of how balanced her strengths were. She’d been observing her environment while keeping up her offense and defense, and that was how she’d managed to lure him in that direction.
Hmm... I did think that Lynette had greater natural martial talent than Lynokis, but I never expected it would show itself in moments like this too. The ability to adapt to the surrounding environment and respond accordingly was also a fine display of martial arts. It was a skill that usually showed itself in a real battle as opposed to a friendly match.
All it took to disrupt the scales was that little tilt. And in this match, Lynette had had time to build up her momentum.
The Kenki was aware of the danger and tried to get back, but—
Lynette swung her sword without hesitation.
A strong step forward, and speed and chi put into the blade, she performed what was called a gyaku-do in Kendo—a strike that hit the left side of the torso.
There was distance between them—it should’ve been impossible for the blade to reach.
But the slash flew.
“Ngh!”
Letting out a voiceless cry, the Kenki rolled across the ground as if he’d been blown away.
A wonderful display!
Chi Fist: Singing Palm. It was a Technique using external chi that I had taught her. Techniques that used external chi were more difficult than ones that used internal chi, but with her talent, it wasn’t so surprising that she’d pulled it off. It was quite rough, but it was good enough to be considered a proper Singing Palm.
Incidentally, this was usually a Technique performed with one’s bare hands, hence the name. It was possible to unleash strikes and slashes with your palms, and Techniques like those could be altered for use with weapons.
And yet, the Kenki managed to block that invisible attack with his sword. If it had hit directly...well, Lynette’s sword was also blunted, so it wouldn’t have cut, but that still would have been more than enough to take him out of the match. Even if it was just a sword-shaped stick at the end of the day, it was still a blunt weapon, and the slash that Lynette sent out was befitting of one. With such strength and weight and sturdiness, one direct blow would have been enough to end it.
Only if it managed to make a direct strike, though. After losing his balance, the Kenki had desperately put distance between them. He had been slow to react in a way that made it look as if a direct hit were inevitable, and yet he still tried to block it with his sword. As a result, his sword broke and hit his right arm near the elbow. It was a good reaction, even if it probably broke his bone.
The fact he had been able to block an attack he couldn’t see while also being off-balance must have meant that he’d sensed Lynette’s chi. If not, there was no way he would’ve known to lift his sword. It seemed like he’d just had a vague sense—something more fuzzy and instinctual than anything else.
But this match would almost certainly have an effect on him. He had now keenly learned that there was some new power that he didn’t know about, and he would be stopping at nothing to find it.
That was what it meant to know.
The Kenki swiftly stood back up...
“That’s unfortunate... Guess this is my loss.”
...and after looking at his broken sword, gave a great sigh.
As he was both sword and man, he cared more about that than the injury on his arm? As the blade was an extension of himself, even if it was only a practice sword, was that where his soul lay?
He truly was an Eastern martial artist.
“Asuma has surrendered. The match has come to an end. What a wonderful battle. Lynette fired off a ranged Technique. She was unable to break skin due to her blunted competition blade, but if that had been a real sword, it would’ve slashed right through him. Asuma’s show of cutting through Lynette’s shield with just his wooden sword was also superb. His skill with the sword must be one of the highest in the tournament. Most fitting of a man who goes by the name of the Sword Demon.”
I guess that’ll do.
After wrapping up my comments, I signaled to Bendelio to turn the camera away from me and left my spot to go see Lynette as she stepped off the ring.
“Lynette, a moment.”
“Huh?”
She looked shocked by the sight of me. For someone who was usually so calm, that had been a very exaggerated reaction. She must not have thought I would speak to her at a time like this. Fressa had been shocked when I’d done the same to her.
“Y-You’re not going to ask me to help with commentary, are you?”
Oh, that’s why she got so nervous. Unfortunately, it would have definitely been a bad idea to be caught favoring competitors at this stage. Besides, Lynette had been injured after those hits from the Kenki’s sword, even if the strikes only left light bruises.
“I want you to pass on a message for me. You’re going to the infirmary, yes?”
“A message? Very well.”
All of the fourth day matches were now over. Today was just as exciting, and plenty of blood had been spilled. Though fighters were injured here and there, thankfully, there had been no deaths. In other words, we could say it was another success.
A few days still remained. As we could see the number of remaining matches decreasing, I found myself hoping that we would be greeted by richer matches in the last stretch.
That’s enough family time for now...
“I will be returning to my room now. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said as I stood from the table.
After having dinner and dessert with Neal and my parents, we were able to sit and have quite the nice chat. We were staying on our private airship for the duration of the tournament. Although Neal and I technically had school, it would have been far too strenuous to keep going back and forth every morning, so it was decided that we would stay here. Reliared and Hildetaura had similar arrangements.
Usually, we only got to see our parents when we went home for the holidays, so the time we had together was precious. That was why I wanted Neal to spend all the time he wished. He was family, after all.
“You’re going to bed already?” father asked.
“As lovely as that sounds, I have to check my schedule for tomorrow and make sure I know who’s facing off against who... Just the usual work things.” I was honestly quite exhausted and would have loved to just sleep, but there were still things I had to do. When the number of competitors left was this small, it stood out when you didn’t know your stuff. If I didn’t remember the bare minimum, I’d bring shame to the Liston crew’s name.