That means Ten’i Muhou isn’t a safe bet.
If Ikki wanted to overcome his opponent’s titanic slashes, he would have to come up with a different plan. Ittou Shura would allow him to simply parry the blows, but it was too early in the fight to start the one-minute timer that came with it. Before that, he had to ascertain the enemy’s range of knowledge. In order to decide what his first move would be, he looked back on his previous battle experience.
“That’s the face of a man who’s wasting his time thinking.”
Ikki’s train of thought was stopped by Ouma’s ridicule.
“I told you, there’s nothing you can do,” he declared amidst the night, and began taking action while remaining at a distance. However, rather than swinging his sword—which meant it wasn’t another Vacuum Blade—he pointed its tip to the sky as if to pierce the moon. “I’ve no intention of wasting undue time on someone like you. Chasing you around will quickly bore me, so I propose we set a time limit. Cut him off, Mukuu Kekkai.”
As he spoke that incantation, Ouma’s magic took form. The green glow that enveloped Ryuuzume suddenly intensified, and violent winds began rampaging across the battlefield.
“Kh!”
The gales, which kicked up so much sand that Ikki couldn’t even open his eyes, spiraled as they rose into the night air. Ikki, trying not to be pulled up along with them, dug all ten of his digits into the earth.
Ngh, a smokescreen?!
The sandstorm created by Ouma’s Noble Art had robbed him of his sight and ability to act. He was impressed by how effective the technique was, but immediately realized that such a way of thinking was horribly naïve. As someone who sought power and power alone, Ouma would never use a technique to hinder his foe; Mukuu Kekkai was sure to have some sort of terrifying direct effect.
“Wha— Hrk?!”
I-I can’t breathe!
That terrifying direct effect was that it deprived Ikki of oxygen. Thanks to the upward air current the attack created, all the oxygen on the battlefield was being carried up and away. Ouma had done this to remove the luxury of time that Ikki previously had.
“Ten minutes is all you have left. If you continue to fight, it goes down to just one. You have no time to begrudge your lack of strength—so face me with your full power.”
The Worst One was made to steel his resolve by the Gale Sword Emperor’s order. As Ouma had said, he had no time to hold back. Worse yet, Ikki had no idea what had happened in the many years after Ouma’s disappearance, but he had become many times stronger than Ikki remembered him being.
He’s not someone I can hold back against in the first place.
Ikki’s own strength was already meager. If he held back against a foe like Ouma, he wouldn’t be able to win. Accepting that, he ended his task of ascertaining Ouma’s strength and set fire to all the magic that ran through him.
“Ittou Shura.”
A blue, flame-like light erupted from Ikki, as did his fighting spirit. That spirit, as sharp as a biting wind, caused the trees in the park to tremble as they scattered still-young leaves. It had grown so strong that it held physical power—a result of the experience he’d gained from fighting so many powerful enemies—yet even that power was far from able to shake Ouma’s spirit in the slightest.
“By focusing all of your power into a short time period, you aim to defeat otherwise insurmountable opponents with explosive strength. Truly the culmination of an impostor’s skills. Just looking at you makes my skin crawl.” Even against the spirit that emanated from Ikki during Ittou Shura, Ouma was unperturbed, going so far as to show displeasure at how bored he was by the display. “Come, pebble. It’s time I kicked you off the path.”
With leisurely movements, he readied Ryuuzume to meet Ikki’s charge. His presence was absolute, like that of a massive boulder settled deep within the earth, unmoving. Ikki himself was almost shaken by the immense pressure he gave off, but he had already pulled his trump card. One minute was all the time he had left, and against an opponent like Ouma, he couldn’t waste even a single second.
“Haaaah!”
The black knight was ready to decide the battle with his charge. He kept his body bent low as he ran, as if he were a shadow creeping along the ground.
“Graaaaah!”
The Gale Sword Emperor moved as well. His wind-cloaked sword descended toward the neck of the shadow with speed beyond recognition by the naked eye. However, with the power of Ittou Shura, Ikki was even faster.
I can do this!
Ikki’s aim was to end the fight with a single counter. Making use of his speed advantage, he would parry Ouma’s blade, then follow up with an attack to the torso. To that end, he stared directly at the gale that aimed to lop his head off.
Don’t be afraid!
Not long earlier, Ouma’s blade had carved a large gash into the earth. If he failed to block it, his head could very well end up being sent flying.
Focus!
Surviving the Reaper’s guillotine required extreme focus. If he was to evade the falling sword, he would need absolute precision. Still, he knew he could do it; that was just how much he had trained.
Nooow!
He fearlessly encouraged himself, using his extreme focus to step within range of the falling blade.
…Huh?
At that exact moment, his legs stopped moving.