He’s out for blood before I can even get my head straight? He definitely knows!
Ikki grimaced at Moroboshi, who was coming at him for the first time since the battle began. He clearly knew that Ikki was confused.
“Hup!”
The sharply thrust head of his spear was aimed at Ikki’s foot, a calculated assault that aimed to decrease his mobility.
I’d better give up on attacking and focus on dodging for now! I’ll keep evading until I get my rhythm back!
Ikki reminded himself to calm down and attempted to evade the impossible-to-stop stab by going back a half-step. With enough force behind it to audibly cut through the wind as it moved, the spear pierced fruitlessly into the stone floor, presenting Ikki with the perfect opportunity.
Or perhaps it wasn’t. Instantly, the spearhead burst from the surface of the ground, heading straight for his face.
Gaaah! He bent his neck as far as he could to evade a direct hit, but the attack still managed to graze his cheek. There’s no question about it anymore. I’m not sure how, but Moroboshi’s stabs are curving!
Moroboshi’s spear, a weapon that was supposed to be firm and straight, was bending like clay. It was an unbelievable sight, but having seen it twice, Ikki was forced to believe.
However, twice was not the end. Every stab bent in much the same way. Right, left, up, down—it was like some sort of illusion. Every last one of them pursued Ikki in whichever direction he dodged.
This is insane! I can’t just keep side-stepping; sooner or later, I’ll get skewered!
Quick dodges were only going to work for so long. Without any other method of protecting himself, Ikki’s only option was to remove himself entirely from the spear’s range.
“What’s going on with Kurogane?! As if his beautiful dodges from before never even happened, he seems to have gotten cold feet! Back and back he jumps, like he’s single-mindedly trying to escape!”
I am trying single-mindedly to escape!
Ikki chuckled at the play-by-play announcer’s criticism. However, fleeing did not equal losing—it was, in fact, a strategy employed specifically to prevent losing. Even if it was a shameful sight, his eyes were still set on victory.
Moreover, he was doing more than simply running away in fear. He was observing Moroboshi as he fled, summoning all of his wisdom as he neared the secret of Moroboshi’s pursuing stab.
Play-by-play has made it all too clear that nobody else can see it. If they could, the announcer wouldn’t have said what he did. He would have been praising Moroboshi’s impossible attack rather than criticizing Ikki. That must mean that the mechanism behind this is…
“Whatcha doin’ there, Kurogane?!” Moroboshi taunted. “You’re never gonna win if you just keep running!”
Yet again, a flash of steel pierced the air. Since the start of their battle, Ikki had been focused on the spearhead each time it was thrust at him. Given that some mysterious ability was being used to make it follow him, it only made sense that it would steal his attention.
That was wrong. I shouldn’t be focusing on the spearhead, I should be focusing on Moroboshi’s wrist!
Finally, Ikki had arrived at the truth of Moroboshi’s attack. As the next stab came at him, it did not escape his perception that the moment Moroboshi thrust his spear, he flicked his wrist and changed the angle of his elbow, altering the trajectory of his Device.
Ha! Thought so!
Ikki’s guess was right on the money. The spear never truly curved, it only appeared to do so by moving with such speed that it created an optical illusion. As he thrust it, he curved it. As he curved it, it pierced. It was as simple as that.
Though simple in concept, executing those motions while stabbing thrice with such speed that it appeared as a single stab was an impossibly difficult feat. So many actions were being performed in such a short period of time that it went beyond the realm of what a person should have been able to do; it was too much for the human brain to keep up with. The ability to do so, then, was because Moroboshi had engraved the movements into his muscles, his bones, and even his blood.
What could only be described as a triumph of the human body’s capabilities was the result of an enormous amount of incomprehensibly arduous training. As a result, Moroboshi’s stabs needed no orders from his brain, pursuing their prey of their own accord. It was such an extreme physical skill that it was indistinguishable from magic. For that reason, the Seven Stars King had given the ability a name: Comet.
What an incredible skill!
A physical feat that laughed at human limits. It, too, was unlike the innate ability belonging to the Sword Eater; it was a miracle created by constant effort. Ikki had to respect him as a fellow martial artist. His fighting style, which took the spear’s weakness of being able to attack only a single point and transformed it into an advantage, was nothing short of impressive. Once more, Ikki was glad that he had made it to the Seven Stars and could fight astounding knights like Moroboshi.
Just fighting isn’t enough, though!
In discovering that Comet was nothing more than a physical technique, he’d also discovered that it was possible to counter. The key to Comet’s strength was that it attacked enemies who had left themselves defenseless by evading.
“All I have to do is not evade!”
Ikki’s fighting style changed instantly. He used Intetsu to swat away a Comet aimed at his neck, giving up on his retreat in favor of a forward charge.
“Ngh?!”
Moroboshi tried to retaliate by quickly using a Comet-enhanced Astral Trio, but if they weren’t dodged, they were nothing more than regular stabs. With the trick behind it exposed, Ikki had no trouble swatting it away, parrying until he was in point-blank range.
“Whoa! Kurogane’s undergone a sudden transformation! He’s stopped his fancy dancing and is now making a bold forward plunge! Sparks fly as he elbows his way through a shower of steel, steadily closing in on Moroboshi!”
As a result of the abnormality, Moroboshi gritted his teeth for the first time since the start of their fight. A normal foe could never charge through Astral Trio’s high-speed assault even if they’d learned how to overcome Comet.
Ikki, however, was no normal foe. He was capable of such a charge. His incredible observational skills—the same ones that made Perfect Vision and Blade Steal possible—had already identified some of the quirks and inclinations of Yuudai Moroboshi’s spear technique. In his relentless pursuit of Ikki, the Seven Stars King had shown off too much of his fighting style.
“Haaah!”
“Moroboshi has the face of a madman as he unleashes his high-speed spearmanship! But Kurogane just won’t quit! He keeps on shoving his way through the veritable phalanx of spears!”
“This is a rough situation for the Seven Stars King. A spear’s advantage comes from its reach. When the enemy gets in too close, its effectiveness falls by at least half. Moroboshi has to find some way to drive him back!”
Unfortunately for Moroboshi, as long as Ikki could foresee his moves, he would be unable to deter the charge no matter how many inconveniences he added. It was only a matter of time before Ikki put himself within sword range, and once a swordsman like him gained that advantage, he would never let it go. The moment Ikki got close enough, the battle would be over.
“Dammiiit!”
With Ikki just one step outside of sword range, Moroboshi released another Astral Trio in hopes of deterring Ikki. His last resistance was for naught, though, as Ikki had already stolen his spearmanship. Using the angles of his elbows and his line of sight, Ikki could instantly perceive where each strike would end up. He repelled the first and second with ease, and took his final step into range in time with the wind-up of the third.
“Kurogane has finally gotten within striking range of Moroboshi!”
“Boshiii! Get outta theeere!”
Cries rose from the stands, supporting the cornered King. But Moroboshi still had the last strike of his Astral Trio, and much like both it and Comet, he had one more super-speed technique that waited not even for thought. It too was guided by the muscle memory resulting from millions upon millions of repetitions. Additionally, he was not the kind of person who would flee when told to.
He moved, ready for his final stab to pierce Ikki’s chest. However, Ikki knew all the ins and outs of his spearmanship, and had foreseen the attack’s angle and path. There wasn’t the slightest chance that he would fail to swat it away.
Once I deal with his last thrust of Astral Trio, I’ll be able to end this! It’s time for me to— No, wait! This is bad!
Lightning ran through Ikki’s brain as an unbelievable spectacle unfolded in the arena. He, who had cornered Moroboshi to the last, was struck in the shoulder by Tiger King and launched out of the striking distance he so coveted.