“We’ve got some unexpected provocation from Kurogane! Twice has he approached the King, and twice has he been bitten back by the King’s incredible speed, yet this challenger still refuses to fold! He fears nothing!”
“Go, Kurogane! Show ’em how true effort wins!”
“You got this, Ikki!”
Cheers arose from the audience, praising Ikki for not shrinking from a fight that had been in his opponent’s favor since the start. Taking no notice of those cheers, however, Moroboshi considered the true meaning behind Ikki’s words.
He’s not one to bluff.
No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t come up with an explanation. Ikki could no longer knock Comet aside with his sword, as that was tantamount to suicide against Tiger’s Bite, and the same was true for Ittou Shura. For Tiger’s Bite, which could swallow even Ouma’s Kusanagi with ease, Ikki’s magical power was little more than a crumb. Against Moroboshi’s ability to erase magic, a time-limited ability like Ittou Shura was not to be used haphazardly.
Where, then, was Ikki getting his confidence from? Moroboshi couldn’t even begin to imagine it. Even so, it spurred him to widen his joyous grin.
He sure is an interesting one.
“All right. Surprise me to hell and back, then.” Moroboshi would be remiss not to indulge Ikki’s willingness to reveal his unimaginable method. In order to be ready for whatever that method was, he relaxed his shoulders and pointed the head of his spear at his foe. “But I’ll be real mad if it turns out to be lame. We Osakans hate to be let down.”
“Guess you’ll just have to wait and see,” Ikki said, deeply lowering his hips and readying his feet. “Now then… Here I come!”
Kicking with enough force to break through the concrete floor, he charged toward Moroboshi.
“Kurogane has just started up again, and boy is he fast! He’s moving with the same speed he was at the start of this battle! Twice has he used that speed to avoid the King’s wrath, and now he’s challenging him for a third time! Will he find that the third time’s a charm?!”
Iida’s voice became shrill with excitement. The crowd also burned with anticipation of what Ikki’s challenge would lead to. However,
“Wait. He’s fast for sure, but this is…!”
The professional knight Muroto was unsure. Ikki’s movements hadn’t changed at all; he merely charged straight ahead like a wild boar. In much the same way as Muroto, Moroboshi, too, was disappointed.
Has he still not learned his lesson? Is he really just going with a straightforward charge?
He wasn’t even using Ittou Shura. It had already been proven that he couldn’t break through Comet with his own strength, and attempting the same suicide attack three times in a row was wholly uninspired.
“I told you, Kurogane, if you let me down, you won’t get off easy!” Of course, Moroboshi counterattacked with Comet, the pursuing stab that had already given Ikki so much trouble. “Take a bite, Tiger King! Tiger’s Bite!”
With the addition of his magic-breaking ability, Comet took form as an unavoidable, unblockable flash of steel. Ikki attempted to dodge the spearhead with a jump to the right, but that was something he had already tried several times.
Comet would not miss. It changed direction to go to Moroboshi’s left, following Ikki as he fled to the side and piercing his neck. In doing so, however, Moroboshi’s captured prey disappeared like a mirage.
Huh?!
How could he have just vanished after being dealt a lethal injury? Moroboshi was lost for words at the sight of the incomprehensible situation—at least, up until he noticed that Ikki was at his right side instead of his left, and was stepping into sword range.
Wh-What?!
“A bitter miss for Moroboshi! Somehow, his thrust missed its mark! This is a major failure, perhaps even a fatal one!”
Unbeknownst to the spectators, what happened was not a result of Moroboshi missing, but of Ikki’s outstanding move. Only Shizuku and the others were able to recognize what he’d done, as they had seen the technique before.
“Shizuku, was that—”
“It was! It was the same attack he used against Ayatsuji! That was Shinkirou, I’m certain of it!”
The technique he’d used was, as Shizuku thought, one of Ikki’s seven sword arts: the Fourth Secret Sword, Shinkirou. By carefully adjusting his speed as he charged, Ikki created afterimages of himself, fooling opponents into swinging at thin air. Usually, the afterimages would be in front of and behind himself, but in the case of the Seven Stars King, he used Shinkirou to create them on either side, baiting Comet in the wrong direction.
Dammit! He got me with afterimages!
Moroboshi, however, was still a first-rate student knight. He could instantly analyze what had happened to him and what his opponent had done, then select the optimal counterattack. Using that method, he found that he had no time to sweep or yank back his spear. Given the situation, the best option available to him was to strike with the opposite end of his spear.
His plan still had one major flaw, though: his attack would be too slow. By moving to the weak side of Moroboshi that Comet’s pursuit created, Ikki had completely outwitted him and entered sword range. It was a fatal mistake that not even his best manner of counterattack could save him from.
There was no doubt in Moroboshi’s mind that Ikki’s slash would land first. With no chance of escape, Moroboshi accepted his defeat, which made it all the more shocking for him when, in the next instant, he felt the sensation of the close end of his spear shaft strike Ikki’s cheek and launch him away.
“Oh, wow! What a skillful move from Moroboshi! He recognized his own miss and immediately went for a smack with the base of the spear! With that, he’s repelled Kurogane once again! Kurogane is still unable to keep himself in striking range! A dignified defense by the King!”
Applause showered Moroboshi for having evaded Ikki’s attack a third time over, yet not a bit of it actually reached his ears.
Tch. That wasn’t because of my skill!
He knew that no matter how hard he tried, it should have been impossible for his counterattack to have hit first. The only way it could have happened was if Ikki had made a critical error in the deciding moment.
You gotta be kidding me… Bewilderment shook Moroboshi’s heart. He thought back to the events of the night before, the sight of Ikki stopping dead in his tracks before Ouma resurfacing in his mind. There really is something wrong with him!
Moroboshi’s inference was, unfortunately, right on the mark.