Moreover, this was Amane’s first time using his power in this way, so his control wasn’t perfect. There was no way such haphazard attacks would ever hit Ikki.
“Kuro-bou, I’ll leave this fight to you since you asked so nicely! But you better be as good as your word and knock some sense into that idiot!” Saikyou shouted into the mic while falling back into her seat. Simultaneously, Ikki got close enough to reach Amane with his sword.
Though Amane’s expression stiffened, he didn’t retreat. He was barely able to stay on his feet, and he knew that if he tried to step back, he’d just collapse. Instead, he summoned an Azure in each hand, enveloped them in the same black flame of death, and desperately tried to meet Ikki in a close-range battle. If he lost here, it would prove that his reason for having given up on himself was nothing more than an excuse. He’d lost far too much to be able to accept that.
I just need to scratch him! As long as I can touch his skin, I win!
“Aaaaah!”
He swung both Azures at Ikki, but the slashes were pitifully weak. Despite them being similar to his wild swings from the start of the battle, they weren’t being made accidentally perfect anymore. Because Nameless Glory was focused solely on bringing death to everything it touched, it was no longer making Amane exceptionally lucky. These were a true amateur’s slashes. They could hardly even be called real slashes. Naturally, neither Azure hit Ikki.
“Haaah!”
Slashing so quickly that his sword left afterimages, Ikki knocked both Azures out of Amane’s hands. There was nothing Amane could do to stop him. As that realization sank in, he gritted his teeth angrily. He hated his own weakness. He hated the fact that he couldn’t do anything in this situation that relied on his strength and not Nameless Glory’s.
How long has it been since I last cursed my own powerlessness?
It had been so long since he’d felt this way that he’d forgotten such emotions existed. The power to grant him anything had left him with nothing. Everything belonged to Nameless Glory, while the things he’d truly wanted had always slipped through his fingers. And so, he’d given up on wanting anything. He’d come to accept that no matter how hard he wished for it, there was nothing he’d be able to win for himself. But now...
“Graaaaah!”
“What?!”
Everyone, including Ikki, gasped in shock. As Ikki stepped in to deal the finishing blow, Amane summoned two more Azures and launched another attack. No one had been expecting an amateur like him to get a second attack in, much less a well-timed counter. And that was precisely what it was: a perfect counter angled so that he would stab Ikki before Ikki could cut him down.
It wasn’t Nameless Glory’s luck aiding him this time either. His power was focused solely on creating death, so he couldn’t redirect any of it to help his swordsmanship. No, he’d mustered this one attack through his own strength. He’d recalled all the lucky swings he’d managed to unleash before and traced the same trajectory as he had back then, creating his own unique martial arts technique in the heat of the moment.
Of course, with Ittou Shura active, Ikki was able to bring his sword back just in time to block. But that did force him to stop his advance for the very first time. And when he did, Amane staked everything on one last offensive.
I wanna win!
For the first time, Amane was the one to step forward. Spurring him on was the same desire that he’d tried so hard to stamp out and throw away. As it turned out, no matter how much he’d told himself he’d given up, in truth, he hadn’t.
I want to win!
“Must be nice, being able to get everything you want with just the power of luck.”
“His luck lets him be the best at everything he does.”
“Find happiness, Shion-chan.”
“It’s okay, Daddy’s here for you now. I love you, and you love me, right?”
He’d lived the life of a ghost, wandering the world of the living but never truly being seen by anyone. His hands had been unable to hold anything, no matter how small. He’d just wanted the tiniest thing for himself. Something he knew he’d earned without his power. Something he could show as proof that he existed in this world, separate from the goddess at his back. And right now, that something was within his reach. If he could win here, it would be a victory he’d earned, for not even his cursed goddess had been able to overcome Kurogane Ikki.
I’m going to win!
He knew that if he could win here, he’d be able to smile from the bottom of his heart for the first time in his life.
“Raaaaaaah!”
His scream was no longer one of incoherent rage, but a fierce warrior’s battle cry. He stabbed forward with his left hand, thrusting with the perfect amount of force to make it a deadly attack rather than a haphazard one.
Because Ikki had been forced to block Amane’s earlier counter, Intetsu wasn’t in a position to stop the thrust. Recognizing that, he decided to go on the offensive as well.
“Second Sword Style—Point-Blank.”
“Ah.”
Amane gasped softly as Ikki’s gleaming dark blade batted aside the Azure in his right hand and cut him down before his left thrust could reach.