Eugeo didn’t yet know what form this man’s Perfect Control took, but it was obvious since he’d been talking at length that this man was extremely skilled with it. For his part, Eugeo didn’t have time to start chanting the words, and his ice roses weren’t going to be very effective in a steamy bathhouse.
That left one option: use Sonic Leap in the instant the man used his own technique or Perfect Control arts, in the hope of clinching the fight. He would be expecting Eugeo to use a combination attack, and hopefully he would be taken by surprise when it was an ultra-speed jump.
He tensed his gut, focused all his concentration forward, and watched.
The distance between them was about eight mels.
Neither Norkia style nor its advanced counterpart, High-Norkia style, had a technique that could cover that much ground at once. So if the man swung his sword from his position without stepping closer, that “best” attack of his would be some kind of Perfect Weapon Control that extended the reach of his swings. Eugeo would have to evade it somehow and strike with a counter.
As expected, the man stood in place and slowly swung his upright sword downward. The smile was gone from his lips, which opened to bellow, “Taste the blade of Integrity Knight Commander Bercouli Synthesis One!!”
For just an instant, Eugeo wondered, Where have I heard that before? But he hastily overrode his side thoughts to focus only on the enemy’s movement.
The so-called commander’s left foot pounded heavily onto the marble stone. All the steam in his vicinity shredded into nothing.
Incredibly fast and yet somehow graceful, his powerful hips, chest, shoulders, and arms rotated. First his sword tilted to the right, then it swiped out directly level. Eugeo could sense that this was the greatest of swordplay taught by the orthodox schools. The movement was simple and unadorned yet utterly polished through years and years of experience.
But all the orthodox schools of swordfighting had a weakness in common. Because their forms were so proud and distinct, it was easy to predict the attack’s trajectory. By the time the commander’s sword was slicing flat through the white steam, Eugeo was already in the air, jumping forward to his left. He would be able to dodge cleanly, even if the sword exhibited some kind of Perfect Control attack.
The air rippled at his right ear, but he felt no pain or impact.
I dodged it! he thought, then landed and activated Sonic Leap.
“Rrraaaah!”
His sword took on a green glow tinged with yellow. An invisible power accelerated his body, turning Eugeo into a gust of wind that burst toward the knights’ commander, who had just finished his own swing.
Behind him, the burst from the sword he had just dodged continued until it hit the doors of the bath with a huge—
Nothing.
No sound. Not even a vibration.
Had the slash from the commander been that slow? Or had it dissipated before it reached the doors?
That couldn’t be. That would mean this man, who should be stronger than Deusolbert and Fanatio, had a Perfect Weapon Control with a weaker range than Eldrie, who’d been an Integrity Knight for only a month. Eldrie’s Frostscale Whip struck dozens of mels away like lightning.
It couldn’t be true. So was the commander’s attack not one of an elongated attack range? In fact, Eugeo didn’t get hit at all. That meant all the man did was a simple swing. An ordinary exhibition of a form, the same thing that every student at Swordcraft Academy did during a test.
Is he toying with me? Or does he think a mere student will turn tail and retreat from a single free swing?
The thought burned in his mind—and delayed his realization.
There was something right between the path of Eugeo’s rampaging attack and the stationary man. A horizontal, transparent ripple suspended in the air. Just like the heat haze that surrounded the man’s sword before he swung it.
And that’s…right where he swung his sword…
A deep chill ran down his back. Instinctually he tried to cancel his charge, but once initiated, a technique couldn’t be stopped that easily. He tugged on his sword and scraped his foot on the floor, but the best he managed was a slight dip in speed.
Then Eugeo’s body passed through the floating haze. A burst of blazing heat passed through him from left pectoral to right flank. He was rocketed through the air like a scrap of cloth caught in a gale, rotating madly. Blood gushed from the massive gash on his chest, tracing a spiral through the air.
He landed flat on his back in the bath on the left side of the walkway. A plume of water shot up, and soon the water around the impact was a vivid red.
“Grg…aaah…!”
He spat up the hot water that flooded his mouth; there was red spittle there, too. The gash had reached his lungs, then. If he hadn’t slowed his momentum that little bit before he hit the haze, it might have completely severed his torso.
“System…Call. Generate…Luminous Element…,” he said, casting a healing art as he floated. Fortunately, there was plenty of warm water around, which had much more sacred power than when cold. But Eugeo wasn’t a skilled enough caster to heal such a deep wound in a short amount of time.
He stopped the blood loss, though, and got unsteadily to his feet. The knights’ commander stared down at him from the walkway. The sword was already back in its sheath, and his right hand was thrust into the opening of his kimono, resting there.
“That was a bit dangerous, there. Didn’t expect you to come rushing up so fast. Sorry, nearly ended up killing you.”
His words seemed really informal for such a dire situation, but Eugeo didn’t have time to argue over that. Through pained lungs, he rasped, “Wh…what was…that…you did…?”
“I warned you I’d be giving you my best. And I didn’t just swing and slice through the air. You might say…I sliced the future, just a moment ahead.”
It took some time for the commander’s words to make concrete sense to Eugeo. The throbbing of his wound, which felt like ice in the midst of so much hot water, impeded his thoughts.
✦ ✦ ✦
