Chapter 276: The Sword-Wolf Faces the Thunder-Fire Beast, Part Six
"Jubeiiiiii! Help meeeee! My creative urges are gonna explode!!!!! Like, BANG!!!!!"
"Do it yourself." (image omitted)
To put it simply, that man was the strongest.
From a young age, he'd had a beast's intuition. He'd sniff out his opponent's movements before they even made them, and beat them to the punch with his mighty sword. That's how abnormal his way of fighting was. But all living things degrade, wither, decline. The moment he realized his own physical strength was fading... even though he was still stronger than any other swordsman of his generation, the man changed his entire approach to battle.
He'd polished and piled up experience since his youth. And though he'd lost the fierce wildness of a beast, he'd honed his instincts to read enemies to an even keener edge — reaching the pinnacle of masterful skill. See through the opponent's movements before the opponent themselves. Respond with only the bare minimum of motion, and strike the head.
Those who fought this man, who even in old age monopolized the title of the strongest, could only describe their defeat as: "It was like fighting a ghost." "The shinai passed right through." "Before I knew it, I'd lost." Yet even so, they still felt admiration and respect for him.
Then one day, sensing his end approaching, the man had an opportunity to face his granddaughter — the granddaughter he himself had named, who had followed in his footsteps onto the path of the sword. The man was still human. He had plenty of affection to spoil his granddaughter. But when it came to the sword, that was another matter. Her ability being insufficient and him holding back were two entirely separate issues. He set about reading her movements, as he always did... and then he realized.
His granddaughter was looking straight at him. And he... hadn't even been looking at his own granddaughter.
It was nothing, really. If you pour your entire soul into observing your opponent's movements and controlling yourself in response, then it doesn't matter who your opponent is. If it had been not his granddaughter but a mannequin stuffed with meat inside its armor, the man would have done the exact same thing.
He saw only the opponent's technique. He didn't see the opponent.
Having realized something so simple, the man fell into a deep despair. He drowned himself in alcohol for the first and last time in his life... and then he picked up something that had once been given to him, something he'd once laughed off and thrown aside.
—It's far too late for me to change. But if it might help those who come after...
To get straight to the point, that wish has yet to reach the one person he most wanted it to reach. But through bizarre coincidences involving all kinds of twists and a triple-and-a-half twist, that wish would end up being displayed right in front of the man's granddaughter.
Basically, the Ryuguin Fugaku style is a batting center. It's not a showdown between pitcher and batter. It's just fixing your own form against the balls flying at you.
Not like I'm in any position grand enough to say that's wrong or anything. But if that's all it is, then what's the real difference from beating on an NPC? If we're going PvP, let's at least actually look at the other person.
That said, the style is legitimately strong. Even just mimicking the surface of it lets me handle this barrage of Sworvant blades.
Sunraku: "If you're gonna gang up on me, you don't have nearly enough swords, y'bastard!"
Group-beatdown countermeasures forged in the Bakumatsu chaos and gang-up FPS games! People basically look toward their real target! I intercept Pega-whatever, which comes flying in on a scooping trajectory from below, and activate Mind Over Mountain; by landing the attack on the same spot, I make Pega-whatever's blade scream in protest.
Psyger-100: "You must be joking... Where did you acquire that?!"
Sunraku: "Correspondence course!"
Well, that's not exactly wrong. But no point messing around with flying swords forever. From here on, it's my turn.
Sunraku: "You're not the only one who uses a bunch of different weapons...!"
Weapon swap. Wrapped around my fists is a crimson fistband—a cestus. Made from the materials of an Arctus Regalex — which, for how cool the name sounds, has a pretty sad image of getting poisoned and turned into a snack — these fistbands bind tightly around the fists and won't come off unless a certain condition is met. Well, actually, I can move my index finger enough to operate the window and unequip them normally, but that's just a cute quirk. Respect the flavor text.
Sunraku: "Crimson Sea Fistband: Regalex Cestus!"
The loose ends of the bandages flutter in the wind as I take my stance, still maintaining Role Play.
Sunraku: "What I'm doing hasn't changed, but from here on, I'm on the offensive."
Psyger-100: "Then show me!"
Even with no hands to grip them, there's someone moving those blades. I track the flying magic sword, the cat teaser, and the rest — and without a moment's hesitation, I swing my fist.
The Crimson Sea Fistband has three abilities. First: when attacking, damage taken from attacks that hit the fist itself is reduced. Basically, if I punch the edge of a sword while wearing these, damage reduction kicks in. Second: a gauge charges whenever both I and my attack target take damage at the same time. In a sense, this weapon has a similar system to the Blade-to-Blade Sword.
Sunraku: "Right! Left! Directly above!"
I punch Pega-whatever, swat away the Super Cat-Teaser, and my fist — wrapped in crimson bands — crashes into the nameless sword falling from above like it was trying to stake me into the ground. The tip of tempered steel versus a human middle finger. Two things that should never be able to clash as equals collide, and the fist sends the sword flying.
Sunraku: "Ha-haa! Strong Fist!"
And while we're at it, equipment change! I'll teach you the ABCs of PvP!
Now a fish-faced fiend who's stripped off what little defense he had, I step forward, closing distance in one burst. Maybe she figured I was using the same Ryuguin School, because she tries to pin my advancing step by sending a sword flying right in front of me—
Sunraku: "Oi, oi... what's the point of blocking the path... after I've already gone through it?"
Right now, I'm half-naked with a fish face, wrapped in a pure white cloak with a night sky inside — cold-weather half-naked! Pervert is a banned word! With the Lapistella Cloak equipped, I can even pull off being a mage. Yeah, that's right — five meters is still "range."
Sunraku: "Apport!"
Psyger-100: "Wha—?!"
I transfer to the very limit of Apport's range, within one meter diagonally forward-left of her—the side opposite her right hand, which is probably her dominant hand judging by the way she holds Sacred Blade Excalibur. Psyger-100's movements freeze. She clearly never expected me to use transfer magic.
Sunraku: "Thanks for using such high-quality swords. Makes my gauge fill up a whole lot easier...!"
The third ability of the Crimson Sea Fistband. Activated by charging the gauge to its maximum... it's the release of the bandages binding my fists.
Psyger-100: "This much, I can handle...!"
Sunraku: "Too bad. Still running Role Play."
If you want to push the swords back, you've gotta earn an advantage that surpasses physical motion. Kyogoku's idea wasn't bad, but pulling it off while Sworvant's control was still at full power was a misplay. The proper PvP way is to shake up your opponent first, then do it.
I dodge Psyger-100's horizontal sweep of Sacred Blade Excalibur by a hair's breadth — honestly, that gave me a bit of a chill — but I've forced her to burn that card. Now I can move faster than that quick-activation magic of hers.
Sunraku: "Here's my calling card. Take it."
The Crimson Sea Fistband's bandages burst open, wrapping around my fists as if my hands had grown a size larger. You could call them some kind of half-finished glove made of bandages. They clearly don't look like they fully protect the fist. But judging by appearances alone would be hasty.
Sunraku: "Hraaah!"
Psyger-100: "Guoh...!"
The bandages enveloping the air around my fist slam into Psyger-100's armor, ringing out with a hard metallic sound.
In this state, the ability the Crimson Sea Fistband demonstrates is, in a sense, extremely simple: complete nullification of any damage passing through the fist. Basically, with these active, whether I plunge my hand into magma, punch a lump of poison, or get bitten by Lycagon... as long as the damage hits anywhere from the elbow to the tip of the fist, it's completely negated.
No matter how hard the armor I hit, no matter if I catch a sword's edge — my fist won't be damaged. The only one taking damage is my opponent. Well, anything beyond the elbow takes damage normally, and weapon-destruction effects like Pega-whatever's can still chip away durability, so it's not exactly all-powerful...
Sunraku: "But even so, this fist won't shatter. Same as that sword earlier!"
Psyger-100: "Then I'll just aim for your torso!"
Yes, Role Play. My concentration's starting to fray a little, but with that heroic awakening still waiting in the wings, I want to shave off as much as I can right here.
The Master of the Sword's one weakness in terms of distance: extreme close-quarters combat. I keep up the attack at this range, where a careless Sworvant blade could end up stabbing her instead. Sounds simple, but it's actually really damn hard. You have to stick to an opponent who's trying to get away while dodging their counters, all without giving up your distance.
Psyger-100: "Stun Beat——"
Sunraku: "That one comes out of your hand, right?"
Then I'll just slip around behind you. Activate Formula Drift — accelerated slide to get behind her... aaaand, that's as far as that goes.
Sunraku: "You really don't mind playing rough, huh...!"
A Sworvant blade separates me from Psyger-100, grazing her own back. One wrong move and she could've sliced her own back open. Gotta hand it to her.
Psyger-100: "I'm now certain... You're the type who must not be allowed into close range."
Sunraku: "I've barely shown, what, ten percent of what I've got?"
Psyger-100: "What's the rush... I'm not showing all my cards yet, either."
The Sworvant blades vanish. Even the sacred sword is put away. And then, as if swapping out her lineup entirely, she deploys a whole new set of swords — all of them different from before.
Sunraku: "Oi oi... How many weapons do you have in your inventory?"
Psyger-100: "Heh heh... Thirty-five."
You're kidding. That's way too many options. And why the hell did she put the sacred sword away? Not using the awakening? No, wait—there must be some benefit to not using it that outweighs...?!
Psyger-100: "By the way, Sunraku... are you familiar with weapons that 'exert their effects only when used simultaneously'?"
Sunraku: "I'll pass on the demonstration——!?"
Psyger-100: "Ha ha, no need to be shy... Imperial Five, activate!"
Yeah, okay. This is, uh... this might not be the time for messing around with Role Play.