Facing the chainsaw slashing toward his lower body from three angles, Ryoji lowered himself and swung his blade straight forward, striking the spinning saw teeth without the slightest hesitation.
"CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG, !"
A string of violent metallic collisions echoed relentlessly.
Sparks burst wildly where the two blades met.
But even with the chainsaw grinding against his blade, it couldn't crush it. Ryoji's sword hand trembled continuously, yet remained steady as a mountain. His opponent showed no surprise; she simply kept pressing the chainsaw forward, trying to overpower him with brute strength.
Ryoji flicked his wrist.
A strange vibration immediately transmitted down his blade, traveling through the chainsaw into the opponent's body. Her arms trembled, and the saw was forcibly knocked aside.
"Shrrrip…!"
A sharp crescent slashed through the air. He aimed perfectly, striking at the wide-open gap in her guard after her arms were knocked apart. If it hit, it would cleave her cleanly from head to groin!
Danger!
This thought suddenly flashed through Ryoji's mind. His eyes widened slightly, and, instinctively, he reduced his strength by thirty percent.
"DONG…!"
A deep, bell-like reverberation rang out. Ryoji felt a powerful force erupt from the opponent's chest, knocking his blade violently aside. His arm flew upward uncontrollably.
Now his guard was wide open.
His opponent didn't waste the chance. She raised the chainsaw high and swung it savagely toward his sword-wielding right arm from the left.
Ryoji frowned.
He immediately stepped back, evading the saw teeth by mere millimeters.
Taking advantage of the opponent's stiffness after the heavy swing, he pulled back his right arm. Even as the girl continued her relentless fierce attack, Ryoji showed no fear, he swung again!
Her technique was far inferior to his, and she was also clearly restraining herself, likely because she intended to capture him alive. She wasn't fighting with full force.
Ryoji could easily see multiple openings. He could step in, enter her guard, and kill her with a single strike.
But something bizarre kept happening, every time his blade was about to land on her body, his instincts screamed a warning, and a huge force rebounded from her form, instantly breaking his attack.
"Devil Light Flowing Blade!"
Ryoji swung horizontally, his blade cutting through the air lightly, releasing a buzzing sound like a drill.
"CLANG!"
The opponent took the strike head-on, but still showed no reaction at all.
Instead, Ryoji felt a force seep into his body, making his heartbeat slow for a moment. Thankfully, he had been testing and hadn't used full strength, otherwise, he would've suffered a massive backlash.
"As expected."
Ryoji shook his arm and frowned deeply.
"This is… a Reflection Warlock!"
What a headache.
Back when the semester had just begun, Ryoji had run into a terrorist named "Smile" while shopping. That guy had also been a Reflection Warlock, wielding a pair of rings that absorbed and rebounded all attacks. Stella had taken a huge loss upon first encountering it.
Ryoji defeated him back then using Flickering Light and Passing Shadows, confusing his perception, then cutting his hand before he could activate the reflection, separating him from his Spiritual Device.
But the opponent in front of him now, Her reflection ability was several times superior to Smile's.
Her reflection seemed to cover her entire body, forming a kind of reflection barrier that passively rebounded all incoming attacks, sending the full power back.
Exactly the same as Accelerator's reflection.
This ability was overwhelmingly dominant against Ryoji.
As someone whose combat style relied almost entirely on physical attacks, he was especially ill-equipped to handle an ability that reflected all physical force.
Facing this kind of opponent was like running into a hedgehog covered in spikes, there was simply nowhere to strike.
Ryoji took a deep breath, raised the Vrring blade vertically before him, and then charged forward in a defensive stance.
This was the technique called "Ten'i Muhou", the ultimate "using the future to strike first." It could parry any incoming attack and rebound most of the damage back at the opponent.
In other words, it worked similarly to a Warlock's reflection ability.
"Clang, !"
With a piercing metallic shriek, the spinning chainsaw cleaved effortlessly through his silver katana, relentlessly chopping toward him.
Ryoji suddenly tasted sweetness in his throat. His feet spun rapidly as he twisted away, narrowly avoiding the violent strike.
"So it really can reflect any form of force!"
He swallowed the blood pooling in his mouth, the coppery taste flooding his tongue, and the corner of his mouth twitched fiercely at the realization.
The Devil Light Flowing Blade, which was supposed to seep through the opponent's body surface, didn't work.
The damage-reflecting Ten'i Muhou also failed. Honestly, he had no method to break through this ability head-on.
Physical attacks were completely useless against this guy.
At the side, Lady Kanata frowned deeply.
"I'll help!"
Seeing Ryoji unable to finish the opponent, she released the billions of starlights swirling around her body. They scattered into the night wind and drifted toward the enemy.
Strangely, although he looked like a stick figure, the opponent did have complete facial features, and the blade fragments easily floated into his respiratory tract.
"Could it be reflecting light itself to hide his true appearance?"
Kanata guessed silently.
But a Warlock with reflection-type abilities was only supposed to reflect various forms of force. Since when could a reflection Warlock reflect light too?
Even as countless inconsistencies flashed through her mind, her hands didn't stop. She controlled the blade fragments to wreak havoc inside the opponent's body.
But the enemy remained completely indifferent, ignoring all internal abnormalities as if bathing in a spring breeze.
"Even internal attacks get reflected?"
Lady Kanata's eyes widened.
Not only the body surface, even attacks inside the body were totally ineffective?
What kind of opponent was this?
This level of reflection power was unheard of, among all reflection-type abilities, it would undoubtedly stand at the top!
Compared to her, even Smile wasn't worthy to carry this guy's shoes!
Her purely physical attack methods were being countered perfectly and mercilessly.
In the arena, Ryoji gave up trying to break through his opponent and focused entirely on evasion as the enemy unleashed a fierce barrage.
Judging by the strength of that spinning chainsaw, a moment's carelessness would cost him his limbs.
Yet not a trace of anxiety showed on his face. He dodged with complete composure, movements neither fast nor slow, nothing like someone cornered to the brink. The opponent's weapon could not touch him at all.
He also noticed Lady Kanata's attacks.
The enemy's reaction, or rather lack of reaction, was exactly as he expected.
"Ting, !"
Taking advantage of the wide, open movements in the opponent's attack, Ryoji found a flaw. His long blade, like flowing moonlight, slipped through every gap and stabbed straight into her chest.
Again, the sound was like striking steel.
The strike was reflected completely, no effect at all.
He showed not the slightest discouragement, his gaze locked firmly on the enemy's body, unwavering.
(End of chapter)
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