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Emiya raised his eyebrows, looking at Ryo Sakazaki with some surprise.
As expected of the male protagonist of Art of Fighting.
Not only was his strength impressive, but his grasp of timing and momentum was sharp.
In just a few breaths, he had turned the tables and was now pressing Riveria with overwhelming force.
Riveria faced the fierce punch head-on and took a step back.
She raised the magic staff in her hand and smashed it straight toward Ryo Sakazaki's fist.
The two forces collided.
Boom.
A thunderous roar echoed across the stage.
Riveria was a mage, but that didn't mean her physical strength was weak.
As an adventurer of Orario, her strength was never a liability.
And after learning Nen, she was no worse than any frontline fighter.
Ryo Sakazaki felt a violent recoil surge up his arm.
His forearm went slightly numb.
That alone shocked him.
But before he could react further, an ice sword fell from the sky, slashing straight toward his head.
Ryo Sakazaki retreated instantly, barely avoiding it.
The ice sword smashed into the ground.
Bang.
The stage trembled.
A wave of freezing air spread outward like a fan.
Ryo Sakazaki was caught off guard.
A thin layer of frost formed over his body.
The bone-piercing cold drilled into him through his pores, slowing his movements.
His heart skipped.
He immediately circulated his ki, trying to force the cold out of his body.
At the same time, Riveria raised her staff high and slammed it into the ground.
Boom.
Ice swords appeared out of thin air.
Dozens of them.
They surrounded Ryo Sakazaki from all directions.
His gaze swept the air around him.
His heart sank slightly.
Every sword tip was aimed at him.
His skin prickled with pain.
He had no doubt that if they fired, he would be turned into a porcupine.
Riveria was stronger than he'd expected.
But conceding wasn't an option.
Ryo Sakazaki forced his mind to work at full speed, searching for a way out.
Riveria didn't give him the time.
She extended her right hand.
Five fingers spread.
Then clenched.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
The ice swords shot toward him in an instant.
At the critical moment, Ryo Sakazaki leapt upward and punched skyward.
"Kyokugenryū Kōhō!"
The terrifying punch shattered the ice swords above him into powder.
He broke free.
But before relief could settle in, the remaining ice swords vanished.
A violent gust of wind swept over the stage.
Still midair, Ryo Sakazaki lost control of his body.
He was blown straight off the stage.
Thud.
He landed hard in front of Robert.
Robert's first reaction wasn't to help him.
He covered his face.
This time, Kyokugenryū Karate had truly been humiliated.
They hadn't lost three-on-one.
But the result was still ugly.
Eliminated in the first round.
By two women.
That blow was heavy.
Very heavy.
After this, some students might even quit Kyokugenryū Karate.
The audience wouldn't think the opponents were too strong.
They'd only see that the Art of Fighting Team had been knocked out by two women.
Robert could already imagine the scolding waiting for them.
Ryo Sakazaki stood up, dusted himself off awkwardly, and gave a helpless smile.
"Sorry, Robert. Their attacks were too strange."
Fire.
Ice.
Wind.
One after another.
He almost suspected the opponent wasn't a psychic at all.
But a mage.
The thought itself felt absurd.
Robert sighed.
"Forget that. Let's think about how to explain this to the master."
Ryo Sakazaki: ...
With Ryo Sakazaki's defeat, Team Loki advanced to the next round.
The host quickly announced that the next match would begin in fifteen minutes.
Team Hephaestus versus the Women Fighters Team.
After that, the host left the stage.
A group of glamorous dancers came on, singing and dancing to hype the crowd.
Emotions were reset.
Anticipation rose again.
Emiya used the break to head backstage, toward Team Hephaestus's lounge.
He pushed the door open.
Hephaestus was inside, cheering her team on.
To be honest, Emiya wasn't optimistic.
Aside from Tsubaki, an Lv.5 adventurer, both Giyu Tomioka and Gyomei Himejima were only Lv.1.
With breathing techniques, they could match Lv.2s.
But they weren't martial artists like the Ryozanpaku team.
Their Nen was still shallow.
There was a clear gap.
Even Tsubaki, despite being top-tier, specialized more in forging than combat.
Against Mai Shiranui and the others, she might be at a disadvantage.
"Yo, Hephaestus," Emiya greeted.
She looked surprised.
"Aren't you with Medusa? What are you doing here?"
"Just checking how you're preparing."
Hephaestus smiled calmly.
"It's fine. I just hope they go on stage without pressure. Losing isn't shameful. There's always a chance to win it back."
Emiya paused.
He hadn't expected her mindset to be this steady.
Then again, she was a god who had lived for countless ages.
Experience mattered.
Fifteen minutes passed in a blink.
The match began.
Emiya returned to the audience seats.
Team Hephaestus sent out Giyu Tomioka.
The Women Fighters Team sent out Kasumi Todoh.
They'd been staying at Mai Shiranui's dojo these past days.
They weren't close.
But they'd seen each other.
Eaten together once.
Acquaintances, at least.
Kasumi Todoh saluted seriously.
"Mr. Tomioka, I'm coming."
Giyu Tomioka nodded, expression unchanged, and raised his katana.
As a Demon Slayer, all his strength lay in his blade.
Since the opponent wasn't a demon, the sword was unsharpened.
Kasumi Todoh inhaled deeply and pushed off the ground.
She closed the distance instantly.
But Giyu Tomioka was faster.
"Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash."
Kasumi Todoh's eyes widened.
She bent down in a hurry.
The katana brushed past her nose.
The wind it stirred stung her face.
Her irritation flared.
Attacking a woman's face at the start?
Too much.
She ignored the fact that the sword had only passed her face because she dodged.
As the blade passed, she countered with a back kick, heel aimed at his chin.
Giyu Tomioka flipped backward to avoid it.
Kasumi Todoh pressed in, launching a combo.
Giyu adjusted his breathing instinctively.
"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool."
His body spun violently.
A fierce twisting motion created a massive vortex, turning into a cutting blade that swept the area.
Kasumi Todoh had no choice but to retreat.
She frowned.
That swordsmanship was dangerous.
Even unsharpened, it carried real threat.
Emiya nodded slightly.
As expected of the Water Hashira.
He knew Water Breathing too.
Ten forms in total.
And Giyu had even developed an eleventh.
Lull.
In the original story, he'd killed a Lower Rank with it effortlessly.
That alone spoke to his talent.
Kasumi Todoh struggled to gain ground.
But she wasn't weak.
Even against such refined swordsmanship, she remained composed.
Their attacks clashed again and again.
Neither gained the upper hand.
For a time, they were evenly matched.
Emiya murmured, "This is going to drag on."
Medusa nodded.
If this were a life-and-death battle, it would've ended quickly.
Giyu Tomioka was a seasoned killer.
At a cost, he could end it.
But this was a match.
Not a fight to the death.
Neither side wanted to kill.
Their strength gap wasn't decisive.
So the outcome was inevitable.
A long battle.
Emiya and the fighters backstage found it dull.
They preferred explosive fights.
Not drawn-out exchanges.
But the audience loved it.
Most were laymen.
The longer the match, the better.
Cheers surged endlessly.
Emiya smiled and shook his head.
He released his Observation Haki and scanned the crowd.
He quickly locked onto a man cheering quietly.
That was Kasumi Todoh's father.
Ryuhaku Todoh.
She'd asked Emiya to find him if he showed up.
This was easy.
For now, Emiya didn't interfere.
He planned to tell her after the match.
What he didn't expect was for the fight to last nearly an hour.
Kasumi Todoh was skilled.
But stamina mattered.
After an hour, her strength finally waned.
She conceded, reluctantly ending the match.
Giyu Tomioka, despite also fighting for an hour, showed no obvious exhaustion.
That was the power of breathing techniques.
Sun Breathing.
With proper breathing, one could fight endlessly.
Tanjuro Kamado had danced in the snow all night while sick.
Kanae Kocho had fought Doma until dawn.
Even Flower Breathing, derived from Water Breathing, had such endurance.
Water Breathing itself was exceptional in recovery.
That was why Giyu outlasted her.
After the match, Emiya quietly used Nen to inform Kasumi Todoh of her father's location.
Her eyes lit up.
She looked toward the stands.
Ryuhaku Todoh noticed.
He shrank back instantly, blending into the crowd and slipping toward the exit.
Emiya tracked him and updated Kasumi Todoh.
She immediately chased after him.
At the same time, Mai Shiranui stepped onto the stage.
She had changed into her battle outfit.
Emiya had to admit it.
At that moment, Mai Shiranui was truly captivating.
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