Chapter 455: Yata Mirror Inheritor VS Elegant Head Maid
The 97th tournament saw its first instance of a voluntary forfeit and substitution, and it happened to Hong Meiling, a fighter many in the audience and even some martial artists had high hopes for, believing she could potentially defeat three opponents.
However, this individual clearly harbored no doubts about her young mistress. When Remilia, the mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, made a statement, though question marks still lingered in her mind, her body unhesitatingly carried out the command.
Even though Izayoi, who was called upon to enter the arena, also had her doubts, she bowed to her mistress, who had just been cowering with her head in her hands, then lightly leaped, landing on the stage with incredible grace.
Whether by coincidence or some other reason, the bright, sunny weather, which had been so oppressive to the vampire race just moments ago, was instantly covered by a large expanse of white clouds the moment the Head Maid Izayoi stepped onto the stage.
The audience, already sweating profusely from the sun and the atmosphere in the venue, couldn't help but let out sighs of relief, and Izayoi herself subtly shifted her gaze, sensing the added benefits from the weather.
Coming from "Touhou Hisoutensoku," besides possessing a spell card system, natural weather also provides them with varying enhancement effects.
For example, Hong Meiling's advantageous weather is called "Yellow Sand." Under this weather's enhancement, Hong Meiling finds it easier to achieve a "COUNTER" effect against opponents, which means interrupting the target the moment before they complete a specific command action, thereby increasing damage and subsequent stun time against the opponent, commonly known as a "counter-hit" in fighting games.
And the current cloudy weather, somewhere between sunny and overcast, named "Kumoten," is the exclusive enhancement weather for the Head Maid Sakuya Izayoi.
But this only deepened the Head Maid's confusion. Could her opponent be an existence that required weather enhancements to be defeated?
"It seems the Scarlet Devil Mansion team likely opted to substitute their second fighter, considering stamina and recovery management."
Due to the constant clamor of questions from the surroundings, the host took it upon himself to offer an explanation.
Indeed, the preset five-day duration for the competition also took into account the fighters' recovery time. From this perspective, Cheng Tian, who was the first to enter the arena, despite facing considerable pressure, would paradoxically have more ample rest time to recover his stamina and magical energy consumption.
Regardless of whether the audience understood or not, just get it done!
"Then, let's reintroduce them."
"For the Women's Fighter Team! Their Captain! And one of the sponsors of this competition, Chizuru Kagura, the head of the Kagura Corporation!"
Chizuru Kagura, dressed in a short, tight miko outfit clearly modified for combat, had already extended her hand, gesturing towards her opponent on the other side.
Now, as the captain, she bore the final hope of victory for the Women's Fighter Team. Even if the situation seemed rather bleak at the moment, as a fighter, all she could do was give her all in the match.
"And now, I doubt anyone will question why the Orilili Team sent an invitation to the Scarlet Devil Mansion Team! Their second fighter! Sakuya Izayoi!"
The Head Maid stood with her feet slightly apart and her arms crossed over her chest. Despite her expression remaining unchanged, she still exuded a sense of haughty disdain, as if looking down upon others.
And for some unknown reason, a significant number of spectators, upon seeing Izayoi's stance, experienced a very strange sense of familiarity, yet couldn't pinpoint the source of this peculiar feeling.
Only Cheng, from the moment the Head Maid entered the arena, had a subtle, forced smile on his face, a very nuanced expression.
"What's wrong with you? Do you like maid outfits?"
Eileen, full of energy from not being able to participate, nudged Cheng Tian with her elbow, but to her surprise, Cheng Tian nodded.
"Yes, I do. Or rather, I don't know what there is to dislike about maid outfits?"
"Oh? Then I'll wear one for you when we get back?"
After a slight pause, Eileen leaned in and whispered something into Cheng Tian's ear.
Cheng Tian looked at Eileen with some surprise, then, after his eyes darted around, he leaned back in and whispered,
"The maid outfit can wait... Do you know what an 'inverse bunny girl' is?"
"Inverse? Bunny girl?"
Although her mind had already reached the Taiji Eight Desolations stage, the half-elf, still somewhat lacking in certain knowledge, had question marks pop up above her head.
"An inverse bunny girl is..."
Just as Cheng, who had finished his explanation, took an elbow from the little bee, the host, who had swiftly slipped away from the stage, smoothly delivered his lines.
"Both sides, take your positions!"
"Ready~~~GO!!!"
Chizuru Kagura moved first.
She leaped lightly, yet easily covered a distance of six or seven meters, and with a wave of her hand, pressed towards Izayoi's chest.
This probing strike naturally wouldn't easily hit Izayoi. She merely made a slight sidestep and successfully avoided the blow, which carried a considerable amount of palm wind.
But the next second, the "Chizuru Kagura" who had completed the surprise attack vanished into thin air. Upon closer inspection, she was still standing in her original jumping position and hadn't moved at all—
212th Living Style, First Needle of the Door.
The martial art style Chizuru Kagura used was called "Kagura-ryu Kobujutsu," a style derived from miko rituals, appearing like a dance to worship the gods.
But the moment the illusion attacking her vanished, Izayoi's ears twitched.
She heard a sound similar to glass or a mirror shattering.
Izayoi's hand quickly swept under her skirt, wiping around her body, and four rapidly spinning daggers hovered around her in a suspended state—
Dancing Star Blades.
Under Izayoi's control, the four self-rotating daggers transformed into four arcs, attacking Chizuru Kagura simultaneously from different angles.
Facing the multi-pronged assault, Chizuru Kagura calmly retreated with a 360-degree turn. The sleeves of her miko outfit billowed with the movement of her arms, and a peculiar energy fluctuation condensed in her palm.
Her arm dropped, and the peculiar energy frozen in her palm accurately struck one of the daggers flying towards her.
At this very moment, Izayoi suddenly realized that the mental link between herself and the struck dagger instantly broke... No, not just broke, but was controlled by the opponent!
108th Living, Tamayura no Seoto (Sound of the Jewel's Echo).
A bit more advanced than ordinary wave reflection ability, it can temporarily seize control of another's flying wave.
The dagger controlled by Chizuru Kagura directly collided with the nearest dagger in a head-on clash, while her main body remained still, seemingly neither dodging nor evading, allowing the remaining two daggers to spin and slash at her.
But just as many people thought this woman was about to get injured, the two daggers shattered the "Chizuru Kagura," and this time, the sound of shattering glass was even more pronounced.
As for Chizuru Kagura's true body, she had already retreated five or six meters away.
"So this is the Yata Mirror~"
Cheng, who had taken several hits for explaining the inverse bunny girl, stared intently at Chizuru Kagura, wondering if the mirrored state of Chizuru Kagura would feel like a real person or a mirror when touched.
Also closely watching Chizuru Kagura was a certain... Hell Band, observing the live broadcast on the big screen outside the arena.