SHREE!!
"Whoa! Too close for comfort!"
This time, the roles had reversed. It was Cu Chulainn who found himself on the back foot, weaving and retreating with wary precision.
Faced with Rikuo's `[Matoi]` form, the Lancer didn't dare make reckless contact. The air surrounding the boy was thick with a bone-chilling frost--one wrong move, and Cu Chulainn was certain he'd be turned into a permanent ice sculpture.
'Heh. I didn't expect him to be this troublesome,' Cu Chulainn thought, his eyes gleaming with mounting interest as he watched Rikuo's wicked, elegant movements.
His specialty, the `[Gae Bolg]` (Piercing Bolt of Lethal Thorny Death), had been neutralized by that annoying `[Kyouka Suigetsu]`. And now, in close quarters, the kid had suddenly surged in power and added an elemental frost bite to his strikes. It was getting harder and harder to find an opening.
'Hmm...'
He considered using his other trump card, but a single use of that weapon would drain his magical energy to almost nothing. If it didn't finish the job, he'd be a sitting duck. Now wasn't the time.
'But he's too fast. I can't pin him down.'
Rikuo, for his part, was also feeling the pressure as he watched Cu Chulainn leap back with effortless grace. He had used `[Matoi]` to seize the initiative, but the Spearman's sheer agility made it nearly impossible to land a decisive blow.
'I have to match his speed...'
'I have to find the crack in his armor...'
The two warriors locked eyes, their postures shifting as they calculated their next move. Then, under the watchful gaze of their companions, they lunged at each other once more.
K-RACK!!
Cu Chulainn twisted his body to avoid a lethal diagonal slash, his own spear thrusting forward like a strike of lightning. Rikuo, however, spun his blade, aiming a low horizontal cut at the Lancer's waist.
'Too slow! I'm faster!!'
Between the superior reach of his spear and his own unnatural speed, Cu Chulainn assumed the advantage was his.
!
But just as he prepared to drive the point home, his honed instincts screamed a warning. He contorted his body mid-air, abandoning his stance to clear the area.
'He dodged it?!'
The strike that should have been a guaranteed hit had been anticipated and evaded.
"Using ice to extend the length of the blade at the last second..."
"That was a nasty trick," Cu Chulainn remarked, catching his breath as he looked at Rikuo's sword, which was now elongated by a jagged shard of ice. If he had committed to his own thrust just a moment longer, he would have been skewered first.
"You actually saw through that?"
Rikuo sighed. He had used himself as bait to draw the Spearman in, yet even in that critical moment, the man had sensed the danger.
"Heh. Hitting me isn't going to be that easy, kid."
"Is that so? Then let's see how you handle this form."
"Oh?"
Cu Chulainn watched with fascination as the atmosphere around Rikuo shifted again. A dark, swirling energy enveloped the boy, and his kimono loosened, slipping off to reveal a well-muscled upper body.
'The markings on his skin change with every shift, huh?'
'This `[Matoi]`... it really does feel like he's being possessed by his own underlings,' Cu Chulainn analyzed.
But his eyes widened as a forest of weapons began to manifest from Rikuo's back.
"What is that?"
"Look! All those weapons growing out of his shoulders!"
"That's terrifying!" Shippo's eyes were wide as he stared at the bizarre transformation.
"There are rifles... spears, halberds, scythes..."
"It's an entire arsenal. That `[Matoi]` technique--it's like he's channeling the power of his entire army into his own body."
"Inuyasha, you're a half-demon too. Can you do that?"
"Like hell I can!!"
"I guess not all half-demons are created equal, then."
Amidst the chatter, Rikuo had already closed the distance, his eyes locked onto Cu Chulainn.
"Come then! Let's see what you're made of!"
Cu Chulainn didn't flinch. He raised his spear and charged.
CLANG!
He easily parried the initial strike of the `[Nenekirimaru]`, but as he went to counter with the blunt end of his spear toward Rikuo's face, his movement was abruptly halted.
S-S-SNAG!
The end of the spear was caught and locked in place by a pair of blades protruding from Rikuo's shoulder.
CLICK-CLACK!!
Cu Chulainn's eyes went wide as a series of rifle barrels emerged from the boy's back, pointing directly at his chest.
BANG! BANG!!
Just as he predicted, a hail of bullets erupted from the weapons.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!
"Nice try, but those won't work on me."
Without a hint of panic, Cu Chulainn executed a series of backflips, dodging the projectiles with casual ease. His innate `[Protection from Arrows]` was a conceptual defense against all "projectiles." To a warrior of his caliber, mere firearms were no threat at all.
'So long-range weapons are a no-go, huh?'
Rikuo's brow furrowed. He hadn't expected his opponent to have such a specific counter for projectile attacks.
"Tch... what now?"
As his opponent began to close in again, Cu Chulainn started to rethink his approach. While his skill and experience allowed him to suppress the Lord of Pandemonium, the fact that the kid was currently an "arsenal on two legs" made close-quarters combat incredibly dangerous.
WHOOSH!
SHN-T!
CLANG!
The two clashed again and again, Rikuo's slashes being parried or deflected by Cu Chulainn's masterful spearwork. But whenever the Spearman tried to capitalize on an opening, a hidden weapon would snap out from Rikuo's body to block him.
KR-ACK!!
"You're like a damn hedgehog."
Cu Chulainn rolled across the grass to avoid a sudden thrust from a hidden halberd. He was starting to realize the difficulty of the situation. As the saying went: "Even two fists cannot fight four hands."
To keep up with an endless stream of weapons using only a single spear was a tall order, even for him. This form was making it impossible to find a lethal opening.
Worse, his own heart-piercing Noble Phantasm was being effectively countered.
"Aah... I see."
"I guess I'm left with only one choice, then."
Cu Chulainn leaped back to create some distance. He planted his feet, and a massive surge of magical energy began to swirl around his crimson spear.
"Is he going to use that heart-piercing move again?"
"No, this feels different."
"The flow of that energy has changed completely."
"It's the move he used against Naraku..."
"Wait, if he's using that... it means Lancer is finally serious."
The explosive pressure of the magical energy sent shockwaves through the air, pushing back the spectators. Even Rikuo, standing at the center of the storm, could feel the sheer localized density of the power.
"We're at a stalemate. If that's the case, let's settle this with our strongest strikes."
"Suits me just fine."
Rikuo deactivated his current `[Matoi]` and stood tall. Facing Cu Chulainn's proposal, he had no intention of backing down.
!
To the disbelief of everyone watching, both Rikuo and Cu Chulainn suddenly vanished from the clearing.
"Where did they go?!"
"Oh? You've got more tricks up your sleeve? I like it!"
"Honestly, this is giving me the chills."
The air about them had transformed. Instead of the open clearing, they now stood in the middle of a haunted, moonlit street where yokai of all shapes and sizes lurked in the shadows. Cu Chulainn adjusted his grip on his spear, looking around at the shifting environment.
A `[Reality Marble]`.
Rider actually had a trump card of this scale!
"Welcome to my domain. Witness it for yourself... my..."
"`[Hyakki Yako]`... The Night Parade of a Hundred Demons!"
"Heh! Then let's see if I can wipe out your hundred demons, or if you'll be the one to finally put me down!"
Cu Chulainn leaped high into the air, the crimson spear glowing with an blinding, incandescent light as he prepared to throw it.
"`[Gae Bolg: Soaring Spear that Strikes with Death]`!!"