Whoosh...
In the dead of night, Ikki practiced his swordsmanship alone in an empty park.
With each vigorous swing, sweat flew from his body like it had been shaken from his very being.
He imagined Noah was before him, relentlessly honing his focus!
...
Meanwhile, back at the dormitory, Noah sat at his desk, manipulating a set of LEGO bricks.
Unlike most people, he didn't build with his hands, instead, he used his Spell-Weaver to control each piece.
Stella knew he wasn't playing and left him undisturbed.
Ikki Kurogane... He was incredibly strong.
Though she was also diligent, she had never even once believed she could push herself to the point of breaking through her body's protective mechanisms to use Ittou Shura.
Even the world's top powerhouses struggled to achieve such a feat.
Survival was a basic human instinct. To defy this innate biological trait... She hadn't even considered it.
If she had fought that man, she wouldn't have bet on her own victory.
Speed beyond the naked eye's perception was her greatest enemy. Against ordinary opponents, she could rely on her Imperial Sword Arts.
But that person's swordsmanship was far superior.
Yet Noah had managed to defeat such a formidable adversary in their private duel.
To be precise, he had won once.
There was no absolute victory in combat.
Even if he had won once, after some time passed, the outcome of a rematch could be entirely different.
After all, people grow and evolve, no one remains stagnant forever.
...
"Highly anticipated! Highly anticipated! The two most talked-about competitors in this Selection Battle finally clash again today! I even think this match will be as captivating as the main event at the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival!"
The commentary booth was in a frenzy.
After all, the clash between Hagun's 'Another One' and the 'Calamity' still lingered vividly in everyone's memory.
From the most reviled figure to an adored, unofficially crowned Sword King.
"The man who shattered all rumors with a single sword—Ikki Kurogane!"
"The Calamity who has remained undefeated, even unscathed, after consecutively defeating the Lorelei and Scharlach Frau, overpowering all opponents with overwhelming force—Noah!"
"This is their second match. Who will emerge victorious this time?!"
The Student Council members, led by Tohka, had all gathered in the VIP box.
Even the Chairwoman and Yaksha Princess had arrived early, along with that pig from the Kurogane Clan, Akaza.
Stella, Kagami, and Alice sat together in the front row.
The competitors entered the arena.
Noah looked at Ikki, whose eyes showed not a trace of hesitation, and remained silent.
This time, neither of them acknowledged the other. They focused completely on the impending duel.
Suddenly, Ikki spoke, uttering words that stunned Noah.
"Is that your Noble Art? If I'm not mistaken, that should be the ability to obtain enemy intelligence, correct?"
Noah's eyes flickered.
'This is ridiculous.'
'How could he deduce truthseeker just by looking at me?'
Though Ikki had only partially guessed correctly regarding Truth Seeker, it was still unsettling.
Noah had never revealed this ability, even a well-informed guess should have required more clues.
Guesses still need some basis, but his was so close.
It was practically mind-reading, not a guess.
"I've been thinking about you all night, until dawn. Finally, we're synchronized," Ikki said with a smile.
Noah felt a wave of confusion.
'Synchronized? What exactly did that mean?'
Through Appraisal, Noah noticed the changes in Ikki.
[Perfect Vision]
Description: By grasping another's absolute values, control all actions and thought patterns of the target.
Current Status: Assimilation Target "Noah"
Mental State Approaching Limits
Remaining Combat Time: 4 minutes, 3 seconds
Will Enter Sleep State in 4 minutes, 3 seconds
The flood of information stunned Noah.
Not only had the man developed such an absurd ability as Perfect Vision, but more importantly, the Truth Seeker was providing an unprecedented amount of feedback!
They were merely making eye contact.
Could it be that Ikki's assimilation had elevated their level of connection?
He could even use the information provided by the Truth Seeker to deduce everything Ikki had experienced in the past 16 hours!
Ikki had only 4 minutes and 3 seconds.
Now, only 3 minutes and 59 seconds remained.
From this, he inferred that Ikki wouldn't engage in a prolonged battle, nor would he conduct extensive reconnaissance.
Instead, he would immediately unleash Ittou Shura upon opening the fight.
"You've pulled off another world-shattering feat," Noah remarked.
At that moment, Ikki understood the meaning behind his words.
'So, my information had been taken after all.'
Just as he'd suspected.
After studying all of Noah's battles to date, Ikki had reached a conclusion: Noah possessed a hidden power.
It might be precognition, or perhaps the ability to steal his opponent's intelligence.
If he thought about it this way, many things fell into place.
Conversely, if Noah didn't have such a power, his performance would have been too absurd.
Now, it seemed the latter was true.
The ability to steal intelligence—though its activation conditions remained unknown—was likely unavoidable in a Selection Battle like this.
He didn't know how much Noah had seen, so he simply assumed Noah had seen everything.
In that case, he had to bet everything he had.
"Let's go!"
Beep!
"The match begins!"
"Ittou Shura!!" Ikki instantly activated his ultimate move.
Noah wasted no time, hurling countless wind blades directly at his opponent in a single, sweeping motion.
He was about to use his smelting magic when he suddenly realized that Ikki, charging toward him, had no intention of dodging.
Instead, he was charging straight in, blade held high.
'Self-destruction? Impossible!'
'Could this be... that?'
"Heavens! Kurogane is charging straight into the Calamity's horde of wind blades! He'll be shredded to pieces!"
"What in the heavens?! Kurogane is actually moving through the wind blades unscathed! He's not taking any damage!"
"The wind blades—those that could shred a human body to pieces—are leaving Kurogane completely unmarked!"
Indeed.
Just as the commentators roared in disbelief, Noah noticed that his wind blades, upon striking his opponent, bizarrely veered off course—or rather, were deflected.
'Is this fate?'
'Did he receive this reward simply because I helped Ayase Ayatsuji at the mall?'
[Ayatsuji Ittou-ryu: Ten'i Muhou (Flawless Heavenly Weave)]
Description: The pinnacle of passive defense, where all incoming attacks are deflected through subtle movements. This technique, perfected by the genius swordsman Kaito Ayatsuji over half a lifetime, allows one to repel any attack with flawless precision.
'Did he actually steal this technique by simply imitating it?'
'How absurd.'
As Ikki charged towards him, Noah abandoned his metalwork and switched to an Ice Sword, which could be condensed with greater speed.
To a certain extent, even ice can become incredibly hard if its purity and density reach a certain threshold.
The moment Ikki entered a five-meter radius of Noah, he felt an overwhelming heaviness settle over his body.
Without the physical enhancements granted by Ittou Shura, he wouldn't have been able to even lift his sword. But now!
Clang!
Noah clashed his Ice Sword with Ikki's blade, Intetsu.
From the very first strike, both combatants unleashed their maximum sword speed.
Their strikes interwove in a dance of steel, each clash sending ripples of sound through the air.
'This guy...'
'He can truly see through my intentions. He even has a certain understanding of my Weaver skill.'
Noah had just transferred a portion of gravity to his sword when Ikki instantly seized the opportunity to increase his own speed.
Indeed.
The essence of Weaver is physical manipulation.
Gravity is no exception; he can only manipulate quantities within a five-meter radius.
If 1,000 tons is the total gravitational force he can manipulate, then using 500 tons to suppress the enemy leaves him with only 500 tons for attacks, essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul.
In reality, he must maintain the basic mass of his body, making it impossible to utilize the full 1,000 tons offensively.
After several exchanges, Ikki developed severe frostbite.
Noah could manipulate the Ice Element without harming himself, but Ikki couldn't.
With every swing of his sword, beyond attacking and defending, he also unleashed a biting cold that relentlessly eroded his opponent.
"Earth Spear!"
As Noah attacked, he manipulated the ground to form a sharp stone spear that shot toward Ikki, but the latter evaded it with a preemptive dodge.
This was Perfect Vision.
Seizing the opening created by Noah's missed attack, Ikki completed his energy buildup.
"First Secret Sword: Saigeki!"
Noah attempted to intercept the strike with his sword, simultaneously activating the Development Ability [Enhancement] on his Ice Sword to fortify it.
As expected, it failed.
He blocked Ikki's sword strike with the flat of his blade, but the Ice Sword shattered instantly due to the force and intensity of the impact.
Having lost his footing during the block, Noah was sent staggering backward.
Ikki moved to pursue, but noticed the scattered ice shards emitting an eerie red glow.
He instantly burst into motion, evading the danger with maximum speed.
The next moment, an explosion erupted.
The [Enhancement] ability was so potent that even an Ice Sword, if the fortification failed, would transform into a devastating magical bomb!
The explosion engulfed Ikki's left arm, causing severe burns that released the acrid smell of charred flesh.
With a pained shout, he collapsed to his knees, drenched in sweat.
Seeing this, Noah realized that with his injured arm, Ikki could no longer use his seamless combat style.
With his arm injured, Noah judged that he could no longer use Ten'i Muhou.
Just as he was about to launch a long-range magic attack, three thin, blood-red lines suddenly appeared near his neck.
Noah's pupils constricted as he sensed the wounds.
He reached up to touch them.
Blood.
Had his neck been slashed?
When?
As the pain of his burn injury registered, Ikki forced a strained smile through his agony.
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