This was a peak confrontation between the supre beings, a showdown between the guardians.
Each of the Nuclear Arrow, Planetary Watcher, and Anti-Matter Emperor Fist were the most powerful individuals in Fuyuki City, possessing powers beyond the imagination of ordinary mortals.
The Nuclear Arrow could cause proton-level disintegration with her arrows, leading to the death and disintegration of everything in its path, embodying the ultimate mastery of the microscopic.
The Planetary Watcher harnessed the power of planets and stood among the stars. Each of her strikes carried the force of the stars, embodying the grandeur of the macroscopic universe in her life.
Their opponent, the Anti-Matter Emperor Fist, seed unremarkable on the surface, but in reality, he wielded the mysterious force of antimatter, a power opposite to the universe in which people live. As vast as the universe is, so too is the strength of his antimatter power.
The three guardians clashed, shattering galaxies and stretching to the edges of the universe. Their every movent seed to echo the creation of chaos, with boundless power surging, trampling the myriad paths of heaven underfoot.
—Alright, this was just a fantasy in Shinji's mind. Reality didn't turn out that way.
Though all three possessed considerable martial skills—whether it was Taiga Fujimura's First Sword, Ayako Mitsuzuri's Eighteen Naginata Techniques, or Issei Ryuudou's rigorously practiced Karate—they were all capable of easily competing at national tournants. However, these national tournants were still within the bounds of normal human competition, limited by common sense. No matter how exaggerated, they could not produce the effects of primordial chaos or the shattering of galaxies. Such terrifying realms were beyond the reach of even Ultimate Ones or magicians.
Besides, they hadn't yet reached the stage of physical combat. If they did, Issei would stand no chance against the other two.
They were rely engaged in a war of words. As Shinji's imagination suggested, antimatter is equivalent to the positive universe, so Taiga and Ayako, limited by the universe, couldn't stand against him and were steadily losing ground.
To put it simply, Ayako and Taiga were not skilled in debating and were completely outmatched by Issei. Before long, they were left speechless. Taiga was scratching her head, Ayako was gritting her teeth, and suddenly their eyes lit up as they turned toward the last mber of the Four Guardians, Magical Perseus Fist.
"Shinji, you should help us out."
"Yeah, Matou, even Sakura, the future captain and leader, would be troubled by the budget cuts."
Issei was quick to counter, adjusting his glasses as he retorted, "Don't lump Matou in with you two. Soone who frequently goes abroad for advanced studies like him surely understands the importance of the bigger picture and can sympathize with my position."
Shinji, who had been leisurely sipping tea, watching his sister practice archery while enjoying the show, nearly spat out his tea.
Are you kidding ? You guys argue all you want, but why drag into this? Do you consider part of your group?
Even if I am, what do I know? I hardly co to school more than a few tis a year.
Besides, even if the budget is cut and Sakura runs out of funds, I have plenty of money. I just made a fortune (from auctioning the Crimson Fruit). It might be an exaggeration to say I could buy all of Fuyuki. I could easily donate a couple of years' worth of budget and let Sakura enjoy her high school life.
But since the fire has been brought to my doorstep, I can't just say nothing.
Just as he was considering how to phrase his response, the dojo door was pulled open once more, accompanied by yet another familiar voice.
"Arguing so early in the morning, what's going on?"
Classic twin tails fluttered in the wind, and her sapphire eyes shone brightly in the winter sun. Her striking appearance, combined with those beautiful eyes, gave off an impression as if she were a flower blooming on a high plateau.
"Tosaka? You're here, especially early today," Ayako greeted her straightforwardly.
Tosaka was her surna, and her na was Rin, Sakura's biological sister, Shinji's childhood friend, and Ayako's close friend.
"Is that what's happening?"
Rin sighed softly, a weary look on her face that didn't match the morning. "Good morning, Mitsuzuri, Fujimura-sensei, and President. Just a quick question, what ti is it now?"
"Hmm? Isn't it 7:20? Tosaka, did you oversleep?"
Ayako waved her hand in front of Rin's face as if testing whether she was alright. Ayako was one of the few people who knew about Rin's difficulty in waking up in the morning—a habit that made it hard for her to get up. Of course, Shinji and Sakura were aware of it as well.
"The clocks in my house seem to be running an hour fast, and not just the alarm clock; even the wall clocks are ahead."
Rin wore a troubled expression as she spoke words that would be hard for an ordinary person to understand. Only Shinji knew it had to do with a certain magecraft in the Tosaka household, one of the most precious relics left behind by Rin's father, Tokiomi.
Perhaps realizing her slip of the tongue, Rin quickly waved it off and changed the topic.
"Don't worry about it, it's nothing important. By the way, isn't it ti for your morning practice, Mitsuzuri?"
In Japanese archery, there is a specific uniform, and since Ayako was still in her school uniform, she naturally hadn't started her morning practice yet.
As soon as this was brought up, Ayako began to complain imdiately.
"No practice today; there's sothing more important, sothing that affects the future of our archery club. Listen to this: the Student Council President is planning to cut our club's budget for next year. Isn't that outrageous? Fujimura-sensei and I have been negotiating with him, but we can't get through."
"Is that the situation, President?"
Rin tilted her head and looked at Issei, her head tilting instantly into the perfect posture of a refined lady, accompanied by a polite smile. Those who knew her understood that this was her ultimate mode when dealing with others.
Issei's expression changed slightly as if facing a formidable opponent: "This has nothing to do with you, Tosaka."
"Mitsuzuri is my friend. Isn't it only natural to help out a friend?"
"Tosaka."
Ayako was deeply moved by Rin's response.
"You're right, Tosaka. We entrust you to negotiate with Ryuudou."
Taiga's attitude was even more decisive, perhaps due to her wild instincts sensing the caution in Issei—a wariness he never showed when dealing with her or Ayako.
"Now everything should be fine."
Rin's smile grew even brighter, while Issei's face grew increasingly grim, muttering sothing under his breath that sowhat damaged his image as Student Council President—Red Evil.
He had called Rin that ever since middle school.
Fuyuki City wasn't very large, so it was easy for its residents to cross paths. Rin and Issei attended the sa middle school; Issei was the President, and Rin was the Vice President. Both were very capable and admired by the students. But Issei had never liked Rin, because he saw through her true nature.
It wasn't just her sly personality; part of it had to do with her being a magus. Although the monks of Ryuudou Temple weren't connected to the mysteries of magecraft, living in such a spiritually rich land had made Issei sensitive to unusual factors. From the first ti he saw Rin, he sensed sothing extraordinary about her, as if she exuded the aura of the demonic creatures from myth.
From that mont, Rin beca Issei's enemy, and because of his background, he dubbed her the Foe of Buddha. Incidentally, Issei had two other Foes of Buddha, both of whom were also in the dojo—Ayako Mitsuzuri and Shinji Matou.
With two Foes of Buddha against him, it was easy to imagine the pressure Issei felt. Seeing him unconsciously raise his hand in a gesture of chanting sutras and exorcism, Shinji couldn't help but burst into laughter.
And it was this laughter that made Rin notice his presence.
The elegant expression on her face vanished instantly, replaced by the sa hostile look that mirrored Issei's.
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