Amidst a tangle of golden lightning, Shizuku's body was cleaved in two!
A wave of gasps swept across the arena.
The devastating slash had severed her at the chest, a wound so terrifying that many in the crowd instinctively covered their eyes in horror.
Yet Shizuku did not fall.
Her bisected body suddenly turned translucent—then splashed onto the ground as nothing more than water.
"A water clone, huh?" Touka murmured, turning her head to look behind her.
Fifty ters away, Shizuku had retreated while clutching her arm, crimson blood seeping between her fingers. Her expression was pained and unsteady.
"But it looks like she didn't get away unscathed."
Cold sweat glistened on Shizuku's forehead.
She had narrowly avoided being cleaved in two. Even though she managed to create a water clone in ti, her arm had still been hit.
More importantly, she hadn't deciphered that footwork technique just now.
She rembered.
Back when she'd been attacked at the mall, Eiji had used a sword technique that, according to her brother, was a modified form of the War God's secret footwork technique known as "Trackless Step."
That "Trackless Step"—she'd heard it clearly at the ti—had the exact sa effect as what she just witnessed. It allowed the user to bypass conscious perception and appear inside an opponent's subconscious awareness. Even if the opponent saw them, they wouldn't process it, making it look like teleportation. It was an attack on ntal inertia.
"According to Onii-sama, you can't counter that technique unless you've undergone specialized training…"
Of course, Shizuku had never trained for that.
But she had spent ti thinking of ways to counter such an attack.
"White Night Barrier!"
Her gaze turned sharp, and she called out loudly.
The frozen ground beneath her instantly vaporized, turning from solid to gas, and a thick white mist consud the battlefield.
If she couldn't see her enemy—then she'd make sure her enemy couldn't see her either!
"It's over."
Eiji closed his eyes.
"In my opinion, Shizuku's move was a very sound response,"
Ikki blinked in surprise, casting a confused look his way. Stella and Nagi also turned toward him in disbelief.
"Senior sister is severely nearsighted," Eiji said flatly. "But she always takes off her glasses before entering battle. Do you know why?"
Generally speaking, people with poor vision would go out of their way to protect their glasses in a fight to maintain their sight. So if soone deliberately removed theirs before a battle, there could be only one explanation.
"She has a better way to 'see.'"
Ikki's eyes widened in realization.
Exactly.
Even though Touka looked cool and confident, once she removed her glasses she was practically blind. That ant she never relied on her eyes to fight.
Instead, she gathered mana around her eyes and used lightning magic to perceive the bio-electric currents in her opponent's body—effectively allowing her to read their intentions.
It was practically mind-reading.
This was her secret sword technique, "Reverse Sight." It allowed her to seize initiative in any confrontation and make her opponent's every movent transparent.
So while Shizuku believed she had trapped Touka in a dense fog, the reality was she had only trapped herself.
"Raikiri!"
BOOM!!
Within the fog—hidden from the audience's view—the two girls clashed one final ti.
But just as Eiji had said, every one of Shizuku's movents was exposed to Touka.
With a thunderous roar, a lightning-charged blade split the White Night Barrier apart, the accompanying wind ripping through the arena like a storm!
"The match is decided! The winner—Toudou Touka!!"
Only one figure remained on the stage.
With chestnut hair fluttering in the breeze, Touka gently sheathed her sword, Narukami, and let out a long, steadying breath.
Then she stepped forward, picked up Shizuku's unconscious body, and carried her over to the dics' stretcher.
Before she'd unleashed her final attack, she had already switched her Device into a phantom state. That way, she wouldn't cause real physical harm. Even so, the sheer ntal shock of the strike had knocked Shizuku out cold.
"You were right."
In the audience, Ikki let out a long sigh.
His sister had lost.
There was no denying the disappointnt. But her opponent had been overwhelming. Losing to soone like Touka wasn't disgraceful—and with a two-year age gap between them, the difference in strength was understandable.
Still, Shizuku would surely be heartbroken.
"This is only the beginning."
Eiji's expression didn't shift.
There wasn't even a hint of surprise in his face, as if this outco had been predicted from the start.
"From here on out, even those of us who are undefeated will start to fall. Eventually, we'll be forced to fight opponents we'd rather avoid. When that ti cos—don't hold back."
He rose from his seat.
Casting a aningful glance at Ikki, he left behind a cryptic remark and walked away without waiting for a reply.
"…Was he saying that even if we end up fighting each other, we need to go all out?"
Stella crossed her arms, her battle spirit burning. "He didn't need to say it. I was always planning on kicking his ass!"
Even without thinking from the opponent's perspective, she'd been dying to beat him up for a long ti!
"You're absolutely right," Ikki nodded seriously.
Though for so reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that Eiji's parting glance had carried so deeper aning.
Not for everyone—just for him.
***
"Touka, congratulations!"
Under the golden hues of sunset, the student council room was filled with laughter and cheer.
"Huh? Everyone's already here?"
When Eiji arrived, he saw the student council mbers had all gathered to celebrate Touka's victory.
After all, defeating a fellow B-Rank knight like Shizuku was undeniably worth celebrating.
Of course, it was also likely they were just looking for an excuse to throw a party.
"Ah! Junior-kun's here too!"
Seeing Eiji arrive, Renren's eyes lit up and she dove at him.
But Kanata, standing beside her, quickly grabbed her by the collar with sharp reflexes.
"Don't be rude."
She scolded Renren, clearly displeased by her loud and careless behavior.
"I just wanted to snuggle a little with Junior-kun!"
"That's what I an by rude. How do you know he's okay with it?"
Kanata then gave Eiji a graceful smile.
"I'm a serious person," Eiji said righteously. "I only do affectionate things with people I actually like."
"See? Junior-kun is clearly a one-woman man."
"Uuuu…"
Kanata looked very pleased and turned to give Renren a proper lecture.
"Congratulations, Senpai,"
Eiji smiled as he walked past the pair, his gaze settling on Touka.
"Mm. Your words an a lot to , Junior."
Touka gave a direct and honest smile, clearly pleased.
"Junior-kun, don't you have sothing to say to too?"
Looking like a child from kindergarten, Utakata scooted up to him with a big grin.
***
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