The purple gem embedded in the hilt of Azazel-sensei's artificial Sacred Gear, the Down Fall Dragon Spear, was now heavily cracked. The once vibrant light it emitted flickered weakly, on the verge of dying out.
"Ku ku ku… How does it taste, Vali? The poison of God. I imagine it's absolutely unbearable for a dragon, isn't it?"
Dammit! Everyone's so hot-blooded, they charge in before we can come up with a plan!
Shouldn't we have prioritized analyzing the Seven Treasures' powers first while I—whose weaknesses aren't so obvious—supported from the front?
"Ise! Yuuto! Drag Azazel-sensei and Vali back! Shirone, Le Fay—you're on defense! Kuroka, tend to Vali, Fafnir, and… I guess Azazel-sensei too!"
"Gah! 'Guess'? Really!?"
"You're the least injured, aren't you?!"
With that, I summoned my Sacred Gear and charged toward Cao Cao.
"True, that Kuroka girl's abilities weren't sealed. But now that Asia Argento's been neutralized, our side's the only one with a healer. And facing me with a True Longinus, you can't afford to let her take the front lines. Which means you're the only one left—Ikki Arima. Somehow, you've overcome the physical limitations of being human. You've got no obvious weak points. Which means I'll need to crush you head-on. I've been looking forward to this fight."
Oh, lucky me. I haven't been looking forward to it at all!
I opened with a thrust from my right-handed Sacred Gear—Zarich—lunging forward like a punch powered by a straight right.
"Come now. Have you already forgotten Chakkaratana's ability? The Wheel Treasure destroys weapons. Attacking with yours is just asking to lose it."
True enough. Unlike Yuuto's creation-type Sacred Gear, if mine gets broken, I feel it directly—like a serious drop in HP.
So, the moment his orb came flying toward my Sacred Gear, I dismissed Zarich just before impact and went for a barehanded strike.
Crack!!
A sharp shattering sound rang out as the orb known as Chakkaratana whizzed past Cao Cao's face at high speed.
Tch! So close!
"…Really now, Ikki Arima. You nearly destroyed Chakkaratana just now. Just how hard did you punch? Who the hell can damage a Longinus with their bare hands?"
"Just sword technique. I concentrated every vector of force in my body into a single point at the moment of impact. I call it First Secret Sword – Rhino Strike. Add a little battle aura compression, and there you go."
Okay, well, technically it was a punch, so maybe Secret Fist would be more accurate.
But I'd practiced this kind of thing a lot—thinking I might be able to replicate the protagonist's technique from that one world where a so-called "failed knight" unleashed spatial-splitting slashes. Turns out, with some training, it's not so impossible.
The move, Rhino Strike, doesn't have a clear method outlined in the original story, so I developed my own version. Same with Seventh Secret Sword – Lightning Flash—all it says is "cut fast," which isn't exactly helpful.
The idea is this: at the moment of attack, I loosen all the muscles in my body, then tighten them one by one from my toes upward, pushing all the internal force toward the striking point. Like squeezing out the last bit from a jelly pouch or a tube of sauce.
What, you say that's impossible? Come back once you can consciously control each individual muscle fiber.
"First Secret Sword, huh…? Then the slash you showed back in Kyoto—did that have a name too?"
Hmm. Now that you mention it, I never named that one. What should I call it? Its nature is kind of close to Fifth Secret Sword – Mad Sakura, so maybe I'll go with that?
Though honestly, the Fifth Secret Sword always confused me. The idea that wounds stay closed until you move a certain way—it's bizarre.
Still, using the same name for a completely different move feels off…
"…Fine. Let's call it Fifth Secret Sword – Void Severance."
"You just made that up right now, didn't you?"
You caught on fast!
"Fifth, huh…? That means there are at least three more insane techniques I don't know about. I'd love to draw them out—but considering you've got a counter-type Sacred Gear, even a careless scratch could be deadly. Ideally, I'd use something like the Female Treasure – Itthiratana, which seals women… but unfortunately, there's no male version of that ability. Since you don't have an obvious weak point, a simple, overwhelming attack is the best strategy. General Treasure – Parinayakaratana. The ability is straightforward: raw, overwhelming power."
Too bad for you—I do know that one.
The orb came flying at me, but I caught it with my left-hand Sacred Gear, Tawrich. Using muscle control similar to Rhino Strike, I redirected the shockwave through my left arm, funneled it into my right arm, and then unleashed a slash with Zarich that split the orb cleanly in half.
"Third Secret Sword – Perfect Circle."
Damn, using techniques from that protagonist is so much fun!
But now's not the time to get carried away. Ophis is still trapped. It's time for me to go on the offensive.
"…Could you not keep bypassing divine miracles with brute-force martial arts? I spent so much time coming up with the Seven Treasures' abilities and you're just ignoring them like a game glitch."
"Honestly, Ikki, your sword style feels like it's rebelling against the entire world. Might as well call it a Forbidden Balance Breaker at this point."
"That last one was a counter, right? I don't get it… Now I've gotta worry about my Tank form getting turned back on if I charge in!"
Yuuto looked shaken, eyes distant.
Heh, just what I'd expect from the infamous Black Fang style. Completely nuts.
Anyway, it's my move now.
I shattered the ceiling above us, using senjutsu to manipulate the debris into a smoke screen.
A heartbeat later, five copies of me leapt from the fog.
"I saw that move in Kyoto. You can only make two full clones, each emitting the same aura as the original. That makes three total, including yourself. So if I target three of you at once—one of them has to be the real you!"
Cao Cao manipulated his remaining orbs, firing at three of the five copies.
He was clearly banking on hitting the real one by process of elimination—but each of his attacks passed right through.
"What!?"
Before he could recover, more than thirty of me burst out from the smoke, all radiating the same unmistakable presence.
Clink.
Cao Cao turned toward the soft metallic sound. On the floor lay a piece of shattered metal.
When he saw it, realization dawned on him.
"Arima Ikki… You broke your own Sacred Gear into pieces!?"
Bingo. Unlike your True Longinus, mine's just a beefed-up sword if I don't coat it in aura. I snapped off a piece earlier and while you were distracted, I shattered the rest like I was cracking a frozen popsicle. Attachment to weapons? That doesn't win battles.
Sure, it drains stamina, but that's my style—Fourth Secret Sword – Mirage.
I mean, the original's visual-illusion clones were neat, but I've got real senjutsu illusions. I don't need them.
Maybe this is more like Pokémon's Substitute—spend HP to make decoys.
While Cao Cao was distracted, the real me was already slipping in close—right up to Samael's throat.
If the tentacles won't die, I'll go for the neck. Hades's toy ends here.
And if that fails, I'll take out Georg and seize control of Samael instead.
"Damn—!"
Cao Cao finally realized where I was—but too late.
My Tawrich sank deep into Samael's throat.
Slurp… sssllurrrp.
"…Huh?"
Wait—what? What is this?
Samael's body was being sucked into my Sacred Gear like slime into a vacuum.
GUOOOOOOOOOOOO… FWUMP!!
All of it vanished.
What the hell just happened!?
Even I stood frozen, stunned by how absurdly unexpected that was.
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Note: Cao Cao: "I studied everything about you, Arima Ikki."
Ikki: "Too bad. I already knew all your tricks."