Ch.27Chapter 27: Sparring (2)

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Immediately after the first encounter of sword against sword.

Shizu and I maintained a suitable distance as we stared at each other.

And Excel stood in the middle of that gap, observing our movements.

The training ground, where only the presence of these three people stood out, was now enveloped in silence.

I remained in position, recalling the techniques she might employ based on my experience from before the regression, after hearing Shizu’s declaration that she would now demonstrate her true abilities.

Shizu, maintaining her middle stance while carefully observing me, showed no particular movement either.

That’s why even the students who had taken on the role of spectators, watching this match with curiosity and anticipation surrounding the center of the training ground, had nothing significant to say.

“Hmm.”

The brief nasal sound that came from Excel, who stood in the middle of the gap between Shizu and me while carefully examining us, was the only sound heard during this brief lull.

‘It won’t be long now.’

But since I was maintaining a suitable distance while looking at Shizu, I could easily notice.

That Shizu, who was looking at me with a subtle smile, wasn’t actually doing nothing.

I could feel it.

Though invisible to the eye around Shizu’s body.

The ki-sense expanded through my body strengthening technique was alerting me in the form of instinct.

That Shizu had now drawn out the most certain means to decide the match.

‘She’s gathering it.’

Shizu was now gathering fighting spirit.

Unlike me, who had just taken baby steps in converting mana into fighting spirit after barely freeing myself from the shackles constricting my body and drawing it into my heart.

With just one breath so thin that it could hardly be felt unless carefully observed, Shizu was gathering fighting spirit that was incomparably thicker and more brilliant than what I could gather.

‘When that’s done and she starts moving, her entire body will be seething with pure white energy visible to the naked eye.’

That would be the true beginning of the match, and perhaps its end as well.

The sword technique centered on swift strikes through a body enhanced by the fighting spirit discharged all at once.

That was the meaning behind Shizu’s declaration that she would shift her body into a higher gear.

“Hup!”

After a breath that seemed like just a moment, Shizu let out a shout and easily gathered the fighting spirit dwelling in her body.

Simultaneously, a white radiance that brightened the training ground swirled around Shizu’s body.

And my five senses were telling me that the air surrounding the training ground had become heavier.

This wasn’t an illusion caught up in the atmosphere.

I knew well from having experienced Shizu’s ability to make the surrounding air heavy just by releasing fighting spirit once.

“…Here I come.”

Eventually, a declaration for an offensive transition came from Shizu’s lips as her preparations ended.

At that moment, Shizu lowered her sword tip that had been pointing at me.

And slowly stepped toward where I was.

At first glance, it might have seemed like a defenseless, slow, and flowing gait.

‘…So she’s really going all out.’

My body trembled with tension as I recognized at a glance what that footwork technique was.

I knew there wasn’t a single lie in Shizu’s declaration about shifting into a higher gear.

Even her initial movement could barely be caught with my enhanced dynamic vision through body strengthening technique.

Though those slow steps were clearly visible to my eyes now, soon those slow footsteps would transform into a speed that none of the students present in this training ground could follow, bringing me defeat.

“Want to guess where I’m heading?”

The playfulness in Shizu’s voice as she slowly stepped forward.

This was the only indication that this was a sparring match and not a life-or-death battle, but I had no leisure to respond to her playful tone right now.

‘…Where is she really going to come from?’

If I were the me from the previous timeline… that is, yesterday, this would already be a situation where I should give up the match.

‘Whatever, it’s just getting hit on the head with the flat of a sword one more time.’

After steeling my resolve, I tried to observe when Shizu’s slow footsteps would suddenly transform into a speed impossible for my eyes to follow.

“…Ugh?!”

Perhaps she read my momentary distraction?

The movement of Shizu, who had been continuing her slow steps toward me, suddenly changed to a speed impossible for my eyes to follow.

“…Lost her.”

I couldn’t understand the principle behind this footwork technique, but right now Shizu was here yet displaying ultra-fast movements to the extent that neither I nor any of the students watching this match could tell where she was.

Not just my eyes, the most basic sensory organ for grasping movement.

Even the flow of air that might vaguely be sensed if she were moving at high speed through touch couldn’t be properly perceived.

‘Mirage Step. She had already perfected it by this time.’

I couldn’t help but admire it.

Mirage Step.

A footwork technique that could be called Shizu’s signature move—releasing the immense fighting spirit dwelling in her body to dull the opponent’s sensory organs.

Then, while performing ultra-high-speed movement that can’t even be followed by the eye.

She would exploit the openings of opponents bewildered by her footwork to deliver a fatal strike.

Because her movement was so excessively fast that to dulled eyes, Shizu’s figure appeared to be in multiple places at once, this technique was named thus by those who had seen her footwork from afar or by opponents who had experienced it and passed it on by word of mouth.

To experience this just a day after my regression.

While I felt admiration, I also felt a sense of helplessness.

‘In the past, I would have surrendered without looking back.’

The past me, steeped in inferiority complex and self-abandonment, would certainly have given up the match at this point.

‘But that Cal Ranos is already dead and gone!’

Because I was determined not to remain a loser who easily succumbs to adversity and settles for self-imposed limitations.

Rather, the sight of Shizu earnestly engaging in this match with me served to bolster my fighting spirit.

‘And even if it’s not perfect, I have a way to somewhat see through this.’

…Of course, I’m not backing down also because I have a countermeasure to face such adversity without being unprepared.

‘Left… no, behind.’

Perhaps it’s because I now have a body capable of fully containing fighting spirit.

My ki-sense, expanded beyond my enhanced body, was vaguely telling me where Shizu’s footwork—a blend of brilliance and lightness—was aiming to strike me.

She showed movement as if targeting my left, and if I reacted in that direction, she would take my back with a speed that couldn’t even be described as swift, and then decide the match.

This was a technique that Shizu from the previous timeline often demonstrated against numerous strong opponents.

It was also a signal indicating that she was ready to deliver a fatal strike while stepping through her footwork.

‘Amazing…’

In the previous timeline, this footwork was the biggest factor that led to the defeat of the malevolent entity possessing me, despite repeatedly overwhelming Shizu in countless duels.

To think that I could now, even if not completely, see through it to some extent.

Complex thoughts related to regression were about to arise, but I quickly organized those scattered thoughts in a corner of my mind.

‘Let’s try a little trick.’

Before Shizu could exploit my openings, I prepared to create an intentional opening to draw her in.

First, I slightly turned my head to the left, pretending to inadequately follow Shizu’s movements, creating a gap.

The air around me, which had been feeling heavy, seemed to become even heavier.

Finally, I felt Shizu’s presence behind my back, which my dulled senses had failed to locate.

‘Now!’

Seizing the opportunity, while maintaining my upper stance with my sword raised.

I quickly turned my body using just my ankle movement.

“…!!”

Shizu’s expression of surprise was clearly visible as she saw me turn while she was about to swing her sword.

“Taaah!”

Hesitation was a luxury.

I smoothly brought down the sword I had raised skyward, from top to bottom.

‘Got it!’

That was the thought in my mind as I swung down my sword.

I had actually attacked first, even though Shizu had declared she would take the initiative.

Compared to yesterday’s martial arts festival where I couldn’t even launch a proper attack against her, this was a remarkable improvement.

And I could already imagine Shizu, surprised by the trajectory of my sword, barely blocking it.

Whoosh

Unfortunately, the sword I swung didn’t even graze Shizu’s body, which I thought would be there, and instead cut through empty air.

Tap

Soon, the coolness characteristic of metal gently touched the top of my head.

This happened because Shizu quickly twisted her body to avoid the trajectory I had drawn and gently placed her sword on top of my head.

‘I lost.’

If this had been a real battle, I would have no right to complain even if my body had been split in half by now—such was my failed attack.

Perhaps I was intoxicated by the pleasure of breaking Shizu’s declaration to take the initiative?

Distractions had crept into my sword, which should have been wielded with complete composure until the end, causing a disturbance in what should have been a proper cutting motion.

‘I was hoping she would at least block my attack in a fluster.’

Though bitterness filled my mouth with regret.

‘It can’t be helped.’

Since the match was decided the moment Shizu’s sword was placed on top of my head.

“I’ve lost.”

I quickly acknowledged my defeat.

“Winner! Lillian Shizu Proxian!”

Only then did Excel, who was acting as the referee, announce Shizu’s victory in a resonant voice.

Thus, my first proper match with Shizu after the regression ended with an exchange that lasted but a moment.

A half-success that combined stern self-reflection on the long road ahead.

And the achievement of ending without the disgrace of being hit on the head with the flat of the sword like in yesterday’s martial arts festival.