Chapter 112: Ittou Shura!
Early morning.
The sun had yet to shine upon the earth, and Hagun Academy's morning carried a faint chill. At the academy gate, three figures had already gathered.
"Why did you call me out this early? It's only four o'clock, right?"
Stella wore a pure white tracksuit, thick dark circles hanging under her eyes as she quietly complained to Shiro.
"That's your fault for sleeping so late yesterday. For a swordsman, stamina is extremely important too. Besides, I arranged this time according to Kurogane's usual training schedule."
Shiro looked at Stella, who kept yawning.
Because his magic power was innately inferior to others, Ikki could only put more effort into his physical body to make up for that defect. Waking up at four in the morning for a run had long since become part of his daily routine.
"Stella, speed up a little. You're about to fall behind Kurogane."
"Huff... huff... Why... after running... this long... are you still... acting like nothing happened...?"
After running roughly eight kilometers, Stella finally could not help asking.
This morning run was practically torture. Not only was the route itself long, it also involved variable-speed running that increased the burden on the heart and lungs, making Stella, whose vision was already going dark, seriously wonder whether she would suddenly die halfway.
By contrast, Shiro had slept for about the same amount of time as her, yet even after running this far, not a single drop of sweat had appeared on him. He could even remind her from time to time when she needed to speed up.
He was practically a monster.
"My situation is a little different from yours. You can think of my ability as numerical values. Training at this level can't even raise my level anymore."
In truth, this kind of variable-speed running was almost no help to Shiro. If running alone could easily raise his Agility stat, then nearly half the people in Orario would not have been stuck at Level 1.
Aside from those who had not obtained a great feat, most people could not level up because their stats were insufficient.
After a brief pause, Shiro thought of something and continued.
"This special ability can actually be granted to others, but I can't do it yet. If there's a chance in the future, I can let you try it."
Loki had once given Shiro a seed of her divine power. According to her, once Shiro reached the level of a god in the future, he would also be able to bestow Falna upon others.
He simply did not know how long that would take.
"Really? When will you be able to do that?"
Hearing this news, Stella's eyes lit up.
She had come to Hagun Academy in the first place to become stronger and restore her country, yet she had not expected Shiro to keep bringing her one surprise after another.
What?
Was she afraid of people secretly saying that the Vermillion Empire only knew how to rely on outside power?
Stella only wanted to say this: plenty of people wanted to rely on it but never got the chance.
"Wait until you can keep up with Kurogane in front of us first."
Shiro rolled his eyes in exasperation. Stella's thoughts were already written all over her face.
Was this silly girl really the princess of a country?
Under Shiro's supervision, Stella's first day of training was completed with great difficulty.
After having the nearly fainting Stella stand to the side and watch, Shiro took two wooden swords out of his Gift Card in midair under her surprised gaze, then walked toward Ikki, who was wiping away his sweat.
"Kurogane, are you ready?"
In the message he had sent last night, Shiro had already told him in advance that after morning training ended, the two of them would fight once. Kurono had asked him to help train Ikki, and for a swordsman, there was no training better than actual combat.
Unfortunately, Hagun Academy's rules forbade the use of Devices inside the school.
Otherwise, Shiro would have definitely fought him with real blades.
"Mm."
Ikki took the wooden sword Shiro handed him, quietly breathed in, and took a combat stance.
The sword Shiro had swung that day was still firmly engraved in his mind. It was a sword technique that the current him could not see through.
Even though Shiro's stance looked casual right now, in Ikki's eyes, it showed that his opponent had already fused attack and defense into his body. He did not need to deliberately make any preliminary movements.
The moment Ikki attacked, he would be met with Shiro's storm-like counterattack.
Against this kind of opponent, he absolutely could not fall into Shiro's rhythm.
With that thought, Ikki lowered his body and launched the first attack.
His body split into two afterimages, one in front and one behind, slashing toward Shiro.
Thwack—!
The wooden swords collided.
Facing the two afterimages, Shiro ignored the one in front and attacked Ikki's true body behind it.
"A technique that rapidly switches the speed of your steps while running to create an afterimage in front of you, making the opponent misjudge the distance? Unfortunately, that kind of trick is useless against me."
Shiro knocked away Ikki's wooden sword.
Before Ikki could adjust his posture, the wooden sword in Shiro's hand drew three streaks of blade light through the air, rushing straight toward his face.
Thwack, thwack, thwack—!
The heavy three-hit combo shook Ikki so badly that he nearly failed to keep hold of his sword.
There was not the slightest technique in it. It was merely pure speed and power.
Shiro wanted to see why the director valued Ikki so much, and how he would cross this difference brought by raw power.
Ikki did not disappoint him.
Facing an absolute gap in power, Ikki did not grow discouraged. When the next strike came, his blade suddenly trembled and met Shiro's wooden sword.
Thwack—!
The sword let out a groan.
Shiro felt that all the force he had struck with had been returned to him by Ikki, while Ikki used that opening to pull some distance between them.
"This is my [Third Secret Sword: Madoka]. It's a sword technique I specifically developed to deal with powerful opponents like you."
"I see."
The doubt in Shiro's heart was cleared.
He no longer held back. The various sword techniques he had learned from Torajirou Nangou were displayed one after another, and the two began a continuous battle at ultra-high speed.
Thwack, thwack, thwack—!
The sound of wooden swords colliding rang out without pause.
As time passed, Shiro faintly felt excitement rise in his heart. He understood why Kurono valued Ikki so much.
No matter what sword technique he used, once he used it once, it would never work again.
Under Shiro's suppression, Ikki was actually able to learn all those sword techniques, improve them, and return them in the very next move.
"This is beyond my expectations. Let me see how far you can go."
At this moment, Shiro had already forgotten that this was training.
He wanted to see the limits of the man before him.
The atmosphere around him changed, and the air became thick.
The pressure coming from Shiro made Ikki's heart tremble.
Even though the thing in Shiro's hand was only a wooden sword, Ikki's instincts told him one thing.
Run.
Otherwise, he would die.
But he did not choose to flee.
Instead, he looked at Shiro with faint excitement.
This feeling of being expected by someone was exactly what he had dreamed of receiving.
Now that Shiro had used such wonderful sword techniques, Ikki absolutely had to answer those expectations.
"Ittou Shura!!"
He roared and squeezed out every last drop of strength in his body.
Humans were living creatures, and they possessed instincts that kept them alive. No matter how much one forced themselves to go all out in their heart, those instincts would still prevent the body from exceeding its limits.
Ikki's technique relied on his own willpower to forcibly drive his body, compressing all the strength he possessed for the entire day into a single minute.
This one minute was the entirety of the existence known as Kurogane Ikki.
Pale blue light covered Ikki's body. He held his sword in front of him and maintained a defensive stance.
Even if it was only for one minute, Ikki still did not dare take the initiative to attack. He deeply understood that if he did not do this, the current him would not even withstand a single blow.
"Here I come."
The moment Shiro finished saying those words, Ikki's pupils lost track of his movements.
He could not see Shiro's actions at all.
But that did not matter.
He only needed to know that Shiro had attacked.
Without even a gap for breathing, he drew out the fastest sword technique he could use toward a certain point.
[Seventh Secret Sword: Raikou]
"Oooooooooooooh!"
Bang—!
Crack—
Ikki's prediction had been correct.
However, the sword in his hands could not withstand such high-intensity combat.
Then, with a look of shock on his face, Ikki flew backward together with the broken sword in his hand.
…
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