Whenever Ryoji found a good opportunity and prepared to use Charm, it inevitably slipped away due to a series of coincidences.
After several failed attempts, Ryoji finally understood.
Charm couldn't be used.
There could only be one reason.
Ryoji's expression darkened slightly, and his sharp gaze, like a blade, pointed straight at Shinomiya Amane.
Kurogane Ikki was currently fighting him.
However, the battle had become extremely bizarre; every time Ikki tried to step forward and swing his sword, something would go wrong. Either his footing would suddenly slip, a fierce gust of wind or lightning would strike out of nowhere, or a silver rapier would block his path.
In short, Ikki had fallen into an awkward situation. Despite Shinomiya Amane not seeming particularly strong, Ikki missed every one of his attacks. No matter what he did, he simply couldn't touch him.
Ryoji closed his eyes.
The scene from several days ago at the traffic lights resurfaced in his mind.
The moment he sensed that something was amiss with the plumber, Shinomiya Amane had already charged forward and judged that the man intended to kill.
It was strange. Ryoji had only sensed that something was wrong, yet Shinomiya Amane had concluded that the man was a murderer immediately.
How did he do it?
No.
Thinking about it that way would only lead to a false conclusion.
So-called fate interference usually had to be reasoned out backwards. Only by starting from the result could one deduce the cause, because such abilities often determine the outcome first and then shape the process.
In other words, Shinomiya Amane had decided that a random killer would definitely appear at that traffic light.
And that he would definitely encounter Ryoji there.
Was it merely luck?
Not necessarily.
Ryoji watched Shinomiya Amane's every move. There was no hint of tension on his face, he looked completely relaxed. Yet, with a casual thrust of his sword, he could strike the flaw in Kurogane Ikki's technique by sheer coincidence and force him back instantly.
This scene had played out more than a dozen times before, and yet Ikki still hadn't found a way to break through it.
"So that's how it is… I understand now." Ryoji's eyes flickered faintly.
"Oh? And what exactly do you understand?" Shinomiya Amane turned his head with a smile.
It was an entirely ordinary movement, yet it caused Kurogane Ikki's strike to miss once again.
In the distance, raging winds tangled with lightning, and the other two battlefields were already far away.
'Your ability is fate interference. But interference with fate that surpasses mere probability manipulation is extremely rare."
Ryoji had given up on using Charm and lowered his sword.
"On the surface, your ability looks like you have absolute good luck while your opponent has terrible luck. But ultimately, luck itself isn't within the domain of fate interference."
"Oh?"
Shinomiya Amane let out a meaningless sound and gave a slight nod, as if acknowledging his point.
"Actually, I got the direction wrong from the very beginning. The typical manifestation of fate-interference abilities is that they determine the outcome directly; once the result is fixed, the process doesn't matter."
In a low voice, Ryoji said, "If I'm not mistaken, your ability is wish fulfillment, right?
Wish fulfillment.
The power to break through all impossibilities and turn one's desires into reality.
"What?"
Kurogane Ikki stepped back several paces, his expression tightening at those words.
"Doesn't that mean his ability is basically making whatever he thinks of come true?"
As if to confirm this, the moment Ikki stopped thinking about defeating Shinomiya Amane, he stopped slipping, and the strange accidents stopped entirely.
"Hehehe... I didn't expect you to figure it out!"
Shinomiya Amane covered his face and burst into delighted laughter.
"That's right. My ability is called Nameless Glory! Put simply, I will obtain anything I desire. Whatever I want to accomplish will inevitably become reality!"
This was his ability.
It could certainly be described as the ultimate form of causation manipulation... essentially, he was a human wish-granting machine!
"If I wanted, the moon could fall right now! If I wished for it, a world war could break out this very moment!" Shinomiya Amane burst into unrestrained laughter.
"I made a wish at the beginning that Akatsuki Academy's plan would succeed, and it will. So no matter what happens, we will win! Even if you're stronger than us and possess unmatched power, in the end, victory will still be ours!"
Exactly.
That was why Misogi Utakata's probability manipulation had been thwarted and why Ryoji's Charm could not be used, no matter what.
The result had been predetermined from the very start. It was impossible for Akatsuki Academy to lose this battle, so abilities that could decisively defeat them all simply could not take effect.
This was suppression on the level of fate itself.
Unless one could transcend fate, there was no way to resist it.
"How are we even supposed to fight an opponent like this?"
Cold sweat streamed down Kurogane Ikki's face, and a chill ran through him.
"Fight?" Shinomiya Amane revealed a ridiculous grin.
"Are you joking?"
There was no way to fight at all.
From the outset, they had been in an invincible position.
"The only reason you're still standing here is that I haven't wanted to take you down."
A swamp-like darkness flickered in his eyes, and his smile became eerily chilling as his expression turned vicious.
"If I wanted to..."
Before he could finish...
"BOOM!"
A thunderous roar echoed from the distance.
Ryoji and Kurogane Ikki's expressions changed simultaneously.
"Raikiri!"
Within crossing range lay her domain.
Facing Kurogane Ouma, who was just two meters away, Toudou Touka instantly sheathed her blade and unleashed her trump card, which was guaranteed to kill.
A supersonic electromagnetic iaido slash burst forth, transforming into an invisible, lightning-fast strike. Amid the shrieking roar of the wind, it cut straight towards Kurogane Ouma.
"Clang!"
Kurogane Ouma neither dodged nor avoided the strike; he took it head-on.
Even after being hit by the supersonic lightning slash, he remained completely unharmed; not even his skin was scratched.
"Has it actually reached this level?!" Toudou Touka sucked in a sharp breath.
Such situations could occasionally occur in battles between Blazers when the difference in magical power was too great for attacks to break through. However, the difference in magical power between her and Kurogane Ouma shouldn't have been that significant.
She suddenly widened the distance between them, retreating over ten meters.
But it wasn't over yet.
She still had one move left: an ultimate technique that was still in the experimental stage. She had originally planned to use it at this year's Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival, but she was now forced to use it here.
Golden arcs of electricity writhed like serpents.
Toudou Touka created a circular electromagnetic field in front of her and positioned herself at its entrance. She then raised her spiritual item, Narukami, holding it level with the tip of her blade, pointing directly at Kurogane Ouma.
"Takemikazuchi!"
Without hesitating, she charged forward and plunged into the magnetic field.
Accelerated by the field, she turned herself into a bullet, firing herself like a railgun and gaining overwhelming power, enough to even destroy her own body!
"BOOOOM…!"
(End of Chapter)
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