A white line stretched between the two combatants.
Eiji's slashing blade abruptly halted midair, unable to advance even an inch further!
Though barely a fist's distance remained between him and Sara, that white line became an insurmountable barrier.
"Does white represent a domain of rejection?"
Eiji's expression sharpened.
She's strong!
Even without summoning other Blazers, Sara's strength far surpassed that of ordinary opponents.
Fully aware of her own fragility, she prepared exhaustively before battle. If she wasn't defeated beforehand, the best opportunity to strike would be lost, and securing victory would become far more difficult.
Rrrrr—!
Suddenly, the revving of a chainsaw echoed through the air.
Turning his head, Eiji saw the rapidly spinning saw blade hurtling toward his skull.
With no other choice, he abandoned his assault on Sara and leapt backwards, narrowly evading the deadly weapon.
"What are you messing around with him for?!"
The petite figure of Tatara Yui barged between them.
Dark circles under her eyes made her look like she hadn't slept for days, and her shark-like, jagged teeth gave her a perpetually vicious glare.
"As we agreed, this guy's mine! You handle the others!"
Without waiting for a response, she swung her chainsaw.
Her footsteps were eerily silent as she advanced like a ghost, the saw blade aimed straight for Eiji's neck.
Clang—!
Eiji's sword lashed out, deflecting the chainsaw with a grating screech.
The force of the parry sent the weapon flying wide, leaving Tatara Yui wide open.
Seizing the opening, Eiji closed the distance in an instant—his blade flashing as it struck directly at the center of her flat chest.
Yet.
The slash failed to penetrate her body. Instead, the moment it made contact, the force was completely reflected back at him.
"Pathetic attack! Your so-called swordsmanship is useless against me!"
Tatara Yui sneered.
Her ability hard-countered Eiji's techniques, which was precisely why she had been assigned as his opponent.
Eiji remained silent.
His arms rippled like water, channeling the reflected force through his waist and hips before dispersing it into the ground through his feet.
He didn't retreat a single step.
Without a word, he pressed forward again, his blade surging like relentless waves, strike after strike crashing toward Tatara Yui.
"Why isn't he hurt by his own power?!"
Tatara Yui was stunned.
Her reflection ability rebounded all force directed at her—no attack could pierce the reflective barrier she created.
She had absolute confidence in her defense, knowing full well the devastating backlash her ability inflicted.
An equal force returning to the attacker should have been unavoidable—unless they could transform their body into something intangible, like flowing water.
Yet Eiji defied all logic. Despite having his own power reflected back at him, he showed no sign of injury—not even a single step back.
As blade after blade came at her, Tatara Yui had no choice but to expend vast amounts of mana to maintain her reflective barrier, forced into a defensive stance.
If she didn't maintain the reflection, his blade would easily pierce through her body.
"Damn it!"
Tatara Yui's eyes widened.
The reflection layer had never broken, and every slash that landed on her should have rebounded all its force back onto him. Yet he stubbornly refused to retreat even a single step—only the ground beneath his feet continued to crack apart!
She couldn't understand it!
She absolutely couldn't comprehend how he was doing this!
Tatara Yui had indeed watched Eiji's match against Ikki, but just like how Nene Saikyou and the others could no longer follow their swordplay, she too was utterly incapable of grasping that level of swordsmanship!
Thus, her belief that her ability was an absolute counter to Eiji had already sealed her defeat.
Tatara Yui completely lost her composure.
Faced with Eiji's relentless, wave-like assault, she didn't dare to drop the reflection layer, and her internal mana was being drained at an alarming rate!
Only half a minute later!
Under Tatara Yui's disbelieving gaze, Eiji suddenly took a massive step forward, channeling the full force of his body through his spine like a coiled rope. The concrete beneath his feet shattered instantly.
BOOM!
A full-powered slash roared forth.
Tatara Yui barely managed to raise her chainsaw in defense, but the overwhelming force transmitted through her Device sent her entire body airborne!
She was blasted away like a cannonball, crashing headfirst into the distant faculty building.
"Your personal mana reserves are pretty mediocre," Eiji remarked coldly as he sheathed Bling Blade.
Compared to Sara, she probably didn't even have a tenth of her capacity.
At the very least, the Tatara Yui, Sara had created last time had maintained the reflection layer for a full five minutes—far from reaching her limit—and even went on to create the Black Lion and Arisuin Nagi afterwards.
The Tatara Yui Sara had created must have been using Sara's own mana.
The difference was just too vast.
"Bullshit... You're just a damn monster..."
A surge of bitter resentment flashed through Tatara Yui's mind before she collapsed unconscious.
She had never seen anyone unleash a continuous half-minute assault on her without suffering a single scratch. This guy's swordsmanship was so refined that even an ability that should have hard-countered him was completely useless!
In the blink of an eye, the Reflector was defeated.
Eiji let out a quiet exhale.
With this, Akatsuki Academy had suffered its first loss.
Now he could go support the others.
"Get out of my way!"
Right then.
A furious shout came from nearby.
Shizuku's voice was laced with irritation as a towering Black Lion blocked her path, unleashing deafening sonic waves from its maw. The gale-force winds swept outward, and the moment they struck Shizuku, her body froze mid-air, completely immobilized.
The Black Lion's ability was Stasis.
Anyone caught in the shockwaves of its roar would be forced into a motionless state. A single charge from it would be enough to shatter Shizuku's petite frame instantly!
Fortunately, even though Shizuku couldn't move, she could still manipulate water as a buffer. Combined with her exceptional healing skills, she remained unharmed despite the forced stasis.
But she had no intention of wasting time with this lion—she was in a hurry to save Nagi!
Because she refused to engage the lion directly, she kept getting hit by its roars.
"Shizuku! Leave Nagi to me—focus on fighting Akatsuki Academy!"
"But—!"
"Trust me!"
Eiji's voice rang out sharply.
"...Understood!"
Shizuku bit her lip hard, her eyes filled with conflict. After a long moment, she finally gave a fierce nod and turned her murderous glare toward the repulsive lion.
***
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