"Unbelievable! He's actually holding his own against Twin-Wings!?"
Arisuin Nagi had been keeping his distance the entire time.
Yet his grip never loosened around that dark purple dagger. At the first sign of trouble, he was prepared to activate his ability and rescue Eiji.
Whether he could actually succeed was another matter, but he wouldn't stand by idly.
During the joint training camp, when he'd planned to betray them, it was Eiji who persuaded Touka to trust him. That was why he could still remain at Hagun Academy, by Shizuku's side.
So even if it cost him his life, he'd save Eiji.
His own life was worthless anyway—nothing worth caring about. But Eiji had a bright future ahead. He couldn't let it end here.
Though for now, it seemed he wouldn't get the chance.
At the gates of Akatsuki Academy,
Eiji clashed with the world's strongest swordsman.
He charged forward again and again, only to be repelled each time. It looked messy, like he wasn't accomplishing anything. Yet despite that, he remained unharmed.
That's right.
Wave after wave of assaults, and with every attack he faced, his defenses were flawless. Even with the overwhelming difference in strength, he dispersed the impact through perfect force redirection, stubbornly refusing to fall.
"Though, Twin-Wings is holding back to an absurd degree..."
Nagi's gaze shifted to the world-renowned Valkyrie.
She swung her sword relentlessly, each strike precisely targeting the gaps in Eiji's movements, dismantling his charges one after another. Yet her feet never moved an inch.
Exactly.
She didn't retreat. Nor did she advance.
In truth, given her sword speed, a single step forward the moment Eiji was forced back would be enough to decapitate him in one stroke. With his abilities nullified, Eiji wouldn't stand a chance.
But whether out of pride as the world's strongest or some other reason, she remained rooted in place, engaging him entirely stationary.
Not only that—she never once used her full strength. Every time she repelled Eiji, it was only with the power of her arm.
If she were serious, she could end him in a single slash.
This level of restraint was practically criminal.
The Pacific Ocean outside might as well have been her doing.
"But... is Eiji-kun being pushed back less and less?"
Nagi's sharp eyes caught the subtle shift in the battle.
Amid the cycle of charges and repulsions, the only change was in how far Eiji was forced back.
From ten steps at first, now only five.
The distance shortened with each exchange.
Correspondingly, the cracks spreading across the concrete beneath his feet grew more evenly distributed.
"His force dispersion is improving!"
Nagi realized.
And at an alarming rate.
In just thirty seconds, his redirection skills had ascended to a whole new level!
Even faster than his growth during his fight with Kurogane Ikki!
How?
Nagi couldn't comprehend it.
But Edelweiss understood perfectly.
She could feel it—an audacious gaze sweeping over her, dissecting her every movement.
Not lecherous. More like an X-ray, seeing through muscle contractions and skeletal shifts, rendering her clothes irrelevant.
Not that her outfit did much to begin with.
As she continuously swung her sword to repel him, Eiji's eyes captured every movement of her muscles.
Admittedly, her body control surpassed his by leaps and bounds, but muscle activity could never be completely concealed. With Eiji's keen eyesight, it was impossible for him to miss everything.
Because he discerned her muscle movements and learned from her exquisite body control, his deflection techniques improved dramatically.
Ding!
Another thrust of the sword was blocked once more.
At this moment, if Edelweiss took a single step forward, she could decapitate Eiji.
Yet she remained still, calmly watching him, showing no signs of anger even as he stole her techniques.
Following his previous pattern, after regaining his footing, he should have immediately charged again—relying on pure instinct to defend and his wandering eyes to steal more techniques.
But this time, after being repelled, Eiji did not rush forward again.
"Are you finished?" Edelweiss asked, sensing his hesitation.
"...Yes, I'm finished."
Eiji gave a wry smile.
He had already used every sword technique he knew—whether self-created or borrowed.
Yet every single one had been dismantled by Twin-Wings with effortless ease. A casual swing from her exposed their flaws and forced him back.
Apart from Lightning Flash, he had no other moves left.
But without setting Edelweiss as his target for transcendence, even Lightning Flash lost its edge.
Of course, his gains were substantial.
The greatest revelation? He had seen through Twin-Wings' sword.
Yet it was precisely because he understood her sword that Eiji felt an overwhelming sense of disbelief.
Twin-Wings' sword was as fast as light.
But it wasn't truly moving at the speed of light.
After all, he had once envisioned surpassing her speed—though incredibly fast, it was nowhere near light speed. Otherwise, she would have already obliterated the planet.
The reason it seemed as swift as light, evading even Eiji's sight, lay in the very nature of her sword speed.
To be precise, she could accelerate her sword from zero to maximum instantaneously.
There was no gradual acceleration.
One moment, it was still. The next, it reached its peak velocity.
Human vision, bound by inertia, couldn't adapt to such abrupt acceleration, making her sword appear as fleeting as light—impossible to track.
Achieving maximum acceleration in an instant meant no energy was wasted. Every strike was flawless, delivering full force yet moving in eerie silence.
This swordsmanship defied physics, breaking the laws of motion. It was beyond human capability.
In other words, Twin-Wings' sword had transcended the realm of humanity.
It was a challenge to all common sense!
Yet Eiji had seen through it.
Yes, incredibly, with his swordsmanship talent at its peak, he had fully grasped the principle behind Twin-Wings' sword.
The moment Edelweiss swung her sword, every muscle in her body moved in perfect unison.
A crucial point to clarify: humans control muscles through electrical signals transmitted via nerves. Since these signals travel sequentially, muscle activation must follow an order—activating one muscle before another.
But Twin-Wings was different.
She could simultaneously activate all the muscles in her body.
This indicated that her body contained extremely unique electrical signals capable of transmitting brain commands to every muscle at once, allowing her entire musculature to move in perfect synchronization with her thoughts.
That's how she achieved instantaneous maximum acceleration—no gradual buildup needed—making her sword go from complete stillness to ultimate speed in an instant.
Newton, you there?
Someone's breakdancing on your coffin lid!
***
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