With over two hundred Genestellars, they could exhaust Roy's prana through sheer attrition. Once a Genestellar's prana is depleted, they would immediately fall unconscious. Thus, Bujinzai was certain this force was sufficient to capture Roy. Even Claudia didn't believe Roy could win against such odds.
"Quite the show of confidence in me!"
Roy nodded, his expression eerily calm, revealing neither joy nor anger, without the slightest hint of wavering.
Truth be told, even he himself reckoned that facing over two hundred elite warriors from the Named Charts would likely end badly, with high chances of being captured. Even with endless stamina, his prana would quickly run dry.
"Now that you understand your situation, it's time for your answer. Can your rune techniques be mass-produced? Will you discard your weapons and surrender now?"
Bujinzai wore a smile of assured victory.
In this scenario, anyone should know what choice to make. He believed Roy would make the right decision.
"Heh."
But opposite him, Roy let out a light chuckle, raised his hand, and removed the glasses from his nose.
In that instant, the smile on his face transformed completely, the ambiguous smirk vanishing without a trace.
"I hate being threatened."
His features twisted with malice, and a bone-chilling killing intent radiated from his body.
Yabuki Bujinzai, facing this killing intent head-on, instantly paled.
An inexplicable sense of dread surged from the depths of his heart, his body trembling instinctively.
"This killing intent...!"
If his own killing intent was like a dagger piercing the heart, bringing coldness and fear, then Roy's was like a tidal wave crashing down, freezing one's soul and consciousness, so frenzied it seemed as if nothing in the world mattered anymore, leaving only the thought of destroying everything in its wake.
Did this guy not fear him summoning Ginga's entire combat force?!
Too young, acting like a reckless fool?
No, this guy was more like a madman who cared about nothing!
Outwardly appearing so reasonable, yet secretly an unhinged lunatic—utterly unbelievable!
Without hesitation, Yabuki Bujinzai sent out the signal.
At that moment, on the lake just a few miles from Asterisk, a small ferry ceased its aimless wandering and turned toward Asterisk's direction, its course unmistakably heading for the location of Bujinzai's signal.
Near the harbor of the redevelopment zone, close to the lakeshore.
Okita Souji arrived, took out a rune from her pocket, and affixed it to herself. Then, she stepped onto the water's surface, standing firmly as if on solid ground, before darting like an arrow toward the distant ferry heading straight for them.
...
The moment his killing intent erupted, Roy's figure blurred.
In the blink of an eye, he was already before Yabuki Bujinzai, gripping the Sword of the Black Furnace, his face twisted with manic glee as he swung the blade straight at Bujinzai's head!
"Hmph!"
Yabuki Bujinzai neither dodged nor flinched, merely letting out an indignant snort.
He didn't even move, and the white blade of light Roy swung passed harmlessly by his side, as if it had never been aimed at him in the first place.
"Since you refuse to see reason, let this old man sober you up!"
Bujinzai lifted his foot and kicked towards Roy, who was within arm's reach.
Roy flipped midair, dodging the kick while simultaneously swinging his second slash at Bujinzai.
But to everyone's astonishment, just as Roy thought he had evaded the kick, Bujinzai's foot followed like a persistent shadow, landing squarely on his shoulder. Though the kick wasn't particularly powerful, it disrupted Roy's balance, causing his second slash to be stillborn. At the same time, Bujinzai raised his staff and thrust it straight at Roy.
The air screeched with a piercing howl.
Without defending with astral power, even a Genestellar's body would be impaled by this strike!
Roy curled his lips into a disdainful smirk and charged forward without dodging or even covering himself in prana.
The tip of the staff mercilessly pierced through his chest.
Bujinzai was momentarily stunned by this sight, his face a picture of utter disbelief.
Was he seeking death?
Before Bujinzai could react, Roy pressed forward, allowing the staff to run completely through his torso. Yet, a manic grin spread across his face as he reached out and seized Bujinzai's wrist.
"Damn it!"
Yabuki Bujinzai's expression twisted in alarm.
No matter how skilled the Yabuki clan's techniques were in mental manipulation, being grabbed at such close quarters made it impossible to fully influence his opponent!
Roy paid no heed to the wound in his chest and swung his blade in retaliation.
Instead of aiming for Bujinzai's head, he slashed at the left hand he had just captured.
The strike was as swift as lightning.
At such close range, such a rapid slash was nearly impossible to evade—especially with his wrist held captive. The blade landed cleanly on Bujinzai's wrist, slicing through bone as effortlessly as a hot knife through butter.
"Gah!"
Bujinzai's face contorted in pain, his eyes flashing with agony before he swiftly retreated.
"Madman! A complete madman!"
To willingly trade injuries without hesitation?
And to exchange a life-threatening chest wound for just a wrist! Worse yet, he had severed a wrist reinforced with prana in a single strike—could that blade be a pure Orga Lux? The young lady of the Enfield family truly excelled at aiding the enemy!
Still, while this era had advanced enough to reattach severed limbs painlessly, a chest wound of this severity would kill even a Genestellar within minutes. There were no winners here!
Just as he thought this—
Roy pulled the staff out of his chest.
Not a single drop of blood spilled. The gaping hole in his torso—organs, flesh, and skin—all regenerated at a visible pace. In less than a second, the wound vanished entirely, as if it had never existed.
"A regeneration ability user?"
Yabuki Bujinzai's eyes widened, filled with deep wariness.
Regeneration ability users were a rare breed among ability users, capable of healing any injury by consuming prana. And if one could restore even internal organs and blood entirely on their own, they undoubtedly ranked among the highest tier.
This brat actually possessed such a power?
No, even the heart of Miss Enfield that was pierced earlier quickly recovered. Could he be a healing ability user? To even restore internal organs—undoubtedly the highest grade, the kind that would be hidden away in a treatment facility by a conglomerate, never to see the light of day again.
So that's it. With healing abilities as his backup, he truly could adopt a strategy of trading injuries—grabbing his opponent's body at close range and swinging his blade to break the techniques of the Yabuki clan.
This move indeed countered their clan's techniques.
"But from now on, I won't let you touch me even once!"
In the span of a breath, Bujinzai's thoughts raced as he finalized his next tactic.
As long as he wasn't grabbed, his techniques wouldn't be broken!
"Is this all the trickery you've got?"
Roy casually tossed aside the severed wrist and staff in his hands, his malicious gaze settling once more on Yabuki Bujinzai as a wicked grin curled his lips.
Yabuki Bujinzai's mouth twitched slightly, his expression as cold as ice.
"...Brat, you're about to truly experience the power of the Yabuki clan's techniques!"
***
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