The next match to begin was between Kana Azashiro and Gosuke Ksaōji. Gosuke had lost all of his initial arrogance and flippancy, replaced by a sullen seriousness. For him, being sent to the loser's bracket in the first round was an unbearable humiliation. He took a deep breath. He couldn't lose again. He felt that if he fought seriously, he could at least make it to the top four.
First, he needed to understand his opponent. Since he had been in the loser's bracket matches next door, he hadn't seen Kana fight. He had to ask his crony for information. The thought stung him; even his crony had made it into the winner's bracket!
"Heizo, you must have seen Kana Azashiro fight. How is she?" Gosuke asked.
"Lord Gosuke, this woman is very strong. Her Spiritual Pressure is immense. She knocked out Tomoya Amanomori in a single move," Kasagijo Heizo said cautiously.
"Immense Spiritual Pressure, huh..." Gosuke nodded, thinking back to Shinji Hirako, the monster who had sent him to the loser's bracket. This time, he wouldn't make the mistake of competing with Spiritual Pressure! Gosuke was confident in his own swordsmanship. Even his seated-officer-level private tutor had praised his form as perfect! He didn't believe he had lost to Shinji because of his sword skills, but because he hadn't been serious and had been caught off guard.
The two stepped onto the stage, bowed, and drew their swords. "I heard your Spiritual Pressure is strong, but I won't give you the chance to use it," Gosuke said coldly. "I will defeat you with swordsmanship."
"Huh, can we start?" Kana tilted her head.
Gosuke's face darkened, feeling he was being looked down upon. He raised his sword, stepped forward, and launched a rapid three-hit combo: a horizontal slash, an upward slash, and a kesagiri! Only someone with extremely good basics could execute this combo so quickly. The final kesagiri was aimed not just to score a point, but to shatter Kana's shoulder bone and take her out of the fight.
However, Kana was far more difficult to handle than he had anticipated. Sora often used similar basic combos during their sparring sessions, but his sword was faster, fiercer, and more cunning. After training against that higher level, dealing with Gosuke's attack seemed much easier.
She took a quick half-step back to dodge the horizontal slash, sidestepped the upward slash, then raised her wooden sword and shouted, "Opening!" In a split second, she found the opening revealed as Gosuke transitioned between moves. Before his kesagiri could land, she had already thrust her sword forward with incredible speed. Her large white sleeve fluttered in the air, but her arm moved even faster, a long stretch of fair skin visible.
The wooden sword in her hand had already struck Gosuke's abdomen.
His face contorted instantly. The wooden sword fell from his grasp. The intense pain from his abdomen made his entire body curl into a '<' shape, and he slowly collapsed to the ground. Kana's sweat had not been in vain. She had been practicing the thrust for "Shungeki" for a long time. Even without using the stance, she could find the proper way to exert force for a piercing attack with extreme speed.
"Gosuke Ksaōji, can you continue the fight?" Sora inquired. Gosuke couldn't even hear him; the heavy blow felt like it had ruptured his internal organs. He couldn't get up.
After asking three times with no response, Sora declared the winner: "Kana Azashiro, wins!"
How is that possible! Many of the watching students looked at each other, unable to understand how a seemingly ordinary thrust could have taken Gosuke out of the fight.
"Was that a sword technique?" Tanuki's eyes narrowed.
"No, not yet," Head Ashido shook his head. "But that speed, accuracy, and power can only be achieved through specialized training. This Kana Azashiro's skill is even higher than her fellow disciples."
"Not only is her Spiritual Pressure strong, but her swordsmanship is this good too. That attack style is a perfect fit for Squad 2..." Nakano, the head of the Hakuda department, was flabbergasted. "That's how Squad 2 should be, aiming for a one-hit kill."
"Minister Nakano, there you go trying to recruit students again. Someone skilled in swordsmanship and with excellent Spiritual Pressure is obviously a better fit for Squad 11," Ashido laughed.
"So much talent this year. I hope a Kaidō genius or two will emerge from this group," Head Yamada said, sizing up the students.
Tokinada Tsunayashiro stared expressionlessly at the crumpled form of Gosuke on the ground. He had already given up on this useless subordinate. Fortunately, he still had Sōjun Kuchiki in Class 1-1, who could easily take first place.
After that, the other matches concluded. The final list of the eight quarterfinalists was confirmed: Shinji Hirako, Kana Azashiro, Sōjun Kuchiki, Heizo Kasagijo, Jiro Iba, Ichiro Madarame, Yūnosuke Yukinoki, and Nozomishin Ōmaeda.
...
Kensei woke up on a stretcher, rubbing his temples to ease the dizziness. "You're awake?"
"Did I lose... Hiss, it hurts... That guy was too strong... Should I go to the loser's bracket match now..."
"The loser's bracket matches ended a long time ago. We're on to the semifinals now!"
"What!" A shock went through Kensei. His head felt even dizzier, his mind buzzing. The loser's bracket was over? Did that mean he didn't even get a chance to fight in it?! He had woken up to find himself the dead last?
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