Despite long recognizing a certain strong violent streak within herself and feeling inferior because of it, Busujima Saeko had never once engaged in self-deprecating or degrading behavior.
On the contrary, she maintained a very clean and disciplined lifestyle while constantly striving to become a woman akin to a Yamato Nadeshiko.
But now, the actions of the bastard before her had undoubtedly crossed her line.
Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!
Facing the person who had committed such a sacrilegious act against her, Busujima Saeko's heart roared with madness.
At this moment, she didn't choose to suppress her killing intent as she usually did.
Instead, she allowed this murderous urge to spread from the depths of her soul.
"Die!"
Saeko's arm tightened around her white oak wood sword, the veins on the back of her hand bulging as she swung at her enemy once more.
This strike was even faster than the last, and its power was incomparable to the previous blow.
Fueled by Saeko's rage and killing intent, this strike was incredibly sharp.
In terms of momentum alone, it was infinitely close to the 'Steel-Cutting' realm, the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
A diagonal slash from the upper right to the lower left.
If this strike landed, there was no doubt it would slice the opponent cleanly in half.
Even though Saeko was only using an ordinary white oak wood sword typically used for training.
Yet the man in black seemed to have anticipated it, stepping back just in time to avoid the edge of the wooden blade.
'Hmm?'
Saeko looked up, her eyes filled with murderous intent as she stared at the enemy not far away, seemingly surprised that he could dodge her attack.
Without a second thought, she suddenly exerted force with her feet. The shockwave from her step kicked up the dust on the ground like a wave, looking as if she might crush the floor tiles.
She charged at the enemy like a cannonball.
If one strike failed, then another, ten more, a hundred more...
Until she killed him!
Saeko expected the opponent to use speed to dodge her attack again as he had before.
Instead, she saw the man in black raise his hand, and a white oak wood sword of the same model appeared out of thin air.
The man gripped the sword and blocked it horizontally in front of him.
Was it a superpower? Or some high-tech technology she didn't know about?
Regardless, at least for her, it was a good thing that the opponent was willing to pick up a weapon and compete with her in swordsmanship.
Because when it came to swordsmanship, Busujima Saeko possessed absolute confidence.
This confidence didn't stem from the fact that she had won the national kendo championship twice, but from receiving the title of Master of the Busujima Style under the witness of her family's dojo.
Simply put, she had completely mastered all the techniques of the Busujima Style and reached a level of perfection.
If not for her gender, her skill level would have long since allowed her to inherit the family's kendo dojo.
At this moment, Saeko was radiating a terrifying murderous aura. Under the surge of her killing intent, she seemed to transform into a venomous snake with its maw wide open, ready to devour its prey.
And the wooden sword in her hand was the sharpest fang in the snake's mouth.
Soon, the two wooden swords clashed.
Crack!
Like a collision between planets, a powerful shockwave spread from where the two swords met.
Had these swords been made of steel instead of wood, the clash would have produced sparks more brilliant than a flint in the dead of night.
"Ugh!"
Saeko groaned. The opponent's strength was far greater than she had imagined.
The powerful recoil transmitted through the blade made the webbing between her thumb and forefinger ache.
In contrast, the opponent hadn't even shifted his footing after blocking her attack.
This was exactly what she wanted.
If she couldn't win in one hit, didn't that just prove the opponent was a worthy adversary?
Besides, women were naturally weaker than men in terms of strength. Since she couldn't win with power, she would compete with swordsmanship.
Saeko adjusted her grip on the handle, shifting the primary weight to her left hand, which was in better condition.
She immediately launched another assault on the man in black.
This attack wasn't as heavy as the previous one; instead, she held back some of her strength.
Each time her attack was blocked, she instantly changed her angle, freely displaying the Busujima Style swordsmanship she had mastered.
Saeko's sword style was like a relentless storm, constantly eroding the man in black's defense.
Under such a fierce bombardment, the man's body was like a small boat in a storm. No matter how Saeko attacked, he blocked every strike with the long sword in his hand.
Half an hour later...
'Is this guy a monster?'
Saeko leaned on her wooden sword, using it to support her exhausted body, her eyes full of weariness.
Large beads of sweat rolled down from her forehead, but she no longer had the strength to wipe them away.
More than half an hour of continuous high-intensity combat had long since drained the last bit of physical strength from the girl's body.
If she hadn't practiced kendo since childhood and known how to rationally distribute every bit of strength, and if she didn't have the unique breathing method of the Busujima Style to sustain her during battle...
For an ordinary person, blindly flailing around at the air for a few minutes without gasping for breath would be considered lucky.
Let alone engaging in high-intensity combat for over half an hour.
But the guy in front of her was simply a monster.
Not only had he fought her continuously for over half an hour, but he had also remained purely defensive throughout, his guard impenetrable. It was as if he were playing cat and mouse with her.
Even now that her strength was depleted, he stood there as if nothing had happened, calm and composed.
She couldn't win. She couldn't win at all.
Facing such a monster, the girl saw absolutely no possibility of killing him.
However, being able to give her all in a heart-pounding battle before dying wasn't so bad.
Saeko used her last bit of strength to grip the wooden sword and aimed it at her own heart.
She could not tolerate the fate of potentially being defiled.
So, she would use her remaining strength to end her life.
Perhaps a wooden sword wasn't sharp, but as long as she could avoid the ribs protecting her heart and move with enough speed, she could definitely succeed in taking her own life.
However, just as she pressed the tip of the sword against her chest, she found that no matter how much force she applied, the blade wouldn't move an inch further.
"What?"
Saeko looked up to see the man in black's hand tightly gripping the blade, preventing the tip from advancing.
The man didn't answer. He simply used his other hand to pull back the hood on his head and remove the mask he was wearing, revealing the true face he had been hiding.
The man had short black hair, clean and sharp, and a pair of deep black eyes.
To put it simply, the man had an exceptionally high-quality appearance.
"Su... Su Yan? H-how can it be you?"
Seeing the true face revealed before her, Saeko's pupils shook violently in disbelief.
It has been said that one should not encounter someone too stunning in their youth, or else everyone they meet for the rest of their lives will feel like a compromise.
To the girl, the man named Su Yan was exactly that kind of existence, a distant white moonlight.