Maidens of Cygnus - Volume 5 - Chapter 8.2

The bout with Chika in the semifinals was extremely fierce.

They both had full knowledge of the other’s skills. They didn’t assume a wait-and-see approach.

Both went full throttle from the start.

They crossed fist with fist, kick with kick.

A submission that coils around and tangles like a snake, like a spider. A throw that shakes the ring.

Attacks and attacks, attacks and defenses, defenses and attacks, all were rapidly exchanged.

But the eyes of the observing spectators were not focusing only on Marika’s and Chika’s bout.

An unexpectedly fierce battle was unfolding in the neighboring ring as well.

◇ ◇ ◇

The two bouts of the semifinals were being held at the same time.

The other bout, between Ichijou Akane and Yahata Tomoe, contrary to the expectations most people held before the bout, turned out to be a close one.

Perhaps that would be better rephrased as the favorite to win the tournament, Akane, struggling more than expected.

Yahata Tomoe is 175 centimeters tall. Her opponent, Akane, is 155 centimeters tall. The height difference is 20 centimeters. Moreover, since Tomoe’s limbs are long, the difference in her reach is higher than the difference in height.

Given the situation, and conversely, it could be dealt with without much of a problem by getting close to her, but Tomoe also had speed that doesn’t match her physique.

Of course, Akane is winning in overall speed. But Tomoe’s arm rotation speed was superior.

Punches, mostly jabs, sent in quick succession that leave no time to breathe. In their midst, kicks are unleashed with a timing that seemingly strike the back of the mind. Those kicks were also rich in variety, from long range roundhouse kicks to short range knee kicks. Due to that, Akane was not able to get close easily.

By nature, Akane is an outrange striker. A fighting style that maintains a distance and uses striking techniques. She is not very good with submissions, which are effective against types like Tomoe. In that sense, it can’t be said Tomoe was the worst matchup for Akane, but she is a type that is hard for her to fight against.

However, that alone isn’t a reason for Akane to struggle. This is not a martial arts competition, it’s martial magic arts competition. Even if she can’t deal effective blows with punches and kicks, she can deal damage with magic to attain the victory.

The biggest reason Akane is struggling is that her specialty magic, ‘Nerve Disturbance’, doesn’t work against Yahata.

Also called ‘Nerve Electrical Current Disturbance’ and ‘Nerve Impulse Jamming’, this magic is the specialty of the Isshiki Family, one of the 18 Assistant Houses. It could be said that in Japan this magic is specific to the Isshiki Family.

The reason Akane of the Ichijou Family can use this magic is because her mother has a close blood relationship with the main line of the Isshiki Family. Although, it’s not like everyone who is a descendent of the Isshiki Family can use this magic either. Neither her older brother nor her younger sister that have the same descendancy, nor even her mother can use ‘Nerve Disturbance’. In the Ichijou Family, the only one who can use this magic is Akane.

‘Nerve Disturbance’, which interferes with the opponent’s nerve impulses, throws off the five senses and paralyses the voluntary muscles, is short-range magic that can’t be used unless the target is close. Akane too, if she wants to be sure, needs to activate it in direct contact with the opponent.

But there are plenty of opportunities to touch the opponents in a Magic Arts bout. Akane has amassed a mountain of victories in Magic Arts because she has a winning pattern of disturbing the opponent’s behavior with ‘Nerve Disturbance’ and then dealing a decisive blow.

However, ‘Nerve Disturbance’ does not work on Yahata. This is not because Akane failed to activate the magic, but because Yahata uses magic similar to the Isshiki Family.

Yahata was using a special breathing technique as an activation key for a magic that regulates her own nerve impulses. This magic is probably for maintaining the performance of the body at a fixed level.

This is essentially the same condition control that athletes use to manage their physical condition through their lifestyle. The result being that Akane’s ‘Nerve Disturbance’ was being shut out.

◇ ◇ ◇

Chika’s kick sent Marika flying. It was no mere kick. Its power was increased with repulsion magic, a kick version of ‘Repulsion Knuckle’.

Marika lost her stance, and Chika got close to her for the follow up. But Marika’s body has greater speed than Chika’s charge and she retreated while moving in an arc. She evaded it using the ‘Glide’ Erika imparted to her.

This was no surprise to Chika. She had been at the scene when Marika was instructed by Erika. And Chika being Chika, she had been taught a different technique from Erika.

Chika suddenly lowered her body and kicked the floor. In the next moment, Chika was right in front of Marika. It was a composite technique of inertia control magic and self-acceleration magic that forms the basis for the secret technique Erika has inherited from the Chiba Family, ‘Mountain Tsunami’[17] — a technique that, using inertia control, minimizes the inertia on your own body and your weapons, moves towards the opponent with self-acceleration magic, and amplifies the inertia at the moment of the slash to hit the opponent with increased apparent inertial mass.

Keeping that speed, Chika unleashed thrust techniques. Marika received those, not with ‘Reactive Armor’, but with fortification magic.

‘Reactive Armor’ is deployed using the body as the reference for the relative coordinates, but as a type of magic shield it is not indifferent to the property of being fixed in a specific space.

That is to say, while the ‘Reactive Armor’ is active, Marika has greater resistance at being forced to move by outside forces compared to when it isn’t active.

This makes it difficult to be sent flying away when receiving an attack, and at the same time, it is also difficult to use attacks to intentionally fly away and create distance.

On that point, fortification magic does not have that kind of limitation. In order to temporarily distance herself from Chika, Marika chose fortification magic as a means of defense.

This took Chika by surprise. No, perhaps it should be said that it was not included in her estimations.

Ever since April when Marika joined the Magic Arts Club, Chika has gained a general understanding of the cards Marika has at her disposal from fighting her over and over. The pattern Marika frequently uses is to, when she is going to be struck with a heavy blow she feels would lead to a KO, clad herself in a magic shield at that time, stop that blow, and immediately counterattack.

Of course there is also the pattern of dodging the heavy blow and retreating to start over. But the pattern of using the strength of the impact from the opponent’s strike to let herself fly and make distance is a new one.

Marika escaped beyond Chika’s range with her newly learned fortification magic and ‘Glide’. Naturally, this was not a set-up just for escape.

Once she secured some distance, she cancelled ‘Glide’ and, at the same time, activated ‘Reactive Armor’. Marika stepped firmly on the floor through the magic armor and charged towards Chika with simple self-movement magic.

This course of events caught Chika by surprise. Simple movement magic does not have a process for acceleration, it abruptly places the target at top speed. Consequently, self-movement magic normally adjusts movement distance and movement time so as to not take damage from inertia — which means, either adjust the speed or use inertial neutralization magic.

And ‘Reactive Armor’ also protects the user from damage from inertia.

Marika rushed onward with her whole power, ramming into Chika and sending her flying with the magic armor.

The count began. Chika sat up at the count of 9, but that was her limit.

For the first time in this grand stage, Marika won against Chika.

◇ ◇ ◇

Though Marika’s advancement to the final was decided, Akane’s bout was still carrying on.

Akane still has not been able to get into Tomoe’s territory. Even if she can plunge into her reach successfully, unlike in boxing there are knee kicks and elbow strikes. It’s not just strikes, Tomoe also has power unbefitting of her thin physique and could swing the lightweight Akane around or throw her with sheer strength.

After being thrown and being about to be trampled on, Akane no longer got closer carelessly. Her current fighting style is a hit-and-run that feels similar to Marika’s opponent in the quarterfinals, Kuki Suzuka.

Akane wins in overall speed, including footwork. Even Tomoe couldn’t completely deal with Akane’s blows, and she was gradually accumulating damage. However, she hasn’t become unable to fight yet.

But Tomoe must have been unable to control her frustration at Akane’s relentless attacks. She proactively went to catch Akane.

Perhaps Tomoe herself had confidence in her submissions? Either way, this change in strategy became her downfall.

Tomoe tried to restrain Akane in a clinch.

Akane didn’t particularly resist.

Akane placed her palm on Tomoe’s belly.

In the next moment, Tomoe’s body crumbled down.

Tomoe lied down hold holding her stomach.

The count progressed and Akane was declared the winner.

Immediately after Marika’s bout ended, Alisa studied Akane’s bout closely to help her best friend in the final, even if only a little bit. And the moment Tomoe went down, Alisa half rose to her feet in the spectator stands.

“Was that the ‘Organ Quake’ you saw as problematic, Alisa...?”

Yuuto asked Alisa in a low voice.

“Yes... No, I don’t know...”

While showing her confusion, Alisa sat back down in the chair. In the moment Yahata fell, she was certain it was ‘Organ Quake’, but a feeling of discomfort appeared that made her unable to declare it was.

“It’s similar, but not exactly the same?”

Souma correctly determined what the discomfort was.

“The attack that brought Yahata down was probably — no, it was definitely ‘Shintou Jin’. However, it’s not the Shintou Jin[18] whose system is explained by kinetics, it must be a ‘Shintou Jin’ that belongs to our domain.”

“You mean it’s a magical technique?”

Souma nodded with “That’s right” to Yuuto’s question.

“She must be reproducing the same waves as Shintou Jin with magic. I wonder if it isn’t a downgraded version of ‘Organ Quake’.”

“A downgrade...”

As a response to Alisa’s murmur, Souma returned a suggestive smile.

“Isn’t this an answer to what you pointed out about the lethality rank, Juumonji-san?”

“...The reason she would purposefully make a downgraded version is to use it in a bout, right?”

“That must be so.”

Hearing Souma’s answer, Alisa got on her feet.

“I have to tell Mina.”

At the same time as Alisa stood up, Yuuto stood up as well.

Akane returned to the waiting room after winning her bout, sat down, and then murmured “I’m beat...”.

“So you were forced to use ‘Shintou Jin’ before the final.”

Akane directed an apologetic smile at Reira, who was standing next to her.

“Even though you went through the trouble of teaching it to me to use against Tookami-san, Rei-chan...”

As Akane said, ‘Shintou Jin’, a downgraded ‘Organ Quake’ with its lethality reduced, is an original technique created based the Shintou Jin from Eastern Continental Asia-style martial arts that she learned from Reira, meant to be a trump card for the bout with Marika.

Akane had no intention of using ‘Shintou Jin’ until the fight with Marika. She instinctively used it because Tomoe was tougher than she expected.

“Tookami-san’s bout was at the same time, so the chances of her having seen it are low.”

Reira gave her words of comfort. Though there was no conviction in her voice.

“Even if Tookami-san wasn’t looking, Juumonji-san will tell her about it...”

Akane grumbled. Reira could not deny her words.