Part 12
Simply picking up an iron pillar that has fallen with a hand, Izayoi flung it at the masked knight. And although the masked rider was faced with the incoming iron pillar that travelled at a dumbfounding speed of the third cosmic velocity, the knight only used her spear to singlehandedly strike the end of the iron pillar to change its trajectory with a gentle movement.
Using the minimum amount of force to change the trajectory, the masked knight readied the two swords in her hands without letting up on her defensive position at all. On the other hand, Izayoi maintained his stance in preparation to throw the next metal rod when he suddenly went stiff.
"Tch...!"
The flash of the scorpio serpens sword made a snitch at Izayoi's right leg.
The whip sword that traced a curved trajectory in the air was clearly a weapon that made the trajectories a difficult aspect to be controlled but with just a flick of the masked knight's wrist, six different types of snaking movements were executed as she stalked closer to her prey. Furthermore, that technique was definitely not dependent on a Gift of some sort. It was the result of disciplined training of the martial arts and could be said to be on the more unusual range of the martial art spectrum.
Besides, it was not the only time that his legs were cut in this manner. His legs were peppered with thin cuts that were bleeding. Although every cut had been shallow, but the accumulation of all those were definitely slashing away at Izayoi's mobility. The knight, who did not have the physical prowess of Izayoi's body, was employing this efficient and precise method of whittling away the mobility of those legs with the flash of the sword to close the gap between their agility levels.
(Che... Though it may look like a despicable sneaky move, but I concede that it isn't something that any other guy around can pull off that easily. This is a combat technique that can only be realised through the stupidly persistent hard work of the honing one's martial arts.)
Picking up one of the torn canvases that was the remains of a destroyed stalls, he tied it like a bandage to stop the flow of blood. Although he might have some inner grievances about the progress of the situation, there continued to be a smile hanging by the edge of his lips.
Dual spears, the whip sword that looks like a snake or scorpion's stinger and that rapid fire bow.
Regardless of the type chosen from that list, they were all weapons of an unusual choice. If the individual did not research and refine the training of such skills to the utmost, it is impossible for them to display this level of combat skills. And for the process of an individual to master a martial art by itself, it would already take up a lifetime of training and this masked female had already mastered three.
(YareYare...The world is really a wide place.)
—I did not expect for such a strong martial artists to exist.
Izayoi was harbouring a begrudging respect for the knight.
Izayoi who only depended on his congenital talents was a clear opposite existence to the knight. For one to have overcome the many tiring training sessions that might even make one puke blood, it was clearly a result of an unshakable resolution and goal.
In contrast to the hedonistic Izayoi who preferred to pass his days slothfully, the various techniques executed by the masked knight were the alibis for the time spent hard at trainings.
(Ah, now's not the time to be in admiration for others. I've bleeding too much and my leg is getting heavier. It would be all over if I get another injury.)
*Tudtud!* Tapping his feet lightly to readjust his thoughts.
On the other hand, due to the unexpectedly difficult opponent, the masked knight was breathing in short ragged breaths and perspiring as her shoulders heaved heavily with each breath. The difference in physical prowess between Izayoi and her body was similar to that of a leopard and a human.And battling against said opponent with such a gap in the physical prowess, she could only execute her incomparably perfect and accurate techniques.
Utilising all the concentration and muscles in the body to be focused on the task of defending and attacking.
The masked knight would be reaching the limits of her body's strength.
(...I would never have thought that there would be such a strong foe residing in the lower levels.)
Honestly, she had harboured the notion of quitting the game before meeting Izayoi.
No, it should be said that she could not do anything else but to withdraw from the game. As one of the Queen's knights who possess great strength, it would be just a matter of an interval to sweep out the other participants if she had the intention to do so.
But she could not do that. Rather than calling it the reserved cool-headedness of the strong, it should be seen as a calculated choice with regards to the atmosphere of the region.
If she had the intention of wreaking havoc in the game—
"Oi, Oi, did you know? I hear that one of the members of [Queen Halloween] is making herself unparalleled in the lower levels!"
"Surely that can't be the case can it? To be serious to the point of making herself unparalleled to those low level opponents, surely that can't be true can it?"
"That masked knight can already be considered as [Queen's knight (lol)]!"
—and many other similar expressions that would run contrary to her intentions would definitely be spread like raging fire.
In the end, she decided to follow the balance of the game to release her strength as she saw fit and to not incur unnecessary wrath. However, holding back her strength was giving her unnecessary stress. Even if it were the solemn carrying out of the tasks as a masked knight, it was also just a matter of time that she would start to feel bored.
And it was at that time that the unexpectedly good opponent appeared. He was none other than Sakamaki Izayoi.
(Initially, I had joined due to my Queen's stubbornness and was disgruntled about it...but this is a really unexpected find.)
It did not matter if one had the finest martial arts if there is no opponent that can resist the fate of being torn to bits in the first execution of the technique. In regards to this point, it was a fortune to have him appear then.
Twisting the whip sword, it retracted the blade segments to form the sword blade's body. Although it was a type of weapon that utilised catch mechanisms in its workings, it was not the workings of a Gift that helped the mechanism to operate.
Knighted as a Queen's knight of [Queen Halloween], one would be bestowed weapons crafted by famous artisans and it would be a masterpiece that utilised various metal with special properties.
And her whip sword was one of those.
The segmented portion of the sword's body was crafted with thousands of extremely fine wire interlinkages reeled within the mechanisms and it enabled the various executions of sword release by maintaining a tight grip on the handle and giving it a twist. Consequently, the serpent scorpion demonic blade would bare its fangs as it strikes like the fangs of a snake and the puncture motions of the scorpion tail.
Currently, when the opponent's mobility was shaved off considerably, it was indeed time to land the fatal strike.
(I will just continue with the choice of the whip sword. And the winner of this battle will be clear by the next bout of exchanges.) Dispelling the spear that she held in the other hand, she gripped the whip sword with both hands.
Meanwhile, Izayoi who detected the sharp shift in the atmosphere started to have a fierce grin that grew across his lips as he looked at the masked knight.
"Deciding to crown the victor with the next move? Good, I was thinking about that as well... but before that, could you please introduce yourself, o' knight-sama? If we were to end this off without knowing each other's identities, it would be quite pity for this game."
"... May I hear of yours?"
The masked knight at the opposite end nodded her head quietly. To tell the truth, she was also curious. And her thoughts were betting on which famous Community could such a strong opponent belong to and that it can only belong to some larger organisation as well.
Izayoi placed a hand at his hip while using the other to point at his own chest.
"My name is Sakamaki Izayoi—- of the [No Name]."
"...…. [No Name]? You?"
"Aahh. We have this Jin Russel who is similar to a calling card as our leader. Remember that well okay? —Well then, what would be your name, o'knight-sama?"
Not bothered by the fact that he was referred to as the denigrated master status, Izayoi gave a carefree laugh.
To avoid misunderstandings, it is not that she had any haughty opinions when she repeated that denigrated master status.
It is just that she had this thought then. They shared a curious thing in common.
"—A knight under the direct command of [Queen Halloween], Third seat of the [Queen's Knights], my knighted name by the Queen is [Faceless]."
Discarding her robes, the masked knight shouted her own introduction. It is only then did Izayoi saw the full appearance of the knight who was hidden from view all those times.
A flawlessly pure white gown and armour with a fiery red masquerade mask. The reflected sun rays that strike upon the swaying white hair immediately gave off a silvery radiance that seemed to give a saint-like vibe.
Facing the masked knight, whose ponytail swayed in the wind while being tied back in a black ribbon, Izayoi gave a barking laugh.
"Ha, [No Name] and [No Face]?! This sure is a curious meeting, it is very coincidental indeed! We as members who have lost the things to represent us... can only use our strengths to proof our worth right—!!!"
Pounding and cracking the ground as he went, he dashed forth in a surprise attack while sending the remains of the shops into the air.
Mirroring his actions, Face.Less was still using her sepens scorpio sword that flashed while she backed away from the assault.
The last portion of the battle was bound on the path of becoming the most intense battle.
Knowing that this was their last, the duo rampaged freely in the free zone.
Smashing through stalls, destroying property that is unfortunate to be in their paths and causing the ground to explode like it were full of land mines. And in the midst of all these, for it to have no injured onlookers was already a sort of miracle.
Izayoi who wanted to close the distance to continue his barrage of attacks and Faceless who wanted to pull away to make space for her attacks and defence.
Although the change in mobility levels was advantageous for Faceless, but Izayoi wasn't only fooling around earlier.
The demonic sepens scorpio sword that attacked from all directions.
It wasn't as though the sword had unlimited patterns for its trajectories. And Izayoi can predict the trajectory of the blade and can be said to be on the upper hand against Faceless.
(If it works out like my guess, the bladed body's interlinkage mechanisms are controlled by the handle of the sword. Since I can't see through the tricks of the sword's body traced trajectories with my eye, it only leaves the option of watching the movement of the wrist...!)
Whenever the whip sword executed an extension or contraction, it would be based on the movements at the fingers. On first glance, it was difficult to tell but there seemed to be 5 ring like designs on the handle portion. And with the squeezing of the hoop that corresponds to the respective finger position, the sword would give a flashing movement as if it were a living thing.
Knowing that her sword blade trigger mechanisms were seen through by the opponent, Faceless had a little cold sweat starting for herself.
(The patterns for the sword extension and contractions have been seen through... the time has been dragged too long...!)
Even so, it did not change her combat strategy. Having made the oath to herself to pull through as the victor, she had chosen her beloved sword for the battle. Then, she should believe in that oath and her judgement to succeed.
Sensing that strong determination in her, Izayoi was also thinking about ending the game too.
"Here it comes, o'Queen's knight— can that whip sword of yours defend you from this—?!"
Izayoi grabbed the bottom portion of the structure that he was standing beside and used an overwhelming brute force to lift up the ground. The surroundings started to tremor as the huge shadow fell over the area.
At this point, even Faceless was caught by surprise.
No matter how one saw it, the lifted structure's possible routes of travel would only be in one direction.
(Could it be...... he really wants to throw that entire residential building over—?!!)
It was just as she thought.
Izayoi sent the huge structure that was multiple times larger than himself hurtling towards Faceless at the Third Cosmic velocity.
"Tch!"
Giving the whip sword's handle a press to extend the sword's reach to the maximum. The structure that was hurled at her was already starting its disintegration process just from the force of the throw and the huge scatter shot closed in upon Faceless.
But, even though it is another scatter shot like the previous moves, this scale of dodging would be different.
It wasn't the small pellet form of scatter shots but each piece was around the size of a boulder.
In this case, it would not be possible to use the same tactic of slightly changing the trajectories and one could only hope to use all their might to continue dodging while destroying those in their path.
(But, is it possible to defend against this...?!)
Using the longest reach of her whip sword to continuously crack and slash through the huge rubble. But with just those movements alone, it was indeed insufficient. Faceless backed off while continuing to dodge.
Although it was just an instant that she was doing these actions, the sense of time within Faceless had sped up by a few thousand beats per second.
She no longer executed her cuts and slashes based on her visual senses. But she was calculating the trajectories of the shattered fragments and unleashing a barrage of attacks in the future locations of the debris.
Not allowing herself to have a single error in judgement. But it was impossible for her to err. The sword skills that were polished to the highest limits were bound to pull her through any difficulties.
Boulder like debris that should be cut were cut and those that were supposed to be dodged were dodged.
Faceless indeed predicted the next moment in advance.
But precisely because of that, that moment was the instant that decided the victor.
"—Found it, your blindspot."
Faceless's body tensed in surprise but that was only to be expected.
For Sakamaki Izayoi had stepped out from the shadow of a boulder that she had dodged.
(But this is still manageable—I can still make it to retract the blades to attack!)
"Do you think I will let you?!"
The collision of the congenital talented punch and the disciplined arts of the sword.
And with just a step before her, Izayoi's punch came into contact with the pure white gown and in that instant— The both of them were swallowed up by the debris which also destroyed the front door of [Thousand Eyes].
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