Chapter 475: Growth in Desperation and the Chains of Fate!
The clash of blades continued, and Ikki's expression grew increasingly grave.
At first, the audience noticed nothing unusual.
But after only a few seconds, almost everyone realized something was wrong.
Luke and Ikki's battle was incredibly fierce.
Within mere seconds, the two had already exchanged countless sword strikes.
And the terrifying force contained within those clashes, constantly circulating between Luke and Ikki every time their blades collided, gradually began to glow.
At first, it was barely noticeable.
But after several seconds, it had grown into a dazzling star that looked almost tangible.
That was not Luke's power alone.
Nor was it Ikki's.
It was the sum of all the power both men had unleashed over these less than thirty seconds.
That was right.
Luke had also succeeded.
He was preserving the opponent's force in its entirety, then transforming it into power for his next strike.
But his method was different from Ikki's.
Ikki's Third Secret Sword, Madoka, after being sublimated to its absolute limit, could no longer truly be called swordsmanship.
It would be more accurate to call it a martial technique.
A divine skill of bodily control that even Luke could not imitate.
But that only meant Luke could not imitate the same technique.
After sensing the path of force flowing through Ikki's blade, Luke chose another method to reproduce the result.
Swordsmanship!
'He recreated it using nothing but sword technique?!'
For the first time, Ikki gained the clearest possible understanding of Luke's talent for swordsmanship.
Couldn't learn it?
That did not matter!
If his body could not do something—Then he would make his sword do it!
As long as a sword could accomplish it—There was nothing Luke could not do!
Just as Ikki clearly understood how poor his talent as a Blazer was, he also knew exactly how exceptional his talent for swordsmanship had always been.
He possessed strong self-awareness.
But he would never belittle himself either.
Ikki understood both his strengths and weaknesses perfectly.
And precisely because he himself possessed extraordinary swordsmanship talent—He understood Luke's terror more deeply than anyone.
It was a realm ordinary people could never touch.
A genuine—"Abnormality."
...
After both Luke and Ikki completed their respective evolutions, the battle became even harsher.
There was no longer any alternation between offense and defense.
Only attack colliding with attack!
Neither man defended.
The power circulating through their blades became increasingly terrifying.
Every collision made that gathered force shine even brighter.
And as its power rose sharply, the thunderous noise of each impact became increasingly piercing.
The resulting soundwaves blasted outward like cannon fire!
This was no longer about who would overwhelm the other first.
Luke and Ikki were competing to see—Who would make the first mistake!
But ultimately, Ikki remained at a disadvantage.
Ittou Shura could last only one minute.
If he could not find a way to break the deadlock within that minute, the outcome was obvious.
Unmatched pressure—Brought unmatched evolution!
At that moment, Luke clearly sensed Ikki beginning to change.
It was something he had witnessed not long ago.
Refusing to retreat even a single step.
Faster.
Stronger.
In order to defeat the opponent before him, Ikki forced years, decades, perhaps even a lifetime of potential training results to bloom within a single instant.
It was completely unreasonable growth—The direct development of his own possibilities in the middle of battle!
Exactly like Stella before him!
Ikki's strength, speed, technique, combat experience, and every other aspect of his ability began rising at a terrifying rate.
From being suppressed—To resisting.
Then occasionally counterattacking.
Until finally—They became evenly matched!
Just like Stella during the previous match, Ikki forcibly grew within the heat of battle until he became strong enough to stand on Luke's level!
But no matter how extraordinary Ikki was—He was not Stella.
For him—Growth had a limit.
While almost every spectator watched the furious battle with bated breath, there was one person who had already seen the outcome.
'What an extraordinary boy.'
'To grow this much during a single match… calling him a genius hardly feels sufficient.'
Edelweiss watched Ikki with faint pity in her eyes.
Indeed—Judging purely from the course of the battle, if Ikki could continue growing, then he truly had a chance of defeating Luke.
Without the energy support of Sword Sheath of Tranquility, Luke had lost his absolute suppression against monsters like Ikki and Stella, whose growth speed completely defied common sense.
Luke might possess an enormous advantage at the beginning.
But as the battle continued, beings like Ikki and Stella would evolve at astonishing speed.
They would close the distance between themselves and Luke in the shortest possible time.
Heaven had never been fair.
Traits like Ikki and Stella's were incredibly rare even across the entire world.
For a single person like them to appear in one generation—or even across two or three generations—was already extraordinary.
If Luke had been forced to grow through this world's normal path alone—He might eventually have been left far behind by heaven-blessed monsters like them.
Yes.
Heaven was simply that unfair.
And the same truth applied to Ikki.
Edelweiss could easily perceive the flow of fate.
As long as someone had not truly entered the Desperado realm, they could not escape fate's restraints.
And so—She saw the cruel, heartbreaking destiny awaiting Ikki.
The blades continued colliding.
But Ikki's growth—Stopped.
In less than ten seconds, the two had exchanged countless attacks.
Ikki had grown until he was nearly comparable to Luke.
But—This was the end.
Only one more step.
Just one!
He was clearly only a single step away!
If Ikki could grow even slightly further, he would formally surpass Luke.
He could turn his disadvantage into an advantage.
He might even seize victory immediately!
And yet—No matter what he did, he could not take that final step.
At some unknown moment, black iron rings suddenly appeared and locked tightly around his body.
Pitch-black chains wrapped around his limbs like snakes.
It felt as though his entire body had been bound, causing his movements to become sluggish.
But he had not truly slowed down.
The overwhelming difference came from something else—His evolution had stopped.
His growth had stagnated.
That sudden contrast created the illusion that his entire body had become unbearably heavy.
Looking at the completely unharmed Luke—At the black and white sword lights of Starfall Sword and Ser-Veresta rushing toward him—Ikki swung Intetsu once again with overwhelming frustration.
But—
Clink—!
The sound of chains being pulled taut seemed to echo beside his ears.
A despairing weight, as though he were dragging an entire mountain, prevented him from growing any further.
Ittou Shura had not yet reached its limit.
By the one-minute calculation, Ikki still had more than twenty full seconds remaining.
But if he could no longer grow—Those twenty seconds would disappear in the blink of an eye!
…
…
[PS: Love this fanfiction? Then, vote for more chapters. ;) If this fanfic reaches 100+ powerstones, I will increase the daily upload frequency. Also, don't forget to write a review!]
---
Read more than 40 chapters in advance:
patréon.com/Tom22
Replace "é" with "e" on your web browser.
---
For Audiobook:
youtube.com/@animefic22