When school let out, Kanzaki Saku hadn't forgotten about his duel with Takanashi Rikka.
He recalled their online conversations, where Takanashi Rikka's chuunibyou-riddled, cryptic remarks had piqued his curiosity.
In a world where no one had escaped the reversal, had she somehow been spared? Or had her reversal manifested in some other way?
Using the excuse of going to the bathroom, Kanzaki Saku once again slipped away from his guards and headed for the cherry blossom tree behind the old school building. That was the dueling ground he had agreed upon with Takanashi Rikka.
To satisfy his curiosity, he didn't mind playing along with her immersive role-playing session.
As the sun set, dappled light and shadows scattered beneath the tall cherry blossom tree. A petite figure was already standing there—it was Takanashi Rikka.
She was wrapped in a slightly oversized black cloak, the shadow of its hood obscuring most of her face. Only a single, unruly ahoge stubbornly stuck out, swaying gently in the breeze.
An ornate eyepatch covered her right eye, and she tightly gripped what looked like an automatic umbrella—her "demon sword."
"Thou hast finally arrived, Nightmare Lord!" As if she had eyes in the back of her head, Takanashi Rikka slowly turned to face Kanzaki Saku with her uncovered left eye.
Then, in a voice that was childish yet trying its best to sound imposing, she declared, "The Tyrant's Eye shall bring thy ambitions to an end here!"
Kanzaki Saku couldn't help but smile, playing along with her act. "O great wielder of the Tyrant's Eye, isn't it a bit early for a victory declaration? We won't know who wins until we've truly clashed, will we?"
His tone was light, treating the whole affair as an amusing game.
Rikka's little face tensed up, clearly displeased with his playful attitude.
"Thou darest to question the might of the Tyrant's Eye! I shall let thee witness it this very day!"
With that, Rikka slowly raised her hand and placed it over her eyepatch.
Her expression became unprecedentedly solemn, and a powerful aura began to emanate from her.
"Burst forth—reality!" she chanted in a low voice. "Be shattered—spirit! Banish this world!"
As she chanted, Kanzaki Saku could feel the air grow thick, and faint whispers carried on the wind.
Kanzaki Saku's smile faded. This probably wasn't just a prop, was it?
Then, Rikka abruptly tore off her eyepatch!
Just as Kanzaki Saku had expected, it was a golden contact lens, but what kind of contact lens has a hexagram pattern spinning inside it?!
"Manifest! Tyrant's Eye!" Rikka's voice suddenly rose, and as she spoke the incantation, a magic circle pattern appeared at her feet.
Wait a minute, sister, you really have the Tyrant's Eye?!
"I have seen through thy essence, Nightmare Lord!" Rikka's right eye locked onto Kanzaki Saku. "Thou art not of this world! A paradox of fate is entwined around thee! Thou feedest on pleasure, siphoning the light of souls! My Tyrant's Eye sees through all falsehoods!"
Kanzaki Saku was genuinely stunned. Although Rikka was wrong about everything except him being a transmigrator—the accusation of 'siphoning souls' was pure slander.
But that didn't stop Kanzaki Saku from being surprised that she actually possessed the Tyrant's Eye.
The reversed characters he'd met before had all shown their changes through personality or behavior. Rikka was the first to be reversed into a superpowered individual.
Somehow, it felt like this book was about to reverse from a daily-life comedy series into a hot-blooded battle series.
[Reversal], you're so powerful. Did you break the fourth wall and reverse the worldview itself?
"It seems I underestimated you, Takanashi-san." Kanzaki Saku dropped his relaxed posture, his eyes turning serious. "In that case, I'll have to get serious for this duel."
"That's what I was hoping for!" Rikka gripped her "demon sword" with both hands, assuming an opening stance that would confuse a commoner and make a master scratch their head. "In the name of the Tyrant's Eye, I shall seal thee here!"
"Take this! Eternal Spear!"
As she yelled the name of the move, the tip of her "demon sword" gathered a brilliant light. Then, with a series of whooshes, it shot out several spear-shaped beams of light that tore through the air, speeding toward Kanzaki Saku!
Kanzaki Saku could see that what Rikka held was an ordinary umbrella; the real power came from the Tyrant's Eye.
The move's name was impressive, but in reality, it was probably a basic attack like energy materialization or mana discharge.
Still, the clever trick of disguising an umbrella as a demon sword to deceive the enemy was quite good. Instructor Kanzaki Saku would give it 25 points.
Of course, he didn't know that Rikka hadn't thought that far ahead at all; she just thought it looked cool.
Faced with Takanashi's storm-like assault, Kanzaki Saku felt immense pressure.
"So strong, too strong! I activate [Reversal]!" Kanzaki Saku declared.
Immediately, the "Eternal Spear" flew back the way it came, as if a rewind button had been pressed, even faster than before.
Caught off guard, Rikka had to clumsily roll several times to dodge her own attack.
"It's not over!" Rikka bit her lip, unwilling to give up. The golden light in her Tyrant's Eye flared. "Bind him! Thorns of Darkness!"
Once again, thorns made of energy appeared around Kanzaki Saku, winding together toward his legs.
"So strong, this is way too strong! I activate [Reversal]!"
The thorns, which had been rushing toward Kanzaki Saku, immediately reversed direction upon hearing his words.
"Uwaa!" Rikka cried out as she was instantly bound tightly by her own thorns. Her small body was constricted, unable to move, with only one golden eye visible, filled with disbelief.
"...Hmph!" She grunted, her Tyrant's Eye working at full power. The thorns binding her finally shattered under the immense force, dissipating into nothing.
The rest of the battle became very formulaic. Takanashi Rikka would unleash an incredible ultimate move.
"Burn! Black Flame Dragon!"
Kanzaki Saku would exclaim that it was too strong, then spam his cheap move, [Reversal].
"This move is ridiculously strong! I'm getting fired up too! Children, lend me your strength! I activate [Reversal]!"
Takanashi Rikka was sent scurrying away in panic from her own attack.
...
After this repeated several times, Rikka's mental energy couldn't hold out. She decided to risk it all on one final blow!
"The Final... Curry Stick!" Rikka poured all her remaining power into this one strike. Her Tyrant's Eye seemed to burn, the golden hexagram spinning to its absolute limit!
Raising her "demon sword" high overhead, a condensed golden sword of light tore through the air, slashing toward Kanzaki Saku with an aura of destruction!
"Looks like I can't hold back anymore," Kanzaki Saku sighed, looking at her all-or-nothing attack. "I activate—[Reversal]!"
The sword of light, carrying all of Rikka's hopes, once again turned to strike its master. But this time, Kanzaki Saku controlled it slightly, only letting the sword shred Rikka's already tattered clothes.
"Thud."
Takanashi Rikka fell to her knees, completely drained of strength. Her "demon sword" clattered to the ground. The magic circle at her feet shattered, dissolving into points of light.
She hung her head, her ahoge drooping listlessly, and her small shoulders began to tremble slightly.
Kanzaki Saku felt the atmosphere shift from a hot-blooded battle series back to a slice-of-life youth series.
So he dusted off his clothes, though there was no dust, walked over to Rikka, and knelt down.
"What's wrong? Is the wielder of the Tyrant's Eye giving up already?"
"I was just a hair's breadth away from being beaten by you. You just needed a little power-up and you would've definitely won."
"Something like friendship, victory, and the power of bonds would've done the trick."
Kanzaki Saku was still making sarcastic remarks, but his answer was a whimper from the bare-bottomed Rikka—one she tried desperately to suppress but ultimately failed, thick with the sound of tears.
"Wuu..."
Then, large teardrops, like beads from a broken string, rolled down her lowered cheeks.
"Why... why can't I do anything..." Rikka sobbed, her voice returning to its original childish tone as she spoke in broken sentences.
____
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