Infinite Realm

Sato quickly reacted and placed his sword in front of him once more. This time around though, it used the sharp edge of the sword to face off against the attack.

*Clang*

-5 (67/150 Mirror Image's HP)

The result was still the same. As being made of metal, the mirror image's fist made a resounding clang as it clashed with the sword. This time, however, there was a slight injury on its hand as it took some damage from that action.

'It's still unfazed.' 

Sato was a bit shocked seeing the mirror image not even reacting to his move. Despite having collided head-on with the sharp edge of the sword, the fist of the mirror image only received some minor injuries.

"Hmph."

With a loud humph, the mirror image ignored the pain and struck out with its right fist. This time around, it aimed for the side of Sato's sword. 

[Chain Hit] was a skill that enabled the user to release 3 strikes that wielded at least 140% of the user's attack power and 130% of their attack speed. It was a very useful skill for any player as it was the same as making 3 attacks all having the same power as a single one performed with the generic ultimate attack skill of a class. In simpler terms, it was OP. The only reason Sato had this skill was that he had gotten it as an extra reward for passing the Achiever's Trial.

This fist was much faster than the previous one, as the mirror image had held back a bit with the others, so Sato was only able to notice it when it was too late.

*Clang*

The sword was pushed to the side, almost flipping out of Sato's hand. If that had happened, Sato would be unarmed against the mirror image, and in such a situation, he would most definitely not be its match.

"It's over."

The mirror image then formed a knife with its right hand and directed it towards Sato while making a chopping motion at him.

[Chop]

A dreadful aura akin to the sensation of death swept over Sato. Having died countless times already at the hands of the mirror age, Sato was overly familiar with this feeling. It was the feeling of death approaching him with its inescapable arms.

'Even without its sword, it's still this strong?' Sato couldn't help but grumble. 

With the strength the mirror image was currently displaying, Sato surmised that the previous fights were nothing but a warm-up session to it. It was only now that it had taken him seriously. 

Despite knowing this, Sato wasn't inclined to giving up at the moment. This was the closest he had ever come to victory and he didn't want to lose this opportunity for any reason whatsoever.

With the sword out of the way, it looked as if the mirror image's 'knife' would make it to Sato without any problem. Suddenly, a dazzling burst of light gathered at the blade of the sword.

'You're not the only one who knows how to perform skills without a sword.' Sato's eyes steeled.

Performing skills without a weapon wasn't a new thing for Sato. He had discovered that back before however, he wasn't so skilled at doing it so he hardly used it. One reason was because even if he succeeded in doing so, the attack power of the skill performed with his fist would be far weaker than when performed with a weapon. Considering that every opponent Sato had faced so far had a strong defence, it was pointless to use this technique against them. However, seeing as the duplicate employed it, Sato began having second thoughts. Hence, he decided to try something new.

'[Astral Blade]!'

The radiant light on the sword flowed through the hilt into Sato's body and gathered at his left arm. In the end, Sato punched out with his left fist at the duplicate. A momentous blast of energy escaped from his fist, carrying with it a boundless aura that contained a hint of destructive nature.

[Astral Blade] was a technique that needed the [Astral Blade] sword to be performed. It stored the energy of the stars -also known as Astral points to the players- and released it in the form of crescent beams. However, from the skill description, Sato noticed that there wasn't exactly any rule that stated that the energy had to be released with the sword. While it was true that the astral energy was stored in the sword, it wasn't necessarily true that it would be the only medium of attack. 

Each time Sato performed the skill, he noticed that the dazzling light on the sword was the coagulated form of the astral energy. Apart from that, Sato had the feeling that he could manipulate this energy to go in any direction that he wished so long as he was still connected to it. This was why it wasn't really necessary for him to slash out his sword to release the attack; just simply pointing at the target was enough.

However, during this period, a thought crossed Sato's mind. What if he directed this energy towards himself? Logically, if he were to do so, the energy would rampage all over his body and he would get injured by his attack. But since he could manipulate this energy to a certain degree, theoretically, he should be able to use it with his body.

After eating plenty of losses to the duplicate, Sato had been thinking of unconventional ways to win and this was one that he came up with. Since it was a new tactic he had just developed, there was no way that the mirror image would know of it so Sato decided to keep it as a trump card that could be used to ascertain his victory. However, to preserve the secrecy of the technique, Sato had never tried it out so everything was nothing more than theoretical knowledge. But that knowledge was finally put into practice now.

Because [Astral Blade] was an external attack, it reached the mirror image just before its palm could land on Sato.

*Phew*

-130 (0/150 Mirror Image's HP)

With a high-pitched sound, a ray of light exited Sato's fist and pierced the chest of the mirror image, exiting from the other side and shooting into the sky. 

In the wake of its path, was a bowl-sized hole, left on the chest of the mirror image. Half of its beating heart could be seen, alongside a few lung pieces and rib bones. A massive amount of blood spilled out from the injury, staining the black stage red. 

The eyes of the mirror image were widened in shock as it never expected Sato to have such a move in his arsenal. It tried to speak but only a mouthful of blood was spilled from its mouth. The original knife hand that was targeted at Sato made contact, but the force and power supporting it had already dissipated alongside the life force of the user.

"Indeed.. It's over."