Chapter 109.2 - Abnormality And White Lily Academy [10] – Part 2
109. Abnormality and White Lily Academy [10] – part 2
(This is the first time I’m crossing swords with Sid-san since the Big Five Holy Festival…)
Nostalgia flooded my mind as I observed his unique stance.
Loosely dangling his sword in his right hand.
The tip of the sword was completely down, and at first glance he just seems to be unmotivated.
But this stanceless, naturalness, and lack of care is the stance of the genius swordsman, Sid Euclius.
「Let’s start!」
「Aa, come on!」
Both our cries echoed and we started running at the same time.
「HA!」
「SEI!」
Both our swords collide violently and a definitive shock runs on both hands.
Right when it was about to become a locked sword state.
「Wha?!」
Sid-san slid his sword with exquisite force handling and circled to my right side.
(C-Clever!)
The timing of when to add force and when to shift it, movement of the center of gravity, footwork without wasted movement – it was a perfect movement technique.
With my defenceless right half exposed to Sid-san, I immediately jumped to the left.
「Ha, I won’t let you!」
But Sid-san even reacted to my evasion.
The slash that he shot in accordance with my movement caught my right shoulder.
「Guh…」
I bit down the sharp pain and performed ukemi.
(The wound is… not too deep.)
At this level, there is no problem in continuing the battle.
「…As expected of Sid-san.」
「Haa… Are you half asleep? You don’t have to comment on every little thing.」
「I’m sorry, ahaha.」
Exchanging such small talk, I was astonished by Sid-san’s sense of combat.
(His entire body is like a spring and his superhuman reaction speed.)
And above all, his terrifying『ability to respond to any situation』.
Just now, after observing the battle between me and Idol, he clearly changed the way he fought.
At the Big Five Holy Festival, it was『Power』.
But now,『speed』and『finesse』was at the forefront.
(I must not get caught up in his pace.)
The basis of swordsmanship is to fight in your area of expertise.
Distance, Pace, Attack and Defense – Don’t let your opponent hold these things.
(With the next move… I’ll break his pace!)
I kicked the stone stage strongly and zeroed the distance in one step.
「Eighth Sword – Yatagarasu!」
Eight sharp slashes rushed towards Sid-san.
「Ha…! Naive!」
Some he parried, some he blocked, some he evaded – handling all the slashes deftly.
However, even for Sid-san it was impossible to cut down eight high-speed slashes without exposing any gap at all.
Without overlooking the moment where he lost his balance slightly, I unleashed another series of eight slashes.
「Sakura Blossom One-Sword Style Secret Technique – Mirrored Sakura Slash!」
A total of eight slashes attacked Sid-san – four each from left and right, like a mirror match.
「Tch, don’t underestimate me!」
But he intercepted all the slashes with a frightening reaction speed and sword speed.
(As expected. But it’s over.)
Sid-san, who managed to cut down all the slashes, exposed his empty torso.
I threw a middle kick containing my entire body weight there.
「HA!」
The blow, which contained my body weight and enough centrifugal force,
「Ka, ha!」
Pierced deep into his side.
Sid-san flew horizontally with his body bent heavily, crashing into the walls of the building.
Out of field – my win.
Thus, the swordsmanship match with Idol and Sid-san ended within a mere five minutes.
「Fuu… That’s all.」
I used darkness to heal the wound in my shoulder, and quietly sheathed my sword into its scabbard.
And then,
「Geho, gaha… W, Wait…! Don’t run away…! I’ll keep going… until I win…!」
「Me, too… I still want to do it!」
Sid-san, who managed to stand up while holding his abdomen, and Idol, who was watching the match with intense concentration – both strongly wanted a rematch.
I just somewhat… understood.
That I’m probably gonna have to go at it until they’re both satisfied.
「No, even if you say that…」
When I was wondering how to deal with this, the door of the First Exercise Hall suddenly swung open.
「Wait a minute!」
「I don’t want you to monopolize Allen without permission!」
「God! Would you please exchange swords with me?」
There was Ria, Rose, Cain-san – and behind them was everyone of Year 1 Class A of White Lily Academy.
「Allen-sama…! Would you please exchange swords with us too?」
「Today is the last day we can spend together! Please!」
It was Shirley-san, Misha-san and Reese-san. At the request of many other classmates to exchange swords with me… I couldn’t decline.
「Okay. I’ll accept everyone’s request!」
I accepted my fate and decided to fight everyone.
And about an hour has passed since then.
「First Sword – Flying Shadow!」
When I fired a slash that flew through the air, my opponent, Reese-san, held her sword horizontally to defend herself.
However,
「KYAA!」
Her slender arms couldn’t handle the impact and the sword was knocked out of her hands.
That settles the match.
「Are you all right, Reese-san?」
I picked up her sword that fell on the stone stage and handed it to her.
「Y-Yes… thank you.」
She climbed off the stage with a blush of her face.
(Well, let’s see… she’s the fiftieth…)
I wiped off the beads of sweat that trickled down my forehead and looked at the『waiting row』.
(About, another seventy left?)
It looks like there’s still a long way to go.
And as I was steadying my breathing, the next challenger took the stage.
「I’m a third-year, but… may I participate?」
She looked like a smaller version of Paula-san – a bear-like giant frame.
Short trimmed blonde hair.
A finely-chiseled, fearless look.
I’m sure this person was… Lily Gonzalez, who served as the General at the Sword King Festival.
「Ah, yes… Please go easy on me.」
I was a little surprised by the sudden participation of a senior student… No, actually I was very surprised, but…
This could be a very good opportunity.
「Well, Allen Rodore… I’m coming!」
「Yes!」
Thus, the last day at White Lily Academy became a sword crossing festival with more than one hundred swordsmen.
■
After completing the swordsmanship match of more than one hundred battles, I parted ways with everyone of White Lily Academy, Sid-san, and Cain-san.
The time was already nine o’clock at night.
Because it was the end of September, the day had already fallen completely.
At present, I was heading to the dormitory of Thousand Blade Academy with Ria and Rose.
「Fuu… I’m exhausted.」
I raised both hands and stretched wide.
「Fufu, but it was really amazing… I never thought you’d achieve over『One Hundred Victories』.」
「To be precise, a 123-wins and 0-loss. An amazing record.」
Ria and Rose muttered, with a serious expression.
「Ahaha. Thanks to that my body is in tatters…」
To be honest, the 123 consecutive matches was indeed a little tough.
However, that was also somewhat of a『Farewell party』so there was no helping it.
「Well… Starting tomorrow, we’ll resume training at Thousand Blade Academy!」
「Fufu, Allen… Why do you always feel better when it’s about training?」
「Ahaha, I wonder why?」
Yes, from tomorrow onwards, it’s back to everyday training at Thousand Blade Academy again.
Everyone of Year 1 Group A who trained at the Ice King Academy would’ve surely grown stronger than two weeks ago.
(I too… have to work even harder!)
In this way, we returned to Thousand Blade Academy after enjoying『the life of a transfer student』at White Lily Academy,.