Chapter 412: An Inescapable Death!
The Ten Thousand Swords Art was undoubtedly familiar to countless people.
Luke was no exception.
Back in Asterisk, after gradually mastering the control of sword energy under Fan Xinglu's guidance, the first thing Luke attempted was recreating the legendary Ten Thousand Swords Art.
In a sense, he succeeded—and did so remarkably easily.
Wasn't it merely forming ten thousand swords from sword energy and controlling them?
For Luke, that posed no difficulty whatsoever.
Then Fan Xinglu scolded him.
"Form without intent, substance without essence."
That had been her evaluation.
Put more simply, it was flashy and utterly useless.
First, what was the purpose of condensing sword energy into blades?
What essential difference existed between controlling ten thousand sword blades and controlling ten thousand streams of sword energy?
If there was no difference, then creating the blades was nothing more than a waste.
The true Ten Thousand Swords Art was neither swordsmanship, a sword technique, nor a sword skill.
It was an art—a method.
Its purpose was not to pile ten thousand swords onto an enemy until they died.
If it were merely a throwing technique, it would be far too crude. Learning to fire a powerful beam would be far more practical.
The essence of the Ten Thousand Swords Art was a sword formation composed of ten thousand blades.
It was an immortal art combining swordsmanship, formations, and sorcery into one.
It could not be mastered through imitation alone.
Unless someone possessed outstanding talent in all three fields, they could never bypass the original method and create a Ten Thousand Swords Art of their own.
Otherwise, using vast amounts of sword energy to create ten thousand independent blades was pure waste.
With that much power, using the ultimate techniques of one's own sword style twice would be far more effective.
Luke's talent in swordsmanship was monstrous, and he could also be considered a genius in sorcery.
That was why he had easily reproduced the "form" of the Ten Thousand Swords Art.
But that was his limit.
Without a formation or a true method for controlling ten thousand swords, the technique's power had been pitifully low.
It was little different from blasting an enemy with ten thousand streams of sword energy.
However, it was perfectly suited for crushing the even more inferior imitation created by Shinomiya Amane.
Boom—!
Boom, boom, boom, boom—!
A continuous series of explosions made the entire building tremble.
After a long while, the collision between the two armies of swords finally ended.
Luke's blades of sword energy completely dissipated, while Amane's Devices were blasted toward the edges of the arena.
Only a few scattered rapiers remained inside the combat zone, lying motionless after losing the force needed to rebound.
Their exchange was over.
'W-Why did this happen?'
Shinomiya Amane stared at the scene before him, too shocked to speak.
Since Amane remained silent, Luke spoke instead.
"At most, your ability manipulates coincidences."
"It can never overcome the absolute certainty known as inevitability."
"At this point in time, you cannot defeat me."
As Luke spoke, he slowly walked toward Amane.
Amane unconsciously began stepping backward.
At the same time, Nameless Glory responded to his wish and activated once more.
'Don't let Luke come any closer!'
On Luke's first step, a small shard of stone rolled beneath his foot with the wind.
Its sharp tip pointed upward like a nail, precisely where Luke was about to step.
Luke crushed it beneath his foot.
On the second step, the instant his right foot touched the ground, a crack appeared beneath him, likely caused by the earlier bombardment.
The crack rapidly widened, attempting to make Luke lose his footing.
Luke simply stepped down faster, crushing the fractured surface into a shallow crater.
Third step.
Fourth step.
Luke ignored every accident and walked directly before Amane.
"Impossible…"
"Why can you do this? How could anyone possibly do this?!"
Amane stared at Luke, his expression twisting beyond recognition.
He roared in a voice filled with agony.
"Just die already!"
The killing intent within his words was unmistakably genuine.
Never before had Shinomiya Amane wished so desperately for another person's death.
Fear had completely consumed his heart.
The only thing he wanted now was for the monster before him to disappear.
For the first time in his life, he devoted his entire being to a single wish.
And so, the goddess answered him.
A wave of mana erupted alongside Amane's roar and swept across the entire arena.
Unlike his previous silent prayers, everyone could feel this one.
Anyone who sensed that surge of mana immediately understood the causality of "death" contained within it.
Absolute terror.
An irresistible power!
Realizing what was happening and watching the mana instantly engulf Luke, no one could remain seated.
This time, they truly felt it.
The goddess of causality had personally twisted the world's cause and effect, guiding the human named Luke toward death!
Countless people connected to Luke prepared to intervene and stop the match.
Ikki prepared to accelerate instantly, while towering flames erupted from Stella's entire body.
Nene activated her Desperado power and prepared to pluck the strings of fate, while Kurono summoned her Device to stop time almost immediately.
Touka, Arisuin, Shizuku, and many others also reacted in alarm.
Then they heard a bored sigh.
"Is this your final act of resistance?"
Luke shook his head, undisguised disappointment covering his face.
With a casual wave, he dispersed the mana surrounding him.
Completely undefended, Luke walked straight through the causality of death.
"…"
"…"
"…???"
"Eh?!"
Everyone in the audience who had been preparing to intervene froze in place.
They stared at the mana Luke had casually scattered and sensed the supposedly irresistible force within it.
For a moment, they wondered whether they were dreaming.
Only Nene, who had entered her Desperado state and activated her power, seemed to notice something.
She stared at Luke in the arena with overwhelming shock.
"Why…"
Amane had now completely lost his will to fight.
No one understood Nameless Glory better than he did.
The causality he had just invoked was the most powerful manifestation he had ever witnessed in his life.
Amane could feel that this extraordinary performance, reinforced by the world itself, had broken through some kind of limitation.
For the first time, it had successfully affected Luke.
That was right.
It had unquestionably taken effect.
Yet Luke had not died.
Instead, he had casually walked through it and sighed as though nothing had happened.
Staring at Luke as though he were looking at a monster, Amane struggled to speak.
"You… can't die?"
…
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