Chapter 470: Seven Secret Swords vs. Dual-Life-Sword!
Among Ikki's Seven Secret Swords, the Third Secret Sword, Madoka, was one of the most difficult and complex.
Even the slightest mistake in predicting the timing or force of an enemy's strike would cause the technique to fail and leave a massive opening.
Worse, the improperly redirected force could injure Ikki internally.
It was a technique that demanded extraordinary skill, experience, and perception.
However, Luke had never once believed Ikki would fall to the very first strike.
This was an opponent both he and Stella acknowledged.
There was no way the final would end that quickly.
So the moment Ikki used Madoka to redirect Luke's strike and retreat with its force, Luke pursued without the slightest pause!
—!
Accelerated by the completely silent Twin-Wings Sword Style, Luke's speed was beyond even Ikki's.
Ikki had barely escaped the sword-energy storm when Starfall Sword was already closing in on his body.
The blade was about to reach him.
Yet Ikki did not panic.
Just like before, he reacted as though he had already known what Luke would do.
Calming his mind, Ikki shifted his footwork according to a strange rhythm.
Then, just as Luke's blade was about to reach him—
Whoosh—!
Ikki, who had been directly in front of Luke, suddenly vanished!
In the next instant, four Ikkis appeared simultaneously—Above, below, left, and right!
"Fourth Secret Sword—Shinkirou!"
It was a technique that used intricate footwork to create afterimages.
A feat of pure skill comparable to a Blazer's supernatural ability!
Attack and defense reversed!
Now faced with Ikki's attacks from four directions, it was Luke's turn to break through a technique.
Ikki's response had been nearly flawless.
Despite being overwhelmingly disadvantaged in speed, strength, mana, and almost every other aspect, he had not suffered so much as a scratch.
In only two exchanges, he had already gone from defending to attacking.
There were very few people in the world capable of doing that against Luke.
But if Ikki thought this alone would earn him victory—He was dreaming.
Whoosh—!
Unlike Ikki's instantaneous disappearance, Luke's body seemed to turn translucent the instant the attacks struck him.
His figure slowly dissolved into the air like an illusion.
An eye for an eye.
A tooth for a tooth!
Six Lukes appeared simultaneously around Ikki just as his attack ended, surrounding him completely.
Exactly as Ikki had done moments earlier, all six accelerated with the Twin-Wings Sword Style.
They attacked simultaneously from six directions at unbelievable speed!
But unlike Ikki's Fourth Secret Sword, Shinkirou—These six figures were not mere afterimages.
They were physical clones formed from Seisenjutsu, mana, sword energy, and sword intent.
Ignoring them would guarantee a miserable outcome!
Dual-Life-Sword!
Void-Viewing Sword · Six Roots Purification Slash!
Against most opponents, this technique would have been an unavoidable killing move.
But Ikki was different.
He had seen it many times before.
More than that—Back at Hagun Academy, this had been one of Luke's favorite techniques for tormenting Ikki and Stella during training.
Two clones became four.
Four became six.
As Ikki and Stella improved, Luke gradually increased the number of clones.
At first, they had been completely overwhelmed.
Then they learned to barely evade them.
Eventually, they could defend against the technique and even launch counterattacks.
Even an inhuman sword art like Dual-Life-Sword struggled to surprise a swordsmanship genius like Ikki after nearly a year of firsthand experience.
Ikki lacked the mana and Seisenjutsu required to reproduce the technique himself.
But his similar Fourth Secret Sword already demonstrated just how deeply he understood it.
He could not copy it.
But he could break it!
Ikki completely ignored the six Lukes attacking from around him.
The instant his previous attack ended, he had already begun gathering strength.
With superhuman control over his body, Ikki concentrated every ounce of his strength into a single point at the tip of his blade.
He bent both knees and lowered his body as far as possible.
Then, the instant the attacks entered range—He unleashed all the elasticity stored within his lower body!
This was the most destructive of his Seven Secret Swords!
"First Secret Sword—Saigeki!"
Boom—!
Ikki's feet smashed a crater into the arena floor.
His entire body shot into the air.
Not only did he evade the six attacks coming from ground level—He launched a full-power counterattack directly upward!
Straight toward Luke's true body!
The supposedly silent final strike had been seen through before Luke could even execute it.
Yet Luke showed no frustration.
Instead—He smiled.
After Ikki repeatedly moved ahead of him, Luke would have been an idiot if he still failed to understand what was happening.
Perfect Vision.
A technique possible only for someone possessing Ikki's "abnormal" powers of observation.
By tracing a person back to their very roots, Ikki could infer and understand everything that made them who they were.
Their worldview.
Their values.
Their outlook on life.
Their actions, interests, reactions, psychology—Every element of the individual.
Once Ikki completed that process, he could effortlessly grasp the entirety of that person's behavior.
What they were thinking.
What they would do next.
How they would respond to an attack.
Both their actions and their thoughts could be anticipated.
It was not something as simple as mind reading.
Ikki saw through the fundamental thought process beneath a person's identity—Their so-called "absolute values."
And this ability was nearly impossible to counter.
Even if someone constructed countless lies and feints, those deceptions were still created according to their own thoughts.
As long as that remained true, Ikki could see through them.
To break Perfect Vision, one would need to instantly alter the very core of their thought process.
Something on the level of switching to an entirely different personality.
Otherwise—There was virtually no way to escape Ikki's prediction.
Perfect Vision was the ultimate expression of Ikki's own "abnormality."
A terrifying technique that bordered on unsolvable.
Luke had spent nearly a year around Ikki.
And Luke had never made any real effort to hide himself.
Understanding him was almost ridiculously easy.
The only reason Ikki had never achieved Perfect Vision against Luke before was that he could not perceive the true limits of Luke's strength.
But Luke's previous battle had solved that final problem.
Now—Ikki could predict virtually every thought and emotion Luke possessed.
This was no longer merely a question of speed or initiative.
Ikki would always move one step before Luke.
Perhaps even two or three steps ahead.
An absolute disadvantage!
It was a terrifying art capable of completely erasing Luke's superiority in speed.
Unless Luke could genuinely teleport, as long as Ikki's body could barely keep pace with his movements—The initiative would always belong to Ikki.
And yet—Faced with such an overwhelmingly unfavorable situation—Luke smiled.
…
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