The scattered water droplets didn't break away; instead, they acted like chains, connecting to a small puddle that had appeared on the ground at some unknown time. Almost the instant Lancer was caught, countless water projectiles struck him from all directions. Unable to defend, Lancer felt as though he were being pummeled by countless fists.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
With a series of strange sounds, a cage made of water completely covered Lancer, leaving only his head exposed.
It was then that "Kawashiro Amayuki" appeared before Lancer once more.
"Red Oni, you have already lost."
Although his body still seemed somewhat short and bloated, Amayuki—standing atop the waves—appeared incredibly imposing. Especially now, looking down at Lancer, whose body was submerged in the water prison with only his face showing, his image was elevated immensely in the eyes of his subordinates.
However, the restrained Lancer showed no intention of bowing his head. Instead, he stared straight at his opponent.
"Isn't it a bit early to say I've lost?"
As he spoke, Lancer muscles—already prominent under his tight clothes—bulged even further. Amayuki didn't care; he instead crouched down to "chat" with Lancer.
"You think I haven't fought the Oni before? I created this move specifically to deal with opponents like them. If you can dodge it, fine, but once your body is bound, no one can escape..."
Amayuki was very proud of this move; it was the foundation of his survival.
Using Water Hiding to stay concealed, then wearing down the enemy's stamina like a cat with a mouse until finally capturing them—his reputation in the youkai world was quite significant. Only someone like Lancer, who knew nothing of Great Youkai, would fall for it so easily. However—
Even after a full burst of strength failed to break him free, Lancer wasn't worried. He looked at Amayuki seriously.
"This move is indeed terrifying, but it's still too early to say no one can escape..."
Crack... crack...
Following Lancer voice, a strange sound suddenly rang out. Amayuki immediately felt a bad premonition.
Under Amayuki's control, ordinary water had turned into pervasive chains, but in the end, it was still water. Even controlled by demonic power, its nature didn't change. If he couldn't break the cage, he would change it entirely!
Starting from Lancer right hand, white cracks appeared in the water prison. As Lancer finished speaking, a powerful burst of freezing air erupted. The white cracks grew denser until the whole thing shattered.
Panic flashed across Amayuki's face. But to everyone's surprise, Lancer—having just escaped—didn't attack the Amayuki in front of him. Instead, he whipped his spear around in a "turning horse" thrust behind him.
The air seemed to be pierced by the fierce strike. But the terrifying blow stopped without warning. Lancer, having just turned around, showed a slight smile.
"You lose."
Following Lancer words, Amayuki—his expression a complex mix of emotions—looked like he wanted to say something but stopped. He hadn't yet recovered from being so close to the victory line.
How did the opponent break his secret technique? How did he find him?
And—
Why didn't he kill him?
Finally, he asked the thing he cared about most.
"How did you find me?"
At this moment, he had cast aside concerns of life and death. He just wanted to know how the opponent had done it!
Everyone seemed shocked by the instantaneous reversal of the outcome, but one Airou remained sprawled on the seat, sleeping as usual. Even when Lancer reversed the win, it only glanced over, yawned, and went back to slacking.
Undoubtedly, Aru never believed Lancer would lose.
Facing Amayuki's eyes—which held no fear of death, only obsession—Lancer gradually lowered his spear and took out a red sake dish.
"Drink this, and I'll tell you."
Without worrying about whether Lancer would poison the dish, Amayuki drank it in one gulp. When he handed it back to Lancer, his eyes were as determined as ever.
Instead of taking the dish, Lancer took out another for himself, filled it, and drank it in one go.
"It's simple. Because I noticed something unusual about your attacks from the start."
When "Zero" was controlled by the water, Lancer realized something was wrong—or rather, he guessed the opponent's plan and developed an idea from a clue he found.
The concept of using softness to overcome hardness is common in martial arts. Lancer knew this, especially since Bajiquan is extremely fierce. Li Shuwen had told him about experts he'd fought: those skilled in Wing Chun short-range strikes, Tai Chi "four ounces moving a thousand pounds," or Drunken Boxing winning by surprise...
Lancer realized the opponent intended to use water's properties to control him, but he decided in a split second to "play along."
Those strange "pop" sounds earlier were the sounds of the thin layer of frost Lancer had placed on his body being shattered by the water. It looked like he was covered by water, but there was a layer of crushed ice between them. Finally, Lancer used that ice to instantly invade and freeze the water prison covering him.
Did Lancer plan seem incredible?
Actually, his goal was simple. Continuing the stalemate wasn't his aim. For him, it was win or lose. He had to find a breakthrough. When Zero was trapped and he sensed the opponent's plan, he found the clue to victory.
The water blades and the clone were no different; they were "independent" existences.
But Lancer noticed a strange demonic aura in the water locking "Zero." Unlike the others, this aura wasn't baseless. Lancer realized the owner of this aura must be the Kappa. However, that trace of aura was too weak for Lancer to trace back to the source. So, after finding a way to deal with the water prison, he made himself a double bait!
Not only did he lure the opponent into increasing his demonic output—revealing his position—but he also made the opponent lower his guard by "capturing" him.
Lancer always seemed to like charging in with his spear, but he never forgot what his two Shishōs taught him.
Only a calm head leads to victory!