Akio stood in the center of the arena, the cold breeze slipping through his blue hair. In front of him stood Ryusei, he was steady, silent, and surrounded by tiny orbs of light that circled him like real stars in orbit. It was as if a living star had descended to earth.
Ryusei's green eyes glowed faintly. Thin silver cracks spread through the ground beneath his feet. He didn't speak. He simply measured Akio with a calm, assessing gaze.
Akio swallowed hard, feeling sweat slide down his temple. He wasn't afraid in the truest sense, but he understood that this wasn't training, nor a school match. This was a real battle.
Still, he clenched his fists and muttered to himself:
"They said I'm the strongest in my village… so there's no way I'm losing to this guy! I'll surpass him!"
Perhaps from his nerves, the words that came next escaped his mouth before he could stop them. He scratched the back of his head, smiling awkwardly.
"Hahaha… H-hey there! I'm Sakamoto Akio… let's have a good fight!"
Ryusei gave no response. The next moment, a light burst from his body and the ground trembled beneath him. He didn't give Akio even a second to prepare. In a second, Ryusei shot forward like a flaming comet, attacking without warning.
As he closed the distance, the shimmering lights around his hand gathered rapidly, forming a cluster of rotating fragments that fused into a crystalline sword, its blade pulsing like a fragment of a living star.
Ryusei lunged, his blade flashing diagonally toward Akio's chest like a streak of celestial light. But Akio, despite his panic, focused with everything he had and crossed both swords in time.
The blades collided, bursting into sparks. The metallic clash echoed across the arena. Akio stumbled half a step back, straining with all his strength to block the strike. A faint grin crept onto his face, his fear replaced by the thrill of battle.
As always, Akio couldn't restrain his energy. He spoke with excitement, as if the two were chatting instead of fighting.
"Whoa! You made a sword from your hand?! What's that ability called? That's seriously amazing!"
Ryusei gave him a cold glance and finally spoke, his voice was low and steady:
"Do you think we're friends or something? I was one step away from killing you."
Akio's face froze. His expression twisted into a comical mix of shock and disbelief as the realization hit, this man wasn't sharing his enthusiasm, nor his goodwill.
"Huh?!"
Ann was watching with a crossed arms, she muttered skeptically:
"Is this guy really a fighter? I bet he'll drop in ten seconds."
Ken replied without looking away from the ring:
"His recklessness… will be his downfall."
The next second, before Akio could even breathe, Ryusei vanished.
"Huh?!"
Akio spun around, his eyes darting. No sign of him.
BOOM!
A sudden strike came from above, like a star exploding beside him. Akio stumbled back as glowing shards rained down like blades of light.
Ken raised an eyebrow while Ann gasped:
"He disappeared… no… he's moving… in the air?!"
Ryusei appeared suspended above, standing on an invisible platform of shining fragments, then vanished again, reappearing behind Akio in a blink. Akio realized this wasn't teleportation, it was art.
"You… moved through the air?!"
He shouted, parrying desperately.
But the impact of Ryusei's glowing sword shook his body to the core. One strike… two… three… four. Akio staggered backward under the onslaught, yet his eyes burned with defiance.
'I can't lose here… not before my journey even begins!'
He roared inwardly, and in that tense moment, lightning erupted from his body.
"What the—?!"
Ann gasped and stepped back. For the first time, Ken's eyes flickered as he stared at the electric aura blazing around Akio. Bolts danced across his skin, pulsing from his eyes and hands, his twin blades crackling with electricity.
"He's… a Vakin user?!"
Ann exclaimed.
Ryusei's eyes glimmered behind his mask as he observed the storm swirling around Akio, the lightning writhing wildly, ready to explode. A strange glow flickered beneath Akio's bangs, but its source was unclear.
Ryusei took a slow step forward, his voice came calm:
"Vakin of lightning, huh? At last… you've caught my interest."
He advanced quietly, his gaze now that of a predator respecting prey that had shown its fangs. Then he stopped, raised his radiant sword of fragments, and spoke in a composed, resonant tone:
"Vakin of Stellar Shards."
Akio's expression changed. He no longer looked like a naive teen, but a samurai. He exhaled, his golden eyes narrowing.
"Never heard of that one… sounds interesting."
The air thickened. Even the atmosphere seemed ready to burst. Ryusei moved first, his body erupting in a flash of white light as he dove from above like a falling meteor. Star fragments wrapped around his blade, announcing a strike with no retreat.
But Akio wasn't there. In the blink of an eye, a streak of lightning split the ground, his body darting away in a sharp angle, leaving a trail of yellow sparks behind. He was moving at lightning speed, faster than sight.
He twisted midair, channeling power into his right blade. Electricity coiled around it like a hungry beast. He counted his heartbeats:
'one… two… detonate!'
'Now!'
Electricity surged from his arm into his sword.
[Vakin of Lightning — Volt Fang!]
The stellar shard collided with roaring thunder! A blinding flash consumed the arena, followed by a thunderclap that shook the entire ring. The ground split apart, rocks blasting upward as if gravity had vanished.
Akio used the smoke and shockwave to maneuver behind his opponent, aiming for a finishing strike. But Ryusei shattered… his body dissolving into countless glowing fragments that melted into the cold air, reappearing a moment later behind Akio.
"Nice move…"
Ryusei's muffled voice came from behind his mask as his star-forged blade sliced toward Akio's neck at incredible speed. Akio rolled aside just in time, a grin cutting across his face.
"You're fast… but lightning waits for no one."
He focused again this time, his electricity flowed in harmony, not chaos. From his heart to his shoulder to his fingertips, pure energy surged. His twin swords ignited with a sharp yellow glow, and he slashed in a deadly crossing arc.
The shockwave exploded outward, sending a massive surge of lightning crashing into the spot where Ryusei had stood. The stellar fragments shattered, scattering like compressed meteors. The sky above the crowd blazed white, and the audience gasped in unison.
Ken stood motionless, silent, his eyes reflecting the sparks.
In a low tone that hinted at restrained awe, he murmured:
"That boy… I may have underestimated his power."