424 Chapter 424: Sparks Liner High

Pushing my glasses up my nose, I smiled grimly.

\"I'm going to do my best to win this match.\"

\"That is impossible. That's because you will fall to defeat here, Richard.\"

\"...!\"

I could sense Kureha's killing intent expand. I knew she hadn't been holding back at all, but at that moment I felt as if all bets were off, as if a switch had just been flipped inside her. Perhaps it was the frustration that was boiling within her at her failure to finish me, a clearly very weakened and exhausted opponent, off even after such a long time.

\"We'll see about that. As you can see, I'm still standing even after receiving so many of your blows.\"

Kureha snorted. \"It's only a matter of time. Anybody can see that you're struggling just to stand. I estimate that it will be mere minutes before you succumb to your injuries.\"

Right. At the moment my body was battered beyond belief. Cuts and wounds decorated every visible part of my flesh. I had stemmed the bleeding by freezing my injuries, but that was at best a temporary measure. If I didn't receive treatment soon, I might really collapse here.

But not yet. Not until I defeated my opponent. Having exchanged blows with her firsthand, I had a taste of her unfathomable strength. If I wanted my team to progress to the semifinals, I couldn't afford to allow her to participate in the team match. I needed to eliminate her so that she couldn't fight against Jing Tian Academy during the team match.

I had a feeling that she could single-handedly wipe out my entire team without breaking a sweat, before her side lost any members.

There was no way I could retreat here and now, not when she presented such a formidable obstacle to our chances of progression.

\"Then we had best get started then.\"

I exhaled. Kureha was strong – I knew that when I first volunteered to participate in this match. That was why I refused to let Bu Fan take my place. I wanted to give my all to defeat her, so that she would be eliminated from the team match. She was such a dangerous opponent, and to have even the slightest chance of victory, I needed to create an opening.

Yet there was no sign of any opening. She was standing in a defensive posture, guarded and awaiting my next move. Once she got impatient, she would move to attack, and I wasn't confident that I could withstand her aggression.

There was only one route left. To go on the offensive.

Taking a deep breath, I glanced at my two swords that lay quite some distance away. Kureha's eyes followed me, and I instinctively knew she would intercept and cut me down if I tried to go for Hei Yue and Bai Ri.

There was no going that way, not unless I had given up all hopes of victory.

So instead I chose another path. I was a summoner, after all. I didnt' always have to rely on real swords.

\"Gemini.\"

I summoned my weapons. The twin swords that, out of all my Constellation armaments, would place the least burden on me. The twin black and white titanium blades that I was known throughout Jing Tian Academy for.

The black sword, Castor. The white sword, Pollux. They didn't have much special abilities other than firing off black and white blasts of mana, but they were reliable weapons that I had depended upon for most of my career. Furthermore, I no longer had enough mana left to cast those energy blast spells, at last not in my current condition, so any spells or special abilities that they might have possessed were a moot point to begin with.

However, they were reliable. Unlike my real swords, they were fragile, but I had used them long enough to be confident that they wouldn't shatter from one or two blows against Kureha's Excalibur.

\"I see you've chosen to summon new swords instead of retrieving your real ones.\" Kureha sounded mildly curious. I shrugged in return, but offered no reply. She studied me, and then shook her head. \"Never mind. That's none of my business. The fact is that you have armed yourself, and that's all that matters. I assume…that means you are ready?\"

She wielded her holy sword, and I lowered mine in return, adopting a defensive posture.

\"Come. Given your current exhausted condition, I daresay your body will not hold out for any duration longer than a few minutes.\"

She gestured an invitation at me. I felt my lip curled, and even though I knew she meant to respect me, it still felt as if she was underestimating me.

I took a step forward. Studying Kureha, my first instinct was to attempt and predict her counterattack, and then figure out how to avoid it. Running several simulations in my mind, I discarded them and decided to just go for the jugular. I could calculate all I wanted, but no battle plan survived contact with the enemy, so I might as well just throw everything away and attack.

Kicking the ground, I launched myself at the steady Kureha. In an instant, I cleared all ten meters between us in a single bound and swung my white sword, Pollux, down with my left hand. Putting everything I had into my left arm, I slashed toward Kureha's neck with all my might.

Just as I expected, Kureha parried my first strike. Undaunted, I swing my black sword, Castor, without missing a beat. Despite the black blade coming from the opposite direction, Kureha still somehow managed to effortlessly ward off my attacks, and her riposte surged forward to pierce my throat.

\"...?!\"

Despite her Godspeed, Kureha was stunned to see me block her strike. Hell, to be honest, I was also astounded at the small miracle I had just pulled off. My body had acted on its own, my unconscious reflexes saving me from a grisly death.

I grew into the fight, trading furious blow after furious blow with Kureha, despite the \"fact\" that my battered and exhausted body shouldn't be capable of such superhuman feats. My blades darted forward like twin flashes of black and white lightning. My instincts read ten steps ahead, allowing me to parry Kureha's fierce retaliation and therefore ensured that I survived an additional five seconds with each successful block.

\"Huff…\"

Heaving, I took a slight step back. I was just barely able to defend. As it turned out, my aggression only lasted until the failure of my first attack. From then on, the tables had turned and I spent the rest of the time fending off Kureha's attacks. We traded another thirty blows since then, each of her strikes lethal enough to kill me if they landed.

Even as we continued to clash, my mind swam. Time seemed to slow to a stop, but my body couldn't keep up with my mind. My limbs weren't keeping pace with my predictions and attempts to read my opponent's moves. Fortunately, I had gained invaluable experience fighting with Gemini, and it was this vast repository of combat experience that allowed me to stand toe to toe against someone of the Sword Saint's caliber.

My vision swam as I deflected another few strikes, but my body cried out, my limbs burning from pain and exhaustion. It wouldn't be a surprise if I collapsed any second now. The only thing holding me up was sheer adrenaline and the human instinct to defy death.

Even so, I could see that death was inevitable. In another thirty moves or so, she would kill me. Not unless I switched my tactics. If Dad hadn't trained me in Miyamoto swordsmanship, I would have been laid low long ago.

\"Heh…\"

Despite the bleak premonition, I couldn't help but smile. I was actually keeping up with the Sword Saint, of all people. I could actually fight on par with her! I could exchange blow after blow with her without falling!

There might be a chance of victory. After unleashing her ultimate technique earlier, she would need some time to recharge it, but I knew that as long as I kept her in close combat, she wouldn't have the chance to unleash it. She couldn't fire it off at pointblank range, or at least I believed so. For now, her actions proved my suspicions right – she was only fighting me with her swordsmanship alone, without relying on her spells.

Perhaps it was her pride – there was no way she would admit to being unable to prevail over the likes of me with her swordsmanship alone – the sword techniques that she was famed for throughout the Global Federation!

If that was the case, then perhaps I might just have a stab at victory. I should somehow be able to force an opening as long as I prevented her from casting her ultimate spells.

Realizing the urgency of the situation, and knowing that I must do whatever it took to stop her from casting her spell, I accelerated my movements. I poured more energy into my limbs, hastily defending and looking for an opportunity to counterattack.

One opening…all I needed was just one opening!

Chip!

I cursed when I saw Castor and Pollux being chipped away slowly but surely. As I said, I already knew how fragile my Constellation weapons were, especially when compared to real weapons. At this rate, Kureha would smash through them…

Damn it…I only had enough mana left to summon Gemini one more time. Twice if I really, really pushed myself. I was running on near empty, with no mana left in my metaphorical tank. To be more accurate, I was running on fumes, and I was surprised that I could still somehow keep up and continue fighting against such a formidable opponent in my current state.

Whatever. That wasn't important. Focus on the moment. Focus on blocking and parrying her attacks. Concentrate on finding that opening, patiently wait for that opening, and then…!

\"Ugh!\"

\"...!\"

I instinctively jumped back before my mind registered the movement. To be honest, it was more of Kureha's attack pushing me back, and I made use of that opportunity to retreat and regroup.

\"Huff…\"

Bending over, I attempted to catch my breath. My body felt as if it was on fire, my muscles burning and shrieking from overexertion. I swear, I tore a ligament somewhere. Sweat dripped down my face and skin, mixing with the clotted blood that had dried up after my clumsy efforts to stem the bleeding by freezing my wounds.

Wiping the perspiration from my face, I studied Kureha while still holding my severely damaged Gemini twin swords. Somehow I had managed to withdraw about ten meters away from her, and even Kureha would need to take a couple of steps to close the distance.

But she didn't, and chose to remain standing where she was. For now, I could relax just a fraction, but I couldn't get complacent. I couldn't afford to lower my guard, but I knew I had to relieve some of the tension that was knotting my burning muscles.

Thanks to that, I was able to recover my breathing and straighten myself. Assessing the situation, I briefly closed my eyes. Kureha didn't seem as if she intended to blast me away with her Excalibur. Did she not have the mana to cast that spell again? Or did she think there was no need to?

She would pay for underestimating me if that was the case.

No…I was naïve. Kureha was thinking long term. She wasn't just considering this match. She also had her eye on the team match – knowing her, she was definitely going to participate in the team match and lead Saint Teresa Academy to victory. For that purpose, she needed to conserve some mana in order to unleash Excalibur upon my teammates.

Foolish. Conserving all that mana would be for naught if she lost here and was eliminated from the team match. Not that she ever considered that to be a distinct possibility. She was confident that she could best me in a match of swordsmanship alone. If anything happened beyond her calculations, then she could always unleash Excalibur then.

…her confidence was not unfounded. As much as I hated to admit it, I realized that I was horribly outmatched.

\"…five attacks, huh?\"

Judging from our exchange so far, and my current condition, I could only block five more attacks from Kureha. I couldn't tell what would happen after that. Most likely I would collapse…or Kureha's strikes will finally find a way past my gradually crumbling defenses and finish me off once and for all.

To prevent that from occurring, I had to find an opening within the next five attacks and hit her with everything I had.

\"Impossible,\" Kureha repeated as she stared at me. \"You cannot hurt me with such reckless tactics…cannot even put a scratch on me, never mind defeat me.\"

\"Did you just read my mind or something?\" I asked dryly. The Sword Saint shook her head.

\"No. it's just that your intention is clearly written all over your face.\"

\"Hah…\" I sighed heavily as I pushed my glasses up. \"I see.\"

\"Do you honestly think you have a chance, even though you know how bad your condition is?\" Kureha paused for a moment, and then closed her eyes thoughtfully. \"No. you are recklessly charging ahead precisely because of your current state. Your body has reached its limits. You've lost a lot of blood and you have practically no mana left. I shall obliterate you in this next exchange of attacks.\"

\"Right. You can try.\"

What was with all my opponents and their futile attemtps to persuade me to surrender? Were they trying to beat me with Talk no Jutsu or something? Come on, if you want to win, you had to earn your victory.

However, I also knew that Kureha had a point. She was mostly right. It was highly impractical and unlikely that I would win against her. Even if I was in the best of shape, in my peak form, I would still have found her a very difficult opponent to deal with, let alone when I was horribly weakened and drained of mana. It was only my stubbornness that led me to insisting on taking this fight.

With only enough mana left to summon one or two more times, I had to do my best to defeat Kureha with the Constellation swords I had right now, or distract her long enough to retrieve my real swords. The second option was proving challenging, for Kureha had decisively placed herself in the path between me and my real swords.

\"Hmph. I always like a challenge.\"

For a moment, it seemed as if I was lowering my Gemini twin swords in surrender, but I began laughing.

\"I'm sorry, Kureha, but if you want this victory, you'll have to earn it the hard way. I have no intention of just giving up…not when I still have even the slightest chance of victory.\"

\"…understood. I suppose I won't ask for anything less.\"

Then Kureha narrowed her eyes, almost glaring at me.

\"But if that's the case…why are you still holding back?\"

\"I'm not holding back,\" I replied, puzzled. \"It's not as if I intend to participate in the team match or something. I really am using all my strength right now.\"

\"Hmm…really? I must be mistaken then.\" Kureha appeared to muse to herself, and then she shrugged off her doubts. With her free hand, she beckoned me over. \"Let's settle this once and for all, Richard. Come.\"

\"All right then. Resolve yourself.\"

Taking a deep breath, I faced Kureha and reached inwardly for my final trump card. The only move that I could use now that my mana was almost depleted to nothing.

\"Stargazer, unleashed.\"