110. Sparring Against Hiiro Part 2
"Nyohohoho. As far as I know, Lord Izumi is the strongest person I've ever met."
Silvan said with a laugh. Silvan's true identity is a Pheom, which is a race that can sense a person's magic power when that person uses magic. He didn't tell Liliyn because Izumi's magic power was so tremendous that others would find it ridiculous.
"Is that true, Silvan?" Liliyn frowned. How could such a strong person be unheard of?
"Yes young lady, at first, I also doubted that he had that much magic power. But, I thought I should believe my instinct."
Liliyn grabbed the back of his collar and said,
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Lord Izumi doesn't have any bad intentions. I can feel it. So I don't need to say that to scare the young lady. However, seeing Lord Izumi gets along very well with Lord Hiiro. There's nothing wrong with saying that." Silvan stated. Silvan didn't want to say it for fear of offending Izumi. But he changed his mind after finding out that Hiiro and Izumi were getting along quite well.
"But my teacher will not lose. My teacher is also strong!" Nikki couldn't believe that her powerful teacher would lose. It couldn't be helped, Nikki was still a kid, so it was only natural that she felt that her teacher was the most powerful person after five months of traveling with him.
Meanwhile at the training ground. Hiiro who was facing Izumi started to put on a serious face.
"I want to ask you something!" said Hiiro.
"I might know what you want to ask. But I'm not going to tell you right now. This isn't the time yet." Izumi answered Hiiro as if he was looking at him despite wearing a blindfold.
"Is that so?"
Izumi didn't respond and simply gestured for Hiiro to come forward using his hand.
Hiiro wrote the word 'Kasoku' which means acceleration and 'Hayai' which means fast to his body. Not only that, but he also added the word 'Tsuyoi' which means strong. By using the Word Magic, Hiiro's acceleration, speed, and strength were doubled. Too bad his magic couldn't be duplicated, it was probably to prevent his body from being burdened. This was because if he used excessive strength, his body would not be able to bear it. However, he could still use Word Magic continuously. For example, if the effect of 'Hayai' only lasted one minute, he could write it again without waiting for the cooldown.
Hiiro moved swiftly towards Izumi while writing 'Juuryoku' which means gravity. Then the word magic was thrown by Hiiro to Izumi who was standing motionlessly.
Izumi thought it was attack magic, so he just thrust his sword forward to destroy it. However, the word magic seemed to be melted once it touched the sword. Afterward, it took an immediate effect.
Feeling double the gravity, Izumi actually felt delighted instead. He wanted to experience gravity training just like the Saiyans in the dragon ball anime. But if only doubling gravity was all Hiiro could do, Izumi might be a little disappointed.
Hiiro felt that the gravity was enough to make Izumi's movements slow down. But he didn't know that gravity couldn't put pressure on Izumi yet.
Hiiro moved forward and tried to thrust his katana into Izumi's right leg.
*clank*
Clashing swords resounded.
Hiiro was really shocked. The gravity should have slowed Izumi down. However, it didn't seem so. Izumi even deflected Hiiro's katana in that state.
Izumi swung his sword casually from the bottom to the top, and Hiiro who saw this immediately jumped back to dodge it.
Hiiro's Word Magic has restrictions on each word. For example, if Hiiro wrote 'Shi' which meant death required compensation from Hiiro. It could have shortened Hiiro's lifespan or even his life. So Hiiro couldn't just use his Word Magic without thinking about the consequences. Hiiro's shape-shifting magic could last forever, but when it came to nature or physical laws, Hiiro's magic could only last for at least a minute.
Hiiro wrinkled his forehead. He didn't expect that even though Izumi was under the effects of gravity, he could still move swiftly. And it is as if Izumi had also deliberately received the magic released by Hiiro. While Hiiro was thinking of a way to deal with Izumi, he heard Izumi say.
"Hehe, if you don't want to get hurt badly, you better start getting serious from now on, Hiiro!" Izumi curled his lip upward, then revealed a ferocious smile.
Hiiro narrowed his eyes while holding his katana with his right hand.
Izumi suddenly dashed in front of Hiiro while swinging his sword at Hiiro's hip. Even though Izumi didn't use his sword art, Snow Sword, his techniques with the sword were so formidable as if he created the techniques after using the Snow Sword art many times. And even worse for Hiiro, Izumi still hadn't used up his spiritual energy.
Hiiro reacted quickly and used his katana to block Izumi's slash. Unfortunately, with a considerable difference in strength, Hiiro was dragged off the training ground by Izumi.
Hiiro's hands went numb after enduring the attack. He took a deep breath and released it to relieve his tension. Hiiro watched Izumi closely. He was sure that the effects of his magic were still there, but his movements were still fairly fast in Hiiro's eyes. And more importantly, Izumi was still wearing the blindfold.
The moment when Hiiro observed him, the effects of the Word Magic had disappeared from Izumi's body. Hiiro wrote several Magic Words on his body and instantly activated them. Izumi knew that Hiiro was using his magic, but Izumi allowed him to use the magic to keep up with him.
"Ah, the effect has worn off, Hiiro. It won't do you any good. Hehehe." Izumi grinned evilly.
Izumi swiftly moved forward and swung his sword to strike down diagonally.
*Clank*
However, Izumi didn't stop, he performed a diagonal rising cut from the bottom left.
*Dang*
Magic and a sword clashed while producing a loud sound. It was fortunate enough that Hiiro's magic was able to reflect Izumi's attack.
Hiiro immediately jumped backward while his sweat started to pour. His heart beat even faster because of that.
"That was close." Hiiro murmured.
Meanwhile, Izumi let out a smile. He had not expected Hiiro to think of a way to deal with Izumi's attack. Izumi tried to attack him once again with even greater force by imbuing his spiritual energy into the sword.
*Dang*
A clanging sound resounded again. To think that barrier could withstand after he increased the output of his power. Perhaps, even if Izumi used his full power, it was still not enough to destroy that barrier.
However…
"You really are so creative, Hiiro! But…"
Izumi's aura changed. His strength soared while his sword started to glow. Everyone felt terrified by the aura that he just unleashed.
"I won't be using my full strength. But, it's better if you survive after this, Hiiro!"
Izumi took a stance, gripping his sword hilt tightly with both hands. He fully extended his hands while holding his sword above his head. He kept his elbows slightly bent as he raised the sword over his head.
When the blade almost reached a horizontal position, he stopped his backswing and held it in place. Then, he swung his sword in a single fluid motion.
*Dang*
Once again, the barrier and the sword clashed. But still, Izumi couldn't break the barrier.
"Aghhh."
However, Izumi's attack contained an invisible force that could get through the absolute defense barrier. As a result, Hiiro was affected by that force even though the barrier could protect him from any physical or elemental attacks.
It was a soul attack. Izumi was able to perform a soul attack due to the Jade-Rank internal skill that he trained to the third level in the past few months. The good thing is, an attack like that would be very useful against Logia-type Devil Fruit users. Izumi couldn't wait to raise the internal skill level to the highest level.
Meanwhile, Hiiro fell to his knees while spitting out a mouthful of blood. He didn't expect that something could get through his absolute defense.
Izumi already calculated that his attack could only hurt Hiiro. Not to kill him. However, Izumi's attacks were still considered quite dangerous for anyone who had not trained their souls.