Chapter 15: The Plane of Euthymia

"What is this place?" Kyouya asked.

"What you're seeing right now is the Plane of Euthymia. This is my realm, completely detached from the real world," Ei replied.

"I see… so what's with the poser I just fought moments ago? And why did you transport me here?"

"The Shogun carries on my duties in the physical realm. I was simply using it to test you. I wasn't going to spar with you myself unless I deemed you worthy."

"Uh huh… pretty nice place you got here… it could use some furnishing though," he chuckled.

"It's fascinating that you can feel comfortable enough to make jokes in my presence. It's been a long time since I've encountered such a… unique individual."

"Oh, sorry! I wasn't trying to be disrespectful or anything."

"Very well. I am quite intrigued by the way you use your sword. It is unlike anything I have seen before. I can definitely see the potential within you."

"Wow… to get complimented by the Electro Archon herself… it's an honor," Kyouya replied while scratching the back of his head.

"That being said… the letter mentioned that you can apparently wield the power of electro as well. Yet in the duel with the Shogun you never used it. Why is that? Was it merely a bluff?" she asked.

"Oh that… I uh.. kinda lose control when I use my electro powers. I haven't figured this out fully yet.."

"I see. But do you truly have those powers without the delusion? I refuse to believe it unless I see for myself," she said as she unsheathed her sword.

"Wait? You want me to show you… right now?" he asked as he gripped the hilt of his sword.

"Of course. Also, do not hold back. Your physical body will not be harmed as long as you are in this realm. So we can duel to our heart's content."

"Okay but what happens if I die here?"

"You come back to life instantly."

"I see… so there's no real risk involved? I like that!"

"You will still feel every bit of the pain,"

Kyouya's smile faded away instantly.

"Are you serious? This is hell. You're just gonna keep killing me over and over, aren't you!"

"How else do you expect to learn, boy?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"I… you're right. I'm sorry," Kyouya said with an apologetic tone.

"Then let's get started," she said as she began walking.

Ei walked to the left, while Kyouya walked to the right, their faces locked in an intense stare.

Both swordsmen silently sized up their opponent, trying to discern their strengths and weaknesses.

Kyouya's heart pounded in his chest as he looked at Ei, searching for an opening to strike.

Meanwhile, Ei's gaze remained steady, an enigmatic smile playing on her lips.

As they circled one another, he couldn't help but feel a little excited yet terrified at the same time.

Suddenly, Ei stopped to draw her sword.

Kyouya did the same, as he took a deep breath.

Ei dashed forth swiftly, her electro infused sword emitting an intense glow.

As she struck, the ground beneath them trembled with the sheer force of her attack.

Kyouya narrowly sidestepped the deadly blow.

Without wasting a second, Ei blinked in and out of Kyouya's vision, teleporting throughout the arena.

She would appear in front of him at unpredictable intervals, her cleaving attacks sending surges of raw power through the air.

Kyouya's reflexes were put to the test as he barely managed to escape each strike with a mix of agility and precision.

"Fucking hell… I used to think I was fast, but not anymore. I feel like a damn turtle compared to this woman," he thought to himself.

"Your reflexes are commendable but remember, I'm not here to teach you how to dodge. When are you going to fight back?" Ei asked as she paused for a bit.

Kyouya assumed a familiar stance, sheathing his sword momentarily to gather his energy.

Like a blizzard unleashed, he dashed forth with blinding speed, leaving a trail of frost in his wake.

He appeared in front of Ei instantly, and drew his sword once more, unleashing a flurry of icy strikes.

Yet, Ei effortlessly parried his strikes, leaving him momentarily bewildered.

Undeterred, he pressed on, using his cryo vision to create icy gusts that obscured his movements.

Ei, in response, began teleporting once again, almost like an elusive mirage.

She countered his attacks with calculated precision, while Kyouya found himself unable to land a single strike despite his senses fully attuned to her lightning-fast movements.

"I can see her, my eyes can track exactly where she's going but… my body simply cannot keep up," he thought to himself.

He couldn't help but feel fascinated at how beautifully she used the sword.

It was as if she embodied the very essence of lightning, fierce and unpredictable.

Ei's skills were unparalleled, and it seemed as though she was always a step ahead of him.

The more he fought, the more he realized the immense gap between them in terms of experience and raw power.

"I'll never beat her like this…"

In that fleeting moment of distraction, Kyouya's thoughts were interrupted by a searing pain in his stomach.

His eyes widened in disbelief as he looked down to see the gleaming blade of Ei's sword protruding from his abdomen.

Gasping for breath, he staggered, clutching his wound.

He couldn't believe how easily Ei had outmaneuvered him, appearing from nowhere with lightning-like speed.

His cryo aura seemed to falter for a brief instant, overcome by the abrupt turn of events.

As the world blurred around him, Kyouya's vision darkened, and he felt himself slipping away, momentarily losing consciousness.

However, in the plane of euthymia, death is not the end. Despite the grave injury, he was revived almost instantly, his injuries healed once again.

Kyouya began breathing heavily as he touched his abdomen, only to realize the wounds were no longer there.

As he looked up, he saw Ei walking towards him again.

He realized that Ei was a true master of her powers, a cunning adversary capable of swift and deadly strikes.

This duel was far from over, and he refused to give in.

So far, he had never met anyone that could keep up with his sheer speed.

This was what he used to win every duel.

But standing before the electro archon, he realized that in his current state he could never beat her.

With sheer determination, he steadied his stance, ready to face Ei once more.

"Stop wasting my time," Ei hissed as she teleported in front of him to strike again.

Her swift movements caught him off guard again. With an electrifying surge, her sword pierced his left leg.

"GAHHHHHHHH!" he screamed in pain.

"Show me your true strength," Ei's voice echoed as the blade drove in deeper. She wanted to see Kyouya's full potential.

The letter from Furina stated that Kyouya could channel the power of electro without a delusion, yet in the entire duel he had not used it even once. So she felt the need to drive him into a corner.

"KILL! KILL! KILL!" the voices in his head began calling out to him again.

"Guess I got no other choice," he mumbled to himself.

"Hmm?" Ei looked up to see his conflicted expression.

Kyouya clenched his teeth and reached for the blade lodged inside his left leg.

Ignoring the searing pain, he yanked it out with unyielding force. An explosion erupted from the release of pent-up energy, forcing both of them to stagger back.

The air was quickly filled with dust, hiding him momentarily.

Through the haze, Ei caught sight of Kyouya's body pulsating with the brilliant glow of electro. The power surged within him, crackling like lightning seeking its path.

Their gazes locked once more, and Ei could sense a different aura from Kyouya.

He had tapped into his electro powers.

"Finally…" she smiled.

"Let's get this show started," Kyouya growled as he dashed forth.

They both began moving with immense speed, blurring in and out of existence, their figures barely visible to the naked eye as they danced across the arena.

The fight seemed to go on forever.

Swords clashed, releasing a symphony of sparks with each strike.

As Kyouya moved to launch a lethal strike, his blade aimed at Ei's heart, he felt a sudden resistance.

His sword was stopped, as he realized some form of shield had enveloped Ei.

He was unable to pierce this barrier of crackling electro energy.

Ei's eyes glinted with a hint of amusement.

Kyouya felt the adrenaline coursing through his veins, his electro powers responding to the surge of emotions that gripped him.

Yet, with every attempt to break through Ei's defenses, he found himself thwarted.

"Hey… that's cheating!" he shouted.

"Hmm? Surely you did not think beating me would be that easy."

Kyouya sprinted forth to strike the shield a few more times before it finally broke off.

Ei pointed her sword towards the skies and summoned a Magatsu Electroculus before her.

"Lightning falls on the land of eternity!" her words echoed throughout the battlefield like a thunderous storm.

The area around her was slowly filling up with an intense electro aura.

Swift as lightning, Kyouya dashed forth, unleashing a flurry of strikes once again.

His sword, infused with electro, clashed with the Magatsu Electroculus, causing brilliant sparks to fly in all directions.

With each powerful strike, his sword sliced through the ethereal device, shattering it into fragments of electric energy.

"Ugh, shattered!" she winced out in pain.

As the Magatsu Electroculus faded away, the electro aura enveloping Ei disappeared instantly, leaving her momentarily vulnerable.

"Gotcha!" Kyouya shouted as he dashed forth.

With the power of lightning coursing through his veins, Kyouya seized the opportunity and surged forward, his strikes landing perfectly on an immobilized Ei.

Each blow carried the force of a tempest, causing Ei to stagger back by the relentless assault.

As Kyouya moved closer for one more strike, Ei retaliated with a fierce strike of her own, launching Kyouya backwards.

"Absurd!" she shouted.

Ei's sword slammed into the earth, unleashing a torrent of crackling lightning bolts that descended upon Kyouya's position like a relentless storm.

"Lightning, obey me!" she roared.

Kyouya dashed backwards to dodge the thunderous strike, while his heart pounded rapidly in his chest.

"This world… a fleeting shadow," she spoke softly as she dashed towards with thunderous speed.

Kyouya parried the strike causing their blades to get caught in a fierce clash.

Their blades were stuck in place, trying to push back one another but he knew he wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer against Ei's raw strength.

"Lightning does not bend to the will of mortals," she whispered, disappearing from his sight again.

Kyouya was awestruck to see that her form had shattered into three similar illusions, each dashing to a different corner of the arena.

"The fuck? She's got more doppelgangers?" he thought to himself as he frantically tried to come up with what he would do next.

The illusions stood in place, unsheathing their swords, and conjured forth a series of ranged projectiles, each crackling with electric intensity as they rapidly closed in on Kyouya from three different directions.

He leaped into the air with uncanny agility to evade the deadly attacks.

His heart pounded with anticipation as he channeled his focus.

Taking a deep breath, Kyouya whispered under his breath.

"Disappear"

This was his finisher. But now it was improved. He had incorporated his newfound electro powers onto the Glacial Surge.

This was now the Lightning Surge.

In an instant, he surged forward, a blur of motion, as he closed the distance between himself and one of the illusions.

Kyouya's blade found its mark, cleaving through the illusion with a lethal strike.

As the fragments of the mirage shattered, Ei's true form was revealed before him. He breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing that he correctly identified the real Ei out of all the illusions.

She staggered back from the strike, momentarily disoriented while Kyouya moved forward to land the finishing blow, ready to end this duel once and for all.

However, in a fleeting moment, Ei's blade severed his right arm, causing him to fall to the ground.

"FUUUUUCK!" he cried in pain as he saw his arm detach from his body.

He fell to the ground, unable to continue any longer.

As the seconds passed like a fleeting eternity, Kyouya's severed arm began to regenerate, healing him fully.

He could still feel the pain to an extent, but his arm had been restored fully.

Ei approached him with grace and crouched down, gently resting her hand upon his shoulder.

"You're ready," she said proudly