23 Chapter 23 - Elemental Burst
Purple lightning struck from beyond a small rift in the sky, briefly halting the charge of the wizened Ronin. The Pyro flames coating the rogue Samurai's blade reacted with the lightning and exploded, forcing him to stumble. Sparks jumped across the grass like miniature fleeing rabbits.
Blade sheathed in flickering lightning that crackled with fervor, Ivan darted forward. He slashed at the opponent's neck.
The Ronin stomped the ground and recovered from flinching. His sword flicked upward and deflected the attack. A small Overload explosion shook both of their bones and burned their skin.
Not even a second later, Ivan widened his eyes upon seeing the Ronin's blade careening toward his own neck. His heartbeat soared. On defensive instinct, he took one hand off his sword handle and opened his constellation. Time froze.
Sighing with relief, he stared at the flaming sword floating millimeters away from his neck. His heart hammered behind his ribcage. Elemental particles surged through his veins like the crackle of static electricity.
'That was close,' He thought.
Eyes narrowing into a sharp and focused state, he leaned forward until fully below the sword's path. Just in case, he also pulled his sword up and angled it to deflect the opponent's blade further over his head. Then, he closed his constellation.
Time resumed. The Ronin's sword nicked Ivan's Dull Blade and whipped over his head with a sharp whistle. The power of the blow nearly knocked him over, but he held his ground.
At the same time, the Ronin raised his brows, but then pulled his sword back down in another powerful swing. However, in the next moment of his perception, Ivan's upper half moved out of the way in an instant. His Dull Blade stabbed into a gap of the Ronin's armor. It barely pierced his skin, though.
"Hm. Interesting."
Skin tingling at the man's eerily calm tone of voice, Ivan suddenly widened his eyes. This time, the Ronin's sword turned into a blur, giving Ivan no time to open his constellation. The flaming blade slashed through from his shoulder to his waist. With enough force to push back an elephant in the Ronin's attack, Ivan flew backward into the dirt.
Ignoring the pain thanks to his countless near-death experiences, Ivan rolled back to his feet. He briefly glanced down at his clothes. Blood seeped out through the torn fabric, but the attack did not cut all the way through to his organs.
Seeing the Ronin charging at him again, he raised his sword.
'Timing the constellation is difficult. Takes me out of the flow of battle, too.'
Sensing the surging elemental particles wanting to burst out from his body, Ivan focused on the instinctive understanding he had gained over Electro.
'Let it burst.'
Air crackled around him. Purple sparks exploded from his body. Dozens of small cracks in space split open around him. Lightning surged forth from beyond and arced around his entire body until only a blinding and crackling storm could be seen. The Ronin's sword swinging at Ivan slowed and bounced back due to the surging Electro element bursting from his body.
The next moment, the Ronin's eyes widened. Bright and surging Electro energy stormed outward and pierced his abdominal armor. A massive lightning blade propelled and pierced him against the cliffside dozens of meters behind. Due to his durable body, it did not slice him in half, but he could not help grunting at the numbing pain.
Then, the Electro blade dissipated and retreated back toward Ivan. Swirling arcs of lightning danced around him like a shield while he pulled the blade back toward him. His Dull Blade unsummoned. In its place, the remaining Electro energy from the attack coalesced into two swords. In his right hand, he held a crackling lightning blade that looked like a dual-pronged Western-style sword of some sort. In his left hand, he held a buzzing defensive arm-blade that looked somewhat like a larger version of the blades used by Fatui assassins. Bright violet sparks flashed around Ivan's eyes, hiding them under a layer of sparkling luminescence.
Briefly distracted by the unusually conspicuous Elemental Burst, Thoma, Shinobu, Itto, and even their remaining opponents couldn't help being distracted by it.
"Haha! What a flashy guy! I won't be outdone!" Itto exclaimed. Yellow Geo element energy gathered around his club. It then burst and smashed the nearest Ronin. Dust flew everywhere, and so did the Ronin. Only a crater remained under Itto's club.
Thoma gulped upon seeing that, but Shinobu simply sighed and shook her head.
At the same time, the Iwakura Ronin quietly observed Ivan's Elemental Burst, something that only people particularly attuned to the elements could accomplish. His head nodded in appreciation, but then he charged forward as though nothing had changed.
Ahead, Ivan's figure cloaked in lightning flickered. It disappeared in a burst of violet sparks and reappeared several steps closer. Each step morphed into a dash of sparks that seemingly crossed the barrier of space itself.
"Hm?!"
The Ronin's eyes widened under his helmet. Opposite him, Ivan vanished in a torrent of sparks. On instinct, he swung his blade to the side. His large katana morphed into a blur of metal and flames to block a flurry of Electro-imbued sword strikes. Numerous bolts of lightning shot out from within the void of small cracks in space hovering behind Ivan. Each bolt struck at a smaller scale than Ivan's Ray of Remembrance, but the sheer number of lightning bolts rapidly whittled away the Ronin's armor and charred his flesh underneath.
"A straightforward yet overbearing skill… It fits well with our sword art," The Ronin grumbled when Ivan flickered out of sight again.
In the eyes of others, most of what filled their vision of the duel was a barrage of lightning cascading at the Iwakura Ronin from various and constantly shifting directions. A cacophony of metal clangs and Overload bursts echoed out as a chorus of battle.
"Is Ivan really that strong? The difference before and after his burst is way too drastic," Thoma mumbled to himself. Several unconscious Ronin laid silent on the ground around him covered in burns. Nearby, Itto happily pummeled the rest with Kuki Shinobu's aid.
Meanwhile, Ivan himself thought something similar. The moment he used his Elemental Burst for the first time, he couldn't believe how naturally it came to him. Although his body did not perfectly follow the visions in his head of how to use the burst, mixing the powerful and precise Iwakura Sword Arts with the wild and chaotic attacks his new swords imparted to him only took a few seconds. He had never been overly talented in anything, yet using Electro came so easy.
He darted around the Ronin.
Sliced a few times here with the double-bladed sword held in his right hand. It crackled and screeched with every attack as if unwilling to be forgotten by those who saw it or heard it.
Deflected the Ronin's counters a few times there with the arm blade held in his left hand. It buzzed constantly as though never wanting to fade away.
The swords' names echoed in the back of his mind.
After each flurry of attacks, he dashed away in a burst of electricity, practically fusing with Electro itself, only to reappear in an eruption of sparks and attack from a new position.
His muscles and bones creaked and ached, and his stomach churned as though his illnesses were acting up, yet he carried on the relentless barrage.
Gradually, the energy maintaining his current state faded away. He didn't know how long it lasted. Even though he felt the time was unusually long for a burst, he didn't feel like it was long enough. His body disagreed, though.
The violet lightning flashing around him dissipated. His two swords buzzed and trembled as though unwilling to leave his hands, but without a supply of energy, they could only retreat back into his hands as small sparks. In their place, his Dull Blade reappeared.
As soon as his Elemental Burst ended, he felt a sharp pain deep in his gut. He instantly fell to his knees. Then, he puked.
Only a few meters away, the Ronin, now covered in burns and lacerations, faced Ivan quietly. He stepped forward with heavy steps.
Wiping bile from his lips with his sleeve, Ivan struggled to his feet. He swayed a little, but raised his blade. It shook within his grip, but his eyes remained firm.
"Good resolve," The Iwakura Ronin said, his voice deep and stoic. "It's not bad. Not bad at all."
The older Ronin stopped directly in front of Ivan. His katana twirled until its point faced the ground. He then fell to his knees. His sword stabbed the earth. In the eye slits of his oni mask, his eyes dilated and darkened.
"Well fought, young one. This old man will rest now."
The Ronin never spoke again. The mostly unknown and oldest living member of the Iwakura Clan passed on in the way he desired on this day.
