-1267- [ Ittou Shura ]

This is the first time Ikki has felt fear when facing someone's sword.

Ikki, after all, is a knight and a swordsman. Moreover, due to his past experiences, he rarely had the opportunity to engage in actual combat with powerful opponents, and no one has ever been willing to teach him swordsmanship.

If a remarkably skilled swordsman were to appear before him and be prepared to teach Ikki their skills through actual combat, then, given Ikki's personality, he would probably have been excited and ecstatic by now due to the excitement and exhilaration.

Just like when he first sparred with Rozen, Ikki felt equally happy. Such an opportunity is extremely rare for Ikki.

Given this, under normal circumstances, Ikki should be ecstatic, or even immersed in a state of excitement and enthusiasm due to being able to spar with a formidable opponent and demonstrate his extraordinary abilities.

However, this time, Ikki doesn't feel any joy at all, only fear.

It's precisely because Ikki understands swords that he can see through Altera's sword and grasp its essence.

There's absolutely no sense of order in it, only existence for the purpose of killing enemies. Apart from the relentless pursuit of efficiency, there's no second characteristic to Altera's swordsmanship.

It's as if Ikki can see a battlefield strewn with corpses, as if he can see Altera charging across the grassland, and the sharpness on her sword seems to carry a bloodthirstiness that makes Ikki shiver uncontrollably.

Therefore, for the first time in his life, Ikki feels fear towards a swordsman.

This is not swordsmanship at all, but a butcher's knife used for killing in the truest sense.

Such swordsmanship can only exist on the battlefield and nowhere else.

Ikki understands this, hence his trembling in the presence of Altera.

Ikki doesn't know who Altera really is, let alone her origins.

But Ikki is certain...

(She is definitely more terrifying than we imagined.)

Only this point is certain.

With that said...

(Let me learn her sword?)

As this thought flashed through his mind, Ikki inexplicably felt resistance.

Not because Ikki has any aversion to Altera's sword, nor because he believes there's no reason or necessity to learn such a sword.

Ikki is well aware that Blazers are not athletes; they are also required to go into battle, to kill for their country. Otherwise, there would be no talk of protecting the nation, fighting for the nation, and standing on the world stage.

In that case, Altera's sword is a valuable power for Ikki.

If he can learn it, then Ikki's strength will definitely undergo a transformation, allowing him to become a true Blazer who can flourish on the battlefield.

But...

(Can I really learn this kind of sword?)

Ikki, who possesses the ability of Blade Steal for the first time, begins to question his ability to learn.

There are two reasons for this.

One is that Altera's sword has no techniques or principles to speak of. Each move, each action, each rise and fall, each swing and slash, all follow the trajectory most likely to kill the enemy.

It may seem chaotic, but it's incredibly practical. Trying to peer into its depths, understand its principles, and then explore its essence, steal it, or even develop a higher level of sword from it is simply impossible.

The other reason is that this kind of sword not only requires knowing how to wield it but also needs to have a heart that is always on the battlefield, abandoning the innocence and purity of human nature.

To be like a machine, always remain calm and ruthless, only then can one master this way of fighting; otherwise, it's just having swordsmanship without being able to fully unleash the terrifying power that makes enemies fear and dread.

The so-called "no technique defeats technique" might just be referring to this realm.

If that's the case, can Ikki, who can only imitate the swordsmanship of others, really learn this kind of sword?

(Can I become like her, seemingly capable of destroying and ravaging everything?)

For Ikki, who has a gentle personality and strives for improvement, this is simply extremely difficult.

And just thinking about how he couldn't even successfully learn the only swordsmanship he could rely on, eventually leading to no gain at all, makes Ikki even more fearful, feeling as if all the wounds on his body have lost sensation, and his body has become as cold as ice.

In this situation, Altera continues to swing her sword coldly and mercilessly.

"Splurt!" "Splurt!" "Splurt!"

The sound of rainbow-colored light swords cutting through flesh became even more frequent, splattering even more blood from Ikki who was caught in the storm of slashes, making his body look even more horrific, covered in wounds.

"Onii-sama...!"

Shizuku's voice, full of worry, fear, and panic, kept echoing in Ikki's ears.

(I must look miserable now, right?)

Ikki thought to himself, feeling even his breathing becoming irregular.

Ikki's ability is the most common Physical Ability Enhancement type.

He can double his physical abilities, achieving a doubling effect, surpassing ordinary people.

This is considered the most inferior ability among Blazers.

Because Blazers generally don't need to strengthen their physical abilities excessively; as long as they release magical power, like with "Mana Release," to enhance their attacks, defense, and even speed, they can achieve much better effects than physical ability enhancement.

Many Blazers are like this. When using magical power, their physical abilities are not just doubled, but can reach as high as three or four times. Types with exceptionally outstanding magical power, like Stella Vermillion, can even achieve five or six times the enhancement, far surpassing Ikki's ability.

In other words, as long as they are Blazers, anyone can enhance their physical abilities solely with magical power, and even enhance them by more multiples. Ikki's ability is just a degraded version, and he can't even use magic casually due to his poor magical power, so even if Ikki's physical ability reaches A-rank and is doubled by his ability, it's only about the same level as ordinary Blazers.

Having abilities similar to ordinary Blazers, Ikki's disadvantage against Blazers with various outstanding abilities is self-evident.

Now, Ikki has already used his own ability, but he can't make any counterattacks against the storm of slashes before him.

As Rozen said, Ikki really has nothing but his sword.

Now, even his sword is suppressed, what else can Ikki do?

(No! I can still give it my all!)

Ikki's eyes reignited with fighting spirit.

Kurogane Ikki's life is about constantly putting everything on the line to surpass his limits.

If he doesn't do that, he simply can't defeat anyone.

Such Ikki...

(Even if I have to lose, even if I have to die, I'll give it my all first and then...!)

With this determination, Ikki resisted his inner fear and let out a silent shout.

At this moment, a cerulean flame-like brilliance burst forth from Ikki's body.

"Ittou Shura!"

At this moment, Ikki finally unleashed his full power.

"Boom!"

Amidst the roaring sound, the air around Ikki exploded, turning the cerulean flame-like brilliance into a storm that swept up from his body.