Phantom Blade

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Discord Link: KQAtTw9u7x

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Following the incident with the manic Battle Priest. Everyone had returned to the clubroom, Rias currently working on getting her Pawn to think rationally. 

And Akeno on the other hand paying close attention to Takauji, alongside the wound he had sustained from Freed's light bullet. 

"We should've arrived earlier," she said. Confounding the Magician a fair bit. 

"Why? Sure he had a little bit of strength, but he wasn't really anything to worry about." Freed had indeed displayed exceptional physical strength. But was there really much meaning to that if he couldn't use it properly? 

Especially when things as elementary as provocations proved effective on him. He just didn't seem like all that much of an opponent. 

"But… you got hurt." She continued to treat his wound. 

"And? This is a minor wound at most, I'm not a Devil like you guys. Light Magic really doesn't hurt very much." It stung a little when she applied treatment, but that was about it. The bullet hadn't actually managed to enter his shoulder, only grazing it. 

Akeno didn't seem to have a response as she continued to heal him, confusing the Magician even more. 

"Next time I should be able to kill him. I've pretty much got the gist of how he fights now." 

"No." 

"No?" He repeated. 

"There's no need for you to fight him again. We can take care of him." Takauji hummed inquisitively, corking his head in response to the strange look on her face. 

"I think you're overreacting a little." He concluded, causing her to bite down on her lower lip. 

"I'm not overreacting." 

"Mmm. I think you are." He insisted, trying to understand her pained expression. 

"I'm not. I just don't want to see you get injured again." 

"Well that's not going to happen," she raised her head at him. "I want to finish up this fight, and then go fight even stronger people once Freed's dead. Of course I'm going to get injured." 

"I won't allow it," Takauji's eyes seemed to harden a little.

"With all due respect, I don't think that's your decision to make. It's mine." He needed to fight in order to understand the weaknesses, strengths, and possible improvements he could make to his technique. 

To tell him otherwise, was akin to ordering him to stagnate. 

Akeno's clasp on his arm grew tighter, causing him to silently wince a little. 

"But if you're going to be so insistent, then I'll make a deal with you." She looked him in the eyes. "I will kill Freed in one hit, that way he won't have a chance to wound me. Sounds good?" 

"Are you making fun of me?" She didn't appear to be taking the proposition seriously. 

"Nope. Do you not think I can pull it off?" He smiled. 

Her expression started to ease as she took a deep breath. Trying to compose herself again. 

"No, you can do it." She decided to encourage him. Not understanding that he meant his declaration literally. 

"Then it's settled." 

Rias started to clap, gathering the attention of everyone in the room. 

"Issei-kun, Takauji. You both should probably listen to this." They looked at her attentively. "There are two types of Exorcists. One is the type that works for the Angels and God, and receives blessings from them in order to carry out exorcisms. And then there is another type, Stray Exorcists."

Even from just a reputational standpoint, Takauji had found it weird that Freed had so openly created such a desecration. 

"Similar to how Angels can fall as a result of giving in to their own desires. The same can happen for Exorcists, for example their duty to eradicate Devils could turn into an unhealthy obsession that consumes them in the end. And they end up being kicked out of the Church for this." 

"But that's not the end of it, is it?" Takauji beckoned. 

"No, it isn't. Since they have nowhere to go once they lose the Church's backing. They need someone else to act as their support if they survive the Church's attempt to kill them." 

"The Fallen Angels," Issei blurted out. 

"Indeed. Since both parties are against us Devils, it ends up in them collaborating with one another, which is why that Stray Exorcist had Fallen Angels coming to his rescue." 

"Wouldn't that also mean that the Church he visited, isn't an actual Church?" The Magician deduced. 

"Mhm. I imagine it's probably the Fallen Angels base of operations. I'd advise keeping your distance from it." 

"But, I still need to save Asia!" Rias glared at him. 

"If I hear that nun's name out of your mouth one more time. I'm going to start actually getting mad." He couldn't help but stand down. "And even if you were to go, what would you do? They'd kill you on the spot. Like I said, I cannot revive you twice." 

Issei wanted to refute her, but she had a point. Each time he had encountered a Fallen Angel it had led to him getting a one-sided beating, needing Rias to come save him. 

As he was now, he did not have the strength to rescue Asia. 

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Some time had passed since they had returned to the clubroom. And both Kiba and Takauji were currently standing opposite one another, the Knight sporting a befuddled look on his face.

"You want to– spar me?" He hesitated to ask. 

"Yes, there was a certain technique I used against Freed that I want to improve on, and I'd like your help to do it." In truth, the illusionary sword technique was something he had just made on the fly, but to his fortune it had ended up being rather useful. 

Basically giving him a technique that functioned like a Phantom Blade. 

"I'm more than happy to help you believe me, but I really don't understand much about human Magic. I'm not sure I'd be of any assistance."

Takauji could only chuckle. "I'm not talking about the Magic aspect of it, I just need your help correcting my swordsmanship." 

Normally Kiba wouldn't approve of someone not completing all the groundwork before they started sparring, but since they were engaged in a mini-war at the moment, he could make an exception. 

"I see. Sure, I can do that." He agreed, assuming a stance. 

And Takauji made an attempt to mimic it. 

"Remember, keep your back straight." Kiba corrected it, and then the spar began. 

Obviously the Knight intended to hold back, fully aware of how much a greenhorn the Magician was. 

But little did he know, he was in for quite the surprise. 

"What did you do?" He felt a faint pain on his wrist as the tip of Takauji's Shinai somehow managed to whack him. 

It didn't make sense, he had perfectly read the attack. How could he have been hit? 

"I think it's easier to explain it through a demonstration," Takauji took a step back. Gently moving his training sword in a circular motion as Kiba followed the movement with his eyes. 

And then it happened, at the last second the Shinai appeared in a slightly different location than where it was supposed to be. 

"An illusion?" 

"Yes, an illusion. I knew you'd figure it out." The Magician praised. 

"I must admit, that is a rather troublesome technique to deal with. But that makes it all the more effective," Kiba fell into thought. 

"Any advice on how to use it better?" 

"For starters, I think a one-handed grip might suit you better from now on." He suggested.

"Oh?" 

"That technique will require a greater range of movement if you want to aim for your opponents blind spots. So switching to a one-handed stance should allow you to access that range." 

"I see," he did as the Knight instructed him. Waving his Shinai around a little. "Mhm, this does feel a lot better." 

"That's good to hear," Kiba returned to his original stance. "We're short on time so I don't think I'll be able to teach you how to use that grip the conventional way." 

"Of course," meaning he'd have to use the faster way. 

Also known as, getting the living daylight beat out of you until you figure it out. 

For the first solid half hour of sparring, Takauji failed to even meet Kiba's Shinai with his own. Obtaining a sea of bruises all over his arms and hands. 

Getting smacked with dried bamboo again and again, hurts a lot more than one would imagine it to. 

Notwithstanding, he decided to persist. As per usual. 

Freed also made use of a one-handed grip so he could wield his gun in the other hand, and as much as he hated to admit it, the guy's swordsmanship was exceptional. So there were a few learning points he could take from their fight. 

"Are you sure you want to continue?" Thanks to being a Devil, Kiba's stamina was far above Takauji. Making the former looked like he had just gone for a light jog, and the latter a marathon. 

It was only now that Takauji had started to actually make his sword clash with Kiba's. 

"Yes, like you said we're short on time." He swallowed the pain coming from his bruises, intent on getting this technique down. 

"Very well, but do let me know when it becomes too much for you." 

"Sure," that was a straight-up lie. "But do you mind if I try something else out as well?" 

"Be my guest," Kiba welcomed it. 

"Thanks," all of a sudden Takauji's speed increased more than twofold. Surprising Kiba as he started to exert some of his strength in order to meet the momentum of his attack. 

"Don't tell me you made that up on the go as well?" 

"No, I learned this recently." He had just used Mana Step, another technique he absolutely had to perfect. 

Even though his physical stamina was nearing its limit, his Mana reserves were nowhere near depleted. Not only a result of his naturally high reserves, but also because of the fact he didn't yet possess a technique that consumed a large amount of Mana. 

All would come in due time. One needed to learn to walk before they could run after all. 

"Seems handy, but by the looks of things you're not actually able to traverse in any direction other than a straight line," Kiba grinned a little. 

"Sharp as ever." 

Right now the technique could only be used when he had a good amount of distance between himself and the opponent, which was usually before a fight began. 

Or he could use it in order to retreat or get from point A to B, that was about it for now. 

He's not even using his eyes to trace my movements when I use Mana Step. Which means he's able to sense the burst of Mana itself and predict my trajectory based on that, how troublesome. 

However, I wonder if I could mask Mana Step by fusing it with my Darkness affinity once I'm able to. Would it then become Shadow Step or something? 

I suppose there's no use focusing on that right now, I'll get to it once I've finished this technique first. 

Their sparring had continued fairly late into the night, Kiba actually having made some improvements of his own. Which wasn't all that surprising considering that it was his first time dealing with such a strange technique. 

And an incredibly hard one to counter to boot. It basically forced an opponent to make the correct split-second decision twice during every swing. 

One for the original movement of the blade, and another for the sudden change in path. 

If they failed to do so, they would die. No exceptions. 

But eventually Akeno decided to stop their duel, not wanting Kiba to replicate Takauji's tendency to overwork himself. 

There were still plenty of enemies in Kuoh they needed to deal with, being well rested before they encountered them was crucial. 

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It looks like Taka's acquired a pretty handy technique. 

10+ Advance Chapters: patreon.com/Accel14

Discord Link: KQAtTw9u7x

Word Count: 2019