-1330- The strongest strike

"————"

Rozen and Todo Touka stood facing each other, gazing intently, one with a faint smile on his face, the other gripping her Device tightly.

The others had already gathered in the audience, including Ikki, Stella, and Shizuku. Everyone remained silent, watching the scene with full attention.

Clearly, everyone present wanted to know if Rozen truly had a way to counter the family heirloom sword, Raikiri, as Todo Touka claimed.

Of course, both sides had the same thought, but their starting points and conclusions differed.

"Though I don't know what will happen, Rozen will be fine."

"Yeah, he'll be fine."

"If Onii-sama says so, then it should be fine."

Ikki, Stella, and Shizuku thought this way.

"Is that 'Enigmatic Star' really as strong as Touka says?"

"Even though Tomaru and Saijou lost together."

"Oh dear, it's embarrassing."

"No words for that."

Misogi Utakata, Totokubara Kanata, Tomaru Renren, and Saijou Ikazuchi were all curious.

This was probably the battle with the largest audience since Rozen entered Hagun Academy.

Everyone wanted to know if Rozen could become the third person to break Raikiri, and if he could, what method he would use.

Thus, everyone watched intently, not daring to look away even for a moment.

However, little did they know.

What they were about to witness would be the most unbelievable, most incredible scene.

Because, in this battle, Rozen would get somewhat serious.

And so...

"To save time, just use Raikiri on me directly, Touka senpai."

Rozen spoke this way in front of everyone.

"What?"

The crowd in the audience began to buzz.

"Use Raikiri on you directly...?"

Todo Touka's expression also stiffened.

Everyone could understand the implication of this sentence.

It was simple.

"I won't dodge, I won't evade, and I won't stop you from activating your Noble Art. I'll just stand here and wait."

Rozen smirked casually.

"Just use Raikiri on me directly, that way it saves both energy and mana, and we don't need any unnecessary fighting, right?"

Rozen explained to Todo Touka.

Considering that Touka had already fought both Ikki and Stella separately, and that her purpose was to see if Rozen could break Raikiri, this was indeed more efficient and wouldn't place an additional burden on her.

Everyone understood Rozen's intention, but his words still elicited some reactions.

"Won't dodge, won't evade, and won't stop the activation of the Noble Art?"

"Isn't that a bit too confident?"

People murmured to each other.

It should be noted that Rozen was about to face not some third-rate Noble Art, but the so-called strongest draw technique, the family heirloom sword—Raikiri.

Even though Ikki and Stella had broken it, Raikiri's undefeated reputation still remained, not to be underestimated.

Facing such a powerful technique, declaring that he wouldn't dodge, wouldn't evade, and wouldn't stop Touka's activation seemed a bit too dismissive.

Now, Rozen gave the impression that he had seen the limits of Raikiri, thinking that because others had broken it, it wasn't a big deal, and he could look down on it.

Only Todo Touka grew more and more serious, finally taking a deep breath and nodding.

"Understood."

Touka agreed concisely.

Immediately...

"Boom————!"

In a loud burst of air, Touka's entire body lit up, radiating an intense brilliance.

The light came from endless lightning, like countless bolts of electricity crackling, erupting from Touka's body.

Touka slowly lowered her body, placing the scabbard at her side, and grasped the handle of her sword, assuming a drawing stance.

All the lightning on her body seemed to be absorbed, gathering into the scabbard.

Oppressive mana surged from within.

The momentum was stronger than any previous time.

"...!"

Ikki, Stella, and Shizuku were instantly moved.

"Oh? Touka (President) is getting serious?"

Misogi Utakata, Totokubara Kanata, Tomaru Renren, and Saijou Ikazuchi all thought.

"What's going on?" Stella leaned forward, astonished. "Why does this move seem much stronger than when we faced her before?"

"Indeed, it seems more powerful than when she fought my dear brother and you," Shizuku also frowned and muttered. "Could it be that the Student Council President held back in the previous duels?"

The two girls began to speculate.

However, Ikki, who was closely watching the scene, shook his head in denial.

"No, Touka senpai didn't hold back in the previous fights. She's just going all out in this one."

Ikki made this statement.

"Going all out?"

Stella and Shizuku immediately looked at Ikki.

Ikki continued to watch the scene, feeling the stronger aura, mana, and lightning than before, and said solemnly.

"Previously, when fighting against me and Stella, Touka senpai used Raikiri while greatly enhancing her physical abilities with Shippu Jinrai, right?"

This was to ensure that Raikiri would hit its target accurately, allowing her to approach the opponent without them being able to react or escape, bringing them within her striking distance.

Otherwise, if she initiated Raikiri without being close enough, the opponent could evade or escape, making Raikiri ineffective.

Therefore, to ensure Raikiri's successful execution, Touka needed to enhance her physical abilities to quickly approach her enemy or catch them off guard, ultimately cutting them down with Raikiri.

Thus, in previous battles, Touka used both Raikiri and Shippu Jinrai simultaneously.

But this time...

"Since Rozen declared that he wouldn't dodge, evade, or prevent Raikiri from being activated, Touka senpai had no worries. She didn't need to activate Shippu Jinrai and could focus all her mana and lightning into Raikiri, unleashing her strongest strike."

Ikki spoke gravely.

"So, that's why this move is much stronger than when we faced her?" Stella understood.

"This is also that man reaping what he sowed, isn't it?" Shizuku criticized.

Rozen naturally knew why the momentum of Touka's Raikiri was much greater than before.

But...

"Good, this makes it interesting."

Not only was Rozen not surprised, but he also seemed genuinely intrigued, his eyes lighting up.

His magical power began to flow, causing the arcing electricity around him to sweep past his body and towards Touka, merging with the violent lightning in the arena.

Touka gathered all her power, concentrating it in the sword scabbard at her waist.

Then...

"I'm coming, Rozen."

Touka lifted her head, her gaze becoming sharp.

"Bring it on."

Rozen responded straightforwardly.

In the next moment...

"Bang!"

With a loud stomping sound, Touka, now infused with all her mana and lightning, charged towards Rozen.

Her figure appeared right in front of Rozen.

At this instant, Rozen entered Touka's striking distance.

"Raikiri!"

Touka, without any hesitation, unleashed the slash from her waist.

"————"

The training ground was enveloped in a blinding light.

A dazzling lightning bolt streaked through the space, like a white flash scorching the world, stirring the atmosphere and evaporating the air currents, slashing towards Rozen.

The strongest strike, imbued with all of Touka's power, blossomed at this moment.

In an instant, it landed on Rozen.

"Boom————!"

A thunderous roar erupted.

The combat zone shattered.