Faced with such a phenomenon, Satsuki's expression was as calm as drifting snow. She stood with her hands clasped behind her back, her bearing vast and majestic. Within her golden eyes was a lofty, all-encompassing tolerance.
Within the vortex formed by the sword wind, Ena Seishuin's gaze toward Satsuki grew increasingly guarded and brimming with fighting intent.
Though the other party made no movement, the keen instincts Ena had honed in the wilderness warned her without pause: the person before her was by no means easy to contend with. A single misstep, and she would be defeated in an instant.
Ena tightened her grip on the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, angling the tip upward. Beneath that invisible pressure, a powerful killing intent spilled from her involuntarily.
—She knew she could not wait any longer.
Though she called it a spar, if she did not harbor the resolve to strike the opponent down utterly, she likely would not even be able to launch a charge.
"Haaah—"
The astonishing killing intent shot straight toward Satsuki's face. Even before the divine sword reached her, it had already lifted her black hair.
The corners of Satsuki's lips curved faintly. Her figure neither dodged nor retreated. Only when the black Kusanagi blade descended from above and was about to cleave through her body did she lean back ever so slightly, unhurriedly, avoiding the sweeping edge at precisely the right moment. The razor-sharp blade split the air, and the surging pressure made the gems adorning her clothing rattle with a sharp clatter.
When the first strike missed, Ena immediately reversed her grip and altered her stance. Spinning in place, she carried the blade through the air in a returning slash toward Satsuki.
However, in that very instant, one of Satsuki's hands suddenly shot out. Her palm turned into a blade, striking Ena's sword-wielding wrist with a movement that arrived later yet struck first.
So fast!
Despite her exceptional dynamic vision, Ena could not react in time to that utterly unheralded, almost supernatural blow. Her wrist went numb, and she nearly lost her grip on the sword.
With a single-handed motion, Satsuki flipped her palm and struck toward Ena's chest. Though she used no special power or ability, merely the most minimal exertion of force sent Ena staggering back several steps.
What kind of monster is she? My charge couldn't even force her to move?
Shock flooded Ena's heart. In that fleeting exchange, the gap between them had already been revealed.
Even so, after recognizing this fact, Ena's eyes still grew ferocious in an instant—like a beast returning to the mountains.
The next moment, without yielding an inch, she kicked off the ground and thrust forward with her magnificent tachi.
Facing the razor-sharp assault of the divine sword, Satsuki remained as steady as Mount Tai.
As the blade lunged forward, in a flash of lightning Satsuki's Tenseigan saw through the trajectory of the sword technique. She extended her right hand and caught the black blade between just two fingers.
She was using her fingers to oppose the Kusanagi no Tsurugi!
Seeing this, Ena immediately attempted to twist the sword in her grip. She refused to believe that the strength of one arm could not overpower two fingers. As long as she could rotate the blade, Satsuki's fingers would inevitably be severed by the divine edge.
Yet at the very moment that thought formed—
Satsuki's figure drifted like the wind. With a casual motion, a pulling force transmitted through the blade in her grasp, instantly breaking Ena's balance. It was as though she had thrown Ena away using nothing but two fingers.
In her moment of shock, Ena spun midair and adjusted her posture, landing behind Satsuki.
Though her expression did not change, her heart was shaken to the core.
"Guiding the sword's momentum."
This was a technique achievable only through exquisite control over the power of swordsmanship and insight beyond that of ordinary people. The principle sounded simple—like tai chi, using the opponent's force against them.
But force itself was intangible and formless. How could one judge whether a move truly carried strength, or how much strength it contained? What if the opponent altered their exertion midway? These were not things that could be easily discerned.
To accomplish what Satsuki had just done, one had to determine all of this in an instant, then follow the flow of the opponent's sword momentum.
When her two fingers clamped onto the blade, she had not resisted head-on at all. Instead, she applied a lateral force in the direction from which the sword came, deflecting the blade outward. Then, borrowing the power of Ena's charge, she destroyed her stance and finally flung her away.
This was a realm an ordinary person could never reach in a lifetime.
But for the current Satsuki, such a mythical technique was nothing more than something she could perform at will.
After two rounds of fruitless attacks, Ena stood at a distance and drew in a deep breath. She now understood that she had to increase her reaction speed if she wished to contend with the opponent before her.
Ordinary people naturally lacked the ability to drastically enhance such physical qualities in the midst of battle—but Ena possessed such a technique.
She assumed a stance. Rising lightly onto the balls of her feet, every muscle in her body settled into a state between relaxation and tension. Her posture lowered slightly, and her gaze upon Satsuki emptied, as though she were absent-minded.
This did not rely on physical function, but on her long-trained spirit. Crude samurai depended on their muscles, but as the foremost Tachi Hime-Miko, she knew that spiritual discipline, martial training, and powerful arms combined formed an invincible trinity.
A keen sense for combat, harsh martial cultivation, and a simple instinct for danger allowed Ena, in this stance, to act faster than nerve reflex. What aided her defense was not merely her body—but her mind as well.
In this posture, Ena could evade in an instant, even before she herself became aware of it.
This was the secret ultimate art—Mirror Heart Bright Mirror Style · Action Before Thought.
"Oh? You've finally taken a stance?"
Satsuki watched with interest as Ena's condition changed abruptly. Yet in the instant that the divine sword in Ena's hand flashed, the black blade swept before her eyes like a strip of cloth, a swath of darkness slicing down with overwhelming momentum and astonishing speed.
Satsuki's heart stirred. At the critical juncture, she suddenly pivoted to the side. The black blade grazed her cheek and fell straight past her chest, the immense sword pressure cleaving directly into the ground and carving out a slender fissure so deep its bottom could not be seen.
Ena did not pause after delivering such a strike. The blade that had landed swept across the ground in a half-circle, finally forcing Satsuki to lift one foot, as if preparing to retreat half a step to avoid the edge.
Seeing that she had driven back Satsuki's footing, Ena pressed her advantage. Her body shot forward like a spring, sliding in a single step to Satsuki's rear. Before the foot that had been forced back could land, she slashed diagonally from behind.
Yet Satsuki's raised foot did not fall. Instead, it snapped outward in a sideways kick, as though she had long anticipated Ena's appearance behind her. Before the blade could reach her, her foot had already struck toward Ena's abdomen.
At the crucial moment, Ena could only pull her sword back in defense, forcibly blocking the kick with the hilt of the Kusanagi no Tsurugi.
Her figure flickered again, arriving at Satsuki's side. But just as the intent to attack rose within her, Satsuki's elbow strike was already descending once more.
Ena was forced to shift positions again.
And Satsuki sealed off her offense yet again with an even earlier motion!
This lightning-fast exchange left almost no interval between movements. The speed surpassed the limits of ordinary perception, to the extent that several afterimages of Ena even appeared in the air.
Yet even with Action Before Thought, after repeatedly forcing evasions, Ena ultimately found herself unable to avoid the blow. Once again, she was kicked flying.
Those afterimages of Ena were struck as well, blasted away simultaneously through the air.
"Ugh~"
This time, she could not even adjust her posture midair. She rolled across the ground several times before managing to rise in a disheveled state.
To suffer such a crushing defeat in the very swordsmanship she was most proud of—Ena could hardly believe it.
She was certain her speed had reached its limit, and her changes of form bore no forewarning. Even great masters of certain sword schools would have been unable to withstand that move.
Yet the other party had still launched a counterattack ahead of her motions with effortless ease, dismantling her assault in an instant.
Only someone who utterly surpassed her in the realm of swordsmanship could achieve such a feat.
Then the answer was already clear.
With reverence written across her face, she looked toward Satsuki, her voice trembling with an indescribable excitement.
"Miss Satsuki, have you already reached the realm of the Sword Saint?"
The Sword Saint?
Satsuki neither confirmed nor denied Ena's question. She stood steadily where she was, her demeanor as composed as ever.
"Will you continue?" she asked softly.
"Of course."
Ena met her gaze without yielding. Even if her opponent stood at a higher realm of swordsmanship, she would never compromise lightly.
No—rather than refusing to yield, it was more accurate to say that for any practitioner of the sword, the chance to witness a living Sword Saint and cross blades with her was a blessing worth dying for the same day one heard of it.
"That look—good!" Satsuki regarded her. "If this were merely a spar, the outcome would already be decided. If we continue, it will no longer be so simple as determining victory or defeat."
"I understand..."
Ena raised the Kusanagi no Tsurugi with both hands and bowed toward Satsuki. It signified her acknowledgment that Satsuki's swordsmanship surpassed her own—and served as a reminder that she was about to employ power beyond the realm of pure swordsmanship.
Immediately afterward, the Tachi Hime-Miko planted the Kusanagi no Tsurugi into the ground.
The Kusanagi no Tsurugi. A tachi with a blade length of three shaku, three sun, and five bu.
The blade was a simple single-edged weapon, straight and without curvature. Its black surface seemed to absorb all light.
Yet the aura of nobility and dominance it exuded was more than worthy of being called a king's armament.
"Miss Satsuki, both my partner and I acknowledge your strength. Even my grandfather has just now praised your ability without reservation. If he had encountered you before me, perhaps the master of this Kusanagi no Tsurugi would have been you instead..."
There was even a trace of regret in Ena's tone. After witnessing Satsuki's realm, she had begun to doubt whether she herself was truly qualified to continue wielding the blade.
What a pure girl.
Satsuki bore no dislike toward such a maiden. She smiled lightly and shook her head.
"Each person has their own fate. That this Kusanagi no Tsurugi accompanies you is the result of your intertwined destinies. Besides, it is not as though I lack a sword of my own."
"Then—may I have the honor of seeing the Sword Saint's blade?"
"That depends on whether Miss Ena's next display of strength is enough to make me draw it."
"Is that so?"
With those words, Ena extended her right hand and pressed her index finger against the edge of the Kusanagi no Tsurugi.
At once, the skin split and blood welled forth.
She then pressed that bloodied finger into the empty air before her. Divine sigils immediately manifested across the void.
The sky darkened at once. Darkness began to dominate the surroundings.
The sun that reigned in the heavens was entirely blotted out. Around the pitch-black disc, a white corona emerged.
It was as if a total solar eclipse had descended.
And a fierce wind began to blow.
A wind so strong it felt capable of sweeping one's body away, of slicing open skin.
"Chihayafuru... Uji no watari ni... Sawo-dori ni... Hayake mu hito shi... Waga mo ko ni komu. The god I worship is no false one! Recognize that this is a true god, and worship accordingly!"
Within the darkness-sealed world, Ena chanted loudly.
Through her Tenseigan, Satsuki saw the Kusanagi no Tsurugi respond to the chant. The kotodama and divine power dwelling within it were released, as though tearing the world apart and pouring into Ena's body, filling her with vitality and battle spirit.
"The Kusanagi no Tsurugi is the divine blade wielded by Susanoo no Mikoto and Yamato Takeru—two heroes. But they were not merely warriors who forced enemies into submission. When needed, they became wise deceivers who bewildered and tricked their foes. They are gods of fraud and deceit, ever-changing, even gods of theft. Susanoo in particular is a divinity capable of deceiving even the sun itself, blotting it out. Even if you are the Sword Saint of this era, you cannot escape a god's trap!"
A god of theft and deception, hm? There was a faint resemblance to Prometheus' Grimoire.
Interesting...
Satsuki looked at Ena, now suffused with divine power. Though her opponent's presence had undergone a world-shaking transformation, Satsuki's golden eyes remained calm as water. She even had the leisure to ask, "The ability of a descending sorceress? That is rarer even than Yuri Mariya's gift. Miss Ena's title as the foremost Hime-Miko of this generation is indeed well deserved."
"Yes. I can hear the voices of the gods and borrow a portion of their power. Since Miss Satsuki has encountered Godslayers before, I believe you understand. Still, I must apologize for using strength that is not truly my own."
"No need to apologize. If you can defeat me, I might even feel pleased."
—Though that was impossible.
Yet light flared brilliantly in Ena's eyes. In that instant, she felt as though she and the opponent before her had reached an almost wordless understanding.
Both longed for challenge, longed for victory—and longed for powerful foes.
"Then—here I come!"
With her warning, the sword in her hand began to change shape.
The pure straight blade slowly curved, transforming into a scimitar-like form. The black surface burned as though wreathed in dark flames—taking on a calamitous aspect.
Holding the pitch-black divine blade, Ena's expression twisted into a fearsome smile.
She no longer looked like a shrine maiden serving the gods, but rather a battle-hungry sword demon.
"Let us decide this!"
At that moment, the aura of spell power vanished from her body.
Ordinarily, whether casting powerful magic or invoking a lethal Authority, mages and Godslayers alike would raise their spell power to its utmost.
But Ena was entirely different. She reduced her own power and presence to zero—almost to nonexistence.
In its place rose the solemn aura of a god.
"This is—Susanoo's divine power? I didn't expect to encounter this deity in this world as well. It almost feels like he's a gold-medal supporting actor."
In the world of shinobi, the former head of the Uchiha clan had once displayed the martial armor of Susanoo. Later, Shirakumaru Ōtsutsuki had accessed a mythic stone tablet within the Uchiha clan's underground sealing grounds, obtaining Ame no Habakiri and the Thunderous Takemikazuchi Cannon.
In another world, at Yasaka Shrine, Satsuki had also encountered a fragment of Susanoo's divine power. There, she had been gifted the Yasakani no Magatama, allowing her to fuse Instant Death Authority with Perpetuity and gain the Authority of Absolute Instant Death.
All were connected to this one of the Three Noble Children.
A pitiful yet fortunate little one. Since you are a disciple of someone I've met before, I suppose I'll be a bit more serious—so you may witness a realm even higher.
With a flick of her left sleeve, Satsuki raised a finger toward the sky. A vast power that made the entire space tremble flowed from her fingertip and shot skyward. In the firmament, a blazing golden sun manifested.
Boundless, magnificent sunlight tore apart the darkness summoned by the Kusanagi no Tsurugi's divine power, hanging aloft like a great radiant star.
When Ena lifted her head, her eyes changed abruptly. The rays cast by that sun were not sunlight at all—they were sword qi refined to an extreme. And within that blazing orb stood not some resplendent divine weapon, but a wooden sword.
Their gazes met.
In the instant their eyes locked, their figures blurred into afterimages as they charged. Blades flashed and crossed, clashing once more in a single heartbeat.
—The second round began!