Chapter 51: Sophisticated Machine
For a fleeting moment, the entire chamber seemed to forget how to breathe.
The remaining members of the Outsiders instinctively shifted their footing, ready to intervene at a moment's notice.
Daito didn't even glance at them.
His attention never left Shinsei.
His sword rested low at his side, and the blade angled toward the floor while his breathing remained perfectly measured.
"Don't interfere," he said quietly.
His voice carried no authority.
No demand.
Only certainty.
Monday clenched his fists before slowly lowering them.
"...Got it."
The others exchanged silent glances before stepping back.
This fight belonged to Daito now.
Shinsei smiled faintly.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
Silence.
One heartbeat.
Then—
FWOOOOOSH!
Shinsei disappeared.
She covered the distance in an instant, her body becoming nothing more than a blur.
Her fist shot forward.
KA-POW!
A perfectly straight jab aimed directly at Daito's throat.
There wasn't a single wasted movement behind it.
Just speed.
Precision.
Intent.
FWOOSH!
Daito tilted his head by the smallest possible margin.
The punch skimmed past his neck, stirring only a strand of hair.
His sword reacted before the rest of his body.
SHLING!
The blade swept upward in a razor-sharp diagonal arc, aiming directly for Shinsei's ribs.
She twisted.
Not backward.
Not sideways.
Her entire torso folded with unnatural flexibility, flowing around the strike as though she possessed no bones at all.
The edge sliced through empty air.
SHING!
Before Daito could recover, Shinsei stepped inside his range.
Far too close for a swordsman.
Her knee surged upward.
THWACK!
It drove toward his abdomen with explosive force.
Daito immediately lowered his elbow.
THUD!
The impact rattled through his entire body.
His block held.
But the sheer force behind the strike shoved him backward.
SKRRREEETCH!
One step.
Only one.
Yet Shinsei was already moving again.
She never paused.
Never admired her own attacks.
Never allowed space to exist between one strike and the next.
A right hook came screaming toward his temple.
BAM!
Daito raised his blade just in time.
CLAAANG!
Steel collided against hardened bone.
The metallic echo rolled through the chamber.
Monday blinked.
"...He blocked that?"
Even after seeing Daito's improvement, the feat still seemed unbelievable.
* * *
Shinsei's offensive only intensified.
A sweeping kick flashed toward Daito's ankles.
SHWAM!
He sprang upward.
FWOOOSH!
For a split second, he escaped.
Exactly as Shinsei intended.
The instant his feet left the ground, her palm shot upward.
A crushing strike aimed directly at his chest.
SWOOOSH!
Daito twisted midair.
Even so—
THUD!
The edge of her palm clipped his ribs.
Pain surged through his side as his body spun before landing heavily on the steel floor.
Before he could rise Shinsei was already above him.
Her elbow descended like a falling hammer.
FWOOOO...
Daito rolled.
CRAAASH!!
The elbow slammed into the floor instead.
The reinforced steel fractured beneath the impact, spiderweb cracks racing across its surface.
Without hesitation, Daito pushed himself upright.
His blade flashed horizontally.
SLASH!
Shinsei leaned backward.
The sword passed mere centimeters from her face.
Daito immediately reversed the motion.
A backhand slash.
SHIIING!
This time...
The blade found its mark.
SSSHK!
A thin crimson line opened across Shinsei's shoulder.
The cut was shallow.
Barely enough to draw blood.
But it was clean.
The first undeniable strike anyone had landed against her.
Her eyes narrowed.
Not in anger.
In acknowledgement.
* * *
Far above the arena, hidden behind reinforced observation glass, Cassian watched every exchange in silence.
He lifted a porcelain cup and took another slow sip of coffee before setting it gently onto the table beside him.
"...Interesting."
His voice remained calm.
Measured.
Analytical.
"Shinsei specializes in structural dismantling."
His gaze never left the monitor.
"She doesn't simply attack."
"She studies."
"She dismantles joints."
"Balance."
"Breathing."
"The human body is the most sophisticated machine ever created."
A faint smile crossed his face.
"...And there is no puzzle more entertaining than taking one apart."
FWOOSH!
Shinsei surged forward once more.
A quick jab flashed toward Daito's face.
He ignored it.
The jab was bait.
The real attack came from below.
A vicious side kick drove toward his knee.
THUD!
It landed.
Daito's stance buckled.
Only slightly.
That slight imbalance was all Shinsei needed.
GRAB!
She seized his wrist.
Her fingers tightened.
Then twisted sharply.
The angle attacked the joint itself.
A perfect lock.
Most fighters would have resisted.
Daito did the opposite.
FWOOOSH!
He stepped into the lock instead of away from it.
The sudden movement destroyed the leverage she needed.
His shoulder slammed forward.
BAM!
Their bodies collided chest-to-chest.
The impact forced just enough space between them.
Daito's blade rose.
A close-range upward slash.
SLING!
Shinsei released his wrist instantly.
She spun away with Southern fluidity.
The blade carved only empty air.
SWISH!
She vanished from his front only to appear beside him.
A hook slammed into his ribs.
POW!
A jab cracked against his jaw.
POW!
A low kick hammered into his thigh.
PANG!
Three strikes.
Three perfect hits.
Each one landed exactly where she intended.
Daito staggered backward.
His balance wavered.
But he refused to fall.
Fah-jin watched grimly.
"...She's dismantling him."
"Not with power..."
"...Piece by piece."
* * *
Daito slowly released the breath trapped inside his lungs.
His grip tightened.
Then shifted.
Barely noticeable.
But deliberate.
Shinsei lunged again.
This time...
Daito moved first.
His sword thrust straight toward her center.
SHWOO!
CLING!
Shinsei redirected the blade effortlessly.
But the thrust had never been intended to wound.
It occupied her guard.
The instant her attention shifted Daito stepped inside.
His sword's pommel slammed into her collarbone.
THUD!
She rocked backward.
A low kick immediately followed.
KA-POW!
Her stance shifted.
Only for an instant.
It was enough.
Daito spun.
His sword became a silver circle.
SHWING!
Shinsei ducked beneath the slash.
Even so, the sheer force of the swing created a violent gust that forced her another step backward.
"...He's changing the tempo," Zachia whispered.
Indeed...
Daito was no longer matching Shinsei's rhythm.
He was building one of his own.
A rhythm that constantly evolved.
One that refused to become predictable.
But Shinsei smiled.
Then—
VRRROOOOSH!!
She exploded forward with frightening aggression.
Her restraint disappeared.
A jab.
A hook.
An elbow.
A knee.
Every strike chained seamlessly into the next.
CLANG!
THUD!
CLANG!
THUD!
Daito blocked with sword and body alike, but each impact forced him farther backward.
SKRRREEETCH!
His boots scraped violently against the steel floor.
Then Shinsei slipped inside his guard.
She caught his arm.
Twisted.
And threw.
FWOOOSH!
Daito flipped through the air.
Yet before gravity could claim him, he adjusted his body.
One foot touched the ground first.
He absorbed the momentum.
Then counterattacked immediately.
His sword crashed downward.
SLAAAAASH!!
Shinsei crossed both forearms.
CLAAANG!!
The tremendous force drove her downward.
One knee smashed against the floor.
BRRRMM!!
The entire chamber trembled.
For the first time...
Shinsei had been forced to kneel.
She slowly lifted her head.
Her breathing remained calm.
Her eyes remained unwavering.
"...Good."
She rose.
And disappeared again.
Faster than ever.
A jab.
Parried.
KA-POW!
A hook.
Blocked.
POW!
A kick.
Checked.
KA-BAM!
Steel and flesh collided in rapid succession.
CLASH!
Then...
Without warning...
She lowered her center of gravity.
Her shoulder slammed into Daito's torso.
BAM!!
His balance shattered.
In that single opening her hand shot forward.
Two fingers.
Nothing more.
They struck a precise nerve near his shoulder.
SHWOOTH!
A violent numbness spread instantly through his arm.
His fingers weakened.
His sword dipped.
Far above...
Cassian smiled.
"...There it is."
The finishing sequence.
Shinsei stepped closer.
Closer still.
Until they stood within arm's reach.
Her palm slowly drew back.
Every ounce of force focused into a single devastating strike aimed directly at Daito's heart.
There would be no surviving it.
Daito understood that instantly.
His right arm no longer responded.
His options had vanished.
Except one.
He stepped forward.
Into the attack.
Instead of retreating, he rotated his body just enough for the palm to skim across his chest.
SWOOOSH!
At the same time his sword shifted into an awkward off-angle grip.
The blade rose.
Silently.
Smoothly.
Stopping only when its razor edge rested against Shinsei's throat.
Shinsei's palm stopped barely an inch from his heart.
FWOOOO...
Silence.
Neither of them moved.
One twitch.
One mistake.
One breath too late.
Either warrior could die.
Above the battlefield, Cassian leaned back in his chair.
A satisfied smile crossed his face.
"...Now..."
He folded his hands.
"...this is balance."
to be continued...