"I won't go easy on you, Murasaki."
Kamiyā Yuu replied with a cold sneer. That had been his intention from the very beginning.
Busujima Murasaki wanted a swordsmanship match that would leave her feeling completely satisfied. In other words, she wanted to utterly defeat Kamiyā Yuu in the realm of kendo. The moment the match began, she became his "enemy."
If an enemy sought to completely crush him, then it was only natural for him to retaliate without mercy. That was one of the most direct reasons he had agreed to this kendo match.
It was said that lionesses often enjoyed toying with their prey before eating it—whether to teach their young hunting techniques or to satisfy their own cruel instincts.
Kamiyā Yuu was certain that Busujima Murasaki belonged to the latter category.
Being viewed as prey by such a lioness, he had no intention of fleeing in disgrace. He himself was extremely interested in this kendo match.
In his own eyes, he was neither prey nor lion.
He was a hunter who enjoyed the hunt.
Standing opposite him, Busujima Murasaki turned sideways. Her delicate hands gripped the hilt of her bamboo sword and slowly raised it as she gathered strength. The tip of the shinai pointed directly at Kamiyā Yuu.
An unnatural flush spread across her cheeks. Her hazy yet cold gaze resembled a bloodthirsty demonic blade.
At this moment, she no longer seemed interested in hiding her feelings toward him.
Her smile was icy.
"Mr. Kamiyā's arrogance and composure always look so delicious."
—Give the arrogant the proper despair.
That had always been one of Busujima Murasaki's favorite things to do.
For generations, the Busujima family had served as a subordinate house to the Uehara family. Preserving ancient management practices, the Busujima family not only raised children in the main household but also adopted children from outside and bestowed upon them the Busujima surname.
All of these children trained and studied together before the most outstanding among them were selected.
Growing up in such an environment, Busujima Murasaki had far surpassed every other so-called elite around her. She had eventually caught the attention of the Uehara family's princess, Uehara Etsuki.
Years of restraint had caused her to hide her claws and fangs.
But after Kamiyā Yuu displayed his swordsmanship, the blood of a predator flowing through her veins naturally began to boil.
At the very least, she wanted to completely defeat him in the realm of kendo.
"Prepare yourselves."
"Begin!"
Yagyū Emon's expression grew solemn. As he shouted the start, his right hand swung down simultaneously.
"Something is only called arrogance when one's ability doesn't match one's behavior. Murasaki, do you see behavior that exceeds my ability? Then prove through your own experience whether what I possess is confidence or arrogance."
Kamiyā Yuu chuckled softly.
His body blurred as he charged toward Busujima Murasaki.
This was completely different from the style he had used in the previous two rounds.
His approach was aggressive, even reckless.
His footwork abandoned the most fundamental requirement of a swordsman—stability.
It was fast.
Urgent.
Explosive.
The first two rounds had allowed him to completely understand Busujima Murasaki's level of mastery.
Now that he possessed that information, excessive caution was unnecessary.
Too much prudence was no different from cowardice.
What's going on!?
Watching from the sidelines, Yagyū Emon's expression tightened.
He had no idea what Kamiyā Yuu was doing.
Stable footwork was the foundation of kendo. Only with stability could a strike carry power and leave room for reaction and defense.
Kamiyā Yuu's charge looked like a desperate gamble.
It was as though he had wagered everything on a single offensive rush.
If it failed, he would inevitably face Busujima Murasaki's storm-like counterattack.
His judgment was entirely correct.
But that was the perspective of ordinary kendo practitioners.
Kamiyā Yuu's foundations in kendo were indeed inferior to Busujima Murasaki's.
However, he possessed an advantage that neither she nor any ordinary person had.
His extraordinarily powerful mental strength was forged within the consciousness space.
That mental strength had allowed him to roam freely through the networked world of his previous world.
It allowed him to remain awake for days without affecting his body.
It allowed him to accomplish what ordinary people could not—dividing his attention between multiple tasks simultaneously.
His left hand searched for the optimal attack angle.
His right hand continuously swung the bamboo sword.
His feet maintained the ideal stance and support.
His body adjusted posture to maximize explosive power.
Within a single breath, Kamiyā Yuu had already adjusted himself into the optimal state for wielding two swords.
To outsiders, he looked like a man walking a tightrope.
In reality, he had made complete preparations.
To him, that tightrope was no different from a broad, level road.
The greatest difference between a hunter and a predator was not physical ability.
It was intelligence.
Ten hunters fighting barehanded could not defeat a lion.
One hunter with tools could easily hunt an entire pride.
Using the momentum of his charge, Kamiyā Yuu swung his bamboo sword with incredible speed.
At the same time, the shorter bamboo sword in his left hand transformed into a venomous snake and thrust toward Busujima Murasaki's abdomen from an extremely tricky angle.
Busujima Murasaki raised both hands and steadily blocked the attack from his right hand.
But suddenly, a sharp pain erupted from her abdomen.
Her brows furrowed.
She withdrew and raised her bamboo sword, intending to force Kamiyā Yuu back.
Yet Kamiyā Yuu twisted his body and slipped past her strike.
The sword in his right hand immediately launched the same attack again.
This dual-sword style resembled magic.
The attack from the right hand served both as offense and distraction.
Busujima Murasaki had no choice but to defend against it.
Yet unlike Kamiyā Yuu, she could not divide her attention in multiple directions simultaneously.
As a result, she was struck by the other bamboo sword.
"Ugh!"
Acting instinctively, Busujima Murasaki swung her bamboo sword to defend.
She blocked the strike from his right hand.
At that same moment, her left hand suffered a heavy blow.
The intense impact made her right arm feel numb, as though shocked by electricity.
—So fast!
—So chaotic!
Busujima Murasaki and Yagyū Emon cried out inwardly at the same time.
Unlike Busujima Murasaki, Yagyū Emon could clearly see what was happening from the sidelines.
Kamiyā Yuu had completely abandoned defense.
Against Busujima Murasaki's attacks, he relied solely on movement and body positioning to evade.
In exchange, his dual-sword style displayed terrifying offensive power.
There wasn't the slightest gap.
His left and right hands attacked simultaneously, each using completely different styles.
Could a human being really wield a dual-sword style like this?
Hirai Ueshi swallowed hard.
His understanding of kendo had once again been overturned.
At that moment, he recalled Kamiyā Yuu's story about the nameless swordsman Kirigaya Kazuto using this dual-sword style to cut down hundreds of arrows.
Watching attack after attack pour forth, he suddenly felt that legend might actually be true.
Kamiyā Yuu's agile body became his strongest shield.
His endless bamboo-sword attacks became his sharpest spear.
Freed from the constraints of kendo rules, this swordsmanship could be considered invincible within the realm of humanity.
Although Kamiyā Yuu lacked a proper kendo foundation, his physical abilities were genuinely excellent.
A full-force swing from his bamboo sword was comparable to a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy smashing someone with a thick wooden club using both hands.
It might not break bones, but it was far beyond what ordinary people could comfortably endure.
He maintained some restraint.
At least he wasn't aiming for Busujima Murasaki's face.
Even so, after one round of attacks, bruises inevitably appeared across her body.
Faced with the overwhelming aggression of the dual-sword style, Busujima Murasaki remained calm.
While maximizing her defense, her cold gaze remained fixed on Kamiyā Yuu's bamboo swords, searching for even the slightest flaw.
His dual-sword style made her feel as though she were facing two master swordsmen attacking simultaneously.
And those two swordsmen possessed terrifying coordination.
—How exhilarating!
Busujima Murasaki's cheeks reddened further.
A faintly unhealthy smile appeared on her face as she enjoyed enduring the storm-like barrage.
Pain spread through her hands, legs, abdomen, wrists, and fingers.
The pain caused her heart to race.
*Smack!*
*Smack!*
*Smack!*
*Smack smack smack!*
Each sound was the dull impact of Kamiyā Yuu's bamboo sword striking her body.
The more intense the pain became, the more madness and suppression gathered within her otherwise calm eyes.
Her body trembled almost imperceptibly with each strike before returning to normal.
It was an experience unlike anything she had ever felt before.
Within only thirty seconds, after defending hundreds of times, she finally sensed the abnormality of Kamiyā Yuu's dual-sword style.
An impossible swordsmanship to defend against.
At least, from a human perspective, it was impossible to fully defend against.
*Smack smack smack!*
Again and again, Busujima Murasaki's bamboo sword steadily intercepted the strikes from Kamiyā Yuu's right hand.
Having reached her conclusion, she did not panic.
She adjusted her posture and grip.
Lowering her eyes slightly, she endured the attacks she could not defend against and quietly waited for the moment to counterattack.
Here, her talent as a kendo prodigy revealed itself.
The excitement surging through her spirit gradually pushed her body to match Kamiyā Yuu's rhythm.
Amid the dazzling and unpredictable dual-sword assaults, she finally found an opening.
Left.
Right.
Diagonal upward.
Vertical slash...
The trajectories of Kamiyā Yuu's attacks gradually became clear in her perception.
Her body had suffered countless heavy blows.
A burning sensation spread throughout her entire body.
The pain excited her.
That excitement transformed into a devouring desire to attack.
A desire to fight.
She noticed that after every short interval, Kamiyā Yuu would adjust his body posture.
At those moments, both bamboo swords would retract before launching another simultaneous assault.
The reason his dual-sword style had not reached true invincibility was simple.
He was using bamboo swords.
His own foundations in swordsmanship were not solid enough.
Had he been wielding real swords, Busujima Murasaki would have died long ago.
With truly solid fundamentals, this tiny flaw would never have appeared.
Since it existed—
It was the fatal weakness of his dual-sword style.
Kamiyā Yuu withdrew both swords.
At the same time, he adjusted his rhythm.
—Now!
A cold light flashed through Busujima Murasaki's dark eyes.
Her delicate hands raised the bamboo sword back into its original charging stance.
The instant Kamiyā Yuu completely withdrew both swords, she stepped forward.
Gathering strength.
The bamboo sword in her hand transformed into a venomous dragon and silently thrust toward his throat.
All of her excitement poured into her body.
Her body unleashed its full power.
—A good reaction. Unfortunately...
A trace of mockery flashed through Kamiyā Yuu's eyes.
His right foot stomped against the floor, shifting his entire body sideways.
The shorter bamboo sword in his left hand struck the side of her weapon, attempting to divert the thrust and dissipate its force.
*Smack!*
Busujima Murasaki's bamboo sword still struck Kamiyā Yuu's right side beneath the ribs.
He grunted and retreated half a step.
The sharp pain made him frown in surprise.
—Damn. That attack was too steady.
—A slight mistake, but it won't affect the outcome. My stamina is almost exhausted anyway. Time to end this game.
*Smack!*
Busujima Murasaki's all-out attack had left behind a fatal opening.
Ignoring the pain in his side, Kamiyā Yuu casually swung the bamboo sword in his right hand.
This time, there was no restraint.
The strike landed heavily against Busujima Murasaki's jaw.
Her body froze.
The bamboo sword slipped from her grasp.
Her body slowly fell forward and was caught by Kamiyā Yuu.
The jaw was one of the most nerve-rich areas of the human body.
A heavy blow there could temporarily rob a person of bodily control or even render them unconscious.
For that reason, it was both a primary target and a heavily protected area in boxing.
Supporting Busujima Murasaki's limp body, Kamiyā Yuu laughed.
"Kendo matches really are enjoyable."
Busujima Murasaki's eyes lost focus.
She lay weakly in his arms, unable to respond.
Nearby, Yagyū Emon and Hirai Ueshi stared at each other with mouths hanging open.
From their perspective, the entire round had been nothing less than a one-sided beating by Kamiyā Yuu.
...
Inside the kendo hall's restroom, Kamiyā Yuu removed his shirt.
A large purple bruise was clearly visible on the left side of his lower chest.
Although he had seen through Busujima Murasaki's final attack, the bamboo sword had simply been too heavy.
Even with all the strength in his left hand, he had been unable to fully alter the thrust's trajectory.
If his body had not reacted in advance, the strike would have hit his throat.
Had that happened, he would be the one lying unconscious now.
"Murasaki really doesn't know how to hold back. Hahaha... Well, I don't exactly have the right to say that."
Kamiyā Yuu shook his head and laughed.
After thoroughly beating Busujima Murasaki in the match, he felt completely refreshed.
Putting his clothes back on, he returned to the guest lounge of the Yagyū Dojo.
When he slid open the wooden door, the sight inside caused him to freeze.
Busujima Murasaki, whom he had carried there earlier, had already awakened.
She had removed her traditional blue kendo uniform.
Numerous bruises and red marks covered her body from the match, standing out starkly against her pale skin.
Looking at the doorway, she showed no embarrassment.
Holding a bottle of medicinal solution, she smiled gently.
"Mr. Kamiyā, I truly behaved poorly earlier. If you don't mind, you should apply some as well. This medicine should help with your bruises."
Kamiyā Yuu touched the area where he had received her thrust.
Even now, a dull pain lingered there.
Without protective gear, he would probably have suffered one or two broken ribs.
Closing and locking the wooden door, Kamiyā Yuu smiled at her.
"Your injuries look more serious. Want me to help?"
Someone unaware of the situation might misunderstand his intentions.
In reality, he simply did not want another person barging in and seeing this scene.
Busujima Murasaki showed neither hesitation nor unnecessary shyness.
When Kamiyā Yuu approached, she handed him the medicine and smiled.
"I can't let Miss Etsuki see me looking this battered. Then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Kamiyā."