Chapter 14: Despicable?
On the wide street, the traffic lights changed intermittently. This was a decent battlefield, suitable for a 1v1 fight.
Kanzaki Kaori still hadn't drawn the long blade at her waist. Instead, she held the scabbard in one hand while the other hovered near the hilt.
"Salvare000."
Kanzaki Kaori spoke a strange title. This was her magic name, meaning "The Salvation Hand of the Forsaken."
So-called magic names were a custom among mages. Before fighting at full strength, mages had always announced their magic names, for reasons unknown.
After announcing her magic name, Kanzaki Kaori's fingers curled.
*Clang.*
A sound like a blade's hum rang out. With Kanzaki Kaori as the starting point, three slashing marks appeared on the road in front of her, and wind pressure spread outward.
The three slashes were incredibly fast, and one of them shot straight toward Su Xiao.
*Ding!*
A spark burst from the Dragon-Slaying Flash blade held horizontally in front of Su Xiao. His left arm, wrapped in a metal bracer, extended forward as if grabbing something.
*Crack, crack, crack…*
A harsh grinding sound came from Su Xiao's hand. He had already coated his hand with a layer of energy shield. What he had grabbed was too sharp; if it were just the King's Supreme Bracer, it might not withstand the cutting force.
What Su Xiao had caught was a steel wire, so thin it was nearly invisible. He pulled the wire, and Kanzaki Kaori, over ten meters away, exerted force with her feet. With a *crack*, two sunken footprints appeared in the asphalt road.
From this single pull, Su Xiao judged that Kanzaki Kaori's physical fitness was extremely high. At least in terms of strength, she was not inferior to him.
As for her previous attack, Su Xiao had already analyzed it roughly based on his combat experience. The steel wires, so thin they were nearly invisible, were about 90 to 120 meters long, at least three or more, hidden inside the scabbard. One side of the scabbard had a mechanism to control the wires. According to information from the original work, there were seven such wires in total.
"To actually catch the trajectory of the Seven Flash attack, troublesome."
Kanzaki Kaori lightly pressed the mechanism on her scabbard, and the wire Su Xiao had caught detached from it.
Under normal circumstances, Su Xiao would have already charged forward for close combat. But this time, he wasn't in a hurry. His enemy was also a close-range fighter, and her fighting style was strikingly similar to his—both were adept at using long blades and metal wires as combat tools. Moreover, before engaging in close combat with the enemy, he needed to understand her abilities and physical attributes first. The Apostle's Eye floated beside him, its mechanical gaze fixed on Kanzaki Kaori.
[Comparing both parties' intelligence attributes... Comparison complete. My intelligence is 0.951 times the enemy's. Obtained 46.8% of the enemy's data.]
Data as follows:
Name: Kanzaki Kaori
Category: Human (Saint Constitution)
Health: 100%
Mana: 2530
Strength: 77
Agility: 83
Endurance: 79
Intelligence: 83
Charm: 68
Skill 1, Saint Constitution: God-Splitter (Active/Passive)
Active Effect: Movement speed +100%, neural reflex speed +30%, physical strength +47 for 1.67 seconds.
Passive Effect: Health +4000, Mana +1700, all attribute resistances +20, immune to 26% of all magic-type damage, immune to 100% holy damage.
Skill 2, Seven Flash (Active Lv.39): Mid-to-long-range attack blade technique/special combat technique. Uses seven enchanted steel wires inside the scabbard for attacks or setting up barriers.
Note: Enchanted wires have three attributes: Sharpness, Primary Indestructibility, and Strength Enhancement.
Note: Seven Flash (Active) has no cooldown.
Skill 3: ???
Skill 4: ???
Skill 5, One Flash (Active Lv.28): Kanzaki Kaori's instant-kill draw technique. Before use, the active effect of Saint Constitution must be activated. If it successfully strikes the target, it deals 600 points + weapon attack × 0.7 + strength attribute × 3 + agility attribute × 4 damage.
Note: One Flash (Active) has divine properties. 50% of the damage dealt is holy damage, which ignores 75% of physical defense.
Skill 6: ???
Skill 7: ???
Skill 8: ???
...
After reviewing Kanzaki Kaori's data, Su Xiao's pupils slightly contracted. Such attributes and skills... probably, it seemed, were very strong!
Other abilities were manageable, but 83 points in agility and 83 points in intelligence were quite troublesome. As for the "Saint Constitution," that thing was essentially an incredibly powerful bloodline-type skill.
The strength of "Saint Constitution" lay not in the increased health and mana, but in the boosted movement speed, neural reflex speed, and so on. Even though it only lasted 1.67 seconds, if activated while using One Flash (Active), the lethality of One Flash (Active) was imaginable. Not to mention the movement speed reaching absurd levels, just the 30% increase in neural reflex speed alone would be enough to give Su Xiao trouble.
He absolutely could not be directly struck by Kanzaki Kaori's "One Flash." Being one-shot by "One Flash" was not just possible—it was highly likely.
Su Xiao tossed the steel wire in his hand aside. When fighting Kanzaki Kaori, he had to be wary of her speed. An attribute of 80 points was a threshold; crossing it would unleash considerable power. Even a difference of one point could be a significant gap.
He twirled the Dragon-Slaying Flash in his hand, creating a blade flower. His calves tensed, and the asphalt beneath his feet cracked.
*Boom!*
Su Xiao left a circular crater in his original spot, charging toward Kanzaki Kaori like a cannonball leaving the barrel.
In the eyes of Awaki Musujime, watching from several hundred meters away, Su Xiao seemed to vanish like a spatial-type esper, reappearing right in front of Kanzaki Kaori.
Awaki Musujime's dynamic vision couldn't keep up with Su Xiao's speed, but Kanzaki Kaori could. She could clearly see the incoming Su Xiao and was even confident she could unleash even greater speed.
Su Xiao and Kanzaki Kaori were about two meters apart. This distance was a bit close for swinging a blade, but still within acceptable range.
Su Xiao's slash was unimpeded, but Kanzaki Kaori was in a tight spot. Her weapon, resembling a nodachi, was too long. At this distance, it was unsuitable for swinging.
Kanzaki Kaori wanted to step back to create some distance, but as soon as she lifted one foot, Su Xiao seized this opening—not quite a flaw—and delivered a slash.
Su Xiao raised the Dragon-Slaying Flash high with one hand. This was a downward chop. Kanzaki Kaori's raised leg was still suspended in midair. Even if she could block this strike, it would cause her to lose balance.
The timing of this slash made Kanzaki Kaori uncomfortable. Her retreating foot hadn't yet landed. If her body were subjected to external force at this moment, she would likely stumble. Falling in close combat, even if not fatal, would leave her severely battered.
Kanzaki Kaori raised her sheathed long blade, drawing a small portion of the blade from the scabbard to meet the Dragon-Slaying Flash.
Su Xiao's strength attribute, including equipment bonuses, was 79 points. Kanzaki Kaori's strength attribute was 77 points. Their strength attributes were close, both at a monstrous level.
*Boom!*
*Thud!*
An explosion and a roar rang out simultaneously. The former was Kanzaki Kaori's method of escape, while the latter was the collision of their long blades.
The edges of the two blades clashed. A shockwave spread outward from the point of impact, shattering the road for dozens of meters around. The blast pushed Awaki Musujime, several hundred meters away, back a few steps. Her mouth hung slightly open, her face full of shock.
"Are these two... really human?!"
Ignoring the bewildered Awaki Musujime for now, Su Xiao was gripping his blade with both hands, pressing down with all his might. Kanzaki Kaori, legs spread apart, held the hilt with one hand and pushed against the back of the blade with the other, adopting a defensive stance. The scabbard for the Seven Flash had already flown off to who knows where.
*Crack, crack, crack…*
The edges of the two blades ground against each other, unable to overcome the other, producing a harsh, grating sound.
Kanzaki Kaori hadn't fallen due to losing balance. Just before blocking Su Xiao's slash, she had activated the Saint Constitution for 0.2 seconds, making her still-suspended leg reach supersonic speed. She stomped down hard on the air, using the recoil to maintain her center of gravity. The earlier explosion was the sonic boom from Kanzaki Kaori's leg moving at supersonic speed.
Feeling the force on her long blade, along with the tricky angle and timing of the previous attack, Kanzaki Kaori's heart inexplicably began to race. Her skin flushed slightly red. She was excited. This excitement surprised, bewildered, and confused even herself.
"What are you suppressing? Choosing to use a blade but not wanting to kill is simply foolish. In truth, you really want to fight others, don't you?"
Su Xiao spoke. Kanzaki Kaori gritted her teeth. These words clearly struck a chord within her.
"I..."
*Bang!*
A sharp pain suddenly shot through Kanzaki Kaori's side. Su Xiao had delivered a side kick to her exposed flank.
Su Xiao rarely spoke during combat. When he did, it meant he had found a weakness in the enemy's mental defenses and was using words to distract them, attacking the moment they lost focus.
"Despicable!"
Kanzaki Kaori staggered back a few steps, clutching her side. Su Xiao had put all his strength into this kick, and the point of impact was her soft ribcage. When she tried to inhale, the kicked side sent a stabbing pain through her.
"..."
Su Xiao said no more. The tactic of "distracting with words" worked exceptionally well when used sparingly, but its effect diminished with repeated use.
Moreover, as Kanzaki Kaori cursed "despicable," the passive effect of Aura Release took hold. Emotional fluctuations could affect the willpower attribute.
The sudden activation of Aura Release caught Su Xiao off guard. Earlier, when he had attempted a willpower check on Kanzaki Kaori, Aura Release had failed.
This significant discovery made Su Xiao's lips curl upward. Causing an enemy's heart to waver would temporarily reduce their willpower attribute. This was a new finding.
Physical stamina consumption +27%, physical defense -15, and an 8% chance of skill activation failure. This debuff was particularly harsh for close-range fighters, especially the increased stamina consumption rate, which was the most fatal.