Your Excellency Is Strong, but My Art Style Is Above Yours! Chapter 31

The next moment, a thick bolt of lightning suddenly crashed down from the densely packed rain clouds!

Boom!

The giant dragon roared as countless arcs of lightning struck the sea, exploding into spray after spray. The high temperature ignited the separated hydrogen and oxygen, instantly turning the surroundings into a sea of fire!

The hellish pincer attack of lightning and fire lasted for a full ten breaths. Once it subsided, the Azure Dragon looked down at the churning sea as though waiting for something.

Suddenly, it reared up high, opened its maw, and sent invisible ripples toward a spot in the sea. Vacuum blades immediately tore through the surface, making the waters around it boil and surge.

Whoosh!

Sure enough, he could no longer hold back and burst from the water!

But Iori did not emerge within the vacuum blades' range. Instead, he launched a surprise attack from the blind spot of the Azure Dragon's ruined eye!

—Zheng!

The jade-green sword pierced through the scabbed dragonhide, easily penetrating flesh and blood. It only stopped when it struck bone with a sharp clang.

I misjudged it! Iori's gaze sharpened.

He had intended to attack the dragon's brain directly through its eye socket, but he ultimately did not understand this creature well enough. The angle of his thrust was wrong, and some unknown bone had blocked the blade.

This seemed to become the cause of his defeat. Enduring the agonizing pain, the Azure Dragon did not let this chance slip away. Its powerful dragon claw swept out, and despite Iori's desperate retreat, it still tore away a large chunk of his flesh, nearly cutting him in half at the waist!

"Ugh!"

Iori fell helplessly into the sea. As he felt blood continuously pouring from his waist, his entire body grew weak.

But at that moment, the small jewel at the end of the Heavenly Cloud Sword began to emit hazy green motes. A large amount of water essence was drawn toward it, forcing the blood around his wound to congeal without dispersing and greatly slowing his blood loss in a peculiar way.

Then, with a thought from Iori, the buoyancy beneath the seawater increased, and his body was actually lifted back onto the surface!

Splash...

Shaking the seawater off himself, Iori felt as if he were lying on a beach with slightly greater density. He struggled to force himself upright, but in the end, he truly lacked the strength and could only kneel on one knee atop the sea.

"Roar..."

The Izumo Seisoryu was not doing well either. Though the transverse bone in its skull had saved its life, Iori had severed quite a few important nerves and blood vessels. The biting sword energy had also caused secondary damage... If it had been an ordinary Dangerous Species, it would likely already be dead.

Even though it could still move, its body had begun to disobey it. Internal bleeding had even dyed its intact eye red, making it look like a bloodthirsty beast at the end of its rope.

It seemed that both man and dragon had reached their limits—they stared at each other for a moment.

Roar!

All of a sudden, the Azure Dragon plunged into the sea and swam toward the depths. It was not fleeing; it was gathering strength to crush Iori in its jaws.

And it understood that Iori would not miss this chance either. He would surely gather his last remaining strength to deliver a fatal blow!

"Huff... huff..."

Iori struggled to gather his remaining reiatsu. Pain protested from every part of his body, while the wound at his waist continued to steal away his life.

Yet his heart was incomparably calm at this moment... Was this a final burst of clarity before death, or had he already accepted his fate?

Admit it. This is your limit.

No... at the very least, he had not given up hope of victory.

With this battered body, could he slay the giant dragon with one sword strike?

How would he know without trying?

How foolish. You risked your life for something utterly meaningless. You already got the sword, so why did you still challenge it?

Once you accepted the gift, you naturally made an agreement.

Ridiculous!

You are no man whose word is worth a thousand gold. You simply found it interesting and wanted to satisfy your desire to show off.

Sometimes you are overly cautious, while other times you are reckless enough to duel an evil dragon. This is neither courage nor righteousness. It is nothing but stupidity!

...Perhaps.

Then ending up like this is entirely your own fault!

Ending up like this? Do I look miserable now?

Iori looked at his shattered reflection, wavering endlessly upon the water, his expression relaxed.

You are right. But the clever one is me, the foolish one is me, the brave one is me, and the cowardly one is also me—but I will not deny my choices. No matter whether the outcome is good or bad, I will face it calmly and carry my convictions through to the end.

Convictions? What are your convictions?

"Of course, they are..."

Suddenly, countless fragments on the water's surface merged into a single face. Seeing that familiar face, the boy smiled happily. Rather than answer the question, he said something completely unrelated.

"As expected, this face only gets more handsome the longer I look at it!"

Buzz!

A streak of radiant light flashed past. The emerald blade suddenly transformed into a mercury-like sheen, and its patterns subtly changed. Then a wondrous ripple enveloped Iori.

Like fleeting light and passing shadows, countless mysteries naturally appeared in Iori's mind. It was as if they had been innate to him, and he grasped them directly without the slightest obstacle.

"So that's how it is... Storm!"

"ROAR!!!"

From the abyssal deep sea, the mighty Dragon King burst through the surface, its body wrapped in lightning. Its sharp dragon claws swept down from Iori's left shoulder, nearly cutting away half his body before he could evade!

—!

Yet there was no scene of blood bursting forth as expected. For some reason, the surface of the wound became a blurred, chaotic phantom that hung together like mist without dispersing. Iori looked somewhat dazed, but he did not seem to be in pain.

The lightning rushing after him then engulfed him, but Iori's entire body seemed cloaked in hazy water vapor. Under such a ferocious assault, he swayed endlessly like a reflection in water.

"Roar!"

The giant dragon flew past and coiled in the air.

Meanwhile, Iori knelt on one knee upon the water. His previously blurred body returned to clarity, and strangely, his left shoulder had returned to his body. Only the wound at his waist remained unchanged, without healing.

Though shocked that its strike had missed, the dragon did not stop attacking. Gathering all its strength, it swooped down again from above, intending to crush Iori with pure violence like Mount Tai bearing down!

At the critical moment, Iori quietly held his sword horizontally and watched a droplet slide down its spine, fall from its tip, and create a faint ripple on the sea—

"Stillness."

Whoosh!

That insignificant ripple instantly spread outward, calming every rolling wave. In the blink of an eye, the sea became smooth and pristine like a mirror.

And upon that vast mirror, the reflections of Iori, the sky, and the Dragon King were all clearly visible.

Within the mirror, the giant dragon had crossed the distance between sea and sky in but an instant. At any moment, it would devour Iori and bite him to pieces!

So, he swung down his sword—

But not at the dragon in the sky, but at the "other dragon" within the mirror beneath his feet.

Zheng!

Crescent-shaped sword pressure swept across the mirror, carving a straight cut through it and dividing the winding dragon into several pieces.

Huff...

Iori lowered his sword. The fierce wind from above pressed the corners of his clothes into the water, yet he calmly said, "Clear."

Crack!!!!

The mirror instantly shattered into countless pieces, and every reflection vanished at once. Just before the Azure Dragon could tear Iori apart, a straight sword mark suddenly swept across its enormous body!

Its hard scales and bones became meaningless in that instant. Its mighty body, weathered by thousands of years, was cut into several sections, and a torrential rain of blood poured down!

Iori rose and stepped aside as the dragon's head fell into the sea, kicking up crimson waves...

Standing upon the blood-red sea, the boy looked at the transformed sword and softly said:

"Your name shall be... Mirror Water!"

Azure Dragon's Tears, Sword Saint Martial Venerable

Mirror Water

Release Incantation:

Reflect the myriad realms, Shuryū Bansho;

All things are impermanent, fullness and emptiness have their measure;

Gather, Mirror Water!

After Shikai, the part of the wielder's body struck by an enemy temporarily transforms into a state of free Reishi, then reforms into a spirit body, thereby avoiding physical damage.

It cannot heal injuries suffered before Shikai was activated. Furthermore, it consumes additional reiatsu when dealing with energy attacks, affecting endurance.

Within a certain range, a domain capable of reflecting all things and seeing through falsehood is deployed. Enemies within its capture range will passively enter it.

Within the domain, the wielder can perceive every minute movement of the enemy, including their heartbeat and breathing. With concentrated attention, they can even grasp the flow of reiatsu, allowing for preemptive combat akin to "short-term Future Sight" (requires specialized training).

First deploy "Stillness" to reflect the enemy's image within the Mirror Water domain. Then use the blade to cut apart the image within the domain. As the domain is released, the damage inflicted upon the image will be reflected equally onto the enemy.

Slashing the image may be regarded as the reversed effect of "Storm," causing the struck wound to collapse into free Reishi, but without the restoration process.

Generally speaking, the higher the density of reiatsu, the stronger the resistance to "Clear." However, if the opponent's reiatsu strength is merely close to that of the wielder, their resistance is nearly nonexistent.

Additionally: "Stillness" consumes an enormous amount of reiatsu. At the natural recovery rate, it cannot be deployed again within one day after the domain shatters.

Therefore, "Clear" can be regarded as a trump card usable once per day.

On the day the battle ended, torrential rain fell over the sea. Even the island was shrouded in dark clouds, as though heaven and earth were weeping for their child.

Iori did not skin or butcher the Izumo Seisoryu's corpse. Though theoretically every part of it was a treasure, he did not wish to disturb its peace after death. He let its flesh return to the sea that had raised it and become part of nature's cycle.

...Of course, to a great extent, it was also because Iori no longer had the strength to do so.

Calling the Zanpakuto's name broke through Iori's former shackles. Beyond the boost from his Art Style Value, it raised his Reiatsu Limit and greatly unearthed his potential. That was precisely why he had been able to deliver the Azure Dragon's final blow.

But such an outburst was destined to leave him weak for a long time afterward, and Iori was no exception. In truth, his condition at the time had merely allowed him to barely retain the ability to move.

He himself did not do much, but after he released Shikai, the Heavenly Cloud Sword returned to its original sword-blank form and actually began to absorb the dragon blood permeating the sea on its own. It gathered a great amount of essence through this, transforming the texture of the entire sword. Under the light, it possessed a gemstone-like clarity, while the jewel at the end of the hilt accumulated a large amount of "divine energy."

This sword had already surpassed the Shikai of many Zanpakuto. Now that Mirror Water resided within it, the stronger it became, the better. Iori was naturally overjoyed by this.

After that, considering his physical condition and the fact that Heavenly Cloud could not be brought directly back to the Soul Society, the boy used "Shangri-La" to transfer himself to a predetermined location. He temporarily placed the Heavenly Cloud Sword into the Reishi Conversion Device and hid them together somewhere safe, then returned directly to Bleach.

He was not worried about losing it. Not only was the location he chose sufficiently hidden, but the sword was connected to his soul. As long as it remained in Akame ga Kill!, he would definitely be able to find it.

After all, Zanpakuto possessed wills of their own. It would not be possible for someone to take one and use it against its owner—at least, no one in Akame ga Kill! could do that.

After adjusting the flow of time and resting briefly, the first thing he did was visit the clinic operated by the Fourth Division to treat his injuries.

Throughout the treatment process, no one asked how Iori had been injured. That was what pleased Iori the most.

Of course, this came at a cost:

Injuries sustained on official duty received free treatment, but if he did not explain the circumstances, they could only be considered personal issues, which required an additional fee~

But it was well worth it!

Compared to what Iori had gained this time, what did a little medicine cost? This trip had not only given him the Heavenly Cloud Sword and Mirror Water, and raised his Reiatsu Limit through Shikai, but also earned him two Art Style CGs!

Azure Dragon's Tearful Submission - Destined Death

Category: Art Style

Level: --

Quality: --

Reward: Art Style Value +4

Sword Saint Martial Venerable

Category: Art Style