"The rumors concerning the Matou Family being attacked twice have been confirmed. Rider was behind the second attack on the Matou Family."
Kirei Kotomine walked over to Sakumura Anno's side and looked at the screen he was operating.
"Rider, huh. A Rider who drove an ox cart and could use lightning? With that kind of power, he doesn't seem like he'd be easy to identify."
Sakumura controlled his game character and curled his lip.
The reason his Noble Phantasm could cut down lightning was only because rumors had exaggerated the legend of him subduing the Day-Hiding Demon, granting him that ability. Otherwise, with his Mystery being so modern it could not possibly be more modern, how much power could he really have?
And purely in terms of skill, Sakumura himself was not all that strong. The reason he had managed to present himself as "invincible under heaven" at the end of the Edo period was, in the end, because that era no longer had powerful figures who pursued the sword alone, while Mystery had greatly faded as well. That was what allowed Sakumura, who would not even rank among the very best swordsmen in all of history, to project an aura comparable to Miyamoto Musashi's peerless supremacy.
There were many things within his sword, but the one thing it did not contain was the sword itself. To Sakumura, a sword was merely a tool—a weapon held for the sake of reform and progress, not something with any deeper meaning.
Forget comprehending the realm of emptiness; Sakumura could not even be called a "Sword Saint."
What was more, given his attitude toward the sword, he would never be able to comprehend the realm of emptiness.
Sakumura had never pursued the pinnacle of swordsmanship, nor had he much interest in cutting people