Ouma showed no fear at all and raised his Dragon Claw to block.
A silver-gray heavy fist crashed down on the Dragon Claw with the roar of thunder!
"Clang!"
The force traveled through the Dragon Claw into Ouma's body, leaving clear tracks beneath his feet in the arena. Yet Ouma relied on his physical strength to block Luo Mio's fierce blow!
"!"
With a swift flash, Luo Mio instantly arrived at Ouma's side.
Half-floating in the air, she swung her left leg in a rapid 180-degree sweep at Ouma's flank.
"Iron Strike · Phoenix Soaring Kick."
Ouma's body shot out of the arena like a bullet, then smashed fiercely into the wall!
"Bang!"
"Unbelievable! Is this a battle between A-Rank Knights?! Ouma has been kicked out of the arena by Miohua's sweeping kick and slammed hard into the wall! Can he return to the arena within the time limit?!"
In the stands, Shizuku said excitedly, "Beautiful!"
Touka shook her head and said, "Not enough!"
Morohoshi Yudai stared gravely at the spot where Ouma had been smashed into the wall. "That's right. If that was all it took, Ouma wouldn't go down so easily!"
On the field, Luo Mio was also staring beyond the arena, at the place where Ouma had flown.
Ouma's figure slowly emerged from the dust. He had not suffered the slightest injury; there was only dust on his clothes from crashing into the wall. He then leisurely walked back into the arena.
Ouma rolled his body and looked calmly at Luo Mio. "Not a bad blow!"
Luo Mio waved a hand, looking at Ouma's body. "Then isn't it time to take off that 'armor' of yours?"
"Oh?" Ouma was slightly surprised.
"You noticed?"
Luo Mio looked at him with amusement. "If I hadn't noticed even that, then I might as well give up my title as an A-Rank Knight."
Ouma gave a faint laugh.
"Heavenly Dragon Armor! Release!"
At that moment, an invisible and terrifying force burst from Ouma's body. Its pressure swept across the entire arena like a violent wind, warping the railings around the spectator stands. The windows of the VIP boxes facing the arena shattered in response.
Feeling that frightening pressure upon her body, Luo Mio looked at Ouma, whose upper clothes had been ripped apart by the force, leaving his upper body bare.
The release of Ouma's Heavenly Dragon Armor declared to everyone that this battle had only just begun!
A Fight to the Death!
Luo Mio assumed the opening stance of Ura-shiki, warily watching Ouma's next move.
Heavenly Dragon Armor was Ouma's Blade Dance Technique. It could cover his body in a storm, using armor made of raging wind to defend against and deflect enemy attacks.
But Ouma used Heavenly Dragon Armor in reverse, constantly wrapping himself in a layer of high pressure as though he were wearing clothes, forcing his body to endure pressure beyond human limits at every moment!
Under that prolonged pressure, Ouma's body collapsed and shattered again and again. In the end, to adapt to such an environment of immense pressure, his body slowly began to evolve.
The bones throughout his body! His internal organs! The muscle fibers beneath his skin! By the time Ouma could no longer feel the pressure on his body, his entire body had completely turned to steel.
"Boom!"
Ouma heavily stomped the arena beneath his feet into pieces. With that single step, he shot from the edge of the arena toward Luo Mio, instantly closing the distance between them.
Luo Mio's eyes narrowed as she was just about to evade.
"Too slow." Ouma's calm voice sounded from Luo Mio's side.
"!"
"Returning it to you!"
The moment his words fell, a terrifying blade of light appeared before Luo Mio with lightning speed.
"Sun Chasing Shadow."
Twilight starlike magical power covered her entire body.
"Clang!"
The slash, which could easily cut down a large tree, struck Luo Mio's flank.
Just as Luo Mio tried to move away from Ouma's close-range assault, two more blades of light flashed past, cutting at Luo Mio's thigh and left hand.
Ouma's figure flickered again. Several more flashes streaked past, and the sounds of multiple slashes rang out at every joint of Luo Mio's body.
Although Sun Chasing Shadow blocked the slashes, the pressure generated by them passed directly through it and into Luo Mio's body.
Luo Mio gritted her teeth.
Just as expected! Once Ouma released Heavenly Dragon Armor, both his speed and attack power rose sharply!
Watching another blade of light slash toward her, Luo Mio blocked it with Sun Chasing Shadow. Using that opening, she instantly planted her left foot, launched herself into the air, and drove her clenched left fist downward at high speed.
"Aurora · Seven Kills."
"Boom—!"
As Luo Mio's fist struck the arena, the entire fighting ring instantly cracked outward from the center of her fist.
The powerful force of her punch passed through the stone slabs and struck the ground, making the entire venue tremble!
If not for the several referees maintaining the arena below, it would likely have already been shattered to pieces.
Luo Mio's attack directly disrupted Ouma's offensive rhythm.
Seeing Ouma's rhythm had been thrown into disarray, Luo Mio moved!
"!"
In Ouma's eyes, Luo Mio seemed to teleport right in front of him.
She formed her hand into a palm, slapped Ouma's Dragon Claw aside, then drove her elbow at his chest.
"Ura-shiki: Falcon."
The moment Ouma reacted, he retreated as Luo Mio's elbow was about to touch him.
With Heavenly Dragon Armor released, he could not take Luo Mio's powerful attack head-on.
Recalling the scene that had looked like teleportation just now, Ouma looked at Luo Mio. "You used Drawing Foot to slip into my unconscious perception?"
"Looks like you know quite a bit."
Ouma said calmly, "After all, it's one of that 'War God's' ultimate techniques."
With that, the two figures once again turned into afterimages beyond ordinary people's ability to perceive.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The sounds of fists and swords colliding rang out across the arena again.
Ouma swung down in a vertical slash. Seeing it, Luo Mio had no choice but to stop her attack and shift her body to the right.
The powerful sword energy carved a deep mark into the arena.
"!"
This is bad!
The instinctive alarm in Luo Mio's body suddenly went off after she dodged the sword energy.
Three flashes of light slashed toward Luo Mio in the shape of crescent moons.
Facing the three incoming slashes, Luo Mio suddenly took a step back and dodged them.
"Shunpo."
Luo Mio pulled back to open the distance, while Ouma stopped his pursuit.
In the spectator stands.
Arisugawa looked at the retreating Luo Mio and the Ouma who had stopped pursuing her, asking in confusion, "Why didn't Miohua use her ultimate technique like before to block Kurogane Ouma's slashes?"
Ikki watched the battle across the entire arena with unwavering focus. "She can't block them with that move."
"Hm?"
Ikki explained to Arisugawa, "If she uses that move again to defend against Big Brother's slashes, Miohua will fall into the same predicament as before."
Asagi Momiji said from the back row, "Still, luckily, Little Mio dodged them."
"No!"
Touka, who had taken off her glasses, and Jonoshiraki Byakuya refuted her.
"First blood! From the beginning of the match until now, the clash between two genius A-Rank Knights has finally drawn its first blood!"
As commentator Iida shouted excitedly, the image of the battle shifted to Luo Mio's flank as she knelt on one knee.
"This is!"
Arisugawa and Shizuku cried out in surprise.
A clear streak of blood!
Blood seeped through the wound and soaked Luo Mio's school uniform.
Feeling the burning pain in her abdomen, Luo Mio covered the wound and looked at Ouma.
"I see. You concealed sword energy swung purely with arm strength within those three slashes."
Ouma said calmly, "It was only because of your evasive footwork that the sword energy merely grazed your flank."
Luo Mio's eyes flickered. Ouma was right. If she had not used Shunpo to dodge in time, that sword energy would not have merely grazed her waist and abdomen—it would have cut deeply into her stomach.
Feeling the pain in her abdomen and looking at Ouma again, the corner of Luo Mio's mouth rose unconsciously.
A fight to the death, bearing wounds and bathed in blood!
She then stood up. As the pain from her wound pierced deeply into her mind, Luo Mio unexpectedly felt a hint of excitement and pleasure.
She directed magical power to the wound on her abdomen, temporarily sealing it and stopping the bleeding.
Seeing Luo Mio rise to her feet, Ouma looked at her coldly, like a warrior. "Since it's a fight to the death, don't you dare hold back on me!"
Hearing Ouma's words, Luo Mio gave a soft laugh.
"In that case..."
As Luo Mio's words fell, golden particles of magical light, as brilliant as stars in the Milky Way, slowly emerged and flowed around her body. Along with those golden particles came terrifying magical pressure pouring from Luo Mio's body.
"Thousand Stars!"
Feeling the magical pressure pouring from Luo Mio, Ouma could not help but curl his lips into a smile.
"That's right! This is exactly the kind of opponent I want to have a proper fight with!"
Luo Mio raised the Eternal Twilight Wolves and assumed the opening stance of Ura-shiki. Looking at Ouma, she revealed a healthy smile.
"Come again!!!"
The two charged at each other once more.
Golden fist-light and azure blade-light flashed across the arena!
Victory in a Single Strike!
A golden fist-shadow shot like a meteor toward Ouma's Dragon Claw.
"Clang!"
A crescent-shaped azure glow swept through the air, as if tearing apart the atmosphere, and slashed across Luo Mio's Sun Chasing Shadow.
The force of fists and sword energy blasted apart and cleaved the air around them.
The audience watched the intense battle between the two A-Rank Knights with rapt attention. The sparks created by their fists and blades colliding, the symphony of their spirit armaments clashing, could be heard by everyone present.
No matter which side it was, both carried resolute killing intent.
Every fierce clash between the Eternal Twilight Wolves and the Dragon Claw carried absolute determination and murderous intent!
Before you continue