"Because..." Tetsu no Sosuke smiled. "Because I love basking in the sun. If you want me as your companion, fine. Come bask in the sun with me. If you can do that, we can keep talking."
"You're mocking me."
"You asked for it. It wasn't my idea." Tetsu no Sosuke's smile was unsettling. Under Extreme Flow Intent, he seemed to have forgotten how to smile, but he forced a strangely disjointed one anyway. "Are you done talking?"
"I finished long ago."
The voice came from beside his ear. Tetsu no Sosuke's pupils contracted. He spun around, raising his blade before him.
Clang!
A tremendous force slammed into him, sending him flying backward. Akaza reached him in two steps and swept a fist across. Tetsu no Sosuke drew in his chest and arched his back, narrowly avoiding the punch. Then his expression changed.
Somehow, Akaza had appeared beneath him!
This is bad!
A massive force surged toward him. Tetsu no Sosuke raised his arms to block, but the blow hurled him straight into the air.
His vision blurred for an instant. Akaza, who had been directly below him, vanished.
Ignoring the strain on his body, Tetsu no Sosuke forced out a breath. Extreme Flow Intent surged through him, spreading his breath throughout his body, and he swung with both hands.
The Nichirin Blade, hot as a branding iron, carved an arc through the air. Akaza, descending to strike him down, was instantly split in two.
But Tetsu no Sosuke felt no relief.
He had felt no contact from the slash.
In other words, Akaza had vanished the instant Tetsu no Sosuke struck.
He closed his eyes at once. Every sound and scent rushed into his awareness.
Above, below, left, right—Akaza was nowhere. Where was he?
He was moving!
Through every position,