anwhile, Seo remained unfazed.
As she calmly gathered mana, she infused it throughout her body, enhancing her physical abilities and coating her blade with a shimring aura before it was even drawn.
There was no hesitation in her movents-just practiced precision and control.
Her every action was a testant to her discipline as a warrior.
Kagami was strong, but Seo only needed a single glance at his stance to predict the outco of their match.
She didn't doubt his resolve or skill, but she could already sense how this battle would unfold.
It wasn't arrogance-just the calm awareness that ca from being leagues ahead of her opponent. Despite this, Seo held a quiet respect for Kagami.
It wasn't every day she faced soone who ca from a martial family as honorable as his.
Every student competing in the matches knew that, to so extent, they were expected to put on a spectacle for the crowd.
The Grand Festival wasn't just about winning-it was about showcasing talent, strength, and entertainnt for the academy and its spectators.
For many, it was a chance to gain recognition, to be noticed by potential sponsors or powerful figures.
But for Seo? None of that mattered. She had no interest in the crowd's approval, no desire to put on a show.
All that mattered to her was the fight itself and respecting the warrior standing in front of her.
If Kagami was serious about this duel, then she would et him with the full extent of her abilities.
That was the only way to honor their match.
"Let the match begin!!!" The announcer's voice echoed through the arena, and with that, the duel was officially underway.
Without a mont's hesitation, both combatants assud their martial stances, their movents fluid and sharp.
The air between them crackled with tension, their focus locked entirely on each other.
Ti seed to slow as the crowd erupted into cheers, but Kagami and Seo paid no attention to the noise.
They were both locked in their own worlds, anticipating the first strike.
Kagami knew, deep down, that this battle would be one of speed.
His celestial martial arts had given him imnse strength-punches that could shatter stone and gauntlets designed to amplify that power-but what good would any of that be if he couldn't keep up with Seo?
She was a master swordswoman, and speed was her domain.
If he couldn't match her in that regard, his punches would never land.
He took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the tallic gauntlets around his fists.
They were a reminder of the countless hours he'd spent training, honing his body and his mind for this very mont.
His heart pounded in his chest, not out of fear but excitent.
Seo, on the other hand, remained composed, her blade still sheathed but glowing faintly with the aura she had summoned.
"I need to end this fast..."
That thought reverberated in Kagami's mind, an echo of desperation and resolve.
He had been preparing for this exact mont-training in secret, pushing his limits, and honing his speed. Speed was everything.
His attacks had grown more powerful, sharper, faster, but none of it mattered if he couldn't land a blow.
All he needed was one punch-just one-and he might have a chance.
Not even Seo, with all her grace and mastery, could walk away unscathed from the raw power he had cultivated.
He felt his mana surge, rushing through his body like a torrent as he prepared to unleash his clan's hidden technique.
It was sothing he had only recently mastered, a secret skill passed down through generations, one that amplified not only strength but the very essence of his being.
[Cot's Tail (S)]
He poured every last ounce of mana into his fist, channeling the celestial arts he had acquired in his relentless training.
His fist began to glow, a deep crimson light swirling around it, before trails of bluish starlight gathered in its wake, dancing around his hand like the remnants of a dying cot streaking through the heavens.
It was beautiful and terrifying all at once.
His movents were precise, symtrical, and swift.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye-no, faster. In this mont, ti itself seed to stretch and slow, the world around him fading into the background.
The crowd's cheers, the wind rustling through the arena, the announcer's voice-all of it beca distant noise, leaving only the figure before him.
Seo stood calmly, her eyes closed, her hands resting lightly on the hilt of her sheathed sword.
Her signature stance. It was almost as if she was waiting for him, entirely still, serene amidst the chaotic storm of Kagami's charging attack.
His heart pounded in his chest as he moved in closer, every muscle in his body tensing as he drew back his fist, the oppressive mana coating it ready to be unleashed in one devastating
punch.
The power of his attack roared inside him, threatening to tear him apart if he didn't release it
soon.
This was it-the mont where victory could be snatched from the jaws of defeat.
He could see it now, his fist making contact, the shockwave rippling out, Seo staggering back.
But then-he saw it.
Seo's hands moved.
In that temporally distorted world where Kagami's senses were heightened to their peak, where ti seed to slow to a crawl, he noticed the subtle shift.
Seo's fingers wrapped more tightly around the hilt of her blade, her posture adjusting ever so
slightly.
Her eyes, still closed, remained serene.
And in that instant, Kagami knew.
He had already lost.
[Hidden Blade First Form]
[Blue Moon]
[9-Fold]
Flash!
A brilliant blue light erupted across the stage, one flash after another, each accompanied by a surge of electric sparks that filled the air like a symphony of crackling energy.
Each flash mirrored the shape of a crescent moon, crescendos of power overlapping in rapid succession, forming a dazzling yet terrifying display of Seo's incredible technique.
'Damn it...'
BOOM!
The explosion was deafening, a resounding blast that shook the entire arena as if a thunderstorm had crashed directly onto the battlefield.
The crowd erupted into confusion, gasps and murmurs filling the air as everyone struggled to comprehend what had just transpired.
It had all happened in less than a second, too fast for the untrained eye to follow.
They knew sothing monuntal had occurred, but no one was sure exactly what.
Not long after, they got their answer.
Click! The soft, almost gentle sound of Seo's blade returning to its scabbard echoed across the silent
stage, sharp and precise, as if punctuating the end of a symphony.
Seo stood in the sa position, barely having moved, her calm, unshaken expression
betraying no emotion as she gazed forward.
Her stance was composed, the epito of discipline and control.
The stage beneath her was a different story entirely.
Thousands of cracks spider-webbed across the ground, radiating out from where she had
unleashed her attack.
Nine distinct slash marks, perfectly symtrical, carved deep into the stage floor, as if giant crescent moons had left their marks behind.
At the epicenter of it all was a large crater, the aftermath of the explosion that had ripped
through the arena in an instant.
But Kagami-he was nowhere to be seen.
A collective gasp spread through the crowd as eyes darted around, searching for him.
Then they saw it-Kagami's figure, not on the stage, but thrown violently against the walls
behind him.
His body was bloodied and bruised, his armor torn apart as though it had been shredded by
invisible blades.
Nine clean cuts ran across his chest, each one parallel to the next, forming a perfect pattern.
The cuts were precise, surgical even, as though they had been inflicted with masterful skill. Kagami looked like a warrior who had taken the full brunt of a god's wrath-beaten, broken, but not entirely defeated.
He lay there, breath ragged, but his eyes still flickered with the embers of defiance.
His body, though battered, bore the marks of soone who had faced sothing far beyond
their level, and yet, had stood against it with everything they had.
-WHOOOO!!!!!
The crowd, which had been silent in stunned disbelief, suddenly erupted into cheers and
shouts of astonishnt.
....
"Wo-wow! Did you see that? Did you see?"
Flam's voice rang out, filled with pure excitent, her hands clapping together in
amazent.
Her grey eyes shimred with wonder as she looked toward the stage.
She hadn't fully caught the intricacies of Seo's lightning-fast movents, but it didn't matter-she knew she had just witnessed sothing extraordinary.
"Yeah, it was really amazing, right?"
"Oh, so he didn't manage to land his attack. What a sha,"
"Nine attacks in less than a second... just how fast is she?"
"Ehhhh? She could've done more if she wanted to?"
She spoke aloud, as if carrying on a conversation with soone, though there was no one in
particular to answer her.
The spectators seated nearby glanced at the hooded young woman with a mix of concern and confusion, her animated reactions drawing their attention.
Unfazed by the curious stares, Flam let out a satisfied sigh, sinking back into her seat.
"Haah- looks like the academy is going to be so much fun, don't you think so too, Neru?"
A smile of both satisfaction and excitent spread across her face as she spoke, her gaze flicking toward the empty seat next to her.
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