After his rather eventful afterlife, to plow the fields as a simple farmer felt like a much needed break. There was something therapeutic about not having to worry about the next Singularity or Lostbelt, the next big battle that decided the fate of everyone and everything. No wyverns, no chimera, no servants, mortals or gods. Just him and the field. While he was missing a proper challenge a bit, he couldn't say he hated what he was doing. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he admired his own work. Now that was a good field. Not exactly suited for rice, but that was the Western hemisphere for you. Or whatever equivalent this world had to a Western hemisphere. He rubbed his stomach with a frown. While wheat and what not were alright, he was kind of missing rice.
"Kojiro! Hard working as ever?"
He turned around, blinking in surprise. The old man who just referred to himself as 'grandpa' tipped his strawhat at him with a hearty laugh. Kojiro bowed back, as he was the master of this farm in a sense, before tilting his head, looking behind the farmer only to find nothing.
"Greetings. Bell is not following you?"
Grandpa waved his hand dismissively as he hoisted his own hoe over his shoulder.
"Nah, I sent him down to gather some stuff. Boy needs to get some of that excess energy out." He gestured at the bench that was located nearby before sitting down. As Kojiro stared at him, he rolled his eyes and patted the seat next to him. "C'mon, take a seat!"
"Very well," Kojiro conceded. The two men enjoyed a nice silence, drinking some rather nice tea. While the flavor was definitely something more Western than Kojiro preferred, it was still nice. He glanced at the old man, humming thoughtfully. He did wonder why a god was just farming about. Oh yes, he hid his presence well, similar to one of the more potent assassins. However, one could never fake the amount of age eyes seemed to radiate. Not to mention that aura that was not connected to divinity. He had no idea which god this one was, as appearances could change between different branches and trees, and it was none of his business anyway. As long as the god wasn't trying to do whatever gods tended to do in Kojiro's world, just drinking tea and farming together suited him just fine.
"So. Got any plans?"
Kojiro blinked before tilting his head as the old man scratched his beard with a glint in his eyes.
"Plans?"
Grandpa shrugged nonchalantly before patting his back.
"Call me old fashioned but I like to think younglings like you should have some plans, more than just staying on a farm in the middle of nowhere."
"I am quite satisfied actually," Kojiro responded, waving his hand dismissively.
"Hm. I could tell." When the swordsman blinked, the old man pointed at his eyes with a teasing smirk. "I got a good eye, y'see?" His smile disappeared as he pointed at Kojiro with a frown. "And you? You got some talent. So I guess I just want to push you to make your life a bit brighter. A lil' ambition wouldn't hurt."
Kojiro stayed silent. Ambition. Even in his last life, he wasn't exactly ambitious. The closest thing he had was slaying that swallow. Other than that, he was content to just stay on his mountain, spending his time in whatever way he could. Having ambition just sounded... weird. Compared to the dreams and hopes other, proper Heroic Spirits had, he just felt lacking in that department. Like he didn't deserve to have such grand dreams and fame, even if a part of him wanted that.
"Being greedy isn't bad, yknow." The old man seemed to read his mind as Kojiro looked back at him. He laughed for a moment before raising his hand in the air. "You're still young! Got your whole life ahead of you to break your limits!"
"I like to think I had enough excitement for one lifetime," Kojiro responded with a wry smile. But the old man shook his head before hitting Kojiro's back hard.
"Nonsense! There's never enough time for the adventurers one can have! Not remotely enough wood in the world to write everything down that can happen!" He gestured at the setting sun. "Infinity is just out there, waiting for your input once more!"
"You seem rather insistent in motivating me," Kojiro muttered. Yet the way the old man spoke... The swordsman would be lying if he didn't feel some warmth in his chest. Some sort of desire. The old man shrugged at his question before standing up, rolling his shoulders with a groan.
"I like my farm to be lively. And you seem like a cloud. Floating around with no real purpose." He paused before frowning a bit. "Bell looks up to you." As quick as the frown came, it was replaced by a boisterous laughter. "Would be good if you showed him a good hero story, hahaha!"
Heavens knew why young Bell looked up to him. But it was a certain responsibility he never had before in his life. Maybe he wasn't a hero. Maybe his life wasn't that exciting. But maybe...
"I can try," he said quietly. The old man scoffed before shaking his head.
"There is no try. Either you do it or not. That's what being a man is all about."
/
There were many things Kojiro anticipated when Araki revealed his identity. A renewed rush of attacks. Going back to basics, the style he stole and appropriated for his own uses. What he didn't expect was for the man to open his mouth and start to chant.
"Under the blood stained moon, I offer my flesh!"
The swordsman acted immediately, clicking his tongue as his eyes widened. Magic, his bane in a sense. Too many possibilities. Too many he couldn't just cut down. Whatever he was casting, it had to be stopped. Fortunately for him, Araki was a stationary target. Closing the distance as fast as he could, he took a deep breath and raised his sword over his head. There was not enough time to perform Tsubame Gaeshi. Any second counted. Damage was damage after all.
"Let my enemy see madness and trap them in their mind!"
The sword swung down and cut through flesh. His enemy grit his teeth as the long sword dug into his right shoulder, having leaned to the side a bit, but not fully dodged it. He couldn't perform Concurrent Chanting then. But Kojiro's smile vanished when he met a wall, his momentum stopped.
"What a cut!"
"But it seems the Swallow Slayer is stuck!"
With just sheer muscle alone, Araki kept the sword in place. Instead of counter attacking or losing his focus, he growled like a feral animal.
"Tsuki no Kyouki!"
Two things happened at the same time. The flesh became weaker around Kojiro's blade and the swordsman immediately pulled it out. At the same time, a red mist reached out and invaded his head, causing the world to distort and become unclear to him. He kept his footing even, compensating for the disorienting input his eyes gave him. Kojiro could've sworn that Araki seemed genuinely confused for a moment before rage grew once more in his eyes.
A curse. It had to be that. He recalled the lessons in Orario, of how curses exchanged something in order to be cast. In this case, Araki reduced his own defenses, explaining the ease Kojiro could pull his sword out, in exchange of messing with his senses. Which was bad. Skill was his only advantage against Araki and he was inhibited in that area.
"Crimson Moon is on the offensive, using Sakamoto Haruhime's style it seems!"
"This man is known for stealing techniques, but it is a talent on its own right!"
Araki danced around him, footwork similar to the Flame Style Haruhime had. With his weakened senses, Kojiro had to put more mental processing towards prediction. Fortunately for him, he was familiar with the Divine Arts style. Still, the punch that came, more like a drill, almost took his head off as he was forced to back away. He swung his sword upwards in response, but Araki was long gone by then. Kojiro didn't miss a beat and spun around, using the momentum to cut at his head. Yet suddenly, his path was diverted and Kojiro almost lost his balance before he stomped on the ground with gritted teeth.
After using the Wind Style, a leg shot up, almost shattering Kojiro's jaw before he leaned away. But that left an opening to his stomach as the leg descended, aiming to stomp him down. He barely dodged to the side, but not without the sole scratching the skin on his stomach open, the sheer force cracking the ground itself. Powering through the pain, Kojiro swung down. To his shock, Araki caught the blade in his right hand. But that act was a mistake, as the shoulder wound burst with blood, causing Araki to buckle for a moment. Cutting the man's palm and freeing his weapon, Kojiro reared back and stabbed at the martial artist' stomach. The blade pierced the flesh, but only lightly as Araki leapt back and to the side. He was off balance now, his weight on his right leg alone. Kojiro tried to close in but then Araki managed to throw a punch from that awkward position, nailing the swordsman against his left shoulder. He felt a crack despite spinning with the force. Breathing heavily, the two combatants eyed each other warily before the dance begin a new. Glancing blows alone dealt damage against Kojiro, as bones began to crack and flesh was torn out. Yet again, it was a miracle to those watching. They saw Kojiro get hit with that curse, they saw the way his eyes seemed a bit unfocused. However, Kojiro still survived.
He could only imagine how bad this curse could be if he didn't have his Vitrification. Still, it was a rather potent spell, if it overcame his personal mental defenses. It was like the hatred of an Avenger was added on top and hatred was a strong reagent for curses from Kojiro's meager magecraft knowledge. Still, it was a major disadvantage, especially now that Araki revealed his full power.
When the Crimson Moon had a solid footing, the Divine Arms style shone through. When he was off balance due to one of Kojiro's counters, he'd still throw out a potent blow with his formless style from the start of the fight. Switching between the two styles, some might think it'd just give him too many options once more. But it was the opposite. Compared to just using the formless style, Araki was limiting his options when he had the advantage and only became creative when he was pushed back.
Kojiro couldn't help but laugh even as his vision was blurry. Evil person or not, most likely slave or not... Crimson Moon Araki was strong! He could only guess the amount of pain and trauma he went through, to evolve in such a way. All he knew was that he held respect for the scarred man. Because of that strength, eventually, Kojiro revealed a weak spot too big to compensate with. His legs were swept away from underneath him, as Araki spun with his entire body on the ground, his arm acting like a vicious whip. Just through sheer instinct was Kojiro able to jump. But jumping just left him wide open for the overhead haymaker Araki performed. Just barely did Kojiro twist his neck, avoiding his head from being blown off. But the sheer force still almost broke something important and it still spun his body. The next instance, the air left Kojiro's lungs completely as he felt a heavy blow through his left arm into his ribs, essentially shattering the limb and cracking his insides as his clothes tried to absorb as much force as they could.
His body flew, before violently smashing into the wall, creating a dust cloud while he let out a pained gasp.
"Kojiro!" Bell screamed as he tried to leap over the wall, but Solaris and Haruhime forcefully held him back, even as they shared the same horror on their faces. However, the nightmare they were witnessing was not over. Araki began to laugh, an ugly laugh filled with malice before he opened up his cloak. With a swift hand movement, he pulled out two swords, jagged and golden, that pulsated with power. The audience gasped at the sight. They all knew what those were.
Araki swung down the two magic swords, crosswise, before furious lightning emerged from them. Welf immediately shot up from his seat, eyes wide, just like the rest of the Rakian regiment. The furious thunder that could've been from the gods themselves smashed into the dust cloud, before exploding violently. Hestia screamed, covering her eyes as Astraea hugged her. The others openly gaped at the sight. A magic sword shouldn't be so strong! Then the logical conclusion followed, one that a soldier next to Welf voiced out with a look of disbelief.
"Oi, Welf-"
"No doubt about it... !" Welf's hands gripped the stone underneath him and cracked it with a growl."Those are Crozzo swords!"
"Romulus... !" Arash asked with heat in his voice. However the Legiones shook his head.
"This is impossible."
"In what way?" Artoria asked, sounding very displeased herself. Yet Romulus was unyielding at the glares he was receiving, as he crossed his arms with a deep frown.
"We used them all up against the high elves." He gave the Radiance a pointed look. "Not a single one was spared from our arsenal."
"So unless that Welf kid made some more in secret and they were stolen-"
"Which he did not."
Hans rolled his eyes at Romulus' interjection before continuing on, his chin resting on his fist.
"-then the only explanation would be if some ancestor of his 'lost' them and Evilus picked those up." He clicked his tongue in irritation. "Talk about a hoarding problem... "
The dust cleared up. But instead of a corpse or a twitching body, Araki exhaled slowly and widened his stance, his eyes moving frantically. No, instead of a body, there was nothing. Sasaki Kojiro left his field of vision. Yet despite the apparent escape, the creeping thought entered the hearts of the people. Of those that cared for him as family itself.
Kojiro might actually lose.
The fact Penthesilea didn't announce the fight over yet herself, meant that Kojiro was still combat ready. That he was still alive. Because of that, Araki honed his rage, his hot desire, into a cold, calculated machine of vengeance. He slowly moved between the rocks, trying to find his opponent. It spoke of some respect buried within the Crimson Moon's heart, that he was careful of any surprise attacks of someone two levels beneath him. At the same time, the audience tried to look for Kojiro as well, having a surprisingly hard time spotting him. Bell was the first one to see him and he covered his mouth in shock at the sight. It was surprising to see Kojiro slowly moving at all, silent as ever as he tried his best to stay out of Araki's sight. His left arm was bending in a wrong way starting from the elbow, the bone sticking out of the flesh. Bruises colored his body as blood ran down his mouth. Skin was scorched due to the lightning he was struck with and his movements were twitchy, though he seemed to be recovering slowly. Following Bell's gaze, Haruhime and Solaris both let out a sigh of relief.
"Damn, bro, you really do some good work... ! That collab with Altena worked out after all!"
His clothes were in tatters, but it appeared to have absorbed enough damage to keep its wearer alive. In the audience, Hrist exhaled before pumping her fist in excitement.
"I told you that making magic resistant clothing was a smart idea!"
"Cool it, Hrist," Brunhilde chided her. She bit her lips before pointing at Kojiro.
"How could I if he's-"
"We know, we aren't blind!"
One by one, spectators began to spot the sorry excuse of a swordsman that Kojiro was right now. If Araki paid any attention to them, he could find his enemy with ease. But he was too focused on the battlefield itself as he stalked around like an animal. Kojiro sighed in relief. He was glad this man still maintained his rationality. If he would just start breaking things like a manic berserker, this would be pretty bad. He flinched at the pain each movement gave him. He couldn't feel any movement from his left arm. Turning his body aggravated his sides. His vision was affected by bloodlust and headaches. He looked down on his blade with a deep frown. He was truly up against the wall now. Perhaps this was it for him. All he could do now was buy time for Bell to recover as much as possible for the next fight.
He wasn't the only one who had such thoughts. In the Twilight Mansion, people like Alise lowered their heads, not able to stand such a terrible sight. Hestia covered her eyes, sobbing as tears freely flowed down. But that was nothing compared to the emotions going through the other children of Hestia. Haruhime and Solaris shared a look of despair. They shared no words, but guilt was present in both of their eyes. They both thought the same. If they had given Kojiro a level up with Haruhime's magic, he could have won. He would have been strong enough to beat his opponent. But now? Now they knew he was done for. The crowd murmured among each other, certain of that fate as well. They ignored the growing anger of the referees, as they saw their old companion seemingly just buying time, the fight leaving his body as he seemed to smile in resignation.
It was then they heard it. The enraged scream cutting through the air, silencing all. It was not Araki. Nor was it any of the referees. No, it was a young man leaning over the wall, his red eyes almost glowing with anger.
"Shut up!"
"Bell?"
He ignored Haruhime's surprised look. A part of him felt regret. Regret he didn't have this reaction for her when she was in a similar position. But that was in the past. Here and now, he couldn't hold back his emotions anymore. How dare they? How dare everyone think that Kojiro was done for? They didn't know him at all! They weren't with him from the start! Pointing at the Divine Mirrors themselves, he snarled before cutting through the air with a swing of his arms, spitting out blood from exertion. He struggled against Solaris and Haruhime trying to drag him back, to force him to rest. But he would not be denied. With a deep breath, he shouted at the heavens themselves.
"Sasaki Kojiro is the strongest in the world! He won't lose to anyone!"
The swordsman stiffened up at the words. So did everyone else. It was foolish to take this kid serious in any way. Just the naive words of desperation. Yet the sheer belief behind them. The raw faith. Kojiro couldn't help but clench his hand around his blade, surprising even himself. It was then that another surprise occured, as each and every single one of his allies from Chaldea shot up from their seats as well.
"We didn't train so hard just for you to give up like that, Kojiro!"
"Is this anything compared to the world ending?! Anything compared to all the Phantasmal Beings, Divine Beasts, Gods and powerful heroes?!"
"You cannot expect us to believe that this is all you are capable of!"
"Come now, you aren't a nameless wraith anymore!"
"Oryou didn't come here to see you lose!"
"Have your skills rusted that much, Assassin?! Do you expect me to believe that this man is on my level?!"
"You are alive, dumbass! Do you just want to repeat your old life, or do you want to actually make something out of yourself this time?!"
Arash. Penthesilea. Romulus. Ryoma and Oryou. Artoria. Hans. They each burned their words into his very soul. Spurned on by those words, Solaris and Haruhime let go of Bell and instead leaned forward as well, ignoring their own injuries as they roared out their souls.
"I promised a perfect victory, don't ya make me a liar!"
"T-That man is just two levels above you, you did it once already!"
They were not the only ones. Back in the Twilight Mansion, they also sent their supports as they shot up from their seats, screaming their throats raw. Kaguya, Alise, Lyra, Ryuu, Hestia.
"Kick his fucking ass already!"
"Gogogogo, team justice!"
"You know how much money I bet on you?!"
"You are Bell's master, don't make him look bad!"
"No way my kid is ever gonna lose! Never in a million years!"
Soon enough, the entirety of Orario, the entirety of the arena, began to chant as they stomped their feet on the ground.
"Kojiro! Kojiro! Kojiro! Kojiro!"
They all knew this wouldn't help. Facts were facts. Kojiro was still heavily injured and he was still weaker than his enemy. Yet, the wildfire started by the greatest fool of this generation could not be stopped. It was powerful enough to even set Kojiro's soul ablaze. He looked at the sky before letting out a laugh.
"Hahaha... "
He grabbed the remnants of his kimono and ripped it off his body, revealing his bleeding upper body to the world. That was more than enough to reveal his position. Araki didn't miss a beat, moving fast into visual range. He growled, yet still wary as he rolled his shoulders, already gearing up for the next exchange. Yet Kojiro only smiled, wider than he ever smiled as he pointed his trusted blade at his opponent with but a single arm.
"With such expectations, do I have any other choice?!"
The crowd exploded into cheers. That served as a starting signal. Kojiro took a deep breath. In that instance, Araki moved, his fist reared back. The world came to a stop around him. No, only almost. It reminded him of the sensation one had just before death. That moment where memories from his entire life poured into his mind. But it was not that moment. No, only a singular image appeared in the front of his mind.
A beautiful woman, smiling in a cheeky way at him. One blade tapping her right shoulder while the other pointed right at him. Her hair resembled a flower, pinkish and styled like one. Her purple and red clothing fluttered in the wind as she seemed to wink at him. Kojiro wondered why she appeared in his mind, but only for a moment before mentally chuckling to himself.
Miyamoto Musashi would surely find a way to win this if she was in his place. So wasn't it only right that he'd find a way himself? He saw her eye glowing. The skill called Heavenly Eyes, the power to achieve one's goals. The ability that limited the endless possibilities in reality to a single result, narrowing down her actions to a single, necessary movement while moving her body in the optimal way to achieve that result.
Kojiro could not do that. He never understood the idea of Zero and Infinity. He was no philosopher. No, he could never be like Musashi. But the concept of such eyes... it should not be impossible for him. He had to break it down. The idea of Heavenly Eyes. If one were to simplify it to the extreme, it was channeling one's entire being into their sight and project it at their goal. In Musashi's case, it was the idea of Zero, of cutting down possibilities to a single one. Meaning in Kojiro's case, he had to consider all possibilities, create them by force if he had to, and find the right path. To do that... he had to absorb more information. Far more than his mere Mind's Eye could do. He had to break his limits, his past, right here and now.
Kojiro exhaled, the arm moving ever so slowly to take his head off, the fist approaching closer and closer to his face. He took it all in. The movement of Araki's body. The twitch of each muscle fiber. The flow of his blood, the oxygen he exhaled. The vibrations in the air. The tremors in the ground. The life and warmth of the sun. He felt Araki's beating heart. Bit by bit, with all his five senses, he forced all sorts of information to enter his mind. To overcome the difference in speed, he needed more information. More. More. All the world had to offer. No, not even that was enough.
His eyes shimmered. He had to go beyond the world. The moment the thought entered his mind... it just clicked. He saw as the world split into two, then into four. It kept splitting up as his eyes glowed with every color in existence, countless worlds coming into existence. He smiled ever so slightly as the fist was about to touch his face. So that was how it worked. Rather simple, once he figured it out.
Unbeknownst to him, some gods shot up, gaping at the sight. Odin, even at the verge of puking, forced himself to keep watching as the soul he looked at seemed to explode in light. In that moment, Sasaki Kojiro broke the limits of mankind once again. He overcame his own meager legend.
He saw it. The one path among infinite that would allow him to live. Time resumed its normal flow. The fist cut through air, creating a small shockwave. Yet it missed entirely as Kojiro tilted his head away at what appeared to be the last second, without any arm at all. Araki's eyes widened as a shiver went down his spine.
"He dodged that?! How?!"
"Something has changed, but I do not know what did!"
Naturally, the Crimson Moon didn't miss a beat and pulled his arm back, his hand forming a claw. But instead of ripping Kojiro's head off, the latter spat into his face with blood. Blinded, he couldn't see Kojiro's smooth movement as he yet again barely dodged. The next instance, Kojiro's sword moved, as if guided by something... and stabbed Araki through his right foot. He screamed, reacting by reflex as he raised his left knee, but by then Kojiro avoided that blow by a hair's size while he wiped his eyes clean.
Araki growled before renewing his assault, faster than ever as he mixed it up. But during that barrage, many could barely believe their eyes. When just before Kojiro could barely keep up, glancing blows growing into heavy hits... now the swordsman dodged them. Every. Single. Time. The room for error was miniscule as the attacks always seemed to touch skin, but to no avail. Not even the veterans among the spectators could figure out what changed. All they could see was that Kojiro's eyes seemed to glow as he smiled in an enlightened way. Most gods could barely believe their eyes as well. Yet they seemed to have an inkling for what was going on. Hermes dropped his hat that he was holding in his hand, gulping as he shivered.
Then there were the former servants as they witnessed Kojiro land one hit for every hundred Araki threw out, all while being utterly unharmed.
"Isn't that like Xiang Yu's Future Prediction...?!" Ryoma muttered under his breath. Yet Hans shook his head, immediately seeing the differences. Yet he frowned deeply as well, unable to figure out what exactly was going on.
"No, it isn't. That idiot wouldn't know how to math more than you ca-"
"Prism Trance."
Their heads snapped at Artoria of all people who stared at Kojiro with wide eyes, covering her mouth as she witnessed it. Romulus hummed as his eyes didn't leave the battle.
"Second Magic again?"
"Hm."
In an alternative world. A world where Artoria remained in modern times. A certain magus explained some of the basics when it came to the Kaleidoscope, from her studying the 'annoying stick'. The ability to draw in the knowledge of alternative selves. Of course such a thing was not suited for combat according to the genius, as the amount of variations in a fight would make one insane, thus making it only useful for channeling specific skills. It was only natural after all. To see everything was an ability reserved only for the gods. Yet Kojiro rejected that rule. He reached towards the heavens and grasped that skill for himself, disregarding logic or rules.
"Honestly, Kojiro... " Artoria shook her head with a smile while sweating bullets. "Now I have to attack you with Excalibur right from the start if I want to make sure I win against you... !"
What Araki didn't seem to realize as desperation grew in his attacks. The smallest of twitches. The slightest movements of eyes. The so called butterfly effect guided and lead the Crimson Moon's actions. If one could see each path specifically... using just the right movements was like moving a puppet. The man punched straight ahead. Kojiro exhaled, ducking down before swinging his blade like a guillotine going towards the sky. It cut through the elbow, sending the limb flying. The audience gasped at the sight. Before Kojiro could follow up however, the flying arm was caught by Araki's left hand. Like a makeshift club he swung it down with a furious scream. But Kojiro saw it coming once more. Rolling to the right, he used his momentum to dodge and cut through the other arm. He screamed in agony and the swordsman smiled as he shot up to his legs. But before he could finish it, he spat out blood at the strong impact against his stomach, trying to go limp and moving with it at the last second, yet there was still damage being done.
Araki looked completely deranged. Eyes bloodshot, the pupils twitching. Yet even with two bleeding stumps, he had the focus to front kick Kojiro against his stomach and send the man flying. Even without his arms. Even when Kojiro was far above him once more with his techniques... The Crimson Moon did not surrender. He did not despair. Powering through the pain, through the agony, the blood loss, the armless fighter still defied the heavens themselves.
Kojiro barely managed to land on his feet, yet it was clear he could barely run anymore. The audience almost fainted from holding their breath. He spat out another bile of blood, smirking through the pain of broken ribs. While he did that, Araki tried to pry something out of his body, keeping his distance. The swordsman laughed, even as it hurt him more. The martial artist was wary of getting close. Afraid of a sudden counter, like with another imperfect Tsubame Gaeshi. Right now, Kojiro could see him drop a magic sword strapped on him with great difficulty. He could see him kick it and launch the spell, killing Kojiro.
It was the best choice available for the Crimson Moon. And with Kojiro's current techniques, he had no chance to stop it. However... Even if his feet were dead. Even if his body was marred with injuries. No matter what, Sasaki Kojiro would always swing his sword, no matter how tired or defeated he was. Maybe it was the delirium caused by bloodlust. Or perhaps desperation. However, with such high stakes, a foolish idea entered his head. Necessity was the mother of all inventions after all.
For the first time, he took another stance. Kaguya was the first to recognize it, as Kojiro held his blade near his hip, as if holding it in a sheathe. The man laughed an ugly laugh as blood splattered all over the ground, but he still shifted his feet as his body twisted. Then, he grinned widely at his opponent who was about to get his weapon of victory out. Staring right into his eyes, Kojiro took a deep, pained breath.
It was sloppy. Amateurish. Downright shameful. But with these new eyes of his... it would at least be possible. So a flawed product was good enough for him. It didn't matter if it was an ugly technique. All that it mattered was to bring this new innovation into reality at all!
"Hiken..."
Araki immediately stopped what he was doing. His feet shifted and his eyes went wide as his instincts screamed at him to dodge.
"Tsubame Gaeshi…!"
Kojiro shifted his weight as the blade was 'drawn' upwards. Artoria shook her head slowly at the sight.
"No way... !"
The Crimson Moon couldn't believe it either. But he wouldn't risk it. As if believing that upwards swing could reach him despite the distance, he leapt to the side, faster than ever before. He grinned once he saw that the blade would have missed him if Kojiro performed that one handed quick draw in front of him.
"Tengai!"
It was the sound of reality itself being cut. As if someone shattered glass itself, a blade separate from the Monohoshizao came into existence. The entire arena was silent after seeing the cut that should have been impossible. Araki came to a stop, his grin frozen on his face. He coughed, blood coming out of his mouth. His hateful eyes glared at his opponent as his eyes began to dim. In the end, he could barely speak.
"Shi... t…"
Thus, his upper body fell down, separated from his lower body. His guts spilled out, as if he was cut by an invisible man from the side. It was an attack that was completely unavoidable. A cut that reached beyond Kojiro's blade. A cut that didn't follow the same trajectory at all.
It was no beam of pure destruction. It was a deadly scalpel of the Kaleidoscope. Kojiro collapsed to his knees, his head pounding as his eyes dripped blood. Breathing heavily he clutched his head in pain. That took a lot more than he thought it should have. Looking around with a tired look, he blinked at the state of utter silence everyone was. But then, they all heard it. A clap. A clap from his first believer in this world.
It caused a chain reaction. The cheers intensified, grew in volume, until it was practically deafening.
"The winner is Sasaki Kojiro!" Penthesilea screamed through the crowd."With that, the Hestia Familia has achieved its perfect victory!"
Kojiro laughed weakly, even as his three Familia members rushed him with open arms.
"To get this sort of attention once in a while... isn't so bad. I cannot say I dislike this sort of fame!"