บท 119: Chapter 119 - A clash of gods
"Ha, who'd have thought I'd feel so alive before charging to my death," Ryuma let out a hearty laugh as he found his predicament amusing.
"Well, then you better cherish this feeling while it lasts," Ryu said with an enthusiastic smile as he got into his combat stance.
Ryu's feet were positioned shoulder-width apart, providing a stable foundation while allowing for fluid movement. With a relaxed posture and a slight lean forward, Ryu exhibited an effortless grace, embracing a loose and relaxed stance. His hands loosely held his two swords, their weight balanced effortlessly in his grip.
"That is if you can kill me. I won't hold back, you know," Ryuma smirked excitedly as got into his own combat stance.
Ryuma's feet were planted firmly on the ground, creating a stable base of support. With his body squared toward his opponent, he emanated an aura of strength and determination. Ryuma's grip on the katana was tight but not tense, showcasing his years of training and experience.
"Oh, this is going to be fun," Ryu said with an expectant grin.
Ryuma was the first to move. He darted forward, his movements as fast and unpredictable as a cyclone. His sword traced a relentless arc toward Ryu's midsection, the blade whistling as it cut through the air with gale-force strength.
Ryu responded in kind, his own sword rising to meet Ryuma's with a swift, precise movement. A deafening clash echoed out as steel met steel, the air pressure from their forceful meeting sending a shockwave across the field. The dust around them rose, and a few scattered clouds parted in the sky, displaying the raw power their swords held.
Ryu then slipped into fluid motion, his feet danced over the rubble-littered ground as if gliding over water. His left sword swiped upwards, aiming to knock away Ryuma's blade, while his right prepared to jab Ryuma's chest.
But Ryuma was far from defenseless. Even as Ryu's first blade contacted his, he rotated his wrist to redirect the force while stepping back to evade the subsequent jab.
Ryu's blades, having met nothing but air, continued their trajectory, carving a path of power that sliced the island apart. Yet, he was unfazed. His stance shifted subtly, an adaptation to the change, and his blades curved, pursuing Ryuma. Like a predator closing in on its prey, Ryu's strike wasn't blocked- it was merely delayed.
As Ryu adjusted, Ryuma seized his chance to press the offensive. He brought his sword down in a devastating vertical slash, aiming directly at Ryu's head, the might of a hurricane behind it. The ground beneath him cracked from the force, and a gust of wind rushed past him, causing the nearby rubble to stir.
In an instant, Ryu redirected his swords and crossed them above his head, catching Ryuma's descending blade in a divine crucifix. The impact sent another shockwave rippling through the field, and a couple of giant waves began to form in the distance.
With a swift sidestep, Ryu untangled their blades and aimed a rapid succession of strikes at Ryuma. His swords seemed to be everywhere at once: a swipe at the legs, a thrust to the abdomen, an arc at the shoulder.
Ryuma retaliated with lightning speed. His feet moved with impeccable precision over the uneven ground, evading Ryu's low swipe. He twisted his body, the thrust only cutting through his afterimage. And, finally, with a powerful upward sweep of his katana, he parried Ryu's aimed arc, redirecting its force and leaving Ryu momentarily unbalanced.
Ryuma then swept low, his katana aiming to take advantage of Ryu's momentary lapse. His blade sought to strike Ryu down in the most efficient way possible. However, Ryu was not so easily defeated.
He used the momentum from his parried arc to execute a backward flip, managing to land a kick on Ryuma's chin as he executed it, sending the latter flying through the sea of rubble.
As Ryu's feet touched the ground again, he didn't miss a beat. He chased down Ryuma, his blades moving as an extension of his will in a barrage of strikes. His flurry of attacks forced Ryuma to employ his unimaginable speed, countering with powerful, sweeping movements. The air around them thrummed with tension, the ground under them trembling and cracking from their ongoing battle.
Their swords met repeatedly in a blinding flurry of strikes and parries, each attack met with a counter, each maneuver with an adaptation. The field around them was a storm of their making, the air charged with their power, and the sky a witness to their godlike duel. The thick mist covering the sea was long gone, dispersed by the sheer force of their attacks.
With a mutual nod, they leaped back from one another, creating distance. Even after their clashes both Ryu's and Ryuma's breath was as steady as ever, but their eyes sparkled with the thrill of the battle.
"I think that's enough for the warm-up," Ryu said with a battle-hungry smile.
"What a coincidence, I was about to say the same thing myself," Ryuma replied with anticipation dripping from his voice.
Without a word, the two warriors exploded into motion.
Ryuma was again the first to act, springing forward with a vigor that would have startled any creature under the sun. However, Ryu didn't even blink. His eyes tracked Ryuma's aggressive charge, his own body poised to react.
Ryuma's first strike was a lightning-fast horizontal slash, aimed at Ryu's chest. Ryu responded by twisting his body and launching himself into a somersault over Ryuma's blade. As Ryu flew over Ryuma's head, his blades swung down, tracing twin arcs of lethal steel.
Ryuma leaned back, bending his body to an impossible angle to evade the downward slash. He sprung back up almost immediately, his blade arcing in an uppercut. Ryu landed just in time, crossing his swords to catch Ryuma's ascending blade. The impact resonated through the area, evident by explosive waves that carried on as far as the eye could see.
In a feat of impressive strength, Ryuma pushed against Ryu's swords, aiming to unbalance him. But Ryu was ready. He relinquished his defensive stance, allowing Ryuma's push to spin him around. Using the momentum, Ryu performed a full turn and slashed at Ryuma from an unexpected angle.
Ryuma parried the attack with a sweeping motion, his sword acting as a shield against Ryu's relentless assault. The momentum from Ryu's unexpected attack caused Ryuma to slide back, his feet leaving furrows in the ground.
Without missing a beat, Ryu sprung after Ryuma, his dual blades spinning around him like a lethal vortex. Each strike of his was met with a deflection from Ryuma, their blades clashing at an increasingly blinding pace. The resulting force stirred up a tornado of dust around them, the air reverberating with the sound of their exchange.
The warriors broke apart, backflipping to gain distance. In mid-air, Ryuma twisted his body, his blade cutting through the air, aiming at Ryu. The force behind the slash sent a visible wave of pressurized air hurtling toward Ryu.
Ryu replied in kind, twisting his own body, swords raised high as he dove straight into the incoming attack. The pressurized wave exploded on contact, but Ryu emerged from the other side, unscathed.
Ryu landed in a slide, kicking up debris as he swung both swords in wide arcs. The combined strength of his strikes was like a tsunami, the powerful sweep displacing air in a tangible shockwave that rocketed toward Ryuma.
Ryuma attempted to meet the attack head-on, trying to redirect its force to the side, but the sheer magnitude of Ryu's attack was too much as several cuts appeared on his body. But as blood trickled down his body, Ryuma's excited expression only turned more wild.
Ryu launched forward, pushing off from a large chunk of debris with such force it was sent hurtling backward. His speed was astonishing, appearing in front of Ryuma in an instant. His twin blades flashed, one aiming for Ryuma's shoulder while the other went low, seeking the opponent's legs.
Ryuma parried the high strike, only to leap high, flipping over the low sweep. But as he flipped, Ryu swung his blades upwards, causing Ryuma to kick off the flat of Ryu's parried sword to propel himself even higher, avoiding a potential cut.
While Ryuma was airborne, Ryu didn't pause. He pushed off the ground, chasing Ryuma into the sky. The field below seemed to shudder at their departure, small tremors running through the ground as if feeling their intense power.
In mid-air, they clashed again. Their blades met and parted in rapid succession, creating a shower of sparks that trailed behind them. The sound of their clashing blades was like a thunderclap, echoing across the endless sea.
Ryuma descended first, landing lightly on a large slab of rubble. He barely had a moment to regain his footing when Ryu was on him again. A downward slash forced Ryuma to slide back, the raw power behind the strike embedding another large scar into the island.
Ryu continued his onslaught. His blades darted in and out, high and low, left and right, an unpredictable storm of attacks. With each passing moment, Ryuma found himself retreating, parrying, and evading Ryu's relentless assault.
With a swift kick, Ryu sent a broken column hurtling toward Ryuma. In response, Ryuma cut it down, his blade slicing through the stone as if it were paper. But Ryu was already there, using the flying debris as stepping stones, launching himself at Ryuma. The sword in his right hand aimed to impale, while his left sought to decapitate.
Ryuma ducked, avoiding the decapitating slash, and deflected the impaling strike. Ryu's momentum carried him past Ryuma, but with a powerful twist of his body, he swung around for another attack.
Ryuma, caught off guard, backpedaled, blocking the attacks but being pushed further back by Ryu's onslaught.
And yet, despite being pushed back, a pure laugh escaped Ryuma's mouth. "This," he said, parrying another series of Ryu's relentless strikes, "This is what I wanted! Someone stronger than me, someone who I can go all-out against!"
"I told you I'd send your ass to the afterlife!" Ryu teased with a grin as he ducked under a decapitation attempt from Ryuma.
"But I'm not dead yet!" Ryuma announced proudly.
"Key word: yet!" Ryu called out as he kicked Ryuma back.
Ryu charged forward, his right sword aiming a jab at Ryuma's chest.
With a swift sidestep, Ryuma dodged the jab, but Ryu was already on his next move. His left sword came down in an arc, aiming for Ryuma's shoulder. Ryuma ducked under the attack, his katana moving to counter-attack.
Ryu responded by using his right sword to block the attack while his left sword swung around for a wide horizontal slash. Ryuma, noticing the incoming attack, jumped back, creating a safe distance between them. However, Ryu used the opportunity to push off the ground, performing a front flip with his swords extended outward.
Ryuma had just landed when he saw Ryu flying toward him like a human buzzsaw. His eyes widened slightly at the absurdity of the move, but he had no time to marvel. He rolled to the side, barely avoiding the spinning attack.
Ryu continued with a thrust, aiming directly for Ryuma's heart. In a split second, Ryuma deflected the attack with the side of his katana, countering with a swift upward arc targeting Ryu's shoulder. In a smooth motion, Ryu twisted his body, his other blade moving to parry Ryuma's counter.
The blades connected, and a shower of sparks erupted from the collision. Ryu quickly disengaged and launched a barrage of attacks, each one so powerful vacuum blasts accompanied every strike as the air itself couldn't move out of the blade's way in time. Each strike was aimed with precision, targeting Ryuma's vital points with devastating speed.
Ryuma, even under this relentless assault, demonstrated his mastery over his blade. He moved fluidly, his katana dancing around to parry, deflect, and counter each strike from Ryu. His eyes were focused, tracking Ryu's every move and reacting with incredible speed.
But Ryu was far from finished. With a sudden burst of speed, he flipped over Ryuma, his swords slashing down in a coordinated attack. Ryuma, taken by surprise, could only manage to block one of the strikes with his katana. The other one grazed his arm, leaving a shallow cut.
Using his momentum, Ryu rolled on the ground and swiftly came back to his feet, ready for the next move. Ryuma, nursing his wounded arm, looked at Ryu with renewed determination.
Ryu pushed his advantage, his swords striking with even greater intensity. His movements were a blur, a lethal ballet of thrusts, slashes, and sweeps. The air filled with the harmonious ring of clashing steel and the ground cracked from the force.
Despite Ryu's relentless attacks, Ryuma refused to yield. He weaved around Ryu's onslaught, his katana a blur as it deflected and parried Ryu's strikes. The sweat dripped down his face, but his eyes were locked onto Ryu, analyzing and predicting his every move.
In an instant, Ryu changed his strategy. He launched himself into the air, his body spinning as he aimed a devastating strike aided by gravity at Ryuma's head. However, Ryuma was ready. He brought his katana up, preparing to parry the attack.
Ryu's twin blades came down. But instead of parrying the strike, Ryuma's sword couldn't contain the force of the strike. Ryu's swords smashed into Ryuma's katana with such force that it shattered, the broken pieces flying off into the distance. At the same time, one of Ryu's blades sliced across Ryuma's chest, leaving a deep wound.
Ryuma staggered back, a hand clutching his chest as he struggled to maintain his balance. Ryu landed on the ground smoothly, his swords held at his sides. They stood in silence, the only sound being Ryuma's labored breathing.
"...I never imagined I'd die this way," Ryuma said with joy. Even as he was dying, his eyes were full of vigor.
"That was the best swordsmanship I ever saw. For what it's worth, you're more than deserving of your title," Ryu said with a wide smile as he sat beside Ryuma.
"Thanks... That means... A lot," Ryuma said between labored breaths, though at this point he could bearly speak.
Ryu continued to sit by Ryuma's side in silence as the latter finally passed on, his broken blade still tightly secured in his hand.
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