Chapter Thirty-Two: Guangwo's Resolve

Blood was gushing from my nose, but the buzzing in my head made even the simplest action, like wiping it away, impossible. The world before my eyes swayed and blurred.

“Agh!”

I clenched my teeth in a grimace, pressing my hands hard to my head, and only after half a minute did the dizzy whirl in my skull finally subside.

All the while, Saeko behind me watched with unhurried amusement.

It wasn’t until Taisei, who stood before me, showed a look of shock—

“Whoosh!”

A sudden kick, rising from the white-haired youth’s toes, swept upward toward Saeko’s chin! Like a crescent moon!

But the violet-haired beauty behind me, confronted by this attack that sliced the air with a piercing wind, didn’t even let the curve of her lips change. She simply stepped back, and the whistling tip of my shoe cut only the air.

“Screech—”

Missing my mark, the sole of my shoe scraped the wooden floor of the dojo with a sharp, grating sound.

But that also allowed me to regain my stance, facing the swordswoman with the wooden blade head-on.

“Get out of the way, you old hag!”

“That trick you used to make me fall was amusing. But this time! I’m here for that guy with the glasses! You, with your ‘beautiful swordswoman’ gimmick, are nothing but weak trash—if you know what’s good for you, don’t get in my way!”

The vicious youth snarled at Saeko, pinching his nose with brutal force to staunch the bleeding.

Though at first I’d been stunned by that throw from mid-air, my innate talent and street-fighting experience let me quickly piece together what had happened.

She’d used the wooden sword to disrupt my balance at the instant I was airborne, making me fall flat. At that moment, whether I landed face-first or on my back, it was all under her control, wasn’t it?

For a woman, this level of perception and skill was impressive. Even after all the countless dojos I’d challenged since childhood, I’d only ever seen one woman like her.

But I was here for that guy with the glasses!

I’d come to defeat that storm of violence—relentless like a natural disaster!

I’d even forced my best friend to break the law, just to have a fight with him!

I would not stop here. Never.

My expression was fierce and determined, like a wolf, my clenched fists digging nails into flesh.

But not far from me stood Taisuke Zeyanaga, shaking like a leaf—not out of fear of me, but—

Do you have any idea what you’re saying?!

Clutching his armor to his chest like a helpless little girl, the blond delinquent dared only to glance anxiously at me out of the corner of his eye; all his attention was on the smiling, sword-wielding Saeko.

Perhaps it was the days spent among these superhuman fighters, or witnessing their outrageous battles firsthand, but Taisuke felt as if he could almost see it—

Behind that beautiful, violet-haired woman, an aura as heavy as the sea and as cold as ice was rising!

“Glasses guy… you mean Kyo?”

The beauty smiled, her tongue seductively tracing her lips, a bloody aura of killing intent in her voice.

“It doesn’t matter. I promised him I’d try to keep calm, but if someone comes here to smash the dojo’s reputation… well, I suppose that’s different.”

With a flash, the swordswoman’s figure vanished from my sight.

Unlike when she fought Kiryu Setsuna or Hakuodo Kyo.

Saeko didn’t even use any special footwork from the Dojima school—my eyes simply couldn’t keep up.

“What?!”

The white-haired youth, always on guard, saw his pupils contract.

But years of fighting in dojos let me recover from my surprise in an instant. The next moment, I reached out a hand toward Taisuke Zeyanaga by my side!

Not to use him as a human shield. I’ve challenged dojos for years, but I’ve never been that shameless.

I was after the armor he was clutching!

“Ah!”

The gap between the blond delinquent and me was vast. Before he could react, I’d snatched the largest piece—the breastplate—from his arms.

Seizing the breastplate, I burst out laughing, holding it before me as a shield.

Was this woman some kind of fool from a samurai flick?

In the real world, the shield is the father of all cold weapons!

A thrusting attack is a “point,” a slashing strike is a “line,” but a shield’s defense is a “plane”!

With the slightest twist, you can block a rain of attacks!

A weak little woman like her—if I have a shield, even if she charges, I can—

Riiip!

The savage, wolfish grin was still on my lips, but my pupils shrank to pinpricks.

Before me, that thick, heavy, solidly built breastplate was sliced in two by a wooden sword, as easily as if it were paper!

The cut was smooth, clean, and neat.

This wasn’t something brute force could achieve.

This was swordsmanship honed over centuries, forged in blood!

I was so stunned by this unnatural sight that I froze.

After the breastplate was split, a wooden blade and a hand came hurtling toward my neck!

Wait… a hand?

Where did that come from?

Slap!

Before my shock could register, the serpent-like sword strike was caught by a hand, inches from my neck.

Faced with a wooden sword that could so easily slice through a breastplate, that slightly aged hand toyed with the blade as if handling a harmless plaything, gripping the whistling sword tip in its palm!

Like a veteran snake handler seizing a viper, it seemed almost effortless.

The hand and the wooden sword both halted less than two centimeters from my face.

“…Ugh!!!”

Still clutching the two halves of the breastplate, I snapped out of my daze, hurriedly retreating two steps to press myself against the wall beside Taisuke.

Heart pounding, I stared at the intersection of sword tip and palm.

The savage ferocity was gone from my face.

“Hey, Saeko! Long time no see. Your swordplay’s really improved—used to be, I could stop your blade ten centimeters from a guy like this. But this killing intent… you haven’t reined it in at all. What’s Kyo been doing? Completely unreliable.”

A robust, white-haired old man in traditional kimono sleeves now stood in the dojo, though none of us had seen him enter.

And as I swallowed nervously to calm myself, I noticed at the entrance a pair of feet had left deep prints in the ground, still smoking faintly.

“My, if it isn’t Uncle Takemoto! It has been a while.”

The blond and white-haired delinquents, pressed against the wall, could only gape as the woman who had moments before been ready to unleash hell now instantly transformed into the perfect, demure lady before her elder.

In the center of the dojo, however, the two combatants relaxed, lowering fist and blade as if they were ordinary family, speaking with the ease of relatives.

“Oh, that white-haired kid tried to smash the Dojima school’s reputation?” the old man exclaimed, then chided, “Even so, you know killing’s not allowed these days, Saeko!”

“My killing intent got away from me for a moment,” Saeko admitted, a little embarrassed. “That wasn’t my intention at first.”

Taisuke muttered inwardly, “Sure, it wasn’t… until he called you an ‘old hag.’”

“So, what do you plan to do?”

The tall, sturdy old man in kimono looked curiously at me, pressed against the wall.

Perhaps he wanted to see if this delinquent, who had just escaped death, now wore a look of regret or fear.

But he was disappointed.

Clang—

I threw down the broken breastplate, lowered my head, and with clenched fists stepped before Saeko.

“That guy with the glasses… is he stronger than you?”

I asked in a low voice, my frustration plain for all to hear.

“Of course,” the swordswoman replied, flicking the wooden blade with pride. “If he couldn’t even beat me, he wouldn’t be worthy of being my chosen man.”

“Now that you’ve heard such despairing news, what will you do?” Takemoto Kyu-an, now understanding the situation, looked down at me with a wry smile.

As a martial artist, he couldn’t help but be intrigued by this reckless, stubborn youth who’d come here to challenge them.

“What will I do?” I murmured.

Before the true chasm of strength, I’d never imagined my resolve and determination could be so insubstantial, as weightless as clouds drifting across the sky.

Yet, inexplicably, a feeling rose up within me.

This was it—the one chance in a lifetime!

If I backed down here, I would never, ever catch up to those who stood at the pinnacle of the world!

Suddenly, a familiar, burning light appeared in my eyes, one that Takemoto Kyu-an recognized.

That look of resolve, of staking it all, even life itself…

When, and where, had he last seen it?

The old man’s gaze became distant, lost in memory.

But at that moment, I raised a hand and held it out to Saeko.

“Break it into as many pieces as you like! Hurt me all you want! As long as it’s not ruined forever, do whatever you want! But…”

“Once you’re done, let me become his disciple!”

With a thud, I dropped to my knees before Saeko, my arm held high in offering.

And Takemoto Kyu-an finally recalled where he’d seen that look before.

“Isn’t this… just like when that boy was a child!”

The old man’s lips split in a twisted grin, revealing teeth blanched with age.

Once again, the aged “God of War” had discovered a true gem!