The Poisonous Moth's Blade had no effect because the high-frequency vibrations were deflected by the highly compressed wind, failing to reach Noah's physical blade at all.
The wind, acting as a fluid medium, safely dispersed the kinetic energy before it could unleash its intended internal destruction.
Was it a coincidence?
At that exact moment, as Noah effortlessly blocked the lethal strike, he calmly stated.
"Thirteen seconds left."
Ikki Kurogane was shocked.
He couldn't believe his ears. "You know?!"
Thirteen seconds.
That was exactly the remaining duration of Ittou Shura. He had never publicly displayed this trump card before, yet the information had somehow leaked? Wait.
Could it be... Chairwoman Shinguuji?
He had only used it once during a private duel with her and explained the principle of the technique.
She was the only one besides himself who knew about it.
Did she tell Noah about his limits? Had she been bribed by the prestigious Kurogane family to sabotage him?
Ikki's sword suddenly lost its desperate sharpness.
Seeing that his opponent still had the mental leeway to doubt and was visibly shaken, Noah silently increased the localized gravity on his ice sword, drastically amplifying its crushing force.
"What's wrong? Are you giving up?"
'Giving up?' Ikki's mind jolted.
'That's right, now was not the time to give up!'
'Even if the Chairwoman truly was an enemy, i would never abandon my dream of becoming a Mage-Knight.'
There was only one thing he needed to think about right now: absolute victory!
He twisted his body, executing the Third Secret Sword: Madoka (Circle).
Noah pressed down on Ikki but suddenly felt his gravitational force sink into an empty ocean.
In a flash, Ikki tilted his blade downward, spun his body rapidly in a full flawless circle and swung the blade back up as if wielding a massive hammer.
This advanced technique circulated the kinetic force of the enemy's strike within his own body's axis like drawing a circle, flawlessly reflecting the massive impact he had just received—a devastating reversal counterattack.
It borrowed the enemy's own power, the stronger the enemy, the greater its return force.
This strike carried not just Ikki's physical slash, but also the immense gravitational force stolen directly from Noah's own sword.
Sensing the extraordinary momentum of this incoming attack, Noah's free left hand suddenly flipped, conjuring a dense block of ice.
Swish!
A freezing layer of ice mist swept across the platform.
Ikki's swinging motion froze in mid-air. This time, it wasn't just the surface of his skin, even his blood showed signs of rapid frost, making him feel as if moving even a single millimeter would cause countless microscopic needles to violently pierce him from within.
No matter how tough a hardened warrior was, agonizing pain at the cellular level would render anyone immobile.
Yet, because Ikki Kurogane had already abandoned his body's survival instincts via Ittou Shura, he could somehow still move.
Not only that, he actively accelerated his own blood circulation, desperately trying to use the friction and heat of his pumping blood to dispel the frost from within.
Ittou Shura had exactly nine seconds left!
He could do it!
As long as he could move right now!
The exact moment he broke free, he would use the fastest and swiftest strike among his Seven Secret Swords—the Seventh Secret Sword: Raikou (Lightning Strike).
"Truly like an Asura," Noah remarked softly, seeing the boy completely disregard his own agonizing injuries to still attempt a final attack.
Noah swung his crystal ice sword, lightly grazing Ikki's chest.
Despite being such a light and seemingly slow slash, Ikki shuddered as if struck by actual lightning.
His entire body stiffened as his knees buckled and he collapsed.
His eyes rolled back, his Device slipping weakly from his grasp and he fall heavily onto the stone stage.
He didn't move again.
No one in the stands understood what had just happened.
"Kurogane Ikki has fallen..."
"Why?!"
"Don't ask me! The exchange student just lightly grazed him, and he instantly lost consciousness!"
Kurono Shinguuji froze for a moment in the stands before suddenly realizing the brutal duel had truly ended.
She grabbed the microphone and announced, "The winner is... Noah!"
Stella immediately stood up from her chair, cheering.
She rose so quickly that the resulting physical sway of her breast was unusually intense, making Nene Saikyo, the Yasha Princess sitting beside her, stare wide-eyed.
'No way. They are... this big?! A 15-year-old girl actually has something so enviable?!'
'Damn it, is the world's malice toward my own chest too heavy?! Damn, I really want to squeeze them!'
...
Kurono Shinguuji quickly approached the stage to check Ikki Kurogane's condition.
By condition, she meant confirming his vital signs.
While the Illusion Form wouldn't permanently harm the physical body, the phantom pain inflicted was very real.
For instance, being sliced by those wind blades earlier—most normal people might suffer permanent psychological trauma or even a mental breakdown from enduring such agony alone.
There was also the rare medical possibility of pain levels being so high that a person's heart could stop from the sheer shock.
"Hmm... He is still breathing, so there is no problem," Kurono muttered, checking his pulse.
She couldn't blame a student for being too heavy-handed in a simulated battle.
The Mage-Knight Academy aimed to cultivate excellent, battle-hardened Mage-Knights, not a bunch of fragile weaklings
. Even Mage-Knights targeting desk jobs and administrative roles couldn't be completely incompetent in actual combat.
There were too many incompetent Blazers globally.
In fact, most Blazers were incompetent.
The only reason they enjoyed superior social treatment was because of those truly powerful, A-Rank Blazers, who, though few in number, were strong enough to influence the geopolitical landscape of the entire world.
As for the weak E-Rank and F-Rank Blazers... to put it bluntly, society merely viewed them as tools to continue the Blazer bloodline.
Since Blazer talent was a rare genetic lottery, allowing individuals with the gene to safely reproduce increased the statistical likelihood of giving birth to future geniuses.
Therefore, even weak Blazers, as long as they carried that potential, would still receive a preferential allocation of national resources.
"Noah, could you tone down your excessively destructive abilities a bit? If you keep shattering the venue every time you fight, I am the one who will have a headache balancing the budget," Kurono Shinguuji said with a wry smile.
Of course, this was a joke—one that helped foster camaraderie.
A powerful student making a name for the school in the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival brought far more financial benefits and prestige than a little concrete repair cost.
"Give me a break, Chairwoman. Kurogane isn't an opponent I could afford to hold back against. You saw it, right? He is as strong as a monster," Noah remarked sincerely, dispersing his ice sword.
If he had slacked off even a little, he truly might have lost.
Even if Stella had faced him, without prior knowledge of his abilities, she likely would have been defeated on their first encounter.
Mimicking sword techniques in normal circumstances was almost unbeatable against traditional swordsmen.
Not only would their physical sword styles be perfectly stolen, but other related psychological information would also be seamlessly leaked.
And after activating Ittou Shura, that blinding speed required actual time to physically adapt to.
Without enough time to adjust, it was incredibly easy to be instantly overwhelmed.
"You have the nerve to call him a monster? Look at what you have done to my arena. You are practically a walking collection of natural disasters."
A walking collection of natural disasters... That was a bit too much praise.
After all, his absolute range of elemental control via Weaver was still strictly five meters, and the raw power and duration of his magic were fairly average compared to a true, high-level Orario mage.
But if he continued to grow stronger... perhaps one day, he truly would be.
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