Things have turned out of my hands, but itâs all for the best!
I can somehow explain how I know Grabbertonâs swordsmanship skill, and I get to witness the match between Grabberton and Fumitsuna!!
The moment Dad announced that the match has startedâ¦
The Fumitsuna girl hurled in a very fast speed towards Domi!
The difference between their styles is so apparent!
In a simple term⦠letâs see.
Grabberton: [Donât you get it? Power is everything! Crush your opponent with your strength!]
Fumitsuna: [Overwhelm your enemies with your agility and speed! Donât give them the chance to attack back!]
Yup, thatâs how it goes, so itâs no wonder that Yuzuru quickly rushed off to deal the first blow.
But no matter. I know that the Grabberton house would train Domi vigorously that he should be able to see through Yuzuruâs fast movement!
As I expectedâYuzuruâs katana slash was quickly blocked by Domiâs Orgueil. But the smile didnât leave her face, as she quickly lifted her wakizashiâ
Domi noticed Yuzuruâs strategy and quickly put more strength into Orgueil, switching from defensive mode to offensive mode. This sudden strength caused Yuzuruâs hand movement to stop as she was being pushed back.
This time, her confident expression changed into a surprised expression. Sensing that Domi would land some slashes after she stuttered, she decided to leap back, did a sommersault and landed back on the ground without any injury. Her jump and sommersault caused the distance between her and Domi to return to how it was before the match started.
â¦She is so nimble and agile!!
âNot bad,â Yuzuru gave Domi a half-smile.
âHeh, so youâre quite skillful despite being so young,â Domi also acknowledged his opponent.
After exchanging meaningful glances, Domi and Yuzuru both rushed to deliver their blows at the same time.
As expected, because Yuzuruâs faster, she managed to land her attack first, but Domi managed to block them all.
Yuzuruâs movements as she attacked Domi were so fastâand it looked as if she was dancing!! This is the Fumitsunaâs fighting style! To deliver fast attacks elegantly. The combat kimono that sheâs wearing just added her elegance as it matched her dance-like movements.
Simply putâshe looked so beautiful even when she was fighting!!
I canât put my eyes off her figureâbut I know I should be paying attention to Domi, to Grabbertonâs style.
Despite Yuzuruâs speed, Domi managed to block every attack and even launched his counter attacks.
I watched as they exchanged their stances from offensive to defensiveâI canât predict who will win this battle.
Yuzuru should be 4-5 years younger than Domi, but they can fight on equal grounds! I donât know if itâs because she is talented or if itâs because the Oni blood running through her veins, but I know that itâs not because Domiâs giving her a leeway or if itâs because Domiâs not good.
Once again, Yuzuru created a distance between the two of them after realizing that she wonât get any upper hand with this tactic.
âNow, letâs see how you will fare against this!â
Yuzuru jumped and swung the two of her swords mid-air. Some black shards appeared and made their ways to where Yuzuru targeted her swingsâto Domi!
This is another difference of Fumitsuna household compared to Grabbertonâtheir style implements the use of magic! Itâs indispensable for the members of Fumitsuna clan to learn magic, too.
Towards the rapid attack of these countless shardsâDomi⦠how can he make his way out of it? As if itâs not enough, Yuzuru added some blows again and now, the shards are coming his way from all directions!
I glanced at Domi, but I canât believe what I saw! Domi remained calm and even closed his eyes?!
âWhat, saying your prayers?!â Yuzuru shouted as she landed back.
Soon, the shards reached Domi and the clashâs impact and gust made me unable to see what was going on. Did Domi lose like this?
âAh, too bad. Well, it was fun while it lasted,â Yuzuru sighed and let her guard down, thinking that the match has ended and turned to face the other way, sheathing back her swords and ready to walk away.
âOh? Who taught you to let your guards off?â
At the same time as Domiâs voice resounded, Yuzuru turned her body back but it was too lateâDomi has already approached her, and right when she just faced himâhe swung his glowing sword towards Yuzuru!
Unable to guard on time, the blow caused Yuzuruâs body to flyâbefore she finally managed to control her own body and stopped herself from falling mid-air. She landed back on the ground with a huge impact, she had to use one of her hands to stabilize her body.
âKuh! How did you--?!â
Wait⦠his sword was glowingâcould it beâ¦?!
âHuh?! You could use Touki?!â Yuzuru gasped in realization.
Toukiâfighting spirit. Not many people could use itâeven I didnât master it back then. I thought Father also had not mastered this technique back then⦠Domi could use it at such an age?!
He could manipulate his aura or life force to wear around his own handsâthen extended it to Orgueil, which made it possible for him to defend himself against the magical attacks?!
Domi⦠he has really grown up⦠and to think that heâs this talentedâ¦
Yuzuru then ran towards Domiâs back and only unsheathed her katana as she dashed forward with it glowing backâwait, this stance?!
âTaste your own medicine!â Yuzuru declared as she perfectly copied Domiâs attack that caused her first downfall just nowâlooks like itâs true that women held grudges?!
â¦but how could Yuzuru use Domiâs movement just now? Though I know sheâs not using Touki, but instead she cladded her katana in Dark magic.
âTrying to copy my movement? But your power wonât be as good as me!â Domi sneered as he blocked Yuzuruâs dark Muramasa with his glowing Orgueil.
And itâs trueâYuzuru was the one who lost. She was dragged backwards as her forte was her speed, not strength.
âAlright, time to end everything,â Yuzuru said as she unsheathed her Koakuma, too. Then, she brought the two swords closerâ
As she brought the two swords closer and infused them with her dark magic essence⦠the swords merged and turned into a single giant sword with ominuous dark purple glow!
âThatâs⦠The Demon Slayer?!â Domi said in awe.
Though it was huge, Yuzuru easily carried it as if it was lightâthe legendary Demon Slayer⦠the combined form of Muramasa and Koakuma⦠So thatâs how they do that?! Itâs cool!
âWe call it Kokusatsu! It meansâ¦
killer!â Yuzuru announced as she swung the sword aroundâand a large crescent-shaped attack formed in front of the sword.
Oh noâDomiâs done for, he canât easily block this overwhelming attack with his Touki unscatchedâhe canât even jump up, right, or left!!
âVictory is mine!â Yuzuru smiled coldly as she continued the swingâwhich encouraged the crescent-shaped attack to lung forward at Domiâs body quicklyâeven my eyes canât really see its movement as it closed on Domi!
The crescent-shaped attack didnât even stop until it clashed the magical barrier erected to keep us safeâit left a few cracks to the barrier before it finally was gone.
And Domiâ¦
As the dust was about to go away, I couldnât see anyoneâwait, the name is Victory Killer, but Yuzuru couldnât have killed Domi off⦠right?
Did he collapse on to the ground?
Perhaps thinking the same thing, Yuzuru continued to examine the grounds, but this time, she kept her Kokusatsu intact, in her defensive stance. Seems like she didnât dare to lower her guard this time.
âWhere are you looking at?â
This voiceâDomiâs?!
From up thereâwait?!
I looked up to the sky and noticed Domi has jumped
high up to the sky!
No human being could even jump that high, and he canât possibly use such a high-leveled magic to flyâ¦
No⦠This is not it⦠this⦠Domi⦠on top of Touki, you also�!
Before one noticed, Domi charged right at Kokusatsu, kicking it with his legs and swung the glowing Orgueilâthose attacks successfully broke Kokusatsuâs magical power as the huge sword form was shatteringârevealing the two original swords in Yuzuruâs two hands.
Yuzuruâs expression was so pricelessâshe was very surprised that Domiâs kicks and Orgueil+Touki combo alone could dispel her precious Killing Victoryâwait no, I think I got the name wrong.
But I know it. That right now, his kicks werenât ordinary humansâ kicks.
He activated his [Oracle]âthe Grabberton familyâs [Absolute Power].
That explained how he managed to jump to such inhumane heightâhow his kicks could contribute to shattering Kokusatsu.
Itâs said that the first head of Grabberton family used his oracle-imbued kick to knock off a werebeast in just⦠one hit.
As the audience gasped in their surprise and awe because of what just happenedâI wasnât really that surprised after witnessing Domiâs jump. I knew he inherited the oracle the moment I saw him leaping so high up in the sky.
Unlike Hartmannâs oracle which has a high chance of inheritance, Grabberton familyâs [Absolute Power] has 50-50 chance of inheritance. Both me and Clyde didnât inherit it. FatherâI know he can use [Absolute Power].
Despite the lower chance of inheritance, [Absolute Power] didnât require any training at all so it could be used to its maximum output. You just need to control it. Switch it on and off at will.
Father seemed disappointed knowing that both Clyde and I didnât inherit it at allâMother was even more disappointed in me, though. If only I inherited the oracle, I would be declared the heir even if I was born a girl.
Domi⦠he really was born with golden spoon!
Born to the legal wife, as a male, inheriting [Absolute Power], the ability to use [Touki]⦠How Mother would be so proud of Domi!
I didnât know he had the oracle and the ability to use touki as his power didnât show up at all when he was just four. How ecstatic must Father and Mother be when they found out that Domi was so talented?
â¦I wonder how did Clyde feel when the news broke out?
Oh yeah, since maleâs physical power is typically stronger than femaleâs power, of course the same goes for the Oracle. Which contributed to male preference in Grabberton household.
Although there was only one occurrence where a female oracle holder successfully snatched the heir title from a male oracle holder throughout the Grabberton clanâs history.
âAlright, thatâs enough!â Dad suddenly shouted to mark the end of the match.
âEh? B-but we are not done yetâ¦,â Yuzuru quickly answered.
âWe have witnessed all amazing techniques and how your power was evenâthis match ended in a tie. Iâm afraid if you two continued, you wonât be able to leave this birthday party unscatched, soâ¦,â Dad explained.
Itâs wise to call it off at this moment.
âThatâs right. I think that we were too engrossed in fighting that we forgot what this match was intended to beâa show-off to satisfy this birthday partyâs princess,â Domi calmly said as he returned Orgueil back to its scabbard.
âUâuhh⦠And I was about to bring Kokusatsu out againâ¦,â Yuzuru also returned her swords back.
The two then bowed respectfully at each other.
âIf only this match continued, then Domi would have snatched the victory.â
I reflexively turned my head towards the source of this familiar boasting voiceâMother.
From the looks of it, yeah, the match was called off when Domi successfully broke Yuzuruâs Kokusatsuâbut Yuzuruâs last remark indicated that she could just build Kokusatsu again and attack Domi more viciously. In terms of their fighting abilitiesâDomi and Yuzuru were on a par.
As I noticed that the two of them glanced at me, I quickly approached them and bowed down.
âThank you so much for the amazing show off, Domi-san, Yuzuru-san! It was awesome! Swordsmanship is cool!â I said with my eyes sparklingâyes, it was no exaggeration. Todayâs spectacle was more than I expected.
âIâm glad,â Domi smiled a little bit and excused himself as he approached his mother.
âNo problem, I had much fun. Thanks for the opportunity, Lyra!â Yuzuru smiled before her eyes caught someoneâs presence and she quickly dashed towards that person.
âBeel! Did you see? Did you see? I did great, right?â
â¦
That voice just nowâit sounded way sweeter than she usually talkedâbut it was Yuzuruâs, right?
I returned my line of sight to observe Yuzuru.
The cool beauty just turned into a sweet girl who adorably put her arms around an older boyâs arm. The boy seems to be 2-3 years older than Yuzuru?
âAh, yeah. You did great,â the boy glanced sideways at Yuzuru as he praised her.
âHehe, praise me more! Praise me more!â Yuzuru urged him.
â¦what a drastic turn of personality?!
Perhaps Dad noticed my curious stare towards the pair, Dad patted my head and explained.
âOh, itâs the rumored Beelxander Byron, Iâve been told that Yuzuru fell for him despite it was an arranged engagement by their parents.â
Hee⦠That explained. Yuzuru
look like a maiden in love in front of her beloved fiancé. And she was so vicious and strong during the matchâit seemed to me that they were two different people⦠Oh well, love could do such a wonder to someone?
In the past, I havenât really experienced loveâ¦
I wonder if I will be able to experience such a sweet love like them?
âThatâs niceâ¦,â I unconsciously let that line slip off my mouth. Dadâs body stiffened as he turned to look at me in disbelief.
âLy⦠Lyra, you⦠you donât want to get engaged yet, right?â
Oh!
So Dadâs worried about it!!
âAh, no, Dad. I mean, it would be nice if someday, in the far away future, I could meet someone and love him as much as Yuzuru loves her fiancé,â I explained. It doesnât mean that I want to fall in love right now, so I emphasized on the words [in the far away future].
Howeverâ¦
âNoooo!! No, Lyra, donât lose yourself in love! Whatever happens, Lyra must find a man that would be so weak in love that he would do anything for youânot the other way around! But no, Lyra, I wonât give you to anyone just yet! No, you canât, Lyra, just stay as a little child forever, Dad will surely pamper you!!â
â¦Dadâs already broken.
The triggerâs been switched and itâs too late to fix his loose screws.
And thus, the party went on according to the âscriptââI mean norm like usual.
It was not until I went back to my sworn spouse, my bed, that I felt fatigue rising up in my body.
Thatâs right, I exerted a lot of energy today! My mental sanity has been tested for many times over. As I started to fall asleep, my mind wandered to what I will be doing tomorrow.
Tomorrow, right⦠tomorrow⦠Mom saidâ¦
Second⦠magic test.
Letâs hope everything turns out for the best!