Editing City Series:Volume8b Chapter10 (section)

===Aoe’s Continued Sight Mode: In DT Castle===

'''<Aoe’s Over Reload>

The battle preparations began with a window opening.

'''<Daikatana: Uriel Word Race Conversion: Switching to C Word Race Traits: Limiter Off: Movement Stability>

Aoe clicked his tongue when he saw the window. Daikatana took a fighting stance in front of him.

In that moment, Aoe heard a voice come from within the staff Daikatana held at the ready.

'''“Strike”

With a splitting stone sound, an emblem appeared halfway up the metal staff.

The blade symbol was drawn in see-through gray.

The staff shook a bit and released a further Text as Daikatana held it up over his right shoulder.

'''“And fulfill all the anguish.”

Windows opened all around Daikatana. Rapidly and in great number.

A wind whipped up and Aoe saw text wrapping around the top half of the metal staff.

'''●Type-XX049 – Imperial-class – Moebius●

This was a Pseudo Grandload. A window saying the blade of text was in place appeared before Daikatana’s eyes, but his eyes remained closed. He did not even read the window.

As for Aoe…

<The Mind’s Eye Sword? I can’t believe anyone can actually use that.>

He placed his feet at shoulder width to deepen his stance.

Daikatana’s nagamaki shook slightly in response. He had increased his grip strength.

Aoe kept his eyes on that nagamaki. He could see the text subtly vibrating.

He held his breath and reached his hand right, toward a pencil on a nearby table.

Daikatana immediately opened his mouth.

“Do you think you will find a weapon capable of competing with my blade there?”

Aoe stopped his hand. He noted that Daikatana’s eyes were as closed as ever. He focused his own eyes on those shut eyelids and smiled in a bashful way.

“I was only testing you to make sure you weren’t faking it.”

“You would learn that soon enough once the battle begins.”

“Fair enough.”

He snapped his right hand back and passed Monkey the data trigon with the blade printed on it.

“Eat this, Monkey.”

A window opened in front of him before he was even doing speaking.

'''<Management Program Release: Blade Usage Allowed: Time Limit: 30 seconds>

The number 30 appeared over his head.

At the same time, Daikatana leaned so far forward it looked like he was toppling over.

<Here he comes!>

Aoe still had a trigon left in his left hand, so he shoved that into his shorts pocket and ran backwards.

A nagamaki attack struck the spot he had just vacated.

The roaring slash scattered the wind and was made so quickly Aoe failed to see the step forward or the swinging of the weapon.

“Oh!”

Aoe leaped to the right, pursued by the roaring wind that rushed in a moment later.

The downward-swinging blade suddenly changed direction to follow.

The metal trajectory skimmed across the floor and sloped up at the end to reach his flank.

<How can he move like that!?>

He quickly realized the trick behind his opponent’s movements.

<The text blade looks big, but the weapon is only as heavy as the actual metal staff he’s holding.>

The bending staff’s tip sliced through the wind.

It was coming. The text blade was on its way to Aoe’s torso. He let his willpower shout when he saw the incoming speed.

'''“Not bad!”

'''<Aoe’s Over Zoom>

Download.

A shattering glass sound came from his feet and he kicked off the floor to leap again.

He just barely managed to avoid the blade arcing up toward him.

He did not counterattack. He leaped toward the south wall behind him. The communication console and Monkey were there. And his backpack was beneath the console.

He landed with 5 yards due south until the console. He had put 3 yards between him and Daikatana.

Daikatana had just finished swinging up his metal staff and was preparing to swing it back down. Aoe concluded another attack was not coming soon, so he twisted toward the console and took off running.

He turned his back on Daikatana.

A moment later, he heard the wind whistling behind him.

That was Daikatana’s blade slicing the air. Aoe realized what this meant.

<He reversed the momentum awfully quick!>

He clicked his tongue, stretched out his leg, and stepped on the floor.

The wind washed over the back of his neck from top to bottom.

The blade’s arcing path down had passed very close by.

He did not look back. He leaped forward like he was grabbing at the floor with his toenails.

'''“Run!”

The console was close. Monkey stood on his hind legs and waved his front legs to say “get over here”.

Aoe heard Daikatana’s footsteps approaching from behind.

Another sword strike accompanied each step.

From above, from the right, drawing out an arc to connect to the next one, and from the left.

Aoe ran. He kept his hips low and made sure the soles of his shoes left the floor as little as possible.

He reached the console on the 7th step.

His left hand grabbed the backpack from the floor and snatched Monkey from atop the console.

He looked back.

Daikatana’s face was within arm’s reach.

He was preparing to swing an attack up from below.

“Do you ever give up!?”

Aoe could not immediately change direction after running to the console by the wall. Straight ahead would take him to the south wall of the central communications tower, but trying to escape to either side would get him cut down during his turn.

There was only one way out of this.

“Kh!”

He took a small leap toward the stone wall.

He arrived atop the console at about the same time Daikatana took his next step from behind.

Aoe instantly kicked off the top of the console, kicked off the wall, and leaped nearly to the ceiling.

But Daikatana’s nagamaki could still easily reach him. The attack skillfully avoided the console and carved into the wall to pursue Aoe.

Aoe could not dodge in midair.

Or he shouldn’t have been able to.

'''“I’m not done yet!”

There was a false ceiling made from a wooden framework overhead. It was used to support the base of the antennae.

He placed his right palm on the ceiling just as he kicked off the wall.

He used the kick off the wall and the attitude control of the hand on the ceiling to launch himself sideways.

He had successfully dodged.

By then, he was already thinking up his next move. And he acted on those thoughts before they could appear in the window.



'''<Aoe’s Over Zoom>

Aoe flipped around and landed.

The wall was to his left, the tables to his right, and Daikatana behind him.

He kept his back to the enemy he knew would be attacking again soon and he grabbed the closest table with his right hand.

'''“Ohh!”

The OS responded to his mental shout. A black spear emblem appeared on his right hand and a shattering glass sound surged out.

He lowered his hips and threw the table overhead with just his right arm.

Pencils, paper, pens, a ruler, and the files in the drawers were all scattered above him.

What goes up must come down. He ducked below the falling objects as he moved forward.

Behind him, he heard a spraying sound as Daikatana broke through the falling objects and the table.

Aoe shoved his hand into his backpack which contained paper plates, tape, writing implements, and a box cutter.

“That should do it!”

He looked over his shoulder to see the airborne papers and writing implements scattered like snow. And he saw Daikatana rushing through it all.

Aoe took action.

He pulled a single paper plate from the backpack and tossed it toward Daikatana’s face with a flick of his wrist.

The paper plate rotated vertically toward Daikatana’s face.

But even with so many small objects flying around, Daikatana dodged the plate with a minimal movement of his head.

Aoe jumped a large step back and whistled. He threw another paper plate while commenting loudly.

“You aren’t going to be hit so easily, are you!?”

“I have far more experience. What you said to Mekton does not apply to me.”

Daikatana dodged the second paper plate too. Then he stepped forward and launched an attack.

The metal arc he sent out sliced the already halved table into quarters.

Aoe immediately tossed another paper plate. Again aimed at Daikatana’s face.

“Take this!”

Daikatana raised his staff overhead and then frowned.

“This will never work against me!”

He took a step forward.

He swung his weapon down from above while he tilted his head to dodge the paper plate.

The dodged plate immediately curved downwards toward his face.

“What!?”

'''<Aoe’s Sight Mode has updated>