18 Duel
(Tatsuya Pov)
-Morning at Yakumo Shrine-
"I am amazed by your progress. Your abnormal genius is truly impressive," Yakumo exclaimed, watching Tatsuya's skills in awe. However, despite his admiration, Yakumo couldn't help but notice the bruises on Tatsuya's abdomen and legs, and the dirt on his clothes from the muddy shrine grounds. Tatsuya's special magic quickly healed his wounds.
Meanwhile.
Tatsuya's eyes widened in wonder as he watched Haku move swiftly in front of Mizuki, cutting off Morisaki's magic and making him kneel with just a glance. He couldn't help but wonder if there were many other strong people like Haku hidden in the shadows.
Despite fighting Haku with Taijutsu alone, Tatsuya knew that Haku's speed was in a completely different league.
"Hmm, Tatsuya-kun, why did you refuse to duel with Yuki-san?" Yakumo asked, not to tease him but to understand his student's motives. He knew that Tatsuya was not someone who easily showed off his skills just out of pride.
"You are quite knowledgeable, sensei. It's simply unnecessary," Tatsuya replied calmly.
"By the gods, I think this is a good opportunity to see what he's capable of, don't you?" Yakumo suggested, intrigued by the prospect of seeing Tatsuya's full potential.
Although Yakumo did not know much about Haku, he knew that he was dangerous. During their first encounter, Yakumo had never felt such a strong aura that gave him goosebumps. Thus, he went towards the shrine where Haku was, intending to fight him. However, what he saw was a teenager younger than Miyuki.
"'Oh? I thought it was a cat,'" he said, referring to himself.
"It never occurred to anyone to say that to me," he thought to himself.
"Since that's the case, I'll teach you some jutsu for this duel," Yakumo offered, hoping to help Tatsuya prepare for the potential fight.
"But sensei, I am not a temple student," Tatsuya objected.
"This is an exception. Although you're not a student, I am personally teaching you, right?" Yakumo replied, hoping to convince Tatsuya to accept his offer.
Tatsuya fixed his gaze on Yakumo and nodded, determined to make the most of this opportunity.
---
-First High Gymnasium-
Kirihara was knocked down by Haku's kick.
Tatsuya darted out with his martial arts skills and pressed his knee against Kirihara's chest. He took the communication device and reported Kirihara's arrest to the committee.
Then to avenge Kirihara, the Kenjutsu members cast magic with their CADs. Tatsuya and Haku sighed internally at their stupidity.
Casting magic simultaneously would only make the magic sequence overlap and cancel their magic if it was directed at the same target.
With Kirihara restrained, Tatsuya used the two CADs on his wrist to fire a complex Psion wave network of non-systematic magic.
As a result, everyone in the arena felt symptoms of nausea, like motion sickness. Haku was able to endure Tatsuya's Pseudo-Cast Jamming casually.
"Just sleep. Just sleep."
"Gah!"
Taking this opportunity, Haku punched all the Kenjutsu members who resisted into unconsciousness.
When the Cast-Jamming stopped, everyone in the arena began to recover.
As their blurry vision became clear, all the Kenjutsu members were already lying unconscious.
Haku approached Tatsuya while playing with the shinai in his hand. "Cast-Jamming without Antinite. You know, you can make a big splash with this." Haku didn't mean to praise him, but this was like a warning.
Tatsuya smiled wryly. "Yeah, I know that. But that doesn't mean they're all as smart as you."
"Hahaha! That's a bold statement."
Haku looked around him and saw several Kendo members who had fainted from Cast-Jamming.
He went over and checked on them, even though it was just an act to steal his tricolor bracelet. Using his mobile terminal, he summoned the school medic to the arena.
Mibu was wide-eyed after the start, but she felt subdued.
In the few moments when the Psion wave appeared, she had not expected all the Kenjutsu members to be lying unconscious.
She instinctively searched for the 'strange girl' who had withstood the attack earlier and found only Haku chuckling with the other students while playing with his shinai.
She asked why there were strong individuals like them, but her surprise was further heightened when she realized they were both Course 2 students.
What was special was that they were also members of the Disciplinary Committee.
Glancing back as he noticed Mibu's gaze, Haku thought maybe she was begging him to return her shinai.
"Sorry, I only borrowed this for a moment."
"Uh? U-Um."
Mibu felt awkward when she received the shinai she had used earlier.
---
Before Haku and Tatsuya's duel, they were in the club's supervision headquarters.
"The situation concerns the Kenjutsu Club breaking into the Kendo Club's demonstration."
Tatsuya, after resolving the incident, gave details regarding Kirihara's illegal use of magic.
Despite his detailed explanation, the high-ranking students Mayumi, Mari, and Katsuto glanced at Haku with eyes that said, "What do you think?"
Haku sighed slightly, thinking how tiring it was to talk so much at a meeting like this.
"From Tatsuya's report, I would add that Kirihara-senpai has personal reasons why he provoked Mibu-senpai."
Mari tilted her eyebrows slightly, then said, "Interesting. So this is some kind of fight between admirers?" Haku nodded at Mari's question and continued.
"He said that 'Mibu's sword became strange to like someone had manipulated Mibu's sword.' So he tried to tell Mibu-senpai's mistake through a duel, but in the end, Kiriaha-senpai got too carried away, and when he was handled by the Health Committee, he admitted his mistake and apologized. That's the testimony of Kirihara-senpai."
Mari was slightly wide-eyed. "Even though I admire the prowess of her sword techniques, what happened to her?" She glanced at Katsuto. "Well then, I leave the prosecution to you, Juumonji."
Instead of praising how the two of them defeated the Kenjutsu Club in the blink of an eye, Mari asked the leader of the Activities Supervision Club, Juumonji Katsuto.
Haku and Tatsuya noticed the large man who sat erect, puffing out his broad chest.
In contrast to Tatsuya's mind, which was full of scary imagery, but Haku thought that this man was an exercise enthusiast and eating a lot of bland protein supplements.
If it were Haku, who had never tasted the stench of the blood of war, he would probably complain a lot about his job, but he seemed calm, like a 'cute iceberg' on the surface, but underneath, he was a developed and sturdy human being.
"I thank you for your leniency. To use rank-B magic like Sonic Blade, we were wondering if the suspension could be avoided. I'll investigate further myself, and we'll give him lessons to avoid this kind of incident again in the future."
Mari and Mayumi nodded. "We'll leave it to you, Juumonji-kun," Mayumi said.
Katsuto bowed lightly, and with that, the short meeting ended, but the main course was just about to be served.
"Alright, next. Haku-san wants to propose a duel with Tatsuya-kun, don't you think?
Instead of dispersing, the conversation continued, making Katsuto, who intended to leave the room, abandon his intention out of curiosity.
Mari was smiling playfully; her body seemed to be overjoyed. Haku thought that this tomboyish girl was running out of entertainment.
"Hmm. I didn't think it would be this fast." Mari commented happily.
"Yes, can we borrow the school forest?"
Instead of serving Mari, Haku got straight to the point.
"Why isn't the practice room more than enough?"
Mayumi looked strange after all the practice room, but she could fulfill the students' needs for even magic battles.
Haku smiled and said, "Both of us are fine with it."
Mayumi didn't seem to understand the meaning of the request, but she said, "Alright, the student council will permit this duel. But I, Mari, and Juumonji-kun will supervise the duel." Mayumi said, reciprocated by Mari's nod.
"I'm fine with that. Then I'll propose the rules of the duel. "
Haku continued the conversation with the four people, and after a while, they all agreed and moved to the open area in the center of the forest.
---
In the center of First High's forest clearing, Haku and Tatsuya were wearing training clothes for their intense duel, which was expected to be more intense than Hattori and Tatsuya's previous duel.
From the sidelines, First High's three pillars, Mayumi, Mari, and Juumonji, as well as student council member Suzune, vice president Hattori, and Miyuki, watched with curiosity as they were both powerful students whose limits could not be measured, and there was also a lot of mystery behind them.
The outcome of the duel was unpredictable; even Miyuki, who is always optimistic about her Onii-sama, remained silent and did not dare predict the winner.
"Well, I don't need to say much more about the rules of the duel. In short, you may use high-level magic; weapons are not allowed; and if we judge that the duel should be stopped, Juumonji will stop you with his magic. That's all."
The two nodded and kept their distance. Although this duel was more lenient. They both thought, there was no way they were going to use their 'trump cards.'
"Alright. Begin!"
When Mari swung her right hand to signal the start, the two darted towards each other with their strong inner war pressure, giving everyone goosebumps.
They started the duel with a Taijutsu battle, launching fists, parries, and kicks at each other's body parts without any worries of injury, their hearts shaking without a doubt.
Their movements were very fast, and each of their punches, kicks, and up-and-down displacement movements seemed like a fierce battle full of experience.
"I can't keep up with them!" the spectators shouted in their hearts.
Hattori was sweating profusely, while a chill traveled from his heart to the rest of his body.
"What the hell is going on? Are these moves from two high school kids?" Hattori wondered what was going on here and then remembered the old days when he was defeated in an instant by someone he underestimated. "Ha-ha, I'm just a frog at the bottom of a well," he thought.
But one thing was for sure, the initial battle had just begun, and they had not even touched their respective magic or CAD.
Tatsuya aimed his fist at Haku, but Haku parried it and then aimed a gentle fist toward Tatsuya's abdomen. Tatsuya did not freeze and twisted his body to dodge and deliver a roundhouse kick to Haku's head.
Haku dodged by crouching down, quickly making three seals, and then slamming his palm into the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Wall."
The moment Tatsuya's kick missed, he felt the ground shake, making him have to steady his feet. He felt overshadowed by something that suddenly rose up; he glanced slightly and saw an earth wall three meters high and seven meters to the side appear behind him.
"Instead of using the earthen wall to resist attacks, he's using it so that I can't escape," Tatsuya thought.
Being able to "see" from the information dimension, Haku gathered a number of psions in his left arm. Purple electric sparks crackled throughout the dueling area as Haku prepared to use the Purple Lightning Jutsu on Tatsuya's chest.
Everyone was wide-eyed at the sight of Haku aiming the unknown magic at Tatsuya's chest, but they recognized it as the same magic he had used to stop the Sonic Blade.
"Juumonji! Stop this duel!" Mayumi anxiously pleaded.
Katsuto quickly used his CAD to cast his signature magic, the phalanx, to protect Tatsuya. Then, suddenly, a strong gust of wind gathered in front of Tatsuya, forming an oval-shaped shield that rotated rapidly.
"Wind Release: Wind Blizzard."
After performing six series of hand seals, Tatsuya used a new technique taught directly by Yakumo.
With a shield that looked like a whirlwind, Haku's Purple Lightning Jutsu clashed with Tatsuya's Wind Blizzard, canceling each other's magic.
The resulting explosion of pressure sent them flying in opposite directions.
Haku darted backward while spinning in the air. He then used his CAD to cast a magic spell that reduced his inertia and helped him regain control of his body.
Meanwhile, Tatsuya was inevitably blown away and pierced through the earth wall, destroying its center.
'Shoulder dislocation and internal injuries detected.'
'Reading backup data.'
'Initiating Regrowth Magic Sequence.'
In under 0.1 seconds, Regrowth automatically activated and returned Tatsuya to his prime.
With his Elemental Sight passive perception, Haku was surprised by the Regrowth magic, but he mentally shook his head and focused on the duel.
Haku sprinted towards Tatsuya, who was getting up after being knocked down, having recovered fully thanks to the Regrowth magic.
From the left side, Haku suddenly appeared with a swift movement, and the Ice Spear fused with his arm, which was already formed.
Tatsuya took the silver horn from his gun holster and used Non-Systematic Psion Wave magic toward Haku to distract him.
He hoped to use that opportunity to take Haku down.
When three similar psionic waves from his duel with Hattori hit Haku at the right coordinates, Haku seemed to slow down a bit, giving Tatsuya the chance to dart in with his martial arts and take him down.
When his hand went for Haku's neck, suddenly Haku's body seemed to turn into a water sculpture, and the water spilled onto the ground because it could not hold its shape.
In the process, Tatsuya's eyes widened in surprise because he had been focusing his senses with Elemental Sight, so there was no way his "eyes" could be fooled.
"This is Kudou's Parade! No, Parade, don't leave any water like this," Tatsuya said after his brief analysis, his focus split, and he did not realize Haku's true whereabouts.
With a cracking sound from the ground right below Tatsuya, Haku came up with his fist and slammed it into Tatsuya's chin, sending him slightly into the air.
Having no footing, Tatsuya fell to the ground and rolled a few times. When he stopped, he felt a sharp and cold object right on his neck.
Tatsuya was wide-eyed a gasp for breath, looking at Haku's pretty pale white face illuminated by the afternoon sun. "I won," Haku said with a small grin on his face.
Haku pulled Ice Needle from his neck and helped him up.
After the duel was over, Haku felt that it was too quiet.
"So quiet..." he thought.
Haku looked behind him and saw everyone making incredulous faces except Juumonji Katsuto.
Mari snapped out of her silly stupor and coughed a little. "The winner is Yuki Haku," Mari announced.
Haku nodded at Mari's announcement. "Onii-sama. Are you alright?" Miyuki ran up with a worried face. "No, I'm fine. I'm fine," Tatsuya smiled at his sister's concern.
Juumonji analyzed this situation as fast as he could in his head. Although he was famous for his Phalanx magic, he also had leadership wisdom.
He began to wonder what backgrounds the two had since their qualities as magicians were above average.
He wondered if they might be descendants of the 18 assistant houses or hundred families.
After he wondered for a while in his mind, he walked up to Haku.
"Haku-san, are you alright?" Mayumi asked with a cute pout. Haku raised his eyebrows. "I'm fine. But what's with that silly pout?" Haku didn't understand Mayumi's heart at the moment.
"Don't you realize! Your magic just now was more dangerous than the Sonic Blade! Tatsuya-kun could be seriously injured because of you," Mayumi said in frustration, but she knew that Haku had not violated anything, as both parties had previously agreed to the duel rules.
Then they all fell silent and looked at Juumonji, who was walking towards the group.
"Yuki, am I right?" Juumonji asked with a heavy voice and with all the pressure of his authority.
Haku didn't feel pressured at all and looked Juumonji straight in the eyes.
"Yeah."
"Are you a boy or a girl?"
Juumonji's question might sound simple, but the real meaning was that he wanted to make sure that he could introduce Haku into the Japanese magical society, especially the 10 Master Clans.
Mayumi let out a long sigh since she was smart enough to understand Juumonji's question.
Haku also understood if this man had an ulterior motive. "I am a man," Haku spoke briefly.
"Good. By the way, that was a thrilling duel."
After the awkward pleasantries, he turned around and walked away from them with Hattori.
"Sigh. Such a stiff guy," Mari snorted at her friend's attitude.
Haku touched Mayumi's cheek with his index finger several times with a wry smile. "Cough! Senpai," Mayumi turned around and pouted again. "What?" Haku rolled his eyes at Mayumi's question, "Don't forget to return my food dish," Haku reminded Mayumi of his belongings.
Mayumi smiled coldly because it was a strange question in this situation, but at the same time, she was also grateful that Haku made a very delicious bento for her, but she was also upset that she couldn't eat with him that afternoon.
On the other hand, Haku looked forward with a blank stare, but actually, he was staring at the system screen.
[Quest Successful!]
[Howard Stark's "Future Energy" Diary has been saved in storage.]
With that notification, Haku made a happy grin.
"Hey! Stop smiling at yourself!"
"Yes. Yes."
