NOVEL WEB Chapter 21 – Mock Battle (10)
Master Isen — the Keiryuu himself sat cross-legged, robes of black and silver flowing like water under moonlight. His golden hair shimmered softly under the arena lights, and his calm blue eyes never blinked.
He watched the chaos below.
Watched Khael.
Watched Shigeo.
And in his mind, thoughts curled like smoke.
(We know Shigeo... After all, his mind is impressive. He has always been like that. A genius among tacticians. A boy who doesn't need raw power — because he outthinks everything.)
He tilted his head slightly, watching the shattered fragments of Shigeo's Thousand Way ripple through the air.
(But that Khael kid... he saw the pattern.)
(He predicted the loop. He didn't overpower the technique — he escaped it.)
Raiden Kurogami. His eyes half-lidded, bored narrowed as he tracked Shigeo's hand movement.
"'Thousand Way' at 32%. Loop broke. Wind Boy's footwork disrupted the second pattern."
He caught the pebble again.
"Impressive."
"You're counting his calculations?" Amane asked, amused.
Raiden shrugged. "It's either that or listen to Buddha quotes and lava grunts."
Yui Fushiguro. She watches in silence, arms crossed.
"Emotion. That's what broke the loop."
"He struck with emotion... not logic. That's why Shigeo faltered."
She glances sideways at Raiden.
"But if the boy is not careful, his clarity will become noise."
Kurosawa Zeke (Magma Flame )
Standing. Arms folded. Lava-like aura subtly radiating.
"Weak. Shigeo's hesitation could've gotten him killed in war."
He glares down at the arena.
Kaito Yagami Simply watches, eyes narrow, expression unreadable.
"So he calculated a path outside the equation… Impressive."
He folds his arms behind his back.
"This match just became relevant."
Everyone turned to Master Isen
He chuckled once more, still staring at the boy.
"Fascinating, isn't it?" the Keiryuu said warmly.
Then he spoke softly, as if to himself:
"What a strange wind is blowing today..."
He leaned back.
"Keep watching. That boy's not just a prodigy. He's a fracture point."
"...A what?" Raiden blinked.
"A breaking point" Master Isen said with a smile.
…
Back to Khael Pov
"I don't like being wrong," Shigeo said, stepping forward again.
"So let me correct the error."
His feet shifted.
Three inches. To the left.
A fake twitch in the right shoulder.
But I didn't fall for it.
(That's not the attack.)
My legs moved before my brain caught up the wind dragging me back.
A blast of force exploded where I was standing.
(A pressure feint, he compressed the air. No affinity, just physics!)
I landed on one knee, sliding backward, hands to the ground.
My eyes shot up, he was already mid-strike again.
"He's layering attacks," I muttered under my breath.
"First the illusion. Then the logic. Then the force."
Shigeo's voice echoed through the space.
"I built a new grid."
"This time it updates every second."
"Try dodging a future that adapts to you."
My eyes widened — just a flash of realization.
(As expected...)
(In order to defeat this guy... I have to use that wind.)
(The wind once wielded by the First Dragonknight.)
(This basic wind technique… no, this Echo Art... it's not ordinary.)
(It's from the ancient era—the Dragon Era. A time when knights rode the sky on beasts born of storms.)
(This art has been forgotten by the world. Lost. Buried.)
(Which means—no one will recognize it. Not him. Not the Vanguards.)
(So... yeah.)
(I'll show it.)
(And my power won't be exposed. It's a win-win.)
The wind around me changed.
It was no longer wild.
It listened.
My fingers spread.
I exhaled once — slow, calm, measured.
A faint hum echoed in the arena.
Not loud.
But ancient.
Like something older than the ground we stood on.
Shigeo paused.
His eyes narrowed calculating.
Always calculating.
But this time... the numbers meant nothing.
The formula was already outdated.
(You can't map something that comes from a forgotten language, Shigeo.)
(This isn't logic. It's legacy.)
(And as for how I know this so well... duh—)
(The dragon's memories are inside my head.)
(Etched in bone, sealed in breath. I saw everything. I felt everything.)
The hum sharpened.
The dust around my feet stirred in a slow spiral.
Then lifted.
(Wind Echo Art: Whisper Step.)
My body vanished no flash, no smoke.
Just gone.
Shigeo blinked once.
I was behind him already.
Elbow drawn, wind loaded, silence weaponized.
He twisted, barely catching the movement.
(Too late.)
My strike connected cleanly with his back
A direct shot, amplified by ancient flow
He flew.
Hit the ground with a grunt, rolling once, twice.
Silence followed.
Not from awe.
But confusion.
Shigeo got up slowly, hand wiping blood from his lip.
His eyes no longer calculating.
They were... uncertain.
"What... was that?" he asked.
I stood tall.
Calm.
Still wind-wrapped.
"I told you."
"Just a normal guy who uses wind."
As Shigeo staggered, knees slightly bent, one hand gripping his ribs where the wind had cut through.
His breath came in shallow bursts.
His eyes usually sharp, scanning, hungry for patterns looked... lost.
His lips moved slightly. A whisper.
"(Impossible… my calculation is off.)"
"(I measured the vectors. The reactions. The frames. Everything.)"
"(This is the first... at a complicated world.)"
His pupils trembled.
The genius mind that solved equations mid-fight…
Was quiet.
I stepped forward light, silent, breeze-carried.
My fist drew back.
Just one strike left.
One clean, honest punch.
He met my gaze.
There was no hatred.
Only disbelief.
"Bye bye," I said softly with a smirk.
My knuckles met his jaw with a sharp, satisfying crack.
Wind exploded from the impact.
His body jerked then slumped unconscious before he hit the ground.
Silence.
Then the crowd erupted.
But I didn't hear them.
I stood still, breathing slow.
(He's not just smart.)
(He's dangerous.)
(If he gets another chance, he'll adapt even to this.)
(Good thing... he won't remember how it felt.)
..
Meanwhile From the stands above, cloaked in the quiet shadows, Master Isen rose slowly from his seat.
His eyes hadn't blinked once during the exchange.
Now they were wide.
Unmoving.
Whispering under his breath—
"That power..."
"That kid..."
"Who is he?"
He clenched the edge of the railing, knuckles whitening.
"How did he use... that power?"
To be continue