I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit

Mystic Code Deployment: Bonus Chapters ✨

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"Did you know, Souji? My heart was broken once... by my own father."

A trace of sadness flickered in Ikki Kurogane's eyes.

But that sadness didn't waver his determination.

"Someone gave me the strength to stand again. Because of her, I can be here now."

He recalled the voices of encouragement from those who believed in him on his way here.

Ikki summoned his Device, Intetsu, the blade trembling with unprecedented excitement.

"This match has been tainted by selfish agendas and personal interests because of me. But... I can't suppress my excitement—because my opponent is you, and because so many hopes rest on my shoulders."

Both gripped their weapons tightly. Then, a mechanical voice echoed across the arena.

"—Let's go ahead! (Match start!)"

The blare of the buzzer erupted, signaling the start of the match.

In the very next instant, magical flames burst from Ikki's body, surging skyward.

"Ittou Shura!!"

This was Ikki Kurogane's only trump card—the ultimate sword technique.

By completely overriding his survival instincts, he unleashed all the energy meant to sustain his body for an entire day within just one minute.

It was a technique born from his understanding of his own weakness—a refusal to hold back anything.

"Ittou Shura... The most iconic protagonist skill, and yet this is the first time I've seen it in person."

The surging aura of magic ignited the atmosphere of the arena. Even Okita Souji felt her blood boiling as the heat of his determination reflected in her eyes.

Witnessing it firsthand was far more breathtaking than watching it on a screen in her previous life.

"But... one minute is too long."

Both Okita Souji and Ikki Kurogane only had one strike left in them.

After that strike, regardless of who won or lost, both would collapse, utterly drained.

If either truly wanted to win, they only needed to evade their opponent's attack.

But neither Ikki nor Souji ever entertained such a cowardly notion.

There would be no tricks, no schemes—only a direct clash, a full-force exchange of their respective resolves.

At that moment, they thought of only one thing.

As their eyes met, they understood each other's resolve perfectly.

Ikki Kurogane & Okita Souji: "Betting everything we have—to defeat the knight of glory standing before us!"

Under the scorching sun, their blades gleamed as both assumed an identical stance.

Their upper bodies tilted slightly forward, both hands gripping their sword hilts tightly. Their blades aligned parallel to their shoulders, the tips aimed directly at each other.

This was Okita Souji's signature offensive stance—Hira Seigan.

"Ikki... is he really..."

The posture Ikki had taken was all too familiar to Okita Souji.

She recalled her match with Touka Toudou, where, in front of everyone, she had unleashed her secret sword technique to defeat the undefeated 'Raikiri.'

Could it be...?

"This guy... Did he really learn my secret sword technique from seeing it just once?!"

An invisible aura of pressure burned like flames around Okita Souji.

You dare to look down on me? To use my own technique against me?!

Though she roared such thoughts in her heart, her lips curled into a smile.

A smile filled with excitement, joy, and anticipation.

One minute was too long... Ikki knew that as well.

So, he compressed it further—not one minute, not even one second, but a single strike.

Even if his body shattered, even if his blade broke, he would pour everything he had into this one attack.

Adopting the exact same stance as Okita, he focused all his concentration.

Through Okita Souji's training, he had fully mastered the realm of 'Mind's Eye.'

With his extraordinary talent in swordsmanship, he had seen through her secret technique entirely using this heightened awareness.

Ikki had his own techniques, and among them, Seventh Secret Sword: Raikou was his fastest and most penetrating move. Now, he intended to fuse it with the skill he had learned from Okita.

Meanwhile, Okita Souji truly felt as though even lifting her sword was a monumental task.

After all, she had just fought Edelweiss, the world's greatest swordswoman. Though she didn't fully understand how it had happened, it seemed she had actually won.

But that final attack had drained her completely. The fact that she had made it to the arena at all felt like a miracle.

Still... having come this far, not swinging her sword wasn't an option.

So, Okita had devised a solution.

"I wonder... does using my jetpack count as cheating? After all, it's part of my Spirit Origin."

Her previous Noble Phantasm, [Avidyā Three-Stage Thrust], was born from her Saber-class skills and swordsmanship. Even now, as an Assassin, she could still use it.

But her true Noble Phantasm in this swimsuit Spirit Origin was [Jet, Three-Stage Thrust], a near-light-speed, triple acceleration technique achieved through extreme jet propulsion.

What little strength she had left would go into swinging her sword. The jetpack would handle the charge.

With that, azure magic surged forth, transforming into propulsion energy. The sound of sonic booms echoed as Okita Souji shot toward Ikki like a blue arrow of light.

In her vision, a massive, crimson "WARNING" appeared, followed by the words "Natural-Law Flow: System Overload," and finally, the screen was filled with kanji for "Sincerity."

Meanwhile, Ikki's body was shrouded in white magical flames. Without hesitation or doubt, he took a single step forward.

After the first step, sound seemed to vanish from around him.

The surging magical energy compressed back into his body, the pain of his overflowing strength threatening to tear him apart ignored entirely.

After the second step, colors faded away.

He poured every ounce of his power into the tip of his blade, his battered body cracking under the strain. Blood dyed his vision red as his body approached its limits.

Finally, he took the third step.

With a body riddled with cracks and a spirit on the brink of collapse, he surged forward, meeting the white-blue meteor head-on. In that instant, Ikki unleashed everything.

Though it took long to describe, from the match's start to this moment, not even a minute—perhaps not even half a minute—had passed.

In the next moment, under the breathless gazes of all present, it was as though a supernova exploded before their eyes, a radiant, blinding light consuming the entire arena like the sun crashing onto the earth.

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