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[Crossover] Ch 50: It's All About Deception
🕑 Added 2025-05-29 12:30:12 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
Leticia gripped her knight's lance tightly and hurled it—not forward, but to the side where Ryo had just appeared.
Ryo, who had just used Sonido to shift his position, ran headfirst into the surprise attack.
He'd been read. His pupils shrank. Immediately, he activated multiple Sonido steps, pulling away at high speed and leaving behind a trail of afterimages.
Leticia, now holding another knight's lance in hand, spoke with calm precision:
"A spatial Gift, huh? It's true—below the four-digit level, it's nearly impossible to counter. Whether it's for ambush or retreat, it's practically a divine technique."
"But—did you really think someone like me would be caught off guard?"
She slowly moved her lance, and each motion accurately traced where Ryo would appear next.
"Sure, there aren't many who possess this type of boundary (domain) Gift, but I've already killed more than a hundred of them."
"When I fight Demon Lords on my level, the simplest way to deal with this kind of space distortion is brute force. Worst-case scenario, I lock down the space entirely."
"And for someone like you, in the five-digit range, your spatial ripples are practically glowing neon signs."
With that, Leticia threw another lance.
This time, there wasn't even a sound. Not a sonic boom, not even a whisper.
But the speed? It was insane.
Ten times the speed of sound? No. More like thirty times.
Ryo didn't even have time to blink. The lance struck him dead-on—
BOOM!!
A deafening impact, like a temple bell being rung at dawn.
"That strike... it's about as strong as the one you used to beat the water god. I see now. Your defense is stronger than your offense. That's unexpected."
Leticia tilted her head slightly, casually summoning yet another knight's lance into her hand.
'Even with Hierro, that hurts.'
Ryo narrowed his eyes, his expression serious now. He didn't underestimate her anymore. He used Sonido again.
At that moment, the Hōgyoku inside his mind trembled.
And in an instant—Ryo's figure exploded across the battlefield, spreading across hundreds of meters. Hundreds—no, thousands—of his afterimages filled the air.
"?!"
Leticia's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"The space fluctuations... they're calming down?"
He figured it out that fast? How to suppress spatial ripples while maintaining high-speed movement?
That took him—what, less than ten seconds?
Leticia's eyes sparkled with surprise and a touch of excitement. But she didn't hesitate. She hurled another lance.
This one cracked like thunder—booming with incredible force.
In the next moment, Ryo's afterimages shattered like fragile soap bubbles until his true form was exposed.
"If there's no opening, just make one with brute force. That's one way to break a boundary-type Gift," Leticia explained as her lance pierced straight into Ryo's heart.
But this strike... didn't hurt. It felt like a gentle breeze.
"That strike was just a fake. Still, it shows the standard power of someone at the five-digit level. In other words, even someone at your level could land a hit—even with your space-shifting tricks."
"Of course, that wasn't the only plan. That fake was just to throw you off. If I really wanted to hurt you, the next strike—at full power—would've done the job."
"Usually, when someone sees an attack—nine times out of ten—they'll dodge."
Ryo narrowed his eyes slightly. That much was true.
Anyone would assume that kind of strike was deadly and instinctively try to avoid it.
It's just human nature.
"The thing that scares you isn't always the thing that can kill you. And the thing that kills you... doesn't always look scary."
"Get it now? Real combat—it's all about deception."
Leticia gripped her lance again, her tone brightening as if she'd just found a hidden gem.
"As long as you can fool your opponent and land an effective hit—you win."
Ryo didn't say a word. He just silently held out his hand. A crimson flame-forged blade formed in his grip.
A divine construct, made from a shard of his divinity—similar to Leticia's shadow-forged knight's lances.
Then, he disappeared again with Sonido, dashing straight toward Leticia.
"Let's see what new trick you've got this time." Leticia didn't retreat. Instead, she advanced.
But this time—Ryo's voice split into four.
They weren't echoes. They were spiritual clones, formed through the Gift he'd recently obtained: [Reishi Control.]
All four moved in unison.
The left clone used Unohana Retsu's serpentine sword style, slashing in curved, vicious arcs.
The right one raised a finger—charging a massive red Cero.
Above, another clone came crashing down, with a powerful two-fisted punch. That was Yamamoto Genryūsai's move: Sōkotsu.
And the final clone—directly below—spoke in a sharp, high-pitched tone, using the divine language only gods could handle at high speed:
"Bakudo #61: Rikujōkōrō ~ Six-Rods Light Restraint!"
Six golden bars bloomed like petals, binding Leticia's waist in an instant.
Leticia was visibly surprised. Her speech sped up by hundreds of times in a split second:
"Clones built from unfamiliar energy... completely different sword styles... a brute-force energy attack... and a bizarre spell?"
"Where on earth did you pick up all this useful stuff..."
With a light sigh, she shattered the Bakudō restraint with a flick of her hand.
Then she dodged the two-fisted punch, sent the sword slash flying with a kick that exploded the air, and—
Tanked the Cero head-on without blinking.
BOOM!!
The crimson blast exploded... and all it did was ruffle her hair.
The four Ryos retreated quickly, clearly adjusting their tactics.
"Running out of options?" Leticia smiled as she glanced at the four surrounding clones.
She'd already made up her mind—Ryo might not be "outstanding," but among five-digit combatants, he was near the top.
Back in old Arcadia, he'd already be qualified to be called an executive.
And then—
From her own lance... a hand emerged.
Ryo's hand.
"?!"
Leticia's expression changed. For the first time, she looked genuinely surprised.
"When did—?!"
The lance was too close—he was already on her, almost touching her.
Her body wavered and began to blur into afterimages.
But it was too late.
One image solidified—and Ryo's hand grabbed her wrist.
"Ah, got you~"
Leticia glanced from the hand to Ryo's body, which was slowly forming out of her lance like he was growing out of it. She sounded almost admiring:
"A Gift that lets you control others' Gifts, huh? So your real goal wasn't to hit me—it was to sneak control over my weapon to fulfill the condition of touching me?"
All those earlier attacks were just distractions. The real plan?
Use the interaction of weapons to let his Zanpakutō Domination seep into her weapon—then touch her through it.
That was Ryo's true tactic.
A plan inspired by Leticia's own words.
If victory depended on making contact—then that was all he had to focus on.
Going toe-to-toe with an old-school four-digit like Leticia would've been idiocy.
When you're weaker, tactics are your greatest weapon.
"I don't like winning this way," Ryo muttered as the clone vanished.
The conditions had been stacked against him from the start. The fact that he even touched Leticia this way was already a miracle.
Then he remembered something—how Leticia had briefly blurred and reappeared earlier.
"What was that move you used to dodge?" he asked.
"Huh?" Leticia released the lance and looked at her hand, smiling. "Oh, you mean this?"
Her body started to fade—then snapped back into focus.
She grinned.
"When someone at the high end of the four-digit level goes all-out, they can move at speeds nearly equal to the speed of light. Just now, I ran 50,000 kilometers away... and then ran back."
She even stuck out her tongue, slightly embarrassed.
"I got spooked. I thought your hand might have some terrifying hidden technique, so I bolted. Then I remembered—you can't actually hurt me. Got scared by my own imagination, haha."
"...50,000 kilometers in a blink." Ryo twitched hard.
What the hell kind of nonsense was this?! Light-speed movement?! What is she, a freaking Gold Saint from Saint Seiya?!
Ryo knew his own top speed—outside of Sonido, maybe Mach 30 on a good day. That wasn't even close.
"Relax. That kind of speed is only allowed during Gift Games. Normally, the Little Garden system limits it."
As Leticia spoke, she pulled out a white parchment scroll and handed it to Ryo.
"Here—your prize for completing the trial without breaking any knightly codes."
The moment Ryo accepted Leticia's test, the Gift Game had begun.
This parchment was the reward—what Leticia had promised.
Ryo looked it over, nodded, and tucked it away. Then he looked at her, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"You never intended to use your full power as a four-digit, did you?"
"Nope." Leticia nodded. "If I had, it wouldn't have been a test. It would've been murder."
Makes sense. Near light-speed force... no wonder four-digit combatants were considered planet-busting threats. Ryo shook his head.
"Whatever," Ryo muttered with a sigh. "Let's go back, Lady Leticia."
Leticia paused, then saw something in him—a trace of a girl with short golden hair.
(Wanna go home together?)
"Canaria..."
Leticia let out a soft sigh, then smiled gently.
---
At the [No Name]'s Base
Inside the old office, Black Rabbit sat at a desk with a troubled expression, staring down at the paperwork in front of her.
"Ugh... actually running a community comes with so many unexpected budget gaps. How on earth did Lady Canaria manage to sort all this out in just three minutes back in the day?!"
Frustrated, she put down her pen and got up, walking over to the tall window. She stared out at the grassy courtyard beyond, letting out a defeated sigh.
"I'm just a bunny, you know!!"
But just then, something caught her eye.
Off in the distance, two figures were slowly approaching the front entrance. Black Rabbit's eyes widened little by little...
.
.
.
