"Hyakuenro Senkeiro. Itou Shigure!"
"Ichininkami Gari. Mamorigami."
Kajou trust her sword forward and over a thousand different blade tips were suddenly descending upon Momo. Momo swung her sword, knocking Kajou's sword off its path and dispelling the remaining strikes along the way.
"Impressive!" Kajou called as she landed on a roof above Momo, "You've figured out how my swordstyle works already! I knew you were strong but you're quite perceptive on top of that!"
"Yeah...totally." Momo sweated.
It was now that Momo's mind turned back to her prep talk with Roko.
"Kajou's swordstyle involves elongating her blade with magic." Roko explained, "I confirmed it when I parried her attack when I invaded Muldingirmus. It comes out and retracts at breakneck speeds but I'm sure you'll be able to parry it with enhancement magic."
"I'm surprised you figured that out." Momo remarked, "She hadn't used her swordstyle that much."
"She used it once on Helena. Her strike flew across several kilometers and was deflected by Roland. I was also there but her blade was too fast for me to see normally. Still, hearing about the situation after the fact lead me to that conclusion."
"Then you put it into action by deflecting her blade." Momo nodded, "Very impressive. Her swordsyle's name is starting to make sense now."
"Still, I can't imagine that's all to her swordstyle. So you're going to have to draw out the rest of her strength yourself."
And to be fair, there was much more that Momo had already learned. For one, Kajou's style involved a lot of jabs because of her swordstyle's effect. But it wasn't just a single jab. As she just demonstrated, Kajou could fire off dozens of different jabs from multiple different directions. Whenever this was an illusion, projections of her sword or just pure skill, Momo wasn't sure but it was clear that the style, or at least this attack, relied on her main sword connecting. Her style was to elongate her sword after all. No matter how many strikes she hid behind, if Momo could discern which one was truly connected to the sword she held and deflect that one, the rest of her attack would crumple. As simple as that sounded, this was no feat that just anyone could pull off. Her true blade was hidden behind innumerable of false ones. Blades that, while false, were still attacks that could harm her. Finding that blade was something that Momo was sure that nobody else in her party would be able to do, including Varis though that wasn't so much a matter of his skill so much that his armor would just deflect all of Kajou's attack.
"Still thinking, Momo Pink?" Kajou called, snapping Momo out of her analysis, "If you don't move quick, I'll take your life before you can do anything!"
Kajou jumped off the roof, turning her sword downward in another stab. Momo jumped back, letting Kajou's sword stab into the ground where she was standing. An attack that immediately felt too simple so Momo's mind began racing to figure out what this attack meant. A question whose answer soon came flying towards her head.
"Hyakuenro Senkeiro. Mogura Taiji!"
Kajou's sword came out from the ground, punching through stone streets to nearly pierce Momo's head, the experienced swordswoman only narrowly managing to avoid the blade's attack. But just as the blade missed, it quickly sunk back into the earth. Momo barely managed to get both her feet on the ground again when she sensed the next attack coming, Kajou's blade punching out of the ground again to try and take her head. For a few moments, Momo continued to narrowly dodge her attacks, as she sense the ultimate climax of Kajou's attack coming soon. And in return, she drew her sword back, holding it close to her hip as if she had sheathed it once again.
"Ichininkami Gari." Momo took a deep breath.
And as if in response, Kajou's blade came out from multiple points around Momo, all aiming for her head.
"Namazu Kirimi no Yanagi-Ba."
Momo slashed with her sword, sent out seismic wave that rumbled the ground around her. The blades around her stalled but it wasn't so much because of her shockwaves so much as the blade that Momo had hit in front of her. The moment she stuck Kajou's blade, a strong vibration ran down the length of the sword back to the owner, shaking Kajou so much as she was forced to pull her sword out of the ground and stumble back, falling on her butt as she held down her shaking arm.
"Yikes." Kajous winced with a smile as the shaking subsided, "So that's one of your techniques? That's a pretty impressive attack."
"Thanks." Momo smiled back as she stood back up, "Your style is quite well developed. You must be a grandmaster or something."
"Ahaha. I guess you can say that." Kajou smiled, "My title is Cho-Ri, the highest numerical unit we use with the highest unit of distance we use. This marks the end of our development as a traveler and the beginning of our journey as a pioneer. Though I haven't really discovered much for myself. Haven't contributed much to other people's journeys either."
"A journey is not about the effect we have on people or the world but about the effect it has on ourselves."
"Hahaha, you'd make a good traveler." Kajou laughed, "What do you think, Momo Pink? I could teach you how to use my sword style."
"Sorry but my style comes with my job."
"'Royal Blade of the God Beast' right? That's an impressive title."
"Thanks but unlike you, I'm still a 'traveler' you could say."
"We all are learners on our journey. It is only when we take notes do we truly discover new grounds."
"Haha, what fun metaphors." Momo smiled, "It suits you well."
"Coming from you, I'm flattered." Kajou smiled placing a hand on her hip.
"So why does such a wise and powerful traveler like you stay with Sirius and looking so unhappy?"
"..." Kajou's smile turned a bit bittersweet as she looked down thoughtfully, "I said before didn't I? Sirius is one of the few people I can identify without a doubt."
"That's just a crutch. You're too afraid of your disability that you've stopped your journey to linger around some cold comfort."
"You can be a traveler and remain in one spot."
"That's not the point. The point is that you don't seem to be enjoying your journey. This isn't an obstacle that you haven't surmounted, it's chains that you've tied around yourself to hold yourself down to something familiar."
"...And so what if it is?" Kajou crossed her arms, "What's the problem with that?"
"Let me put it this way: Who is Kajou? What is your Journey? Are both defined by your disability? Prosopagnosia? Is there nothing else in the world than this?"
"...Then what would you have me do? Return to a world of unfamiliar people whose identities I can never truly know? To treat friends as strangers? To be so easily tricked by my enemies into believing they're my friends?"
"I can't imagine the problems you've encountered but that is no reason to remain somewhere that you don't fit in with. Sirius may have your attention but the rest of the Stars don't seem to very friendly to you. They're not even very friendly to each other. If your journey has a purpose, it's not to languish here in apathy, clinging to a single flame in the darkness. Every journey has an endless amount of strangers, whether you can recognize them or not. Who cares if you can't recognize those faces that linger for a moment longer? Who cares if you treat them as strangers? Are you a detestable person to strangers? If this really causes problems for other people then they're simply people you need not concern yourself with. Those who truly value you will understand you and your lifestyle. If you feel alone, you can find someone who recognizes you and that you can remember with ease. A light in your hands is ultimately more reliable than the darkness at the base of a lighthouse. So who are you, Kajou? Where are you? Is this where you want to be in your journey?"
"..." Kajou stared at Momo, eyes wide but blank as she turned Momo's speech over in her head. After a while, a small sour smile came to her lips as she replied, "I think you might be right."
"See?" Momo grinned, "I know what I'm talking about!"
"But I still want to fight you."
"Oh, totally! Didn't mean to sound like I was trying to talk you down. Just wanted to give some life advice. Let's get back to sword swinging!"
"Hahaha." Kajou laughed softly, "...Hyakuenro Senkeiro."
"Ichininkami Gari."
…
"Iimichi Hyakai!"
"Yato Satsu no Ya!"
Momo met Kajou's thrust with one of her own, the tips of their blades clashing into each other and sending out sparks of blinding light as they struggled to pierce past the other. Momo held on the best she could but Kajou's strike didn't feel like just one strike. It felt like hundreds. Multiple impacts in the exact same spot, smashing against Momo's blade until she was deflected off, sending flying back and up into the air as Kajou's blade smashed into the ground beneath her.
"Not yet." Momo said as she flipped around in mid air, aiming her blade as Kajou retracted her sword, "Suzume Sogu no Stiletto!"
Momo thrust her sword, throwing her entire body forward as if she had somehow gained some traction on the air itself.
"Memory Road: Wrap."
Momo's blade clashed into the side of Kajou's sword, the swordswomen holding still for a moment. But then Kajou's sword began extending upward then bending back down, starting to circle around Momo as the edge of her weapon curved inward towards her body. But Momo wasn't quite done either. Her sword pulsed against Kajou's sword and suddenly released a burst of energy that knocked Kajou backwards. With her body being pushed away from Momo, Kajou triggered her sword to slash into Momo's body before they were pulled out of range. The blade slashed into Momo's body at various angles but they were much too shallow to do more than draw blood as Kajou crashed into an opposite building.
"How's that?!" Momo gasped as she landed back onto her own roof.
The crackle of stone assured Momo that Kajou was not out of the fight just yet. Stepping out of the smoke of her impact, she barely seemed to be injured at all. Around her, Momo could see the flickering armor of Kajou's armament magic protecting and boosting her abilities. Momo had been using reinforcement magic to match Kajou's armament but this was the first time she clearly saw Kajou's spell construction. It was complex in design but simple in function. Unlike the head butler of the Oarbine mansion, Walter's armament which was mechanically complex therefore drawing out immense power, Kajou's mechanisms were simple and almost sort of decorative with parts of her armament simply being armor slapped onto her. It was practically almost projection more than armament. But that was only something Momo could tell after fighting with someone as skilled at armament magic as Walter. Kajou's armament was nothing to ignore. Even this simple armament was equaling her reinforcement magic that Momo was so proud of.
"Amazing." Kajou smiled, "Your techniques are so varied! It's hard to believe this is one school of swordplay."
"Well look at you." Momo smiled back, "I think that was a different school of technique you used yourself. Another branch perhaps?"
"You caught me." Kajous grinned, "Memory Road is another school of Hyakuenro Senkeiro. It's usually more defensive but I adapted some of their techniques for offense instead."
"Would they appreciate that?"
"Not really. Memory Road practitioners tend to use normal swordplay while using their techniques for defense."
"Not quite your style huh?"
"Not quite."
The two girls stood their in silence, their joyous anticipation building until the two exploded forward, unleashing a wild flurry of swordplay that none in Mulapin had ever seen.
"Meimichi no Yuukan Ippo saki-e!"
"Kitsune Akkai no Sesshou Seki!"
"Zenkishu Juujiro!"
"Inago Konzetsu no Tessen!"
"Hikari no Michibiku no Tabi!"
"Onibi no Gohou no Gohei!"
With the city evacuated, there was nobody to witness their battle which only gave the two free reign to attack wildly. Scars were carved all over the surrounding houses, some even had their roofs split apart from their homes as the two's match reached a fever pitch. But just as the two seemed to be reaching a high point, they abruptly stopped, landing on separate roofs as the stood against each other once more.
"I haven't had this much fun in a while." Kajou gasped, a small grin on her face.
"Same here." Momo smiled, "Though...it seems I'm going to lose this."
Momo clutched her side. There was a small cut there, nothing really different from all the other small cuts she had sustained in their flurry of a battle but she could feel her body seizing up as it became harder and harder to move her body.
"I didn't expect you to use poison." Momo said as Kajou lifted up her arm to stare despondently at the knife in her hands.
"Yeah...it was a plan from our horrible tactician." Kajou explained bitterly, "They had every confidence I could win but just in case, they told me I had to win at any cost and gave me this poisoned knife to use just in case."
Kajou dropped the knife letting it clatter bitterly at her feet.
"Sorry. I really didn't want to use this."
"Don't worry about it." Momo smiled, "I had advice from my tactician too so it's fair game."
"I wish I had your tactician then." Kajou offered a regretful smile, "Ours is horrible."
"He does sound like a horrible person."
"Just the worst." Kajou shook her head, "But if it makes you feel better, that I was forced to use this is proof that I didn't have what it took to actually beat you in a fair fight."
"Come off it. I know you've got more ability in you than that."
"Hm?" Kajou looked confused, "What makes you say that?"
"Huh?" Momo blinked back in confusion, "Do...you not know your own strengths?"
"What do you mean? I've been fighting like I've always been fighting."
"Unbelievable." Momo would've burst out laughing if the poison wasn't making it hard enough for her to let out a small chuckle, "You've got more potential in you than that. Even our tactician saw more in you than what you've shown so far. You've got to have a little more confidence in yourself."
Kajou's eyes showed a mix of bizarre confusion and a deep impression. Kajou took a moment to digest these words, the first she had heard of it's kind in a while as she wiped some budding tears from the corner of her eyes, "Thank you. I've decided. Once I'm done here, I'm going to restart my journey. Return to the roads I've been away from for so long. And perhaps one day I'll find that light you're talking about."
"I'm glad to hear it." Momo grinned, "No more holding back now you hear?"
"Of course." Kajou said as she lifted her sword, "This job will be my last with Sirius. So I hope you'll excuse me if I do it as professionally as possible."
"Pop off, queen."
"Heh."
Kajou's blade began to grow, not in length but in side until the tip of the sword was as big as an entire standing human.
"This is...one of my strongest techniques." Kajou said as she drew her sword back, "But if I'm honest...I hope you'll still find some way to beat me."
"Surprises is what we Rokogers do best." Momo smiled.
"...Then please do. Surprise me."
Momo closed her eyes. This...certainly was not what Roko had anticipated. He couldn't ever imagine Kajou not fighting at her fullest and certainly could not expect Sirius' tactician to cut into his plans like this. But this was still within what he had prepared her for. And he was still right in that this will all come down to
"Amp."
Momo's muttered spell took immediate effect, the world slowing down as she opened her eyes again. Her thoughts were racing beyond human ability and her body had become so sensitive that she could feel the poison spreading slowly through her body. It hadn't stolen all of her ability to move but she certainly had no way to avoid Kajou's technique now. She could only fight back one last time or she loses. But the poison could not slow down her mind or her magic. As lightning formed around her and Momo dropped her sword, raising her hand to aim at Kajou. Kajou, seeing her resistance, she smiled as she readied her sword.
"Shin Michi Kaika no Tagayasu."
Kajou thrust her sword forward, her blade bursting out like a massive train that would've struck Momo in seconds. But under amp, there was still plenty of time. Plenty of time to gather more electricity than she ever had before. This was the problem with amp. It always drew forth more power than Momo was ready to utilize. But like Roko said, this power was no longer something she needed to control. If this power wasn't hers to control, it can be hers to influence. Not an arrow from her bow. But a snarling animal at the racing gates. And all she had to do was open its doors.
"Lightning."
Light burst out of her hands, a blazing flash that overtook Kajou's sword and consumed Kajou in its maws, taking a large chunk of the building with it as it raced up the sky and slowly dissipated into shimmering sparks.
Momo wasn't sure if she won. She had been long exhausted before firing off this deviant spell. But it didn't matter that much if she won. All she needed to do was make sure Kajou could not go to reinforce Sirius' forces. She couldn't see Kajou in her flickering eyes but she was sure she had hit her and she was sure she was still alive. So with the poison taking over the rest of her body, Momo let her body fall to the side as she fell unconscious.