Character Quotes
Ruri Shiratori: "The archery that I believe in is a cold trajectory that should not be tainted by emotions. However, if your 'resonance' can pierce through this belief of mine... I will risk everything to accompany you to the end."
[Archery Department · Deputy Minister's Conference Room]
The afternoon sun filtered through the blinds of the training building and cast a beam of light on the cold conference table. Ruri Shiratori, dressed in her uniform, sat in the main seat. In her hand, she held a folder containing the complete records of Sayaka Hōdō and Haruna Mizuki's "Rift Resonance Training" over the past few days.
"... "You actually used the wind-string bow in the wind pressure simulation training? And you independently deduced a model for reverse mirage target recognition?"
There was a barely detectable tremor in her icy tone.
A knock on the window drew her attention, and Sayaka Hōdō entered. She was not wearing the captain's uniform, but rather her training outfit. She had a polite yet resolute expression.
"Deputy Minister, I request to use the 'Kazami Combat Arena' for the next phase of practical training."
Shiratori fell silent for a moment. "That is an internal review battlefield limited to users certified in traditional combat techniques. Do you want to raise your flag there with your new system?"
"Yes."
"Do you understand that if you fail, you will lose your qualification as a successor and may be reassigned to the reserves?"
"I understand. But if I don't see it through to the end, the arrow is just a dull weapon."
Sayaka's tone was calm, but every sentence was like an arrow.
Shiratori stood up, her cold gaze fixed on Sayaka.
"Very well."
"But I will personally test you."
"In the name of the Deputy Minister, I challenge you to an Arrowheart Determination Battle."
Kaze's Martial Arts Arena · Dusk
Originally a space used for monthly traditional archery certification tests, it has now become a battlefield for a breakup and the reshaping of beliefs.
Bai Niao Ruri stands like a statue, holding her bow and breathing like ice.
Huang Tang Sha Ye, on the other hand, quietly draws the bowstring of a new bow she has been tuning with Kan Tsuki.
System setting: "Five-level target + illusionary disturbances + dynamic wind pressure." It is a thirty-arrow, limited-time duel in which the criteria for assessment are hitting rate and reaction time. At the beginning, Bai Niao's arrow speed is as fast as lightning. She hits all ten arrows without missing and with almost no deviation. However, due to wind pressure and illusions, Sha Ye's first five arrows slightly deviate, hitting only sixty percent. Kan Tsuki in the audience furrows his brow: "Ruri has already entered the limit concentration state... Sha Ye is about to be suppressed."
But starting with the sixth arrow, the wind pressure shifts slightly and the illusory target flickers.
Sha Ye's pupils constrict. Her footsteps are light as she activates the "Resonance Rhythm." She no longer relies solely on her eyes. Instead, she senses the wind, the sound, the color difference of the illusory target, and the visual boundaries.She no longer shoots straight but uses curves, angles, and delayed rhythms, adjusting the trajectory of each arrow as the arrows break through the air like melodies.
20 Arrows.
Final judgment results:
Bai Niao Ruri: 28 out of 30 arrows hit directly with an extremely short reaction time.
Huang Tang Sha Ye: 27 out of 30 arrows hit directly with a 100% hit rate on the illusionary target and a slightly faster response time.
System evaluation: "The new bow system possesses comprehensive tactical potential and is recommended as a strategic experimental project."
[The Rupture of Archery Beliefs]
The venue quiets down.
Bai Niao Ruri gently puts away her bow, her gaze fixed on Sha Ye's "modified bow."
"You've won," Sha Ye whispers. "It's not about winning or losing; it's about the future."
Bai Niao slowly speaks up, "I used to believe that the core of archery was 'calm' and 'precision.' It is a destructive power untainted by personal emotions. But today, you showed me that emotions can also be part of the arrow.She approaches Sha Ye and extends her hand. "I will not step down as vice minister, but I will share all my research with you."
"From today on, the archery department has two hearts for arrows."
Sha Ye is taken aback, then firmly grasps her hand. "The bow is no longer a weapon held by one person. It is the future that we will draw together."