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Tiana's face went from confident to horrified in record time. For the past two days, Russell had only used that rubber-boy Luffy. Now suddenly, out of nowhere, he'd summoned a completely different card. She wasn't an idiot—she knew exactly why he'd switched. This new card was specifically designed to counter hers.
Shit. Shit. SHIT.
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Tiana threw caution to the wind and summoned all her cards at once. The mental strain hit her like a sledgehammer—most students who'd only been training seriously for three months would've passed out on the spot. Not everyone was a monster like Russell. Her face went pale as paper, but her eyes blazed with desperate determination.
"Win or lose," she declared, her voice steady despite everything, "I have to fight to find out."
Russell's eyebrows rose slightly. "You're quite decisive," he admitted, a flicker of genuine respect in his voice. "But if you want to gamble everything, you better have the chips to back it up."
"Bakudō #4: Hainawa."
Yoriichi's voice was soft, almost gentle. But the effect was anything but. A rope of shimmering golden light materialized out of thin air, instantly wrapping around Tiana's secondary Black Iron-level card and binding it completely.
In the next heartbeat, Yoriichi simply... vanished.
Tiana's pupils shrank to pinpricks. He had literally disappeared and reappeared directly behind her main ghost card, moving faster than her eyes could track. "What the hell is this?" she gasped. "A spatial ability?"
In the VIP stands, the university representatives were practically falling over themselves to get a better look.
"Clever technique," one murmured. "He's using some kind of movement skill to achieve that mobility."
"Pity it only works in straight lines," another added. "But still incredibly effective."
They could see through the general principle of his Flash Step—it wasn't true teleportation, but it might as well have been at this level.
Before Tiana could even think about reacting, Yoriichi drew the Zanpakutō from his waist. The blade sang as it cut through the air, and in a explosion of steel and shadow, her ghost card was shredded into ribbons.
As his rank increased, Yoriichi's incomprehensible talent for swordsmanship was gradually awakening. And it was terrifying to witness.
"HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!" Tiana's scream of disbelief echoed across the arena. She had never—never—expected her Bronze-level ghost to be annihilated without even getting to act once.
But unfortunately for her, she was facing the [Reaper] characteristic of Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Her ghost might as well have been made of paper. Maybe a true soul-reaper from an established underworld mythology could have put up a fight, but a nameless ghost? Not a chance in hell.
In the stands, Liam's jaw had hit the floor. "Russell... won in seconds?" He had been expecting an epic, drawn-out battle between two Bronze-level powerhouses.
Nancy, standing beside him, looked almost bored. "Of course," she said calmly. "It's a card specifically designed to target souls." She hadn't expected the fight to end faster than it takes to blink.
The referee's declaration of Russell's victory sent shockwaves through the arena. Russell was already a celebrity among the students, and half the crowd had come specifically to watch this match. The anticlimax was almost painful.
"You're still as unnaturally strong as ever, Russell," Cole Kong murmured from the seeded players' section, his eyes never leaving the field. But thinking of the new cards he'd been working on, he couldn't help but feel a flame of fighting spirit ignite in his chest. Just this once, I won't lose.
Around him, the other Bronze-level contestants were frowning in frustration. The battle had ended so quickly they hadn't learned anything useful about Russell's capabilities.
The university representatives were having a heated discussion about Russell's new card, which he still hadn't recalled.
"Is this from an underworld mythology system?"
"It looks like it, but I don't recognize this particular deity."
"Could be from another country's mythology, or possibly something Russell created himself."
Many of them leaned toward the last explanation, though they preferred to think it was just some obscure foreign myth they weren't familiar with. After all, gods in the orthodox sense had clearly defined roles—underworld deities handled life and death, thunder gods controlled storms and rain. If godhood was just about who had the biggest fist, what was the difference between that and some random immortal brawler?
They could clearly see that Yoriichi possessed a special attack characteristic against souls, which wasn't exactly common. What they didn't know was that a "Soul Reaper" was just the most basic unit in Russell's new story framework. If they knew the truth, their eyeballs would probably pop out of their skulls.
After recalling Yoriichi, Russell headed toward the rest area. His part was done. The list of the top 32 was released as the main competition concluded. Except for Cole Kong, the rest were either people he'd only seen in Misty's intelligence files, or dark horses who had emerged during the tournament.
Not that it mattered much to him. He didn't believe anyone here could stand against Luffy's Gear Third or Yoriichi's Shikai. And if there really was such a person... well, he'd just have to admit defeat. After all, Zoro and the [Mark 3] were off-limits—his cover with the Spirit Begging Society was still necessary.
The cards I have on hand still aren't enough, Russell thought grimly. The number of Bronze-level cards he possessed seemed impressive, but since he was operating under two different identities, the number each identity could use was actually quite limited. Not to mention what would happen if he needed to open a new "account" in the future.
Logically, Zoro shouldn't need a pseudonym, he mused. After all, he and Luffy share a bond. But there's nothing to be done about it. Who could have predicted I'd suddenly become a member of the Spirit Begging Society?
"At least Zoro only attacked once," he muttered. "With Marcus's help, people in New Metro have probably forgotten about Iron Man by now."
"But it's still not safe enough," he calculated. "Let's see if there's a chance to create a card of a similar type and replace Zoro in the next mission. If not, I can only continue using him, or create another member of the Straw Hat Pirates."
The synergy bonus from card bonds was just too powerful to ignore. If he was just trying to build connections, he didn't need to be too demanding about the strength of individual cards. In his previous life, when he played strategy games, many low-cost pieces were only used to create combo effects.
A synergy-focused build it is!
Let's wait until the unified examination is over, he finally decided. If I choose Northgate University, there should be subsidies. It would be weird if the top-ranked students didn't receive any rewards or scholarships.
"The schedule for the knockout rounds is out."
Cole Kong's quiet voice brought him back from his thoughts. Russell looked up at the big screen, and his eyebrows rose slightly.
Russell from New Metro First High versus Shane from Northgate University High.
Well, this should be interesting.
End of Chapter 76