Chapter 148: Not the Tooth Sword?

Without Kokonoe Tōru’s interference, Yoru Chen found himself facing Tsukimi Rito head-on once again. With the numerical advantage on their side, aside from Tōru whom Yoru Chen had just tossed aside, only Julie had drawn her dual-blade Blaze.

"Ara, don't you dare underestimate your teacher! You disobedient students!" Abandoning the others, Tsukimi Rito charged straight at Yoru Chen. Every swing of her terrifying fangs-sword generated a sound like cracking air. The massive volume of the weapon seemed completely weightless in her hands, though anyone who assumed that would realize it was a grave mistake.

The fangs-sword failed to strike Yoru Chen, instead slamming into a roadside lamp post. The rigid black metal pole emitted a sharp, piercing shriek, miraculously managing to stay upright thanks to its sturdy construction rather than collapsing immediately.

The point of impact was grotesquely warped, crackling with electric arcs and venting wisps of white smoke. Tsukimi Rito grinned viciously as she wrenched her weapon free from the metal.

"What a shame I missed, especially with such a massive difference in Rank." A look of disappointment crossed Tsukimi Rito's face, as though failing to hit him was the gravest of sins.

A tempestuous storm of attacks ensued. Before the sparks from the collision between the fangs-sword and Yoru Chen's starlight-shimmering scabbard could even fade, Tsukimi Rito’s next slash was already upon him.

In the eyes of Kokonoe Tōru and the others, Yoru Chen looked like a lone boat caught in the center of a storm, vulnerable to being killed by Tsukimi Rito's assaults at any second.

"Hey, hey! Are we really not going to help? Yoru Chen looks like he's in serious danger," Tōru said, his back soaked in cold sweat after witnessing an onslaught he was completely confident he could never parry.

"I have faith that this poses no danger to Yoru Chen. Haven't you noticed? He hasn't even needed to use his scabbard to block; he's dodging every single attack effortlessly," Lilith said, her gaze fixed entirely on the casual figure not far away, her tone softening naturally.

Barely managing to keep track of the duo's movements with their eyes, the others followed Lilith's prompt and realized that what looked thrillingly perilous was actually being handled by Yoru Chen with utter ease. For every attack Tsukimi Rito unleashed, Yoru Chen found the absolute optimal positioning, evading it with movements that consumed the least amount of stamina.

"Yoru Chen, do you only know how to dodge? Don't tell me your Blaze's ability is just this? If you're trying to exhaust my stamina with this trick, it's completely useless~ You'd have to drag it out until dawn for that to work, oh~" Missing her target multiple times left Tsukimi Rito extremely irritated. Suspecting that Yoru Chen was stalling for time, she couldn't help but taunt him, secretly convinced that even if it turned into a war of attrition, Yoru Chen would collapse from exhaustion first.

After their brief exchange, Tsukimi Rito realized that Yoru Chen's combat experience and technique were far beyond mere proficiency; such skill was impossible to attain without surviving hundreds of brushes with death, no matter how much of a genius someone might be.

Precisely because of this, Tsukimi Rito was even more eager to witness Yoru Chen's true combat capability rather than waste time here.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Until now, I've only been observing with my eyes, and it's my first time using this method, so I'm a little unaccustomed to it. Well then, Little Rabbit Teacher, it's my turn to attack!" Under Tsukimi Rito's excited gaze, Yoru Chen suddenly froze like a statue in everyone's eyes, the calm expression on his face giving off a rigid, fixed sensation.

"Not good!" A premonition flashed suddenly through Tsukimi Rito's mind. Even though the probability was infinitesimally small, her intuition told her it was correct. Throwing herself backward with all her might, she heard the sound of tearing fabric, immediately followed by a deafening explosion.

As the dust settled, Yoru Chen stood in the center, gripping his weapon. His academy uniform remained completely unsoiled by the surrounding debris. Beside him was a terrifying crater, looking jarringly conspicuous upon the sturdy, aesthetically paved stone pathway.

"Are you trying to kill me, you jerk?! If that attack had connected, I'd either be dead or severely crippled! And you didn't even use your Blaze!" Fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead. Having been half a beat too slow in her dodge, Tsukimi Rito's signature maid outfit now looked rather revealing; the already short hemline had lost its protective coverage from the shockwave.

Her porcelain-white thighs were exposed to everyone's view, though Tsukimi Rito herself seemed completely oblivious, her body trembling slightly. Given her personality, this certainly wasn't fear, but excitement—she couldn't even remember the last time she had experienced such a sense of crisis.

Ordinarily, Yoru Chen was gentle and mild-mannered, concealing the true extent of his abilities, but the moment he got serious, he revealed a strength that could not be underestimated.

"Oh my, Yoru Chen-kun is truly perverted. Do you want to look at Little Rabbit Teacher's legs that badly?" Tsukimi Rito coyly covered her blushing face. If one didn't already know her personality, it would be impossible to tell she was faking it, leaving everyone in awe of her acting skills. Was this something honed from long years of hiding her true nature? That question arose in everyone's mind.

"Sorry, I really can't see!" Yoru Chen felt he needed to emphasize the fact that he couldn't see once again. At most, he was relying on spiritual perception; normally, he could mentally manifest images just as clear as those seen with the eyes, or he could simply project the rough outlines of human figures.

Even though his mind currently perceived everything with absolute clarity, this was definitely not seeing.

"Who cares about that!" Her expression flipped one hundred and eighty degrees in an instant. Yoru Chen and the others were already accustomed to such whiplash. With the fangs-sword in hand, Tsukimi Rito transformed alongside it into a terrifying streak of black light, tearing dark afterimages across the road before instantly appearing right in front of Yoru Chen, bringing the fangs-sword down with enough momentum to split him cleanly in two.

"Useless." With a soft sigh, Yoru Chen pushed forward with his scabbard, slipping right past Tsukimi Rito's defense before she could even attempt to evade. True to expectation, the scabbard struck Tsukimi Rito directly. He took a seemingly casual step forward, which landed precisely in the blind spot where Tsukimi Rito found it most difficult to either attack or defend.

A fist brimming with terrifying power stirred successive layers of rippling air currents. A visible hemispherical shockwave rippled across Tsukimi Rito's body before gradually dissipating. Her form hovered in mid-air for half a second before abruptly accelerating and flying backward like a cannonball.

"Cough, cough... Did you see right through everything? You really are too strong. Is this the power of an 'Exception'? Even though your 'Ability' is also an Exception, it's actually this weak." Traces of blood appeared amid her soft coughs, showing that even as a Rank V, taking those two blows was no picnic. Yet she still found the time to mock the spectating Kokonoe Tōru. Recalling how it had felt as though she had practically thrown herself into his attacks, Tsukimi Rito knew her fighting style had been completely unraveled by Yoru Chen.

Kokonoe Tōru was even more shocked than Tsukimi Rito. The destructive power of Yoru Chen's punch just then surpassed the charged finisher he usually used as his own trump card. Yet Tsukimi Rito had simply coughed up a bit of blood and stood right back up, seemingly still capable of fighting. He shuddered to imagine what the outcome would be if he were the one fighting Yoru Chen right now.

"Just now, you could have easily drawn your blade to pierce my body, or aimed your punch at my vital spots. If you'd done that, I'd definitely be down by now!" Since her combat style had been thoroughly seen through, she had no choice but to switch to another approach. For ordinary people, this was extremely difficult; combat habits formed over years of training could not be changed on a whim.

But Tsukimi Rito was different. For her, this alternative approach was actually the one she was most accustomed to. With a flick of her arm, a rapid series of clicking sounds echoed from the massive fangs-sword. The weapon suddenly became flexible and extended outward, its serrated blade segments separating and instantly lengthening severalfold.