Chapter 163: King Kong Wants to Learn Sword
"Hey, hold on!"
Saten Ruiko dodged quickly as a flash of steel slashed past her side. A long crack suddenly appeared on the ground. "What do you mean by 'blasphemer'?"
"You're playing dumb?" Kanzaki Kaori frowned. "Your power doesn't come from science or magic. It's from some weird third system, right?"
"That makes me a blasphemer?" Saten Ruiko looked completely confused.
"There are already too many factions in this world. We don't need another one," Kanzaki Kaori said as she took a deep breath. "According to the internal rulings of the Christian Church system, your existence is seen as a challenge to God."
"I get it now." Saten Ruiko's face turned sarcastic. "So after all that talk... what you so-called followers of God really want is to get rid of anyone who's different. All while hiding behind fancy excuses."
"That's true." Kanzaki Kaori didn't deny it and nodded calmly. "But to keep the world stable, sacrifices are sometimes necessary."
"If that's the case, why don't your pope or your higher-ups sacrifice themselves first?" Saten Ruiko shot back.
"That would shake the foundation of the entire Church." As she spoke, Kanzaki Kaori attacked again. The seven-sectioned sword in her hand reflected a cold light under the moon.
"Let it shake, what's it got to do with me?!" Ruiko was fired up now too. Without hesitation, she drew the Zanpakuto at her waist.
Clang.
The two swords clashed, sparks flying everywhere.
"Give up now, I won't kill you," Kanzaki Kaori said seriously. "In fact, I'll take you with me and personally oversee your baptism. That way, your 'blasphemer' status will be erased."
"Wow, thanks for the offer," Saten Ruiko said as she pushed Kanzaki back. "But I'm a hardcore materialist. I don't believe in gods."
"Materialist?" Kanzaki Kaori blinked, clearly shocked.
"Oh? You don't get it?" Saten Ruiko sighed. "Well, I guess it makes sense. For someone who believes in gods, understanding the idea that matter can't be destroyed must be pretty hard. You probably don't even know how much data the human brain can hold."
"What are you trying to say?" Kanzaki asked in a low voice.
"Humans don't just explode from stuffing in a mere 103,000 dirty magazines," Saten Ruiko said, shaking her head. "You've been tricked, girl."
"What?" Kanzaki Kaori's eyes went wide, full of disbelief.
Amegakure Village's Angel: Ugh, I can't take it anymore. I feel completely drained.
Curly-haired Guy: Huh?
Doujin Artist: Konan-nee, what did you *do* to get that drained?
Soul Society's Bad Guy: I was having a sword fight with her.
Amegakure Village's Angel: Sword fight, my ass! It was just me getting beaten up! My blade didn't even touch your clothes!
Soul Society's Bad Guy: That's the brilliance of Dugu Nine Swords—predicting your opponent, attacking second but winning first. The person who created this technique was a genius!
Amegakure Village Archangel: You say that like I didn't learn Dugu Nine Swords too. But my Sword Breaking Style doesn't work on you at all.
Soul Society's Bad Guy: You have to read your opponent's sword path before using the Sword Breaking Style! You can't just rush in swinging!
Machete Girl: So even swordplay from wuxia stories is useful at Flower-nee's level?
Soul Society's Bad Guy: Super useful.
This is an Actor: In swordsmanship, it's all about mastery and state of mind, not just brute strength. When it comes to intent and technique, Chinese sword arts are way deeper than those from Japan.
Doujin Artist: If you train hard enough, can swordsmanship evolve into something more? Like forming laws or principles?
This is an Actor: Of course. I'm currently studying the Law of the Sword. But my progress is super slow—it's way behind the other laws I've mastered.
Machete Girl: Whoa! So Anran-san's swordsmanship is almost at the law level now?
Amegakure Village's Angel: No wonder Flower-nee doesn't challenge you—she just bullies a beginner like me?
Soul Society's Bad Guy: Like Mochou always says, "Pick the softest persimmon to squeeze."
Amegakure Village's Angel: …
Curly-haired Guy: Hahahaha, Konan-chan's totally speechless.
Pretty Boy from Skull Island: I want to learn swordsmanship too.
Curly-haired Guy: Are you kidding me? You're King Kong! What, you wanna fight with sword techniques? What would that even look like?
Doujin Artist: And first, you'd need a sword you can actually use.
Machete Girl: Probably can't find one. You'd have to get it specially made.
Pretty Boy from Skull Island: I'm gonna do it. I feel like swords really suit my vibe.
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: ?
Wig Guy: ?
Doujin Artist: Lati, you're King Kong. Be real. Also, do you even know what "vibe" means?
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: You guys are having such a fun chat!
Curly-haired Guy: What else would we be doing?
Doujin Artist: Ruiko-chan, weren't you spending the night with your harem?
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: That's crap! I got into a fight on the way home! \\[Image]
Amegakure Village's Angel: Is that Kanzaki Kaori? How did you run into her?
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: I got caught up in that scene from Index with her and Kamijou Touma. She called me a blasphemer and slashed at me right away. So we started fighting.
Soul Society's Bad Guy: Are you hurt?
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Nah, we didn't go all out. Once she realized the Church higher-ups tricked her, she stopped. Now she's trying to figure out how to safely remove that collar from Index.
This is an Actor: Start by setting up a five-layer barrier, then trap her with Bakudo #61 and #63 together. After that, let Kamijou Touma handle the rest. Easy win.
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Alright, thank you, Anran-san.
Doujin Artist: More than that, I'm really curious—what the heck is a "Blasphemer"?
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: They said I'm a power that doesn't belong to science or magic, and that I shouldn't exist for the sake of keeping the world's balance.
Amegakure Village's Angel: How did Kanzaki Kaori know about you? Don't tell me it's...
This is an Actor: No need to guess. It's definitely Aleister. Trying to test my limits, huh? Interesting. In that case, I should prepare a nice little gift for him when I get the chance.
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