I Reincarnated as a Shinai

Reiji decided to use his Take Over after Rufus requested again. 

The latter already did everything he can but he was still unable to land a clean hit on Diether. This first student truly lives up to his reputation.

Perhaps, the result of this battle might be different if Rufus decided to bring the Elite Gram Sword with its Illusory Blade instead. His sword skills might be lacking but if complemented with that Arcane Magic, he might be able to give Diether a good fight. 

'Very well... Diether is using some passive Arcane Magic too... Let me handle it for you. As you said, I might as well check his progress in Kendo...' Reiji replied.

He had also realized that Calliope and Terrence were already planning to defeat Rufus's teammates. So he decided to act now instead... If Nika was truly defeated, it would be difficult for Rufus to fight against 1 or 2 more of these young knights.

Take Over!

As soon as he used this, he activated the Sword's Will and his Sword Intent.

Both of these skills boosted his power and it similarly aimed to intimidate the young man in front of him...

However, instead of being terrified, the young Diether even got excited as he realized who his opponent now...

Come! 

Diether shouted as they both used the same form, Jodan no Kamae...

When they lifted their arms, they exploded with power as their Spiritual Energy cycled around their bodies...

This was felt not only by their teammates but also by the crowd watching them...

Haa!

They strike down at the same time!

Bang! 

As expected, they were both in their perfect stance... Their swords clashed but none of them wanted to give the median line... They know that the one who easily gives it up would have a higher chance of being defeated.

Diether is very clear about this since this is similar to what happened when he fought against Alexander...

During that time, he used a kendo technique taught by his master which was called Men-Kiriotoshi-Men, which is the most difficult technique in Ittouryuu.

'Tsk... He's stronger...'

Diether decided to avoid clashing like this as he used Okuri-Ashi to change his form...

He pulled his sword and swiftly moved to Rufus's side as he targeted the latter's arm. Even though he gave up the median line, he found the right timing to avoid being hit on his head and even managed to swing his sword to attack…

Pah!

Reiji changed his stance to Gedan no Kamae or the Earth Stance... By stroking down the shinai when changing the stance, Reiji managed to easily deflect Diether's sword...

This time, he decided to target Diether's torso...

Whoosh!

Diether couldn't deflect the sword so he decided to back away in time, but he also quickly followed up to try and hit Rufus on his body...

Diether is attempting a Nuki-Dou!

Reiji smiled at his student's reaction speed and usage of Waza. 

'Let me see more of your skills, Diether!' 

Reiji said in his mind as he regained his balance and form after using Tsugi-Ashi…

Their fight is happening so fast that even though only a few seconds had passed, they have already exchanged swords about 30 times...

"Amazing! Those two are too good with the sword..." 

The crowd watching them had almost forgotten Nika and the others due to the impressive swordsmanship of the two Arcanists.

"Yes... I wonder how strong can they become once they grow up."

"They are also using a unique sword art..."

"Wait, there is semblance from their styles, aren't they using the same sword art?"

"Same styles?"

After hearing this, everyone quickly tried to recall their movements to identify their Sword Arts…

"They have a semblance, but this is not the Northern Eclipse, right?'

"I've only seen the Steady Sword Art and Fencing… I'm sure that they aren't using those techniques…"

While some of the audience was confused, Oliver and the other Sun Fire Knights were also unable to understand what was happening.

They have never seen Diether's sword style being used by another person. As a matter of fact, they thought that Diether is practicing a sword art passed down through their family lineage… and most likely, the only left practitioner of the Sword Art.

Even if they want to know a lot more about it, they were unable to investigate further as they have to respect his status as a noble. Although their family has declined, their organization must adhere to their rules and not take advantage of their member's secret techniques…

"To think that someone else is using Diether's sword technique… I've never seen anyone do this before. How impressive…" 

Oliver, the Knight-Lieutenant, is enjoying the battle as Rufus is managing to keep up with Diether and the former even looks like he wasn't struggling at all…

"Mhmm… Not only that, but Rufus's sword was also similar to the one that Diether was using when I recruited him…" Tristan added... 

He has been observing the shinai up until now and he's confident that he's not making a mistake.

"That wooden—bamboo sword?" Oliver asked. The shinai has a very unique look so anyone can easily remember it even after seeing it only once.

"Yes. I heard from Diether that it's called shinai. I think that this is an exclusive product in the village where he was previously staying before I recruited him."

"Hoo~ It looks sturdy and flexible… It's very good for hitting."

"Indeed, it can even take Diether's sword that was enhanced by our best Enhancer Specialist…"

The Knights just decided that Diether's sword art wasn't as rare as they thought it was… It seems that they weren't just going out a lot so they are not seeing people who use this same technique…

Nevertheless, this battle became even more outstanding as they can see the limit and the beauty of this technique.

"They have minimal movement. There is no movement wasted whenever they act…"

"That's true. I wonder they are this good? Did they practice the sword when they were still in their mother's womb?"

"Haha… They're just genius… You don't have to compare them to yourself."

The knights even joked around for a bit as they were impressed by the kid's battle. If they were at that age, they were unsure whether they can actually defeat Rufus who currently has an intimidating presence in the arena.

***

Yui and Odette were watching Rufus's match as they wanted to cheer for Reiji.

Nika's battle with the other young knights was also about to end. After all, Calliope and Terrence have decided to finally use their Hazy Flash Steps. It is only a matter of time for the Tower's Arcanists to be defeated.

As they continued watching Rufus, Odette felt something off from the young man's body.

'Yui, I think Rufus and Reiji is one…' Odette said with a calm voice. It appears it wasn't a surprising thing for her but decided to inform her wielder.

'Huh? One? What do you mean?'

Yui was surprised by those words. Does it mean that Rufus is just part of the Arcana? Perhaps a puppet and Reiji were controlling it all this time?

Maybe, Reiji is not a sword arcana but a puppet arcana all along?

Yui already had many thoughts even though Odette hasn't answered her yet.

"No! What I mean is that Reiji had somehow possessed Rufus' body… I think this is a temporary thing though…"

"Possessed? Is that dangerous?"

"I'm not sure… I think that they've used it before in the Evaluation, but I'm unable to sense it at that time since we were making preparations"

Odette explained as she pointed out the things that made her think that Rufus was possessed.

The Take Over ability doesn't seem to be a common ability amongst Sentient Arcana so it was quite difficult to tell… As far as she knows, only a few Deities are capable of gifting their Blessed to have a Possession Ability.

"Do you have that ability as well? Can you control or perhaps possess my body at your will?"

"No way… Perhaps if you help me with my second awakening, I might just have that skill."

The Wand Arcana replied jokingly. There's no way she'll take a dangerous second awakening.

Nevertheless, this made them realize why Rufus had suddenly become a swordmaster.

Bang!

As they are observing Diether's matchup against Rufus, an explosion suddenly occurred as Calliope and Terrence were thrown away… The latter even coughed up some blood as his body dropped to the ground.

On the other hand, Lexi can be seen kneeling beside the injured Nika. 

She has already dropped her Revolver as she held her bleeding right shoulder with her left hand…

This battle seemed to be ending sooner than they expected!

Of course, none of the organizations wanted their young experts to get heavily injured in this battle.

They quickly glanced at the 4-Star Hunter overseeing the fight but she was just observing them. It means that she can tell that they are still capable of continuing the fight.