User blog:Seieireppa/God Eater ∂: Those Who Change History, chapter 9

“So this is my new blade?”

What Nobunaga held aloft before him was unlike any blade; nay, any weapon he thought possible to exist in this world. It possessed the form of a normal katana; however, this was where the similarities ended, for it possessed a deep red hue, crackled with blue lightning, and left blue trails when swung. The steel of its blade felt prickly and cold to the touch, a sensation unlike any Nobunaga had felt. This was truly a weapon from outside the realm of what could be considered “human.”

However, the wonder did not stop there, for Mitsuhide’s blade was completed four days later — and Nobunaga beheld it in awe.

A blade of deepest night, the sword Mitsuhide held before him was stained with a pattern of stars that seemed to shift beneath the viewer’s eyes, never appearing the same twice. It seemed to crackle with lightning and rumble with the sound of thunder, emitting a loud crash when swung. Truly, this was a weapon that could command the very storms themselves.

“Mitsuhide,” Nobunaga exclaimed, “your blade is truly an object of might comparable to my own.”

“The God Arcs are not ‘objects,’ Nobunaga,” reminded Mitsuhide. “Remember, they are very much as alive as you or I.”

Nobunaga laughed. “True enough, friend. Be that as it may, though… what say you we test the strength of our newfound blades in a friendly little contest?”

“You mean to propose a duel, then,” answered Mitsuhide, a grin creeping to his countenance. “In that case, I readily accept.”

The two men sheathed their blades and exited the forge, making their way to an empty field nearby with Hideyoshi following close behind.

“Truth be told, Mitsuhide,” called out Nobunaga as he took a stance, his hand on his blade’s hilt, “I’ve always wanted to test my skills against you, my strongest and most decorated general.”

“In that case,” came Mitsuhide’s reply, “I’ll try not to disappoint.”  He readied himself similarly, his hand on his blade’s hilt, only his blade was angled with the cutting edge facing downwards as opposed to the more traditional upwards draw.

Nobunaga grinned. “So, I’ll finally be able to witness your true skill with the sword?”

“I feel that my current abilities at their fullest are well complimented by my new blade,” retorted Mitsuhide. “At least, that’s what my instincts, and the blade, tell me.”

Faster than the eye could track, Mitsuhide unsheathed his blade, drawing it out as he pulled back on the scabbard, resulting in a draw that was twice as fast as normal. As his blade streaked in front of him at an angle, it drew a trail of lightning in the air, an electrical arc that expanded outwards and forwards as it sought out Nobunaga —

— but it never found its mark, as the lightning arc crashed against a wall that had not been there before, a mighty wall made of ice.

Beyond the wall stood Nobunaga, his own blade before him crackling with energy.

“So this is the power of an Akai Ryūtei?” he mused. “I see that there is no shortage of strength sleeping in this blade.”  With a flick of his sword, he shattered the wall of ice, then readied his blade for a thrust. As he thrust his blade forward, spikes of ice appeared in the air around him and flew forward, aiming for Mitsuhide.

“Milord,” Mitsuhide began, “you truly do not know how to hold back, hm?”  Without missing a beat, Mitsuhide raised his sword aloft and swung it down, bringing a mighty column of lightning crashing down before him to eradicate the spikes of ice.

“As expected of my mightiest general,” proclaimed Nobunaga. “You truly are worthy of the power of an Arashi-nushi!”  Nobunaga readied his sword and slashed three times in rapid succession, sending crescent-shaped blades of ice shooting forward, ready to tear Mitsuhide to shreds… but Mitsuhide was not there. He had leapt skyward and now loomed above Nobunaga, his blade preparing to deliver another lightning strike —

“Mitsuhide,” stated Nobunaga calmly, “it would be best to look above you.”

Mitsuhide turned his head to the sky, only to find the heavens blocked by a massive block of ice which floated directly above him.

Dejectedly, Mitsuhide fell to the ground as Nobunaga dissolved the icy monolith.

“It is my complete loss, milord,” proclaimed Mitsuhide.

“But your skill leaves nothing to be desired,” answered Nobunaga. “With you at my side now more than ever, not even the Orochi should be able to stand up to—”

Nobunaga’s words were interrupted by a soldier rushing towards him, exasperated and out of breath.

“Milord Nobunaga!” the soldier shouted. “Lady Oichi, she—”

“—she was captured by the Orochi!”