Rai vs. Daichi Sakamoto – A Battle Beyond Speed
Scene 1: The Arena Awakens
The roar of the crowd thundered across the massive colosseum-style stadium, but at the very center of the battlefield—everything was deathly silent.
Two figures stood in absolute stillness.
Rai — The Stormbringer.
His stance was loose but ready, his black battle suit lined with conductive fibers that pulsed with arcs of neon-blue lightning. His mid-length black hair, usually calm, now had streaks of static energy making it stand on end.
His sky-blue eyes crackled with raw electricity, flickering like plasma currents. Every breath he took seemed to make the ground tremble beneath his feet, his body radiating pressure that made even elite students watching from the stands hold their breath.
Yet, his signature grin remained.
Daichi Sakamoto — The Phantom Blade.
Opposite him stood a living specter.
Daichi's black assassin's gi, sleeveless and flowing, carried thin scarlet accents that barely flickered under the arena's lights. His waist sash, neatly tied, secured the black sheath of his katana—the legendary Phantom Fang.
His black hair, long and tied into a precise high ponytail, swayed slightly, but his silver-gray eyes remained still, cold, and unreadable.
Unlike Rai's crackling energy, Daichi radiated nothing.
No aura. No killing intent. No presence at all.
It was as if he did not exist.
Scene 2: The Elite Observers
Up in the VIP viewing area, Rajan Awasthi sipped his tea, watching the battlefield with an amused grin.
"Well, this is going to be fun."
To his right, an instructor from Vritra Dominion Academy smirked. "Takeda is strong, but Daichi's a different breed. A swordsman whose blade can reach before you even move."
Across the room, other professors from rival academies whispered among themselves.
"Daichi is untouchable. His Phantom Blade has never missed a target."
"Rai is fast, but you can't outspeed something that doesn't exist."
Rajan just chuckled. "You all underestimate my student."
Scene 3: The Storm Charges First
"BEGIN!"
BOOM!
Rai vanished in an explosion of lightning, his entire body turning into a streak of blue energy.
He reappeared behind Daichi in less than 0.2 seconds, his right fist crackling with an electrical surge powerful enough to level a truck.
But—
SHING!
A silver blur.
A sudden gust of wind.
And Rai was gone.
The entire stadium gasped.
The storm had swung first—but it struck nothing.
Rai reappeared fifteen feet away, standing completely still.
A thin, nearly invisible cut lined his right shoulder, a single drop of blood trickling down.
Daichi was already behind him, his katana half-sheathed, his face cold and empty.
His voice was quiet—yet it echoed in Rai's mind like a death sentence.
"You're too slow."
Scene 4: The Phantom Awakens
Rai's smirk faltered for the first time.
"…What the hell?"
The crowd was silent.
Even the professors watching from above raised their eyebrows.
Daichi slowly exhaled.
Then—everything changed.
The air distorted.
The ground beneath Daichi cracked, not from raw energy, but from something far more terrifying.
His outline flickered, his entire body shifting between existence and nothingness—as if he were only half in this world.
Rai's instincts screamed at him to move.
Daichi's silver eyes locked onto him.
"Phantom Blade—Level 1."
SHIIIIING!
Daichi fully unsheathed his katana.
The blade no longer reflected light.
It had turned into a pitch-black void, a perfect absence of existence, a weapon that seemed to erase reality itself.
The moment the blade left its sheath—reality warped.
The entire battlefield felt like it had fallen into another dimension.
Scene 5: The Dance of Death
Rai instantly shot forward at Mach speed, his Lightning Step breaking the sound barrier—
Only to see Daichi already in front of him.
SHING!
A silver blur.
Rai barely tilted his head, the tip of Daichi's katana missing his throat by a fraction of an inch.
He countered, throwing a lightning-infused punch—
But Daichi had already disappeared.
He reappeared to Rai's left.
SHING!
Another cut.
This time across Rai's ribs.
The wounds weren't deep.
But they were precise. Calculated. Lethal if necessary.
Daichi's voice was devoid of emotion.
"A swordsman does not swing twice if once is enough."
Rai growled, wiping the blood from his skin.
"Damn…"
For the first time in his life—
He was outpaced.
Scene 6: Pushing Past His Limits
Rai exhaled.
He clenched his fists.
He could feel it.
The storm inside him.
"Tch… I can't lose like this."
He closed his eyes.
And then—
CRACK!
A massive pulse of electricity erupted from his body, forming a sphere of pure voltage around him.
His veins glowed neon-blue, his irises now burning like miniature lightning storms.
His aura expanded, warping the very air around him.
Even Daichi paused.
A flicker of… acknowledgment crossed his face.
Rai rolled his shoulders, electricity crackling off his skin like a storm waiting to break.
His grin returned.
"Alright, ghost-boy," he said.
"Let's try this again."