"A wide area?"
"Yeah—somewhere that can withstand serious impact."
Busujima Saeko thought for a moment.
Suddenly, a vivid image of blue water appeared in her mind.
"How about the beach? It's not far from here!"
Her suggestion lit up Kuzeha's mind.
With seawater to cushion the force, as long as he controlled his power output, it wouldn't cause too much damage.
"Kuzeha-kun, what are you trying to test?"
"Can I come along and watch?"
Saeko leaned in curiously.
Her breath was warm, her scent subtle and feminine, and her slightly damp nun outfit revealed pale, supple skin underneath.
"Band-aid?"
Kuzeha blurted out the first thing that entered his view.
Saeko blinked, then glanced down and finally realized what he meant.
She took a small step back, her face turning red.
"Kendo is a physically intense sport. Proper protection is a must."
Kuzeha nodded sincerely.
"As expected of you, Saeko-senpai!"
Then, with a slight shift in tone—
"Since you want to know how strong I am, come along."
Saeko's eyes lit up with anticipation.
........
Beach.
The waves lapped up rhythmically, soaking the sand.
Saeko had changed back into her Sobu High uniform.
The sea breeze whipped through her hair and pressed the fabric of her clothes tightly against her shapely figure.
In that moment, even the wind seemed to take on form.
She brushed her messy purple hair behind her ear and turned her gaze from the distant coastline to Kuzeha standing beside her.
This was a forgotten, unmaintained part of the beach—hardly anyone came here.
However…
"Kuzeha-kun, I think there's a monster incident happening over there."
"Should we evacuate?"
She pointed toward another stretch of beach not too far away—people were fleeing in panic, and grotesque figures were emerging from the waves.
The faint sound of emergency alarms echoed.
"Are you scared?"
Kuzeha asked calmly.
"No. Not with you in front of me—I feel safe."
Saeko's soft voice carried resolve.
Kuzeha's heart softened a little.
She always knew how to give emotional value at just the right moment.
Not to mention—this was the same Saeko who, in the original timeline, once fought zombies with a wooden sword.
"Then let's test the blade on those monsters."
His eyes lit up with anticipation.
Ever since acquiring [Divine Evasion], he hadn't fully tested his current limits out of fear of causing excessive destruction.
Saeko silently handed her sword to him and took a step back, watching with eager curiosity.
Suddenly, she felt something shift.
A terrifying, oppressive aura rose from Kuzeha.
In the sky above—seagulls circling over the beach suddenly flipped midair and plummeted straight down.
Thud! Thud!
Like rain, birds dropped from the sky one by one.
In the sea nearby, fish flipped belly-up and floated to the surface.
Saeko's eyes widened in shock.
Just the aura alone—was enough to knock out all living things nearby.
"Is this his true power…? Did he intentionally spare me from it?"
Shing!
A blade rang out.
Kuzeha drew the sword—its silver blade trembling lightly in his grip.
It was her personal sword.
And now she watched closely, not wanting to miss a single detail.
"Divine Evasion."
Kuzeha's voice was soft, almost a whisper.
No unnecessary movement.
Just a horizontal slash—
A wave of black, thunder-like aura condensed into visible sword energy, cutting forward with incredible speed.
Wherever it passed, the waves were flattened as if pressed by a colossal iron—even the ocean's crashing power was forced still.
The sword energy shimmered with dark lightning, and in its wake, a terrifying backlash swept up into a giant tidal wave.
It crashed against the shore with a roar—like the sea itself was howling in pain.
Saeko stood dumbfounded.
Her mind stalled.
Now she understood why Kuzeha needed such a wide space.
Now she knew why no matter how fast she improved, she could never catch up.
She had always suspected he might have stepped into the realm of the supernatural—but this? This exceeded anything she had imagined.
"Even an S-Class hero—someone like Atomic Samurai—would be on par at best…"
She stared at his back, awe flickering in her eyes like never before.
But she didn't see Kuzeha's heavy expression.
"The experiment's only just begun."
His gaze remained fixed on the sword energy suspended midair.
At his feet, shadows surged—and his body launched forward like an arrow, catching up with the slash in an instant.
"Absorb."
His thoughts stirred.
Controlling time and space within his Imaginary Space, he fully absorbed the sword energy he had just released.
"Next step…"
He turned his gaze to the opposite shore—where heroes were locked in fierce battle against a swarm of deep-sea monsters.
Kuzeha's eyes gleamed.
"Release."
In midair, a rift split the sky.
The sword energy he had just absorbed burst forth again—this time redirected, but with the exact same terrifying force.
It crashed into the monsters with overwhelming momentum.
"Success!"
Kuzeha's eyes sparkled with joy.
This wasn't just about redirecting attacks.
The true breakthrough—was storage.
Storing sword energy.
Imaginary Space was a unique phenomenon.
A single point in reality could become infinite volume in Imaginary Space.
Conversely, an infinite physical space in reality could compress into a single point inside it.
Kuzeha could manipulate everything within that space: time, dimension, matter—even his own attacks.
Until now, he had only used it as a glorified inventory or magical refrigerator.
But now, he realized—
He could freeze his sword energy inside it.
And when needed—release all of them at once.
His full-power slash might be blockable for some.
But what if he released thousands of them simultaneously?
That was when Kuzeha truly understood—the real purpose of Imaginary Space.