Upon regaining his footing, Izumo took a good look at the one who needed only an instant to throw him out the window.
The tall man, now standing in front of the boy, was dressed in a yukata that did not fit the theme of the ongoing war. He let his long, straight hair flow freely, sometimes over his eyes. On his feet he wore old zori that should have been used only in casual situations, and the white yukata that covered his body, together with the stubble on his chin, completed the look of an unbothered man. Judging by looks, he looked more like a surprisingly fit 25-year-old bum.
However Izumo looked at it, this man was not prepared for combat, and that made him all the more fearsome. Izumo tensed up and readied his sword unconsciously, unable to keep the tip of the blade from trembling. It was hard to explain why, but Izumo's mind was flooded with weirdly familiar fear, similar to how a familiar smell could bring with it waves of memories.
"Izumo. Just Izumo," the boy named himself, trying to prepare the field for an honorable fight. This was just his way of clearing his mind from the plethora of questions and doubt that sprouted the second he was attacked.
Since there were no exceptional fighters up to now, it's pretty clear the whole guarding business was left to this guy. There is no way I am getting out of this with both hands…
As if hoping for a savior, the boy quickly peeked in the direction they themselves had come from. As expected, there was yet no sign of their army.
"Tsk, naming ourselves? Do we really have to go through these old, set-in-stone practices? I'm more interested in how a simple soldier got so close to killing that old fart…" the unknown man answered, his katana still sheathed at his waist.
"Oi, Akira! What makes you think this is the time for a chat? Hurry up and bring me the heads of those guys!"
At the daimyo's orders, the man named Akira didn't respond in any way fitting of an army man. Instead, he looked at the lord and brushed him off with a click of his tongue.
"Yo, old man! What makes you think you can tell ME of all people what to do? From what I've been told, I'm free to do as I see fit."
The daimyo gulped and took a step back into the castle.
"It's clear who's really in charge here," Izumo whispered.
No, it would be more fitting to say that this Akira was neither leading nor being led. He seemed to be moving freely based on his own wishes.
"Don't forget, daimyo-sama, I'm doing you a favor here. Don't push your luck."
Akira turned back to Izumo, continuing the conversation with a "where were we." To his surprise, Izumo was now standing around ten steps away with a smile twisted in fear.
It was to be expected. With Izumo's extensive knowledge about this world, he finally understood whom he was facing.
"Akira? Wind Representative Akira?"
"Ah, busted, huh? Guess now we can skip the introductions."
Only hearing about those people in legends, Izumo never had the chance to meet one. It was fair to say he was just now learning about them. The representatives were the highest-tier wielders of each element. They were the very pinnacle of magic users, pioneering in the uses of their affinity. Some scholars would call them complete masters of an element, while others came with only one valid counterargument:
"We have no way of knowing if they have truly mastered the use of their element, as none other could ever come close to inventing something the representatives didn't already do."
This was how strong the Representatives were believed to be, having never lost a magical fight in their field.
That fact alone was enough to have Izumo take a couple of steps back.
"Still, running away is not an option…"
He could not escape from there, not when his sister and father were both at the mercy of the enemy.
"What do you mean by 'not an option?' Isn't that a bit pathetic? We can always choose what we want to do," Akira intervened. "So, what do you want to do?"
"That doesn't change a thing," Izumo said while strengthening his grip. "I'm doing exactly what I feel like doing."
"Is that so? Good. Then I have nothing to hold against you," Akira answered with a grin.
The two of them were getting in position when Izumo noticed how no other soldiers approached him while he was measuring his opponent.
"A one-on-one fight? So you do care about honor after all."
"Don't get it twisted. I'm not here to command those troops. They're free to do whatever they feel like. 'Tis more probable that I scare them. Don't try to force concepts such as 'honor' on me. It doesn't suit me."
"Well, if they are scared of you, I guess I better get closer," said a fast-approaching voice. It was Kotaro's. The boy quickly flew next to Izumo, displaying his usual optimistic smile.
"I am not bothering, am I?"
"Do as you wish," the representative answered, showing no sign of surprise or emotion.
*****
"Where's Ken?"
"Oh, don't worry about him. He's having the time of his life cutting people down. Pretty disturbing, if you ask me," Kotaro answered.
"Hey, you were the one always in touch with history and big shots. Any idea how strong this guy is?"
"There's not much to go by…" Izumo answered with a sigh. "I can assure you that your magic won't get us the win this time, though."
"That strong, huh? I guess we have to learn something new quickly. Haha…" Kotaro added with a nervous laugh.
"Kotaro, listen here. When this fight is over, I need you to forget anything you'll have seen me do."
"Oh? So I finally get to see what you used on that kappa?"
Izumo's eyes widened at his friend's words. He wanted to ask Kotaro about it, but they were suddenly interrupted by a loud voice.
"Haven't you two been talking for a while now? I like this strategy of yours of trying to bore me until I leave, but it ain't gonna work!"
To those words, Kotaro answered by readying his yari.
"Don't worry, Izumo. If that's what it takes for us to win, use whatever you feel like."
Having spoken everything they wanted to say, the two boys took their positions. Izumo did not take long to strengthen their defense with a layer of protective metal that fit their limbs perfectly.
"Kid, you're starting to get me curious… No way someone your age can already use so many elements!"
Taking advantage of Akira's confusion, the two moved in and attacked him from both sides. With any normal opponent, this would have been the ideal finishing move, but their opponent was one favored by the gods. Such tactics proved useless when Akira simply jumped in the air at an insane speed none of them could keep up with.
"So that's what you meant by not beating him with my magic? I feel kind of useless now, and it's only been the first strike…" Kotaro sighed.
"Don't break focus! I've got you!"
As Izumo encouraged his partner, the ground beneath them sprouted upwards, and they were quick to reach Akira once again.
Akira answered with a playful scoff and pulled out his sword from his waist. What followed was a clash between the weapons of the three, in which the two boys displayed perfect synchronization, having their strikes complement one another, and even pushing Akira to the edge of the raised plateau.
"Pure sword combat was never my thing. That's for that 'Katana Maniac.' But I must give it to you—I didn't expect to be pushed this far."
Akira's praise did nothing but make the next scene even more painful. The second he decided to use wind together with his swings, the two boys were pushed right back. This time, they were the ones sitting at the edge of the platform.
"May as well go all in, right, Izumo? Or am I expecting too much of you now?"
"Don't worry, I've still got more in me!"
But in truth, after gauging the strength of a representative, Izumo was starting to doubt the two of them stood a chance.
Akira readied his sword for another attack, but what he saw next was a blinding ray of light that blocked him from locking in on the two boys.
"Unfortunately, this is as far as my light control goes," Izumo said in his defense.
Approaching the blinded Akira, Kotaro pointed his yari and prepared a fatal blow. Akira quickly reacted to it and stopped the yari with his blade, but Kotaro smiled when his move got blocked. Taking advantage of Akira's many blind spots, the boy quickly swung the other end of his weapon at the man, managing to hit him over the face with the blunt end.
After getting a hit in, Kotaro retreated before the wind representative could counterattack. One hit was enough. For now, they confirmed that their enemy was not unbeatable.
After bumping their fists in praise, the two prepared the next attack. This time, it was Kotaro who took the ranged approach, throwing a tanto knife at the man. As soon as the weapon found its trajectory, Izumo coated the route in darkness, creating a shadow around it. This way, the lack of proper light reflection made the path of the object impossible to detect with the naked eye.
Akira was barely able to notice the knife thanks to feeling the disturbance in the wind currents around him, but by the time he stopped it, it was too late to prepare for what was coming. Even if the knife was deflected, the invisible fire coating on it wasn't. That was a hot hit on Akira. The damage was nothing to be proud of, as he was able to diffuse the flames around his body at the last minute, but it was clear that some damage had been dealt.
Building on the momentum, the two pushed the man off the platform. For a moment, it seemed like victory was within their grasp.
The three reached the ground safely right next to a surprised Ken. It was then that Akira relaxed expression suddenly faded, and he adopted a serious look.
"You."
His look was fixed on Izumo.
"Metal, earth, dark, light, fire, and wind. I have seen you use all types of elements. How old are you?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Acting smart? So be it. You could have saved yourself with a good excuse," Akira said as he grabbed his hair and tied it into a messy ponytail. Around them, a sandstorm rose slowly.
"Look out!" Ken shouted, jumping in the fight without questioning it.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Akira was clashing swords with Ken, who had barely managed to block a hit meant for Izumo.
"When did he get here? He was just in front of us," Kotaro said, surprised.
"Have you ever seen the wind stay still, boy?" the representative asked as his body started slowly fading.
The next hit was aimed at Ken, who did not have time to regain his posture. Akira's blade came in right for his neck, and the boy looked at it helplessly as his body could not move fast enough.
Before the blade could make contact, it was suddenly frozen in place. This was not ice magic, but Kotaro's wind magic, who gave it his all to stop the man.
"Fool."
Izumo knew, Kotaro knew, but Ken did not yet understand. There was no way of overpowering this man when it came to the wind attribute. What Kotaro had done put him bare on display for the attacker to feast on him.
Seeing this, Izumo let out a loud scream that resounded strongly in the silence of the battlefield. Desperately, he tried his best to conjure a form of defense, but there was nothing around them to use. The boy had no choice but to transmute the sand and dirt around into something sturdier, so he started the transmutation process on instinct.
Meanwhile, Ken had locked eyes with a smiling Kotaro.
"Yo, don't get it twisted! This was all on me," Kotaro said. Right then and there, the bloody blade of a katana sprouted out of his sternum, blood stains painting Ken's petrified face.
*****
In front of the two, Akira held high the impaled body.
Izumo didn't make it in time. He had failed again. Meanwhile, Ken was only now grasping what had happened.
"RRRAAHHHHHHH!!!"
Izumo screamed even louder than before, overtaken by sorrow and anger.
Around them, time itself seemed to have frozen. No, time really started moving more slowly.
"I see. That's enough proof."
As Akira said that, he shook Kotaro off his blade, leaving him to bleed out on the ground, and swung his sword at the raging Izumo, but with time moving at a different pace, the swing took too long.
A kick deviated the blade when time started to flow normally again. They had been stuck in that position for a good five minutes, enough time to let the anguish and realization sink in for both Izumo and Ken.
The one who had kicked the blade was none other than their leader, Uesugi.
Soon after, a wall of cherry red, undying fire was put between Akira and everyone else.
Ten, together with Kotoko, took Kotaro and Ken. This only left Uesugi, who lifted and threw the now unresponsive Izumo to the other soldiers to carry him back.
When the raging flames settled, Akira was alone on the battlefield.
The man turned around and got lost in the floating dust.
"Soon," he whispered coldly, as if answering someone's question.
"Someone has to put things into motion."