As Fang Li’s gaze locked onto the pair of ice-blue Mystic Eyes, a profound sense of unease gripped his heart. The appearance of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception as his opponent finally made him comprehend the true gravity of facing such a power.
It felt as if his body’s warmth was being drained away, with the looming presence of the Death God, his heart poised to stop beating at any moment, and a constant dread of losing his life filled him. For ordinary individuals, it would be akin to a living nightmare.
Yet, there was no escaping it.
When confronted with the Mystic Eyes, any being, regardless of its capacity to die, became incredibly vulnerable.
Unbeknownst to Fang Li, his own Mystic Eyes manifested in response to the situation.
Within the dimly lit alley, two pairs of Mystic Eyes, capable of piercing the veil of death, locked onto each other, instantly plunging the surroundings into freezing coldness.
Ignoring the atmosphere around him, Fang Li stared intently into the ice-blue Mystic Eyes of the young man who shared the same extraordinary ability as him or it would be more appropriate to say that he shared the same ability as the guy standing in front of him.
“Tohno Shiki…”
The young man before him was none other than Tohno Shiki, the protagonist from the “Tsukihime” series by TYPE-MOON. He, too, possessed the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, much like Fang Li.
At this moment, within the simulated realm of the training ground, a Plot Character who should not exist in this world materialized before Fang Li and there was only one purpose for this appearance.
Combat.
A faint sound, reminiscent of a door opening and closing, reverberated through the air as the knife in Tohno Shiki’s hand, a simulated construct within the training ground, tightened its grip, its blade gleaming with a chilling brilliance.
Observing this, Fang Li’s gaze hardened. He clenched his palm, silently grasping the Moonlight-like dagger in his hand.
This was the final action Fang Li managed to take.
“Crack!”
In an instant, the sound of tearing fabric pierced the silence and bloody sparks erupted into the sky.
Fang Li’s pupils constricted abruptly as in the blink of an eye, Tohno Shiki, who had stood before him moments ago, had teleported to his face. His ice-blue Mystic Eyes held an air of indifference as they looked at him.
Within his hand, the dagger-like knife had transformed into a resplendent object, cleaving Fang Li’s arm, which clutched the dagger, causing it to plummet to the ground.
Before Fang Li could feel the pain of his arm being cut off, the young man with the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception thrust the knife into Fang Li’s heart.
…
In a flash, the dim alley vanished without a trace, reverting back to the pristine sealed space from the beginning.
In the center of the sealed expanse, Fang Li stood there motionless with one hand clutching the dagger and the other covering his heart, he remained speechless for an extended moment.
To an unaware observer, everything that had just transpired could be dismissed as an illusion.
Yet, Fang Li knew that, in a certain sense, the events held a degree of reality to them. The training and battles within the training ground unfolded in a simulated form.
Nevertheless, they undeniably took place.
In other words, even though it was a simulated battle, Fang Li had indeed experienced his own demise just moments ago. When faced with the ice-blue Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, his heart tightened.
As an opponent facing the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Fang Li finally understood what it felt like to confront such eyes and he didn’t like being instantly killed by another young man who possessed the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. He didn’t like that one bit.
“So, this is the difference between us?” Recalling the battle that was extremely unsurprising, Fang Li couldn’t find the words to express himself.
According to Fang Li’s settings, Tohno Shiki’s attributes were identical to his own. In other words, in terms of physical ability, Fang Li and Tohno Shiki were completely the same.
Coupled with both sides possessing the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, the two of them could be considered almost identical.
However, the result was Fang Li being instantly killed by his opponent.
“Is it because of skill?”
Yes.
It was because of the difference between their skill.
Tohno Shiki, originally named Nanaya Shiki, was a descendant of the Nanaya Clan, one of the four major Demon Hunter families in the TYPE-MOON world.
Although the Nanaya Family was a Demon Hunter family, they were known for their Assassination Techniques. In order to hunt demons, the people of this clan had trained their bodies to surpass human limits, mastering Taijutsu.
Using the surrounding environment for the unique movement, employing footwork that defied common sense, reaching speeds that surpassed human limits, and possessing spider-like agility, the Nanaya Assassination Technique allowed them to suddenly accelerate from a stationary state, change direction at high speeds, and quickly utilize the space around them. It was a technique that made use of space in a way that was beyond human capability.
Its characteristics lay in the swiftness of its movements and the unexpectedness of its techniques.
This Nanaya Assassination Technique, honed to perfection, combined with the ability of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, allowed Tohno Shiki to kill numerous supernatural beings. Among them were even some of the most powerful vampires, making him a truly fearsome opponent.
In a situation where their physical abilities were exactly the same, Fang Li fell victim to Tohno Shiki’s instant kill because of this Assassination Technique.
“But I remember that Tohno Shiki only learned the most basic self-defense techniques of the Nanaya Assassination Technique, right?”
Fang Li really didn’t know how to react in front of such information. Was that guy really so terrifying just by learning the basic assassination techniques?
Although Fang Li was still in the mindset of not fully adapting, there might have been some carelessness on his part. But no matter how you looked at it, being instantly killed was a bit too much, wasn’t it?
If Tohno Shiki, who could only use a portion of the Nanaya Assassination Technique, was already this formidable, then just how terrifying would Nanaya Shiki be if he could use the complete Nanaya Assassination Technique?
With this thought in mind, Fang Li’s relaxed mindset due to training immediately tightened.
“Come again!” At that moment, Fang Li accessed the interface and began another simulated battle.
The opponent, naturally, was Tohno Shiki. This time, Fang Li was on high alert, and completely focused on the battle.
Under these circumstances, Fang Li finally noticed Tohno Shiki’s sudden acceleration to the limit from a stationary state and reacted in a timely manner. However, this sudden acceleration to the limit from a stationary state was only a part of the Nanaya Assassination Technique.
The true terror of the Nanaya Assassination Technique lay in its unique movement using the surrounding environment. Whether it was the movements or the footwork, they embodied both speed and unexpectedness.
In the Nanaya Assassination Technique, there were techniques for both arms and feet.
The arm technique was called Flashing Scabbard.
The foot technique was called Flashing Dash.
Since Tohno Shiki had only learned the basic techniques, he didn’t possess the many magnificent and exciting techniques of the Nayana Assassination Technique.
However, during the course of the battle, his footwork was as eerie as a spider, sometimes closely sticking to the ground, sometimes leaping onto the walls, sometimes rushing forward with his head down, sometimes swiftly turning around, displaying lightning-fast and agile movements that forced Fang Li to defend himself in variety of ways.
And when Tohno Shiki’s knife movements also became unusually rapid, Fang Li couldn’t keep up with his defense.
“Pū chī!” In a moment of carelessness, Fang Li’s neck was directly severed, spraying out a large amount of blood.
The training ground returned to its original appearance, bringing Fang Li back to reality.
This time, Fang Li was truly angered.
“Again!” The dim alley reappeared, and the young man who could cause instant death once again stood before Fang Li.
Thus, Fang Li’s training continued.
……
