"Seriously?" Kyoichi gritted his teeth as Sihan indeed impressed him. He never thought that someone would dare to do something like this.
"What is this? Sihan has shown us something interesting. There is something connecting his sword and shield." Sheira shouted and took a closer look from the camera. "It's a string. However, the string has been reinforced by his Magic Power like how he covers his own Sword and Shield. This is the first time I see a Guardian this free because it will surely take a lot of control over the string. He may have been preparing it for a long time."
Sihan remained focused despite all the words from Sheira. But he also recalled how he actually learned how to use wires.
A few years ago.
He was chased by a monster because he wanted to get stronger, but because he was still weak, he almost died. In front of him was a tiger that had shown its sharp teeth, ready to devour him.
At that time, there was a blue-haired person coming to his help. Right before the tiger bit him, the tiger stopped as if it had no ability to move.
"What?!" Sihan widened his eyes and looked at the tiger before finding a few wires circling all over its body, restraining the tiger. "Strings? But a string this thin shouldn't be strong…"
"You can claim you are strong in front of a small ant. You are strong in front of a baby. Hence, strong is not a good word to use. However, there is one thing absolutely right. Those who defeat, break or even kill you are stronger than you. There is only stronger, not strong." The blue-haired man suddenly appeared with his soothing voice echoing in his ears.
Sihan stared at the man's smiling face.
"Hi, kid. Why are you here? I don't think it's possible for you to enter this place unless you meet the age requirement… Or someone brought you here." He smiled, asking gently.
Sihan looked down with an innocent face. "I want to get stronger. My family doesn't want to train me, so I sneak here and leave my parents…"
"So, you are a bad boy." The blue-haired guy patted his head. "You can't do that, you know. You need to cherish your family when you can. Do you hate them or did they abuse you?"
Sihan's expression turned sad, realizing his foolishness. "No. They love me and support me."
"That's good, right? They want to protect you. When you have reached a certain age, you can talk and reach an understanding with them." He smiled.
"Ugh." Sihan couldn't look him in the eyes. "But I still want to get stronger. Big Brother has something so powerful despite it doesn't look that way. I'm jealous."
"Haha. Then do you want to learn something?"
"Big Brother wants to teach me?" A smile appeared on Sihan's face.
"Sure. However, you need to promise me that you can only come to Art Beats Castle once every two weeks and don't let your parents worry. I will teach you how to get stronger?"
"Then can I practice the string too?"
"Of course."
After that day, the two kept meeting every other week as the blue-haired guy taught him a few things to get stronger.
After six months, Sihan saw him looking at the sky as if he was missing someone.
"Big Brother… You always have that lonely expression whenever you see the sky…"
The blue-haired person smiled. "I can only see the unattainable sky from here. He is bound to be great but I can't be there for him if I want him to stay alive. He must be suffering right now… People said I had suffered so much, but my suffering can't be compared to him. All I wish to do is support him, albeit this is the only thing I can do right now."
"Then Sihan can help you take care of this person for Big Brother."
"This…"
"Please, Big Brother. You have taught me many things. I want to repay you."
"Listen here. The only thing we can do is something that will only make me, you, and my little brother suffer. I don't want to involve anyone." The blue-haired guy rejected him.
"Please. I want to do everything to repay Big Brother. Big Brother has saved my life. Some suffering can't be compared to it."
"This can also involve your life!"
"Even then! I wish to do it." Sihan looked at him with a serious expression.
"…" After a while, he sighed. "I will teach you my string technique first."
Sihan drew a gasp and witnessed it again after so long.
…
Recalling that memory, Sihan took a deep breath, thinking, 'I am here to fight for him and myself. The path that may lead to my ruin… Even then, if we lose here, his path will also receive a great strain… This may be fate or whatever, but I know that I shall dedicate this match to this technique.'
Sihan suddenly threw his sword to the right, forcing the Shield to stop as the remaining force pushed Kyoichi back.
With the shield stop, Sihan had no difficulty in reaching his shield, wielding it again. At the same time, he pulled the string and twisted it a bit, so the sword looped around with him in the center and hit Kyoichi from the side.
"What?!" Kyoichi had yet to recover from that surprise attack, and he needed to take another blow from the sword. He could only block it for a moment before Sihan rammed his shield onto him.
"Gah!" Kyoichi spat a mouthful of blood as if he just got hit by a car.
At the same time, Sihan grasped the floating sword and waved it behind him. "Reverse Strike."
The two incoming strikes forced Kyoichi to throw himself to the side, but Sihan already launched his sword once again.
"Kh!" Kyoichi's shoulder was struck by the sword, but Sihan's empty right hand suddenly twitched before he pulled it again.
However, Sihan was the one who got pulled instead before he realized Diego had stopped the string and ended the match.
"There is a string on his right hand attached to the string connecting the two weapons. If he pulls it again, I am afraid there will be too much bloodshed. Hence, I shall declare…" Diego shouted. "Thersland wins."