Interlude: In Order to Have No Regrets

Whenever I close my eyes, I can vividly recall the days I spent with my beloved brother. I was always following him around everywhere. Back then, I was even worse at interacting with people than I am now, so I was never able to work up the courage to speak to him, but whenever he found me following him, he’d give me a warm smile and beckon me over to his side. That always made me so happy. And whenever I walked over to him, he’d gently pat my head. I loved that more than anything else.

Those days were filled with joy, but as time passed, I came to realize how ignorant and foolish I’d been. All I’d done was greedily devour my brother’s love without giving anything back. Every day, I curse my past self for her selfishness. If I’d been paying any attention, I would have noticed the pain in his gaze. Or the fact that all of our other relatives shunned him. Or the fact that he was always watching the lessons I was able to freely partake in from afar. Of course, whenever he spotted me coming, he’d quickly plaster on a smile, but there was always a darkness behind that smile that I simply chose to ignore.

Ever since he was a child, my brother has always been fighting against the unfairness of the world. At the time, I hadn’t even tried to understand him. I’d just let him spoil me without giving anything back. But things are different now. Now I understand what’s important to him, and what he desires. Most importantly, I know what I have to do to support him. Even if it ends up costing me everything, that’s a price I’ll gladly pay.

Chapter 11: A Bloody Truth

“Before today’s match starts, I’m going to attack Shinomiya Amane while he’s in the waiting room,” Shizuku confessed to Alisuin as they were walking back to the tournament venue from the department store. It was right after they’d finished picking out new clothes for Sara Bloodlily.

“What? What do you mean, Shizuku?” Alisuin responded, so shocked that she stopped in her tracks.

“I mean exactly what I said,” Shizuku answered in a firm voice. “It’s the only way I can think of to defeat Shinomiya Amane’s Nameless Glory. As far as I can tell, it’s a Noble Art with an extremely powerful influence over fate. If he wishes for his victory or my defeat, my powers won’t be able to do much. I can only control natural phenomena, after all. One way or another, events will be twisted to work out in his favor. Perhaps I’ll end up forfeiting like the Doctor Knight and his second-round opponent did. In fact, it’s better to assume that’s the likely outcome. Chances are, I won’t even get to step into the ring, which means I won’t have a chance to fight him. So I was thinking, why not use this inevitability to my advantage?”

“How so?”

“If my loss is set in stone...why not make it a loss due to breaking the rules and attacking my opponent outside of the ring? That way, I won’t have to fight against my fated defeat, but I’ll still have a chance to beat Amane. It’s the only thing I can think of to bypass Nameless Glory and let my blade reach him.”

Alisuin nodded in understanding. That certainly was one way to overcome Amane’s insane ability. Since he had absolute confidence in his Nameless Glory, he wouldn’t be expecting it either. It wasn’t a bad strategy on paper. There was one problem, though.

“But that still means you’ll be out of the tournament!” Alisuin exclaimed.

Beating Amane that way required Shizuku to give up her right to fight in the tournament, which defeated the purpose of beating him in the first place.

“That’s fine with me,” Shizuku said simply.

“What?!”

“As a nature-controlling Blazer, I have no way of interfering with fate like he does. If he were only using his abilities during the match, it would be possible for me to find some way to overcome them, but since he’s twisting fate from well before the match starts, there’s nothing I can do. However, that’s no reason for me to give up. If I’m going to be forced to forfeit for some reason or another anyway, I’d rather take him down with me. Besides, you heard what he said to Onii-sama after Stella-san’s match, didn’t you?”

“I did...”

“And you know what? That’s exactly why I need you to keep getting hurt. Spill more blood. Get beat up even more. The worse things get for you, the harder I’ll cheer you on! I want to see you fight fate again and again and again until you finally break!” Those words and the horrifying smile with which Amane had said them were etched deeply into Shizuku’s and Alisuin’s memories.

“I can’t allow someone as dangerous as him near Onii-sama. I don’t mind losing so long as he doesn’t make it to the semifinals. I’ll hurt him badly enough that he won’t be able to recover in a day or two, knocking him out of the tournament.”

It would certainly be in character for Shizuku to sacrifice herself for Ikki. But even so, Alisuin couldn’t approve of that course of action.

“Shizuku... You’re right that he’s dangerous, and I do understand your worries. But underhanded moves like this go against the spirit of Mage-Knights.”

“Tell that to him. If he hadn’t cheated and used his powers outside of the match to make both of his opponents forfeit, I wouldn’t even think of doing this.”

“I see where you’re coming from, but...as much as it pains me to admit it, we can’t prove that he cheated. He can always claim that his opponents forfeiting was just coincidence, and there’s no evidence that can definitively convince the Management Committee otherwise. In your case, though, Shizuku, you’ll be disqualified for sure. And that’s not all. You might even get expelled for such a blatant breach of conduct.”

Indeed, Shizuku’s plan might be able to get past Nameless Glory, but it was a deadly double-edged sword. If anything, she was risking far more than she stood to gain.

“Ikki won’t be happy to see you taking such risks for his sake either,” Alisuin continued. “Hell, it’s not just him. Stella-chan will be disappointed as well.”

As will I.

“Believe me, I know. Onii-sama and Stella-san are both too kind for their own good,” Shizuku replied, smiling sadly. “But you know, Alice, I had a lot of fun today. I got to spend it with my beloved Onii-sama, his beloved Stella-san, and you. Well, there was an extra who got in our way, but still, I had a wonderful time. It’s not just today either. It’s been nothing but fun times since I enrolled in Hagun Academy. But you know...it wasn’t like that in the past. Unlike when I was living in that stifling house, I know without a shadow of doubt that everyone’s enjoying themselves as much as I am. I’m truly glad that I came to Hagun.”

There was a hint of nostalgia in Shizuku’s voice. It was as if she knew nothing would be the same after today.

“Shizuku, you...”

“I’m sorry, Alice. But I can’t just stand by and do nothing when I know disaster is heading toward Onii-sama.” Even if it means I get expelled. Even if it means I never get to hang out with everyone like this again. “This time, it’s my turn to protect him.”

The day Ikki had left the Kurogane house, Shizuku had sworn to herself that she’d do whatever it took to protect him. Her sad smile was gone, replaced with a look of ironclad determination. The boundless love she had for Ikki was supported by a resolve that was truly unbreakable. She looked up at Alisuin.

“I can’t guarantee my surprise attack will succeed if I’m on my own, though,” she said. “Alice, will you lend me your strength?”

Shizuku knew the risks she was asking Alisuin to take for her sake. It was entirely possible her friend would get expelled along with her. She could only make that request because she trusted Alisuin wholeheartedly. And Alisuin couldn’t help but want to live up to that trust.

“Very well, I’ll help.”

I’m sorry, Ikki. I’m a bad friend.

“Thank you,” Shizuku said.

Alisuin smiled wryly to herself. If she were a good friend, she’d stop Shizuku. Regardless of whether Shizuku’s surprise attack succeeded, she’d end up penalized. Moreover, Stella was sure to be livid with her for messing up the tournament. But Alisuin knew just how deep and strong Shizuku’s love for Ikki was. She knew that nothing she said would change Shizuku’s mind. In fact, she doubted that even Ikki himself would be able to dissuade the girl. Someone truly dangerous was trying to mess with her beloved brother, and she couldn’t simply turn a blind eye to it. Alisuin knew that if she refused to help, Shizuku would still try to attack Amane on her own.

If nothing else, I can make sure she’s not alone.

Since there was no stopping her, Alisuin at least wanted to be with her. When Alisuin had broken away from Rebellion, she’d vowed to stay by Shizuku’s side for as long as Shizuku wanted.

That evening, the two of them made their move. The plan was quite simple: Alisuin would use her Shadow Walk to take them past security and into Amane’s waiting room. The moment they exited the shadows, Shizuku would rain ice spears down on a defenseless Amane.

Everything went perfectly smoothly, and Shizuku was able to launch her sneak attack. Countless ice spears skewered Amane, and there was a loud thump as his body slammed into the far wall and slid to the ground. Blood dripped from the numerous gashes on his head and limbs, pooling on the cold concrete floor beneath him.

“I won’t apologize,” Shizuku said, looking down at Amane’s battered body. In truth, she didn’t like attacking defenseless people. No matter who her opponent was, she preferred to fight them on a fair stage. But it was Amane who’d refused to fight fair first and was using his power outside of the ring to ensure his victories, so there was no need for her to show him any mercy. “Blame yourself for picking the wrong person to mess with.”

Though Shizuku had avoided killing Amane outright, his wounds were severe. His head injuries especially would take quite some time to heal, even with the help of a capsule. He wouldn’t be able to fight in the semifinals despite getting his win by default.

With this, it’s over.

Shizuku was confident she’d removed the threat to her brother. Unfortunately, she was up against Bad Luck, the boy who could move heaven and earth to get his way.

“Aha ha ha ha ha ha! I see, so that was your plan!”

“What?!”

To Shizuku’s immense surprise, Amane got to his feet. He was smiling, even though he had icicles sticking out of his limbs and even his skull. It was the same twisted, evil smile he’d given Ikki before.

“Man, what a surprise! It’s true that if you go out of your way to break the rules, Nameless Glory won’t activate to stop you since it’ll get me a win by default. That’s the one of the only ways to catch me off guard. But I honestly didn’t think you’d do something this radical! It’s so underhanded, I can’t believe you’re actually related to Ikki-kun!”

“No way...”

“How are you able to get up with those injuries?”

Shizuku and Alisuin were understandably shaken. Meanwhile, Amane grabbed the icicle stuck in his skull and pulled it out like it was nothing.

“Who can say? Even I’m not sure. But you know, there was one case of a man who managed to drive himself to the hospital with a knife stuck in his skull before, and I’ve heard of people surviving after being shot in the head. In other words, it’s not impossible to feel fine after a brain injury. And as you know, I’m luckier than most people.”

“Tch!”

In that instant, Alisuin threw one of her daggers behind Amane, using her Shadow Bind Noble Art to hold him in place.

“Shizuku!”

She grabbed Shizuku’s hand and prepared to run. As someone who’d carried out countless assassinations, she was certain they’d executed their plan perfectly. Amane had undoubtedly been taken by surprise and suffered a significant amount of damage. But while the process had gone smoothly, the results were not what they’d desired. There was nothing more they could do. If Amane was able to turn even that perfect surprise attack in his favor, they wouldn’t be able to hurt him any further.

Alisuin’s assassin’s intuition was completely correct. But it was already too late. She gasped in surprise as there was a burst of static noise and the lights in the room shut off. The power to turn coincidences into inevitabilities had caused the wires to loosen and the bulbs to degrade at exactly the moment Amane needed them to. With the light gone, there was no shadow either, meaning Shadow Bind was no longer effective.

Oh no!

Despite knowing that they were in danger, Alisuin was too late to react.

“Gah!”

Countless cross-shaped blades flew through the darkness and pierced her. She instantly fell unconscious, sinking to the floor in a pool of her own blood.

“Alice!”

“Why are you in such a hurry to leave? You only just got here,” Amane said, summoning a few more cross-shaped blades between his fingers. These were his Device, Azure. “I don’t blame you, honestly. If anything, I’m impressed. Your love for Ikki-kun really is something else, Shizuku-chan. I never knew someone could love another person so deeply. I love Ikki-kun too, but nowhere near as much as you. Which is why I’ll give you one chance.”

“What?”

“For one minute, I’ll keep wishing that no one finds out about this commotion. I’m sure you get what that means. You have one minute to make your wish come true!”

“Don’t get cocky, you brat!”

From the start, Shizuku had had no intention of running. Even if Amane hadn’t put that bait in front of her, she would have kept fighting. She summoned her Device, Yoishigure, and wrapped it in a blade of pressurized water. She’d cut him down in close quarters, and this time, she’d make sure he was out of commission. But the moment she raised her foot to step forward, her vision blurred.

“Huh?!”

Alisuin’s blood had pooled around her feet in such a way that she’d slipped immediately upon shifting her center of gravity.

“Ngh!”

She shot out a hand to break her fall and immediately jumped back to her feet. She tried to charge Amane again, only for her right leg to end up kicking her left calf, causing her to trip again.

“Agh!”

Don’t tell me...

“Aha ha ha ha ha! You must have some pretty bad luck to trip up twice in a row. Or maybe...I’m just lucky.”

Chuckling, Amane slowly closed the distance between him and Shizuku. Shizuku leaped to her feet again, but instead of trying to run forward like last time, she backstepped away.

“Water Prison Bubble!”

Denying the worrying possibility that had popped into her head, Shizuku kept her distance and tried a ranged attack. Fine-tuned mana control was her specialty, and she’d fired three Water Prison Bubbles at Amane to ensure that at least one of them would cover his head and start suffocating him. And yet, all three of them floated harmlessly past him and broke against the wall.

“Ngh!”

“It’s rare for you to miss at this range, Shizuku-chan,” Amane said, his grin widening.

This was the third time Shizuku had messed up. Counting the failed surprise attack, that actually made it the fourth time. She was certain now that the fault didn’t lie with her.

“So Nameless Glory can cause other people to make mistakes as well.”

“Who knows? The only thing I’m thinking is, ‘I want to win this game.’ I have no idea how it’s making that happen. But you know what they say: Even a chess grandmaster makes blunders. Humans are fallible creatures. No matter how hard you’ve trained, there’s always a possibility you’ll mess up. That’s true for every action we take, even something as simple as walking one step forward. Every now and then, someone twists their ankle or stumbles on a pebble. And the more complicated the action, the easier it is to mess up. Managing the trajectories for your spells requires a lot of complex calculations, doesn’t it?”

“Rgh...”

The more Shizuku learned about Amane’s ability, the more overpowered it seemed. If he could make her mess up, then it was too dangerous to even attempt using Azure Reincarnation.

What should I—

“You’re wide open!”

“Gaaah?!”

While Shizuku was distracted by this latest reveal, Amane swung one of his Azures down at her. She reacted too late, and the blade scored a deep gash on her forehead. Blood dripped into her eyes, hampering her vision and making it harder for her to avoid follow-up attacks.

Knowing that she was in a bad spot, Shizuku once again tried to put some distance between the two of them. As she took a step back, however, she felt herself press against the cold, hard concrete wall. Her heart started to hammer as she realized she was trapped. Cold sweat poured down her back.

How do I fight him? I can’t think of anything that’ll work!

Her mind was getting clouded with impatience, despair, and helplessness. But she refused to give up. She glared angrily at Amane and spurred herself into action. Even if she wasn’t sure of what to do, she had to do something. Having looked into Shinomiya Amane’s eyes, Shizuku knew the deep darkness that stirred within them was directed squarely at her beloved Ikki. She couldn’t let Amane near him, no matter the cost.

Besides, while she wasn’t as passionate about becoming a knight as Ikki or Stella was, she’d still spent the past few months fighting to earn a spot in the Seven Stars Battle Festival. Through those fights, she’d seen how much the tournament meant to people and how seriously they took it. Amane’s blatant cheating was a slap in the face to everyone who’d worked hard to get there. She had to make him pay for that too. So she kept her eyes wide open despite the blood dripping into them.

“You have no right to be at the Seven Stars Battle Festival!” she shouted. “This is a stage for knights who are wholeheartedly chasing their dreams with dignity and pride! You have no dreams and no dignity! You don’t deserve to move on to the next round, and I’m going to make sure you can’t!”

Even if she was punished for it, Shizuku wouldn’t let Amane get away with desecrating this exalted tournament. A second later, the wall behind her began to ripple. The ripples grew in number and spread all across the wall.

“Bloodstorm!”

Pellets of highly pressurized water shot out from behind Shizuku, heading toward Amane. And they weren’t targeting just him; she was firing them off in all directions except toward herself. If Nameless Glory could mess up her aim, then she wouldn’t aim at all. She’d overwhelm him with a barrage so thick that it would hit everything.

The room shook from the force of the attack, and mist rose up from the ground like steam. It was so dense that you couldn’t see even a meter ahead, but through it all, Amane spoke.

“Sorry, but you’re out of time.”

“Ah—”

A dozen silver flashes cut through the mist, flying straight at Shizuku—Amane’s Azures. They cut into her limbs and pinned her against the wall.

“Gaaah!”

One of them pierced her throat as well, causing her to scream out in pain. But what she saw as the mist cleared shocked her so much that she momentarily forgot about her pain.

“No...way...”

The walls, ceiling, and floor were riddled with holes from where her bullets had landed, yet somehow, Amane was unscathed. Only the spot he stood on and the wall behind him were unblemished. Amane’s Nameless Glory had caused Shizuku to mess up her control over the mana in just the bullets that would have hit him, softening them up enough that they reverted to mere water droplets rather than deadly bullets.

“I see, so you decided not to aim at all if your aim was getting messed up. You sure thought a lot about your next course of action. Does everyone have to think this much in a fight? That’s amazing. My uniform’s soaked now because of that. But, well, I was feeling a little warm anyway, and this cooled me down nicely. Guess I got lucky again. Heh. Aha ha ha ha ha. Aha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

Fear gripped Shizuku as Amane laughed maniacally.

Is there anything his power can’t do?

Shizuku had racked her brain for the optimal course of action, but so long as it had even the slightest chance of failing, it would. Fate would be twisted to work in Amane’s favor. It truly was an unfair ability. One couldn’t help but think that Amane had been blessed by Lady Luck at birth. Only now did Shizuku realize that Alisuin had been right to try to flee immediately. That would have been the smart choice.

There’s no way we can win...against that...

A wave of despair washed over Shizuku, crushing the last of her resolve.

“Shinomiya! Shizuku! What are you two doing?!”

The announcer’s panicked scream came out through the loudspeaker in the room. People had finally figured out what was going on in here. Amane turned to the screen and explained that Shizuku had attacked him while he was waiting, and that he’d simply defended himself. He even said to check the security camera footage if they doubted him.

How...pathetic... Shizuku thought bitterly, her consciousness starting to fade away due to the blood loss. She’d failed to accomplish anything, and now her failure was exposed for everyone to see.

“Oh, by the way, I imagine you’re listening to this broadcast, Ikki-kun. I know I’m the victim here, but please don’t be too hard on Shizuku-chan! She did all of this for you, after all!”

Shizuku let out a gargled scream upon hearing that. She wanted to protest, but her windpipe had been run through, and all she could let out was a pitiful moan. Meanwhile, Amane kept talking.

“I could tell from fighting her that Shizuku-chan really loves you, Ikki-kun. And I don’t mean that in a familial way. She loves you as a woman. It must have really hurt her when you started dating Stella-chan. She must have spent ages trying to make you look at her instead.”

“Stop...” Shizuku managed to barely get out in a weak voice. She didn’t want Amane of all people to speak for her.

“It’s those pure feelings of hers that drove her to this extreme. She wanted to remove any potential obstacles in your path to becoming the Seven Stars Sovereign because she wanted to help you achieve your dream, and because she wanted you to love her.”

“Stop...it...”

But her weak cries fell on deaf ears, and Amane continued voicing what he assumed Shizuku’s true feelings were. This was the greatest torture of all. Shizuku hadn’t attacked Amane because she wanted Ikki to love her. And yet...

“What Shizuku-chan did was wrong, of course, but it’s only natural to want the person you love to love you back. I feel bad for her, being neglected like this. Don’t you think you should make her your woman and love her like—”

“Agh... Ngh...”

Shizuku couldn’t take any more. Amane was taking her most important feelings, the love she had for her brother both as a sister and as a woman, and talking about them as if she were a temperamental cat in heat. To Ikki himself, no less. It was nothing short of rape. Indeed, Shizuku would have preferred being physically violated. There was nothing more humiliating, more mortifying than this.

“Just...stop...” she pleaded, tears spilling from her eyes. Her pride was in tatters. All she wanted was for this to end. Just then, the waiting room’s far wall was blown apart.

“Whoa?!”

Amane held his arms in front of his face to protect himself from the sudden shock wave. Shizuku, too, reflexively closed her eyes against the wave of heat and pressure that assailed her. Once the shock wave subsided, the two of them opened their eyes to see a woman with blazing red hair standing in the hole in the wall. It was Stella Vermillion.

“Good. It looks like you’re still breathing, Shizuku.”

Stella strode through the hole and into the waiting room.

“Y-You scared me, Stella-san! I thought the building was coming down for a second there,” Amane said, turning to her. “Um, I-I know this isn’t something you can ignore since you’re Ikki-kun’s girlfriend, but breaking through the wall is a bit—”

“Shut up.” Stella’s quiet, commanding voice caused Amane to fall silent. Without so much as looking at him, she added, “If you say another disrespectful word about Shizuku, I’ll turn you into ash where you stand. I don’t care if they disqualify me. You won’t live to draw another breath.”

She was so disgusted with him that she knew if she looked at his face, she wouldn’t be able to contain her burning anger. As it was, she was biting her lip hard enough to draw blood in order to keep herself from thrashing him.

Stella-san...

Though her vision was hazy, Shizuku was still able to make out Stella’s expression. If Stella had been mad at her for being a jealous woman who wanted to steal Ikki away like Amane had claimed, things would have been so much easier. If she’d been any less nice of a person, Shizuku could have hated her rather than come to like her. Instead, she found herself torn between her desire to make Ikki her own and her desire for Ikki to find happiness with Stella. They were opposing feelings, but they were both how she truly felt from the bottom of her heart.

“Thank...you...” she muttered softly as Stella removed the blades pinning her to the wall. Saying that took the last of her strength, and she wasn’t even sure she said it loudly enough to be heard, as she passed out immediately afterward.

◆◇◆◇◆

The tournament managers checked the security camera footage to see what had happened in the waiting room. For some inexplicable reason, the audio was corrupted, so they couldn’t make out what Shizuku and Amane had been saying, but the video clearly depicted her launching a surprise attack on him, verifying his claims. She was found to be in gross violation of the rules and consequently disqualified from the tournament, which meant Shinomiya Amane progressed to the semifinals.

Fortunately, neither Shizuku nor Alisuin was expelled for their conduct. Instead, they were barred from entering in any public tournaments for three months, and each had to write an essay reflecting on their actions. The teachers, the members of the Management Committee, and even the International Mage-Knight Federation officials overseeing the tournament clearly found Amane’s consecutive wins by default suspicious, so they didn’t want to punish Shizuku and Alisuin too much for something that potentially wasn’t their fault. They had no evidence of any misconduct on Amane’s part, however, so they did still have to disqualify Shizuku.

With that rather tumultuous end to the day’s matches, the nation’s top four fighters had been decided.

◆◇◆◇◆

That night, Kurogane Ikki went out to the park near the hotel to train. He’d checked up on Shizuku and Alisuin earlier, and both of them were still unconscious. His training menu for the night was quite simple: He’d stuck a wooden stake into the ground and was practicing slicing through it.

Taking in a deep breath, Ikki drew his weapon and slashed through the still night air. With every swing, he shaved off a tiny chunk of the stick, which fell to the ground with a thud. A few dozen slashes later, the pole that had once been as tall as him had been reduced to waist height.

“Phew...”

Sweat beaded on Ikki’s brow as he stopped for a break. He’d been concentrating intently on each and every swing. He’d had to. After all, he wasn’t swinging his Device but a single sheet of paper—a perfectly normal sheet of copy paper that could be found at any stationery store. He’d been swinging with such precision that it hadn’t bent at all, making it possible for its sharp edge to cut through something as thick and solid as wood.

His training wasn’t over yet either. Once he’d caught his breath, he stuck a metal pipe into the ground and repeated the process, slicing through it bit by bit. Though it seemed physically impossible, Ikki was actually cutting through steel with a flimsy sheet of paper. Such a Herculean feat was extremely difficult, even for someone with as much martial skill and control over his body as Ikki.

“Ah.”

For the briefest of moments, there was a light breeze, and the paper Ikki had stuck halfway through the metal pipe ripped apart. The wind had bent it ever so slightly, warping its cutting edge. Ikki let out a long sigh and swept back his sweat-slicked hair.

“I’ve still got a long way to go,” he said. “I was so focused on controlling my body that I forgot to pay attention to the environment around me.”

Just then, he heard Stella’s voice from behind him.

“Can’t say I’ve ever seen anyone do training like that before.”

He turned to see her walking toward him.

“Stella...”

“So, what’s the point of that training?”

“I’m trying to improve my control over my muscles. Now that I can copy Edelweiss-san’s swordsmanship, I’ve gotten a lot stronger, but...I haven’t truly mastered her techniques yet.”

Edelweiss’s slashes were so perfect that they made no noise as they cut through the air. That meant she ensured there was no energy loss when transferring power from her muscles to her swords. It also meant that she didn’t let air resistance change the trajectory of her attacks whatsoever, which was why there were no vibrations that created sound. Ikki’s version of Edelweiss’s swordsmanship wasn’t at that level yet. He was still letting too much energy get lost to air resistance, as well as to the inefficiencies in his muscles.

“This training is helping me increase the precision of my slashes and cut out any excess energy loss from them. If I want to master Edelweiss’s techniques, I need to be able to cut through metal pipes with a piece of paper without breaking a sweat. That’s not all either. I need to be able to do it like it’s second nature. If I can’t accomplish that without focusing intently, I won’t be able to pay attention to external factors that might impact my movements. Which is why...” As he trailed off, Ikki grabbed one of the scraps of torn paper off the ground and threw it like a shuriken. It sailed cleanly through the air and dug a good centimeter into the metal pipe before coming to a halt and drooping limply. “Ultimately, I need to reach the point where even things I throw have no energy loss to them. Only then will I be able to make soundless slashes like Edelweiss-san,” he concluded.

“That’s an absolutely insane skill...”

“Yeah, Edelweiss-san really is something else. I’m still nowhere near her level.”

Stella had, of course, been referring to what Ikki had just done to the metal pipe, but naturally, Ikki wasn’t content with just that. While Stella was still stunned by his boundless desire to improve, Ikki spoke again.

“Thanks for earlier, by the way.”

“What do you mean?” Stella asked, cocking her head.

“When you saved Shizuku. If I’d gotten there first, I definitely would’ve beaten him to a pulp.”

“Oh, that. You don’t need to thank me. I just couldn’t let him get away with slandering her.”

In truth, Stella hadn’t even been thinking about how the situation might escalate if Ikki had gotten there before her. She’d just wanted to shut Amane up as soon as possible, before he could say any more horrible, insensitive things about Shizuku. Her relationship with Shizuku was a rocky one, and they often butted heads. Since they were both in love with the same man, it was somewhat inevitable. But it was precisely because they fought so much that Stella truly understood the depth of Shizuku’s love for Ikki.

“Um, you know, Ikki... The stuff he said about Shizuku...”

Stella wanted to make sure Ikki knew that Amane had been spouting nonsense, but Ikki held out a hand to stop her.

“Don’t worry, I know.”

“Huh?”

“She made it so obvious that even someone as dense as me could figure it out. I know Shizuku loves me as a woman. But I also know that’s not all. She loves me as family, as a friend, and as everything else too. I don’t deserve such a wonderful sister.”

Ikki understood just how deep his sister’s love for him ran. She wanted to make up for all the love he’d never received from anyone else, including his parents and the rest of his family. He was truly proud of her. And of course, he loved her back, even if his love was only familial. He was willing to do anything for her, which was why he hadn’t hesitated to fight Edelweiss to help her get Alisuin back.

“But Amane-kun insulted her and degraded her in front of the whole world,” he continued. He wasn’t enough of a saint that he would let Amane get away with that. “I’ll be sure to make him pay for that!”

Ikki picked up another scrap of paper and threw it at the metal pipe. This one stuck even deeper into the hard steel than the last.

“I see... Good.” Stella breathed a sigh of relief. “As long as you understand how Shizuku really feels.”

“You really are kind, Stella.”

Ikki smiled warmly at her, and she blushed and looked away bashfully.

“Sh-She’s going to be my sister-in-law eventually!” she cried. “It’s only natural that I look after her!”

They fought too much for Stella to honestly admit that she was fond of Shizuku. But Ikki found that bashful side of her cute, and his smile grew wider.

“D-Don’t give me that look. Anyway, I’m going back up to my room. I don’t want to interrupt your training, and I’ve got my own match tomorrow too.”

“Gotcha. The semifinals are going to be pretty tough, after all.”

“Yeah, but we’ve finally made it this far. There’s only a little further to go.”

One more win for each of them, and they’d finally be able to fulfill their promise to duel again at the Seven Stars Battle Festival.

“Tomorrow’s opponents are on a whole different level from the people we’ve fought until now. It won’t be easy to make it to the finals,” Ikki said.

“Hmph. Bring it on. I’m going to pay him back for what he did back at Hagun. With interest.”

“Ouma-niisan’s pretty strong. Probably stronger than anyone you’ve fought before.”

“I know. But...” Stella crouched down and picked up a few scraps of paper herself. She scrunched them up into a ball and started channeling her mana. “I’ve grown even stronger.”

A hot gust of wind blew around her as her entire body glowed with a scarlet aura. Ikki could see a visage of a snarling dragon behind her.

Wow...

Stella then threw the paper wad at the metal pipe. It blew the pipe apart and kept on going, embedding itself in the concrete wall of the bathroom building. Ikki stared at it in awe.

“Holy shit...”

Naturally, a ball of paper had very little mass. Stella had to have thrown it with an ungodly amount of force for it to have blown apart a metal pipe and still had enough energy to create a tiny crater in a concrete wall. Ikki couldn’t even fathom how much mana that must have taken.

“My match comes first tomorrow. I’ll be waiting for you at the finals, Ikki.”

She grinned at him, her eyes blazing with fighting spirit, then turned on her heel and walked out of the park. As he watched her go, Ikki realized that Stella had learned far more than he’d expected from her training with Saikyou Nene. At the same time, he’d seen a glimpse of Ouma’s power when he’d attacked him the night before the tournament had started. Ouma had been through hell and back in pursuit of strength. The foundations of his might had been built up through numerous harsh trials. He was the favorite to win the tournament for a reason.

A serious duel between two Rank A Blazers would be harsher than anything Stella had faced thus far. That meant she would be forced to go all out and reveal the foundations of her strength as well. Ikki was looking forward to seeing that. However, there was something he needed to tell her first.

“Um, Stella? Sorry to ruin your cool moment where you walk off into the night, but, uh...this is a public park. I don’t think we’re allowed to just destroy their property like this.”

“I-I’ll call the city hall tomorrow and let them know it was my fault...”

Though she didn’t turn around, Ikki could tell she was blushing by how red her ears had gotten. Even so, it wasn’t as if Stella had been trying to break the wall. Furthermore, tournament fighters had permission to use magic in parks and facilities around the hotel while the Seven Stars Battle Festival was underway in case they wanted to train, so Ikki doubted anyone would get too mad.

“Now then, back to my training,” Ikki muttered. “I won’t be able to head back to the hotel tonight anyway, so might as well make the most of my time awake.”

Just as he stuck another wooden pole into the ground, he heard another voice from behind him, interrupting his focus.

“That was quite impressive. I’ve lived a long time, but I’ve never seen anyone destroy a metal pipe and smash through concrete with a paper ball before.”

The voice was soft, but Ikki could sense the confidence emanating from it.

What the...?

It was a voice he knew well, even if this was his first time hearing it in person. After all, it was the voice of this country’s prime minister.

◆◇◆◇◆

“P-Prime Minister Tsukikage!”

Tsukikage Bakuga walked over from the opposite direction that Stella had left in. Ikki hadn’t expected to run into the director of Akatsuki Academy, the man who’d authorized the attack on Hagun, here of all places.

“You sure have grown, Ikki-kun.” Tsukikage said with a warm smile.

“Have we met before?”

“I’m not surprised you don’t remember. I saw you once when I visited Itsuki-kun to ask for his support in my bid to win a diet seat. That was back when Ryouma-san was still alive, so you would have been very young.”

Ikki nodded in understanding. He’d heard from Ouma that their dad had had a hand in Akatsuki’s formation, so it made sense that the man was personally acquainted with Tsukikage.

“I see... I’m sorry for having forgotten that.”

His expression wary, Ikki took a step back, keeping his attention fixed on Tsukikage. Upon seeing that, Tsukikage smiled wryly.

“Ha ha ha. No need to be on guard. An old man like me who doesn’t even have combat-oriented powers can’t harm you.”

From what Ikki could tell, Tsukikage certainly didn’t seem like a particularly strong Blazer. He had a decent amount of mana, but it wasn’t anything exceptional. Still, Ikki wasn’t foolish enough to take the prime minister at his word.

“Sorry, but it’s hard not to be on guard. You’re the leader of the group that attacked our school. And I doubt you just happened to be here by coincidence. Especially since you waited until Stella was gone to show yourself.”

Tsukikage nodded in response.

“True, our meeting here is no happenstance. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

“There is?”

“Yes. Would you be willing to give me a bit of your time? I promise this won’t take long.”

“No thanks.”

“What a cold response. You didn’t even hesitate.”

“You know who my opponent is tomorrow. And you know what his powers are. For all I know, Amane-kun’s Nameless Glory is doing something to me this very second. I can hardly afford to take up an enemy’s proposition in this situation.”

Ikki was confident he could fight Tsukikage off if he was alone, but ever since Amane had made it to the semifinals, Ikki had been constantly on alert to deal with anything Nameless Glory might do to him. Just making it to the arena was a hurdle when Amane could twist fate to give him all sorts of good luck and make even the most implausible coincidences happen. He had to keep his head on a swivel so that he could deal with anything and everything that might happen, hence he was planning on staying up all night to avoid being taken by surprise.

The reason he’d come to this park wasn’t just to train. Since it was a wide-open space, he had a clear field of view, and there were no nearby buildings in case an earthquake or some other disaster suddenly struck. He was going this far to ensure that he could deal with whatever fate threw at him; there was no need for him to take any extra risks.

“I see. A wise response,” Tsukikage commended him with an impressed nod. “I can tell that you’ve trained hard, and that you have the brains to think through any unfavorable situation. Shinguuji-kun must be proud to have an exemplary student like you.” He then added, “But you needn’t worry. For you see, at this rate, you won’t even get to fight Shinomiya-kun.”

“Huh?” It took a few seconds for Ikki to process what Tsukikage had said. “Do you mean to say I’ll end up forfeiting before the match like all of Amane-kun’s other opponents?”

Tsukikage shook his head.

“No, not at all. Shinomiya-kun isn’t interested in a win by default against you. You see, his hatred runs far deeper than you can fathom. As it so happens, he’s what I’ve come here to talk to you about. What do you say? Interested in having that discussion now?”

In that moment, Ikki realized that he only had one option available to him. Negotiations didn’t begin when both parties met at the table. In fact, they ended before either side even reached the table. A veteran politician like Tsukikage was well aware of that, and he had used that knowledge to leave Ikki with no choice but to accept his offer.

“Fine, I’ll hear you out,” Ikki said resignedly.

“Thank you.”

Chapter 12: Clash of Dragons

The sun rose on the third day of the sixty-second Seven Stars Battle Festival. It burned brighter than ever, making it the hottest day of the year. But the heated passion coming from the crowd in the arena made even the summer heat feel like a cool autumn breeze.

“It’s thirty-five degrees today, with seventy percent humidity! Thank you for coming out to watch today’s matches despite the blistering heat, everyone! At long last, it’s time for the semifinals! This year’s top four are all veteran fighters with a unique spread of abilities. But which two will win a ticket to the final match?! I hope you all have enough hydration with you, folks, because the action will leave you glued to your seats! And now, it’s time to bring in the two fighters for our first semifinal match of the day!”

The crowd burst into cheers when the announcer finished speaking. Stella walked into the ring, her flaming hair splaying out behind her in the wind.

“Coming from the red gate, we have the Crimson Princess, Stella Vermillion! She’s the second daughter of the Vermillion royal family and a true prodigy who boasts the greatest mana pool of all the Blazers registered with the Mage-Knight Federation. Due to train delays, she was nearly disqualified before her first match, but then she thrashed all of her opponents in the B block at once, climbing all the way to the semifinals in one fell swoop! Her strength is so overwhelming, it’s enough to destroy the arena everyone fights on! She’s without a doubt one of the favorites to win the whole tournament! A dazzling star who’s made quite the impact on friend and foe alike! Will she be able to climb to the top?! Or will she burn up in a blaze of dying glory?!”

“Princess Stella! We’re rooting for youuu!”

“Look over here, Stella-sama!”

“We’ve got two matches today, so don’t blow up the arena again, you hear?!”

The crowd roared encouragement at Stella as she took her place in the ring. She was popular with both men and women. It was hardly surprising considering she was the knight with the largest mana pool in the world, as well as royalty. She was an unparalleled beauty to boot.

Ikki was more captivated by her than anyone else, naturally, and he clapped as loudly as he could as he stared at her profile. But while many others were drawn to her status and beauty, it was her strength that charmed Ikki so. While he was cheering her on, he suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him.

“Stella-san looks like she’s ready for this.”

“Hmm?” He turned around to see Touka and Kanata walking over to him. “T-Toudou-san! Toutokubara-san!”

The famed Thunderbolt had her brown hair in braids and a gentle smile on her face, while Scharlach Frau was carrying a parasol and looked like a dainty lady.

“Heh heh, long time no see, Kurogane-san.”

“I-It really has been too long. I didn’t know you two had come to Osaka.”

“We came by bullet train this morning with Saikyou-sensei. We’d like to see the semifinals onward with our own eyes rather than through the TV screen.”

“Are your injuries all healed?”

Until just a few days ago, Touka and Kanata had been unconscious.

“Yep. We’re fit as fiddles,” Touka answered with a nod. “In fact, I’ve been asleep for so long that I need to do something with all this excess energy. Uta-kun said he’s still groggy, though, so he’s watching back at the dorms.”

“Is he feeling unwell?”

“You don’t need to worry about him. It’s his own fault for spending every day playing games instead of building up his stamina.”

“Heh, I guess the vice president is pretty weak, physically.”

Ikki smiled softly, relieved to know that everyone was doing well.

“Would it be all right if we sat with you, Kurogane-kun?”

“Of course, feel free.”

Ikki scooted a little to the side to make room for the two of them. As they sat down, Stella’s opponent walked into the arena.

“And from the blue gate, we have the Gale Emperor, Kurogane Ouma! He crushed every one of his opponents in the A block with consummate ease, showing us all just how strong he is! We’ve heard reports that he defeated Stella in an unofficial duel as well! If there’s anyone more favored to win the tournament than her, it’s him! How will Stella fare against Japan’s own Rank A Blazer?! This will be a battle for the ages, folks!”

Ouma’s sharp glare was like a drawn blade, and everyone in the audience couldn’t help but hold their breath as his gaze swept over them.

“It feels like...you’re going to get cut just looking at him...”

“He’s scary as hell...”

“I know, but the Seven Stars Battle Festival is a Japanese tournament, so I’d like one of our own to win.”

Ouma got far fewer cheers than Stella had. The crowd was probably still repulsed by how he’d crushed Panzer Grizzly Kaga Renji in his previous match. Of course, the Seven Stars Battle Festival was a harsh tournament where fighters had to be prepared to lose their lives. But while the knights fighting knew that was how things went and had long since steeled themselves for it, the civilians watching were disgusted by the brutality Ouma had shown.

“Joining me for today’s commentary is the lady ranked third in the world, Demon Princess Saikyou Nene-sensei! Thank you for coming out here, Saikyou-sensei.”

“Mmm, thanks for having me.”

“As the strongest Japanese Blazer, what do you make of the two fighters down there?”

“They’re both in top condition, that’s for sure. You can tell they’re raring to go, but at the same time, they’re not too tense. We’ll get to see them both fight at their full potential.”

“I see. They’re both Rank A Blazers, but who do you think is stronger?”

“Heh heh, don’t be in such a rush to spoil the show, mister.” Saikyou snapped her fan shut and added, “We’ll know for sure once the match is over.” She then spread her fan open again to hide a grin.

All right, Stella-chan, he won’t go down as easily as those chumps in the first round. You’ll have to go all out against him. Show everyone the new power you gained during your training with me.

Ouma took his place in the ring as well, and the spectators fell silent. As they waited with bated breath, Iida announced the start of the match.

“Both fighters are in position! It’s time for the first semifinal match of the Seven Stars Battle Festival! Let’s go ahead!”

◆◇◆◇◆

It was Ouma who made the first move.

“I’m not in the habit of exchanging words with people I’m dueling. Let’s get this started,” he muttered, extending his right arm behind him. “Howl, Ryuuzume!”

Mana coalesced at his hand, and a nodachi, a curved sword longer than a katana, formed in it.

“First off, let’s see how much stronger you’ve gotten since that pitiful display you showed me last time.”

“Try me.”

Ouma responded to Stella’s taunt by dashing straight at her.

“Whoa! Until now, Ouma’s waited for his opponent to make the first move, but he’s going on the offensive right off the bat! How will Stella respond?!”

The people in the crowd started chattering excitedly to one another as the match began. Stella didn’t bother to move out of the way, however.

“Serve my will, Lævateinn!”

Instead, she gathered her mana and summoned her own Device—as well as something more.

“L-Look at that! Stella’s created a bunch of fireballs behind her!”

She swung Lævateinn like a conductor’s baton.

“Burn it all—Broken Arrow!”

The hundreds of fireballs she’d created shot toward Ouma, crimson trails streaking behind them. The bombardment was massive enough to cover the entire width of the arena, leaving no space for Ouma to escape to.

“Th-That was a direct hit! Those explosions sent half the arena flying too!”

Stella didn’t stop there either. As one explosion engulfed Ouma, she directed the rest of her fireballs to hone in on him. There was a thunderous roar and a massive conflagration as all they impacted the arena. No one could make Ouma out from within the fiery whirlwind. Each of Stella’s fireballs was powerful enough to down a regular foe, so everyone assumed he’d been beaten down by the onslaught.

“But it looks like none of those attacks are even fazing him,” Saikyou said with a smile.

Stella wasn’t up against a regular foe. She was fighting the Gale Emperor. With a huge gust of wind, Ouma blew away the flames and smoke surrounding him. There wasn’t even a speck of soot on his clothes. He’d deployed a wind barrier to deflect all the fireballs coming his way, keeping him safe as he advanced toward Stella. The barrage wasn’t even slowing him down. It was clear from his defiant gaze that her pitiful fireworks display wasn’t an impediment.

“Empress Dress!” Stella shouted, immediately changing tactics. As flames enveloped her body, she stepped boldly forward.

“Stella’s brought out her fiery dress! Look at those flames! You can see the air shimmering in the heat!”

Stella’s flames could reach up to three thousand degrees Celsius. They were hot enough to burn anything that came close, and left third-degree burns on anyone they scorched directly.

“But Ouma’s not stopping! He’s charging right into that hellish inferno!”

“Ouma-chan’s got the power to control wind, after all. He can easily create a vacuum barrier to keep the heat away. Anyway, I recommend everyone in the front rows brace yourselves.”

“What for?”

Before Saikyou could respond, Stella’s and Ouma’s blades clashed. There was a visible shock wave as their two Devices slammed into each other, and it rippled out toward the audience.

“Waaauuugh!”

Those who’d been leaning over the fence to get a better look were blown backward. The blazing crimson greatsword and emerald green nodachi clashed again and again, each blow causing the fence to creak and the glass windows at the back of the arena to rattle.

“H-Holy smokes! Just the shock waves caused by their Devices crashing into each other are strong enough to send everyone reeling! And that noise! It’s like two jet fighters slamming into each other over and over!”

The two people at the epicenter of the shock waves weren’t yielding an inch, though, as they weaved an intricate dance of offense and defense. After about ten thunderous clashes, there was one even more powerful clash that caused both fighters to be blown back to the edge of the arena. Neither of them had landed a solid blow on the other throughout that whole exchange. That alone had proven that in this short period of time, Stella had closed the gap in strength between the two of them.

“Impressive as always, Stella-san,” Kanata said with a sigh of admiration.

“She won’t lose out in power like she did last time, at least,” Touka added.

“Yeah, and Stella hasn’t even gotten serious yet. Both of them are still just warming up,” Ikki noted, nodding.

Indeed, that first bout had been nothing more than a warm-up for the two of them. After seeing her first match, Ikki knew she’d realized a lot more of her potential than before. That dragon he’d seen at the end of her first match, and again last night, told Ikki that she still hadn’t brought her full might to bear.

“But Ouma-san hasn’t brought out his full strength yet either,” Touka replied.

The two of them had just been feeling each other out, trying to get a good gauge of whether their opponent would break if they went all out. As Ouma’s younger brother, Ikki was well aware of how Ouma fought.

Nii-san’s not the kind of person to go all out against just anyone.

He only unleashed his full might against those who were worthy. But now that the fighters had finished sizing each other up, things were going to get even crazier.

The real battle starts now.

◆◇◆◇◆

“I see. You’ve certainly powered up. Enough to take my sword head-on, anyway,” Ouma said with a nod. His arm was slightly numb after their fierce exchange. He hadn’t felt that tingling sensation in a long, long time. “But if all you can do is numb my arm, you won’t be able to take my life.”

“You talk big, but do you have the bite to match your bark?” Stella replied, frowning. She knew she was the underdog here since she’d lost to him once before, so she couldn’t really blame him for being confident in his victory. Nevertheless, she leveled Lævateinn at him. “Guess I’ll have to knock your socks off before you take me seriously.”

She sent flames running down her blade, enveloping it in her all-consuming Dragon Breath.

“Haaaaaaah!”

The flames grew larger, hotter, and brighter, turning into a crimson tornado that extended out of her sword. Touka recognized what she was doing immediately.

“That’s the move she used back during the training camp!”

Indeed, that was the long-ranged attack Stella had hit her with during their training matches: Dragon Fang. But it was far stronger than the Dragon Fang she had seen a few weeks ago. She had needed to use her Thunderbolt to just barely destroy it back then, but here, Stella launched seven of them from her sword at once.

“Devour it all! Satan Fang!” Stella shouted, swinging her sword down and unleashing all seven fiery dragons at Ouma. They traced different trajectories as they bore down on him, surrounding him from all sides. But Ouma didn’t seem even the least bit concerned.

“This one technique alone contains more mana than the total mana pool of several average Blazers put together. It’s quite something. But surely you didn’t think your little snakes would be enough to beat me.” Ouma thrust Ryuuzume into the ring. “Wind God’s Barrier.”

It was the same Noble Art he’d used to protect the audience from Stella’s Bahamut Soul in her first match. A whirlwind whipped up around him, shredding the flaming dragons that crashed against it with razor sharp blades of wind. The scattered embers were sucked into the whirlwind and slowly faded away.

“Is that the best you’ve got, Crimson Princess?” he asked, looking almost bored. But then he realized that Stella was no longer in front of him. In the brief instant that her Satan Fang had obscured his vision, she’d vanished.

“Oh, I’ve got a lot more, Gale Emperor!”

The air behind Ouma shimmered in a haze of heat, and Stella appeared out of thin air, swinging her sword down at his neck. This was another one of her Noble Arts—Flame Veil. She used heat to bend the light around her, making her invisible.

Ouma had misread Stella. She wasn’t just a power fighter who simply used her immense mana to overwhelm foes. In truth, she more often used that overwhelming strength as a smoke screen for her more devastating attacks. She had as many tricks up her sleeve as Shizuku and was a very rounded fighter.

“Haaaaah!”

But right when her blade was about to reach Ouma, she realized that she’d made a mistake.

“O-Oh no!” Touka shouted as a spray of crimson painted the ring.

◆◇◆◇◆

The blood littering the cold stone floor of the arena was Stella’s.

“Stella’s been cut! The Gale Emperor read her surprise attack and slashed at her arm! Kurogane Ouma draws first blood!”

This wasn’t like the earlier exchange where they’d both been evenly matched. Ouma had clearly displayed his superiority this time around, and the crowd was stunned. Meanwhile, Stella was so shocked that she didn’t even bother to nurse her injured arm.

What was that?!

If Ouma had simply read her surprise attack and slashed at her with his sword, she would have been able to accept that she’d misplayed. But that wasn’t how she’d gotten hurt. Her slash had definitely found its mark. She’d felt Lævateinn bite into his shoulder. Despite that, it hadn’t managed to pierce his skin.

Touka had experienced Ouma’s unnatural sturdiness firsthand, so she’d seen this coming. She bit her lip in frustration.

“What truly makes the Gale Emperor so terrifying isn’t his offensive might,” she said. “There isn’t that huge a gap between his total mana and mine, but none of my attacks were able to hurt him. How is he able to have such strong defenses?”

Ikki turned to her and explained, “It’s not as mysterious as you might think. The level to which he’s honed that defense is absurd, though.”

Touka turned to Ikki in surprise.

“Y-You know why his defense is so high, Kurogane-kun?”

Ikki nodded.

“I ended up fighting him a few days ago, and I realized what was going on.” Though their battle in the park had been brief, Ikki had been able to grasp the true nature of Ouma’s unnatural sturdiness. “I’m sure Stella will figure it out once she gets another attack in too. But...”

Unfortunately, even if she did figure out the trick behind Ouma’s defenses, there was nothing she could do to get around them. As he’d told Ikki back then at the park, there was no technique that could overcome his strength.

Ikki’s prediction was proven correct a few seconds later. Stella and Ouma began clashing once again, and after a few sword swings, Ouma darted forward like an arrow. Stella elegantly danced away and swung her sword at him again, this time using the energy of his own dash against him to impart an even stronger blow. Lævateinn slammed into his chest, but once again, her blade failed to pierce his skin.

“No way!”

“Hmph.”

“Ngh!”

As Stella stiffened up in surprise once more, Ouma kicked her in the side, sending her flying a few dozen meters across the ring.

“Gah! Cough, cough...”

Stella dropped to one knee and coughed up a few droplets of blood. Ouma’s kick had rattled her insides and damaged her internal organs, even though her mana-based defenses were strong enough that she had been able to take a direct hit from Tatara Yui’s Device without wavering. She felt like she’d been hit by a battering ram. At the same time, though, she’d finally figured out the secret to Ouma’s hardy body, as well as how he’d managed to penetrate her own defense.

“I don’t believe it... How the hell did you get your body like that?!” Stella shouted, her voice quivering more from surprise than pain.

“Heh. I suppose after two attacks, it’s only natural you’d figure it out.” He smiled at Stella. “You asked how I got my body like this. The answer is pure determination.”

◆◇◆◇◆

“Five years ago, when I won the Under-12 World Cup tournament in my last year of elementary school, I felt nothing but annoyance.”

After winning the most prestigious junior tournament, Ouma had realized that he wouldn’t be able to progress by play-fighting with blunted swords. The tournament itself had been no different from basic training in his mind.

“I realized there was no way I’d be able to test my limits in that padded enclosure made for children to play in, much less overcome them. It was agonizing, knowing I was stuck in that small pond during the very period where I could grow the fastest—that I’d have to spend at least another three years fighting mock battles with my Device and my opponent’s in phantom form.”

Even as a child, Ouma had craved strength more than anything, and wasting his time stagnating when he could have been aiming for greater heights had been unbearable. He’d wanted to be able to use his strength to the fullest and test his limits as much as possible.

“That’s why I left Japan...and why I left the Federation.”

He’d realized that in the wider world, there were places where he could find the battles he sought. At times, he’d fought in the shady slums of large cities. At times, he’d fought in underground fighting rings. And at times, he’d even fought in war zones. Kurogane Ouma had finally found the arenas he’d been searching for, and he’d been able to devote himself wholly to the pursuit of strength.

Back then, he’d felt truly fulfilled. He’d felt himself getting stronger with each deadly battle he’d put himself in, to the point where he’d let himself get blinded by his own growth. He’d truly believed, without a shadow of doubt, that if he kept it up, he could become the strongest Mage-Knight in the world. But eventually, reality had caught up to him.

“My arrogance didn’t last long. At the end of my travels, when I’d reached the farthest-flung corner of the world, I found the den of a true demon.”

“Who?” Stella asked.

“Since you’re royalty, I’m sure you’ve heard their name... The Tyrant.”

“Ah!”

The audience was clearly unfamiliar with the nickname Ouma had mentioned, but Stella’s eyes widened in recognition. As a member of the royal family of one of the countries belonging to the Federation, she’d naturally been briefed on them. The Tyrant was none other than the leader of the international terrorist organization Rebellion.

“You fought him?!” she cried, and Ouma nodded slowly.

“But I was utterly crushed. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t even put up a real fight.”

The Tyrant was an avatar of violence who’d been ruling the criminal underworld for the past half century. It was hardly surprising that Ouma had been defeated. The gap in strength between them had been so huge that he hadn’t even been able to measure it. Having been reminded of his place in the world, all Ouma could do was pathetically beg for his life. But of course, the Tyrant wasn’t the kind of man to show mercy. Though Ouma hadn’t been a threat, he’d continued to rain violence down upon the poor boy, drowning out his screams.

“Just thinking about that day leaves me trembling in terror. I’d never felt such despair before. I’d never been so close to death either. If Twin Wings hadn’t stepped in to save me, I would have died there. But after stepping into the world of true demons and being reminded that I’d just been a big fish in a small pond, I realized something: No matter how much time I spent training, the path I was walking on was too slow. I’d never reach the top that way.” His lifespan was too short to reach the pinnacle he was aiming for at the pace he’d been going. “That being the case, there was no point in relying on regular means of training. I couldn’t just walk. I needed to evolve and grow wings that would let me fly up to the pinnacle!”

Ouma grabbed his outer coat and flung it off.

“Heavenly Armor—release.”

A second later, an invisible shock wave passed through Stella, then through the crowd behind her. She was blown back to the edge of the ring, while the fence protecting the spectator stands crumpled under the pressure. The windows facing the arena all shattered as well, and the crowd started screaming.

He said “release,” didn’t he? That means that up until now, all of that air...

“Don’t tell me you’ve been crushing your own body with that highly compressed air this whole time?!”

Ouma nodded silently. Indeed, the air he’d released had been shackles he’d been restricting himself with. Heavenly Armor was a Noble Art where Ouma surrounded himself in an armor of wind to deflect enemy attacks. But he’d inverted it to constrict himself instead, forcing his body to constantly withstand abnormal pressure.

“Why would you do that?”

“In order to evolve.”

Every living being evolved to adapt to its environment. It was said that humans who swam constantly from a very young age sometimes developed something similar to webbing between their fingers and toes over the course of decades. Ouma had put himself in the harshest environment he could create in order to force his body to evolve to survive it. That was what had given him a body capable of withstanding any attack and dishing out devastating attacks of his own.

However, even if every living being was equipped with the capacity to evolve, that evolution took time. And it didn’t always work as intended. The human body couldn’t possibly withstand the pressure Ouma had subjected his to. He would have struggled to move even a finger, his muscles and bones being crushed under the weight of that much air. Even his organs wouldn’t be able to function properly with that much outside pressure acting on them. If he’d truly fought battles while in that state, he must have lost over and over. Opponents he normally would have defeated with ease would have been able to mercilessly beat him down.

Despite that, he’d continued that reckless training in order to strengthen himself. It was the only way he could reach the realm of demons that he’d seen a glimpse of. He’d kept at it, not caring what it did to him. If he got killed by his own power, it simply meant that was the extent of his potential.

“After countless scars had been carved into this body of mine, my training finally bore fruit.”

Ouma’s body had finally begun adapting to the environment it was in. His bones had hardened to deal with the pressure, his heart had learned how to beat harder to continue delivering blood to his organs through his constricted blood vessels, and all of his muscle fibers had become sturdier and more limber in order to move smoothly under the immense air pressure. Eventually, he had reached the point where he’d stopped feeling the pressure at all, and his body had been forged anew.

“You probably couldn’t tell from my outward appearance, but I’m sure you felt it in your swings. My body is dozens of times denser than a regular human’s, and it weighs even more than Panzer Grizzly’s. Regular slashes can’t even hurt me. And now that I’ve released those shackles, I imagine you know what comes next, don’t you?”

“Ngh!”

Stella immediately held her sword up to block.

“Too slow.”

“Agh!”

With a single bound, Ouma closed the distance between them and swung his wind-clad blade down at Stella. He fired off three slashes in a split second—faster even than Ikki when he was using Twin Wings’s techniques.

“Haaaaah!”

Stella was able to just barely block them with her superior reflexes and honed battle sense, but she could tell it was dangerous to stay in close range of Ouma. She leaped back after blocking the onslaught, using the force of his swings to bolster her retreat. Ikki had done the same thing to her in their mock battle many months ago.

“Hiyaaaaaaah!”

In response, Ouma immediately launched a flurry of vacuum slices at Stella. They traveled faster than bullets, making them impossible to track with the naked eye. But this was a battle between Blazers. Stella was able to sense the thin film of mana surrounding all of them, and she cut the vacuum shock waves down one after another.

“Gah!”

But right after she cut down the last one, a cut suddenly appeared on her stomach, spraying blood everywhere.

How?! I didn’t sense any mana!

That was because that final attack hadn’t been created with mana.

“I can’t believe he can do that through brute force alone!” Touka said in a trembling voice.

From the spectator stands, she’d been able to tell that the final wind blade that had hit Stella hadn’t been a Noble Art. Ouma had physically created it without the use of any magic. Compared to the vacuum slashes he’d used mana to create, that final attack was much weaker. Furthermore, since Stella had been protected by her ever-present mana barrier, the cut wasn’t actually very deep. But it had served its purpose in stopping Stella in her tracks for a split second.

“Hmph!”

Ouma immediately caught up to her and swung diagonally downward. Stella wouldn’t be able to dodge, as her stance was all messed up because she’d taken that earlier hit. Instead, she chose to guard despite her unstable footing.

“Oh no! If she blocks the slash like that—” Ikki shouted, his face going pale.

Ouma was holding Ryuuzume in just his right hand, which meant his left hand was free. Ikki had watched Ouma train countless times back when they’d both been living at the Kurogane estate, so he knew what technique was coming. It was one of the signature techniques of the Rising Sun Style, the sword style that had been passed down in the Kurogane family for generations.

“Blazing Thunder.”

Just as Stella blocked, Ouma slammed his hardened fist into the back of Ryuuzume. He hit the blunt side of his sword like a thunderclap, imparting a massive amount of force into it. With her stance as unsteady as it was, Stella couldn’t brace herself at all, and she was sent flying. She crashed into the wall below the stands, destroying it, and kept going until she was out of the arena.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Wh-What the?!”

“Holy shit! Did you see how far he launched her?! It’s like I’m watching a shonen manga battle in real life!”

“Th-That was insane. Do you think she’s okay?”

The people who’d been watching the battle from outside the arena looked worriedly over at Stella as she came to a halt in the square. Those inside the arena were watching on with bated breath as well.

“Wh-What a blow! Not only is Stella out of the ring, she’s out of the Dome! I’ve been a commentator for A-league matches for over a decade now, and even I’ve only seen something like this once before! I never thought my second time seeing it would be at a student tournament! A battle between Rank A Blazers is really something else! It’s on a completely different level! And it looks like the referee’s begun the countdown! Will Stella be able to make it back in time?!”

The audience started shouting excitedly to each other after the commentator broke the silence. As Stella listened to their distant voices, she looked up at the sky.

I felt that one, all right... Her senses were still numb from the impact of the blow. That was the hardest hit she’d ever taken. He’s really something else...

Ouma hadn’t been wrong to try to forcibly evolve his body. The history of all living creatures was a history of evolution, after all. All living beings had originally lived in the sea, and it was only after they’d tried to live on land that they’d developed limbs. As their environment had changed, their skeletal structure had changed to adapt. It was only by putting themselves in a new and hostile environment that they’d been able to gain a new strength that they otherwise never would have.

Even on a small scale, however, evolution was a process that normally took centuries to accomplish. And Ouma had managed to do it in just a few years. Since he’d been creating his adverse environment using his own power, he could have stopped torturing himself whenever he’d wanted, but his drive to grow stronger had let him ignore that temptation. Through sheer willpower, he’d defied the natural order and reforged his body. That was a level of self-discipline that bordered on insanity.

He’s...really strong. Stella had to respect his way of life, which brooked no compromise whatsoever. But still...

“Huh?”

“N-No way... Is she smiling?”

As the crowd had noticed, Stella was indeed smiling.

I can’t see myself losing this!

◆◇◆◇◆

“Five! Six!”

Ouma wasn’t even paying attention to the referee’s countdown. He knew better than anyone he wasn’t going to win by ring out. Stella was a Rank A Blazer just like him. She was one of the chosen ones, handpicked by fate for a great destiny. There was no way she’d fall so easily.

“You told me yesterday that you’d crush my full might. Well, as you requested, I’m going all out. Let’s see you crush this, Crimson Princess,” Ouma said, looking up at the sky. As expected, Stella was there.

“Th-There she is! Stella’s looking down at the ring from atop the floodlights! That was an insane blow, but aside from her clothes being a little messed up, she’s unscathed!”

“I can’t imagine blasting through the Dome could’ve caused her any damage. With how much mana she’s protected by, only a direct hit from Ryuuzume can really do anything. Don’t forget, Stella-chan has the world’s largest mana pool.”

“And now, she’s stepped back into the ring!”

The audience burst out in amazed cheers after seeing Stella’s triumphant return to the ring. As the referee signaled for the match to resume, Ouma raised Ryuuzume to eye level and pointed it at Stella. But she didn’t bother taking up a stance in response.

“Ouma, there’s one thing I want to ask you before we resume,” she said in a surprisingly friendly voice.

“What’s that?” Ouma asked, not dropping his stance.

“Why do you want to reach the pinnacle of strength so badly?”

She was curious what was driving him to strive for such lofty heights.

Ouma closed his eyes and fell silent for a few seconds before finally saying, “It’s a trivial reason, honestly. When I was a child, there was a small tournament held at our estate. Winning that made me really happy, so I thought, ’how much happier would I feel if I managed to become the strongest person in the world?’ When it comes down to it, that’s all there is to my motivation.”

It wasn’t something worth talking about from Ouma’s point of view. Stella, however, thought differently.

“You’re amazing,” she said sincerely.

As royalty, Stella had a duty to her people. It was that duty that had supported her through all the harsh training she’d undergone to control her power. Ouma was different, though. He wanted strength for a selfish, childish reason. But that simple reason had kept him going even after he’d seen how large the world was and experienced true despair. His unwavering determination reminded her of the person she loved most in this world.

“You’re the second opponent I truly respect from the bottom of my heart, Ouma. Which is why I’ll show you Crimson Princess Stella Vermillion’s true strength!”

There was no need to hold back anymore. She no longer hated Ouma for attacking her school. It was her pride as a knight, as a martial artist, that made her want to beat him now. She raised Lævateinn up high and...stabbed it into her own stomach.

“Dragon Spirit!”

A second later, a wave of heat and light engulfed the entire stadium.

◆◇◆◇◆

Ten days ago, Stella had gone to the Demon Princess Saikyou Nene, who was serving as a provisional teacher at Hagun, for training. She’d been shaken by her loss to Ouma and needed to get stronger fast. Saikyou had agreed to train her, and the two of them had gone to the training camp in Okutama. Her training with the third-strongest ranked Blazer in the world had proven useful, but there was one thing Saikyou had said on the first day that had nagged at her.

“Stella-chan, your swordsmanship is lacking something critical.”

Honestly, Stella didn’t have any clue what it was she could be missing. From her perspective, she was a well-balanced Blazer who excelled in all fields. Perhaps it was arrogant of her to think so, but she couldn’t find any fatal flaws in her swordplay. At the same time, though, she had a feeling that what Saikyou was pointing out was something really important.

Saikyou’s words had stayed with her for the rest of the training camp as she’d tried to reflect on what she lacked. But time had passed without her figuring it out, and on the morning of the final day of the training camp, the day before the Seven Stars Battle Tournament began, she finally ran out of patience.

“Now then, the tournament’s tomorrow, but have you figured out what you’re missing yet?” Saikyou asked Stella when she arrived at the training grounds deep in the forest.

“Nene-sensei, please, just give me a hint!” Stella begged desperately, but all she got was the same reply.

“No.”

“But why?!”

“Because if you don’t figure it out on your own, it might make things worse. That would be especially bad for you in particular.”

What’s that supposed to mean? Is she saying that if it wasn’t me, she’d be willing to just come out and say it?

“I have no idea what you’re trying to do...” Stella said, looking completely lost.

“I see. In that case, it’s unfortunate, but...” Saikyou let out a long sigh. “Crimson Princess Stella Vermillion, I’m afraid your journey to the Seven Stars Battle Festival ends here.”

Saikyou brought out her Device—a pair of ribbed fans called Crimson Swallowtail—and swung horizontally. A second later, there was a shallow cut on Stella’s cheek, and droplets of blood fell to the ground.

“Huh?”

The declaration was so sudden that Stella couldn’t process what had happened right away. It was only a few seconds later that she realized she was bleeding.

“Wh-What do you mean? The tournament’s tomorrow! I—” Stella cut herself off when she saw Saikyou’s expression. Why’s she looking at me like that?!

There was true hostility in Saikyou’s eyes. It was something Stella hadn’t seen once in their week of training.

She’s serious!

“Ngh!”

Stella had no idea why Saikyou was doing this the day before the tournament, but what she did understand was that she was in danger. She concentrated her mana in her legs and leaped backward to try to put some distance between them.

“You’re not getting away.”

Saikyou beckoned to Stella with one finger.

“Hwuh?!”

A second later, an invisible power started pulling Stella back toward Saikyou—gravity. The Demon Princess had activated her Noble Art. She was serious about destroying Stella here. There was no room for Stella to hesitate, then, so she summoned her Device and started gathering flames around it.

“Karsalitio Salamandra!”

She swung down the mass of white-hot flames at Saikyou. But when the blade of light and heat was just thirty centimeters away from her, it suddenly bent and went in a completely different direction.

“What?!”

Stella had no idea what had just happened, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it. Because now, she was in range of Saikyou’s iron-ribbed fan.

“Jet-Black Yatagarasu!”

A field of gravity so dense that it sucked in even light enveloped Saikyou’s fan as it bore down on Stella. Having just missed with her own attack, Stella was in no position to dodge, but her godlike reflexes allowed her to just barely block the fan with the back of her sword. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to stop Saikyou.

“Death of Obsidian Butterflies.”

Though Stella had blocked one fan, Saikyou had another one in her left hand, which she fanned open and waved at Stella as if sending a gust of wind her way. A wave of gravitational energy shaped like a cloud of butterflies slammed into Stella’s stomach.

“Nnngh?!”

Feeling like she’d been hit by a truck, she sailed through the air, crashing through trees. She only came to a stop when she slammed against a sturdy cliff wall.

“Gah!”

She slumped to the ground, coughing up blood. But she stuck her sword into the ground and forced herself back to her feet, glaring at the kimono-clad woman bearing down on her.

“Rrrgh! What...the hell?! Why are you...?”

“It’s simple. You want to beat Ouma-chan so you can duel Kuro-bou again, right? That’s what you’re doing all this training for, isn’t it? But if you can’t figure out what it is you’re lacking, you won’t be able to make that dream come true. It’d be pointless to even try. In fact, if you fight Ouma-chan the way you are now, he might just kill you. That’s just how serious duels between Rank A Blazers are. I may have only been your master for a short period of time, but it’s still my duty to stop you from doing anything suicidal. So I’m going to put you out of commission for a few days. The tournament will be over by the time you wake up.”

As she said that, she activated her Binding Circle. The gravity around Stella was amplified tenfold, making it impossible for her to escape.

“Don’t fuck with meee!” Stella shouted, pulling her sword out of the ground and pointing it at Saikyou. A normal Blazer wouldn’t have been able to move under such extreme pressure, but Stella was no normal Blazer. “Dragon Fang!”

She swung Lævateinn down, firing four flaming dragons at Saikyou. They weaved between the trees as they bore down on her, but right before they reached her, they twisted away as if running away from their target.

Why can’t I control them?!

No matter how many times Stella ordered them to go back, none of them managed to close in on Saikyou. It wasn’t that her dragons’ tracking was being intercepted, though. Saikyou didn’t have that kind of power. But after a few seconds of thinking about it, Stella realized what was going on.

I get it! She’s using gravity to warp the air around her, twisting it into an impenetrable maze!

But knowing what Saikyou was doing didn’t bring her any closer to breaking through her defenses.

“Time for you to sleep.”

“Gah!”

Saikyou strengthened the gravitational pull of Binding Circle, and this time, Stella was forcibly brought to the ground. Her bones creaked as her body slowly sank into the earth. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stand back up. Lifting her upper body was the most she could manage.

She’s...too strong...

It was only natural, since Saikyou was ranked third in the King of Knights A league. That quite literally meant she was the third-strongest Blazer registered with the Mage-Knight Federation. Stella might have been a Rank A just like her, but she was still a student, and she had far less combat experience. There was nothing she could do to stand against Saikyou.

At this rate, she really wouldn’t be able to make it to the Seven Stars Battle Festival. She wouldn’t be able to fulfill her promise to Ikki. Tears started welling up in her eyes as she realized she was about to lose everything.

I’m sorry, Ikki... I...

But just as she started apologizing to Ikki in her head, she felt her heart start to pound.

Huh?

Though she was on the verge of giving up, it seemed her heart was still going strong, pumping blood to every inch of her body. It was as if it were screaming at her, “Don’t give up, you idiot,” reminding her that there was no one she couldn’t beat.

Come to think of it, I was a lot more confident in the past.

Back when Stella had first learned to control her powers, she’d gotten cocky. The more she’d trained, the stronger she’d gotten, and she’d become convinced that her talent was bottomless. Then, she’d learned that she had the largest mana pool in the world, and she’d begun to believe that there was no one who could possibly defeat her. She’d truly believed that no matter what enemy appeared at her doorstep, she’d be able to protect her family and her countrymen from them.

I can’t believe I forgot...

Stella grinned to herself. She’d come to Japan and learned how vast the world truly was, and she’d certainly gotten stronger in the process. But at the same time, grappling with defeat had made her forget something truly important: the fact that she was the strongest Blazer in the world.

Her losses had made her so strict with herself that she’d started underestimating herself instead. Just because she was a student, Saikyou was too much for her to handle? What a foolish thought. A person’s mana pool was a representation of the fate they bore. And since she had the largest mana pool in the world, she bore the greatest fate of them all. She didn’t know exactly what that fate might be, but she was certain it wasn’t something the likes of Saikyou—only the third-strongest Blazer in the world—could stop! In which case, all she needed to do was unleash her full strength. She knew without a doubt that there was more power sleeping deep within her that she just wasn’t aware of. And now was the time to awaken it.

“Raaaaaaah!”

The moment Stella made her decision, her body moved on its own. She gripped Lævateinn tightly and thrust it into her own chest without hesitation. She wasn’t conscious of the action; it came as naturally to her as breathing. But her instincts knew what to do to unlock her true power.

A second later, a blast of heat erupted from Stella’s body. The burning shock wave was so hot that the nearby trees were turned to ash before they could even catch fire. As Stella’s hair waved gently in the wind, Saikyou smiled in relief.

“Yeesh, it took forever to wake you up,” she said. “You really are a troublesome pupil.”

◆◇◆◇◆

“Wh-What on earth?! It looked like Stella committed suicide, but then she emitted such a powerful blast of light and heat that we can’t even keep our eyes open! The cameras aren’t able to catch anything either! We have no way of knowing what’s going on in the ring!”

“Agh! It’s so hot!” someone in the crowd shouted.

“Please don’t touch the fence, everyone! You might get burned! Stay in your seats and don’t touch anything metal!”

The Mage-Knights in charge of protecting the audience started running through the stands, trying to restore order. Meanwhile, Saikyou looked down at the stage.

“Good,” she muttered. You need to have more faith in your own potential, Stella-chan.

The one thing Stella had been missing was confidence in her own talent. Despite being more blessed than anyone, she had never been one to shirk hard work. Indeed, she’d come to respect a knight who was the complete opposite of her—someone with no natural talent whatsoever, but who made up for his shortcomings with hard work and technique.

Normally, such humility was a virtue. But from Saikyou’s perspective, it was hampering Stella’s growth. Humility was worth less than dirt to the person who was genuinely the strongest Blazer in the world in terms of sheer mana. Stella had no need to learn from others. She had every right to be arrogant, and arrogance was actually what she needed to make use of her full potential. From birth, she’d been one of the strongest people alive.

In the same way that there was no lion in nature who showed deference to a rabbit, there was no need for Stella to look up to others. No amount of confidence was overconfidence in her case. She needed to believe she was the strongest person in the world. That arrogance, that foolhardiness, that insatiable greed was the fuel she needed to feed her overwhelming talent and make her strength bloom.

Though even I didn’t expect her to be this much of a monster...

At long last, the light and heat faded away, allowing everyone to look down at the ring again.

“What the?!” one of the audience members muttered with a gasp.

Stella and Ouma were still standing in the same spots they had been before she’d unleashed that burst of light and heat, but Stella’s appearance had changed drastically. Lævateinn was nowhere to be seen, and there was a scar on her chest that looked almost like a brand. It flickered with light in time with Stella’s heartbeat, and with each pulse, her skin and flaming crimson hair emitted a tiny glow. Very much unlike the glow from the mana she’d been emitting before, however, it now looked like there was something lighting her body from within.

Before anyone could ask what had happened to her, Stella looked up to the heavens and let out a deafening roar.

“Graaaaaaaaah!”

It wasn’t the kind of sound a human should have been able to make. It shook the earth and the seas with the force of a thunderclap.

“Crimson Princess...did you just...?”

“You better defend yourself, or you’ll die.”

Stella leaped forward, closing the fifty-meter gap between the two of them in an instant, and launched one of her glowing fists at Ouma.

“Ngh!”

Ouma knew he’d been taken by surprise, and that it was too late to dodge. Of course, his body was so sturdy that even a slash from Stella’s Device hadn’t been enough to harm him. At the same time, though, his instincts were warning him that she had been right. If he didn’t defend himself, he’d die. He crossed his arms in front of his chest just in time to block her fist.

“Gaaaaah!”

The force of her punch was so strong that it managed to crack his ribs even through his guard. He was knocked clean off his feet and sent flying.

“Stella just blew Ouma away through his guard! This is the first time we’ve ever seen Ouma actually cry out in pain! And it looks like he’s on his knees now! What a punch!”

“It’s not just the force of that punch that’s deadly. Take a good look at Ouma-chan’s arms.”

“Huh?” At Saikyou’s urging, the commentator zoomed the camera in on Ouma’s arms. “M-My god! There’s a burn mark on his arm in the exact shape of Stella’s fist!”

“That one punch quite literally burned his arm to the bone.”

“Aaaugh!”

Ouma cradled his seared arm as he cried out in pain. The heat from Stella’s punch had seared his bones so badly that they’d become superheated and were now burning his muscles and nerves from within.

“Even if you train yourself to withstand external pain, most people have no way of training to handle pain from within like that. Ouma-chan’s gonna have a rough time.”

“True that! B-But I don’t understand! How did Stella change so drastically?! What’s the cause of this sudden power up?!”

The audience started clamoring for answers as well, their surprise finally fading. Considering what they’d just seen, their burning curiosity was understandable. Stella had let out an inhuman roar, and now, her glowing body could punch with so much force that it could hurt Ouma when even her sword had been unable to touch him before.

“I see... I understand everything now!”

Unlike everyone else, Ikki figured it out immediately. He’d spent the past few months by Stella’s side, and he understood her better than anyone.

“Ikki-kun, did you figure out why Stella-san got so much stronger all of a sudden?” Touka asked.

“She’s probably been using her Blazer powers wrong this whole time,” Ikki replied with a nod. “In other words, she was never a fire user.”

“Wh-What?! But then...”

Touka was understandably confused. Fortunately, Saikyou, who’d been there for the moment of Stella’s awakening, cleared up everyone’s confusion.

“Blazers aren’t automatically able to use their powers properly from birth. Most of them awaken to them one day without any warning. They suddenly realize they can shoot fire, or control gravity, or what have you. From there, they start experimenting with their abilities and slowly learn how to control them. But sometimes, they mistake what their own power is. I was like that too. When I first awoke to my powers, it was when I made one of my toys float. That’s why, at first, I thought my Blazer power was simply the ability to make things float. But in truth, that was just one aspect of my power. I certainly could use it that way, but my real power was something else entirely. The power to control gravity.

“Stella-chan’s the same way,” Saikyou went on. “Since she was suddenly able to make flames appear in thin air, she probably thought she was a fire user. Anyone would. Most people are like me, and after messing around with their power enough and fighting in a few battles, they realize they’ve misunderstood the nature of their own ability. But Stella was so strong that even while mistakenly using her powers, she didn’t have any trouble beating everyone she faced. That’s why it took her so long to figure out what her power really is.”

“Y-You mean to say Stella isn’t a fire user?” Iida questioned.

“Yep. Stella-chan’s power is actually concept-based, not nature-based. I’m sure you all know what concept it’s based off of too. Think about it. What creature of legend has burning blood coursing through its veins, the ability to breathe fire, and is a symbol of power and fear to cultures all over the world?”

“No way...” Ouma muttered as he looked up at Stella, Saikyou’s words ringing in his head. Of course, his guess was right on the mark.

“The dragon. The apex predator of legend that people have been telling stories about for centuries. That’s the concept that Crimson Princess Stella Vermillion can manifest into herself.”

Flames were merely a fraction of Stella’s true might. They were just the breath she could unleash. Only by tracing the legends of old and imbuing her own body with her flames could she unlock her true power as a dragon. She’d discovered that during her battle with Saikyou. Until now, she’d been fighting people with her breath alone, but she’d broken free of her restraints and was bringing the full awe and might of a dragon to bear.

“I’m still not used to my power enough to control it fully. That means...I’m probably going to completely break you. We probably won’t ever stand on the same stage again, so let me say this now: Thank you, Ouma. For helping remind me of who I am.”

“Ngh.” Ouma realized that he couldn’t afford to hold back anymore. “Heavenly Armor!”

He once again enveloped himself in a highly pressurized armor of wind to prepare for Stella’s attacks. Since she was fighting with just her fists, her range was reduced, but it also meant she was far more effective at extremely close quarters. He needed to keep her at sword length if he was going to have any chance of winning. To that end, he fired off a series of lightning-fast slashes.

“Too slow!”

“Rgh?!”

Stella knocked his slashes out of the way with her bare fists. She struck only the flat of his blade, ensuring her knuckles weren’t bloodied. Every time she riposted Ryuuzume, Ouma felt a heavy shock run down his arms. If he relaxed for even a millisecond, he’d find his sword flung out of his hands. He gripped the hilt with all his might, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

So this is a dragon’s strength!

Stella had actually been wielding a fraction of this overwhelming dragon might from the very start, but only unconsciously. It was why she’d had such impressive physical strength. Of course, the full power that she was putting on display now was exponentially greater. Her body was strengthened dozens of times beyond what she’d shown in her previous battles. The immense speed and strength she now possessed were enough to easily bat aside Ouma’s slashes and slowly close in on him. After she parried another three slashes, she’d be able to step into punching range.

“Hmph!”

However, Ouma wasn’t about to let her reach him that easily. He gave up on trying to keep her at bay with a flurry of slashes and instead raised Ryuuzume high. Tensing all of his muscles, he twisted his body so far that his back was turned to her. That allowed her to close in even faster, but he didn’t care. He knew that all of his regular attacks would just get blocked. His only hope was to try and push her back with his strongest move.

This motion was necessary to focus his whole body’s strength into the tip of his sword. He was about to unleash the Rising Sun Style’s fastest technique. His body was coiled like a spring, and he would use the moment of release to further increase the speed and power of his slash. With how this technique worked, however, he wouldn’t be in any position to counter or dodge if Stella was still able to attack him afterward. It was a technique that focused on speed at the expense of all else.

“Rising Sun Style—Amaterasu!”

“Kh!”

His sword moved so fast that it made no sound as it sliced through the air. This one slash of Ouma’s was faster even than Ikki’s fastest technique, and was as fast as Twin Wings’s own slashes. Not even Stella, with her enhanced draconic reflexes, was able to react in time. Ryuuzume bit deep into her shoulder, and blood sprayed everywhere. The sword went deep enough to hit bone, and while it wasn’t able to cut through any of her organs, Ouma was confident that his attack would at least slow Stella down some.

“You’re wide open!”

“Gah!”

But contrary to Ouma’s expectations, Stella didn’t back off. Rather, she continued advancing even as Ryuuzume cut through her and launched a devastating kick at Ouma’s right leg. Her leg easily pushed through his Heavenly Armor and slammed into his shin with enough force to break it.

Staggering backward in pain, Ouma stared at Stella in confusion. He was sure that Amaterasu had done enough damage to slow her down even though it hadn’t dealt a lethal blow. A second later, though, he realized why Stella hadn’t been fazed.

I don’t believe it!

Blood stopped pouring out of Stella’s wound almost immediately, and her bones, muscles, and skin started stitching themselves back together before Ouma’s eyes. This, too, was one of a dragon’s many boons. Since time immemorial, legends had always claimed that the only way to slay a dragon was by cutting its head off. Their regenerative power was so strong that no other wound would stick. Stella’s body was the embodiment of a dragon right now, so she had the same supernatural regeneration. Only a decisive blow would leave any lasting damage.

“Tch!”

Realizing that he needed to draw out more of Stella’s abilities to get a grasp of the full extent of her powers, Ouma took his left hand off of Ryuuzume and raised it high in the air. He started gathering mana in it, forming a wind bomb in his palm. His plan was to throw it at Stella to knock her back a little and gain some distance to regroup.

“Not good enough!”

But even that plan was meaningless against the might of a dragon. Stella punched the wind bomb with the back of her hand, dispersing it. Ouma’s expression stiffened as he saw that.

She’s able to destroy my techniques with the hardness of her mana alone! It’s like crushing stone with steel!

Stella leaped forward, once again putting her in punching range of Ouma. He quickly brought his left arm back down to block.

“Nnngh!”

But naturally, that meant Stella’s punch crushed the bones in his arm and seared it with third-degree burns. He was sent flying once more, and he dropped to his knees when he came to a halt. He couldn’t stop her. No matter what he did, he couldn’t stop Stella’s advance. His honed body, his skills, his speed, his mana—they were all meaningless in the face of her overwhelming might. Everything he’d built up was being effortlessly trampled on by sheer force. It reminded him of the time he’d been crushed by the Tyrant.

He flashed back to that pair of merciless cold eyes that had been looking down at him from atop a chair fashioned like a throne while he crawled helplessly on the ground. Nothing he’d tried had fazed the Tyrant. None of his best techniques had managed to get him to so much as stand up from his throne. He’d been unable to defend himself from the Tyrant’s counterattack either, and he’d been pathetically crushed. He started shivering as he recalled the searing pain and overwhelming helplessness he’d felt that day.

“Nnnnngh!”

Despite his fear, Ouma forced his shivering body to get back up and fight. He looked resolutely forward as Stella rushed at him once more, this time aiming to pierce his heart with a thrust. With his shin broken and his body trembling, he knew he wouldn’t be able to make any precise movements. Still, he managed to block her thrust by holding Ryuuzume out in front of him. She had to alter the trajectory of her attack to avoid slicing her hand on his blade, raising it up out of the way. But she didn’t stop charging, and instead slid her hand down the length of Ouma’s sword and grabbed the cross guard.

“Caught you, Ouma.”

Shit!

It was too late for Ouma to do anything. With her free right hand, Stella drove her fist into his chest.

“Haaaaaaah!”

She didn’t end her assault with just one punch either. She rained blow upon blow on Ouma’s unguarded ribs, determined to end the fight there. He couldn’t back away from the barrage either, since Stella had Ryuuzume in her other hand. If he let go and unsummoned his Device, Stella would finish him before he had a chance to summon it back. Letting go meant defeat. So he couldn’t run away. But he also had no means of defending himself as fists heavier than cannonballs pounded his chest. Furthermore, each punch charred his skin, seared his muscles, and pulverized his bones.

“Gaaaaah!”

Finally, Ouma’s chin drooped for a split second, and Stella took that as her cue to hit him with a devastating uppercut. Though his body weighed well over four hundred kilograms, he still flew high into the air before crashing into the stone ring in a heap. For the first time since the tournament had started, the Gale Emperor was down.

◆◇◆◇◆

“And Ouma’s down! He’s not moving! Can he even move?!”

“Wh-What an uppercut...”

“The match’s gotta be over right?”

“So this is what the Blazer with the world’s largest mana pool is capable of...”

Stella had completely turned things around after coming back from her ring out. The audience was stunned by her strength. However, their voices didn’t reach Ouma. His right shin was shattered, his left arm had been dislocated, all of his ribs were broken, his jaw had been completely destroyed, and there were even a few cracks in his skull. On top of that, the heat emanating from all of those damaged bones was still scalding his muscles and nerves from within. It was a miracle he was still conscious, so it was no surprise he wasn’t able to hear the crowd.

Vision hazy, he thought back to the day five years ago when he’d learned how vast the world was, and how tiny he was in comparison. It was true that he had more talent than most—enough to become someone truly great. But if one were to liken his talent to gold, he was nothing more than a few flakes of gold dust. There were others out there who had an entire gold bar’s worth of natural talent. And there was a world out there that only those with such truly exceptional talent were allowed to set foot in. That was the nature of the pinnacle Ouma had been aiming for. At one point, he’d even asked himself if it wouldn’t be better to simply accept his place in the world. If he did, he’d at least be able to win a small amount of glory, as befitting his meager talent. Reality was constantly reminding him that he’d be better off if he just did that.

But even so...

“Nnnnnnngh!”

“O-Ouma’s managed to roll over and push himself to his knees! He’s trying to get back up! Even Stella’s taken aback!”

This burning desire in my heart won’t let me stop.

No matter how many times Ouma was reminded that he was nothing compared to the truly strong, no matter how many times his confidence, pride, and skill were shattered, his thirst refused to wane. He wasn’t asking for anything else. It didn’t matter if this was a stupid way to live his life. All he wanted was to become the strongest. He loved this world, and he wanted to stand at its pinnacle.

It was a wish that had blossomed the day he won his first match. Compared to Stella’s desire to protect her country and her people, it was a childish, selfish wish. In truth, it was no different from someone wanting to become a professional baseball player simply because they could throw a faster pitch than those around them, or someone trying to become a manga artist because they could draw better than their peers. Everyone had a dream or two like that when they were a child. Unlike everyone else, however, Ouma still thirsted to become the strongest even after he’d tasted a dose of reality and had his pride shattered. That dream was all he had left, but it was what allowed him to keep moving forward no matter what. No matter how selfish or childish it was, he would never give it up.

For me, this dream is something worth staking my life on!

“Graaaaaaah!”

“H-He got back up! He’s covered in wounds and coughing up blood, but he still got back up! I-I don’t believe it! How can he manage that when half his bones are broken?!”

“He’s using air pressure to create makeshift casts. Ouma-chan hasn’t given up yet!”

Ouma realized that at some point, he’d stopped trembling. His body, his blood, his bones, his very soul yearned so deeply for strength that his desire had overcome his fear. This was his chance to overcome that wall. Despite how hopeless the situation was, he didn’t even feel an ounce of despair.

Ever since losing to the Tyrant, all he’d focused on was once again standing upon this stage, once again stepping foot in the world of the strong. For the past five years and one hundred days, he’d trained relentlessly, and now he knew that effort hadn’t been a waste. It was precisely because he’d been beaten down so badly that he’d been able to stand back up, become stronger, and return to fight again. His never-ending thirst was pushing him onward, urging him to overcome his limits, defeat the girl before him, and once again reach for the top.

“Do your worst, Crimson Princess.”

Ouma poured all of his remaining mana into Ryuuzume, encasing it in a whirlwind. The whirlwind grew larger and denser as it gathered in the surrounding air until it was a violent gale composed of tens of thousands of wind blades. He was preparing his trump card, the same technique that had defeated Stella once before: a claw of wind as strong as a dragon’s talons.

He raised Ryuuzume high into the air, intent on matching a dragon’s might with draconic might of his own. He knew the gap in strength between them was enormous, but even so, he wanted to fight Stella head-on. He glared sharply at her, refusing to compromise or change his way of life. He loved the world too much to change.

Stella thought back to what Ikki had said about Ouma back during the training camp. “My main impression of him from the few times I saw him was that he was a really single-minded guy.” Ikki had sounded proud of his brother as he’d described him. Now, Stella could understand why. No doubt Ikki respected him and his drive to get stronger. He was a knight who’d been working his hardest toward the goal he’d had since he was a child.

“I accept your challenge, Gale Emperor.”

Stella started preparing her strongest Noble Art in response. She held her hand up high, summoning a sword of pure flame. At its tip, she gathered her mana, the very power to carve out one’s fate. With all of her strength and determination concentrated in one point, she glared back at Ouma. There was no need for words anymore. The only thing left for them to exchange was blows. The two swung their swords down at the exact same time.

“Kusanagi!”

“Karsalitio Salamandra!”

Heat and wind collided as the two unleashed their strongest attacks at each other. Just like the last time this had happened, shock waves of heat and wind buffeted their surroundings, nearly bowling the audience over. But this time, the two attacks didn’t look evenly matched for even a second. In less than a second, the heat and flames tore through the wind, swallowing the Gale Emperor whole.

◆◇◆◇◆

Stella’s Karsalitio Salamandra didn’t just bring down the Gale Emperor; it also shot straight through the Dome and into Osaka Bay itself. The giant screen above the arena was burned to a crisp as well, but the commentator excitedly shouted the results for everyone to hear.

“A-Amazing! Stella cut right through the Gale Emperor and even sliced through the sea!”

“H-H-H-Holy shit!”

“If World Clock hadn’t stopped time and gotten us all out of the way, we would’ve been vaporized. That princess is crazy.”

The audience stared at the part of the stands that had been turned to ash by Stella’s attack. Naturally, Ouma was far from all right after taking an attack like that head-on. The referee immediately determined that he was in no state to fight and officially called the match Stella’s victory.

“The ref’s made his call! The victor is the Crimson Princess, Stella Vermillion! What a match! It was a ferocious back-and-forth between two Rank A Blazers, but in the end, Stella proved to be overwhelmingly superior! From the rumors I heard, I thought it’d be a closer contest, but I suppose in the end, you just can’t do anything against such an overwhelmingly large mana pool! Stella really did just overwhelm the Gale Emperor through sheer strength!”

“That’s not quite true,” Saikyou replied, shaking her head.

“You mean to say she didn’t win because of her superior mana pool?”

“Yep. It’s true that a Blazer’s mana is a representation of how large a fate they carry, but the greater the power you’re born with, the easier it is to accidentally hurt yourself with it. It takes a huge amount of effort to control that power effectively, and not everyone has the determination needed to train that hard. Those who don’t have an ironclad will are often swallowed up by their own abilities. In fact, Stella-chan was almost killed by her powers tons of times in the past.”

“R-Really?!”

“It’s a famous story in the Blazer world. But despite almost dying multiple times, Stella-chan didn’t give up. She kept on training and training and training. Boiling your own blood to awaken the dragon within sounds cool, but the truth is, if she messed up even a little, she would have burned herself to a crisp. It took years of nonstop effort to control her mana well enough to use Dragon Spirit. She won because of her grit and determination, not her mana pool.”

While Stella had mistaken what her own ability was for many years, the time she’d spent training under that misconception hadn’t been wasted. If anything, it had been a necessary process to teach her enough mana control to use her true power safely. Her not slacking in her training and continually aiming for greater heights was exactly why she’d been able to properly wield her draconic abilities. Saying that she’d only won thanks to the gifts she’d been born with was an insult to the path she’d walked.

“Though I guess the biggest reason Stella-chan won was because I helped her awaken her true powers!” Saikyou added. “I’m such a good coach, aha ha ha!”

Stella dispelled her Dragon Spirit as she listened to Saikyou and Iida discuss her victory. Her body lost its telltale glow as her blood stopped boiling, and once Dragon Spirit was fully gone, she let out a long sigh.

“I won...” she said in a voice too soft for anyone to hear.

She’d managed to overcome Ouma’s Kusanagi. That, more than anything, was proof that she’d grown much stronger over the past few weeks. She was confident that now she could put up a real fight against the opponent she hadn’t even managed to touch last time. For the past few months, she’d been chasing after Kurogane Ikki, hoping to catch up to him. But now that she’d grown this much, she had full faith that she could stand shoulder to shoulder with him. At the same time, she wasn’t in the mood to celebrate.

I can’t believe you managed to hold your ground despite all that.

She turned back to Ouma, who was still doggedly standing in the ring. He’d lost consciousness and was in no state to fight, but she’d been trying to knock him all the way into the ocean. His glassy eyes were still glaring straight at her despite the massive burn that covered his shoulder, torso, and stomach. His gaze made it clear that he was still determined to make it to the pinnacle. She had broken his sword, but not his spirit. There was no way she could celebrate in front of such a formidable foe.

Eventually, the medics showed up with a stretcher to bring Ouma to the infirmary. It was only once they climbed up onto the stage that Stella turned away from him and started walking back to the waiting room. He’d stayed on his feet out of sheer stubbornness. To the very end, he’d refused to kneel before her, so she didn’t have the right to see him carted off on a stretcher. She wanted to remember him as the dauntless fighter who’d never broken, even in defeat. The sight of him childishly but determinedly chasing after his dream was the sight she intended to burn into her memory.

Regardless, with that, Crimson Princess Stella Vermillion had finally made it to the finals of the Seven Stars Battle Festival.

Chapter 13: A Dark Semifinal

The audience rained applause down on Stella as she walked out of the ring. Toutokubara Kanata sighed in admiration as she watched her leave.

“That was an amazing battle.”

Toudou Touka nodded in agreement.

“Yeah. I always knew Stella-san was immensely talented, but I never imagined she’d grow so much in such a short time that not even the Gale Emperor would be a match for her.”

Touka knew she wouldn’t be able to win so much as a single practice match against Stella now. In just one week, she’d grown exponentially stronger.

“Ouma-san made a mistake in angering her,” Kanata muttered softly. If he hadn’t done that, he would have been able to win this match.

“No, he did that on purpose,” Ikki corrected her, shaking his head.

“Really?”

Ikki nodded.

“He’s the kind of man who will never compromise, both when it comes to himself and when it comes to his opponents. Nii-san toured the world in pursuit of strength, so he was probably frustrated that Stella wasn’t using her full potential. I bet he purposely goaded her to spur on her growth. He doesn’t care about glory or even victory. His only goal is to become the strongest person alive.”

“That...does seem fitting, considering his personality.”

“Yep. I do have my complaints about him, like how there’s nothing he won’t do as long as it furthers his goal. I can’t say I condone attacking our school or ambushing me in the middle of the night, but at the same time, I do respect his single-minded devotion to his goal.”

When Ikki closed his eyes, he recalled all the evenings he’d seen Ouma doggedly swinging his sword in the family dojo long after all the lecturers and other kids had left. There was a lot he’d learned from his older brother, including many of the techniques he’d stolen. Kurogane Ouma was the closest thing Kurogane Ikki had ever had to a real teacher. And Stella had managed to utterly crush him.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect Stella to become this strong,” Ikki continued. “She doesn’t have any of the naivete she showed during our mock battle either. There’s no way I can match up to her strength, and she’s almost caught up to me in speed too. I’m getting a headache just thinking about how I’m going to fight her.”

“Liar. You’re grinning from ear to ear.”

“Well, she’s not the only one who’s gotten stronger since then.”

While Stella’s growth had surprised Ikki, it wasn’t as if he’d been resting on his laurels. In fact, even during her match, he’d been observing her closely and thinking of potential countermeasures for her new abilities. He had a few ideas in mind, and he was confident that he at least had a chance at winning.

If he tried to fight her head-on in a battle of brute force like Ouma had done, he’d obviously be ground into paste. But there wasn’t a single enemy Ikki had ever been able to beat head-on. He had never intended to try to match Stella in terms of might. There was more to battle than pure strength, after all. An absolute victory where you utterly overwhelmed your opponent wasn’t the only kind of victory out there.

Ouma-niisan would probably call me a fraud for that line of thinking. But, well, those are his beliefs, not mine.

As someone who’d been born with no talent whatsoever, Ikki had chosen to walk his own path, and he had his own reasons for walking it to the end. It didn’t matter if Ouma accepted his way of life; what mattered was that Ikki believed in himself.

“Good luck. I’ll be rooting for you!” Touka said with a smile.

“Are you sure you should be playing favorites when we’re both your friends, Toudou-san?”

“You’re the one who beat me, so I need you to win the tournament.”

I can’t argue with that, I suppose.

“Thank you. But it’s too early to be thinking about tomorrow’s match.”

Just then, the announcer called out, “We’ll be taking a thirty minute break to clean up the ring for the next match. Fighters, please move to your respective waiting rooms.”

Before Ikki could fight Stella, he had one last wall he needed to overcome. There was a man he needed to defeat at all costs.

“There’s unfinished business I need to take care of first.”

As he said that, Ikki got up from his seat and started heading to the waiting room. Touka could feel his resolve as she watched him leave.

“He’s raring to go. I guess it makes sense after what happened to his sister.”

“I wonder, though. Is that the only reason?”

“What do you mean, Kana-chan?”

“It didn’t seem to me like he was intent on getting revenge for Shizuku-san. Rather, I felt a powerful...determination from him. As if there’s some great duty he needs to fulfill.”

Touka was reminded of how Ikki had looked when he’d stepped into the ring to fight her in his final qualifying match. He’d been horribly ill and barely able to stand, but she’d sensed that he’d been willing to stake his very existence on that one duel.

◆◇◆◇◆

On the way to the waiting room, Ikki took a small detour to the infirmary. He wanted to check up on Shizuku and Alisuin before the match. It turned out to be perfect timing, since they came out of the door just as he reached it.

“Shizuku!”

“O-Onii-sama?!”

The two of them looked over in surprise as Ikki ran up to them.

“My, what perfect timing. I take it you came to see us before your match?” Alisuin asked.

“Yeah. I’m glad you two are awake.”

“We actually just woke up.”

“Is it okay for you to be out and about? You were both hurt pretty badly.”

“No need to worry. We were treated quickly enough that we’re all right. Isn’t that right, Shi— Wait, what are you doing?”

“Sh-Shizuku?”

Shizuku had pulled her shirt up over her head to hide her face. All Ikki could make out were her eyes, which looked apologetic.

“I don’t deserve to be in the same room as you, Onii-sama...” she muttered, looking away. “Not only did I fail to stop that abominable man, he made a fool out of me for everyone to see. I hate how weak I am.” In a faint voice, she added, “I’m sorry I failed you.”

“There’s nothing you need to apologize for.”

Ikki strode forward and gently hugged Shizuku.

“O-Onii-sama?”

“Thank you. You fought not just for my sake, but for every knight in this tournament. I’m truly proud of you.”

“Onii-sama...”

Shizuku started sobbing in Ikki’s arms, and he gently wiped away her tears.

“It’s okay. I’ll inherit your will, Shizuku. I won’t let him mess up this tournament any more than he already has.”

“Do you have a plan in mind? Amane’s power is insanely difficult to deal with,” Alisuin said in a worried voice.

“Nope,” Ikki replied with a shake of his head. “I don’t have a plan, but last night, I finally figured out Amane-kun’s true nature.”

At long last, Ikki understood why he’d hated Amane so much from the moment they’d met. He also knew who those turgid, dark eyes staring at him from the depths of his mind belonged to now. That was precisely why he could say his next words with complete confidence.

“Don’t worry. I’ll beat him. He’s the one person I absolutely can’t lose to.”

◆◇◆◇◆

In the thirty minutes between Stella’s match ending and Ikki’s match starting, the weather took a sudden turn for the worse.

“Those clouds sure came out of nowhere, but it looks like it’s going to be raining hard,” one of the audience members muttered, looking up at the darkening sky.

To make things even more ominous, black crows had started to gather around the arena, silently standing vigil over the ring. Everyone in the crowd had the feeling that something terrible would happen soon.

“The next match is between Bad Luck and Another One, huh?”

“Who do you think’s gonna win?”

“I want Ikki-kun to win, personally. I don’t like that Shinomiya kid.”

“He’s definitely gotta be cheating. His power makes whatever he wishes come true, doesn’t it? One of Kyomon’s students put up a thread on the school forum about how he won all of his matches there by default too.”

“There’s no evidence that he’s cheating, though. No one can prove that he’s using his powers outside of matches.”

“I wonder if Ikki-kun will even be able to make it to the ring...”

“Everyone, it’s time for the second match of the Seven Stars Battle Festival semifinals,” the announcer said, his voice cutting through the crowd’s chatter. The broadcast on the big screen then cut back to Iida, who’d be providing commentary for this match as well.

“Hello again, everyone! We’ve got me, Iida, back to commentate the second semifinal match, and Saikyou-sensei is with me again on analysis! The weather might have gone south fast, but don’t worry! The Dome has a glass roof we can close for exactly these situations! No matter how dark the clouds are, as long as the fighters in the ring are giving it their all, our moods will stay bright, won’t they?!”

The crowd started cheering and clapping, dispelling the dark mood that had settled over the arena. Of course, they were half forcing it in response to Iida’s urging, but it still helped get everyone’s excitement levels up.

“Now then, it’s time to introduce our fighters! Who will be the one to advance to the finals?!”

At Iida’s signal, the blue gate swung open, and Ikki walked into the arena.

“From the blue gate, we have Another One Kurogane Ikki! Despite being Rank F and having one of the lowest mana pools possible, he’s more than made up for that handicap with his godlike martial arts skills and climbed his way up to the semifinals! In his first match, he defeated the previous Seven Stars Sovereign, Moroboshi Yuudai, after a heated close-quarters bout, and in his second match, he took out the runner-up of last year’s tournament, Jougasaki Byakuya, in an instant! Most impressive of all, in his third match, he overcame Sara Bloodlily’s clone of Twin Wings in a massive upset! If he wins this match, he’ll reach the finals! But will his opponent let him get that far?!”

“Look, he made it! Ikki-kun made it to the ring! And he looks perfectly fine!”

“Whew, what a relief. I woulda lodged a complaint with the Committee if he lost by default too.”

“Beat the shit out of that cheating bastard, Worst One!”

The crowd cheered Ikki on as he made his way onto the ring. Meanwhile, Stella ran back into the spectator stands and met up with Shizuku and Alisuin.

“Shizuku! Alice!”

“Hello, Stella-chan. Congratulations on winning your match. It was quite the epic finale.”

“You guys were watching?”

“Shizuku and I woke up partway through, so we only saw the latter half.”

“Gotcha. Thanks.” Stella then turned to Shizuku and asked in a hesitant voice, “Shizuku...are you doing okay?”

Stella knew how much Amane had humiliated her, so she couldn’t help but worry. But Shizuku just grinned playfully.

“Oh yes. Onii-sama embraced me so passionately that it blew away my depression.”

“What?! I can’t believe you two were doing that while I was fighting!”

“Are you jealous? If you beg, I’ll let you sniff the scent he left on me.”

Shizuku held out her tie to Stella.

“N-No thanks!” Stella brushed the tie away and let out an exasperated sigh. “Sheesh... I guess if you have the energy to mess with me, you must be fine.”

Shizuku’s expression grew serious as she fixed her necktie, and she replied, “That’s right. If anything, you should be more worried about the person behind you. She looks half dead.”

She nodded at Kurono, who was slowly walking up to the trio. Her expression was haggard, and she looked like she’d aged a decade.

“Why do you look so tired, Director?” Alisuin asked.

“Why do you think?” Kurono responded, glaring at her. “A certain idiot blew up half the stadium because she just had to go all out, and I had to deal with keeping everyone safe and fixing up the Dome.”

“Oh, so you’re the one who was in charge of repairs.”

“It was one of my students who caused the damage, so yes.”

“What do you want from me?” Stella cut in. “I still can’t control my power perfectly while I’m in that trance. It’s the stadium’s fault for being too small.”

“There’s no stadium big enough for someone who can shoot fire all the way out to sea a kilometer away. Please just try and hold back next time.”

“I’ll do what I can to focus my attacks more, but I’m not holding back. If I lose because of that, I’ll definitely regret it. Besides, Nene-sensei said any batter who holds back because they’re afraid of hitting someone in the stands with their home run is second-rate. She also said that it’s the job of teachers like her to keep the crowd safe, so I should just go all out without worry.”

“Why’d she have to go and tell you that?”

“I heard you were just as destructive back when you were a student, Director,” Alisuin said, coming to Stella’s defense. “In fact, no one’s allowed to go near that abandoned stadium because the space-time hole you opened up in it still hasn’t closed. And that’s not even the craziest thing you’ve done.”

“Urk.” Kurono looked away awkwardly. It was true that she’d left wounds on the world that still hadn’t healed to this day, so the damage Stella had caused was tame in comparison. It was damage that could be repaired, after all. Thus, with a sigh, she surrendered. “Fine, fine, rampage all you want. We’ll take care of fixing everything afterward. I suppose that is what they pay me for.”

“Thanks, Director,” Stella said with a smile. Then, she turned back to the arena as Ikki’s opponent walked out of the opposite gate.

“From the red gate, we have Akatsuki Academy first-year Bad Luck Shinomiya Amane! His first opponent, Doctor Knight Yakushi Kiriko, had to forfeit because an emergency came up at her hospital. His second opponent had a health emergency and was sent to the hospital the day of their match. And his third opponent, Lorelei Kurogane Shizuku, seemed to think he was breaking the rules and went for an underhanded surprise attack while he was in the waiting room. It failed, though, and he made his way to the semifinals with another win by default! Those of you who keep a close eye on internet forums may already be aware, but Amane’s undefeated record while he was at Kyomon was also a string of wins by default! That being said, please bear in mind that there’s no proof he’s used his power to cheat. This may seem like an unbelievable string of coincidences, but such coincidences do happen. Truly, Amane is worthy of the nickname ‘Bad Luck.’”

“Yeah, yeah. They were all just coincidences. Totally...” Saikyou said in a sarcastic tone.

“Y-You can’t just say that, Saikyou-sensei!” Iida shouted at her, cutting off her microphone. “We still don’t have any proof, so you can’t make insinuations like that!”

“If I can’t make insinuations, can I just say what I think?”

“That’d be even worse! Please just stay quiet!” Iida then spoke into his mic again. “Ahem. A-At any rate, thanks to his wins by default, this is the first time Amane has actually set foot in the ring! This will be his first real match! What powers will he show us, I wonder! This will be quite a fascinating match!”

Fortunately, his attempt to smooth over Saikyou’s faux pas went mostly unnoticed. The audience was too interested in Amane to be paying much attention to the commentary.

“Now that I think about it, this is my first time seeing him. He looks more girly than I expected.”

“He’s actually kinda cute...”

“You really think so? He creeps me out with that fake smile of his.”

“Amane sure is unpopular,” Stella mused.

“He hasn’t fought in any matches, so it’s hardly surprising,” Alisuin replied. “Considering his track record, it’d be stranger if he was popular.”

“The Committee’s been keeping a close eye on Shinomiya, but since his power makes everything work out the way he wants, I doubt they’ll find anything that incriminates him. It sucks, but there’s nothing we can do,” Kurono muttered.

Much like the courts, the Management Committee operated on the principle of “innocent until proven guilty.” As a result, though, there was nothing anyone could do to expose Amane’s cheating. After all, since he had the power to twist fate in his favor, it was nigh impossible to find hard evidence of any wrongdoing.

Shizuku had seen how strong that power was firsthand, and as she looked at Ikki, she wondered just how he was planning on dealing with such a troublesome ability. Ikki had sounded confident, but she couldn’t think of any possible way to overcome Nameless Glory. But very soon, she realized that it was pointless to even try.

“Both fighters have reached their respective positions. Let the second semifinal match of the—”

“Ah, hold on a second!” Amane shouted, interrupting Iida. He turned to the referee and said, “I’m thinking of forfeiting this match.”

◆◇◆◇◆

“Wh-Whaaaaat?!” the audience screamed in unison, stunned by Amane’s declaration. Shizuku and the others were equally shocked.

“Wh-What is he saying?!”

“What’s he plotting now?”

Shizuku and Alisuin were especially surprised since they knew how much Amane secretly hated Ikki. They’d expected him to pull something, but definitely not this.

“D-Did you really say you’re forfeiting, Amane? You truly wish to forfeit the semifinal match?!” the referee asked, making sure he’d heard right.

Amane nodded without hesitation.

“That’s right.”

“But why?!”

“Are you really going to make me lay it all out?” Amane smiled. “I mean, everyone’s probably thinking the same thing as Shizuku-san—that I’m cheating.”

“B-But...”

The crowd went silent. They did, in fact, all think that he was cheating. He took note of that before continuing.

“Since I have the power to twist fate, I don’t blame everyone for being suspicious. I haven’t actually cheated, but I know it’s hard to believe that. Even if I win, no one will accept my victory, so I’d rather just forfeit. I know how to read the room.” He then turned apologetically to Ikki and added, “That’s how it is. Sorry, Ikki-kun. I know you don’t want our match to end like this, but I hope you can forgive me. I’m getting tired of being glared at by everyone. Oh, but even though I’m forfeiting, I’ll still be cheering you on! I’m your biggest fan, after all! I’ll pray really, really, really hard for your victory tomorrow!”

In that instant, Shizuku, Alisuin, and Stella realized what Amane was truly going for.

“Wait, does that mean...?”

“If that cheating bastard uses his power to help the Worst One, he’ll win for sure, won’t he?”

That had been Amane’s plan all along. Instead of stopping Ikki in the semifinals, he was going to ruin Ikki and Stella’s precious duel by making everyone doubt its legitimacy. It was horrific, trampling over the sanctity of Ikki’s promise like that, spitting on everything he’d staked his life working toward. Shizuku and the others were certain this would hurt him far more than any defeat ever could.

“That bastard! How dare he...” Stella muttered through gritted teeth. She clenched her fists so hard that she drew blood. Blazing embers started flying off her glowing hair, and it was clear she was on the verge of blowing up.

Amane held up his hands and hurriedly said, “Wait! Don’t misunderstand, guys! I won’t be using my powers, so don’t worry!”

There wasn’t even a hint of contrition in his expression. On the contrary, he was grinning from ear to ear. It was obvious to everyone that he was lying. That meant that his plan had already partially succeeded.

Every fighter had the right to forfeit at any time. No one was allowed to stop them. Ikki’s blade could no longer reach Amane, leaving him with no way to thwart the boy’s scheme.

“Don’t worry, Ikki-kun!” Amane turned to him and said, the same wicked grin still on his face. “I know just how important this duel with Stella-san is to you! I’d never do anything to interfere! Naturally, I haven’t done anything to help you in your other matches either!”

He sounded immensely proud of himself as he said that.

“Of course you haven’t,” Ikki said, finally breaking his silence. “There’s no way you’d ever wish for my victory. Even if it was part of some greater plan, you’d never be able to do that. Your hatred for me runs too deep. The only thing you’d wish upon me is pain and hardship, isn’t that right?”

He spoke casually, as if Amane declaring that he was forfeiting didn’t even matter to him. The look in his eyes made it clear that he’d seen through everything.

Amane was shaken by how calm Ikki seemed. In an attempt to hide that, he spoke in a playful tone.

“C-Come on, now. I’d never wish that on you! I’m your biggest fan, and I—”

“Just drop the act, Amane-kun. Or should I say, Amamiya Shion-kun.”

The smile vanished from Amane’s face the moment Ikki said that name.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Did you hear? Shion scored first in our year again.”

“Must be nice, being able to get everything you want with just the power of luck.”

“Seriously. Speaking of, do you remember that fire that happened a few weeks ago? Amamiya rescued us, but what if he also started it to make himself look good?”

“I could see it. He got a medal from the mayor for it and everything.”

“Meanwhile, we’re just bit players in his life. God, he’s disgusting.”

“His luck lets him be the best at everything he does. He’s living life on easy mode. I’m jealous as shit, but it’s not like we can be mean to him since then we’re the ones who’ll get screwed.”

“Yeah, that power’s scary. Let’s just keep pretending to be his friends so we can stay on his good side.”

“Agreed. I wouldn’t want my house catching fire.”

“...”

No one ever believed me. No matter how hard I tried, no matter what I accomplished, my efforts were never recognized. Everything just slipped through my fingers like sand. Everyone wished they could have my power, but I just wished I’d never been born with it...

“Ngh!”

Amane cradled his head as painful memories washed over him. He’d tried his hardest to forget that past. Back then, he’d been foolish enough to believe that hard work would be rewarded, and he’d tried his best at everything. But now wasn’t the time for a trip down memory lane.

“Why do you know that name, Ikki-kun?”

He was certain he’d erased that name from all records when he’d joined Rebellion. Ikki had nothing to do with his past, so there was no reason for him to know it.

“I heard it from Prime Minister Tsukikage,” Ikki answered, not bothering to hide it. “He told me that you would try and forfeit the match today. That would put Akatsuki in a tight spot, though, so he told me your secret. He wanted me to rile you up so you’d be willing to fight. Then, he told me about the life you’d led up to this point.”

Amane had spent his childhood being jerked around by his power. It was truly strong, since it let him get anything he wished for. But while it gave him everything, it also took everything from him.

Because of what his power could do, no one had ever believed that anything he’d accomplished was the result of the work he’d put in. No matter how hard he’d studied, no one had believed he was responsible for his good grades. No matter how much time and effort he’d put into his clubs, no one had believed he was responsible for his victories. Even when he’d courageously saved his classmates from a disaster, everyone had thought he’d caused the disaster in the first place.

Despite his best efforts, he’d never been able to hold on to anything important, like family or friends. All that remained were results. His power truly did bring him nothing but nameless glory. No one cared about him or his potential. All they cared about was the goddess of luck watching over him. Their eyes were on her, not him. That was the life Shinomiya Amane—or rather, Amamiya Shion—had led.

“After I heard that story, I finally understood why it was that I instinctively hated you from the moment I met you.”

At first, Ikki had thought he’d met Amane somewhere before. The boy’s eyes held the same darkness as those belonging to the figure that lived in the depths of his memories. But now, he realized that the face staring up at him hadn’t been Amane’s. It had been his own. That was simply who he had been back when everyone had denied him and his potential, treating him like he wasn’t there. It was the Ikki who’d existed before he’d met Ryouma and learned to believe in himself. In other words, Ikki had seen his past self in Amane. The version of him that didn’t have the courage to believe in himself and had retreated inward.

“I get now why we’ll never see eye to eye, and why I hate you so much,” Ikki went on. “You’re the very embodiment of the resignation and defeatism that I’ve been denying most of my life.”

“Ah!”

“And I imagine that’s why you hate me too, Amane-kun.”

Tsukikage had told Ikki that Amane was jealous of him. Like him, Amane was someone that no one had been willing to acknowledge. However, because Ikki had never given up, he’d managed to prove his worth to everyone and was now known as Another One, the famous Uncrowned Blade Master.

It was only natural that Amane would be jealous of that. Ikki had earned the one thing that he’d never been able to no matter how much effort he’d put in. Therefore, it came as no surprise that Amane wanted to ruin everything Ikki had accomplished with the very same Nameless Glory that had so ruined his own life. That was why Shinomiya Amane had agreed to help Tsukikage with his plan. All of it had been to bring Ikki down.

“Honestly, though, the more I heard, the more pathetic you seemed,” Ikki said bluntly. “In the end, you’re just venting your frustrations on me. You’re jealous of people who got rewarded for their hard work and pity yourself because you didn’t. You’re a child throwing a temper tantrum.”

The chastisement didn’t end there.

“Prime Minister Tsukikage asked me to provoke you so you’d want to fight. I was planning to do that even before I heard his story for the sake of my duel with Stella, but frankly, I don’t care anymore. If you want to forfeit, be my guest. If you want to try and influence our duel, go ahead. I’ve never had any luck in my life to begin with. I’m already haunted by the god of misfortune, so what difference will it make if the goddess of luck starts messing with me too? Besides, neither I nor Stella is so weak that a petulant child like you can truly influence our battle. We’re on a completely different level from the likes of you.”

Ikki wasn’t saying that to be boastful. Now that he knew Amane’s true nature, he didn’t consider him a threat anymore. He wasn’t even worth fighting. To Ikki, Amane was nothing more than a pebble on the side of the road.

After hearing all that, Amane started laughing hysterically.

“Aha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! I see... Even though I never told anyone about my past, I guess that doesn’t matter considering what that man’s Blazer powers are. I never thought he’d betray me, but since I tried to betray him first, I can’t really complain. But yeah, if you know everything, then I may as well drop the act.”

Amane continued his monologue.

“Yep, you’re right. Everything you said is true. I hate people who believe in hard work. I especially hate people who get rewarded for it. It’s not fair. I worked hard too, but what did I get in return? A whole lot of nothing! And you’re supposed to be like me—someone everyone thought was worthless! That’s why I planned on ruining your stupid duel. I wanted to make everything you were striving for turn to ashes in your mouth. But fine. If you know the truth, there’s no point in waiting for the finals.”

He summoned his Device, Azure, and cross-shaped blades appeared between each of his fingers. Then, he threw them all into the ground.

“I take back what I said about forfeiting,” he declared. “I don’t care one bit about the Seven Stars Battle Festival, but now I’m curious if you really can beat Nameless Glory, Ikki-kun. Let’s see how well you fare against the goddess that ruined my life!”

The referee frowned.

“You can’t just take back—”

“I don’t mind,” Ikki said before he could finish, summoning Intetsu. “Go ahead and start the match.”

“Are you certain, Kurogane?”

Ikki nodded.

“If he ran away, I wouldn’t bother chasing him, but if he’s coming at me, I’ll fight. I do still need to pay him back for what he did to my sister, after all.”

“Heh. Classic Ikki-kun. You’ve got no talent, but you still talk big. I know I said I loved that about you, but really I hate that drivel so much that I wanna kill you.”

“Ngh!”

The referee trembled at the naked bloodlust in Amane’s gaze. All of the crows started cawing at once, and thunder rumbled in the sky. For a moment, he wondered if it was really safe to let the two of them fight. He had a feeling something horrible would happen if he did. But since both parties had agreed to the match, he no longer had the right to stop it.

“All right, let’s go ahead!”

Thus, the second semifinal match began.

◆◇◆◇◆

Amane shot forward immediately, Azures held at the ready in both hands.

“Aha ha ha! Let’s see how well you fare against me in a sword fight, Ikki-kun!”

“Holy crap, is he really gonna challenge Another One to a close-quarters duel?!”

“Is he secretly a master martial artist or something?!”

The audience muttered excitedly to one another, surprised by how aggressive Amane was being. Once he was in range, Amane swung his right arm down.

“Take this!”

“Tch!”

It was an amateurish swing, with no technique behind it at all.

“Wh-What the heck?!”

“His stance is all wrong, and so’s his footing!”

“Wh-What a sight! I never thought I’d see such low-level swordplay at the Seven Stars Battle Festival! Shinomiya’s more like a child playing at sword fighting than a real swordsman!”

Even Iida was stunned by Amane’s pathetic display. Everyone thought Ikki would easily counter him. Saikyou quickly disabused them of that notion, however.

“It’s true that he has no technique or power behind his slashes, but look at how seriously Kuro-bou’s taking them anyway.”

Everyone turned to look at Ikki.

“What’s with that guy?” Stella muttered, still focused on Amane.

“What do you mean, Stella-san?” Shizuku asked. From her perspective, it seemed like Ikki was managing to evade Amane’s attacks well enough. But Stella had spent enough time honing her swordsmanship to know that there was a lot more going on beneath the surface.

“From this distance, you can easily tell. His swings look stupid, but they’re all coming from the perfect angles, with just the right amount of force in them. Each attack is perfectly calculated to give Ikki the most amount of trouble. That’s why he hasn’t been able to counterattack.”

“R-Really?!”

“Ikki hasn’t counterattacked, has he? There’s your proof.”

“Now that you mention it...”

Indeed, while it looked like Ikki was easily handling Amane’s attacks, he was actually so hard-pressed that he couldn’t find a single opening to strike back.

“I never knew he was such a skilled swordsman...” Stella muttered, shaken.

However Kurono shook her head and replied, “This is all probably thanks to his Nameless Glory.”

“What do you mean?”

“Shinomiya isn’t putting any thought into how he swings his blades. That said, because of his power, they all just ‘coincidentally’ happen to be perfectly aimed, coming from angles that are the hardest for Kurogane to deal with.”

No matter how low the possibility of such a string of coincidences was, as long as it wasn’t zero percent, Nameless Glory could twist fate to make that possibility an inevitability. If Amane wished to beat Ikki in a sword fight, fate would bend over backward to make that a reality. As the exchange of blows continued, the rest of the audience started to realize what was going on as well. Though Amane looked like he was full of openings, Ikki was the one being pushed back.

“Even in A-league matches, fighters sometimes get lucky hits in,” Saikyou continued. “And it looks like Ama-chan’s able to throw out lucky hit after lucky hit like it’s nothing. If any of those connect, Kuro-bou’s going to be down for the count.”

“No wonder he’s earned himself the nickname ‘Bad Luck’!”

“Yeah, that power’s even harder to deal with than I thought.”

After another exchange of blows, Ikki was actually forced to back out of melee range—a first for him in the Seven Stars Battle Festival.

“Kurogane’s being pushed back! He wasn’t able to fully block that last swing!”

“Y-You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

“It looks like he’s just swinging those around willy-nilly to me!”

When Ikki leaped back, he landed off-balance, giving Amane the perfect chance to finish him off. But he didn’t take it.

“Phew. I’m beat.”

Instead, he dropped the Azures he was holding in both hands, letting them stab into the ground.

“Sh-Shinomiya’s dropped his Device?! What for?!”

“You really are good at sword fighting, Ikki-kun!” Amane said with a cheerful smile. “No wonder they call you the Uncrowned Blade Master. I don’t think I’ll get anywhere this way. So let’s change things up!”

He summoned a new set of Azures between his fingers and threw them all straight up into the air. As they flew, they split into dozens of smaller blades, and a storm of steel rained down on the arena. Not a single one fell toward Ikki, though. The blades instead bit into the stone ring, making it look like a graveyard of steel crosses. No one could figure out what Amane was planning.

“How about this?!” Amane shouted, materializing two more Azures in his hand and threw them at two of the Azures sticking out of the ground. The thrown blades bounced cleanly off the ones in the ground and started ping-ponging around the arena.

“M-My god! Amane’s blades are shooting around like pinballs! H-How is that possible?!” Iida cried.

“The blades just happen to land at the perfect angles so they can bounce Ama-chan’s Devices around without any loss of kinetic energy,” Saikyou explained. “They’re not just bouncing at random either.”

“Ngh!”

Just as Saikyou finished her explanation, the two Azures shot toward Ikki at the same time, one from either side. Of course, Ikki could block an attack of this level easily enough.

“Aha ha, you gotta be more careful than that, Ikki-kun!” Amane said with a wicked grin. For as Ikki batted aside his blades, they collided with another set of Azures on the ground and started bouncing around him again.

“Tch!”

Thanks to his honed reflexes, Ikki managed to leap aside before the blades came at him again. But of course, that meant they hit another set of Azures in the ground, and the process repeated itself once more.

“U-Unbelievable! No matter how many times Kurogane strikes them down, the blades end up hitting one of the gravestones in the ground and start bouncing around again!”

“Aha ha ha! Amazing, isn’t it? As long as I keep wishing for them to pierce you, they’ll keep going after you no matter what you do. And I can always add more blades to the mix.”

Immediately after saying that, Amane summoned another set of Azures in his hands. He threw them all into the air, and as they fell, they collided perfectly with the crosses in the ground to start shooting toward Ikki as well. There were now over thirty blades flying around the ring, which was more than even Ikki’s exemplary swordsmanship could handle.

“I’ll predict it now: You’ll lose without landing even a single hit on me, Ikki-kun!”

At Amane’s signal, the blades all shot toward Ikki from every conceivable direction. There was nowhere for Ikki to dodge, and even if he could strike them all down, there’d be no point since they’d just ricochet and come at him again. Amane grinned, confident that this would end the match.

“Huh?”

A second later, though, his jaw dropped open in shock. Just as the blades reached Ikki, he ripped his coat off and twirled it around, controlling the garment like a dancer’s veil. In doing so, he made it so that every single Azure got wrapped up in the soft cloth. If he couldn’t deflect the blades, he simply had to catch them.

Ikki calmly shook his jacket out, and the thirty-odd Azures clattered to the floor. He then leaped forward, closing the distance between himself and Amane.

“Ah!”

Amane hadn’t been expecting a counterattack, and Intetsu grazed his cheek as he dodged at the last second.

“You’re a pretty terrible fortune teller, Amane-kun.”

The cut was so tiny that it barely bled, but it was proof that Ikki had landed a hit. Amane was so stunned that he didn’t even have a retort for Ikki’s taunt.

N-No way! Even if it’s just a scratch, how was he able to hit me?!

Naturally, Ikki wasn’t going to give Amane any time to sort out his thoughts. He pulled one of Amane’s Azures out of the ground and swapped to a dual-wielding stance. With a fierce flurry of blows, he overwhelmed Amane’s defenses and cut at his throat from the left and the right simultaneously. The dual slashes failed to slice his carotid artery, but they did graze his neck.

He got me again!

Blood dripped down Amane’s throat, staining his shirt. This cut was deeper than the last one had been. Nameless Glory was still active, which meant that nothing should have been able to hurt him.

The blood drained from Amane’s face, as did all of his confidence. Though he had no idea why, it was clear that Ikki was getting closer and closer to landing a fatal hit on him.

“Shit!”

Cursing, he started focusing solely on defense. Instead of beseeching his goddess for help in defeating Ikki, he asked her to make sure he didn’t get hurt. But despite everything, Ikki’s offense only grew more fierce.

“It looks like the tables have turned! After surviving Shinomiya’s long-range assault, Kurogane’s gone on the offensive! Is Shinomiya’s power no longer effective?! He seems to be stuck defending!”

Sparks flew every time Ikki’s and Amane’s blades clashed, and with each clash, Amane was forced another step back. Ikki’s attacks were measured and accurate like always. That, more than anything, was what surprised Shizuku.

“H-How is he managing that? Nameless Glory forces you to make any mistake that has even the slightest chance of happening! When I tried to get close, I tripped, and when I tried to use magic, I messed up my calculations. If Amane has the power to do all that, how is Onii-sama fine?!” Unlike her, Ikki didn’t trip even once as he bore down on Amane, and his slashes never seemed to miss. “How’s he avoiding being struck by Amane’s power?”

“You’re thinking about it all wrong, Kurogane Shizuku,” Kurono said.

“How so?”

“Kurogane isn’t avoiding Shinomiya’s powers. He’s making all the errors that are possible for him to make. Vermillion, you can see what’s happening, can’t you?”

Kurono turned to Stella, and Stella nodded, her expression full of wonder and envy.

“Yeah... Ikki really is amazing!”

“What are you two talking about?” Shizuku asked.

“The thing is, Kurogane is being affected by Nameless Glory. You see that slash just now? Nameless Glory messed it up three times. The last one, it messed up four times. And if you take a closer look, you’ll notice that his stance is off and he’s constantly off-balance. But every time he slips, he adjusts the trajectory of his slash to keep himself from falling flat on the ground. And every time any one of his muscles spasms, he quickly brings in another muscle group to take over to keep his body running properly. In other words, every time he makes a mistake, he adjusts for it immediately.”

“That’s possible?! But how can you do that when you don’t even know when you’ll slip up, or how?!”

“It’s not something you can do consciously, that’s for sure. The errors Nameless Glory forces happen so suddenly that they surpass even the sharpest human’s reaction times. If you have to actually think about what’s happened before you respond, you won’t be able to correct those mistakes in time. The only way to adjust is to reach a flow state where you’re one with your sword. That’s something that’s only possible for swordsmen who’ve devoted their entire lives to the way of the sword.”

It took ungodly hours of training and countless brushes of death to reach such heights.

“It’s said that swordsmen who’ve become one with their sword are able to cut down foes faster than they can think,” Kurono went on. “No matter what situation they’re in, their muscles, their bones, their very cells know exactly what the optimal movements are. Because these swordsmen have practiced their forms and techniques hundreds of thousands of times, they know how to adjust for any mistakes they make and continue moving their bodies in the best possible ways to cut down their foes. Kurogane’s reached that pinnacle of martial skill, so no matter how badly he messes up, his body knows how to correct for it.”

Humans were fallible creatures, and even true masters made mistakes every now and then. Even if someone had trained their calligraphy for a million hours, they could still make an errant brushstroke. But that was why they knew that imprecision was not a flaw to be conquered; it was one that had to be accepted. A calligrapher who made an errant brushstroke was a true master if they were able to quickly adapt and correct their mistake without blaming themselves or being shocked at their own ineptitude.

Everyone made mistakes, but true masters didn’t worry about them. They’d honed the ability to do the best they could to cover for whatever mistakes they might make. That was why Ikki wasn’t getting thrown off-balance by Nameless Glory. No matter how badly his steps and slashes got messed up, he was focused only on cutting Amane down. It couldn’t really be called a technique, as it was more of a mindset. His goal was to cut Amane down, and he was going to make that happen no matter what.

“The ability to control coincidences can’t help you when your defeat is an inevitability.”

Just as Kurono said that, Ikki landed a solid cut on Amane in the ring below.

“Gaaaaah!”

Blood splattered over the stone ring, and Amane nursed his injured arm. It was a deep cut, and he likely wouldn’t be able to fight with that arm anymore. Slowly but surely, cut by cut, Ikki was working his way to victory.

At this point, Amane didn’t need to ask why. Though he knew nothing about martial arts, even he had figured out by now that every time Nameless Glory made Ikki mess up, he just corrected for the mistake.

“I can’t believe a human being is capable of that!” Amane screamed, and Ikki pointed the bloodstained edge of Intetsu at him.

“Surely you can sense it too. With my next slash, I’ll end this match.”

“Ngh!”

Amane grimaced, but because he had such a high level of control over fate, he knew that Ikki was telling the truth. There was no world in which his next attack didn’t finish Amane off. Ikki crouched low, preparing for his final assault. Realizing that there was no avoiding this inevitability, Amane sighed.

“Fine, I’m done.”

Almost as if he were giving up, he dropped all of his Azures. This time, they vanished as they hit the ground, as did all of the other Azures sticking up out of the ring.

“I admit it. You’re amazing, Ikki-kun. I didn’t think you’d give me this hard of a fight. Honest,” he continued in a thoroughly irritated voice. “It sucks, really. I wanted to make you bumble around the arena like I did to Shizuku-chan and force you to admit defeat, but it looks like that won’t be happening, so let’s just get this over with.”

“Ngh!”

Ikki’s expression stiffened. He had a feeling that “let’s just get this over with” wasn’t Amane’s way of surrendering. And while he didn’t know what exactly Amane had in mind, he knew it was dangerous to let him say another word.

Trusting his instincts, Ikki shot forward as fast as he could. Unfortunately, he wasn’t fast enough. Before Intetsu could cut Amane down, the boy smiled faintly and spoke in a casual tone.

“Die.”

◆◇◆◇◆

It was common enough for a fighter to tell their opponent to die when things got heated during a match. But no matter how ominous a word it was, it was ultimately just a word. It might serve to rile one’s opponent up, but it certainly wouldn’t actually kill them.

Amane wasn’t just anyone, though. His words had the power to twist fate itself. The moment he spoke that word, the goddess protecting him bent the workings of the universe toward his will, ensuring that his desired outcome came to pass.

“Agh!”

Fate conspired to rob Ikki of his life, and he stopped in his tracks. A second later, he dropped to his knees, coughing violently.

“Wh-What’s happening?! Kurogane had Shinomiya on the ropes, but now he’s on his knees!”

“What the? Did he fall?”

“No way, right?”

The audience stared down in confusion. Amane had given the command softly enough that only Ikki had heard it.

“I-I don’t believe it!” Touka shouted suddenly.

“Touka-chan?”

Because she could sense the faint electrical signals a human body emitted, she was the first to notice what had happened, and her expression twisted in worry. She knew that Ikki’s heart had stopped. As silence fell over the audience, Amane’s laughter rang out through the arena.

“Aha ha ha ha! ‘With my next slash, I’ll end this match,’ was it? Aha ha! Quit trying to act so cool! Did you really think you could overcome my Nameless Glory? Don’t be stupid! I can twist fate itself to make whatever I want happen! Considering how delicate the human body is and how many things can go wrong, stopping a person’s heart is child’s play!”

“Wh-What?!”

“N-No way! Did he really stop his heart?!”

The crowd began shouting in disbelief. Since Amane couldn’t stop Ikki’s blade, he’d opted to stop his heart instead. He couldn’t cause Ikki to make any errors in his swordplay, so he’d forced his body to make a fatal error. If his power could do even that, then there really was no way to beat him. At least, that was what everyone thought as they watched him laugh maniacally.

“That’s right. I can’t be stopped. My Nameless Glory is just that powerful. It’s basically fate itself. As if you’d be able to beat it with guts and hard work. I know that better than anyone. After all, that’s exactly how this power ruined my life. You probably thought you’d put in enough effort to overcome this power, but you got too full of yourself, Ikki-kun. What do you say? If you admit that you can’t match up against my Nameless Glory, I don’t mind surrendering for you.”

Ikki just glared silently at Amane, whose grin grew wider.

“Oh yeah, I guess you can’t talk while your heart’s stopped. But I can tell from the defiant look in your eyes that you’re not gonna admit I’m stronger. Oh well.” Amane materialized an Azure in his uninjured hand. “You only have yourself to blame for this. If you’d just known your place, this wouldn’t have happened.”

He lazily swung Azure down at Ikki’s neck.

“Ikki!”

“Onii-samaaa!”

“Aaaha ha ha ha!”

The blade sliced through skin, flesh, and bone. A torrent of blood sprayed all over the ring like a red flower blooming ominously from the ground.

“Gaaah?!”

However, it was Amane who’d been cut, and Amane’s blood that was decorating the stone floor.

◆◇◆◇◆

“What the...?”

Everyone stared at the ring in shock. They couldn’t comprehend why it was Amane’s blood all over the ring and not Ikki’s. But as they watched the boy fall to his knees, they finally began to understand what had happened. At the very last second, Ikki had slashed up at him, cutting him down before his Azure could stab into Ikki’s neck.

“Whoooooa!”

“Wh-What a counterattack! Kurogane turned the tables yet again at the very last second! Shinomiya’s on his knees, and he’s bleeding pretty bad! That slash cut to the bone!”

Amane was so stunned that it seemed he wasn’t even registering the pain yet.

Wh-What just happened? Did Nameless Glory not work? No, that’s not possible. That’s never happened before. And I definitely felt fate bending to my will. Ikki-kun’s heart stopped. I know it did.

Naturally, a person couldn’t move if their heart wasn’t functioning. The heart pumped blood to the rest of the body, and that blood carried the oxygen all the body’s muscles needed to expand and contract. In the same way a car couldn’t run without gasoline, the human body was incapable of moving without the oxygen and other nutrients blood carried to it. Ikki should have been dead from the moment his heart stopped. He shouldn’t have been able to fight back.

How did he move? Why am I the one who got cut?!

“What...did you do?!” Amane gasped, looking up at Ikki. He no longer seemed to be in pain, and he looked calmly back down at Amane.

“I just restarted my heart, that’s all,” he said simply.

“Ah, I get it now! Ha ha ha, what a guy!” Saikyou shouted from the commentator’s box, clapping excitedly.

“S-Saikyou-sensei, what does Kurogane mean by that?!”

“Exactly what he said. Kuro-bou’s heart stopped, but he got it working again and cut Ama-chan to ribbons.”

“B-But how did he do that?!”

“Aha ha. Just so you know, I wouldn’t be able to do what he did. The heart isn’t one of the muscles you can control consciously. There’s pacemaker cells inside every person’s heart, and they’re the ones that send orders to it. It’s a muscle that functions completely autonomously. The thing is, Kuro-bou can control all of his body’s muscles, including the ones that people normally can’t. He had to learn how, after all.”

“Huh?”

“Twin Wings’s swordsmanship demands it. Her techniques require you to use all the muscles in your body at once. And I mean literally all of them. In order to do that, you need to rewire your brain to be able to send those signals. But there’s something else you need to do first: increase blood flow.

“Activating every muscle at once requires a lot of energy, and your heart doesn’t normally pump that much blood with that much pressure,” Saikyou went on. “After all, the human body wasn’t designed to do the kind of things Twin Wings can. You’ve gotta consciously start boosting your heart rate and blood pressure well beyond what your body normally wants them at if you’re gonna use her techniques. That means you need to be able to send conscious signals to your heart. Kuro-bou’s able to command even his pacemaker cells, so messing a few of them up to stop his heart isn’t a problem for him. It just means he has to switch from automatic drive to manual.”

Saikyou’s analysis was spot-on. The moment Ikki’s heart had stopped beating automatically, he’d had his brain take over managing his heartbeat. Furthermore, the human heart was a surprisingly resilient organ. Pacemaker cells were designed such that they could be resuscitated with a massage, an electric shock, or some other external stimulus if they ever stopped functioning properly.

“Basically, Ama-chan’s command barely even hurt Kuro-bou. But Ama-chan thought it had won him the match, so he let his guard down. He stepped into Kuro-bou’s range. That was a deadly mistake.”

“J-Judging by the amount of blood he’s lost, it certainly doesn’t look like he’ll be able to keep fighting.”

“And why do you think Kuro-bou was able to land such a huge blow? Remember, Ama-chan’s Nameless Glory has the power to warp fate and make everything work in his favor. What that means is that it should have found some way to stop him from carelessly walking into Kuro-bou’s range since he was only pretending that his heart had stopped. But the thing is, by overcoming the death that Nameless Glory handed down to him, Kuro-bou proved that there’s simply no world in which Ama-chan can beat him.”

Shinomiya Amane could never beat Kurogane Ikki. That was an ironclad fact that no amount of coincidences could ever overturn. As a result, the goddess who protected Amane had finally folded, letting Amane get grievously wounded.

“This match is over. With Nameless Glory no longer affecting Kuro-bou, there’s nothing Ama-chan can do.”

“Nnngh!”

At Saikyou’s comment, Amane’s face paled, and the pain of the cut started registering. Like she’d said, Nameless Glory should have prevented him from getting hurt this badly. The fact that it hadn’t meant Ikki had well and truly overcome his power.

This can’t be happening!

“I wished for you to die, and that wish was granted! So just stay dead, god damn it! Why won’t you ever give up?!” he screamed, glaring up at Ikki.

“It’s nothing special, really,” Ikki replied in a calm voice. “Powers that interfere with fate can only make something that’s theoretically possible happen. But this result was inevitable. You seem to think quite highly of your powers, Amane-kun, but in the Blazer world, what you have is nothing special.”

“What?!”

“Sure, it’s a versatile power that you can use in pretty much any situation, but that’s all it is. You know, I fought a knight who could make not just himself but even the arrows he shot imperceptible to all senses. I also fought a knight who can swing her sword fast enough to cut through lightning, and a knight whose flames burn hotter than the sun. All of them possessed powers far stronger than yours. The Seven Stars Battle Festival is where knights like that compete. And unlike you, they’ve all trained relentlessly because they actually want to win. I’m only standing here now because I’ve beaten a fair few of them in this tournament. If I could beat them, there’s no way I’d lose to someone like you, who’s jealous of others and uses underhanded tricks to bring them down. You’re not interested in winning against yourself, much less anyone else.”

As Ikki said that, the pain finally overcame Amane.

“Gaaah?!”

Coughing up blood, he collapsed in a heap. Though he tried to struggle back to his feet, his trembling limbs didn’t have the strength left to raise him up.

I...can’t get back up?!

He’d lost too much blood, and his muscles were deprived of energy. No matter how badly he wanted to get back up, he couldn’t.

Everything’s...going dark...

His vision was fading, and he could tell he was losing consciousness. While reality was a bitter pill to swallow, he had no choice but to accept the fact that Saikyou had been right. He’d lost.

“Stop fighting! The winner is Kurogane Ikki!”

Just before he completely lost consciousness, he heard the referee declare Ikki’s victory, cementing his loss. Shinomiya Amane and Nameless Glory had well and truly been defeated.

No way... Was my power really so easy to overcome all this time?

Even now, he found it hard to believe. There wasn’t a single wish Nameless Glory hadn’t been able to grant before. And yet, it had been overcome by a Rank F Blazer whose only strength was his unwillingness to give up. To add insult to injury, Ikki had achieved a flawless victory. He hadn’t taken a single hit, and he hadn’t even needed to use his trump card, Ittou Shura. He’d been calm and composed the whole time, never once breaking a sweat.

Someone like him...was able to take everything from me? Really?

Just then, he recalled a voice from his past.

“Find happiness, Shion-chan.”

The cheers of the audience sounded distant, but that woman’s voice felt like it had come from right next to him.

◆◇◆◇◆

Shinomiya Amane, who’d been known as Amamiya Shion at the time, had awoken to his Blazer powers relatively young, at the age when children were true to their desires and didn’t know self-control. Good things had kept happening to him one after another, and before long, the people around him had realized that he was a Blazer. That had cast a long shadow over his elementary school years. No matter how hard he’d studied or how much effort he’d put into physical activities, everyone had just thought he’d cheated his way to good results.

Everyone, from his fellow students to the teachers, had hated Amane, but at the same time, they’d feared him. Anything he’d truly wanted from the bottom of his heart, Nameless Glory had granted it to him. Even he wasn’t sure whether his achievements had been a result of his own efforts or a boon his unwanted goddess had granted him.

It was precisely because he himself couldn’t be sure that he wanted an impartial third party to recognize him. He wanted someone to tell him that his accomplishments weren’t luck, that he’d earned them through hard work. But he never got the recognition he craved, and even when he’d saved his classmates from a fire, everyone had mistakenly believed he’d caused it in the first place to make himself look good.

Eventually, Amane had stopped going to school and started shutting himself up at home. No matter what he did, though, his mother had never blamed him.

“It’s okay. I know you’re a kind boy, Shion-chan. You’d never do something horrible like set the school on fire,” she’d said, comforting him when he’d come crying home to her. She’d been his one ally while everyone else had shunned him for his power. “I’m not the only one who thinks so. God must too, and that’s why he gave a kind boy like you this power. It’s his way of telling you that you deserve happiness. Find happiness, Shion-chan.”

Amane still vividly remembered the warmth of her embrace. She’d divorced his dad shortly after he’d been born and raised him all on her own. He’d loved his kind, strong mother. That was why he’d always wished for her happiness. As a result, things had gone well for her at work, and the two of them had been able to live a comfortable life.

Back then, Amane had been truly happy. Even if no one at school had respected him, he’d had a warm home to return to and a mother who’d acknowledged his efforts. For a while, he’d believed that was good enough. But then, one day, a certain doubt had wormed its way into his mind.

Would Mom still love me even if I didn’t have this power? Is it me she loves, or just the goddess who’s blessed me?

Once that thought had occurred to him, his life became hell. The thought that his mother’s warm smile might be for his goddess and not him had been so painful that it’d brought him to tears.

At the same time, he’d hated himself for doubting his mother. He’d kept telling himself over and over not to be such a disloyal son, but the doubt had wormed its way so deep into his heart that it’d become unbearable. Thus, to test his mother, he’d decided that he wouldn’t use his power at all for just one day. It was amazing how quickly her attitude had changed.

“Why? I love you so much, Shion-chan, so why won’t you love me back?”

That day, one of America’s biggest banks had failed, sending the whole world into a financial crisis. Amane’s mom had been making most of her money in stocks, and the economic downturn meant she’d lost big and ended up in debt. Enraged, she’d started beating her own son.

As he’d weathered the rain of blows, Amane had come to understand a cruel truth: that it wasn’t just the people at school who didn’t care about him, but even his own mother. The only thing anyone had loved was his power. All they’d wanted was the good luck he could bring them.

Once that had sunk in, things had only gotten worse. Upon realizing that his mother didn’t care about him, he’d found that he couldn’t bring himself to wish for her happiness. Nameless Glory only granted Amane the things he truly desired from the bottom of his heart. Since he hadn’t really wanted his mother to be happy, he couldn’t have asked Nameless Glory to make things better for her. As a result, his mother had gotten angrier, and her abuse had gotten worse. She’d beaten him daily and forced him to go without meals sometimes. At one point, she’d even stripped him naked, forced him into a rabbit cage, and poured boiling water over him.

Amane’s screams had filled the house as he’d been forced to sit there as the water scalded his skin. He’d begged his mother for forgiveness, hoping that his pleas might eventually reach her. But they never had. Her answer had always been the same.

“If you want me to stop, then make me happy. Make me happy. Make me happy. Make me happy, make me happy, make me happy. Make me happy, make me happy, make me happy, make me happy, make me happy. Make me happy, make me happy, make me happy, make me happy, make me happy, make me happy, make me happy, make me happy, make me happy, make me happy.”

Finally, after half a year of unending torture, Amane had grown to hate his mother. And once that had happened, fate had twisted to remove what he hated.

“Shion, are you okay?! Thank goodness I got to you before it was too late!”

One day, a middle-aged man had pulled a half dead Amane out of his cage, his hands stained with Amane’s mother’s blood. He’d been vaguely able to recall the man’s face and knew that it belonged to his father.

“You’re safe now. Your mom can’t hurt you anymore!”

Amane’s father had hugged him, tears of relief streaming from his eyes. But the smile he’d given Amane was the same one his mother had given him once before, when she’d wanted to use his power for herself.

“It’s okay, Daddy’s here for you now. I love you, and you love me, right?”

In that moment, Amamiya Shion had learned that no one in the world needed him. At the same time, he’d been able to well and truly give up on himself. He had the power to grant any wish he desired, and yet that power had destroyed his parents’ love. His power was so great, he’d realized, that it was only natural that people would focus on that and ignore him.

Upon giving up, he’d felt better, if only a little. He’d been able to cling to the belief that his power was too great to be overcome. But now, over the course of this match, even that belief had been shattered.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Stop fighting! The winner is Kurogane Ikki!” the referee shouted, seeing that Amane had lost too much blood to continue fighting. He’d been a referee for many years now, and he could tell when someone was out of commission.

There was a second of stunned silence, and then the crowd burst out into cheers.

“Shinomiya’s down, and the ref’s called the match! The winner of the second semifinal match of the Seven Stars Battle Festival is Kurogane Ikki!”

“Wh-Whoa! Ikki-kun really won!”

“Seriously? It’s already over?”

“That was kind of a letdown... It was just a one-sided ass kicking.”

“You can hear some confusion mixed in with the audience’s cheers! Considering we started with Shinomiya announcing he was going to resign and then ended with a match that was so one-sided he might as well have forfeited from the start, I don’t blame them! Kurogane won without getting so much as a scratch on him! But make no mistake! That wasn’t because Shinomiya was weak! Kurogane’s martial skill is just that great! His victory was only inevitable thanks to the immense amount of training he’s put in! He’s now made his way to the finals, and we may just have the first Rank F Seven Stars Sovereign in history!”

“Wow! Just wow! I can’t believe you were able to cinch a perfect victory against such a troublesome opponent!” Alisuin exclaimed, clapping enthusiastically. She’d seen Amane’s power firsthand, so she’d been worried Ikki might struggle. Smiling, she turned to Shizuku and said, “That’s great, isn’t it, Shizuku?”

But to Alisuin’s surprise, Shizuku didn’t look happy. She was staring intently down at the ring, a frown on her face.

“Shizuku?”

Her focus was so great that she didn’t hear Alisuin at all.

What is this?

Honestly, she couldn’t understand why she wasn’t cheering with everyone else. She just knew that something was off somehow. And she wasn’t the only one. Stella, too, was looking worriedly down at the ring. The referee had already called the match, which meant there was nothing that could overturn Ikki’s victory now, not even Amane’s Nameless Glory.

The match should be over, and yet...

Shizuku had a feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

“Watch out!” Ikki suddenly shouted, and Shizuku realized what that premonition had been.

◆◇◆◇◆

After Amane had collapsed, the referee had knelt next to him to check on his condition. The boy had lost a lot of blood and was in critical condition, so the referee had decided to use healing magic to patch him up a bit while the medical team made their way over.

“Huh?”

But as he held his hand over Amane to heal him, their gazes met. Amane’s eyes were still open, and there was a turgid darkness lurking within them.

“Outta the way,” Amane said, and glowing black tendrils of highly condensed mana erupted out of him. They looked like black flames as they writhed around, slowly coalescing into the shape of numerous arms that reached out to choke the referee.

“Whoa!”

“Watch out!”

Ikki was the first to react. He quickly tackled the stunned referee out of the way.

“Wh-Wh-Wh-What’s going on?! Shinomiya was down, but now he’s summoned a bunch of creepy-looking black arms and attacked the referee!” Iida shouted, stunned.

“N-No way! Just what is that power?!” Saikyou cried as she stood up from her chair. Unlike Iida, she was shocked not by Amane having attacked the referee, but rather by the nature of the black arms he had summoned.

The floor’s crumbling?!

Ikki stared in shock as the parts of the stone floor the arms had hit started crumbling away, as if centuries of erosion and rot had afflicted the stone all at once. The rot started slowly spreading as well, taking the surrounding stone with it.

I think I know what’s going on...

“Amane-kun...”

Ikki turned back to Amane. The boy had managed to stagger back to his feet, though he was deathly pale from all the blood loss.

“Don’t screw with me... I can’t lose... Nameless Glory is supposed to be invincible... There’s nothing it can’t do... There’s no wish it can’t grant... That’s how it’s always been. That’s why I was able to finally give up on myself! You can’t tell me it’s fallible now, after I’ve already lost my home, my family, my friends, and even myself! Like hell I’ll accept that!”

His eyes were bloodshot, and tears were spilling out of them.

“I refuse to accept it...” he muttered in an anguished voice.

He couldn’t accept that someone like Ikki, of all people, had beaten him. From the moment he’d learned of Kurogane Ikki’s existence, he’d hated him. A Rank F failure who’d been born to a famous Blazer family. Normally, someone like him would have accepted his lot in life and given up on becoming a Mage-Knight. And yet, he’d refused to give up, eventually earning himself far more fame than any other Rank F Blazer in history.

Watching him almost made Amane have hope again, and that’s what he hated. It made him think maybe he shouldn’t have given up on himself after all. That maybe, if he’d tried as hard as Ikki had, his life might have gone differently. But in his eyes, that hope was nothing more than a curse, since it only made him hate himself more.

What a joke! It was only after I lost my friends, my parents, and everyone else in my life that I finally worked up the courage to give up. Stop showing me impossible dreams when I’ve suffered so much already!

“You’re an eyesore...”

“You—”

“Kurogane, get back! We’ll take care of this!” Shinguuji Kurono shouted, interrupting Ikki. She summoned her Device and leaped up onto the fence dividing the crowd from the ring. “Everyone, work together to hold him down!”

She started shouting out orders to the other Blazers who were guarding the crowd. They moved as one, surrounding Amane from all sides.

“Don’t get in my waaaaay!” Amane screamed, summoning hundreds of black arms and shooting them into the stands.

“Everybody deploy a mana barrier!” Saikyou instructed through the microphone. “Don’t let those flaming black arms touch anyone!”

“Ngh!”

The Blazers serving security detail for the Seven Stars Battle Festival were all elite veterans, and they immediately carried out Saikyou’s order, projecting their mana outward to form a barrier around the stands. The hands struggled against it, their nails scraping across the invisible surface like they were trying to scratch through glass. Thanks to the Blazers’ speedy response, no one was hurt, but some people in the crowd still screamed in surprise.

“Waaah?!”

“Eeeek!”

“Wh-What the hell?!”

Though the hands didn’t reach anyone, some of them hit the fence, causing it to rapidly erode the same way the stone floor had. Furthermore, the rot spread just like it was doing along the stone floor, slowly encroaching on where the audience sat.

“Is the floor rotting?!” Iida shouted, panicking. “It seems anything those black arms made of Shinomiya’s mana touch rots away! B-But how is that possible?! A power that manipulates fate should only be able to make what’s theoretically possible happen! The reinforced concrete protecting the stands is made to last for hundreds of years! It shouldn’t be possible for it to rot unless some other form of Blazer power is at work!”

“He changed how he’s using his power.”

“What do you mean, Saikyou-sensei?!”

“Until now, Ama-chan wasn’t bothering to control his power. He was just passively dispersing it all around him. It’s strong enough that he didn’t need to do any more than that to get what he wanted. But those black arms are different. He’s concentrated the power of Nameless Glory so much that it’s become visible. However, that means it’s also far stronger!”

Saikyou was exactly right. Amane had concentrated his fate-bending powers into just the black arms he’d summoned, exponentially increasing their power to achieve whatever it was he desired. As a result, there was no longer a process that required the result to be theoretically possible; all that mattered was that the result was in line with Amane’s desires. And right now, all Amane desired was death.

“Those arms will bring death to whatever they touch, regardless of what unrealistic process they have to go through to make that happen! Don’t let them so much as graze you! Commentator guy, I need you to organize an evacuation!”

“Wh-What are you going to do, Saikyou-sensei?!”

“I’ll hold that kid down! Kuu-chan, you guys focus on protecting the audience!”

Saikyou summoned her Device, Crimson Swallowtail, and waved it, shattering the windows of the commentator’s booth. She then enveloped herself in a veil of mana thick enough to be visible and prepared to jump out of the spectator box. But before she could, Ikki called out to her.

“There’s no need,” he said in a calm voice.

“Kuro-bou?”

“You guys focus on protecting the audience. I’ll stop him.”

◆◇◆◇◆

Kurono was the first to protest.

“Don’t be stupid, Kurogane! You’ve already won! There’s no need for you to keep fighting!”

“Amane-kun’s power is extremely dangerous,” Ikki replied. “All of you need to stay focused on protecting the spectators, or people might die. Besides, I’m the one he wants to fight.”

“Kurogane!”

“The match is over, and I cut him badly enough that he lost consciousness, but he still wants to challenge me. You know I can’t turn my back on that kind of opponent.” Ikki turned to face Amane again and leveled his sword at him. He had no intention of retreating. After all, it was only now that Amane had become a worthy opponent. “You’ve finally got a good look in your eyes, Amane-kun.”

At long last, Amane had stripped away his facade and was showing Ikki his true colors.

Don’t worry, I understand your feelings very well.

“Nameless Glory is supposed to be invincible... There’s nothing it can’t do... There’s no wish it can’t grant... That’s how it’s always been. That’s why I was able to finally give up on myself!” The way he’d phrased those earlier words had made everything clear to Ikki. The fact that he’d needed to come up with an excuse to give up on himself meant that he’d never actually wanted to.

Indeed, completely giving up on your potential wasn’t something a normal person could do. In a way, it was more difficult than suicide. A person needed a truly compelling reason to convince themself to fully give up like that. For Amane, Nameless Glory had been that reason. And Ikki could easily understand just how much despair that must have brought him.

I was the same way, after all. A failure born into a famous family.

Kurogane Ikki had spent his childhood being rejected by everyone, his worth denied by all the adults around him. He’d been ready to use his lack of talent as an excuse to give up on himself too. His family had cornered him so thoroughly that he’d thought that was the only way out. But thankfully, before he could do so, he’d met Ryouma.

“It’s galling, isn’t it? Never let go of that feeling, boy. That bitterness is proof that you haven’t given up on yourself.”

Ryouma had given Ikki the courage to keep believing in himself. It was only because they’d met that he’d been able to continue fighting, and he was well aware of that. But Amane—or rather, Amamiya Shion hadn’t had such a fortuitous meeting. He’d had no one by his side. Not Kurogane Ryouma, not Kurogane Shizuku, not Stella Vermillion, no one. Everyone in his life had cared only about his power, never about him.

It was hardly surprising that he’d come to the conclusion that he himself was worthless. After all, it had been like he wasn’t even there. He’d wandered the world as a lonely specter, with no one looking at him. It was only by telling himself over and over that it was only natural, that there was nothing he could do, that he’d been able to convince himself to give up. Ikki knew how painful that must have been.

Which is why...

There was only one thing for Ikki to do. He’d walked his chosen path because he wanted to become someone who could give others the courage to keep believing in themselves and their potential—because he wanted to become someone like Ryouma.

“You hate me, don’t you? You can’t accept that I was able to do what you couldn’t. Go ahead, come at me with all your hatred! Using everything I have, I’ll root out your resignation!”

As he said that, Ikki activated Ittou Shura, and his body was enveloped in pale blue light.

“Graaaaaaah!”

Screaming incoherently, Amane launched his countless black arms at Ikki. He had far more mana than Ikki, so even using Ittou Shura wasn’t enough to create a functional barrier against those arms. A single scratch would send Ikki to the afterlife. Despite that, he charged forward rather than retreating to safety.

“Haaaaah!”

Using his fastest techniques, he cut down the arms directly in his path and avoided all the others. He didn’t stop for even a second. Like a moonbeam cutting through the night sky, he streaked through the barrage of black arms. The sight was so captivating that the audience stopped running and turned to watch.

“U-Unbelievable!”

“He already won the match, and he’s still going?!”

Ikki had no obligation to stop Amane himself. The audience couldn’t understand why he was still fighting. But they could tell just by looking at his expression that this was something he felt he had to do.

“You got this, Kurogane! Don’t lose!”

“Beat the shit out of that cheating bastard!”

“Go, Ikki-kuuun!”

This wasn’t even a match anymore, but the crowd cheered Ikki on regardless. Ikki sped up even more as they cheered him on, easily slipping past the countless hands of death that reached out to him.

“Concentrating his power has backfired on Ama-chan,” Saikyou said, nodding to herself.

“How so?” Iida asked.

“It’s true that by concentrating his power, those hands can kill anything they touch, regardless of what process they have to create to make it happen. There’s nothing Kuro-bou can do to save himself if any of them touch him. But by focusing his power this much, Ama-chan has abandoned Nameless Glory’s greatest strength.”

“Which is?”

“Its spontaneity. Until now, Ama-chan’s just been wishing for things. ‘It’d be nice if this happened’ or ‘I’d like for things to end up like this.’ Because he kept his desires vague, it was hard to guess at how exactly Nameless Glory would twist things in his favor. After all, even Ama-chan himself didn’t know, and he’s the one using the Noble Art. While Kuro-bou was able to correct for the errors it made him make, he was never once able to actually avoid being hit by Nameless Glory. But now that the power’s been concentrated so much that it’s visible, he knows what to avoid. Ama-chan’s controlling those arms manually too, which means there’s intent behind each of their movements. And reading a foe’s intentions is Kuro-bou’s specialty. Even if Ama-chan had a thousand arms, it wouldn’t be enough!”

Moreover, this was Amane’s first time using his power in this way, so his control wasn’t perfect. There was no way such haphazard attacks would ever hit Ikki.

“Kuro-bou, I’ll leave this fight to you since you asked so nicely! But you better be as good as your word and knock some sense into that idiot!” Saikyou shouted into the mic while falling back into her seat. Simultaneously, Ikki got close enough to reach Amane with his sword.

Though Amane’s expression stiffened, he didn’t retreat. He was barely able to stay on his feet, and he knew that if he tried to step back, he’d just collapse. Instead, he summoned an Azure in each hand, enveloped them in the same black flame of death, and desperately tried to meet Ikki in a close-range battle. If he lost here, it would prove that his reason for having given up on himself was nothing more than an excuse. He’d lost far too much to be able to accept that.

I just need to scratch him! As long as I can touch his skin, I win!

“Aaaaah!”

He swung both Azures at Ikki, but the slashes were pitifully weak. Despite them being similar to his wild swings from the start of the battle, they weren’t being made accidentally perfect anymore. Because Nameless Glory was focused solely on bringing death to everything it touched, it was no longer making Amane exceptionally lucky. These were a true amateur’s slashes. They could hardly even be called real slashes. Naturally, neither Azure hit Ikki.

“Haaah!”

Slashing so quickly that his sword left afterimages, Ikki knocked both Azures out of Amane’s hands. There was nothing Amane could do to stop him. As that realization sank in, he gritted his teeth angrily. He hated his own weakness. He hated the fact that he couldn’t do anything in this situation that relied on his strength and not Nameless Glory’s.

How long has it been since I last cursed my own powerlessness?

It had been so long since he’d felt this way that he’d forgotten such emotions existed. The power to grant him anything had left him with nothing. Everything belonged to Nameless Glory, while the things he’d truly wanted had always slipped through his fingers. And so, he’d given up on wanting anything. He’d come to accept that no matter how hard he wished for it, there was nothing he’d be able to win for himself. But now...

“Graaaaah!”

“What?!”

Everyone, including Ikki, gasped in shock. As Ikki stepped in to deal the finishing blow, Amane summoned two more Azures and launched another attack. No one had been expecting an amateur like him to get a second attack in, much less a well-timed counter. And that was precisely what it was: a perfect counter angled so that he would stab Ikki before Ikki could cut him down.

It wasn’t Nameless Glory’s luck aiding him this time either. His power was focused solely on creating death, so he couldn’t redirect any of it to help his swordsmanship. No, he’d mustered this one attack through his own strength. He’d recalled all the lucky swings he’d managed to unleash before and traced the same trajectory as he had back then, creating his own unique martial arts technique in the heat of the moment.

Of course, with Ittou Shura active, Ikki was able to bring his sword back just in time to block. But that did force him to stop his advance for the very first time. And when he did, Amane staked everything on one last offensive.

I wanna win!

For the first time, Amane was the one to step forward. Spurring him on was the same desire that he’d tried so hard to stamp out and throw away. As it turned out, no matter how much he’d told himself he’d given up, in truth, he hadn’t.

I want to win!

“Must be nice, being able to get everything you want with just the power of luck.”

“His luck lets him be the best at everything he does.”

“Find happiness, Shion-chan.”

“It’s okay, Daddy’s here for you now. I love you, and you love me, right?”

He’d lived the life of a ghost, wandering the world of the living but never truly being seen by anyone. His hands had been unable to hold anything, no matter how small. He’d just wanted the tiniest thing for himself. Something he knew he’d earned without his power. Something he could show as proof that he existed in this world, separate from the goddess at his back. And right now, that something was within his reach. If he could win here, it would be a victory he’d earned, for not even his cursed goddess had been able to overcome Kurogane Ikki.

I’m going to win!

He knew that if he could win here, he’d be able to smile from the bottom of his heart for the first time in his life.

“Raaaaaaah!”

His scream was no longer one of incoherent rage, but a fierce warrior’s battle cry. He stabbed forward with his left hand, thrusting with the perfect amount of force to make it a deadly attack rather than a haphazard one.

Because Ikki had been forced to block Amane’s earlier counter, Intetsu wasn’t in a position to stop the thrust. Recognizing that, he decided to go on the offensive as well.

“Second Sword Style—Point-Blank.”

“Ah.”

Amane gasped softly as Ikki’s gleaming dark blade batted aside the Azure in his right hand and cut him down before his left thrust could reach.

◆◇◆◇◆

A second later, Amane slumped to his knees. Point-Blank was a technique Ikki had developed to reverse an unfavorable situation. By using his lower body like a spring, he was able to generate enough force to unleash a slash at zero range after blocking an attack. It was similar to a one-inch punch, but with a sword instead.

That slash was how he’d batted aside the Azure in Amane’s right hand and cut him down in time. And it had been powerful enough to put Amane out of commission for good. The black hands of death faded away into mist, and Amane didn’t even try to struggle back to his feet. They both knew that he wouldn’t be getting back up.

I almost had him, and yet he still seems so far away...

Though he’d done everything he possibly could, he’d still been unable to scratch Ikki. He let his knees buckle completely and fell to a sitting position.

“I...lost...”

This time, he had no choice but to accept reality.

“It’s galling, isn’t it?” Ikki asked.

“Yeah. I never realized how much it sucks to lose,” Amane replied after a short silence. The taste of defeat was even more bitter than the taste of the blood welling up in his throat.

“Never let go of that feeling, Amane-kun. That bitterness is proof that you haven’t given up on yourself.”

“...Huh?”

Amane looked up, stunned that Ikki had seen through him so completely. As he did so, the clouds parted to shine a single ray of light down on him.

“A long time ago, when I was the same as you and ready to give up on myself, someone told me that,” Ikki said, smiling gently. “You can’t ever throw away that bitterness you feel. That’s what’ll let you keep going. After all, it’s because humans never gave up that they were able to make it to the moon. So now, I gift those same words to you. If you can’t stand losing to me, then come back and challenge me whenever. I’ll take you on as many times as you like. And you’ll know that if you beat me, it’ll be because of your own strength, because not even that power that can grant all your wishes was able to do that. If you can win, that glory will be all yours.”

“Ah...”

“I promise to become a worthy goal for you, so I’ll be waiting.”

With that, Ikki turned on his heel and strode out of the ring. It was a clear message to Amane: “Chase after me.”

I see...

It was then that Amane finally realized why Ikki had ignored Kurono’s warning and continued fighting by himself. Unlike everyone else in the world, Ikki had actually been looking at Amamiya Shion, not at the goddess behind him.

I really am no match for him...

He’d tricked Ikki and hurt his sister. Despite that, Ikki had still tried to save him.

What does it take to become that strong? To become that kind?

He had no idea. He wasn’t even capable of being kind to himself. But if, by chasing after him, he could become even a little bit more like Ikki, then it was worth devoting his life to that goal.

Using the last of his strength, Amane stretched a hand out toward Ikki’s receding figure. He then curled his trembling fingers into a fist. Naturally, he grasped only air. Ikki was too far away for him to reach—but only for now. One day for sure, he’d catch up to him.

With the bitter taste of defeat lingering in his mouth, Amane fell to the ground, unconscious.

◆◇◆◇◆

“It looks like the medical team is carting Shinomiya away. There were many twists and turns during that match, but thanks to the efforts of our talented Mage-Knights, we didn’t see any casualties. It’s a good thing we handpick the best of the best to guard the audience during the tournament! Of course, it’s Kurogane Ikki who deserves the biggest thanks. Even though he had no obligation to fight after the match ended, he subdued Shinomiya without getting so much as a scratch on him. What an overwhelming difference in strength! I’m looking forward to seeing how he fares against Crimson Princess Stella Vermillion tomorrow. Will a Rank F Blazer truly manage to overcome a Rank A beast?”

Shizuku rushed to where Ikki was while the announcer sang his praises.

“Slow down, Shizuku! You’ll trip if you don’t watch where you’re going!” Alisuin shouted, chasing after her.

Onii-sama won! He’s finally made it to the finals!

She’d been watching him since they were children, so she knew how much this meant to him. And she wanted to be the first one to congratulate him. That was why she was running full speed toward the waiting room.

“Onii-sama!”

But as she flung open the waiting room door, she came to a halt. Ikki was there, but he was leaning against the far door, his eyes closed. He didn’t react at all to Shizuku and Alisuin entering.

“Is he sleeping?” Alisuin asked. “He didn’t get hurt, but he did use Ittou Shura. That might have exhausted him.”

Ittou Shura completely drained Ikki of strength, so it was pretty normal for him to fall asleep after his minute was up. But something felt off to Shizuku.

Wait...

Gripped by an inexplicable worry, she walked forward and touched Ikki’s face. She then broke out in a cold sweat as she realized what the problem was. Her brother, Kurogane Ikki, was no longer breathing.

Interlude: Delayed Arrival

Alisuin immediately alerted the medics that Ikki’s heart had stopped, and they brought him straight to the arena infirmary, which was stocked with state-of-the-art medical equipment. There, they attempted to resuscitate him. Shizuku waited outside the operating room with Shinguuji Kurono and her father, Kurogane Itsuki, her hands clasped in prayer as she waited to hear the results of their efforts. After about two hours, one of the doctors walked out of the room. The “operating” sign was still lit, which meant they weren’t done yet, but Shizuku nonetheless immediately ran over to him.

“Did you save him?!” she asked. “Is Onii-sama okay?!”

“We can’t be sure yet,” the doctor replied in a pained voice, shaking his head.

“Wh-What do you mean you can’t be sure?!”

“Well, we still don’t understand what exactly the problem is. At first we thought it was a heart attack, since his heart had stopped with no external trauma. But once we restarted it, we detected problems in his brain. After treating those, another one of his organs suddenly started failing. Every time we treat a symptom, a new one pops up. It’s as if his body is being drawn toward death somehow.”

The only thing that could explain such a phenomenon was Amane’s power.

“But Onii-sama dodged all of the hands!”

“That’s not quite correct, Kurogane Shizuku,” Kurono shook her head and responded. “When I looked over the footage of the match, I noticed that his arm was grazed slightly when he protected the referee. I suspect that’s how Shinomiya’s power got in.”

“N-No!”

Shizuku staggered backward, the knowledge hitting her like a sledgehammer. But she quickly regained her composure. Her brother’s life hung in the balance. She couldn’t afford to fall apart here. Now that she knew the cause, a potential solution presented itself.

“Then if we kill him, Onii-sama—”

“Calm down,” Itsuki said in a stern voice. Shizuku rounded on him, glaring, and he curtly explained, “Bad Luck’s power is still active even though he’s unconscious. That means killing him won’t change anything.”

“Ngh!”

She couldn’t argue against that logic. Amane had indeed fallen unconscious after the match. The fact that Ikki was still being drawn toward death meant that once his power had carved a result into something, events progressed toward that result regardless of his intentions or even his state of consciousness.

Itsuki turned to Kurono and asked, “Would you be able to use your power to rewind my son’s body back to the state it was in before the match?”

Kurono shook her head sadly.

“I wish I could, but that’s not possible. Inorganic objects I can rewind pretty far back, but rewinding living beings takes a massive toll on their body. At best, I can rewind them thirty seconds or so before they start to break apart. Kurogane’s heart had been stopped for a few minutes when his sister found him, so my power won’t be able to take him nearly far back enough.”

“I see...”

“So there’s nothing we can do?! No, I refuse to accept that!”

Shizuku started walking toward the operating room.

“Shizuku!”

“Please, no one’s allowed into the operating room!”

Itsuki and the doctor grabbed her arms, but she shook them off.

“Let me go! If you guys can’t save him, then I will! Don’t get in my way! Onii-sama! Onii-samaaa!”

Just then, a newcomer walked into the room.

“My, it’s quite noisy in here. This is technically a hospital of sorts, so I’d prefer it if you’d stop making such a racket.”

“Ah, you’re...”

Shizuku recognized that voice. She’d only spent a few hours with the woman it belonged to, but their time together had been recent enough to still be fresh in her memory. She turned to see a greenish-brown-haired girl in a white lab coat walking into the room.

“K-Kiriko-sensei!” the doctor exclaimed, relieved to see the best doctor in all of Japan.

“I’ve heard the details from Director Kurogane here,” she said, nodding back to him as she strode past Shizuku and grabbed the door handle. “Leave the rest to me.”

“Will you be able to save him?” Shizuku asked in a tearful voice. She wanted reassurance that Ikki would be safe.

But of course, a doctor couldn’t casually make such a promise. Saving a life was never a sure thing. It was unethical to promise what might not be possible, even if doing so would ease the worries of the patient’s loved ones. However, Kiriko just looked over her shoulder.

“I hope you’re not underestimating me, little sister,” she teased. There was a confident smile on her face. “Any doctor worth their salt can take care of a death god or two.”

◆◇◆◇◆

As the sun set and the moon rose, the dark clouds covering Osaka moved off to the west. Late that night, Shinomiya Amane finally awoke and raised himself up into a sitting position. The first thing that popped into his mind were Ryouma’s words that Ikki had passed down to him. There was a faint creak, and the door to his room swung open.

“Oh, you’re already up? What a shame,” Saikyou Nene said as she sidled into the room. It seemed she’d wanted to sneak in without being noticed. Clicking her tongue, she hid the permanent marker she’d brought with her into the sleeves of her crimson furisode. “You caused a lot of trouble for everyone, so I thought I’d mess with you a little, but I guess you’re as lucky as always.”

Yeah, I guess this is pretty lucky.

There was something that Amane wanted to ask about, so he was grateful to have someone with him.

“Is Ikki alive?”

Saikyou raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“So you noticed?”

“I just overheard some of the nurses. They were talking outside of my room about how he’s in critical condition.”

“I see.” Nodding, Saikyou told Amane what she’d just heard from Kurono over the phone. “He’s still alive. The Doctor Knight rushed over to save him.”

“She did, huh?”

Naturally, Amane hadn’t forgotten that he’d cheated to avoid fighting her.

“I actually came here to pass on a message from Kiriko-chan.”

“A message?” What could it be? It’s not like we were friends or anything.

“‘With this, I’ve paid you back for what you did in the first round. Serves you right.’ That’s the message,” Saikyou said with a triumphant grin.

“Ha ha... I see. I guess that means I wasn’t even able to beat my very first opponent in this tournament.” Amane let the reality of that sink in for a second. “Everyone here sure is strong.”

“Course they are. If Kiriko-chan cared more about being a knight than being a doctor, she’d be Rank A by now. She’s as much of a monster as Stella-chan and Ouma-chan. No way you can handle her as you are now, Ama-chan.”

“Is that all you came here for?”

“Nah, there’s one more thing. The Management Committee held a meeting, and they’ve decided on your punishment for breaking the rules and endangering the ref and the audience. They’ll probably officially tell you tomorrow, and let me tell you, it’s not pretty. But I guess for a terrorist like you, that doesn’t matter since you can just go back to the underworld.”

“No, I’ll accept my punishment.” Amane’s reply made Saikyou look genuinely taken aback. He gave her a pleading look and added, “So do you think you could get them to lighten my sentence, Saikyou-sensei? I promise I’ve reflected on my actions.”

Saikyou let out a long sigh.

“Don’t get cheeky now, brat. But, well, I guess I am a teacher. If you’ve really learned your lesson, then...I’ll ask them to go easy on you.” Saikyou had more than enough influence with both the Management Committee and the Mage-Knight Federation to get her way in cases like this. At the same time, though, she had no intention of helping Amane out for free. She glared sharply at him and said, “But in return, you better not mess with tomorrow’s match.”

While Ikki and Stella didn’t consider Amane’s interference worthy of even caring about at this point, that was still no reason to let Amane get away with any further cheating. As a teacher and as a knight, Saikyou wanted Stella to have a fair match.

In response, Amane nodded.

“I promise. There’s no point in me messing with their match now anyway.”

He smiled at Saikyou—the first genuine smile she’d seen him give. She was confident he wouldn’t break his promise, so she turned on her heel and started walking away.

“All right, well, that’s all I came for, so I’ll be leaving. Get some rest. Your body’s exhausted from getting healed.”

“I will. Good night. And...thank you.”

As Saikyou walked out the door, Amane bowed his head to her. She paused to look back at him one last time before walking out of the room and closing the door.

“Heh. Looks like you’ve really turned over a new leaf,” she muttered to herself with a smile. She then turned to the man whose presence she’d sensed while first walking into Amane’s room. “What a coincidence running into you here, Tsukikage-sensei. Any reason you’re here this late at night?”

Tsukikage stopped walking down the hallway and turned back to Saikyou.

“Is it really a coincidence, I wonder? Besides, this is my student’s hospital room. It’s only natural I’d want to see how he’s doing, isn’t it?”

“Come on, you’re still keeping up the act? All of Akatsuki’s students have lost already. You can stop pretending.”

Indeed, with Amane’s defeat, Akatsuki had been knocked out of the Seven Stars Battle Festival. Tsukikage’s plan to increase Japan’s national prestige by having Akatsuki win the tournament had gone up in smoke.

“It truly is a shame. I was hoping they could prove to the world that they have the strength to carry this nation’s future on their shoulders, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be.”

Tsukikage shrugged his shoulders, sounding not at all disappointed. If anything, he seemed almost happy that things had ended up this way.

“I still have no idea what you’re really thinking.” Not even Saikyou could read her former teacher. So she gave up on probing him and changed the topic. “Well, I’m glad I ran into you. There’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“What is it?”

Saikyou was curious about why he’d given Ikki the info he had before the semifinal match.

“It’d be normal to think you told Kuro-bou about Ama-chan so that he’d light a fire under him and stop him from forfeiting, but were you really trying to get Ama-chan to win that match?”

If Tsukikage had just wanted to motivate Amane to fight, there were plenty of other ways he could have gone about it. In fact, it had been a dangerous gamble to entrust the information to Ikki when Tsukikage couldn’t even have been sure he would use it. From Saikyou’s perspective, it was way too roundabout a method.

“You wanted Kuro-bou to save Ama-chan all along, didn’t you, Sensei?”

Tsukikage fell silent, but the corners of his mouth twitched up into a faint smile. He thought back to what Ikki had said after he’d told him about Amane’s past. “There’s one last thing I want to know. Is it really Amane-kun you’re trying to get fired up about the next match, or is it me?” Saikyou had come to the same conclusion as Ikki had. And so, Tsukikage chose to give her the same response he had to him.

“Who can say? This job means I have to wear many masks. After years as prime minister, even I don’t know where my true intentions lie.”

A response that was effectively a nonanswer.

“I see,” Saikyou said simply. If Tsukikage didn’t want to give straight answers, there was no point in pressing him any further on this topic. “Oh yeah, one more thing.”

“I thought you only had one question.”

“Don’t be such a cheapskate. You’re a man, aren’t you?” Saikyou took a step closer to Tsukikage. “I’m curious how you knew so much about Ama-chan’s past in the first place.”

Tsukikage didn’t respond, so Saikyou kept talking.

“Considering his attitude, I doubt he would have told anyone. And thanks to Nameless Glory, there’s no way information that could come back to bite him would easily leak out. The only thing I can think of that might work would be someone using a power that has an even stronger influence on fate to overcome it. You know, Tsukikage-sensei, I searched every database I could think of, and not a single one of them mentioned what your Noble Arts might be. But I’m guessing the reason you, the literal prime minister of Japan, teamed up with terrorists has something to do with that power of yours, doesn’t it?”

Though her tone was friendly, Saikyou was watching Tsukikage like a hawk. The look in her eyes made it clear that she wouldn’t allow him to get away with a nonanswer this time. And with Akatsuki Academy’s loss, he no longer had any reason to hide the truth. Even so, he was not yet willing to give up that information.

“Believe me when I say I’ll be announcing the answer to that soon.”

There was an appropriate place and time for that reveal, and it was neither here nor now.

◆◇◆◇◆

Ikki slowly opened his eyes to find himself staring at an unfamiliar, tiled ceiling.

“Mm... Where am I?”

He sat up, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and looked around. As far as he could tell, he was in a standard hospital room, sitting in bed. There wasn’t much else in the way of furniture or decoration.

But wait, that’s odd. I could have sworn I went back to the waiting room. And why does my body feel so heavy?

It wasn’t just his body. His mind felt sluggish too. He could tell from how dark it was outside the window that it must be night, but he didn’t know the exact time. He reached over for his student handbook and turned it on. The time displayed on it was 10:30 p.m. If he’d been sleeping all day, that explained why his body felt so sluggish.

“Wait...”

As Ikki read the date, his expression froze. It was August 10th—the day after the semifinals. In other words, the day he was supposed to have his duel with Stella.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, memories of what had happened before he’d lost consciousness came flooding back to him. When he’d made it back to the waiting room, he’d felt utterly drained. It had been a different kind of lethargy than what he felt after using Ittou Shura too. It had seemed far more sinister.

Very quickly, he realized that his entire being had been getting eroded away by the concept of death. The only time he could have possibly been hit by any of Amane’s arms was when he’d protected the referee. It had all happened so suddenly that he hadn’t paid attention to all of the arms that had appeared, but in retrospect, that was presumably when he’d been grazed. He’d known he was in trouble, but he’d been so exhausted that he hadn’t even been able to muster a cry for help before falling unconscious.

Thinking back on it now, it was clear that someone had healed him and brought him here. But that wasn’t important right now. If his handbook was showing the correct date, it meant he’d missed his duel. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. Praying that it was some kind of mistake, he checked his student handbook again, and in doing so saw that he had a text notification. He quickly pulled up the new message and saw that it was from Stella. She’d sent him just a single sentence: “I’ll be waiting for you in the ring.”

Ikki immediately leaped out of bed and started running.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Haah, haah, haah!”

Ikki ran through the deserted Bay Dome, not even having bothered to change his clothes or put on slippers or anything. He passed the empty reception desk, flew through the waiting room, and burst out of the gate leading into the ring.

As he stepped into the moonlit arena, he saw Stella waiting for him. She was standing sentinel at its center, her hair swaying in the gentle breeze blowing in from the sea. Panting, he jumped up into the ring and walked over to her. As he drew close, he noticed that her gaze was focused solely on him, and that there was a hint of sadness in her eyes.

“Stella...”

“You sure woke up late, Ikki.”

“I—”

“I waited the whole day for you.”

A wave of despair washed over Ikki as she said those words.

So I did miss the finals. The Seven Stars Battle Festival...is over.

Everything had ended while he’d been asleep. The whole time, Stella had waited here for him to come fulfill his promise. He knew he had to apologize for failing to keep it.

“Aaargh!”

But all that came out was a half scream, half sob. Burning hot tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, and after a few seconds, he finally managed to squeeze out a single word.

“Dammit!”

He was angry not at Amane, but at himself for being so pathetically weak that it had taken him a whole day to recover. He despised his body for being so slow to heal.

I was this close!

“Raaaaagh!”

All he’d needed was to take one last step, and he hadn’t had the grit to see it through. He’d ruined everything. The realization weighed so heavily on him that he couldn’t even bring himself to say sorry. But to his utter surprise, Stella smiled.

“That’s what I wanted to hear. Not an apology, but how you felt.”

“Stella?”

Before Ikki could ask her what she meant, she turned back to the stands.

“Did you hear that, everyone?!”

A second later, in response to her shout, thousands of voices roared in unison.

“Yeaaaaaaaaah!”

Light flooded the stadium as cheers and applause battered Ikki from all sides. He’d been so focused on Stella that he hadn’t paid any attention to the stands until now, but as he looked around, he realized that they were filled. The Seven Stars Battle Festival should have been over, and yet the crowd was enthusiastically cheering him as though his match was just about to begin.

“Wh-What’s going on?” he asked, flummoxed.

Stella looked over at the giant stadium screen, and he followed her gaze. Standing right below it was a bald old man. The chairman of the Seven Stars Battle Festival Management Committee, Kaieda Yuuzou.

“Everyone has been waiting for you to awaken,” he said, looking down at Ikki.

“But Chairman Kaieda, the finals are already—”

“They aren’t over. Isn’t that right, everyone?”

The crowd started shouting all at once.

“You bet your ass they ain’t!”

“I’ve been waiting ages for the finals! No way I’m going home until we get this match!”

“This Seven Stars Battle Festival isn’t over until the Crimson Princess and Another One duke it out!”

Among the yelling, Ikki could also make out the voices of his friends.

“Onii-samaaa! You can do it! Win this one last fight!” Shizuku cheered. He turned to see that her eyes were red and swollen from crying.

“Kurogane-kun! Stella-san! Give us a fight for the ages!” Kanata shouted from next to her.

“Don’t worry about the crowd or anyone else, Kurogane! We’ll make sure no one gets hurt, so let loose!” Moroboshi yelled from the other side of the arena.

His family, his friends, the rivals he’d fought on his way here—they all wanted Ikki to have the duel he’d fought so hard for.

“Guys...”

“Everyone refused to leave until you and Stella-kun had your match. The two of you have fought so spectacularly that no one would accept a win by default. That’s something to be proud of,” Kaieda said with a smile.

Stella turned back to Ikki and summoned Lævateinn, pointing it straight at his nose. Her blazing red eyes were focused solely on him.

“All that’s left is your response. What do you say, Ikki?”

“Ah!”

A gasp escaped his lips, and his eyes welled up with tears again. This time, though, they were tears of happiness. The crowd wasn’t pitying him or saying those things out of kindness. They genuinely wouldn’t be satisfied until Ikki and Stella had their duel. It was truly uplifting.

Naturally, Ikki knew what his answer would be. But in lieu of words, he wiped away his tears, summoned Intetsu, and struck it against Lævateinn. Sparks flew as steel met steel, soul clashed with soul.

Even though he’d struck Lævateinn with all his might, it hadn’t budged an inch. It felt as though his sword had slammed against a solid lump of metal, not a slender sword. The ringing in his arms told him just how much stronger Stella had gotten, and he started trembling with excitement.

That’s what I’m talking about!

He’d fought many battles and overcome many fearsome foes, but as always, Stella was on a completely different level. There was no way the tournament that had been his goal for so long could end until the two of them had fought!

“We’ve confirmed that both parties are still interested in fighting, so with my authority as chairman of the Management Committee, I hereby announce that the Seven Stars Battle Festival finals will be held tomorrow at 7 p.m.! Fighters, prepare yourselves so that you’re able to fight in peak condition!”

“Of course!” Ikki and Stella shouted together.

Afterword

Hello, everyone. Riku Misora here. Thank you so much for reading through volume 8 of Chivalry of a Failed Knight. Did you enjoy it?

You know, I think Amane-kun’s a surprisingly upright guy. If I had a power like Nameless Glory, you bet I’d just be doing whatever I want with it and enjoying life on easy mode, lol. Though I guess maybe I’d feel kind of nihilistic too if I knew everything I had hadn’t been earned. Like, I was really happy when I first won the GA Bunko prize and made my debut as a professional author, and I probably wouldn’t have felt that joy if a magical power had given me that prize instead.

At any rate, the next volume will be the long-awaited climax of the Seven Stars Battle Festival. Stella and Ikki will finally get their rematch. In a way, their promise has been the driving force for this series, and now they’ll finally get to fulfill it. You can think of the next volume as a culmination of everything that’s happened so far. I’m planning on giving it my all to write the best climax possible, so I hope you’ll stick around for it.

Also, the anime for Chivalry of a Failed Knight has finally started airing! I was present for a lot of the staff meetings where they hashed out the script, and I’m really happy with how things turned out. Did you guys notice how long act one of the first episode was? That was because the director and a lot of the other staff working on the series didn’t want to chop up the first Stella versus Ikki duel into multiple parts, so they extended the first half. It really made me glad to know the staff cares so much about these small things.

I really loved the bit leading into the ending of episode one (which of course played the OP) too. Ikki went for a handshake, but Stella just punched his open palm. Seeing that made it clear to me that the people working on the anime really get the characters. After all, that’s exactly the kind of girl Stella is. I’m truly grateful to have an adaptation made by a team who understands the work on such a deep level. I can’t wait to see how episode two looks.

Moving on to a completely different topic, I visited Taiwan in August. Sharp Point Press, who publishes the Taiwanese translation, invited me to an autograph session there. There was a manga event at one of the Animates, and Sharp Point Press had a booth. Before I went, my editor kept telling me about how hot and humid it was, and how he was dripping with sweat twenty-four seven. But either I must have gone during the perfect time or my editor was exaggerating, because the weather was great, and I was even able to get some writing done.

As for what I thought of Taiwan, the first thing that left an impression on me was how many 7-Elevens there are! It felt like there were even more of them than there are in Japan. When I was driving around, I felt like I saw one every minute. There were a decent amount of Family Marts too. I also saw a lot of Japanese restaurant chains like Yoshinoya. Even restaurants that weren’t Japanese sold a lot of food and snacks that you see in Japan, so I highly recommend it as your first overseas destination if you’re a Japanese person trying to get into traveling. It’s very easy to get by, if nothing else. Though I was there for work, of course.

It was my first overseas autograph session, so I was honestly quite nervous. Thankfully, the editor from Sharp Point was really helpful, and all the fans who came to get books signed were super enthusiastic, so before long, my nervousness melted away. Some people even gave me words of encouragement in Japanese, which was really heartwarming. I’m guessing this afterword will get translated as well, so I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of my Taiwanese readers. I’m truly grateful for all of your encouragement.

By the way, there was just one autograph where I messed up the date. I’ve done hundreds of signatures now, and while I don’t mess up my signature anymore, I guess I still forget the day sometimes... What’s worse was that it was for one of my female fans! There’s so few female fans of Chivalry, and I messed up her autograph! I’m really sorry about that.

Anyway, once the event was done, I was able to actually tour the country. I’d always wanted to check out Taiwan’s famous night market, and I got my chance! Apparently, most people open their shops at night because it’s too hot during the day, and when I went, there were definitely way more places doing business. They weren’t stalls like the kind you’d see at a Japanese festival either; they were just regular shops selling daily goods and clothes and stuff. The night market’s a famous tourist attraction, but ultimately, it’s just a place for locals to buy and sell things to other locals. That’s part of what made it so fun to explore, though.

I also got to try their famous stinky tofu. I’ve read so many manga that featured stinky tofu, and I knew from reading Wakakozake that they sold it there, so I knew I had to try it. When I ordered it, I was expecting something that smelled awful and was impossible to stomach...but it was surprisingly normal? It kind of just tasted like normal fried tofu. In fairness, the whole shop stank to high heaven to begin with, so maybe my sense of smell had just been numbed by the time I ate the tofu. Still, for me, it was no different than eating fried tofu. Though according to the editor who was showing me around, the stinky tofu I ordered was pretty mild, and there’s way stinkier options out there. I can’t wait to try those next time I go.

I got to meet with overseas fans and try stinky tofu, so it was a worthwhile trip all told. Thank you so much, people of Taiwan.

I’d also like to thank Won-san for his godlike illustrations as always. He even dealt perfectly with the irregular schedule we had to work with because the anime was airing.

A big thank you to Soramichi-san for drawing the manga adaptation as well. The manga’s now at the volume 2 climax, with the battle against Kuraudo. The action scenes are drawn really snappily, so I’d highly recommend anyone who hasn’t to go check out the manga!

I’d like to thank everyone who helped work on the anime adaptation too. The editors, Director Onuma-san, and of course, everyone who worked on the script. Thank you all so much for continuing to polish the script right up to the very last second.

A huge thank you to Sakai Mikio-san for singing such a banger opening song. I’ve looped the PV hundreds of times now, lol. And an equally huge thank you to ALI PROJECT for singing such a wonderful ending. You guys captured Stella’s inner world perfectly!

Last but not least, thank you to all of my readers! Without your support, this anime would never have been possible! Really, thank you so much! It’s because of all of you that I got to see Ikki and the others moving around on the big screen. I hope you all like the anime as well.

May we meet again in volume 9. Sayonara!