Rakudai Kishi no Eiyuutan - a chinese web novel
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| Rakudai Kishi no Eiyuutan |
Original Name
《落第騎士の英雄譚》 BY 海空 りくSynopsis
In a time and place where one’s soul can be morphed into a weapon, there are modern-day magicians called Mage-Knights. Although Kurogane Ikki is a student at an institution that trains Mage-Knights, he has no particular talent in magic and is labeled the “Failure Knight” or “Worst One.” Getting way less than average marks in the scorings, he was forced to repeat a year. But with the arrival of a new head of the institution, a new rule was created: knights whose abilities are compatible, as decided by the board, must share rooms and attend practice and training together throughout their school years to bring up their abilities to the max. It is a rule to implement the absolute verdict of ability.>>Go to the chapter list of Rakudai Kishi no Eiyuutan to read more!
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Chapter 1: Blazers
They were irregular people, found one-in-a-thousand, who could each materialize his or her soul as a weapon called a Device.In ages past, they were called magicians and witches. The strongest among them could shape the flow of time using abilities that science didn't explain, and even the weakest were extraordinary. Though they were human, they possessed a supernatural power that surpassed human limits, a power unattainable by the common man through training or technology.
Nowadays, national militaries and even local police forces required Blazers. Yet great power brought responsibility befitting its status. One expression of such responsibility was the mage-knight system, the arrangement where Blazers must graduate from an internationally approved vocational school to receive license and social status as mage-knights―in other words, approval to use their abilities.
Hagun Academy was one of seven mage-knight academies in Japan, a school said to span more than ten times the area of Tokyo Dome[1]. Here, young Blazers spent day after day diligently polishing their skills as student knights.
And in Hagun Academy, Ikki Kurogane―accused of molestation and caught red-handed by dormitory guards―was brought to the board chairman's office. There, a beautiful woman in a suit was sitting on a sofa and smoking a cigarette. Kurono Shinguuji, the new chairman of Hagun, had finished hearing Ikki's explanation on the chain of events, and she replied in a tired voice.
"I see, so you were trying to atone for the accident of seeing her half-naked by stripping yourself. Are you a moron?"
"I thought it was an equitable, gentlemanly idea."
"You were definitely some sort of gentleman."
"No, I wasn't trying to be a lewd gentleman. ...Well, now that I think about it, I guess I did suddenly go on a rampage."
"Hah. In other words, after seeing her charmingly naked body, you lost control and took off your clothes without thinking?"
"...It might be how things happened, but could you please not phrase it like that? Aren't you making me sound like a really dangerous guy?"
"Even if you say so, Kurogane, try to imagine that scene after putting yourself in her shoes. In a dormitory with hardly any people because of spring break, you're suddenly interrupted by an unknown boy while changing clothes, and then he throws his clothes off too. How might you see him?"
"Like a really dangerous guy...."
After reexamining things from the girl's perspective like Kurono suggested, Ikki shivered.
"...Haa. I certainly did something unforgivable on Stella-san's first day of studying abroad. I really hope she won't start hating Japan because of this."
"What, you know about Vermillion?"
"I was too startled to recognize the face when I ran into her, but I remembered just a while ago."
Her name was Stella Vermillion, and she was a princess of the Vermillion Empire, a small European nation. It was big news in the media that she was studying abroad in Japan. 『A prodigy said to appear only once in a decade! Stella Vermillion-sama (15), the second imperial princess of the Vermillion Empire, enrolls at Hagun Academy after getting record marks!』 Ikki still recalled that article vividly.
"A real princess, and on top of that she enrolled as a student. She's amazing, isn't she?"
"She became number one by a wide margin too, far exceeding the average score for all the categories, and her aura capacity, a Blazer's most important trait, is about thirty times that of a regular incoming student. A monstrous A-Rank Blazer.... Compared to a certain F-Rank who's repeating a year because his attribute scores were too low, there sure is a difference. Don't you agree, 'Worst One'?"
"Leave me alone."
He protested Kurono's sarcasm with a frown, but didn't deny it. He couldn't deny it. After all, Ikki Kurogane only had one tenth the average aura capacity.
"But it's become a real hassle. I invited the girl to Japan despite all the formalities involved in enrolling her here, and something like this happened on her first day. If the matter's not handled well, it could turn into an international incident. So even though you're not at fault, I'll still have you take responsibility. It might feel unreasonable, but take it like a man."
"...I wonder why 'be a man' gets used only in this sort of situation."
Ikki sighed, and at that moment―
"Excuse me."
The door of the chairman's room opened, and the person being discussed, Stella Vermillion, entered.
Unlike before, she was properly dressed in a tasteful dark vest and skirt. The school uniform for Hagun Academy suited her quite well because it brought out the red of her fire-like hair. But what drew Ikki's eyes was her chest. That huge area, adorned by a ribbon, emitted a strong presence that instantly reminded Ikki of her half-naked figure... but his breath stopped after seeing the girl's expression. She had probably been crying. The skin under her eyes swelled with resentment.
"Sorry."
That was why an apology came from his mouth. Men shouldn't make women cry. Even if it wasn't his fault, the terror she felt in that moment had been real.
"What happened was an unfortunate accident and I wasn't trying to peep on you. But I saw what I saw, so that's why I'll take responsibility as a man. Bake me or grill me, you can do whatever you like."
"...How resolute. Is this what they call the spirit of a samurai?"
"More like the spirit of a poor speaker."
Ikki showed a rueful smile to Stella, who seemed to understand his remorse. She also softened her expression and returned a thin smile.
"Haha.... Honestly, meeting a molester right after arriving in Japan made me start to think that this was the lowest kind of place. I might've turned this into a diplomatic uproar, but I've calmed down a bit thanks to you. Because you've shown me such strong spirit, it wouldn't do for me not to respond equanimously as a member of an imperial family."
The hostility from when she first entered the room disappeared. After seeing that favorable expression, Ikki also lightened his demeanor. He had thought an imperial princess would be moody and hard to please, but now she seemed like someone who'd accept a proper conversation.
"Ikki, in deference to your gallantry―I'll forgive this matter if you perform harakiri."
...But in reality, it was only true in his head.
"No, please wait a minute! Isn't harakiri too harsh a punishment even for a major crime!?"
"Well, wouldn't capital punishment be expected after assaulting a princess? Seriously, you should be tied to a log and stoned to death by all the nation's citizens. It's quite a privilege that I'm letting you off this way instead."
"Stoning is better suited to making steak tartare than to punishment, isn't it?"
"Just letting you die with honor is a great indulgence, a bloody sacrifice on my part."
"I'm the one who ends up bleeding!"
"Hahaha. Kurogane, you give such clever responses."
"No, please stop laughing. As an educator you should keep the school from hosting an execution!"
"Kurogane, we can purchase peace between Japan and the Vermillion Empire just by offering you up. Don't you think it's a very good deal?"
"How can a deal be good if it costs human life!?"
From Ikki's perspective, someone was getting ripped off here.
"H-Hey, Stella-san, can't you think of another way to settle this?"
"What are you so dissatisfied about? Isn't harakiri considered honorable for Japanese men?"
"No, I was born in Heisei[2]! And I don't have any connections with samurai! And I crossed over to the hip-hop side long ago, yo!"
"Ha, that persona sounds really fake."
"If you don't feel like stopping this then please stay quiet!"
Ikki cried out at Kurono's interruption, but Stella's expression darkened again at Ikki's resistance.
"What's with you!? Didn't you just say that I could do whatever I wanted, whether it was to bake you or grill you!? If you're a man then stick to your word!"
"N-No, that was just a quirky Japanese expression. I didn't know you were really planning on baking and grilling me!"
"Kurogane, you're full of excuses and evasions, aren't you? Remind me, what was it you said about taking responsibility as a man?"
Noisy chairman! His life was more important!
"...I-In any case, just because I saw you in your underwear, you can't make me pay with my life!"
"J-Just, you said!? I... I can't believe it! I can't believe it, you pervert! Is that what you said after despoiling the body of an unmarried princess!? Even my father has never seen it!"
Flames of anger ignited in Stella's eyes at Ikki's careless words. No... it wasn't just her eyes burning. The air around Stella was starting to release scorching heat and light.
Come to think of it, the newspaper wrote something about her ability―
"Unforgivable! I'll personally turn a perverted, molesting, insolent commoner like you to cinders! Serve me, Lævateinn[3]!"
An aurora shined forth to create a zone of heat in the chairman's room, and a long sword clad in flames appeared in Stella's hand. It was a Device made from a Blazer's soul.
Holy Sword―Cursed Tool―
Blessed Tool―
Passed down through legends with various forms and shapes, a Device was a magic staff. By using that tool as a medium, a Blazer could use her abilities, her Noble Arts.
And the Crimson Princess's ability produced incandescent flames that burn any target to nothing―!
"Prepare yourself, you degenerate! I'll erase you from this world without leaving a speck behind!"
"A-Are you serious!?"
"Excuses are useless―!"
The sword of flame swung downwards. Facing that, Ikki also took a defensive stance.
"Come forth, Intetsu[4]!"
It was a Japanese long sword made of raven-black steel. The F-Rank Knight, Ikki Kurogane, used his Device Intetsu to block Stella's downward swing.
But―
"A flimsy defense!"
"Hot!"
"Of course it's hot! My Lævateinn, clad in the flames of my Noble Art Dragon Breath[5], goes up to three thousand degrees centigrade! Even if you block, I can burn my enemies with the might of the dragon empress alone!"
"What a ridiculous ability...!"
Feeling vexed from being so close, Ikki used all his strength to put some distance between them. But―
"Ha, hahaha.... stupid boy. There's no way I'd let you escape in a small room like this. I'll disintegrate you soon enough, and with that I'll erase the villain who ruined my purity before marriage!"
"Wait, wait! Please calm down a little! You call it 'ruined', but I haven't actually done anything that scandalous, right!?"
"Liar! Even though you were ravishing my bare body with i-i-indecent eyes!"
"Certainly, I was staring, but that was... that was, erm... that wasn't because I was thinking lecherous things! It's just, how do I say this―I was mesmerized because you were so beautiful!"
"Fueh!?"
In an instant, Stella's boiling-mad face blushed far redder. Ikki thought that he had needlessly angered her more, and he started to sweat, but―
"W-W-What are you s-saying, idiot! C-Calling an unmarried maiden b-beautiful. Th-This is exactly why commoners with no delicacy are so...!"
Lævateinn suddenly lost its raging flames and dimmed to small flickering sparks. The girl who was filled with so much enmity just a moment ago now started to fidget, looking uncomfortable but also a little happy. When he examined her face, her brow that had been standing up now hung down powerlessly, and her eyes were moist from bewilderment. She seemed to be embarrassed.
That's surprising. I thought someone as beautiful as Stella-san would be used to praise.
Anyhow, Stella's fervor collapsing was a good opportunity. Taking the initiative, he tried to calm Stella down.
"Setting that aside, this happened in the first place because you mistook your room and started changing clothes in mine, so please spare me from committing harakiri."
But at Ikki's argument, Stella's face went grim once more.
"What kind of irrational justification is that!? You were the one who entered my room of your own accord! I opened that room with the key I received properly from Madam Chairman, so it couldn't have been my mistake!"
"...Eh?"
Wait a minute. Now that he thought about it, Ikki had definitely locked his room before he went out. Even if Stella made a mistake, there was no way she could enter, but she had been inside. Why?
Stella uttered the reason just now. Kurono had given her a key.
"What's the meaning of this, Chairman?"
"Ha, hahahaha...."
"...Madam Chairman?"
When both of them looked at her in unison, Kurono started laughing as if she couldn't hold it anymore―
"Heh, no, sorry about that. This turned into something so interesting that I felt a little impish. Well, you don't have to ask, because it's exactly how it sounds. Hagun Academy's dormitories place two people per room. Kurogane should already know that. In other words, neither one of you mistook your rooms. Simply put... you two are roommates."
―and she said something incredible.
"EEEEEEEEEHHH!?"
Part 2"...What do you mean, Madam Chairman? M-Me, roommates with this pervert!?"
"That's exactly what I mean, Stella Vermillion. Is there a problem?"
"A huge one!"
Ikki frowned.
"I agree. Hagun Academy's dorms certainly do put two people in each room, but I've never heard of a boy and a girl sharing."
"That's been true up through last year, before I became chair of the board of directors. Kurogane, didn't I already tell you about my policy?"
"...To enforce a doctrine of pure merit, based completely on actual combat performance... wasn't it?"
"Right. Unlike the other six knight academies, Hagun produced no notable assets in the past year. We're on a losing streak even in the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival, which the seven schools sponsor each year to select the strongest student knight. I was called by the board to reorganize this place, and that room assignment is the first step. It's not about how many people or what their genders are. I'm putting fellow knights with similar strengths together in the same room. After all, when equal fighters draw near one another, competition naturally sparks between them. This room assignment is a scheme to invoke that competition intentionally."
Kurono haughtily revealed her plans as if to say, "Isn't it great?" Ikki had an issue with that explanation, though.
"Then isn't what you're doing even weirder? Among the incoming students, isn't Stella-san number one by a large margin? Why would she be in the same room as me, the worst student who's even repeating a year?"
"Re-Repeating? You, you're repeating the same grade level?"
"It's embarrassing, but my overall rank is F."
"F.... Me and an F-Rank, calling us knights of similar strength! Wh-What do you mean by this!?"
"Haha, well... how do I say this. You guys are a special case. Frankly speaking, there's nobody as excellent as Vermillion, and nobody as deficient as Kurogane. In other words, you're both leftover students with no suitable partner, so I could only pair the two of you. Do you understand now?"
"Who could understand that!?"
*Bam!* Stella struck the chairman's office table with one palm and continued to protest.
"I-In the first place, it's absurd for boys and girls like us to share a room when we're the same age! What will you do if some mistake happened!?"
"Oh, Vermillion thinks that when boys and girls of the same age live together, a mistake will happen? I'd love to hear about it~"
"Th-That's... erm... uuu...."
Sympathizing with Stella who was already teary-eyed from shame, Ikki also protested to Kurono.
"Why are you playing like a drunken old man?"
Kurono just smiled as if she was joking, but didn't change her mind.
"At any rate, this decision has already been made. There are also boy-girl pairs besides you two, but you don't have to consider that to make your choice. Vermillion, I won't give you special treatment just because you're a princess. If you don't like this arrangement, all you have to do is drop out of school, you know?"
Drop out of school. Stella was visibly startled by that phrase. She had deliberately crossed continents and come to Japan for studying abroad, and while Ikki didn't know her goals or intentions for doing so, she definitely shouldn't be willing to drop out.
In the end, even Stella couldn't help but fold.
"...I understand."
Ikki looked at Stella's defeated face.
"Are you okay with it?"
"I-I don't really have a choice if that's the school policy, do I?"
Stella replied in a discouraged tone, then raised three fingers.
"But for us to live together, I'll have you follow three conditions!"
Ikki was also unsure about this new school system, so he had no obligation to heed her demands... but since he was a boy and one year her senior, he thought he'd cooperate at least this much.
"If they're not anything ridiculous like top academic marks, high income, or growing taller, then I can make the effort."
"I don't want those sorts of things. Even you can fulfill my conditions quite easily."
She had three.
"Don't speak to me, don't open your eyes, and don't breathe."
"If he did that, Kurogane would probably die, right?"
But Stella ignored Kurono's comment.
"If you can follow these three rules then I'm fine with you living in front of the room!"
"And in the end I'm still chased out!?"
"What, you can't do it?"
"I can't follow such messed up conditions! Won't you let me breathe at least!?"
"No way! You'll probably try to sniff me using that as an excuse, you pervert!"
"I'll breathe with my mouth! That way I can't smell you―"
"No good! You'll probably try to taste the air I exhale with your tongue, you pervert!"
"I'm not gonna do that! I don't have a princess's creativity!"
"Then drop out of school! If you do, I can live in the room alone!"
"That's so one-sided!"
Kurono, who had just been spectating, arrived at a solution.
"What a pain. At this rate, the argument won't end no matter how much you argue. Then let's do this. You two have a mock battle, and the winner gets to decide the rules. As knights who clear their destined path with their own blade, you should have no objections, right?"
In other words, the two would fight a straightforward mock battle, and whoever won would have his or her way―a very simple solution. It was common practice for knights to settle disputes among themselves.
"Yeah, that seems fair, right? Then let's do that, Stella-san."
Ikki quickly approved, and Stella also consented, but―
"W-Wha!?"
―but Stella turned her eyes toward him, and her voice flipped in tone.
"Eh? You still don't like it?"
"N-No, it's not about like or dislike.... Y-You... do you understand what you're saying?"
"...Did I say something strange?"
"An F-Rank! A 'Failed Knight' who can't even pass grade levels in school! There's no way you can win against an A-Rank knight like me, right!?"
Ikki understood what Stella was trying to say. Indeed, if a failure like him―who couldn't even satisfy the school's advancement criteria―were to say "Let's settle it with a mock battle" to an authentic, promising, once-in-a-decade prodigy, such a challenge would step far past mere recklessness.
But... Ikki smiled.
"But you know, it won't be clear if we don't fight it out."
Stella wasn't willing to concede, and Ikki couldn't drop out either. He also had his reasons for becoming a mage-knight. Since that was the case, this obstacle probably couldn't be resolved no matter how much they discussed it, which left no choice but to try something else.
That was why Ikki told Stella that they should fight. At those words... Stella snapped.
"Nmounyaa~! I can't hold it back anymore~! This commoner! Not only did he commit the crime of peeking and exposing himself to a princess like me, but this Failed Knight said he could win against me too! I... I haven't been disgraced like this even once in my life! What kind of wretched country is this!?"
Stella faced Ikki with murderous eyes and made her declaration.
"Okay, I get it. I understand. I'll have a fight with you. But after making such a fool out of me, you won't get away with just betting the right to make rules for living together! Whoever loses will submit to the winner for life, becoming a slave that obeys his master's demands like a dog no matter how humiliating they are! How's that!?"
"E-Eeeehh? Th-That's, isn't that going a bit far...."
"Losing your nerve is useless at this point. If you want to curse something, curse your thoughtlessness that made me so serious. This is no longer a mock battle, but a duel!"
"Sounds pretty heavy. Since you're doing it, use training arena three. I'll submit the authorization."
"C-Chairman! Please don't wrap this up for your own convenience!"
But Ikki's protest arrived too late, and Stella gave a "Prepare yourself! Hmph!" before stalking out of the room, leaving him behind. She was probably heading towards the third arena already.
"...Haa. It turned into something dreadful, didn't it? This kind of thing is really troublesome, Chairman...."
"Ha ha ha. You really don't want to become a slave?"
"Of course not. Win or lose, I don't want to do either one."
"Win or lose, you say.... You just saw that girl's power, didn't you? A red scorching flame is waiting when you approach, a threat to her opponents just by being there. Not many people in the world have abilities so focused on violence, and none of her public reviews are fabrications either. But even after seeing that, you still intend to win? ...What an interesting man."
"She's someone I'll fight eventually. You should know that best, since you were the one who said, 'If you become champion in the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival, I'll let you graduate even with bad attribute scores.' Stella-san will definitely appear in the Festival. It's just a question of facing her sooner or later."
"Then there's no need to hesitate, right? If you win and set the terms you want, you can toss out the talk about being a slave. Settle everything that way."
Slapping Ikki's shoulder with a *pah!*, Kurono also exited the office. Ikki, who was left in the room, let out another of who knows how many sighs that day.
Well, certainly... all I have to do is win.
Of course, he knew it would be hard. His opponent was strong among the most strong, formidable among the most formidable. Ikki understood that, despite witnessing her strength for only a moment. Stella's talent was overwhelming. Her power acted in concert with her emotions, an overwhelming aura that leaked out even without her noticing, and Ikki's magic was nonexistent in comparison, like an ant facing an elephant. There was no need to guess what the outcome would be; even putting them on the same scale would be outrageous. And yet....
No matter how hopeless the situation may be, a fight I can neither lose nor avoid will surely come.
He had resolved himself long ago. On the day he saw that man's smile, he had decided he would walk this path.
"So I have to do this, right?"
Muttering that, Ikki also left the board chairman's office. To head to the stage of his duel, to shape his own destiny with the blade of his soul.
Part 3Mage-knights bolstered their country's battle strength, and they naturally sought combat skill. Such skill was needed not just for warfare, but also to oppose terrorist groups and criminal syndicates that abused Blazer powers. For mage-knight training, a number of dome-shaped arenas dotted the Hagun Academy campus. The interior of each dome included a space for combat with a roughly hundred-meter diameter, with audience seats built on a bowl shape around that space.
In the third training arena, Ikki Kurogane and Stella Vermillion stood twenty meters apart with Kurono Shinguuji waiting between them as referee. Above them, twenty or so second- and third-year students who had been training, and many visitors who had heard about a mock battle being suddenly declared in the middle of spring break, fixed their gazes on the field. They were all staring at the supernova who had entered the academy with great fanfare, Stella Vermillion.
「So that girl's the Vermillion's 'Crimson Princess'?」
「A really beautiful girl, huh?」
「Such pretty hair.... It's so wonderful, as if it's actually burning....」
「But who's her opponent?」
「...Wait, isn't that Kurogane, the guy repeating the first year?」
「A repeater? Why's she fighting someone like that? Isn't Stella-san supposed to be an A-Rank prodigy?」
「Dunno... hey, aren't there any second-years who shared classes with him? I wanna know what kind of knight he was.」
「I was in the same class, but because that guy didn't even meet the minimum requirements for combat practice, I haven't really seen him in action before.」
「Forget about advancing years... not rated high enough to even practice? Isn't that just too lame?」
「What the heck, that's boring. Won't the princess kill him instantly?」
Stella laughed sourly as gossip floated down from the audience.
"The more I hear, the more useless you sound. Shouldn't you just stop trying to become a mage-knight and live as a regular citizen?"
"Well, maybe I should, but I won't be sure if I don't fight for it."
"Don't you get it? You'll become my slave if you lose, you know."
"Of course I get it, but that's if I lose. It's fine if I win."
"...Even now, you still intend to beat me?"
"That's why I made the effort to come here."
Ikki returned a troubled but warm smile to Stella's stinging words, but he didn't step back from his starting position. He was already prepared to do this. That, for some reason, greatly irritated Stella.
Effort... was it?
「If I work hard then I can beat talent.」
Stella hated ordinary people who thought like that. Whenever they lose to someone like her, they say,
「I worked hard but still couldn't beat talent.」
As if they were the only ones who put in effort.
As if... I win only by my talent.
It made her angry. Stella hadn't been this strong right from the start. No, she was quite the opposite back then. During her childhood, she didn't have the aptitude needed to even aspire to knighthood. She couldn't control her overwhelming power, and sometimes she even burned her own body. Her father and mother, and everyone around her, thought that she'd never become a knight.
But even so... Stella didn't give up. She knew she had potential. A strong Blazer was crucial for a small state like Vermillion, and just like Samurai Ryouma who led this modest land of the Far East to victory in the Second World War, a strong enough mage-knight empowered his country to negotiate with larger nations as an equal. If she could learn to handle that power, it would become a vital asset for protecting the people of her kingdom, so Stella didn't give up. She continued training no matter how much everyone around her objected. And after three long years, she mastered the Dragon Breath. She was critically injured several times in the process, but even so, she became who she was now by great effort.
That's why I can't stand being dismissed with cheap words like talent or prodigy!
"Now then, we'll start the mock battle. Both sides, materialize your Device in illusionary form."
"Come forth, Intetsu."
"Serve me, Lævateinn."
Stella summoned Lævateinn, the sword shaped from her soul, into a form that deals no physical damage to humans but cleaves away physical stamina and strength directly. And she vowed to the boy in front of her―she'd crush him.
Talent can't be defeated. A prodigy is special.
To erase such self-deception, she'd crush him utterly.
"Alright. Well then, LET'S GET STARTED!"
And so, the fight between a prodigy knight and a failed knight began.
Part 4"Haaaaa!"
The match started, and Stella instantly dashed toward Ikki, swinging down her sword now covered in red flames. The swing might've looked crude to unlearned observers, but it was a precise and powerful strike.
Yet a wide swing was just a wide swing. Ikki saw through her movement and raised Intetsu to receive it―but he immediately aborted that action and took a sudden step back. An instant later, Lævateinn struck the arena floor violently and the entire space shook like an earthquake.
"Wise choice. If you received that blow, it wouldn't have ended with just a few scratches."
"What an outrageous attack. So you weren't being serious in the chairman's office?"
"That's right. If I became serious in such a place, the entire school building would be destroyed."
Grinning broadly, Stella immediately took pursuit, and Ikki drew another step back to widen the distance. If he tried to stop such a swing head on, his arm would be crushed. Stella's weapon was a long sword, a heavy weapon, and it was common sense when facing heavy weapons that he'd have an advantage in retreating speed.
But common sense couldn't apply to a monstrous opponent like Stella.
"Slow. Too slow!"
"Wha―"
*Whoosh!* The wind roared, and Stella immediately caught up to him.
"Did you think you could beat me when it comes to speed? Too bad, but magic isn't limited to offense alone. I can increase my mobility several times over by concentrating magic at the bottom of my feet and releasing it in a burst. And my aura capacity is thirty times greater than a normal Blazer, so it won't become spent keeping up with the likes of you. In other words, you can't beat me in either power or speed!"
If Ikki were to compare her with something, then "ultra-high mobility heavy tank with infinite fuel" would be appropriate. Ikki laughed bitterly at that kind of unfair ability, whose owner was now charging right at him.
So this is an A-Rank, huh?
Even the past generations of Sword-Art Festival winners, the Seven Stars Sword Kings, were mostly B- or C-Ranks. They were the ideal Ikki aimed for, but an A-Rank couldn't be limited to a student knight's ideals. The A-Rank knights up through the modern day have all, without exception, been great heroes who carved their names onto history.
An outstanding talent that appeared only once a decade―the public view was wholly accurate. Towards Ikki, who had just been made aware of that fact, the Crimson Princess brandished her blazing sword and swung it in an inescapable strike that could cleave the ground itself.
Now that he couldn't dodge her strikes anymore, Ikki also responded with his weapon. The swordfight had begun, and clear sounds of clashing metal resounded like music in the ears of the arena's spectators.
「Oooooh...!」
Their cheers rose as they watched the figure creating Lævateinn's burning arcs.
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