Chapter - 25

「Okay, the third match has ended! It's finally today's fourth match, and amazing people have entered! Hey, aren't a ton of people watching this match!? Continuing the live coverage is me, Tsukuyomi from the broadcasting club, and in charge of commentary is Nene Saikyou-sensei! Now, let's introduce the contenders! First is the previous year's top-seated new student who appeared in last year's Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival. He achieved the amazing feat of destroying Bunkyoku Academy's third-year representative, who was considered most likely to win the championship, in a crushing match during the first round! Claiming he'll win against any opponent he can beat, he's seized perfect victories in both regular and inter-school fights, earning him the nickname "Hunter"! He's the highest leading challenger for the Sword-Art Festival representative position, second-year contender Shizuya Kirihara!」

Kirihara, who was standing in the ring, raised one hand. In response, high-pitched cheers erupted from the spectator stands.

「As you'd expect of Contender Kirihara's good face and figure, he has extraordinary popularity with the girls!」

「Me, eh, my tastes go toward a little more wild―」

「I'm not listening to Saikyou-sensei's tastes.」

「Izzat so?」

Holding a grudge against Saikyou for escaping and abandoning the job, Tsukuyomi gave Saikyou the cold shoulder as she introduced Kirihara's opponent.

「Now, facing the Hunter is an F-Rank knight! But don't make light of him, because he's no ordinary F-Rank! Just about everyone here already knows that this competitor has somehow won in a mock battle with that A-Rank knight, the "Crimson Princess" Stella Vermillion, as his opponent! Was the strength shown in that recording the real thing!? Or is he, as we thought, just an ordinary "Worst One"!? Now's the time to make this mysterious power clear! It's the first-year contender Ikki Kurogane!」

Ikki lightly saluted the audience.

What an amazing number of people.

Fighting for the first time in front of such an audience was somehow very agitating, and Ikki felt a distance between his body and spirit as if someone else had entered the ring. His awareness was stuck in a white haze, and he couldn't assemble thoughts well. As Ikki stood bewildered, Kirihara addressed him.

"I can't believe you actually came out. Even though you did the smart thing in the past and ran away from my challenge."

"…That's already an old story."

"Really? Well, whatever you say. But now that you're on this stage… have you prepared yourself?"

"We're already standing here. Do you need to ask?"

"Ha, sweet."

After lightly bantering, the two duelists took their stances.

"Come forth, Intetsu."

"Time to hunt, Oborotsuki."

Both parties summoned their Devices. Ikki called a black steel katana to his right hand, and Kirihara took a green bow.

「And now, today's fourth match. Begin!」

The starting signal for the match came. And at the same time, Kirihara's body disappeared from the stage.

「Ooh! It's suddenly out, Area Invisible! Using this, Contender Kirihara can't be seen by the naked eye!」

「What a bothersome ability~. It can't be dealt with except by a wide-range attack.」

「Yes! In the first round of last year's Sword-Art Festival, the third-year from Bunkyoku Academy who fought with Contender Kirihara was the type to specialize in close-range single-hit kills, but because he didn't have a wide-range attack skill, he was defeated easily. Does Contender Kurogane have a wide-range attack!? We're not exaggerating when we say these things, you know!」

The hunter concealed himself in the deep forest, and from cover drew his bow on his prey. Seeing that hunter was already impossible, so there was no one to stop that shot, and from what should be empty air, magic arrows suddenly appeared and drilled into Ikki's back from his blind spot!

That was how it should have worked.

"Over there!"

「Knocked away! Contender Kurogane has used his katana to knock away the unseen enemy's arrow!」

「No, it's not over yet~. Look!」

As Saikyou said, Ikki hadn't just deflected the arrow coming from his blind spot. He immediately spun his body half-way around like a top, and ran in the direction those arrows were flying from.

Kirihara was certainly impossible to see. However, the arrows were different.

The location of the hand sending those arrows can be calculated from where those arrows fly. That's Area Invisible's weakness!

If one carefully determines the arrows' moment of appearance, it was possible to spy out this location. Ikki's strategy against Area Invisible was to calculate the opponent's direction and distance from the force and angle of those arrows.

"Take this!"

Ikki swung Intetsu's blade, aiming at the place where the enemy must be. But the edge scythed down empty air, and from empty air, scraps of a uniform fluttered down gently.

"Ha, so close. Not only deflecting an attack from a blind spot but even guessing my position after I disappeared? That takes real concentration. Is this what they call seeing without sight?"

"It's hardly something that great."

Ikki returned humility to the voice that had become vague in both range and direction. However, unlike his humble words, Ikki was feeling quite confident.

This is good!

Before the match, his concentration had become disarrayed, but the strategy he worked out beforehand for dealing with Area Invisible was working splendidly. He was sure to catch Kirihara next time. Holding that strong spirit, Ikki concentrated in preparation for the second shot.

"Ooh, scary eyes. Making those eyes at a former classmate is pretty cruel, no?"

"It's hardly unreasonable for a match."

"Hmph. In other words, you're trying to beat me?"

"If not, I wouldn't have come here."

"…Haha, hahaha! Indeed it's just like you. I thought repeating the same grade might make you understand your position, but just like before it seems there's no way to fix stupidity. You haven't changed at all, still acting like you did in the past. So, so disagreeably."

Bloodlust filled Kirihara's voice, and Ikki knew it was time to focus on the second shot. Sharpening his concentration to take in all possible angles, he stretched out his perceptions and provoked an attack.

"If you think it's disagreeable, you should nock an arrow into that bow and shoot to kill. I'll brush it away entirely."

He'd use Ittou Shura the moment he perceived the next arrow, before Kirihara could escape. Victory would be decided here!

"Heh… a face with fighting spirit. Surely your sword arm is terrific. That's something even I'd acknowledge. But how sad, it's only so great as far as peasants go. For Blazers, humanity's new chosen breed, battles are all about ability! I wonder if an F-Rank who's not much more than garbage can break my Area Invisible?"

"We won't know unless we try."

"True enough. Then from now on, I'll do this."

In that moment, blood spurted from a hole in Ikki's right thigh.

"―Wha?"

A hot metallic pain raced through Ikki's thigh and stabbed into his brain.

"Guaaah!"

Ikki let out a cry in shock. But astonishment outweighed the pain.

What happened!?

Despite sharpening his concentration and checking possible lines for every attack, how had he just been injured? Holding together his disordered consciousness tightly, Ikki looked down at the hole which had been suddenly opened in his thigh. Where he looked, there was a spray of blood hanging unnaturally in midair, as if the blood was coiling around something transparent. Reaching out with a hand, he grasped something solid there.

"It can't be…."

For Ikki, this was the worst case scenario.

"Exactly. This year, the arrows I shoot can also be hidden. Do you understand? In other words, my attacks can strike invisibly!"

Arisuin frowned as he watched the match from the spectator seats.

"This is bad, isn't it?"

"Yes. Onii-sama marked the arrows' flight, and thought of a way to deal with Kirihara. But… right now, that plan has been ripped apart. If he can't see the arrows, then forget about counterattacking, he can't even defend or evade…."

"As you'd expect from last year's Festival representative, no? What an outrageous ability."

Suddenly, Stella cut into Arisuin's words.

"No!"

"Stella-chan?"

"Area Invisible is certainly such foul play that even I was surprised, but that's not the problem! More than that… Ikki was acting weird beforehand!"

"Onii-sama was acting weird?"

"That's right! After all, why didn't he attack immediately after the match started!? He should know his opponent would disappear! Then wouldn't the instant the match starts be the deciding moment!?"

Hearing that, Shizuku replied in astonishment.

"You, haven't you learned anything from the terrorist matter the other day? Don't you think that carelessly rushing into a Blazer opponent would be suicide? Onii-sama's tactics are based on reading the enemy's tricks and stealing his idiosyncrasies. This was done to you too, wasn't it?"

But Stella shook her head.

"That's not it. Sure, Ikki observes his opponent and carries out a plan to win, but… the enemy this time disappeared, you know? He'd be constantly facing attacks from an invisible enemy. How badly do you think he's being pressured by exhaustion!?"

Shizuku also realized this upon being told. The mental strain from not knowing where the arrow was coming from, the pressure of staying alert continuously, such exhaustion was beyond the norm. For this drawn-out contest, Ikki's usual plan was terrible. Compared to that, seizing the opponent's position with a swift attack at the start looked hasty at a glance, but it was actually the best choice.

"Despite that, why…?"

To Stella who was grinding her teeth, Arisuin answered with the reason Ikki neglected a fast opening attack.

"It's not that he didn't do it. He couldn't do it."

"Difficulty's no reason not to try! Isn't Ikki obviously the sort of knight who won't give up!?"

"It's because he won't give up that Ikki's now giving out."

"No way! That kind of thing is completely…."

Not like him. Stella was going to say it, but her words stopped in her mouth. Did she really believe them?

「I'll definitely win.」

Ikki had been behaving a little bit strangely yesterday. Was he the type to use strong words like "definitely win" before a fight? His duel with her had been different, at least.

「But you know, it won't be clear if we don't fight it out.」

Despite aiming for victory, he understood the dangers of a match quite well. Could it be that Ikki's strong words had only been a frantic attempt to deny the pressure he felt from the possibility of losing?

Arisuin nodded.

"It seems you know what I mean. But don't blame yourself for not noticing, Stella-chan. It's hardly something you'd be responsible for when not even the person himself is aware of it."

"The person himself?"

"Yes, Ikki is too used to being wounded. He can't hear the cries from his own heart. If we consider how he struggled to get into this competition, it's certainly abnormal to struggle that way for as long as he has."

Ikki's hardships in coming here. Thinking of that, Stella lost her words of denial. No one understood him, no one helped him. Being denied opportunities for an utterly outrageous year… no, enduring months and years of the same before that. He believed that a chance would eventually come, but at the same time, that chance would also risk everything he endured. If he lost here, those bitter experiences would all come to nothing. And in that kind of decisive test, he faced a capable opponent who was his natural enemy―

His mind must be strained by a situation like that….

Acting normally was impossible with so many pressures smothering him. They would surely be impossible to bear.

Why didn't I notice that? Even though I'm closest to Ikki…?

Now that it was too late, she was regretting her ignorance. And as Arisuin thought, Ikki's accumulated stress had erupted at the worst time.

"Anyway… now that the arrows are hidden, Ikki's fangs won't reach this Hunter concealed in his deep forest. Both of you should brace yourselves. What starts here won't be a match, but a straightforward hunt."

「…Cruel….」

It was ten minutes after the start of the match, and the voice of Tsukuyomi, who was providing live coverage, was faltering. In the ring, Ikki could just barely raise his sword with bloodsoaked hands. He had been reduced to this after Kirihara's invisible arrows destroyed his strategy. Yet the battle still continued, because while arrows had been driven through every part of his arms and legs, none had pierced his vitals. Was that mercy? No, everyone watching knew that it wasn't. This spectacle showed only a Hunter tormenting prey.

At the excessively lopsided match, Tsukuyomi tried to plea with Saikyou sitting next to her.

"Saikyou-sensei! There's no more meaning to this fight! I'm begging you, please end the match! We can't watch any more of this cruelty!"

But Saikyou didn't respond. Hiding her usually easygoing manner from just a while ago, she was staring at the ring with a dreadfully earnest expression, so Tsukuyomi continued her coverage helplessly.

「…Contender Kurogane admirably knocked away Kirihara's first shot, but from the invisible arrow of the second shot onward, he's been completely unable to react, and the match has proceeded hopelessly. But Contender Kurogane still hasn't surrendered. Maybe he has some kind of plan?」

Ikki laughed bitterly at Tsukuyomi's announcement.

Can't say I do. My strategy was shallow….

If he had thought about it, Kirihara would obviously be different between this year and last, so the opening moment when stealth would be least effective was the point where victory favored him the most. Realizing something so obvious so late, Ikki had become more and more conscious of his own mental strain and cracking composure.

It's just like Alice said, huh?

Thinking back, the dream he saw this morning might've been the cries of his heart that Arisuin mentioned, but Ikki hadn't realized it then. He was too used to acting tough, and this was the pathetic outcome.

…No, I can't be worrying over that right now.

Well then, what was the best option? What should he do from here on? How would he capture this invisible opponent?

"Heh heh heh. Not giving up even this late in the game… it's beyond amazing."

"…Withdrawing over just this much… would be even worse than repeating a year."

"Yes, yes, that's quite like you. Alright, to show a little respect, I'll give you a handicap. I'll tell you the place I'll pierce you next. Try and avoid it. Now, here I go. To start with, the left thigh."

"Gah!"

"What's the matter? Your reaction is slow. There, right shoulder!"

"Guh…!"

"Come on, try to dodge! The next one is your right ear!"

"Uwa!"

"Your movements are slow, Kurogane-kun! Don't you have some motivation? Put more spirit into it and run around! Here, left shoulder! Right thigh, right palm, calf, right knee, small intestine, stomach! Liver! Kidney! Large intestine! You'll die, you'll die! If you don't dodge well, you're as good as dead!"

"Guaaaaaaah!"

Ikki's knees finally collapsed as Kirihara's arrows started to fly at the internal organs in his torso.

"Hehehe, ahahahaha! So disgraceful and dirty! You have a miserable face on, don't you Kurogane-kun? Now now, keep fighting, keep fighting with a smile. You should have a reason to keep fighting, isn't that right? After all, Kurogane-kun, you're in this match because you want to graduate."

「Eh…?」

To Kirihara's unexpected words, the spectators felt their breaths seizing in their throats.

「H-Hey, what is he saying about graduating?」

「They said that not joining the selection battles doesn't impact grades, right?」

「Wait a second! I declined because there's no penalty for….」

"Ah, sorry, sorry everyone. It looks like there's a little misunderstanding. Calm down. The only one who wants to graduate is this guy. The F-Rank knight here, Ikki Kurogane-kun, has ability so low-grade and ordinary, it seems he can't graduate. Because of that, the new board chairman created an exception that if he takes the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival's championship, and becomes the Seven Stars Sword King, he'll be allowed to graduate."

That truth was announced to the spectators. Their commotion suddenly stopped, and―

"…Bu-AHAHA HAHA HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Laughter that ebbed and flowed like the tide exploded from nearly every spectator in unison, and filled the fourth training arena.

「He'll graduate by becoming the Seven Stars Sword King!? Hey hey, you're not serious!」

「There's no way such a thing's possible for an F-Rank! The new chairman has gotta be kidding!」

「Pff, and that idiot accepted that promise!?」

「Hahaha, forgetting his place and coming all the way here is pitiful, ain't it!?」

「There's no way some guy getting wiped out at the first fight can become the Sword King, right!? Hahahahahaha!」

The Seven Stars Sword King was the summit for all student knights in Japan. Among the past generations of Kings, almost all of them were B-Rank, with the remainders being C- and an extreme minority of A-Rank knights. An F-Rank, a below-average failing student crawling in the dirt, could not possibly take that summit. By common sense, it could only be a joke.

But there were people who raised their voices to oppose the resounding scorn. They were Ikki's classmates.

「That's not true! Kurogane-san really is amazing!」

「That's right! We've seen it! We've seen Kurogane-san defeat five people wielding Devices with his bare hands!」

「More than anything, didn't Kurogane-kun win against Vermillion-san who's an A-Rank knight? An A-Rank that rarely shows up even among the Seven Stars Sword Kings? And he has real ability that he can win with!」

「I~diots. Don't you know? That recording was determined to be just some questionable thing from the Net.」

「You guys are the idiots. How can a princess participate in something questionable? It'd be impossible, if you think about it.」

「What the hell do you know? Did you know your F-Rank is a son of the Kurogane house, that wealthy and world-renowned mage-knight lineage?」

「That's right, that's right. That Kurogane family sent money to the poor Vermillion Empire and arranged a fixed match to support their kid. It's probably to distinguish him by having him win against a rumored prodigy.」

「Wha… that can't be!」

「If you say it can't be, then an F-Rank winning against an A-Rank is even less likely. We don't know why she's supporting that guy, but shouldn't you guys put some common sense into your heads?」

To that argument, the classmates supporting Ikki gulped down their words, leaving the arena filled with nothing but jeers.

「Someone who buys a win with his parents' influence, becoming the Seven Stars Sword King? Don't make me laugh, idiot!」

「You're garbage, a disgrace to us knights!」

「Aren't you reaching beyond your ability despite being an F-Rank!? You fraud!」

The Kurogane household fixing a match to support their own son? It was a lie based on unfounded rumor, probably the irresponsible fantasy of somebody on an anonymous online forum, tossed into the public consciousness where it had spread widely. There was no way the Kurogane house that continuously tormented Ikki would do such a thing, and even as a joke it was also preposterous at best that the Vermillion Empire's royalty would take a bribe from what was nothing more than a single knight family.

However, that fantasy had been taken as truth here, because it was comfortable. The majority of student knights were E- and D-Rank, envious people who constantly look up to those called 'prodigies' existing above them. To such E- and D-Ranks, the ones labeled F-Rank were few in number and lower than themselves, people safe to look down upon and abuse. They needed inferiors who they can surpass, who would call them geniuses and consider them blessed. Because they were resigned to never achieve feats like beating an A-Rank, they had little to feel good about, so they took a convenient fantasy as the truth and raised their voices in insults.

To those words, Ikki ground his teeth.

It's frustrating, huh….

Ikki didn't particularly want other people's evaluations, didn't particularly want anybody's approval. He wasn't concerned about who's going on about what at this point. But… it pained him that bad things were even being said about Stella, so of course his own worthlessness was irritating him.

"Oh, oh, it seems you're being thoroughly gossiped over. But what can we do? Everyone saw you dreaming beyond your means, and it made them angry."

Kirihara rubbed the insults in relentlessly, while Ikki hung his head and rested on his knees.

"How about I have you accept facts already? A small fry with something like body strengthening as his ability, continuing to fight in this place? Because of my Area Invisible, you don't have arms or legs left to use. This is reality, you know? A person's status is decided from birth. In the end, there's no truth to ideas like great effort coming before talent. No matter how bravely you act, it just looks ugly. Hey, doesn't everyone think so too!?"

「It's just as Kirihara-kun says!」

「You're really unsightly! Isn't it like Shizuya-kun's completely bullying you!?」

「Concede instead of relying on nepotism, you bastard!」

「You're brazen even though you're just a drop-out! How long will you show us this ugliness!」

The spectators moved together under Kirihara's direction, their voices becoming a heavy pressure that struck Ikki. The pain that reverberated in his creaking body brought Ikki's sense of powerlessness home to him.

Ugly, huh?

Indeed, it might look that way. Right now, he had no effective strategy against Area Invisible, a stealth that concealed sound, indication, odor, and shape. He couldn't even tell if an attack was coming until it was too late. What should he do against such an opponent? He hadn't the slightest idea, and at this point he was still upright only because of willpower. His will to not surrender was strained to its limit. If he gave in, the black mark of being defeated in a selection battle would be irremovable, but wasn't that still better than this bitterness? In the moment that Ikki's heart turned in a vulnerable direction―

"SHUT THE HELL UUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPP!!!"

A scream swept over the jeers like a tsunami, and everyone turned toward the direction of that sound. There―

…Stella.

―the Crimson Princess stood, with scarlet pupils burning in outrage and a shower of embers swirling about her figure.