Chapter - 1
Lorelei VS Raikiri.
Both of them were the strongest student class B-rank knights.
The contest between two of the most powerful figures in Hagun welcomed an unexpected start.
「Wh, what is going on-? Both of them refuse to step forward!」
The kodachi named
The Japanese sword
They both circled around the ring, keeping their distance the same, while holding their devices.
Even though an entire minute has passed since the match started, they still had not clashed their swords even once.
---The ground was covered in tension to the point of being painful.
The audience, who had come to watch a high quality fight, held their breaths without any exceptions and watched the ring.
"Neither of the two are trying to make the first move."
The fiery red haired girl, standing beside Ikki, called Stella Vermillion muttered in a stiff voice.
"They're checking each other's moves out while glaring from a distance."
It was the tall beauty, Arisuin Nagi who answered to Stella's mutter.
"Both of them are B-rank knights possessing the power of a Seven Star Sword King. That student council president and of course Shizuku, too, have the means to attack from one end of the ring to the other. Both of them are within each other's attack range. The one to make a careless move will be defeated."
"To add one more thing to what Alice said, Shizuku doesn't want to be the one to make the first move because Toudou-san has the strongest cross range weapon."
"…Ikki, is that the trump card the commentator talked about?"
"Yes, it is neither exaggeration nor a lie. It's the noble art that became Toudou-san's epithet because of its immense strength and awe striking nature. To elaborate, it is the ultra-electromagnetic battoujutsu
She creates a powerful magnetic field with her thunder ability around the blade and scabbard of
The strike of that battō has the tremendous power and speed to even cut through a lightning bolt.
That's no longer a strike that could be parried with the body of a human.
Thus it's a certain kill technique.
"Every single official match where she used
"Huh, but Ikki, wasn't she in the best four last year? Then, wouldn't it mean the knight who defeated her surpassed it?"
"No."
Ikki denied, swinging his head.
"The current Seven Star Sword King, Moroboshi- kun is a spear user. I saw a video of the match, he was doing his best, throughout the match, to stay out of
"…That's why, she doesn't make a move."
"Yes, Shizuku will be on defense throughout this match. Though, originally, Shizuku specializes in long range magic battles. There is no one who will step into a disadvantageous distance by their own will."
That's why, Shizuku was going to wait.
For the moment when her opponent will attack.
Within the frozen time.
"But… once Toudou-san makes a move things will develop quickly."
At the exact moment Ikki said that―Touka moved!
Part 2[]
Swiftly bending her knees, she leaned forward, and leaped.
Within an instant she reached top speed.
Their distance was twenty meters.
Touka could cover that distance within a blink of an eye.
But the "Witch of the Deep Sea" wasn't someone who would easily allow that!
It was obvious because she had been waiting.
For the moment when Touka would move with all of her strength!
"Freeze―Toudo Heigen!"
Along with those words, Shizuku's footing froze.
That ice froze the entirety of the ring and extended to the walls faster than Touka.
And what would happen if one were to run with all their might on such a foothold?
Of course, they'll slip.
Thus Touka would have to temporarily decrease her speed.
But, to force her in that situation was Shizuku's plan.
Shizuku immediately made her next move.
Noble art "Water Bullet".
A water cannonball, which could take away the enemy's breath by clinging to his/her face once it touches it (them), was shot from "Yoishigure"'s tip.
Three consecutive shots. It was impossible to dodge those three shots on this frozen plain. That was common sense.
However, her opponent was a monster who lived in the immediate vicinity of Seven Stars' summit.
To her surprise, Touka didn't decrease her speed on the frozen ground.
She saw through Shizuku's plan to slow her down in an instant.
Thus, rather than stopping she further accelerated by sliding on the floor.
She slipped through the space of the three cannonballs like sewing through them, and skillfully dodged "Water Bullet".
And, while spinning around like a top by using the frozen floor, she released "Narukami", which was on her waist, aiming at Shizuku who was still far away.
Instantly, from the drawn blade a crescent shaped lightning slash was released towards Shizuku's neck.
After seeing through Shizuku's plan, she immediately performed a long range counter after dodging her attacks.
Touka was visualizing her evasion and counterattacking the moment she saw "Water Bullet".
There wasn't any enemy till now who saw through Shizuku so fast and precisely.
But---- that was within Shizuku's prediction.
The moment before the lightning slash cut Shizuku.
A water wall with a breadth of thirty meters from the ground came between Shizuku and the slash.
It was the noble art "Shouha-Suiren". It was Shizuku's impenetrable defensive technique that didnt't allow any kind of bullets or lightning attacks to pass.
Of course, Shizuku didn't think "Raikiri" would let her have her own way.
Obviously, because she was the fourth strongest apprentice knight in Japan.
She was sure to attack from long distance.
Having read that, Shizuku had taken precaution(s).
The lightning slash was able to blast away a part of the water wall, but it didn't penetrate it.
She had safely dealt with Touka's counter attack.
―That thought existed for brief moment.
"―Nn."
The instant Touka saw that her attack didn't pass through the water wall, she let out two, three, ten more lightning slashes without even waiting for a second.
She unleashed lightning attacks like a machine gun.
What frighteningly violent attacks these were.
There didn't exist any valor like before when she saw through Shizuku's plan. This was just an overpowering, brute force spasm.
But, it was all part of her plan.
Touka, at this point, had already understood the advantage she had against Shizuku.
It was the time required to execute techniques.
Shizuku needed to pay attention to every single molecule of water, removing any impurities to create pure water that had an attribute of insulation, to dodge the lightning. It was an extremely nerve wracking, delicate operation.
In comparison, Touka only needed to clad her slashes with lightning and send them flying towards Shizuku. It didn't really require a delicate procedure.
Of course, a gap in their speed appeared.
Touka realized that advantage with a single exchange.
That cornering her with a barrage of instantaneous lightning strikes was the most difficult development for Shizuku.
And that was a correct deduction.
Shizuku would be unable to undo the barrier if she was under the constant bombardment.
Shizuku had no choice but to protect herself with "Shouha-Suiren" from the barrage of lightning blades.
But, even just a single attack from Touka was heavy.
The hot lightning blade was certainly, without fail, chipping away Shizuku's defense.
And after several tens of attacks, the machine gun like barrage of lightning finally blown away the last of Shizuku's defense.
Touka immediately proceeded to swing "Narukami", intending to finish it up with one last lightning attack.
―It was at that moment.
"...…n!"
Touka's movement stopped.
Why?
The reason was at her foothold.
Touka's feet were caught up by something.
They were arms made out of water coming forth from the frozen ground.
The water arms froze the instant they caught Touka, effectively sewing her to the ground.
At the same time a shadow was nearing Touka from above, whose movement have been completely sealed.
What is it?
It was too late when Touka took her gaze off from Shizuku and looked above her head. What she saw was a scene where an enormous pillar of ice was falling down at a terrifying speed from a human's absolute blind spot, and it had come so close to her it could almost touch her nose.
―Everything went as Shizuku had planned it out.
If Touka was to go on offense by quickly seeing through her plan, then Shizuku was to counter it by seeing through Touka's plan profoundly.
Shizuku let Touka think that she had the advantage of speed.
She caused her to get the wrong idea that all she could do was be defensive and protect herself like a turtle.
And, behind that facade, she imbued her mana into the ground and made the arms constrain her. On the other side, she used the water that was vaporized by Touka's lightning attacks to create a mass of ice to crush her.
She simultaneously performed three different complex mana operations.
A feat average blazers wouldn't be able perform, but Shizuku could do it.
Her ability to control mana was worthy of being rank-A, because it was at the highest level among humanity, even surpassing Stella's.
Instantaneously, the fallen mass of ice split the ring along with Touka.
Its power was tremendous. The crack from the destruction extended till the audience stands.
It was that powerful of an attack.
And at the center of that destruction was a tombstone made of ice.
There was no way she could still be standing after receiving this attack.
The result of the match was obvious to everyone. It was supposed to be.
Despite that, Shizuku felt it.
--That even a single atom of that almost painful atmosphere has not disappeared.
As though to ascertain her understanding, the mass of ice burst opened from both sides like a blooming flower.
"Raikiri" stood at the center of that, unharmed.