Chapter - 13

"Hey there, you two. I came to save you, Kouhai-kun."

"That was really fast. I heard we had to wait another half an hour."

"Ahaha~☆ Well, I'm a guy who does the impossible. If you can believe that~♪"

Utakata said so while posing.

Behind Utakata―

*ROAR!*

Were they targeting everyone that moved?

Together with the bellows of the stone dolls, many stone fists swung down on Utakata's back, aiming at the top of his head. They were hard fists that could even hit Ikki who was clad in Ten'i Muhou. If they hit a human's soft skull directly, they would surely pulverize it in one hit.

"Misogi-san, behind you!"

Ikki cried out at that impending danger.

But Utakata pasted a smile on his face, and didn't move his body one bit at what was happening behind him.

―The stone fists, they blasted away everything above Utakata's neck.

"Wh…!"

"Eek…!"

At that sight, Ikki and Stella widened their eyes and became speechless. With the strength of the stone fists, Utakata's skull had been smashed like a tomato. His small headless body fell into the storm-dampened mud, without moving a twitch. That was the decisive ending that anyone could see.

"Too bad, but that was a trick, you know?"

The next instant, Utakata who should be dead was sitting on the shoulder of the stone doll that had killed him.

"Aha~☆ I tried to tell you about this, didn't I?"

"…Huh? E-Ehhh!?"

Utakata smiled giddily as if nothing had happened. At that sight, Stella raised her voice in confusion. And while Ikki didn't raise his voice as well, he was equally confused. Certainly, he saw Utakata's skull being crushed with his own eyes. The pink brain matter had been scattered, slightly mixed with white bone tissue. The grotesque image was still etched onto the back of his eyelids. It was an unmistakable reality.

It had to be, but then it disappeared. Cause and effect had been wound back. …There was only one power that could induce this kind of unrealistic phenomena.

"A Noble Art―is this an ability from the causation manipulation system?"

"Correct."

Utakata nodded to confirm Ikki's words.

The abilities of Blazers existed along several systems. Ikki's Ittou Shura was an ability of the body enhancement system. Stella's Dragon's Breath was an ability of the elemental manipulation system. And Ayase Ayatsuji's ability to open wounds was an ability from the conceptual manipulation system. Among those various Blazer superpowers, the system that was the rarest and said to be the strongest was causation manipulation.

"My Noble Art, Black Box, is an ability that manipulates the outcome of events. Attacking me is always a mistake. That's how it is."

At those words, Ikki thought back to the scene. The first time they met 'Fifty/Fifty' face to face, at that restaurant. At that time, he got rid of Ikki's wound with just a touch. Back then, Ikki wasn't able to comprehend what kind of skill and power he had.

I wasn't injured. He rewrote causation like that?

Understanding that, Ikki shuddered. Ikki had seen many kinds of superpowers, but he didn't remember ever seeing anything like the superpower that Fifty/Fifty held.

This is the superpower that's called the strongest among many Noble Arts?

He couldn't imagine how he would stand against it.

However, at this moment, he was grateful for that extraordinary power. If it was a power this irrational, it would surely make escaping this predicament easy. Ikki and Stella both thought this, but―

Stella spoke.

"With that kind of power it's an easy victory, right? Please lend a hand, Senpai. We'll put an end to this monster right away!"

"Ah, that's impossible."

Utakata flatly rejected Stella's suggestion.

"Eh? W-Why!?"

"The thing is, my Black Box is an ability whose nature is entirely to manipulate outcomes. In other words it's a superpower that makes even a one percent possibility into certainty. But conversely, it doesn't bring anything into existence. With my strength as an individual person, there's no way it can do anything useful. I can turn a one percent probability into a one hundred percent, but I can't turn a zero percent into a one percent. In other words, you two were breaking these rocks with your swords a moment ago, but there's probably no way I'm the unreasonable type of person who can join in on such a battle. Especially a boy who looks as cute and weak as me? No way, no way."

"So you have that kind of weakness, uh?"

"Yep. If I could manipulate everything and everything, I'd be in the representative battles, you know. But the outcomes that Black Box can manipulate, in the end it's limited to things that are possible. If we get right to the core of it, it's an ability that won't ever let me beat an opponent I can't beat without it."

And Utakata's body was powerless against other people, so the range of that impossibility was particularly wide. Being aware of that, Utakata didn't enter the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival selection battles.

But if that was how it was ….

"Then what did you come here to do!?"

A reasonable question was asked. It would be troubling if people without battle strength increased. Answering Stella's justifiable question, Utakata gave a smile with hidden meaning.

"I came to save you, of course. But just like I said, fighting isn't my domain. My duty is entirely to serve as that girl's navigation."

Saying so, Utakata leaped off from the stone doll with a *boing*.

"―So there it is. I'll leave the rest to you, Touka."

He looked up at the mountain slope.

Before his gaze, on that gentle slope, at the boundary of the mountain forest and the small clearing where the mountain shack had been built―

"Okay. Thanks for guiding me, Uta-kun."

The girl with glasses and chestnut-colored hair brandished her sword sparkling with golden electricity.

"Toudou-san…."

"It has to be by a hair's breadth, but it's good that you two are safe."

Touka looked at Ikki and Stella's figures, and while her eyes were slightly damp, she showed some relief. And then she tightened her face again.

"Please have a rest, the two of you. I'll handle everything here."

Lowering her body, she prepared to attack the stone dolls that surrounded Ikki and the others.

But Stella turned to Touka and raised her voice to stop Touka.

"Wait, Touka-san! Swords don't work on these things! It's ridiculous to fight these incomprehensible opponents by yourself! I'll also―"

―fight. Stella was going to say this.

"It's fine. I know their weakness."

"Eh…!"

Touka said so.

"It's inorganic matter being manipulated by threads of magic power, instigated by an enemy. This, out of the many types of Device, is a battle technique used by those who favor Steel Wire Usage. And for this battle technique, there is an inviolable rule. When operating multiple dolls simultaneously, one doesn't operate everything directly, but uses some dolls to operate others. In other words, one creates linchpins, and uses them for management. The biggest merit of this battle technique is that while the user conceals himself, he'll attack one-sidedly without risking injury, which makes finding the enemy the number one countermeasure. In that case, the threads that link to him should be made exceedingly subtle. But… if we say it in reverse, as long as we break the hub of those strings, Steel Wire Usage won't be able to operate its dolls."

It was a tactic that couldn't be used standing in an arena without places to hide. In other words, it was a way of fighting that student knights weren't accustomed to. However, while Touka was a student knight, she had gone to the scene of crimes many times as a member of the special convention along with Toutokubara, and currently had experience confronting terrorists. Consequently, she had a thorough knowledge of styles that Ikki and Stella were unfamiliar with.

With that knowledge, her eyes―

"Found it."

Among the dozens of crawling stone dolls, she exposed the one body operating all of the dolls in an instant. And in that instant, Touka's body disappeared.

No, not disappeared. Before anyone could see it, she pierced the enemy line―she plunged toward the hub that she had discovered.

Shippu Jinrai.

Stimulating her muscles with the power of lightning, it was Touka's Noble art that increased her performance to its limit. That speed, it was undoubtedly like lightning. The stone dolls couldn't react to the abrupt change in situation at all. Simply put, wooden puppets certainly could only be caught flat-footed―

"―Raikiri!"

Within that instant, everything was decided.

With the speed of a flash, a blade of plasma was unsheathed, and the hub was bisected with a single stroke.

There was no sign that the dolls were being recreated again. The enemy who hadn't been found yet seemed to have withdrawn after the hub was destroyed.

"Amazing…."

Standing alone, Stella voiced her astonishment at Touka's performance.

"It's amazing that she recognized the enemy's weak point immediately, but more than that, Touka-san's balance of superpower and sword technique is very good."

"That's true."

Ikki had the same opinion.

And also, that the strength of Raikiri, Touka Toudou, was probably based on her conviction. The breadth of Touka's practical ability was vast. Given lightning's high offensive power, it wasn't only used for normal attacks. From strengthening physical ability with lightning to observing the psychology of others to manage them, her swordsmanship was born from that. Whether it was superpower or swordsmanship, she displayed them at an extremely high dimension of skill, and brought them together at an equally high dimension.

As for how good that balance was, Ikki who was extremely specialized in swordsmanship of course, in his eyes, believed that Touka was higher ranked than Stella. Stella herself probably perceived Touka's strength which she didn't match.

"Honestly, I've been considerably enlightened."

It was unusual for her, to cough out such a laudable statement. But her expression was slightly stiff. To Ikki, the reason was understandable. She had realized it. At the present time, the Crimson Princess didn't reach Raikiri's level.

A-rank and B-rank. According to that rating, Stella's potential was definitely higher. In another year, Stella should certainly surpass Rakiri. But at least right now, if the two of them fought… eight or nine times out of ten, Touka would win. Stella herself was aware of that, and probably for that reason, her face was stiff.

And to Stella….

"Stella-san."

Touka, who had finished up the dolls, ran up to her.

"I-I heard that you collapsed. Are you okay!?"

With Touka's entirely flared-up expression, she looked like a completely different person from the dignified one who beat the dolls so easily just a while ago. Becoming more pale than Stella who was sick, she was acutely worried about how badly Stella had collapsed.

"Eh, ah, yes. I'm much better after resting a little."

Therefore Stella also laughed and answered Touka to set her at ease, but―Touka pressed her own forehead against Stella's, and immediately saw through that lie.

"Aren't you extremely feverish!? You're not alright at all! And despite that, your body is this wet… what will you do if your cold gets worse?"

"It can't be helped. The mountain shack was attacked and destroyed."

In answer, Stella pointed out the wreckage of the crushed mountain shack. Touka's face, when she saw that, clouded over in worry.

"Uta-kun. Is there another emergency shelter anywhere nearby?"

"Nope. But there's supposed to be a cavern a little bit north from here."

"In that case, let's take refuge there for now. We can't let a sick person be exposed to the rain. And if we don't give Kurogane-kun treatment too…."

With those words, Touka picked up Stella's body suddenly.

"Now, let's be off, Stella-san."

"Wha-wha! Wait, carry, don't carry me! It's embarrassing!"

"That's no good. A sick person should be obedient."

With the gentleness of a mother admonishing her child, but using words that exerted a forceful pressure, she silenced Stella, and Touka proceeded to carry Stella away.

Seeing that back, Utakata who was standing alone murmured something that only Ikki could hear.

"Both of Touka's parents died from illness, you know. That's why she's been unusually persistent about managing people's physical condition since the old days. It's better not to go against Touka when she's like that. Because if you quibble and throw a tantrum, you'll get a spanking."

"Has Vice President Misogi also gotten one?"

"Her slaps on the wrist are amazing. She's a prodigy for that kind of thing."

It seemed to be the case. Having experienced the argument at the student council room, it seemed to Ikki that the relationships between mother and troublesome children hadn't changed from the old days.

"Now then, Kouhai-kun, can you walk by yourself? If it's impossible, I'll lend you my shoulder?"

Utakata made the suggestion from worry about the extreme fatigue Ikki got after using Ittou Shura. But Ikki calmly shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. If it's just walking."

"In that case, splendid. Hurry and follow me."

The party coming together this way, they presently escaped to the cavern in order to fend off the rain.