Chapter - 11

"Eeeeek!"

"Whoooa!"

The motion of the bus suddenly disappeared, and everyone inside was thrown forward. What had happened?

"Wh-What's wrong, Saijou-kun!?"

The first one to act was the student council president, Touka Toudou. She stood up immediately, and rushed to the side of Saijou who was driving.

Saijou was—staring out the windshield with an expressionless, but what was for him unusually pale, face.

"Could it be—we ran over something!?"

"No… that's not it, but…."

Saijou slowly raised a shaking figure and pointed it at the sight outside the windshield. Ikki and the others who rushed up belatedly looked in the direction he was pointing, and―

"Huh…? Isn't that toward the Academy?"

At the end of the shivering finger, in the evening sky that was like the color of blood—there was a column of black smoke rising. It was exactly in the direction of Hagun Academy's campus buildings.

At that sight, all of them were speechless, and their eyes opened in astonishment.

Except for one person—except for Arisuin, who had not left his seat.

The bus that Ikki and the others were taking entered Hagun Academy by the main gate, and its tires slid to a stop. At the same time, through the door and through the windows, Ikki and the others flew out.

"This is… terrible…."

Flames were rising from all of the school buildings, and black smoke filled the air. The asphalt paving the road was full of cracks, as if it had been destroyed by bombs. And everywhere in the destroyed campus, the teachers and students who were staying there had fallen. This was no ordinary fire. This was the remnants of a battle.

"Ikki, over there!"

Stella shouted and pointed. When he turned his gaze, he saw—

"Oreki-sensei and… Ayatsuji-san!?"

—two ladies who he knew. Did they both lose consciousness? They were lying on the ground without movement. Ikki and the others quickly raced to their side, and lifted them up.

"Ayatsuji-san! Please wake up!"

But there was no response.

"It's no good, huh? Stella, how about you?"

"No reaction here either. …But it doesn't look like she's injured. Just fainted."

Certainly so. The two bodies did not have any wounds. But on their clothes, there were traces of blade cuts. This must be—

"From illusionary form…?"

"Laaadddieeesss! Aaannnddd! Geeennntlemeeeeen!"

Abruptly, a very playful voice resounded. The voice came from above. Ikki and the others raised their gazes up in unison, and saw it there. Standing on the roof of a burning school building, it was a tall and lean man dressed in the garb of a clown.

"Everyone of the fighting team at Hagun Academy, you've had a long trip! Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"A clown?"

At the outrageously strange enemy's clothing, all of them made expressions of bafflement. But among them, Ikki and Touka—

"No, he's—"

They remembered the boy's appearance. They saw it in the catalog of this year's Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival participants.

"You. You're Bunkyoku Academy's Reisen Hiraga, aren't you?"

Touka asked this with a grim expression. In reply, the clown happily opened his richly colored red-bordered lips.

"Oh, you recognize me? It's a privilege to be remembered by Raikiri herself, isn't it? Ha ha ha. How do you like this stage? Did it surprise you?"

"This is your doing?"

At her question, the clown shook his head grandiosely.

"No, no. No no no! It wasn't me who did this."

In an instant—the clown Reisen Hiraga leapt off the school building rooftop that was more than ten meters away. But wasn't Hiraga alone who leaped. Following after him one by one, a train of figures also jumped down—

The entire crew landed in front of Ikki and the others.

A man dressed in traditional Japanese clothes who carried a nodachi.

A striking woman who was dressed in what looked like a topless apron.

An eyepatch-wearing girl and a woman in a maid uniform, straddling a lion with crow-black fur.

Plus another three, in total there were seven people including Hiraga, each with strange appearances. Their oddness was matched by auras filled with evil omen, and they stood in a row in front of Ikki's side.

And Hiraga pointed to himself, then answered Touka's question.

(clockwise from top)

Reisen Hiraga

Sara Bloodlily

Amane Shinomiya

Rinna Kazamatsuri

Yui Tatara

Ouma Kurogane

(not pictured: Rinna's maid)

"It wasn't me. It was us, Akatsuki Academy."

This was the official proclamation of Akatsuki Academy, the power that was the eighth school squirming in the shadows. It was their commencement. Against the seven schools that took their name from the Big Dipper—they were proclaiming themselves the dawn.

Ikki and the others stood staring at the enemy, dumbfounded. Their surprise was understandable. These were all representatives for schools other than Hagun in the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival. Furthermore, the relative of Ikki and Shizuku, their older brother Ouma Kurogane was stand there among them.

No, not just their brother.

"Ah, it's you! The one from Kyomon who was at the training camp…!"

"Ahaha, we meet again, Stella-san. And Ikki-kun too. I'm happy to see your faces again so soon."

Among the seven who called themselves Akatsuki Academy, there was also Amane who Ikki and Stella had met a few days ago.

"Ikki, the bad hunch you had… it was about this, huh?"

Previously, Ikki had pointed out his revulsion at Amane hugging him, and Stella coughed as if understanding now.

But—to her side, Ikki thought.

Is it… really just that?

The evil omen he had felt at that time was a hint of this event. It would be good if it ended there. But Ikki had not deeply investigated the suspicion born inside him. If he didn't think about this now, if he didn't look harder―

"Kyomon and Rokuzon, Bungyoku and Bugyoku—besides Hagun, why are all the schools' representative contenders standing here? I'd like you to tell me, big brother."

Among the enemies, he asked the one with whom he had the closest ties.

"What is going on here? I've never heard of Akatsuki, but—"

However—

"Silence."

What came back was not an answer, but cruel words as if shaking off a fly.

"I have already cut ties with the Kurogane. Don't speak so casually to me."

Ouma did not spare a glance to his blood-related brother or sister. His eyes were fixed on only one thing—staring only at Stella, who was standing next to Ikki in this place.

Receiving that gaze, Stella certainly felt it.

This man—isn't half-hearted, huh?

Just by receiving the glance, she was picking up a sensation of her skin tingling and numbing.

The seven people lined up in front of her eyes. Each and every one of them was a devil full of ambition. But above them all, the Sword Emperor of Wind, Ouma Kurogane, was outstanding among them. In terms of intimidation, the feeling radiating from his body was an order of magnitude higher.

There's no mistake. …This one is far and away stronger than the rest of them.

Stella was confident about that, and moreover—she stared back at him with strong emotions. And not just Stella, but all the others were the same. Little by little, but noticeably, the tension between the two sides swelled. In the middle of that, as substitute for Ouma who didn't seem like he was ever going to answer, Hiraga responded.

"Why did we do this? What is Akatsuki Academy? The little brother's question is natural–so let's explain. It's all very simple. No matter how many students get the right to appear in the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival, a newly organized academy fighting without the League's authorization would definitely not be accepted by the steering committee. But we intend on being recognized. So even in a meaningless festival to decide Japan's strongest, we will show ourselves clearly in front of everyone."

"I see. In other words, by making a demonstration of destroying Hagun, you intend to take its place as the seventh school in the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival?"

"As expected of Raikiri, you understand quickly. That's exactly right."

"…Such lawlessness, do you think it will be permitted?"

"The steering committee isn't stupid. They'll probably suspend the festival."

If one looked at what has happened before, the justice system in this country would not stand silently. Touka and Saijou pointed this out, and Hiraga broke into fearless laughter.

"—Ha ha. That's not true at all. All of us will definitely appear at the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival. More than that, the steering committee and its parent organization, the League, have no choice but to recognize us. Isn't that right? After having destroyed a historic academy like Hagun, if our challenge is denied, it would be the same as running away like a whipped dog. The League won't tolerate any educational institution for Blazers in countries under its auspices other than those affiliated with itself. Because that is the level of faith the League depends on. In order to recover the faith that they lose, they must prove that the Blazers they've raised is far superior to ours. It's to protect their monopoly over the training system of all Blazers in Japan that they've created in the last half-century during the post-war period."

Indeed. The Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival wasn't just a normal school festival. However much the League boasted of its excellent education, superior Blazers were always appearing. It was a stage for Japanese citizens to see these newcomers. At this stage where results were shown, the League was trying to win the approval of the citizens—it was an exceedingly special situation, where the training of Blazers who were the nation's defense, as well as that of other organizations besides Japan, were displayed.

In that case, what would happen if the knights that the League had educated were overwhelmingly defeated, and those of a different organization stood victorious? Naturally, the faith in the League's brand would be shaken down to its foundations.

And that was the aim of the mighty organization which created Akatsuki Academy and employed Rebellion, the great enemy of the League.

"So I greatly apologize, but please fall here. And be our stepping stone."

—In that moment, an extremely strong bloodlust arose from the members of Akatsuki. The thick killing intent was accompanied by the manifestations of Devices, and Akatsuki prepared for battle in unison.

Facing that, Ikki and the other students of Hagun Academy—

"Doing as you please like fools until now, did you think we'd go 'okay, that's fine'?"

Before they knew it, malice had appeared. It was much too sudden. It would be a lie to say that they weren't disturbed.

But—all of them manifested their Devices, and demonstrated their feelings against the enemies arrayed before them.

"If you want a fight, then come get one!"

"Oh, we'll do so without reservation. Ha ha."

In this place, the tension had reached the snapping point, and both sides lunged forward simultaneously.