[Chapter - 5: Cutting the Gordian Knot Part 1]

Osaka Bay City - a city planning project discarded halfway. Ordinarily a ghost town with nary a soul to be seen, its symbol of ruination -the Bay Dome- was now packed to capacity with uncounted numbers of people: all having come to watch the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival, the festival of Japan's knight apprentices.

「You were the one who wanted somethin' like this four-on-one! Show us a good time, Crimson Princess!」

「Time for Akatsuki to show us their stuff too!」

「Don't lose to them, Mikoto-chan!」

The start signal for Block B's fourth match -the match with the unprecedented four-versus-one rule- had already been sounded.

The excitement at this irregularity had swiftly whipped the crowd into a frenzy.

But this sentiment was limited to the stands.

At the heart of that whirlwind of excitement, Yui Tatara of Akatsuki Gakuen's heart burned with a different emotion from where she was within the ring.

And that emotion was rage.

'How dare she belittle me…!'

Naturally, that rage was directed at Stella.

She had been the one to suggest a four versus one. In other words, she believed that she could put herself at a numbers disadvantage and still be able to defeat them. Leaving aside Stella's original opponent Mikoto Tsuruya, who would have wished for this situation anyway, this was a favorable development for they who were here to dominate the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival. But for Yui, who had been forced onstage, this could not be more annoying - being looked down upon to this extent unbearably so.

'I'll make you regret thinking so highly of yourself…!'

"'ey, Hiraga. This is an official match. They'll write it off as an accident even if I kill my opponent, no?"

"Fufufu. Yes, of course. Our client will understand - Tsukikage is himself a knight, after all."

"Gigigi. Then I'm not gonna go easy on 'er!"

Having obtained the consent of Hiraga, who was serving as the match overseer, she bared a fanged grin.

"No holdin' back this time! Eat yer fill, Sweeping Centipede!"

As she grinned, she reared back the starter cord of her Chainsaw-shaped Device, Sweeping Centipede.

The limb-like blades whirred to life with a sound like as to the ear-piercing shrieks of the fallen. Wielding her wailing weapon aloft, Yui gouged up the ring even as she rushed toward Stella.

「Akatsuki Gakuen's Yui Tatara is on the offensive, a strong a assault without any hesitation! On the other hand, Stella is...wha-?!」

Suddenly, the commentator was rendered speechless.

The reason lay in Stella's hands.

「Stella has yet to materialize her Device! What is the meaning of this?!」

Similarly, an outcry ran through the stands.

「The hell 're ya doin'! Draw your blade!」

「Hey now, hasn't the signal to begin been sounded? Could it be that she doesn't understand Japanese?」

「No, it's in English. But then, why hasn't she drawn?」

They did not understand why Stella had not drawn her weapon to face her opponent.

But even as this doubt hung all about, the battle was afoot.

Her body hugging the ground, long black hair trailing behind her like a serpent, she closed on Stella, and with a cry of...

"Die!!!"

…aimed a brutal strike at her undefended head with Sweeping Centipede.

It was too broad a stroke, too straightforward an attack - hardly any trouble to Stella, who possessed athleticism far beyond the norm.

With the slightest sway backwards she evaded the screaming saw.

"Gyaaaa!!!"

But Yui seemed unfazed by the evasion, employing her strength in a series of reckless swings. Her craft was graceless, her swordsmanship like children playing at samurai. But her weapon, the chainsaw, made all the difference. As a blade that was powered by magic, it required no technique - even the mere kiss of that saw sliced and splintered the specially-made flooring of the ring as it made for Stella.

「Tatara dispensing with defense for an amazing offense-! Wielding her chainsaw mightily, she attacks and attacks!」

However unrefined the swordsmanship, it would be difficult to continually evade that number of attacks.

Stella had to meet it with her sword.

But despite that, she had yet to draw Laevateinn.

「Tatara's firing on all cylinders here! She's pursuing Stella, giving her no breathing room! What a prodigious assault, it's almost like a tornado! Her technique is quite raw, and as such there are many openings to be exploited...but Stella is still empty-handed! 」

「Uwaa! That timing there was really risky!」

「Is Tatara gradually beginning to grasp her movements?」

「It's scary just watching! Just hurry up and draw your sword!」

Her opponent had come out all guns blazing from the starting signal, and yet Stella persisted in not drawing her blade - her actions filled the stadium with voices of confusion.

What on earth could she be thinking, they wondered.

But their doubts would be answered by the man in the analyst seat - ex-King of Knights A-League participant Muroto.

「She's most likely measuring her opponent's attack timing.」

「Measuring...attack timings?」

「In this morning's third Block B match, Tatara had been up against Rentei's Niidome. His axe strike was repelled by an unseen force, and she took advantage of the huge knock-back to slash and thus defeat him. Her ability is definitely the reflection of force - an incredibly potent combat-oriented power. One could leave a huge opening and thus self-destruct if one simply swings recklessly at her…

...and given Stella's offensive power, it will not simply suffice to call it an 'opening'.」

After all, Yui Tatara's Noble Art Total Reflect was an ability that grew in proportion to the power of her opponent's offensive strength. If Stella's exceptional strength were to be reflected, it would not be strange to see her arms shattered.

「In any case, one needs to get around the reflection process in order to defeat Reflectors like Yui Tatara. As such, Stella's strategy of observing her opponent's timing while not materializing her Device or letting her opponent read her own attacks is a correct one.」

「In other words, she intends to hide her cards till the very last moment, before defeating Tatara in a single blow before she can use her ability. That is Stella's strategy, am I right?」

「That is how I'd see it, yes.」

Seated in the stands, Stella's friend Alice recalled a certain event at Muroto's words.

"Somehow, she reminds me of Ikki at that time. Do you remember, Shizuku?"

"I never forget anything about Onii-sama. You refer to the time we fought Rebellion at the shopping mall, don't you?"

That was before the intra-school selection matches.

While the four of them had been out at the shopping mall, they had been attacked by a group of looters from Rebellion. Their leader had been a man named Bishou, who wielded an ability very similar to Yui's.

"At that time, Stella had been right beside Onii-sama - she definitely remembers his strategy from having seen it."

At that time, Ikki had executed a slash exceeding Bishou's dynamic vision while concealing his blade, and thus broke through his Reflect. Avoiding the Reflect using a super-high speed attack that surpassed the Reflector's reaction speed was an effective - and indeed the right way to go about dealing with a Reflector opponent.

"However, there is a problem if Stella wants to imitate Ikki."

"And that problem would be?"

White-robed Knight Yakushi Kiriko, who had remained with them after watching the match between Ikki and Moroboshi together, asked.

"Speed. Certainly, Stella-chan's is a greatsword that boasts unrivalled destructive power, but its speed is far from that of Ikki's Raikou. Moreover, since it spans a human's height in length its swing has to be broader. Can it really produce a speed that rivals Raikou's, I wonder."

No, even if she is indeed able to do that, can she really deceive Rebellion's famed hitman, the Unturning...?

Having once been a part of Rebellion himself under the moniker Black Assassin, Alice was ill at ease.

His unease would not fail to take a turn for the worse, for as she chased Stella about about wielding her chainsaw Yui let out a small chuckle.

'This idiotic woman…!'

She scorned her opponent's shallowness and folly.

Well of course I would have no time to activate my ability if I am defeated before I can recognize what is going on.

This was the right line of thought, but...

'…don'cha dare rope me in with the likes of that lil' punk Bishou. I was raised in a clan of killers who served Rebellion from generation to generation - tried and tested hitmen!'

She was different from Bishou, who had stepped onto crooked paths for his own enjoyment.

She was raised to be a killer natural born. There was nothing good or evil about that. The training had been fierce: in order to train her to be able to use Total Reflect whenever and wherever, her own father had constantly tried to kill her since she was three.

Those sleepless days where a bullet could fly at her at any moment went on for ten years, giving her eye-bags nigh impossible to get rid of...and also a focus and dynamic vision sufficient to perceive every single bullet in a hail of gunfire.

Thus, gunshots, explosions, cuts, even the skills Blazers used...

...she could reflect any threat, chasing down her target step by inexorable step till it was eliminated.

It was this fighting style that had earned her the moniker of Unturning.

Her eyes were such that she had been able to perceive clearly Ikki's show of Edelweiss' swordsmanship.

Thus, it was impossible to deceive The Unturning Killer.

Regardless of how one tried to hide their aggression, waiting for an opportunity to strike - that moment would never come.

'And anyway, I have no reason to play along with an opponent who's got no options!'

"Rinna! Get her...!"

She roared hoarsely, calling to a young lady astride a black lion who had managed to creep up behind Stella while she had busied herself dodging Yui's wild blows - Beast Tamer Rinna Kazamatsuri.

"Do not presume to give me orders! I have no need of your words!"

So she rebutted, but nonetheless acted as Tatara had desired.

When it wore the Collar of Subordination, Kazamatsuri's Device, her lion became able to utilize a Noble Arts - in this case, manipulating the concept of 'stoppage'.

"Cower! King's Pressure!"

"Guuooohhhhh…!!!!"

"Tch…!"

A sonic blast came at Stella from behind her, right from her blind spot.

Her attention being drawn by Yui, she could not evade this blow. From the wide-open jaws of the lion issued forth a torrent of sound that struck her full-on, stripping her of all mobility.

「Aaah! This is bad! Stella's been caught by the Beast Tamer's Noble Art, King's Pressure, the same one that robbed Bunkyoku Academy's Komashiro of the ability to move in the first round! There's no way Tatara will let this critical opportunity pass!」

"I'll finish ya before you ever draw! Just keep cowering there and die!"

Sawblades screamed as they drew a horizontal arc towards Stella, unable to move due to King's Pressure, and struck home right in her defenseless midsection.

"Raaaahh!!!"

With a mighty swing, Yui blew Stella away.

Then…

"King's Charge!"

…another strike came in as insurance.

It was the charge of a magically-empowered lion, a beast that already possessed physical mass and strength far surpassing that of man.

As such, it was only to be expected that Stella, weighing only as much as a normal girl, was knocked back with ease, bouncing like a rubber ball across and out of the ring.

The force sent her into the concrete wall just below the spectator stands, and with a crash and a cloud of plaster a portion of the masonry came crumbling down.

「A, a keen blow! Tatara and Kazamatsuri with the clean one-two punch! Stella was blown right out of the ring - terrible, terrible damage!"」

「Uwaa...that was horrible!」

「...Is she dead?」

The stands were silenced as they witnessed something in a way more grotesque than a bloodletting: a human being blasted away like a bullet.

In that strange silence, the PA system started the ring-out countdown. If she was unable to return to the ring within ten counts, she would be judged as having lost by Ring-Out.

「Stella's form cannot be made out, buried under that pile of dust and debris as she is. But that wall should have been able to withstand a direct hit from a tank cannon - that it is broken speaks volumes of the severity of the damage she must have taken is clear. Will she be able to make it back into the ring within ten counts?!」

「Hey, hey, get it together!」

「I was all hyped up to see what the famed Crimson Princess would be like too...」

「A four-versus-one was too reckless after all! She was so easily hit from behind!」

「You can hear the disappointment in the stands! It can't be helped - who could have expected that the Crimson Princess, a hot favorite to win it all, would be in such danger of defeat so easily?」

Muroto shook his head at these words.

「No. In any case this much was not unexpected. Rather, it was a matter of course.」

「Wh, what do you mean, Muroto-pro?」

「I'm saying that fighting multiple opponents alone is this difficult. If we go by the numbers, it is a four-on-one, but if we factor in the difference in the number of attacks, the kinds of tactics that could arise from the different mix of abilities and thought processes, the difference in battle-strength does not follow the numbers. It could even be five or ten times more than that. The Crimson Princess can indeed be said to be at the level of one-in-a-million, but despite that this handicap is not light - the fact that she was hit from behind so easily is proof. Moreover, this field is also an issue.」

「This field, you say?」

「Yes. As you can see, the Seven Stars Sword-Art Festival's ring is a flat circle without any cover whatsoever. There is nowhere to hide oneself, or anywhere to conceal one's movements. This environment lends itself well to those who would assert the numbers advantage. The gap in power increases yet more when one factors this in as well.」

「So this result was expected, you mean.」

Muroto nodded slightly.

「It's fine to be confident, but going up against four people at once is recklessness, plain and simple. Vermillion is a brilliant A-Rank Knight, but her opponents are far from pushovers.」

The Crimson Princess had underestimated the terrors of a battle against numbers.

Shizuku made a bitter face as she listened to Muroto's analysis from her place in the spectator stands.

"What on earth is that woman doing?!"

"Shizuku…"

"I'm an idiot - when she confidently asked for that four-versus-one match, I was actually expecting her to have gotten stronger in her training with Saikyou-sensei. To have confidence is one thing, but for her to be this careless makes no sense!"

"Indeed, getting taken by surprise so easily back there was too careless."

"Really…!"

She could not help but give vent to her bubbling anger. But from where she stood, this anger was only normal. Her brother's lover, Stella, had taken that unique place in his heart that Shizuku desired...then she had just upped and left without notice to go somewhere, making him worry a great deal. That was difficult to forgive no matter what.

And to add to that, the one to come up with the suicidal modified four-versus-one rules that had to this present outcome had been none other than her. That made it even harder.

Even though she had made that promise to meet her brother in the Finals…

Even though her brother had fought for that sake, overcoming a difficult foe…

"If she loses here...if she betrays the promise she made with Onii-sama here," Shizuku said poisonously, her small fists trembling, "I will go down there into the ring and squeeze the life out of her myself!"

Kurono smiled wryly from beside them at the seriousness in her voice.

'I wish you wouldn't say that in front of me - I'm still a teacher, you know?'

Well, she did know how much Shizuku loved her brother Ikki, and thus could understand her anger at her brothers' lover's disappointing performance. If she was merely speaking in anger, Kurono would not have blamed her.

"But you shouldn't blame Vermillion too much."

"...Why? She's making a laughingstock of herself out there."

"Well, if you had to blame this one on anyone, it would have to be her teacher."

"Her teacher?"

The blame for having called for but being unable to deal with the disadvantages of a four-versus-one battle and being beaten down pathetically lay not with Stella, but rather with Saikyou.

Unable to comprehend Kurono's reasoning, Shizuku gave it some thought.

"Are you saying that Saikyou-sensei's teaching methods were subpar?

In response, Kurono flashed a wry smile- no, it was more the grin of the cat that got the cream, as though she was expecting something interesting to happen.

"I guess this was bound to happen if she'd even managed to pass on her slovenly ways. You see, that combo didn't hit Vermillion because she was careless, but because she found it too tiresome to dodge."

"Eh?"

In that instant, it happened.

With a crash that resounded throughout the stadium, a huge piece of rubble that might have weighed a ton was sent rocketing into the sky from where it had lain atop Stella.

"Wha-!"

At that sound, Shizuku's eyes returned to the ring.

Naturally, the one who had knocked it away was Stella, who had been buried underneath. Having swept away the debris atop her with a skyward straight from her right fist, she leapt lightly back into the ring - just in time for the count of 'eight'...

...and with nary a scratch on her from either the charge or the cut to the stomach, she casually swept the remaining dust from her uniform.

"...Hmm. That's all you've got, huh," she said, as though having understood something.

「Wh-whaaaaaat?! Having taken direct hits from both the King's Charge and the Sweeping Centipede, Stella was hurled from the ring! On the count of eight, she leisurely returns to the ring - and, and...beyond her uniform being torn up in several places, she hasn't a scratch on her! What on earth is this?!」

Her unharmed state threw both the commentator and the audience alike into uproarious confusion.

But Yui, who had attacked her, already knew what the reason was.

Earlier, when her horizontal sweep had swept into Stella's stomach, she had not felt it tear into her flesh at all. Sweeping Centipede's revolving blades had sliced open her uniform, but had failed to eat into her skin.

Why?

The reason was 'magical power'.

Earlier, in the battle between the Worst One and the Seven Stars Sword King, Moroboshi Yuudai had ensorceled an armor made of his own mana to use as a barrier against impacts. The power of such barriers was dependent on the amount of mana its user possessed.

Crimson Princess Stella Vermillion's mana pool could be considered among the best in the entire world.

Thus the barrier that she subconsciously erected about herself was far from ordinary, strong enough to allow her to take full-blooded blows from Yui and Rinna head-on and yet cancel out all the damage she should have taken.

Stella had realized this, and as such had stopped dodging conscientiously. She did not feel the need to.

This truth wounded Yui's pride deeply.

"You bastard...just how much did you look down on me, playing along like that…"

"Don't make such a scary face," Stella said unapologetically, "this couldn't be helped. After all, my opponent up till yesterday was the strongest knight in the Pan-Pacific region."

In all honesty, Stella was not the sort to intentionally humiliate her opponent.

They were simply on different planes.

After all, the one training Stella this whole week had been one of the strongest people in the world, the Yaksha Princess, a Gravity User who boasted such outrageous offensive power that she could pull a meteorite from beyond the atmosphere at two times escape velocity.

Thus, no matter how she tried she could not feel any sense of danger against this opponent, and because she could feel any danger it became tiresome to evade each and every attack.

When Kurono said that the fault lay with Saikyou, this was what she had meant.

This was, however, but one of the reasons.

Stella had another important reason for not resisting and allowing Yui to hit her.

"Moreover, I wanted to confirm something before going on the offensive."

"Confirm something?"

"Yes. I wanted to see what level of knights you are."

She could not leave this step out. After all…

"If I were to unleash my full strength thoughtlessly, you could all die."

"Tch…!"

Yes. Stella understood. She understood the extent of her strength.

If wielded against humans, her ability was nothing short of somewhat gratuitous brutality, to the point where reducing human life to ash was a thing of ease. So she had to be aware of the opponent she had to fight at all times, taking care so as to not burn them to death, even if they were a hated enemy who had hurt her friends.

"Akatsuki owes us some revenge, and I won't rest till I've gotten it. I don't intend to kill you."

She felt less than at peace with this, but above that...

"But...that's because I don't see the value in doing that for you. You would indiscriminately display your intent to kill to anyone, but there is only one person in this world that I would value fighting as a knight, one opponent that I would give my all against."

There was only one such man so special, who could inspire such feeling and passion in Stella that she would forsake noblesse-oblige and fight him at her full strength.

"That's why I sought to ascertain your strength, be sure of your level - so I can know 'how far I must go to break you without killing you'."

By this point, she had grasped the gist of it.

If she put herself into third gear, she could probably just about accommodate them. Keeping this in mind, she finally materialized her Device, Laevateinn.

"I'm going to attack from here on out."

In an instant, a heat wave billowed out around her, warping the very air. It was an overwhelming presence, as though the summer sun had drew near to the earth - the presence of a knight far from ordinary.

But Yui was unafraid.

"Interestin'...Come at me then, if you've got the stuff!"

With a roar, she kicked off the ground with all her might and attacked Stella for the third time, not caring that her attack had failed to make any dent on Stella.

Had her blood run too hot, making her forget that fact?

No.

She was well-trained. Born a killer. She had learned how to keep a cool head amid heated emotions. She was certainly surprised that her clean hit had done no damage. But a Blazer's world was full of those who played against common logic. To find a Blazer who could not be harmed by direct attacks was not rare. She herself belonged to that category of Blazers, after all.

There were ways around it. This, she already understood.

'My blade can't do it, but yours is a different story, ain't it?!'

In that case, she only needed to reflect it. Her arrogance, her attack, the uncommon magical might that powered that attack - all of them.

Even one such as the Crimson Princess could not emerge unscathed after having her full strength reflected back at her.

Her arms would certainly be rendered unusable, and once she was wounded to that extent then Yui could take care of her at her own leisure.

For that to happen, she had to allow Stella to attack first.

Thus, Yui forged ahead straight as an arrow, baiting out that full-power attack.

"Then, I'll help myself."

In response to her scheme, Stella met her directly, advancing to close the distance between them with Laevateinn brandished in her right hand as she aimed a diagonal downward slash for Yui's shoulder.

This reaction was exactly as Yui had thought.

If this slash was bounced back by Total Reflect, Stella would get a taste of her own medicine.

But right at that moment when she was about to activate Total Reflect…

'Ah…?'

…she smelled a rat. Her years of experience as a killer warned her that something was off.

Since Sweeping Centipede itself could deal no damage, Yui aimed to use Total Reflect to compensate. That should have been obvious.

Then why was Stella still wielding her sword to cut, like a fool?

It was a trap - that was the only possible reason.

Listening closely, the sound of the blade as it whistled through the air was too soft.

That slash had speed, but there was no strength behind it.

And from the first, Stella's weapon was a greatsword. To wield it in only one hand was by itself already odd.

No damage would be done even if she reflected this; it would push her back at the very most.

The right side is just a feint. The real strike comes from the left…!

With keen eye and swift mind Yui perceived all this with precision, that within the shadow of the falling blade a cocked fist laid in wait.

Stella likely had this plan in mind: when Yui used Total Reflect on that downward racing blade, it would knock her right side back, and in tandem her left flank would be thrust forward, sending her left fist into Yui's side at speeds beyond her ability to react.

It was a plan that had even taken her abilities and their effects into account.

And it's a good one, but that don't mean jack if I've caught on to it!

The tables had turned from the moment she had noticed the trap. The hunter was now the hunted.

To this end, Yui played Stella's script right to the hilt. The instant their blades met, she projected her Reflecting barrier from her body, distorting the vector of Stella's strike and repelling her.

And in that same moment, Stella moved exactly as Yui had anticipated.

Using the opening that had been created by the Reflection of her blade, she unleashed her surprise attack, her hidden ace: a liver shot.

Her opponent, lured by that opening, had put her full strength into that punch. Seizing the moment, Yui reactivated Total Reflect.

That was a blow that had borrowed both Stella's strength and the rotational force she had redirected from the initial Reflection on her right side to give more power to her strike from the left.

From this surely her fist, even her entire arm, would be shattered.

Having committed for the opening, Stella could not retract her fist either.

Having seen through it all, her opponent dancing in the palm of her hand, Yui's lips quirked upward in dark amusement.

'Gyari-!'

With the sound of flesh and bone breaking…

"Gah...hak-!"

Stella's left fist -that fist that should have been reflected- burrowed deep into Yui's side.

"And that's one down."

Tatara's body, having taken Stella's mighty blow to the side, folded in two at the waist, and with a spray of spittle and blood collapsed upon the ring floor.

「A direct hit with a powerful liver shot! Tatara falls face-first to the ring. She' not moving! She's not getting up! She's out cold! With but one single blow, Stella has brought down her opponent!」

「Uwaa! That was a super scary sound!」

「She's bent at that weird 90-degree angle...what kind of arm strength does that girl have?」

「The stands too are shaken by the might of Stella's fist! Nonetheless, I wonder: from where I was, Tatara very apparently saw through her ruse, and activated her Total Reflect on her hidden left fist...so how did Stella manage to dodge Total Reflect?」

The one who answered was Muroto.

「She did not do anything of that sort.」

「Eh?!」

「Look at her left hand.」

「....!」

Upon seeing Stella's left hand at Muroto's suggestion, the commentator could not help but cry out.

「Th, this…!」

「This is horrible! Stella's left hand is all torn up, almost like it's been twisted using a corkscrew! But, then this means that...」

「Yes. The Crimson Princess didn't avoid Total Reflect. As Tatara had foreseen, the Total Reflect did indeed shatter her left hand - she certainly hit the mark there...but for one thing. She had not expected that the Crimson Princess would follow through and hit her with that shattered arm without any regard for her injury!」

Humans were most liable to let their guard down when they saw that all was going as they planned.

Yui was no exception to the rule.

When she saw that she had broken Stella's hand as planned, she had smirked.

That smirk had become her downfall.

Stella had been aiming for that very moment. Pivoting on her feet, she had brought the full strength of that fist -along with the power of Total Reflect- to bear in that blow.

There was nothing beautiful about that move. It was a breakthrough via brute force.

But even with her arm destroyed to such an extent, Stella still knocked Yui unconscious in one strike.

And it was even using a body blow, with which it was normally hard to knock a person out.

:She's insane...!'

Standing and bearing witness all this while in the same ring, Kyomon Academy's third year student, Icy Sneer Mikoto Tsuruya, was shaken.

'She's too strong...!'

Yui's techniques, tactics...they had all been overwhelmed by that strategic-class arm strength.

And that was to say nothing of her will, that had been unafraid of the injury that she herself would receive.

A strong body, a strong mind, and the cunning to use them well.

She was simply a gem.

'I don't even match up at all...'

But she had to win.

The Festival was an elimination tournament - even a single loss could not be tolerated. Not even if, as though toying with her, fate had sent her the worst possible opponent for her first round match.

That was why she had shamelessly borrowed Akatsuki's strength, and now that she'd gone this far already, a loss was all the more an unacceptable notion.

Her pride would not allow her to accept that result no matter what.

'Besides, if I pull through here, I will be able to dominate the entire B Block...!'

It was with this confidence that she urged her quailing heart on.

"/"Worry not. We will win."

A tepid, almost half-hearted attempt at a statement was voiced behind her.

The owner of that voice was the ominous, pierrot-clad man - Akatsuki Academy's Puppeteer, Reisen Hiraga.

"...You mean to say you have some kind of plan against a monster who won't even be hurt after taking a direct hit from a Device?"

Her tone was prickly, the aura of dubiousness that he exuded making him rather unlikeable. But he did not seem to mind, instead laughing throatily.

"Fufu. While it is indeed surprising that a direct hit from Yui's Sweeping Centipede failed to accomplish anything...in the end, that was merely the effect of mana itself. The Crimson Princess is not a defense-oriented Blazer, and as such breaking her barrier of mana is simple. My own ace should be able to see us victorious in one strike."

"Well it sure would have been helpful if you'd used it sooner."

Reisen shook his head.

"While I would have very much liked to have done so, it is most regrettable that this Noble Art requires some time."

"So you can't use it."

"Fufu. I am ashamed. However, if we can last that long, I assure you that my ace shall break her with ease. Thus, if I may so trouble you, could you buy me a little time to until I have completed the preparations for my technique? We of Akatsuki would be rid of the troublesome Crimson Princess, while you would clear this hellish first round - it is to our mutual benefit that we should aid one another now, as people on the same team, is it not?"

"..."

Mikoto responded with silence and a displeased furrowing of her brows.

It was his voice. There was scorn in every word he said, as though he were mocking the world and everything in it. It made her sick; just hearing it rubbed her the wrong way.

But on the other hand, he had a point. Right now, they were fighting on the same side. Cooperation would be the efficient course of action.

Moreover…

'I don't have any means of beating Stella, but this guy says he does.'

If only for this alone, she had no reason to refuse him.

"I understand. But - I can't guarantee this will go well."

"How timid."

"If I did have confidence, then I wouldn't have had to rely on the cooperation of shady folk like you and your ilk."

With that said, she placed her left palm over her right eye, and swept it across to reveal a monocle - Icy Sneer Mikoto Tsuruya's Device.

"Done with the hush-hush chit-chat?"

Mikoto entered a stance, and beyond the rim of her monocle was the levelled gaze of the crimson-eyed knight, her red hair trailing wisps of flame.

"Did you wait for us on purpose?"

"Yes. I came late from the first, and then -even though it was with your agreement- made you go along with my desire to vent my anger. I'm really sorry about that...so I'll be more gentle on you."

"That's considerate of you. I wonder if you could considerately cede this match?"

"Fufu. I like your thick skin, Tsuruya-san, but that's impossible. After all, this fight is very important to me."

"That so? Can't be helped then."

"Yes. I'm afraid the 'complimentary service' ends there. I'm coming over now. If you want to resign, the earlier the better. I will not retract my blade once I've swung it!"

With that, Stella kicked off the ground and charged towards Mikoto.

"Tch-!"

That embodiment of violence, that had taken down Yui without a thought for her ruined arm, was now closing in with that greatsword in her good hand. Coming to destroy her.

Nothing good would come of taking that strike on. It would most probably make all the hurts she'd taken so far feel like mere tickling.

She might even die.

The fear that pierced Tsuruya's heart could paralyse her mind.

But even so, she was one of the previous year's national Best Eight.

She was one of Japan's elite. She would not retreat or show fear.

The magic she unleashed from her monocle -a rare sight among Devices- was one that could instantly reduce the temperature of a selected area within her vision to Absolute Zero.

"Satin Ice!"

A glaring light wrapped in a frigid, cutting shroud shot forth from the monocle.

This magic's speciality was that its effect triggered instantly upon her focusing on a target. In other words, this magic travelled at what was effectively the speed of light.

In a split-second, the temperature around Stella fell below freezing point right through to absolute zero. Even liquid nitrogen, which was well-known to be able to freeze objects instantly, reached only around minus 200 degrees Celsius. No human could remain unharmed when exposed to temperatures even lower than that. It would freeze them right down to the marrow - their heart having stopped long before that.

No matter the terms in which one spoke of it -activation speed, range or stopping power- it was a first-rate ability.

With it Mikoto could go toe-to-toe with any of the powerhouses in the Seven Stars Sword-Art Tournament.

That was true.

Only one person…

"Empress Dress"

…the strongest fire user in the world, was exempt.

Turning the entirety of the utterly frozen atmosphere into steam under extreme heat, she caused it to dissipate before the raiment of roiling flames that was clad about her.

"As I thought, that's how that would go, huh."

In truth, Mikoto had known it would turn out this way.

Satin Ice was at its simplest the manipulation of temperature. Fire users on the other hand could raise temperatures, thus making it hard for this technique to beat them. If those two abilities were to clash, then the difference between victory and defeat lay with each individual's mana pool.

In this, the Crimson Princess Stella Vermillion was unmatched, and as such Mikoto stood no chance from the beginning.

But she had managed to slow her down, just for a moment.

'And that's more than sufficient to fulfill my role!'

"Tear my enemies asunder, Sphinx!"

"Gooohhhh!!!!"

Having waited on the sidelines away from Stella, Rinna now took advantage of the momentary pause in her movements and struck out with King's Pressure.

Yes. One moment was enough.

If she but stopped Stella for a moment, Rinna could land a clean hit with King's Pressure, rendering Stella immobile.

The lion leapt into pursuit immediately, aiming for her head. Earlier, its blow had done no damage - that must have been quite a blow to its pride as the King of Beasts, for even without Rinna's orders it opened its mouth wide, preparing to crush Stella's head between its fanged jaws.

Even Stella could not possibly emerged unharmed from being mauled by a lion as large as an elephant and empowered by magic as it was.

If it went through, this would decide the battle.

But even as that faint expectation blossomed within Mikoto…

"Gaaaaoohhh!!!!!"

…Stella led out a sudden earthshaking roar aimed at the black lion the Beast Tamer commanded.

"!?!?!?"

The lion came to a dead halt just as it was about to lay into her.

As though it itself were affected by the King's Pressure.

"S, Sphinx?! What ails?!" Rinna berated the beast at its sudden disobedience. "Wherefore did you cease?!"

But even so, the lion did not budge.

Why? The answer was simple. Animals in the wild walked far closer with death than humans did. The strong devoured the weak. This was how that lion had lived long before Rinna had ever tamed it.

Thus, it understood, could not help but recognize the vision that hovered behind that young woman.

That vision of a towering, winged dragon.

The crimson-haired girl before it was by far a superior predator.

There was no way it could intimidate her, for how could a mere cat frighten a dragon?

Thus, upon meeting a predator whose capabilities far surpassed its own, wild animals would choose only to do one thing.

Run.

"Nyaaaaaaa~n-!!!"

"Eh?! Kyaau-!"

「Oh dear! What is this! The lion that should have been controlled by the Beast Tamer's Collar of Subordination, having been defeated by Stella's intimidation, has fled with its tail literally tucked between its legs, leaving its master in the lurch! And even now, Stella strikes at the defenseless Kazamatsuri-!」

Once again, Stella brandished her sword in her right hand alone as she put her full weight into a diagonal slash.

It was a broad stroke that leveraged on momentum alone, but having been thrown from atop the lion Rinna had landed on her bottom.

There was no way she could dodge that.

The same heavy hand of Stella's that had taken Yui out in a single strike fell upon Rinna, hitting not only her but also collapsing a portion of the ring itself.

It was unmistakably a killing blow.

"..."

But Stella did not count to two.

The reason for that was a voice that spoke from within the dust cloud churned up by that explosive impact.

"Even in my dreams, Crimson Princess, I did not think that during these parlor games I would be forced to lean on mine favored right hand, and thus bring forth my sin-drenched, fell-branded knight - she whose form was blessed by powers dark: the Sealing Arts of Accursed King!"

"My lady means to say 'Thanks, Charlotte, you saved me!' No, no my lady, you need not thank me. I am your personal maid, and also your sword and shield."

As the wind carried the dust away, it gradually ceased to veil the eyes, and what had transpired in the ring became clear to all.

Stella's blade had failed to reach Rinna.

The ground beneath her feet broken and cracked, the apron-clad maid Charlotte Cordé stood between Stella and her master...

...having stopped Laevateinn with but a single index finger.

「Wh, what, this is bad! A Blazer from within the stands has stepped in, coming to Kazamatsuri's aid!」

「Isn't that the maid that's always with her?」

「It's a foul! Umpire, call it!」

The sudden entrance of the the stoic maid threw the entire dome into an uproar.

Once the referee halted the match, they would then await the judgement of the Organizing Committee. This was procedure, but-

「Wh, what is going on here? 」The commentator cried out disbelievingly.「The referee has not stopped the match!」

But there was a reason for this, of course.

「Of course. There weren't any rules being broken, anyway.」

「Muroto-pro, how is that?」

「Look at that girl's neck.」

Even as he said this, the Dome's cameras zoomed in on Charlotte's neck, and as that image was broadcasted on the giant monitors in the Dome, everyone understood what Muroto had meant.

「Th, that's indeed the same Collar of Subordination that the lion the Beast Tamer rode wore! I, I say!」

「Yes. And like that lion, that girl has become the Device of the Beast Tamer, the Blazer that controls others. As such, there was no reason to stop the match.」

「Well, the role of umpires are taken up by experienced mage knights. They rarely miss such a thing.」

In the first place, Blazers were capable of detecting the ambient mana surrounding an object. Rinna's mana permeated Charlotte, a non-Blazer, just as it had the lion. So even without having to look at her collar, Stella knew that she was one of the Beast Tamer's chess pieces.

"I see...I thought you weren't a normal maid, but to think that you were Rinna's real Device, her ace, huh."

"I am Charlotte Cordé. I shall be in you care from here on."

Flicking Laevateinn backwards with her index finger, she hitched up the edges of her skirt and curtsied, full of elegance and grace.

But instead of returning the greeting…

"Save the pleasantries, if you please!"

…Stella brandished Laevateinn, once again striking at Charlotte.

"Bloom, Ichirin Junka!"

With a harsh, ringing clang, she once again stopped the blade with her opened hand.

Was she made of steel? No, this was an act of magic.

This was the ability that Charlotte could unleash thanks to Beast Tamer Kazamatsuri Rinna's Device, the Collar of Subordination, which could transform animals and non-Blazers into Blazers.

Stella saw through this in the two blows they had exchanged.

"Tch...it's like hitting steel. It looks like you blocked it with your bare hands, but if one looks closely, there is a one millimeter gap between your skin and the blade. So the ability that you are able to use under Rinna's influence is the projection of a defensive barrier."

"Very observant of you," Charlotte praised her earnestly for having hit the mark.

At the same time, the space between the blade and her hand glowed with peach-pink hue, forming a flower-shaped shield.

"You have good eyes, Crimson Princess, to have been able to see through my ability after only having gone two rounds with me. However, you were wrong about one thing."

"What would that be?"

"My Ichirin Junka is not an ability specialized in defense."

Then, repelling the blade she had parried using Ichirin Junka…

"Flower Blade - Ryuuzetsuran!"

A blade-like barrier formed in her two hands, and she let fly that blade toward Stella.

"Tch!"

Her stance broken as her blade was repelled, this was not an attack Stella could avoid normally. but in a flash of inspiration she did not seek to correct her stance but instead leaned further back into a backflip, evading Charlotte's slash.

She did not quite make it, however. The blade shallowly nicked her face - the skin that had withstood the chainsaw-shaped Sweeping Centipede without blemish.

And Charlotte's onslaught did not stop there. Like a bloodhound in a frenzy she pursued Stella, who responded with a horizontal sweep of her blade, meaning to counter her with that.

Now, Charlotte could do two things in response. She could halt her advance to evade the blade, or she could halt her advance and use Ichirin Junkan to block it. Either way, she would have to stop - and this was enough for Stella.

However, Charlotte's response was literally one level above.

She took flight.

She did not leap; instead, Ichirin Junkan had bloomed at her heels as she soared into the air. Now directly above Stella, the petals of that flower wrapped themselves about her right leg, and with an elegant flip she aimed an axe kick right for Stella's head.

Having missed with her sweeping slash, Stella's right arm and blade were in an over-extended position, leaving her no time to bring them up to defend her head. Seeing no choice in the matter, she squeezed out what strength she could into the shoulder of her broken left arm, using her somewhat less damaged upper arm to take the brunt of the axe kick.

But this blow was even more brutal than the ones before it, easily snapping the bones of her upper arm.

"Kuh!"

"Do you now understand? Like this, the impenetrable toughness that yielded not an inch to your strike becomes a slender blade, and a hammer that strikes harder than any steel."

Charlotte said this even as Stella's faced wrenched from the agony of having her bones broken.

This was why she was both Rinna's sword and shield.

But Stella was not the sort of woman to be tamed by one or two broken bones.

"Empress Dress!"

While that was a mighty blow, Charlotte had made a poor move. Using close-combat maneuvers on Stella that involved bodily contact was close to suicidal.

Summoning the fiery raiment about herself, she raised its output to the maximum.

The flames ran up her forearm and onto Charlotte's leg, and then her whole body was aflame. Stella's flames too were magical, and they would not abate unless she dismissed them, or was herself dismissed from life.

Thus, it was a decisive error for an opponent to allow themselves to catch on fire at her hands.

And yet…

'...It's not working?!'

…this logic fell flat in the face of Charlotte.

Despite being shrouded in the roaring flames, her stoic mask did not break.

Her barrier did not merely shield her from impact, but was also her mighty aegis against heat and electricity. Wrapped around her whole body as it was, it completely shut out the extreme temperatures of the Empress Dress.

"Ah. Additionally…"

Disregarding Stella's counterattack, Charlotte continued to pursue her own assault. Using Stella's left arm as a platform, she launched herself into the air.

"I am also her 'gun'."

Ichirin Junka materialized as tens of long, sleek blades that she gripped between her fingers in a fan shape before hurling them at Stella.

She's using her barrier like shuriken…!

She had already experienced the keenness of her barrier first hand.

It would be troublesome if she was hit by them.

"Yaaaaah!"

Judging thus, she swung Laevateinn with all her might, blasting the hail of shurikens away with the force of a sonic boom, swirling up a gale like with a giant Uchiwa fan.

What a terrifying sword-arm. That strike was an imposing sight.

But then something happened that was outside Stella's expectations.

Around ten or so of those blades, sent flying every which way, were now streaking towards the stands.