[Chapter - 10: Seven Stars Sword Art Festival Third Round - Beginning Part 2]

Thanks to that, Ikki's basic battle strength had increased tremendously compared to that time.

Even without relying on Ittou Shura, he could already keep up with the battle in that territory!

'With this, I can at least endure through!'

"Haaa!!!!"

And finally, fake Edelweiss stepped back from the clash of swords with Ikki.

「UoOOOO! I-Incredible! Twin-Wings's swords, he has pushed back the world's strongest swords!」

「GOOO! Another One!」

「Ikki-kuuun! Wiiiin it!」

Although Ikki did not respond to the cheers, he intended to do just that.

No matter how close that image was to the real deal, Ikki had to defeat her since he faced her on the ring.

In that case, it wouldn't begin if he kept running away.

Therefore, Ikki powerfully kicked off with his legs, and chased after the faltered fake Edelweiss.

However...

'No, not good…!'

He should not have done that.

"…Gah!?!?"

The moment Ikki stepped in, his field of vision dyed red.

His whole body felt hot as if on fire, and large amount of fresh blood sprayed out.

Ikki Kurogane was cut.

And it was not a single stroke, but countless.

'This...is...'

「Contender Kurogane's body suddenly started to bleed as soon as he stepped forward! What exactly caused that!?」

「This is... a gap in air!」

「Yaotome-pro!?」

「I have heard about this before...! Twin-Wings's slash is, in other words, the world's strongest slash. That speed, sharpness, everything is out of the norm! Due to that, the places her slash passed through will constantly leave a vacuum gap! Because of that sharpness, even the atmosphere cannot detect that it has been cut apart...!」

The truth was just as Yaotome said.

The area that Ikki had rushed into after chasing the fake Edelweiss had vacuum slash scars from the crossing of swords before, like wind blades stalling in air.

It was exactly like Ayase Ayatsuji's Noble Art, Mark of the Wind.

Fake Edelweiss only had to swing her swords to create that phenomenon.

In other words, in the previous crossing of swords, fake Edelweiss was not pushed back by Ikki, she was retreating with such intention in mind.

And Ikki rushed into it.

Although Ikki felt something wrong right before it happened and stopped, it was not easy to come to a halt once he moved using Edelweiss's movements from Blade Steal.

He could not completely evade it, leaving countless slash wounds on his whole body.

However...

"…!!!!"

Be it the regret of his own shallow thinking for stepping in so easily, or fainting from the pain, Ikki knew that he didn't have room for such thoughts when fighting against the world's strongest swordsman.

He abandoned all of his thoughts, and released all of his precious magic power he had recovered into his legs.

Just like how Stella and other normal knights did it, Ikki added strength to his feet by releasing magic power and kicked off, and escaped from fake Edelweiss's range with the highest speed he could achieve at that point of time.

That judgement was correct.

Not even a millisecond after, a flash of white silver ran past horizontally through the space where Ikki's head was positioned at.

Fake Edelweiss's dual swords scraped through the air with a speed that the eyes couldn't follow, leaving a trail of light.

If Ikki had delayed his judgement for even an instant longer, his head would probably be dancing in the air.

He truly escaped it by a hair's breadth.

However...

"Ha! Ha...! Ah!"

The price was Ikki losing all his precious magic power.

Just stepping into her zone once took him everything he had.

And then, despite using it all up, it was a fact that he could not even land a single hit on her.

Because he had used everything he had, he was currently still hanging on to his life.

Due to those reasons, Ikki was convinced.

:She's not inferior compared to the real deal in our previous battle... it's not just that!'

The fake Edelweiss before his eyes was much stronger than the one he had fought against before.

The Edelweiss back then was never serious until the last strike.

She was just fending off Ikki, and not seriously aiming for his life.

However, the woman before his eyes was different.

It was clear that the speed and sharpness was different, and more than anything, she was merciless.

She would even use techniques she had not used before to actively aim for victory!

"...!?"

As Ikki took a certain distance away and thought about it, fake Edelweiss took a strange action.

She did not chase after Ikki, instead, she lightly turned the sword on her right hand and stabbed it into the ground.

*Katsun.*

And right after that.

"Ah... Gah!?"

20 meters away from fake Edelweiss, blood sprayed out from Ikki's entire body again.

A pain as if his every part of his body was pierced by lighting at the same time.

It could've be some sort of magic attack.

That wasn't the case, though.

Ikki, who had received the attack, immediately remembered what it was.

'This...is...Dokuga-no-tachi...!'

In the past, the real Edelweiss had shown him the same technique as Ikki's sixth secret sword.

Using the blade to transmit vibration into the opponent's body, causing a wave within his body to destroy it from the inside, a penetration technique using the sword.

Ikki's Dokuga-no-tachi transmitted the vibration by connecting with the opponent's Device.

However, just then, the fake Edelweiss used the ground of the ring as the medium, beating the vibration into Ikki's body from far away.

Then, she pursued the frightened Ikki to decide the outcome.

Crushing away the distance between the two with a flash-like speed, she swung down her twin swords with all of her strength.

"...!"

Despite having spasms all over his body, Ikki reacted to it.

Holding Intetsu above his head horizontally, it defended against the falling pair of white lightning.

However ─ the strikes he desperately defended against did not contain even the strength used when stroking someone.

Seeing that the slashes from above would not hit, fake Edelweiss controlled the muscles of her body diligently as she swung down her swords, and all that energy ─ was transferred to her feet!

"Guh! Ha!"

As Ikki shifted his guard towards above, she kneed his defenseless body.

A step from the world's strongest swordsman. The kick that gathered the intensity and all the energy, which had an impact that could pierce through the stomach, sank into Ikki's solar plexus, sending his body flying backwards.

Ikki's body that was blown away as if he was hit by a large truck slid past the lawn outside the ring, crashing into the fence separating the audience seats and the ring. However, it didn't stop at there, the fence was bent from the root and launched towards the audience seats, crashing onto the steps in between the audience seats, climbing up with that intensity, eventually stopped at the top row.

「「「...」」」

The impact from the scene that looked like a fatal traffic accident had just occurred caused the nearby audience to not even be able to raise a scream.

They were just staring blankly at the broken staircase, and the trail of blood looking like a red carpet, swallowing their breaths.

The fallen Worst One facing the night sky was... lying immobile.

「I-I-Inteeeeense,!!!! A human body weighing around seventy kilo was blown away like a cannonballll! Contender Kurogane is out of field! Right now, the main referee has begun the count for out of field! Will he be able to return within 10 counts!? Nevermind that, is he still even alive!?

However, despite that, despite that...! Too strong!!!! Seven Stars Sword King! Eye of Heaven! Raikiri! The prided sword fight Contender Another One, Ikki Kurogane used to defeat famous braves one after another that continued to support his victory, at this distance, has been completely shut out! This power! There's no doubt about it! Everyone in this place, including me, can understand it! Before our eyes is the world's strongest swordsman! It's Twin-Wings, Edelweiss herself!」

In that case ─ he could never win.

The knight at the level of competing over the summit of students would not even be her opponent.

That was... the despair shared by all of the people in that venue.

That's right, even Stella, who had given all of her trust to Ikki.

As she watched Ikki getting beaten one-sidedly by Twin-Wings, then blown out of the field, she held her breath.

"Ikki...!"

'Can't win...!'

No matter how much she tried to imagine it, she could not see any vision of Ikki winning against that image.

Because she was powerful, she inevitably felt it.

Like a cat challenging a tiger... such a stupidly large difference in battle strength.

However, the real horror was probably the drawing ability of Bloody Da Vinci, for being able to draw the tiger who saw that Ikki as a cat.

'Who could have thought that she has this kind of unreasonable power...!'

「Five! Six! Seven!」

"..."

Stella bit her lip in frustration, The count continued in the meantime.

The support for the fallen Ikki was... none.

The spectators who had been cheering for Ikki just a moment ago were all silent with pained expressions.

Seeing the one-sided battle from a moment ago, even amateurs like them probably also felt it.

Worst One and Bloody Da Vinci.

The difference in power that existed between those two was blatant.

They noticed it. There was no meaning in continuing the battle anymore.

As an F-Rank, Ikki had fought well, but in the end, the world of mage-knights was determined by magic. Anyone would think that such an ending was inevitable.

And because of that... Not a single person had noticed.

The man that should be in the greatest despair was...

The man who had lost all of his strength and was facing the sky was...

Showing a confident smile from his mouth...

「Eigh…!?」

The main referee's voice clogged as he was about to count eight.

That was because, standing up with a voice as if he was just getting up from his bed, Ikki leapt out from the top row of audience seats, past the bent fence, then continued until the top of the ring and landed back on it.

「W-What! Contender Kurogane! He stands up on the eighth count as if nothing had happened, and just jumped back into the ring like that! And what a light movement! Even after taking on that kind of an attack, it's as if there was no damage!? How is this happening!?」

The announcer Iida could not believe it and was confused.

On the other hand, the commentator Yaotome had properly understood the situation.

「In fact, he is more or less not damaged.」

「Eh, even though the intensity of his flight dug a path in concrete!?」

Yaotome nodded.

「That's the reason why he's fine. A normal knight would've probably crashed into the audience seats with the fence and received fatal damage. However, Contender Ikki purposely rolled grandly like that, and dispersed the energy that normally should've destroyed his body into the ground.」

It was exactly as she explained.

All of the energy that had bent the fence and destroyed the staircase along the audience seats was originally something that would've affected Ikki's body.

However, Ikki cleverly shifted his body weight to escape to the off-side of that energy, making the surroundings shoulder the damage.

「Hence, the damage from the attack just now was lower than what it seemed.」

「That kind of thing, is it even possible...!」

「In theory, it is closer to judo's receiving technique than sword technique. It is a basic body technique that non-Blazers also can use. Of course, it was a super difficult feat to avoid all of that damage. Only Contender Ikki, who is well-versed in martial arts in order to reach the extreme of his sword technique, has such innovation.」

And after completely escaping from that damage, Ikki fixed his breathing until the count of eight.

Hence, he was able to recover for a bit longer than if he had returned right after being blown away.

「I-Incredible...!」

What flowed out from Iida's mouth was not the relay of broadcast anymore, it was a voice of admiration.

And that admiration was not towards Ikki's techniques.

It was towards his fighting spirit that did not wither a tiny bit despite being forced into such a situation.

「What a fighting spirit! When everyone believed that the match has been decided by the overwhelming strength of Purple Caricature, Contender Kurogane, who should be feeling the greatest despair himself, has not given up at all! Facing the world's number one sword technique, using up all of his abilities, he is somehow keeping up!」

Iida felt respect towards that youth who was at an age that could be his son.

However...

'But, that's all.'

Next to Iida, who was passionately praising Ikki, Yaotome analyzed the situation calmly.

Regardless of how well he could handle his body, how strong his heart was, what would it matter?

If he still had his trump card, Ittōu Shura, it would be another matter, but Ikki, who did not have it, and the world's strongest swordsman reproduced by Sara Bloodlily, the gap between the two of them would not be filled by just bringing out his guts or willpower. He would not get closer to victory. In fact, Ikki had expended his precious magic power from just confronting his opponent once, and he

was beaten back because of that.

On the other hand, Sara hadn't been hurt once since the start of the match.

No, rather than that, it was Ikki who failed to even deal any damage to the fake Edelweiss that Sara had created.

Speaking frankly, the difference was too great.

It could not even be called a fair game.

'I don't think there is any meaning in continuing this.'

And Yaotome was not the only one who thought so.

The main referee overseeing the match also thought the same.

Therefore...

"Contender Kurogane... Are you... continuing?"

Before announcing for the battle to resume after Ikki had returned from outside of the field, he asked.

Would he continue, or would he not.

Ikki laughed bitterly at those words.

He noticed how much they had worried about him because of those words.

The hidden meaning in the referee's words was as such.

Forfeiting against such an out of norm opponent would not damage his reputation.

Nobody would criticize him.

Retreating was also a form of courage.

However, even though he felt that, Ikki answered.

"Yeah, of course I will continue."

He did not back down. As such.

Was it his obstinacy?

...No.

In fact, Ikki had no reason to retreat.

As for why...

"I have seen through the limit of that fake."

「C-Contender Kurogane! With a very strong tone, he has shown his intention to continue! Although the main referee looks troubled, he has allowed it! The match resumes!

Contender Kurogane, despite saying that he has 'seen through the limit', will we really be able to see him overturn this hopeless situation!?」

「He's probably putting up a front, after all?」

「T-That's the case, isn't it? He was being done in one-sidedly just now.」

「B-But, I don't feel that Ikki-kun is putting up a front like that...」

The venue became rowdy from Ikki's declaration after he had returned to the field.

However, most of them weren't even trying to half-believe him.

Well, it wasn't unreasonable.

Ikki had not been able to do anything against fake Edelweiss after facing her all that time.

And the person who did not believe in Ikki's words the most was his opponent Sara.

"Purple Caricature is indeed not the real thing. But it is able to reproduce the exact same potential as the real thing. Stop with the useless bluffing."

She knew the performance of her Purple Caricature.

Therefore, she could assert that there was no opening for Ikki to take advantage of.

The reason was that the sword technique Ikki was using had been stolen from Edelweiss.

That would never win against her Purple Caricature which had equivalent performance as the original.

There was a relationship of absolute superiority-inferiority between them.

That's why Sara had drawn Edelweiss.

She should not lose. Sara had absolute confidence in it.

However...

"...Sure, at first, I was surprised by the strength of this fake, which can even be said to be stronger than the time I fought with the real Twin-Wings. But I can peel off that kind of facade made only for show after crossing swords several times. No matter how fresh an apple is drawn, it doesn't contain a single drop of juice. No matter how beautiful the blooming flowers are drawn, they don't have any fragrance. Your image is... just that kind of thing."

Ikki did not cower, and declared in a strong tone while he lifted the tip of Intetsu up.

"Come at me... With me at my weakest, I will defeat that fake of yours."

"...!?"

Ikki's abnormal confidence confused Sara.

However, no matter how much she thought about it, she could only see him as putting up a front.

Although he had been keeping up for a while earlier, in the end he was still overwhelmed by Sara's image.

Ikki did not fare well at all and it ended with him being kicked out of the field.

'There's not a single fragment of doubt that my image will win!'

As if responding to her heart's voice, the fake Edelweiss kicked off the ground.

And as expected, she reached Ikki without a single sound and launched consecutive strikes with her twin swords.

"Haaa!"

Ikki retaliated.

Black steel dealt with the falling white flash.

However, there was a difference of one sword and two swords. And more than anything, there was a difference between their fundamental specs.

As the number of rounds they crossed swords increased, Ikki was being constantly pushed back.

And finally, with a high pitch of metal clashing, Intetsu, along with Ikki's right hand, were repelled back in a big arc.

Ikki was defenseless before fake Edelweiss.

Despite being an image, such a fatal opening would not escape Edelweiss!

The right sword was about to split Ikki from his head to his bottom.

'It's settled...'

Sara was sure of her victory, but...

Ikki lightly swayed sideways and evaded that strike which would've split him into two.

With tranquility, without any signs of panic.

And with his deflected right hand, he slashed back horizontally with a great momentum, forcing Edelweiss, who guarded against it, out of the sword range with his strength.

'Eh...'

Sara was dumbfounded at the unnatural ease with which he had dodged the decisive strike.

「Oi, just now...」

「He overcame it? Really?」

「It's probably on purpose like before, to make him chase after her?」

The audience probably did not believe that Ikki had overcome Edelweiss either.

Their reaction was completely skeptical.

It couldn't be helped. He couldn't fight back at all until a while ago.

However, that was only until the first retaliation.

Fake Edelweiss released a light speed thrust between Ikki's brows as she closed in again.

In response to that, Ikki leaned back as he lightly dodged it, and in that posture, he returned the same strong slash in retaliation, forcing Edelweiss back again.

「「「...!!!!」」」

Anyone would have noticed up to that point.

The one who was superior in the match currently.

The confused chattering received confirmation one after another... and changed into a storm of cheers!

「S-Surpassed! We thought that the fake Edelweiss retreated on purpose at first, but there's no mistake on the second time! There's no doubt that, currently, Contender Kurogane has pushed back against fake Edelweiss at close range!」

「Incredibleee! That was not even a millimeter away from his nose tip just now!?」

「He really saw through it...! He wasn't putting up a front!」

The unexpected attacks from Ikki had caused the slightly chilling atmosphere in the venue to rapidly rise in temperature.

However, those cheers could not be heard by Sara's ears.

Because the confusion in her head had already caused her to be unable to recognize them.

'Why, all of a sudden...!'

Until a while ago, her image's speed and sharpness had suppressed him. Why!?

Thinking about that, Sara had suddenly reached a conclusion.

She had heard about it.

Ikki Kurogane was able to read his opponent's thinking pattern to a scarily accurate degree.

"Don't tell me, this is Perfect Vision...!?"

"There's no need to use that."

The person who denied Sara's thoughts was... Ikki himself.

That's right, in fact, he did not need to reach such a deep level of thinking at the moment.

Rather than that... there was no need to think at all.

"Even if I don't think that deeply about it, I will realize after thinking about it a little. Blazer's ability is unique for each individual. That's absolute. No matter how versatile the power seems to be, Sara-san's power is only the ability to 'materialize your own image' if you trace it back to its origin."

Color of Magic was a Noble Art that materialized the image Sara connected the color to.

Purple Caricature was a Noble Art that directly materialized the image she drew as it was.

In other words, her ability was not the power to create a fake exactly like the original.

It was only the power that materialized the imagination sketched out from her image.

"But how accurate can your image be? The outer appearance is the same. That's probably not a problem. Physical ability as well, from Sara-san, the world's number one artist's observant eyes, you can draw it out without any error. However... after that?"

Be it Ikki's sword or Edelweiss's sword, one strike after another, they were swinging their swords at a super high speed that normal humans could not even recognize with their sights.

In addition to that, the instant their swords met in attack and defense, there were feints with their gazes and presence. They were vying for control with their presences.

As they executed their strikes, there was a process of exchanging a battle of wits back and forth, that had been repeated many times.

That way of thinking, the sequence of thinking ─ could Sara's image achieve all that?

"There's no way you can do it."

Ikki declared.

It was not a territory that a person, who had never held a sword before, could imagine.

It was a world of instinct reserved only for those who actually shed blood and tread along the line between life and death.

In other words, that fake Edelweiss did not have it in her body.

Only her specs were reproduced.

Since she couldn't imagine the inner contents, they couldn't have been reproduced.

"However, there is a question in that case. There is no content inside, then why is she moving? Why is she fighting? I have one hypothesis regarding that. And then I have confirmed my hypothesis in the midst of fighting. When I received the attack from above, I purposely left my body's guard open."

"Purposely...?"

"That's right. And then... thanks to that, I have confirmed it."

In response to Ikki's action, fake Edelweiss chose to kick him out of the field.

Dealing damage to the opponent, and expecting a countdown for out of field, it was a pretty good move.

...However, in the case when used against an opponent at Ikki's level of body techniques, it was hard to say if it was really a move with certainty.

Even though he would be blown out of field, he would not continue to take hits, rather, there was the risk of him taking the chance to adjust his breathing due to the interruption for out of field countdown.

In fact, Ikki had done just that.

Based on the result, the loss from that confrontation was on fake Edelweiss's side.

If she was the real deal, she would not have made such a naive mistake.

Instead of the victory before her eyes, she would've probably prioritized defeating her opponent with certainty.

However, the fake made her move. She priotized the possible victory from out of field countdown that she saw before her eyes.

...From that behavior, Ikki confirmed that his hypothesis was correct.

"What you have projected is 'Edelweiss who will win against Ikki Kurogane'. That's why she seeks victory recklessly. She will bite onto the slimmest opening she sees.'

"...!"

"And then... it's been easy once I understood that. I just have to purposefully create the shortest route towards victory. I just have to purposefully attack and create an opening to show her a glimpse of victory."

If he did that, she would stupidly rush in straightforwardly just like then.

Time and time again.

She wasn't a living creature that could think in the first place. She was just an image seeking victory.

She couldn't even learn from experience, and couldn't stop herself once she saw a glimpse of victory.

"Such an easy and naive attack, no matter how fast, how sharp, or how many times she performs it, it doesn't matter. ─It's not scary anymore."

"Kuh!"

At Ikki's confident smile, Sara could not hide her overflowing agitation.

The reason was obviously because Ikki's deduction was right on the mark, seeing through the true colors of fake Edelweiss made from Purple Caricature.

Like he said, Sara did not have the ability to draw the detailed offense, defense and thinking pattern.

What she could draw was the information of the model she had observed, and the concept of 'victory'.

Hence, when the opponent took on defense which was further from victory, the image of Blazers she had created from Purple Caricature would break through that defense for 'victory', taking tactical actions in accordance to the fake's specs, it was still considered as passive. If the other side showed a glimpse of 'victory' defenselessly like what Ikki had done...she would advance straight towards it. She wouldn't be able to not advance.

Because fake Edelweiss was not a living person, just an image for the sake of winning against him.

However...

"So what..."

Sara glared at Ikki with a strong gaze and responded.

"Even if you understand it, you cannot win against this image! The sword techniques you are using are just an imitation of hers...! Another One and Twin-Wings have a relationship of absolute superiority-inferiority! Then it doesn't matter whether there is inner content or not. Reproducing the specs is more than enough to win...!"

As if she said it to convince herself, Sara spoke with a loud voice unbefitting her.

At the same time, fake Edelweiss moved.

She flew straight towards Ikki.

She planned to materialize the victory in the next round. Her strengthened steps were just like a reflection of Sara's spirit.

A pure white killing intent closed in soundlessly

In response to that, Ikki...

"...I see, that's reasonable."

Did not show any intention of running away, and just intercepted the closing in fake Edelweiss straight on.

It was a stance to settle it in a frontal confrontation.

That could be described as a reckless action.

The reason was because, just like what he had said, Sara's words were reasonable.

Despite not having the inner content, the specs itself were undoubtedly the world's strongest.

Facing such high specs in a straightforward manner itself was very dangerous.

In addition to that, the sword techniques Ikki was currently using were an imitation of hers.

The difference of proficiency in the technique and magic power between the two were evident.

Just seeing through the flaw of Purple Caricature would not shake the superior-inferior relationship.

Those were facts. Sara did not say anything wrong.

That's right. She did not make any mistakes.

...Just that...

"But Sara-san. You have made a serious misunderstanding."

She had made a fundamentally fatal misunderstanding.

Ikki had noticed.

Sara was mistaken about 'the knowledge about battle itself'.

She considered that the outcome of a battle depended on who was stronger.

However, that was a big misunderstanding.

A battle was not simply something that the one with greater power would win.

It was not a competition between numbers.

An instant, a round, just seizing the chance of victory in that moment was what a battle meant, seizing that moment was what a victory meant.

'Then... there's no need to win in everything.'

One hit was fine.

Just once, it would fine to win in one round.

In that case, it would be a different story.

No matter how big the difference between them was...

Even if the gap between them was so ridiculously huge...

'If it's just neutralizing the first strike, when I know where it will be coming from, then it's not impossible!'

"...!"

It was the instant fake Edelweiss swung down on the crown of Ikki's head in order to seal the victory.

Ikki moved all of his muscles at the same time using the technique stolen from Blade Steal.

Using the highest instant speed, the fastest strike Raikou from the secret swords he possessed, he swung horizontally at the pure white killing intent, aiming to cut her into two.

...With both his hands.

That's right, that was Ikki's chance of victory.

Certainly, like what Sara had said, they had a superior-inferior relationship in their sword techniques.

The difference in perfection between the two was unshakable.

However... it was wrong to say that they were both using the exact same sword techniques.

That's obvious. Edelweiss's Device was two swords. Ikki's was a single sword. In the first place, their battle styles were different.

And then if their styles were different, then of course there was a difference in each of use.

Edelweiss's twin sword style was a super attack type sword technique that shut out her opponent with an overwhelming number of strikes.

Once the opponent was captured by that circle of storm, it would be uncontrollable, but as she could only swing her swords with a single arm, each strike's power and speed would be lesser.

On the other hand, Ikki used single sword style.

He fell short in number of strikes, but each strike's power and speed would be above hers.

In other words, before Edelweiss's consecutive strikes started, if he had just limited it to the first strike...

'I have the upper hand...!'

"HAaAAaAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"

And then, both sides swung their magic swords at a speed that was impossible for eyes to follow and cut through the night, crossing in a brief instant.

The pure white blade split Ikki's scalp, and the moment it was about to cut through his skull...

The pure black blade split a horizontal line across the body of the fake of the world's strongest knight, reducing that image into paper scraps.

「C-C-Cut apaaaaaart!!!! Contender Kurogane! Although it's a fake, he has cut that Twin-Wings, Edelweiss into two! He has retaliated against that hopeless difference in battle power with one strikeee!!!!」

「O-Oi oi, seriously!」

「He really won...!」

「His opponent is already defenseless! Finish it in one go like that!」

"No...way..."

In the midst of the echoing cheers from the excited audiences after seeing a reversal, Sara leaked out words of astonishment.

To an amateur of sword techniques, she could not understand why fake Edelweiss had just lost.

Hence she could not comprehend the situation, only felt confused.

However, that result was obvious to Ikki.

"Even if she's the world's strongest, she was imagined by an artist who had never held a sword before after all. But my Intetsu is different. This is my soul. The moment I decided to advance on the path of knighthood, my life shares its fate with this sword instead of my heart. This sword holds my

everything."

His sword might not be comparable to the world's strongest Twin-Wings.

However, despite so, that sword was the real thing filled with the inner content.

His dream of wanting to be a man like Ryoma Kurogane someday.

Not yielding the path he was advancing, and drawing a line against his father who obstructed him.

The responsibility towards the dreams of knights that reached up to the current place.

...And then, the inviolable promise with his important girl.

They were all within it.

Therefore, he could not lose.

"Heart, technique, body, these are the important things that cannot exist without the others, yet that fake was missing two of them... how could I have lost against that!"

Saying so, Ikki lowered his stance...

"This match, is my win...!"

And dashed towards Sara who had lost her strongest trump card.

In order to reach a conclusion of that showdown.

「Contender Kurugane has rushed iiiin! S-So fast!」

"...!"

On the other hand, against the incoming Ikki's attack, Sara could only panic after losing her strongest hand that was the fake Edelweiss made with most of her magic power.

However, that probably couldn't be helped.

The paint that was her magic power used to draw Purple Caricature only had bits remaining.

Although she still had some of her magic power left, Sara did not have a model that could win against an opponent who could defeat Twin-Wings, even if she was a fake.

She could not think of anyone that could fight against Ikki's assault.

'There's nothing...! I can't come up with anything, anything...!'

She would lose at that rate.

However, if she lost there...

「In the upcoming third round, if Sara-san wins, I will be your model like you said. But if you lose instead, please give up on making me your model completely.」

...She would not be able to make Ikki her model again.

If he couldn't become her model, it was the same as saying that she would not be able to complete her father's relic forever.

After wandering around the whole world, Ikki was the one she had finally found.

She could not easily change her mind and find another model.

Sara clearly understood that Ikki would never fade away from her mind.

If that was the case... she would probably never be able to draw on that painting forever.

It was a premonition of an absolute defeat.

Sara felt a chill that froze the blood circulating throughout her whole body as she imagined such a future.

'That kind of thing... d-don't want it.'

The promise to complete that painting was the only bond between her father and her.

She didn't want to lose it.

...At first, she definitely felt like that.

However, as Sara learned about painting, she came to know about the joy of drawing, her emotion expanded.

That was ─ jealousy.

Sara had spent half of her life working hard in order to fill the blank space in the painting left by her father.

Along the way, she had obviously tried to draw on it many times.

However, each time ─ she lost to it.

Originally, the painting of the Messiah burning away the devils spreading around was drawn with amateurish skill, a drawing style that seemed to be more or less self-taught, and a usage of color that made one doubt his sense... from the not successful painting of a man who ended as a nameless artist, she could feel his burning passion even after his death.

Sara was already a world-recognized artist.

Her fame of course, as well as her skill, sense, everything was above her father.

Even so, she could not win.

She was frustrated. And at the same time, she admired him.

Someday, someday... she wanted to draw a painting that would not look inferior when put in the center of that painting.

She wanted to become an artist that could draw it.

She came to think like that.

Hence, it was not just a condolence to complete the painting left behind by her father.

Sara Bloodlily's ─ an artist's pride was on the line for that challenge.

To let go of such an opportunity... she could not accept it.

There's no way she could accept it.

Like Ikki betting his life on the path of knighthood, Sara also betted her life on the path of an artist.

'Cannot lose... I am also...!'

...In that case...

"Purple Caricature, Another One!!!!"

With a drawing speed that could be even faster than Ikki or Edelweiss's swords, she created a fake Ikki.

What's more ─ four of them.

Ikki opened his eyes wide in surprise.

After defeating her strongest hand, he stepped in because Sara had no more means of opposing.

Such a counterattack was completely out of his expectation.

However, he wavered only for an instant.

"Seiyaa!!!!"

Ikki immediately recollected his confused mind from seeing the fakes, and decapitated one of the four fakes that challenged him with Ittōu Shura, rendering it to paper scraps.

On his second breath, he easily cut down another one.

However, that's also obvious. Since his opponents were none other than Ikki himself.

What he was good at. What he was poor at. What would be coming from that posture.

His advantages and disadvantages. His habits and tendencies ─ he knew them all better than anyone.

Those half-heartedly made fakes would not be a match even if there were four of them at the same time, no matter how close to perfection they were.

However ─ Sara already acknowledged such that.

The man that her strongest model, Twin-Wings, could not win against, would not be suppressed by that level.

She could never win with such an empty image.

However, just one thing.

There was just one thing that she believed that she would not lose against Ikki.

That was, the passion towards the painting, towards the path she had decided to advance.

'Just that, I definitely won't lose to you...!'

Then ─ she could draw it.

Nothing anyone else, she would materialize her own soul.

She would inject her own passion and soul into the canvas.

There's no way it wouldn't come out. ─In the first place, painting, creation, was just that kind of thing!

"..."

At the same time Ikki had slain the third one, Sara took a deep breath, then infused the last of her magic power into the Brush of the Demiurge.

Then she began to imagine.

The passion within herself. An incarnation of it.

'...First, the gender should be male.'

A feminine man would not do.

Even if it was to beat the opponent before her, her own wish should be prioritized.

If she wanted to sketch out that kind of wild passion, a man big like a rock would be good.

Arms like logs that could sweep away all obstacles.

Legs like huge pillars that could trample over all reason.

And then, a huge diamond sword that would cut apart all those that stood against her will.

The flesh would be as hard as welded steel, the blood flowing through the whole body would be as hot as magma, the bravery from the blood-soaked outfit would be like of the gladiators of ancient...

...Like flowing water, Sara was creating the incarnation of her passion on the empty canvas.

Even though she wasn't really thinking, the image overflowed without stopping.

Sara infused those overflowing inspirations and passions in a trance.

And after sketching out most of the image, when she was about to image the color of that incarnation, in the end...

That, happened.

"Eh..."

She was so shocked that she lost her voice.

Before she was even thinking, her brush was already dancing on the canvas.

And she drew it.

A painting that was the incarnation of Sara's passion. That man's face.

Sara gazed at the face of the incarnation she unconsciously drew ─ and smiled bitterly.

"...What. I properly remembered it..."

She was convinced.

That's how it was... there was no other appearance better than that to illustrate her passion.

She could say that she was certain right then and there.

That was, that was exactly ─ the shape of her soul!

"Purple Caricature ─ Mario Rosso...!"

Magic power passed through the painting that was drawn on the empty canvas, materializing it.

Appearing on the ring was a bloody gladiator in his prime with a height of three meter.

At the side of the image she drew after wringing the last of her magic power, Sara shouted.

"Ikki... it's showdown...!"

The voice she raised did not contain an ounce of anxiety.

That voice caused Ikki's lips to curve upwards after he slaughtered the last fake.

He understood from a single glance.

The fakes before were incomparable to it, which contained a heat seemingly to sting his skin...

That image was... the real thing.

Similar to his Intetsu, a materialization of her soul.

That was exactly...

"Just what I have hoped for...!"

Ikki took an assault stance by sinking his center of gravity down.

However, even faster than Ikki could inject power into his legs to kick off, with a speed that was not any worse than fake Edelweiss, Mario Rosso closed in and swung the huge sword in its hand at Ikki's head.

The slash produced from that overwhelming arm strength contained power that could split the ring in two with only a single strike.

However, it could not reach Ikki.

In response to the incoming powerful strike, Ikki kicked off the ring with all his strength and leapt.

Then he used his extraordinary eyesight to evade with a hair's breadth...

"Saigeki...!!!!"

A secret sword that concentrated all his momentum onto a single point, Ikki stabbed towards the center between the bloody gladiator's eyebrows.

A clean hit with no room for complaint.

Even so...

"…!?"

The rock-like body of Mario Rosso did not budge even the slightest.

On the contrary, Ikki's sword could not even pierce into a single layer of its skin.

Mario Rosso twisted its head to shake off Intetsu, then mow down its huge sword towards the airborne Ikki.

Even Ikki could not mobilize his body in mid air, he hurriedly used Intetsu as a shield. However...

"Gah!?!?"

The instant its diamond huge sword came into contact with Intetsu, Ikki's whole body was trampled by an unprecedented impact, blowing him away like a ball hit by toss batting.

He slid over the ring for tens of meters, then rolled until the edge of the ring.

Ikki had mitigated some degree of damage like the time he was thrown out of field, and stood up immediately, but...

"Guh...!"

…Just receiving one strike had crushed both of his arms.

The bones from the tips of his hands to his shoulders were completely shattered.

It had that much of an impact. Of course, he could not hold Intetsu anymore, it spun in the air above the ring after his hands let go and fell down.

And before it fell onto the ground ─ Mario Rosso chased after Ikki to deliver the finishing strike.

Its huge body dashed forward with an unbelievable speed while its powerful strike was swung down onto the ring.

It was swung with all its strength, cutting apart anything that stood in its way.

Against that, Ikki already lost his weapon and even his arms...

"I win…!"

In the next instant after Sara believed so, fresh red blood spilled onto the ring.

The blood was... boiling like magma.

"!?"

Sara opened her eyes wide in shock.

The body that was cut apart was not of Ikki, but her passion.

However, how was it done?

Even though Ikki did not have a weapon anymore.

Thinking until that far, Sara noticed.

Ikki's movement while he was rolling, the positions the two of them were standing were...

'Oh...no...!'

Over there was the vacuum distortion that, though a fake, the world's strongest swordsman had carved with her slashes.

That's right. After knowing that his own slash could not pass through, Ikki had intentionally lured Mario Rosso towards that location.

And at the same time the magma-like blood of Mario Rosso spilled out, Ikki moved.

That was the moment to decide the outcome.

He maintained his low posture, dived below the vacuum distortion like the time when he rolled pass there, and passed under the side of Mario Rosso. He dashed like an arrow on the ring just like that, and bit the handle of Intetsu that was falling down with his teeth to stop its fall.

And then..

He stabbed Intetsu into the abdomen of Sara, who was still in shock, with his body as if colliding into her.

"Ka...fu..."

Blood flowed out from Sara's mouth as her body was stabbed, and she fell onto her knees.

At the same time, the incarnation of her passion was also blown away by the wind after becoming paper scraps.

The outcome between the two was decided at that moment.

"It's my win."

"...Un."

Sara stayed silent for a while after Ikki's words, then acknowledged the reality in a quiet voice.

She had already exhausted all of her techniques and willpower.

Even so... the reality was that she did not win.

And then, because he accepted it...

"But... I can't keep that promise."

She spoke those selfish words.

Ikki's eyes turned round in surprise.

However, Sara did not care.

It was fine even if she was ridiculed as a coward. It was fine even if she was reproached as a liar. It didn't matter even if she was treated as a bitch.

Because...

"I am the daughter of a bastard that died falling on his canvas. This passion... I won't give it up."

Ikki was surprised at Sara's selfish declaration, but he sighed as he gave up... and smiled.

"What a hopeless person you are."

He felt troubled. However, he somehow felt glad as well.

She saw Ikki's smiling face as he accepted her selfishness when she was losing her consciousness...

For the first time, Sara felt jealous of Stella.

And she thought.

Someday... if she were to fall in love... she wanted to love someone like that.

Bloody Da Vinci collapsed onto the ring like a puppet with its strings cut.

At the same time, the main referee announced the end of the match.

He informed everyone that Ikki was the victor.

「We have reached the conclusion…! Another One vs Bloody Da Vinci! A fierce fight with quite a few reversals! Contender Bloodlily has shown her will at the last moment in the end, but the last one standing on the ring is Contender Kuroganeee!」

「H-He won, he won it!」

「He really won against an opponent with that kind of cheat ability!?」

「Kya! Ikki-kun is the best!!」

Applauses showered onto the winner of that fierce fight without any reserve.

Amongst the applauses, Akatsuki Academy's Rinna Kazamatsuri sighed in disappointment.

"Hmpf. To think that even Sara lost. Even my demon eye could not have foreseen this result... With this, I can't keep my head up in front of Tsukikage oji-sama."

"Please don't feel down, my lady. There are still Ouma-sama and Amane-sama left."

"Well, that's true... But I don't understand. Even though there's the weakness of only being able to take action according to its 「drawn concept」, Sara's Purple Caricature should have undoubtedly reproduced the power of White Summit. As Sara was there during the 「Baltic Crisis」 by White Summit in Middle East, she definitely witnessed it directly... Even so, why did she lose in the fight?

It's not like Another One is in the same league as White Summit."

"It might be true in regards to their total specs, but if he knew where his opponent's first strike would come from, it's not impossible for him to win the fight. Kurogane-sama has an advantage in terms of the difference in their battle style."

"Difference in battle style?"

"Yes. The sword technique that fake Edelweiss and Kurogane-sama used was to bring out the highest speed and greatest power in an instant, which was its main concept, by moving all the related muscles at the same time. However, the main concept may be the same, their Devices are different. Compared to fake Edelweiss's twin sword style, Kurogane-sama is one sword style. In that case..."

"Ah! Another One holding the sword with both his hands will have an advantage in a single hit!"

"Exactly. The total amount of muscles mobilized in that instant is double through a simple calculation. The kinetic energy generated by utilizing all that will make several times the difference. By breaking through with that advantage and the weakness of Purple Caricature only being able to take action according to its 「drawn concept」, Kurogane-sama seized the victory in that moment."

"I see... there's such a principle behind it."

"However, this principle is possible obviously because of Kurogane-sama's high level of sword technique. Normal people probably won't be able to reach Sara-sama's Purple Caricature even if they knew the principle... As expected of the knight called Another One despite being F-Rank, he

lives up to that nickname."

Originally, those two were not from the side that should be happy about Ikki's victory, but they honestly felt admiration towards Ikki's strength for defeating Bloody Da Vinci without his trump card Ittōu Shura.

However, besides the two of them, Stella, who should have been the most happy for Ikki's victory was...

Trembling.

Was it due to Ikki's victory?

No.

She was... able to comprehend it because she had that level of power.

The real reason for the victory of that battle.

Certainly, it was a fact that Ikki used the advantage of one sword style.

However ─ the reason of his victory was not that. It was also not the difference in battle style.

As for the reason why... aiming at the weakness of Purple Caricature, even after using the advantage between their battle style ─ in the instant they crossed each other, the side that touched the opponent first with the blade was none other than fake Edelweiss.

That's right. Heart, technique, body, despite missing two out of the three, the world's strongest sword still did not allow the young samurai to take initiative.

Stella definitely witnessed that instant.

Hence, she resolved herself for Ikki's loss.

However... the result was as it was shown.

Ikki's blade severed his opponent's life first.

Why exactly was that the case?

Stella was confused, and after that... shivered.

She noticed.

At the instant of that contact, Ikki took a devil-like tactic.

'Ikki has probably realized it too...'

It would be impossible for Ikki Kurogane to misjudge the difference in strength between him and his opponent. He knew it.

Even if it was a fake without inner contents, even if he used the advantage of the first strike, his opponent's slash would reach him first.

That's why he covered up for that delay... by using the characteristic of Purple Caricature.

He lured the slash towards his head, taking it with his skull, which was the hardest bone in the human body!

Of course, no matter how hard it was in terms of human bone, Edelweiss's sword could easily split it in half.

However, its speed would drop regardless compared to cutting flesh.

That was probably a fraction of instant not even reaching 0.1 second, but...

Both of them had a slashing speed that normal people couldn't even see.

Just filling up that... the outcome was reversed.

And he grasped it.

From the opponent even Stella could not see any hope of winning, he won in just one round.

'...Geez, what a guy...'

Against the white blade, the world's number one slash, the idea to use his own head as a shield... was not normal.

The moment he thought of it already meant that he was abnormal.

To actually carry it out, he was already at the level of being doubted about his sanity.

However ─ being able to do that was exactly the knight that was Ikki Kurogane.

A failure with F-Rank that could not even be treated as a Blazer by the country.

His opponents were always above him.

He had fought his way through with only those kinds of battles.

He was constantly giving his all and putting his life on the line.

He would pour in every effort he could think of and moved in to fight... and continued to obtain victories.

...And from there, he had cultivated his extraordinary strength.

That was already beyond the range that Stella and the others could imagine.

And with such dimensionally different tactics and tenacity, in the face of a difference in battle power that did not contain a fragment of a chance of victory through others' eyes, a disadvantage without a chance of reversal ─ he completely overturned it.

That was the real horror of Worst One, Ikki Kurogane, who had refined himself through countless disadvantageous battles.

Stella shivered at the horror of that Ikki...

'Seriously, only against you alone, I don't feel that it would be easy to win... Ikki!'

She trembled from the joy that overwhelmed her fear.

No matter how overwhelming the difference between their power was, she would not be at an advantage.

To the strong ones, there was no opponent more troublesome than him.

Because Ikki was like that, she couldn't stop herself from loving him.

If it was him, he could probably take her on at her full strength.

Power, technique, heart... he could probably take on everything she had and stop it.

'After that... just one more thing!'

The moment of bliss with her most beloved rival.

The time she dreamt of had already come so close to the point where she felt like her hand could

almost reach out to it.