…his sword shattered into tiny pieces. Shin had destroyed it with a casual flick of his wrist, as if shooing away an insect.
“Ah-ha-ha, you should see your face… Kneel,” Shin commanded. Vast spirit power poured out of his body, forcing Colesta to his knees.
“Grk…,” Colesta grunted. He did his best to resist the overwhelming spirit power pressing down upon his head, but it wasn’t long before he collapsed to the floor.
“C-Colesta is down!” announced the official. “Starting the count! One…two…three…!”
“Huh? Whatcha doing down there, buddy? What were you saying about duels between swordsmen?” Shin taunted.
“Haaaaaaaaaaah!” roared Colesta.
He clenched his fists so tightly they bled. Bubbles foamed at the corners of his mouth, and tears of blood leaked from his eyes. But no matter how hard he fought, he couldn’t get up to stop the count.
“Eight…nine…ten!” the official yelled, bringing the duel to an anticlimactic finish. “W-we have a winner! Divine Emperor’s Shin Rex! Divine Emperor Academy takes this year’s Elite Five Holy Festival!”
“Fwah… That was boring,” Shin said. He lazily got up and yawned, having won the duel without breaking a sweat.
“I—I can’t believe it… Have all my years of tireless training…been for naught?” Colesta muttered. He couldn’t stand up, but instead stayed on all fours and sobbed.
Shin casually walked up to him.
“Uh, it’s Colesta, right? Sorry you wasted all that time and effort!”
And with that mean-spirited remark, the video cut off.
“““…”””
A disturbed silence fell over the room. After a short pause, Shii spoke up.
“After their duel, Colesta dropped out of Flame Emperor Academy and gave up swordcraft for good.”
That didn’t surprise me. He’d been horribly embarrassed by the overwhelming difference in power between him and Shin in front of a massive audience.
“Shin Rex… I’ve never met him, but I already hate him,” spat Lia.
“Yeah. He’s rotten to the core,” said Rose.
“He definitely went too far,” agreed Lou.
The three younger girls all spoke with an intense hatred.
“The great Lilim Chorine is going to give him divine punishment!” declared Lilim.
“That guy really disgusts me…,” muttered Tirith.
Shii clapped her hands. “I know how you all feel, but let’s focus on analyzing our opponents’ Soul Attires and fighting styles for now.”
We did as she said and delved into the scouting reports. We familiarized ourselves with the basic physical information on each participant—including their height, weight, and reach—then studied their Soul Attire abilities, individual quirks, and unconscious habits. Once we were all up to speed on our opponents, we predicted their offensive, defensive, and evasive strategies and discussed how to counter them. Analysis of Divine Emperor’s first, second, third, and vice-captain went smoothly, but it was there that we reached the problem: Shin Rex.
“…This is it?” I said.
Shin’s scouting report was only a single page—a huge shock after reading the other scouting reports, which were all over fifty pages.
“Shin Rex is one of the Seven Holy Blades, so any information about him is closely guarded… We had to work really hard to get that video,” Shii explained.
She picked up his scouting report and began to read off the page.
“Shin Rex, Divine Emperor Academy, Class 2-A. He’s 168 centimeters tall and 50 kilograms, making him very skinny for a swordsman. A prodigy with the blade, he joined the Seven Holy Blades at the age of ten, making him the youngest person ever to do so. Soul Attire: Unknown. Tactics: Unknown. Battle Habits: Unknown. Unfortunately, there’s almost no helpful information.”
About the only real information we had to go off was his height and weight.
“Judging by the video, his physical strength is unremarkable,” continued Shii. “The problem is his abnormal spirit power…”
Even a swordsman who did no strength training whatsoever could break an iron plate with their fist if they had enough spirit power. If Shin covered his entire body with the massive spirit power he’d demonstrated in that duel, he would become impossibly strong and fast.
“It scares me that we don’t even know what kind of Soul Attire he has,” commented Lia.
“In a duel, there’s no greater threat than the unknown,” said Rose.
They both looked worried.
“Not to mention, Divine Emperor knows Allen’s gonna be our captain,” added Lilim.
“Allen is super famous. They’ll already know everything his Soul Attire can do…,” said Tirith.
This was sounding worse and worse.
“That means we’re at a massive disadvantage in the captain’s duel in terms of information,” Shii summarized.
“““““““…”””””””
The mood in the room turned heavy.
“Anyway, all we can do is wish Allen luck!” said Shii.
“So it’s no different from normal!” remarked Lilim.
“Give it your all,” said Tirith.
The three third years clenched their fists excitedly.
“We’ve got nothing to worry about,” said Lia optimistically. “Allen has stomped every tough enemy in his path so far!”
“I can’t imagine you losing,” said Rose.
“Ah-ha-ha, I’ll do my best,” I responded, not exactly sure where they were getting their confidence from. I felt a little embarrassed by their faith in me.
Now that we were done carefully examining the scouting reports, it was time to decide the Thousand Blade lineup.
“The first has to be a first-year student, so that’s you, Lou,” Shii said.
“I’ll do my best!” Lou said.
The reason for having a first year in this position was to encourage growth among the younger students. Lou Lorenti had earned that spot when she’d won the First-Year Tourney.
“Next is the second. I feel like that’s a good matchup for me…but what do you all think?” Shii asked.
Divine Emperor’s second was a second-year boy named Godric Emerson. He was massive, but not actually very physically strong. Instead, he relied on his intelligence, delicate swordcraft, and crystal-producing Soul Attire to wear down opponents.
“I agree. I definitely think you can handle him,” I said.
Shii wielded her blade with unparalleled precision, and her Soul Attire, Aqua Queen, made her an extremely versatile swordswoman. A duel between her and Godric would be a highly skilled affair decided by finesse.
“You can counter any type of attack with your water ability,” said Lia.
“I can’t see you losing a duel of pure skill,” added Rose.
“I struggle against intricate swordcraft, so he’s all yours,” conceded Lilim.
“Same,” said Tirith.
We were all in agreement. Choosing our first and second had been surprisingly easy, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth for the third and vice-captain spots.
“Nemenen has the ability to produce trees and use them to attack his opponents! My Fafnir would have a massive advantage!” Lia said.
“No, listen to me!” argued Lilim. “That couldn’t possibly be a better matchup for my Bursting Clay! I can blow a whole forest to smithereens with one explosion!”
“Medi has a simple self-strengthening Soul Attire. The best way to counter that is with another Soul Attire of the same type, such as my Winter Sakura. I’ll be able to bring out its full potential,” Rose said.
“I disagree,” countered Tirith. “I think it’d be better to tie Medi up with my Psychic Shackle and prevent her from using her strength in the first place…”
The four of them continued to argue, Lia and Lilim each insisting they were the best matchup for Nemenen, and Rose and Tirith doing the same for Medi. It wasn’t until sunset that we finally finished the Thousand Blade lineup.
First: Lou Lorenti
Second: Shii Arkstoria
Third: Lia Vesteria
Vice-Captain: Rose Valencia
Captain: Allen Rodol
Reserves: Lilim Chorine, Tirith Magdarote
“Yeah. I think this is our best formation!” Shii said, nodding with satisfaction.
“Urgh, I’m getting nervous…,” Lou said, looking anxious.
“I promise I’m gonna win! I know how important it is being third!” declared Lia, all fired up.
“I’m the vice-captain… This is a great responsibility. I’ll do my best not to let you all down,” Rose said with determination.
Meanwhile…
“Tch! How come I don’t get to fight?!” Lilim complained.
“I’m not sure whether to feel disappointed or relieved…,” said Tirith.
…Lilim and Tirith were having a hard time accepting their status as reserves.
“It has nothing to do with your fighting prowess. There simply isn’t a good matchup for either of your abilities,” explained Shii.
Lilim’s and Tirith’s Soul Attires were at their best when teaming up with other Soul Attires. They didn’t seem to have a clear advantage over any of the Divine Emperor participants’ abilities, either, which was why they’d ended up as reserves.
“Okay everyone, it’s not long now till the Sword Master Festival! We’re absolutely going to win it all this year!”
“““““““Yeah!”””””””