“Eh-hem!” came the announcer’s voice. “That was an unexpected delay, but let’s regroup and move on to the vice captain’s duel! Next, we have Thousand Blade’s Rose Valencia against Divine Emperor’s Medi Malum!”
The crowd cheered, excited for the tournament to continue.
“Rose is the sole inheritor of the famous Cherry Blossom Blade School of Swordcraft! She relies on a level of technical skill very few can match, which she uses to overwhelm her opponents! Facing her is Medi, who has achieved mastery of another famous school of swordcraft, the Tachibana Blossom School of Swordcraft! Unlike Rose, she relies on her formidable strength to beat her opponents into submission!”
Rose and Medi took the stage as the announcer enthusiastically introduced them. They locked eyes, and their gazes sent sparks flying.
So this is Medi Malum, the vice-captain for Divine Emperor Academy…
Medi Malum was about 170 centimeters tall. Her long blond hair was tied up at the back of her head with a hairpin shaped like a tachibana orange. She was beautiful, with amber eyes, pure white skin, and a distinctive strong-willed cast to her face. Her large chest, thin waist, and long legs gave her an incredible figure.
She wore a white shirt, a red tie, a beige cardigan tied around her waist, and a black miniskirt—a dressed-down version of the girls’ Divine Emperor uniform.
According to Shii’s scouting report, her skills stood above the other students even at the fiercely competitive Divine Emperor Academy, where she was the clear number two behind Shin Rex.
“Are you both ready? On my mark… Begin!”
Rose didn’t waste any time summoning her Soul Attire.
“Blossom—Winter Sakura.”
A giant cherry blossom tree appeared behind her, spawning a blizzard of sakura petals.
Medi whistled appreciatively. “That’s a beautiful ability,” she said, watching the brilliant cherry blossom petals dance on the wind.
“My Soul Attire is called Winter Sakura. It supplies its user with a tremendous amount of spirit power until all the petals have fallen from the tree. In short, it’s a self-strengthening Soul Attire,” Rose said.
Why was she explaining her ability?
Medi frowned. “…What’re you playin’ at? You looking down on me? Why would you tell me about your ability?”
“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Rose responded. “This is just my way of doing things. Sword duels are serious business; it doesn’t feel right knowing all about you while you’re in the dark about me.”
Rose was seeking a fair fight. I wasn’t sure that was the smartest thing to do…but it was just like her.
“Hmm, so you don’t want any unfair advantages… You’re a pretty cool chick. I like you,” Medi said with a smile.
She surged with tremendous spirit power.
“Perfume—Tachibana Flower!”
A pure white sword appeared from a rift in the air. She grabbed its handle, and a giant tachibana orange tree sprang from the ground behind her. With its lush leaves and ripe oranges, it felt like an incredible breath of life—and I felt enormous waves of spirit power surge from it.
“My Soul Attire is called Tachibana Flower! It sounds like you know this already, but it’s a pure and simple self-strengthening type!” Medi said honestly.
She wasted no time charging directly at Rose.
“Tachibana Blossom Style—Yuzu Slice!” Medi shouted, swinging her white blade down with all her body weight behind it. It was a simple strength attack without any feints or other kinds of trickery.
“Cherry Blossom Blade Style—Night Sakura!” Rose yelled, swinging her blade with a full-strength attack of her own.
Pink and white swords collided violently, producing a ferocious shockwave that filled the coliseum with their spirit power.
“Ha-ha, now that’s what I’m talkin’ about! You’re actually a match for me!” Medi said.
“Same to you… Hah!” Rose shouted, planting her feet firmly on the stone stage and using the reaction force to push Medi back. “Cherry Blossom Blade Style—Sakura Flash Chain!”
Rose seized the opportunity to attack before her opponent regained her footing, launching a combo of fierce thrusts. She aimed for Medi’s neck, side, thighs, and other vital areas.
“You’ll have to do better than that! Tachibana Blossom Style—Kumquat Circle!” Medi yelled, deflecting all of Rose’s thrusts with a circular slash.
Their pure self-strengthening duel only heated up from there.
“Haaaaaaah…!”
“Raaaaaaah…!”
Their pink and white swords collided again and again, sending bright sparks flying through the air.
What an intense duel… Rose and Medi were both putting the entirety of their body weight, arm strength, and leg strength into every single attack, creating a tempest of slashes that frequently came away leaving wounds. Their respective Soul Attires immediately healed their injuries, allowing them to continue attacking without rest.
It was a deadly duel in which every millisecond mattered.
So far, they were even in terms of physical strength. Medi’s Soul Attire was slightly more powerful, but Rose’s skill with the blade was far superior.
“Cherry Blossom Blade Style—Lightning Sakura!” Rose shouted, hitting Medi on the shoulder with a lightning-quick slash.
“Ngh… Dammit… Tachibana Blossom Style—Hassaku Thrust!” Medi cried out. She gritted her teeth against the pain and countered with a fierce series of thrusts, but Rose dodged them all with flawless footwork.
“Cherry Blossom Blade Style—Sakura Flash!”
Rose evaded all of Medi’s attacks, moving as little as possible, and countered with perfect precision. She consistently stayed one step ahead by watching Medi’s breathing and predicting her thoughts. The Cherry Blossom Blade Style of Swordcraft was designed for real combat, and Rose was exercising its full potential.
That’s our Rose… Bacchus’s training had elevated her swordcraft to even greater heights.
“Dammit…,” Medi cursed, drawing spirit power from Tachibana Flower to heal a cut on her hand.
…It’s getting a little slower, I observed. Medi’s healing was taking longer than it had at the beginning of the duel. The essence of self-strengthening Soul Attires was, of course, the ability to strengthen their wielder. Healing was only a side effect. That was true of my darkness too; healing required much more spirit power for me than increasing my strength.
Rose constantly switched up the speed of her attacks, while Medi remained determined to go head-to-head with her. It wasn’t long before it became obvious who was taking more injuries and healing more frequently.
“…You said your name was Rose, right? You’re crazy strong,” said Medi.
“Right back at you,” replied Rose, maintaining a set distance from her opponent.
They probably felt a connection as two swordswomen of the same age with the same type of Soul Attire.
Rose can do this! Winter Sakura has plenty of petals left, so her Soul Attire will last a while longer. As long as nothing goes wrong, she has this in the bag! I thought, clenching my fists excitedly.
That was when I noticed the air around Medi shift.
“…Aww, man,” grumbled Medi. “I wanted to keep this a secret so I could use it to kick Shin’s stupid ass…but you’ve left me no choice. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d face an opponent as good as you.”
She thrust Tachibana Flower into the stone stage, and it erupted with an incredible amount of spirit power, far more than it had been producing until now.
It can’t be…!
I recognized this feeling. There was only one thing that power could signify. But that shouldn’t have been possible.
“Devour the Magical Fruit and Reminisce Drunkenly on the Fragrance of Eternity—Timeless Tachibana!” Medi yelled.
The tachibana orange tree towering behind her burst into full bloom. The thick trunk and branches creaked as they grew; new leaves sprouted; white, five-petaled flowers bloomed; and ripe citrus fruits formed all over the tree.
That’s…a self-strengthening True Attire… The spirit power emanating from the tree was off the charts. In terms of pure output, it probably surpassed even Von’s Cleansing Sand Whale. Self-strengthening abilities were straightforward and unlikely to catch an opponent off guard, but they significantly increased all their wielder’s basic stats, including spirit power, physical strength, and reflexes. There was no better weapon in a duel of pure swordcraft and spirit power.
I guess we shouldn’t have assumed we knew everything about the vice-captain of Divine Emperor Academy… None of us had had any idea she’d manifested her True Attire.
“…I’m surprised. I didn’t know you had your True Attire,” Rose said.
“Heh-heh, you should be honored. You’re the first to see it,” Medi replied with a fearless smile. She drew her pure white sword from the stage. A vast amount of spirit power amassed within it, causing it to glow with a faint white light. “Now the true battle begins.”
“A True Attire wielder… You’re a worthy opponent!” Rose said.
She assumed the stance of the Cherry Blossom Blade School of Swordcraft, but just at that moment, Medi vanished into mist.
“Tachibana Blossom Style—”
“…!”
Rose’s mind raced. She’s behind me…? If I spin around fast enough, I can still block her! She swung her sword behind her without turning around, but Medi had already moved.
“Too slow! Iyokan Revolt!” Medi cried out, having circled behind Rose again. Knowing she’d been outmaneuvered, Rose instinctively dove forward, but…
“Ngh!”
…Medi’s flurry of slashes had been too quick and accurate, and Rose found her body covered in cuts.
“Haah, haah…” She’s ridiculously fast. I didn’t see her move at all…, thought Rose.
She took three steps back to put some distance between herself and Medi.
Medi gave an impressed whistle. “I gotta admit, I’m surprised. I thought that would be enough to finish you off!”
Divine Emperor’s vice-captain pressed forward aggressively, forcing Rose into combat at extremely close range.
“Take that, and that! I’m not slowin’ down anytime soon!” shouted Medi.
“Grk…”
Rose was just barely managing to hold on thanks to her godly reflexes and the extra spirit power from Winter Sakura, but simply defending herself and dodging Medi’s attacks were taking all her effort. She was completely on the defensive. The difference in strength between Rose’s Soul Attire and Medi’s True Attire was too great.
Come on, Rose… Hang in there…, I thought, clenching my teeth nervously.
“Tachibana Blossom Style—Yuzu Slice!” Medi shouted, swinging her sword down overhead. It was the same attack she’d performed at the beginning of the duel.
Rose responded by holding her sword up horizontally. It was the perfect defensive maneuver for the situation; the angle of the blade, Rose’s posture as she prepared for impact, and the position of her center of gravity were all straight out of the textbook.
However…
“You really think that’s gonna stop me?!”
…Medi used her tremendous spirit power to break Rose’s defense and knock her off-balance, then land a merciless side kick.
“Gah…!” Rose gasped as the air was knocked out of her lungs. “…Grk. Cherry Blossom Blade Style—”
She quickly stood up and tried to counterattack, apparently having decided that defeat was inevitable if she didn’t do something.