As the crowd continued to buzz excitedly, four members of the medical staff rushed to Medi’s side.
“Holy cow… I’ve never seen injuries like this…”
“She’d be long dead if not for her self-strengthening True Attire…”
“Bring a stretcher! Quickly!”
“Call doctors with healing Soul Attires! Tell them to summon as much of their spirit power as possible and wait in the infirmary so we can begin treatment in one minute!”
The medics carefully and efficiently performed first aid.
“Rose…,” Medi said weakly from atop the stretcher, holding out her right hand.
“What is it?” Rose asked.
“Haah, haah… Let’s do this again…next year!” Medi said, smiling happily. Her expression was open and honest, without a trace of regret.
“Absolutely. I was just about to say the same thing,” Rose replied. She smiled and grasped Medi’s hand. It looked like the two of them were going to develop a strong rivalry.
Rose descended from the stage and slowly made her way back toward us. Her fatigue was clear to see.
“Good job, Rose. That was the best duel I’ve ever seen!” I said.
“Way to go, Rose! You were so cool!” cried out Lia.
“I should’ve known you could handle a True Attire wielder,” remarked Shii.
“Even I was flabbergasted when the Billion-Year Sakura appeared!” exclaimed Lilim.
“It was stunningly beautiful!” added Tirith.
“Your swordcraft was mesmerizing, Rose!” said Lou.
We were all equally amazed by what Rose had done.
“Heh. I told you there was nothing to worry…about…” Rose suddenly stumbled and fell onto my chest.
“A-are you okay?!” I asked.
“Yeah… Sorry. I’m just suffering from a mild spirit power deficiency. I’ll feel fine again after a little rest.” She slowly steadied herself, then sat down on a nearby bench and took a sip from her water bottle. It looked like she’d be just fine.
Anyway, the score between Thousand Blade and Divine Emperor was now tied at two wins each. Our fate would be decided in the captain’s match between me and Shin Rex.
✦ ✦ ✦
With the vice-captain’s duel between Rose and Medi now finished, a buzz filled the National Crusade Coliseum.
“What’s going on? I’ve never seen Divine Emperor lose two duels in one round…”
“Thousand Blade’s been impressive… It was only a few years ago that they were stuck at the bottom of the Elite Five Academies. Talk about a meteoric rise.”
“The Golden Age has come again!”
“This rapid turnaround started when Reia Lasnote became chairwoman, didn’t it?”
“That girl always seemed like a total airhead, but did she actually develop into a good teacher…?”
“I guess stranger things have happened!”
The spectators couldn’t contain their excitement at Thousand Blade’s two stunning upsets.
“What a day it’s been already! Are you all having as much fun as I am?! Thousand Blade is currently holding steady with Divine Emperor at two wins apiece! Who could have seen this coming?!” the announcer said, firing up the crowd even more. “Ready or not, this is the final battle! Would the captain for Thousand Blade Academy, Allen Rodol, and the captain for Divine Emperor Academy, Shin Rex, please take the stage?!”
At that, I began walking toward the stage, while the announcer continued the preamble.
“Thousand Blade’s Allen Rodol is a swordsman who fights with pitch-black darkness! He looks like a gentle boy who wouldn’t hurt a fly, but don’t let that fool you! His personality is as black as his power, and he has deep connections with the underworld! That said, he’s also demonstrated a humane side by providing a precious sample to help find the elusive cure for curses! He truly is an enigma!”
Did my introductions always have to be so terrible? At least it wasn’t all negative this time. That was a slight improvement.
“Divine Emperor’s Shin Rex is a member of the Seven Holy Blades, a group touted by the Holy Knights Association as the best collection of swordfighters in the world! He’s a prodigy with the blade! I haven’t been given any information about his fighting style, his Soul Attire, or his school of swordcraft! He’s just as mysterious as Allen!”
I reached the stage and saw Shin Rex on the other side.
Shin had medium-length brown hair, a handsome face, and innocent eyes. He was 168 centimeters tall and had a slender build, which lined up with the scouting report. His aloof expression was matched by the casual way he wore the white Divine Emperor uniform.
Our eyes met as I studied him.
“Fwah… So you’re Allen Rodol. I heard you’re super strong, but…now that I’ve got a good look at you, I’m not gonna get my hopes up,” he said, yawning loudly.
It was seriously rude.
“You don’t seem very excited to be at the Sword Master Festival,” I said.
“Of course I’m not,” Shin replied. “Are you kidding? I’d rather be lazing around at home right now than fighting in this lame festival. But if I didn’t come, those pigheaded geezers would never have let me hear the end of it… Hence why I’m here.”
By “pigheaded geezers,” he must have been referring to the leaders of the noble faction.
“What’s even the point of the Sword Master Festival, anyway?” Shin continued with an innocent smile. “It’s supposed to decide the best swordfighter and the best swordcraft academy…but everyone already knows that I’m the best, which also makes Divine Emperor the best school.”
Shin didn’t mean that as a taunt; he truly believed those words.
…That’s kind of amazing, actually. I’d met a number of extremely talented swordsmen who were confident they were the best in the world, including Dodriel and Shido. Yet Shin differed from them in one fundamental way: He wasn’t just confident that he was the best—he was convinced of it. In his eyes, it was an undeniable fact that he was the best swordsman alive.
“It’s dangerous to let yourself grow conceited. You never know when someone could pull the rug out from under you,” I warned him.
“Impossible. There’s no way the riffraff could do something like that,” Shin said flippantly.
“…”
“…”
We locked eyes silently.
“The captain’s duel between Allen Rodol and Shin Rex is about to start! Are you both ready? On my mark… Begin!” shouted the official.
“Destroy—Rapacious Demon Zeon!” I yelled, immediately summoning my black sword and assuming the middle stance.
Shin, meanwhile, just stood there and gave me an appraising look.
“Wow. Would you look at that? I’m kinda surprised there’s another kid in my year who has this much spirit power. I’ll give you a point for that,” he said, drawing the sword at his waist.
“…Huh? Are you not going to lay down this time?” I asked.
“Pfft… Ha-ha-ha! Man, you’re funnier than you look, too!” Shin burst out laughing, holding his belly. “Yeah, I’d normally do this lying down, but I feel like that’s not gonna cut it with you. Though I don’t think I’ll have to go all out, either. We’ll see.”
Shin tapped the stage with the toe of his shoe.
“Now then, shall we get started?” he said.
“Hrk…!”
The next thing I knew, I was slammed into the wall behind me. I felt the impact a moment later, from the top of my head all the way down to my toes, feeling as if I’d been hit by a piece of heavy machinery. It took a moment for my brain to realize that Shin had charged at me and sent me flying.
He’s so fast. And unbelievably skilled, too…
Shin had just accelerated from zero to full speed. His elite control of his spirit power and ability to shift his weight had allowed him to perform that attack without any visible buildup.
“You might wanna start paying attention. I’ll crush you if you don’t,” Shin said. Standing in front of me, he unleashed his immense spirit power.
Is this guy for real?!
He was using his spirit power to try to crush me.
“Aaaaaaaarrgghh!” I yelled, countering with my own spirit power. I forced him back with my darkness and managed to escape.
“Wow. I didn’t think you’d get out of that. I underestimated you,” Shin said, his eyes wide as he clapped his hands.
“No way… He actually overwhelmed Allen with spirit power…!” gasped Lia, shocked.
“Shin Rex… He’s completely unserious, but his skills are the real deal,” said Rose.
They both watched intently from our team’s seating area.
“You’re good… I shouldn’t have expected any less from an active Holy Blade,” I said, spitting out blood and gripping my black sword. “Now it’s my turn!”
I dashed across the stone stage, closing the distance between us in a single step.
“Eighth Style—Eight-Span Crow!”
“That’s not gonna work, bud. Our base stats are just way too different,” Shin said. He casually swung his sword down and deflected the eight slashes.
“What?!” I gasped.
“You don’t have time to act surprised!” Shin said, immediately swinging his sword at me with astounding speed.