“Of course not.” Yukihime smiled as she replied. “In fact, I’m just about to prove the contrary.”
“Hmm... Maybe you’ll only understand after I defeat you here?”
“That goes both ways. Now that things have come this far, fighting is the only way we’ll settle anything.”
“True enough. Shall we get started, then?” Elemia’s soft whispers sounded as sweet as honey. “Liberation – Sand Scorpios.” She gripped her silver blade.
“Liberation – Snowbloom.” Yukihime’s sheathed, azure blade appeared at her hip.
“Oh, that’s right,” Elemia said. “There’s one thing I should tell you about. Each of the Seven Wicked Knights have two names, one that refers to their sin, and the other to a part of the animal that represents them. My sin is lust, and my animal part is the scorpion’s tail.”
“Thanks for being so kind to explain that to me, but I’m not going to remember all that.”
“So be it... But just so you know, we only divulge this information to someone who we’re serious about killing. So you don’t need to remember... Just prepare to die, that’s all.”
“Oh... Well, you’d also better prepare to die, then. When I announce my name, it means I’m prepared to carry the entire weight of the world on my shoulders.”
Elemia whistled in mock-admiration – and then her seductive smile shifted over into ferocious grin.
“I am Elemia Argyros, the Tail of Lust, 3rd of the 7 Wicked Knights! Now it’s your turn to introduce your self, lady of Azur Étoile!”
“I am Yukihime Yukigane, the Headmistress who protects Azur Étoile, and I vow to defeat you!”
Elemia brandished her blade, while Yukihime unsheathed hers. Once both had sworn to go all-out on each other, they collided.
Underneath Star Gate Academy, I stood in the spacious chamber that preceded the star gates. It was just a bit smaller than a gymnasium, and Grom stood across from me, returning my glare. Tension spread as we waited to see who would attack first.
“Hey, Kokuya... Do you know what people usually do before they fight?” Grom suddenly asked me in a bored voice.
“Don’t talk about pointless crap?”
“No, stupid, that’s what they do after they start. Before they start, they gotta introduce themselves. You wouldn’t wanna get killed by someone without even knowing who they are, right?”
“I have no plans to die here.”
“Yet people still die in battle! Besides, you gotta let your victims know your name before you kill them, or else they won’t be able to scream out your name in anger when they die. Grom always loves that part...” Grom said happily, as if he was talking about falling in love. “Anyway, shall we?” He grinned, then introduced himself. “The name’s Grom Eguleil, the Spine of Greed, 4th of the Seven Wicked Knights. You’d better make this fun, or else Grom’ll kill you right away!”
“Well, I don’t have any over-the-top title like that... I’m just Kokuya Kurono, and I have no intention of enjoying this. I’m going to end it as quickly as possible!”
“Liberation – Blitz Hedgehog.”
“Liberation – Chronoslayer.”
We both brandished our weapons. Grom was holding hedgehog spines – four in each hand, for a total of eight. He was the one who attacked first. It was rare for someone to get the jump on me, and I was just about to attack when I saw him throw the four spines he held in his right hand. He probably had a lot of confidence in his speed.
Before the spines reached me, I sped up my mind, which made it look like the spines were moving at a much slower speed. He had aimed for my left eye, my throat, my heart, and my left thigh. The first three spines were probably just decoys to distract me from what he was really after. If I panicked and tried to protect my most vulnerable spots, that final hit to my thigh would end up greatly limiting my movements. I used my right arm and the twinblade in my left to deflect all four spines. Clinking sounds echoed through the room as they hit the ground.
“What a pleasant surprise. Looks like this’ll be more fun than Grom expected!” Grom said, then threw the spines in his left hand.
I deflected them all again – but by the time I’d done that, Grom was no longer in front of me.
“Whatcha lookin’ at, slowpoke?”
I knew he was behind me before I even heard his voice – but even though my mind could keep up with him, my body could not. I twisted my hips and thrust the dagger end of my twinblade behind me. A clang sounded out as it clashed with one of the spines. As my dagger deflected the spine, I spun my twinblade to the right, like a clock’s hand moving forward.
The Chronoslayer allowed me to activate star sorcery quicker than when I only used my right arm. It also reduced the amount of star power I needed, and boosted activation speed. When I spun the twinblade to the right, it doubled the speed of everything, but due to the stress it put on my body, activation speed, and star power consumption, I could only maintain it for about ten seconds. These ten seconds would be essential.
With my enhanced speed, I spun and swept my sword across.
“Whoa!” Grom quickly leapt out of the way.
I immediately closed the distance and swung down my twinblade. He blocked my attack – not with those thin spines he had been using up until now, but two large ones. Holding a spine in each hand, he crossed them and pushed me back. It appeared that he not only had a limitless supply of spines, but could also manipulate their sizes.
“Yeesh! You got really fast all of a sudden!”
As Grom spoke, I kept my assault going, slashing at him from different angles with both ends of my sword. He blocked every hit, talking all the while. Even though I was moving at twice the speed, he seemingly had no trouble keeping up with me.
Are all of Khaos Schwartz’s Wicked Knights this fast?! I can’t believe he’s this strong... Hell, he’s probably even stronger than me. Our blades clashed yet again, and we forced each other back. If only I could push him back enough so he’d stagger, then I could get on top of him...
Suddenly, I heard a soft snap – and felt intense star power emanating from Grom.
Oh no. I jumped back just as a powerful wave of electricity burst out from Grom’s body. It sparked out in every direction, destroying the nearby walls and stairs. If I had been even a second slower, it would have hit me head-on.
Out of the basic elements, lightning was especially powerful, and one of the fastest. Strong electric attacks were even more dangerous, not to mention fast enough to keep up with my enhanced speed. My greatest strength, the ability to speed up my body, was virtually useless against him.
No, maybe it’s still a bit too early to say that...
“Yeah! Yeah! Attaboy, Kokuya! This is really getting fun now! Whenever someone fights with Grom, they usually either get burned to a crisp before playtime starts, or get turned into a pincushion... But you’re gonna let Grom have some real fun today, arencha?!”
I heard another snap as Grom laced his hand with electricity and placed it on his chest. Soon, a golden aura enveloped him. Despite the sparks flying off his body, Grom looked perfectly fine.
An evil smile rose to his lips. “Alright, time to crank things up a bit. You’d better not fall behind now, y’hear?!”
He’s already able to keep up with my double speed, and now he’s going to get even faster?! As chills ran up my spine, Grom started to move. Instantly, I spun my twinblade to the right. I had just used up my first ten seconds, but I was already going to double my speed again. I knew it would be strenuous, but I had no choice. It was the only way to keep up with him.
Grom threw both of the giant spines he was holding straight at me. I dodged one and deflected the other, which went spinning into the air.
“Oooh, you shouldn’t have hit it that way.”
Grom raised his right hand as if he was going to throw something, but he wasn’t holding anything. Instead, an electric shockwave burst out from his palm – and it wasn’t aimed at me, but the spine over my head. The electricity crackled as it collided with the spinning spine, which created an even fiercer burst of lightning.
“Kaboom!”
I wasn’t able to dodge it in time, and took the burst head-on. I coughed and wheezed as my body went numb. Due to the paralysis, I couldn’t even scream, and my breathing had all but stopped. Intense pain caused my mind to flicker – I felt like I was about to collapse. Because I placed my right hand over my head and covered my body in star power just before the attack hit me, I had managed to escape death, but I had still taken an enormous amount of damage.
“He’s still alive!”
The next thing I knew, Grom was right in front of me, with two huge spines in his hands. He thrust them straight towards my head and my heart. I forced my numb body to move and tried to deflect them. I wasn’t able to push the one aimed toward my heart far enough away, so it ended up slicing my shoulder. It was laced with electricity as well, so I could feel intense heat, pain, and numbness spreading out from the wound.
“Urggh! Aggggh...” The pain was so intense that I could only slur out my cries of pain.
“Grom likes the sound of that! More! Let Grom hear more!” Grom retracted his spines, then violently thrust them at me again.
Defeat.
Death.
Those words passed through my mind. I could see Yukihime’s face. I had to catch up to her. I had to get stronger. I could see Towa’s face. I had to protect her.
I... can’t lose here...
“I can’t die here!” I spun my twinblade and deflected the spines.