This was the leader of Khaos Schwartz, and the one who led the Seven Wicked Knights – Redge, the man who sought to kidnap Towa... and Elemia’s star power seemed like nothing compared to his.
“Indeed, the Dark Emperor is what they call me. And you’re the queen of Azur Étoile, correct?”
“Calling me a queen would be inaccurate.”
“You’re the most powerful being in Azur Étoile, yes? I find it hard to believe there are many in this world who could fight on equal footing with my subordinates.”
Redge looked around, then fixated his eyes once more on Yukihime. His gaze made her feel like blades were pushing up against her throat – but she didn’t have time to feel afraid.
“If I defeat you, this war will end,” Yukihime said.
“Humorous. You mean to tell me that we’re this close, yet you still can’t sense my power? Or do Azur Étoilians find meaning in hoping for the impossible?”
“Guess that means I can’t convince you to back off, huh?”
“A foolish question. I have a duty to protect my people, and I have no intent to return empty-handed.”
“Well, I have a duty to protect my people, too.”
“No ruler is allowed to retreat. If a king halts, his kingdom falls. If marching forward requires sacrifice, he should not shirk away from it... Even if it means clashing with another ruler who has a duty to protect her own kingdom. This is what it means to rule.”
“Yeah... Wanna get started, then?” Yukihime tightened her hand around Snowbloom.
“Yes, what a battlefield needs is not words, but swords.” Redge brandished his giant blade. “Since you sit on the throne of your world, you surely must know how to start a battle properly.”
Yukihime stared straight at her foe and shouted. “I am Yukihime Yukigane, the Headmistress who protects Azur Étoile!”
“And I am Redge Ferimento, the Dark Emperor who rules Khaos Schwartz. Yukihime, was it? This is your chance to stake everything on your blade... and learn that there are some heights you will never reach no matter how much you risk.”
Yukihime slashed out toward Redge – and cut nothing but thin air. Just before that, Redge had swung his own sword down, but their weapons hadn’t touched. Redge had also disappeared.
Yukihime turned back to see Redge standing diagonally behind her. Is he just fast? No, this has nothing to do with speed... I couldn’t see any sort of movement. What was that just now? Did he disappear the moment I slashed at him?
Yukihime spun around and slashed out at Redge. Suddenly, fresh blood splurted out from multiple points on her body. She hadn’t been hit, yet she could feel cuts all over. Redge still hadn’t lifted a finger.
If this is some kind of star sorcery, then how does it work? It doesn’t make sense... As Yukihime was caught up in thought, her wounds were only increasing. She tried taking a step back. The damage stopped. Does this mean I stepped out of his star sorcery range? Either way, I can’t let myself get close to him again.
Yukihime swung her left hand and fired a dozen icicles. Instantly, they were all cleaved, as if a sword had passed right through each of them. Not a single one ever reached Redge.
Is he a wind elemental? She thought of Sakito Nagisaki, the 3rd strongest at Star Gate Academy. He could also use wind to create invisible slashes similar to the ones she was experiencing. But then why isn’t there any wind blowing? How could a wind elemental do anything without wind?
Wind also didn’t explain Redge’s teleporting, for which he had seemingly needed no preparatory motions. There was a possibility that he possessed a unique element, but it seemed like wind was out of the question. After all, there was no evidence that he was using any wind star sorcery.
Another thought popped up in Yukihime’s mind. There existed an abstract element known as ‘space,’ which had been utilized by a Khaos Schwartz star sorcerer to pulverize the Azur Étoilians during the First and Second Otherworld Wars. That might explain his impossible movements...
“Yes... Spatial control.” The moment Yukihime muttered those words, she saw a sliver of emotion rise onto Redge’s face – it almost looked like anger. Seeing that, Yukihime knew she was mistaken. But if that isn’t the answer... then what could it be?
As if to shake off her confusion, Yukihime let out a powerful shout and stepped forward. The moment she slashed, Redge instantly teleported far into the distance.
Fear – Yukihime had felt this emotion many times, but the fear of fighting someone stronger than her was something virtually unknown to Yukihime. She hadn’t known how powerful Elemia was until she fought her, but from the very beginning, her instinct had told her that she would win. It had been there when she fought Kokuya and Towa... but that same instinct was silent now.
Still, Yukihime refused to back down. “Just wait, you’ll be sweating soon enough,” she said. Unwavering, her blue eyes became even sharper as she glared at her foe.
“You have strong eyes,” Redge said, as Yukihime began to run toward him. “But now you’re in my range.”
Instantly, Redge’s star power exploded outwards. It sliced the air, the sand and rubble that cluttered the ground, and the remains of Yukihime’s ice. They also sliced into Yukihime – or so it seemed, initially.
“Oh?” Redge muttered quietly.
Just before Redge’s star power touched Yukihime’s body and slashed it up, icy star power glittered up around her body. Yukihime had activated an automatic defense star sorcery, and as a result, a multitude of tiny hexagonal ice walls had formed.
Cracks sounded out around her as the tiny ice walls split apart, but Yukihime kept running until she got close enough to draw her sword.
“Knowing what you know, you still dare to enter my range? You’re either brave, or merely reckless. But if you insist on fighting me in close range, then I’ll be happy to play along.” A clear smile rose onto Redge’s lips as he raised his massive sword.
Along the huge blade, Yukihime could see a second, smaller blade that had been attached to it. Its handle was also unusually long. A blade half the size would have been more than enough for a longsword, but for some reason, it was double.
Steel cried out as Yukihime’s blue blade clashed with Redge’s monstrous weapon. Fresh blood squirted out from new wounds on Yukihime’s body.
My star sorcery isn’t perfect... And since I tried to retain as much star power as possible when I created these ice walls, they can’t fully protect me from his attacks. Quickly, Yukihime thought up a brand new spell: one that would instantly create an ice wall the moment an opponent’s star power touched her. It’s a thin veneer to mask my lack of a proper defense, but that doesn’t matter. I’m in close range now, which means I no longer have to run around like a fool.
Desperate, Yukihime gripped her blade. But how much more desperate do I need to get in order to win? This doesn’t make sense... and there’s no end in sight. But that doesn’t matter now. I just need to keep my eyes on what’s in front of me.
“Absolute Azure: Slashdance – Dancing Mad Blades.”
This was a variation on the spell Yukihime had used to stop Elemia, where she had frozen everything in sight. In an instant, she became surrounded by a slew of ice swords. Yukihime had taken the amount of star power necessary to freeze an entire area and instead poured it into these new weapons.
Yukihime poured all the energy she could muster into Snowbloom and slashed outwards, pushing Redge back. Then, she threw her star armament high into the sky. As it arched upwards, it began spinning.
A high-speed swordfight had begun.
First, Yukihime grabbed the two closest ice swords and threw them at Redge. Following that, she grabbed two more and moved in to pelt Redge with a series of quick strikes. He had a very large sword, and certainly outclassed her in terms of power, but she was hoping to overwhelm him with a greater number of attacks.