Kelvin’s Residence – Underground Training Hall
“Let’s go, Touya!”
“Yeah!”
There was no time to hesitate. I sprinted forward, faster than the wind, sharper than it. Behind me, I was an absolute shield, allowing no one to pass.
“Sky Maw.”
Rion-chan uttered the words and stood still. However, the entire area around her was violently chaotic. Slash attacks that had been suspended now overlapped, threatening to overwhelm me. It was as if she no longer needed to hide them, as they marched forward, destroying the training hall. Seeing something like this would make one laugh after all its craziness unfolded. But, but, I wouldn’t let Touya get touched.
“Haa…”
Even at a time like this, I could clearly hear my own breathing. It felt good. Yes, it felt good.
–Clang!
I parried the first wave of slashes with an iaijutsu empowered by “Iron Cutting Fist.” …It was heavy. Not only heavy, but a tremendous impact seeped into my bones. Still, my plan seemed to have been correct, as I succeeded in cleaving Rion-chan’s incredibly powerful slashes in two. The remnants of the slashes grazed both sides of me, but I had no time to spare worrying about them. Perhaps due to years of habit, I returned my sword to its scabbard faster than I could think, which was a relief. The second wave was already upon me.
Again, a fierce metallic sound echoed, and pain gnawed at my body. It’s like this on the second strike… Each time I cut, I feel like I’m exceeding my limits. Next time— No. The slashes are overlapping in an X shape. That’s simply doubling the power, isn’t it? …Heh heh, fine. I’ll keep surpassing them. My own limits!
–Clang! Clang!
***
(Whoa, she’s cutting the Sky Maw I created with Akrama… Even Grandpa Jerah would struggle to deflect this…)
Rion was genuinely surprised as the Hero Party charged forward with Setsuna at the lead. She had indeed enhanced the twin Black Swords Akrama with Roaring Thunder Sword, but truthfully, she had intended to finish them with Sky Maw, Consecutive Fangs. This was followed by her admiration, praise, and analysis.
(If that Sky Maw can be cut, then even receiving it with Akrama might be difficult. Setsuna must not engage in close combat… No.)
The information Rion obtained was continuously recorded in memo form on the subordinate network. A primary reason for this was that the current Status of Touya and the others couldn’t be seen even by Kelvin’s “Appraisal Eye.” This was because one of the Hero Party members was using S-Rank “Concealment.” Therefore, Rion, serving as the examiner, was inferring the four’s Status and characteristics while fighting. However, this was merely a side action. The premise was that she would mercilessly defeat them when appropriate.
–Clang! Clang! Clang!
The storm of sixteen Sky Maws passed in an instant. That’s precisely why breaking through it was extremely difficult. However, Setsuna managed to accomplish it. She skillfully defeated the final, quadrupled Sky Maw that attacked her. Sweat poured from her, and her fingers, gripping the sword, lost their strength. It was an achievement born from repeatedly overcoming words like “limit” and “absolute limit.”
“Sky Maw, Black Lightning.”
However, Rion, who had learned the teachings of the Beast King, would not miss such a perfect opportunity, and mercilessly unleashed a further trial. It was an overpoweringly large Sky Maw imbued with the sharpness and strength of Akrama, and the power of Roaring Thunder Sword. The black fangs, crowned with despair, fell upon Setsuna as if mocking her.
“I will… invoke ‘Iron Cutting Fist’!”
“…!”
My body should have been exhausted. I couldn’t even lift my arm anymore, nor could I take a single step forward. Exhaustion upon exhaustion. The words, cried out as if wrung from the depths of such fatigue, moved Setsuna’s body. There was no need to utter them now. In the beginning, she had muttered them while blushing furiously. Yet, the feeling had settled into her body and was now driving her unconsciously.
–Setsuna no longer had the strength to grip her sword. Instead, her arm swung, a hand chop. There was no sound when Setsuna and Sky Maw, Black Lightning, met. What was cleaved in two was Rion’s slash. However, only the result remained.
“How’s that…”
“Electromagnetic Whip.”
Without even responding, Rion aimed an electric whip at Setsuna, who had just broken through the trial. She would likely just faint now, Setsuna.
“Heavenly Divine Sword Ahhh!”
What slashed Rion’s attack were two divine swords clad in a magnificent glow. Protecting the collapsed Setsuna, the Hero of Light stood defiant against the pitch-black angel.
“Touya-kun, it’s the last one.”
“Yeah, this is the last one.”
A Black Sword trailing azure lightning, and a Sacred Sword emitting a brilliant radiance. Legendary weapons that existed only one, no, two in the world, and their wielders, collided.
***
“Match is over, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
The battle between Rion and Delamis, the Hero, had concluded. To put it simply, well, it was like that.
“Older Kel, I won!”
Rion had won overwhelmingly. My little sister remained unharmed until the very end.
“Everyone, I’m sorry! It’s all my fault for being so useless…”
“If Kanji-kun says that, then I haven’t done anything at all…”
“That’s not true. The Ice Heaven Temple remained steadfast until the end.”
“Ugh, my muscles hurt…”
I readjusted Rion, who had leaped and hugged me, and pondered the end of the match while stroking her head. The final one-on-one battle between Rion and Touya was over in an instant. Even so, for Touya, that instant might have felt long and eternal. How many times had their swords clashed in a single second? From my distant observation, I couldn’t tell the exact number. I suspect there might be a difference of one or two in my estimation.
Was the Heavenly Divine Sword Touya was using at the end a type of nullification enchantment magic? He didn’t seem to be in pain from Rion’s lightning attacks. Well, it might have other effects as well. More importantly, I wonder if Setsuna will be the MVP this time. She proved that her “Iron Cutting Fist” was not just for show, protected her allies until the end, and guided them to Rion. The other members have also grown considerably. However, it’s still too early for them to fight…
“Alright, I’ll announce the results!”
I clapped my hands to gather Touya and the others’ attention.
“Although it’s the results, the match was a loss…”
“It’s good that you aim to win, but no one said you could win. Even though Rion went easy on you to some extent, I think you fought well?”
“Huh? Went easy…?”
“…You did?”
“Hahaha…”
Rion tried to brush it off with an ambiguous smile. With that roundabout fighting style, of course she did. If Rion had intended to kill you all, you would have been finished from the first strike.
“So, how do you evaluate them, Melfina?”
“I believe they have acquired the minimum necessary strength. Individually, they should be able to match Cliff of the Holy Knights now.”
“With Commander Cliff?”
Oh, Miyabi reacted, which is unusual. Is she feeling competitive?
“S-so, what’s the pass/fail rating…?”
“…Let’s consider it a pass. Please continue to train further for the sake of peace.”
A cheer erupted in the tattered underground training hall. Yes, yes, keep up the good work. By all means.
