Light Novel Volume 13

Rakudai Kishi no Eiyuutan Light Novel 13 is the thirteenth installment of the Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry light novel series, written by Riku Misora and illustrated by Won. It will be released on October 15, 2017. There will be a Drama CD released with the Volume, that will cover events from Volume 9.

Summary
"''The moment of decisive battle is coming--.

After going through a fierce battle with the Desperado "Taotie", Stella too has reached "awakening". With her own firm self she rewrites her destiny, and then in order to save her older sister's feelings and also the people of two countries she challenges the worst Desperados led by "Puppet King" Or-Gaule!''

''The ones who wish to fight with her are the Seven Stars Sword King" Ikki Kurogane who is her most beloved in existence, the "Yaksha Princess" Nene Saikyo, the "Unturning Assassin" Yui Tatara and also the "Black Knight" Iris. For the sake of each of their belief, what they want to protect and also the mission they have to fulfill, the knights throw themselves into between life and death!

What will really be the outcome of the "war" that puts the fate of nations at stake!? The Vermillion Empire arc is finally at the climax!"''

-Official Synopsis

Chapters
Intermission: Bad News

All the citizens that ignored the evacuation order and stayed behind in Vermillion continue having a feast during the state funeral at Flareverg’s central park. Takoyaki are also being made there but they look like monster eggs and so Stella tells the surrounding people the correct way to make them. Stella thinks it’s a waste to throw away the takoyaki that were already made but she’s hesitating to eat them. Nene appears and says that she will eat them if Stella doesn’t. Nene is eating them and enjoying drinking a lot of liquor as shown in a pic. Nene attracts a large group of people but Stella asks her if it’s okay to drink like this since Nene’s one of the representatives for tomorrow’s battle. While drunk Nene replies that kids shouldn’t worry about adults, but there is no one in the direction she’s facing. She then turns around to the right direction, but she’s seeing five of Stella causing Stella to worry even more. Ikki who is sitting at the outskirts of the park with a bitter smile thinks the whole scene doesn’t look like a funeral since it is very lively with people drinking, singing and dancing. Sirius suddenly appears and asks Ikki if Vermilion’s state funeral looks that strange. Sirius’ sudden appearance causes Ikki to say ‘father-in-law’, which annoys Sirius. Sirius then sits beside Ikki and while drinking liquor he explains that the funeral is a tradition that existed since the founding of the country. It is said that during the night when Vermillion gained independence, a large bonfire was lit and people created commotion for 3 days and nights to show appreciation for those who died during the independence war. Not just state funeral, any funeral of any size in Vermillion is almost like this. The funerals in Vermillion create such commotion so that the people that died won’t get saddened for leaving behind those who are alive. The people of Vermillion believe showing happiness is the greatest way to mourn, which Ikki thinks it is a nice custom.

Sirius then says he heard from Ascarid that it was thanks to Ikki that Stella obtained so much power. But Ikki thinks it was due to the strength of her own will that Stella was able to reach ‘Brute Soul’ and reconstruct her Device. Sirius also heard that Ikki stopped Edelweiss saving Stella from almost getting killed by Fu Xiaoli, causing Sirius to release a killing intent. Ikki apologizes with a cold sweat and does not avoid Sirius’ incoming fist since Ikki believes he deserves it. However, Sirius stops his fist right in front of Ikki’s face and seriously asks why Ikki didn’t save his beloved girl when she was in trouble. Ikki replies that it’s because he loves Stella that he shouldn’t have gone saving her. In order for Stella to pierce her own ego, she continued doing unreasonable things without giving up. Ikki understood than most people the difficulty of going through such path and so he couldn’t help but admire Stella. He couldn’t stop her because such frustration was the very first feeling that they both shared. While embarrassed, Sirius says he can’t let Ikki have Stella after all and then tries to walk away. But with his back facing towards Ikki, Sirius then says he will keep the promise made before. If Ikki wants to marry Stella then he will have to prove it with his sword during the war tomorrow, which Ikki replies that he understands. Suddenly, Astrea shows up after running to look for them. A message came from the League headquarters and the content of the message greatly surprises Ikki and Sirius.

Chapter 15: The Fight Under The Moonlight

During the day before representative war between Cradleland and Vermillion, the League has already gathered a million forces from neighboring countries. About 700,000 of them are assembled around Cradleland’s borders in order to prevent the terrorist from escaping through land, sea and air. The remaining 300,000 that consist of elite forces with 5,000 mage-knights are standing by near the border between Cradleland and Poland. An old general from Poland named Daluege is given command of these forces. In the event Vermillion loses the representative war, Ascarid will use ‘Divine Gate’ allowing these forces to arrive in Cradleand’s capital. The plan made by the ‘Chancellor’ is that the main forces that consist of Blazers will arrive first and at the same time the rest of forces will advance in order to defeat the terrorists with overwhelming number of forces. One of the soldiers is concerned that they are too close to the border since the enemies might exercise rights to pre-emptive self-defense by international law. But Daluege says it’s fine because the enemies agreed to have representative battle probably in order to avoid direct collision with the League forces. Even if the enemies do attack the League forces at the borders, it will just be interpreted as an invasion act and the League will still crush the terrorists with overwhelming number of forces as originally planned. Suddenly, there is a voice that says it is a good plan. Daluege and his men discover that the source of the voice is Naseem Al-Salem who is standing on the top of a hill.

Naseem is using an ability that causes his voice able to be heard by Daluege and the others who are more than a kilometer away. Daluege speaks through a loudspeaker and asks if Naseem is here alone which Naseem confirms. Naseem claims that he’s here as a special envoy of Cradleland’s new government to deliver a message that their new king wants the League forces to withdraw. But Daluege replies that Naseem and the others should be the one to withdraw instead. Even if Cradleland’s side wins the war against Vermillion, there’s no way 4 people can win against 1 million people in a battle. Then, 85 tanks of the League forces all fire towards Naseem, engulfing him and the hill in dust. After the tanks stop firing non-stop for 3 minutes, Naseem is gone and everything on the hill is destroyed. The League forces think it’s a direct hit and Daluege notes that Blazers are still a piece of meat in front of 66.7 caliber-20 pound guns. One of the soldiers is concerned if it’s okay to kill an envoy with pre-emptive first strike since Cradleland is still a member country of the League. Daluege replies he will be in trouble but it’s a cheap price to pay in order to kill someone like Naseem. Some of Daluege’s men then go there to confirm Naseem’s death and believe so after finding a body part. They think it’s natural that this would happen because no one can withstand simultaneous shots from 85 tanks. However, there is a voice that asks who they think they’re up against, and then says that getting rid of things such as natural and reason is why he’s a Desperado. At that moment, the body parts found crumbled and turned into black sand. The black sand then turns into a black wind and converge together in a vortex which forms into Naseem in the end. The soldiers are shocked that all that firepower was meaningless.

Naseem then says he will start attacking now since the League forces fired the first shot. The soldiers then fire the guns they carry and all the bullets hit Naseem. However, all the bullets are passing through Naseem’s body because he has turned his body into grains using a type of magic similar to Shizuku’s ‘Aoiro Rinne’. Naseem then uses ‘Alquimia · Hierro (dust metallurgy)’ to create a Desert Eagle handgun made from the dust of the decomposed ground. He fires his Desert Eagle at the League soldiers, blowing off their heads one by one while enjoying it as if it’s duck hunting. It looks like a nightmare where the soldiers lose their heads as the god of death approaches them. One of the soldiers then fires an anti-tank rocket launcher at Naseem, but Naseem just caught the rocket with his bare hand. He then throws the rocket back and the explosion kills the advance team leaving just one member who has lost both his legs. The surviving soldier begs mercy but ends up getting his head blown off by Naseem. In very short time, 100 members of the advance team are wiped out. In front of Naseem’s monstrous power, the thousands of soldiers that came to support are unable to move. Then, people carrying weapons such as swords, spears and bows appear. They tell the common soldiers to fall back and to leave the rest to them. Naseem recognizes the people that have just appeared as the League’s mage-knight unit. The mage-knights say that Naseem’s technique that turns his body into grains to make physical attacks against him ineffective requires huge magic control and so there’s no way he can use it long if the mage-knights continuously attack him without giving him time to rest. The League’s mage-knights spread out and surround Naseem. They launch magic attacks towards Naseem at the same time. Naseem admits that continuously withstanding attacks from 300 mage-knights by turning his body into grains is difficult.

Naseem then drops the gun he’s holding and grasps his right fist. A black metal gauntlet with golden decoration appears on his right hand which is his Device, ‘Toxcatl’. Naseem raises his right hand to the sky and says “Blow them away, Mictlan · Tormenta (dust wind of corpses)”. A black sandstorm that is like a tornado centered on Naseem immediately appears and blows away the mage-knights towards the sky. Many of the mage-knights are able to use their abilities skillfully and so are able to land on the ground safely after being blown away, but some end up falling to their death. The captain of the mage-knight unit then asks Daluege to have the tank unit and aircraft unit to attack as well. Shells from tanks, missiles from aircrafts and long-ranged attacks from mage-knights are then fired together at Naseem. However, none of these attacks reaches Naseem because the black sandstorm surrounding him blows them away, and even some of the repelled missiles and shells end up hitting the soldiers that are deployed behind. The mage-knights become dismayed but their captain tells them not to panic because Naseem’s magical power and concentration will become exhausted eventually if they keep attacking him like this. However, after some time the captain’s skin cracks, his flesh thinning like a mummy and his eyeballs become deflated from his body’s moisture being lost due to Naseem’s drying ability. The sandstorm created is actually a secondary event caused by huge magical flow released by Naseem and the actual ability of ‘Mictlan · Tormenta’ is to rob all the surrounding moisture. In the blink of an eye, the captain and some other mage-knights have become dust one by one. The rest of the knights and soldiers try to run away but Naseem strengthens ‘Mictlan · Tormenta’ which becomes larger and swallows the people that are running away. The League’s entire frontline has been annihilated and the approaching sandstorm will hit the main force as well at this rate. However, Daluege does not give the order to retreat and is waiting for their ‘trump card’ to arrive. In an instant, a blue flash of light came from a distance and disperses the black sandstorm. The blue light also cuts Naseem’s cheek and causes him to bleed for the first time tonight. Behind the soldiers that ran away, there is a middle-aged man with a tall and lean figure holding an azure-colored spear. Daluege is happy to see that the man named Carlo has arrived. Carlo apologizes but also says that it’s custom for heroes and Italians to arrive late.

Naseem recognizes the gentleman wearing a white fedora and jacket that appeared as the ‘Campione’, Carlo Bertoni. The mage-knights are glad that Carlo shows up and their morale has recovered. But Carlo tells the mage-knights to stand down because Naseem is not an opponent that can be defeated just by numbers. Carlo’s Noble Art that’s banned except in emergencies is too big and so it’s difficult for him to fight with the mage-knights nearby. He says to Naseem that the stories about Naseem reach his country too. The number of countries Naseem devoured, robbed and destroyed can’t be counted with fingers and he made a lot of profit. Naseem says the number of people in the world that has more money than him probably doesn’t reach 10 people. Carlo then says it’s foolish to attack a member country of the League and asks if all the things Naseem had done weren’t enough. Naseem replies there’s no limit to a desert’s dryness and he will keep robbing until the ends of the earth. Naseem then kicks the ground strongly and approaches Carlo fast like an arrow. Carlo says he will just add another episode of monster extermination to his heroic tale that he will tell to a beautiful señorita at bedside. Carlo stabs his azure-colored spear ‘Neptune’ to the ground and says “Shield Arts (prohibited technique) – Adrian Blue (the 8th Ocean)”. A bluish-white magic circle appears on the stabbed ground and a huge amount of water like waterfall comes out. The water swallows up both Naseem and Carlo, and blows up to the night sky like a giant geyser. It spreads throughout the above night sky which makes it look like there is a sea on the sky. Daluege says this is a miracle that can only be made by Carlo who is the strongest knight in Italy, 2nd in KOK league’s world ranking and the best water-user in history. It is said the amount of water he can produce can influence the existence of a country judging from how he was able to wash away an entire city occupied by Blazer terrorists. Thus, use of such huge power is prohibited except in case of emergencies like Nene’s ‘Hadou Tensei’.

Naseem is being swallowed by the ocean in the sky and Carlo says that Naseem can’t escape by turning himself into sand when he’s surrounded by this much water. Carlo also says Desperados are still human and so they can die from their hearts being pierced. Carlo then releases five consecutive thrusts at Naseem but Naseem repels the thrusts with his fists. Naseem can still move swiftly in this ocean with mana release which Carlo finds it to be incredible since not many enemies can still move swiftly after being captured by ‘Adrian Blue’. Naseem then proceeds to attack Carlo with his deadly right fist. However, Carlo dodges using ‘Corno del Narvalo’ (note: Italian for ‘Horn of Narwhal’) which allows him to move in water at very high speed through supercavitation. Wrapping his body with air bubbles to create cavities in water reduces water resistance to the limit and enables Carlo to move very fast in water, just like how supercavitation is applied on torpedoes so that they can reach subsonic speed. Carlo’s high speed causes Naseem to barely avoid Carlo’s thrusts that keep coming. Naseem is eventually running out of oxygen in the water and Carlo says it’s pointless to try to escape because ‘Adrian Blue’ will migrate as much as Naseem tries to move away. Naseem then laughs and says that if he can’t escape then he will just drink up everything. He then uses his drying ability to try drink up all of the surrounding water. Naseem says he doesn’t know if it will work since he has never faced a water-user of Carlo’s level before. But he also claims that this puddle of water is not enough to satisfy his greed that couldn’t be satisfied no matter how many countries, lives or blood he sucked up. ‘Adrian Blue’ is drying up at incredible speed but Naseem is showing symptoms of oxygen deficiency. Even so Carlo decides to attack Naseem by freezing part of the ocean to make countless ice spears called ‘Giavelotto di Nettuno’ (note: Italian for ‘Javelin of Neptune’). The ice spears pierce Naseem and Carlo continues to attack by charging himself towards Naseem at high speed by supercavitation like before. Carlo’s spear penetrates Naseem’s chest, but Naseem grabs the spear while saying it’s not enough to take him down just by piercing his heart. Carlo tries to pull out his spear but is unable to due to Naseem grabbing the spear with huge strength.

Naseem’s drying ability swallows the countless ice spears that pierced his body and also the ocean covering the sky which becomes small like a pond, which shocks Carlo. Naseem tells Carlo that the monster extermination is at the climax and so Carlo should give everything he’s got left. Naseem says this while having very pale complexion from oxygen deficiency and blood is coming out from his eyes and holes in his body. But despite so, he’s making a face that says he’s enjoying it as shown in a pic. Carlo thinks no human can still be alive in this condition and that Naseem is a monster. Seeing Naseem like this causes Carlo to raise a shriek and panicking. Carlo keeps hitting Naseem’s face and tries to shake the pierced spear away from Naseem’s body while telling the monster to let go. Carlo’s panicked state causes Naseem to lose interest and then grabbing Carlo’s face while saying that Carlo is just all talk. In an instant, Naseem with his monstrous strength crushes Carlo’s skull like a tomato. Carlo’s dead body then falls from the sky and hits the ground where it spreads out miserably. Seeing that Carlo has been defeated, the rest of the League forces run to escape while screaming. Naseem laughs at the League forces’ unsightly state and then hits the ground with his right fist. He then says to the fleeing League forces that if they don’t want to die like dogs then dying like insects suits them better. The ground that lost its moisture becomes a giant quicksand, swallowing most soldiers and even the tanks of the advance forces like an anthill. As a result, the League forces lost a quarter of its total military force.

After the battle around the border is over, Naseem is above the ground lighting a cigarette. Or-Gaule’s voice is heard, thanking Naseem for a job well done. Or-Gaule says the affinity difference between Naseem and Carlo’s abilities turned out to be not such a big deal and that Naseem is called the strongest mercenary in the world not for show. He laughs at the League’s misunderstanding of Or-Gaule and the others agreeing to have representative battle due to fear of the number of League forces. Naseem says the League forces were just that level of a bunch after all. Or-Gaule thinks Naseem seems very interested in Nene and asks why because Carlo should be stronger than her in terms of affinity with Naseem’s ability. Naseem says that it’s none of Or-Gaule’s business and Or-Gaule replies that it’s fine since he is not interested in Nene after all. Because of the recent devastation the League can’t provide more support to Vermillion. Thus, Or-Gaule tells Naseem that they should have fun tomorrow since there shouldn’t be any more interruption. Naseem says if Or-Gaule gets in Naseem’s way again then he will kill him, which Or-Gaule replies he will keep in mind. Or-Gaule’s voice then disappears and Naseem throws away his cigarette. While standing in the sky using a sandstorm, Naseem looks at the sand coffin created by the land subsidence he caused where everyone that was killed is in it. He then makes a smile because he knows that Nene is different from the League forces he just fought. When he met her, she had an interesting look which he knew very well. He doesn’t know why someone like her would be part of the League. However, she is his prey and he won’t let anyone else have her or get in the way. He then says, ''“As you wish let’s f*ck, b*tch. Do not bore me…!”''

Few hours after the funeral in Vermillion was held, it became quieter. Stella is standing alone on the park’s viewing platform facing towards Cradleland’s direction with her eyes closed as if praying. She then opens her eyes when she hears Ikki calling her from behind. Ikki could tell that Stella was praying for the souls of those that were killed by Naseem just earlier. Stella says Naseem is unbelievable since he was able to defeat not just 300,000 people but even Carlo too. Carlo was one of the very few knights in last year’s KOK A-League who could score a win against the up-and-coming Ascarid who made consecutive victories. Carlo’s water ability even had advantage over Naseem’s ability, and yet he still lost. Ikki asks if Stella is afraid which she replies that would be the case if she’s still the same person as she was just a while ago. Naseem and the others are certainly strong but Stella claims the ‘Crimson Princess’ that protects her people is stronger. Ikki adds that this side is not inferior to the other side since Nene, Ascarid, Tatara and he are present too. Stella becomes quiet and then asks if Ikki is really going to fight. Stella is a princess of this country and Nene is a mage-knight belonging to the League so it’s natural for them to fight. Ascarid and Tatara each has personal connection to this. But Ikki is still a student knight and the current situation should cause the promise he made with Sirius to be invalid. Ikki then suddenly pinches Stella’s cheeks lightly with both his hands and says that they’re quite plump. Stella angrily tells him that she’s having a serious talk but Ikki replies that it’s actually absurd. Ikki is fighting because his precious lover’s family and hometown are in danger, and Stella would do the same thing if Japan ends up in a similar situation. But even so Stella is scared that something might happen to Ikki since this is real war and the enemies are real villains. It is far more dangerous than official matches that have safety equipment and rules.

Ikki then puts his hands on Stella’s trembling shoulders and hugs her. While stroking Stella’s hair, Ikki apologizes for messing with her earlier while she was very worried. He still intends to fight not just because this is Stella’s hometown and that he wants to be recognized by Sirius, but because he himself wants to protect this country. Ikki promises that he will win and won’t die since this is his place and he won’t let anyone else hug Stella like this. Stella realizes she is being pathetic and that she should believe in Ikki just like how he believed in her when she fought Fu Xiaoli. While in his arms and looking up towards him as shown in a colored pic, she tells him that just hugging is not enough guarantee. They then kiss, causing all of her fear and trembling to be gone. While being wrapped in warm emotions, Stella thinks that they will win and will receive everyone’s blessing during the day they are bound together for life. While Ikki and Stella are exchanging kisses to confirm their bond, Vermillion’s other representatives are spending the night as they please. Nene is drinking, singing and partying more than anyone. Ascarid is in a quiet place, adjusting her condition. Tatara is eating sweets while staring into the distance. They all believe that they will win, and the day of the decisive battle arrives when the sun goes up to the sky.

Chapter 16: Imperial Capital War Outbreak

The League of Mage-Knight Nations recommends that troubles between member countries are resolved with representative battles because of two main reasons. One reason is that protecting non-Blazers is the moral significance of mage-knights and the League. The other reason is to prevent power play due to national power difference so that it does not compromise sense of solidarity in the League where small countries  provide mutual aid in order to be able to oppose nations of great power. However there is another reason which is economy. ‘War’ between nations as an entertainment event is an important revenue source for the League when they sell broadcasting rights and mediating sponsors. It’s not a bad thing for both countries that are fighting since they would also receive revenue regardless of winning or losing. At Cradleland’s capital Lucier, a helicopter and countless drones with cameras are flying over the sky that turns scarlet due to the sun setting down. A man named Boomer is providing live report of the war between Vermillion and Cradleland. He introduces Cradleland’s representatives who are on the roof of Lucier’s royal castle.

''“HEEEEYYYYYY! You bastards in front of TV, long time no see! Are you well!? Are you having meals!? It’s KOK’s hottest live reporter Boomer, the one who did not understand complaints such as ‘The live report is too vulgar. Is your mouth a butthole?’ and so was removed from stage by the PTA! Today I who you haven’t seen in a while will deliver live coverage of the ‘war’ from Cradleand that has become dangerous recently! Huh!? Why me who got fired!? That popular ‘Rikochii’ woman with a bust size of 102 cm is better!? There is no one else suitable to make live report this dangerous, so just give up! That’s right, the war this time is seriously dangerous! You bastards know too about the once every few years ‘war’ between Vermillion and Cradleand regarding the border, but this time is not like that ‘sports event’. The king of Cradleland’s new administration, Johann Cristoph von Collbrand, killed his father who was the previous king and declared a real ‘war’ that bets the existence of both countries. CRAZYY!! Furthermore, in order to win this war it seems the new administration brought over a group of terrorists which includes that ‘Haboob’. ---Look, at those insane people’s faces! Holy sh*t!! Every single one of them does not have honest eyes! Even when I was making a living by reporting live in the underground industry after got fired from KOK, I had never seen such bunch possessing such cancerous eyes before! As expected even I refuse to give support to those sh*ts! And so look forward to me giving today’s live report that is gentle to Vermillion and super-discriminate to Cradleland!! Well then let’s introduce right away the heroes who will deliver iron fist of justice to those motherf*ckers!”''

He then introduces the Vermillion representatives who are in front of a huge gate which is the castle town’s entrance. Stella is the first one being introduced and the people that remained in Vermilion are watching over her through a huge monitor set in the central park. The next ones being introduced are the KOK A-League rankers Nene and Ascarid. Boomer notes that Ascarid made her debut in the A-League last year and kept stacking up a number of wins until she ranked 4th. He also didn’t know that Ascarid was such a beautiful woman because she always wore her armor in the KOK. Astrea who is watching Nene and Ascarid being introduced prays to both of them to look after everyone. Ikki is introduced next and Boomer notes that Ikki possesses weakest magic and strongest sword techniques which Boomer has never seen such unbalanced person before in his long career. Yui is the last one being introduced and Boomer has expectation for her since the Akatsuki Academy student was nominated instead of Sirius. After the introduction is over, the signal to start the war is given.

The war starts with Naseem jumping from the roof of the royal castle and heading towards Ikki and the others. At the moment of landing on the ground near the main gate Naseem uses ‘Mictlan · Tormenta’ to unleash a sandstorm that blows away everyone far away, separating them from each other. However, Nene is the only one that remains there and is able to keep standing in the sandstorm due to her gravity ability. She then takes out her iron-fan shaped Device and unleashes ‘Jibakujin’. The gravity of the surrounding is increased to 100 times but Naseem doesn’t seem to be affected by the pressure. They both agree that it’s not enough for both of them and Nene says ''“The little kids have returned home. Let’s begin, shall we? Adult time, that is”''. The two Desperados then clash, creating huge shockwaves and destruction. Meanwhile, Vermillion’s other representatives are at 1,500 meters above ground after being blown away and Stella uses ‘Dragon Wing’ to stop in the sky. She knows that Ikki has nothing to neutralize the impact of his fall like Ascarid’s armor or Tatara’s reflecting ability, and so she tries to catch Ikki who is falling from the sky. However, she is stopped by an incoming attack that she receives with her sword which is ‘Circus Maximus’ launched by Johann riding on his golden horse. Stella is hurt to see nothing is reflected in the eyes of Johann who has been made into a doll by Or-Gaule. She also thinks Ikki should be fine and that the person she needs to save is right in front of her. She then decides to fight Johann instead of pursuing the Ikki. However, Ikki is falling too vertically towards the ground, making it impossible to lessen the impact of the fall by rolling on the ground. There is no building nearby that he can catch with his sword and it’s impossible to kill the fall’s impact with his little magic.

As Ikki is falling from the sky, BB in his 300 meter tall giant form is coming towards in front of the falling Ikki and strikes at him with both hands as if hitting a mosquito. However, Ikki ends up fine and is standing on BB’s hand. The reason was because during the moment BB appeared Ikki used his school uniform’s jacket that’s made of special fibers as a parachute. It was enough to slow down Ikki’s fall a little and thus ruining the timing of BB’s attack. BB then shakes Ikki away from his hand which Ikki doesn’t resist because this allows Ikki to fall not at a vertical angle. Ikki is able to land safely on the ground after distributing the impact of the fall to the ground, and is ready to face his opponent again. Ikki heard from Ascarid that BB was kidnapped by a terrorist group and was subjected to horrible physical body remodeling to be their combatant. After that the terrorist group was destroyed by Rebellion and BB was picked up by Rebellion. Ikki actually doesn’t want to hurt BB and so gives off an intimidation to BB like an adult disciplining a child. Ikki says BB is being deceived by bad people. He also tells BB to let go of his giant form and come with him, and promises that he won’t do anything bad. However, BB gives off a huge yell and delivers a slow punch which Ikki dodges without difficulty. BB screams that Or-Gaule is his friend and that he will protect his friend. Ikki then decides to fight and to teach BB that if he doesn’t choose his friends he will go through painful experiences.

The scene then takes place before Ikki and BB clashed. Ascarid releases her mana in order to make her fall faster and to land earlier than everyone else. Like Stella, Ascarid is also aware that Ikki has no means of landing and so runs towards him in order to catch him. However, she stops when she hears a little girl screaming. Ascarid finds the source of the voice in a quiet residential area and sees a doll resembling a boy cutting off the finger of another doll resembling a girl with a scissor. More dolls then appear and they break each other’s bodies which they lose their arms, their eyes being ripped out or their stomachs being cut open.

“STOP, ONII-CHAN, IT HURTS, IT HURTS, DON’T CUT IT, DON’T TAKE MICHÈLE’S FINGER”

“NO, MICHÈLE, THIS IS, MY BODY IS ON ITS OWN, UaAAA”

“N, NOO, I DON’T WANT TO EAT THAT, DON’T WANT TO EAT, u, urgh”

“I CAN’T SEE, MY EYES, GIVE BACK MY EYES”

“MOTHER…MOTHER”

“WHY IS THIS HAPPENING…IRIS-ONEECHAN?”

At such sight, Ascarid just stands still trembling because she knows this sight of hell. A doll resembling her then screams “STOP…STOP ALREADY…NOO…MAKE IT STOP---ORLEUS”. At that moment, Ascarid attacks all the dolls with her battle axe while screaming. After all the dolls are cut down, she leans on her axe while breathing roughly, tearing up and feeling nauseated. She then screams the name ‘Orleus’ which causes Or-Gaule to show up sitting on the roof of a church. Or-Gaule laughs and says that his older sister is now the only person to call him by that name. He also says even though it’s been almost 10 years, he was able to make a good performance thanks to imitating various people ever since he joined Rebellion. Ascarid is furious and won’t forgive Or-Gaule because he’s also toying with people’s dignities even after killing them. She shouts in anger that she will kill him and put an end to everything that started that day so that he can’t hurt anyone else. As she shouts that, purple mana rises up from her whole body and manifests as her black armor-shaped Device, ‘Orichalcos’, which is the League’s greatest defense power. Or-Gaule then says ''“Well then, let’s do it, nee-san. The continuation of ‘La Croix Sanglant’ just for us siblings this time”''.

The ‘Unturning Assassin’ Yui Tatara is at a rose garden in the courtyard of Lucier’s royal castle. She finds ‘Dirty Rose’ Ein relaxing on a garden table that has teapot and teacups. Ein says Tatara’s cute dress looks good on her and also praises Tatara for finding her here. Ein believes it’s because Tatara knows her very well from watching and chasing her like a puppy even in a hellish place, and so in other words it’s because Tatara loves her. Ein then asks if Tatara will be her real sister because she also loves the cute and adorable Tatara. She says this while pouring tea to one of the teacups, inviting Tatara to sit. However, Tatara instead cuts the garden table into two with her chainsaw-shaped Device. Tatara tells Ein to prattle in hell and calls her a c*nt, which Ein replies that it’s a shame. As Boomer reports that Ascarid and Tatara have made contact with enemies, he is then surprised to see many drone cameras showing images of BB being beaten.

BB hates adults and instead gets along with Or-Gaule because Or-Gaule won’t get mad no matter what BB does and will play with him. He thinks Or-Gaule is going to be captured by scary adults and so he needs to help him. BB repeatedly delivers punches to the ground in order to crush Ikki who is the enemy that is going after BB’s friend. However, Ikki is still standing unharmed on the tattered road that has been hit by BB’s fists over and over again. Even though the fists are swallowing Ikki up, they are unable to crush him as if he’s a ghost without a solid body. BB then jumps and then falls with his body laid horizontally in order to execute a body press with his 300 meter high body which Ikki shouldn’t be able to escape in time. The cars, trees, buildings and such are crushed and flattened, but Ikki is still standing unharmed. BB can’t understand how this is happening and Ikki replies that it is because the human body has full of unevenness. When BB increases hugely the size of his body, the unevenness of his body also increases hugely and so all Ikki need to do is slide into any of the huge gaps that exist. Ikki then says that BB’s huge body has more disadvantages. Ikki moves fast towards BB in a circular direction and explains that it is difficult for BB to follow Ikki’s fast movements when BB’s body is very huge. Ikki then adds that a human’s weak points remain unchanged even if their body becomes huge. While slipping out of BB’s sight, Ikki slashes the Achilles tendon at the back of BB’s lower leg which causes BB to collapse to his knees. Ikki then slashes the quadriceps tendon at BB’s fallen knee and this causes BB’s body to fall forward. BB prevents his body falling down completely with the support of his arms, but his temple is now within Ikki’s range. Ikki uses ‘Saigeki’ to pierce the thinnest part of BB’s skull and cerebellum, causing BB to finally collapse to the ground.

While losing consciousness, BB gazes at Ikki who shows up in front of his eyes. Ikki says that BB can’t win because he’s still a small child but no one will remain a child forever. Ikki thinks BB will get to know various things such as himself, his own power, society and what he has done until now. BB then will face them and think carefully about the kind of adult he wants to be, which will be the real starting point of his life. Ikki then says he’s looking forward to see BB again someday, while putting his hand on BB’s cheek.BB thinks the warmth from Ikki’s hand is something he felt before being taken to a dark place by cold and scary adults. He hears happy voices saying ''“Ahaha. Look. It’s a big and healthy baby” and “Yes, I’m sure he will become a tall good-looking guy. Unlike you”''. He’s sure he had received such kindness and warmth from those voices somewhere but doesn’t remember well. As he tries to remember that nostalgic warmth, his consciousness falls and he returns to his original size. His sleeping face is like a child having happy dream. Boomer is shocked after seeing Ikki defeating BB without magic or Noble Art and without receiving even a single injury. The Vermillion army who were watching the broadcasted images praise at Ikki’s strength. Miriallia says it was an instant kill and Signard says Ikki would have defeated BB before if he didn’t have the Vermillion army to worry about at that time. Tilmitt’s body trembles from seeing Ikki able to maintain cool judgement even when huge fists were coming at him, and she thinks Stella has brought home someone outrageous. Ikki then starts running towards the center of Lucier probably to aid the others, leaving BB in the care of the League’s relief squad.

The focus of the war’s broadcast then changes to Stella and Johann who are in the sky. Johann’s causation manipulation type ‘road’ ability enables him to overcome any environment or situation. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the sky or if there are obstacles in the path, Johann’s ‘Chariot’ can run straight towards its target with ease like lightning. Stella is at disadvantage since Johann is able to run his ‘Chariot’ through the sky as he pleases. She had just learned ‘Dragon Wing’ and is unable to make full use of her strength when there’s no ground. All she can do is defending against Johann’s charges that keep coming at her. Even if she tries to counterattack with her sword, Johann won’t be hit. However, after charging towards Stella tens of times, Johann is seen shedding blood. Stella realizes Johann’s ability is being drawn out to its true full potential by Or-Gaule’s threads but if this continues his body will break. Stella then let goes her Device in order to catch the spear that is approaching her heart as shown in a pic. She has caught the spear and pulls it to drag Johann down from his golden horse. While Stella is lifting Johann’s body by grabbing his collar in the sky, she delivers a message from Lunaeyes which is a scolding for him and then sends him flying by slapping his cheek. Johann’s body is blown away to the ground in the suburbs from hundreds of meters high in the sky and then crashes through seven houses. There is no dangerous damage because Johann is protected by his mana that has been released beyond his limit forcefully by Or-Gaule. While getting up from the rubble, he’s shedding tears and remembers that the scolding he just received was exactly the same as the one Luna gave when they studied at university in UK. At that time, Johann was feeling the pressure of inheriting the throne in the future and so was hanging out with bad crowd. Luna then came and reminded him of his responsibilities by scolding and hitting him like Stella did just now. Luna brought him home before the people he was hanging out with got arrested for illegal drug use. After that Johann decided to be more responsible and dignified like Luna. However, Johann thinks it is impossible now because he had killed his parents and friends with his own hands, and so it fells easier to be Or-Gaule’s doll. Suddenly, Luna appears in front of him saying she won’t allow it.

Johann is confused why Lunaeyes is in Lucier which is currently a battlefield. She tells him that she has come here to fulfill the promise they made when they were kids which she would support him or share the burden that he can’t carry alone. Suddenly, Johann can feel Or-Gaule’s malice spreading to his entire body and he points his spear towards Luna. This is the same bad feeling he had when he killed his friends and back then he couldn’t stop it. As shown in a colored pic, he screams “Just this person, DON’T TOUCH HERRRRRR!!!!” while the tip of his spear pierces Luna’s thin body deeply. However, there is no blood coming out of Luna’s body because his device had been changed to ‘illusion form’ right when it pierced her. Johann broke out of Or-Gaule’s control by forcibly pulling the threads controlling his body. But his whole body is fully torn with blood coming out of his eyes and ears, and there is significant damage to his brain and organs. Luna can still feel the damage from the penetrating spear’s ‘illusion form’, but she refuses to lose consciousness because she has something important to do. She pulls away from the spear that pierced her and then approaches Johann. Luna embraces Johann and welcomes him back. Johann says he couldn’t protect anyone but Luna disagrees. Despite knowing what he did, she tells him that he had protected her. She also says it will be okay because Stella will reclaim Cradleland back and Luna will always be by Johann’s side to support him in his duty to rebuild the country. After hearing those words from her, Johann loses consciousness and leans against Luna who remains standing while hugging him closely. They remain that way until the League’s relief squad comes.

Astrea sees Lunaeyes being escorted out of Lucier along with the fainted Johann by the relief squad, which causes her to remember what happened the night before. The scene changes back to last night during the state funeral. While everyone is in the park, Luna calls her parents to a quiet place. She tells them that she’s renouncing her succession to the throne, which surprises them both. Luna realized earlier that Stella is more worthy to be Vermillion’s ruler and she is the one the people wishes to be their ruler. Astrea argues that she doesn’t think Luna is less worthy and that just being popular with the people is not enough. Luna replies she had made proper evaluation and that she’s not bothered by the fact that she’s less popular with the people. She just loves Vermillion when the people are standing together as one to fight. Astrea realizes Luna is serious but from her own point of view there is no one more worthy to succeed the throne than Luna because her coolness and rationality is what this country needs. Sirius says it’s fine and asks Luna if Johann is the reason for her decision. Luna replies that she wants to stay by Johann’s side and support him when he’s suffering the most. Sirius tells her to go ahead which surprises both Luna and Astrea. He adds that Luna has always been thinking things too complicated and everyone in this country doesn’t want Luna to live and die for this county. All they wish is for Luna and Stella to smile since all of them are like doting parents including Sirius. While he caresses the top of Luna’s head, Sirius tells her to go do the things that she wants and only she can do. Luna then jumps into Sirius’ chest and tells him that she has been in his care and that she loves him.

Back in the present, Astrea thinks Lunaeyes is a woman of Vermillion after all. Even though Luna can’t fight, she recklessly went to rescue Johann. Astrea had thought Luna was similar to her, but she was quite wrong because Luna shares the same fiery blood as Sirius and Stella. Astrea is glad that Luna has managed to get Johann back but Sirius thinks that it’s not okay, which Astrea replies he shouldn’t have let Luna go if that’s case. Sirius couldn’t refuse Luna’s wish after knowing how determined she was to renounce the throne after working hard to claim it. Stella who is watching Luna and Johann from the sky is relieved. Stella was against Luna going to Lucier but Luna argued that she couldn’t be such a weak princess when someone important to her was waiting for someone to help him and that she is Stella’s older sister. Stella thinks Luna is amazing that she was able to get Johann back without relying on any ability. Stella then spreads light from the flames of her wing in order to see the thin threads extending from Lucier to the entire country like spider nest. She is sure that the person responsible for Johann’s suffering and many deaths is in the center of that nest and so flies towards there. The focus of war’s broadcast then changes to the rose garden of the royal castle, and the scene shown there causes Boomer to lose words in his live commentary.

Chapter 17: The Unturning Assassin

The battle between Tatara and Ein in the rose garden starts around the same time as Ikki’s and Stella’s battles started. Tatara wants Ein’s head in order to repair the Abgrund house’s reputation, but Ein doesn’t understand. Ein asks if that place has something of value to Tatara, but Tatara replies she doesn’t need to make Ein understand. Tatara manifests her device ‘Sweeping Centipede’ and swings it towards the top of Ein’s head. Ein who is sitting on a garden chair responds by striking the ground with the heel of her shoe and then tulips called ‘Trigger Happy (Chattering Tulips)’ come out of the ground behind her. The flowers release high-pitched screams while shooting bullet seeds from the center of their petals like machine guns. Tatara moves away to dodge and then runs around Ein while continue dodging the bullets and moving closer to her. Ein then hits the ground with her heel again and uses ‘Bamboo Javelin (Piercing Bamboo)’. Spears of bamboos come out of the ground right below Tatara but they only tear her clothes and skin lightly because she is able to skillfully slide her body between them. The bamboo spears also surround Tatara like a cage which makes it impossible for her to escape from ‘Trigger Happy’ but Tatara uses ‘Total Reflect’. The repelled bullets destroy the bamboos surrounding her and the flowers. Tatara then immediately cuts off Ein’s left arm, but Ein who is said to be the best of ‘Abgrund’ is not shaken by this. Ein jumps back and then snaps her right fingers, which causes a giant Venus flytrap called ‘Crunchy Alligator (glutton Venus Flytrap)’ coming out. It is a man-eating plant that is big enough to swallow an entire person and it bites strongly like an alligator. Tatara’s ‘Total Reflect’ causes the plant to be blown into pieces and during that time Ein moves away to create a distance. Tatara says Ein’s head is next and moves to attack her. However, a vine comes out of her cut left arm as shown in a pic and its branches keep increasing that it spreads to the floor.

Tatara moves back and the vines keep growing in order to try to catch her. She cuts down the vine that is slowly approaching her. She is angry at Ein for making such dull movement and tells her to fight seriously. Ein then says that Tatara’s reflecting ability is powerful but like any other ability it can’t be continuously used because of the limit to the user’s mana. Tatara with her sharp reflex only activates her ability during moments of impacts and thus her ability is weak against attacks that slowly creep up on her. The speed and power of Ein’s current attack can’t be read when it’s making such movement and so Tatara can’t set up her reflecting ability at the right timing. Tatara replies that she will just cut down anything approaching. One of the vines suddenly lifts up from the floor and whips at Tatara’s head, though she is able to activate her ability in time to protect her from the whipping. Ein then says if she uses fast and slow attacks at the same time, then Tatara will have to switch between using her ability and evading on her own quickly in order to survive Ein’s two forms of attacks that have different timings. It is difficult for Tatara to keep up such feat and so eventually her arms and legs are caught by the vines. Ein smiles and then in an instant Tatara screams loudly due to her limbs being twisted by the vines continuously even when her tendons are twisted off or when her bones are broken and pierce through the skin. The vines with sharp and long thorns also wrap and tighten around Tatara’s body. It causes her to continue screaming from pain and a pool of blood to be formed on the floor. While her mouth is wide open from screaming, a vine as thick as an arm is thrusted into it. The vine is forcibly pushed into Tatara’s throat which causes her jaw to be dislocated, bubbles of blood and vomit overflowing, her eyes rolling around, and her leaking out urine. Tatara pleads Ein to stop but Ein replies that everyone she killed back at home was still alive at this point and so she will continue to hurt Tatara.

Ein then lifts the skirt of Tatara’s dress and inserts her hand into Tatara’s crotch while saying that she will punish the bad mouth that’s wetting. During that moment, Boomer’s voice is heard and he tells Ein that abuse acts against an opponent who has lost the will to fight is a violation in wars conducted under the rules of the League. Ein faces the drone camera capturing her actions and tells Boomer that it’s a misunderstanding. She claims that she has no choice but to attack slowly like this due to Tatara’s ability. She also says not to worry because she won’t add more attacks if her opponent surrenders. Ein tells Tatara to give up and become her sister. She also says that she will even let Tatara continue to be an assassin and support her in it because she loves her. Ein then pulls out the vine in Tatara’s mouth to hear an answer but Tatara laughs and says that things won’t go Ein’s way. Tatara then says ‘Damage Reflect (fate reversal)’ and suddenly blood is coming out of Ein’s whole body. Tatara’s whole body is healed and Ein instead is the one that has received the damages that Tatara just experienced earlier. Tatara explains that ‘Damage Reflect’ allows the ‘fate’ of receiving damages to be repelled towards the opponent. She used this to defeat Kanata Totokubara before, but she is unable to use it if she is knocked out unconscious in one hit like when she fought Stella. Tatara endured the increasing damages she received on purpose as much as she could in order to decide the match in a single blow. Ein then screams at Tatara to not take her lightly and yells the name of her own device. Suddenly, a trunk of tree is coming out of the inside of her body and tears her body by pressure. It grows into a 50 meter high tree that Ein has become. Ein explains that ‘Yggdrasil Abyss (dark world tree)’ will sprout once her device ‘Astarotte’ consumes all of her mana and she didn’t want to use this technique because of its unbeautiful appearance. Ein then says she will show that someone mediocre like Tatara only deserves to be a playing toy for a genius like her.

In an instant, the roots of ‘Yggdrasil Abyss’ release malicious mana that is then soaked into the ground. It causes the roses in the garden to grow huge at abnormal rate and branches into many while forming many bulbs. The bulbs then change shape and fall to the ground, which result in 200 beasts in the shape of lions, wolves, crocodiles and serpents to be present. Tatara realizes that the ordinary plants in the garden have turned into magical flowers. Ein explains that the surrounding vegetation is changed by contaminating the soil with her magic, which is the power of her trump card ‘Yggdrasil Abyss’. The rose beasts attack Tatara all at once but she is able to endure by dodging and cutting the rose beasts with her chainsaw-shaped device. However, the rose beasts that were cut in half then grow new halves from the cut parts and thus increase their number. Tatara activates ‘Total Reflect’ but one of the beasts keeps pushing back the invisible wall despite losing parts of its body and without fear. As the other beasts are about to get her as well, she uses ‘Total Reflect’ against herself which causes her body to be largely blown away instead. Though she receives strong pain, she now has escaped from the swarm of beasts and is trying to escape from ‘Yggrdasil Abyss’ range. However, the huge roses in the garden stretch their vines and form a hedge that blocks Tatara’s escape. Tulips of ‘Trigger Happy’ then grow on the hedge and fire bullets of seeds at Tatara. Even though Tatara is able to activate ‘Total Reflect’ in time, the bullets still hit Tatara. While Tatara’s knees collapse, roots of ‘Yggdrasil Abyss’ that are 3 meters thick rise and whip at Tatara who activates ‘Total Reflect’ again. However, her body is blown away and so she realizes that ‘Total Reflect’ can’t withstand the force of any of ‘Yggdrasil Abyss’ powerful attacks which is like when she fought Stella. Ein laughs and says that lying on the ground like a rag suits Tatara who couldn’t survive if Ein didn’t teach her how to fight and is Abgrund’s leftover. While Tatara is down on the ground and not moving, the beasts are moving towards her to prey on her. After hearing Ein’s words while her consciousness is hazy, Tatara remembers the days she spent at Abgrund house.

The Abgrund house was an assassination organization that had existed even before Rebellion and almost all the assassinations they carried out were turning points in history. It existed in a deep place in the shadows of the world with its location and members as complete mystery. Young girls from the outside world were gathered and then raised as assassins. The girls were referred as ‘sisters’ and they didn’t have names. Everyone, including Tatara who was a real child of the head of the house, was called by a number because they needed to be anyone in any country. The ‘sisters’ were not allowed to be ‘individuals’ and they received controlled meals and training to obtain perfect mind and body. They didn’t have cooked meals and all their nutrients were covered with supplements. Physical examinations were also done every week in order to manage their growth and ensure necessary nutrients. After the ‘sisters’ had grown to certain extent, they received harsh training which receiving serious injuries was an everyday occurrence. ‘Illusion form’ was not allowed and treatment of injuries with ‘capsule’ was allowed in training if excellent result was obtained which most of them didn’t get. They only received basic treatments such as disinfection and suturing without pain prescription which caused them to be in constant agony. It was hell for the girl called Vier (number 4) who was injured almost every day due to not being blessed with good physical stature and reflexes.

The scene changes to Vier who is lying in pain from removing bullets of two gunshot wounds in the abdomen that she received during training to avoid gunfire. She also wonders why she was born in such place, and cries. An older girl who is called Ein (number 1) then appears and tells the crybaby Vier that she should have dodged properly if she didn’t want to get hurt. Vier replies that Ein wouldn’t understand her feelings which Ein agrees because Ein is a genius who doesn’t understand the troubles of someone ordinary like Vier. Ein was at the top in all her classes and she was never seen injured after the hellish training. During the final exam called ‘selection’ where the ‘sisters’ killed each other, Ein survived without a problem. Suddenly, Ein kisses Tatara which surprises Tatara. Ein asks if Tatara’s first kiss tastes sweet and Tatara realizes Ein had just given her something sweet in her mouth. Tatara feels happy for the first time in her life and excitedly asks what she just ate which Ein replies that it was chocolate. Ein says chocolate is given as a reward if a job is done successfully or first place is earned during training, so Vier wouldn’t know about it since she is always at the bottom. Ein then says she knows that Vier was thinking why she was born in such a house, but at least she’s alive. If Vier has something to live for then she can obtain happiness and feeling of fulfillment. Ein doesn’t like sweets that much, but her reason to stay alive is so that she can continue taking care of the beautiful flowers she has grown in the flower bed. For the time being Vier seems interested in chocolates, which can be her reason to obtain first place during training. She then decides not to give up and as a start she aims to reach the top during training in order to get chocolates.

For the next 3 years, Vier’s skills have rapidly increased with Ein’s assistance to the point that earning top place during training is not unusual. Though Vier is still not on Ein’s level, she is not frustrated because she looks up to Ein. It’s because she looks up to her that she notices Ein’s abnormality later. Ein’s performance during training is not as good as it should be and during a mission she is playing with the target’s life by turning him into a ‘flower pot’ which is not what Vier’s model sister would do. One day, Vier visits Ein who is taking care of flowers in the courtyard and confronts her about her performance during work that has been less than perfect recently. Ein is actually aware of it and praises Vier for noticing. She then explains that the most unnecessary thing for an assassin is conscience, which should be discarded. Ein decided to kill her old self and a new personality most suitable for an assassin has replaced her old one. She believes it is inevitable for a genius like her to gain the most suitable type of mind needed to survive in such hell. Vier asks if Ein is okay with it but Ein then asks if Vier has found her reason to live. Vier replies she hasn’t found a fine one but she has obtained a strong spirit that refuses to lose to the crappy life she has. She has already killed people and seen many deaths, and so she will never think of living an honest life someday because it is the lowest form of running away. She will continue to live as a killer until the end and die like a dog. If she manages to do so while going through the same situations Ein experiences, then she can be proud of her crappy life. Hearing Vier’s answer causes Ein to smile as shown in a pic, which is amount of happiness on Ein that Vier has never seen before. Ein then tells Vier not to die in the ‘selection’, continue to live as a professional, and not to lose even if her opponent is Ein who has changed.

Back in the present, Tatara gets back up despite her body heavily injured in order to fulfill her duty as a professional until the end which is the path she has chosen. Tatara then charges towards the huge dark tree that Ein has become, but she is being blocked by the rose beasts. Tatara remembers the 3 important advices she received from Ein in the past. The first advice is to not waste too much physical energy by choosing the best course of action needed to achieve the objective without exceeding the required amount of energy. While running towards Ein without stopping, Tatara cuts any rose beast that comes at her in all directions. It is a movement that exceeds the limit of her original ability. Ein realizes that Tatara has used ‘Angel Dust’, which is the name of a stimulant given to each Abgrund’s assassin. Use of such thing is forbidden in wars conducted under the management of the League. Ein then causes over 100 flowers of ‘Trigger Happy’ to be grown from the soil contaminated by ‘Yggdrasil Abyss’ and they fire their countless bullets at Tatara. The bullets however just pass through Tatara’s surrounding. The second advice is to not waste time, which Tatara shouldn’t move her body aimlessly and should search for the most optimal way to run through every moment with the highest efficiency. Tatara developed sharpened hearing from her training to be an assassin and with it she realized that the high-pitched scream ‘Trigger Happy’ flowers release before firing their bullets is actually a high-frequency used to determine the target’s position by echolocation. So all Tatara has to do is reflect the sound hitting her with ‘Total Reflect’ in order to ruin the flowers’ aim. As Tatara continues running towards Ein, ‘Bamboo Javelin’ that is also powered up by ‘Yggdrasil Abyss’ comes out of the soil surrounding the tree. Tatara’s left arm is severed by the bamboos but she breaks through them by cutting them down with her one arm while having wounds all over her body due to being cut by the bamboos. The third advice is to not use excessive movement, which Tatara shouldn’t repel Ein’s attack too much. Tatara did so against the spears by altering their trajectory a little, but she suffered too much damage. Both her legs are barely connected to her torso and the nerves are no longer connected. Her right eye can’t see probably due to her right ear got struck deeply. However, when her body collapses she reflects the energy from her fall in order to make her body fly forward. As shown in a pic, she charges straight despite her heavily damaged body which only her right arm can move properly.

Tatara’s chainsaw-shaped device has reached the root of ‘Yggdrasil Abyss’ but Ein says there is no way Tatara can cut it down in her current condition. Ein then grows thick branches on the tree in order to finish off Tatara and says that it is goodbye. But sign of fulfillment is shown on Tatara’s face and she says towards the tree that there’s one last thing she wants to say to her sister even if she’s no longer in there. Tatara says “Thank you. ---See you”, and then the entire scene turns white. A huge explosion was created and it resulted in a huge crater present where everything including ‘Yggdrasil Abyss’ was blown away. The explosion also caused the live coverage of the fight by the drones to stop and it caused Boomer’s helicopter to sake violently. It was all due to Tatara’s Noble Art, ‘Astral Force (star’s hammer)’, which deflected the power of the Earth’s revolution movement. Earth moves at about 100,000 km/h and so if some of the force of that movement is deflected towards the enemy even a little then it would be like an unparalleled hammer that crushes the enemy. However, it is a suicidal technique which Tatara would have also received the blow from being nearby. Tatara has collapsed on the rim of the crater with her whole body heavily damaged. But she didn’t die from shock probably due to pain relief effects of ‘Angel Dust’. Even though Tatara has completed her objective, she realizes that she shouldn’t die here because of the promise Stella made. If Tatara dies here Stella will arrange a state funeral and cry for her, which is a shameful thing for an assassin like Tatara. Thus, Tatara puts all of her remaining strength to stay alive and says in her mind, “…Do not let her die…, Kurogane”.

Chapter 18: Storm and Stress

A tall blonde woman and her subordinate enter a room in a detention house where a young silver-haired girl is also brought into. The girl has a terrible expression after she had just lost her parents and neighbors in the ‘La Croix Sanglant’ incident. Her eyes are severely reddened and swollen from crying, and there are no emotions reflected in them. The tall woman is surprised to see the girl has no scar at all since she heard that the girl had received life-threatening injuries. The tall woman’s subordinate explains that the team sent to the incident was able to take the girl down once, but she recovered after a short time and attacked them. Her defense power became so strong that it was incomparable to the first time and was able to heal wounds immediately which caused the unit unable to give her even a single wound. The tall woman says that talent is a terrifying thing as both siblings have achieved ‘Brute Soul’. The female subordinate doesn’t understand what ‘Brute Soul’ means but the tall woman tells her to not mind about it. The subordinate continues her report by saying that the girl was able to be captured because she lacked offensive capabilities and she fainted as if the thread had broken probably because the main offender had released control of her or he had moved to a distance that made him unable to control her anymore. The tall woman then introduces herself as Levi Ascarid to the girl. She is the France branch leader of the League of Mage Knight Nations with the nickname ‘Bayonet’. She asks the girl if her name is Iris-Gaule, which she replies with a small nod. Iris’ current state is natural because her younger brother, Orleus-Gaule, had recently taken control of her body and made her kill a lot of people including her parents. Levi says to Iris that she and her brother are such unbelievable siblings that the younger brother had committed such heinous act and the older sister defended him by sending half of the League’s suppression force to the hospital. Levi’s subordinate argues that Iris is actually a victim but Levi disagrees because Iris as an older sister must have realized her younger brother’s abnormality at some point. Levi says, “Everything that happened in that village…is all your fault, Iris-Gaule”. Her subordinate becomes angry at her for saying such cruel words. But Levi continues by saying that the person who made that hell in the church was not human but a demon. She then asks Iris if she’s okay with her younger brother spreading the same tragedy all over the world. After thinking about it for few minutes, Iris replies by shaking her head which indicates that she’s not okay with it. Levi then says that Iris survived the tragedy in her village because it is her duty to stop her brother. While grabbing Iris’ small hand, she tells her to come to her place and that she will lend her strength to her. Levi’s words cause a sense of responsibility to enter Iris’ half-dead body and her eyes to be lit with determination. While holding Levi’s hand strongly with both of her hands, Iris asks her to lend her strength to her and swears that she will defeat her younger brother.

Back in the present, the ‘Black Knight’ Iris Ascarid is facing the ‘Puppet King’ Or-Gaule in the corner of Lucier’s castle town. While wearing her armor-shaped Device ‘Orichalcos’, Iris is attacking Or-Gaule with her large battle axe. Or-Gaule is keeping his distance from Iris by running all over the castle town. He then uses his Device, ‘Black Widow’, which are threads strong enough to cut even huge buildings like butter. Iris however just repels the tens of threads away with just single swing of her axe. Any Blazer can gain speed and power by strengthening their actions with their mana, but in Iris’ case she also has a healing ability that enables her to withstand force that is strong enough to blow away other Blazers. With such unparalleled defense power, Iris can just keep attacking with maximum firepower without considering the enemy’s counters. Such power that combines offense and defense together without leaving any opening is the true value of ‘Orichalcos’. Iris keeps pursuing Or-Gaule with her overwhelming attack power and charging speed, but is still unable to land a fatal blow. She is able to move fast by strengthening her kicking feet, but this makes it difficult for her to make sudden stops and turns. Or-Gaule has spread his invisible threads that act as scaffolds for him to move freely all over Lucier, and so this makes it difficult for Iris to hit him. Or-Gaule then says he feels sad that he’s hated so much by his beloved older sister. He also claims that he actually loved everyone in their village which is why he still remembers their names, faces and voices.

“Michèle and Tor from next door, I played with them together a lot. Uncle Gérard the butcher and auntie Romy, I always went to their store to buy consumable meat. The obliging big sis Irène was with the precocious Stéphane. The leader of the kids Gasper was with his followers Bernard and Éric. Gasper and Irène were dating weren’t they? You didn’t know, right? It’s because you used to be shy around people after all. Aha, somehow looking at your face makes me remembering various things from the past. How nostalgic.”

“SHUT UUUP!! …Why…, how could you do it with such face..? While doing such thing to everyone…, how could you call everyone’s name with such gentle voice…?

“That’s because everyone is my benefactor. During that birthday I received life from them. They gave real smile as present to me who was just making a smile to my surrounding. That’s why I was really, really grateful to them!”

“～～～～aAAAAHH!!!!”

“Whoa! Close, that was close”

“I can’t take it anymore. My head is going crazy. I don’t want to hear your voice. I will cut that throat of yours immediately!”

Iris’ anger causes her attacks to become big swings little by little with visible gaps beginning to occur. However, Or-Gaule can’t attack because his ability is not suitable for combat after all. His real value is not in battle as shown by the fact that his main role in Rebellion was to use his threads to control world situations and dolls used for assisting other duties. Attacking fighter type opponents like Iris and Wallenstein straight ahead is bad for him. What he can do is lure his opponents into his area and wait for a chance to attack. Iris’ whole body then ends up getting tangled by countless threads which cause her to stop moving. Or-Gaule activates his Noble Art ‘Marionette’ in order to rob Iris of her own body’s movements and then continue the ‘La Croix Sanglant’ incident as he said earlier. However, Or-Gaule can’t move Iris’ body as he like. Iris charges towards him with her large axe and he narrowly avoids her attack instead. Or-Gaule realizes that it is caused by Iris’ power to influence fate as a Desperado. Ever since she was taken under the care of Levi Ascarid, Iris has lived for the sole purpose of defeating Or-Gaule. Her persistence, grudge and determination became like a curse that won’t allow her to be manipulated by Or-Gaule and let ‘La Croix Sanglant’ occurring again. Or-Gaule then uses ‘Grand Guignol’ but the thousands of slashes have no effect on Iris wearing the ‘Orichalcos’ armor. He continues by using ‘Deus Ex Machina’ to bind surrounding structures such as statues, poles and houses with his threads. He then uses the threads like a bow and shoots the rubbles towards Iris like arrows. The rubbles shot at Iris weigh several tons and have power that is tens of times greater than tank cannons, but Iris just receives them without fear and advances forward. Or-Gaule uses ‘Spider’s Nest’ to prevent her axe taking him down, but the resulting wind pressure causes the skin of his left arm to be torn and the surrounding structures have exploded. Or-Gaule then jumps over Iris’ head and entangles her in his threads even though there shouldn’t be enough power in the threads to tie her body. However, the force constricting her neck is stronger than the threads wrapped around the other parts of her body and is digging through deeply into the chainmail. Or-Gaule is making use of Iris’ strength which the threads will bind tighter and suffocate her if she moves with more strength. Suffocation is the only clear weak point of ‘Orichalcos’ which was revealed in Iris’ fight against Carlo Bertoni in last year’s A-League. No matter how much healing power her Device has, it cannot produce oxygen from nothing.

Suddenly, Iris’ axe is thrown at Or-Gaule and he narrowly dodges it by lifting his own body with the threads connected to his body. However, Iris’ fist immediately lands on Or-Gaule’s face which causes his body sent towards the ground, rolling. Or-Gaule immediately fires ‘Grand Guignol’ at Iris in order to prevent her pursuit but it has no effect like before. Iris then stomps on and breaks the right arm of Or-Gaule who is lying on his back. Or-Gaule lifts his left arm to fire ‘Grand Guignol’ again but Iris grabs and crushes the wrist of his arm, causing him to scream from pain. She then also grabs his throat and tightens her grasp while his head is against the ground. Or-Gaule doesn’t understand how Iris was able to escape from the threads that would have blown her head off if she moved hard. He then realizes that even now his threads are ripping the flesh of Iris’ neck through her armor and suffocating her, but she is able to bear the pain with her armor’s continuous healing. Iris will fall sooner or later at this rate but she doesn’t mind as long as she is able to break Or-Gaule’s head beforehand. She thinks he shouldn’t be able to escape with both his arms broken. However, Or-Gaule pulls a thread with his bare foot’ right thumb which causes the broken asphalt under Iris’ feet to shift. Iris’ body position has shifted and in that moment Or-Gaule escapes her restraint and runs to the sky where there is a nest of threads that act as scaffolds for him. Or-Gaule thinks there is a crack in his neck bone which causes him to feel pain every time he breathes in. He didn’t expect that there is this much difference in power between him and Iris, and so he has escaped to the sky where Iris can’t follow. However, Stella who is wearing her wings of fire is blocking him from escaping. She says Or-Gaule is a bastard who is better off dead after causing thousands of people to suffer. Stella then uses ‘Katharterio Salamandra’, swinging her heaven-splitting sword down at Or-Gaule.

Intermission: The Witch That Came Late

When the battles at Cradleland’s capital have started, a small jet belonging to the League of Mage-Knight Nations has landed on Vermillion capital’s airport in the evening. It is an emergency aircraft that is permitted to enter the airspace or airport of a member country of the League without prior contact. Everyone who came is an expert on healing magic and is here to assist Vermillion which lacks people who can use healing magic. Daniel Dandalion and Vermillion’s imperial guards are there to pick up the group of doctors led by Kiriko Yakushi. The commander of the imperial guards thanks the girl he believes to be Kiriko for coming. He says that the doctors will be standing by in Vermillion’s castle and in case of emergency they will enter Lucier through the ‘Winged Chancellor’s gate’ which has been placed in advance by the ‘Black Knight’. As they are about to leave the airport, Dandalion stops the girl because she is not Kiriko and so asks who she is. The girl replies that Kiriko can’t leave Japan because she is assisting a group of Blazers such as ‘World Clock’ and ‘Raikiri’ in handling the ‘prison escape incident’ that occurred in Japan the other day. The girl is Kiriko’s disciple and she is here as Kiriko’s proxy.

“Please do not worry. I, Shizuku Kurogane, am more qualified than anyone for this duty after all.”