Ikki Kurogane vs Daniel Dandalion

Ikki Kurogane vs Daniel Dandalion is a fight between the Hagun Academy student Ikki Kurogane and the Vermillion's Sword Mentor Daniel Dandalion. It takes place after Ikki and Stella arrive to Vermillion.

Prologue
Ikki is currently on the run from the people of Vermillion, trying to get to the Vermillion Palace. After fighting Tilmitt Gracie and Miriallia Régie, Ikki finally arrives on the roof of the palace. Suddenly though, he finds himself surrounded by a barrier. Ikki notices that there's an old man, who is Daniel Dandalion, the one who created the barrier. Dandalion wants to defeat Ikki in a duel, with Ikki sensing that Dandalion is very strong.

Battle
As both combatants manifest their Devices, the attack each other with a series of thrusts. The older Dandalion starts to get pushed back by Ikki, towards the edge of the roof. Ikki is attempting to force Dandalion to deactivate his own barrier, so that he can escape. Suddenly though, Dandalion's thrust curves, hitting Ikki in the shoulder.

Dandalion nearly hits Ikki, who only narrowly blocks the thrust. Ikki realizes that Dandalion's Device is very flexible, being able to curve like a snake. Dandalion then uses a sword technique, Croix du Sud, which simultaneously hits five spots in the opponents body. Ikki though blocks the first strike with his guard, pushing Dandalion back. Ikki then compliments Dandalion's swordsmanship, marking that it's very special, due to his sword's strange flexibility. Due to this flexibility Ikki's Blade Steal and sixth secret sword technique Dokuga No Tachi won't work. The limited area of the roof, also makes Shinkirou unusable. This gives the advantage to Dandalion.

Because of these disadvantages, Ikki decides to use Saigeki, his first secret sword technique. As Ikki uses it though, Dandalion manages to block it with the tip of his sword, a feat which only Edelweiss was previously capable of. Dandalion notes that compared to Stella's swordsmanship, Ikki's Saigeki is child's play. Ikki though proclaims that he will break Dandalion's defense with his next attack.

Ikki takes the stance for Saigeki again, with Dandalion preparing to defend against it. When Ikki uses Saigeki though, he lets go of the sword, only holding onto the unwound tsuka-ito of Intetsu. This throws Dandalion's defense of, giving Ikki a chance to slash at Dandalion. This takes out Dandalion, who remarks that Ikki didn't even need Ittou Shura to defeat Dandalion.

Epilogue
After the fight. Ikki enters the palace, through a window. The window leads to Lunaeyes Vermillion's room, where Ikki meets the undressed Lunaeyes. Later Ikki also meets back with Stella, telling about his conflict with the people, and the bounty which has been placed on Ikki. This leaves Stella very angry at Sirius, who prepared all this. It's decided that Ikki will be allowed to marry Stella, if he wins the upcoming tournament between Vermillion and Cradleland. Ikki agrees to this, though Sirius doesn't.