Light Novel Volume 07

The seventh Light Novel volume of the series released on May 14, 2015.

Chapters
Intermission: A Soundless Victory 

Ikki had defeated Jougasaki using Itto Rasetsu combined with Edelweiss’ technique. It took 0.8 seconds, which was a new record (previously it was 20 seconds). Jougasaki said right before their match started that Ikki would not use his trump card against him since he needed to use it later in the day during his match against Sara, and he predicted Ikki would lose in 23 moves. So, Ikki was forced to use 'Itto Rasetsu' against him even though he was up against Sara next in the same day.

Chapter 8: Noisy Infirmary

Shizuku’s match in the second round is against Momiji Asagi, the previous year’s 3rd rank. Momiji is also a disciple of Nangou (Samurai Ryouma's rival) like Touka and Nene, and her attribute is fire as her nickname 'Onibi' (wildfire, will-o'-wisp) suggests. Momiji uses 'Trackless Step', the same movement technique that Touka used to overwhelm Shizuku back in Vol 3 which can cause the opponent appear to have temporarily lost sight of the user and react late. However, Shizuku had spread thin water throughout the entire arena and then uses the water’s fluctuations and ripples to determine Momiji’s movements. Shizuku wins by landing her 'Suiroudan' on Momiji which blocks her airway and suffocates her.

The second round is over, and Sara heads for the sickbay where Ikki is resting in order to have him as her nude model. She figured Ikki would be too exhausted from using 'Itto Rasetsu' and before she can even reach Ikki’s clothes to undress him, she is caught by Stella who changed her mind about cooperating since Ikki really didn’t like it. Stella ties Sara up with bandages as shown in one of the pics, and Sara says it hurts so much because she has a weak body. Sara says she needs to complete her painting which has a blank space in the center for her to draw the Messiah and Ikki would be the perfect model. As they are talking, Sara says she needs to go to the bathroom but Stella has a hard time of untying her, and Sara is feeling pain because the bandages have gotten tighter instead. Ikki then suddenly wakes up and while shocked asks them what they are doing since what is in front of him looks like a girl who is panting painfully from being tied up with bandages by his own lover.

Sara was able to get free from the bandages being cut and had headed for the bathroom outside. Ikki says he wouldn't hate Stella for being interested in such things and it would be okay for them to do it as lovers. Stella says it was a misunderstanding and Ikki says it was a joke. Ikki then pokes Stella’s pouted cheek with his finger and then caresses her cheek with his palm. Ikki says that Stella is like a cat which Stella happily replies with “Nyaa… ♥”. While they are having a nice moment Ikki’s father suddenly appears, saying that his entrance seems to always have a bad timing, and shocking both Ikki and Stella. Stella introduces herself by doing a dogeza (kneeling on the ground), and says "tsumaranaimono desuga (I may be boring), yoroshiku onegaishimasu!" which should have started with "futsutsukamono desuga (I may rude or inexperienced)". Itsuki laughs a little as he remembers that Ikki did a similar thing back in Vol 3, where he was practicing on greeting Stella’s father. Itsuki came to tell Ikki that he is considering of officially severing family ties due to the reasons he explained back in Vol 3 which became more complicated now that Ikki had become one of the top 8 in the nation and that many people already knew about him. This makes Stella angry but Itsuki thinks this proposition would benefit both sides. Itsuki says he is not in a hurry for an answer now and he can wait. After Itsuki had left, Ikki says he had thought about severing ties with his father before but he is not sure now because he just couldn’t end up hating his father. Sara returns and she overheard some of the conversations. She still insists on having Ikki as her nude model which Ikki keeps refusing. Then, Sara’s apron falls all of a sudden due to its strings broke, exposing her huge breasts. They then decide to go to a department store to buy new clothes for Sara.

Chapter 9: The Warriors' Slightly Noisy Relaxation

Ikki, Stella and Sara are joined by Shizuku and Alice on their trip to the department store. Alice says he doesn’t know much about Sara since the only people in Akatsuki he knew were Hiraga and one of its teachers Wallenstein. Sara is wearing Stella’s jersey with the front zipper not fully closed, exposing some of her breasts as shown in one of the pics. No matter how many times she tried to close the zipper it would just open up on the chest area and Stella’s other clothes had buttons flew. Stella never felt this humiliation which is obvious because before there was no one as big as Stella’s, probably not even Kanata. On the bus to the department store, they encounter a group of middle school students asking them for things such as signs and handshakes. It makes them quite exhausted but it isn’t surprising because 4 of them made to the Top 8 of the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival. But after they get out of the bus, more people appear. Sara, Stella, Shizuku and Alice use each of their own magic to make them look invisible to the crowd while Ikki uses 'Trackless Step' to escape.

They are inside the department picking out clothes for Sara. The first one Sara decides is a negligee and next she chooses an apron, which both Stella rejects. They talk about Ikki and Stella’s relationship and girls making moves on Ikki. Stella says it’s fine if Sara makes a move on Ikki because Ikki’s heart will always belong to Stella. Later, Stella and Shizuku are trying out yukata as shown in one of the colored pics. Shizuku is actually helping Stella putting it on which surprises Stella. Shizuku assures her she had accepted Stella and recognized her as Ikki’s lover.

Shizuku: “Would you like some help from me? ---Onee-sama.”

In the meantime, Sara is with Alice looking at cosmetics. They later enter Alice’s ‘Hermit’s House’, which is a space inside Alice’s shadow that had been made like a small living place, to try out some cosmetic samples they got for free. In there, Alice asks why Sara, the famous painter Mario Rosso, would work for Rebellion. Sara says she didn’t join Rebellion, she was just paying back a debt. In order to complete her painting, she received surgery from the 'Grand Professor' for her chronic disease so that she could travel all around the world searching for the ideal model and she also used their routes to search in conflict zones. She finally found her ideal model, which was Ikki. Sara is speaking fondly of Ikki and Alice wonders if she fell in love with Ikki at first sight, but she doesn’t understand. They all had finished buying what they wanted. Sara had bought and is currently wearing the clothes she wore throughout the rest of the volume. Stella shows up wearing a bunny suit as shown in one of the colored pics, thinking it would please Ikki. But Ikki instead tells her to put some clothes on and calls her 'Stella-san' or 'Vermillion-san'. Stella realizes Shizuku tricked her, which made Shizuku laugh.

Later, Shizuku and Alice leave first. After changing back to her uniform, Stella returns with a baby sleeping in her arms. Sara and Ikki wonder about the baby and ask if Stella gave birth, which she denies. The baby just appeared out of nowhere in the women’s restroom. It was possibly due to the baby manifested an ability similar to Jougasaki’s and triggered it by accident. The baby is suddenly crying and Sara manages to calm the baby down in her arms. The baby is asking for some breast milk and Sara then exposes one of her breasts. The baby is sucking her breast and Sara says even if no milk is coming out it gives the baby some piece of mind. Sara then is singing a song to the baby which Stella recognizes it as an Italian lullaby. The baby and Stella then had gone to sleep. Sara hands the baby over to Ikki and starts drawing some pictures.

Sara then talks about her past which she says that initially she hated drawing. She lived in the middle of a mountain in Italy and spent a lot of her childhood in bed due to having brittle bone disease. Her father spent all his time on drawing a certain painting and Sara hated drawings for taking her father away from her. But then he died suddenly due to his chronic disease worsening. Sara then was going to destroy the painting out of hatred but she couldn’t do it. Her father gave his everything to paint it and Sara decided to finish it to understand him better. Sara’s father’s friend Kouzou Kazamatsuri was acquainted with the ‘Grand Professor’, one of the ‘12 Apostles’ of Rebellion, and she asked the ‘Grand Professor’ to treat her disease with a huge debt. As a result, Sara finally had a body which she could move freely to some extent and spent a long time traveling around the world looking for the ideal model for her painting. She did all this because she loved her father even though she never saw his face. Ikki then thinks about his relationship with his father and thanks Sara because she just helped him with a problem he was having. She tells him to be her model if that’s the case and Ikki says okay but with one condition. If Sara wins the match then Ikki would be her model but if she loses she will give up. Sara accepts the condition with strong determination in her, becoming a different person as shown in one of the pics. At the end of the chapter, the baby is returned to the mother and the three of them return back to the tournament venue.

Chapter 10: Seven Stars Sword Art Festival Third Round - Beginning

It is the start of the third round with the first match being the A-block final match between Ouma and Renji Kaga, Rokuzon’s ace. He is 236 cm tall and weighs 370 kg, and his nickname is ‘Panzer Grizzly’. He is the only one from the previous year’s Top 8 to reach this year’s Top 8 again. When he enters the arena, he tears his clothes away and reveals his loincloth which is his device. He is a Blazer that possesses huge strength and he and Ouma knew each other 5 years back. He can change his skin into steel and has a technique created in order to defeat Ouma which the steel on his body can create new arms like he’s an Asura. Kaga attacks Ouma with hundreds of slaps with his arms, but the attacks have no effect on Ouma. Ouma then cuts off the arms and uses his hand to pierce through Kaga’s body. Ouma has Kaga’s heart in his hand and then crushes it. The match is over and Kurono saves Kaga by firing her bullet on him and freezing his body’s passage of time. It is explained later that despite losing an organ Kaga should fully recover after being treated in a ‘capsule’. No one is giving Ouma any applause, except one person which is Stella. She understood that just cutting off Kaga’s limb might not have been enough for Ouma to win and so he went that far to ensure victory. Stella says to him that she will give everything she got during their match with killing intent, and Ouma had thought of the same thing. Later, Stella meets with Rinna and Charlotte. Rinna says she came to watch Sara’s match since Sara is someone she signed a contract of blood and soul. Charlotte explains that Sara is now adopted by her father’s friend who is Rinna’s father and so they are step-sisters. Rinna didn’t expect Ikki to use his trump card during the second round but Stella believes that Ikki will win and reach the semifinal. Stella tells them to be prepared because Ikki is ridiculously strong today.

Just before his match starts, Ikki meets with his father. Ikki declines his father’s offer to cut off their family ties even though it would benefit both of them. But in the end, he is still Ikki Kurogane. Itsuki says since birth he was raised to carry out his duties and so he didn’t know any other way of life. As a result, he could never recognize Ikki’s accomplishments and that will never change. He asks if Ikki is okay with having a father like that and Ikki says yes. In the end what they have is a boring quarrel between father and son which is a quite common thing, and cutting off ties is not necessary.

Itsuki: “Ikki, you became a big person”

After hearing that praise from his father, Ikki heads for his match. Sara and Ikki arrive in the arena. The commentators note that Sara looks very determined even though she never looked like that before in her previous matches. Ikki thanks Sara because his relationship with his father is now better. Sara says it is not necessary since she only cares about the agreement they made. Ikki says he will keep his promise, but he will be the one to win, then the match starts.

Sara's Device is called 'Demiurge's Brush’, which takes the form of a painting set. One of her Noble Arts is called ‘Color of Magic’, and its effects depend on the color used. She first spreads yellow paint in the air and creates blinding light that is like a flash bomb. While everyone is blinded, Sara uses her other Noble Art ‘Purple Caricature (Illusion Caricature)’ to create the same army of hundred ghosts that she used against Kuraudo. These ghosts fire their assault rifles at Ikki but miss because Ikki is using ‘Trackless Step’. Yaotome, one of the commentators, explains only Nangou and Nene could use ‘Trackless Step’ effectively like this. As Ikki gets close, he takes them down one by one fast. According to Kaieda, the head of the tournament’s steering committee who is watching, the number of people in Japan who could do that with just martial arts skills alone wouldn’t even reach 5 people. After Ikki takes down the last one, Sara had already disappeared using the grey paint. But Ikki can tell where she is and swings his sword at her. But his blade is received by another blade held by someone who appears to be Edelweiss.

Sara creates a fake Edelweiss with almost all of her magic and believes that the clone can defeat Ikki. He is able to keep up with the clone even without ‘Itto Shura’ not just because the clone is weaker than the real one but also because he can use Edelweiss’ technique. However, Ikki is bleeding from receiving countless slashes as a result of Edelweiss’ swordplay able to create vacuum slashes similar to Ayase’s Noble Art. Then, Ikki receives internal injury from vibrations caused by a move similar to Ikki’s sixth secret sword, ‘Dokuga no Tachi’, with the ring arena used as the conductor to send the vibrations from a distance. When Ikki’s guard is open, the fake Edelweiss blows Ikki far away with her knee strike. Ikki rolls around on the ground, and crashes into the wall that separates the arena and the audience. However, Ikki manages to get back in the ring. Yaotome explains that Ikki had deliberately rolled around on the ground in order to distribute into the ground the energy that could have caused the damage to his body. Yaotome also thinks there is no point to continue but Ikki says he wants to continue because “he had already seen through that counterfeit’s basis/root”.

The fake Edelweiss attacks again, but this time Ikki is able to dodge and pushes her back not just once but twice. Sara couldn’t believe what she just saw and wonders if this is Ikki using ‘Perfect Vision’, but Ikki says it wasn’t. Every Blazer only has one ability and even if it looks like they have multiple powers they actually trace back to just one ability. He had deduced that Sara’s ‘Color of Magic’ could embody an image associated with the paint color used and ‘Purple Caricature’ could embody an image she drawn. In other words, her ability is not creating a fake that’s just like the real one, but to embody an illusion based on her own image. Sara might be able to accurately replicate Edelweiss’ physical capabilities, but there is no way she could replicate Edelweiss’ thought process. Only the outside was reproduced, with nothing on the inside. Ikki opened his guard for a moment before in order to prove his hypothesis. Sara says it doesn’t matter because the fake Edelweiss still has the same specs as the real one, while Ikki’s swordplay is an imitation. Ikki says she is wrong that you would win by having stronger force and then they clash again. At the end, fake Edelweiss’ sword lands on Ikki’s head and right at that moment Ikki had cut the fake Edelweiss into two, turning the illusion back to waste paper. Even if it was the world strongest, it was still an illusion created by a painter that never held a sword before. Ikki had spirit, technique and body, and so he would not lose to a fake that lacked two of them. Sara doesn’t have enough magic power left to create another fake Edelweiss, and so she thinks about giving up. But, Ikki then reminds her of the promise they made which gets her fighting spirit back.

Sara then uses ‘Purple Caricature’ to create 4 Ikki clones. Ikki immediately cuts down one of the fakes who had just invoked ‘Itto Shura’, and then takes down the others after. This was due to Ikki knowing his own strengths and weaknesses, and so he wouldn’t lose to even four clones of him that were created rashly and halfheartedly. Sara then creates a 3 meter-tall gladiator called ‘Mario Rosso’ with her last bit of magic. Ikki jumps and aims his first secret sword, ‘Saigeki’, on ‘Mario Rosso’s’ forehead but it doesn’t work. ‘Mario Rosso’ swings his sword and Ikki blocks it with ‘Intetsu’. Ikki is blown away to the ground and ‘Intetsu’ ends up soaring in the sky. He rolls around to minimize the damage but his arms are crushed that he can’t hold his sword anymore. ‘Mario Rosso’ approaches the place where Ikki is and swings his sword at Ikki. But ‘Mario Rosso’ had bled heavily instead because that place was the place the fake Edelweiss created the vacuum that could cut before and Ikki intentionally lured him there. Ikki then rolls under the vacuum space and moves to catch ‘Intetsu’ that fell from the sky with his teeth. He stabs Sara’s abdomen with his sword in his teeth, and Sara falls along with ‘Mario Rosso’ turning back to waste paper. Ikki wins, but Sara says she couldn’t protect the promise they made because she won’t give up on her passion and Ikki says what a hopeless person she is. As Sara is losing consciousness, she thinks about how envious she is of Stella and that if she will fall in love someday, she would want it to be with someone like Ikki. Rinna can’t believe that Sara had lost, but Charlotte explains that another reason why Ikki won was because of another advantage which the total amount of muscle that can be mobilized for one-sword style should be twice the amount mobilized for two-sword style.

Intermission: A Fresh Bloody End

Next is the D-block final match between Shizuku and Amane’s. After getting medical treatment, Ikki meets with Stella. They wonder if Shizuku can win even though she said she had a secret plan. Even though an announcement had been made, Amane and Shizuku still haven’t shown up into the ring arena which makes Ikki having a bad feeling. The large LCD monitor on the venue displays the waiting room to check if they are there. The volume ends with the monitor displaying Shizuku being crucified to a wall by countless swords as shown in the volume’s last pic and Ikki screaming her name.

Characters

 * Ikki Kurogane
 * Stella Vermillion
 * Shizuku Kurogane
 * Sara Bloodlily
 * Rinna Kazamatsuri