Light Novel Volume 16

Rakudai Kishi no Eiyuutan Light Novel 16 is the sixteenth installment of the Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry light novel series, written by Riku Misora and illustrated by Won. It was released in April 2019.

Summary
''After the life or death battle against Or-Gaule, a moment of peace has arrived in Vermillion Empire. But the malice of the "Puppet King" has left a huge mark on the world. The fainting of officials and people connected to governments after being released from the puppeteer's control has caused global confusion, and in Japan it has become a situation in which student knights are mobilized through "special convention".''

''"Star of Naniwa" Yudai Moroboshi, "Sword Eater" Kuraudo Kurashiki, "Raikiri" Touka Toudou--These students knights of the golden generation who were gathered during the crisis test each other's fangs and rush their feelings to the future. But they are about to be engulfed by the great flame released during the chaos!''

16th volume filled with hardships and trials where new brilliance drives away the darkness of the era!!

Chapters
Epilogue II: Nostalgia

After the battle against Or-Gaule is over, Ikki was doing his daily sword training in the courtyard of Vermillion Castle. But because he currently has the body of a ten year old, his physical capabilities have declined. He is exhausted just after doing half of the usual amount of training. Even though Ikki has lost his trained body, he is not discouraged. He thinks that if he can't rely on strength like before then he will just sharpen his skills. He still hasn't reached the full potential of what he can do with his sword. Having his current body is a good opportunity for him because there might be something that can only be seen from a body that doesn't rely on strength. His swordsmanship that was cultivated from Edelweiss' swordsmanship can still be used in this body. Ikki aims to continue training himself during his half-year recovery in order to make his body even stronger than before.

In an examination room of a hospital in Vermillion capital Flareverg, Stella is lying completely naked on an examination table as shown in a colored pic. Her body is attached with pads and cords extending from medical instruments being operated by Shizuku who is wearing a white coat. The instruments transmit special kind of frequency to Stella's body and Shizuku uses her water healing techniques that she learned from Kiriko Yakushi to examine Stella's body. Stella had been feeling discomfort from her internal organs and bones being played around. After 5 hours, the examination is finally done and Shizuku says Stella can get up now. Stella asks for the result and Shizuku answers that there was no abnormality found and Stella is still human. Those who had undergone "Excessive Awakening" might have transformed into a different existence even after they returned to their original human appearance. If the body has degenerated, it would have huge negative impact on everyday life and for a woman the worst possible thing that could happen is unable to have children with her beloved man. Thus, Stella is relieved to the point of shedding some tears after knowing that no abnormality in her body was found. However, Shizuku says there is no guarantee it will be the same the next time and so it's better not to use that power as Nene had already said. The power Stella obtained from "Excessive Awakening" was necessary to defeat someone strong like Or-Gaule so she is determined to obtain that power while staying as the “Crimson Princess”. Stella then asks Shizuku if it was necessary to attach the pads to her breasts since the place was quite sensitive and electrical stimulation sent there was quite painful. Shizuku replies that it was to harass Stella which shocks her. But Shizuku was just joking and then says Stella was the one who asked her to focus on checking Stella’s female body function. Stella then sincerely thanks her but Shizuku becomes uncomfortable of it and turns her face away as shown in a pic while saying it’s not something to be thanked for. Shizuku only came to Vermillion as Kiriko’s replacement. Stella then says she’s heard many people in Japan have broken out of prison which Shizuku confirms. Or-Gaule’s threads ran deeper than the League of Mage-Knight Nations had thought and troubles have occurred in various parts of the world. Shizuku’s father, Itsuki, had launched a “special convention” which student knights such as Kiriko, Touka Toudou and Yudai Moroboshi have been sent to take care of the situation. Stella says that even though “special convention” has large criticism for sending students to the frontline, it is a well launched action. Shizuku replies that making a correct judgement is Itsuki’s only good quality. Stella then takes out her phone in order to check the current situation in Japan as Vermillion is currently not in good shape and so not much information from the outside is coming in. With nostalgic feeling, she wonders how everyone in Japan is doing now. However, at this point Stella and everyone else have no idea that a tragedy is about to occur in Japan where a “great flame” is going to engulf Stella’s second home.

Prologue: Embedded Fire in Abyss

A person looks up and sees so much darkness with small lights. The small lights that represent hope cannot clear away the darkness and once gain the era is about to be swallowed in constant darkness. Right now, the world requires a large star like the ones that have cleared the way for new era. This person who exists outside of cause and effect knows its arrival. He thinks that that it was God’s love that brought the arrival of such huge hope that shines like the Sun and burns away the darkness of the era.

Chapter 1: The Rivals' Present Time

During the time Ikki and Stella had just arrived in Vermillion, Or-Gaule had released control of all the officials and people connected to governments who were under the control of his Noble Art “Marionette”. The sudden faintings of all these people at the same time had caused a worldwide event in which many prisoners have escaped from detention facilities. Some of the prisoners are Blazers and so it has caused huge threat to Japan’s security. Then around the time Ikki and the others first faced off against Or-Gaule, Prime Minister Tsukikage had left the country and so Itsuki Kurogane who is the head of the League of Mage-Knight Nations’ Japan branch was in charge to handle the situation. Itsuki made a big decision to launch “special convention” of student knights in Japan. In emergency situations, student knights that received the invitations are temporarily granted the same authority as licensed mage-knights and so are freed from the restrictions on using magic in public places in order to fight.

In a plane that is about to leave Aomori Airport and going to Haneda Airport, there are 6 people who have escaped from a detention facility. They are spread across various places in the plane and the leader of the group is referred to as Prisoner #15. He plans to have his group hijack the plane and their goal is to reach a country in north that is run by dictatorship and out of the League’s reach. The moment the plane reaches a certain altitude and the seat belt light is out, Prisoner #15 holds the neck of a slender girl and points his submachine gun type Device at the girl’s temple. The others in his group are also holding people hostage and so the mage-knights that are boarding the plane as security are unable to do anything and subdued. Prisoner #15 while holding his hostage heads to the cockpit and threatens the pilots. He tells them that the plane’s new destination is North Korea. The pilot protests since even if they are in a civilian aircraft they will be shot down if they go there. Prisoner #15 assures the pilot that they won’t be shot down and will be welcomed there. However, the moment Prisoner #15 is convinced of the success of his operation, there is an explosion. The plane’s left wing engine is caught on fire and the entire plane is shaking greatly which causes everyone in it to panic. Even Prisoner #15 can tell that they won’t make it to North Korea and so orders the pilot to return to the airport that they had just left. As the plane is heading back, the left wing comes off and the resulting violent shaking causes Prisoner #15 to fall and screaming. However, his hostage who turns out to be a boy is standing calmly as shown in a pic and tells him that it will be okay. The boy says the plane won’t go down because he’s very lucky. Eventually, the plane that lost its wing and buoyancy manages to land safely. Everyone is stunned because it is such great luck for such a thing to happen. Prisoner #15 realizes that this is the boy’s doing as the boy manifests a thin sword that pierces the man’s throat.

“See? I told you. Ah, but if I didn’t just happen to be here and not thought of a situation where no one would be killed or hurt to occur then it wouldn’t be like this in the first place, so you were rather unlucky.”

“You, who are---”

“‘Bad Luck’ Amane Shinomiya. Right now I’m still just a worthless student knight. Even so, to come across this right away on the plane I boarded in order to respond to the convention, I really am lucky…or rather unlucky perhaps.”

At Ayatsuji dojo in Tokyo, a huge barrel-like man with huge scar on his face kicks down the main entrance and knocks down Donrou Academy students who were training in the dojo’s yard. The man’s name is Ginji Ookuma and he is one of the Blazer criminals that escaped from prison. He says to the dojo’s master who is sitting on the edge of the yard, Kaito Ayatsuji, that it’s been a long time and asks if he remembers him. Kuraudo Kurashiki, who is standing beside Kaito, then asks who Ookuma is but Kaito says he doesn’t know him. 15 years ago, Kaito took down Ookuma who was a high-ranking member of Masuyama-gumi and was responsible for the group’s collapse. With Ookuma’s father and all of the group’s members caught, he has no place to go home to now and so he came here for revenge. But Kaito doesn’t remember Ookuma because he wasn’t interested in remembering the faces of the Blazer criminals he attacked. This causes Ookuma to be very angry and manifesting jade-colored gauntlets on both his fists. His ability is manipulating wind and he converges air onto his right fist. Ookuma pushes his fist forward and the compressed air is launched towards Kaito like a cannonball, which Kaito shouldn’t be able to avoid. However, Kaito and Kuraudo are unharmed even though the blast causes a huge destruction to the house behind them. Kaito’s daughter Ayase then appears and becomes angry. She thinks the Donrou students have caused destruction again but they tell her that it was Ookuma who was responsible for the current destruction. Kaito then tells Ayase to fight Ookuma since it is a good opportunity for her to practice real battle. Ayase agrees and then manifests her Device “Hizume”.

Ookuma advances towards Ayase fast to attack her. Ayase, who practices Ayatsuji swordsmanship style that emphasizes on counterattacks, easily receives the incoming fist with her blade and slides the blade to deliver a horizontal attack towards Ookuma’s flank. However, the moment Ayase’s blade touches Ookuma’s body he activates a technique called “Fuubakushou (wind detonation)”. A wind pressure is released from Ookuma’s body and then Ayase’s thin body is blown away. Ookuma was able to handle Ayase’s counterattack because he had experienced the Ayatsuji swordsmanship before. For the past 15 years, he had thought of measures to deal with the swordsmanship that Kaito uses. Ookuma then continues attacking Ayase with his Noble Art “Souran (clawed storm)” which he uses his wind power to accelerate his movements and creates wind blades attached to his arms. Ayase is defending herself from the fast series of attacks delivered towards her. Kuraduo asks if he should fight instead but Ayase refuses. Ayase’s swordsmanship is now much sharper than from the time she fought Ikki and she can actually counter Ookuma’s level of attack easily. However, the moment Ayase turns from defense to offense, Ookuma would have activated “Fuubakushou” and thus crushing her counterattack like before. So what Ayase needs to do is to deliver a counterattack that doesn’t give Ookuma a chance to switch between offense and defense, by leaving her blade in offensive position while warding off her enemy’s attack. Ayase is able to achieve this by using “Ten’i Muhou”. She slips through Ookuma’s punches with minimum defensive body movement and should be able to deliver a decisive blow in an instant. However, Okuuma is able to remain calm and activate “Fuubakushou” barely in time due to having already seen Kaito using “Ten’i Muhou” to avoid Ookuma’s attack just recently. Ookuma only receives a small cut but Ayase suddenly turns her back against him as if the battle is already over. This causes Ookuma to attack her unprotected back while angry. However, Ayase’s Blazer ability enables her to open wounds caused by her Device, turning small cuts into fatal wounds. As a result, Ookuma loses consciousness from the pain and his body falls to the ground in a pool of blood. Ayase then tells Kuraudo with a scornful laugh that the enemy wasn’t beyond her capability. Kuraudo replies Ayase shouldn’t be in such high spirits since she had practiced everyday against Kuraudo’s attacks and so winning against an opponent of Ookuma’s level is obvious. The mischievous Kuraudo then asks if Ayase perhaps wanted him to compliment her instead while bringing his hand close to her head as shown in a pic. Ayase knocks Kuraudo’s hand away hard while telling him not to say such stupid thing and then turns her eyes away from him. Ayase can’t deny that during battle she actually thought the opponent’s attacks were minor compared to the attacks she usually received from Kuraudo’s sword.

In an underground area of downtown Shinjuku, there is a huge coliseum owned by a Russian mafia group called Dragunov. A betting game where 70 Blazers are about to have a battle royale is being held there. Yakov, who is a leader of Dragunov, is also managing the place. In a VIP room, Yakov is talking with Bishou who is a former apostle of Rebellion that was captured by Ikki, Stella and others few months ago. Yakov suggests that Bishou participates in the battle royale but Bishou declines because he can’t be standing out after escaping from prison. After Rebellion has collapsed, Bishou and his men have been looking for a new patron. Rebellion’s remaining power is flowing towards the League and the Union, with the United States gaining most of it. The “Grand Professor”, who is one of the two of Rebellion’s “Numbers” who were not killed by Or-Gaule’s group, leads his own faction and joins the United States which is his home country. The alliance between member countries of the Union is not as strong as the alliance between the League’s member countries and Dragunov’s big shots doesn’t like that the United States is gaining so much power. Yakov then tells Bishou that Dragunov’s big shots welcome Bishou’s group. As they are talking about business, one of the Blazers participating in the battle royale is suddenly thrown into the VIP room through the glass wall that was facing the ring arena. The person responsible for it takes off her raincoat and reveals herself as Renren Tomaru. There are also others wearing raincoats and they reveal themselves as Ikazuchi Saijou, Kikyou Hagure and Botan Hagure.

The Hagun Academy students were searching for escaped prisoners and they ended up discovering this underground area. Illegal activity is occurring here and so the Hagun students under the temporary authority granted by “special convention” have to arrest everyone here. Yakov then informs the Blazer thugs that there will be reward money for taking down the Hagun students. However, the thugs are no match for these students who are in the upper ranks at Hagun. Renren uses her speed ability to take down the thugs one by one fast. A huge bald man wearing red lipstick called “Queen” then faces Renren. His Device is a pair of large shields with huge spikes. “Queen” knows about Renren including her weaknesses which the trajectory of Renren’s attack is always straight and she is unable to put feints in her attacks. An attack from someone of Renren’s size also wouldn’t have very much weight in it. All “Queen” has to do is protect his surrounding sides with his shields and Renren’s accumulation of speed will reset once she makes contact with the shield. However, Renren became aware of her weakness after Hagun’s selection battles. Renren previously could only attack at 2D plane trajectory but now she has developed a new Noble Art called “Delta Force” which enables her to attack at 3D solid trajectory. While moving very fast Renren then jumps up high above “Queen’s” head using mana emission and then runs along the walls and ceiling of the coliseum. She kicks the ceiling and hits the top of “Queen’s” head from above. “Queen” is knocked out with his head squashed with half of it sunk into his body. After one of the thugs’ strongest has been taken down, more thugs are joining and they plan to overwhelm the Hagun students with their difference in numbers that reach over a hundred-fold.

The thugs focus on attacking Kikyou Hagure who they consider as the weakest. However, Kikyou is capable of dealing with them especially after a certain person had given her advice on battle tactics including the best way to make use of her ability. Whenever any of the thugs gets too close to her, she uses “instant acceleration” to move back in order to maintain distance which is an advantage for a spear-user like her. Kikyou’s “instant acceleration” ability may not be as fast as Renren’s speed but it enables her to move fast without the need to run which is a strong point similar to “Twin Wings” swordsmanship. The thugs then decide to launch magic attacks from a distance but Kikyou moves sideways to give her sister Botan a clear line of fire. Botan’s ability is “penetrate” and each of the bullets she fire from her guns pierces through the enemies that are lining up from front to back. Those that didn’t get hit by the bullets are also caught up in the accidental discharge of the thugs’ magic, leaving all of the ones that were fighting the Hagure twins unable to fight. The thugs’ strongest fighter who is called “King” suddenly appears near the Hagure twins. His ability is to increase the size of his body up to 5 times and he swings his iron rod weapon towards the twins. However, Saijou receives the incoming attack with his zanbatou and then pushes “King” back. The angered “King” then increases the size of his body and iron rod in order to attack Saijou with more power than before. Saijou tells the Hagure twins to leave this fight to him but the twins are worried because “Crescendo Axe” at maximum output could only push “King” back a little. But Saijou became aware after fighting Stella once before that “Crescendo Axe” is not enough when fighting someone strong. Instead of just swinging his zanbatou like he usually does before, Saijou is now also rotating his body horizontally together with the swinging blade. This accumulates more than 10 times the weight “Crescendo Axe” can accumulate on the blade. The rotation is accelerated by the accumulated weight and eventually produces a tornado of pressure. “King” believes he can kill the rotation by swinging his own weapon downwards. But before "King" could act, Saijou tells everyone to get down and then strikes the surrounding air with his zanbatou. This new Noble Art called “Forzato Smash” releases a giant tsunami of air pressure that largely blows away everyone that were standing while breaking their bones. Everyone who is watching from the VIP room becomes very worried after seeing all the thugs in the coliseum defeated. They then find out that a similar catastrophe is occurring elsewhere which is shown through a security camera.

The underground coliseum has people working as security guards and 15 of them are near an elevator that leads to the emergency exit. They are fighting a female Blazer wearing white dress. Their weapons are equipped with special bullets that can break a Blazer’s mana barrier but no matter how many bullets they fire the female Blazer won’t go down since the bullets somehow end up disappearing without touching her. The girl in white dress just calmly comes closer to the armed people while holding her parasol as shown in a pic and then some of the men go down one by one while bleeding from all over their body. The remaining men become terrified and try to escape to the elevator. But because the elevator has weight capacity limit they have to kick out some of themselves out of the elevator. As the ones that got kicked out also go down, the elevator door is closing. But the girl in white dress stops the elevator closing by pushing the tip of her parasol into the gap. The girl enters and the men inside try to shoot her. But it is useless because her Device which is in the form of tiny blade particles cut the bullets into dust. As the elevator door closes, the men inside also lose consciousness in red darkness. Yakov who is watching from a security camera recognizes the girl as Kanata Toutokubara. Everyone in the VIP room tries to escape through a secret exit route. But before they could escape, Touka enters the room. She first subdues Yakov with her lightning and then confirms one of the men in the room is Bishou who is the escaped prisoner she’s chasing. Bishou refuses to surrender but Touka releases “Raikiri” before he could do anything. Bishou’s consciousness is cut off immediately and everyone else in the room is blown away. Touka’s group had been successful in locating escaped prisoners due to Utakata Misogi’s ability. A week after the “special convention” was first launched, the Vermillion War has ended around the same time and the League’s Japan Branch has captured 90% of the escaped prisoners with the help of the student knights deployed.

Chapter 2: "Sword Eater" vs "Star of Naniwa"

At the League of Mage-Knight Nations Japan branch’s high-rise building in Tokyo, about 30 students from Hagun Academy and Donrou Academy that were invited to “special convention” are gathered there. They are informed that other countries haven’t recovered yet from the turmoil caused by Or-Gaule. Japan is the only one that has resolved their own situation with more than 90% of the escaped prisoners have been recaptured. An official acting on behalf of Japan branch’s head is thanking the student-knights for their effort and declares the “special convention” has ended since the mage-knights can take care of the remaining work. The “special convention” this time is said to be the second largest after World War 2 and most of the student-knights invited here were first-timers. They are also rewarded 30,000 yen per day of participation and days of absence during school second semester because they lost some days of summer break. Some students then go home to continue their summer break but others such as Touka and Kanata are training at the building’s training facility.

As shown in a colored pic, Touka, Kanata and Ayase are in a shower room of the training facility along with Yuuri Oreki who is the teacher that accompanied the Hagun students in the “special convention”. Touka says Ayase is amazing since she was able to fight with confidence during her first “special convention” even though Touka herself was scared and not much help during her first one. Ayase replies that it was largely thanks to Ikki helping her in swordsmanship. When asked what kind of guidance she received, she becomes flustered while trying to answer. Ayase mentions the time Ikki was touching her body to help fix her sword stance which causes Oreki and Kanata thinking that it was sexual harassment. But Ayase says she was the only one that felt weird so she was the one who was perverted. Kanata understands how Ayase felt and says, while blushing and stroking her own breast, that Ikki’s hand is large and rough but also gentle and warm. She also says she sometimes remember how her heart was beating when Ikki grabbed her chest. Oreki is shocked and coughing out blood after hearing it but Touka knows Kanata was saying it in a misleading way as it was only because Ikki and Kanata fell during that time. Kanata then says Stella will be having a hard time since many people would be interested in Ikki now that he’s a prominent hero of the League. Everyone becomes silent of the fact that Ikki on his own defeated the “Black Knight”, who was ranked 4th in the KOK A-League, and also largely contributed in the defeat of Or-Gaule during the Vermillion War. Ikki at this point is still in a coma and will wake up few days later. Ikki’s great achievement makes the girls feel like they had been taking it easy even though it’s only been a month and that it is a little strange. They don’t know about the existence of Desperados but they noticed something in Ikki had changed during his fight against Stella in the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival final match. Oreki believes she should apologize to Ikki when he returns since she initially thought Ikki was not suited to be a knight when they first met but now he has already proven her wrong. Touka and Kanata then inform Oreki that they will be using the rewarded days of absence to return home to Kyushu.

After Touka and Kanata left the shower room, they encounter Moroboshi in a corridor. Moroboshi came to Tokyo mainly because he wanted to meet Torajirou Nangou. Moroboshi plans to participate in the God of War League and so will leave Japan next month. The next tournament’s preliminary will start after next year’s Chinese New Year. The preliminary is a survival match where the participants live in a designated area and continue fighting each other until a certain number of people are left. They are allowed to use any method such as attacking others at night or early morning, team up with others to attack one person, or even bring a helper from the outside. Moroboshi is leaving Japan quite early in order be familiar with site where the battle will take place. He wanted to ask Nangou, who is a former champion, for some valuable information. But Nangou is out of the country searching for Tsukikage who is out of contact. Since Moroboshi came all the way to Tokyo, he doesn’t want to make his trip a waste. Thus he approaches Kuraudo who is nearby and asks to fight him. Moroboshi wasn’t interested in Kuraudo when he lost to Byakuya Jougasaki in the previous year’s Seven Stars Sword Art Festival. But watching Kuraudo’s match with Sara Bloodlily this year made Moroboshi realize that Kuraudo is different now and there’s probably not much difference of strength in between them now. Kuraudo participated in the “special convention” to kill some time but he became frustrated because the ones he fought were small fries that even Ayase could handle on her own. Kuraudo thus accepts Moroboshi’s request and tells him to be prepared to get hurt.

Kuraudo and Moroboshi are then standing on a ring in the training area with their Devices manifested already. Tens of people have come to watch the match between the two. Ayase protests because if someone gets hurt it will also be her father’s responsibility, but Kuraudo tells her that Moroboshi was the one asking for this. Touka adds that the ring arena belongs to the League and Oreki is acting as the referee. She is also interested in who would win in a match between Moroboshi and Kuraudo. Even though Touka defeated Kuraudo once two years ago in an exhibition match and never won against Moroboshi, that doesn’t mean Kuraudo will lose against Moroboshi. They are different from back then and there’s also the matter of compatibility. Touka is not sure who will win this match but in her opinion Kuraudo has the advantage over Moroboshi in regards to compatibility. Since it’s not an official match, Kuraudo doesn’t wait for the referee to give the signal and proceeds to attack Moroboshi. But despite Kuraudo’s unfair head start, Moroboshi was able to intercept by launching a thrust towards Kuraudo. It causes Kuraudo to jump back and receiving a small cut on his threat. Moroboshi tells Kuraudo that if he continues to underestimate him then he will lose his head. But Kuraudo replies that it won’t happen since there’s not much difference between them in strength.

Kuraudo’s “Orochimaru” is currently in the form of two swords maintained at the length of Japanese sword. Moroboshi uses “waiting” style of spearmanship which he waits for his opponent to be within the range of his spear “Tora-Ou” and then attacks when that happens. Moroboshi delivers a series of fast thrusts once Kuraudo is within range but Kuraudo is evading the thrusts. Touka explains to Ayase that one of the reasons why Kuraudo has the advantage over Moroboshi is due to his “Marginal Counter”. Moroboshi’s attacks are mainly thrusts and it’s difficult to overpower Kuraudo who has super reflex using point-type attacks which are quite easy to read. Moroboshi is also using “Houkiboshi” to remove the weakness of point-type attacks by making his thrusts look like they’re bending, but Kuraudo’s “Marginal Counter” enables him to dodge the thrusts even after they bend. Kuraudo then launches “Hebigami” but Moroboshi is able to counter it by launching “Tiger Bite” which cuts both of Kuraudo’s swords. The mental damage Kuraudo receives as a result of his Device being broken causes him to move back. However, Kuraudo soon recovers after his swords which had shrunken in length have extended and are back to their original length. Touka explains to Ayase that this is the second reason why Kuraudo has the advantage over Moroboshi. Kuraudo can extend the length of his Device and the total length can be hundreds of times longer. “Tiger Bite” wouldn’t do serious damage to Kuraudo’s spirit from cutting off a small piece of his Device. Thus, Kuraudo is the worst kind of opponent for Moroboshi to face. Kuraudo then extends the length of “Orochimaru” to over 10 meters and manipulate the movement of his blade like it is a snake in the air. “Orochimaru” is moving as if it has a will of its own and together with “Marginal Counter” it causes Moroboshi unable to intercept the blade with “Tiger Bite” and repeatedly get slashed. There are some times “Tiger Bite” is able to hit and cuts off a part of “Orochimaru” but it’s not enough to cause mental damage to Kuraudo. The battle becomes one-sided with Moroboshi receiving countless slashes and bleeding all over his body, which should be enough reason to stop the match. However, Oreki and Touka know that Moroboshi should have expected this development and think he must have a way to overcome this.

At Bukyoku Academy in Kinki region, Byakuya is being interviewed by a female student named Yagokoro who is the newspaper club’s head. Yagokoro initially wanted to interview Moroboshi but he is currently in Tokyo. Byakuya is not as popular as Bukyoku’s other stars, Moroboshi and Momiji Asagi. Moroboshi has overwhelming charisma and Momiji is popular for her cute girl appearance. Byakuya on the other hand teleports his opponent outside the ring arena and makes them lose by ring out count, which looks plain. But even so Yagokoro wants to write a deep article using an expert’s viewpoint. Yagokoro starts by asking Byakuya who he felt was the strongest out of all the opponents he faced. Yagokoro believes it’s Ikki due to his success in Vermillion War, but Byakuya says it’s Moroboshi. Byakuya agrees Ikki is probably stronger than any student knight but Moroboshi is the one that made Byakuya felt strongest. According to official records, Byakuya’s winning rate in a rematch against opponents he once lost to is over 90%. Even if Byakuya loses once he would mostly win during the second time, but he never once won against Moroboshi no matter how many times they fought. Despite Byakuya would always come up with careful plan, Moroboshi somehow would always find a weak spot on Byakuya and thrusts through it. Byakuya describes it as a “killer instinct”, which Moroboshi can see something that others can’t. This is why Byakuya is afraid of Moroboshi than anyone else.

Moroboshi takes advantage of the momentary gap when a part of “Orochimaru” is being cut off by “Tiger Bite” to move closer towards Kuraudo. Since it’s back to medium-distance battle, Kuraudo shortens his Device back to Japanese sword length and exchange blows with Moroboshi. “Orochimaru” would just recover back to its original length no matter how many times “Tiger Bite” cuts off pieces of it. Kuraudo who has “Marginal Counter” should have the upper hand in this exchange of blows. However, Kuraudo is being pushed back after some time and finally receives a cut on his left temple. Everyone watching is confused, except Oreki who is seeing the match close as the referee and Touka. Touka says she’s reminded of how dangerous it is to have long-term battle with Moroboshi. After being hit in few more places of his body, Kuraudo realizes he didn’t overlook Moroboshi’s movements but rather he couldn’t see them. Touka explains to Kanata and Ayase that what’s happening is related to blind spot which is always present even in a healthy human field of vision. While Moroboshi was being pushed back, he repeatedly delivered his thrusts in a trial-and-error to determine the position of Kuraudo’s blind spot. It is difficult to see Moroboshi’s thrusts when they are aimed at your blind spot. Unlike “Trackless Step” that causes opponent unable to perceive something that can be seen, Moroboshi’s “Blind Spot Thrust” is a technique that makes his attacks invisible and so Kuraudo can’t react to it. Despite this, Kuraudo knows that the thrusts are invisible when they come close and are always aimed towards his face. Once he’s used to it, he can tell where the invisible thrusts will come from at the right timing and then avoid them. However, after Kuraudo takes evasive action to avoid the invisible thrusts, the tip of Moroboshi’s spear suddenly bends and hits Kuraudo on his side. This is due to Moroboshi used “Houkiboshi” immediately after delivered the invisible thrusts. Even Kuraudo can’t make movements with high precision immediately after taking evasive action. Thus, “Marginal Counter” is suppressed once Kuraudo takes evasive action to avoid Moroboshi’s “Blind Spot Thrust”. Once “Marginal Counter” is suppressed, Kuraudo can’t deal with “Houkiboshi” that suddenly appears from his blind spot. Moroboshi’s use of superior tactics to control the flow of the game is mostly what makes him strong. Kuraudo currently can’t defend against “Houkiboshi” using his swords as well due to Moroboshi’s spear being clad with “Tiger Bite”. Kuraudo tries to create distance from Moroboshi but Moroboshi wouldn’t let him escape.

Ayase while seeing this development says that upper national-class people are amazing and someone like her couldn’t possibly keep up with them. She also says it’s frustrating that she can’t imagine someone she hates would lose to such strong former “Seven Stars Sword King”. Suddenly, Kuraudo catches the tip of Moroboshi’s spear with his own teeth. Before Moroboshi is able to pull his spear back, Kuraudo releases the Device on his right hand and grabs the spear’s shaft. Stella and Ouma are probably the only student knights in Japan that can beat Kuraudo in physical strength. So when Kuraudo pulls the spear strongly to his side, Moroboshi’s body is pulled forward. During that moment where Moroboshi’s body is thrown off balance, Kuraudo immediately deals damage to Moroboshi with “Hebigami”. Moroboshi manages to get his spear back when Kuraudo’s grip on it has loosened, and then moves back. But Moroboshi’s chest was hit deeply and he falls to his knee. Moroboshi can’t understand how Kuraudo was able to react to the invisible thrust by catching it with his teeth. Kuraudo doesn’t understand either but he just felt that he could, which surprises everyone except Ayase who’s been training with Kuraudo. Even though Ayase hates Kuraudo, she admits that he is a genius of violence that will trample down any technique or tactic with force. Kuraudo then shortens his two swords to the size of large knives as preparation for a move that he’s about to use.

When Kaito visited Kuraudo after the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival was over, Kaito said that he has no intention of making Kuraudo an heir to the Ayatsuji swordsmanship style. The swordsmanship is a path for Kaito and Ayase, but it is just a tool for Kuraudo. A swordsmanship that focuses on defense and receiving in order to control what happens next wouldn’t suit someone who likes attacking like Kuraudo. Kaito said Kuraudo should put more of his natural self to his blade and swing the Ayatsuji sword with the ferociousness that ignited the fire in Kaito’s heart once because that is Kuraudo’s own “Ten’i Muhou” (naturalness and flawlessness). Moroboshi uses “Blind Spot Thrust” and “Houkiboshi” at Kuraudo in order to prevent Kuraudo from launching his ultimate attack. However, Kuraudo just keeps charging forward with force while using “Ten’i Muhou” which sweeps away Moroboshi’s thrusts. Ayase explains that her father’s sword is like flowing water that receives and returns enemy’s attacks in smooth movements, but Kuraudo’s sword is like raging fire that crushes all obstacles with violence. Once the distance between them is short, Kuraudo launches two-sword “Yamato no Orochi” at Moroboshi. During this moment, Moroboshi thinks that Kuraudo is a genius of violence that actually has “killer instinct” more than he does. However, Moroboshi knows something that Kuraudo doesn’t since Moroboshi had felt it closer than anyone had once in the past and now he’s going to release it, which is “Musou Ichiretsu (unparalleled violence)”. After Moroboshi and Kuraudo clash one final time, Moroboshi is the one that falls and unable to continue which leaves Kuraudo as the winner of this fight. Everyone favored Moroboshi so they are surprised that Kuraudo won. Touka then says goodbye to Ayase and that they will meet again during the new school term. Ayase tells Kuraudo he should get his wounds treated but she then notices his pale face. Kuraudo says Moroboshi was trying to do something during their final clash and Kuraudo never felt so much fear before. Kuraudo wonders what would have happened if Moroboshi managed to strike first and just thinking about it makes him frightened.

(more later)

Chapter 3: "The Great Flame"