Light Novel Volume 09

The ninth Light Novel volume of the series released on December 12, 2015.

Summary
The finals stage of the Seven Stars Sword Battle Festival has come. As the battle between Ikki and his cherished lover and greatest rival, Stella, approaches, a last-minute change happens. Powerful people who have fought with him before appear once more as his sparring partners: Raikiri (Touka), the Seven Stars Sword King (Yuudai), and the Sword Emperor of Wind (Ouma). Before them, the Uncrowned Sword King sharpens his fangs to their utmost limit!!

"In this last battle for the knight's crown, I want to fight with you"

To realize the promise they exchanged before, the curtains to the tournament's historical, severe, rigorous, beautiful, bog-like battle unfolds!

Chapters
Chapter 14: Rising Spirit

It's the morning of the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival final match which will be held later that night. Hagun's student council members are outside the dome and Renren is surprised that it’s still morning but many people are already waiting. Saijou says though not everyone can enter, there will be additional outdoor monitors. Misogi is not feeling well being surrounded by so many people and feels very hot. Kanata feels fine even in her usual outfit as long as she does her best to bear with it. She also says Touka is not here with them because she has an urgent business to do. They then talk about who will win the tournament final match. Saijou thinks Stella will win because her ability is very powerful, but Renren thinks Ikki could still win with his techniques. During Ikki’s match with Renren, he grabbed the back of her collar and then slammed her to the ground. Ikki’s arm should have been torn apart but he circulated the force and then used it to power up his slamming Renren to the ground. She believes the same principle can be used against Stella’s monstrous strength and Ikki is fast enough to dodge her attacks. It becomes a strong argument between Saijou saying that power is what matters and Renren saying speed is the most important. Misogi tells them to stop and have a heated conversation somewhere cooler. Kanata suggests that they all go to a hotel and have something to eat there.

Kurono and Nene are on the terrace of a hotel with Nene jokingly saying like a villain that the people down there look like a pile of garbage. She felt like trying to say it when she’s at a high place. They then talk about Stella’s improvement after her one-week training with Nene. Even Nene was surprised that such a monster was sleeping and Kurono remarks that Stella’s huge appetite was probably influenced by her dragon power while glancing at the pile of room service remnants. Stella is inside the room sleeping on a bed. Kurono then asks Nene how she thinks the match between Ikki and Stella will go. Nene thinks it will be a high-level battle and either of them will die if they hold back, like when Nene and Kurono fought in the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival. However, Nene can’t see Stella losing against Ikki. Kurono says they can’t leave it to half-assed knights to take care of things when the match becomes too dangerous. When it comes to it Kurono and Nene will take care of it themselves, just like how Nangou and Ryouma did during Kurono and Nene’s match.

At a training ground open to tournament participants, Ikki is training with Alice on a ring. Ikki moves towards Alice fast, and Alice retreats back as he threw three of his ‘Darkness Hermit’ knives to the ground and says ‘Shadow Beast (animal caricature)’. The knives create some black puddles on the ring, and then two tigers and one bear come out of them. Ikki easily takes them down with his fast sword slashes, but a black fog is then created from the fallen ‘Shadow Beasts’. Alice had planned on using it as a camouflage so that the moment Ikki’s vision is blocked he could travel from his own shadow to Ikki’s shadow using ‘Shadow Walk’. Alice comes out of Ikki’s shadow and swings ‘Darkness Hermit’ at Ikki from behind, thinking that he got him. However, Ikki’s sword comes from his body’s side towards Alice’s forehead. Alice manages to block the thrust with his dagger, but during that opening, Ikki kicks Alice in the abdomen and sends him rolling backward. Alice says Ikki is mean for kicking a maiden in the stomach, though Ikki has doubts on what Alice just said. Alice then says he’s glad that Ikki’s body is in good condition now after being asleep for a whole day, and Ikki replies it’s thanks to Alice having a mock battle with him. Ikki is actually worried about fighting Stella though, and Shizuku hands him a towel to wipe his cold sweat. Ikki knows Stella is not the same as before when they had that mock battle and so he needs to be as strong as he can get before his match with Stella starts. Then, Touka and Moroboshi enter the training ground. Ikki had contacted both of them to help him, and they also brought Byakuya Jougasaki, Momiji Asagi, Renji Kaga, and the Hagure twins. Some of them want to get payback and some want to try having a match with Ikki once. Ikki thanks them for coming and they are about to start the mock battles.

Rinna, Charlotte, Sara and Tsukikage are having drinks at a café, but no one can see them because Sara is using ‘Color of Magic’. Rinna apologizes that all of Akatsuki students had lost in the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival but Tsukikage says that it’s fine since they all did well. Tsukikage created Akatsuki Academy as part of his plan to sever Japan’s relationship with the League of Mage-Knight Nations. He hired Rebellion to be part of Akatsuki through his connection with Kouzou Kazamatsuri, who is his old friend and one of Rebellion’s ‘Numbers’ (12 Apostles). Tsukikage also says if Akatsuki didn’t work then he will just make a different move and asks if Rinna will help him again when the time comes, which she agrees. Then, a woman approaches them even though they should be invisible due to Sara’s ‘Color of Magic’, but they know it’s natural for her. The woman is Edelweiss wearing casual clothes as seen in a pic and she greets them. Edelweiss came to watch the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival final match and Tsukikage didn’t expect that Edelweiss has an interest in watching a battle between students. Rinna says the ‘Brynhildr (war maiden)’ did fight Ikki during Operation Beowulf. Edelweiss is confused over what Rinna just said, but Sara says not to think about it too much since it is Rinna’s usual sickness. Charlotte then says what Rinna meant was that it is because Edelweiss fought Ikki when they attacked Hagun Academy, which Edelweiss confirms. Edelweiss then says she watched the semi-finals on TV and was surprised Ouma was defeated one-sidedly, but she was even more surprised that Amane couldn’t even do a thing. Not just Stella, Ikki is also approaching the same stage as Edelweiss and so most likely they will cross swords again. Thus, Edelweiss is interested in watching the match and she says she’s not the only one as she looks towards a man wearing a visor in the crowds who also notices them sitting. Tsukikage recognizes the man is from the US and Edelweiss says agents from various powers have gathered here. Tsukikage then tells Edelweiss that special front row seats have been prepared.

Ikki already had mock battles with the Hagure sisters and Jougasaki and defeated them without receiving any injury. He is now fighting Momiji, who is amazed by Ikki’s skills and thinks that he’s too strong. Even though she has confidence in her sword skills from being Nangou’s disciple, she can tell that Ikki’s skills are much superior. After countless clashes of their swords, Momiji gets pushed back by Ikki. She then creates a wall of fire in front of her using ‘Enmaku (fire screen)’, but Ikki just cut it down with a strong slash. Momiji is surprised by it and during that moment Ikki moves fast towards her. It’s too late for Momiji to avoid it and even ‘Trackless Step’ won’t work well against Ikki. Thus, she covers her device ‘Hibachi (fire hornet)’ with a flame that will cover Ikki’s whole body even if the flame only grazes him. However, Ikki suddenly disappears from Momiji’s sight by using ‘Trackless Step’ and then slashes at her body. Their devices are in ‘illusionary form’, so red magical light called ‘blood light’ comes out of the area in Momiji’s body where she is injured and her body collapses to the ground. Ikki then thanks Momiji for the sparring though she feels she didn’t help much. Suddenly, there is a voice saying ‘Tekkoudan (armor-piercing bullet) that interrupts Ikki and Momiji. Kaga, who is almost twice the size of Ikki and over four times his weight, launches a surprise iron palm strike that is aimed at Ikki’s head from behind. However, Ikki receives it with his own palm without moving which surprises Momiji. It is due to Ikki circulating the force he received to beneath his feet, causing the ring arena to be cracked and crushed. Ikki then pushes back Kaga’s arm causing him to bend backward. At that moment, Ikki slashes at Kaga with his sword and then Kaga’s large body falls to the ground. Shizuku gets mad at Kaga’s surprise attack but Ikki says that it’s fine because a knight must be careful at any time and then thanks Kaga like he did with Momji and the others. Touka then says that she will be Ikki’s next opponent.

Even though Ikki already had five mock battles in a row he’s fine with starting his match with Touka immediately. The match starts with Touka launching from a distance towards Ikki her Noble Art ‘Raiou (lightning seagull)’, the same crescent-shaped lightning slash she used in her match against Shizuku during Hagun’s representative battles. Ikki easily avoids the lightning slash by making a side step to the right. However, Touka keeps shooting ‘Raiou’ at Ikki to make him continuously moving left and right alternately. Moroboshi says that Touka has realized from watching Ikki’s match with Moroboshi in the tournament first round that Ikki can’t use the 0 to 100 burst speed of Edelweiss’ technique while making sudden stops and directional changes. Touka’s continuous attacks are putting a load on Ikki’s lower body and so Ikki will eventually get caught at this rate. But Ikki knows this as well and so he avoids ‘Raiou’ by running towards the gap below the lightning attack. Ikki moves towards Touka so fast that she has no time to return her sword to her sheath and use ‘Raikiri’. Ikki attacks Touka multiple times with his sword and Touka is able to counter well. He manages to throw her off balance and during that moment he plans to deliver a slash that will defeat her. The speed of Ikki’s sword swing should be faster than Touka’s, however, she is able to attack back faster. Ikki is surprised by it and is able to block in time. When their swords are in contact, Ikki’s body is struck with an electric shock. When Ikki’s movement stops for a moment, Touka raises her sword in order to cut him down. However, Ikki uses his body control technique to manipulate his heart muscle and obscure neurotransmission in order to recover from the electric shock. Ikki avoids Touka’s huge swing with a side step and it should be a chance for Ikki to attack. But once again their swords meet instead and it becomes a close range sword fight.

Ikki should have faster sword swing but he can’t break through Touka and is starting to fall behind. The reason is that Touka is able to return her blade very fast using electromagnetic attraction and repulsion present in the special magnetic field she created. This is her Noble Art ‘Inazuma (lightning)’ which she devised in the past year as a countermeasure to Moroboshi’s ‘Houkiboshi’. The burden on the wrist is not ordinary so it can’t be used randomly, but it can be used to rattle the opponent’s rhythm. Touka launches a thrust and Ikki retreats in order to avoid it. Both Shizuku and Moroboshi are surprised that Ikki got pushed back in close range battle. Moroboshi thinks that Touka is much stronger than last year. Touka pursues the retreating Ikki until he stumbles on the part of the ring that got crushed from receiving Kaga’s attack earlier thus causing his body to be off balance. Ikki has no choice but to block Touka’s incoming sword with his sword and once again receives an electric shock when their swords are in contact. Touka plans to release ‘Raikiri’ during that moment which the blast should be enough to knock him down even if Ikki dodges the slash. However, Touka is unable to return her sword to her sheath because a fragment of the ring is lodged at the mouth of her sheath. Ikki actually went to the broken part of the ring on purpose and kicked a fragment of the broken ring towards the sheath. Once Touka becomes defenseless during that moment, Ikki recovers from the electric shock and slits her throat, ending the match. Touka is surprised that 'Raikiri' could be overcome through such a method. Though it was a surprise attack that can’t be used again, Touka is still impressed by Ikki’s creativeness and says she has learned something. Ikki thanks Touka for the match and she also thanks to him. As Ikki and Touka are complimenting each other, Moroboshi interrupts them and says he will be fighting Ikki next.

Moroboshi won’t use ‘Tiger Bite’ because Ikki has a match with Stella today, but he’s looking forward to having a mock battle with him. The match starts with Ikki moving around Moroboshi, forming a circle. During their match in the tournament’s first round, Moroboshi was heavily wounded which made him unable to keep up with Ikki’s speed during that time. But this time it is dangerous for Ikki to get close because right now Moroboshi’s body is in perfect condition and he has better understanding of the ‘Twin Wings’ swordplay that Ikki uses. Even so, Ikki can only obtain victory by getting close to his opponent and cutting him down. Ikki then moves fast towards Moroboshi, but he can’t get close because Moroboshi launches countless ‘Sanrensei’. The speed of the thrusts are much faster than during their previous match that even Ikki with his ‘Twin Wings’ swordplay can’t repel them all. This is ‘Sanrensei’ at its fastest speed when it’s not mixed with ‘Houkiboshi’ and along with ‘Tiger Bite’ not being used. Ikki thinks that rather than three-linked stars, it is more like a meteor shower. Ikki then uses ‘Shinkirou’, moving left and rightfast to create afterimages. However, Moroboshi is able to chase after the real Ikki because he has seen through the preparation of using ‘Shinkirou’. Moroboshi’s spear hits Ikki’s sword hard, causing Ikki to be blown away towards the edge of the ring arena.

“Don’t think the same trick will work twice on a first-class. Your thinking is naïve.”

“…..Huh? Won’t work twice? Botan-chan”

“Or rather, that was the reason for his defeat in the first round’s match”

“That means he’s a second-rate”

“S, shut up! Outsiders just be quiet!”

Ikki once again rushes towards Moroboshi and plans to use ‘Dokuga no Tachi’ when Moroboshi thrusts back. However, when ‘Intetsu’ is about to touch the spear tip of ‘Tora-Ou’, Moroboshi immediately pulled back his spear and thrusts at Ikki again. Moroboshi only manages to graze Ikki because Ikki is able to hit the incoming blade with the butt of his sword’s handle and divert the trajectory of the thrust. After moving away from the spear’s reach, Ikki asks why Moroboshi didn’t take the bait since he shouldn’t have seen ‘Dokuga no Tachi’ before. Moroboshi replies it was because he had a bad feeling. Ikki then decides there’s one thing left he can do and takes a stance with his sword aiming at Moroboshi. While in that stance, he moves forward slowly with all his focus on Moroboshi. Once Ikki starts entering Moroboshi’s territory, Moroboshi delivers rainstorm of thrusts like before which keeps hitting Ikki’s sword. However, no matter how many times Moroboshi thrusts at him, Ikki doesn’t get pushed back at all and just keeps moving forward. Ikki has cut off all other unnecessary senses and minimize his body movements, putting all of his concentration into his sword. Ikki keeps defending and attacking while moving forward causing Moroboshi to get pushed back towards the corner of the ring arena. Moroboshi had repeated the same attacks many times and as a result Ikki was able to see through it. Ikki adjusts the power, angle and speed of Moroboshi’s attacks while repelling them. Once Moroboshi is at the corner of the ring, he becomes hasty and delivers a crude thrust. Ikki allows the thrust to pierce his own shoulder so that Moroboshi can’t counterattack. While ‘Tora-Ou’ is caught, Ikki moves forward to pierce Moroboshi’s heart and defeats him.

Everyone couldn’t really give everything they had during the mock battles because Ikki will have a match with Stella later today. However, Ikki could tell that they still gave the best they could and so he thanks everyone for all the help. Moroboshi replies that it’s fine as long as Ikki wins the tournament. Ikki is still not confident since it will be the toughest battle in his life, but Moroboshi says that they can keep going at it until Ikki becomes confident to fight Stella. But before they can continue, Ouma suddenly enters the room. Ikki had asked Ouma to come to have a mock battle with him before the tournament final match, though he’s surprised that Ouma really came. Ouma says he has some free time and he also wants to see Ikki’s strength. Ouma believes that Ikki’s defeat is already decided by fate since in the first place he is an F-rank while Stella is an A-rank. He further says that if Ikki still plans to stand before that ‘dragon’ with his half-ass strength then it is the older brother’s duty to cut down the stupid younger brother before that happens. After Ouma manifests his device, Ikki thinks that Ouma has a point because if Ikki can’t win against Ouma then he won’t be able to defeat Stella. Ikki then manifests his device and is ready to start his mock battle with Ouma.

Ouma and Ikki begin their match by charging straight towards each other but Ikki uses ‘Shinkirou’ to create an afterimage. Ouma cuts down the afterimage as planned and at that moment Ikki is about to strike down the defenseless Ouma. However, after swinging down his sword Ouma immediately unleashes a shoulder sharge. Ikki blocks it with ‘Intetsu’ but he is blown away towards behind by the 500 kg weight of Ouma’s body. While Ikki is recovering his stance, Ouma pursues him and delivers a series of slashes and thrusts that are as fast as Moroboshi’s ‘Sanrensei’. It is Kyokujitsu Isshin-ryuu (rising sun one mind style) · Retsu no Kiwami (highest of sequence) – ‘Amatsukaze’, an ougi (secret technique) of the Kyokujitsu Isshin-ryuu that’s been passed down through the Kurogane family for generations that consists of 108 consecutive strikes. The powerful and fast strikes are designed to overwhelm the opponent and cause him unable to do anything. However, Ikki was actually aiming for this and is waiting for a hole in ‘Amatsukaze’. When a chance occurs in between the 57th and 58th strikes, Ikki uses ‘Raikou’ which has improved ever since he acquired the ‘Twin Wings’ swordplay. The side of Ouma’s sword is struck which causes his body off balance and his combination of attacks to stop. Ikki then immediately uses ‘Dokuga no Tachi’ which should work on Ouma despite his steel-like body. However, Ouma has put on ‘Tenryuu Armor’ and so Ikki gets blown away towards behind instead the moment his sword touches Ouma’s body that is covered by the armor of windstorm. Ouma then creates ‘Shinkuuha’ which the vacuum blade heads towards where Ikki lands after being blown away.

After being blown away, Ikki launches ‘Saigeki’ by making use of the force from the impact of his landing and then kicking the ground strongly to leap straight towards Ouma in a thrust. The fast and powerful thrust destroys the incoming vacuum blade and is about to hit Ouma’s body. Ouma then makes a stance that suggests he’s about to release Kyokujitsu Isshin-ryuu · Jin no Kiwami (highest of swiftness) – ‘Amaterasu’, an ougi that is his fastest attack which he uses all of his muscles to deliver a very fast slash. Ouma’s ‘Amaterasu’ has better speed and reach than Ikki’s incoming thrust, so Ouma’s sword should hit Ikki first. However, the moment Ouma releases ‘Amaterasu’ towards Ikki who is leaping straight towards him, Ikki lowers the tip of ‘Intetsu’ and stabs the ground. Ikki uses ‘Intetsu’ as a pole vault to jump over ‘Amaterasu’ and then kicks the ceiling strongly to deliver another ‘Saigeki’ towards Ouma. ‘Amaterasu’ is a move which the user gives everything he has into one slash but becomes wide open after using it. Ikki’s thrust pierces through the armor of windstorm and hits Ouma’s clavicle. Ikki has seen through the shape and density of Ouma’s muscles from his movements, and so Ikki’s blade should be able to pierce through Ouma’s body. But Ouma protrudes his muscles before the pierced blade can cause lethal injury and thus stopping the blade as if catching it in between his muscles. Ikki pulls out his sword but Ouma grabs him and then throws him into the ground. Ikki was able to use an ukemi (the art of falling safely) and distributed the impact to the ring, but his posture is bad. While Ikki is on one knee, Ouma swings his sword down towards Ikki with all his strength. Ikki swings his sword to receive the attack though he shouldn’t be able to withstand such heavy attack while in that position. However, Ouma instead gets blown away in the next moment and he’s pushed out of the ring.

Everyone who was watching the match including Touka and Moroboshi couldn’t understand what happened during that last attack. But Ouma, who was blown away by the attack, understands how it happened. While his arm is numb, Ouma glares at Ikki while saying that it is just like Ikki to use such trickery. Ikki replies that despite so, Ouma was the one down on the ground. Ikki adds that his sword is not for him to become strong but for him to win against his opponents. He will use everything that he can do to win against others who are stronger than him. This is the answer his weak self has come up with, and he’s not ashamed of it even if Ouma thinks that Ikki’s sword is a fraud. Ouma wonders if this is another form of strength and he asks if Ikki’s satisfied with his sword only able to push Ouma off the arena. Ouma then gets back on the ring with his sword covered in tornado of wind as if it’s a claw of a heavenly dragon. Ouma tells Ikki to be prepared because Ouma will use all of his techniques on Ikki. Ouma also says Ikki should make the most of it and show that he can overturn fate. Ikki is surprised that Ouma would go along with him this far. While he’s feeling deeply appreciated, Ikki prepares his stance and the cold sweat he’s been having has stopped. Elsewhere, Stella wakes up on her bed and her consciousness is completely clear. She takes off the bathrobe she’s wearing and then stands in front of a large mirror, looking at her own naked body as shown in the colored pic. She confirms that she’s completely filled with energy from the meal she had before she went to bed, and is in her best condition ever. She is now prepared to head for the highest stage where her strongest opponent is waiting.

Final Chapter (First Part): The Promised Time

It is night time and over a million people have gathered near the dome arena where the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival final match is being held. After the introductory speech by Iida is finished, everyone then becomes excited. Stella is entering the ring arena from one of the gates while she’s being introduced. All members of Hagun’s student council are together as they watch Stella’s dignified entrance. Edelweiss who is also watching Stella’s entrance remarks that this is the first time she sees Stella in person. She also says Stella is a very remarkable character and that even someone like Edelweiss loses to Stella in mana quantity. Ikki then enters the arena from the other gate while being introduced. Moroboshi, Shizuku and Alice are just behind the fence closest to the ring arena. Alice is worried about Ikki’s stamina after having mock battles for hours recently, but Moroboshi says Ikki is not the kind of man who would make a stupid mistake like warming up too much. Even so Shizuku is still worried because of who Ikki’s opponent is. Nene and Kurono who are also watching from somewhere say that Ikki needs to be in top gear all the time or else he will lose to Stella. Kurono then gets mad at Nene, who is holding a huge bucket of popcorn, for being in holiday mode but Nene says not to worry because she will move when it comes to it. Despite being dejected, Kurono eventually asks for some popcorn which Nene refuses. Kaieda is with Iida to provide commentary. Ikki and Stella are finally standing together on the same ring arena. Both of them had been looking forward to fulfill the promise they made to be here and now it has come true. Stella says she has been chasing after Ikki’s back but now she’s going to surpass him, and she then manifests ‘Laevateinn’. Ikki replies that he never thought he was ahead of Stella but even so he won’t let her surpass him, and he then manifests ‘Intetsu’. The final battle of the Seven Stars Sword Art Tournament then begins after the signal has been given.

Ikki rushes towards Stella and the rush is faster than anyone has seen before because he is now in top condition after his warm-up with Moroboshi and the others. He then uses ‘Shinkirou’ by moving to the left and right at rapid pace to create afterimages. Stella counters by using ‘Dragon Stomp’, which her strong stomp to the ground causes cracks to form on the entire ring arena and Ikki to stagger. She then swings her sword at Ikki who manages to block the powerful slash with his sword but he gets blown 50 meters away. Ikki lands safely at the edge of the ring arena and pops his shoulder back into place. He used to think Stella should be more prideful and arrogant, so now he is happy that the Stella he’s fighting right now is full of confidence. Everyone watching is impressed of the power Stella has shown but Touka and Kanata are also impressed at Ikki since he purposefully dislocated his shoulder at the moment of impact so that most of the power in Stella’s attack flowed behind him. Those two are the only ones in the student council to possess enough skills to have seen what Ikki did. They think the power Stella possesses makes her a monster but Ikki’s ability in deflecting that power also makes him a monster. Stella then uses ‘Bahamut Howl’ to engulf the entire ring arena with her flames. Ikki had anticipated it from the pressure Stella gave off right before releasing it. He uses ‘Saigeki’ to charge towards the flames at high speed so that it reduces the amount of time he is in contact with the flames to the minimum. His body that became like an arrow pierces through the flames and then Stella’s chest. However, what Ikki pierced was actually a mirage created by Stella’s ‘Flame Veil’. Stella expected Ikki’s charge and actually used ‘Bahamut Howl’ to obscure his vision for the moment she needed to use ‘Flame Veil’. She also used ‘Flame Veil’ to get behind Ikki and then swings her sword towards him. However, after delivering the blow Stella is the one that gets blown away but she manages to stop just before the edge of the ring arena.

Stella can tell from the amount of force she felt that Ikki stole her power. Ikki explains that it is his third secret sword, ‘Madoka’. When he received Stella's blow, he made a circular motion and redirected the force back to her. ‘Madoka’ is one of the more difficult ones of Ikki’s sword techniques since it requires absolute concentration to make perfect timing to land the counter. It was impossible for Ikki to use it during his mock battle with Stella when they first met. But thanks to copying Edelweiss’ swordplay he has become much better at accepting attacks and redirecting them. Fighting Stella now without ‘Madoka’ is impossible and he needed to push himself so far during his warm-up earlier so that he would be able to perform at this level in his fight. Ikki in his top condition can see every strand of Stella’s hair, hear his own blood flowing in his body, has complete understanding of every single muscle within him and can feel every speck of dust that landed on him. Ikki charges towards Stella again and she uses ‘Satan Fang’ to prevent him from getting close. He slips past the seven dragons of flames by suddenly speeding up and the dragons disappear behind him as they are unable to follow a target that suddenly speeds up. Stella then puts on ‘Empress Dress’ and thrusts her sword at Ikki. However, Ikki receives it with his sword and spins his body in a circular motion. Ikki’s blade that carries the force of Stella’s blow then delivers three consecutive thrusts at Stella’s right shoulder, the left side of her chest and abdomen. ‘Empress Dress’ prevents her from receiving damage but Ikki keeps striking her fast while avoiding contact with the flames from ‘Empress Dress’. The flames that limit Stella’s range of vision make it impossible for her to follow Ikki’s fast movements in close-range battle and so she has decided to remove ‘Empress Dress’. However, Ikki has anticipated it and strikes her the moment ‘Empress Dress’ is removed. Thanks to learning Edelweiss’ swordplay, the power of his strikes is now strong enough to the point that even Stella’s mana defense can’t fully defend from them.

Stella tries to strike back but is unable to hit Ikki and she repeatedly receives blows from him instead. Everyone watching is surprised that the battle has become one-sided. Kaieda explains that Ikki’s ‘Perfect Vision’ enables him to even predict his lover’s next 100 moves and it’s evident from how he is already dodging before Stella even begins her swing. Ikki is also not giving Stella any chance to activate ‘Dragon Spirit’ and at this rate he will eventually find an opening to use ‘Ittou Rasetsu’ against her. Alice and Shizuku think that Ikki’s waiting for an opening to finish off Stella but Moroboshi thinks something is strange. Tsukikage and the maid Charlotte also feel the same because there were several openings where Ikki could have used ‘Ittou Rasetsu’ to end the match. Edelweiss then explains that it’s because Ikki’s instincts are causing him to hesitate. Ikki is also aware that there were several chances to end the match but his sixth sense is telling him not to do it. Stella then stops defending completely and spreads her arms wide before Ikki as if telling him to go attack her as he like. This unexpected development causes Ikki to stop completely. Stella, with a bewitching smile as if inviting him to her bedroom, asks Ikki why he is not attacking her despite the many openings she gave him. But Ikki replies that they didn’t feel like openings to him and Stella says it’s a shame because it was her secret plan. Suddenly, bright light and heat are released from all over Stella’s body and she releases a huge roar from her mouth. Everyone realizes that Stella has activated ‘Dragon Spirit’ and is also confused because she didn’t stab her chest with her sword like she did during her match with Ouma. Jougasaki realizes that the stabbing motion was never necessary and it was actually a trap Stella had prepared for Ikki. She had planned to activate ‘Dragon Spirit’ the moment Ikki uses ‘Ittou Rasetsu’, but Ikki’s intuition saw through it. Now that her plan is ruined, Stella has decided to beat Ikki into submission by force straight ahead.

Stella rushes towards Ikki but he remains calm. Stella using ‘Dragon Spirit’ without the stabbing motion was unexpected, but Ikki had anticipated of it being used. He had already worked through simulations of it being used and the current situation is within his expectations. Ikki had seen ‘Dragon Spirit’ being used in Stella’s fight against Ouma and had guessed the approximate amount of her body’s strength increasing. He believes that Stella’s identity had not changed and so he predicts her first attack will be a thrust. As Ikki is about to counter the thrust with ‘Madoka’, his intuition is telling him to dodge. He shifts his neck to the right and a wind pressure that is like a bullet passing through has struck his eardrum. Stella is faster and more powerful than Ikki had expected, but he expected that the information acquired during her fight with Ouma by watching from a distant spectator seat was not that reliable. Thus he has decided to stop rushing to victory and to gather more data. Stella continuously attacks Ikki with her sword but he is able to hold on by accepting her blade with his own sword and channeling the force of her blows into the ground beneath his feet. Ikki then feigns a stumble to make Stella deliver a full-power swing in order to create an opening for him to use ‘Ittou Rasetsu’. However, he instead moves out of the path of her blade that strikes the ground very hard. It is because she had increased the force of her swing the moment Ikki moved to use ‘Madoka’ against her. Ikki realizes in horror that Stella is adapting in order to overpower him and this is beyond his expectations. Ikki can see that Stella’s eyes are filled with respect for him. She is very confident in her own ability, but wouldn’t let her guard down even for a moment. Ikki had never fought against anyone like this before and so he doesn’t know what to do right now. As a result, he ends up retreating from close-range battle and most of the spectators think it is because of Stella’s overwhelming power. However, Moroboshi and Touka can tell that it is due to Ikki becoming afraid which they find it hard to believe. Touka also thinks it was a mistake for Ikki to retreat because his specialty is close-range battle and chasing after opponents is Stella’s specialty.

Stella then uses ‘Dragon’s Nest’ which she stabs the ring arena with her sword and the flames released melt the ring and the earth around it into a sea of magma. The only place left to stand were the bits of stone that remained floating throughout the sea of magma, but even those were slowly melting away and sinking into the molten depths. Within ten minutes, there wouldn’t be any foothold and Ikki who had no resistance to the flame would automatically lose. The sight in front of him causes Ikki’s mind filled with terror since he himself is just a small human while the girl in front of him is like a massive flame dragon that will kill him. He had experienced fear when facing Amane’s power and his fight with Edelweiss had been dire, but he’d never been so certain of his own death before. Stella then uses ‘Dragon Stomp’ on one of the floating islands in the magma which causes Ikki to lose his balance. This gives Stella a chance to charge across the magma as if it was solid ground and then aiming at Ikki’s throat. Ikki rolls his body forward to get under her blade and gets behind her. He then slashes at Stella’s unprotected back once he is back on his feet, but it was a mirage of her created by ‘Flame Veil’. At the same time, Stella is swinging her sword down towards Ikki’s head which he plans to receive it with his sword in order to create some distance towards the back. However, Ikki is hit in the abdomen by Stella’s left fist instead. The downward attack with her right hand just now was a decoy while the real one was a blow to Ikki’s body with her left fist, which was the same thing she had used in her fight against Yui Tatara. The fist he received causes Ikki’s ribs to shatter and his intestines burning from the heat. Ikki ends up vomiting boiled blood while his body hung limp and he has lost consciousness. Stella then proceeds to deliver a finishing blow, and blood is spurted into the air and splattered onto the white stone. However, the blood that got spilled was Stella’s dragon blood.

Stella is kneeling on the ground while bleeding heavily. Ikki took the force of Stella’s last attack and turned it back on her using ‘Madoka’. It is not a fatal wound to Stella who has a dragon’s vitality but it would take time to recover from her injury. She wouldn’t be able to move for at least tens of seconds and she struggles to retreat. Her body collapses one floating island away with her vision fading due to the severe damage she received. Stella is confused about how Ikki was able to counterattack despite having lost consciousness. Ikki himself has regained consciousness and is surprised to see Stella is down while injured. But he still felt the sensation of his blade cutting through Stella when he was unconscious and so he understands immediately that he had just used ‘Madoka’. The motion of using ‘Madoka’ has been engraved into his body repeatedly after running simulations thousands of times and it was released when he was unconscious. His body is fulfilling his desire not to lose even if his mind is filled with fear. Ikki had always believed that despite being inferior to anyone he could still defeat even the strongest if he mustered everything he’s got. He curses himself for not believing it now after all he’s been through. Ikki then leaps to the largest fragment of the ring arena in the center of the sea of magma and takes a deep breath. Blue light is emitting from all over his body which everyone knows immediately that he’s activating his trump card ‘Itto Shura’. He has decided to trust all of his powers, experience and everything else that make up Ikki Kurogane, no matter what the outcome will be. He then screams at Stella to come at him, which causes her to be amazed while smiling. A top-class knight like Stella knows that she will lose if she retreats and so has decided to force through with all her strength. Immediately after, the two knights collide at the start of the one minute that everyone watching will remember.

Ikki has activated ‘Ittou Shura’ to decide the match here and Stella is meeting him head-on in a non-stop whirlwind of blades. The cheers coming from everyone watching don't reach their ears since each of their attention is only towards the enemy in front of them. During the exchange of countless sword attacks, the speed of Stella’s strikes is increasing and so the initial motion of ‘Madoka’ wouldn’t make it in time. She’s growing in the midst of battle, but so is Ikki. He has revised his own technique in the middle of this high-speed match. Ikki previously would block Stella’s blade and then immediately spin his body like a spinning top to return her attack, but this time he is using ‘Madoka’ without spinning his body. The shock of impact that enters from his arm is circulated by his upper body’s muscle control through the crossing of latissimus dorsi (broadest back muscle) and during that moment it is being returned back to the opponent in the form of his own slashing. If his whole body stiffened even slightly, the shock of impact that entered would explode there and so all of his muscles would have to be very relaxed almost like liquid. In response to this development, Stella has decided to make her blows stronger to the point that they can’t be parried. Both of them are evolving in this clash of two head-on assaults that rely entirely on their own attack to drive each other back. Ikki is trying to overcome her with speed while Stella is trying to overcome him with power. They are giving everything they have without any hesitation and whoever falls behind even slightly will be killed. They are fixed entirely on each other as they are improving each other. The scene looks beautiful to anyone watching as those two look like they are dancing hand in hand. Shizuku is envious of Stella because Ikki would never put everything he has against anyone other than Stella. Kurono is amazed of Ikki and Stella improving at terrifying speed every time they are exchanging attacks as if two gems are grinding against each other. Nene remarks that it’s because they are rivals which Kurono agrees. Seeing this has caused Kurono and Nene to remember the time when they fought against each other in the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival final match. It was a fulfilling time for Kurono and Nene which they gave everything they had in order not to lose to the other. But it’s more than that for Ikki and Stella right now because they are not just strongest rivals but also beloved lovers. They are endlessly improving each other in order to fulfill the promise they made which they would reach the top together.

The crowd is filled with excitement as they watch the battle between Ikki and Stella, as if the passion of the two is stimulating the minds of everyone watching. However, Edelweiss is looking at the battle with sorrowful expression. It is certainly a beautiful battle, a spectacular sight. But Edelweiss knew that once they have reached this point, there is only one possible outcome. It happens when Ikki retreats during this battle where even one step back means losing. Ikki is surprised because it’s as if he’s seeing chains wrapping around his body and binding his movements. This causes him to be completely on the defensive. Shizuku and Alice are surprised to see Ikki’s movements suddenly become dull. However, Moroboshi who is one of the best in the nation understands that Ikki’s movements haven’t become dull and they just relatively look that way because he can’t keep up with Stella’s movements anymore. Edelweiss says that it’s finally here which causes Sara to ask why the rivalry suddenly stops. Edelweiss explains that it is due to fate. The magical power that a Blazer possesses is decided upon birth and so what they are capable of doing in this world is already decided. The amount of improvement that would have taken decades for Ikki and Stella to reach, they had just gone through it in an instant. As a result, Ikki has just reached the furthest he himself could possible go. He has completely exhausted all the possibilities that he was allowed to have in this world and is not allowed to progress any further. But Stella on the other hand is allowed to reach greater heights than anyone since birth and so she still has further yet to go. Therefore, Ikki can’t keep up with Stella anymore as she is still improving while he no longer can. Stella’s blade strikes Ikki’s sword and it causes his posture to crumble. She then launches a fist though Ikki manages to block with the hilt of his sword. However, Ikki’s body ends up being in the air and during that moment Stella launches ‘Katharterio Salamandra’ towards him which he can’t dodge.

Ikki is then buried under black rubble outside the ring arena after being hit by ‘Katharterio Salamandra’. The attack was less powerful than usual because the Noble Art required a build-up period and it was short so that it could hit Ikki fast. However, one minute has passed since Ikki activated ‘Ittou Shura’ and so there is nothing he can do anymore even if he regains consciousness. The entire crowd knows this and thinks Ikki has done well. When he regains consciousness in a dark place, he’s lying on his stomach while being bound by the black chains that suddenly appeared during the fight. Ikki understands that these chains are his fate that won’t allow him to go further. Even though he didn’t obtain victory, it should be a satisfactory loss that he shouldn’t be ashamed of. However, Ikki doesn’t feel such satisfaction and tries to move his body forward. The only reason why he’s still trying to move is because he loves Stella more than anything in this world. He refuses to stay where he is when Stella can still move further ahead and might end up having a new rival. Everything Stella has belongs to Ikki and he won’t let anyone else have even one of them. In an instant, the chains snap apart and light is filling the dark place as shown in a pic. When the out of bounds countdown reaches nine, the black rubble explodes upwards as if it has been sliced into pieces by a sharp blade. Ikki who is bathed in blue light comes out from the rubble and immediately arrives on the floating island where Stella is standing.

Everyone is shocked because Ikki should have used up all of his magic from using ‘Ittou Shura’ and yet magic more powerful than before is overflowing from his whole body. Magic is the power of fate itself that changes the world beyond reason and so the amount given to each person was determined upon birth. The fate of each person was decided long before they came into the world and so it is not possible for magic to just increase, which is everyone’s common belief regarding magic. Even Edelweiss is shocked to see the maximum limit of Ikki’s magic increasing that is supposed to be an impossible phenomenon. Stella at first is also shocked seeing that Ikki has recovered his magic even after the one minute of ‘Itto Shura’ has ended. But after Ikki says to her that he won’t lose, she feels delighted because the man she loves would kick away common sense, overcome even fate and then stand in front of her as the strongest opponent. Stella refuses to lose because she wants to be worthy to stand alongside of Ikki. The moment the referee gives the signal for the match to continue, Stella releases a dragon's roar and the shine and heat released from her body are much more than before. She has created a huge concentration of heat energy that causes the magnetic fields being thrown out of order which generates a gravitational force that is pulling any small scrap of trash or rubble towards her. At this point she is like a star that turns all objects it touches into plasma. Kurono seeing this realizes that Stella also has overcome her limit in order to defeat Ikki who has overcome his limit. Stella then puts her body into a stance that shows the next attack will be a thrust and says to Ikki that the next clash will probably be their last duel. She also swears that even if his life ends in this clash, she will continue to love only him for the rest her life. Hearing this causes Ikki to smile and refusing to lose even more because he can’t leave his most beloved girl in such unhappiness and turn her into a widow. He then tells her, “With my strongest (weakest), I will defeat your strongest!”.

The final clash starts with Stella charging towards Ikki. She has abandoned long-range battle using ‘Katharterio Salamandra’ because if ‘Ittou Rasetsu’ is activated he would strike her down before ‘Katharterio Salamandra’ could even land a strike. Stella increases the heat on her body, creating an armor of light that would cause anything attempting to strike her to simply cease to exist the moment it touches. Ikki’s blade would vanish the moment it touches Stella’s radiance and so all that’s left for her to do is to impale him with the tip of her blade. Stella becomes a red shooting star like her name as she approaches. Ikki is aware of what Stella is going to do and so has decided that the only thing he can do is to get his blade in fast enough before it can be destroyed in just one strike. In an instant, Ikki activates ‘Ittou Rasetsu’ which amplifies his body’s strength by hundreds of times and puts his body into an Iai sword-draw stance. As the blade is held with his right hand, it has been moved to his left side behind with his left hand grabbing onto the base of his blade. His right hand on the handle is pushing while his left hand on the blade is pulling. The speed produced will be of a different level from when holding the sword normally. But Stella believes it’s not an issue because no matter how fast he swings his sword, she will be the one to strike first due to difference in their reaches. She then boldly steps forward and swings her blade towards Ikki while convinced of her victory. However, in that instant the view of the surrounding begins to disappear from her mind and what is reflected in her eyes is only a white world with a figure of Ikki striking her with his sword swing. Moreover, Ikki had swung his sword and yet his shadow almost remained still, trying to pursue his movements badly. This is his Final Secret Sword – Oikage (seeking shadow), an ultimate form of sword-cutting that even his own shadow can’t keep up with his movements. A moment after the clash, Stella is the one that ends up spilling blood.

Most of the people watching can’t understand what actually happened during the final clash. Even Renren and Saijou, two strong people from Hagun, could not see what had happened. Touka then explains that it was a sword-drawing technique. ‘Raikiri’ works by depending on electromagnetic force to draw the blade from the sheath at high speed, but what Ikki just did was different. By gripping the sword tightly with both hands he was able to build up power into the blade so that when he released the strike it could move at much greater speeds than normal, which is like snapping fingers. Kanata then asks how Ikki was able to manage to bridge the gap between his reach and Stella’s. Touka says the answer is obvious by looking at the grip on Ikki’s ‘Intetsu’ which part of the handle up to where his right ring finger held is missing due to being melted. Before Stella’s sword could reach him, Ikki swung the handle of ‘Intetsu’ instead of the blade and the butt of the handle struck Stella’s sword on the side which altered the trajectory of Stella’s thrust. Touka is amazed that Ikki was able to combine attack and defense into a single concept and skill during that instant and made her learn something new. Blood keeps coming out from Stella’s abdomen and she is using her sword as support to prevent herself from collapsing. Her wound is not healing due to Stella’s ‘Dragon Spirit’ had already faded away. Kurono realizes that ‘Dragon Spirit’ has a major weakness which is calorie consumption and that is why she had so much meal last night. Every time Stella uses her abilities like ‘dragon’s physical strength’ or ‘dragon’s life force’, magical energy and calories at the same time were being consumed. She is trying to use her ‘dragon’s life-force’ to forcibly heal her nearly fatal wound but she is completely out of fuel now. A moment later, the ‘Laevateinn’ she used to support herself has shattered. Stella is doing her best not to collapse and approaches Ikki. She thrusts her fist towards Ikki’s chest and he accepts it. She then says that she won’t lose next time and a moment later she finally collapses. Ikki catches and hugs her body while saying that he will win again for sure. The buzzer to signal the end of the match then goes off, which marks the end of the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival.

Everyone strongly congratulates Ikki as he is declared the winner. Moroboshi is happy while jumping up like a kid and even the calm Jougasaki’s white skin is flushed due to excitement. Alice who knew all the things Ikki went through to reach this far is glad to the point of wiping tears from the corner of his eyes. However, Shizuku leaps over the fence as the body of Ikki who is embracing Stella falls to the ground. Shizuku uses ‘Toudou Heigen’ to freeze the sea of magma and runs towards the pair. She then yells, asking for someone to get Ikki and Stella to the medical room. Men carrying stretchers immediately come out and then load the pair onto the stretchers. As the unconscious Ikki and Stella are being carried off, thunderous applauses are pouring down on the two who will always be remembered by anyone attended here today. Sara congratulates Ikki while Rinna says Ikki is suitable to be her butler when she conquers the world someday which causes Charlotte to growl with expressionless face. Edelweiss says that Ikki is amazing and always manages to surpass her expectations. She didn’t think that Ikki could achieve ‘Brute Soul (awakening)’ at such young age. Existing within fate means that the person is being protected by fate and it is an area where anyone seeking a peaceful life would not step outside of. But Ikki stepped outside of fate and towards the domain of demonic beings. As a result he has become an existence outside of this world’s cause and effect, which can overwrite this world’s future. Edelweiss then tells Tsukikage that Ikki and Stella may have the power needed to avoid the ‘future of despair’ that he saw and so his dedication was not in vain. Tsukikage while slightly smile wryly asks if that’s what she believes. She replies that it is what she and the other Desperados (demonic beings) believe, while her eyes are sweeping over the venue where people who possess great powers have gathered from around the world. These people are those who have surpassed being humans and will fight against each other one day to decide the future of the world. Edelweiss says every single one of them is certain that a new possible future has just been born. Tsukikage then closes his eyes after hearing Edelweiss’ words and remembers the time when he visited the Kurogane household back when he was running for the House of Representatives. Back then he saw a boy who kept swinging his sword in solitary but did not give up despite being ignored by everyone. Tsukikage feels reassured that the future the boy will create will probably be filled with far more hope and kindness than the one Tsukikage has seen before.

Final Chapter (Last Part): People Standing as Equals

Ikki and Stella were treated using the ‘capsules’ in the medical room after the match. Around midnight, Ikki regains consciousness and sees Shizuku sitting beside his bed who asks if he feels okay now. Ikki then remembers that he won against Stella and asks where she is. Stella is sleeping soundly on the bed next to Ikki’s bed and Alice is sitting beside Stella’s bed. Alice then says that he and Shizuku should return to their hotel which she agrees. Shizuku tells Ikki that she will come to wake him up before the award ceremony tomorrow morning and so he should rest his body. She also congratulates Ikki for his victory and says he was the coolest today. Alice says they should do the celebration after they get back to Tokyo. Shizuku and Alice then leave the room, leaving only Ikki and Stella remaining in the room. Suddenly, Stella is calling out Ikki’s name which causes him to come closer to her. She is just talking in her sleep and Ikki then sits beside her bed while watching her sleeping face. Remembering the match they had causes his heart to beat fast and he becomes drowned in his love for her. He stands up to lean over her bed and gently touches her cheek. Even in her sleep she can tell that it is Ikki’s hand, and so she smiles in her sleep and nuzzles against his hand like a cat. The action causes Ikki to think she’s very cute and makes him want to hug her tight and kiss her. He is then drawn closer to Stella’s lips and says “Itadakimasu….”. However, her eyes suddenly open when Ikki’s face is right in front of her eyes. This cause Stella to panic and strikes Ikki’s abdomen with her knee immediately.

Stella asks if Ikki is alright while patting his back as he is prostrating on the floor trembling from pain. Ikki replies that he is fine but his face is saying otherwise. Stella keeps apologizing while Ikki tells her not to worry. She then finds out that she is in the medical room which she didn’t recognize because it is the first time she’s been sent here. She realizes she lost against Ikki while sighing deeply. Ikki offers to step outside a bit but Stella replies Ikki being present now doesn’t bother her. She will use the feeling of regret she has right now as power to make her stronger and beat Ikki next year. She also feels very happy that the man she loves the most is also the strongest man and so they can go anywhere together no matter how high. Stella then reaches down to Ikki on the floor for a handshake and tells him to always be her number one while slightly embarrassed. Those words cause Ikki’s heart to fire up and him to push Stella’s body down onto the bed behind her. The surprised Stella looks up at Ikki who is hanging on top of her with his face embarrassed. Ikki then asks Stella to forget about what he said back in the mountain cabin in Okutama that they shouldn’t do lewd things before meeting her parents. From the way Ikki is holding her down and his face flushing bright red, she eventually understands the meaning of his words. Her face becomes hot and her voice becomes half an octave higher. Ikki understands that the next words that come out of his mouth will definitely progress their relationship, but he has to say those few words because they are directly from his heart. After he says them, Stella’s eyes are largely shaking and filled with shock, bewilderment and turmoil. However, she is also filled with overflowing delight and so her hand reaches up against his cheek and pinches him gently when she gives her answer.

“That, t-th-that, C-C-C-COULD IT BE~!?”

“W-Well… that’s… what it means….”

“!!! J-Just… Just wait! Wait! W-What are you saying all of a sudden, Ikki?! Are you serious!? I mean are you for real!? The strong Ikki who didn’t lose to temptation even after seeing my immodest appearance, where did he go!?”

“He died.”

“Died!?”

“Today, when I fought against Stella, when I reached my limit, I thought about it. If I were to stop here, you would go on ahead alone. Then… you would find and compete with someone stronger than me. But… when I imagined it, I really didn’t want that. My head was going crazy with hate for whoever that ‘someone’ was. I don’t want anyone else to have any part of you. I want all of you to myself only. It was that one feeling that drove me forward. That feeling… lit a fire in my empty heart. And then, that fire even now is still not gone…! Right now, I want to make love to you, Stella….!”

“………………….”

“Is that a no…?”

“Stupid Ikki… how long do you think I’ve been waiting for those words? So… right now… I’m really happy..!”

Warm tears are overflowing from Stella’s scarlet eyes and seeing this causes Ikki to push his back forward. But Stella stops him and asks him if he has prepared ‘that’. She says that they’re still students and haven’t properly met each other’s parents. She also plans to fight against Ikki again next year and so it would be troubling if she gets pregnant. Ikki realizes what Stella meant and feels bad for being careless. He then tries to leave to buy the item they need but Stella stops him and says he doesn’t have to go buy it now. Stella while embarrassed then opens her expensive make-up pouch inside the basket that stores her change of clothes. She takes out a square, plastic-sealed object and hands it over to Ikki, telling him to use it. Ikki had never used one but knows what it is and then asks if Stella had prepared it all this time. As her face turns red, Stella claims that she wasn’t expecting it to happen and that it is normal etiquette for a princess to be well-prepared. Ikki then thanks her and says he will be more careful from now on. He then takes it from Stella and it turns out there are 10 packaged together. He detaches one piece away while nervously thinking that being packaged like that probably doesn’t mean that they all have to be used at once. After hearing the ripping sound of plastic, Stella is asking if they are really going to do it right now and Ikki confirms. They then remain silent for 3 minutes while embarrassed and unable to look straight at each other’s face. Ikki finally muster up his courage and face Stella to begin their first night together.

“Stella!”

“Y-Yes!”

“I may be incompetent…. but I’ll be in your care!”

“L-Likewise, please take care of me.”

“Thank you… for being so gentle with me. It really is okay now. The things you want to do to me… do them all…”

Ikki is not hesitating anymore after hearing what she just said. They embrace each other strongly as if two shadows melt together under the moonlight, overlapping with passion. Their lips are seeking their beloved partner as they are releasing voices that have no meaning. In the midst of it, Ikki strongly vows to his own soul that he won’t let this girl be unhappy and won’t let her regret choosing him. Ikki later wakes up in a morning that has a perfectly clear sky that would make anyone feel good, but his body feels completely heavy. He then turns his head to the side after recognizing a sweet, floral scent. He sees Stella, with her white body covered in sheets up to her shoulders, showing a gentle smile. When their eyes meet, Stella’s scarlet eyes become squinted from shyness and she says “Good morning, dear”. Stella tells Ikki that she had always wanted to try saying that once, which causes his heart to jump and his face flushing. Ikki then remembers everything that happened last night and so he understands why his body feels heavy now. While looking at some plastic debris, he can’t believe that they used all of the things that were in them. Stella last night became strangely turned on after the first one and it went out of control once she was in mount position. Ikki was also turned on and since it was this excessive he wouldn’t be able to move normally the next day. He thinks he needs to be more careful as it was a mistake not to consider Stella’s trained body. He then asks if Stella is okay.

“Is your body okay?”

“It still quite hurts. It might be hard to walk without feeling the pain. Ikki, you’re surprisingly a brute. Doing those things to a girl during her first time.

“But I shouldn’t be the only one to be blamed for that, right? I’m sure of it”

“W-Well… that’s true.”

“You can’t heal it with your dragon regeneration?”

“It’s not that I can’t, but… I want to stay like this for a while. After all, this is proof of being loved by Ikki.”

“!!!”

Stella’s reply is said with face filled with happiness and it is so lovely that it hurts Ikki. He feels that he also has to let her know how much he loves her. His hand then reaches Stella’s cheek and she doesn’t resist as she can feel Ikki’s feelings being transmitted to her from the heat on the palm of his hand. She closes her eyes and they both move their lips closer to each other. However, as their lips are about to meet, Shizuku’s voice from outside the door is heard while she knocks and asks if they are awake. Hearing Shizuku’s voice suddenly causes Ikki and Stella to let out a weird scream that is heard by Shizuku and Alice. As Stella hides the trash on the bed, Ikki jumps into the other bed and hides Stella’s robe under the sheets. Once Ikki and Stella have finished, Shizuku and Alice enters at that same moment. Shizuku says good morning to Ikki and Stella while Alice asks if they slept well. But Alice stops as soon as he walks into the room and realizes something. Alice then makes a meaningful smile and seeing this causes Stella to panic.

“Hmmm. Aaah. I see….”

“W-W-W-W-What are you grinning for, Alice?!”

“Hmmm? No reason. I was just thinking you two had so much fun last night.”

“W-W-W-W-W-We didn’t do anything!!”

“Even though it seemed you two had fun fighting each other.”

“Oh, …y-you meant that.”

“That?”

“N-Nothing!”

Stella’s behavior looks too suspicious and so Ikki tries to draw Shizuku’s attention away from Stella. Ikki thanks Shizuku for coming to wake him and Stella. Shizuku says he doesn’t have to thank her and thinks it is probably better to have breakfast soon. Ikki replies he will get dressed and asks Shizuku to wait outside. As Shizuku is about to leave, she asks Stella about the ‘rubber balloon-like thing’ that fell under her bed. Stella panics and peeks under her bed while saying she should have picked up all of them. However, there is nothing and the careless words Stella just said have provided confirmation. While the males give despairing sighs, the girls’ faces grow pale. Shizuku makes a smile and her eyes are glowing with green demonic fire, as the temperature in the room fell below freezing temperature.

“Stella….”

“Uh-oh~”

“I see. I see…. As I expected, it was that, huh. I thought something looked weird about you two …”

“Shi-Shizuku…. Uh-uhm… this is…..well–”.

“Oh, no no. It’s fine if you don’t finish, really. Basically it’s that, right? Last night, after having faced Onii-sama in an earnest contest, when Stella-san seriously thought about how she intended to express her intent to reward him, the two of you must have been ‘Dragon Fang-ing the Ittou Shura of the Night’–”

“H, hey?! I actually thought about looking for an opportunity to talk with you properly…”

“About your last request?”

“No-”

“I see. So last requests are not needed. Well then, right now, DIEEEEEEEE!!!!”

“KYAAAAA!”

“Wai–, Shizuku, Calm dow–”

“SHAAAA– – – – –”

“Yikes, sorry it was nothing!”

“IKKI– –! Why did you move back there– – – –!

“MUSHAAAA– – – – – – – – –”

After a bloody blizzard devastated the medical room they were in, Ikki and Stella are now in a waiting room. Kaieda, the head of the steering committee, is making a speech at the venue where the battle from yesterday took place. Amane committed a bad foul play during the semifinal by continuing to attack even after the match ended, and so Ouma won third place automatically but he’s not here because he left for Osaka yesterday. Ikki asks if Stella is okay since she’s exhausted after being chased around by Shizuku. Stella says it might be scary later and so Ikki offers to talk to Shizuku properly. But Stella replies that it’s fine because she wants to make Shizuku understand by herself or else she won’t be able to face her with pride. Ikki wishes her luck but Stella says this involves him too. Stella’s father left a message before, asking Ikki to come to Vermillion after the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival is over. Stella already booked a flight for one week later but Ikki says his heart is not ready and asks if it can be postponed for another week. Stella replies that it’s fine if her country’s army can hold out that long which makes Ikki wonder if a war will break out if they don’t go within a week. Ikki then has no choice to accept this after all the reasons Stella is giving.

“Don’t tell me, I may be the second princess, but you’re not going to run away after you deflowered a country’s princess, are you~?”

“Uu….”

“My father is just as scary as Shizuku, you know~. Good luck, d~e~a~r ♥.”

“I…. I’ll do my best….”

The Seven Stars Sword Art Festival awards ceremony is being carried out. Ikki and Stella make their entry together while holding hands as round of applauses and cheers rain on them. As the two are being welcomed, they walk down the aisle heading towards the stage that Kaieda is on. After they have stood on the stage and a formal silence is made, Kaieda announces the name of the tournament’s runner-up. Stella then let goes of Ikki’s hand and walks towards Kaieda. She takes the certificate Kaieda presented, bows to him and then the audience, and then stands on the second highest place of the winners’ podium. Once Kaieda announces the name of the champion, Ikki walks towards him. Ikki receives the certificate Kaieda presented along with the title of ‘Seven Stars Sword King’. He entrusts the certificate to Kurono who is waiting beside Kaieda, while receiving Hagun Academy’s school flag from her. He then stands on the top of the winners’ podium and raises the flag towards the sky. Immediately after, applauses and cheers from people inside and outside the venue rain on him. The people that attend the awards ceremony include Alice, Shizuku, Kuraudo, Ayase, Hagun student council, Moroboshi and Jougasaki. Kaieda is about to announce the closing of the ceremony, but he is stopped by voices echoing throughout the venue. Tens of girls jump over the fence and rush towards the ring and everyone is shocked to see the girls all have the same face. The adults respond but the girls disappear like smoke one by one as they are captured. It is a Noble Art that creates clones of the girl and she manages to slip into the front of the winners’ podium. Ikki and Stella recognize the girl as Kagami, who has brought out a camera in her hand. Kagami tells Stella to get beside Ikki since it’s no good if Stella stays in her place. Ikki and Stella immediately understand what Kagami just said as she aims her camera lens towards them. Stella jumps onto the top of the podium where Ikki is standing and he catches her while supporting her body. The volume ends with Ikki and Stella standing together as equals as shown in the last pic while they say ‘cheese’.

Characters

 * Ikki Kurogane
 * Stella Vermillion
 * Ouma Kurogane
 * Tohka Todo
 * Yuudai Moroboshi
 * Byakuya Jougasaki
 * Momiji Asagi
 * Renji Kaga
 * Hagure Sisters
 * Edelweiss
 * Ikazuchi Saijou
 * Renren Tomaru
 * Kanata Totokubara
 * Shizuku Kurogane
 * Nagi Arisuin
 * Utakata Misogi
 * Abraham Carter (unnamed)
 * Iris Ascarid (unnamed)
 * Fu Xiaoli (unnamed)
 * Yuuzou Kaieda