Hollow Dragon Devil Ice Blade Hero of Seidoukan Academy

by Gaevontracey24

Yukio Amagiri is a kind hearted person with Silver hair and dark red eyes to the Hottest girls of Asterisk and fight a lot of enemies and Hollows along with his mysterious family past which allows him to wield a legendary demonic sword. Harem with Julis being the main girl.

3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Asterisk" - Speech

Asterisk - Speaking in whisper

-Asterisk - Dreams, flashbacks

…

"I—I'm so sorry about the other day!" As soon as Yukio entered the visitors' lounge, Kirin hastily stood up from the sofa and bowed in apology.

"Oh, no— You don't have to apologize for anything…" Yukio waved his hands at her in denial.

The visitors' lounge of the boys' dormitory was not hugely spacious, maybe ten by fifteen feet, and it was simply furnished with nothing of note other than the leather furniture set.

There were no real windows, only an environmental simulation screen displaying scenery.

"I'm the one who should apologize," Yukio said.

"It looked like I was complicating things."

"N-no, not at all—!" Kirin, her head still bowed, looked up just enough to read Yukio's expression.

"Um… You're not angry with me?"

"Why would I be?" Seeing his flustered smile, she finally relaxed a bit.

"Well, maybe with your uncle, there might be a thing or two for me to be angry about."

"Oh, I— I'm truly sorry for—"

"No, like I said, you don't have anything to apologize for."

Kirin bowed again, and Yukio scratched his head uncertainly.

She was a good-natured girl, he could see that, but so incredibly timid. And she's that strong in a fight… What a contradiction. Her eyes were full of tears, as if she'd start crying any second.

Yukio placed his hand on her head and gently petted her. She made a tiny sound. It happened mostly without thinking on his part, but as her face went pink, he hastily pulled back his hand.

"Uh, so… You wanted to see me about something?"

"Huh?"

"You didn't come all the way here just to apologize, did you?" Now it was Kirin who looked blankly at him in confusion.

"But I did."

"Oh. Okay…"

Very timid and very conscientious, it would seem. Yukio thought he was beginning to understand her personality.

"But, er, not only that…" Suddenly she faced him straight on and bowed again deeply.

"Um—thank you very much!"

"…Wha—?"

Yukio blurted, entirely clueless. He had no more idea why he should be thanked than he had regarding her apology.

"What are you thanking me for…?"

"Y-you barely know me, but you stood up to my uncle for me…! Even though things turned out how they did—I'm really grateful!" Her voice was high with effort, her face crimson. Yukio weakly shook his head.

"Don't. I couldn't even help you in the end."

"But that's—" As Kirin began to protest, Yukio suddenly went serious and raised his forefinger in front of his lips. His glance fell on the door of the lounge. Immediately catching on, Kirin quieted her breathing and signaled with her eyes that she understood.

Yukio made himself silent and crept to the door, then, with careful timing, pulled it open.

"Aaugh!" The cluster of boys who had been leaning up against the door to eavesdrop all fell into the room in an avalanche. Exasperated, Yukio addressed the boy at the very front of the pile—a person he knew.

"Hard at work, huh, Yabuki?"

"Y-you know me," Eishirou said with a nervous laugh. A slight twitch in his face hinted that he knew he was caught doing something wrong. Yukio had expected something like this, but Kirin clearly had not. She was utterly astonished.

"Let's keep talking outside, Miss Toudou," he offered. "I'll walk you back to your dorm."

"Oh… All right!" Kirin nodded anxiously.

…

"Sheesh, it's still hot outside."

The summer sky was vivid red in the twilight.

The streetlights that had just turned on were scarcely functioning as intended, as if they, too, were painted over with that red.

Yukio and Kirin walked side by side along the promenade under the fiery glow and the falling dusk.

Kirin's face was also tinged red, but that was not entirely due to the light.

"Toudou, are you okay?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh, um, yes!"

"Are you…nervous?"

"I—I'm sorry," she replied with a bashful smile.

"This is the first time I've ever walked like this with a man who isn't a family member."

"Wow."

"My dad— My father is quite strict."

"I see…" It stood to reason that the head of the family of the Toudou style would be austere, he thought.

"I've heard that the Toudou style is all about strict training, but that goes for your personal life, too, huh?"

"You know about our style?"

"Well, I do a bit of swordplay myself. There's no way I wouldn't know about the Toudou style. 'Like folding a paper crane,' they say, it's so precise."

Kirin's face brightened at hearing the words Yukio had repeated so casually. "Speaking of styles, yours is an older one, isn't it?"

"Huh? Yeah, it is, but…how could you tell?"

The Amagiri Shinmei style was hardly noteworthy, nothing that merited comparison to the Toudou style. Yukio didn't think Kirin would have known of it.

"It was just a guess. When we dueled the other day, I noticed stances where you dropped your hips low."

This surprised him.

It was true that the Amagiri Shinmei style had a long history—five hundred years since its founding. The sword-fighting styles from that time were developed with the weight of armor in mind, and as a rule, they incorporated fighting stances with the body carried low.

In contrast, the Toudou style was newer, founded at the end of the Edo period. It was designed for combat without armor and relied primarily on upright fighting stances. One was not necessarily superior to the other; in one-on-one unarmored contests like the duels in Asterisk, however, later styles had a slight but undeniable advantage in speed.

The Amagiri Shinmei style had incorporated aspects of unarmored styles through its long history. But trying to use the older techniques from its early days would naturally put one in an unfavorable position. Kirin had seen right through that.

"You dragged your feet when moving from a defensive position, and the point of your blade was held quite high when you were in a low stance. These are both typical of older styles. I would have been able to learn more if our blades crossed, but that wasn't really an option with your Ser Veresta… Oh, but that Orga Lux is amazing! Just by facing you, I could feel the flow of your prana. Being able to maintain that amount of—"

She had been speaking so excitedly that she was leaning in, her eyes sparkling. But then she cut herself off and pursed her lips, her face going bright red, and backed away in tiny steps.

"I…I…I'm so sorry. I just…got carried away…" Seeing her so pitifully abashed, Yukio almost burst out laughing. She really did look like a small animal. So much so that it made him want to pet her head again.

"You really love swordplay, don't you, Toudou?" To that question, she had a decisive reply.

"Y-yes, I do!" But she stared straight ahead and continued a little sadly, "Because swordplay is the only thing I'm good at."

"You shouldn't—" She stopped him mid-sentence, shaking her head.

"No, it's true. I'm not smart. I'm clumsy, I'm a coward, I'm not even good at cooking or anything. But when I pick up a sword, I can be useful to somebody. That's what makes it fun and why I love it."

"Oh…" Her answer was clear and honest. There was nothing Ayato could say to that. Still, he felt like there was a slight dissonance between what she wanted and what she did. It bothered him.

"And besides," she said, "I have a wish that I want— No, I have to make it come true."

"What's that?"

"To help my father." Her voice was quiet and forceful, as if she had to tell herself.

"That's why you do everything your uncle says?" Yukio wondered if he might be prying too deeply, but he cut to the heart of the matter because he simply had to know. As he feared, the question seemed to take Kirin off guard—but then she nodded.

"Unlike me…my uncle is very clever. He's been kind enough to show me the best and shortest path to making my wish come true. I hardly deserve to be in the first rank. That would have been impossible if not for his help. And…I appreciate what he's doing for me very much."

"Even if he's only using you to advance his career?" Naturally, Kirin already knew that. She smiled fleetingly, unsurprised.

"My uncle shows me the path to achieving my wish, and in the process, he reaps a corresponding reward—so you see, this is an equal exchange."

"It didn't look that way to me." Yukio frowned, remembering the scene from the other day. A relationship in which she was the target of senseless violence, with no way to resist, could not possibly be described as equal.

"My uncle hates Genestella," she said simply. "So there's nothing for it. I just have to bear it, and it's fine." That was what the look in her eyes and her strained smile told him. Yukio tried to say something and stopped himself. He had lost the duel. It wasn't his place to get involved any further. So he had to leave. At least for now

"Oh, by the way… May I ask you something?" Kirin leaned in timidly to look at his face.

"Sure, what is it?" It was a blatant ploy to change the subject, he thought, but he might as well go along with it.

"How do you usually train, Amagiri?"

"Train?" It seemed like an odd question.

"Um, in the mornings, I run and work on my forms. Then I practice sword strokes. Then, in the afternoons, I'm working with Julis on our tag team fighting, so…"

"Mm-hmm…" Then Yukio noticed that Kirin was diligently taking notes. On top of that, she began to ask for details.

"How much do you run? Do you have a set route? Oh, and…"

Ayato saw now that she wasn't simply forcing a change of subject. She was asking out of genuine interest. After he had dutifully answered her questions one by one, Kirin let out a long breath in satisfaction.

"Thank you so much. That's very helpful."

"No problem. You're really thorough."

"Yes, I always learn a lot by hearing how good fighters train," she said with a bright smile. "I'm in charge of my own training regimen now, but sometimes I'm not sure… And I can't spar by myself."

"Oh, why don't you join our sessions, then? I mean, if you want to…"

"Wha—?" Kirin's eyes went wide at the unexpected offer.

"W-would it really be okay?"

"Um, well, I'll have to ask Julis first, but it should be fine, I think." In his head, Yukio could already see Julis looking displeased as she scolded him—

"Don't go around making promises so rashly!"

But surely she would understand, if he just explained the situation to her… Kirin's face lit up for a moment, but she quickly looked down, disheartened.

"I'm sorry… That's so nice of you to offer, but my uncle gave me strict instructions to keep my distance from ranked fighters…especially any Page Ones."

"Huh? Why's that?"

"He doesn't want me showing my skills unnecessarily to the competition."

Well, that is cautious of him, Ayato thought.

"Okay. Then, you can join me for my early morning workouts."

"Morning workouts…?"

"I'm not in the Named Chart, so it shouldn't be a problem, right?" With his lack of rank, he reasoned, Kouichirou would have no reason to complain. "

S-so, you mean, it would be…just the t-two of us?"

"Yup. Nothing to worry about there." Kirin looked at the ground, seemingly conflicted.

"Huh? Is something the matter?"

"N-no. Um…I'd like to take you up on your offer." Kirin nodded shyly.

"Okay. I'll message you later about where and when, so…"

And so they exchanged contact information. While they went on discussing various parts of the training regimen, they arrived at the girls' dormitory.

"Um, thank you. For going out of your way like this…"

"No problem. It was nice."

"W-well, then, I'll see you tomorrow." Kirin bowed from the waist, bending almost a full ninety degrees, then trotted away into the dorm. Watching her go, Yukio let out a small sigh.

By now, night had fully descended upon the campus, and a beautiful moon floated in the ultramarine sky. The wind seemed to have picked up a bit, judging by the murmur of rustling leaves that filled the promenade.

Within that quiet evening atmosphere, Yukio could feel a faint hidden presence. From where, he wasn't sure, but someone was watching him.

Not hostile— definitely someone, though. Where could they be…?

He looked around, moving only his eyes, trying not to let on that he was searching for the observer. There was no one on the promenade besides him. The only places where someone could hide would be behind the trees, or— Above me?! Yukio Looked up with a start, and in nearly the same instant, a small shadow shook the branches above and leaped down onto him. It grabbed on and clung to his back just like something from a ghost story.

"Augh! …Wait. S-Saya?"

He was startled for a moment but turned just enough to see that the creature clinging to him was his current classmate and old friend. A friend from whom he knew to expect such eccentric behavior. He sighed in relief and rebuked her in the next breath.

"Don't scare people like that… Took ten years off my life."

"…Who was that?" Completely ignoring his protests, Saya tightened her arms, which were wrapped around Yukio's neck. This, of course, resulted in strangling him.

"Guh—! Hey, Saya…! I can't breathe!"

"…Just answer me. Who was that?"

"I—I can't answer…with no air!"

"…Oh." Finally understanding the problem, Saya let go of Yukio and hopped off his back.

"Sorry. I got suspicious and I tensed up without thinking."

"I—I'll live…," Yukio managed, coughing. "But what were you doing up there anyway?"

"I was looking for you. 'S more efficient to search from a high vantage point."

That only prompted more questions.

"Looking for me? Why?" Yukio asked.

"It's regarding the tag team partnership. I want an answer from you."

"Oh yeah…" So this was about the Phoenix. Apparently, Saya was serious about participating.

"Sorry, but I'm teaming up with Julis. That's not negotiable."

I made a promise to her, after all.

"…I see. All right."

With that, Saya simply backed off. She was stubborn by nature, but once someone else was firm in communicating their position, she could readily accept it. This sort of exchange with her had been a regular occurrence, way back when. Saya returned to the other subject

. "Now—who was that?" Was Yukio imagining the hint of wariness in her eyes?

"That was Kirin Toudou," he replied. "She's a middle school student. You haven't heard of her from the school news or anything?"

"…Oh yes. The number one ranked student you dueled with yesterday."

"That's right." He nodded. But Saya frowned.

"She's in her first year of middle school…" She glared in the direction that Kirin had run off, then fixed a stare down at her own body and patted herself down—her chest in particular.

"The world abounds with injustice." Yukio could understand what she was getting at but decided he was better off keeping his mouth shut on that subject. "Well, you know, she's a lot like you in some ways."

"…What ways?"

"She told me she came to this school for her father's sake. I don't know all the details, but that reminded me of you." Saya took this in quietly, neither affirming nor denying the comparison. With her usual unexpressive manner, she mumbled to herself. "Her father…"

…

The next morning, Yukio arrived in front of the high school building five minutes ahead of the time they'd agreed on. He found Kirin already waiting for him.

"Good morning, Mr. Amagiri."

"Good morning, Miss Toudou."

Of course, Kirin was not in uniform yet, dressed instead in a simple but adorable athletic set. She wore a large pouch and her katana at her waist.

"Okay, so let's start with a run," Yukio said. "…Though, actually, we should stretch first."

"Sure!" Kirin said. They went through stretching exercises, in part to warm up. Yukio was glad for the chance to do stretches that required two people.

Every time Kirin moved her torso, however, her chest bounced accordingly, and he had to avert his eyes. It was continually surprising to remember that she was only thirteen. And with two-person stretches, which required bodily contact, here and there her chest ended up touching him, which was even more disconcerting. With Claudia, he could tell she was mostly teasing, and it was easy to dismiss as just that. But with Kirin, the contact was completely innocent, which somehow made it worse—he had no idea how to deal with it at all.

"Is something wrong?" she said. "Oh—no, nothing."

Kirin tilted her head at him blankly as she went on stretching. The sight made one expect sound effects: boing, boing. One contributing factor was that her workout clothes showed her curves more clearly than her uniform did.

"Hey, Miss Toudou, which way do you usually run?" he asked.

"I leave the school, then I run around the outskirts of the island."

"Oh, you go out?" Yukio's running exercises consisted mainly of short distance sprints, so this sounded like a welcome change of pace to him.

"All right. Maybe I'll try it, too."

"All right. I'll lead, then," Kirin said with a bright smile. Yukio had begun to notice it yesterday, but Kirin was a very expressive girl. She might spend more time with her face looking downcast or sad, but when she smiled like that, he thought, it was really very charming. So cute, in fact, that it made him want to pet her head.

"Is something wrong?" she said again.

"Nope. Nothing. Please lead the way."

Yukio was starting to get accustomed to life in Asterisk, but only within the bounds of Seidoukan Academy. He knew no more about the city than what Julis had shown him, and other than that trip, he hadn't even gone for a walk off campus at all.

"Okay. I will!" Kirin suddenly seemed very enthusiastic, her eyes shining with earnest determination.

"Oh, but before we start… Do you use a weight, Amagiri?"

"Weight?"

"Um…like this." Kirin took something resembling a vest from her waist pouch and handed it to Yukioo. It looked as heavy as blocks of stone. Most ordinary people would have difficulty even lifting it.

"On the school grounds, running at our normal speed isn't a problem, but that wouldn't happen off campus."

"Oh, right. I guess it's not very safe."

Even at a light dash, Genestella could easily run at the legal speed limit for automobiles. At full speed, there was no comparison. If they collided with an ordinary person at such a speed, obviously that person would suffer serious injury, or worse. And barring unusual mitigating circumstances, injuries caused by Genestella to ordinary people resulted in extremely harsh punishments—even when it was an accident.

"If we wear these, we won't go very fast," Kirin explained. "It's a good workout, too."

"Gotcha." At home, Yukio would go running only in isolated places like the hills out back. A contrivance like this allowed for refreshingly different possibilities. "I brought one for you, too. Would you like to use it?"

"Thanks. I'll give it a try." He put it on and confirmed that it was as heavy as he might have thought. It would definitely be effective. "All right. Let's go." Kirin started to run ahead, leading the way

…

"You seem to be spending a lot of time with Kirin Toudou." The voice came abruptly from behind Yukio as he stood in front of the meal ticket vending machine at the Hokuto dining hall, trying to decide what to have for lunch. He turned to see a girl with splendid rose-colored hair, standing there with a sullen look on her face.

"Oh, it's you, Julis. Are you about to get lunch, too?" He was alone today, since Eishirou was low on funds and Saya was getting a lecture from Kyouko for oversleeping and being late to class. But Yukio believed food tasted better with company, so he went ahead and invited her.

"Since we're both here, you want to eat together?"

"Oh—well, hmm, if you insist, I suppose I could…" Julis looked away shyly but nodded to accept, and it was plain from her expression that she wasn't altogether displeased.

"I think I'll have the chicken curry today." From the air-window displaying the available meals, Yukio selected the picture of curry prominently featuring chicken on the bone. Ordering via a ticket vending machine was a rarity these days, but he liked that about this dining hall.

"What about you, Julis?"

"Hmm… I can't decide between the pasta set or the one that comes with dessert…" She studiously pondered the air-window with her hand to her chin, but then she suddenly looked up at Yukio to shout at him.

"Wait—that's not the problem here! I want to know what you and Kirin Toudou are—"

Making a wild gesture, she accidentally touched an item on the air-window.

"Oh…"

"Huh…?"

With a gatunek, the vending machine dispensed a ticket printed with the words "Special Spicy Curry."

"Oh, that's the Hokuto dining hall's famous dish," Yukio said. "It's supposed to be super hot—"

"It—it's fine! That's what I wanted anyway! I'm going to find us a table, so you go pick up our food!"

"Uh, okay…" Spurred to urgency by her tone, Yukio gingerly went to pick up the two plates of curry and immediately noticed that one of them was devastatingly potent. It looked just like the other, but he could tell from the aroma that it was far spicier. That aroma alone was enough to sting his eyes, so strong that it made him think twice about picking up the plate.

"Yukio, over here." Julis waved at him from a table by the wall.

"Here we are, Julis. But are you sure? This smells really intense." He placed the tray in front of her and watched as a bit of uncertainty crept into her face.

"I said this is what I wanted! Now tell me what you're doing with Kirin Toudou!"

"Um, well, we just started training together in the morning, that's all." He answered honestly, since he and Kirin were hardly doing anything unusual. Julis seemed to relax a little.

"Oh, were you worried that I was giving away my fighting skills? Nah, it's totally fine. We're only doing really basic stuff, and I'm not breaking my seal. Besides, Toudou already knows a lot about my skills from our duel, so—"

"No, that's not what I…," Julis started, not quite satisfied with something, but then she sighed and weakly shook her head.

"Never mind. If you can talk about it like that, I clearly had nothing to worry about." Yukio wasn't sure what she meant, but she seemed okay with him spending time with Kirin. That was a relief.

"Anyway, Julis, you haven't taken a bite yet… Is it okay?"

"Er…" Her plate of special spicy curry was as full as when he'd brought it. She was stirring it around with her spoon without taking a single bite.

"If it's too hot for you, you don't have to finish it. You could order something else—"

"Idiot! I'm not going to waste food!" He wondered if it was the influence of her friends back home that made her so reluctant to let food go to waste despite her upbringing as a princess. With a fierce resolve, Julis brought her spoon to her mouth. She didn't make a sound, but her face turned crimson, then white as a sheet.

"Hey, Julis! You really shouldn't force yourself if you—"

"Ngh. I—I'm fine…! This is nothing!" she blurted, her voice shaking and her eyes full of tears. Then she chugged her cup of water. She did not seem at all fine.

"Um, well, what if we switch?"

"What?!" Her eyes went wide in surprise.

"Mine is pretty spicy, but I bet it's easier to eat than yours. I mean, if you want to…" Julis sat there frozen, stiff as a statue.

"Oh, I guess you wouldn't want it after I touched it with my spoon…"

"N-no! That's not it!" She ferociously shook her head.

"I don't care about that! Actually—" Then she gasped at her own words and stopped herself mid sentence.

"A-anyway, I mean, I ordered it, so the responsibility to finish it is mine. I can't pass it off on you."

"That's just like you, I guess." Yukio was almost impressed at how stubborn she could be. But then he thought of a way he might convince her.

"So, this might not be a big deal…but if we're going to be effective partners in battle, don't we have to be able to speak to each other honestly and not hold anything back?"

"Oh… Um, well…" It might be something of a dirty trick to hold the Festa over her as a persuasion tactic, he thought, but maybe this would get her to think more flexibly. For a few moments Julis anxiously looked back and forth between Yukio and her special spicy curry. Finally, she held her plate toward him with both hands, shy and faltering.

"Then…um…can I…switch plates…with you?" she asked timidly, looking up at him with watery eyes. There was something cute about that, different from the usual Julis, and he felt his heart begin to pound.

"Yukio?" She tilted her head at him. He nodded hurriedly.

"Oh, sure! Of course!" Then he traded his chicken curry for the special spicy curry.

"Th-thank you," Julis said, and brought her spoon to her mouth again. Was it because of the spicy bite from earlier that her face seemed a little red? Julis is really cute when she says how she feels…

Of course, Julis was beautiful as her usual stubborn self, too. Maybe it was simply the departure from the norm that made it feel all the more striking.

As Yukio was lost in those thoughts, he absentmindedly threw a spoonful of the special spicy curry in his mouth—and was stunned by the sheer force of its spiciness. He barely managed to finish it himself before the lunch recess ended.

…

A bronze-skinned woman walked in a hurry, the hard clacks of her footsteps echoing down the long corridor.

The corridor was in Allekant Académie, in the underground block of the research building—in fact, the most high-security area of the block. This area was off-limits not only to anyone from outside the school, but also to students in the practical class, and even for those in the research class, excellent academic performance was not enough for admittance.

Only researchers with a proven history of results were allowed in here. It was much closer to a facility than a school building. It had a highly functional construction, with clinical white walls and floors stretching wherever one looked. There were no flowers or paintings, no decorations of any kind. This was a cold space devoid of anything that might be defined as unnecessary.

She went through a security checkpoint that scanned her school crest and biometrics, then impatiently opened a door activated by her personal access code, which had been assigned to her by the keeper of the room. The woman, Camilla, entered with a forceful announcement:

"Tenorio made their move."

No reply came from the room, which was filled with countless air-windows large and small. With their glow and the lights from laboratory equipment as the only illumination, it was so dim that she could barely see. But she could make out the candy wrappers littering the floor, along with animal plushies and remnants of now unrecognizable toys.

"Ernesta?" she called out dubiously, but went unanswered again. Camilla strode to the far end of the room, carefully picking her way to avoid the debris on the floor. In a chair in front of a particularly sizable air-window, she found a girl wrapped up in a blanket, fast asleep. With a sigh, she yanked the blanket off the girl.

"Wake up, Ernesta. It's what you've been waiting for all this time."

"Mrrow?!" Ernesta jolted awake, still wearing her eye mask with cartoon eyes drawn on. She was drooling from the corner of her mouth.

"Rise and shine, Ernesta."

"I wasn't asleep. I was just thinking with my eyes closed, see?" Ernesta pushed up her eye mask and waved her hands to prove her wakefulness.

"…Right. Then can you tell me why I'm here?" "Hmm? Tenorio made their move, right?"

she said nonchalantly, stretching at length like a cat.

"So you really were awake?" Ernesta laughed.

"My senses are as sharp as a knife even when I'm sleeping!"

That's quite something…but then you were asleep, after all. Camilla did not point this out aloud. They didn't have time to waste on banter.

"The situation is already developing. We'll miss our chance if we dawdle."

There were preparations involved if they wanted to get a good seat at the show. They had legwork to do.

"Yup, yup! I know, I know!" Ernesta stifled a yawn as she pulled up a projection keyboard. She deftly entered a few commands, and the air-windows in the room flew into alignment, then disappeared, all except one.

Ernesta moved the remaining window in front of her and Camilla, then tilted her head curiously. "Hunh? Who's that beside Mr. Sword Fighter?" "Prepare to be shocked. That's Seidoukan's number one ranked student."

"Oooooh. Now, that is something." Ernesta's eyes went round, then lit up like sparklers. "So they're going to attack knowing of it. They really must be pumped up."

"It shows how seriously they're taking this." Camilla pulled up a nearby chair and sat down.

"That, or they have a lot of confidence in their new project. It'd be a shame if Mr. Sword Fighter and his friend got their butts kicked. Tee-hee-hee!"

Camilla scowled at Ernesta, who spoke as if this matter had very little bearing on them.

"I wonder how much we were able to bait them. Did we manage to lure in the Great Scholar, Magnum Opus?"

"There's no way she would get involved directly. The ones working on this case are below her—up to the vice-chair of Tenorio." Ernesta nodded knowingly at Camilla's reply.

"Well, I thought they'd be careful. Oh, well. Now we can keep Tenorio under our heel for way longer than we expected."

"Yes, this is good. We don't want to drive them into too tight of a corner."

Besides, Camilla thought, if that one made the excursion herself, Yukio might really lose. Then all their scheming would have been for nothing.

"I must say…you do enjoy a good gamble," Camilla said with a wry smile.

"Whaa—?" Ernesta turned back to her with a clueless look

. "I mean that you take too many large risks." Ernesta grinned mischievously.

"It's more fun that way! I just can't help it." The expression on her face seemed innocent enough, but Camilla also saw in it a hint of inscrutable cruelty.

….

For a brief spell in the early morning, the city of Asterisk would transform into a world of hazy white. The difference in temperature between the lake water and the atmosphere made fog a common occurrence. It was an ephemeral sight, fated to vanish shortly after the sun rose, but its dreamlike beauty mesmerized all who were fortunate enough to witness it. Today, however, the fog was even heavier than usual.

"Good morning, Mr. Amagiri!" Kirin emerged from the white mist in her workout clothes and bashfully bowed to him.

"Hey Miss Toudou," Yukio replied, and looked around in mild amazement.

"Wow, the fog is pretty heavy today." As always, they met in front of the Seidoukan Academy high school building. He and Kirin had been training together in the mornings for several days now. But this was the most fog he had ever seen—and that included the mornings when he had trained alone.

"Yes, it is… Oh, but I've heard that in the winter it can be even heavier."

"Really? This is plenty heavy for me." If he moved even a little bit farther away from her, he could no longer discern her expression.

"Anyway, with the fog like this, we could lose each other during our run. Maybe we should hold hands or something."

"Oh yes, I suppose…"

"Huh?" Yukio had made the suggestion as a joke, but Kirin was taking it seriously. With her cheeks flushing, she gingerly grabbed onto Yukio's fingertips.

"S-sorry. I, um, I was just kidding…" With a gasp, she hurriedly let go of his hand.

"Wha—? Oh—um—I'm so sorry—!" Although they had touched only briefly, Ayato could feel the faint warmth that remained on his fingers.

"No, it's my fault, I shouldn't have…" For a few moments, neither of them knew what to say.

"Um… Should we get going, then?" Yukio said at last.

"Y-yes! Let's!" Nodding her head vigorously, Kirin started to run. The main route of their morning runs was the road that went all the way around the outer rim of Asterisk. At this hour, the road was mostly deserted.

They would occasionally pass other students out running as well, but other than that they were surrounded by stillness, the entire city still asleep.

Looking at the cityscape shrouded in the morning mist gave Yukio the feeling that he had wandered into another land.

If he turned toward the lake, he could not see more than a few yards into the distance.

It was like a different world lay just beyond his sight.

But Kirin's light footsteps from ahead rang in his ears, a reassuring certainty completely removed from the mystical moodiness of the fog.

As they ran easily along the lakeside path, Yukio suddenly noticed a strange presence.

Someone, or something, was following them from a ways back.

Their pursuers were staying at a fixed distance, apparently adjusting their pace to match that of Yukio and Kirin.

"…Mr. Amagiri?" she whispered. She had also noticed, and slowed down slightly so they were side by side.

"I know. We're not alone." Yuko signaled to Kirin with his eyes, and they both slowed their pace dramatically. They could sense the slight bewilderment in the presence behind them.

"Are there four of them? No, five."

"Yes…but there's something off." Kirin frowned suspiciously.

"This presence —it doesn't feel like people, but…"

Just as she murmured those words, they both stopped running. This time, it was not by design. The road in front of them was closed.

"Construction? But this wasn't here yesterday…" They hadn't noticed until the last second because of the heavy fog, but signs forbidding entry blocked off the road and the pedestrian path. "We could just ignore the signs and run through. What do you think?" Yukio said.

"I don't think it's safe with such low visibility. And it might be a trap," Kirin replied. The presence behind them had also stopped, still keeping their fixed distance. Their pursuers seemed to be waiting to see what they would do.

"There is a way around…but that feels like it'd be a trap, too."

Directly in front of the blocked road, there was one path still available to them: On their right was a large park surrounded by a tall fence, its single entrance invitingly open.

"I wonder which one of us is the target. Do you know of anybody who'd want to come after you, Kirin?"

"Um, well, maybe a few…" She was ranked first, after all.

"What about you, Mr. Amagiri?"

"Yeah, I can think of someone, too." As he said that, he was thinking (naturally) of Ernesta's face, but there was something not quite right about the idea of her being involved in this. At the moment, though, he did not have the luxury of mentally picking that apart.

"We could split up," he suggested. "Then we would at least know which one of us they're after," Kirin added. If both of them were being targeted, however, that would be the worst move, as it would result in unnecessarily splitting up their strength

. "Well, why don't we stick together for now."

"Okay!" Kirin sounded glad about this for some reason. "Then the question is, which way do we…?" Yukio trailed off as he sensed a change in the presence behind them. Perhaps running out of patience, they had begun to edge closer. When their pursuers were less than ten yards away, Yukio understood what Kirin had said.

They were not human. This presence was something else. He considered the possibility that they were dolls, like the ones he had fought before, but he could sense a small amount of prana from them.

Then are they Genestella…? No, but— What emerged from the mist were creatures he had never seen before.

At first glance, their shapes were reminiscent of large felines, like tigers—but instead of fur they were covered with something more like hard scales.

Their necks were long, and their vicious faces looked reptilian, with sharp fangs protruding from their mouths. The best description he could have made was that they resembled wingless dragons. There were five of them, and they were clearly hostile toward Yukio and Kirin.

"What kind of animals are they?" Kirin wondered.

"Well, they're nothing we have where I grew up," Yukio said. Kirin cocked her head. She had clearly never seen anything like them before, either.

"But they're kind of cute, aren't they?"

"Yeah, sure—wait, what?" Yukio couldn't help but do a double take at her, and at that moment, the dragon-like things seized the chance to leap upon them.

"Whoa—!" He wasted no time in drawing his sword and activating it. The blade of light emerged to stop the sharp claws of the not-dragon just in time. He shoved the massive beast away from him, and the not-dragon twisted in midair to land gracefully on its feet. Its movements seemed distinctly feline.

"Mr. Amagiri, are you okay?" He turned to Kirin to see that she was handling three attacking creatures. But she had not even drawn her sword—she easily offended them off with just the scabbard.

"Huh. I guess they aren't too tough?" Yukio ran between the front claws of the first attacker as it rushed at him again. He figured he could manage the onslaught even in his current state; it didn't seem necessary to release his seal. But when he lightly swung his sword to parry, it easily sliced through the beast's front leg. He gaped in disbelief at what he saw.

"What the—?!" The severed leg crumbled and melted away like syrup—then, rather than disappearing, it turned into a translucent slime that quivered on the ground. The beast did not seem at all disturbed by losing its leg, and not a drop of blood flowed from the wound. The slimy substance flew back to its stump, then immediately regenerated into a new leg before their eyes. "How…?"

As Yukio stood there, stunned, the one creature that had been staying in the rear opened its mouth wide. The mana around them rushed to gather at its maw. Fire poured from the note dragon's mouth and swirled into a sphere.

"Oh, no way—!" It was the same kind of ability to interact with mana that Stregas and Dantes had. The beast shot the fireball with a low-pitched roar, and Yukio deflected it with the fuller of his sword. It was nothing compared to the power of someone like Julis, but he had never imagined that living things other than humans could link with mana.

"Are these the mutants Claudia was talking about…?"

he thought aloud. But if that was the case, these monsters should have been a topic of public conversation long before now. Yukio knew that Asterisk was a city far removed from common sense, but he had never heard of creatures like these roaming about. With low growls, two of the not-dragons crept toward Yukio.

"I don't want to kill them if we don't have to, but…it doesn't look like we have much choice."

He didn't know enough about them. If he went easy on them, it could get much worse for himself and Kirin. Yukio raised his sword and held it horizontally as he calmed his breathing.

He ordered his prana, heightened it, then released his strength for just one instant— The same instant that two of the "dragons" leaped up and lunged at him from either side.

"Amagiri Shinmei Style, First Technique: Line of Hornets!"

With lightning speed, Yukio circled around the creatures, then turned his wrist and extended his arm in a fierce one-handed thrust. Both skewered through the side, the creatures let out eldritch shrieks that hardly sounded as if they'd come from living things. But their bodies melted down, just as that severed leg had. The puddles of slimy goop backed away from him with an unexpectedly nimble motion, then slowly coalesced again—and in all of ten seconds, the creatures had reformed. Yukio was simply stupefied at this development.

"Don't tell me they're actually immortal…" In that case, what could they do? If Julis were here, she could probably burn them all to ashes. He wasn't sure how much could be done with ordinary swordplay.

Maybe if I used Ser Veresta… However, that would mean breaking his seal entirely, and then he would have to deal with the time limit. That was not a move to make lightly.

"It looks like cutting or piercing attacks are ineffective," Kirin said anxiously. She was now standing with her back against his. The sword in her hand was fully drawn. "This is just a guess, but maybe they're really slime-like organisms, and their current form is something like mimicry?" Yukio suggested. "I see…"

"If we can just get away, that might be the best option." Yukio was confident that they could not be easily caught in a game of tag, but at the same time, running at full speed in this fog would be risky.

"May I try something?" Kirin asked, as she walked up almost casually to one of the not-dragons.

"Wha—?" The thing made a wary, threatening growl, then flew at her the moment it was barely within her striking distance.

"I'm sorry," Kirin whispered calmly, then dodged the attack with a slight twist. In the next instant, the not-dragon had been sliced in half.

It howled in that same eerie voice, and its body melted into slime. She slashed at the melting goo before it even fell to the ground.

Her sword swung over and over, terrifically fast, slicing it smaller and smaller. One would have to describe her speed as superhuman.

Pieces of slime fell to the ground by the dozens and extended pseudopodia toward each other to remerge.

But Kirin kept on slicing one chunk in the air, making smaller pieces still. Yukio caught something different about that piece.

He could see something tiny and round squirming inside it.

The sphere moved this way and that, evading her attacks, but with each stroke, there was less and less slime to move around in. Finally, when the piece of slime had been whittled down to the size of a fist, the sphere had nowhere to go.

"…It's over." Kirin's blade flashed. The sphere was sliced in half. At that same moment, the puddles of slime writhing on the ground abruptly stopped. Apparently, the sphere had been controlling the slime itself. Seeing what had taken place, the other creatures backed away, as if in fear.

"It looks as if they have some sort of core. Hopefully, this will get them to retreat," Kirin said as if nothing had happened, and sheathed her sword. Still, she seemed sad somehow.

"How could you tell that they had a core?"

"I noticed something odd about the flow of their prana. I've always been sensitive to that kind of thing." All Genestella had to be aware of how prana flowed through their own bodies. Seeing how prana flowed through others, however, was a different matter entirely. Gauging quantity and skill was one thing, but to be able to sense the slightest changes—that was a particularly special power.

"I feel like I just learned one of the things that makes you so strong." Smiling in amazement, Yukio picked up the remains of the halved sphere. He couldn't tell specifically what the material was, but it was unmistakably something inorganic. Obviously man-made, then.

"So…I guess Allekant is behind this," he remarked.

"Allekant?" Kirin looked mystified.

"Well, it's a long story but— Whoa!" From a good distance, the remaining not-dragons had begun to hurl fireballs at Yukio. In fact, all four of them were aiming only for him. Apparently, they had determined that since Kirin was too strong, they should focus on Yukio instead. Well, they're not wrong.

"Hey—wait! …Augh!" He didn't have the time to weigh his options anymore. There's no way around it now. I have to break the seal and… He leaped back a good way to distance himself from the creatures and landed near the entrance of the park.

Just as he was about to focus his prana, another fireball came flying. Only this time, it wasn't aimed at him. Clearly on a low trajectory, the fireball exploded at his feet with a low boom. The paving stones underneath him began to crack apart from the point of impact.

"Wha…?" Seeing that this wasn't good, he automatically tried to leap to safety—but he was too late. When he looked up, an area of about five yards in every direction from him had fallen away to form a giant hole. That fireball couldn't possibly have carved away at the city's foundation itself—which meant the ground must have been weakened in advance.

"Mr. Amagiri!" Kirin jumped into the hole and reached out to him. Yukio also extended his hand to grab hers. He felt her pull him up. Kirin had managed to get ahold of the edge of the hole with her other hand, and she hung there, holding on to him.

"Are you okay, Mr. Amagiri?"

"Yeah, you saved me just in time—" But their relief was short-lived. They heard an ominous cracking sound, and the piece of the edge to which Kirin clung mercilessly crumbled away. The dark abyss swallowed them both, leaving behind only their panicked screams.

"Is that the end of Act One?" Sitting in front of an air-window and looking bored, Ernesta stifled a yawn. The display showed a scene where Yukio and Kirin had just fallen into the depths of a giant hole.

"I wonder how they're gonna explain that huge hole in the ground. There'll be trouble if the city guard finds out, don't you think?"

"I hear there was construction planned there anyway. But that's not a concern for now." Camilla, seated next to Ernesta, was diligently checking the data being delivered by the probe at the scene.

"So that's the Phryganea viscous attacker, huh?" Ernesta said.

"Not all that impressive for Tenorio's ace in the hole."

"That's a bit harsh. I found it very interesting."

"I guess the mana circulation control and the mimicry transition technology were pretty cool. But the rest? All standards. Way standard. I mean, if they can change shape, they should do something more interesting than just that lizard thing. Y'know, like a penguin or a kitty!"

Ernesta reached for a plush toy of some strange creature and held it in her arms, plopping her chin on top of it.

"You're just talking about what you'd want to do… In any case, it appears that the protoplasm transformation–utilizing prana can take on only a prerecorded shape. And that currently, each core unit can store only one shape." Camilla had opened an air-window of her own and was checking information leaked to her from their mole at Tenorio.

Bioenhancement was Tenorio's technological specialty. While Ernesta's assessment was not exactly glowing, Camilla thought that there were many praiseworthy aspects to it. Still, it was nauseating to think of the process behind that technology.

"Only one type? Even more unimpressive. Well, I guess that's about the best Tenorio can do without the Great Scholar." Ernesta was losing what little interest she had.

"Besides, those things are way too weak. What good are they even supposed to be?"

"They can't do much about that. Tenorio's not exactly developing specialized living weapons, after all. Those are just by-products."

"Well, sure, but right now my dolls are like a million billion times stronger."

A million billion? What are you, in kindergarten? Camilla thought.

"If we could say one thing in their defense, it's that their opponent was too strong. Seidoukan's top-ranked student achieved her rank for a reason."

"Hmm, I'll give you that. There aren't that many people in our school right now who can face someone at her level head-on."

"Yes. Many of the stronger students in the practical class graduated— including the winning tag team from the last Phoenix."

"Well, that's some of the reason why we get to take the lead." The air-window switched to display a different scene.

"Ooh, is this Act Two?"

"I'm told this is the part that clique was banking on, at least."

"Oh, is it now! Then let's see what they've got!"

…

The first thing Yukio felt was the impact—then the cold, and a sense that he couldn't breathe.

…Am I underwater?! It was dark and there were air bubbles all around him, making it hard to discern his surroundings.

But it felt like he had fallen into some deep body of water. He couldn't tell up from down, so he calmed himself and let his body go limp.

He should start floating back up to the surface, but for some reason, that wasn't happening. Rather, it felt like he was sinking deeper and deeper.

Well, duh! I've got this weight vest on! he realized. He frantically removed the obstacle and swam toward a faint light that had to mean up. He broke the surface with a splash and drew in a massive lungful of air, finally thinking he might be safe.

At first, he'd assumed that he must have fallen into the lake, but that didn't seem to be the case now. It was a frighteningly vast space. High above, he could see the hole where they had fallen in, but there were more than a few strata of ground in between.

Even underground space was utilized for various purposes in Asterisk, and someone had gone to the trouble of digging through all that to make the hole. It was clearly a man-made trap.

"This sure is a big cave…" His best estimate of the distance from the surface of the water to the ceiling was sixty feet. He couldn't tell how wide it was. To his left, a wall towered over him, but on the other side, there was only the water and enormous pillars for as far as he could see. There was almost no light—only a minimal amount of scattered rays clung to the walls and ceiling.

"Oh! Where's Toudou?!" He looked around and noticed a weak splashing a short distance away.

"Toudou!" Judging from her desperate struggling, she was obviously in danger of drowning. Yukio suspected that she couldn't get her weight vest off. He swam toward her in a rush, and she grabbed on to him, her face almost in tears. Kirin coughed and regained her voice.

"Th-thank you, Mr. Amagiri! You saved me!"

"Are you okay, Miss Toudou? Let's get your weight off—" But then he saw that hers was already gone.

"Huh…?" She made a tiny embarrassed whine.

"Sorry, I…c-can't swim."

"Oh…I see." This was something of a surprise to Yukio. He hadn't imagined that someone with her athletic prowess might never have learned. Still, Genestella were human, too. Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses.

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry," he said. "I brought you into this." Kirin had fallen in only because she was trying to save him

. "Don't worry about me. But where are we…?" she asked once she had caught her breath, still sounding a little nasal. "I think we're under Asterisk."

"Then…are we in the ballast area?" Kirin turned her gaze upward. "Ballast area?"

"Um, so Asterisk is a megafloat structure, and they use the weight of the water for stability, I think."

"Oh, I see." Yukio didn't know very much about the structure of the city, but that sounded plausible. "So, then, there must be an entrance for maintenance…" Kirin tried to look around, then turned bright red. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing! Um, it…it's just…" As Kirin groped for words, Yukio suddenly realized the problem. The fact that she was holding on to him naturally put her face very close to his, so that their cheeks almost touched. But that was above the water. Under the surface, Kirin's ample twin peaks were pressing against Yukioo's arm. In fact, it was more accurate to say that his arm was swallowed deep in the valley between them.

"I—I—I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! If only I could swim—!"

"No, no, no! I don't care, really—" Still, even a Genestella did not have the stamina to tread water indefinitely while supporting the weight of two people. They needed to find a way out or at least something stable to rest against. Just then—Yukio caught sight of a giant shadow lurking deep in the water.

"Miss Toudou…?"

"Y-yes?"

"Can you hold your breath for a bit?" As soon as he said that, Yukio dove into the water with Kirin in his arms. He kicked with all his strength to move them as fast as he could. An enormous something grazed past them and sent them tumbling underwater. They somehow managed to hold on to each other, then resurfaced. What they had just seen defied belief.

"What—?" squeaked Kirin. Yukio laughed helplessly. "Now, this is something else." There was nothing more they could say. From the very spot where they had been floating moments ago, a giant dragon reared its head. Compared to this, the not-dragons that had attacked them aboveground might as well have been mice. Just the part they could see above the water seemed to be almost ten yards long. Its full length had to be well over fifteen yards. From its silhouette, it looked very much like a denizen of the prehistoric world, like a plesiosaur. The not-dragons from before resembled lizards, but this one seemed more snakelike.

Still, Yukio could make out limbs protruding from its thick body, and the sharp row of teeth and giant head reminded him of nothing other than a dragon. And just like those not-dragons, it was staring at them with a considerable level of something akin to hostility.

"Well, I guess it makes sense," Yukio said.

"They went through the trouble of dropping us down here. They're not just going to let us go home." The purpose of those not-dragons must have been to chase them here—and this giant creature was the main trap all along.

"Yukio… This dragon feels the same as the ones aboveground," Kirin whispered. She must have sensed its flow of prana.

"So you think it's really a slime?"

"Probably…"

"That's not particularly good news, is it?" If it was the same, attacking it normally with a sword would have no effect. Either way, there wasn't much they could do unarmed. He activated his sword Lux and, at the same time, released his seal. In the situation they were in now, he couldn't afford to hesitate.

The magic circles that shackled him flew apart, and the prana that had been trapped within rose up. The glow faintly illuminated their dark surroundings. Apparently reading this as aggression, the monster charged with a growl. Even with his power released, Yukio was not swift underwater.

Still, he swam in front of Kirin to protect her and met the charge head-on. It slammed into him, pushing him through the water while pinned to the tip of the dragon's nose. He was holding his breath and fending off the huge sharp teeth when he met one of the pillars with that same momentum. The impact made a craterlike dent in the massive pillar, opening cracks through it in every direction.

"Ouch…"

"A-are you all right?!"

"Oh, sure. This is nothing, but the situation doesn't look too great…" He had transferred his prana to defense, so the impact did little damage to him. Still, the fact remained that they did not have much in the way of recourse. The dragon seemed to be checking on the condition of its prey, observing them from a distance. Maybe it was unexpectedly cautious in nature.

"If—if I'm going to slow you down, please let me go!" Kirin blurted. "If you get hurt because of me, then I—I…" She trembled in Yukio's arms, tears rolling down her face.

"Hey—hey, Miss Toudou?"

"I really am useless. No matter how good I am with a sword, I just—I hate it! I can't stand people getting hurt for my sake!" Kirin sobbed, shaking her head in frustration. Yukio let out a long breath, then softly drew her close and petted her head.

"It's okay. You don't have anything to worry about."

"But—but—!"

"That thing would be no match against you out of the water, right? And I gave you a decent fight. Couldn't you have a little more faith in me?" Yukio admonished her gently, looking straight into her eyes.

"But that's…"

"And one more thing. Don't ever talk about yourself that way. You're kind and strong… You're a wonderful girl."

"Huh—?" Kirin stared at Yukio for a few moments in surprise. Then her cheeks flushed pink, but she nodded resolutely.

"Okay! I—I won't." She scrubbed at her tears and lifted her head, looking determined.

"That's good to hear." Yukio petted her head one more time, then switched weapons to the Ser Veresta. As he channeled his prana, black symbols rose up to darken the white blade.

"Now what we need is something to stand on." He lightly swung the Ser Veresta, being careful not to let the blade touch the water. He carved a section out of the thick pillar as easily as if it were made of tofu, making just enough space for the two of them to stand.

Doing damage to things that were apparently significant to the city's structure gave him some pause, but at the moment, there was no way around it. When he lifted Kirin onto the landing first, the dragon pounced on the opportunity to rush at him from behind.

Without even turning to look, Yukio casually waved Ser Veresta at it with one arm. Before the sharp row of teeth could find their target, they were severed from the mouth, and the head of the dragon went flying. The head melted in midair and before long was wiggling its way through the water to retake its form. Yukio climbed onto the landing to join Kirin.

"Yup, looks like it's the same as the ones from up there," he muttered with a frown, watching it regenerate. The dragon seemed even more cautious after that attack and circled the pillar while keeping a distance of some ten yards. It clearly wasn't stupid. After a while, it began to gather mana at its mouth, just as the creatures aboveground had.

A giant fireball formed quickly, then launched like a missile toward Yukio and Kirin. With a light swing of the Ser Veresta, the projectile scattered like a cloud and evaporated. This was child's play compared to Julis's power. "This'll go on for a while, unless we figure out something else," Yukio muttered. He could go on the offensive, but that meant that he would have to leap in and he'd get one shot to finish it off. That might work against an ordinary foe, but if this one was built like the slimes above, he had to be sure to strike at its core.

"Miss Toudou, can you read the flow of its prana?"

"Oh—yes. Sort of…"

"Can you tell where its core is?"

"That's hard… I think it's constantly moving around inside its body." This really was a troublesome opponent. "Well, then I don't have much choice. I'll have to try."

"Try what…?" As Kirin looked at him questioningly, Ayato lifted Ser Veresta high.

"Yeah. I'm not very good with this—actually, I've never been able to do it. But I have to take a step forward sometime." With those words, Yukio poured his prana into Ser Veresta. Meteor Arts—they were techniques that could temporarily raise the energy output of a Lux by concentrating prana into the manadite core.

Prana enhanced physical abilities, so it was relatively easy to heighten one's defenses, as Yukio had done moments ago.

But the ways in which it could be used for offense were limited, as channeling prana to conventional weapons had little effect. Channeling prana could be a powerful technique in bare-handed combat, a method for which Jie Long students were well-known. Otherwise, one needed material that would react strongly to prana as the medium—which was to say, manadite.

Yukio, however, had never successfully used Meteor Arts before. His prana was extremely massive that the Lux would break, being unable to withstand the strain. Ideally, he would be able to adjust for it, but he had never been very good at such delicate control of his prana. So he had given up on it, until now.

"This one should be able to handle it," he said. Ser Veresta growled as if in response. Absorbing his seemingly inexhaustible prana, Ser Veresta changed shape little by little. The black symbols spread and the blade itself began to grow in pace with them.

"Wow…" Kirin gasped. The Ser Veresta grew with accelerating speed, and quickly grew to over ten yards long. The blade let out a low roar, and the black symbols danced madly around it. The dragon seemed to feel the instinct of fear and turned, about to flee—but it was too late.

With a shout, Yukio brought the enormous sword down, and the dragon's body evaporated the moment it made contact with the blade. He kept slicing through to the part of it that was still underwater. The water boiled away at an astounding rate, swirling madly in an explosive gust.

Steam rose furiously and toyed with Yukio and Kirin hair like a storm.

It reminded them of the fog aboveground from earlier, but the mists faded this time, and there was not a trace of the dragon left to be found.

"Whew… Well, not bad, I guess." Yukio had never expended that much prana in his life. The fatigue felt satisfying. The aftereffects of breaking his seal, however, could hardly be described that way. He grunted at the sudden pain.

"Mr. Amagiri!" Kirin cried out. "Are you okay, Mr. Amagiri?!"

Magic circles appeared around him, once again shackling his power. He fell and Kirin hurried to catch him in her arms. The indescribable softness of her embrace made him shy, but he was powerless to pull away.

"…So you can fight at full strength for only five minutes?"

"Yes, for now. Well, I think I could go for longer if I pushed it, but even then I probably wouldn't last ten minutes," Yukio said with a weak smile, leaning back against the place he had carved out in the pillar. He and Kirin decided to wait there for help.

Not that there were any other realistic options, since Yukio could barely move now and Kirin could not swim.

They weren't getting reception on their mobile devices, which was no help, but Yukio was sure that someone would notice that something was wrong if enough time passed.

Even Eishirou would have to notice if Yukio didn't make it back from morning training. Or so he hoped.

"I guess if I use a lot of prana, that shortens the time limit. I was fighting for less than five today."

"Oh…I see…" Kirin hung her head sadly.

"Is something the matter?" She looked up at Yukio with her face on the verge of tears.

"Why do you fight if this is what it does to you, Amagiri?"

"Wha—?" The question caught him by surprise, but he had already found the answer earlier. "There's someone I want to help."

Yes. That was what he had to do now. The thing that he wanted to do. "Is that Riessfeld?"

"Well…yes." When she saw Yukio nod in answer to the question, Kirin dropped her gaze, looking disappointed somehow.

"Th-then, is it true that you, um, you…l-like her?"

"Huh?!" Another question he hadn't expected. This one made him fly into a panic.

"N-no, that's not why—! Um, of course I think she's a great person, but, uh, it's not…really…"

"Wha—? Then wh-why…?" Kirin began to press blankly, only to think better of it and suddenly stop.

"No, never mind. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked such a weird question." She bowed, looking a little bit glad somehow.

"Maybe I still have…" She murmured something under her breath. Yukio couldn't quite hear it.

"N-no, it's fine, I don't care, but— Achoo!" As the tension dropped from their conversation, Yukio let out a splendid sneeze.

"Oh—are you all right?"

"Well, we are soaked through, so it's pretty cold."

"Yes. The towel also got wet— Choo!"

Evidently, Kirin was also cold. Probably because it was underground—or more precisely, underwater—this place was very cool despite it being the middle of summer. At this rate, they could get thoroughly sick before being found. "We should probably dry our clothes…"

"Y-you're right…" They glanced at each other, then went quiet. Yukio couldn't get himself to suggest that they take their clothes off. Saying that might immediately brand him as a degenerate.

On the other hand, simply removing his own clothes would have a rather aggressive connotation. And as someone who had trespassed into the girls' dormitory, he couldn't possibly…

"Uh, um…" Kirin interrupted his thoughts by tugging at his sleeve, with a face that could not possibly become any redder. "Well, it… It's not good for us to be in wet clothes, so…"

"Huh?" It seemed like steam might spout from her ears. Kirin looked down. Then, after letting her gaze wander on the ground for a while, she spoke, her voice so faint it seemed to disappear into the air.

"W-would you…turn around for a bit, please?" They decided to dry their clothes on Kirin's katana. She propped it up across the carved-out pillar like a laundry pole, and they hung their clothes on it. Two feet and four inches in length. It felt like a shame to treat a masterpiece of the great swordsmith Shinkai Inoue in this way, but there was nothing else to use.

(The sword was called the Senbakiri, Yukio learned. It meant "to cut like a thousand paper cranes.")

The ballast area was not only cool but humid. It would take a while for their clothes to dry. The heat from the Ser Veresta might have sped things up, but he feared that using the Orga Lux as a makeshift dryer might offend it—and in any case, having just broken his seal, he would have to wait some time before he could activate his sword again.

Yukio and Kirin sat in silence, back to back. They could not bring themselves to undress completely, so he still wore his shorts and she wore her could feel the pounding of a heart so loud he thought it might burst, but he couldn't tell if it was his own or Kirin's.

"Um…Miss Toudou?"

"Y-y-yes?!" Yukio tried to make some sort of conversation to lighten the mood, but Kirin was rigid with tension and even her voice was stiff. But somehow that let him relax a little.

"About what we were saying before… Can I ask you the same question? Why do you fight here?"

"M-me?" Kirin hesitated, the question catching her off guard, but then, after a moment's reflection, she spoke evenly.

"The reason I fight… I might have mentioned it before, but I'm fighting to save my father."

"Right. Your father is a Genestella, too?"

"…Yes." The children of Genestella were not always Genestella, but the probability was much higher. Parents who were both Genestella were around ten times more likely to have a Genestella child than two parents who were not.

"But now, my father is incarcerated. As a criminal. And I want to save him."

"A criminal…?" It was true that the integrated enterprise foundations could grant any wish to the champion of the Festa, even if that wish involved bending the law—freeing a convicted criminal, for instance. And in fact, there were more than a few instances like that, Yukio had heard.

"But he didn't do anything wrong! He was just trying to protect me!" In her outburst, Kirin began to turn around, then caught herself and quickly faced away from him again.

"Protect you? What happened?"

"Five years ago, someone tried to rob a store, when my father and I were inside. He saved me when the man tried to take me hostage. And my father—my father ended up killing the man. But he didn't mean to." Kirin's voice was heavy with frustration and regret. Yukio could hear her grit her teeth between her words. Five years ago, she would have been eight—still just a child.

"And the man wasn't a Genestella, was he?" Kirin shook her head. Everywhere in the world, Genestella were at a social disadvantage. In some cases, this meant their human rights were curtailed.

This inequity was particularly marked in cases where Genestella caused harm to ordinary people.

Even if it was in self-defense, the law would always treat it as excessive force. And if the other party died as a result, harsh sentences were the norm, even if the victim was the one who had committed the crime.

Some went so far as to suggest that the IEFs had deliberately engineered this inequality. After all, the system clearly worked for their profit.

"The robber didn't seem to realize that I was a Genestella. If he had, he probably wouldn't have chosen me as his hostage. But I had a knife pointed at me. I was so scared, I couldn't do anything."

Even Genestella children had tremendous strength, but without considerable training, an adult with a weapon still posed a real threat to them. It was understandable that young Kirin would have been helpless. "And then your father acted to save you," Yukio said.

"Yes… I was already in training at the time. Thinking back on it now, it would have been easy to apprehend that man myself. But I'm spineless, I'm such a coward…" She sniffled.

"So now my father is in jail. He still has decades to serve. But the one who told me how I could save him was my uncle."

"That's why you came here?"

"Yes. My uncle never got along with my father, and he hates Genestella. He probably resents that he wasn't chosen as the heir of the Toudou school, even though he's the older brother. But still, he chose to help me—and maybe it was out of his own interests, but that doesn't bother me. I have no choice now but to depend on him."

Kirin's voice trembled, holding back tears, but her words were clear and firm. Still, something about what she said bothered Yukio. What was it?

"My uncle is very capable, actually. He got the IEF to keep the press from reporting the case, and he said he even arranged a different identity for my father so that the Toudou family wouldn't take the fall."

"Whoa…" That did surprise Yukio. It sank in just how wildly the power of the IEFs surpassed that of any nation or law. And now that he thought about it, he had never heard about the head of the Toudou-style school being arrested. Under normal circumstances, that would have been big news, considering the scale of the style's popularity.

"He's that good at handling me, too. He got everyone talking about my skills as soon as I came to the school. He chose my opponents, gathered information on them, and advised me on my strategy. He knows the best times for me to duel and the most efficient way for me to build up my record."

Kirin's back shuddered.

"If I just do as he says, then I don't need to—" Her words had begun to flow like an internal monologue, repeated over and flatly cut her off.

"You're wrong, Miss."

"Wrong…?"

"Even if you know where you want to go, it isn't by the path you chose. So it's not going to work. Sooner or later, you'll get stuck." Yukio knew that she had to find out for herself what she was supposed to do. If she didn't get to choose how to do it, someday she would burn out. And he didn't want to see that happen to her.

"Well, I'm not really one to talk," he said sheepishly.

"I only just figured it out myself." Kirin was quiet for a while. When she spoke, it was in a low, shaky whisper.

"But…I can't. I can't do this alone, I just—"

"It's okay." Yukio turned around to softly pet her head.

"Oh…"

"You're not alone. At least, I'll be here for you. If it's the path you choose, really choose for yourself, I'll help you."

"A path I choose…," Kirin whispered as if to confirm it to herself. Then she stared earnestly at Yukio. He thought he saw something sparkle deep in her eyes, but it was barely for a moment. He could have imagined it.

"Oh—but when we fight, that's a different story, okay? It'd be patronizing to go easy on you… Well, not like I really have that option against you, anyway." Yukio held her gaze with a shy smile.

"You're strange, Mr. Amagiri," Kirin said, wiping away her tears, and her shoulders shook with laughter.

"Julis tells me that, too… All the time, actually." Yukio scratched his head.

"But you're really cool," Kirin whispered faintly. Her voice was too soft for him to hear. But…

"Wait—um— Back! Miss Toudou?!"

"Huh? Oh— Eep!" she squealed. They finally realized then that they were facing each other. Having caught an eyeful of Kirin's precariously shapely body, Yukio turned away again in a panic.

"S-s-sorry!"

"N-no, that's… I—I'm sorry!"

As they stuttered through their flustered apologies, their backs to each other, they heard voices calling from above. Help was here at last. Yukio let out a sigh of relief. Then he heard Kirin's hesitant voice from behind him.

"Um… You did it just now, too, but you—you pet my head a lot, Mr. Amagiri."

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. Does it bother you?" It probably wasn't something that many people would do to a teenage girl, he thought. But Kirin shook her head. "No, my father used to do that." She sounded happy somehow.

…

Kouichirou Toudou had been in a foul mood since the day began. It was all because of the emergency report from Seidoukan Academy telling him that his niece had gone missing. By the time he arrived at the scene in a rush, Kirin had already been found safe. Though he breathed a huge sigh of relief, he was fuming at the time he'd had to take to deal with such an incident. The Seventh Division Educational Research Office was at the Galaxy corporate headquarters in Otsu, Japan's present capital city. Kouichirou's own operations, however, were based in the Asterisk branch office—an arrangement that, needless to say, made it easier to manage Kirin. Kouichirou summoned Kirin to the back of the school building as usual and spoke to her with unconcealed disdain.

"Honestly. Don't make me worry like that."

"I'm sorry, Uncle." Kirin obediently bowed her head.

"Hmph. Never mind. Now, about your next duel…"

"Before we get to that, Uncle, may I ask a question?"

"What?"

"You just said you were worried about me—but was it about Kirin Toudou, your niece? Or about Kirin Toudou, the tool?" Kouichirou was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly recovered, staring down at her with a cruel smile twisting his lips.

"What a stupid question to ask this late in the game. You know perfectly well—what I need from you is your strength, nothing else."

"I see…" Kirin looked down sadly. Kouichirou could not bear to lose her. But that was because of Kirin's value as a tool to advance his career, and only that. He had not a shred of affection for her; on the contrary, he even found her repulsive. He still bore a grudge against her father, Seijirou, for succeeding to the head of the Toudou-style school instead of himself, the elder brother. His birthright was taken from him just because his brother happened to be born with special powers. He was not about to forgive Seijirou for that. Kouichirou had devoted himself to the Toudou style from an early age.

With his years of hard work and perfected skills, he should have been more than worthy of the succession.

He understood, of course, that the Toudou style of today had many Genestella students and that corresponding strength was required of instructors. But he was simply unable to accept the very existence of Genestella.

Those are not people. They're just monsters. Why should he lose what was rightfully his because of them? And so Kouichirou had severed ties with his parents and taken a job affiliated with Asterisk.

He found satisfaction in being paid to make a spectacle of those monsters devouring one another. Ironically, Kouichirou had a talent for discerning the relative strengths of Genestella through various data points. And since his skills in that area were respected, his career had made steady advances.

And one day, by chance, he acquired the finest tool he might hope for— Kirin. That was the only time he had ever had cause to thank his younger brother for anything. Among the Supreme Executive Committee of Galaxy, the Department of Integrated Entertainment Operations took the most interest.

If he used Kirin effectively, Kouichirou thought, he could show off his skills to the upper echelons of the company. He had already submitted a plan to that effect, and in fact, it was progressing smoothly. Now was the time to build a reputation, so he had her duel many well known students. Later, however, he planned for her to duel less and less. Her rank itself had to maintain its own dignity. His ultimate goal was the Lindvolus, coming up in two years. With her strength, Kirin would be invincible, as long as he chose her opponents wisely. If she were to win the Lindvolus undefeated, Kirin would receive the highest evaluation, alongside his own management skills.

They would need a special strategy against the Witch of Solitary Venom, but they had two years to come up with it. There was plenty of time. If need be, she could wield an Orga Lux. Of course, since he had advertised her prowess as the top-ranked student who was neither a Strega nor an Orga Lux wielder, they would have to wait some time to do so… Kouichirou paused in his ruminations and his expression darkened.

"By the way, I hear you were with the Ser Veresta user—what was his name? Yukio Amagiri?—when you were attacked." He clicked his tongue, remembering that annoying brat.

"I caught wind of a rumor that he got into an altercation with Allekant not long ago. It stands to reason that the incident today was related to that. You stay away from him. I don't want you getting involved in any more trouble."

Access to the official details was above his pay grade, but he was smart enough to know that there was something behind the technological cooperation agreement between Seidoukan and Allekant. And that boy was involved somehow.

"I'm afraid I must refuse," Kirin said firmly.

"What was that?" Kouichirou doubted his ears. Kirin had rebelled against him several times before. But never before had she stared him so directly in the eye while doing it.

"All right. I'll hear you out." Kouichirou glared at her, keeping his irritation in check.

"Yukio Amagiri has taught me something important. And I think I have many more things to learn from him."

"Things to learn from him?" Kouichirou snickered, then let out an exasperated sigh. "Enough nonsense. All you have to do is what I tell you. You don't need to think about anything else."

"No, I—" Kouichirou did not let Kirin finish, striking her cheek with the back of his hand. He did not hold back his strength. There was no need to. But Kirin stared back at him, unflinching, standing her ground.

He raised his hand to hit her again. But instead of following through, when faced with the strength of the willpower in her eyes, Kouichirou found himself taking a step back in awe.

He immediately recovered, however, snorting in disgust to cover his display of weakness. "That's hilarious. You want to disobey me? And what will you do then? You want to fight your way to the top without my help?"

"Yes, that's my intention," she replied promptly. Kouichirou burst into laughter.

"Do you have any idea how stupid you sound? You really believe you can do that? Listen to me. You only made it to the top rank with my management. Yes, you're strong, I won't deny that. But don't take Asterisk so lightly. Even if you could do it alone, how many years would it be before you could make your wish come true?"

As he ranted on, Kouichirou regained his composure. Right. This spineless, dull-witted niece of mine can't do anything without my help. She might be acting tough now, but she's just a child, through and through.

If I threaten her a bit, she'll snap like a twig. "Don't you want to save your father Seijirou as quickly as you can? Then be a good girl and obey me. I can lead you to become grand champion of the Festa in three—no, two years. Could you do that alone?"

"No, I don't think I could," Kirin said, dropping her head slightly. Kouichirou nodded in satisfaction.

"You see? You understand that yourself. So—"

"But I don't think I could do it your way, either." Kirin raised her gaze resolutely and again stared straight at Kouichirou, as if she might pierce his eyes with hers. "What was that?"

"To use your words, I don't think I'm the only one taking Asterisk lightly, Uncle. This is not a place where someone who can't even move forward with his own strength can hope to find victory. I realize that now."

"You little brat! What do you know—?!" Kouichirou's voice shook with rage. "I've seen hundreds of students here, since before you were born. You think you know everything, when you've been here for just a few months?!"

"…There are things one can learn only by experiencing them for one's self." At her reply, something snapped inside of Kouichirou. He raised his fist and brought it down with all his strength.

But this time— "I'm sorry, Uncle." Kirin stopped his hand before it could reach her.

"I'm grateful for your help. I mean that. But I've decided to fight my own way. Because if I don't…I know that someday I'll regret it." With that, Kirin released Kouichirou's hand, turned her back to him, and walked away. Kouichirou stood in stunned silence as he watched her go, but then frantically called after her.

"W-wait! What are you going to do on your own?!" Kirin stopped and turned to face him. "

Well, to start," she said with a thin smile, "I think I'd like to have a duel."

"A duel?"

"Yes. With an opponent of my own choosing…and by my own will."

….

The next week, in Seidoukan Academy's largest all-purpose arena, students filled every last seat. Unlike the training room that Yukio and Julis had been using, the stage here was surrounded by a proper defensive barrier. Barriers that could withstand Lux attacks required very bulky equipment and expended enormous amounts of energy, and Seidoukan Academy had only three such facilities including this one. It was usually reserved for official matches, but now, two people stood facing each other in the center of the stage.

"This was a rather forward request. Thank you for accepting, Mr. Amagiri." Kirin bowed in her usual polite manner. The expression on her face seemed more at ease somehow.

"Sure, it's no problem… But why a duel? And why with me?" Yukio, in contrast, wore a strained smile.

"I thought it was absolutely necessary for me to take my first true step forward in this city."

"Your first true step?"

"Yes." Yukio exhaled and shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay. But as I told you before, if we're going to do this, I won't hold back… Well, it's not like I did before, either."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Kirin said with a faint smile, and readied to draw the Senbakiri. Yukio backed away a few paces and activated his Lux.

"You're not using that Orga Lux?" Kirin said in surprise.

"I can't keep up with your speed using the Ser Veresta." The sword-type Lux that Yukio held was less than half the size of his Orga Lux.

"I'd never hear the end of it from Julis if I lost the same way twice. I have to try something different."

"Something different… That's exciting." Kirin drew the Senbakiri in one smooth motion. The blade of the katana shone under the stadium lights with a sleek gleam.

…

filled every last seat. Unlike the training room that Ayato and Julis had been using, the stage here was surrounded by a proper defensive barrier. Barriers that could withstand Lux attacks required very bulky equipment and expended enormous amounts of energy, and Seidoukan Academy had only three such facilities including this one. It was usually reserved for official matches, but now, two people stood facing each other in the center of the stage. "This was a rather forward request. Thank you for accepting, Mr. Amagiri." Kirin bowed in her usual polite manner. The expression on her face seemed more at ease somehow. "Sure, it's no problem… But why a duel? And why with me?" Ayato, in contrast, wore a strained smile. "I thought it was absolutely necessary for me to take my first true step forward in this city." "Your first true step?" "Yes." Ayato exhaled and shrugged his shoulders. "Okay. But as I told you before, if we're going to do this, I won't hold back… Well, it's not like I did before, either." "I wouldn't have it any other way," Kirin said with a faint smile, and readied to draw the Senbakiri. Ayato backed away a few paces and activated his Lux.

"You're not using that Orga Lux?" Kirin said in surprise. "I can't keep up with your speed using the Ser Veresta." The sword-type Lux that Ayato held was less than half the size of his Orga Lux. "I'd never hear the end of it from Julis if I lost the same way twice. I have to try something different."

"Something different… That's exciting." Kirin drew the Senbakiri in one smooth motion. The blade of the katana shone under the stadium lights with a sleek gleam. "Well, should we get started?" Ayato asked. "

I don't really care for showy stages like this, but now that all these people are here, I'd feel bad if we made them wait." Kirin laughed softly. "I feel the same way." In the arena's VIP seats, Julis and Ayato's friends all sat together.

"You didn't need to set up the big stage for this…" Julis sullenly side-eyed Claudia, who was seated next to her. "Oh, I thought it was only natural for such an anticipated match. Miss Toudou is our top-ranked fighter, after all, and Ayato gave her a good fight. Who wouldn't want to see the rematch?"

"But still…," Julis muttered, then looked fretfully at Ayato. She didn't think he would have agreed to the duel if he had no confidence in his chances of winning. Even so, she had a mountain of things to worry about— whether Ayato could keep his time limit a secret or the possibility that he might suffer a serious injury that would affect them later…

"…Don't worry so much, Riessfeld," Saya said from the row behind her.

"You can say that, Sasamiya, but he's up against the school's number one. It's impossible not to worry."

"He'll be okay. No problem," Saya declared. She apparently had a good deal of faith in Ayato. Of course, Julis believed in Ayato as her battle partner, but she understood that Saya knew him much better from the time they had spent together. Julis found that irritating, for some reason. Her face pinched up in frustration.

"But looking back at their previous match, Kirin Toudou's skill with the sword is substantial," she said. "Did you watch it?"

"Mm-hmm. I watched it." The first duel between Ayato and Kirin had been widely viewed on the Net. There was probably not a single student interested in the rankings who had yet to watch it.

"Toudou is strong. Possibly stronger than Ayato, if we're talking just about swordplay," Saya went on, expressionless as usual. "Well, then—!"

"But it's fine. Ayato has fought a much stronger opponent many times."

"What do you mean? Who?" Julis twisted around to face Saya. "Haru and Chifuyu—his big sisters," she replied tersely. Julis made a small growl. "His sisters were that strong?" Saya nodded once.

"Well, he seems to have some plan," Lester cut in from his seat next to Claudia. "He's not going to lose that easily."

"What do you mean, Lester? Do you know something that I don't?"

"Maybe. He asked me to get him a Lux. I let him borrow one of my spares."

"A Lux? Why didn't he just go to the Matériel Department?"

"That would take time with adjustments and all. If you need one quickly, it's easier to just ask someone you know." "Huh. So he asked you, too." The surprised voice came from the row in front of Julis. It was Eishirou, who had also been in a prime viewing spot for the first duel. And just as before, he had set himself up in the front row, camera in hand.

"You mean he asked you, too, Yabuki?"

"Uh-huh. Ooh—it looks like they're getting started." As soon as Eishirou said that, everyone turned their gazes forward to the stage. In the center of the arena, an explosion of prana burst from Ayato's body. All at once, the crowd went wild.

"Here I come!" Kirin made the first move. She closed the distance between them in a single leap and in a flash brought her katana down diagonally. Yukio, who had been holding his sword low, swung high to deflect.

It was a sharp strike coming at him, but he had more raw strength. He was confident that he would have the advantage if they were to lock swords. Knocked upward, Kirin's katana immediately drew an arc in midair to strike down with a backhand. Her speed was nothing short of extraordinary.

Yukio blocked by holding his sword sideways, but in the next moment the point of the Senbakiri was lunging at his right forearm. He pulled back his arm to dodge, and Kirin took the opening to step forward with her right leg and slice in a rising arc.

It was a relentless serial attack—and Yukio was forced to fight completely on the defensive. He was not at such a great disadvantage in speed. In terms of how fast they could strike, the two fighters were almost equal.

But Kirin's attacks connected from one blow to the next with a terrifying fluidity. She allowed no space for a counterattack. She could never fight this way if she waited to see how her opponent responded to each attack.

The opponent's line of sight, distance, breathing—she instantaneously used every factor to direct the fight her way. She eliminated every option the opponent might have except for the one that was most favorable for her…

"Ngh!" He groaned. Yukio knew all that, and he still could not escape it. To leap outside her engineering would be to leap into certain death. Even so…the only thing to do is try! As Kirin rushed at him with superhuman speed, Yukio left himself open to the blow.

The pain was searing, like a red-hot poker held against his side, but he ignored it and slashed at her chest. But she twisted, easily dodging the attack. Marveling at her reflexes, Yukio took a large leap back to reestablish the distance between them, and let out a deep breath. The wound to his side was relatively shallow, since he had concentrated his prana there. If he'd failed to do so, it would have resulted in an injury serious enough to decide the match. Kirin, for her part, regarded Ayato with genuine admiration.

"You're amazing, Mr. Amagiri. It was like cutting at a thick sheet of steel."

"If nothing else, I've got a lot of prana to use," he quipped. But that was not a defense he could use indefinitely. However much prana he had at his disposal, it would have little effect unless he concentrated on it with the exact same timing as the attack.

That would become more and more difficult as the opponent became more accustomed to the maneuver. And besides, he would run out of prana in short order if he applied it to defense constantly.

"And that was the first time someone escaped my Linked Cranes," she said.

"Oh, so that's the famous Linked Cranes. I'm honored to experience it firsthand." The Toudou style was said to be "like folding a paper crane," in particular because of the precision of the combination attacks used to corner one's opponent.

The esoteric master technique, the Linked Cranes, was the embodiment of this style. Both the Amagiri Shinmei style and the Toudou style allowed for matches with other schools, so Yukio had been able to watch several up close.

The Toudou style had students all over the world, and here in Asterisk there had to be at least a few who were confident in their swordplay. But he had never seen a Toudou fighter who had reached the level of wielding that master technique—except for the girl in front of him now.

"Nesting, Flowering Tachibana, Wings in Flight, Waves on the Blue Sea— there are forty-nine combination techniques in the Toudou style. Linked Cranes is the technique that achieves the perfect attack combination by incorporating all of them." Kirin lowered her stance slightly and held her sword by her side, ready to strike. "The Linked Cranes have no end—I will finish you with the next one!" A wave of force swirled out from her like a maelstrom and slammed into Yukio. She knew of his time limit. If she moved to prolong the fight, she would have far greater odds of winning. She knew that—but she showed no signs of doing so. She really is a good, honest girl…

She was younger than Yukio, but her skill with a sword was as good—or better. He wondered how hard she had trained to reach this level and how fierce was the resolve behind each swing of her sword. Even as he was deeply moved by her character, Ayato held his sword vertically in front of him and focused his will. The rationale behind Kirin's technique—the Toudou-style technique—was excellent.

A style specializing in one-on-one combat matched up favorably against the Amagiri Shinmei style, which was designed for survival on the battlefield. And yet…

"Then I'll meet you with all the might of the Amagiri Shinmei style." Yukio heightened his prana. From her sideways stance, Kirin leaped into Yukio's range in a single breath and slashed straight across with the Senbakiri. He held up his sword to defend, but she turned her wrists and swung down from above. Kirin had already resumed the Linked Cranes.

All she had to do now was to keep slicing away until her opponent's defense wore down. Because it required the user to go on an incessant offensive, the Linked Cranes drained stamina rapidly.

But with the intensity of her training, Kirin was able to continue executing the technique for nearly an hour. And until Yukio had done it moments ago, no one had been able to escape her Linked Cranes. I'm going to end it this time—! Before, she had been able to strike only at his side, but this time she meant to go for the school crest.

Even Yukio would not be able to protect that with his prana. Of course, it was significantly harder to aim for the tiny target that the school crest made, but as time went on, the Linked Cranes also wore down the opponent's mental stamina. Sooner or later Ayato would leave an opening in his guard. And when he does… Kirin brought her katana down to clash fiercely with Yukio's sword Lux— and with a flash of light the sword exploded into pieces. "

What—?!" Startled, Kirin shielded her face from the blast and repositioned herself with a backstep. The explosion was small and lacked force.

Just before it, Kirin had noticed that Yukio's prana was concentrated in his sword, but… Did he try to execute a Meteor Arts move and fail…? Meteor Arts required thorough calibration of the Lux and the ability to delicately manipulate one's prana. If a substantial amount of prana was poured into the manadite core all at once and the weapon could not withstand the concentration, it would explode. But it was hard to believe that Yukiowould make such a mistake at that moment. Then was it on purpose to escape the Linked Cranes…?

That may have been an effective option, but to Kirin it seemed like an act of desperation. Without a weapon, he had no way to defend against her strikes. All this went through her mind in the blink of an eye. She repositioned the Senbakiri.

But then— "Amagiri Shinmei Style Spear Technique: Ninth-Cloud Hornet!" Three sharp spear strikes emerged from the smoke of the explosion to rush almost simultaneously at Kirin. "A triple strike…! But—a spear technique?!" Caught off guard, Kirin deflected the attacks to the side and righted herself to look ahead. Yukio stood there enshrouded in smoke, holding a spear-type Lux in both hands.

"Did that surprise you? Well, it's a loan from a friend, so it is a little big for me," Yukio said with a faint smile, then immediately thrust out with the spear again. Kirin recovered quickly, ordered her breathing, and stepped forward to meet the strike with her sword. As Yukio had said, the spear was quite large for his stature. The shaft was well over six feet long, and the gleaming spearhead was big enough to cover his face. But he wielded the spear with a practiced, natural hand and used its length effectively to keep her at a distance.

"Yes, that was a surprise," Kirin said.

"But—a trick is just a trick!" She calmly gauged its striking distance; then just when he had extended his reach to its fullest, she deflected the shaft upward. He may have had considerable skill with the spear, but it was undeniably a step below his swordplay. Kirin slid closer in front of him, depriving him of the advantage of a long weapon. But just as she was about to slice upward at his school crest, she was met with another shock. Yukio abruptly let go of the spear and drew a third Lux from a holster inside his jacket. He activated the new weapon—this time a short-sword Lux.

"You can't possibly—!" she exclaimed. "Two tricks work better than one!" Holding it backhand, he parried Kirin's attack and used the momentum to spin his body one full revolution.

"Amagiri Shinmei Style Kodachi Technique: Warrior's Reaping!"

"Ngh!" Acting mainly on reflex, she turned her katana and blocked the attack head-on. Yukio's dagger sent sparks flying and she felt the heavy impact in her arms. She was at a disadvantage in sheer strength. Knowing that, Kirin decided on an all-or-nothing gambit. She relaxed her arms just for an instant, letting Yukio's kodachi press closer. The blade of light came slicing at her school crest, but there was too much blunt force behind his attack. Twisting herself, she barely evaded the strike, then swept down on the blade from above. The short-sword fell from Yukio's hand. He did not have time to draw another weapon. Just as Kirin became certain of victory, Yukio extended his arms to grab her by the collar. "

Amagiri Shinmei Style Grappling Technique—"

"What—?" Kirin felt herself being lifted into the air. Up and down changed places.

"Graven Ring of Purification!"

In the next instant, a shock ran through her back and chest, knocking the wind out of her.

Unable to get air into her lungs, she winced and finally realized that she had been thrown to the ground. Through the tears blurring her vision, she could see that Yukio's elbow was pinning her chest—bearing down on her school crest.

So there was the shock she'd felt to her chest. He brought his elbow down at the same time he slammed me into the ground… It was a vicious move, but then, many ancient techniques were.

"Are you okay, Kirin?" Yukio peered anxiously into her face, and she responded with a weak smile. For a reason she could not name, she felt clean, free.

"You got me. The spear and the knife were just decoys, weren't they?" The grappling technique had been his strategy all along. He had let Kirin get near him on purpose. All this time, I was the one being directed… Kirin softly closed her eyes. She heard a crack from the school crest on her chest.

"I concede. You've beaten me." As she spoke, the crest rang out with a mechanical alarm.

"End of duel! Winner: Yukio Amagiri!"

The crowd was silent for a moment—until it erupted into a cheer so loud that it seemed the arena might shatter. "I can't believe you really beat her. I'm shocked, to be honest." They were in the waiting room of the arena. Julis offered a drink to Ayato, who was sitting limply on a chair. "I surprised myself, too," he said with a weak laugh, then received the beverage to drink it a little at a time. He ached all over from breaking the seal, but this time it was not so bad as to prevent him from moving. The battle had gone for less than five minutes, even though it had felt like much longer.

After the conclusion of the duel, they'd fought off the swarm of students from various journalism clubs to escape into this waiting room and now had a chance to catch their breath. The journalists were still milling outside the door, but they did not witness Ayato closing the seal again. Still, he had broken the seal in plain sight a few times now, and there had to be students who were beginning to suspect something.

The secret wouldn't remain a secret for much longer.

"Well, now you're the new number one," Julis said.

"You really are something." She looked confused and impressed and somewhat proud all at the same time.

"Thanks. Maybe I was able to redeem myself a little?"

"Redeem? What are you talking about?"

"Remember? I messed up the last time, when I dueled without talking to you first," Ayato said.

"And then you told me that if I made it to Page One, we'd have an advantage in the tournament bracket for the Phoenix." Julis's eyes widened.

"Don't tell me that's the reason you agreed to this duel?"

"Um, well, not the only reason…" She smiled tenderly at him and ruffled his hair.

"What am I going to do with you…?" Yukio's heart skipped a beat. Once in a while—like now—Julis showed a great deal of sweetness in her face. "Ahem." That was Saya, interrupting with a theatrical cough.

"Congrats. You looked really good out there. That's my Yukio." She hugged his arm.

"Thanks, Saya." There were just the three of them in the room. Claudia had received a message on her mobile and left her seat, and did not return for the rest of the match.

"I'm not getting any cozier with you than I have to," Lester had said, quickly vacating the premises. Eishirou had also hurried out as soon as the match was decided, mentioning that he had to prepare an extra edition of his publication.

(Though he made sure to get Yukio to promise him an exclusive interview before leaving.)

Sometimes Yukio Would have to thank those two for letting him borrow their Luxes…

"But I never knew you had so much skill with weapons other than a sword. Why didn't you say anything?" Julis asked, leaning in and forcefully peeling Saya from his arm.

"Well, I didn't really mean to keep anything from you. It's just that I can only sort of use those weapons. I didn't think it was worth mentioning." This time, Saya shoved Julis away.

"In the Amagiri Shinmei style, students move on to other weapons after mastering the sword. Yukio learned from watching."

"That's right. When we were kids, Saya and I would sneak around to watch my sister train—hey, what are you two doing, anyway?" Ayato stared in confusion as Julis and Saya went on shoving each other. Then he noticed a bit of commotion from outside.

"Yukio? May I come in?" a familiar voice said, followed by a knock on the door. "Is that you, Claudia? Come on in."

"Sorry to bother you." Just as he'd thought, it was Claudia who opened the door with a soft laugh. And she had someone with her.

"Oh, Miss Toudou, too?" "Um, excuse me…" Kirin was standing demurely next to Claudia, looking uncertain. "I was on my way here and I saw her surrounded by the press," Claudia explained. "She seemed to be having a hard time, so I invited her to come with me."

"Th-thank you, Miss President!" Kirin bowed politely to her.

"No, not at all. You have some business with him, don't you?"

"Oh—yes." Prodded by Claudia, Kirin faced Yukio.

"Business? What is it, Miss Toudou?" he said. Julis and Saya also looked expectantly at her. Kirin flinched for a moment as everyone's gazes focused upon her, but she took a breath and spoke in what was for her a loud voice:

"Um… C-could I please join your training sessions?"

"Huh?" The assembled faces went blank at the unexpected request.

"Um, well, Amagiri invited me earlier… And I had to decline because of my circumstances. But now…" Kirin floundered, her face going bright red.

"Yukio, what is this? You never said anything to me." Julis glared at him sharply. He rushed to explain,

"Well, I mean, wouldn't we have a lot more options if someone with her skills joined us?"

"I suppose so, but—"

"Not a problem. Bring it on." Saya beckoned with both hands.

"Why do you get to answer?!" Julis shouted. "As a matter of fact, you keep showing up every day, and I don't remember giving you permission!"

"You worry about the little things too much, Riessfeld. Go with the flow. That's how the world works. Just deal with it."

"Go with your flow, you mean, you dim-witted little tyrant!" Ayato glanced sidelong at the two girls restarting their fight, then shrugged. "Are you really okay training with them?" he asked Kirin.

"Y-yes! Of course I am!" The girl nodded several times in determination. "All right, then." Just as he began to hold out his hand for her to shake, there was another commotion outside the door.

"Kirin! I know you're in here! You come out right this second, Kirin! Damn it, open this door!" Along with the terrific bellowing, they heard a racket against the door that seemed closer to punching than knocking.

"Oh, dear. That sounds like Mr. Toudou." Claudia, who had been standing by the door, lowered her eyebrows and touched her cheek in consternation.

Then she turned to Yukio with a look that said "What shall we do about this?" But this was not for Yukio to decide alone. He looked questioningly at Kirin, who nodded bravely even as she bit down on her lip.

"Okay, then. Claudia?"

"Understood." As soon as Claudia unlocked the door, Kouichirou stormed into the room like a bull seeing red.

"Kirin, I can't believe what a fool you are! You had the nerve to duel without my permission, and then you were clumsy enough to lose?! My plan is ruined because of you!" He roared so loudly that the room seemed to vibrate.

"Now do you see?! You need my help! Now come with me! Damn it all to hell! We have to start all over!" He reached to grab Kirin's arm, but she easily brushed away his hand.

"I'm sorry, Uncle." Those were her only words as she stared back at him. There was a tangle of emotions in her eyes, but Kouichirou in his rage could not sense any of them.

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! You just do as I tell you!" Dark red with fury, he raised his hand. But before he could bring it down, his body froze. Yukio was standing between Kouichirou and his niece, glaring up at him.

"You're only embarrassing yourself," he said coolly. "Please leave."

"Wh-what did you say to me? You brat…," Kouichirou tried to shout, but his voice shriveled away mid-sentence. Yukio's gaze was like a sharpened sword, and in it lurked a primeval ferocity that sent a chill down Kouichirou's spine.

The man shuddered with instinctive fear and gingerly took a step back, going pale.

"Your niece took a step forward with her own power. You have no right to interfere."

"Mr. Amagiri…" His name spilled quietly from Kirin's lips. "I see. He's even more despicable than the rumors," Julis said from behind Yukio, her arms crossed, glaring at Kouichirou with contempt.

"…Disgusting," Saya said, activating her Lux.

"Wh-what are you doing? You realize that I'm not a Genestella? If you do anything to me…," Kouichirou pleaded in a trembling voice, no longer trying to hide his fear. Then, suddenly seizing on something, he looked at Kirin.

"Is this really what you want, Kirin?! I'm the one who covered up your father's crime! If you won't do as I say, I'll reveal everything! Do you know what would happen to you and the Toudou style if—"

"My, you have such interesting things to say," interrupted Claudia, who had been quietly observing the scene unfold.

"Y-you! You're Enfield's—" Kouichirou seemed to notice her presence for the first time, and his eyes went wide. "I have no comment about your relationship with your niece. However, the Kirin Toudou brand you seem to believe you created—that does not belong to you alone." Claudia appeared to be smiling gracefully, but not a hint of it reached her eyes.

"That is the property of Seidoukan Academy and, by association, our integrated enterprise foundation. If you mean to besmirch it for personal reasons—I'm afraid I can't allow that." Kouichirou grunted and groaned without forming words, his mouth moving like a fish out of water.

"I suspect that my mother would come to the same conclusion. What do you think?"

"I—I—"

"From the very start, your plan was predicated on leading Miss Toudou to become the Festa champion, undefeated. There's no escaping the fact that it's now fallen through. I suggest you leave your niece be and worry about yourself instead." That was the finishing blow. Kouichirou's shoulders slumped. He unsteadily turned around and plodded toward the door.

"U-uncle!" Kirin called out from behind him. Kouichirou paused, but did not turn around.

"I'm grateful to you. I mean that. Thank you for everything you did for me!" Kirin—as she always did, to everyone, with true courtesy and sincerity—bowed to him. He made no reply. Nor did he look back at her before he quietly left the room.

"Uncle…" Kirin stared disconsolately at the floor. Yukio gently placed his hand on her head. A soft sound left her. As he petted her hair, she looked up at him with a tearful smile.

"I'm looking forward to training with you, Miss Toudou."

"Me, too. Thank you again." She nodded, scrubbing the tears from her eyes.

"Ugh… I guess there's nothing for it," Julis mumbled.

"Everything works out for the best," Saya declared.

"That is good to see." Claudia laughed softly. An air of refreshed relief filled the room. But Kirin looked anxiously side to side, then called to Yukio, barely above a whisper,

"Um, Mr. Amagiri?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Well, I…I have one—no, two favors to ask you. May I?" Her voice was tiny, and she turned crimson to the tips of her ears.

"Favors…?"

"Y-yes. I'd really like to, um, to call you by your first name…" She was scarcely audible now.

"What, that's all? Of course, I don't mind. And? What's the second one?"

"Okay, um, then…Mr. Y-Yukio?"

"Uh-huh?" She faced downward but cast her eyes up at him, terribly shy and yet determined. "Could you also…call me by my first name?" That surprised him a little. Still, he had no reason to refuse. Yukio nodded at her with a smile.

"Sure, I will…Kirin."

…

"Damn it! Are you kidding me?!" "It didn't work at all?" In a special arena in the underground block of Allekant's research institute, one young man held a sword-type Lux in either hand, and the other held a Lux assault rifle in his.

Both boys stared straight ahead in panicked disbelief. A cloud of dust rose steadily at the end of their gaze. The Luxes these two young men held were the newest models designed by Ferrovius, known for high performance. And the young men themselves were seasoned fighters in the practical class, both listed among the Named Chart of Allekant Académie.

They were a tag team who had been among the top finishers at the previous season's Phoenix. From the looks on their faces, neither could believe the sight before his eyes. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that they did not want to believe.

A figure wavered within the cloud, and a pair of lights glowed like the eyes of something uncanny lurking in the dark night. The terrified shrieks of the two young men ripped through the arena. Without bothering to watch the end of the feed, Ernesta closed the airwindow and turned. The sound and video abruptly stopped, leaving only two women sitting quietly in a dimly lit laboratory.

"So, that's about what I have now. What do you think, Camilla? I still need to make some fine adjustments, but not bad, right?" Ernesta said, spinning around in her chair with a gloating smile. "May I speak frankly?"

"Go for it!" "I've never found you more frightening than I do right now." Camilla seemed to wring the words from her dry mouth—then she grinned.

"Eee-hee-hee-hee! That might be the highest compliment I've ever received!" Ernesta pretended to act bashful, but her eyes glittered with pride. "If I can ask one thing—don't treat my Ferrovius fighters too harshly. It's not easy to recruit such competent practical class students, you know."

"Don't worry, they'll be fine! I said to go easy on them." Ernesta cackled without a shred of guilt. "I have to admit, though, winning the Phoenix doesn't seem so unrealistic now."

"Well, duh. That was my goal all along. And it looks like Tenorio might be able to take care of our one cause for concern."

As always, other than the one that Ernesta had just closed, there were many air-windows of all sizes open in the lab. Ernesta pulled one of them close to her. It showed Yukio with Ser Veresta in hand, cleaving through a giant dragon.

"Mm-hmm, that was really fantastic. Oooh, I just love it!" She laughed mirthfully and, nodding, enlarged the window. Aside from the image, the screen displayed several numbers and plots—the valuable data relayed by the probe.

"Tenorio failed to beat him, and now their hands will be tied. And you got the necessary data without dirtying your own hands. Talk about killing two birds with one stone."

"Nah, all I did was place my bet and win," Ernesta said, as if this was only to be expected. "And life is just a series of bets, so if you want something, the only way to get it is to go on a winning streak."

"Is that your guiding principle?" Camilla asked.

"Hmm, more like a philosophy, I guess?" Ernesta reached for yet another airwindow. This one showed a video of the duel between Yukio and Kirin in the arena, recorded by a Seidoukan student and uploaded to the public Net.

"Well, it would be awesome if I could've gotten some data from this, too. But I guess there's nothing for it. We can't exactly send probes into another school," she rambled and swiped the window closed.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Seidoukan and Allekant! Thank you so much for all of your kind assistance!"

Now Ernesta stood on top of her chair and took a theatrical bow.

"And now, it's time for the main attraction. I do hope you stick around until the end."

With her head still bowed low, she wore a dauntless grin on her face. Bemused as ever, Camilla nonetheless showered her friend with unreserved applause.

"…By the way, Toudou."

"Oh! What is it, Sasamiya?" It was after school in the training room. Yukio, Julis, Saya, and Kirin had just gone through their first session together. Just as Kirin had finished changing out of her workout clothes, Saya had abruptly called out to her. "I heard you were fighting for your father. Is that true?"

"Y-yes. That's right…," Kirin replied nervously. Arms crossed, Saya nodded a few times.

"That's noble of you. Very noble."

"Wha…?

" "Actually, I'm the same. I'm fighting for my father, too."

"Oh, you are?" That surprised Kirin. Saya leaned in close and said with her usual stoic expression, "I have a proposition for you."

"…A-a proposition?" Paying no mind to the uncertainty in the way Kirin cocked her head, Saya pressed on.

"Do you want to team up with me?"

…