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.

5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Asterisk" - Speech

Asterisk - Speaking in whisper

-Asterisk - Dreams, flashbacks

…

"Aaand here we are! The battle you've all been waiting for today, the final match of Round Five! Yesterday in Round Four, this team defeated Le Wolfe Black Institute's third-ranked fighter, Irene Urzaiz, alias Lamilexia! Here comes Seidoukan Academy's first and fifth—Yukio Amagiri and Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld!"

The now-familiar voice of the announcer greeted Yukio and Julis as they took the stage, followed by what may have been the loudest cheers they had heard so far this entire tournament. Naturally, these events drew more and more excitement toward the championship's climax, but the tenor was somewhat different that day.

Everyone seemed intent on discovering with their own eyes whether the news stories were true. "And from the other gate, we have Song and Luo from Jie Long Seventh Institute! These students are from your alma mater, Ms. Tram. What's your take going into this match?"

"Well, y'know, if that bit of info going around is true, I'd have to say Song and Luo have the upper hand…"

"I bet that's what the spectators today would like to know, too!" As the commentators bantered, Ayato channeled prana through his body, inspecting its flow.

"…Okay." He seemed to have healed up about as much as he'd expected. Now, all they needed was…

"Amagiri." Just then, one of their opponents from Jie Long walked across the stage and called to him. This was Song. Apparently older than Yukio, he had firm, well-defined muscles. Yukio almost assumed a fighting stance by reflex, but the youth, who wore his hair in a braid, looked him in the eye and spoke in a calm, deliberate pace.

"Regardless of whether the rumors are true, Luo and I intend to face you with everything we have.

To be frank, I would have liked to fight you one-on-one at your full strength—but this is the Phoenix, where we fight in pairs. I hope there will be no hard feelings." This caught Yukio by surprise.

"Huh? Oh, um, not…at all…" Song turned away and went back to his partner. Luo appeared to be about the same age, which would make him older than Yukio as well. His physique was similar to Song's, but his short-cropped black hair and battlestaff stood out and, like Song, he had an air of sincerity about him.

His staff was not a Lux, but one of ordinary metal. It was very long, almost seven feet. "Well. He speaks like a true warrior," Julis muttered, impressed, from behind Yukio.

"So there are students like them, too. I wasn't expecting that."

"Their type seems to be common at Gallardworth and Jie Long. But still, it was quite upstanding of him to go out of his way to declare his intentions. Well, in any case, they'll test you to find out if you really can't fight at full strength. And most likely, they'll know right away."

"Probably…" When Song had approached earlier, Ayato had sensed his finely honed prana —not something the young man was born with, but purely the fruit of his hard work, an ability refined little by little over the years. And he looked like he had the fighting experience to match. It would be near impossible to deceive such a veteran warrior for long.

"We were right to come with a plan. Now look, Yukio. This is the mark. Remember." Julis activated the Aspera Spina and used its point to carve a star symbol at her feet.

"Got it." Yukio mentally reviewed their recent strategy discussion. "And the signal is fireworks, right?" She replied with a curt nod.

"Right. We'll have five minutes after the wall goes up. Make sure you're ready in time… I know it won't be easy, but hold out until I finish setting up on my end. I'll do my best to keep them at bay, but there's only so much I can do when I'm trying to prepare our plan, too. I may be able to keep one of them away from you, though. I'm counting on you."

"I'll do what I can," Yukio said, and activated his blade Lux. He would have liked to use the Ser Veresta, but when he'd tried it in the prep room, there had been no response at all, so there it remained. Yukio thought he might have earned a bit more respect from the sword in the previous fight. Apparently, his optimism was misplaced.

"Okay, the match is about to begin! Who will it be?! Which pair will take Round Five and advance to the quarterfinals?!" A moment after the enthusiastic announcement, the school crests on the fighters' chests announced the start of the match:

"Phoenix Round Five, Match Eight—Begin!"

As expected, Song and Luo immediately split to either side and rushed at Yukio.

"Burst into bloom—Primrose!" Julis moved to Yukio's aid, but astoundingly, Song brushed aside the leaping flames with his bare hand. The quick sweep of his fist easily scattered the fiery primrose, like he was batting the petals from a flower.

Such a maneuver was only possible by pouring prana into one's fist. The extraordinary thing was that Song's technique was powerful enough to snuff out a blast from Julis.

"Here I come!" Having effortlessly cleared her attack, Song closed the gap in an instant and let his right fist blocked the strike with the flat of his sword, but a ferocious impact coursed through him, less like a blow from a fist and more like a huge metal wrecking ball. His legs trembled, and he clenched his teeth hard. This was a kind of destructive power impossible to achieve with brawn alone. Then Song stepped in as if for a body check and threw his elbow at Yukio's stomach.

"Ngh…!" Yukio endured the attack by concentrating on his prana, but he almost fell to his knees. His body froze for a moment as the breath was forced out of his lungs. Not missing the opening, Song spun around on the spot and delivered an airpiercing backfist strike aimed at Yukio's face. Yukio raised his arm to barely deflect the blow, then leaped back to a safe distance. It came as no surprise, but fighting at close range placed him at too great a disadvantage. He had to make use of the reach of his weapon to fight on his terms, or else this would not be much of a contest at all.

"So…the rumors are true." Song unhurriedly assumed a fighting stance. The form was unique, with his hips low and his left leg far out in front—a stance for some sort of hand-to-hand combat, but Yukio, not well versed in Chinese martial arts, could not identify the style. "My, my!

This is a startling development—Amagiri is completely on the defensive! Now Song's attacks are impressive, that's for sure, but could this mean those rumors about Amagiri are true?!"

"He didn't open with his usual incantation, either. His level of prana and its refinement are nowhere near the level we've seen from him before, so, looks pretty definitive. Anyway…"

Yukio steadied his breathing, shut out the noise around him, and focused. A single moment's lapse in concentration would end the match. He had to keep his eyes on every one of Song's punches and kicks, prepared to defend against any maneuver. But just then—he heard a sharp cry from Julis.

"Sorry, Yukio! He got past me!" Luo, coming around from Yukio's left, thrust with his battlestaff hard enough to impale him.

"!" Yukio dodged by a hair's breadth, but the staff changed trajectory midway and descended on him from above.

When Yukio raised his sword to deflect it, Song had already circled around from the other side to deliver a lightning-fast jumping kick. This attack found its mark, and pain shot through him as if the kick had taken out a piece of his side. And then Song landed on his toes atop the tip of Luo's staff. With immaculate timing, Luo used it as a lever to launch Song upward.

"How…!" Yukio cried. They were a perfect team. Song danced through the air to land behind Yukio and, without giving him time to react, nailed him in the back with a palm strike.

"—!" A tiny sound escaped him, and a shock far worse than before shot through his body. Yukio nearly fainted, but he somehow forced himself to endure and tumbled away from his opponents.

"Hmm, you withstood that attack… You are good," Song murmured, impressed, but as he took his stance again, Yukio could not find even the trace of an opening to retaliate. Luo also closed in slowly from the other side. This was just about the worst-case scenario. One opponent was already enough to overwhelm him. Two on one was no fight at all.

Except it wasn't two on one.

"Blossom—Loropetalum!"

At Julis's shout, high and clear, a massive wall of flames erupted from the ground to divide the stage from one edge to the other. It had to be almost thirty feet high. Not even a Genestella could jump over it without assistance.

"What's this…?" Song looked up in surprise at the wall of fire but quickly grasped the intent behind it.

"I see—you separated us."

Indeed, only Yukio and Song were on this side of the wall. That meant Julis and Luo had to be on the other side, but the raging flames were impossible to see through.

"Wow-wee! Is this another of Riessfeld's moves? A wall of fire suddenly split the stage in half! Our guests can follow the action on the big monitor. We'll show you the fight from both sides with a split screen!"

"Now we're back to one-on-one,"

Yukio said to his opponent as he stood, then wiped his mouth. Blood came away on his hand, but there was no time to worry about that now.

"Oh… You think you have a chance if it's one-on-one?" Song fixed Yukio with a hawk-like gaze and carefully resumed his stance.

"To be honest, I don't think my odds are that great. But I can't just give up, can I?" Yukio readied his sword in front of him and gauged the distance to Song. Julis had done her part, and now it was his turn. He had to find a way to prepare for the next step in their plan. And he had to endure his opponents' attacks in the process.

"Hee-hee. You're right, of course." Song laughed softly.

"It was a stupid question. I apologize."

Just for an instant, a faint smile came to Song's face—and immediately vanished. "Is that the best you can do? You're not living up to your reputation, Glühen Rose!"

"Ugh…!" Julis bit her lip as she barely fended off Luo's vicious offensive. Phase one was to force the fight into two one-on-one contests. They had accomplished that. Since this was a critical step in her plan, it was safe to say everything was going well up to that point. Her one miscalculation was that Luo's skill far surpassed her expectations.

She hadn't taken him lightly in the first place, but now she had the feeling she would learn the extent of Jie Long Seventh Institute's talent the hard way. He's their twenty-third? He'd easily make Page One at Seidoukan…!

Without voicing her frustration, Julis fended off Luo's staff with her rapier and used Livingstone Daisy to attack him from above and behind. But deftly manipulating his long weapon, Luo held on at a close distance while not letting any of the flaming chakrams near him.

"Ah—that's not true, is it? You're using some of your strength to keep up this wall of fire." Luo leaped back for a moment and glanced at the partition behind Julis.

"Maintaining so much firepower on such a large scale must take an extraordinary amount of prana. That limits the prana you can use to fight." And he's a keen observer, to boot

. "We'll see about that." Julis withdrew her chakrams and readjusted their formation. Normally, she could make over a dozen chakrams with the Livingston Daisy technique. But dividing her prana and concentration as she was now, she could only manage six. Luo and Song had participated in three Festa events, including the current Phoenix Tournament. Judging by that record alone, they were far more experienced than Yukio and Julis.

Still, Julis hadn't thought he would see through her plan so easily.

"If that's the case, I could hardly call this a good strategy. There must be other ways to force us to fight divided without going through all this trouble." He was correct on that count, as well. If all they wanted was a pair of one-on-one matches, there were countless other ways to make that happen. But that would only postpone defeat. It would not lead to victory.

"We had no choice," Julis said. "This was the only way for us to win."

"Hmm. So you have something else up your sleeve." Luo smirked as he twirled his staff.

"I can't wait to see it, but you'd better make it quick. Or else the other fight will be over."

"Do you mean to say that my teammate will lose?"

"In his current condition, Murakorikumo is no match for us. You know that, don't you?" Luo replied as if it was obvious.

"Yes, you're right. For Yukio to beat one of you now, he'd have to catch you off guard."

"Off guard? Well, neither I nor Song is careless enough for that." Luo repositioned his staff, signaling an end to their conversation.

"…"

Julis retreated a step to arrange the chakrams into a defensive formation. At the same time, she sensed where the other pair was on the other side of the wall and checked the ground out of the corner of her eye. A little more to the right…

"—There!" Luo lunged to take advantage of the opening. He swept the chakrams up and out of his way with his staff and leaped into Julis's range before she could blink.

"Oh no—"

"Too slow!" The attack streaked through the air into her torso and sent her rapier flying.

"Agh…!" She reflexively twisted to protect her school crest and cried out in pain as she sailed across the stage. That might have broken a few ribs… But with this timing—! Julis prepared for impact, then let the Livingston Daisy chakrams dissipate as she concentrated.

"Not so fast!" Luo flew in to deliver the finishing blow. Julis only laughed through her pain. His opponent excelled in fighting from a distance, and she had just lost her weapon.

His decision was correct. Yes—Luo was right. And that fact made her next move possible.

"Burst into bloom—Amaryllis Duo Flos!" A small fireball formed in each palm. Still, Luo did not flinch. He was absolutely confident the advantage was his at this distance. Julis, however, shot the fireball in her right hand not at Luo, but straight up.

"To be honest, I'm amazed."

Though he said he was impressed, Song's expression was one of exasperation.

"It's truly impressive that you've fended off my attacks so well, even though you can only manage defense. And your reactions have clearly improved since the start of the match. You're using my breathing, my range, my timing—it's a testament to your ability to adapt. Sadly, though, your body doesn't seem capable of keeping up."

With his back against the raging wall of fire and his lungs heaving, Yukio kept his eyes fixed on Song and never weakened his focus. He had managed to avoid taking a critical hit, but the cumulative damage was getting hard to ignore.

His uniform was ripped and torn all over, and he had more bruises and cuts on his body than he could count. Even so, the tip of the sword in Yukio's hand pointed straight and steady at Song. "If you were at full strength, our positions might have been reversed by now," Song went on.

"No, I doubt I could have held out as long."

"I think you're being too kind," Yukio replied courteously as he calmed his ragged breaths. Song was definitely tough, no surprise for someone who had advanced to the Fifth Round of the Phoenix.

But Yukio found himself admiring Song's strength, independent of any weapon or special ability—a power that was purely the fruit of physical training. Not that he was about to give up. Yukio and Julis had two more cards in their hand—and they were ready to play them.

Yukio glanced down to see the star symbol Julis had carved earlier at his feet. Now all that was left was the timing. "I can hardly bear to bring you more pain. As a gesture of my respect, I will end this with the next attack."

With that, prana rushed into Song's fist. By channeling their prana into a single point, trained Jie Long fighters were said to be able to unleash destructive attacks not unlike Meteor Arts. That had to be what Song was doing now.

"No matter how you try to defend against it, my hand will shatter any weapon or limb in its path. It may not be as powerful as your Orga Lux, but I recommend you dodge rather than block. If you can, that is!" The moment he finished speaking, Song leaped swiftly into the target range.

An earth-shaking stomp, followed by a gouging palm strike.

Song was too close to dodge.

And, as Song had said, defending was impossible for Yukio in his current state.

That much was obvious from the overwhelming level of prana concentrated in the Jie Long warrior's hand.

But just before his palm could reach Yukio's chest, a small burst of fire exploded above their heads.

Fireworks—!

This was their signal.

—One instant.

Just once, for a fraction of a second, Yukio released his full strength, dodged Song's palm strike, and streaked toward the wall of fire towering behind him.

"What…?!"

He heard Song's cry of astonishment, but his attention was already elsewhere. Just before the fire swallowed Yukio, it parted like the Red Sea in the story of Moses. And across from Yukio was Julis, who had likewise leaped into the wall from the other side. They exchanged a glance as they passed each other through the flames licking at their skin. With that, Yukio and Julis traded targets.

"How—?!"

"It can't be!

" Song and Luo, their eyes wide with panic, frantically tried to fall back into stance. But they were far too late. There was nothing they could do. Luo had been facing Julis, who excelled in long-distance attacks; Song had fought Yukio, who could only handle close combat. Now, the two were completely off guard.

"Amagiri Shinmei Style, First Technique—Twin Dragons!"

"Burst!" Yukio's blade sliced Luo's school crest, and the fireball from Julis's hand shattered Song's.

"End of battle! Winners: Yukio Amagiri and Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld!" As the automated voice announced the result of the match, the wall of fire vanished. Yukio and Julis both collapsed onto their knees with deep sighs. The audience's shock was no less than Song and Luo's. Stunned silence filled the arena. But then, a smattering of applause swelled into a tidal wave of cheering.

"Whew… We won, but…"

"But just barely."

Yukio and Julis headed down the hallway to the prep room, skipping out on the winners' interview again.

The interviews were not required, but repeated cancellations frustrated the press and—given the nature of the Festa—could lead to a drop in popularity for the fighters. Today neither Yukio nor Julis had the energy to answer any questions.

They had won, but as Julis said, it was as close as it could have been. The slightest error in timing would have cost them the match.

"Still, making it through today was big," she said.

"We have a day of rest tomorrow. And then you'll be able to fight at full strength again, right?"

"Yes, I'll be fine… But what about you, Julis? Didn't you get hurt…?"

"Oh, this is nothing. They might be cracked, but nothing seems to be broken." Julis lightly rubbed at her ribs with a pained smile. She had taken a direct hit from Luo's staff. It couldn't possibly be such a minor injury. And yet she continued to speak as if it were no more than a light bruise.

"But the real problem is our next opponents," she said. "Even with you at full strength, they could give us a lot of trouble."

"Oh, yeah. They're—" Yukio paused in his steps. Up ahead, there were two men standing in front of their prep room. Julis noticed a moment later. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Now here are some unexpected guests. You couldn't have come to congratulate us. What do you want?" Song and Luo answered her question with earnest looks.

"That's exactly what we came to do. Should we have refrained?"

"You dealt us a sound defeat today. Truly impressive." Ayato and Julis looked at each other in surprise. "Huh—? W-well, um—thank you."

"Uh, thanks…" They responded with confusion to the unexpected congratulations. Song reached his hand out to Julis.

"You must have been the one to come up with that plan, Glühen Rose. The idea, the timing—it was outstanding teamwork that required genuine faith in each another." Julis still appeared bewildered, even as she shook his hand. "But be careful. That kind of plan won't work against your next opponents."

"What do you mean by that?" Her eyes flashed with suspicion. "No need to be so skeptical," Song said, undaunted.

"We're not here to trick you. This is a genuine warning. You can take us at our word."

"You expect us to trust you just like that? You have no obligation to help us. In fact, our next opponents are from your side." Their match was the last of Round Five, so Ayato and Julis knew who their next rivals would be.

In Round Six—the quarterfinals—they would be up against another pair of Jie Long students, both Page One fighters.

"Just because we come from the same school doesn't mean we're on the same side. Or does everyone at Seidoukan get along perfectly?"

"Uh, w-well… You may have a point, but…" Julis trailed off and averted her eyes. It was true. There was infighting at Seidoukan even though they all attended the same school—rather, precisely because they did. That was probably true at every school.

The only exception to the rule was Gallardworth, but even that lofty place might have been subject to its own internal strife

. "It's simple, really," Luo said. "Your next opponents, Shenyun and Shenhua Li… Well, let's just say we don't get along with them. That doesn't mean we'll share their weaknesses, but…"

"We've taken a liking to you two. At least, we like you more than those twins. So we wanted to let you know we'll be rooting for you. That's all."

Song smiled dryly and shrugged. They didn't seem to be lying.

"All right," Julis conceded.

"Then let me ask you again… What did you mean when you said a plan like that won't work?"

"Because that's exactly where those twins excel. They have an exceptional gift for trickery, deceit, and surprise attacks. No matter what scheme you concoct, they'll see right through it and outdo you. And they'll never use your kind of strategy."

"Our kind of strategy…?" Yukio said. Song turned an earnest gaze on him.

"Your gambit treated your opponents as equals. It had risks, and you accepted those risks. You made a calculated decision. That's why we can accept our defeat—although I'd be lying if I said we weren't disappointed."

"But those two aren't like that," Luo added. "They'll never face you on your level. They always sneer at their opponents and establish a situation where they hold an absolute advantage. They never expose themselves to harm. And they crush their opponents as they please. It is battle without respect, and it does not allow for tactics. That is how the Li twins fight. And we don't like their way of doing things."

"You've seen their matches, haven't you?" Song said. Gen'ei Souki and Gen'ei Musan—the Phantom Builder and the Phantom Vanisher—comprised one of the most favored teams in this tournament. Julis and Yukio had studied their matches as well as their data. Thinking back on the videos, Yukio remembered that the contests were all one-sided. The way they tormented their opponents had been unpleasant to watch. "You might be thinking too highly of us," Julis said. "We would fight that way if we thought it would make it easier to win. In the Festa, only winning matters." Luo responded with a thin smile.

"If that's how it is, then I guess we were poor judges of character."

"In any case, we're not telling you not to have a plan," Song said. "Only to be careful." With that, Song and Luo turned and walked away.

"Hmm…" Julis studied the pair as they left, then opened the prep room door with her school emblem.

"What do you think?" Yukio asked as he entered. "Well. I don't think they were lying," Julis replied after a pause.

"Same here." As far as Yukio could tell, the Jie Long pair were not the type to take such roundabout measures for the sake of sabotage.

There was no point in deceiving them with such general advice, anyway. Julis sat down on the sofa and let out a long, deep sigh.

"We can take their warning into consideration, but let's leave the twins until tomorrow. I'm too tired today. Let's catch our breath and go home."

"Yeah, sounds good." Yukio took a seat beside her, letting his shoulders sink into the cushions. The matches had concluded for the day, but spectators were sure to be lingering inside the stadium.

Although contestants could take an express subway back to their schools to avoid the crowds,

Yukio wanted a little more time to rest. After all, they would have no time off between the quarterfinals and the championship.

"You know, Yukio…" Julis chuckled.

"The next match is the quarterfinals. Just three more fights until we're the champions," she quipped.

"Three more fights… It doesn't sound like a lot, but this won't be easy, will it?"

They had to survive three more rounds like the one today. Just thinking about it was exhausting. Julis gave another soft laugh.

"Well, as long as you're aware… By the way, have you thought about what you'll do?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Your wish when you win."

"Oh…" Yukio nodded, pondered for a bit—and finally shook his head.

"Hmm. I can't really think of anything."

"I guessed that might be the case," Julis said with a wry smile. Then she gazed straight at him, completely serious.

"I'm grateful you're fighting for me, and to be honest, well—I'm happy. But I think you should think about what you want."

"That's easy enough to say, but…"

"Well, for instance…" She paused, hesitant to broach the subject.

"What about your sister?" Yukio was a little startled, but he understood. Julis had heard what Irene told him the other day—that the student council president of Le Wolfe knew his sister. She must have been wondering how he took the news.

"Well, sure—of course she's been on my mind, but…"

"But?"

"She must have had her reasons for leaving home. So I don't want to look for her if she doesn't want to be found." Yukio thought back to the day he arrived at Seidoukan Academy.

"Then why come to this school?" Claudia's words echoed in his mind. At the time, Ayato had answered, "To find out what it is that I have to do." But now that he had found his purpose—now what?

"Maybe so," Julis said, "but isn't finding your sister the quickest way to do something about that seal?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah—she should be able to remove it…" Julis narrowed her eyes at his evasive reply.

"Yukio. Don't tell me you're—" A knock at the door interrupted her, and an air-window opened to announce their visitors.

"…Yoo-hoo."

"E-excuse us…"

The display showed Saya and Kirin. They had fought Round Five in a different arena, and they had also safely advanced to the quarterfinal match

. "You came all the way here to see us?" Yukio said

. "We figured you must be exhausted. And we wanted to congratulate you…," little Kirin said, fidgeting and looking up into the camera. Yukio was touched. She and Saya had just fought their match, yet they were still going out of their way for him and Julis.

"Oh—let me open the door for you." He reached for the air console. Kirin spoke up hastily.

"Um, before you do, we have one more visitor here with us—is it alright if she comes in?"

"Visitor?" Yukio cocked his head.

Saya smiled slyly. "Yes. A visitor, for Riessfeld."

"For me?" Julis had been observing their conversation with little interest, but now she frowned curiously. On the air-window, Saya and Kirin nodded to each other and stepped back. A girl emerged from between them.

She was young—a child, in fact, probably on the upper end of elementary school age. The innocent-looking, adorable little girl had one particularly distinctive trait—for some reason, she was dressed as a maid. Julis was taken aback.

"F-Flora…?" she murmured.

"So…you came from Lieseltania all by yourself?"

"Uh-huh! My name is Flora. Pleased to meet you all!"

Speaking with a childish tone, the girl bowed deeply, nearly a perfect ninety degrees. Flora explained how she came from the very orphanage in Lieseltania that Julis was trying to save.

"She was having a hard time at the information desk, so I tried to help," Kirin explained. "And it turns out she knows you, Miss Riessfeld."

"…She was hard to miss," Saya added. Naturally, such a young girl wandering about in a maid's uniform would draw some attention.

"Uh-huh! I'm so grateful! Thank you so much, Miss Sasamiya, Miss Toudou." It was unclear whether Flora herself understood this, as she nodded energetically and grinned without a trace of shame. For now, they were chatting in the prep room, and Yukio couldn't help but notice how extremely out of place her maid's uniform looked in an everyday setting.

"Really. You should have let me know you were coming," Julis chided with a helpless smile, gently stroking Flora's hair. That soft, indulgent expression told Yukio how much the girl meant to her.

"But His Majesty gave me a ticket to the Phoenix, and in return I had to promise to keep my visit a secret from you," Flora said. Julis sighed.

"My brother has a little too much fun at the expense of others. I suppose he told you to dress like that, too."

"Uh-huh. He said it would make it easy for Your Highness to spot me."

"Honestly, that man…," Julis muttered. Her brother seemed to be a real mischievous character.

"But, but—these are like my regular clothes to me now, so it's comfy and easy to wear," Flora said. "Maybe for you, but this isn't the palace. You can't dress like that."

"Regular clothes?" Yukio asked out of sheer curiosity. "Flora works as a maidservant in the palace," Julis replied. "Well, she's still in training, actually."

Yukio had thought she acted too comfortable in the uniform to have only worn it for this trip. Now it made sense. "Oh, I almost forgot!" Flora exclaimed.

"A message from His Majesty. 'Come home to visit before the end of the year,' he says."

"…Ugh, that brother of mine, hounding me from who knows where. No matter. I was thinking I should visit anyway. He didn't need to tell me." Julis placed her hand on Flora's shoulder.

"Besides, I have to see everyone."

"Uh-huh! We all can't wait to see you!" Flora nodded, her eyes lighting up. Yukio could see the truth behind those words. The other children at the orphanage must care for Julis as Flora did. Kirin watched the two girls with admiration.

"I'm amazed… All this time, you've been fighting for an orphanage, Miss Riessfeld," she said with genuine respect.

"It-it's really not that big a deal—!" Julis abruptly looked away. The conversation had cornered Julis into revealing her motivations to Saya and Kirin a few moments ago. She was rather self-conscious about the topic.

Still, Yukio thought it was good for Julis to close some of the distance between herself and others. Then a thought occurred to him.

"Oh, Flora—can I ask you something?"

"Uh-huh?" Flora cocked her head at him. "What's Julis like at home?"

"…Well, that came out of nowhere." Julis glared dubious at Yukio.

"I mean, I just honestly want to know," he pressed. "You never talk to me about it, Julis."

"…Oh. I don't?" In fact, Julis almost never spoke to Yukio about her home.

"Hmm, there's not a lot to say… She's pretty much like she is now." Flora gave the question some thought, then replied with conviction.

"She's warm and kind when she's with us, and she's dignified and cool when she's at the palace. So she isn't any different!"

"Oh, I see. Thanks." Yukio was relieved to hear Flora's answer. It meant Julis could be herself here, too.

"Oh, I know! Would you like to see some pictures?" Flora said.

"Pictures?"

"Uh-huh! There are plenty of pictures from the orphanage on my mobile." Flora eagerly took out her device from her clutch.

"No, I think we've talked enough about me for one day," Julis protested. The others, however, answered the proposal with enthusiasm.

"…Oh-ho, now that sounds interesting," Saya said.

"I—I'd like to see, too," Kirin chimed in.

"Let's see. This is from Weihnachten two years ago, and this one is when we had a big spring cleaning. This is Hannah's birthday party…" Flora opened one air-window after another along with her explanations.

She had photos of every sort, from group pictures of ceremonial events to everyday candid shots. The one thing all the photos had in common was that everyone was smiling. Julis, the children, and the nuns all wore joyous grins.

"Wow, you do have a lot of pictures," Kirin marveled.

"There's one sister who insists on preserving as many memories as possible. Thanks to her, all the children take pictures of everything. That's why there are so many plain everyday photos," Julis explained with a pained smile.

"…Hmm?" Noticing one in particular, Saya motioned to Flora with her hand.

"Flora, what's this one?"

"Oh, that's Her Highness washing my hair for me!" Flora lightly delivered her explanation, but Ayato averted his eyes in a panic upon glimpsing the photo in question. The picture showed Julis and Flora washing their hair—both wearing nothing besides little towels.

"—!" Julis yanked the mobile device from Flora's hands and closed all the air-windows at once.

"D-d-d-d-d-did you see? Did you? You saw, didn't you!"

"N-no, I didn't! Didn't see a thing!" Julis scowled at him, beet red, and Yukio ferociously shook his head in denial.

Technically, he had seen the picture, but he'd averted his gaze before he could process it, so he wasn't exactly lying…he hoped.

"Flora, didn't I tell you to delete that picture?!" Julis blustered.

"Ohhh, but…it's a precious memory with Your Highness…" Flora hung her head dejectedly. Julis was unable to scold Flora with much energy in the face of that reaction. She pursed her lips awkwardly.

"…Anyway, it doesn't seem right to send such a little girl so far by herself," Saya said, perhaps to deliberately change the subject, and patted Flora's head.

Saya wasn't much taller than Flora, so the comment was a bit odd coming from her.

But she had a point. Flora was still a child, and it would be safer for her to travel with a chaperone. Especially to Asterisk, of all places.

Duels were banned during Festa events, which made it somewhat safer than usual, but this was far from a normal city. It wasn't rare for tourists to get hurt.

"Umm, well…" Flora was embarrassed, her voice tiny and her head lowered. Julis took up the task of explaining.

"My brother doesn't have much money to spend freely, just as I didn't when I lived at home. Still, since he obeys the integrated enterprise foundations, he can pull some strings if he wants and obtain Festa tickets that way, probably. I'm guessing he couldn't pay for travel or lodging, though, and the funds for that came from the sisters."

"…Uh-huh. They worked really hard to save up, and I think that's where it came from. But they could only send one of us… And they said that if they had to pick, then I'd be the best choice." Flora seemed dejected, but her enthusiasm quickly returned.

"But I'll be fine on my own! I'm a Genestella like Her Highness, and I'm planning on coming to Asterisk as a student! And then, I'll help everyone at the orphanage, just like Her Highness!"

"Wow, that's great!" Yukio told her. He had known the second he saw her that Flora was a Genestella, but what struck him was how she had a concrete goal at such an early age. That was probably why the others at the orphanage decided she was the best one to send. While

Yukio was genuinely impressed, Julis sternly shook her head.

"Are you still talking about that…? I've told you a hundred times, there's no need for you to go through this."

"But, but—I want to help everyone, like you!"

"You're still little. You shouldn't worry about things like that, and—" "But the student council president of Jie Long is younger than I am! So why can't I?"

For such a cute little girl, Flora had quite the stubborn streak.

"Comparing ourselves to a first-ranked fighter now, are we?" Confounded, Julis placed her hand on her hip, then breathed a resigned sigh.

"Oh, all right. Suppose you do come to Asterisk to help everyone at the orphanage. Which school do you want to attend?"

"Um—I guess I'd want to go to Seidoukan like Your Highness, or maybe Queenvale Academy for Young Ladies, if I could…" Flora placed her palms together as if in prayer, her eyes shining dreamily. So Queenvale really is popular with girls, Yukio thought.

"I see. So I was right—you don't need to be in Asterisk at all," Julis said.

"…Huh?"

"Both Seidoukan and Queenvale only allow students from middle school and up. Actually, the only school that accepts elementary students is Jie Long, so…" There was no minimum age requirement to attend Jie Long Seventh Institute. Of course, infants and toddlers were ineligible, but anyone old enough to receive primary education could apply.

This policy apparently stemmed from the philosophy that for martial arts and Seisenjutsu—Jie Long's forte—it was best to begin long-term training in the fundamentals from an early age.

The other five schools argued that those early years were critical to psychological development and it was unethical to place such young children in the abnormal environment of Asterisk—although this was all a transparent attempt to claim moral superiority.

"Anyway, it'll be at least two more years until you're old enough," Julis declared.

"By then, I'll have made all your wishes come true."

"—!" Flora glanced up at her with a gasp.

"I told you the last time we spoke. I will help you all, and I will change our country. And to do that, I will win every Festa event. Do you have so little faith in me?"

"N-no, that's not it!"

"Then it's settled." Julis gave a satisfied nod, then gently patted Flora on the head.

"That's our Riessfeld. Aiming big and high," Saya said, impressed. "…But it won't be a walk in the park. The Phoenix, at least, will go to me and Kirin. Right, Kirin?"

"Wha—?! Uh, um—well, y-yes—!" Flustered at being put on the spot, Kirin's head swiveled back and forth between Saya and Julis, then nodded with resolve.

"I—I'm going to do my best, too! I won't give up on my wish!" Flora lit up at this exchange.

"Ohhhh. Miss Sasamiya and Miss Toudou are Her Highness's rivals!"

"Rivals…?" Julis, Saya, and Kirin shared a concerned glance—then, as if on cue, they all turned to Yukio.

"Huh? Wh-what is it…?" The three girls stared at him as he took a step backward.

"Well, I suppose that's true," Julis muttered.

"—!" Yukio had a idea what was going on, and neither did Flora, apparently. She blankly watched the situation unfold.

"…Um, well, moving on." Julis cleared her throat and tried to bring the conversation back on course

. "If we do fight each other, it'll be in the final. First we all have to get that far." Indeed, since Yukio and Julis were in a different tournament block from Saya and Kirin, the only way they would fight each other was in the final. Saya chuckled confidently.

"Heh-heh-heh… Not a problem. We're invincible." She puffed out her chest and clapped a hand on Kirin's shoulder. In contrast, Kirin seemed uncertain.

But Saya's conviction was well founded on their actual performance thus far. In their five matches, Saya and Kirin had completely dominated—an incredible feat, now that they had reached the main tournament—and their opponents so far had hardly posed a challenge.

They owed some of this wild success, of course, to fortunate placement in the tournament bracket. Still, compared to Yukio and Julis exhausting struggle thus far, their progress had been almost ridiculously smooth.

According to popular opinion, Saya and Kirin were likely winners for the upcoming quarter final as well. It might not be an easy victory, but Yukio agreed with that assessment. The problem, however, would be the following match. Their likely opponents for the semifinal were…

"Well, well, you must have it in the bag, then," Julis remarked

. "I gather you're all set to take down those mechs from Allekant?" Saya's expression hardened slightly. Allekant's autonomous Puppets, Ardy and Rimcy, had advanced through the tournament with even more overwhelming strength than Saya and Kirin.

They were now the favorites to win the Phoenix. It was no wonder, given they had come this far without a single scratch, even though they always granted their opponents one full minute to attack freely—just as they had in Round One. If both teams advanced, Kirin and Saya would face the Puppets in the semifinal.

"Bet you can't wait to see," Saya countered. "Personally, I'm more worried about you two."

"You're facing Jie Long's Page One fighters next, aren't you?" Kirin asked Julis gravely. Saya and Kirin had been following the Jie Long twins, too—surely they were aware of how formidable the twins could be. "We'll manage one way or another," Julis said.

"In two days, Yukio will be able to fight at full strength, and we'll have far more options than we did today. We'll make it."

While her words were optimistic, her expression was anything but. Yukio realized she must be recalling what Song and Luo had told them earlier. An awkward silence descended upon the room. Flora was the one to break it.

"Oh, look at the time! I'll say goodbye for today. I'm going to root for you with all my heart during the next round—good luck!" She stood and gave them a brisk bow.

"Hold on, Flora. Which hotel are you staying at? I'll walk you there." Julis got up to follow as Flora walked to the door.

"No, I'll be fine on my own. Your Highness must be tired from the match."

"You don't need to be so considerate, you silly thing. —Oh, but Yukio, about tomorrow…" Julis probably meant their strategy meeting to prepare for the quarterfinal.

"I think we could start in the afternoon," he said. "You and Flora must have a lot to talk about."

"And now you're being too considerate," Julis sighed.

"But I'll gladly accept. I could use the rest. The afternoon would be better." After Julis and Yukio hammered out the details for their meeting, they all dispersed for the day.

"I'm back! …Oh. But Yabuki isn't." Yukio flicked on the light switch in the pitch-black room, and only quiet solitude greeted him. Eishirou's desk, piled high with documents and handwritten notes, had not been touched. His bed was also immaculately made, as it had been since the last time he had changed the sheets. There was no sign he had come back to their dorm at all. This was no surprise to Yukio.

Things had been like this ever since the start of summer break. Still, he had to wonder where his roommate was and what he might be up to. He had asked once, but Eishirou had simply replied, "Gotta cover the stories!"

"Maybe he's living it up in the red light district…or something." Yukio had only heard about that part of the redevelopment area the other day. Apparently, the students who had gotten a taste of the nightlife were well acquainted with it.

"Well, maybe it's for the better that he's not around," Yukio murmured to himself.

"Otherwise he'd just ask a bunch of questions."

He took out his mobile and plopped down on the bed. Earlier, he had thought he might need to find somewhere else private, but with Eishirou out, there was no need.

"Well, for instance… What about your sister?"

Julis's voice echoed in his head. He didn't mean to seek out his sister against her will. But it was true that he wanted to know.

"Let's see… Here we go."

( Two Days Later)

"So, as we can see from their previous matches, the Li twins' greatest strength is the variety of their Seisenjutsu techniques. In particular, they're true masters of illusion. Just as his alias 'Phantom Builder' suggests, the brother Shenyun is adept at making things that aren't there appear real. Likewise, the sister Shenhua —the Phantom Vanisher—makes things that are there disappear."

"Okay…" Julis and Ayato were in one of the private training rooms at Seidoukan Academy. Upon returning to campus, they had begun their strategy meeting for tomorrow's match as originally planned. Julis had opened several pictures of the Li twins' matches in the Phoenix so far. "And, as one might expect from twins, their teamwork is exceptional.

They execute perfect combination attacks, hardly exchanging any words or even eye contact. They really are a dangerous pair. On top of all that, if we take Song and Luo at their word, we have to assume that they're formidable strategists—hey, Yukio? Are you paying attention?"

"Huh?" Yukio's head snapped up.

"Oh, sure. Sorry." Julis regarded him with some suspicion and continued.

"In terms of martial arts only, Song and Luo are probably stronger. But overall, these two are unquestionably the better team. The textbook strategy of eliminating one first would be the most effective, but their Seisenjutsu is especially powerful in defense. So to deal with that…"

"…"

Julis paused there and waited for Yukio. But while he wore a perfectly earnest expression, his eyes were focused on neither the air-windows nor Julis. His thoughts were clearly somewhere else.

"Haaah…" Observing him intently, Julis let out a grand sigh.

"You're worried about your sister, aren't you?" He flinched.

"That's not…" His attempted denial trailed off.

"I could say I know how you feel, but I won't. I don't know what kind of person your sister is, or what your relationship with her was like. But I think I understand how much you care for her." "Julis…"

"But isn't that just another reason to give your all to win the Phoenix?" Puzzled, Ayato frowned.

"Do you mean…that I should win, then use my wish to find my sister?"

"That's right. But to do that, we need to win the tournament, and that's no easy task. You don't think you have enough clues to find her on your own, do you?"

Indeed, there was no record of Haruka in the Seidoukan Academy databases, and their newest clue was nothing more than an eyewitness account of a now defunct underground event.

"You said earlier that you didn't want to look for her if she didn't want to be found. Do you still feel the same way?"

"…" Instead of answering, Yukio only bowed his head. Julis held in another sigh. She didn't want to say this, but she had to. "Yukio. You can let me have it if I'm wrong—but are you afraid?"

"Afraid?" he said dubiously. She silently watched him for a moment, then slowly went on.

"Your sister placed that seal on you and disappeared without a word. I know you want to see her again. But that would also mean learning why she did what she did. And you care about her so much, maybe you're afraid to find out."

"…!" Yukio looked up with a gasp.

"You know," Julis said softly, "I think you're scared of the idea that she might have abandoned you." He winced. That hadn't occurred to him before.

"Maybe you're right…," he murmured, trying to process that possibility.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, maybe I really am afraid." Julis nodded.

"That's understandable. It hurts when someone dear to you tosses you away. You shrink back from the very prospect. It's only natural."

Even as she spoke, she felt a pang shoot through her heart. For an instant, an image flashed through her mind—a friend with whom she'd parted ways. That dear friend who had changed so completely… Julis gave her head a tiny shake, suppressing the swell of emotion inside her.

"At the same time, if you have any intention of finding out the truth, this would be your chance to do it," she told Yukio.

"You should give it some thought."

"Yeah… Thanks." He nodded, though he still sounded listless.

"All right, then. I think that's enough for today."

"Huh? But what about our strategy…?"

"In the state you're in now, I doubt we'll come up with anything useful, no matter how much we discuss it," Julis said.

"It's a waste of time."

"Um…sorry." He seems aware of it himself, at least. She smiled awkwardly at his candid apology. "We'll be cutting it close again, but let's make time to talk before the match tomorrow. We'll pick up where we left off then."

"Got it." She watched Yukio as he nodded weakly and left the training room.

Then, after a bit of hesitation, she reached for her mobile. It was frustrating to admit, but she had done all she could. She had to ask for the help of someone else. She entered the number, and in a few moments, an air-window popped up with a familiar face.

"It's me," Julis said. "Sorry to call you out of the blue, but I have a little favor to ask."

When Ayato returned to his room, there was no sign of Eishirou. He had said he still had work left over, so maybe he was taking care of that. Or he could be out on the town… Wherever Eishirou was, solitude suited Yukio just fine right now.

Welcoming his roommate's absence, he turned off his mobile and decided to lie down on the bed.

He looked at the high, distant summer sky nearing the end of the day outside the window.

He stared absentmindedly for a while, then exhaled deeply, as if to expel the dregs of stale breath from his body.

"Am I scared…?"

Julis is probably right, he thought.

He hadn't even noticed the uncertainty lurking in his heart.

Of course he had faith in his sister.

She was strong, and sincere, and above all filled with love and kindness.

She would not abandon him, no matter what. He believed that firmly and deeply.

Still… At the same time, there were doubts in him that he couldn't fully erase.

Why had she placed this seal on him?

Why did she disappear?

Why didn't she tell him anything?

By focusing on his trust in his sister, Yukio had tried not to dwell on those misgivings. Even if he had, he would have found no answer.

Worrying accomplished nothing, he'd told himself.

Looking back, he didn't think taking that attitude was a mistake.

And yet, in a sense, maybe it really was only a way to run from the truth…

In the midst of his reverie,Yukio suddenly noticed a peculiar presence outside his window.

"Hmm…?"

The visitor didn't feel hostile, but they were searching for something…

"…"

Cautiously, Yukio quietly opened the window—and realized he had felt a similar presence before.

When?

Was it that time he'd walked Kirin back to her dorm…?

"Boo," the intruder said, hanging upside down from above the window.

"Gah!" Yukio yelped in surprise.

He had guessed who it was the moment before she appeared, and still her bizarre greeting startled him.

"Saya, didn't I tell you not to scare me like that?"

"But your mobile was off." Saya performed a neat flip into the room. This girl was like a cat.

"Oh, I just wanted to think alone for a bit—wait a sec, Saya! This is the boys' dorm!"

"Yep. I know."

She tilted her head as if to ask, So what? The opposite sex was prohibited from entering the boys' dormitory, and vice versa. It was one thing to arrange a visit according to school protocol and meet in the lounge as Kirin had.

Trespassing, however, was strictly punished for both the girls' and boys' dormitories. Just as the girls' buildings had a dormitory watch, a group of boys also patrolled the buildings and maintained order.

There was, however, one difference. For girls' dorms the intruders were punished, but for the boys' dorms it was the person hosting the illicit visit—in other words, the boy who occupied the room. Generally, the excuses from the boys went unheard.

"…Okay, Yukio. Sit."

As Yukio wondered whether Saya knew what would happen if he was caught with a girl in his room, she plopped down on his bed and patted the space next to her. Resigned, Yukio sighed and did as he was told.

"So, why are you here?"

It had to be something important to bring Saya all the way to the boys' dormitory. And apparently, she was finally familiar enough with the campus to walk around without getting lost.

"…" But she did not respond to his question, and simply looked him in the eye.

"Wh-what's the matter?"

"…I should be asking you that."

Without breaking her gaze, Saya spoke in her usual monotone, but he detected a hint of reproach.

"Huh?"

"…Yukio, what are you so worked up about?" Startled, he did a double take.

"Oh. Julis must have said something, huh?" Saya nodded.

"I got a call a little while ago. Riessfeld is really worried about you. She wouldn't ask me to talk to you otherwise."

"Julis asked you to…?"

That was a little surprising.

Yukio knew his partner was not one to ask favors of other people lightly— especially not of Saya.

He must really be making her worry

. Aware of this, Saya bowed her head slightly.

"Riessfeld's a better person than I gave her credit for. I misunderstood her."

Emotion colored her voice, a rarity for her. Then she met his eyes again.

"But never mind that… Yukio, do you really think Haru abandoned you?"

"I…" Yukio found himself unable to answer the direct question. He tried to string together a rebuttal, but it wouldn't leave his mouth.

Could she have…?

What if she did…?

The pessimistic whispers stubbornly clung to the corners of his mind.

As she watched him, Saya knit her brows together as if his waffling offended her, and she slowly lifted her hands.

Then—

"Dummy!"

With a loud smack!

She slapped Yukio on both cheeks like she was catching a bug.

Ayato's eyes went round at the sudden impact. His face didn't hurt, but it did feel hot between her hands.

"I'm absolutely sure of it," Saya told him sternly.

"Haru would never abandon you, ever."

"Saya…" Maybe her assertion was nothing more than an unfounded, careless attempt to comfort him.

Saya knew Haruka well, but Ayato was the only one to see her the day she disappeared. And yet, just hearing someone say it so confidently lifted Ayato's spirits.

"Besides," Saya continued,

"if Haruka really did lose—I don't believe it, but if it's true—maybe it's not that she didn't contact you, but that she couldn't."

"!"

"So, this is no time to lose yourself in doubt," Saya gently admonished him.

"Yes. You're right, Saya."

Yukio nodded firmly and returned his friend's earnest gaze. If he did nothing because he was afraid of the truth, he would learn nothing. He would have only regrets. So he had to do what he could.

"…Good. There's my Yukio," Saya said, smiling warmly as she caressed his cheeks. A breeze from the window gently ruffled her blue hair. It was the first time he'd seen a look like that on Saya's face. Yukio's heart responded with a particularly loud thump. For the briefest moment, an intense sensation struck him, something he'd never felt with her before.

"…Yukio?"

"Oh, um, nothing! I'm fine!" Yukio didn't even understand what was happening. He waved both his hands and backed away from her. Saya regarded him quizzically, then suddenly clapped her hands together.

(Next Day)

"You're looking a little better," Julis said upon seeing Yukio enter the prep room. It was the day of the quarterfinals.

"Thanks to you," he replied.

"So you've made up your mind?" She observed him carefully. Yukio nodded deliberately.

"Yes, I have. I'm going to find my sister. And the fastest way to do that is to get the integrated enterprise foundation to help."

"I see." Julis smiled, glad to hear his resolve, but it quickly disappeared as she opened an air-window.

"Then we have to start by winning today."

The window displayed a boy and a girl who looked remarkably alike—the Li twins, their opponents in just a few hours.

\ "I found two patterns from their past matches," Julis explained.

"The first is that these twins exclusively attack their enemy's weak points—they adopt whatever tactics will frustrate their opponents the most. Of course, that's generally a good strategy… But I think strategy is secondary for them."

"Secondary? You mean there's something else more important that they do?" Yukio asked.

"Probably. From what I've seen, they care about toying with their opponents more than fighting."

"Toying with them…" Yukio had noticed this as well. The twins seemed to go out of their way to inflict suffering.

"Even victory is probably low on their priority list," Julis went on. "Essentially, they're sadists drunk on power."

"Not the kind of people I'd want to hang out with."

"I completely agree. And the other pattern: These two never take risks. They give themselves an unbeatable advantage and go on the offensive only after they've established their own safety. A charitable way of putting it would be that they're careful. All I can see, though, is a pair of despicable cowards afraid of putting themselves in harm's way." He could hear the disgust in her voice. To someone of her character and principles, the twins must be entirely anathema.

"Still, the fact that they're skilled fighters is undeniable," she said. "On top of that, they're terribly proficient strategists. Their real strength isn't their Seisenjutsu, but rather their teamwork and ability to formulate effective plans."

"Song and Luo said something like that," Yukio recalled.

"Yes, and I think they were right. If it comes to a battle of wits, I don't stand a chance against the twins," Julis admitted candidly. Her strategies sometimes caught her opponents off guard, but she would never maliciously entrap anyone. That was simply a natural consequence of her personality, so she couldn't help that the twins surpassed her there.

"But for this match, we do have one advantage," Julis said with a conspiratorial smile. "An advantage?"

"Yes. If the twins' M.O. is to go after their opponents' weak points, nothing could be more predictable." "Oh!" Ayato clapped in realization.

"My seal."

"Right. To be precise, they'll try to take advantage of the time limit. They couldn't hope for a better weakness. So, we know what approach they'll take."

"Stalling." Julis nodded. "We can be sure of that. So now the question is, what do we do about it? Ideally, we attack fast and bring them down. If we can take one of them down, that would all but decide the match." She shrugged at this. "But that's easier said than done. And it's exactly what the twins will plan for. They'll be ready for it."

"Probably," Yukio said. Prepping for battle involved predicting the other side's strategy as well. Against an opponent with a time limit, a fast offensive would be the first thing to expect. It was inconceivable that the twins wouldn't have a countermeasure.

"So, what we could do…" Julis lowered her voice to explain her plan. "I see," Yukiosaid slowly. "Not bad, is it? Although, to be honest, it was the only thing I could come up with."

"No, I couldn't do any better. Let's go with that." Yukio played out the scenario in his head and liked the results. The only difficulty was the timing at the end, but then again, that was usually the case. "Good, then we're agreed," Julis said, relieved.

"So, let's hammer out the details."

"This is the moment we've all been waiting for! It's time for the quarterfinal match here at the Sirius Dome! Out of the east gate, here come Yukio Amagiri and Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld of Seidoukan! And on the other side, from the west gate, we have Shenyun Li and Shenhua Li of Jie Long Seventh Institute!"

"It's Seidoukan against Jie Long, just like in the fifth round, huh."

"Right you are! We should note that the matches in the other arenas are over —which means three of the four spots for the semifinals have been decided! Who will it be?! Which team will earn the last one?!"

Amid deafening cheers and the echoing voices of the announcers— with the volume nearly at maximum, to compete with the crowd—Yukio and Julis slowly took the stage.

"Everyone sounds pretty hyped," Yukio remarked.

"We're almost to the finals of the Phoenix. The energy must be getting to the fans, too," Julis said without much feeling. With her hand on her hip, she gave Yukio a sidelong stare.

"Anyway, Sasamiya and Toudou advanced. We can't afford to trip up here." Just as the announcer had mentioned, the other quarterfinal matches were over, with Saya and Kirin advancing easily to the semifinals.

Yukio and Julis had watched the bouts in the prep room. All had gone as expected. The contestants for the semifinals thus far were Saya and Kirin from Seidoukan Academy, a pair of knights from St. Gallardworth Academy—and the automatons from Allekant Académie, Ardy and Rimcy.

"I know," Yukio replied, clutching the Ser Veresta's activator. "I'm ready." That's right. We can't afford to trip up here!

"Good, I'm glad to hear it. But don't put too much pressure on yourself." Julis looked at him dubiously, then turned her gaze forward. The twins from Jie Long approached.

"Nice to meet you, Glühen Rose, Murakorikumo. I'm Shenyun Li." "And I'm Shenhua Li. Pleased to make your acquaintance." The twins greeted them with thin smiles. Ayato marveled at how alike they looked up close. The loose-fitting Jie Long uniforms hid the contours of their bodies, leaving almost nothing to distinguish them except for the buns in Shenhua's hair. "And what do you want?"

Julis asked curtly, not bothering to hide her suspicion. "Well, we thought we should apologize." "Apologize?"

"Yes, for the pathetic showing of our peers the other day—"

"—which was shameful for us, as pupils of the same master." Shenhua smoothly picked up the rest of Shenyun's sentence without a moment's pause.

"Peers—you mean, Song and Luo?" Julis asked.

"I didn't think they were pathetic at all…," Yukio said to the twins. Shenyun shrugged dramatically. "Well, we can't have you thinking that's a standard performance from the pupils of the Ban'yuu Tenra."

"So, we'll show you a world those two could not—" "—the depths of Seisenjutsu." The pair took turns continuing each other's sentences, then erupted into contemptuous laughter. "Is that right? We can't wait." With that, Julis looked away, signaling she had nothing more to say. At that, the Jie Long team turned on their heels and returned to their side of the stage. "Hmph. An obvious taunt," Julis sneered openly after them. "They're just as unpleasant as I imagined." "But seeing them in person, I know for sure we can't let our guard down," Ayato said. Song and Luo had approached them before the match began, too, but their reason for doing so was the polar opposite. For the twins, that conversation was part of their strategy. "Whatever," Julis said. "We'll just do what we have to."

"Right," Ayato replied.

"Okay, here goes…" He heightened his prana. Strength bubbled up from the depths of his body, and the chains binding him strained and creaked. "By the sword within me, I break free of this prison of stars and unchain my power!" The rising pressure flung off his bonds in an eruption of prana.

"Whoa, there it is! Amagiri's fancy opening! —Or maybe it's not really just for show, Ms. Tram?"

"We can't say for sure, because the team won't tell us, but the majority view seems to be that it's some kind of procedure to undo the constraints on his power, so. Judging from how they fought in Round Five, he seems to need some time before he can release that power again… Now, I think Amagiri's a top-rate fighter. But considering these limitations, maybe his team's victories were much more hard-won than they've let on."

"I see, I see! Oh, and now it's time to start the battle! Which team will receive Victory's blessing?!" The commentator's analysis was really spot-on, Ayato reflected. Stifling a cynical chuckle, he activated the Ser Veresta. He focused his breath and his mind. "Phoenix Quarterfinals, Match Four—Begin!"

As soon as the announcement sounded, Yukio closed in on Shenhua and sliced diagonally at her with the Ser Veresta. The quick strike was impeccably timed. But, apparently expecting this, Shenhua sprang backward to evade it. "Nngh!"

"Ha-ha, so you are fast!" Shenhua laughed.

"But not so fast that I can't dodge it when I know it's coming!" Fighting Irene had been the same. Yukio's speed was not enough to grant him an insurmountable advantage.

"Burst into bloom—Primrose!" Julis promptly let her spell fly, but Shenyun beat her by an instant. "Jí jí rú l lìng, chì!" Shenyun folded his fingers into a complicated figure, and the air around him shimmered. The next instant, smoke billowed from all corners of the stage.

"A smokescreen?!" Julis exclaimed. In the blink of an eye, the dark cloud engulfed the battlefield. Julis withdrew her Primrose fireballs. It would be practically impossible to hit her target under these conditions—and she might accidentally hit Yukio instead. Yukio doubted he could land an attack, either, and stepped back.

"Are you all right, Julis?"

"I'm fine. But they got us good… I wasn't expecting this." She clicked her tongue angrily. Yukio focused on her presence and listened for Julis's voice to locate her. He looked around carefully, but the smoke was too deep to see through. Then he realized that something was off. Despite being so thick and deep, the smoke wasn't smoky at all.

"Julis, I don't think this smoke is real." With a gasp, she scanned the arena, too.

"I see. So it's an illusion…" Shenyun was an expert at this—creating the appearance of things that weren't there. This smoke was naturally a trick of his Seisenjutsu.

"I did hear that Shenyun Li's illusions can make all sorts of things, but smoke… Well, it's fine. This will clear soon," Julis declared.

"Why do you say that?" Yukio wondered at her confidence.

"Attacking after obstructing the view from the outside is against the Stella Carta," she replied, almost indifferently. "They've never done anything like this in the past."

"I see. I guess if people can't see the match, they can't tell whether you're breaking the rules." "Well, that's part of it," Julis said, "but the biggest reason is that this is a spectator event. The audience can't be entertained if they can't see what's going on."

It was a more inhumane reason than he'd thought. Proving her point, the crowd started booing vehemently. When the jeering grew louder, the smoke suddenly cleared away.

"Spectators these days have no patience…"

"There's no need to rush us. The real show is about to start." Shenyun and Shenhua had moved to the edge of the stage and spoke with malevolent grins. For them, the smoke had achieved the desired effect. They had shaved nearly a minute from Ayato's allotted time by hardly expending any energy.

"Ugh. They really are terrible people," Julis spat, offended, but her mind was already preparing for her next technique. Yukio silently agreed with her, then repositioned the Ser Veresta and advanced toward the twins.

"Oh, you're impatient, too. Well, then, let us show you our next technique." Shenyun made another symbol with his hands. The space around him distorted like clay, and shadowlike forms rose from the arena. The shadows took the shapes of people. Four perfect duplicates of Shenyun stood with intrepid smiles.

"There it is…!" Julis said. It was Shenyun Li's best illusion—Copying. He had used this skill in almost all his previous matches. Of course, the apparitions had no physical form. But they were so detailed it was impossible to tell them apart by appearance, and they even replicated his prana flow. On top of that, all four behaved independently, so there was no way to analyze a pattern to find the real Shenyun. And, on top of that—

"Now it's my turn." Shenhua also formed a symbol with her hands, and her body seemed to vanish into thin air.

This was Shenhua's favorite technique—Obscuring.

She did not just become invisible to the eye but hid everything about her presence, even sound and prana, in an illusion as accomplished as her brother's. It was impossible to detect her without deep concentration.

Both of the twins'skill sets were perfectly suited to buying time. "Now, we're ready to begin—" "—and wouldn't it be amateurish to wait for you to make your move?" "Yes, and boring for the audience."

"We have to liven it up a little or they might boo us again."

"So—" The five Shenyuns spoke in turn. Even their voices were perfect replications.

"—let's make this a little flashy." The five clones snapped, and paper materialized between their fingers.

"Look out, Yukio—those are spell charms." Julis readied her rapier, the Aspera Spina, and cautiously lowered her center of gravity. Spell charms were a type of support item, slips of paper infused with the power of Seisenjutsu. They were single use, but their wide variety of applications made them practical in battle.

"But there's only one real one, right?" Yukio said. No matter how intricate the illusion, the apparitions had no physical form. That meant the tags of the copies would also be fake.

"That's true, but— Tch. Here he comes!" The five Shenyuns rushed at them at once.

They held no weapons, so Yukio guessed the charms held some offensive technique. He greeted one of the attackers with the Ser Veresta, splitting him easily in two. But there was no impact, and the severed illusion swayed like smoke to quickly reform. That one's fake…! Even knowing most were illusions, Yukio could not tell them apart. He cut through another one with a backhand, but again his weapon simply passed through.

"Too bad! Wrong again." A third Shenyun who had slipped under his attacks thrust a spell charm at Ayato with a grin.

"Bào!" The slip exploded with a deafening boom.

"!" The blast and its heat hurled Yukio through the air, then sent him rolling on the ground. Having seen the attack in the recordings of the twins' matches, he was able to defend with his prana and reduce the harm done. Still, his bones creaked from the shock.

"Heh, not much damage for taking an explosion charm at that range. You don't have that ridiculous amount of prana for nothing—you're pretty hardy." Shenyun spoke with pure admiration, but quickly distanced himself again to mingle with his copies.

"Yukio! Are you all right?" Julis, who had been facing the remaining two Shenyuns, tried to rush to his aid.

"Don't forget about me." Shenhua's voice came from nowhere, and a similar blast exploded inches from Julis's face.

"Aaaugh!" Julis hurtled backward.

"Julis!" As Yukio rushed to break her fall, Shenhua's laughter surrounded them. She was making her voice echo every which way, confounding any efforts to locate her.

"Ngh. I—I'm fine," Julis said, wincing in pain as she stood. "But, Yukio, aren't you almost out of time? I'll cover you. Take out Shenyun Li."

"…Got it." A good while had passed since the start of the match. He couldn't afford to waste any more time. And if he was going to attack one of the twins, it made more sense to go after Shenyun rather than the invisible Shenhua.

The apparitions posed their own challenge, but at least he knew what to target. Even if he had to beat them one by one, it was possible he could hit the real Shenyun on the first try.

"We played completely into their hands—but in a way, that's a part of our plan, too. Keep a cool head." Julis channeled her prana as she spoke, and the mana around her condensed in response.

"Burst into bloom—Livingston Daisy!" A dozen or more chakrams of fire took shape and rushed at the five Shenyuns ahead of Yukio.

"Hmm, I thought you might target me first," one of the Shenyuns murmured, but this one did not even prepare for an attack, only stood leisurely.

Yukio guessed that it was an illusion. Then all I have to do is ignore it! As Yukio dashed between the chakrams to close in on his marks, he made a split-second decision. That moment, without warning, a giant wall formed right in front of him.

"—?!" It blocked all the chakrams, and while they created sparks in a vain effort to cut through the thick wall, they ran out of momentum and vanished. Ayato jumped sideways to go around the wall, but an explosion nailed him from nowhere, as if it had been lying in wait. "Aaagh!" This time, he did not have time to defend with his prana, and he groaned in pain as he suffered the full power of the blast.

"Oh, I should warn you—the spell charms Shenhua set up are invisible," Shenyun told him gleefully. Set up—that meant the trap was readied in advance. That wall was probably from a defensive spell charm, Yukio thought. But when did they put them down…?

Then the answer hit him—the smokescreen.

Julis had abilities similar to these traps, but because the spell tags were infused with the necessary prana when they were made, activating them took almost none of the user's own prana. In other words, they could use as many traps as they wanted until they ran out of charms. There was no telling how many tags there were on the stage.

"Step aside, Yukio! I'll just burn them all!" They might not be able to see the charms, but if they were physical objects, they could be destroyed. And Julis had the ability to burn away a large area at once. However…

"You keep forgetting that I'm here, too." Shenhua's mischievous voice sounded behind Julis. She whirled with a gasp, but it was too late.

"Qiáo léi!" "Aaaaaagh!" With a tremendous flash of electricity, a piercing shock ran through her body. Julis screamed in pain at the effect of Shenhua's Seisenjutsu.

"Julis!" Yukio moved as if about to rush to her. Collapsed to her knees, she shouted at him. "D-don't worry about me! Beat Shenyun!"

"Tch…!" Over two minutes had gone by since the start of the match. And with battles the next day and the day after that, he didn't have a second to lose.

"Okay! Then you get Shenhua!" Yukio immediately closed in on the closest Shenyun.

"Right. Leave her to me!" As he heard her reply, Yukio skidded to a halt in front of Shenyun, then quickly sidestepped. After a slight delay, the space in front of Shenyun shimmered, then exploded. I thought so—!

These spell charms activated automatically when he stepped within a certain distance. The five Shenyuns were scattered around him, but not aimlessly.

Everything the apparitions did had a purpose. This gave Yukio some idea of where the traps were.

"Hmm…not bad," one of the Shenyuns muttered, sounding impressed. Yukio cut through him in a single breath—but again without impact. Another fake. He immediately turned his attention to the next target.

"Fine, I'll just cut through all five!"

"You are Seidoukan's first ranked, after all. I guess you won't be that easy to take down." The other Shenyuns had started reading Yukio's attacks to avoid him, but they couldn't dodge forever at close range. Enduring several explosions, Yukio cut through a second, then a third apparition…

"Oops, sorry. Wrong one again."

The copy blurred like a mirage and laughed tauntingly.

"Ugh…" Yukio groaned. The damage from the explosions and the impending time limit wore at him bit by bit. But now there were only two left—the one farthest from him, and another slightly closer. One of these had to be the real Shenyun.

"Then it's you!" Making a guess based on Shenyun's personality, Yukio sets his sights on the farther one. Shenyun evaded his sweep to the side, but then Yukio turned his wrist and swung upward.

"Amagiri Shinmei Style, First Technique—Twin Serpents!" But there was no contact. I was wrong…?!

"Tch…" Yukio faced the last Shenyun and dropped to one knee, making a pained noise under his breath.

"Oh, dear. Are you out of time now? And you were so close," Shenyun said, a hint of relief in his voice. "Yukio!" As Julis rushed toward him, she was suddenly launched into the air.

"Guh—?!"

"That felt good!" Shenhua said with an elated laugh, but Ayato couldn't tell from where. She must have landed a direct hit.

"Gaaah…!" As Yukio groaned in protest, magic circles materialized around him, and chains of light restrained him once again. The blade of the Ser Veresta vanished, and the activator dropped from his hand with a clatter. Shenyun observed Yukio with pleasure but cautiously kept his distance. Once the chains vanished and Yukio had collapsed, breathing hard, Shenyun finally walked to his side.

"I don't know why that happens to you, but what a shame. So, how do you feel right now?"

Shenyun grinned, confident in his victory. Yes, the twins knew about the time limit. And from watching the match against Irene and Priscilla, they also knew that exceeding the limit would immobilize Yukio. This was exactly what they had been waiting for. Yes, exactly. "Heh-heh…"

"Hmm?" As Yukio chuckled softly, Shenyun regarded him with suspicion. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just that—the fight isn't over yet." Yukio activated a blade shaped Lux with his right hand. With surprise on his face, Shenyun braced himself—but it was too late. In one instant, Yukio rose and swung his arm straight across. The twins knew about Yukio's time limit, but not how long it was. With only the match against the Urzaiz sisters and maybe the duel against Kirin to go on, their estimate for the time limit was rough at best.

Yukio had been fighting for a little over Ten minutes. It had taken a toll on his body, but not so much that he was immobile.

This was Julis's plan. First, they would strike quickly. If that worked, good. If they failed, then they would pretend that their opponents' stalling strategy had succeeded and wait for their chance.

The twins were the type to deliver the final blow once they were sure of victory. Everything had gone just as they had predicted. Yukioo's sword sliced through Shenyun's school crest, giving him no time to dodge.

But— "Wha…?" Once again, the attack made contact with nothing. It can't be—! This one was a copy, too?! Stunned, Ayato stared at the shimmering apparition

. "Ooh, that was close. As the saying goes—'One who understands Destiny does not stand beneath a tottering wall.'"

A space far behind him warped, and from it emerged Shenyun with a thin smile. As he snapped his fingers, the five copies all disappeared. "…!" Ayato finally understood. The five Shenyuns had all been copies, and Shenhua's technique had hidden the real one. But since when…? Yukio thought back, and the realization shocked him. There was only one time they could have accomplished this—during the smokescreen. So Yukio and Julis had been fighting an illusion the entire time.

"Ha-ha! Did you finally figure it out? You guys had a plan of your own, I guess. But unfortunately, you're nowhere near our level." Gleeful anticipation made itself plain on Shenyun's face.

"But what about the first spell charm—?" Apparitions could not use real spell charms. Ayato thought the real Shenyun had to have triggered the first exploding charm, at least.

"Oh, that? Shenhua set up that one, too. It was timed to go off."

"Timed?"

"Yes. I just set the copy on you at the right place and time. It was a little tricky to pull off, but it made you think that one of the copies was real." Shenyun theatrically shrugged his shoulders. "Did you really think I'd do something so stupid? Jumping into the range of your attacks just because I had copies?" He flicked his wrists, and multiple spell charms appeared between his fingers.

"You might not have such an easy time dodging these now." Shenyun flung out his arms, and the spell charms shot through the air to surround Yukio. The charms moved fast, but Yukio at his full strength could have cut them all down without needing to dodge their attacks. The tags hung around him as if they had been pinned to the air.

"Not yet…!"

"Hmm?"

"You haven't won yet…! I won't lose here!"

"Oh—I didn't know you could make a face like that. Mm, how enticing." Shenyun's tone was brimming with pleasure. Grinding his teeth, Yukio adjusted his sword and tried to break out of the enclosure by force.

"I just love your futile struggling," Shenyun crooned.

"It makes my heart sing!"

Before Yukio could get through, one of the spell tags shimmered, then exploded.

"Gaaaaah!"

As he cried out in agony, the blast sent him into another tag, which then exploded. The charms knocked his body around like a ping-pong ball. With no time to defend, battered by shock waves and heat, Yukio crumpled helplessly to the ground.

"Ugh…" He groaned. Bruises and cuts all over, and probably a broken bone or two. "Well, as much as it pains me, I should probably wrap this up." Shenyun produced yet more spell charms. But just as they left his fingers—

"Yukio! Give me your hand!"

It was Julis. He reached out as he was told, and she dived down with fiery wings to grab his hand, then whisked him away.

"Damn!" Shenyun muttered. The spell charms detonated a moment too late. The blast made Julis lose control, throwing her and Yukio to the ground. But they had escaped.

"Th-thanks, Julis. You saved me there."

"No, I'm sorry it took so long. I knew you were in danger, but I had trouble shaking off Shenhua." Even as she spoke, Julis stood and readied the Aspera Spina. Yukio struggled to his feet, but his injuries quickly forced him to his knees again.

"Don't push yourself too hard. You know you're no match for Shenyun in your current state," Julis told him, an angry edge in her voice as she glared at the twins. Shenhua had reappeared beside Shenyun, and the two were discussing something. The teams were separated and regrouping. But Yukio and Julis were at a significant disadvantage.

"It's my fault that they outdid us in strategy," Julis said. "You won't help things by charging in recklessly."

"But…"

"We're in a tough spot, but we haven't lost yet. Keep cool, remember?" Julis admonished, then suddenly smiled.

"Though I have to confess—part of me is glad to see you fail at that."

"Huh—?"

"The reason you lost your head is because you want to win now, isn't it? Because you've realized how badly you want to find your sister?" Yukio pondered that for a moment, then nodded.

"I was happy when you said you would fight for me. That's the truth. But at the same time, I felt bad, because there was nothing I could do for you in return." She turned to Yukio.

"But now, we're on equal footing. We each have our own wish, and we both want to fight to the end for each other. That's the way it should be—because we're a team."

"Julis…"

"The problem is, you try to take on too much by yourself. I mean, you're strong enough to do that. You can protect me and fight your way through. But I'm going to turn your words back on you…" Julis smiled mischievously, placing her hand on his cheek, and her voice was kind.

"'Who's going to protect you?'"

"!" And in that moment, a gleam of light appeared deep in Yukio's heart. This is — But then…

"Are you two done with your heart-to-heart? Because—"

"—it's about time we got back to business." Shenhua and Shenyun broke in with arrogant grins

"They're ready, apparently," Julis said. "Probably set up another pile of spell charms…"

"Julis," Yukio called. She had been watching the twins again, and she turned back to him quizzically. "Hmm?"

"Thank you," he said with a warm smile. Taken aback, Julis stared blankly at him, then abruptly blushed and turned away. "Wh-what's that for, all of a sudden?! I didn't do anything worth thanking!"

"No. My eyes are open because of you. This time, for sure." Yukio took a few steady breaths, then got up slowly to stand alongside her. "So, I've got a favor to ask my partner. Are you up for it?"

"What do you need?" Julis said, a hint of color lingering in her face. "Can you buy me a little bit of time?" "Oh? Did you think of a plan?"

"Not exactly—just something I want to try. If it works, maybe I can get us out of this."

"Fine, I'll give it a go. It's not like we have any better options. But I don't think I'll last very long." Julis stepped forward. Yukio burned the image into his memory, then slowly closed his eyes. He turned his thoughts inward and recalled what Saya told him yesterday, and what Julis had just said to him.

And what his sister had said long ago—and the thing he had to do. Once again, somewhere in his heart, a tiny light glimmered. Yukio slowly reached for it. He knew what it was. He could feel it. This is… Julis was surprised at herself. In the midst of these adverse circumstances, her spirits were strangely high.

She didn't feel invincible, exactly—but she found herself full of energy. Her body hurt all over, but she was in better shape than Yukio. He had received the brunt of Shenyun's attacks on the front lines, while Shenhua had only attacked Julis to harass her and slow her down. So that must be Yukio's real smile.

Remembering his expression just moments ago, Julis could not help but smile in return. She had seen Yukio smile countless times but never so carefree. He was easygoing and a little bit hard to read—but maybe what she had just seen was his true self. Sasamiya has known that smile all her life…

"No fair," Julis had blurted aloud before she knew it. Catching herself, she shook her head and brought her attention back to reality. The twins eyed her with self-assured, sadistic grins.

"My my, what's this? The Glühen Rose is all alone?" Shenyun taunted.

"You don't intend to face both of us by yourself, do you?" Shenhua added.

"That's exactly what I plan to do," Julis declared.

"Do you have a problem with that?" The twins both shrugged.

"Aw… They think so little of us, Shenhua."

"Yeah… It really is hurtful, Shenyun." Despite their complaints, those grins showed no signs of waning. "Very well. We don't know what you've got up your sleeve—

"—but we'll find a way to make it fun." Shenhua made a symbol with her hands, and her figure melted away. "Hmph. Maybe you're the ones who think too little of me," Julis scoffed, then channeled her prana. This was no time to keep her cards to her chest. Leading the twins as far away from Yukio as possible, she released her spell.

"Burst into bloom—Ranunculus!" She swung the Aspera Spina downward, and wave after wave of flames rolled out.

"Aaagh!" "Da—!" Unable to dodge the inferno, the twins cried out in pain. The wide-range attack engulfed nearly a third of the stage, though it was really a defensive technique to fend off enemies when she was surrounded. As attacks went it wasn't very powerful. Still, it was enough. "I see… It's the spell charms you were after," Shenyun observed, watching the traps go off all over the stage. Indeed, Julis was sure she had succeeded in burning away most of the charms within range of the Ranunculus.

And the rolling flames would continue as long as it was active. The spell depleted a large amount of prana, but it should help keep the twins from getting too close. In the meantime, Julis concentrated her prana for another spell. Casting something else while keeping Ranunculus active was difficult—both technically and in terms of her prana supply—but she had little choice.

"Hmm, not bad… Maybe we should change things up, too." With swift movements, Shenyun made a symbol with his first two fingers extended.

"Jí jí rú lü` lìng, chì!"

"Wha—?!" Massive amounts of water gushed from the air. As Julis shouted in surprise, the water covered the stage and kept rising—to her ankles, knees, then thighs. It was as if the stage had turned into an ocean. But it's not cold… Is this another illusion?

"You didn't think copying myself was the only illusion I could use, did you?" Shenyun said. "I actually prefer fancier spells, like this."

"And so what? It's still just an illusion," Julis snapped. Shenyun's shoulders shook with laughter.

"Yes, just an illusion. But then why did your spell lose power?"

"Nngh…!" Stregas and Dantes used their powers by imagining something, and then making it real. If the visualization was disrupted, the effects of the powers would diminish. Shenyun was using the illusion of water to attack the image of fire in Julis's mind.

"This won't stop me…!" Julis concentrated to maintain her prana flow. "Hmm, then how about something like this?" Shenyun snapped his fingers and countless arrows of ice appeared above his head.

"Fly!" With his command, the arrows fell upon Julis. She responded by closing her eyes. He was trying to disrupt her concentration—but an illusion had no effect if she refused to look at it.

"I see. A wise defense if all you want to do is withstand an illusion. But I don't think you ought to close your eyes during a fight," Shenyun said playfully.

"Maybe I should go after your teammate next?" Reflexively Julis opened her eyes. As if it had been waiting for that moment, a giant icicle pierced her chest. By the time she realized she had been tricked, it was too late.

As much as she told herself it was an illusion, her concentration was broken. The flow of prana was interrupted, and she lost the Ranunculus.

"Oh, and it was such a nice try—too bad." The laughter and the voice came from directly behind Julis.

"Oh no—" She made a rushed attempt to defend, but the attack—probably a kick—from her invisible opponent hit her directly in the chest. Julis screamed.

"Aaaaaagh!"

"Does it hurt?" Shenhua materialized, laughing quietly.

"Yes, it must. That's where Luo hit you before."

That was indeed exactly where Julis had been injured in the previous match. But a question occurred to her through the pain.

"Wh-why didn't you go after my crest?" It would have been an easy opportunity for Shenhua to knock her from the match. As Julis dropped to one knee, her face contorted in agony, and she glared at Shenhua.

"Heh-heh. Oh, I missed a little, that's all," Shenhua said with feigned innocence. Deliberate cruelty was forbidden under the Stella Carta, but this was not a clear enough violation to warrant punishment. The twins were perfectly aware of that.

"Hmm, is that so?! Then I'll make you regret it!" As she grappled with the pain, Julis released the spell she had prepared earlier.

"Blossom, Semiserrata!" A magic circle lit up on the ground, and an enormous fiery camellia bloomed above her head.

"What—?! Y-you're blowing yourself up—?!" In a panic, Shenhua vanished, but that would not avail her. If Julis couldn't see her opponent, all she had to do was burn the entire area. The camellia of flame descended, and a swirling blast radiated fierce heat and fire in all directions. But in the center of the explosion, where it was most destructive, Julis stood without so much as a single burn.

"I wanted to keep this one a secret…," Julis lamented. Her injuries hurt, but having to reveal her precious trump card pained her even more. Still, she thought, if it let her defeat one of the twins, the price wasn't too steep. But—

"So you can resist your own powers." The voice came from beyond the whirling flames.

"—?!" As it subsided, she saw a giant wall. Not just one, but several walls interlocking to make an improvised enclosure

. "I had heard it was possible for some elite Stregas and Dantes—but I'm amazed to see it in person. Your reputation as Witch of the Resplendent Flames doesn't even do you justice." The wall shimmered and disappeared to reveal Shenhua and Shenyun, both unscathed.

"I'm the one who should be amazed, Phantom Builder." She had timed that attack perfectly. Even if they had made a wall, just one or two layers would not have been enough to withstand such an inferno. But the twins had managed to cooperate to construct a protective barrier in an instant.

They may be despicable…but their teamwork is flawless! Yet, while Shenyun still looked confident, some of the color had drained from Shenhua's face. Julis had come close. "You need to be more careful, Shenhua."

"I—I'm sorry, Shenyun…"

"It's fine… Well, now I know for sure. We can't afford to toy with you any longer." Shenyun's eyes lit up in earnest.

"It's time to end this." He drew more of his tags and slowly advanced toward Julis. She responded by taking a step backward, and the ground beneath her feat shimmered. Already?! Shenhua must have set a trap when she had gotten close. Chains suddenly swarmed up from the ground and wrapped around Julis like snakes.

"Ngh— Why, you—!"

Shenyun coldly watched Julis struggle as he flung his spell charms. Evading them would be impossible now. The charms exploded in her face, and the blast sent her flying. She rolled across the ground and landed on her back, unable even to scream.

"Guh…haah…"

"Wow, still conscious—you're a stubborn one. Now for the coup de grâce." Shenyun's voice sounded far away, and Julis had almost given up. But at that moment—

"?!" All three gasped at an overwhelming burst of prana. The light glimmering in Yukio's hand was a key. What it would unlock—that was obvious. It was the key to the chains that bound him.

He understood now that it was made so he could only see it after he had fulfilled a certain set of conditions. In his mind, Yukio looked at himself from above. Observing his chains carefully, he saw that there were three locks.

The first one lay shattered, as if it had been forced open. It was completely destroyed, clearly beyond repair. Yukio thought he might know how. After his sister had placed this seal on him, he'd been so bewildered and confused—and he had made up his mind to try to break the chains by force. The very first time he had succeeded, he'd seen in his mind an image of this lock shattering. Half certain of what would happen, Yukio inserted the key into the second lock. Carefully, he turned it, and the lock released with a satisfying click. A part of the chains loosened and fell away into the void. And then—strength and ice mana surged in him.

"…" Ayato opened his eyes and took stock of his condition. There was no bright pillar of prana like before. Instead, he felt the energy fill his body.

"Okay. I can do this…I think." He scanned the arena, taking in the progress of the battle. Julis was on the verge of defeat, but he was just in time. He reached for the Ser Veresta on the ground and activated it.

"There—!" With a single leap, he reached his partner and cut and froze through the chains binding her.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Julis."

"That was too close, Yukio." She greeted him with a pained—but also relieved—smile.

"Did you completely undo the seal…?" Yukio shook his head.

"No. It looks like there are stages to the seal, and I finally opened the second one. It's not like I've powered up or anything." "Really? But your prana…"

"Oh—it's just that now I can hold in the prana that was leaking out of me. So I'm only as strong as when I opened the seal before. But I think my time limit is longer."

"How long?"

"Hmm, let's see…" Yukio compared the power inside him to what it had been before and came up with a rough estimate. "Probably more than two hours."

"…"

Speechless for a moment, Julis could only stare at him. "I see," she said finally. "Then can I leave the rest to you? I don't think I have anything left, to be honest."

"Got it," Yukioreplied, then turned to the twins. "You heard her. I'll take over from here." Shenyun, likewise gawking at Yukio, let out a deep breath.

"You two really are full of surprises. Don't tell me you were saving all that power?"

"Well, it's a long story," Yukio said. "So? Do you want to try to buy yourselves another hour?"

"No, I don't think so." Shenyun took out several spell charms. Silent and grim, Shenhua disappeared.

"All right, then." Readying the Ser Veresta, Yukio calmly assessed the situation. The upshot was that he was still at a dramatic disadvantage. Yukio Did have a longer time limit, but he was a lot actually any stronger, nor did his injuries heal. The balance of power was unchanged. And now, with Shenhua coming after him as well, he was fighting one-on-two.

He'd been struggling against Shenyun alone just moments ago, so the situation had actually worsened. But there was one thing he could do now that his prana wasn't overflowing out of him. It's been a while, he thought. I don't know how well I can pull it off…

Yukio closed his eyes again. This time, it was not to reach inward, but outward. Pushing his senses to their limits, he could perceive not only his opponents' movements and their flow of prana, but also every sound, the atmosphere itself, every kind of information—as if he'd become omniscient. This was shiki. This had been mostly impossible for him before—the overflow of prana had acted as noise. But now…

"Haaah…" He opened his eyes slowly. The sight before him looked no different. But he keenly felt his perception expanding. He could visualize everything that was going on around him.

"Here goes." Yukio casually took a step forward. As he walked, he waved the Ser Veresta through the air with one hand. A severed spell charm materialized and frozen to nothing. He strolled along with leisurely strides, cutting down one invisible charm after another—the ones Julis's fire wave had missed. Yukio knew exactly how many there were and where they had been placed.

"It can't be—you can see them?" Shenyun mumbled, stunned. Yukio did not see them. He just knew.

"In that case…!" Shenyun hurled all the spell charms in his hands at once, hemming Ayato in a ring of twelve explosion charms. But Yukio calmly continued forward. The charms ignited, setting off one bomb after another.

He dodged each one at the last possible instant. He could form a perfect image of where they would go off and which way to step to avoid them. Behind me, to the right. With the slightest movement, he dodged Shenhua's attack as she lunged at his back. He lightly shoved the invisible Shenhua on the shoulder, diverting her course.

"Wha—?"

"Amagiri Shinmei Style, Master Technique—Reverse Rakshasa." Shenhua's redirected attack landed a direct blow onto her own hidden spell charm.

"Kyaaaaah!"

The tag detonated mercilessly, and Shenhua shrieked as the blast propelled her into the air. Thanks to her shock, her invisibility spell broke, and Yukio cut through her school emblem.

"Shenhua Li—crest broken."

"Nngh…!" As the crest system announced his sister's defeat, a hint of panic rose in Shenyun's face. He took a large leap backward and readied more slips of paper.

"This is an unexpected turn of events. But even I have a trump card!"

Shenyun spread his arms wide, and an avalanche of spell charms rushed out of his sleeves. There were more than could possibly fit into his uniform—he must have stored them using Seisenjutsu.

The flood of tags rose up like a tornado, then formed a giant sphere above Shenyun's head. If each one was an explosion charm, that globe had tremendous firepower.

"This mine-sphere contains my entire arsenal. I hope you enjoy it."

Shenyun made a symbol with his hands. The ball rippled like a mirage, then vibrated and multiplied. One became two, then two became four—in the end, eight mine-spheres surrounded Yukio from above.

"Those are an illusion, of course. Only one is real. But you can probably see that, and I bet you could dodge it, too." Shenyun flung his arm downward, and the spheres began descending.

"But what if I try this?" Yukio looked up with a gasp. Just as Shenyun said, he already knew which one was real and which ones were illusions. And so he also knew— I'm not the target—he's after Julis! Indeed, the mine-spheres were falling on Julis, on her knees behind Ayato.

"Nngh…!"

She realized this, too, and tried to stand, but immediately dropped to the ground again. The bombs moved slowly, but Julis could not tell the real one apart from the copies. Even if she could, dodging it in her current state was another matter.

"So, what will it be, Murakorikumo? Can you sacrifice your partner? No, I don't think you can!" Shenyun shouted, grinning. He was certain that Yukio would rush to his partner's aid. That meant flying into the mine-sphere—and not even the Murakoriumo could withstand its firepower.

"Yukio! I'll be fine! Just get him—"

"Would you keep quiet for a bit, Glühen Rose?" Giving Julis an icy glare, Shenyun made a symbol with his hands.

"—!" Lightning streaked toward her.

But— "You're consistent, Shenyun Li—to the very end."

Yukio stood in front of Julis to deflect the bolt with the Ser Veresta. "Yukio!" Julis shouted in alarm. Shenyun cackled.

"Ah-ha-ha-ha! Perfect, Murakorikumo! You can't dodge it now, can you? You two can take the blast together!" Indeed, the mine was already right in front of him.

"I don't need to dodge it," Yukio murmured, and poured his prana into the Ser Veresta's urm-manadite core. Drinking in Yukio's abundant prana, the Ser Veresta suddenly grew, and black symbols danced merrily around it.

In barely a second, the blade had reached more than thirty feet long.

He had tried this Meteor Art technique once, when he had defeated that dragon creature with Kirin. Because it expended so much prana and shortened his time limit, he had never considered trying it in a match. But that wasn't a problem now.

"Wha…?!" Shenyun exclaimed as Yukio swung the giant Ser Veresta to easily slice through the mine-spheres, copies and all.

A tremendous chain reaction began, but Yukio brought down the blade to sever the blast itself.

"Th-that's not possible…" The Ser Veresta carved a long, deep gouge across the stage floor, just narrowly missing Shenyun, who stood frozen. Yukio let go of his weapon. Unarmed, he leaped to Shenyun in a single breath.

"That made me angry." He squeezed his fist.

"Huh…?" Yukio hurled that fist directly into the stunned face of Shenyun.

"Guh-hah!" The punch threw Shenyun to the ground, where he lay motionless.

"That's what you get," Yukio said to the fallen Shenyun, then let out a short sigh.

"Shenyun Li—unconscious.

"End of battle! Winners—Yukio Amagiri and Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld!"

Cheers and applause raged across the arena like a hurricane. The din completely drowned out the announcers' commentary. When Yukio turned, Julis—exhausted but grinning with unmistakable joy— sent him a hearty thumbs-up.

(Few Minutes Later)

"Congratulations, Your Highness!"

When Yukio and Julis returned to the prep room, Flora met them with an enthusiastic greeting. Nearly collapsing under the girl's tackle hug, Julis smiled indulgently.

"Thanks, Flora."

"You were really, really amazing! I was so excited!" The younger girl waved her arms wildly, her cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling. Unable to escape the winners' interview this time, Yukio and Julis had stymied the press corps with vague answers. They had finally been released just moments ago, and a fair amount of time had passed since the end of their match. Flora must have truly been impressed to maintain this level of excitement.

"You were really awesome, too, Master Amagiri! How did you become so strong? Can I be that strong someday?"

"Um… Well, maybe if you train every day."

"I see! Then, then—can you help me train sometime?!"

"Uh, sure…"

"Yay! Thank you, Master Amagiri! I'll work hard!"

Flora threw her arms around Yukio. Like Kirin, she reminded him of a small animal, but in a different way— maybe a lively little puppy. He wanted to gently pet Kirin's head, but Flora was a bouncy kind of cute that made him want to ruffle her hair.

"You're always so full of energy, Flora. It's good to see." In the back corner of the room, Claudia had been happily observing the scene.

"Oh, you're here, too?" Julis said. "Well, I suppose Flora couldn't get in by herself."

"Yes—although I was a little surprised to see her here." Claudia laughed softly.

"So you and Flora know each other, Claudia?" Yukio asked. "Yes, I've seen her attending Julis several times."

"Miss Enfield is always so nice! She gave me yummy sweets today, too!"

"Sweets?" Now that Flora mentioned it, Yukio noticed something like chocolate on her mouth, as well as an assortment of pastries and other confections spread across the table.

"Oh, those are a little something from me," Claudia said. "I finished up a few tasks and I had some time."

"So you made these?"

"Well, I hadn't been in the kitchen in a while, so I can't make any guarantees about the quality." Despite Claudia's disclaimer, the pastries looked good enough to give a bakery's wares a run for their money—better, in fact.

"Thanks, I think I'll have some," Yukio said. "I am a little hungry."

"Please." He selected a chocolate-covered cookie.

"Mm, that is good!" Yukio had little to compare it to, since he didn't often go for desserts. The elegantly bittersweet chocolate was aromatic, not too sweet—exactly the sort of treat he liked.

"Hee-hee. I'm glad you like it." Claudia smiled happily, her cheeks tinged ever-so-slightly pink.

"So you can cook on top of everything else, Claudia? That's amazing." He'd figured she, a well-heeled young lady, would have little reason to learn culinary skills, but she really could do anything.

"You're so perfect that it makes the rest of us feel bad," Julis complained.

"Everything comes naturally to you. Isn't there anything you don't do well?" Still, with a look of resignation, she reached for a sweet herself. "Oh, there are plenty of things I'm bad at. I just thought I should score some points for myself, that's all."

"Points…?" Julis repeated suspiciously. "The rest of you were all making hand-cooked meals for Yukio to attract him," Claudia replied. "I can't sit idly by, can I?" "P-pfft! I—" Julis sputtered.

"No one's trying to attract anyone! How did you know about that, anyway?!" "Hee-hee. How, indeed? Well, leaving that aside…"

Carelessly dodging the question, Claudia looked seriously at Yukio and Julis.

"Congratulations, both of you, for advancing to the semifinals. On behalf of Seidoukan Academy, I express our joy and gratitude." She bowed to them deeply.

"Um, you don't need to thank us…," Yukio said. "That's right," Julis agreed. "I'm only fighting to make my wish come true, after all."

"I understand, of course," Claudia said. "But in terms of the projected results for this season, Seidoukan has scored more points than we could have hoped for. Your teams are the first in several years to reach the final four. It really means a lot to our school."

"Well, I admit, I don't mind hearing genuine words of praise from you," Julis said. "But you've already congratulated the other team, then?"

"Yes. They did finish first, after all. I paid my respects to them before coming here." The "other team," of course, referred to Saya and Kirin. "I invited them to come here with me," Claudia said, "but they wanted to prepare for tomorrow."

"Oh? They must be very invested in winning," Julis remarked. "Well, they're going to face Saya's rivals," Yukio said. The next opponents for Saya and Kirin were the autonomous Puppets from Allekant.

For Saya, they were the reason for entering the Phoenix. And in each match, those automatons had completely trashed the competition. Even Yukio was interested to see how they would fare against the Puppets.

"You've made it this far," Claudia said. "I'm rooting for an all-Seidoukan championship match." Julis nodded firmly. "We're aiming for nothing less. And I'm sure they are, too."

(The Next Day)

"Hello, everyone! Are you as excited as we are?! It's your favorite announcer, Mico Yanase, live from Sirius Dome, and with me is Ms. Tram on commentary!"

"Hey, folks."

"So we're finally in the semifinals of the Phoenix! The first match is between Saya Sasamiya and Kirin Toudou of Seidoukan Academy, and—fighting as proxies—Ardy and Rimcy of Allekant Académie! This one's gonna be good!"

"Some people are saying this one will decide the championship."

"Is that right?"

"Well, both teams in the other semifinal have made it through some hard knocks. Those fighters have some serious fatigue and injuries to cope with. Both teams in this match have made it here with hardly a scratch, so."

"I see, I see! These two teams won most of their battles before you could blink. Now, Team Sasamiya-Toudou did have a tight contest in the quarterfinal, but Team Ardy-Rimcy took only about a minute to win every time!"

"And that's after telling their opponents they wouldn't attack for that full minute, so. I'm thinking one of the keys to today's match will be whether Team Sasamiya-Toudou can break through Ardy's Absolute Shield."

Absolute Shield—this was what they called Ardy's wall of light. The phrase had popped up on the net, and by now it had become the accepted term. Saya suspected it was a small-scale version of the defensive barriers used for the Festa stages. So far, no one had succeeded in breaking through to land an attack on Ardy.

As usual, Ardy's declaration boomed through the arena. "Hear me! Once again, we will grant our opponents one minute. During this time, we will not attack you. Do as you wish!"

"…Hmph." His condescending challenge sounded almost more human than an actual human. Saya gave him a contemptuous glance and turned to her partner. "Kirin, he's all yours."

"All right."

"Show him what's what." Kirin nodded and drew her katana an inch from its scabbard. She focused her mind to prepare for combat.

"Phoenix, Semifinal Round One—Begin!" Even when the match began, Ardy and Rimcy showed no intention of moving. Ardy, standing firm and imposing with his arms crossed, hardly looked ready to fight. He was the very picture of arrogance.

"I, Kirin Toudou, will face you in battle." Holding the Senbakiri in front of her, Kirin confronted Ardy's enormous frame directly.

"Hmm, so you are my challenger, Kirin Toudou. I was not expecting this," Ardy said incredulously.

"…Is there a problem?"

"I had thought Saya Sasamiya would face me—that is all. I am somewhat surprised."

"Do you mean to say that I'm not a worthy opponent for you?"

"If you mean to break through my defensive barrier, the logical choice is Saya Sasamiya and her high-powered Luxes."

"…"

"It is true that you possess perhaps the most athleticism and skill among all the contestants of this Phoenix. The data does not lie. But your weapon is not even a Lux—it is an ordinary katana. If you had an Orga Lux, it would be one thing, but you cannot hope to break through my barrier with that." Peering down at Kirin from far above, Ardy slumped in dismay.

"My advice would be to switch with Saya Sasamiya, or to jointly—"

"Would you like to try me, then?" Kirin interrupted Ardy quietly. "Hrm?"

"Please see for yourself whether Senbakiri and I will indeed be no match for you."

"Very well. If you insist, give it a go. I'm interested to see what you will try in the next minute." As soon as Ardy nodded, Kirin's katana whipped through the air like a flash of light. The diagonal strike came with superhuman speed. But just before the tip of the blade reached Ardy's body, the wall suddenly appeared to deflect it. Undaunted, Kirin attacked a second, and then a third time.

"Ah—your speed is phenomenal. I am impressed that you have reached this level with a body of flesh." Ardy still stood unflinching, his arms still crossed. The barrier repelled every single one of Kirin's attacks.

"But it is of no avail," Ardy said bluntly.

"No matter how fast you might be, it is impossible for a human to surpass me in reflex. Which is to say, your attacks will never reach me." Kirin paused her blade to slow her breathing.

"I see. Now I know what I need to know." Repositioning her katana by her shoulder, she went for Ardy again.

"I just told you, it's of no avail…" But Kirin's katana slid around the wall of light and, with a hard clang, left a clean, straight scratch on Ardy's arm. "Hrm…?"

"W-wow, this is incredible! Finally, for the first time all tournament, an attack has landed on Ardy! Did Toudou just achieve the impossible? Did she get through the invincible Absolute Shield with just an ordinary katana?!" The announcer's excited voice rang through the arena over the wildly cheering crowd. Ardy, meanwhile, stared at his arm in quiet shock.

"How—this is not possible. How did you—``

''Our minute isn't up yet," Kirin said.

"Please withdraw your declaration. And let us confront each another on equal terms." "And what do you mean by that?"

"I mean, don't take us lightly, please." Chagrinned, Ardy fell silent. Kirin wasted no time in attacking again. The wall of light materialized to block it, but once more Kirin's blade zipped around it to carve into Ardy's side. He grunted in frustration.

"The first time was not a fluke. If you insist on continuing this, the next attack will be the last." Kirin pointed the Senbakiri at Ardy.

"…" He remained silent. Kirin let out a short breath, and the Senbakiri gleamed. But before she could strike, Ardy activated a hammer-shaped Lux to go on the offensive. "—!" Kirin withdrew her blade and dodged the attack, then sprang backward to distance herself.

"And—and now! Ardy attacked his opponent! It's been fifty-six seconds since his challenge! It hasn't been a minute yet!" Spinning the hammer around him, Ardy slammed its end into the ground.

"Most impressive! In this, you have bested me. I withdraw my declaration!" Ardy retracted his statement boldly, and more easily than Kirin might have expected.

"It appears that I have presumed too much. I know now that I have much to learn. Now, I would humbly ask, what technique was it that you used?" Ardy's demeanor remained haughty despite his verbal show of humility, but he did seem to be speaking honestly. As she readied her blade, Kirin replied deliberately.

"It worked because you're a machine."

"What do you mean by that?" Ardy tilted his head, unable to process her answer.

"You analyze my data and actions to predict my incoming attack and activate the barrier. Isn't that right?"

"Indeed, that is correct." And what's wrong with that? Ardy left unsaid.

"The Toudou style has techniques to manipulate the opponent using my breathing, my gaze, changes in range and distance, movements of my muscles— everything. I am constantly planning and adapting. But you—because you're such a well-made machine, you observe all of that and arrive at a conclusion that is beyond perfect. So all I have to do is make my attack slightly off."

"Then—you were baiting me?" Ardy blurted in disbelief.

"If this was a fight between two experienced swordsmen, we would be reading each other in every possible manner, every single instant. Neither of my earlier attacks would have reached Yukio, for example. I did bait your movements in an obvious way. But because you're a machine, you respond simplistically." Kirin paused, then delivered her verdict in no uncertain terms:

"Essentially, your flaw is lack of experience as a fighter." Saya watched the exchange between Kirin and Ardy.

"…That's my Kirin." She nodded in satisfaction.

"I don't understand," Rimcy said, scowling suspiciously. She had been facing Saya. "

Hmm? Don't understand what?"

"Why didn't you try to attack me in that one minute?" Just as Rimcy said, Saya had simply watched her partner without doing so much as activate her Lux.

"If that good-for-nothing oaf gets his butt soundly kicked, that's his own fault. But you refused to take an advantage that was offered to you. You're the one underestimating us. This is most displeasing." Rimcy activated an enormous gun-shaped Lux in each hand and aimed them at Saya.

"Displeasing? I just wanted you to fight us without holding back." Calmly, Saya finally took out her own Lux activator.

"There's no point otherwise." Then, bullets of light rained down on her like a storm. Saya twisted to dodge the volley and activated her Lux in midair.

"Type 41 Lux twin blaster, Waldenholt," she murmured for no one else to hear. Naming aloud the weapons her father had made for her—that was one of Saya's self-imposed rules. A large-scale Lux with a massive backpack unit materialized, and a targeting HUD projected from her hair ornament.

An enormous gun wrapped around each of her arms. As she landed, she poured prana into the manadites. Dodging the next salvo, she squeezed the trigger.

"Burst." Bright bluish light amassed at the muzzles of the guns. The next moment, with a high-pitched shriek, two giant projectiles pierced through the air.

"—!" Rimcy barely managed to evade the first shot, but not the second. As the thunderous explosion threatened to bring the whole arena down, Rimcy slammed into the opposite wall. Saya's firepower was so devastating that if not for the protective barrier, the Puppet might have exited the arena itself.

"Well, I'm good to go, too," Saya said to the cloud of debris. "Bring it on." In reply, a pair of red eyes glowed through the dust.

….

The brilliantly sunlit room was outfitted with a perfectly ordered array of refined furniture. Curtains patterned with a classic design fluttered in the wind, and the deep blue and off-white carpet created a conservative base for the décor. Elaborate carvings embellished the ebony office desk with a golden pen holder perched on its corner—every last item in this room made for a harmonious space.

It was its own small world—not too extravagant, but elegant and tasteful. In the center of this space, a young man smiled jovially. With arrestingly fine features and immaculate pale blond hair, at first glance the youth might be mistaken for part of the room itself. But meeting him in person would quickly dispel that impression. His frank disposition and charming, powerful presence would see to that—as would the edge lurking behind his serene smile, as any observant person might notice. Of course, if he was not this way, he would not be serving as the student council president of St. Gallardworth Academy—nor would the Runesword have chosen him.

Nor could he maintain the top rank at the school. "You seem to be enjoying yourself, Ernest." The vice president, Laetitia Blanchard, lightly knocked on the room's open door.

"Ah, you're here, Laetitia." Ernest Fairclough looked up at her with a cool smile. He had been watching the air-window in front of his folded hands.

"Oh, were you watching the semifinals?"

"No, I was watching the quarterfinals from yesterday." Laetitia's brows knit at his answer.

"The quarterfinals…?" Swiping her curled hair—a darker blond than Ernest's—back from her eyes, she peered at the display. The video was of yesterday's Phoenix quarterfinal match. The fierce contest between Seidoukan and Jie Long had attracted glowing reviews, and the winners were set to face Ernest's comrades of the Silverwinged Knights—the Life Rhodes. His interest was only natural. It was natural, but Laetitia didn't like it.

"Does that boy really intrigue you so much?"

"Ha-ha. Well, yes." Ernest laughed softly and nodded, as if he had nothing to hide. "My, my—first her, and now you. What do you see in him? I just don't understand."

"Now, now. That's no expression for a girl everyone calls a 'saint.'" Ernest scolded Laetitia as she puffed out her cheeks in a sulk.

"You really do act childish wherever Miss Enfield is involved."

"What—?! I—I do not! I most certainly, absolutely do not!" Ernest glanced sidelong at Laetitia's scarlet-faced denial, then returned his gaze to the screen

. "Anyway… He really is wonderful. His blades have principle, pure and dignified. I would dearly like to cross swords with him."

"Ernest, you know you can't…"

"I know. I'm just thinking aloud—no harm in that, is there?" With a regretful smile, Ernest shrugged. This was what it meant to be chosen by the Runesword. He must always be noble, discard all selfishness, and act as an agent of order and justice in everything. That was the cost demanded of him by the sword LeiGlems. If there was ever a shadow of a doubt, this Orga Lux—one of the Runeswords—would ruthlessly abandon him. That would mean the loss of the alias Pendragon and the privileges that came with it.

This would be unacceptable—for Laetitia, as well as for the other knights. Gallardworth needed him more than ever. "Don't fret, Ernest. Even if you can't face him man-to-man, you should have the chance to go head-to-head with him soon enough…at the Gryps next year." Laetitia smiled dauntlessly.

"That boy will fight as a member of her team, I'm certain of it. And he'll come up against our team sooner or later. You can fight to your heart's content then. And victory will of course be ours!" She clenched her fists.

"My word… You really want to defeat Miss Enfield, don't you?"

"I admit it, I do. I can't lose to her, no matter what." Yes. She had to defeat Claudia Enfield. When next they met, Laetitia would win. She swore it on her honor as the second ranked at St. Gallardworth Academy —Gloriara, the Witch of Shining Wings.

"You weren't satisfied with the last Gryps? A win is a win, isn't it?"

"I know we won as a team—but still!"

Recalling what had happened two years ago, Laetitia ground her teeth. Even though her team had won that match, Claudia's swords had destroyed Laetitia's school crest—that hateful Pandora.

"I'll never forget how she humiliated me…!"

That wasn't the only reason Laetitia needed to beat Claudia, of course. But her pride wouldn't allow her to leave a defeat unavenged.

"Hmm…" Ernest closed the air-window and sat in thought. The smile had faded. "There is another reason why I'm interested in him."

"There's something else?"

"It seems that Dirk Eberwein has made contact with him."

"The Tyrant?" Laetitia made no effort to conceal her displeasure. Gallardworth and Le Wolfe had no shortage of disagreements. To Laetitia, and the rest of their school, Le Wolfe's notorious student council president was a mortal enemy.

"There are also reports that he's mobilized the Cats," Ernest said, "although we're not sure if it's related to the boy."

"That…would seem to indicate some disturbance," Laetitia remarked. If the intelligence apparatus of Le Wolfe was in motion, trouble was sure to follow. Whether that trouble would ever reach the public consciousness was another issue entirely.

"We can only hope that nothing will come of it…" Ernest turned his eyes, now shadowed with apprehension, to the scene outside his window.

….

"W-wow, another unbelievable turn of events! Sasamiya landed a clean hit on Rimcy! Needless to say, this is also the first time all tournament for Rimcy to take a hit! Could the invincible team from Allekant finally fall today?!" The elated cry of the commentator filled the arena over the thunderous cheers of a frenzied crowd. Flora was no exception to the madness, shouting from a corner of the stands with sweat in her balled fists and ecstasy lighting up her face.

"Miss Sasamiya, Miss Toudou! You're both awesome!" A pure admiration swirled in her chest along with a wish that she could be like them someday. She waved her arms wildly. The spectators were standing up in their excitement, and soon everyone in the audience was on their feet. Flora, being so short, was lost in the crowd. As she hopped up and down on her seat, trying desperately to get a view—

"Hey, you." A deep, dark voice spoke from directly behind her.

"Huh…?" Just as she turned, a sharp blow landed on her neck. Not a single person in the feverish crowd noticed the girl disappear