Magic Power surged, and boundless cold froze the arena into an ice field. Shizuku leaped high into the air, pulling back as Yoi Shigure in her hand kept slashing down.
"Clang, clang—!"
Water condensed into ice, and blades of ice rained down, trying to seal off Toudo Touka. Unfortunately, they had little effect.
Amid flashes of Thunderlight, Touka shattered the ice blades one after another and steadily closed in on Shizuku.
But this was still within my expectations... Several crystals had already been laid across the arena. As Shizuku activated them with Magic Power, she shouted, "Shouha Suiren!"
A vast wave rose up, separating the two like a wall of water. Then torrents shot toward Toudo Touka, hoping to decide the match from a distance.
But unfortunately... Golden lightning flashed repeatedly, forcibly suppressing Shizuku's Shouha Suiren.
—Pure water was indeed nonconductive. However, that required an enormous amount of Magic Power.
"Boom! Boom, boom—!"
Touka dodged the torrents as lightning erupted around Shizuku. The battle was incredibly fierce.
Got you!
At that moment, Shizuku predicted Touka's position and froze one of her feet with cold air... Now! A massive ice spike fell from above.
"Clang—!"
A fleeting flash of lightning split the ice spike in two. It finally scattered into tiny fragments, vanishing like specks of starlight across the arena.
"It's about time this ended."
In the stands, electricity flickered at White Night's fingertips. "Bioelectricity predicts movements through the body's electrical signals. It may not work against the truly strong, but at this level..."
—It could be called an overwhelming advantage!
White Night did not say it outright, but Ikki more or less understood. He looked at Shizuku with concern.
"Ah, did I forget to mention it? Toudo Touka is the disciple of that God of Combat, you know~"
"The God of Combat... Drawn Foot?"
In Shizuku's eyes, Toudo Touka's movements seemed to skip a frame. In the blink of an eye, she was already right before her.
!!!
How was that possible?!!
"Clang—!"
Shizuku barely blocked the strike and was sent flying. She quickly got back on her feet and guarded herself, replaying what had just happened.
Shizuku knew perfectly well that she had not lost focus. So... how had her opponent done it?
The next instant, Touka used Drawn Foot again and appeared before Shizuku. Narukami left its sheath, nearly slicing through her school uniform. Yet that figure dissolved into splashing water.
"So what's the principle behind that clone?" White Night leaned casually against the railing and spoke with great interest.
On the battlefield, Shizuku had already fallen into an absolute disadvantage—she could not break through Drawn Foot!
After resisting with all her strength, Shizuku launched a counterattack, but every move was neutralized. In the end, amid a thick mist...
"Raikiri!"
Everything vanished with it.
Although Toudo Touka switched to Fantasy Form at the very end, she still drained all of Shizuku's strength, leaving her powerless on the ground.
The winner was Toudo Touka!
Puppet Master's Attack
After the match ended, White Night had no intention of watching the emotional scene in the infirmary. It was never a good idea to involve himself in that sort of thing.
By the next day, Shizuku had mostly recovered, though she still wanted to get some fresh air. So...
"We can run into them here too, huh~"
On the outskirts of town, they ran into the student council group. Long-forgotten memories surfaced in White Night's mind. "Ikki, do you remember what I told you about the training camp?"
"Whether you go is up to you." Naturally, White Night had no intention of offering an opinion on this matter.
In the end, Ikki and the others accepted the invitation and followed the student council members to the training center.
During a round of playful commotion, everyone cleaned the dormitory center in preparation for the upcoming training camp. Shizuku also seemed to have let it go... Even when facing Touka now, she could speak to her relatively calmly.
"Come to think of it..."
At noon, Ikki and the others held an outdoor barbecue together. During it, Miyuki Sawarabi mentioned the main topic of this trip. "There are rumors that traces of a giant were left in the forest."
"Of course, I don't know whether it's true. If you're interested, you can go take a look~"
"Vice Chairman."
Kudoh Kanata, wearing a top hat, elegantly reminded him. Then she gave everyone a slight bow. "My apologies. The Vice Chairman is always like this."
"Actually, this is the situation: the Chairman asked us to clear out the surrounding area, including the mountains and forests. As for the giant..."
"It's probably another Blade Dancer, right?"
White Night waved a hand, looking completely unconcerned. Secretly, however, he communicated with Bronya.
"This time, be careful. Hiraga Reizen, the 'Jester'—if I remember correctly, he's one of the Puppet King's people. Watch out for that freak."
"Bronya understands."
◆ Puppet King Or-Gull
A psychotic, but an extremely powerful Demon. One of Rebellion's Twelve Apostles, he controlled countless politicians and dignitaries through Puppet Strings to fulfill the organization's political demands.
He loved pure evil—hatred, screams, wails, betrayal... every negative emotion. He loved them so much that he personally controlled his own sister and had her slaughter everyone in their birthplace!
His biological sister! Among those who died were even their father and mother. He was a freak beyond all reason!
As they walked along the mountain road, White Night knew too little about Or-Gull. To guard against him, he even used Mental Link for communication.
"Given how dangerous Puppet Masters are, shouldn't they be under international supervision?"
Though they were fundamentally one person, that did not stop White Night from complaining. "How did someone like this even show up, and fucking reach the Demon realm? Damn it!"
"That's normal. There will always be some fish that slip through the net."
Bronya took it calmly. Or perhaps she was simply emotionless? As for what happened before... she had mostly adjusted by now.
Who knew how much time had passed?
"Boom—!"
A thunderous explosion rang out. White Night and Bronya leaped several times, swiftly reaching the treetops and locking onto the source. "So far away, and the target is Ikki again?"
"He really is plagued by disasters."
As they spoke, Bronya began to use Elementalization... The speed of lightning was no joke.
"Bronya!"
However, White Night stopped her after she transformed only a single finger—threads had appeared around them at some point. That guy had come to find them himself!
Dozens of Rock Golems closed in, surrounding White Night and Bronya layer upon layer.
"Hold back a little. I don't want that freak setting his sights on us."
"Mm, Bronya understands. Standing out too much could put Sister Kiko in danger."
"Heavy Rabbit, fire—!"
Bronya extended one hand. Heavy Rabbit manifested behind her, and energy began gathering in its cannon.
Through their mental exchange, White Night did not need to communicate. He charged out in an instant... A flash of sword light followed, severing the Puppet Strings one after another.
Then came a bombardment that swept the ground clean, annihilating every fragment and preventing the puppets from reforming at the source. Their coordination was practically perfect.
"Emmm... That's it?"
"Hiraga Reizen is only a puppet himself. Naturally, he can't compare to the Puppet King. Besides, he has divided his forces across several battlefields."
"Have you located the central base station?"
"Of course."
An Infrared Ray was projected, concealing their actions while pointing White Night toward the central core.
But in truth... White Night had long since shared Bronya's vision. The core stood out in his eyes as clearly as a beacon in the night. "Good. Then this is over!"
White Night wrapped his left hand in Magic Power, using it as a temporary scabbard as he sheathed Myriad Phenomena within it—Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu: Tenken Ryusho!
Sharp Sword Qi tore through the earth, extending all the way forward and shattering the core that served as the enemy's base station.
With that, the Rock Golems lost control and collapsed one after another. Standing among them, White Night coolly spun his sword in a Sword Flower. "This really has been a long time since I used Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu."
"Stop showing off and go support the others." Wrapped in lightning, Bronya walked past White Night.
"They should be fine, right?"
After all, as long as the Puppet King himself did not intervene... Emmm... White Night pondered for a while. "Looks like it's you again, Ikki. You really attract a lot of 'affection,' huh~"
Elsewhere, a massive Stone Giant stood tall. Its rugged arm slammed viciously into the ground, sending out a shockwave.
Ikki held Yin Iron horizontally before him and blocked the impact with his bare body—Stella was behind him. He could not retreat!
Rubble exploded apart, leaving savage wounds across Ikki's arms and torso. Blood immediately poured down his body.
"Ikki..."
Stella slightly raised her hand and weakly called his name, but she could not help him at all. Just as before, Stella was still suffering from acclimatization problems.
"Don't worry, Stella. I'm fine."
Ikki tightened his grip on Yin Iron and forced down the pain through sheer will, comforting her as calmly as he could.
"Yo-ho, Junior! Renren's here to help!" Usamaru Renren kicked apart the puppets in her path and rushed over with boundless energy.
"Kurogane, watch out!"
At that moment, Miyuki Sawarabi's voice rang out. Ikki reacted in time, twisting aside to evade Usamaru Renren's strike.
"Miyuki, what's going on?"
To save Stella earlier, Ikki had already used One Blade Arrogance. His current situation was undoubtedly making things even worse.
It took quite a while before Miyuki Sawarabi finally arrived. Thanks to his Supernatural Ability, he was in relatively good condition, but... he could not fight! He was the weak kind, after all.
"Renren has been controlled by the enemy Puppet Master. Kurogane, you have to hold on."
Miyuki Sawarabi dropped his usual tone and looked somewhat serious. "Just a little longer! Touka will be here soon."
I think that might be difficult.
The Stone Giant broke apart and reassembled into human-sized forms, encircling the three of them.
"Miyuki, Stella is in your hands."
As a man, Ikki stepped forward! Since someone had to stand up in this situation, it could only be Kurogane Ikki. "I'll buy us time!"
"What a dazzling will. So dazzling that... I can't help wanting to crush it!" —Or-Gull
Though it was only indirect control, a Demon was still a Demon! The puppets' abilities had risen dramatically. This made Ikki's situation even more difficult.
"Clang! Clang—!"
With every swing of his sword, his stamina drained more severely. By the end, he could only maintain a deadlock even against ordinary puppets.
No! I still can't fall!
"Crack—!"
Vaguely, Ikki seemed to hear the sound of chains? But he ignored it and focused on the battle before him.
Before you continue