Dual Souls, The Other Half Is Bronya

In the academy's main hall:

Byakuya, Ikki, Bronya, Stella, and Toudo Touka walked onto the stage one by one to receive their medals.

"The leader of this year's Broken Blade Academy delegation has been decided as Toudo Touka."

With that, Shinguji Kuroko handed the flag symbolizing Broken Blade Academy to Toudo Touka.

While Toudo Touka might not have been the strongest in terms of raw power, the role of leader was more about suitability. After all... they couldn't possibly let Byakuya take on that role, could they?

A Demon capable of confronting Ning Yin... Honestly, Kuroko still didn't know the other party's motives.

After the ceremony concluded, Ikki, Byakuya, and the others gathered and walked through the academy grounds.

"Speaking of which, where's Arisugawa?"

Ikki hadn't had a chance to ask in the main hall, but now he finally had the opportunity to ask Shizuku.

"He took a leave of absence today." (Shizuku)

"After all, because of him, Shizuku couldn't be selected. He must be feeling pretty bad about it, right?"

Byakuya added from the side, "But it's true, the academy's lineup this time is quite stacked. In that kind of situation, it's probably unavoidable."

"Let's chat more when we have time," Bronya nodded in agreement with Byakuya's words.

However, where was the main subject of this conversation?

"Hey, hey, hey, is that the Shadow Killer?"

A flippant voice emanated from the student handbook.

Arisugawa maintained contact, but the familiar face was devoid of its usual playfulness and mockery, appearing cold and unfamiliar.

"What is it, Joker?"

It was hard to believe such cold words came from Arisugawa's mouth.

"Oh my, oh my, don't be so cold..."

Joker's sarcastic tone was infuriating, "The target of the operation has been confirmed! It's at Broken Blade Academy, where you're undercover. You'd better cooperate, Shadow Killer..."

"Oh no, perhaps I should call you... Comrade 'Black Rose'? Is that right, Arisugawa-kun~"

"..."

On the other end, Arisugawa remained silent. However... perhaps it was because Shizuku wasn't selected? His emotions stirred slightly, and he unconsciously tightened his grip on the student handbook.

"Silence again?"

Joker wasn't surprised. After all, Arisugawa, or rather, the Shadow Killer, had always been like this. "Never mind, in any case, preparations for the 'Eve Festival' are complete."

As he spoke, Joker's tone gradually became laced with a smile, tinged with a hint of madness. "The actors are all in place, that's what everyone probably thinks, right?"

"But they're all wrong. The real 'protagonist' hasn't made their appearance yet!"

"Next, we'll leap from the audience onto the stage and thoroughly beat those foolish spectators. And then, we'll announce our great victory to the world..."

—"The protagonist of this Seven Star Sword Martial Festival will be us, 'Dawn Academy'!"

On the other end of the communication, Arisugawa had already hung up. He had no interest in Joker's daily outbursts.

Time moved to mid-July.

With the conclusion of the representative selection matches, Broken Blade Academy's first semester was drawing to a close.

After this came the students' much-anticipated summer vacation.

During this period, most students returned to their hometowns, and the campus became considerably emptier.

The Seven Star Sword Martial Festival was scheduled for mid-August. To prepare, the academy organized a ten-day intensive training camp.

However, due to the Puppet Master incident, the location of this training camp was changed to Jumon Academy, with both academies training together. But Byakuya was nowhere to be seen.

"Little brother is quite eager, aren't you~"

"Can't be helped. I finally received guidance from the God of Combat, so I can't afford to be lazy."

As he spoke, Byakuya gradually lowered his stance, his hand slowly stroking the blade of Myriad Phenomena... a glow of Magic Power ignited, similar to Ikki's, but superior in its stability.

"Oh my, what is this..."

Nangong Torajiro's eyes widened slightly, but he maintained his composure, leaning on his cane like an ordinary old man. "Are all young people this serious these days?"

"Zing—!"

A sword energy attacked—Tenken Ryusho! An ultra-high-speed drawing slash. Immediately after, lightning gathered at his feet, erupting with immense propulsion in an instant.

Thunder Breathing, Thunderbolt! This was the only move Byakuya could replicate from Kimetsu. Most others were vaguely described and couldn't be learned from the manga.

"Oh my~"

Even so, Nangong Torajiro looked relaxed, dodging with a few steps to the side. "Little brother, the transition between these moves is quite good..."

!!!

As they spoke, Nangong Torajiro suddenly leaped back, creating distance between himself and Byakuya.

"Eight Directions Slash!"

A flash of sword light followed, and terrifying sword energy rampaged. But that wasn't all. Byakuya lightly tapped the ground with his toes, and his entire body, sword in hand, flew forward…

"Hundred Paces Flying Sword!"

It was an unparalleled speed. Even Nangong Torajiro's face was lightly cut, "Truly terrifying. Such sharp swordsmanship."

"Hoo~"

On the other side, Byakuya also let out a long breath. Just a few seconds? No, not even one second! But he had truly given his all, to the point where the breath he exhaled resembled a sword's edge.

"But it's still not enough."

Byakuya turned to look at Nangong Torajiro. The small cut was already almost healed. "Just like this, it's still too far off."

"Young man, you're really hard on yourself~ The old man here... already used my ability just now."

Even so, Nangong Torajiro was injured! This showed the sharpness of his swordsmanship. "Within the realm of humans, your swordsmanship has reached the pinnacle."

"But you also said, 'within the realm of humans'."

"..."

For a moment, their eyes met, and silence fell between them.

After a long while, Byakuya lightly flicked his index finger on the sword's edge, then lowered his stance and resumed his guard. "God of Combat, why don't you feel my sword a bit more?"

"You're quite spirited, young man." Nangong Torajiro stretched his arms, and a dangerous aura began to emanate from him.

After a slightly serious spar, Byakuya leaned on the shattered rocks behind him, propping himself up with his sword. "As expected of the God of Combat. This exchange has taught me a great deal."

"You're truly amazing, young man~"

At this moment, Nangong Torajiro walked up to Byakuya and sat down on the ground without any pretense. "You're fighting so hard, you must be trying to reach the Demon realm, right?"

"And only relying on your swordsmanship. If that's the case, young man, you might be looking in the wrong place."

"You should be looking for Biyoku!"

"I know, and I've been trying hard to find it. But what can I do if I can't find it?"

Byakuya's strong adaptability allowed him to quickly stop panting, already recovering. "So, God of Combat, what do you think I'm still lacking?"

"Young man, you've stumped this old man. Your swordsmanship is already very mature. If I had to say..."

33. Academy Training Camp

"BOOM—!"

On the specialized training grounds, crimson flames and golden lightning intertwined, erupting with terrifying destructive power.

"Is that the Crimson Lotus Princess? So powerful, she's actually fighting Raikiri to a draw."

At the edge of the field, several people holding cameras excitedly recorded the scene. "Quick, quick! Record it, such intense simulated battles are rare."

emmm…

In contrast to the news club members, the representative players from Jumon Academy were completely stunned. "Hey, can you guys beat them?"

"Huh? Are you still half asleep? What nonsense are you talking about? We'd be lucky if we weren't instantly defeated."

"I definitely can't."

"Can't win, absolutely can't win. I say, are they really students in the same year as us?"

They had felt pretty good about themselves initially, even thinking they could place in the Seven Star Sword Martial Festival. But after watching these two spar… their mentality completely collapsed!

Furthermore, according to internal news from Broken Blade Academy, Stella and Toudo Touka had both lost to Kurogane Ikki.

And Kurogane Shizuku, known as the "Sea Witch," was directly eliminated!

Keep in mind, this was decided based on strength… Damn it! What kind of gods are at Broken Blade Academy? Does their Jumon Academy even stand a chance in this year's Seven Star Sword Martial Festival?

"Playing games again?"

However, in a certain corner, something was out of place. Bronya, with her fair legs together, hid in the shade, playing a handheld game console, the screen flashing wildly.

"This level of sparring is useless to Bronya, so Bronya won't participate."

Bronya didn't even look up, already knowing who had arrived. "Instead, Alice (Arisugawa), what are you doing here?"

"I wasn't interested in the Seven Star Sword Martial Festival to begin with. Becoming a representative player was just good luck."

"..."

Bronya remained silent… Do you think Bronya doesn't know? You're that "Shadow Killer," ranked internationally. Your strength is at least A-class, right?

But exposing it would be troublesome. Some things are hard to explain, so it's better to maintain the status quo. "Forget it..."

"Forget what?"

Arisugawa waved her hand and naturally moved closer to Bronya. "Okay, okay, Bronya, what game are you playing? Can I take a look too?"

"Just some simple mini-games, nothing difficult." Bronya slightly turned her body, allowing Arisugawa to see the screen.

"Erm..."

"Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about the word 'simple'?" Arisugawa couldn't speak, staring at the flashing electronic screen. "Speaking of which, where did Byakuya go?"

"Byakuya went for special training."

[YOU WIN!]

The electronic screen popped up with the game's victory symbol. Bronya skillfully switched games and continued operating her handheld console. "Oh right, Alice, haven't the new batch of coaches been transferred over yet?"

"Yeah, after all, we can't find suitable candidates. If the ones who come are too weak, they'll probably just get crushed again."

Arisugawa thought back to what happened before, and couldn't help but smile. It was at the beginning...

Bronya wanted to slack off, and the so-called intensive training involved practical combat against coaches. And then... with a few light words, she defeated all the coaches.

Ultimately, with her overwhelming strength, she earned the privilege of slacking off. Then, since they were all here, Ikki, Stella... and others also went up to spar a few rounds.

The result was a complete victory!

The coaches' mental states immediately collapsed. They refused to stay any longer, resigning and running away overnight.

Because of this, with no sparring partners left, Stella and Toudo Touka could only spar amongst themselves, and Bronya's slacking-off group was also left unsupervised.

After a while, Bronya cleared several more stages and stood up slightly to stretch. Her gaze swept around. "Alice, where did Ikki go?"

"Huh? Ikki, he's right..."

But when Arisugawa looked over, Ikki was no longer in his spot. "...Ah, if he's not here, then I don't know either."

"...Never mind."